Guilt
Kaylan took the weakened Giers to the corrupt chapel of Kalinda, determined to cleanse the place by fire. Hulda's corpse floated behind, carried on the priestess's summoned disk for practicality's sake, morbid though it was. After praying over the dead and sanctifying the structure, she summoned the phoenix's flames.
Outside, Giers and Kaylan watched the place burn, and the ethrey confessed a number of insecurities and fears. Kaylan tried to reassure him, but when he moved to embrace her, she was forced to confess she loved someone else. Giers did not take it well, feeling betrayed and totally alone. His anger spurred him into actual flight! He didn't get very far, though, collapsing on a nearby rooftop. Kaylan managed to climb up after him, barely keeping her footing, and sat with him for an hour or so. When Giers woke, he'd nothing but scorn for her, and she climbed back down without the closure she so desired.
Back at the chapel, she reflected on the misery she'd caused so many, and was soon joined by Relic. The machine man assured her it wasn't all her doing and did his best to comfort her. She appreciated the gesture, but wasn't very convinced.
Ezariel
The tall, broad-shouldered ascetic in the masking brown robes introduced himself as Ezariel. Diana and Selja didn't recognize the name, but he hadn't attacked them and in this land that made him a friend.
He had come, he claimed, with answers and warnings, then finally with a plea. However his plea was made known rather quickly, though. He wanted the Hearts. Selja refused, and Diana decided to follow a group consensus. Ezariel worried the misery they'd cause since the last time he asked the group would only continue, but respected their wishes. Thamior appeared from the fields, having been hunting for Bremen's parents among the survivors, in time enough to address Ezariel. The feladrin discovered he possessed a Heart in the small ring Percy gave him. He couldn't quite believe it, though, and soon wandered on in hopes Percy might be able to identify his parents out of the survivors (or perhaps the dead).
Selja, creeped out by Ezariel, ran along to find Kaylan.
Justice
Diana was left with Nel. Dragging her to an out-of-the-way spot between houses, she asked for Kalinda's intervention before dispensing true justice. Just then an upset Kaylan turned the corner, followed by Selja and Relic. What drama they were caught up in was suddenly swallowed by the would-be execution.
Diana assured them she was doing the only thing that could be done. They couldn't just leave the little necromancer to wake up and cause more horror, nor could they bring her with them and be subject to an inopportune awakening. Taking her to Saspien would be a fate too cruel, and the Darlings had already shirked their right to pass judgment. Nel had to be humanely put down.
Kaylan protested she belonged in an asylum, and Selja could barely fathom the idea all together, but Relic agreed with Diana's assessment. He dragged the two protesting girls away, leaving Diana to do the woman's work. Again she paused for some divine sign, but there was none, and with the crows laughing in the distance she drained the helpless ten year old dry.
The sorceress then moved to a secluded house and gently deposited the girl in a bed. The she summoned a star fall to set the place on fire.
Answers
Thamior fetched the boy, but was confronted by Ezariel. The ascetic wished for the ring, otherwise known as the Pureheart, to be taken back to the Vault, but for many reasons Thamior wasn't inclined. The fel still has his doubts it even was the Pureheart.
When Ezariel tried to explain it was a manner of honor, as the Hearts had been stolen on his watch, Thamior out and out refused him, scoffing at the idea honor could be given. It had to be earned. Ezariel found such a belief to be the prince's one true shortcoming and that in time he would learn that notion false. Ezariel affirmed the power of others' charity and concern for the greater good to be enough to absolve him.
As the discussion moved back into town square, Portia managed to catch up with the others. Ezariel explained that he was a guardian of the Vault in Heaven's first sphere, where the Hearts had been kept, but they were stolen during the last use of the Hoping, to say the end of the Demon War, while the gate between Heaven and Lorda was open. By the sound of things, that made Ezariel an angel.
Of the Hearts, he only knew they held great destructive power. The gems could change shapes and take on personalities to advance their personal agendas. In the wrong hands they might rule a plane, but joined together perhaps all Creation.
