Curse of Strahd

Session 006 - The Reading

23 min read

Details

Summary

After resupplying at the exploitative Bildrath’s Mercantile and crafting makeshift wooden stakes from torch handles, the party encountered a mysterious old woman named Morgantha selling mincemeat pies through the foggy village streets. Though most of the group enjoyed the pies, Kaelis fell into a deep, unnatural slumber after finishing his — only to wake eight hours later completely unharmed and unbothered. That evening at the Blood on the Vine Tavern, a lively performance by Leoberos and Lucien caught the attention of three Vistani women — Alenka, Mirabel, and Sorvia — who shared wine, food, and crucial lore about Strahd von Zarovich: an undead lord of royal blood ruling from Castle Ravenloft, obsessed with a peasant girl named Tatyana. The women warned the party to travel only by daylight, avoid the old windmill on the road to Vallaki, and seek out the legendary seer Madame Eva at Tser Pool, who had already foreseen their arrival. Before departing the next morning, Ismark bid a solemn farewell, cautioning that Strahd’s spies were everywhere, while Ireena vowed her father’s death would not be in vain as the group disguised her in common clothes and set off down the road.

The journey brought immediate danger at an ancient stone bridge, where a rubbery, tentacled creature seized Leoberos and Mortimer before Kaelis dispatched it with a single precise strike. At a fog-shrouded crossroads marked by a creaking gallows and eleven blank graves, Mortimer alone saw his own face on a lifeless body hanging where nothing had been moments before — an omen no one spoke of for some time. Pressing on to Tser Pool, the party was welcomed into the vibrant Vistani camp after passing a lycanthropy test administered by guards Arrigal and Luvash. Inside her tent, the ancient Madame Eva greeted each member by name and laid out their fate using a Tarokka reading: four powerful artifacts must be secured before Strahd — a treasure atop Yester Hill, a holy symbol hidden within Castle Ravenloft, the Sunsword buried in the drowned ruins of Berez, and a Vistani warrior ally near St. Markovia’s Abbey. She warned Ireena of the devil’s mark upon her and urged her to seek sanctuary, but hinted that her destiny held more than mere hiding. Spending the night at camp, the party heard the tale of a wizard who had rallied Barovia against Strahd only to be hurled to his death from a castle precipice, and worked with the Vistani to map out the road ahead — daunting, but for the first time, purposeful.

Recap

The party’s first order of business was resupplying at Bildrath’s Mercantile, one of the few establishments still open in the gloomy village of Barovia. The proprietor, Bildrath Cantemir, proved to be a shrewd and unapologetic profiteer, charging nearly ten times the going rate for even the most basic goods. After pooling their gold and talking Bildrath down on the final lot, the group managed to secure a healthy stock of arrows for Rissa, along with a pair of holy water vials from the village priest. With no greatsword to be found — much to Leoberos’s visible displeasure — the party made do with what they had, sharpening the ends of their torches into makeshift wooden stakes before selling off a chain shirt they no longer needed to lighten their load.

On their way back through the village, the sound of a small wooden wheel rolling across damp cobblestones drew their attention to a hunched, ragged figure pushing a rickety cart through the fog. The old woman introduced herself as Morgantha, and she was selling mincemeat pies for one gold piece each. Leoberos, ever the charmer, purchased six of them — one for each member of the party — and immediately bit into his own, declaring it the finest thing he had eaten since arriving in Barovia. Lucien tried one as well and agreed wholeheartedly. Only Lucien noticed, through the fog and distance, that Morgantha had stopped at a nearby house and received a mysterious sack from a resident before continuing on her rounds, though the contents remained unclear.

Back at the Burgomaster’s mansion, the party settled in to rest before their morning departure. Ismark confirmed that Morgantha had only recently taken up residence in the village and was considered odd by the locals, though he himself had never sampled her wares. One by one, the party members who had eaten the pies reported that they were delicious — until Kaelis finished his portion, put his head down on the table, and simply did not get back up. He had fallen into a deep, unnatural slumber that no amount of prodding could break. A quick examination confirmed he was alive but thoroughly incapacitated, trapped in some kind of trance. The rest of the group exchanged uneasy glances, noting that the pies had contained unfamiliar dark spices none of them could identify — and quietly filed that information away for future use.

