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Lenora's Journal for Our Phandelver Campaign Transition into Curse of Strahd
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<blockquote data-quote="Rhenny" data-source="post: 7310172" data-attributes="member: 18333"><p>Session 31 – Burton Westcoat is a Turncoat – Saving Ann’s Soul</p><p></p><p>Brigby stepped closer to the woman in the glade and the woman spoke with him. She told him “their spirits must be brought together…you know where she’s buried.” But before we could question her further, her image disappeared.</p><p></p><p>We followed Brigby as he continued into the bog. Bynn felt as if a storm was approaching as the air felt still and filled with ozone. Soon we found another clearing a circular area with a large glimmering quicksand patch to one side. From the forest to our rear, Brigby heard something stir and he pointed out a figure holding a glowing greatsword blade. The figure approached and then we realized it was Burton Westcoat. He had been following us all the time. When he got closer to the quicksand patch, Ann’s ghostly form rose from the muck. Burton cursed her and said he’d make sure he ended her entire “whore” family. Syvrina had heard enough, she quickly notched an arrow and shot Burton. Ann’s ghost shouted to Burton, “you are the one who poisoned our mother. You were a scoundrel. Your brother was a good man, but not you.” </p><p></p><p>Brigby bounded over to protect Ann’s ghost and as he did, Burton called out and 9 Bog Hounds appeared and started to surround Fid, Syvrina, Bynn and I. Bribgy unleased a thunderwave that Burton partially resisted. Then an even larger Bog Hound, standing 10’ tall materialized and started baying. At that, Burton said, “choose your side. Vanquish the ghost of the whore and I’ll call off the Hounds.” Then he slashed Ann’s ghostly form with his glowing sword and it seemed to injure her.</p><p></p><p>I responded, “then you shall die, Burton Westcoat,” as I took a swipe at a nearby Bog Hound and bounded over to Burton. The other hounds closed on Fid, Bynn and Syvrina. During the battle, the hounds nearly knocked Fid, Bynn and Syvrina down, biting them a number of times. Fid stood defensively and tried to hold fast. Bynn turned into his wolf form and attacked as Syvrina moved around and stabbed with shortsword and dagger eventually killing one of the hounds. The larger hound seemed to embolden the others with its baying, but then it moved over toward Brigby.</p><p></p><p>Brigby was able to blast Burton with a divinely charged thunderwave and knock him through the air over my head, but one of the bog hounds moved up behind me and bit at my unguarded flank. I saw him coming and called forth an arcane shield to save my skin. Then, using some of my newer more powerful spell energy, I casted a burning hands that hit both Burton and the bog hound near me. The spell burnt both Burton and the hound badly, but they were still up and snarling mad.</p><p></p><p>Fid was dodging and trying to keep from going down while Syvrina and Bynn tore at some of the other Bog Hounds. It looked like my companions would be overrun pretty soon. Seeing an opening, I ignited my rapier into a greenflame blade and drove it straight through Burton’s chest, killing him finally. As he died, he looked to Ann’s ghost and said this was not the end…but it did seem like it was. Brigby, seized the moment to find a “dream cake” in his pack. He grabbed it out and jammed it into the oversized Bog Hound’s growling mouth. </p><p></p><p>Then, as each of the remaining Bog Hounds raged and took one more bite at Fid, Syvrina and Bynn, they were able to attack but once before their forms faded into nothingness, and when the giant Bog Hound finished chewing the dream cake, it fell to the ground, unconscious and then dissipated as well. </p><p></p><p>The ghost of Ann thanked us for ending the curse. She had nothing to give us except her sincere gratitude and as she dissipated we all felt like we had actually accomplished something for once. Fid ran over to Burton’s fallen form to look at the greatsword he wielded and Bynn, now in Half-Elven form, used some of his healing spells and goodberries to bolster our wounded ranks. Brigby searched the quicksand area where Ann’s ghost was and he pushed into the mire to find the Ann’s ring. </p><p></p><p>With a short rest, we were able to bandage ourselves and I got a chance to detect magic on the ring and the sword. Both seemed magic. Then, I attempted to identify both items. The ring was a ring of warmth. I was able to explain how it would keep a person warm and protect them from cold damage. Brigby gave the ring to Lady Syvrina. The sword was more difficult to identify. Although it seemed magic, I found that part of its magic was making it impossible for me to learn more about it. I told Fid about that and let him keep the blade.</p><p></p><p>It took us about three or four hours to make it back out of the bog, but instead of going to Burton’s Manor where we wanted to take his body and expose his evil, we saw that we were walking down a road toward Vallaki and Burton’s head was gone from the bag we had put it in. Since it was 3 am and the town was closed up for the night, we decided to visit the Vistani Camp right next to Vallaki.