After being separated from the caravan you were hired to guard, you found yourselves together, and lost in the mists. You came across an old, once-regal mansion, and were hailed by 2 young children, Rose and Thorn. The children begged you to enter the house, and slay a mysterious "monster" who was terrorizing them.
You bravely entered the house of the Durst Family. The family consisted of Gustav, his wife Elisabeth, the two children Rose and Thorn, a newborn Walter, and Karla, their nanny. All was not what it seemed.
You found clues that led you to believe that Walter was the illegitimate son of Gustav and the nanny, and were shocked to discover that Rose and Thorn were ghosts, having been starved to death who knows how many years ago. Cináed insisted on taking the bones of the children with you, to bury in consecrated ground, and free their souls.
You found a secret door leading to a large underground area, where the Dursts and fellow cultists practiced their sacrifices and rituals, hoping to gain the favor of the leader of the area, Strahd von Zarovich. Eventually, you were forced to fight the hideous creature that Walter had become, a Flesh Mound.
After defeating this, you spoke briefly with the spirit of Gustav, learned that Elisabeth was the main driver and architect of the cult's plans, and made your way outside, only to see the house itself collapse into the earth.
You found yourselves outside, near the seemingly bottomless pit the house had become, surrounded by thick mists, fog, and forest. You made your way to a road, finding a dead human and some mysterious scratches and marks in a nearby tree. The compass that was clutched in the man's hand was spinning wildly, and it's direction got even more chaotic as you neared the greenish, thick mists along the road to the east.
Choosing to avoid that apparently impenetrable mist, you headed west on the road, quickly encountering, and just as quickly dispatching a group of zombies. As night drew close, you chose to spend the night in an old tower. The next day you passed through the ancient gates that guarded the east borders of this land, and made your way to the village of Barovia.
As you approached the village, it was obvious that it had been under siege. Many of the houses on the edges of the Village of Barovia were abandoned, and makeshift barricades and trenches had been constructed. As you entered town, you were met by the son of the Burgomaster of Barovia, Ismark, and were offered a place to stay the night, in exchange for helping protect the town from the undead hordes that had been attacking the village each night.
Castle Ravenloft is perched high above the village, and is the home to Strahd von Zarovich, who the villagers believe is a vampire. Tales of his reign of terror have been handed down for hundreds of years, but the castle had been quiet for over 70 years.
You learned that several months ago the son of Father Doravich had convinced a traveler named Alanik Rey and a few dozen of the younger villagers to rise up, travel to Castle Ravenloft, and attempt to slay Strahd and free the city, perhaps ending the curse they believe they are under, allowing true sunlight to shine once again in the valley. This did not go well, and six days before your arrival, Strahd started assaulting the village with hordes of undead each night. Unpersuaded to stand their ground by the Burgomaster's son, Ismark, a large group of them left for a larger hamlet to the west named Vallaki.
Night descended and you bravely fought off the waves of undead, including a deadly, exploding Plague Bearer. You rushed to Ismark's aid, killing another Plague Bearer. Shortly after this, the Chamberlain of Castle Ravenloft and Strahd's majordomo, an ancient elf named Rahadin, appeared and read a proclamation from Strahd stating that vengeance had been meted out and that as long as they did not raise their hand against him again, and proved loyal, the nightly attacks would cease. Rahadin congratulated Ismark on "his new position of autority", which caused him and the group to rush back to the Burgomaster's house. Once there, you found the Burgomaster dead, and Ismark's sister Ireena unconscious, apparently bitten, but not turned, by Strahd himself.
The next day, Ismark, now the new Burgomaster, asked you to escort Ireena to Vallaki to protect her from Strahd, as well as from the villagers who superstitions about redheaded women put her in danger. She agreed to go, with the intent on finding and helping the villagers who fled to Vallaki.
You helped carry the Burgomaster's coffin to the church, where you found out Doru had returned... as a vampire spawn. Father Donavich asked you to slay "the hideous creature that wears my son's skin", and you ventured into the church's undercroft. There you were surprised, when Doru proposed a test to see if he could resist the dark urges his new form imposed on him. You assented, and he managed to fight off the evil desires fresh blood gave him. You learned that the girl who had went missing, presumably going to the castle to plead for the attacks to stop, was his betrothed. He willingly gave you Father Donavich's holy symbol, which allowed the priest to preform the burial ceremony. The late Burgomaster was buried, as well as the bones of Rose and Thorn, freeing them.
