23/09/2020 – Meeting Strahd von Zarovich (2)

Lunch in the Inn

The mercenaries look around at the village. There is a church at one end and a large manor house at the other. Juan wonders if they need to know more about what a vampyre is, but Enzo dismisses it as peasant superstition.

As it is lunch time, locals are turning up at the inn for food and drink, as well as three Vistani, who eye them curiously. Juan decides to head back into the inn and see what they can find out from the locals.

They discover most of the local villagers do not want to speak to them, but the Vistani are happy to chat. Juan offers them a drink and buys two bottles of wine. Arik seems quiet and sullen all of a sudden and Juan works out that he is in fear of these Vistani.

Learning about Barovia

The Vistani ask who they are and what they are doing here. When Juan tells them they are the guests of Strahd, they double check this with the inn keeper then have Arik give them all the money he has taken from them back. It turns out the Vistani own the Inn and they would not charge the quests of Lord Strahd.

The Vistani tell them visitors came to this land a month or so ago. They stayed a while then went to Vallaki, a town further to the west, past the castle.

Juan asks about the mists and they tell him Strahd is a great sorcerer who conjures and controls the mist. He determines who can pass through them. Enzo tells them it is scientifically impossible, but they say it is magic.

Ruben asks if they have been to the castle, but they laugh and say they are not important enough. Then they hint that the mercenaries will be different if they do come back from the castle.

Juan asks how long Strahd has ruled and the Vistani argue amongst themselves, saying somewhere between three and four hundred years. Juan says his family have ruled that long, but no it has been one man, who is a vampyre – an undead.

The History of Strahd

Strahd drinks blood to survive. He has never married but he has one true love, a woman called Tatyana. She died a long time ago. Juan tries to ask more about her, but they do not know much more.

Strahd is of royal blood, originally comes from Wallachia. He conquered this lands and named it Barovia after his father, King Barov. He built the castle and named it Ravenloft after his mother, Queen Ravenovia.

Juan and Ruben ask whether they work for Strahd, but they say he does not need lowly people like them. Ruben asks how to stay on Strahd’s good side. They tell him to not bother him and be respectful.

Juan tells them about current events and discover that they are unaware of events in the last century. The last Russian Tsar they know of was Peter the Great. Ruben tells them about the Ottomans they have killed, which impresses the Vistani, who do not like Ottomans and were not aware that Romania is no longer ruled by them.

The survivors decide to arrange to have a bath and clean themselves up before their visit to Castle Ravenloft. The Vistani wish them well and leave.

They play card games at a table to pass the time until 6pm comes. They head outside and see that most houses in the village put some sort of light on at night and leave it lit.

The coach and four approaches and parks in the village square. As they approach, they hear the odd screaming noise that seems to hand around the driver. He does not speak and they board the coach.

Ruben hopes the screaming noise is not going to be audible during the journey and fortunately the noise of the horses and the rattling of coach mostly drown it out, but occasionally they still hear it.

The coach begins to rumble along the road, but it is dark and the lands around them shrouded in blackness. They pass over a bridge at one point and think they are now surrounded by trees. The road seems to twist and turn a lot.

The coach then stops, unexpectedly. They seem to be a cross roads. Juan sees something out of the window. Someone is dangling from a tree. Juan asks the driver what the problem is and he just points at the figure hanging from the tree.

They disembark and approach the figure. He is dressed like a Spaniard and has a noose around his neck. He is dead. Juan starts to think the figure is wearing clothes similar to him and as it twists around, he sees it is him hanging from the tree.

Juan screams and stumbles back into the coach, covering his eyes to get away from this terrible visage. The others see someone they do not recognise and are surprised by Juan’s reaction. They ask him what is wrong and he says it’s him, he is going to be hanged for his crimes.

Ruben decides to leave the corpse. He and Enzo return to the coach. Juan is starting to calm down but he remains spooked for the rest of the journey.

The coach then resumes its journey. They travel in silence for an hour or so, a slight feeling of dread coming over the survivors. They pass over another bridge and turns right, climbing up the mountain side.

Eventually the coach rumbles to a halt again and they see out of the window that a large castle looms over them. The driver opens the door for them and they disembark to see two crumbling stone towers on this side of a precipice, straddled by a rotting old drawbridge. The hundred foot walls of Castle Ravenloft tower over them, the frowning gargoyles at the top staring down at them.

