As Ymir, Argova, and Ymir each make their way into the town of Barovia, Will stumbles out of the mist into a new world. Upon attempting to open the door to the local tavern, Blood on the Vine, a small horde of zombies tackles Will to the ground. Ymir and Argova rush in to help, tearing into the zombies in order to protect the stranger, while Vera looses a spell from the sidelines. Will is able to make her way to their feet, joining the fray. When the last zombie falls, the group moves inside to investigate the tavern and its unfortunate inhabitants. Picking up a few coins from the ground, Will fails to recognize the visage adorning the coin, cementing the idea that Will is from a land beyond the mists. Noises begin to pick up outside of the tavern, and as the group turns their attention towards the windows, the door to a nearby house splinters as another hoard of zombies pushes their way into the square.
One of the zombies stumbles as the group moves across the square, and as it falls to the ground, the zombies behind it trip over its body, joining it on the floor. However, instead of struggling to their feet, the bodies begin to melt into one another, semi-liquid flesh knitting together into a writhing mass.
As more zombies tumble out of houses and into the square, the party leaps into action. Will and Ymir carve into the mass in the center of the square, but the chunks of limbs that fall lurch to life and begin to defend it. Vera's spirit guardians float through the square, leeching energy from the zombies closest to her, cocooning the weaker zombies in honey-colored light. As zombies sacrifice themselves to the pile, it fully forms into a zombie clot. The clot hurls a hunk of flesh at Argova, pinning her beneath countless limbs. Bursting out in a panicked frenzy, Argova tears through some of the straggling zombies. Together, Will and Ymir set the clot alight, and it howls in pain, staggering back. Will sinks their blade into it, and noxious fumes pour out of the wound, washing over Will. The clot lashes out in retaliation, and, upon missing those closest to it, it swings at Vera, slamming into her.
As the clot rears back to attack one last time, a blinding streak of lightning splits the square, striking clean through the center of the clot. It stiffens as the electricity courses through its body before its flesh, unable to keep itself together any longer, begins to unravel. Ymir manages to tackle Will to the ground, avoiding the chunks of falling gore. Returning to their feet, the party is met with the sight of a Vistani woman with a prosthetic leg, her long red coat trailing behind her as she enters the square, stray sparks jumping along her outstretched hand.
Upon recognizing Ezmerelda, Ymir reverts back to her human form as she bounds towards Lucky, catching her in a big hug. Lucky explains that she only returned a few days prior, and saw that newcomers would be coming through the mists soon. She only intended to observe, but upon seeing the village overrun by zombies, she knew she would not just stand by. While she was able to defeat the zombies at the Burgomeister's residence, she was ultimately too late.
Formal introductions are then made, and Ymir thanks the others for helping defeat the zombie clot. Argova withdraws from the others, checking on Bildrath before helping the group investigate the remnants of the square. The houses that held zombies also contain bodies near-picked clean, the doors of which only bear scratch marks from the inside, as if someone had allowed the dead inside, and then locked the doors behind them. Lucky takes a tally of the dead, counting twenty-three bodies among the buildings surrounding the square. Argova, shaken by the situation, lets her guard slip just enough for Ymir to notice Argova's inconsistent breathing.
A group of survivors approach the square, and the leader shares that the church is currently serving as a makeshift shelter. Inside, a frantic halfling woman in worn vestments is running around the chapel, healing those in dire need. She introduces herself as Shari Ashglade, a cleric of the Morning Lord. As the group offers help, she pushes bandages and basic salves into their hands, before hurrying off again.
Upon helping a shaken teen, he explains what he saw a few nights ago--a figure in the dark letting a group of "drunks" into a house near the tavern. He expresses his regret at not being able to stop the zombies from attacking the village, and Ymir and Vera console him, telling him that he, by no means, is responsible for what happened.
Lucky approaches Will to ask if she saw anyone else as she came through the mists--explaining that it was unusual for Strahd to pull only one person in at a time. Will says that they did not see anyone else while lost in the mists, and Lucky talks to them a little more about the mists before leaving them be.
After conferring with Ymir, Lucky extends an invitation to the others, one by one, to join her for a Tarroka reading. After the reading is complete, Ymir reveals that she was able to steal the Sunsword, a weapon of legend, straight from his hands. However, as Ymir tries to activate it, she is hit with a pulse of emotion from the hilt--pure sorrow--as the scene of Strahd killing the last outsider, the Sunsword buried to its hilt in his chest, is replayed.
Hurt, but not surprised that the Sunsword did not activate for her, Ymir passes the hilt to the others, but no one who takes the hilt is hit with what Ymir experienced. Argova is the only one at the table who is does not reach for the sword as it is passes by. Lucky watches the others pass the blade with interest as she collects her cards.
The group begins to separate as they start to settle down for the night, but Shari calls for Vera in a panic to help stabilize someone on the verge of turning. Will follows, their sword at the ready. Vera casts spare the dying, and Shari is able to stabilize the person, but ends up visibly drained from the effort it took to do so.
