2 Two Family Tragedies

No Rest for the Wicked

As the party is getting ready to turn in for the night in their room, they hear a commotion in the taproom and Amethyst, Vaerys and Hush head downstairs to see what is going on, while Dragneel prepares a Detect Magic spell upstairs to check the barkeeper and get some information why he doesn't have a soul.

Stepping into the tap room, the rest of the party see an injured silver dragonborn sitting at the counter with a drink and approach the stranger. Syi sniffs the stranger and tells Vaerys he smells of dragonborn and werewolf. As the three of them ask questions, they learn that the Dragonborn, who later introduces himself as Kestal Hezire, was travelling west with his party with the goal of reaching Argynvostholt, the former home of the Order of the Dragon that opposed Strahd, when they were attacked by werewolves and the party's cleric sent Kestal away with a spell.

After Hush heals Kestal and the party exchanges a few more experiences, Dragneel joins them in the taproom, scanning the people present with his Detect Magic spell, but all he can see is the magic in his party members' wondrous items and an item that Kestal seems to be carrying. The others catch Dragneel up to speed and after exchanging a few more of their experiences with Kestal, they offer him to join them, as they all are stuck in Ravenloft for the foreseeable future.

They head to one of the tables, buy him a meal alongside their dinner and rent one of the other rooms, with Hush and Vaerys offering to take that room, since they've been travelling together for a while and are very familiar with each other. They pay for that second room for a few days, with the rest of the party chipping in as well to cover the expenses, and soon after, the group heads upstairs to talk in private and so Hush and Vaerys can move their stuff over into their new room.

Upstairs, they discuss a few more things and also let Kestal in on their findings regarding the innkeeper being soulless according to Vaerys' familiar. Soon after, everyone settles in and goes to sleep.

How everyone slept

• Amethyst: Slept well
• Dragneel: Nightmares
• Kestal: Nightmares
• Hush: Nightmares
• Vaerys: Slept well

Meeting our Benefactor

After everyone has woken up, and while they're having breakfast in the taproom, the party decides to go to the Burgomaster's mansion to meet with Ismark, who had paid for their room and food up to this point. They get directions from Yelena and head out.

When they reach the Burgomaster's mansion, even on a glance they can see that it's been under assault for a while: Half the gate has been ripped out of the hinges, foot prints are surrounding the building and the windows are boarded up and broken. Syi notes that the area around the house smells of death, decay and wolves and the party members can spot that the tracks around the house seem to have been left by bare feet and wolf paws.

When they knock at the door, a woman talks to them from one of the broken windows, asking in a suspicious tone who they are. After they inform her that Ismark has been paying for their stay and wanted to see them, they can hear her walking away and can see someone else approach the window through the cracks in between the boards. Shortly after, the door opens and a young man with blonde hair greets them, apologizing for his sister's distrust and explaining that they've been through a lot throughout the last few weeks.

He invites them inside and leads them into the living room, where his sister is waiting. After offering everyone a seat, he explains that Strahd has taken a liking for his sister and has already attacked her twice, as well as sent his underlings to attempt to get entry into the mansion, which has led to their father passing away from the stress. He wants to leave with his sister Ireena and take her to the more fortified town of Vallaki in hopes that she will be safe from Strahd's advances. He asks two favors of the group:

First, to bury his and Ireena's father in the church's graveyard, as Ireena refuses to leave Barovia before he has been put to rest and second, to accompany the two of them to Vallaki so Ireena may hopefully be safe. The party agrees to his requests and he sends Ireena away to pack their belongings, before leading the group over into another room, where their father's body is kept in a simple wooden coffin. After they work out the last few details, Amethyst, Hush and Kestal pick up the coffin and the group heads towards the church on the other side of town.

A Good Man in Torment

At the church, the group can see that its doors are covered with claw marks and scarred by fire, and as they step inside, they hear a soft voice reciting prayers from the end of the hall, and an inhuman scream that appears to come from below. They head towards the chapel at the end of the hall, where they can see a huddled figure at the altar reciting prayer, and they hear a voice from below calling out "Father, I'm starving!"

As the group approaches him, the priest, Father Donavich, gets up to greet them. When he is confronted about the voice from below, he hesitantly explains that his son, Doru, followed a Wizard's call to arms to attack Strahd's castle, and came back changed, but that he managed to lock him away in the undercroft. He insists that he is trying to help Doru and that he is praying to the Morninglord for guidance on how to save him, and that he can't just give up on his son. He refuses any input from the party suggesting that he clearly has already tried to help and that after a year, there just might be nothing he can do.

Eventually, the party drops the topic in favor of focusing on what they came for, prompting Donavich to lead them into the graveyard and, after collecting a few shovels, to an empty grave plot. He asks the party members to assist him in digging the grave, to which they oblige and do most of the work, seeing as the old man is struggling with the hard dirt. Once they've dug a sufficient grave and the coffin has been lowered into it, father Donavich says a prayer to the Morninglord for Kolyan's deliverance from Barovia. Once the grave has been filled again and the group gets on their way, he asks them to let Ismark know that he doesn't have to pay for the burial and that shouldering that cost is the least the town can do for Kolyan.

Final Preparations

Heading back to the inn, the party let Yelena know that they're leaving town with Ismark and Ireena, and she offers to pay them back the amount they have paid upfront for feeding Makloompah and for the second room, or to hold that money for their return and have that room and supplies for the goat ready for their return. The party opts to buy food for Makloompah with that money and afterwards heads upstairs to clear out their rooms and collect their supplies.

When they head back towards the burgomaster's mansion, they are greeted by Ismark and Ireena ready to travel, and the group goes on its way. While travelling, they eventually spot a bundle by the roadside that Syi, after inspecting it, says smells like a lycanthrope, but not like a werewolf. Taking that information into account, the group slows down their pace and attempts to move more stealthily, though that message doesn't seem to have gotten to Makloompah and the goat still makes the same amount of noise.

Roughly two hours after they have gotten on their way, the group reaches a crossroad next to an old, wooden gallows, with road signs pointing towards "Barovia Village" to the east, "Tser Pool" to the northwest and "Ravenloft/Vallaki" to the southwest.