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Hours along the road in a slow climb to the bridge spanning a gorge and 1,000ft waterfall. Gargoyle statues guard the bridge ends. Another hour sloshing thru the rain before huge gates block our path...we've seen the likes of this wall and gates before. Headless stone guardians and gates that creak open inviting us entrance, closing behind us.
More rain-soaked walking hours before we come to a fork in the road. We go left assuming this path descends to the valley and the village of Vallaki. Instead it ends at a dilapidated stone windmill. Infested with a coven of night hags!
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Dom...The Vistani know the land and its history: Strahd of royal blood, died centuries ago yet lives on as a vampire. His mother - queen Ravovia. These gypsies are free with information and their wine...maybe that explains my fitful dreams and morning headache as we rise to overcast skies and the throb of constant rain. Backtracking to the hangman fork to take the southern road rising to the bridge spanning the waterfall. Within hours the sound of a snorting horse and splash of hooves announce a skeletal horse with its rider holding a lantern high! The others maneuver off the road leaving Morthos and I to confront the tortured soul. Soon it is surrounded and laid to rest. Ireena suggests maybe it was a foreigner left to wander the land after dying within the mist. Which reinforces the rumor we've heard how you can't leave this land.
ReplyDeleteAt last we reach the bridge with gargoyle statues flanking each end...a menacing visual but no threat as we cross...the slippery stones of more concern. As we break for lunch, sitting upon fallen trees, Xoji discovers a bundle stuffed inside a cavity...common clothing. I joke maybe it's change of clothing for a werewolf. The look upon Ismark's face suggests maybe it's no joke. Food is quickly finished as we get back on the trail soon coming to another massive wall with its tall gates and headless stone guardians. The other end of Strahd's reign? Surprisingly the gates open to let us thru then close with an eerie creak. While the rain and fog continue, the road seems to level and become more welcoming. Within hours we startle a stag side the road, its massive rack of antlers thrust skyward as it stops grazing. Lucky shots drop the game before it escapes; enough venison collected for our evening meal.
The road forks barely a mile ahead. Mountain range north before us, valley to our left, we take the left path expecting it to lead us to Vallaki. Instead, we come upon a dilapidated stone windmill; its wooden vanes stripped bare, dirt covered windows hide the inside. A black raven sits upon a ledge squawking. Four headstones or monoliths ring the mill. The 1st has crude carvings of a city adorn with flowers, the 2nd etched with the same city in snow. Spring and winter? Upon the 3rd (same city with leaves - autumn) sits another raven pecking at something. A pastry? Fresh? At the foot on the stone we find a small stone circle with white bones inside. Looking closer - children's teeth?! Our neck hair rises as we are on guard. Leaving Ireena and Ismark outside, we enter the mill. This 1st floor is a makeshift kitchen with a push-cart shoved to one side. Reminds me of the pastry peddler I encountered in Barovia. With little searching we climb the stairs looking for the witch who sacrifices kids. On the 2nd floor we startle a haggard old women, her apron blood stained. Little time for question as 2 more women descend the stairs from above. Xoji warns he senses evil about the same time the women cast. I'm paralyzed as the others attack, Xoji casting 'Divine Smite' upon his blade while yelling for Ismark as we obviously are outclassed. I'm barely revived before Xoji and Ismark are paralyzed. We've stumbled upon a coven of night hags - fiends exiled from hades itself. While I cast to free Xoji, a hag puts a curse upon him. A losing battle as we struggle to kill at least one. Yet when Xoji kills the 1st, the tide turns. The coven broken, but not before casting puts me to sleep. Awoken by Xoji's hard slap as he 'Lays-On-Hands'. When we kill the last bitch we realize we were all near death ourselves. Free to search, we find crates on the 3rd floor...the 2nd and 3rd containing a small boy and girl (Freek and Mertle) which means the empty 1st crate's occupant was already sacrificed...the bloody apron.
As we camp here for the night, the kids tell how their parents in Barovia sold them for the hags pastries. We make note their last name and parent description for when we return to THAT city. For now, we rest and recoup.
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