Ellie, hoping that Calder does indeed find whatever opened the gate, closes her eyes for a moment and whispers something under her breath, making a sweeping motion towards Calder, casting Guidance on him.
“Our patron seemingly has more important things to worry about, so someone else is behind this? Regardless, it’s harmless enough. Let’s proceed through.”
After the last member of the Party has passed through the gates into Barovia, they quickly close with an ominous clang! You then notice that even though there's barely any clouds that the Sun seems, muted. after a few minutes spent rechecking your gear you continue west towards the village of Barovia.
(Calder) after thirty minutes traveling down the road you smell, Death!
The foul scent leads you to a human corpse half-buried in the underbrush about fifteen feet from the road. The young man appears to be a commoner. His muddy clothes are torn and raked with claw marks. Crows have been at the body, which is surrounded by the paw prints. The man has obviously been dead for several days. He holds a crumpled envelope in one hand. Carefully, you remove the envelope. Inside is a letter.
Hail thee of might and valor:
I, the Burgomaster of Barovia, send you honor—with despair.
My adopted daughter, the fair Ireena Kolyana, has been these past nights bitten by a vampyr. For over four hundred years, this creature has drained the life blood of my people. Now, my dear Ireena languishes and dies from an unholy wound caused by this vile beast. He has become too powerful to conquer.
So I say to you, give us up for dead and encircle this land with the symbols of good. Let holy men call upon their power that the devil may be contained within the walls of weeping Barovia. Leave our sorrows to our graves, and save the world from this evil fate of ours.
There is much wealth entrapped in this community. Return for your reward after we are all departed for a better life.
After Calder reads the letter out loud he says, “A similar letter to the one we received. Yet this one bids us to stay away. And written by the same Burgomeister.”
“A vampire attack… I haven’t encountered such a beast in my life yet the stories and rumors abound. They are dangerous foes and this one seems to be of significant power.”
Nathaniel tries to remember what he has heard about vampires. 16 history
“Hmm we should find some garlic if we are to confront these creatures. It ma not completely deter them, but it may distract and repel the most weak willed of the group.”
"So this Ireena, her adopted father AND her lover are both seeking people to free her from this vampyr's ... magic? I'm not very familiar with them," she admits. "Maybe with garlic we'll be better able to tackle this obstacle. After all, we were promised a town's worth of riches. Vampyr's are said to be old, aren't they? I wonder if it would have answers to questions..."
"I say we press on, and pray we do better than this messenger. The girl needs help, after all."
Morwenna looks tense as the group discuss the vampire described in the letter. She wasn't sure how much her newfound companions had noted her own predilection for blood - the slavering hunger that sometimes grew on her face while carving a foe open. The dhampir had been fasting for considerable time, drawing strength from her oath and her faith in her patron, but the appetite was not attenuated by the length of time she had gone without. Abstinence had not dulled the craving, if anything it sharpened it.
It would be so easy. Just once. One more time. Give in... give in... one more taste...
She pulls her cowl tighter, concealing her porcelain skin in shadows. The paladin stoops to examine the body, to establish the cause of death and whether it bears any other items of note.
"That's usually reserved for someone you hold amorous affection - 'love of my life' is not the way you'd typically describe a child." Morwenna murmurs, as she pores over the corpse. "And if the letters are so different, it may be that one is a forgery."
Her gaze falls upon the dead commoner."I'd wager it was the one we received from that colourful stranger. And the letter this poor lad was carrying was the real one."
Calder make an Investigation roll (DC16).
Ellie, hoping that Calder does indeed find whatever opened the gate, closes her eyes for a moment and whispers something under her breath, making a sweeping motion towards Calder, casting Guidance on him.
Rolled a 1 so 8 total (plus guidance) but I have a passive investigation of 22.
Middle Grade Author
(Calder) You discover that the mechanism to open the gates is busted. It appears that it has been this way for some time.
“Curiouser and curiouser. The mechanism is broken, yet the gates open of their own accord.”
Middle Grade Author
“clearly this is magic at play then.. but why utilize it for such a mundane purpose? Purely theatrical?”