Having paid your respects to the late Burgomaster, you gathered your things and headed towards Vallaki. Ismark suggested a stop at a Vistani encampment at Tser Pool, both to break the journey and to have the wise seer Madame Eva read your card, and perhaps dispense with advice about your plight. On the way you encountered some guards, fruitlessly searching for the missing girl, Gertruda.
You then found the supply cache mentioned by Doru (placed there by Alanik Rey in case of emergency)... but it was surrounded by zombies! You distracted them with a thrown rock, collecting some helpful items. As you were dividing the loot, two of the zombies found you, but were easily dispatched. One of them was wearing a pair of magic gloves, which Deloris began to study.
You encountered a richly appointed black carriage, and the Baron Strahd von Zarovich himself stepped out to address you. An unlucky Johnny Mars made eye contact with the imposing figure, and was quickly charmed, unable to do anything other than stare rapturously at the Baron. Strahd posed several questions, and seems satisfied, if disinterested and aloof, with the party's answers. Cobalt was warned for his insolence several times, finally being told that if he spoke again he, and any who came to his aid, would be summarily killed. He chose to stay silent.
Once Strahd had departed, you made your way down the steep side path, making it to the Vistani village. Here, you were informed that Madame Eva was expecting you. You inquired as to Strahd's presence and were told he came to have his cards read, just like you, but she was bound not to share the details of any reading with anyone other than the subjects themselves.
The old woman sat down and deal out the cards of the Tarokka, reading your future... in vague and mysterious terms. After some time at the fire, you all turned in, mulling the words of the cards, and your place in this land.
You spent the night at the Vistani Encampment at Tser Pool. During the night, Cobalt received a dream indicating that his Patron, Orcus, had abandoned him due to siding against Strahd. This was quickly followed by another dream of a shadowy woman, and was given a vision of a hiding place for ... something.
In the morning the party packed up and headed towards Vallaki. Along the way, the met a revenant on the bridge over Tser Falls, who asked if they were loyal to Strahd. When he was told no, he informed them that at some point the should speak with Sir Godfrey Gwilym, who "awaits those who would raise their swords against the darkness that lurks in the castle's depths", and he could be found in Argynvostholt, which can be found "west, beyond the walled town, then south upon the ash-grey path. The revenant was a member of the Order of the Silver Dragon in life.
Continuing, the party found a ruined guardhouse, and within, Deloris found a silver locket, while Cobalt found his Hexblade, an ornate scimitar from the Shadowrealm, gifted to him by his new Patron, the Raven Queen.
Passing an old windmill, you encountered a sweet old woman named Morgantha, who, with her sisters, bake and sell Dream Pastries, succulent meat pies, "filled with the light and love of dreaming", to the villagers of Barovia and Vallaki, and who reside in the old mill. Lark decided they smelled wonderful, and bought one, and was advised the pastries tasted best after a warm meal, "especially with a nice bit of wine to wash them down."
The party encountered a band of wolves, and fought them off with little trouble, though Deloris did take a minor wound. Soon, Vallaki was visible below, and as they drew nearer, Ireena was drawn to the shores of Lake Zarovich. She was certain she'd never been there, but it was intensely familiar to her.
You reached the gates of Vallaki, and Ireena had a brief, cold encounter with the refuges from the Village of Barovia encamped outside the walls. You were admitted through the gates, but were subjected to a search, and all your silver coins were confiscated "to aid the defense of the city". You found your way to The Bluewater Inn, and secured rooms. During a dinner of wolf stew and crusty brown bread, you observed a flamboyant bard named Rictavio entertained the patrons with a fantastic story of a vampire, and Johnny was inspired to treat the gathered Vallakians with a rousing musical show.
Your first morning in Vallaki, you fulfilled your promise to Ismark, and escorted Ireena safely to the Church of St. Andral. There, Father Lucian Petrovich informed you that the holy Bones of St Andral, which were part of the hallowing that keeps the church safe, had been stolen the night before. You offered to investigate, and a cunning use of Detect Thoughts by Johnny revealed the the youth, Milivoj, had been coerced into stealing them at the behest of the coffin-maker, Henrik. Quickly making your way there, Johnny again proved his worth, using Suggestion to get Henrik to "open the door and let us help you". A terrified Henrik told you the location of the bones, upstairs, and that he did this under duress. One of the Brides of Strahd, Volenta Popofsky, also a vampire, had threatened to kill him if her didn't deliver the bones. He had no insight about why she wanted the bones, but warned you that she had taken over the upstairs room, and had 3 vampire spawn with her.