[SPARKNOTES SORRY] dreams/nightmares for everyone--ymirs starts off with the sunsword vision and then turns into strahd handing her the sunswond dirextly, and letting her know that the zombies were a welcoming party for will. vera and argova see will with a knife. vera watches the church for shari. ymir talks to everyone, vera offers to tag along with her, ymir recruits will, and similarly recruits argova to help with the will situation. joanna and her survivors are handing out rations to those awake. Lucky catches up with ymir and lets her know that she is missing a card from her deck, and is unable to do a reading to gain insight on its location. As she heads off, a scream is heard from the basement, and everyone moves into action. Vera sends someone to go wake up shari, and the group pushes past someone who is coming up the stairs looking for shari as well. a body is found with its arms crossed over its chest n a pool of blood radiating out from its head. Dead body vera investigation w ymir at her side, will with their sword at the ready in case the body moves. lucky consoling the person who screamed, joannas survivors forming a perimeter. Shari shows up, but knows that nothing can be done in this case. she looks nauseous about this fact, and then joanna announcing that no-one leaves until the murderer is found.
or whatever
Investigations ramp up as Will attempts to corner a villager to try to find out why she has been acting weird and flighty. Startled, Palva whispers to Joanna that she had seen Will with a knife earlier in the morning and flees upstairs, casting more suspicion upon Will. Vera talks with Aleera, the person closest to Severin (in more ways than one), finding out that Sevrin woke up at some point during the night, but settled back down soon after. Ymir chases down Palva to gather more information about what exactly she had seen. Argova lurks by the stairs in the basement, drawing attention from Imre, one of the villagers who already holds Argova in bad standing.
Upon returning, Joanna tasks Ymir with keeping an eye on Will. Vera and Ymir discuss briefly before they escort Will upstairs back into the room where Will stayed the previous night, in an attempt to investigate and potentially examine the knife that Palva claimed to see Will with. Will initially shows the others one of their (many) other knives, before handing the knife that she woke up with to Vera.
Meanwhile, Shari returns to the basement having since gathered supplies to send Sevrin off peacefully. As she draws closer to the body, she investigates it for a moment. Catching sight of Argova, Shari asks if there has been any updates about the situation, before asking Argova to accompany her upstairs to meet with the rest of the group. Shari lets the others know that she found a bite wound on Sevrin's left forearm, likely from the zombie attacks. She speculates that Sevrin may have already been undead when he was stabbed.
After a moment of deliberation, Shari offers to take the knife from the party, proposing the following: During her nightly rounds, she saw Sevrin rise from where he was resting, moving like one of the undead. Not powerful enough to reverse undeath, she did what she could, and put him out of his misery.
On a further investigation of the room Will slept in, Will was able to find a silk handkerchief smelling heavily of blood with a large streak of dried blood running through its center, as if someone had wiped the blood off of a knife's blade with it. Argova told the others that this was not just the blood of one person, but blood potentially from many other victims. With this information, the group was able to convince Shari not to take the blame for what happened to Severin, but instead to let Will take the fall for the murder. Ymir and Vera informed Joanna that Will was responsible and bargained to let Will face judgement in Vallaki instead, for the safety of those still alive in the village. Joanna hesitantly agreed, but in return asked that the murder weapon be left in her care.
On those terms, Joanna gathered the people taking refuge in the church. Upon announcing that Will was the one who had killed Sevrin and was to be transported to face judgement in Vallaki, Aleera pulled away from Lucky, moving towards the altar with a purpose. Vera tried to intercept her, but was pushed away, and Aleera was held back by some of Joanna's group. Distraught and angry, she yelled at Will through her tears, "How could you do this to him?! He did nothing to you!"
Joanna motioned for the doors to be opened, allowing the group safe passage out of the church. While most of the murmuring from the crowd was about Will, Argova was able to make out Imre in the crowd saying that he still thought that Argova had a hand in all of this. The doors shut behind the group, allowing them a head start on their way to Vallaki.
As they reached the edge of town, Will slipped out of her handcuffs with the help of the key she had snuck into her glove earlier. Lucky sent a message to Ymir, letting her know that she would meet them in Vallaki after she wrapped up in Barovia.
At the Ilvis crossroads, a body appeared hanging from the previously empty gallows. As it swayed in the wind, it raised its head and smiled at Will, before letting its head loll back to its original position. The group followed the northwest fork in the road towards the Tser pool, and, upon looking back, the gallows were once again empty.
As the group settled down near the pool, Argova went into the woods to hunt. Vera, Will, and Ymir washed up, and some LGBT things may or may not have been happening. Argova returned with a freshly killed rabbit.
In taking a shortcut through the Svalch woods back to the [road], the group has a run-in with a deer out in the woods. On closer inspection, the deer's mouth was stained pink by whatever it was eating. Ymir was able to back away from it slowly without it startling, and the group continued onwards.
As the group crossed the bridge spanning the Tser Falls, four humanoid figures emerged from the fog on the other side--The remnants of the previous group of outsiders, re-animated by Strahd.
[BATTLE]
After dealing with the last of the re-animated outsiders, the group continues down the Old Svalich road. As the road continues to the north, a set of gates emerge from the fog. They do not swing open as the party moves closer, like they normally do.
Instead, a figure approaches from opposite direction. It draws closer, and the party is blessed with the presence of the Lord of this land, Count Strahd von Zarovich himself. Congratulating the group on officially disposing of remnants of the former group, he then demands formal introductions from both his subjects and the new outsider. Upon being met with resistance, Strahd charms Vera as a display of power (against which Vera rolls a nat 1) into obeying his commands.
Strahd allows the gates to Barovia to open, officially welcoming Will to his domain, and with that, he walks back towards the castle, letting the gates close between him and the group as his outline is lost to the fog.
As the Svalich road feeds into Vallaki, the town is surrounded by pikes anointed with severed wolf heads just outside the city walls. The guards stationed at the Mourning Gates recognize Vera and Ymir, and the party is granted passage inside. The group immediately heads towards the center of the town, where they find the Blue Water Inn, run by Urwin and Danika Martikov, members of Ymir's family.
Danika greets the party, bringing them drinks as they wait for Urwin to return from his supply run. Ymir goes upstairs to play with her nephews, as the party waits with food and drink in hand for the rest of the patrons leave before getting ready to catch Urwin up on what exactly happened in the village of Barovia.