Eight hours later, Kaelis stirred awake with nothing worse than a crick in his neck, shrugging off the whole ordeal with a breezy “easy come, easy go” that drew both laughter and exasperation from his companions. With the night still stretching ahead of them and Ireena advising against traveling in the dark, the party decided to pass the remaining hours at the Blood on the Vine Tavern. Leoberos threw open the doors with his characteristic flair, glowing halo and all, while Lucien drew out his lute and launched into a rousing, upbeat drinking song. Chrystandar quietly conjured a dramatic breeze that sent both performers’ hair billowing back in a manner more befitting a traveling bard troupe than a band of weary adventurers, and the gloomy tavern briefly came alive.

The performance caught the attention of two colorful Vistani women seated near the door — Alenka and Mirabel — who clapped with genuine delight and tossed Lucien a gold coin, declaring that such entertainment was a rare and welcome thing in Barovia. A third Vistani woman, Sorvia, joined them shortly after, and together the three women ordered pitchers of surprisingly excellent wine and a spread of roasted chicken, rice, and vegetables for the whole group. Over the meal, the women revealed that Madame Eva, a legendary Vistani seer, had foretold the party’s arrival and urged them to seek her out at Tser Pool. They also shared the history of Strahd von Zarovich — a man of royal blood who had died centuries ago yet endured as one of the undead, obsessed with a Barovian peasant girl named Tatyana and ruling from Castle Ravenloft, named after his beloved mother, Queen Ravenovia.

The women warned the party to stay on the main road during daylight hours, to be wary of the wolves, zombies, and other dark creatures that haunted the Svalich Woods, and to avoid an old windmill on the road between Barovia and Vallaki at all costs. They also cautioned that while the Vistani were free to travel Barovia — having once saved Strahd’s life long ago — not all of their kin could be trusted, as some had been known to serve the devil. The party left a few gold coins on the table as thanks before slipping out into the pre-dawn dark to catch a few hours of sleep before the road.

In the early morning, Ismark bid the party a solemn farewell, warning them that the devil’s spies were everywhere — among the Barovians and the Vistani alike — and that Ireena’s noble blood made her a prize worth ransoming. Ireena pleaded with her brother to come with them, but Ismark refused, insisting that their father would not have abandoned his post and neither would he. The weak sunlight caught the hilt of her father’s sword as Ireena tightened her jaw and promised that his death would not be in vain. The party dressed her in common Barovian clothes to help her blend in, and together they set off down the road.

Their journey was interrupted almost immediately at an ancient stone bridge spanning the River Ivlis. Leoberos, ever cautious after the events of recent days, insisted on peering beneath the bridge before the group crossed — and was promptly seized by a rubbery, fanged tentacle that shot out from a narrow crack in the masonry. The creature, a boneless, cartilaginous horror that could squeeze its entire body through a gap barely four inches wide, grappled Leoberos and lashed out at Mortimer as well, dragging them both toward the stonework. Kaelis spotted the creature’s arm beneath the bridge and delivered a precise, lethal strike that ended the fight before it could escalate further. Rissa, with a perfectly straight face, suggested that since checking under bridges had been Leoberos’s idea, he should be the one to do it at every crossing going forward — a proposal Leoberos accepted with surprising dignity.

The road led them to a grim crossroads marked by a creaking wooden gallows and a small, fog-shrouded cemetery. Leoberos inspected the eleven graves within the crumbling low wall and found that every single tombstone was blank — no names, no dates, no epitaphs. A signpost pointed northwest toward Tser Pool and southwest toward Ravenloft and Vallaki. As the party turned to leave, a lifeless gray body appeared on the gallows where there had been nothing a moment before, slowly turning in the chill wind. To Mortimer, the hanged figure wore his own face, staring back at him with dead eyes — though the others saw only an unfamiliar Barovian. The apparition faded as they walked away, and no one spoke of it for a long while.

The northwest fork brought them at last to Tser Pool, and the contrast with the rest of Barovia was striking. Firelight, music, and the smell of roasting chicken filled the air as Vistani figures danced around a bonfire or tapped their feet from benches. Two mounted Vistani, Arrigal and the chicken-bone-chewing Luvash, intercepted the party at the camp’s edge and demanded they swear their intentions before gods and men. Arrigal then produced a silvered dagger and made a small notch in each party member’s palm — Ireena included — to confirm that no lycanthropes had slipped into their ranks. Before the test was even finished, a messenger arrived from within the camp with word that Madame Eva had already foreseen their arrival and wished to see them at once.

