Tales & MythsCurse Of Strahd - Chapter 3 (Madame Eva) |
First Published 2 April 2021
This article is relative to The Domains Of Dread.
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World Date: 4th Moon 19th 735
Session Date: 5 February 2021
They stood looking at the smouldering embers of the remains of the house in front of them for a few moments. Ismark then urged them to return to the Burgomaster's house, although he did mention only a couple of minutes of time had passed for him since they had followed the children into the house.
Ireena waited patiently with her dead father, who she had now laid down flat on the ground. She was preparing to nail the coffin closed when the party returned. "We must head to the cemetery now if we are to bury him today." she said. "The sun has begun to set." The four biggest of them each grabbed a corner of the coffin, and placing it on their shoulders they headed up the road toward the chapel on the outskirts of town. On the way Ismark explained to them that the town had shunned the local priest Donavich, as it seemed he had recently gone mad.
As they passed The Grape On The Vine the dusk light made it hard to see ahead, but they could make out the silhouette of two humanoids, one hunched over and one about seven foot tall. As they got closer they could see an old woman with a trolley showing an extra large goliath a pie. Ismark told them to put the coffin down, then he took off at a run. "Don't touch that pie!" He shouted, and grabbed it from the old woman. "Be gone crone! We have no need for you in our village!". The old woman hissed at him, then turned her trolley and limped away. As she moved away the others could see a large empty cage in the bottom of her trolley, and Ignatius mentioned that she may work for Mrs. McDoughurtie. Gregor thought that the cage looked bigger than one you would put a cat in. Ismark threw the pie to the ground, and shouted at the goliath. "Never eat dream pastries! They will be the death of you!". The goliath grabbed Ismark by the throat, throttled him for a moment, then threw him to ground.
The Dream Pastries seller
The others helped him off the ground, and Gregor asked him his name. The goliath ignored him and turned to Cwn. "Tell the human I have no interest in his questions." he said. "I am happy to talk to you though, elf.". He looked back at Gregor with a stare that could kill. "I HATE humans." Although actually an eladrin, Cwn took no offence and asked who the goliath was. He explained his name was Maragath Parvulus Olavi. He had gotten into a bar fight in Daggerford and had to flee. He made it to The Misty Forest, but got lost in the unusually thick mists, and the next thing he knew he had emerged on the road to this village. The party explained their situation was similar and he asked Cwn if he could travel with them.
Picking the coffin back up they pushed on toward the church. The sun slowly set on the horizon beyond. As they reached the front door of the chapel they found it shut tight, as if secured from the inside. Molly mentioned the scratches she could see around the building - similar to the ones seen on the home of the Burgomaster. "The devil has been here also. Even the realms of the holy are no longer safe!" Ireena hissed. Molly and Ignatius looked around the building, and at the rear the wizard could see in the windows (but the kobold was too short). A lone priest knelt at the altar of the chapel, and it appeared he was praying frantically. Molly knocked on the window, but he took no notice. She could see the chapel was in a very poor state. They went back to the front door, and Gregor and Ismark made the decision to bust in. With a few good shoves they got through the barricade on the other side.
Leaves and other debris blew freely through the corridor beyond. As they walked out of the corridor into the chapel area they could see just how bad the state of the place was. Pews were overturned and smashed. Old hymn books lay tattered and torn, and pages swirled around as the wind blew in from the open front doors. Some sort of scuffle had happened here. The lone priest was still there, kneeling and frantically praying, and that moment the party heard the first of many blood curdling screams. "FATHER! I'M HUNGRY! PLEASE...!" The sound came from below them, and it was truly horrific. Ismark called to the priest. "Donavich. It is Ismark and Ireena! We are here to bury the Burgomaster!". Donavich turned and the party could see he was as unkempt as his chapel. His robes were torn, and he looked like he had not eaten in a considerable amount of time. "Be gone from here..." he said through sobs. "This place is cursed. Your father will find no peace here." Ismark refused to take no for an answer and shook the priest. "Snap out of it old man. You will preside over the funeral of our father!". The old priest reluctantly agreed, and they headed outside to find a suitable location to bury the casket.