When the last patron leaves the Blue Water Inn, Will scoops up the 3 copper he had dropped in his drunken hurry to leave, much to the displeasure of Danika. With the kids in bed, and the kitchen closed for the night, Urwin is finally able to take a seat with the rest of the group. Ymir catches him up on what the group has been up to: Barovia being overrun by zombies, the fate of last group of outsiders, Strahd Sightings, and finally... the recovery of the Sun Sword.
When pressed about the matter of the legendary sword, Urwin crumbles. He had sent the last group of outsiders to track it down, encouraging them to investigate any rumor of the sword. He hadn't considered that they would actually find it, nor that they might try to fight Strahd after they did.
As Urwin runs through a bit of a background on vampires--their weaknesses to running water and sunlight, their inability to enter dwellings without a proper invitation, that a stake driven through their hearts would incapacitate them to some degree--he also delves into what he knows about the background of the Sun Sword.
Rumors said that the sword was originally that of someone who opposed Strahd, but the original owner was unclear... some sources claimed it of a rival. Others, Strahd's own brother. Either way, the weapon was said to have a blade of pure sunlight, something truly worthy to have been called a bane of vampires.
However, Urwin does not look pleased that this weapon has made its way into Ymir's hands. And Ymir is not pleased to find out that her brother had kept this information from her. She storms off, heading out of the Inn. Will is soon to follow, but not before a quick exchange with Dankia.
After cleaning up, Danika leads Argova and still-charmed Vera upstairs to the guest rooms. Argova jumps at the chance to claim the private room, leaving Vera with one of the rooms with two beds. She bids them both good night, before leaving them to their own devices.
Outside, Ymir and Will blow off some steam (đł). In the process of pinning Will to the ground, Ymir briefly sees Argova sneak out a window and slip into the night. However, with Will refusing to yield, Ymir chooses to keep them pinned. Eventually Ymir releases Will, and the two wash up and retire for the night.
Meanwhile, Argova clears the walls of Vallaki and is back in the Svalch Woods. The hunt is unsuccessful at first, but with some semblance of frantic perseverance, Argova is able to tear into a deer, gorging herself on the organ meat until they are satisfied. Hacking off one of the haunches, Argova heads back towards Vallaki, leaving the carcass of the deer to the scavengers that had slowly surrounded Argova during the feast.
Returning to the Inn, Argova sneaks downstairs, placing the haunch on the clean bartop, before also turning in for the night.
Upon attempting to exit the city of Vallaki, Argova is met with a flock of crows. A second crow kerfuffle proceeds to happen, much to the shock and horror of the guards. Argova manages to lasso a second crow, causing the rest of the flock to follow them outside of the gates of the city.
Will, ready to hunt down some wolves for an easy paycheck from Urwin, follows the sound of the commotion and ends up heading out of the city through the same gate that Argova left from.
Vera and Ymir head to the town square where preparations for the wedding and the surrounding festivities are being put into place. People are bustling around the square, and the mood in Vallaki is higher than has ever been, brimming with anticipation for the event. However, it is a bit difficult to locate Pavel Nikolov, local flour supplier and friend to the Martikov family, among all the excitement. For an instant, Vera catches a glimpse of someone familiar out of the corner of her eye, but they are gone before she can place who they are, or why they feel familiar. Pavel takes the scene soon enough though, and is more than eager to bring Urwin's flour delivery earlier than originally scheduled. He sends Ymir off with an eager handshake, slipping a note into her palm before continuing to flit around the square on business matters.
The two return to the Blue Water Inn, where Ymir reads through the note Pav left her. While a good bit of the information seemed to be baseless rumors, something not generally uncommon with Pav's correspondences, the last line reads only the last group of outsiders has been defeated. Urwin promises to compile the information he had on the Sunsword and where the previous party could have discovered it in exchange for Ymir heading to the Vineyards in his stead to pick up the shipment of wine for the wedding.
Outside of the city gates, Will encounters Argova after Argova has made a tentative peace with the crows. And three wolves encounter them. Argova and Will are able to handily take care of the wolves, but as the last wolf falls, Argova gives in to inhuman urges, tearing into the throat of the wolf that separates them and Will.
Before Argova disappears into the woods, they trust Will with their name, and Will heads back into town dragging the carcasses of two wolves.
Will, looking a little worse for wear, attempts to return to the Blue Water Inn, but is given a hard time by the two guards that are protecting the city gates. They bicker amongst themselves about the safety of the city and where a blood-covered Will fits into that narrative, before the kinder of the two guards goes rogue and just opens the gates. Will, after receiving this act of grace, immediately goes on to intimidate a mother and a child on their way to the Inn.
At the Inn, Urwin offers Will 2 gold per wolf, under the condition that Will does not bring the wolves in through the dining area. Ymir recruits Will and Vera to accompany her to the Wizards of the Wine, and after a short rest and Vera offering to heal Will (for free!), the party is ready to embark on the journey. Vera leaves Sprout in the care of the Martikovs, choosing to travel on foot with the rest of her party.
Leaving through the Western gate of Vallaki, the party reaches the Luna River Crossroads, where Vera gets the sense that something is watching the party from the foliage nearby. Argova rejoins the group, significantly less covered in blood than the last time Will saw them.
The path following the western portion of the Svalch Road provided no hinderances to the group's progress, and as they take the path turns to gravel, heralding the group towards the vineyards, they see a figure in a dark cloak standing near the trees as a light drizzle begins to fall.
