While recovering from their battle with the wolves, the group heard a carriage approaching from behind them. They stopped and stepped off the road to let it pass. The carriage was black and drawn by two black horses. The carriage stopped and a beautiful in a red dress with long black hair, pale skin, and bright red eyes and lips beckoned to them. The group was reluctant to approach this stranger. Eventually she leaned out the carriage window and said that she was summoning them. The group took only a few steps closer.
She introduced herself as Anastrasya Karelova, saying that the group knew her husband, the Lord Strahd von Zarovich. The group was immediately anxious. Anastrasya asked if the group had been “playing with her doggies.” She thought it looked like they had played a little too roughly. The group explained that they were attacked by the wolves and only defended themselves. Anastrasya warned them that the roads are dangerous and that they should be more careful. Next time she would send more doggies to play with them. Then she rode off in her carriage.
Another half hour or so of walking led them within sight of Vallaki. They could see the town in mountain valley ahead and below of them near the shores of a vast lake. Branching off the main road, a small trail led up a nearby hilltop towards a lilting, stone windmill. The group turned off to purchase more pies from Granny. Ever since regaining some of his memories after eating one, McCoy had been anxious to purchase more, and he urged the group forward.
The windmill appeared dilapidated, its upper windows dirty and its vanes stripped bare. Next to the windmill was a small, two-story house with an animal pen in the back and an extension off the second floor in the front. On a nearby hill, the group spotted a group of four standing stones in a circle. They approached to investigate them.
The stones were ancient, worn, and moss-covered standing 15 feet tall and 10 feet wide. They faced inwards in a rough circle, the surface of each depicting a crude carving of a city going through the four seasons. Elora couldn’t make sense of the carvings, but Ireena explained that they were depictions of four legendary cities where the Morninglord and Mother Night were said to dwell along with the other ancient gods. Elora asked if they were real cities, but Ireena thought they were idealized images of paradise. Elora could not imagine a bright, sunny city as depicted on the summer stone existing in Barovia.
The group noted a raven perched on top of the autumn stone pecking at something. Elora scrambled up the rock to discover a pie placed there. The pie was cold but didn’t appear to be old. It looked like one of Granny’s Dream Pastries. The group wondered if it had been left as some kind of offering. Bronwyn found a pile of small, white stones in the center of the circle. On closer examination, she discovered the stones were human teeth! The group wondered who would leave an offering of human teeth and what kind of god would accept them? Lancelot growled nervously.
Catching up to McCoy, they reached the house and windmill. Perched over the doorway to the house was a raven. It screeched and cawed at them, furiously flapping its wings. Elora tried to speak to the bird, but it continued its loud protests. Lancelot barked anxiously at the bird.
McCoy ignored the commotion and knocked on the door. A woman’s voice called from inside asking who they were. They identified themselves as “the group that saved your life from those zombies in Barovia!” The voice on the other side was confused, but when they said they wanted to buy more pies, a woman quickly answered the door. She was an older woman with faded blonde hair who bore something of a resemblance to Granny. She identified herself as Bella, Granny’s youngest daughter.
Apologizing for the mess, she invited the group inside. She pulled up some chairs for them to sit while she finished baking her latest batch of pies. The group showed great enthusiasm for the pies and wanted to purchase all her current stock. Bella was delighted to sell them all 17 pies and asked them for feedback on the taste and consistency of the pies. The group was very complimentary of both the crust and the filling telling Bella she had created a perfect taste. Bella was overjoyed to hear it.
Lancelot was agitated as he tried to join the group and Bella asked the group to leave their dog outside for sanitary reasons so as not to contaminate the pies she was cooking. The group agreed and Riley waited outside with him. Lancelot was bristling and upset, sniffing and listening. Something was moving in the grass outside. Riley reported this to the group. Bella mentioned that there were a lot of vermin in the area, and it was best to keep the dog away from it. Riley begrudgingly listened and took Lancelot to wait behind the windmill where he calmed down.
McCoy headed outside to help deal with these vermin. Searching through the grass he spotted three poisonous snakes slithering through the grass. He smashed them with his mace and returned to the house with their bodies, dropping them casually on the table. Ireena recoiled in horror from the sight, but Bella was not fazed by it. She was grateful for the meat she could use but wanted to first extract the venom from the snakes. McCoy wanted to just wring it out of the snakes, but Bella convinced him it required more precision. She had him hold the snake mouths open while she carefully cut out the venom glands with her carving knife. Then she rubbed her thumb along the glands and milked out the venom into a vial filling a quarter full of the snake poison. She said she would put it to use to keep vermin away from their garden.
