Ep. 5: First Night In Vallaki
DnD Curse of Strahd Recap — Feb 19, 2021
Days Spent in Barovia:
- Aashuri & Therean: 5
- Jihyo: 371
St. Andral’s Orphanage
Last session, our party of three: Jihyo the half-elf fighter, Therean the half-elf bard, and Aashuri the aasimar sorcerer, were heading over the St. Andral’s Orphanage to inquire about the mysterious letter written by Morgantha. It was getting close to night when they arrived. The orphanage was a large building, but it notably had one broken window on the 2nd floor. They saw a young child around 8 years old standing behind the broken window. The child waved and the party saw that he had a kitchen knife in his hand. He smiled at them.
When the party knocked, a severe grey haired woman named Ms. Claudia Belasco answered the door. The party asked if she knew any person called Vasili, and if she knew anything about the possible presence of witches. Ms. Belasco was guarded, as the party could not explain why they needed to know such things. The party asked to enter, but Ms. Belasco explained that the children were being put to bed and that she was busy with managing the house and overseeing repairs for the window. The party did not ask how the window was broken.
The party asked about generally suspicious happenings around the orphanage. Ms. Belasco disclosed that some children (3 boys) had run away. Their names were Lazlo, Hans, and Franz, all around 11 years of age. Ms. Belasco asked that the party return in the morning if they still wished to ask more questions or investigate matters within the orphanage. They party could not find much evidence of where the children may have gone.
The Church of St. Andral
The party noticed that an older man dressed in priest robes was sweeping in front of the St. Andral’s Church, which was directly across from the orphanage. The priest, Father Lucian, could not divulge much information about what might be happening at the orphanage, although he suspected something dark and suspicious was occurring. However, he was currently preoccupied by another trouble. The sacred bones of St. Andral himself have been stolen. The bones were kept in a secret place in the church and it made the church grounds holy. Hallowed grounds keep dark creatures such as vampires at bay. The people of Vallaki found safety in the church grounds. If the bones were not found, the holy effect would fade, making the church vulnerable.
Father Lucian suspected that the church gravedigger, Milivoj, may have been the one behind the theft. However, Milivoj had not been to work for some time. Milivoj was a former orphan and resident at the orphanage, but he supposedly still lives at the orphanage as a caretaker and helps care for the children. Lucian had not had the opportunity to inquire about Milivoj at the orphanage, but asked the party to investigate when they have a chance.
The Blue Water Inn
As the night was getting dark, the party decided to stay at the Blue Water Inn to discuss what their next steps should be. The Blue Water Inn was a fairly busy place. They encountered two wolf hunters who informed them they were going to hunt werewolves in Kresk. The wolf hunters left behind a book called A Hunt By Moonlight by the famous monster hunter Rudolph van Richten. Therean decided to peruse the book at the counter before turning it in to Danika, the innkeeper, for safekeeping. Danika’s husband Urwin Martikov was the cook in the kitchen. The party learned that Urwin had family that owns a winery southwest of Vallaki, and all of Barovia’s wine comes from them. The party paid for a night at the inn, which also covered an evening meal of bread and soup. Therean decided to perform at the inn with his new banjitaur, which was well received by the inn guests.
The party attempted to eavesdrop on locals conversations in the inn. Jihyo observed some people who look like wolf hunters, but she overheared that they were just hired to work at the Reformation Center. The off duty guards complain that there are too many keys to keep track of, and they wish they had a skeleton key like the Burgomaster’s. The guards also asked Danika if Bluto has been seen recently.
Danika explained to the party that Bluto was a regular, but also a good-for-nothing town drunk who spent all his time fishing at the lake. The lake was not known for having any fish. This may have been due to a mad mage who was often sighted at the north end of the lake shooting lighting into the water.
Rictavio
Therean noticed a half-elf bard drinking by himself. He approached to ask if he was Rictavio, as the name was mentioned by the toy maker Blinsky. The half-elf bard confirmed that he was, but he was not eager to explain his purpose in the town. Rictavio offered to tell Therean and the party more if they followed him to his room. The party agreed to follow.
In Rictavio’s private room, he explained that he has been spying on the political situation in Vallaki and the two major opposing factions are the Burgomaster and his town guards, and Lady Fiona Wachter and her strange cult of followers who are allegedly allied with Strahd. He informed them that two of the guests the party saw drinking in the taproom of the inn are actually Lady Wachter’s sons. Lady Wachter was actively opposed to the Burgomaster. Rictavio refused to explain why he was spying and where he actually came from. He only stated that his warning is a courtesy to them as fellow travelers. Both the Burgomaster and Lady Wachter were dangerous. He seemed to emphasize that Lady Wachter in particular was dangerous. He told them to leave town as quickly as they could, and to keep their heads down in the meantime.