Damian Martikov, father of Ymir, acknowledges the group that stands before him, letting his gaze linger on Will for a moment before speaking only to Ymir. Of course your brother sent you. Hmph, no matter.
As the rain begins to come down with a little more force, Damian does not wait for the others to follow him as he heads to the Winery. Ymir and the others hustle inside, greeted by the sights of the giant fermentation vats where the Wizards of the Wine work their magic. Damian wastes no time ushering the group up the stairs, around the balcony, and into the dining room where he bids Ymir to wait while he lets her brothers know that she's here.
Almost immediately as Damian lets the door slam behind him does a familiar head peek out of the door to the master bedroom--Elvir, Ymir's younger brother, is swept up in a hug in no time. He is estatic to see Ymir, and takes a few moments to collect himself. After a brief set of introductions, Elvir is off to the races, talking to the party about everything and anything imaginable--the work he is doing with some of Barovia's more "exotic" plants, what Stephania and her wife Dara are up to, some goings on (or a lack thereof) in Krezek concerning the Abbey, and so forth.
Not soon after does Damian return, throwing open the door with enough force to startle all of the non-Martikovs in the room. Adrian follows close behind their father, greeting Ymir with a firm handshake in which Ymir absolutely crushes his hand. Damian takes his seat at the head of the table, and conducts a Martikov (and company) business meeting--running though the plan for tomorrow's delivery to Vallaki, along with potential changes in business in Krezek that Stephania is currently handling. After the Wizards of the Wine matters are concluded, Damian turns to Will once more, confirming that they are indeed from the lands outside of the Mists. When she confirms, albeit snarkily, Damian turns to Ymir for more clarification as to why Will is sitting at the table with them and not being handled by Urwin.
Ymir gives the rest of her family a quick recap of the last group's sudden defeat at the hands of Strahd, her recovery of the Sunsword, and Urwin's inability to keep her in the loop. Damian praises her for her swift recovery of such a dangerous weapon, and Adrian is able to shed some more light on the weapon, informing the group that most tales surrounding the blade talk of it being wielded by either Strahd's brother, or perhaps someone else who had stood in opposition to Strahd. If it was able to be wielded once more, it might prove to be a tipping point in the struggle against Strahd.
At Will's request, Adrian and Elvir run through some of the other undead enemies that have been at Strahd's beck and call in the past, as well as some of Strahd's allies that might have the ability to turn invisible, or otherwise teleport from place to place. Adrian warns the party about the revenants of Arganvosthold, and how their leader might not take too kindly to learning about the re-appearance of the Sunsword. Vera is able to watch over Will's shoulder as they add some notes to their personal beastiary.
As the debriefing wraps up, Adrian brings out a quick dinner for the group consisting of various smoked meats and other shelf-stable goods in order to tide their guests over until breakfast. After the travelers have eaten their fill, they divide themselves amongst the available rooms: Ymir choosing to sleep with their brothers and younger cousins in the master bedroom, Will and Vera to share a room, and Argova with a room all to themselves.
As the adventurers settle down for the night, sleep comes easier to some than it comes to others. Ymir, surrounded by those she loves, falls quickly into the realms of sleep. Will and Vera share insomnia woes, and Vera gives Will a little insight as to what it's like living in Barovia. Argova slips into the night, back into the woods outside of the Vineyards and is able to catch a few weasels before returning, but not before attracting the attention of a ghostly rider from atop its horse.
In her dreams, Ymir witnesses a clash between a stag with glowing horns and a dark-coated wolf, its fur further darkened by blood. The two trade blows as Ymir circles above, and in a last-ditch effort, the stag bellows and charges the wolf, antlers lowered. The wolf leaps forward in turn. And the stag raises its head; the wolf, gored through the shoulder dangling from its antlers. The stag pants from the effort; in a kinder story, the scene would end here. But its antler snaps under the weight, sending it staggering in the opposite direction. And then it finds its throat clamped between the jaws of the wolf. The stag's last call is cut short by the gurgling of blood in its throat. As the wolf unceremoniously drags the body of the stag back towards its den, it makes sure to pointedly meet Ymir's eyes. And Ymir wakes with a start.
Vera dreams of a group of rabbits journeying through something eerily similar to the Svalch woods. As they pass other creatures, it becomes clear that the rabbits seem almost too bright for their surroundings. They reach what seems to be their destination: a large spruce tree with the entrance to a burrow underneath it. A muskrat tries to stop them from getting close, but to no avail. It is all too easy for the four rabbits to hop around it and into the burrow. Frantically, the muskrat follows them inside. There, curled up, is a wolf that is nothing but skin and bones. The rabbits approach, and the wolf stays catatonic as the rabbits poke around it, and then seemingly reassure the muskrat. And then a rabbit finds itself snapped between a set of jaws. In a crunch of bones, it is gone. The others jump into frantic action, but not quick enough. The wolf tasted blood, the first it has had in years. Another rabbit is gone in the blink of an eye as the others frantically make for the entrance of the burrow. The last two rabbits try to struggle out of the burrow, but not before the slower of the two is dragged by the maw of the wolf back into the burrow, leaving only claw marks in newly loosened soil behind. There is a moment where the burrow is quiet, the final rabbit frozen in its spot. And then the wolf begins to dig itself out. And the final rabbit, in a fit of pure desperation, reaches somewhere deep down inside of themself and lets out a beam of pure sunlight. The charm around their neck shatters, and, as they collapse to the ground, it's almost as if the color leeches out of them, until they are as faded as the woods that surround them.