Inside the large tent, an ancient woman with a toothless grin and magical flames flickering around her welcomed each of them by name without introduction. Madame Eva declared herself the loom that spun out the threads of fate, and wasted no time in laying out the stakes: the party was destined to stand against the devil Strahd or die as failures, and to have any hope of success, they would need to secure four powerful artifacts before he did. She spread a Tarokka deck across the table and turned five cards in a cross formation, reading each in turn. The first card, the Druid, spoke of a treasure hidden atop a hill of graves where an evil tree grew, with ravens as guides. The second, the Priest, pointed to a holy symbol of great hope hidden within the ruins of a place of supplication inside Castle Ravenloft itself. The third, the Stars, revealed a weapon of vengeance — a Sunsword — concealed in a dead village drowned by a river. The fourth, the Mists, identified a wandering Vistani warrior who could be found near St. Markovia’s Abbey. The fifth and final card, the Dark Lord, delivered the coldest truth of all: the party would face the evil of this land alone.

Madame Eva then turned her gaze to Ireena, and her expression shifted into something more personal and more grave. She told Ireena that hers was the only future she could not divine, but that she could see the devil’s mark upon her nonetheless, and woe clinging to her like morning dew. She urged Ireena to flee to a bastion of light before she could become Strahd’s bride, but warned that salvation and sanctuary were often the emptiest of promises, and that there would be those who wished to surrender her to the darkness. When Ireena asked, jaw tight, whether her destiny was simply to wither away in hiding, Madame Eva smiled her ghastly smile and said only: no, my dear, it is not.

The party spent the night at the Vistani camp, sharing roasted chicken and wine around the bonfire while a storyteller recounted the tale of a charismatic wizard who had arrived in Barovia roughly a year prior, rallied the people against Strahd, and led them to the castle — only to watch his peasant army scatter in terror. The wizard and the vampire had dueled with spells from the castle courtyard to a high precipice above a waterfall, where Strahd ultimately threw the wizard a thousand feet to his death in the River Ivlis below. The body was never recovered. With the fire burning low, the party worked with the Vistani to interpret the cards: the hill of graves was identified as Yester Hill, far to the west, where the evil Gulthias tree grew. The dead village drowned by a river was believed to be the ruins of Berez, along the Luna River. The Abbey of St. Markovia sat above the town of Krezk, also to the west, and appeared to hold both an artifact and their fated ally. The road ahead was long, and the darkness of Barovia pressed in on all sides — but for the first time, the party had a map of what they were looking for.

Scenes

1. Shopping at Bildrath’s Mercantile

The party visits the local general store to restock on supplies before their journey to Vallaki.

  • The party enters Bildrath’s Mercantile and meets the proprietor, Bildrath Cantemir.
  • Kaelis and Rissa negotiate for arrows, discovering that prices in Barovia are nearly ten times the normal rate — ten gold pieces for twenty arrows.
  • Leoberos pouts outside after learning the store does not carry greatswords.
  • The party pools their gold to purchase forty arrows for Rissa, with Rissa successfully persuading Bildrath to lower the price on the final ten.
  • The group discusses the need for wooden stakes and decides to sharpen the ends of their torches to serve as makeshift weapons against vampires.
  • The party sells a chain shirt to Bildrath for half price to lighten their load and add to the party’s funds.
  • Two vials of holy water are obtained from the village priest at the church.
  • Ismark promises the party a deed to a house in the village once they successfully deliver Ireena to Vallaki.

2. The Pastry Peddler

While returning through the village, the party encounters an old woman named Morgantha selling mincemeat pies from a rickety wooden cart.

  • A hunched figure named Morgantha approaches the party with a rickety wooden cart, selling mincemeat pies for one gold piece each.
  • Leoberos, charmed by the old woman, purchases six pies for the group and immediately eats one, finding it delicious.
  • Morgantha flirts briefly with Leoberos before continuing her rounds through the village.
  • Lucien observes Morgantha stopping at a nearby house and receiving a mysterious sack from a resident, though the contents are unclear.

3. The Mystery of the Meat Pies

The party returns to the Burgomaster’s mansion and consumes the meat pies purchased from Morgantha, leading to unexpected results.

  • Ismark informs the party that Morgantha has only recently taken up residence in the village and is considered odd.
  • Leoberos, Lucien, and Ysarissa eat the meat pies and find them delicious with no immediate ill effects.
  • Kaelis eats a pie and immediately falls into a deep, incapacitated slumber that lasts for eight hours.
  • The party performs medical examinations on Kaelis, determining he is in a magical or drug-induced trance rather than truly harmed.
  • The group suspects the pies contain an unrecognized herb or spice mixed in with the other ingredients, noting unfamiliar dark bits.
  • The group discusses the potential of using the ‘sleepy time pies’ as a tactical tool in the future.
  • After eight hours, Kaelis wakes up feeling well-rested but with a crick in his neck.