“Our patron seemingly has more important things to worry about, so someone else is behind this? Regardless, it’s harmless enough. Let’s proceed through.”
After the last member of the Party has passed through the gates into Barovia, they quickly close with an ominous clang! You then notice that even though there's barely any clouds that the Sun seems, muted. after a few minutes spent rechecking your gear you continue west towards the village of Barovia.
(Calder) after thirty minutes traveling down the road you smell, Death!
The foul scent leads you to a human corpse half-buried in the underbrush about fifteen feet from the road. The young man appears to be a commoner. His muddy clothes are torn and raked with claw marks. Crows have been at the body, which is surrounded by the paw prints. The man has obviously been dead for several days. He holds a crumpled envelope in one hand. Carefully, you remove the envelope. Inside is a letter.
Hail thee of might and valor:
I, the Burgomaster of Barovia, send you honor—with despair.
My adopted daughter, the fair Ireena Kolyana, has been these past nights bitten by a vampyr. For over four hundred years, this creature has drained the life blood of my people. Now, my dear Ireena languishes and dies from an unholy wound caused by this vile beast. He has become too powerful to conquer.
So I say to you, give us up for dead and encircle this land with the symbols of good. Let holy men call upon their power that the devil may be contained within the walls of weeping Barovia. Leave our sorrows to our graves, and save the world from this evil fate of ours.
There is much wealth entrapped in this community. Return for your reward after we are all departed for a better life.
Kolyan Indirovich
Burgomaster
"Well, at least we have a name for the creature."
Perception 5
After Calder reads the letter out loud he says, “A similar letter to the one we received. Yet this one bids us to stay away. And written by the same Burgomeister.”
“Shall we continue or turn away?”
Middle Grade Author
“A vampire attack… I haven’t encountered such a beast in my life yet the stories and rumors abound. They are dangerous foes and this one seems to be of significant power.”
Nathaniel tries to remember what he has heard about vampires. 16 history
(Nathaniel) You recall the following about vampires.
“Hmm we should find some garlic if we are to confront these creatures. It ma not completely deter them, but it may distract and repel the most weak willed of the group.”
"So this Ireena, her adopted father AND her lover are both seeking people to free her from this vampyr's ... magic? I'm not very familiar with them," she admits. "Maybe with garlic we'll be better able to tackle this obstacle. After all, we were promised a town's worth of riches. Vampyr's are said to be old, aren't they? I wonder if it would have answers to questions..."
"I say we press on, and pray we do better than this messenger. The girl needs help, after all."
It might be able to tell me more about you.
“The letters are both signed by Kolyan Indirovich. However…” Calder examines the letters side by side to compare the handwriting.
[13 investigation roll. The Beyond dice roller hates me]
Middle Grade Author
"Oh! I assumed... well, I guess 'love of my life' could be applied to a daughter as well."
Morwenna looks tense as the group discuss the vampire described in the letter. She wasn't sure how much her newfound companions had noted her own predilection for blood - the slavering hunger that sometimes grew on her face while carving a foe open. The dhampir had been fasting for considerable time, drawing strength from her oath and her faith in her patron, but the appetite was not attenuated by the length of time she had gone without. Abstinence had not dulled the craving, if anything it sharpened it.
It would be so easy. Just once. One more time. Give in... give in... one more taste...
She pulls her cowl tighter, concealing her porcelain skin in shadows. The paladin stoops to examine the body, to establish the cause of death and whether it bears any other items of note.
"That's usually reserved for someone you hold amorous affection - 'love of my life' is not the way you'd typically describe a child." Morwenna murmurs, as she pores over the corpse. "And if the letters are so different, it may be that one is a forgery."
Her gaze falls upon the dead commoner. "I'd wager it was the one we received from that colourful stranger. And the letter this poor lad was carrying was the real one."
Medicine: 10
“That’s my assumption as well, Morwena. One is a forgery. But which one? The one that asks us to come or the one who asks us to stay away?”
Middle Grade Author
Victoria looks back in the direction of the gate. "What do you think are the odds that the gate won't open from this side?"
“Well we can always check..”
Nathaniel walks back to the gate to check its operability