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

[Stormwind]

As her attempts to convince the girl of the dangers of the castle fall on deaf ears, Ashlyn shakes her head with a wry grin for Janis as the druidess's sarcastic words have the desired effect upon the girl.

Ushering the men out of the room, Ashlyn stays vigilant for danger while Gertrude gets dressed.

As the group is ready to depart, Ashlyn catches Janis's eye and drops back for a few moments, where she speaks quietly "I don't know how you do it, but believe me, I am grateful to have you with us!"

 

[DEFCON 1]

Jarrith shrugs and leaves the room. "Whenever you're ready, let's get out of here. Who has the tome? I want to make sure I get a chance to read it before we hand it off to Ochem."

Sir Khensu follows along behind him as they start to make their way out of the castle.

 

[Stormwind]

Ashlyn replies to Jarrith, "The tome is in the bag. I'm sure we would all like to peruse it's pages for once reason or another, but I suggest we focus on getting out of here in once piece first."

 

[stonegod]

Gertrude tries to claim a lot of the clothes in the closet for herself, though much of it is too big... more appropriately sized for someone much closer to Ireena's size. The lady talks Gertrude out of it with a stern look.

The group follows the most direct path out of the castle: Down the spiral stair to the ground floor, past the now dark dining room, and into the great hall. The shadows hold closely, and the sense of unwelcome is strong. Someone... or something... is watching, but where? Nothing can be seen.

Can it said to be a relief to exit the Castle. Dread still fills the courtyard, the hanging fog damping the spirit as well as flesh. The horses are found safe, and after a few moment arranging things, the group is mounted and leaves the dark place behind.

As the last of rickety drawbridge is crossed, a brief beam of sunshine gathers on the parapets behind the group. Looking back, Jarrith and Ashlyn swear they see a figure watching. But then the beam fades, and the figure is gone... if it was ever there.

The path back to Barovia is straightforward. But is it the path to be taken?

OOC: I need to know what the immediate plans of the group are, especially as it concerns the Tome, Mateusz, level drain, and anything else you think pertinent. Please update on the OOC thread.

 

[Stormwind]

As she leaves the library, Ashlyn casts one last look in the direction of the wall with the fireplace where the incorporeal figures came through earlier and makes a mental note to take a closer look should they come back through here.

Heading downstairs, Ashlyn looks over her shoulder, back towards the chapel, as she resolves to return.

 

[stonegod]

After a brief discussion, the party decides to camp in the (hopefully) abandoned farmhouse of the witch Katrina. Nothing marks their passage---no wolves, no flight of bats. Just fog and emptiness.

The farmhouse is indeed empty, the chickens roaming freely. Though only Katrina and her "brothers" were at the Hill, old man Andrzej is no where to be found. Grateful for the sanctuary, the Flamists begin setting up defenses while Ashlyn and Tessa set about to examining the Tome.

The scholar of the Host soon takes over, carefully examining the black leather and using some of Jarrith's finer tools to handle it. The book is old, probably the oldest thing in the valley aside from the Castle... and the evils that dwell inside. Several of the pages crumble to nothing despite Tessa's best efforts. What can be read is in a faded, cramped hand on pages so worn that they are almost transparent. "This will take some time."

A meal is readied, and a watch is taken. Tessa makes occasional notes, discovering sketchy details about old battles of a bygone age... perhaps regarding Karrn himself? There are also notes about foul necromantic practices, and a belief in "the Blood" which she finds remarkably similar to ancient writings on pre-Galifarian Blood of Vol cults. But, the in the small hours of the night, the dry eyed scholar finds, as the seer put it, "the knowledge of the ancient and knowledge of the land"

Tessa gathers everyone, looking at Ireena peculiarly for a moment before speaking. "Here, this I believe is the passage Madam Eva spoke of. There are three places of ancient power in the valley, and this 'Strahd' apparently defiled them. I believe them to be the basis of this 'Curse.' If Madam Eva is correct, we need to complete some ritual at each of these places to break the power of the Curse. Or at least weaken it." Tessa looks up at Ireena a bit shyly before continuing. "There is... more. Here, everyone, look. It is a bit faded..."

OOC: Madam Eva's reading on the Tome of Strahd See the here for the page from the Tome of Strahd...

 

[s@squ@tch]

Marot the Deadly

The warlock chases sleep from his mind as he listens to the woman's reading of the book.

Then Marot remembers the old woman's warning -- that another stranger desires the book and secrets within.

"We must guard against the agents of the Emerald Claw -- they stole another needed artifact from us, because of my failing...."

His voice trails off for a moment as he relives the experience -- as he watched helplessly as his very own body was controlled by another.

Snapping back to reality,"They could be watching us this very second."

He looks briefly at Janis and the wounds she still bears from the winged bat/wolf creature that attacked them in the Chapel.

"I wonder if that vampire we fought, which did not shrink from the light, was this elder brother of Sergei -- or just one of his lackeys?"

"And what possible relation could our friend "Sergei" have with this older, and dead, "Sergei"?"

He shakes his head. "This is not good news at all. I feel as if our work in this land has not even begun, if we are to rid it of this curse."

"But this does answer some questions -- about the wedding cake and such."

 

[stonegod]

Tessa, after a little further reading, identifies the location of the three "fanes." One, the party has already visited---it is the strange, Khyber-marked stone beneath Lysaga Hill (and thus likely responsible for its tainted history). The other is in the woods not too far from the Visanti camp. The last is in the fetid swamps where the Ivlis river drains.

 

[pathfinderq1]

"This is fascinating," Tessa murmured as she paged carefully through the book. "I can certainly see why people want this book. Just for its historical value alone, it could be priceless to any number of collectors or academic institutions." The she raised her head and looked steadily around at the others. "I think our need for it outweighs any purely historical value though. One of these places is somewhere we have been. Perhaps that might be the best one to start with- most of the dangers there we have already dealt with..."

 

[DEFCON 1]

Jarrith nods, and pulls out his journal. He's been writing down everything that has occured thus far... taking careful notes to make sure he didn't forget anything... and the information in this tome will join it. "Back to the Hill works for me. That sounds about right. Tessa... care to share the tome for a bit? I'd like to get all the pertinent info written down."

He glances around at the others and smiles. "It is funny... in some sort of sick way I guess... how this land affects us differently depending on where we go. Sometimes we are strong... sometimes we are weak... sometimes we are resolved... sometimes we are giving up."

He looks down at his own hands, turning them over to look at both sides. "If we ever cleanse this place of its taint... and ourselves by the same token... I'm still always going to remember how this place affected me. For good or for ill. My life is forever changed." He sighs, then straightens up and begins to write.