Krezk

Krezk

  THE FORTIFIED VILLAGE OF KREZK LIES near the edge of Strahd's domain, and the wall of mist that marks the border is clearly visible above the treeline. Yet even here there is no escaping the vampire. In fact, the villagers are so terrified of Strahd and his wolves that they never venture away from the village.   Within their walls, they grow trees that provide ample wood to keep them warm on cold nights, and they draw water from a blessed pool. They have chickens, hares, and small pigs, as well as gardens of beets and turnips. The only thing they depend on from the outside world is wine. The burgomaster, Dmitri Krezkov, comes from a noble family and regularly has wine delivered from the nearby winery, the Wizard of Wines (chapter 12), to keep the locals' bellies warm and their spirits up.   Looming high above Krezk is the Abbey of Saint Markovia, once a convent and hospital, now a madhouse overrun with wickedness. After Saint Markovia and her followers failed to overthrow Strahd, the abbey became a fortress closed off from the rest of the world. Strahd ruthlessly preyed on the fears of the clerics and nuns holed up inside, but ultimately it was their isolation and greed that doomed them. The clergy began fighting over food and wine. By the time their supplies ran out, they had either been killed by each other's hands or driven hopelessly insane by Strahd's acts of terror against them. For years afterward, the villagers of Krezk avoided the place, fearing that the abbey was cursed, haunted, or both.