You headed upstairs, and collected the bones, setting off two traps in doing so. Lark managed to avoid the poison needle, but a noisemaker trap alerted the fiends. As you headed downstairs, you were attacked by Volenta and the spawns, quickly realizing you were outmatched. Discretion being the better part of valor, you retreated, attempting to light the house on fire. The spawns mindlessly pursued you, being burned up into dust by the sun. Volenta realized she couldn't catch up to you and fled, you know not where.
You delivered the bones to Father Lucian, enabling him to re-hallow the church during the Feast of St Andral, in a few days time.
Lark discovered that just one Dream Pastry was enough to addict her to them, and is now struggling to resist their power.
The party set off to complete the task Madame Eva asked of you, to purchase and deliver a toy for her niece's birthday. Upon arriving at the Vistani camp outside the gates, you found that Arabella was missing. The Vistani man that had supposed to be watching her play in the woods, Alexi, instead drank a bottle of wine given to him by Yan, another Vistani man, and fell asleep. When he awoke, the girl was gone. A search party was formed by Luvash (the leader of the the Vistani) and Arrigal, his brother. They found signs of a struggle near the river, and the headless body of Yan. During the search, Luvash was wounded by a wolf trap, and a signet ring was found near the body. Luvash thought the signet ring might be a clue, and had given it to the Dusk Elf mage, Kasimir for research. Luvash offered you 500 gold pieces for the safe return of his daughter.
You started by getting the ring from Kasimir, and he suggested that you may find information on it, if you could access the Baron's library. You proceeded to the site of the struggle to investigate. You noted signs of 3 individuals. You determined from the pattern of movement and bloodstains on the grass, that the first and third individual briefly fought, and the first one died. The second individual then fled, vanishing into the canopy of the trees. The third individual, carrying something heavy—perhaps the weight of a child—then waded into the river. You did not find any sign on the other side of the river, and following it downstream, realized that it was an impossible task, and returned to Vallaki.
There, you attempted to see the Baron, but were told he would grant you an audience the following day. Lark continued her struggle with addiction to Dream Pasties. A letter from Lady Wachter was delivered, inviting you to dinner the following night.
The next morning, Ireena paid a visit, and said she had just visited the Baron, who refused to let the Barovian refuges, nor the Dusk Elves, into the town under any circumstances. She thought she could get you an expedited audience with the Baron, so you headed to his mansion. At Ireena's behest he allowed you in, and granted access to his library. A search proved futile, though you discovered that Ireena had been born in Vallaki, was a sister to the red-armed Lieutenant of the Baron, Izek, and had been lost in the woods, and assumed eaten by wolves. Her parents had committed suicide.
Soon, the Baron's son, an odd young man of about 15 or 16 entered the library, and you noticed that his spellbook had the same symbol as the signet ring, and told him your mission. He asked you up to his workshop, and told you that the symbol was from the archmage Kazan. Kazan had lived in a tower near Lake Baratok, to the west, and apparently had a magic staff. The Baron's son, Viktor, desires the staff, hoping it will help with his magic studies, and suggested there might be information to be had in the tower, and asked you to retrieve the staff for him.
You set off to the tower, encountering a pair of animated scarecrows along with several Twig Blights, and quickly dispatched them. You also found a piece of cloth embroidered with "R.V.R.". Upon arriving at the tower, you found a wagon, and signs that another wagon had recently been there. You found the door locked with a puzzle based on the signet ring and symbols of the schools of magic. Your first try was incorrect, and awoke 4 Gargoyles, which you killed with little problem. The next attempt opened the door, and you searched it. You found a piece of parchment with a sketch for a logo for "Rictavio's Carnival of Wonders", and an empty box with bloodstains inside it. You did not find a staff, but on the way out Cinaed discovered a box with an Ioun stone within it. You examined the wagon, set off a pair of traps, and used Speak with Animals on a chicken (named Eggsmerelda) who informed you her mistress was Esmerelda, and that she would be upset that you broke into the wagon. After a quick look at some strange bright yellow plants, stained that way from some discarded yellow and white paint jars, and started your journey back to Vallaki.
On the way back to Vallaki, the party encountered some travelers, which soon revealed themselves to be werewolves, and a battle erupted. The werewolves were quickly dispatched, and the party continued to Vallaki.