Defense of the Hearts
Portia, already touchy after the loss of Hoppers, sprung to the Hearts' defense, reasoning them as Planar Children born of the very fabric of existence. After all they each appeared as children and none of them seemed to know the exact extents of their powers. Horded and kept prisoner, it stood to reason they escaped themselves. This gave Ezariel pause.
The angel admitted that in Heaven's eagerness to prevent their misuse, they may have forgotten the wrongful act done in hiding them away, if indeed they were living things and not just powerful artifacts. In the end, Ezariel decided to trust Portia's compassion over Heaven's fear and abandoned the Hearts' pursuit.
Portia charged him with simply doing his best to prevent them from falling into the wrong hands, and he more or less asked the same of her. Before much else could be sorted, the sun began to set, putting Ezariel on high alert. Relic, Selja and Kaylan returned in time to hear the angel's ruminations. They could flee deeper into the Darklands, or else into Cadavera, to a place even the Dark One would think twice following.
Thamior had since gotten wind of Diana's intentions and rushed to stop her, but by the time he got to the house she'd already set it alight. He flew in, braving the flames and eventually finding her huddled body. However it wasn't until he'd carried Nel out that he realized she was dead. Diana argued her reasoning, but Thamior could no longer look on Diana in quite the same way. Had she been mercilessly just, or simply merciless?
As the light failed and the wind picked up, Ezariel appeared behind Diana and bid her take the eastern road to Barovia. They were now out of time.
As the Sun Set
Rushing back to the others, Diana, Thamior and the group prepped the carriage and mounted up. Thamior held Ezariel to the task of safely delivering the Darlings back to their homes, especially since uncovering Percival and Bremen's parents were alive and worried sick back in Edmark. The angel agreed just as soon as he was able. There had been some concern for the thirty-eight Kindred locked in the mills and more so the twenty-four exhumed souls resting in several houses, but Ezariel's parting words were spoken sadly, "Not everyone can be saved."
Night had nearly fallen and the group spurred the horses on, riding hard down the eastern road. Behind them, Ezariel tore away his robes and revealed as pure, blinding light. He called upon the pale horse in the stables, Argentum, and conjured a sword of lightning. He circled once and road into the fields to meet the crows head on, giving the group the time needed to make their escape.
Furious hooves and carriage wheels on the dirt road kicked up a cloud of dust, but soon the dust turned gray and gained moisture. The darkness of night consumed them totally and the temperature dropped from crisp fall to bitter, biting winter. It cut to the bones and brought with it the sting of snow and freezing rain.
Barovia
They were riding hard and blind through unknown territory for several minutes, but at Thamior's behest the Pureheart shed light on the road ahead, revealing a treacherous and winding mountain path with high, foreboding timbers on one flank and a shear cliff drop some hundreds of feet on the other. With Pureheart's guidance, the horses navigated the road, occasionally slipping on the icy patches.
The fog would sometimes part to reveal wider vistas, a deep valley largely dominated by a snow-laden pine forest, encircled in high, jagged mountains crowned in white and ice. There was no moon or stars, just heavy, black clouds that spewed winter and erratic streaks of lightning.
Coming around a final bend, the road became steep and the horses barely managed to keep their hooves beneath them. A wide, rusted gate sat ahead, sheathed in ice and flanked by massive stone pillars and headless guardian statues. Selja eased Colta's speed, but Thamior's mount and the carriage team flew toward a collision. With a sudden shriek the old gates opened of their own volition, just barely created an opening wide enough to pass the horses and clawing the sides of the carriage. Then creaked back shut once the group had passed.
Castle Ravenloft
Slowing at a crossroads, the group examined a gnarled wooden signpost. One sign read Village, pointing deeper into the valley, while the other labeled Castle aimed higher toward a foggy peak.
"Just then a particularly large fog bank clears, revealing a tremendous, Gothic nightmare perched upon a black and icy peak. Dozens of towers in half-as-many walls gather around stone keeps laden with snow and dead vines, the whole of it dotted with twisted metal spikes and hundreds of gargoyles. It looks like a hunched, evil thing, a towering gateway like a fanged mouth, ancient bridges, causeways and roofs like wings, towers like horns and spines. The twisting road upward is like a black, glistening tongue.After considerable pause and some very mixed reviews, the consensus was to brave the slick pathway and enter the castle. If the Dark One really did have reservations about following them here, it stood to reason they'd be safer from him in the castle versus the small village. However safer from the entity of living wind and shadow did not necessarily equate to safe.