Bramo mentioned some concerns about the ownership of the mill, telling Bella that Bildrath had made some statements about the women not being the rightful owners. Bella was confused and the rest of the group tried to quiet down Bramo, but he persisted. Bella wasn’t quite following him until Bramo produced the deed to the windmill. Bella was upset, accusing them of trying to run three old women out of the home that had belonged to their family for centuries. Bella mentioned that her family had claimed the abandoned structure hundreds of years ago.
Bramo calmed her fears and explained he was giving her the deed so that they would never again have issues of demonstrating the legitimacy of their claim. Bramo hinted at a possible reward for this deed, but Bella insisted on making a very special pot pie for him; a mix of meat and vegetables. Bramo tried to figure out what kind of meat was going into the pie, but all he could determine was that it was red meat.
While baking her pies, Bella chatted with the group asking about their journeys and where they had come from. She complimented the group on their resilience and strength; praising them as mighty heroes and warriors. She asked if they might be willing to do favors for people in need. She felt embarrassed asking but wanted to do so before her mother came home.
Her mother had recently sent a letter to a family friend, Vasili von Holz, and this letter was returned to the mill unanswered. She knew her mother was very worried about her friend and feared something may have happened to him. They had been corresponding about a rather serious matter, and it was important that this letter reach him. Bella asked if the group might be able to deliver it since they were headed to Vallaki.
The group agreed right away, telling her it was would be no trouble to drop off the letter. Bella handed it over to McCoy who tucked it away. Bramo’s pie was finished, and Bella eagerly served it up to him along with some Purple Grapemash wine. Bronwyn was also excited to have more of the Barovian wine and Bella poured some for the group. Bella and the group watched with rapt attention as Bramo nervously ate Bella’s pie. He found it to be good, and Bella was very pleased. They talked some more while he ate, and Bella tried to call her sister down to join them from upstairs.
Her sister replied she was too busy to join them, and the group asked what her sister was doing upstairs. Bella told the group her sister was working. Specifically, her sister prepares the meat for the pies while Bella makes the dough and does the baking. The group listened for any strange sounds coming from upstairs but heard nothing.
While they talked, drank, and ate, Granny arrived back home. Riley spotted her coming up the hill pushing her cart. The cart was empty of pies and contained only a single large sack. Riley eyed the bag curiously as Granny parked the cart under the second-floor extension and went into the house.
Granny was surprised to see her rescuers all there in her home but was delighted that they had purchased so many pies. She inquired where her other daughter was and why she hadn’t joined them. Bella explained that she was busy upstairs, but Granny insisted she had raised her daughters with better manners and went upstairs to fetch her. The group heard some commotion and raised voices upstairs before Granny returned with her eldest daughter, Ophelia, in tow. Ophelia was skinny and nervous-looking with gray hair like her mother. She awkwardly socialized with the group as they all enjoyed wine; Granny insisting on drinking the superior Red Dragon Crush.
Granny was delighted to hear of the group’s large order of pies as well as their generosity in gifting them with the deed to the windmill. She was overcome with appreciation for the kindness the group had shown them and gripped Elora and Bronwyn’s hands as she thanked them. They talked a little bit about the group’s journey to Vallaki. Granny warned them to be careful of the strict and unusual laws enforced in the town and that they should hide McCoy’s appearance from the locals. They thanked her and dressed McCoy in the black cloaks obtained from the Durst House.
Granny asked how the group was making money while they were in Barovia. No one could offer a good answer, so Granny asked if they might be interested in a business partnership. Granny had not been able to sell her pies within Vallaki due to their strict admittance policies. Convinced that the group would be allowed entry, she asked if they might be willing to sell her pies there for a 20% cut of the profits. The group was uncertain about any sort of long-term business partnership, but Granny suggested a trial run to see how it worked out for them and give them a little spending money. She suggested they try and sell a dozen pies to the citizens of Vallaki, and the group agreed to try.
The group wanted to get back on the road but agreed to stay for a half hour to allow the women to bake the new batch of pies. Granny had a thought then and went to fetch some money for them. She turned over a purse with 24 silver pieces in it as their cut of the profits. The group was uneasy accepting the money as they weren’t sure they would be back this way or be able to sell the pies. Granny insisted that was all right because what she wanted was for the group to give away the pies instead. She thought it would work as a great promotion for their business. She asked that they simply give away the pies and ask the people who liked them to visit the windmill for more.