The screams from below continued, and Donavich did not even flinch. He was clearly so used to the sound. Molly asked him who was below the chapel, and he told the sad tale of his son, Doru. Just over a year ago a strange (but very powerful) wizard had come to the lands, and rallied as many commoners as he could to rise against Strahd. He marched them all to the castle, but Strahd defeated the wizard, and turned everyone still alive into his vampire spawn minions - then returned them home as a warning to others not to challenge him. His son had been down there ever since, and was desperately thirsty for blood. They had reached a suitable place and Ismark and Gregor began to dig. Cwn asked Maragath if he wouldn't mind helping, and he too began to dig. It was late in to the evening now, and Donavich urged them to hurry. He said that it was too dangerous to be in the graveyard at midnight.
Father Donavich and Doru
With the grave finally dug they lowered the casket in, and Donavich said a few quick words to Lathander, a god that had long forgotten him and his people - as all gods had here. "It is not safe here after dark. We must get back inside." Donavich warned yet again. As the final word of the sentence fell from his mouth a swarm of bats swept over the group as if from nowhere. They covered their faces and dropped to their knees, as the bats tore at their skin and clothes. As the fluttering cleared they heard Ismark hiss "THE DEVIL IS HERE!" On the horizon, with the silhouette of the mountain and his castle behind him, sat Strahd - perched on a horse that burned with intense flames. He whispered a command and a pack of wolves leapt passed him and charged at the group.
Gregor ran forward and cast Entangle on the howling beasts, and a number of them were immediately trapped. Maragath ran forward intending to strike Strahd, but as he got close enough he was stricken by fear. "BEWARE THE DEVIL! HE WILL DESTROY YOU!" Ismark shouted, and the goliath turned on an approaching wolf instead. Molly fired a Magic Missile and three of them went down, but one leapt on her. Ignatius jumped on it and with his dagger slit it's throat from ear to ear. At that moment they heard Ismark's blood-curdling scream of "IREENA!!!! NO!!!". Strahd beckoned her from the back of his burning nightmare, and they could now see how she had been so easily bitten before. "Tatyana my love - Come to me!" Strahd called, and as his hand beckoned her Ireena walked to him in a trance-like state. Cwn grabbed her around the waist, and she did not fight back. She just kept walking. "Tatyana..." the vampire called again, and Ireena did her best to continue forward with Cwn's body weight hanging from her. Gregor struck down two more wolves now, and Maragath and Ismark took one each, and they could see Strahd becoming restless. "I have had enough excitement for this evening. You have fought impressively. I shall be watching you all. Tatyana, I shall return for you soon…" and with that he turned and rode away. The remaining wolves followed him into the darkness beyond.
Donavich hissed "Next time let him take her! At least he will leave us alone then!". "How dare you speak about my sister that way!" Ismark said in return. The old priest retorted in a snarl "She isn't even your blood!" After seeing the look on both their faces he realised they had no idea what he was talking about. "Your father found her in The Svalich Woods near the pillar-stone of Ravenloft when she was very young. I'm sorry. I should not have been so rude. I was scared." Ismark gave no forgiveness, and finished burying the coffin of his father. A few moments later Molly enquired "Um. What is that?". The old priest looked on in terror. "Oh no. It is midnight. Stand perfectly still and they won't hurt you." The group watched on as dozens of spectral forms rose from nearby graves and shambled toward them. Gregor slowly readied himself, but as the first of them met him face to face then passed through him, and continued on out the graveyard and up the road, he knew they were in no danger. The whole thing took no more than 6 or 7 minutes, and they were gone - dozens of them disappearing faintly into the distance along the road through the centre of town. Ismark explained "At midnight every night the souls of every man or woman that has ever stood against Strahd rise from their graves and walk the road to Ravenloft, his castle." He pointed to the castle on the hill in the far distance behind them. "It is said when they arrive the gates open to allow them entry, then one by one they climb to the top of the battlements and throw themselves into the ravine below. He forces them to die over and over and over every night as a warning to others that may try to defeat him."
They made their way back inside and Donavich's son immediately started screaming again. "FATHER! I'M SO HUNGRY!" he cried out. "He needs to be taken care of." Gregor announced, and the old priest understood where this was going. He begged them not to hurt his son, but after a few minutes of convincing knew that it was the right thing to do. Donavich showed them a hatch in one of the entrance rooms, but it was chained shut. He said he had thrown away the key, so Gregor broke the lock. Opening the door and looking down into the putrid smelling darkness they realised they may need a plan. Molly suggested they distract the vampire spawn, so Cwn dragged the freshly killed carcass of one of the wolves inside. Throwing it down the ladder into the darkness they saw it get snatched away before a range of slurping and tearing noises were heard.