Using the clues of the embroidered initials on the cloth, the discarded paints, and the sketch of Rictavio's Carnival of Wonders, the party confronted Rictavio within the Bluewater Inn. Once he was convinced they meant Annabelle no harm, he consented to lead them to her. Arriving at his cart, parked in the Arasak Stockyards, they quickly met Annabelle, who had been hiding within.
Rictavio recounted the events that led him to protect Annabelle. He had been lying low within the tower at Lake Baratok. However, that changed when he saw a Vistana man bringing a wriggling sack to a golden-haired vampire spawn on the banks of the Luna River. (Van Richten recognized the vampire as a man named Escher, a bard from Barovia who had joined the Barovians’ revolt.)
Van Richten attacked the pair, killing the Vistana and scarring the vampire, who fled. Upon opening the sack, he found Arabelle within. Arabelle was uncertain of why she had been kidnapped. Van Richten used his talisman of echoes to interrogate the dead Vistana’s severed head, and learned that Strahd had issued a bounty on young girls matching Arabelle’s precise and unique description: dark-haired and olive-skinned, with lavender irises. Van Richten and Arabelle agreed that returning her to the Vistani camp would leave her exposed to Strahd, and was therefore too dangerous.
The two returned to the tower at Lake Baratok, where Van Richten had previously hidden his horse and a covered Vistani wagon that he had first used to enter Barovia. Using his hat of disguise, Van Richten adopted the dead Vistana’s guise and snuck into the Vistani camp by Vallaki to steal three pots of paint, which he used to disguise his wagon as “Rictavio’s Carnival of Wonders.”
Van Richten and Arabelle then traveled to Vallaki, with Van Richten adopting the identity of Rictavio to hide in plain sight. Arabelle had remained concealed in his wagon ever since.
While the tower at Lake Baratok contains a permanent antimagic field that would block Strahd’s scrying, Van Richten believed that Strahd would be well-aware of this fact, and that the tower would therefore be among the first places he looked.
As such, Van Richten, who already wore one such amulet, gave Arabelle a spare amulet of proof against detection and location that he had once given to—and then received from—one of his students.
A tense situation erupted when her uncle, Arrigal arrived. Rictavio accused Arrigal of being a spy for Strahd, having seen him whispering to a bat in the woods. Arrigal admitted that he occasionally fed information to Strahd, but never about the Vistani, and certainly never about Annabelle. Rictavio convinced Arrigal, and the party, that the girl had been Strahd's target by using his Amulet of Echoes on the head, letting the party question the dead Vistani man, who confirmed the tale.
Eventually, a deal was brokered: Rictavio would move the cart to the dense woods near the Vistani camp, allowing her father and uncle to visit without being seen. The camp would not be aware of here presence and could not betray her to Strahd.
As they turned to go, Arabelle staggered, with the eyes rolling back in her head and spoke the following words, her voice becoming that of an old woman:
In darkest night, the light shall flee,
No dawn to break, with no reprieve.
From the grave, the dead shall climb,
Their restless march a baleful sign.
At castle’s peak, a heart beats red,
Its hunger deep and ever-fed.
Should silence fall, the skies shall crack,
A thousand souls in torment black.
Having delivered her prophecy, she fainted. In thanks for their help, Rictavio gave the group his Talisman of Echoes. Arrigal said he would protect Arabell, along with her father, but could not cease his spying for Strahd completely. However, he did agree that one time, and one time only, he would deliver false information at the party's behest, providing it wasn't obviously false.
Session 10
Returning to the Bluewater Inn, the party received a note inviting them to dine with Lady Wachter at Wachterhaus the following evening. The next morning, Lark managed to kick her addiction to Dream Pastries, and the group headed to the dinner.
Once there, after some discussion, Lady Wachter revealed her belief that the Baron was quite insane, and his leadership was dooming the town of Vallaki. She proposed that if the party could assassinate his Lieutenant, Izek Stazni, she would be able to force his hand, and have him abdicate to her. The party accepted, and were given information on how Izek usually spent his days, and a bottle of poisoned wine that would make him much easier to defeat.
The next day, the bard, Johnny, approached Izek while he was talking to some guards. With witty repartee, he managed to give Izek the bottle of wine. The party regrouped, then followed Izel outside the city gates. Izek consumed his lunch, then worked his way through several bottle of wine, including the poisoned one. After sneaking up on the sleeping Izek, the party attack, and a challenging fight ensued.