Because they were giving the pies away, Granny didn’t want them to miss out on their share of the profits, so she paid them the silver they would have made directly. With their business concluded, the group thanked Granny and her daughters and headed back on the road to Vallaki with two bundles of pies in tow.
Two hours later, the group arrived at the Eastern gate of Vallaki. They saw that the town was quite large and surrounded by a large, wooden palisade. Outside the gate were multiple wolf heads impaled on pikes. They were greeted at the gate by two guards who asked all of them to give their names, professions, and what business they had in Vallaki. The group told them their names and that they were seeking supplies as well as rooms for the night.
Johan told them he was a traveling merchant, Elora a librarian looking to purchase books. Bronwyn said she was a fortune teller and performer which made the guards suspicious. They grilled her to see if she was a Vistani, looking her over carefully and studying her profile. They explained that Vistani were not welcome within the town. This made Riley nervous, wondering if they would discover her new-found heritage, but Bronwyn quickly covered up for her explain that she and McCoy were her servants and bodyguards. Ireena stumbled a bit not sure what to say for herself, but Elora chimed in that she was her sister, accompanying her on the journey. Ireena played along and looking them over was immediately convinced. Bramo claimed to be a handyman and offered to fix anything they needed around the gate. The guard seemed interested until Bramo told them he didn’t have tinker’s tools. The guard lost interest and asked him to come back when he had a set.
The guards went on to explain the rules of Vallaki. It was a crime for anyone to use the name of the ruler of Barovia in any form, and that he was only to be referred to as “the Devil.” It was also forbidden for them to carry any documents with his name on them. They also explained that the town holds weekly festivals in celebration of their wonderful town and wonderful leader the Baron Vargas Vallakovich. All citizens were required to assist in setting up and attending the festivals. Visitors were not required to set up, but they would be required to participate.
The group asked what the festivals were like, if there was food and drinking and dancing? The guard replied that there usually was something like that, but each festival was different. He told them they’d recently completed the Festival of the Wolf’s Head Jamboree which involved a parade of impaled wolf heads around town. The next festival would be the Festival of the Blazing Sun which would be held in 5 days.
The guard also explained that all citizens and visitors were always required to remain cheerful and positive. Nothing bad or negative was permitted to be said or written down about the town, its laws, or the Baron. Anyone found guilty of malicious unhappiness would be sentenced to punishments ranging from whippings to imprisonment to exile to death. The group were all uncomfortable with this news but kept positive attitudes and put on big smiles.
The guards let them come inside and provided them with directions to the nearby Arasek Stockyard and the Cracked Anvil blacksmith towards the center of town near the Blue Water Inn. They thanked the guards and wished them a pleasant day. The guards returned the blessing and told them that “all will be well.”
The group made their way to Arasek’s Stockyard. They saw many locked sheds surrounding the stockyard with a warehouse on one side of the lot. They noticed a carnival wagon with the paint peeling off. Written on the side was, “Marvolio’s Carnival of Wonders.” Bramo went over to investigate this curious vehicle. The back door of the wagon was crossed by heavy chains held locked by a heavy padlock.
Bramo crawled underneath to wagon to see if he could find anything when it suddenly lurched above him! Wood creaked and metal groaned above him as great weight hit the wagon from within. An inhuman growl issued from inside. Bramo scrambled away noticing at this distance that the sides of the wagon were covered in dried blood. An inscription above the wagon’s door read, “I bring you from Shadow into Light!”
Thinking this wagon was more trouble than it was worth, the group left it behind and made their way into the warehouse. There they met with the owners, Gunther and Yelena Arasek, who showed them their wares. The prices were significantly cheaper than Bildrath’s, but still very expensive. Bramo was disappointed to learn they did not sell the expensive tinker’s tools he was searching for. The party made only one small purchase of 2 oil flasks that McCoy wanted.
On his way out of the shop, McCoy decided to read the letter they’d been given by Bella. It was an urgent message from Granny to this Vasili von Holz regarding some orphans in trouble with a witch. Vasili was to attempt to smuggle the orphans out of St. Andral’s Orphanage and bring them to stay at the windmill with Granny and her daughters. Against their protests, McCoy shared the contents of the letter with the group. They were all convinced that something bad had happened to Vasili, possibly at the hands of the guards and that it was dangerous for them to keep this letter. They wanted it out of their possession as soon as possible.