</p><p></p><p>As we got closer to the camp houses, the fire and the horses, we saw an Elf by the nearest house. We hailed him and spoke for a little while. He was a Dusk Elf, and he said that no souls are safe in Barovia. He also told us that the Vistani here were not as hospitable as we might think as he offered his name, Grinelli. He also told us that the leaders here were named Luvish and Arrigal. Arrigal’s name rang a bell. He was the messenger who found us our first night in Krezk. He said he worked for his master and gave us the letter from the Burgomeister in Barovia. He was not what he seemed to be and we started to worry about this upcoming encounter.</p><p></p><p>As we went closer to the middle of camp, we saw that the horses of the Vistani were not well cared for. The camp in general was squalid and more dreary than we expected. It was not happy, lively and welcoming like the other Vistani Camp we had visited. When we saw a few women and children, Syvrina spoke to them and with great etiquette and tact asked about their generosity and hospitality. That made the woman laugh. She said we should see Luvish and Arrigal before we presume any hospitality. She pointed to a tent and we went to it.</p><p></p><p>Inside the tent, we saw two men whipping a boy tied up to a post. There were other unconscious bodies on the ground too. It seemed as if Luvish was whipping the boy and trying to find out about his daughter. We introduced ourselves and Brigby intimidated them with his forceful presence. Luvish threated to kill us, and whip me, but Arrigal seemed to step in to keep his brother from getting too hot headed. We did not like how they were dealing with the affair and Brigby told them so. Then, when Luvish tried to punch Brigby, Fid stepped up and decked the angry and obviously drunk Vistani. Just as it looked as if Fid would start a brawl, Arrigal stepped in again and reminded us that there were a dozen other Vistani just outside…looking in on us, and he assured us that he didn’t want to hurt us. We let him know that we recognized him from before, but it didn’t seem to faze him. He only asked if we had found what we were looking for. Then I turned to Syvrina and told her that I thought Arrigal worked for Strahd so I did not trust him.</p><p></p><p>After a few tense moments, Brigby asked more questions about the missing daughter, Arabelle. We said we’d find her and we told them that we didn’t approve of the way they were treating the boy and the others they had whipped. We also asked about Esmeralda, but Arrigal told us that she would not come to this camp. Apparently, she thought that these Vistani were not good enough. After we got Luvish to give us a doll that Arabelle owned we asked Bynn to take to wolf form and track her down. </p><p></p><p>Bynn led us to the lake a few miles away. At the lake we saw some row boats, but out in the lake itself, there was a boat with a fisherman on it. Brigby was able to see another form that was lying down in the boat, and a small slippered foot just barely poking up over the side of that boat. Quickly, Brigby and Syvrina got in one row boat as Fid, Bynn and I got in another. We rowed as fast as we could out to meet the fisherman. He didn’t respond to any of our requests so I asked Fid to row up beside his boat. Then I jumped into the fisherman’s boat and saw that the figure in the boat was a young girl in a sack, tied up. I pulled her up, but then, as the fisherman seemed to chant, “The blood of Madame Eva shall bring me luck,” he tried to push me off the boat. I was able to keep my feet, but I was angry so as I carried the girl, I kicked out at the man with my booted foot and caught him in the chest. He toppled over the railing of the boat and splashed into the water. He didn’t even try to swim. He just kept chanting as his body sunk under the water deeper and deeper. </p><p></p><p>I was able to get Arabelle back into our boat and untie her. As we rowed back to shore, we found that she was abducted by that man and he said that “the master demanded” him to do it. When Brigby asked about the girl’s father, she showed great distress and said she didn’t want to go back to him. We found out from Arabelle that Esmeralda was the only one who was actively trying to defeat Strahd. Her father and brother were not. After a discussion between us, we decided that we might take Arabelle to Madame Eva, but first we wanted to get into Vallaki and spend the night.</p><p></p><p>We got back to the town walls, and the guard would not let us in. Brigby used his boots of springing and striding to bound up to the top of the wall right next to the guard, and then he intimidated that guard and got the guard to reconsider. It worked. </p><p></p><p>Inside town, we made it to the Blue Water Inn and saw Irwin. He recognized Arabelle immediately. We told him we’d be protecting her and taking her away from her father. He said that once the brothers learn of this, we may be in for some trouble, but he assured us that the Vistani do not come into Vallaki. With this warning and reassurance, we took rooms.</p><p></p><p>Before going to sleep or meditating as I like to do, I looked at Fid’s new sword again. This time, I could make out some of the magical runes upon the blade. Although I could not identify it, I did feel as if the blade itself could be described as “bloodthirsty.” I told Fid about this and warned him to be careful.</p><p></p><p>We were able to rest the night, and when I was done meditating, I took out the scroll of Fireball we had found earlier and scribed it into my spell book. Then I prepared my spells for the day (Mage Armor, Shield, Burning Hands, Feather Fall, Misty Step, Blur, Counterspell and Fireball…keeping Leomund’s Tiny Hut, Detect Magic, Identify as rituals in my ritual spell book). I also gave my longbow and 18 arrows to Syvrina. With the ability to cast firebolt, I decided to get rid of my bow and travel a little lighter.