Team Huddle
The party retired to their room at the inn to discuss all they have learned.
Therean first needed to disclose to the party that he had met with Strahd the previous night during his watch when the party was still camped in the woods. He did not remember it right away because Strahd casted a spell to modify his memory. During the conversation, Strahd had charmed Therean. Strahd stated he believed Therean and his friends likely had a false impression of him. Regarding the incident with Doru, it was consensual. Strahd claimed he never turns anyone without their permission. Strahd also explained that he once lost the love of his life, Tatyana, and he would do anything to have her back, as her soul belongs to him. However, he did not mean to be so forward with Aashuri. As an act of good faith, Strahd gifted Therean with a magic item: a ring of inspiration.
During the secret encounter in the woods, Therean also asked Strahd about the history of the land and his connection with the Vistani. Strahd explained that the Vistani saved him from his enemies long ago when he was still conquering the valley. His enemies were the Dusk Elves. Therean also learned that Strahd’s servant (the one with the strange screaming aura) was also a dusk elf.
The party did not understand why Strahd would disclose that he was once nearly killed by the dusk elves. Convinced that the dusk elves may have some secret insight into Strahd’s weakness, Therean suggested they should seek them out and speak with them.
Regarding the requests for help they’ve received in Vallaki, Aashuri stated that as pitiful as the people are in this town, there didn’t seem to be a reason to stick their noses into other people’s business. Aashuri callously declared that she simply doesn’t care about the troubles of the townsfolk. She also believed that if Milivoj was actually responsible for the theft of St. Andral’s bones, then it wasn’t likely that Milivoj was still in town.
The party expressed some interest in Lady Wachter, as she seemed to be the only active force against the oppressive Baron Vargas. Therean also pointed out that they still needed to investigate Lake Zarovich to see if they can fulfill a Tarokka prophecy. The party agreed to see the lake first thing in the morning. Thus concluded their first night in Vallaki.
Lake Zarovich
The next morning, the party arrived at the lake and saw that there was a lone boat in the center. There appeared to be a man fishing. They also noticed that the man had a large sack with him, which was wriggling. Therean intelligently called out to the man to warn him that something was in his sack. Flustered by the party’s attention, the man in the boat grabbed the bag and tossed it into the lake. The party heard the scream of a child as it hit the water.
Acting quickly, both Therean and Jihyo attempted to swim to the child, but Jihyo was hindered by her armor. Therean was quick to arrive to the bag and cut it open to free the child. A Vistana girl emerged, clinging to Therean for dear life. Aashuri threatened the man, whom the party deduced as Bluto, with a necrotic hand from her chill touch. When he could not clearly explain himself, Aashuri struck him, severely injuring him with necrotic magic.
Bluto explained that he heard rumors Vistani might have special abilities that bring luck, so he captured a Vistana girl to see if her presence would help him catch some fish. He did not understand why the party was so offended that he nearly killed a child (“She’s only a Vistana. Why do you care?”). Therean’s moral sensibilities were so offended that he tossed the man from the boat and rowed the girl back to shore. The Vistana girl spat a curse at Bluto as they passed him, but she also berated Therean for being too slow to save her from falling into the lake.
Arabelle
In speaking with her, they learned that was Arabelle, daughter of Luvash and neice of Arrigal. The party wished her a happy birthday and gave her the stuffed wolf doll from Blinsky’s. Accepting the gift, she explained that her father Luvash was the leader of the Vistani encampment outside of Vallaki, and Luvash would likely reward them for saving her. She also disclosed that she was the one who led them to Madam Eva with her mysterious note. She had a friendly raven sneak the notes into the Therean and Aashuri’s clothes when they first arrived in Barovia. Arabelle explained she has some amount of prescience through tarokka cards, and she knew that they would eventually come to save her. She also knew that her fate is woven in with theirs in the fight against the darkness.
The party enthusiastically began to ask her questions about their future, but Arabelle was forced to dash their hopes. She cannot know EVERYTHING about the future, although she would be sure to warn them if they were about to die.
As they began to leave the lake, they spotted a giant glowing elk on the northern shore of the lake. Arabelle exclaimed that it must be the mad mage. Curious about him, the party decided they wanted to meet the mad mage. Arabelle seemed conflicted about following them, but as she believed she was destined to be their ally, she reluctantly followed.
Next Episode: (6) Mad Mage & More Mysteries
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