They made their way to the center of town and located the Blue Water Inn, a two-story wooden building with a sagging tile roof covered in ravens and sign depicting a blue waterfall. Searching the area nearby, they located a small blacksmith’s shop, the Cracked Anvil, with a metal sign depicting an anvil with a tear running down the center of it. There Johan spoke with the blacksmith, a dwarf named Dragomir Ulbrek. Johan asked if he had any weapons an armor for sale, but Dragomir explained that sort of thing was beyond his skillset. He mostly made nails, hinges, and horseshoes for the locals. He was also capable of repairing and maintaining more complicated pieces like weapons and armor, but not crafting them himself.
Johan was disappointed and reluctantly asked if Dragomir might have a shield available. Dragomir explained that he did have a small collection of items he came across secondhand and restored, and he might have a shield in that collection. Checking in his back room, he returned with a dented and patched kite shield which he was willing to sell for 20 gold pieces. Johan was not happy about the price or the craftsmanship, but purchased it anyway, grateful to have the protection of a shield on his arm.
While at the blacksmith, Elora tried her hand at distributing Granny’s Dream Pastries and convinced Dragomir to try one. He ate the pie and was quite impressed with it, saying he would have to stop by the windmill some time to purchase more.
After finishing with the blacksmith, the group returned to the Blue Water Inn. Upon entering, Bronwyn took note of two grizzled men seated at a table near the door, Szoldar Szoldarovich and Yevgeni Krushkin, wolf hunters. Bronwyn was quite taken with the two men and complimented Szoldar on his beard. Johan asked if they had any tips on hunting wolves. Yevgeni explained that the best way to kill a wolf in winter is to cover a knife in blood, stick it straight up in the snow and let the blood freeze on it. The wolf will come along and lick the blood off the knife while the cold numbs its tongue. It won’t feel the frozen blade cut its own tongue or realize the blood it is greedily lapping up is its own. In the morning, you can come along and collect both the knife and the wolf. Johan thanked him for that insightful tip.
Bramo headed over to the bar while the rest of the group settled in at a large table. Bramo spoke with the bartender, a woman with black hair streaked with white named Danika Dorakova, she owned the inn along with her husband and her two children. Bramo ordered some wine from her for himself and the group and asked if there was anything she needed help with.
She mentioned that the inn was nearly out of wine; their schedule shipment for the season was over a week late. She told him that the winery, the Wizard of Wines, was operated by her husband’s family, but there had been a falling out and her husband hadn’t spoken with them directly in years. They still did business together, but things were tense and awkward. She asked if the group could look into the missing wine shipment for them and, in return, she would provide them with free room and board for any time they were in town.
Bramo told her they could help, but he was looking to a more substantial reward. Danika explained the value of having a safe haven to retreat to in a dangerous place such as Barovia, but Bramo pressed the issue making some veiled threats about Danika’s attitude violating the strict laws in Vallaki. Danika was not intimidated by this tactic and invited Bramo to report her and see where that got him. Bramo accepted his drinks and told her he would discuss the matter with the group.
Bronwyn took note of another interesting character at the inn, a harlequin clown in a white face mask which completely obscured his features was sitting alone at his table playing with a knife. She tried to watch him surreptitiously, but he caught her spying on him and waved her over. Somewhat embarrassed, she made her way over and introduced herself. The harlequin told her he was Marvolio the Magnificent and was a traveling performer making his way through Barovia. He had arrived here a few months ago and had been performing in Vallaki for a few weeks.
Bronwyn explained that she used to be part of a circus and missed what had become her family there, in particular a man who had been a father-figure to her. Marvolio inquired about Bronwyn’s “circus daddy” and why she missed him and what she liked about him. He also performed some feats of acrobatics, juggling, and prestidigitation for her. Bronwyn was very amused by all of this and having a wonderful time feeling very nostalgic.
Bronwyn explained that her “circus daddy” had taught quite a bit about magic and how to control her powers as well as some more common circus tricks. Marvolio tossed her one of the bean bags he’d been juggling, and she caught it deftly surprising her. He complimented her on keeping up with the skills she learned and promptly tossed her two more bags until she found herself expertly juggling. Eventually, he took back the bean bags and started balancing on one foot standing on the back of his chair while he spoke with her.
All of these antics attracted the attention of the boys Brom and Bray he had been flitting around the inn studying the newcomers. They cheered and applauded for Marvolio and Bronwyn. McCoy, trying to keep a low profile, also quietly clapped from the corner. Riley, meanwhile, watched tensely, nearly leaping to her feet and into combat several times as the suspicious clown made several quick movements towards her client.