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Rhenny, post: 7310172, member: 18333"] Session 31 – Burton Westcoat is a Turncoat – Saving Ann’s Soul Brigby stepped closer to the woman in the glade and the woman spoke with him. She told him “their spirits must be brought together…you know where she’s buried.” But before we could question her further, her image disappeared. We followed Brigby as he continued into the bog. Bynn felt as if a storm was approaching as the air felt still and filled with ozone. Soon we found another clearing a circular area with a large glimmering quicksand patch to one side. From the forest to our rear, Brigby heard something stir and he pointed out a figure holding a glowing greatsword blade. The figure approached and then we realized it was Burton Westcoat. He had been following us all the time. When he got closer to the quicksand patch, Ann’s ghostly form rose from the muck. Burton cursed her and said he’d make sure he ended her entire “whore” family. Syvrina had heard enough, she quickly notched an arrow and shot Burton. Ann’s ghost shouted to Burton, “you are the one who poisoned our mother. You were a scoundrel. Your brother was a good man, but not you.” Brigby bounded over to protect Ann’s ghost and as he did, Burton called out and 9 Bog Hounds appeared and started to surround Fid, Syvrina, Bynn and I. Bribgy unleased a thunderwave that Burton partially resisted. Then an even larger Bog Hound, standing 10’ tall materialized and started baying. At that, Burton said, “choose your side. Vanquish the ghost of the whore and I’ll call off the Hounds.” Then he slashed Ann’s ghostly form with his glowing sword and it seemed to injure her. I responded, “then you shall die, Burton Westcoat,” as I took a swipe at a nearby Bog Hound and bounded over to Burton. The other hounds closed on Fid, Bynn and Syvrina. During the battle, the hounds nearly knocked Fid, Bynn and Syvrina down, biting them a number of times. Fid stood defensively and tried to hold fast. Bynn turned into his wolf form and attacked as Syvrina moved around and stabbed with shortsword and dagger eventually killing one of the hounds. The larger hound seemed to embolden the others with its baying, but then it moved over toward Brigby. Brigby was able to blast Burton with a divinely charged thunderwave and knock him through the air over my head, but one of the bog hounds moved up behind me and bit at my unguarded flank. I saw him coming and called forth an arcane shield to save my skin. Then, using some of my newer more powerful spell energy, I casted a burning hands that hit both Burton and the bog hound near me. The spell burnt both Burton and the hound badly, but they were still up and snarling mad. Fid was dodging and trying to keep from going down while Syvrina and Bynn tore at some of the other Bog Hounds. It looked like my companions would be overrun pretty soon. Seeing an opening, I ignited my rapier into a greenflame blade and drove it straight through Burton’s chest, killing him finally. As he died, he looked to Ann’s ghost and said this was not the end…but it did seem like it was. Brigby, seized the moment to find a “dream cake” in his pack. He grabbed it out and jammed it into the oversized Bog Hound’s growling mouth. Then, as each of the remaining Bog Hounds raged and took one more bite at Fid, Syvrina and Bynn, they were able to attack but once before their forms faded into nothingness, and when the giant Bog Hound finished chewing the dream cake, it fell to the ground, unconscious and then dissipated as well. The ghost of Ann thanked us for ending the curse. She had nothing to give us except her sincere gratitude and as she dissipated we all felt like we had actually accomplished something for once. Fid ran over to Burton’s fallen form to look at the greatsword he wielded and Bynn, now in Half-Elven form, used some of his healing spells and goodberries to bolster our wounded ranks. Brigby searched the quicksand area where Ann’s ghost was and he pushed into the mire to find the Ann’s ring. With a short rest, we were able to bandage ourselves and I got a chance to detect magic on the ring and the sword. Both seemed magic. Then, I attempted to identify both items. The ring was a ring of warmth. I was able to explain how it would keep a person warm and protect them from cold damage. Brigby gave the ring to Lady Syvrina. The sword was more difficult to identify. Although it seemed magic, I found that part of its magic was making it impossible for me to learn more about it. I told Fid about that and let him keep the blade. It took us about three or four hours to make it back out of the bog, but instead of going to Burton’s Manor where we wanted to take his body and expose his evil, we saw that we were walking down a road toward Vallaki and Burton’s head was gone from the bag we had put it in. Since it was 3 am and the town was closed up for the night, we decided to visit the Vistani Camp right next to Vallaki. As we got closer to the camp houses, the fire and the horses, we saw an Elf by the nearest house. We hailed him and spoke for a little while. He was a Dusk Elf, and he said that no souls are safe in Barovia. He also told us that the Vistani here were not as hospitable as we might think as he offered his name, Grinelli. He also told us that the