4. A Night at the Blood on the Vine Tavern

The party visits the local tavern to pass the time until morning, providing entertainment and gathering information from three Vistani women.

  • The party enters the Blood on the Vine tavern, with Leoberos making a dramatic, glowing entrance.
  • Lucien plays a jovial drinking song on his lute while Leoberos sings, with Chrystandar using magic to create a dramatic breeze for the performance.
  • The performance attracts the attention of two colorful Vistani women, Alenka and Mirabel, who are impressed by the rare upbeat music and toss Lucien a gold coin.
  • Alenka and Mirabel reveal themselves as Vistani and mention that Madame Eva has foretold the party’s arrival, urging them to visit Tser Pool.
  • A third Vistani woman, Sorvia, joins the group.
  • The Vistani women share wine and a meal of chicken, rice, and vegetables with the party.
  • The women explain that the Vistani are free to leave Barovia because their people once saved Strahd von Zarovich.
  • The women share the history of Strahd, his lost love Tatyana, and the naming of Castle Ravenloft after his mother, Queen Ravenovia.
  • The party learns about the ‘soulless’ Barovians and the three main settlements: the Village of Barovia, Vallaki, and Krezk.
  • The Vistani warn the party to avoid the old windmill on the road between Barovia and Vallaki, and to stay on the main road during the day.
  • The party leaves gold on the table as a tip before departing.

5. Departure from the Village of Barovia

The party prepares to leave the village with Ireena, receiving final warnings from Ismark before heading out on the road.

  • Ismark thanks the party for their help and warns them that the devil has spies everywhere, including among the Vistani and Barovians alike.
  • Ireena pleads with Ismark to join them, but he insists on staying to maintain the charade and protect the village.
  • Ismark says there are far worse things than death, and Ireena promises that her father’s death will not be in vain.
  • The party discusses disguising Ireena in common Barovian clothing to help her blend in during the journey.
  • The group sets off on the road, heading northwest toward Tser Pool.

6. Ambush at the River Bridge

While crossing an ancient stone bridge, the party is ambushed by a strange, boneless tentacled creature hiding within the cracks of the masonry.

  • Leoberos decides to inspect the underside of the bridge for threats before the party crosses.
  • A rubbery, fanged tentacle shoots out from a narrow four-inch crack in the bridge, seizing Leoberos’s leg and pulling him down toward the stonework.
  • The creature, a boneless humanoid with cartilage and muscle like an octopus, grapples and restrains both Leoberos and Mortimer with its appendages.
  • Leoberos attempts to fight back while restrained, calling out to vanquish the ‘evil, vile creature of the night.’
  • Kaelis spots the creature’s arm beneath the bridge and delivers a precise, lethal blow, slaying the creature.
  • The party investigates the remains, noting the creature’s bizarre, noodle-like physiology before crossing the bridge safely.
  • Rissa quips that Leoberos should be the one to check under every bridge going forward, since it was his idea.

7. The Crossroads of Fate

The party reaches a grim crossroads featuring a creaking gallows and a small cemetery shrouded in fog.

  • The party arrives at a split in the road marked by a signpost pointing toward Tser Pool to the northwest and Ravenloft/Vallaki to the southwest.
  • Leoberos inspects a small plot of eleven graves, noting that the tombstones are eerily blank.
  • As the party prepares to leave, a lifeless gray body suddenly appears hanging from the gallows where there was nothing before.
  • Mortimer experiences a chilling vision where the hanged figure bears his own likeness, though the others see only an unfamiliar Barovian.
  • The apparition slowly fades away as the party continues their journey toward the northwest fork toward Tser Pool.

8. Arrival at Tser Pool

The party arrives at the lively Vistani encampment at Tser Pool and is tested before being granted an audience with Madame Eva.

  • Ireena expresses concern that her identity will be discovered by Vistani who might serve Strahd.
  • The party arrives at the Tser Pool encampment, a lively haven filled with music, dancing, and the smell of roasting chicken — a stark contrast to the Barovian gloom.
  • Two mounted Vistani, Arrigal and Luvash, intercept the party and demand they swear they come as friends.
  • Arrigal uses a silvered dagger to notch the palms of each party member, including Ireena, to verify they are not lycanthropes.
  • A messenger arrives with word from Madame Eva, stating she has foreseen the party’s arrival and wishes to see them immediately.