Bronwyn finished her conversation with Marvolio, thanking him for brightening her day. He invited her to come she his show some time and hoped to see her at the upcoming festival.
Bronwyn returned to the group and Bramo came to sit down and inform them of the issue with the winery. The group was interested in helping out, but they were sure they could do so without distracting from their mission. Johan in particular was against any side quests and diversions holding them up. They discussed a few urgent matters before: finding a safe place for Ireena, delivering/divesting themselves of potentially criminal letter from Granny to Vasili, and locating the Vistana girl in trouble at the lake.
Ireena wasn’t sure she wanted to stay in Vallaki or anywhere else. She was more interested in finding a solution to her problem with Strahd then in hiding from him. Ireena and Elora also did not want to be separated from each other, acting more and more like real sisters every day. Ireena agreed to spend some time in Vallaki getting to know it before making any decisions and sticking with Elora on her travels in the meantime.
Riley was feeling worn out from their encounter with the wolves on the road and pushed for the group to rest before taking on any further tasks. The group debating the lateness of the hour wondering how much they could accomplish before nightfall. They decided to get rooms for the night at the inn, take a rest, and then head north to lake to find this girl. That seemed to be the most urgent matter and the lake was only a 10-minute walk from town. Along the way, they could drop off the letter to Vasili.
They spoke with Danika and booked rooms for the night. They booked the large four-person room for the women in the group, and a nearby double room for the men. They asked Danika if she knew Vasili which she did but noted she hadn’t seen him around in some time. She was able to give them directions to his home somewhere on the north side of town in a well-to-do area. Elora tried to offer her one of Granny’s pies but Danika declined saying she did not like pie. She also asked her not to hand out pies within her inn as they wanted to sell their own food to the patrons. Elora agreed to her request.
After resting in their room and dropping off some of their heavier supplies, the group headed out along the north road. They quickly located Vasili’s home and slid the letter under the door without any fuss. Then they exited town and headed to the lake. The group reached Lake Zarovich finding it a nestled in the misty forest at the foot of a mountain, its waters still, black, and reflective. Three rowboats were secured nearby at the short, and a fourth boat was out in the middle of the lake. A man sat alone in the boat with his fishing pole.
The group decided to split into two boats and head out onto the water. As they did so, they saw the man in the boat stand up, lift a wriggling sack, and dump it into the lake. The group quickly sprang into action, McCoy and Johan rowing furiously towards the other boat! They closed in on it and Riley dove into the black water after the rapidly sinking bag. She grabbed hold of the bag and quickly brought it to the surface of the water and back into the boat. They opened the bag, spilling its contents out. Inside was a young girl! She lay unconscious and unmoving.
Bramo tried to use a healer’s kit to revive the girl, but she was unresponsive. Pushing him aside, Bronwyn breathed into the girl’s mouth and pumped her chest with her hands trying to revive her. The motions pumped water from the girl’s chest, and she spit out coughing. Soon she was awake and sitting up in the boat. The group asked her if she was all right, and the girl calmly told them she was all right. She was excited they were finally here as she’d told them she’d see them again. The group instantly thought of the strange girl they’d met on the train. She told them her name was Arabelle and thanked them for saving her.
Looking over to the man in the boat, they saw he sat unmoving staring off into the mist. They pulled their boats beside his and yelled at him, but he did not respond. Finally, McCoy seized the man and dragged him into their boat. The man seemed to awake from a trance. He looked around frightened and confused and McCoy slammed his head into the bottom of the boat.
Interrogating the man, they learned his name was Bluto Krogarov. He had no idea how he got there or anything about trying to drown Arabelle. Riley didn’t believe him and slugged him one in the jaw. Holding his bleeding mouth, he explained the last thing he remembered was drinking at the Blue Water Inn and then wandering over to St. Andral’s Orphanage.
Arabelle explained she was there playing with her friends at the orphanage. She didn’t know who Bluto was, but she knew she would meet him there, they would end up in the lake, and that’s how she would meet the group. She wasn’t scared, she knew it was her destiny.
Bronwyn was excited to see her fate playing out and Madam Eva’s predictions coming true. The group couldn’t wait to learn more about Arabelle and their destiny and began rowing back to shore. McCoy slammed Bluto’s head into the boat a few more times for good measure.
Curse of Ravenloft 