Lightning flashes, illuminating the whole of it, and the fog seems to show a hundred tortured faces."
"As you pass under the gates, all light sources dim to half their strength, even the Pureheart. It is a dark, snowy courtyard you ride into with not even the faintest hint of tracks. Gargoyles stare down at you from numerous perches, and the dead vines and flora of what must have been a beautiful garden once seem to encroach every second you're not looking at them directly, as do the shadows. High, gray stone walls and towers are like mountains all their own, with snowy tops. The place feels dead, barren.Colta and the other horses were petrified, flinching and kicking at things the group couldn't see. Selja calmed them as best she could, then dismounted with the rest of the group. They approached the doors, where Relic knocked on them with hollow, reverberating thuds.
There is one grand entryway up a few steps, its overhang toothed with icicles, the door itself a black wood reinforced with iron that could easily pass a full-grown giant."
"Suddenly both doors jolt and slowly swing open with loud creaks, mist pouring out of the castle interior. In the darkness you vaguely see a grand hall with a huge chandelier, Merlot-colored carpets flowing down staircases, suits of armor, tapestries, fine and claw-footed furniture and marble statuary.
High on the far wall is a huge portrait of a stately, middle-aged nobleman with stark black hair, chiseled features, dark clothing and a black cape with a red collar. He has a pale complexion and his eyes hold an otherworldly fire. Those eyes almost seem to stare down at you."Once everyone was inside, the doors slammed shut and a disembodied voice cackled maniacally.
Gh-ghost!
The group prepared for the worst, but got instead a pear-shaped ghost of a middle-aged majordomo. Gerald apologized and proved a sarcastic chap, insulting Diana and making unusual demands like the removing of shoes.
That didn't stop most in the group's jaws from dropping, including Relic, who feared the unnatural energy would fry his more sensitive circuits. Nevertheless the ghost passed through a few of them and determined their purpose. When he learned it involved Mistress Isabella, he sadly agreed to take them to the countess. He remarked they might want to keep their weapons close, as she was very close to her niece and there was no telling what she might do upon hearing the news.
"Gerald floats down a hallway and up a staircase. All the while, armor seems to turn a little to regard you, the eyes of portrait's trace your steps, things move aside in the shadows, floorboards creak, spiders scurry into corners, rats into the walls, and bats into the rafters.While the ghost called on his mistress, the group tried to make themselves at home in the dark, drafty castle. Diana flew to the harpsichord, doing quite well, while Giers, Thamior and Kaylan shared a miserable and awkward situation. Giers constantly avoided the feladrin, who seemed eager to be lambasted. Kaylan could only watch with disbelief as Thamior followed Giers around.
You eventually find yourselves in a third floor sitting room, with several large divans and couches, a large, extinguished hearth, a wide window with a view of the snowy, forested valley, and a harpsichord. There are several exits, including the way you came, but Gerald floats up another few stairs and to a closed door."
The ethrey eventually found a moment's peace near Diana, and he requested something heart-wrenching to pass the time. Diana played a hauntingly somber melody, the perfect music for her entrance...
Countess Angelique von Zarovich
The door suddenly opens, and in walks an elegant, pale-skinned woman. She wore a very well-made violet gown that she fit very well, and her raven black hair hung down to her waist. A single rose bloomed in her hair, though the most defining thing she posessed was a lute carried off her back by way of a strap around her front. She had an aura of composure and confidence about her that managed to fill the room up with her presence.The countess demanded introductions and welcomed (ordered) them to sit. However she didn't initially believe their claims of knowing her niece, despite the kind words Diana and Kaylan offered. When they delivered news of Isabella's death, Angelique stood and looked about ready to rip the sorceress apart, Relic coming to her aid, though for naught when she ended up asking for the ashes. Giers handed them over personally, assuring her he'd do whatever necessary to see her back alive.