Will is back at the gallows. As they watch the person hanged there swing in the breeze, they also notice the fraying of the rope holding the body aloft. In a sudden gust, it snaps, and the body falls to the ground. There is a moment where it lies there, unmoving, before it unceremoniously pushes itself up. Its dark hair, normally slicked back neatly, has fallen disheveled in front of its face, upon which it wears a smile. Moving with a purpose towards Will, it loosens the rope from around its neck, before pulling it over its head. Will runs up and kicks the corpse in the crotch, lifting the corpse's feet from the ground. But it is not enough. The noose is slipped over Will's head, and Will is dragged off of their feet. It pulls her towards its former place on the gallows, before promising that it will be her turn soon enough.
Argova's dreams are reminiscent of life before the party--waking up, hunting, foraging, stopping by the village to trade, eating, and then returning home. In the beginning, the days go by slowly. Sometimes there are small variations in the routine--hunting out by the river, meeting with the Vistani, seeing something distinctly not-a-wolf out in the woods. But as the dream continues, it gets more difficult to tell one day from the next as they begin to roll together, much like flipping quickly through the same few pages of a storybook. And then it stops. You're in the village, trading, and zombies explode from the houses on either side of you. The fight is brutal, but for the first time in a long time, the days don't feel like they're leaving you by the wayside.
As they wake, the party gets ready for the day ahead. Damian prepares breakfast while Elvir readies the wagon and performs final checks for their first big delivery since before he's been born. He does let himself get pulled away by Will, so that Will can try some of his newer wines that aren't quite ready for larger scale production yet.
Before the party sets out, Damian pulls Ymir aside to ask her why she is the one with the Sunsword. To remind her that the Sunsword rightfully belongs in the hands of the outsider she is traveling with. The two end on heated terms.
As soon as Ymir makes her way back to the wagon, the group leaves the safety of the Vineyards to travel back to the city of Vallaki with a wagon full of wine in tow.
Ymir takes the lead as the group makes their was back to Vallaki, and a discussion starts up about who exactly the Vistani are, and what makes them able to traverse the Mists. Will asks if the Vistani could take others through the Mists, but learns that the Vistani can only travel through the Mists alone.
Near the Raven River Crossroads, a revenant stands at the ready in the middle of the path. Ymir chooses to approach it alone, as Argova chooses to hide behind the caskets of wine on the back of the sled. Vera approaches as well, trying to hear more of the conversation. Will stands at the ready near the wagon, temporarily heeding Ymir's warnings to not engage the revenant.
Recognizing one of the Martikovs, the revenant stays motionless atop its skeletal horse as Ymir draws closer. The two have a discussion, in which the revenant tries to convince Ymir that Strahd should remain alive and suffer, as that is what Vladmir, the leader of the remnants of the Order of the Silver Dragon, believes is the right course of action.
Before it takes a direct path through the underbrush back to Arganvosthold, the revenant takes the opportunity to warn Ymir of what it saw in the woods--a human-like figure hunting like a beast.
Ymir gets some distance from the party before taking a different form that would allow her to make it to the Vineyards with the news faster than the party could travel, and Argova's attempts to see what Ymir turns into are unfruitful. The rest of the party continues towards Vallaki with the shipment of wine.
The wagon, dutifully lead by Champagne and Muscadine, steadily finds its way East on the Svalch roads. As they pass by the crossroads that would lead towards Argynvosthold, Argova and Vera see a black cat sitting in the path leading South towards the former hold. It pointedly meets each of their eyes, but does not move towards them at all, but rather continues sitting.
Ymir touches down in the Vineyards, and is able to warn both Elvir and Adrian about the revenant's warning. Elvir leaves to share the message with their father, and Adrian thanks Ymir for the warning, taking a moment to try and puzzle out what the revenant could have possibly been talking about, musing that, if anything, the odds of it being a werewolf or vampire spawn were very low, before heading off to call more of the Kindness home just in case.
Closer to the Luna River Crossroads now, a cart full of people approaches, heading in the opposite direction. Will breaks Barovian customs by staring at the people as they pass by, and catches one of the people trying to take one more look at them after they pass by. Together, the three are able to piece together that some of the people in the cart were also people that were in the Temple during the zombie attacks in the Village of Barovia. And it appears that at least one person in the cart recognized Will as well.
Ymir catches back up with the party soon after, touching down just behind them in the woods as they group continues to bicker about what might happen if word gets out that Will is not currently facing questioning or trial in Vallaki, like the group said she would be.
At the gates of Vallaki, the guards readily allow the party access--they are transporting the wine for the coming wedding, after all! But as the group draws stares as they travel towards the Blue Water Inn, the feeling that the townspeople are staring not at the shipment of wine, but at Will instead, is hard to shake.
Urwin meets the group outside of the Inn, and begins to help unload the wagon, although he is readily outpaced by both Ymir and Will, who seem to have something to prove to one another. The twins bring out snacks for the horses, as Vera helps to bring some of the paperwork and extra supplies inside and Argova stands off to the side, watching it all. Once everything is settled, Urwin brings out the rest of the research he was able to compile about where the Sunsword was hidden before the previous party was able to unearth it.
His list had been narrowed from five potential places, down to two. The first of which being the Ruins of Berez, where the Sunsword has supposedly been entrusted to a former subject of Strahd's obsession. He also mentions the dangers that Berez entails, having once been home to Baba Lysaga, a hag who had taken to hunting down allies of the Kindness, and that some of her scarecrow-like constructs were still moving about, dispite the absence of their creator.
The other place Urwin mentioned was Argynvosthold, the home of the revenants that haunt Barovia. He guessed that the Sunsword could have been being held there in order to keep it away from those who seeded to hunt Strahd with it's aid. There have also been reports that the revenants have been more active recently, which could be in part to the missing sword.
