stonegod's Expedition to Castle Ravenloft: Ch. I [IC]

[stonegod]

Ismark disappears inside, saying nothing more. Perriwimple does not manage to wrestle up any of the Vistani---they apparently disappeared at their first opportunity. However, with the assistance of the remaining Thaliost Five, the work goes faster than it would have first appeared.

As Janis and Ashlyn look to the townsfolk that chose to remain, they find them hungry and tired. Sleep has been a rare commodity. There are a few husbands, wives, sons or daughters hovering over a dead love one, barely recognizable after the necromantic plague. But most remain huddled inside, waiting for someone to tell them it is truly safe.

Taking a break from the work, Sir Urik makes his way over to Ashlyn. The little boy she was tending looks frightened a moment before being snatched away by his mother. The large man sighs and smiles reufully a moment. He squats and says, "We have a moment now, apparently. Let me answer you questions." And as he helps Ashlyn deal with the dead, he tells her what he can about his order. [Stormwind: If you have any particular questions, let me know]

In the Tavern, Janis is not surprised to find Ismark back in his corner table, a fresh bottle his companion. As she moves around, she sees a few folk approach the Burgomaster's son, asking him if it is safe and could they go home. The man sourly responds to each inquiry, apparently giving the impression that it seems to be safe, but who knows? He would not stop them from going.

Janis is surprised by a tugging at her clothes. A older woman, bedraggled from her stay at the inn, looks at her with wild eyes. "They say you saved us. Is is safe? I must look for my daughter!"

 

[James Heard]

Janis is surprised by a tugging at her clothes. A older woman, bedraggled from her stay at the inn, looks at her with wild eyes. "They say you saved us. Is is safe? I must look for my daughter!"

Janis arches an eyebrow.

"Whoever says that we have saved you is a fool. It is true, the madness of your village priest has been quenched in blood. This is not enough. Not yet," Janis says directly.

"Who is your daughter and where should we find her? If the menfolk who I ride with have finished whining about a woman talking sense, eventually we shall ride out to see to the Ismark's sister - Assuming he's in any condition to sit in a saddle."

"After that we go to the castle to see if we can't inquire about some relic indicated by the Vistani woman outside of town to reside there. Surely during one of those times we can make a trip to see to your daughter and if possible return her here."

Janis sighs and runs her long fingers through her hair tiredly.

"I make no promises. I try to not dwell on what might be, though its shadow chases me. The here and now, if not your daughter how may I be in aid of you?"

Janis pitches her voice to carry.

"That goes for all you. Whatever pall hangs over your village, it moved against you while we acted in the church. Speak now and come forward then, for your own safety if nothing else, if you have needs that we can act upon currently. I'm afraid that as we act further, Khyber itself might seem to share its pains with you as we lance the infection that has been laid upon you. If we're able though, I'd not trade a lingering death for a quick one. Help us help you, and if you're stubborn enough and lucky...if you are stubborn enough and lucky then perhaps you'll live. Fair enough?" Janis stares out across the crowd.

They're all going to die, Janis thought, and this place will kill us too.

Janis smiled, suddenly cheered.

 

[DEFCON 1]

As Jarrith lifts the final log into place to complete his section of the barricade, he grunts once and jumps back down to the ground. His breathing heavy, his muscles sore, he spends a few moments looking out beyond the new wall at the abandoned streets... wondering what else lay beyond then.

He turns his head and sees the elf Daellin standing nearby. With Jarrith having sniped at his Lumin Brother and knowing they both need some time apart to let their emotions cool, the Stalker decides to speak with the man that says little and whom he knows little about.

"What a week, huh?" Ithiken grins weakly at Daellin, trying to engage him. "You know... you've never said your piece about what we're doing. What do you think? Once we find this Tome of Strahd we're looking for, are you sticking around? I'm willing to bet that once the caravan arrives and we then hand off the tome to them, they'll head back out. You going to go with them? Or you going to stick around?"

He looks back out over the barricade, then glances over at Lady Ashlyn working her magic on the townsfolk. "I'm pretty sure Sir Khensu and I will be staying here to finish this thing. The darkness that has gripped this land is something that our Order fights eternally to stamp out, and now that we've aligned ourselves with Lady Ashlyn's group as well... it's almost certain. We were hired to find this tome, but we've found an evil that runs deeper. And that is right up our alley."

How about you?"