Eventually, the party was victorious, and beheaded Izek, popping the head into a sack. They returned to Wachterhaus, and delivered the sack to Lady Wachter, who thanks them and said "I have it from here."
The next morning, the townspeople were summoned to the Town Square, where Baron Vallakovich abdicated to Lady Wachter. As her first acts as Baroness of Vallaki, she immediately cancelled the grotesque Festival of the Sun, allowed the Barovian refugees to enter the town, where they set up their tents in the Town Square while some abandoned houses were made ready for them to take over. She also allowed the Dusk Elves and Vistani to access the town again,
The party collected their rewards from both Luvash and Lady Wachter, including a complement of silvered weapons, and called it a night.
Session 11
In the morning, Lark found her roommate, Deloris, was missing. All her weapons, armor, and equipment remained, but there was no sign of the Half Orc Barbarian. She went downstairs and informed the others. While they were forming a plan to find Deloris, Ireena arrived, and begged them to come to the Town Square. Strahd's Chamberlain of Ravenloft, Rahadin had arrived, ordering the arrest of Milivoj and Henrik. He charged them with stealing the bones from "My master's holy church", then proceeded to find them guilty and sentenced them to death.
With some well worded arguments from Cinead, the sentence was commuted completely for Henrik, and Milivoj received a much lighter sentence of 10 lashes, which was immediately caried forth. As Rahadin and his undead escort were leaving, the party spotted Deloris walking through the town's west gate.
She was completely naked and carrying a shovel. After some questioning and persuasion, she recounted what had happened. She had aqoke at dawn, in the pouring rain, with remnants of blood scattered about her body. She used her Barbarian fieldcraft to determine which way Vallaki was, and headed that way. She passed a secluded farmhouse, and entered it. There she found the family had been ripped apart, and continued on her way. She stopped at a steam to wash up, then finished her cold and wet journey to Vallaki. It was determined that the wolf who had bitten her on the trip from Madame Eva's camp to Vallaki, had actually been a werewolf, and she had contracted Lycanthropy and the previous night full moon, even hidden by the pervasive clouds, had trigger it.
Asking around, it was found that the next full moon would take place in 14 days, and that the apothecary could brew a tincture to cure the disease... but she needed some bat guano, and some wolfsbane. The only place that wolfsbane was known to grow was in or near the town of Kresk, to the west.
That night, a ghostly visitor scrawled "Help Viktor" in the frost of one of the windows, so the next day the group headed to the Baron's old estate and spoke with him. They were told that his friend, Stella, had her soul trapped in the Ethereal Plane. Stella was Lady Wacther's daughter, and the party had encountered her catatonic, wandering body at Wachterhaus previously. Viktor said that he could communicate with her through a Spirit Mirror, and that she has regularly seen a gaunt, female figure with sallow, gray-blue skin, deep-set eyes, matted hair, small ram's horns, and a wide mouth of sharp, yellowed teeth haunting the area of the Border Ethereal that overlaps with the Barovian refugee camp. While neither Victor nor Stella are sure what the night hag wants with the refugees, Victor is confident that Stella’s description perfectly matches the appearance of a night hag as described in Mordenkainen’s book. He asked the party to investigate the camp, and return to him.
There they found that a Vistani father, addicted to Dream Pastries, had traded his young son and daughter to Morgantha for more of them, and now was wasting away from a mysterious disease. Reporting this to Viktor confirmed his suspicions that she was in fact a Night Hag, and that if the Heartstone the hags use to form their coven could be acquired, it could be used to build a modified teleportation circle, allowing Stella to return to her body... but that the hags could jump to the Etheral time at will. The party would need some way of preventing that, and he suggested that Lady Wachter could likely put up a preventative ward to stop them, similar to the ward around Wachterhaus. The party convinced her, and the next morning they set out with Viktor, Lady Wacther and 4 of her followers for the old windmill knows as Old Bonegrinder.
On the way they were met by a druid of the Forest People, servants of Strahd, who taunted Lady Wachter.
At Old Bonegrinder, Lark and Johnny, with Lady Wachter's invisble imp familar, Mephisto, snuck into the mill, by climbin in a second floor window, while some of the rest of the team tried to distract Morgantha downstairs. Things didn't go perfectly well, but they managed to find the contact binding the coven, containing their True Names, and dashed outsid. Lady wachter started the ritual for the circle, and the rest engaged the 3 hags just outside the mill. The battle was fierce, but they managed to knock the hags down... but they rose, transformed: the battle was not yet over.
