I had some hope that outside of the village of Barovia, the land of Barovia wouldn’t be that terrible. I was wrong. While there were some good, that good was overwhelmed by how twisted and wicked the land and some of its people are. This has only pushed me to see my quest through the end. That, alongside my companions, may very well be the only thing that keeps me going.
My companions and I woke up at dawn to attend the funeral of Kolyan Indirovich alongside his children. Father Donavich quietly offered prayers on behalf of their god, the Morninglord. Although no one in Barovia knows their god by name, I suspect that they worship Lathender, the god of dawn who shares the title of Morninglord. I keep these thoughts to myself. I know little of what Lathender’s followers preach, and as a follower of Torm, I teach his lessons through action rather than words.
We set out on our journey afterwards, traveling to Vallaki in hopes that it will serve as a haven away from Strahd’s power. It was a rather uneventful trip as we stuck to the road, with Ismark serving as our guide. There was a man camouflaged within the mist, whom I’ve been told is a Forest Folk, but he did nothing to stop us. When we approached a crossroads, we were approached by a rider approaching from one of the paths. Ismark and Ireena identified the man as a Vistana, and they were hesitant as they thought that the Vistani served Strahd. From what I heard, many Barovians distrust the Vistani, but the rider bore no ill will towards us. Rather, he instructed us to meet a fortune teller, Madam Eva. I had my doubts about a fortune teller, for those I’ve seen were scam artists, but the rider did call us by our names before we introduced each other. It bore investigating.
We arrived at Madam Eva’s camp, where the Vistani offered us food and drink. We just wanted to meet with the fortune teller, although from what I’ve seen of them, the Vistani are more of a traveling family than they are spies for Strahd. We left Ismark and Ireena outside of Madam Eva’s tent, under the belief that if trouble were to happen, we would be close enough to intervene. Within the tent was Madam Eva, an elderly woman who knew of my past. She knew that I was taken as a child, something I keep to myself. It was unpleasant to have her say it in front of my companions, and I can only suspect my companions felt the same as she shared some of their secrets. At the very least, any doubts I had about her power were put to rest.
Madam Eva’s fortune telling for the group was difficult to decipher. She spoke of how we can find knowledge within a carnival, a holy symbol of hope in a house guarded by a stone dragon, and a weapon unlike any other, found within the dragon’s house in corrupted hands. She told us of an ally, one who was locked away in her late father’s house, driven to insanity, and where we will face our enemy in the dark depths. She told us little as a group afterwards, other than that we must follow the cards if we are to succeed. I left with Balli while Kolkari, Eliza, and Stephanie took time to have their own fortunes read. Even though I knew of her power, I wished to have my fate in my own hands. Perhaps if Balli went, I would have fallen under the pressure of the group, but that was not to be. Instead, Balli and I listened to a storyteller, who told the story of how a wizard once challenged Strahd a year ago, but fell.
My companions and I left, still guarding Ismark and Ireena. As we left the camp, we noticed a corpse hanging from a tree with rope around its neck, and there was no denying that it was Kolkari. This only made me worry for him, as I was reminded of Titus’ name on that tomb before his early demise in that cursed house. I couldn’t let another ally fall to that same fate.
We made a stop, which turned out to be a terrible mistake on our end. When we saw a mill, Eliza pointed out that we had a deed to a mill, collected from the house in Barovia before we burnt it down. It wasn’t a long detour, and we all had our reasons to visit. Eliza was interested in what had become of the mill, Stephanie thought to purge any evil from the cult that previously owned it, and I thought there could be treasure. We left Ireena and Ismark outside a safe distance away, with instructions to wait half an hour before doing anything, and that if anything happened, to come to us.
We were met with a woman named Bella. While Kolkari stayed outside to speak with a raven perched atop the doorframe, the rest of us entered and were treated by Bella as the hostess. There was the sweet smell of pastries, and I had made the connection sooner, perhaps what would happen would be different. Once Eliza mentioned the deed, Bella was insistent on obtaining it, and Eliza was willing to give it away. With Kolkari urging us to leave, we were all ready to leave when we heard a child cry out in pain upstairs. Under Balli’s instruction, I was prepared to restrain Bella, when the woman cast a spell, putting Eliza to sleep.
Balli fought off the woman long enough for Kolkari to wake Eliza. Bella and her sister Offalia, who joined the battle from upstairs, were formidable foes. My halberd struck Bella but drew no blood as she cast a series of magical darts at Eliza. Stephanie’s holy magic proved to be disastrous to the sisters, and my divine senses granted by Torm revealed that these two womens were fiends, creatures of evil, and that there was a third fiend walking toward the mill. The third fiend was their mother and a familiar face: Morgantha. Once an old woman who was intimidated by us took to battle rather easily.
I was able to land a solid blow upon Bella. I am thankful that in his final hours, Titus gave the silvered shortsword to me, as with Torm strengthening my blow, smited Bella. But this was a losing battle for us. Stephanie was able to call upon her goddess, blinding Offalia and Morgantha briefly so that we may escape. Balli ran upstairs, wanting to save the children, while Kolkari, Eliza, and Stephanie fled the mill. Morgantha and her daughters, no longer blinded, surrounded me, but they knew the dangers of fighting a paladin, a chosen of Morgantha. So, instead of fighting me head on, they weaved a spell, a curse I fell victim to.
I do not recall much of what happened after their spell, as, which I only intend to share in these pages, they turned me into a cat. I remember very little of my time as a cat, as I did not have the mind of a human, and am thankful that I survived under those conditions.
I transformed back into a human well after the encounter was over, Eliza was holding me at the time, as I had the tendency to run away as a cat. She wasn’t injured from falling on her, and I told everyone that we were never to speak of that moment again. Of course, the group still made jokes at my expense. I was relieved to see Balli among us, but unfortunately, there were no children with him. I did not ask him what happened in the mill, because I did not want to know.
We finally made it to Vallaki that day, where the town guards stopped us at the gates. Vallaki is a very strict town, as the guards explained the laws, such as how we were to register our weapons, attend the weekly festival, and not speak or write Strahd’s name, simply referring to him as the Devil. I intend to follow these laws as it means Vallaki is opposed to Strahd (and I will write his name here for simplicity’s sake, as I do not intend to share what I write in these pages). Stephanie left us to find shelter at the church, while Kolkari led the rest of us to an inn called the Blue Water Inn. The raven back at the hag’s mill told us we would find friends here. At first, I was hesitant to take the word of a bird, but the inn’s proprietors, the Markitovs, were kind to us as they served us beat soup, wolf steak, and red wine.
This is where we rest for the night. Ismark and Ireena share one room together, while my companions and I share another. Only time will tell if we are safe, and from there, we can plan what happens next.
Chance The Podcaster 