 

[Stormwind]

As Urik joins her Ashlyn again observes the reaction of the townsfolk towards Sir Urik. She listens carefully to that which he has to say, and nods thoughtfully. "I would learn more of she who founded your order, the dark lady herself and her exploits. You mentioned her sword and her symbol earlier, is anything known of them or of any other items that were once hers? Also, the Vigil, did I understand correctly that the dark lady's chapel lies within the castle? Is there aught that one must do in preparation for the Vigil, or is it indeed a simple test of dedication?"

Again Ashlyn listens carefully to Urik's responses, then she looks at him straight in the eyes and asks directly, "May I ask why the townsfolk react to you as they do? With Khensu, I can understand that their superstitions color their actions, but you?"

[stonegod: Mostly Ashlyn is curious about the sword, although any item that was carried or used by the Dark Lady is also of interest to her. Also, she wishes to know a little more of the history of the order and of the vigil itself and the Dark Lady's chapel]

 

[drothgery]

He looks back out over the barricade, then glances over at Lady Ashlyn working her magic on the townsfolk. "I'm pretty sure Sir Khensu and I will be staying here to finish this thing. The darkness that has gripped this land is something that our Order fights eternally to stamp out, and now that we've aligned ourselves with Lady Ashlyn's group as well... it's almost certain. We were hired to find this tome, but we've found an evil that runs deeper. And that is right up our alley."

How about you?"

"I imagine I'll be staying, unless I recieve word that the Prince needs me elsewhere. I don't like to see what's going on here any more than you do." Daellin said.

 

[stonegod]

"Who is your daughter and where should we find her? If the menfolk who I ride with have finished whining about a woman talking sense, eventually we shall ride out to see to the Ismark's sister - Assuming he's in any condition to sit in a saddle."

That goes for all you. Whatever pall hangs over your village, it moved against you while we acted in the church. Speak now and come forward then, for your own safety if nothing else, if you have needs that we can act upon currently. ... Help us help you, and if you're stubborn enough and lucky...if you are stubborn enough and lucky then perhaps you'll live. Fair enough?" Janis stares out across the crowd.

The woman's eye boggle out as Janis begins her speech, and at the end of it, she is sobbing uncontrollably. "Gertrude! She is Gertrude! I just tried to keep her safe. Safe! You are right, the real world is too hard for her! And now she is gone!" The rest is an incomprehensible blather.

A small group of townsfolk approach, and one eventually manages to take the broken woman way. A saggy faced man looks the two a moment, then turns to Janis. "Mind not Mad Mary. Her girl be gone long before our recent nightmare. She still be broken by it. Has all sorts of dark stories about it." The last is delivered with a bit of apprehension, and his eyes shoot a furtive glance north as he says so. "But ills, Lady? Our land is a dark one. The spirits sleep restlessly in the woods, Tomasz and other's farms have been pestered by the wolves, and Jorbyn told me his wive's pox due to a witch's plague. But these are the way of Barovia, and the tales of my father's father would be no different. Can you truly expect to fight them?"

 

[stonegod]

"I would learn more of she who founded your order, the dark lady herself and her exploits. You mentioned her sword and her symbol earlier, is anything known of them or of any other items that were once hers? Is there aught that one must do in preparation for the Vigil, or is it indeed a simple test of dedication?"

Urik tells Ashlyn what he can about what she wants, but is apparently his knowledge is scattered not due to damage of the mind but to the fractures of history. "I am the last, but they has been but one Knight of the Raven for generations, and our battles leave us sad little time to remember. Hard to write a scroll when death hunts you, eh?"

Of the sword, he can tell her little more. According to his mentor, it was handed down to the head of the Knights for generations, until the coming of Barov. With the treachery of the dark prince, it was lost as with so may other things.

The great Symbol, however, he knows more of. "By trick or chicanery, that fool Burgomaster's family had it. Claimed it was the reason why the town had been lesser touched by our lands sunny disposition for so long. He could have been correct... relative peace was Kolyan's legacy. But it belongs to my order and it should have been with me." The large man's eyes are fierce a moment. "It is an anathema to those that need final rest. It is said that Those that Overwatch sent a great raven to the Dark Lady, and in its claws was the symbol. To the one bonded to it, the power of light against darkness is theirs."

The old man pauses a moment, and looks at the shadowy form of the castle, visible above the mists. "The vigil is nothing more or less than I have said---a prayer against the darkness in the Dark Lady's chapel. It other times, a simple though solemn affair. Now... The curse walks strongest in the place where it was born, and creatures of dark power have been known to haunt the place. It is a place of madness where your senses cannot be trusted. Be wary. That is all I can say."

