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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Dr Midnight" data-source="post: 3710118" data-attributes="member: 69">Session 7 - Chapter 2 THE READINGThe Lightbringers walked west on the road out of Barovia. Jade, in her new form as a giant crocodile, was having trouble keeping up. She was twenty feet long from nose to tailtip and fearsomely large but her stubby little legs were far inferior to the lithe panther’s limbs she’d run with before.  She plodded along as quickly as she could manage and the group held back a bit for her sake. Arianna reached down and patted her scaly head. This would take some getting used to. Thendrick had joked “Maybe we should kill her and try again.” He laughed as Ashlyn punched him in the arm. “Kidding! I was just kidding. Ha ha… ow.”The road crossed a small, well-kept bridge over the Ivlis River and then wound to the south, just beginning to skirt the edge of the Svalich Woods. As they walked Gerrit and Arianna looked past the coniferous trees into the darkness beyond, recalling the feeling of that first night on the road. It made their skins crawl just to be this close to the black forest again. Gerrit could almost hear the distant howling of those immense wolves.The road curved back around to the north, then west again, then forked. Here, an old wooden gallows creaked in a chill wind blowing down from the high ground to the west. A frayed length of rope danced from its beam. The well-worn road split here, and a signpost opposite the gallows pointed off in two directions: “Tser Pool” to the north and “Castle Ravenloft” to the west. Across from the gallows, a low wall, crumbling in places, partially enclosed a small plot of graves- presumably housing those who died at the end of that rope.Toufghar pointed north. “The Tser Pool is where the gypsy encampment is. Let’s go.”Ashlyn stepped past the rock wall into the graveyard. “Hold on. I want to look at some of these.” The plot was horribly maintained- dead leaves and broken branches littered the ground between the ancient headstones. She leaned forward to try to read one of the names on a headstone. The letters were so weather-worn that the name and date were almost smudges in the surface of the stone. “The cemetery at the church of Bellethanne was at least well-kept. This one shows no respect for the dead. It’s a shame.” She sighed.Shapes were moving on the ground. Wispy darkness, like shadow-smoke, was rising slowly and swirling from beneath the leaves over each grave.  Ashlyn backed away and the others nervously looked about. “There’s one over by the gallows, too,” Thendrick noted. The blackness was beginning to form into vaguely humanoid shapes. “This is never good,” Ashlyn said. “What do we do?”Gerrit looked at the things that were forming in the mist. “Let’s do this the easy way: we run.”They ran. <img src="http://a132.ac-images.myspacecdn.com/images01/74/l_8cb59b0bf1f8084d97818e3453a2be0b.jpg" alt="" class="fr-fic fr-dii fr-draggable " data-size="" style="" /> The road to the Tser Pool encampment ran north along the Ivlis River. To the west and north, the mountains seemed to close in and the darkening early evening sky cast them in a gloomy light. The group was heading into a niche made by the river as it ran down the mountainside. Castle Ravenloft sat silhouetted against the clouds to the north.The canopy of mist and branches overhead suddenly gave way to open sky- though the sky was dark with clouds. A circle of colorful wagons and a scattering of tents were ranged around a dancing bonfire, and a handful of men and women in colorful garb sat quietly near the wagons. Beyond the camp, a small lake reflected the angry sky overhead. Ashlyn stopped the group, not sure of what to make of the group of gypsies and how they might be greeted. The Lightbringers were certainly outnumbered… by three to one, she quickly judged.  A man at the bonfire looked up and saw the group, then nodded. All heads turned to the adventuring party. One by one, they pointed to the rear of the camp, to a large burgundy tent that the cheer of the firelight didn’t touch. Ashlyn nodded back politely and led the uneasy group through the silent gypsies to the tent. “So they have been expecting us.”As Ashlyn reached the tent, a cracked old woman’s voice said “Come in, come in.”They walked inside. The old woman before them hunched over a small, linen-draped table. Her black eyes gleamed as she shuffled a deck of weathered cards. Her hands were bony and spotted with age. When she spoke, her voice crackled like dry weeds. “Ahhh, the new heroes. I am Madam Eva.”Ashlyn cleared her throat. “Well met. We are the Lightbringers. We’ve come to ask you about-““Strahd,” Eva smiled. Arianna said “Not exactly. We’re curious about him, but mostly we’ve come to ask about the locations of a few artifacts.”Eva shook her head. “No. Strahd. It is the master of the castle that most weighs upon your minds… you especially, Arianna. Who is he, what are his intentions? Madam Eva can tell you. Do not worry that he might be listening. For the first time since your arrival, he is not.”