Angelique looked at the ashes a moment or two, a trickle of blood escaping her eye, at which point Kaylan offered the notion that the girl could be raised.
Will You Brave the Night?
Musing over what might be done to remedy Isabella's condition, the countess listened the group's pleas. If she would contact Queen Victoria to come and take them to Etheria, High Priestess Finduilas could restore Isabella and Hulda to life.
Angelique outright refused, knowing Victoria's wrath would be terrible if she were to learn of her only daughter's death. Kaylan volunteered to tell her, but Angelique's mind had been made. She would instead resurrect the girl herself. Portia and Giers outright denied the claim, but the countess insisted to have a way. She only needed assurance the group was willing to give what it took. Almost without hesitation, her guests pledged their support, testament to the memory of her departed niece.
Count Strahd was a vampire lord of legendary power, nearly invincible thanks to three sites of ancient Barovian power called the fanes. If Isabella's ashes could be bound to the three fanes, Angelique could harness their energy to restore her to life. Unfortunately this was a one-time ritual and highly experimental at that, leaving Hulda's fate uncertain, but Giers agreed to it nevertheless, convinced once Izzy was restored they would all return home and his sister would find new life.
However, the countess didn't know the exact location of the three fanes. The group would have to strike out in the "morning" and see if they could uncover the information as furtively as possible. Once more, they could reveal no connection to Angelique, for she had many enemies who would quickly descend on them. Barovia was dangerous enough without such impediments, werewolves, hags, the roving dead, and things far worse, rumors of new evils rising in the wilderness.
Honored Guests
Angelique insisted the group stay the night as her honored guests, and Gerald appeared with a high stack of bedding. He led them to a row of guest rooms fit for high nobility, albeit a bit dusty and antiquated.
As they walked, the countess warned of the many dangers in the castle, things not bound to her, including the ravenous Brides in the lower crypts. Everyone would do well to stay in their rooms, and the men were advised not to sleep alone. Gerald chuckled and sunk down into the floorboards, while Angelique bid them welcome to Castle Ravenloft and vanished in a swirl of pomp and mist.
"I hope they survive the night..." She thought aloud.
Epilogue
Throughout the night, the party was visited by Angelique and otherwise harried by strange, prophetic dreams...
Midnight Discussion
The Best Friend's Aunt
Test of Honor
A Meaningful Chat
Love in a Dark Place
Dark Dreams
Kaylan
Selja
Thamior
Diana
Portia
Experience: 333 xp each (20,833 total)
Final Justice, 500
Saving the Darlings, 500
Defense of the Hearts, 500
Escape to Barovia, 500
Magic: Pureheart (Thamior)
Money: n/a
Loot: n/a
NPCs:
Argentum, Ezariel's white celestial charger; unfriendly to those he doesn't know, or perhaps those whose character he finds suspect
Majordomo Gerald, a snarky ghost charged with the maintenance and management of Castle Ravenloft under the Countess's reign; appears as a spectral blue man of middling age, pear-shaped, with a disinterested tone
Countess Angelique von Zarovich, resident noble vampire of Castle Ravenloft and the daughter of its infamous former count; a pale beauty with raven hair dressed in the finest gowns; she has access to a castle's worth of magic, gargoyles and mystery; Isabella's cherished aunt and King Dante's sister; Not fond of Queen Victoria
Count Strahd von Zarovich (mentioned), one of the most powerful vampire lords ever to have lived (so to speak), bolstered by artifacts and the energy of three ancient fanes; cursed when he killed his brother Sergei out of lust for Sergei's wife Tatyana; the deed slowly drove him mad over centuries of isolation, eventually driving him to kidnap a village girl named Ireena who he believed the reincarnation of Tatyana; slain two years ago by a stalwart band of misfits and outcasts
Current Quests:
Isabella's Ashes
Find the three Barovian Fanes and bind Isabella's Ashes to them
The Hunt for the Sunsword
See what you can uncover about the missing Sunsword on your travels
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