Realising that was useless, Molly then suggested a different approach - They should look for a soft spot in the rotting floor, then coax the vampire spawn into climbing through it up to them. It sounded worth trying, and they soon found a broken piece of flooring next to the altar. They broke the flooring up, then dangled another wolf. The vampire spawn latched on, and they dragged him out into the open. He has just feasted, so had energy, but was no where near fuelled enough to fight. Ismark lead Donavich into one of the rooms, and the party surrounded his son. With one cleave Maragath cut it's head clean off, and the creature was dead. They threw the detached body back into the hole. Donavich wailed from the other room.
Back on task now Ismark told them they must now get moving to take Ireena to the walled town of Vallaki. They had now witnessed firsthand how much danger she was in. Donavich suggested an alternative. "Continue past Vallaki." he said. "The Abbey Of Saint Markovia is a far safer place to be if you wish to avoid the gaze of the devil!". They agreed to stay here for the remainder of the night to help the priest grieve, then they would hit the road first thing the following morning.
I am the ancient. I am the land.
My beginnings are lost in the darkness of the past.
I am not dead. Nor am I alive.
I am undead, forever.
Strahd van Zarovich (from the 'Tome Of Strahd')
They headed out at first light, still tired from the battle the night before. Ismark bid them farewell, staying to look after the village. As dark as times were here, the common people still needed leadership, and he would now take the role of Burgomaster whether he wanted it or not. He begged the party to take care of his sister, and they promised they would. The first stop was Vallaki, and if necessary they would continue on to the abbey Donavich had spoken of.
They walked for most of the day, and occasionally saw The River Ivlis come and go in and out of view. The road steadily climbed, and late in the afternoon they came to a crossroads. They stopped to have a look around. The road continued on ahead and a rough dirt path lead steeply downward. From the obvious wagon marks Ireena could tell it was a Vistani trail. And old graveyard was off the road to one side, and the gravestones had lost any fine details of names or dates centuries ago. In front of the small graveyard stood and ancient gallows, and an old skeleton that was close to turning to dust hung from the rope. Gregor moved in for a closer look. He didn't realise it, but he didn't see the old skeleton the others did - but instead saw a solid body dressed in what appeared to be his own hand-decorated armor. He looked at the face of the deceased and realised it was him. He hung from the gallows. Shocked, he recoiled and fired a Sacred Flame spell at the hanging body. The skeleton immediately disintegrated. A large raven laded on the top of the gallows and looked right at him. As it croaked he fired a Sacred Flame spell at it also, but the bird flew away before it hit. "It is considered bad luck to harm a raven in Barovia!" came a male voice from behind them. Turning the party saw a number of Vistani men a few feet away. The party began to draw their weapons, but the man spoke again. "Steady your weapons. Come. Madam Eva is expecting you." They turned and started down the rough path. The party looked to Ireena, and she merely said "The Vistani often know things other don't. We should go with them… but stay on guard."
They followed the group of men down the road for at least a couple of hours, slowly winding down towards The River Ivlis way below. With the moon now high in the sky, they arrived at a small camp on the riverbank. The sound of the nearby Tser Falls crashing into the river a few mile's away rumbled in the distance. Four wagons were parked in a circle around a large fire, and a number of tents were set up around the outside. Eight large draft horses grazed on the grasses at the water's edge. Gregor quickly surveyed the scene and counted at least twelve Vistani around the fire. "Come! Sit with us!" one of the men called. All but Maragath complied (cautiously), and took a seat on the logs around the fire. The goliath instead wandered over to one of the wagons, and opened the rear door. One of the Vistani stood and called to him in an aggravated tone. "Hey! What are you doing in my wagon?" he called. "I need to sleep." Maragath replied, and laid down on the small bed inside. By the time the Vistani man reached the wagon the goliath was already snoring heavily, and he realised he meant no harm. Cwn apologised saying "Sorry. We only met him ourselves a few hours ago..."
