Thinking of Perriwimple, he would help you. He would just need to evade his uncle asking questions about it.

There aren't too many other young men in town that you have good report with. Maybe Ireena could help, and it would seem she's at the burgomaster's mansion.

Between Ismark, Ireena, and Perriwimple and herself - that could be enough.

With little else in mind, Darya will go by the mercantile to see if she can find Perriwimple outside since he would be the one doing any of the work that required physical exertion. She will stay to the side of the building so that Bildrath will not see her lurking near his store. If need be she will go and see Ismark to see if he can help with convincing Perriwimple to help.

You walk over to Bildrath's, careful not to be seen in the window of the shop. You spy Parriwimple in the ally between buildings. He seems to be hunched over, facing away. From the sounds and the motion, you imagine he might be eating something.

Using this chance while she has the time, Darya makes her way over to the large man. She straightens her clothing and hair, making sure to cover her neck. As she gets close she lets a kind smile form on her face, finding it hard to be rude towards the simple man. "Hello Perriwimple. Are you having a good day?"

"Mmm, mmm," Parriwimple hums as he eats. He quickly turns when he hears your voice and gasps. As he does, pieces of a pastry fall from his lips and you can see he has crumbs and powdered white sugar on his mouth. He seems to be eating something that smells quite sweet close up. He wipes his mouth, embarrassed apparently, and replies, "Darya! I didn't see you there. I'm doing good... How about you?"

(Sorry on mobile, so I can't format very well. He looks a bit like this: https://i.pinimg.com/736x/76/cd/3b/76cd3b3606ea4f240d468c882ed63f00--fantasy-male-fantasy-characters.jpg)

"I've been better but I'm sure that you've heard about what happened with my father. It seems that almost everyone  found out but then that should not be surprising...." Darya says offering up a strained smile. "Right now I am having trouble getting him to the chapel. So far only Ismark has offered to help me carry him there. I was hoping to find a cart but Mr. Undertaker said he didn't know if anyone had one."

"Ah, right, your dad. I'm sorry that he's gone," Parriwimple gives a nod and a solemn sigh. "He was really smart. He had a lot of good stories. I would love to help you, but I have an errand to run for uncle. I'm no good with directions... I'm a bit worried about it... You know, could you help me and I'll help you? I could get you uncle's cart, I think, but I would need help getting something from near the river."

"That sounds fair to me. I help you and you help me. Make sure to bring your weapons and we can go. There are things outside the village so be ready for a fight." Darya says as she turns serious, looking towards Perriwimple. Once she finishes talking she brings out her spellbook and her crystal, opening to a certain page as she begins to cast. Tracing sigils in the air and muttering in an arcane language, she calls upon the weave. Finishing her spell a shimmering spectral armor seems to form around her before fading away to be a faint outline that shimmers around her.

She casts Mage Armor

(I have updated the first post to include Parriwimple, he has currently joined your party! Depending on how things go, you may be able to recruit him more permanently. He is really strong and I am actually presenting him as a bit weaker than normal, but he can become a very strong character in terms of meat shielding...)

Parriwimple nods gravely and wipes his powdery hands on his pants, trying to pat them until the powder is gone. "I'll be right back." 

As quickly as you cast your spell to armor yourself, Parriwimple returns with a spear strapped to his back and clad in studded leather armor. Seeing him like this, you realize he has quite a lot of muscle. He makes up for his lack of intelligence with pure brawn. He nods to you. "Okay, so here's the deal. Uncle needs me to go retrieve some kind of pack of stuff that he thinks is down by the river. I guess the last time we had adventurers here, he sold them something really good, but they never made it to Vallaki... so its up to us to find it and bring it back. It's a little scary out there, Darya, but you can stay behind me. I just need help getting back to the village... You know, I'm not very good with directions."

You understand what he means. Once when you were both little, you saw him get completely lost in a corn maze-type attraction in the village during harvest season... but there was only one dead end.

(Gotcha. I now imagine a Final Fanatasy Esque word box coming up with a catchy tune.)

Darya nods and offers up a smile as one of the good memories come flooding back to her. Patting Perriwimple on the shoulder she motions for him to walk ahead. "You lead the way and I will make sure to direct you if we get off course. I'll be right behind you all the way." She promises, making sure to stay in step behind him, reaching to bring her dagger closer incase she needs it.

(Hehe, definitely! Like a Bloodborne-esque, FF-esque recruit tune~)

Parriwimple, for what its worth, is a good person. That is the feel Darya has for him. He does stupid things, but mostly those were at the behest of his awful uncle. His uncle sending Parriwimple out on a solo mission, even with the Vampire Lord asleep, is still close to suicide. Darya's father always taught her: you should always have a companion by your side. To go alone is to go in death. Parriwimple pauses and stares at the road.

"Uncle told me that... those adventurers probably didn't make it past the bridge. Uh... if that's true... do you think maybe we need another hand? Most of those groups have 4 people in them, so..." Parriwimple's brawn probably accounts for 2 men all on its own, but he seems concerned about not having enough power to deal with whatever felled the adventurers in the past.

"We could ask Ismark but I got the feeling he would be busy, then again he offered to assist in taking my father to the chapel for his burial rights. If you wish to ask him then let us head to the Burgomaster's house." Darya said as she pat him in on the shoulder and stepped forward to lewd the way to rhe large building.