“What?” Gerrit stammered. “Watching? Has he been watching us all this time?”“Of course. You are but fish in a bowl to the master.”Arianna asked “How? How can he possibly be watching us?”“Let us think. Did you, my dear elf, happen to give him anything?”“No! He said he’d sign me into the will and give me his inheritance, but I never gave him any…”Eva shook her head. “You gave him your blood. Three crimson drops. Surely you thought it odd at the time, yes?” Arianna’s eyes went wide and understanding crashed in, followed by queasy horror. The gypsy woman smiled. “He uses it to watch you, scrying whenever he wishes… though not now.”Ashlyn said “Can you tell us about the Tome of Strahd?”Madam Eva cackled and laid out a single card. It showed a man weeping at a grave. Below him, in large letters, was written[SBLOCK]GUILT[/SBLOCK]“Cut the deck.” She handed the deck to Ashlyn, who cut it and handed it back. Eva laid out one card beneath the GUILT card and then another, overlapping it horizontally. She stared at the cards and was silent for thirty full seconds. Thendrick was just about to ask her if she felt all right when she spoke. “The tome you seek holds knowledge of the ancient and knowledge of the land. If you find it and delve into its secrets, you will discover the source of the lord’s strength. If you read it carefully, you may also discover how to rob him of that strength. But you knew that already.” Her eyes glittered in the lamplight. “You want to know where to find it. Heh heh… you will seek the tome where the moon is hidden but most powerfully felt. Fear the night, and the moon, and most of all its children.” She looked up and smiled with one crooked tooth.“The moon’s children?” Toufghar asked. “Danovich was right,” Arianna said. “You do speak in riddles.”Gerrit said “The moon could be hidden just about anywhere- underground, in a building… but I’m betting it’s in the forest, where the ‘moon’s children’ live.” He looked grimly to Arianna. “I think we’ve got to go among the wolves.”Ashlyn shivered. “Tell us about the Holy Symbol of Ravenkind.” Eva chuckled and laid out another card. [SBLOCK]THE TALISMAN[/SBLOCK] “Cut the deck.” Ashlyn did, and the old gypsy placed two more cards on the table. “Thissss…” She seemed to think for a time with her eyes closed. Finally she opened them. “This symbol is a powerful force for good and protection against the forces of darkness. Seek it in the place of blasphemy, where humans plumb their darkest nature.”“The holiness in this item waits for hands of holiness to touch it once more, but that is not enough to bring its power back to life. Oh no. You must bring the symbol to the place of its antithesis, beneath the master’s own roof, where hellish magic is made. This will not be easy. I do recommend beginning with the book.” She laughed aloud, rocking back in her chair. The sound was like rocks shifting together in a wicker basket.Arianna said “Tell us about Strahd himself.”“Ah. The one thing you truly are curious about. Why, Arianna, do you wait so long to ask? Such a shy girl.” [SBLOCK]THE DEVIL[/SBLOCK]She laid the card on the table and seemed to relish the frightened hush that came over the Lightbringers. “Cut the deck my dear.” She watched as Arianna wiped her brow and cut the deck, then handed it back with a slightly trembling hand. Madam Eva grinned at her and spoke. “He who dwells in Castle Ravenloft is a powerful man whose enemy is light and whose powers are beyond mortality. You will seek him in the castle, and though he might find you many times, you will find him only once… among his riches, hidden away from sight.”“Out of darkness and chaos, the cards find their reason and foundation. They show the purpose of all things- the key to life and death and else beyond. Every piece moves with a purpose, and none but the master can know the objective of the game. No piece on the board, however, is as important as the queen… who is but one move away from her king.”Arianna stood up. “I believe I’m going to step outside for a minute.”“Are you all right?” Gerrit asked. “We can stop if you like.”“That’s okay, you guys go on. I just want to get some air.” The Lightbringers watched as the elf walked from the tent. “She is troubled,” Madam Eva hissed with a smile. “She now knows that the lord of the castle has seen her doubting his intent, and has watched as she hunted for his motives. She fears him. Rightly. She will soon learn that when you speak of the devil… the devil appears.”Outside, Arianna took a full breath of the night air and tried to rub some of the coldness from her arms. She stopped as she noticed that the jubilation of the gypsy people was gone and a hush now hung over the camp. Only the crackling of the bonfire remained. None of the people were out here. The campsite seemed deserted, save for one tall figure standing by the fire.“Hello, Arianna. I think we should have a talk.” Strahd smiled at her and his eyes shone red with the reflection of the flames.Coming up THE MOON’S CHILDREN.</blockquote>

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