leaders here were named Luvish and Arrigal. Arrigal’s name rang a bell. He was the messenger who found us our first night in Krezk. He said he worked for his master and gave us the letter from the Burgomeister in Barovia. He was not what he seemed to be and we started to worry about this upcoming encounter. As we went closer to the middle of camp, we saw that the horses of the Vistani were not well cared for. The camp in general was squalid and more dreary than we expected. It was not happy, lively and welcoming like the other Vistani Camp we had visited. When we saw a few women and children, Syvrina spoke to them and with great etiquette and tact asked about their generosity and hospitality. That made the woman laugh. She said we should see Luvish and Arrigal before we presume any hospitality. She pointed to a tent and we went to it. Inside the tent, we saw two men whipping a boy tied up to a post. There were other unconscious bodies on the ground too. It seemed as if Luvish was whipping the boy and trying to find out about his daughter. We introduced ourselves and Brigby intimidated them with his forceful presence. Luvish threated to kill us, and whip me, but Arrigal seemed to step in to keep his brother from getting too hot headed. We did not like how they were dealing with the affair and Brigby told them so. Then, when Luvish tried to punch Brigby, Fid stepped up and decked the angry and obviously drunk Vistani. Just as it looked as if Fid would start a brawl, Arrigal stepped in again and reminded us that there were a dozen other Vistani just outside…looking in on us, and he assured us that he didn’t want to hurt us. We let him know that we recognized him from before, but it didn’t seem to faze him. He only asked if we had found what we were looking for. Then I turned to Syvrina and told her that I thought Arrigal worked for Strahd so I did not trust him. After a few tense moments, Brigby asked more questions about the missing daughter, Arabelle. We said we’d find her and we told them that we didn’t approve of the way they were treating the boy and the others they had whipped. We also asked about Esmeralda, but Arrigal told us that she would not come to this camp. Apparently, she thought that these Vistani were not good enough. After we got Luvish to give us a doll that Arabelle owned we asked Bynn to take to wolf form and track her down. Bynn led us to the lake a few miles away. At the lake we saw some row boats, but out in the lake itself, there was a boat with a fisherman on it. Brigby was able to see another form that was lying down in the boat, and a small slippered foot just barely poking up over the side of that boat. Quickly, Brigby and Syvrina got in one row boat as Fid, Bynn and I got in another. We rowed as fast as we could out to meet the fisherman. He didn’t respond to any of our requests so I asked Fid to row up beside his boat. Then I jumped into the fisherman’s boat and saw that the figure in the boat was a young girl in a sack, tied up. I pulled her up, but then, as the fisherman seemed to chant, “The blood of Madame Eva shall bring me luck,” he tried to push me off the boat. I was able to keep my feet, but I was angry so as I carried the girl, I kicked out at the man with my booted foot and caught him in the chest. He toppled over the railing of the boat and splashed into the water. He didn’t even try to swim. He just kept chanting as his body sunk under the water deeper and deeper. I was able to get Arabelle back into our boat and untie her. As we rowed back to shore, we found that she was abducted by that man and he said that “the master demanded” him to do it. When Brigby asked about the girl’s father, she showed great distress and said she didn’t want to go back to him. We found out from Arabelle that Esmeralda was the only one who was actively trying to defeat Strahd. Her father and brother were not. After a discussion between us, we decided that we might take Arabelle to Madame Eva, but first we wanted to get into Vallaki and spend the night. We got back to the town walls, and the guard would not let us in. Brigby used his boots of springing and striding to bound up to the top of the wall right next to the guard, and then he intimidated that guard and got the guard to reconsider. It worked. Inside town, we made it to the Blue Water Inn and saw Irwin. He recognized Arabelle immediately. We told him we’d be protecting her and taking her away from her father. He said that once the brothers learn of this, we may be in for some trouble, but he assured us that the Vistani do not come into Vallaki. With this warning and reassurance, we took rooms. Before going to sleep or meditating as I like to do, I looked at Fid’s new sword again. This time, I could make out some of the magical runes upon the blade. Although I could not identify it, I did feel as if the blade itself could be described as “bloodthirsty.” I told Fid about this and warned him to be careful. We were able to rest the night, and when I was done meditating, I took out the scroll of Fireball we had found earlier and scribed it into my spell book. Then I prepared my spells for the day (Mage Armor, Shield, Burning Hands, Feather Fall, Misty Step, Blur, Counterspell and Fireball…keeping Leomund’s Tiny Hut, Detect Magic, Identify as rituals in my ritual spell book). I also gave my longbow and 18 arrows to Syvrina. With the ability to cast firebolt, I decided to get rid of my bow and travel a little lighter. [/QUOTE]
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