The coach has stopped at a turning circle with a small column in the middle. Once they are disembarked, the coach driver rides off without a word. A flash of lightning suddenly illuminates the castle and there is a loud rumble of thunder. It begins to rain and very quickly it is raining very heavily.

The survivors turn up the collars of their jackets and start to cross the drawbridge, which is now wet and slippery. Enzo treads on a rotten part and his leg goes through the wood. Fortunately, the rest of the bridge holds his weight and the others pull him out and across to the other side.

Inside the walls, there is a courtyard with the castle in the centre. It is not that large, but has very tall towers. The main door of the castle lies open. The survivors are awed by the height of the place, though the rain continues to fall and they decide to go over to the castle and enter the main doors.

As they enter they hear the sound of dramatic organ playing nearby. They find themselves in a hallway that leads in four directions, but to the right is the source of the organ music. The place looks grand but old and everything is covered with cobwebs. A cracked and fading fresco decorates one wall.

They follow the noise of the music and find a partially open set of double doors, with light flickering behind it. They enter and find a grand dining room. A large table has been set out with a feast. There are three places set, with the four place set at the head of the table.

Strahd von Zarovich

Behind the table is an enormous organ and a well-dressed figure sits at it. He stops playing when they enter, turning and looking at them. Juan says hello and he replies in Spanish, thanking them for accepting his invitation and welcoming them. He has a strong eastern European accent.

When Enzo and Ruben introduce themselves, he speaks to them in Italian and French, showing off how cultured he is. He bids them sit down and drink the excellent wine, which is in crystal goblets. He proposes a toast to new blood and the bravery of his guests.

Their host tells them it is a very old vintage and he rarely drinks it. They then tuck into the food and it is amazing.

When the wine runs out, Strahd rings a bell and a servant comes in and he has him bring more wine. When the servant returns with a large jug of wine, Strahd tells the servant to sit and listen to his guests. The servant seems surprised but complies. Juan pours him a drink.

Strahd then begins to question his guests and asks about their adventures. Juan tells them about their better fights against the Ottomans. The others join in to embellish the story.

When they talk about using gunpowder, he tells them that in his day it was strength and the skill with the sword that won battles, as well as wits, intelligence and the will to win.

He tells them that when he conquered these lands, he invited his mother and brother to come see his new fiefdom. His mother died on the journey here, but his brother arrived, only to betray him, an act he does not take well. It was over the love of a woman, the only woman Strahd has ever loved. His brother tried to take her away from him, but he paid with his life.

He tells them when his blood is up he will do terrible things, including swearing things that he would now, many years later, think twice before doing. It is too late though, the deed is done.

His beautiful wife to-be died many centuries ago. Recently, he became aware that a girl in the village had been born who was the spitting image of his beloved Tatyana. He sensed the possibility of the ending of the curse that has imprisoned him here for many centuries.

He visited this girl, but she did not know him. About a month ago or so, a group came into his lands and took this girl away from the village of Barovia, to Vallaki, a proud and stupid town to the west.

They believed that they could defy him and take his Tatyana away from him. He has since learnt that her fate is worse, these people were unable to protect her and she has been taken, but a strong man in the town. She is currently his prisoner. This is cannot accept.

This beautiful, innocent girl is being defiled and he will not tolerate it. These fools risk his wrath. He is a vengeful man. If his wrath does fall, many, many will die.

You Must Rescue Tatyana

They must go to Vallaki and rescue his Tatyana from those who have imprisoned her.

The survivors say to Strahd that it sounds like a straight-forward task. They ask for a picture of her. He points to a mirror at the back of the organ, twisting his hand round and round. A visage appears in the mirror, a painted image of a beautiful young woman.

Strahd says they will have his gratitude if they carry out this task. She is protected by strong and powerful men. They will need to fight bravely.

He is disappointed there are only three of them, as the mission will be dangerous. He gives them his servant to aid them in their fight. Perhaps his slave can help them find where they need to go.

The servant looks shocked and not sure what to do. He does not seem to remember his name and Strahd does not know. They welcome him into their group, thank Strahd for the meal and leave.

On the way out, they get the servant to collect his personal effects, which he does. They then leave the castle. The rain has stopped. They carefully cross the drawbridge to the other side. The castle’s old, rusty portcullis crashes down behind them.

They look for the coach, but it is nowhere to be seen.