Session 09 - Post Notes

General Summary

Session Summary: A Morning of Mourning, an Afternoon of Discovery, and a Journey Begins

Breakfast and Rats

The morning began with the party sharing a simple breakfast at the Indirovich mansion. During the meal, Ismark made three favours of the group:

• To escort Ireena to the town of Vallaki and noted that St. Andral’s Church in is said to be hallowed ground, protecting its congregants from vampires and other undead.
• Seek and audience with Madam Eva, a Vistani seer and sage who dwells at Tser Pool stating "If anyone might know how the Devil can be destroyed and our people freed," he murmurs, "it's her.
• To assist with the delivery of Kolyan Indirovich’s coffin to the church for proper burial.

However, not all was tranquil during their meal. Raya’s sharp eyes caught sight of a rat watching them from the shadows. Quick and decisive, she killed the creature, suspecting it was no mere rodent but one of Strahd’s spies.

Father Donavich and the Undercroft

Upon reaching the church, they were greeted by the frazzled and mournful Father Donavich, who revealed his own tragic burden. His son, Doru, had vanished three months prior after leading a failed revolt against Castle Ravenloft. Donavich explained that Doru had returned—though not as he once was. Strahd had twisted him into a vampire spawn and sent him back as a grim mockery of his former self.

Donavich agreed to oversee Kolyan’s burial but admitted he could no longer sanctify the remains without his holy symbol, which Doru had taken into the undercroft. Donavich begged the party to descend, recover the symbol, and end Doru’s suffering. In return, he offered to perform the burial rites and guide them to a place of safety from Strahd's reach.

The party descended into the dark undercroft, expecting a monstrous foe but instead finding a broken soul. Doru, pale and gaunt, greeted them with sorrowful eyes.

Tensions flared when Shaggildorph, impatient and wary, shot Doru with his crossbow. Doru restrained his instincts and pleaded for the party’s trust. Despite their unease, they agreed to assist with his experiment. Against all odds, it succeeded, giving Doru a glimmer of hope.

Doru shared a sad tale that as a child, Doru was enraptured by stories of the sun and the light and hope that it once brought to the valley. As he grew older, he learned swordsmanship from Ismark and studied the book Van Richten’s Guide to Vampires to learn how to destroy the undead. He dreamed of one day destroying the Devil of Castle Ravenloft and bringing freedom to his people.

Sixteen weeks ago, a foreign scholar calling himself Alanik Ray arrived in Barovia and rented a room in the burgomaster's manor. When an enormous undead dire wolf attacked a group of children who had strayed too far from the village, however, Doru alone saw "Alanik" fend it off with expert skill—and when the wolf knocked the hat off of "Alanik's" head, his appearance magically changed, revealing him to be the legendary vampire hunter Dr. Rudolph van Richten himself!

Doru confronted him and insisted that Van Richten lead the village in revolt against Castle Ravenloft. Though Van Richten was reluctant at first, he eventually agreed—on the condition that Doru allow him to keep his disguise. Two days later, Doru, aided by a man named Escher—the village bard and Doru’s oldest friend—had assembled more than two dozen fighters to march on the keep.

With Van Richten’s aid, the mob struck down any undead guards that tried to stand in their way. However, when they finally opened Strahd’s crypt, Escher was nowhere to be found—and Strahd’s coffin was empty. (If asked, Doru forcefully denies that Escher betrayed them.)

Shortly thereafter, Strahd emerged from the shadows and attacked the mob with merciless force. Most of Doru’s companions were slain. Doru himself was turned into a vampire spawn, and later learned that Escher had been as well. Doru doesn’t know what happened to Van Richten, but was forced to confess the old man’s identity when Strahd interrogated him later.

Doru spent nearly three months at Castle Ravenloft, during which Strahd repeatedly forced him to drink the blood of his former companions. Two weeks ago, Strahd commanded Doru to return to the church and his father.

When he first returned to the church, he was almost grateful that his father had locked him in the undercroft, where he couldn’t do any harm.

Doru confessed his despair and his struggles to maintain his faith. Strahd had cruelly allowed him to keep his father’s holy symbol, a reminder of the faith and humanity Doru could no longer fully grasp. Though his bloodthirst gnawed at him constantly, Doru revealed an experiment he had been working on: a method to suppress his hunger. He asked for the party’s assistance in testing it.

The test succeeded, sparking a flicker of hope in the young vampire.

Moved by Doru's resolve, the party pressed him for more details about the revolt. Doru recounted how he had been manipulated into betraying Van Richten’s identity after his capture, leading to the vampire hunter's unknown fate. He spoke of the horrors Strahd had inflicted on him, including forcing him to consume the blood of his fallen comrades.

Moved by Doru’s resolve, he rewarded the party with valuable information: the location of a hidden cache left by Van Richten, 300 paces off the Svalich Road.

A Choice of Mercy

The party returned to Donavich with the holy symbol but shared that they had spared Doru, unwilling to destroy a soul still fighting for redemption. Though deeply conflicted, Donavich agreed to perform Kolyan’s burial rites.

During the ceremony, Charity noticed two swarms of bats perched ominously on the eaves of the church and mausoleums, silently observing the proceedings. Shaggildorph, undeterred, delivered an uplifting and endearing speech, bringing a moment of warmth to the somber occasion.

The Day’s Preparations

The party returned to the mansion, where Ismark provided them with three days’ worth of rations. He advised that their journey to Vallaki would take more than a day if they intended to stop at Tser Pool and that spending a night on the road, preferably at Tser Pool itself, would be necessary.

The group spent the remainder of the day preparing for the road ahead, but before noon, Ismark informed them that Ireena was missing and likely at Lugdana’s Knoll. Raya scouted ahead and found Ireena alone, carefully digging beneath a tree with a trowel.

A Glimpse of the Past

She shares that she is digging for a small wooden chest that she and her mother, Korina Targolova, buried here before her mother's death fourteen years ago—a coffer whose contents she hopes to take as a keepsake when she departs for Vallaki, given that she doesn't know when, if ever, she'll be able to return home.

From the roots of the tree, Ireena unearthed a small chest and opened it to reveal its contents:

• A silver bracelet adorned with gemstones.
• A pressed aster flower.
• A wooden charm shaped like a yarrow flower.
• A floral-patterned handkerchief.

The bracelet holds no sentimental value for Ireena, and she doesn't remember why she was carrying it when Kolyan first found her, or where she obtained it. She offers it to the players as a gift for their agreement to escort her to Vallaki, as compensation for their trouble.

Inside the bracelet, a delicate inscription read:
"Tatyana: May you find your path, and may you find light even in the darkest places—Mother & Father."

Ireena doesn't know who Tatyana is.

Ireena seemed lost in thought but returned to the mansion with the party, retrieving a packed traveling bag from her room.

On the Road to Tser Pool

When the party was ready to leave, Ireena bid Ismark an emotional farewell, and they set off along the road to Tser Pool.

At the Ivlis River crossing, they encountered two scouts searching for the Lansten family—a missing group of two parents and three children last seen during the zombie attack.

As they continued eastward, they noticed a wolf shadowing them from a distance, its intent unclear but its presence unsettling.

Van Richten’s Cache and a Grim Discovery

Following Doru’s directions, the party located the hidden cache near the Svalich Road. However, it was guarded by five zombies that eerily matched the description of the Lansten family.

A grim battle ensued, and the party dispatched the undead, laying the tragic fate of the Lanstens to rest. Though victorious, the encounter served as a chilling reminder of the horrors of Barovia.