"May I ask why the townsfolk react to you as they do? With Khensu, I can understand that their superstitions color their actions, but you?"

Urik looks saddened a moment, and responds in a quiet voice. "You live in a house of paper, and at the door is the wolf that has eaten your father and your father's father. A madman says 'Come. Let us fight the wolf!' But to you, it is folly. You are safe in your house of thin wishes so long as the door is closed and your back to it. To answer the man is to admit the wolf is there, to acknowledge the peril you know you cannot face. So it is better to deny the wolf, and call he who seeks it mad."

[Fixed ashlyn's coloring. ]

 

[stonegod]

The work on the barrier takes most of an hour, a period of tiring work in the cold air. The mists lighten, but never lift, as midday passes.

The streets are quiet during this time, with no moans or other sickening noises to indicate unforeseen trouble. As the barrier nears, completion, a more hopeful sign emerges. First a solitary pair, but soon more cautious but alive townsfolk begin emerging from the streets, all very much alive. Some are recognized as coming from the Tavern earlier, and it appears their efforts has paid off.

As the crowd grows, it becomes clear to those that ask that all the survivors tell a similar story: Through provenance or luck, they survived by barricading their homes against the hungry dead. The attacks were sporadic, until about the time of the party's attack on the Church. It is then their former neighbors went into a wild frenzy that ended almost as soon as it begin. This only cements the connection between Danovich, his monstrosity, and the necromantic plague. The villagers have seen nor heard of nothing else on the streets---Khensu's phantom wolf has not been spotted.

The throng soon calls for attention, and Ismark is pressed unwillingly to address them. He mentions once again the "brave acts of these strangers" and the need to "restock and rebuild." He urges everyone to return home and welcome the rest of the day for "tomorrow we must face the world once again as it is." A few volunteers are taken to begin gathering the dead, to be taken here with the barricade, so the missing can be identified before the burials begin. Marot looks to the others and then volunteers to walk with the townspeople to assist them if need be. The halforc mercenary stays in the townsquare, silently keeping his vigil.

As the villagers begin to go to work, Ismark once again approaches Jarrith, Daellin, and Khensu. "Your witch is in the tavern still, speaking with those that will hear her. But for now, it is as safe to walk Barovia as it ever is. Let us see to my sister."

 

[DEFCON 1]

The Shadowbane Inquistor nods his head and turns to his shorter companion. "As loathe as I am to have the two of you walk together... seeing as how you cannot find accord in anything nowadays... I feel it be right to see if Miss Janis wishes to accompany you to Ismark's home. I of course will also ask Lady Ashlyn and Sir Urik as well."

Before Jarrith can say anything in response, the shifter turns to the burgomaster's son. "I think it be best that I stay here, if Ashlyn decides to accompany you. I will check on them all."

Sir Khensu goes to Lady Ashlyn, Sir Urik and Janis and asks them all the same thing. "Master Ismark, Jarrith, and Daellin are heading to Ismark's home to check on his sister, in case you wished to accompany them on the journey. If so, head to them now, as they are leaving in a few moments."

The Inquistor then returns to the barricades and takes up a position of defense.

**********

OOC: I wrote this under the assumption that we're writing Khensu out of the story like you did with Marot. But if Khensu's brawn and axe are still needed (if either Ashlyn or Urik are not going along), I can continue to NPC him for as long as we need.

 

[James Heard]

"But ills, Lady? Our land is a dark one. The spirits sleep restlessly in the woods, Tomasz and other's farms have been pestered by the wolves, and Jorbyn told me his wive's pox due to a witch's plague. But these are the way of Barovia, and the tales of my father's father would be no different. Can you truly expect to fight them?"

Janis nods.

"I can, and so can you."

Janis crooks a finger and jabs it at the man's chest.

"Gather the townsfolk with ills and bring them to me here. While you are doing that, someone shall tell me of these wild stories...wolves, Gertrude, spirits in the woods, Jorbyn plague...all of it and be smart of it. Your father's fathers might have told the same tale because they were the same problem, and what better way to lay the dead to final rest than to improve the lot of every mother's children?"

Janis looks over her shoulder, scowling toward the barricades and hisses the rest out as a whisper.

The sooner the better. A winter is coming that shall sweep across The Dragon's back. You are a strong people, and I'll not have you rest in ashes like the rest for the ills that stain this Land."