Session 12
The battle resumed, and though things were close, the three hags called for parlay when they realized they were going to lose. A deal was struck: the hags would loan them the Heartstone for Viktor's use. Upon it's return, they would release the two captive children.
The party returned to Vallaki, and in the basement of Wachterhaus, Viktor began his ritual. While he worked, the group was attacked by specters, killing one, and Turning another, before a much more terrifying being arrived, the ghostly form of Leo Dilsnya, now a Gallows Speaker, come to murder Lady Wachter in revenge for some far distant action of her family. It then planned on murdering the rest of the people present, then the rest of the Wachter family.
Another rough fight ensued, but the party was victorious, and the Gallows Speaker dropped a large ornate book, bound in red leather with platinum filigree and a complicated latch and lock. Viktor completed the incantation, and Stella's soul was released.
Stella and Viktor were reunited, and Lady Wachter embraced her returned daughter.
The ghost who had helped them turned out to be Erasmus Van Richten... Rictavio's dead son.
The party managed to remove the Arcane Lock that was preventing the book from being open, and then pick the lock to open it, allowing them to read the Tome of Strahd.
Erasmus told the party that Strahd occasionally came to the Ethereal Plane astride a Nightmare, an evil flaming horse, as well as a warning that Phase Spiders would be found in the ruined town of Berez to the southwest.
Session 13
The party was joined by a fellow adventurer, also pulled into this cursed valley, a Blue Dragonborn Fighter named Vredd Drogon. They set out to the Old Bonegrinder, and exchanged their borrowed Heartstone for children the hags were holding captive, and were given some "secrets:
Strahd's most carefully guarded secret is a temple of forbidden lore hidden in the mountains, known as The Amber Temple. It is where he first met with the entity with which he forged his terrible pact.
Strahd seeks to escape from the terrible Mists. He has prepared a dark and secret plot to do so, harnessing the power of three ancient shrines to defy the will of the Dark Powers that rule this land. One of the three shrines is located among the circle of standing stones located at the base of the hill on which Old Bonegrinder sits.
Unbeknownst to Strahd, a traitor lurks in his midst: his eldest wife and vampire spawn Sasha Ivliskova.
After they returned to Vallaki, the party set off to Kresk, hoping to procure some wolfsbane, so that the local apothecary could create a herbal remedy to Deloris' lycanthopy curse. The trip was mostly uneventful, although there was a small skirmish with some of the Twig Blights that seemed to be heading towards Kresk.
Arriving at Kresk, the found the town's gates sealed, and spoke with the Burgomaster of Kresk, Baron Dmitri Krezkov. Wary of the outside world, the gate would remain closed to the party, unless they travelled to the ruined town of Berez, and persuaded the witch Baba Lysaga to perform a scrying ritual to determine the location of the Baron's missing son. So, they quickly set out for Berez.
There, the spoke to the deranged witch, who taske them with capturing and bringing a goat to her from the goat pens outside. She slaughtered the goat, using it's blood to perform her scrying ritual.
“I see a boy,” she hissed, “adolescent, shaggy-haired, and claw-scarred. They have collared him with silver, and chained him to a post. There he sits, huddled and pathetic. His eyes, oh, they are hidden, buried in his knees as he snivels and sobs. The post is in a cavern—a dismal chamber lit by flickering torchlight. There is a woman chained beside him, sharp-eyed and with long, shaggy hair. I smell the gift of Mother Night on her. Nearby, I see a statue of a woman, wolf-headed—an idol to Mother Night, adorned in garlands and surrounded by a bounty of treasure. Rotting corpses kneel before her, bent to her majesty.”
The party returned to Kresk with this information, and where allowed into the town. The Baron told them that while he had his agents out looking for the boy, if they found him he would reward them lavishly. He pointed out the Abbey to them, and they headed there seeking wolfsbane.
At the Abbey they met the young Abbot, who could smell the curse of lycanthropy on Deloris, and touched her, curing her instantly.
They headed back to Vallaki, and were approached by the owner of the Blue Water Inn, Urwin Martikov. He said that they usually get a shipment of wine from the Wizard of Wines winery, south of Kresk, every 2 weeks, but the new shipment is several days late. He asked them to journey there, and investigate, and asked if they could escort on of his employees, Muriel Vinshaw, to the winery. She has business of her own there, and with the roads being dangerous, would prefer to travel as a group. They are to meet her in the common room of the Inn the next morning, and set off to the winery.