Urwin was also able to look a little more into attuning to the Sunsword, although he mentioned that he did not have any first hand experience with the process of attunement. He mentioned that Blinsky or Ezmerelda might have a little more insight to offer on the matter, and that the Tome of Strahd might provide a little more history on the weapon, like how it was created, and who might have wielded it previously.
The group was able to relax for a bit while the upcoming wedding was discussed, as well as how Victor fell into the title of Bergomeister and how he got involved with the Watchters, whose daughter Stella he is set to marry in five days time.
Ymir is also able to fulfill her promise to Brom and Bray about a trip to Blinsky's, during which Vera and Will discuss magical weapons with Blinsky, and what attunement actually means in terms of a magical weapon. Will bought a grab bag of crossbow bolts and a toy executioner's block, Vera took home a cloth that seems able to clean most any stain, and Ymir bought the twins the wind-up carousel that they had been eyeing.
The group returned to the Blue Water Inn successful in their many missions, and were treated to a hot dinner by the Maritkovs, before getting ready to settle down for the night.
While the rest of the group was still at Blinksyâs, Argova was drawn to a small doll wearing a sheep's skin cloak that hid its wolf's face.
Back at the Blue Water Inn, Urwin warns the party that he can't promise anything housing-wise as the Wedding draws closer. Vera does the polite thing and offers her place of residence for the party to stay, despite everyoneâs insistence that they are just fine camping outside.
Argova goes out for a hunt beyond the walls of the city, winning two pieces of preyâthe first, a rabbit that was trying to escape a fox. The fox soon met its end to Argova's claws, a hunter becoming prey in but an instant. It was only after Argova began tearing into their prey that she was able to notice Will, who had been trailing her since they left Vallaki in order to see if Argova was reporting back to another vampire, maybe even Strahd. The two of them make their separate ways back to the Inn.
In their dreams, Will finds herself in fancy clothes searching for a way out of a mansion-like house that seems to have no exit. When she stumbles upon a kitchen, it is utterly devoid of any food. Trying to break a window in a hallway yields no results besides a sense of luckâthe impact of the thick glass threatened to indiscriminately shatter bones in Will's arm. But from just down the hallway, traces of a conversation drift, muffled by the doors and distance that rests between the speakers and Will.
Two people talk in a drawing roomâthe first rests with their back towards Will, obscured by the lighting and the back of the large sitting chair. The other, closer to the fireplace on the far side of the room, is Strahd von Zarovich himself. He greets Will, and Will goes for the nearest unoccupied chair and hurls it at Strahd's head. Strahd waves it aside, commenting on Will's lack of manners, before Will lunges for the poker at Strahd's side. But mid-lunge, Strahd snaps his fingers, and Will finds herself awake, back in the Blue Water Inn.
Argova's hunt continues into her dream, as she stalks prey that she canât quite findânot at first, anyways. Persistence, however, helps reveal traces of something seemingly boar-like; Fresh hoofprints getting closer, a slash in a tree, perhaps from a tusk, still dripping sap. Argova leaps blindly into the underbrush where they know their prey waits. And understands too late, that in the thrill of the hunt, she had become like the fox from earlier. Will's blade makes its home in her chest. And Argova does the only thing it can, sinking its teeth into Will's neck. It is there, deep into the woods, that they both bleed out, neither willing to let go, and neither able to win. It is unclear who truly died firstâthe last one alive, in their struggle, was not able to free herself from the death-grasp of the other.
Argova starts awake, and launches itself off of the bed and onto the wooden floor of their room at the Inn, horribly shaken, but still alive.
As Vera lay in her bed, invitation to stay at her house fresh in her mind, it was her own room that she soon found herself in. And it was there that she began to tidy up, before taking notice that the sepia reflection in the full-sized mirror was not reflecting her, nor the room she stood in. Instead, it showed a different room, in a house that looked much more lived-in, more loved. Someone passes in front of the mirror, and upon noticing Vera, holds out their hand to her with a soft smile. Vera reaches her hand out in turn, but is met with the feeling of cold glass under her fingertips as she sees a version of herself appear, taking the other personâs hand. The Vera in the mirror is spun around before ending in the other person's arms, back to the mirror. The other person appears content, and the band on their ring finger catches the light.
Vera turns away from the scene, and continues to clean the room. And the scene in the mirror shifts one final time, which Vera is able to catch out of the corner of her eyeâa different version of her, younger, perhaps, that just cocks her head to the side at Vera's actions.
The scene playing out before Ymir unfolds the final actions of the Outsiders, something that had occurred moments before Ymir had originally arrived at the gates. Strahd skillfully puts down the last group of adventurersâa blight spell is cast in the direction of a Human woman, while he readily disarms the gnomish spellcaster, twirling the blade he stole from the Gnome over his fingers before sinking it into its ownerâs chest. He pulls the Tabaxi that lunges at him in front of the advances of the Half-Elf, snapping her out of her rage. She struggles to shift gears and pull back, leaving Strahd free to hurl a fireball in her direction, resulting in her charred body crumpling to the floor. He disengages with the Tabaxi, as if they were partners in a dance pulling apart for a moment. The Tabaxi tries to get ready for another attack, but stumbles and falls, as if suddenly noticing all of the deep claw marks left on his body from where Strahd had come in contact with him.
And then a more familiar scene: the final Outsider versus Strahd, a battle that lasts longer than the other ones, but not by much. It's not long before the adventurer's final moments comeâa noble last attack, an attempt at sinking the blade of the Sunsword into Strahd's heart, prevented only by Strahd meeting the blade early, forcing it just inches higher than its intended mark. He sinks his fangs into her neck, and when the body in his embrace goes limp, he lets it drop to the floor.