The Tser Pool encampment
[click the image to enlarge]
The Vistani that was clearly in charge suddenly said "A mighty wizard came to this land over a year ago. I remember him like it was yesterday. He sat exactly where you're sitting. A very charismatic man, he was. He thought he could rally the people of Barovia against the devil Strahd. He stirred them with thoughts of revolt and bore them to the castle en-masse! When the vampire appeared, the wizard's peasant army fled in terror. A few stood their ground and were never seen again. The wizard and the vampire cast spells at each other. Their battle flew from the courtyards of Ravenloft to a precipice overlooking the falls. I saw the battle with my own eyes! Thunder shook the mountainside, and great rocks tumbled down upon the wizard, yet by his magic he survived. Lightning from the heavens struck the wizard, and again he stood his ground. But when the devil Strahd fell upon him, the wizard's magic couldn't save him. I saw him thrown a thousand feet to his death. I climbed down to the river to search for the wizard's body, to see if, you know, he had anything of value, but The River lvlis had already spirited him away." He burst into laughter, and slapped Cwn on the back. "It was fated that you would all visit our camp. Madam Eva foretold your coming. She awaits you." He pointed to the largest tent, and urged them to go to it.
They walked toward the large tent, and Cwn stopped at the wagon on the way to wake the sleeping goliath. Entering the tent they saw an old woman, sat at a table in the centre. The tent was dimly lit by burning braziers, and the old woman called them in as their eyes adjusted to the crystal ball on the table in front of her. "You are not the only ones trapped here." she said. "Every one of us has our own story. I too cannot leave here, but have seen many like you come and think they can leave one day. There is only one way to leave this cursed place. You must defeat Strahd von Zarovich." She lifted the crystal ball from the table in front of her and placed it on the floor, took a deck of cards from a small box next to her. Splitting the deck she said "This is called The Tarroka Deck. These cards will tell your fortune!". She laid the cards out in a cross shape on the table, taken three from one half of the deck and two from the other.
She looked over the cards, and pointing to the first began to speak.
She smiled now, and they were shocked when she said "I have a gift for each of the travellers." She got up and walked to an old chest. Reaching inside she took out some items.
She first turned to Gregor. "For you, the holy man - This is an Amulet Of The Devout". She handed him a necklace with a gold medallion on it. A bolt of lightning made of tiny gems adorned the medallion, one of the symbols of the seafaring god Valkur. "This amulet will help you be one with your god when in battle." she said.
She moved to Ignatius next. "One with such light fingers may want to keep them covered. These will make your talents more… pronounced. These are often called Gloves Of Thievery." She handed him a set of small gloves. He slid them onto his tiny hands, and was amazed by how well they fit him.
"You who are one with nature, this is for you. Many refer to it as a Bag Of Tricks." She handed Cwn an ordinary old tan bag, which appeared empty. Cwn took it and reached inside. He lifted out a small, fuzzy ball. "When next in battle call upon nature to make that ball your companion!" she said. He put the ball back in the bag.
Turning to Molly she said "And for you spellcaster, I have something that is not normally for one who casts spells of your kind, but this one has been made specially for you. This is a Staff Of Withering." She handed her a quarterstaff with a carved hand on the end. "If you must fight hand to hand, fight with this - and it will assist you to vanquish your enemies."
"Lastly, the largest of your group." She looked into Maragath's eyes for a moment then smiled. She walked to the back of the tent and returned with a large axe. "This is known as a Berserker Axe!" she proclaimed. "This axe can win you many battles - but it could also lose you any war. Use it carefully." She handed it to him, and the moment it was in his hands the others saw how much he looked one with it.
"I am tired now." Madam Eva announced. "It is time for you to leave." They each thanked her, then turned to go. "Wait!" she called to them. "One last thing. Never harm a raven in Barovia, as they may be carrying a lost soul. They may even be a friend that you haven't met yet." She then cackled with laughter, and for the first time they all felt a slight touch of madness in her ancient voice. They walked out the tent, and went back to fire. Only small embers burnt and looking up Gregor realised the sun was rising. The entire night had passed while they were in the tent. The camp site was free of people (besides one or two Vistani on watch) as they had all retreated their wagons.
To be continued…
Outstanding Quests -
Completed Quests -
Kill Count To Date -
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