When you speak to the Burgomaster Kolyan Indirovich, a somewhat timid and kind man, he informs you that Ismark has not yet come home, but that he'd let Ismark know you are looking for him. However, as you step away, you are approached by Ireena. She has reddish hair and dark skin, especially when compared to her brother Ismark. They barely look related. She runs up behind you and Parriwimple, out of breath. It seems she made some sort of effort to reach you.

"Darya, Parry, wait up!" Ireena tries to catch her breath. "I overheard you speaking with father... what did you need Ismark for?"

Darya seems startled at first when she hears Ireena runs up towards them so suddenly. She settles and smiles at her as she waits for her to finish speaking. "We were going to see if Ismark was interested in coming with us to the river. Perriwimple was going to lend me a cart if I helped him do something for his Uncle. The idea of safety in numbers came to mind so your brother seemed to be the best person to ask."

"Darya!" Ireena feigns offense. "For shame, you know I'm not too bad myself. Let me come with you! I'm getting bored and would love the opportunity to take a walk out with friends. What do you think?"

It is occurring to you now Darya, that Ireena was always a bit scrappy, especially compared with her brother Ismark. In youth, she would sometimes beat bullies up at the playground. 

Thinking back on it... you remember a particular incident that reminds you of her value. Which is...

Darya, please embellish what you know about Ireena's fighting skills or personality in a flashback -- length doesn't matter, could be a single sentence! This will determine her starting statblock. This is the DMPC I mentioned in my ad. Ireena basically must join the party -- she's the party member that recruits no matter what! I will be transparent with your options here. Each archetype of Ireena has a different take on her personality and will affect how she engages as an NPC with the story and her role in combat. You are welcome to look at the mentioned statblocks when making your considerations!

Swordswoman. Ireena would begin as a spy statblock and transition into a statblock with multiattack as Darya increases her levels. Ireena is fearless in battle, and despises Strahd with a passion. She is fiery-tempered, stubborn, and impatient, but absolutely loyal to her friends and family.

Novice. Ireena would begin as a scout statblock and transition into a statblock that makes uses of tools. Ireena is stubborn, but wise for her age, and is adept with a Healer’s Kit and Herbalist’s Kit. She has a crude sense of humor, and is intensely curious about the world around her - sometimes to a fault.

Noble. Ireena would begin as a noble statblock and transition into a statblock that works as a support melee role. As the burgomaster's daughter, Ireena has been raised to be a leader and has keen insights on how the other nobles in Barovia operate. She is adept at manipulation and has a great knowledge of the history of this land.

"Well I have not seen you in quite sometime and I have already spoken to Ismark about helping with something later. If you musr insist then you are more then welcome to come with us." Darya says as she offers a smile and motions for Ireena to come along. "Besides if any of us get hurt you have always been good with bandages."

(Flashback)

Darya ane a few of the children had been playing in the shadow of the Burgomaster's manor, pretending to be knights and the like. After another boy made fun of Perriwimple and upset the large boy, Ismark had gotten into a fight with them. Both boys were covered in scratches and bruises afterward. With help Ireena and Darya worked together to clean and bandage up the boys in an attempt to hide what had happened to the two.

"All too true, where would the boys be if it weren't for me?" Ireena grins and gestures at a satchel at her side. "And see, I'm already packed to go. Where to next, then? I would prefer if we didn't grab Ismark for our little excursion... He's probably drunk at the Blood right now."

"Hmm... Darya, I'll let you decide. I know this is my mission, but I consider you the brains of this operation." Parriwimple adds.

Okay, I have added Ireena the Scamp to the first post! She has the healer feat and has 1 healer's kit on her with 10 charges.

"The three of us should be enough for now. If we come across Ismark it wouldn't hurt to ask him. The things outside of the village have gotten more dangerous. Parriwimple should take the lead as he is the best at dealing with anything that might attack us up close. Ireena you stick to the back where you can keep an eye out and be ready with your bow. I'll stick to the middle where I can assist with magic." Darya as she pulls out her arcane focus, giving both of them a nod and a confident smile. Internally though she feels fear creeping into the back of her mind, images of the vampire spawn falling her head.

/--About 10 AM, Second of the 6th Moon, 735 BC, Old Svalich Road--/

Your group travels for about an hour and a half, still about 2 hours away from the target destination. Walking along the road, Parriwimple shares some of the stories he remembers hearing from adventurers as a kid. "... and I suppose they call it an owlbear since its got the face of a bear on the body of an owl..."

"Is that so? That sounds horrifying." Ireena raises a brow at this outlandish story. "Really though? An owlbear? You sure it doesn't look like an owl's head on a bear's body?"

"C'mon, Ireena. If it were that way around it'd just be a cute and cuddly friend. No, it definitely has the head of a bear. It eats people whole, bones and all."

"Hmm... now I'm wondering what a ravenwolf would look like..."

"My father told me of such creatures as well. From his own knowledge such beasts were made due to practitioners of magic making them through strange experimentation. If such a thing is true then it is very likely magic that is of the utmost power. Still my favorite of the stories were of the dragons. Can you imagine such a thing truly existing? Living for possibly thousands of years and being the size of if not bigger then your father's house Ireena." Darya adds once it is her turn to speak, calmed by the jovial atmosphere her companions bring.