With him being covered in thick bugbear hide, fur, and a heavy coat, he could barely feel the pecking. Even with the ominous presence of someone who worshiped death, Odmun enjoyed the company. "Be that as it may, you're here. I imagine that your god will claim you when he's good and ready then. " he shrugs, bobbing the raven on his shoulder up and down. "I quite like your raven friend....I've always been a fan of birds in general, you know."

The gypsies look at you guys, and are not shocked to see such a diverse group, randomly emerge from the road to their camp. They wave you over to come and join them, and offer happily drinks and story. They look at Grishkar with special interest, a couple of drunk men eye Martha and Briella with more.

They ask where you are from, why are you here?

Martha does her best to look proper as she steps forward and pounds her glaive into the floor. “Nice to meet you all. I am Mathadriel, servant of Eilistraee.”

"Wonderful!" One of the drunk gypsies smiles and slurs "..and who are your friends? Introduce us, and come! Drink with us and share stories!"

At the mention of drinks, Odmun makes his way over. "Hello, friends!" He reaches out to clasp the *****'s hand in a hardy shake. "I'm Odmun Darkhowl and I would absolutely love a drink." He gives a chuckle and looks back. "Oh and this is Grishkar. Pay no mind to him. He's all doom and gloom. Ah and this is Briella. Over in the back is Kia"

Grishkar walks wide around the camp, avoiding human contact where able, and takes a place by the water to root through his spellbook. His raven remains at the camp, perched on a tent and watching the various exchanges.

(Transferring Grishkar's hearing to the raven to monitor conversations. If we have a long rest, he will start preparing some spells from his spellbook.)

Interestingly, as evening approaches, the immediate area seems very calm, and free of torment from the Vampry. How odd.

The gypsies are welcoming to you all. They want to know about you guys. A few of you need some introduction, yet. =)

Bors  steps forward and accepts a drink with a nod. With sunset approaching and nothing to fight, he's checking every nook and cranny and flinching at any sound he hears at his back. He's probably making people uncomfortable  at this point. He downs the drink in one gulp and takes another if offered then finds a place to wait through sunset, preferring any large object at his back with a good field of view.

Kia will come forward with the others, but will keep quiet unless addressed directly. She keeps an eye on things: Bors’ nervousness, Grishkar and his raven, she counts the gypsies and tries to keep track of them. She will drink water from her water skin, and will turn down their proferred drink with a polite, “My order forbids it, but my thanks for your hospitality.”

Her calm demeanor has left her, she seems a little tense, and the tail is twitching again.

Briella bows to the gypsies.

"Hello. My name is Briella. 2nd born daughter of Shava and Galinndan. I am a child of the Feywild and a cleric sworn to the service of Ehlonna,Goddess of the Woodlands.Its nice to meet you all." Briella feels a small tugging at the bottom of her robes and looking down sees a small badger with a mouthful of cloth.

"Oh forgive me, this is Jitters, my little protector." She lifts the small animal into her arms and holds him close.

Haha! Love it. The gypsies gather around those who are close to them and offer wine and spirits and sway and sing and laugh merrily. Then the laughter stops as one gypsie woman holds out her hands for silence.

"Tell us. Why are you here?"

"We are here to rest for the night and to ask if you know anything about the road ahead."

Martha nods, “Yep, gotta rest. Traveling here really takes it out of you...”

"Rest if you'd like, for morning, we all move on!" One of the gypsies says. "I was about to share the tale that we always share about this time. Come, listen!"

THE VISTANA'S TALE:

"A mighty wizard came to this land over a year ago. I remember him like it was yesterday. He stood exactly where you're standing! A very charismatic man, he was. He thought he could rally the people of Barovia against the vampyr Strahd. He stirred them with thoughts of revolt and bore them to the castle en masse. When the vampyr 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 Ivlis had already spirited him away."

“The... devil? So there’s a vampire and a devil in these lands? Why do you people live still here...” Martha says exasperatedly as she grabs a wine skin from another gypsie and starts chugging, “I really hate it here...”

"No Martha, darling. I think they mean that Strahd is both a vampire and a devil." Briella says, she takes this chance to throw out her last little ball of fur from her bag, watching it take shape.

"Butterscotch, it's good to see you finally." She greets the Panther. The large cat shows little interest in those around it and immediately curls up into a ball to sleep.

Wiping her lips, Martha breathes relieved, “Well, that’s good. But, that also means that this Strahd is able to cast spells... that’s not a common vampiric trait if I recall correctly. Honestly, I’m not sure.”

"and where is that river?"

One of the sober gypsies answers your questions, Martha. The other gypsies listen intently, as if he is preaching -  and all is silent as he speaks.

"Our kind have lived here for hundreds of years. We are wanderers - a people who live beyond civilization. Some even say we are from another time, another place. People say many things." He smiles, and the other gypsies nod their heads in agreement. "Look at the sky above us. It's beautiful isn't it? Have you noticed that the beauty of the stars in the sky in the evenings? Sometimes it's hard to see because of the fog, but sometimes the star formations change. It's like this whole land is part of this world..and sometimes not."

He takes another drink of wine.

"We are a close-knit people. We have survived by sticking together. We are fighters, we are lovers, we are tradesmen, and crafters, but one thing we always do is help our kind, and help others. You might wonder why the vampyr doesn't attack us. It's a simple answer. Our people know the one you seek. We know him well. His name is Strahd von Zarovich. Hundreds of years ago, when Strahd was still a man, and not undead, our people found him wounded in battle during one of his military campaigns. We nursed him to health, and returned him to his home. Because of our act of kindness, he allows us to come and go across his land. The fog you always see? It's meant to keep people in. We can travel freely in it and out of it. He does not attack us."

If you have questions about Strahd, you can ask. We are neither his friend, nor his enemy. We are not loyal to him, but we don't refuse his hospitality. So rest easy, our new friends, and sing - and drink!

But most of all..before you leave, you must see Madam Eva.

OOC > Reading along, Kia has not seen or heard anything that would make her add to the conversation.