And then there is a warmth pulsing from the hilt in Ymir's hand, and with it comes a bone-achingly deep feeling of sorrow. Strahd no longer stands over the bodies of the fallen, but still, the dream does not let Ymir look away from the scene laid out in front of her. A glow comes from the Sunsword, which Ymir can only just see out of the corner of her eye. Candlelight is the closest comparison, but in a moment it grows stronger. Brighter. Unlike nothing Ymir has ever truly experienced in her life before. And the light it casts on the area surrounding her begins to wash out details, until all that remains is but the suggestion of five bodies lying on the road.
And then, in the last moment before the dream fades away, the furthest slumped figure moves. The former bearer of the Sunsword begins to rise. The only one out of the group that Ymir and the others did not best during the fight on the bridge.
Days until the Wedding: 4
Morning comes once again to the guests at the Blue Water Inn--Ymir shares that she saw one of the previous adventurers rise after their defeat by Strahd at breakfast. This Outsider was the last to fall against Strahd, and was felled by a bite, leaving the group to worry if the adventurer has risen as a vampire. Will shares that they saw Strahd in their dream, and threw a chair at him.
In the middle of breakfast, the twins run in to the dining room, elated by their most recent find--a deer haunch that they had found in the yard. If the first was not intended as a threat, this one surely was. As the group investigates it further, it is clear that unlike the one from days before, this one looks as if it was ripped straight from the deer it once was a part of. In the meantime, Urwin and Danika dismiss the boys and exchange heated whispers about the relative safety of the Inn.
Urwin makes it clear to the group that they are all allowed to stay one more night, but after that, the would have to find alternate housing.
Ymir puts her abilities to use while tracking the scent of the deer, leading the group first back to the place it was left in the grassy area near the Blue Water Inn, and then out past the walls of Vallaki, where they were able to find the location the deer was slaughtered. The scene smelled heavily of undead, but where Strahd's scent is unmistakenly that of blood and (X), this one smelled more like (Y) and blood. Argova was able to tell that this smell was not the one that had been in possession of the embroidered handkerchief either. Whatever had taken down this deer had flown to this spot, much like they must have flown away from where they had placed it at Urwin's.
When they returned to the Blue Water Inn with the information, they encountered Pavel. [PAV INCIDENT]
Vera also shared with the group that she's missing an old journal of hers that she swears she had the previous evening.
Ymir caught Argova's scent while tracking down the undead, and her suspicions of "Abrovian" have only grown... as Argova smells of death and dying. However, it is difficult to discern if the smell is coming from Argova's body itself, or rather from the animal pelts that being toted around on their person.
As the group heads out to Berez, Urwin sends a message to Lucky on Ymir's behalf, asking her to meet the others in the Ruins of Berez, warning her about the vampire activity near the Blue Water Inn, and just urging her to stay safe in her travels.
The journey to Berez is fortunately uneventful. Coming into the ruins of the village once known as Berez, the sight of dilapadated scarecrows stuffed haphazardly with straw and raven feathers greets the party. Ymir recalls the frequency of conflicts that used to happen in this area, as Baba Lysaga, a prudent supporter of Strahd's, called Berez her home and held a specific and focused hatred for the Kindness.
Setting a new record for the most words out of their mouth, Argova recounts the mythos of Marina and the flood that swallowed Berez like it was a fairytale passed down through generations. Will catches a glimpse of something luminous out of the corner of their eye, but it disappears from view as they turn to look at it fully.
In the center of the village sits Baba Lysaga's hut, not only seemingly abandoned, but also peculiarly devoid of any signs of life--it almost seems as if no living thing has set foot in the hut in quite some time. Broken cages hang from the ceiling, their bottoms still scattered with raven feathers and small bird-like bones. In the center of the hut lies an abandoned wicker cradle. While searching thorough the hut, Will finds 20 Gold stored between the floorboards, keeping it for herself. Vera finds a set of Pipes of Haunting, and Ymir finds a scroll containing "Mass Cure Wounds", which she hands to Vera for safekeeping.
Through the window of the hut, Ymir is able to see what Will saw earlier--a shadowy figure in the fog, holding a lantern. It beckons towards the group, and Will informs the group that it is a Will-o-Wisp, a ghostly creature that seeks to lead others astray in order to prey upon them. The group decides not to follow it, instead searching through the ruins of the churchyard towards the west of the village. When nothing of note is found, they move onto the remnants of the Burgomeister's mansion. While the entire village is in various states of ruin and decay, the mansion seemingly got the worst of it. No windows remain in the building, and at their highest, the walls are barely taller than Ymir. Amidst the rubble strewn about, the group finds a ruined portrait. Although it is torn to shreds in places, and covered by a dark mold in others, the focuses of the portrait are mostly legible. A girl with deeply rust-colored hair sits center-frame in a plush chair, her expression unreadable due to the water damage. Standing behind her on her right side is a man in noble clothing. The former Burgomeister of Berez, his face tight.
The Will-o-Wisp beckons again from beyond the doorway, and upon a closer look, Ymir realizes that the shadowy figure behind the lantern has the same silhouette as the Burgomeister does in the ruined painting. As she continues to investigate it, she hears it speak to her.
The Sunsword... I can show you... where once it was laid to rest...
Following the Will-o-Wisp away from the remnants of the Burgomeister's mansion, the group was fully aware that they were most likely walking into some sort of trap. Vera cast bless on the party, using her thumb to draw a small figure on the foreheads of Ymir, Will, and Argova. While no one in the party could place the symbol Vera drew, Ymir and Argova were able to recognize that it was not one of the symbols of the Morning Lord, Ezra of the Mists, or of Mother Night, the three primary deities in Barovia.
The Will-o-Wisp illuminated a figure in the heavy fog, which turned out to be a statue of a young woman kneeling whilst clutching a rose in her hands. The group was able to read the plaque on the base of the pedestal which read Marina, Taken by the Mists.
The Wisp circled around the other side of the monument as the group inspected it, before extinguishing itself, reappearing aggressively in front of Ymir. Argova leapt into action, using its claws to tear through the space that the wisp occupied. While the attack did damage to the Wisp, the shadow holding the ball of light was able to knit itself back together, before diving into the space Argova was occupying. Argova felt it pass through her as it flooded their nervous system with electricity, but to the rest of the party it seemed as if the Wisp was hiding in Argova.
The area was quiet for a moment more--but only a moment. An ethereal cry resonated out from the statue, and a pair of ghostly hands appeared as a Banshee began to pull itself out of the statue. Ymir took the opportunity to plunge her rapier through the Banshee's chest, causing it to cry out again. The Banshee retaliated, digging its claw-like hands into Ymirâs arms and using her as an anchor to finish pulling itself out of the monument, letting out a strangled howl. It hovers in place for a moment, before approaching Vera and Will. As it drifts closer to the ground, it stares Vera in the eye as its visage shifts through several iterations--all similar enough in appearance, before landing on an appearance that is identical to that of the monument.
Will takes this opportunity to move between Vera and the Banshee, attacking it with their executioner's sword. The blade cleaves through its form with ease, but the Banshee pulls itself back together just as quickly. Vera drops focus on her blessing, switching instead to call forth her spirit guardians. Motes of honey-colored light appear like fireflies above the fog, before beginning to swarm around an empty spot on the field, and around the Banshee.
The motes drift towards Ymir for a moment, seemingly on a whim, and the Will-o-Wisp blinks back into existence in that very spot. It dives through Ymir, unable to do any damage, but as it begins to disappear once more, Ymir whips around with her rapier, shredding the light and the shadow that follows after it.
The Banshee turns to grab Will by the shoulders. Cold seeps into Will's shoulders as it tightens its grip, but Will's struggle is quickly interrupted by a sharp pain in their left side. A crossbow bolt had found its mark. A flash of green flame sparks up in the distance as Will's Hellish Rebuke returns the favor. Ymir invades Will's personal space for a moment, picking up the scent from the bolt, before racing off into the fog to track it down.
Ymir traces the scentâs origin. However, she isn't able to see anything near her, although her nose tells her otherwise. Hand on the hilt of her rapier, she waits patiently for something to change.
As blood drips down Will's side, the fog begins to collect around the feet of Vera and Will. The smell of death rolls onto the battlefield, and the fog turns a deep crimson as Vera's Spirit Guardians collect around it, but only for a moment. The Banshee tilts its head up towards the sky and lets out a wail that resonates in the bones of those near its epicenter. Vera winces, and her Spirit Guardians dissipate from the field. And Will falls from the Banshee's grasp, unconscious.
The sound pulls Ymir's attention in the direction of the others, and a knife sinks into her side. She lunges out with her rapier feeling it connect twice, seemingly tinging the air with blood. She lashes out with a clawed hand, but finds no purchase. But blood hangs in the air for a moment, before slowly beginning to give away the silhouette of a cloaked figure that cannot be more than a few feet tall.
Vera crouches down to heal Will, and upon touching her, Will jolts awake, uttering out "I think I just saw hell." As Vera helps Will back to their feet, the crimson fog begins to circle her feet, before it rises up to engulf Vera, draining her vitality. When it recedes, Vera is somehow paler than she was before, and a little more unsteady on her feet.
Ymir lunges at the cloaked figure, who stumbles backwards, falling backwards to the ground as its invisibility fully falters. It struggles to keep itself hidden, but it proves no match for Ymir. She tears the garment away, revealing a halfling with silver hair, fear reflecting in its green eyes. Now in close proximity, something connects in Ymir's brain. The halfling's scent is familiar⌠It matches the faint scent from the silk handkerchief they had found back in the Village of Barovia. She snarls, and attempts to sever the halflingâs Achilles tendon, but the halfling is struggling too much in her grasp to make the cut. Ymirâs claws carve into its leg nonetheless, and the halfling lets out a strangled cry. It makes another frantic move to try to get away from her, but Ymir leans in close to its face, bearing her sharp, wolfish teeth, and commands it, *âStay,â* before driving a dagger through its thigh, staking it to the ground. The halfling shrieks, and one of its arms slips in the mud below it, leaving it collapsed and fully prone in the marsh. Ymir demands to know if the halfling if it is the one controlling the fog, to which the halfling chokes out, âI donât-- Itâs not under my control! It shows up around this area when--when blood gets spilled.â Confident that the halfling isnât going far, Ymir races back to help the others.
Ymir slices through the bloody fog with her rapier, agitating it. As the fog begins to coalesce, Will uses the flat of their blade to fully dissipate it. It swirls into the air and, in a moment, the overwhelming smell of death no longer hangs over the marshes. The party re-groups, and Vera begins to say a Prayer of Healing as they walk over to where the halfling is still pinned to the ground.
Will steps down on the halflingâs arm, pinning it in place as she pulls the crossbow bolt from its place in her side. Leaning down, Will returns the bolt to the halfling by stabbing it through the center of his palm, embedding it in the ground beneath him. As he writhes in pain on the marshy ground, Ymir pulls her dagger out of his leg, causing more of his blood to seep into the ground as he cries out. Ymir barely needs to get a better look at the halfling to tell that he is an outsider, but not a new one.
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