9. The Tarokka Reading

Madame Eva performs a mystical five-card Tarokka reading for the party, revealing clues about their destiny and the artifacts needed to defeat Strahd.

  • Madame Eva welcomes the party by name, claiming to be ‘the loom that spins out the threads of fate.’
  • Eva warns the party that they must secure specific artifacts of great power to stand against the shadow of Ravenloft, and that they are destined to stand against the devil or die as failures.
  • The first card, the Druid, reveals a treasure hidden atop a hill of graves where an evil tree grows, with ravens able to help find it.
  • The second card, the Priest, points to a powerful holy symbol of great hope located within the ruins of a place of supplication in the castle.
  • The third card, the Stars, speaks of a weapon of vengeance — a Sunsword — hidden in a dead village drowned by a river.
  • The fourth card, the Mists, identifies a Vistana warrior ally wandering the land, who can be found near St. Markovia’s Abbey.
  • The final card, the Dark Lord, warns that the party must face the evil of the land alone.
  • Madame Eva speaks directly to Ireena, warning her that she is marked by the devil and must flee to a bastion of light, lest she become Strahd’s bride.
  • The party is invited to stay the night at the Vistani camp.

10. Tales by the Bonfire and Interpreting the Cards

The party gathers around the Vistani campfire to share a meal, hear the legend of a fallen wizard, and work out the locations hinted at by Madame Eva’s reading.

  • The Vistani share a story about a charismatic wizard who attempted to lead a peasant revolt against Strahd roughly a year ago.
  • The storyteller describes a magical duel between the wizard and Strahd that moved from the castle courtyard to a high precipice overlooking a waterfall.
  • The wizard was ultimately defeated and thrown a thousand feet into the River Ivlis, though his body was never recovered.
  • The party analyzes the five cards with the Vistani to determine specific locations for the artifacts.
  • The Vistani identify the hill of graves from the first card as Yester Hill, far to the west, where the evil Gulthias tree grows.
  • The Vistani identify the dead village drowned by a river from the third card as the ruins of Berez, located along the Luna River.
  • The party learns that the Abbey of St. Markovia is located above the town of Krezk, far to the west.
  • The party concludes their evening at the Vistani camp, preparing for the long journey ahead.

Memorable Moments

  • [funny] Kaelis eats one of Morgantha’s mincemeat pies, immediately puts his head down, and falls into a deep eight-hour trance-like sleep, leaving the party baffled. (The party had just been warned the pies tasted unusually good with unrecognizable spices — Kaelis found out the hard way why.)
  • [funny] “Easy come, easy go.” (Kaelis Astorath; Casually shrugging off the prospect of failing a constitution save and potentially dying from a meat pie, to the group’s delight.)
  • [dramatic] “He has already stolen my father. He will not take Ireena.” (Ismark Kolyanovich; A passionate declaration as the party prepares to escort Ireena to safety, referencing Rahadin and the shadow of Strahd over the family.)
  • [dramatic] “Sister, father would not abandon his post, and so I must continue the charade. The devil must not know you’ve left.” (Ismark Kolyanovich; A heartbreaking farewell as Ismark refuses to flee with Ireena, accepting the danger of staying behind to protect her escape.)
  • [dramatic] Mortimer looks up at the gallows and sees his own face staring back at him from the hanged corpse — a vision no one else in the party shares. (The apparition appeared out of nowhere as the party prepared to leave the crossroads, fading slowly as they walked away.)
  • [epic] Lucien launches into a rousing drinking song on his lute while Chrystandar conjures a dramatic wind to blow their hair back, briefly transforming the gloomy tavern into a rock concert. (The performance earned a gold coin toss from impressed Vistani women and opened the door to crucial information about Barovia.)
  • [intriguing] “You are destined to stand boldly against the shadow, to stand against the devil himself, or die as failures.” (Madame Eva; Madame Eva’s opening declaration to the party upon their arrival in her tent, setting the stakes for their entire quest in Barovia.)
  • [funny] Leoberos insists on checking under the bridge for danger — and is immediately seized by a rubbery tentacle that drags him toward the stonework. (Rissa later quips that since it was his idea, Leoberos should be the one to check under every bridge going forward.)

Session log

From the GM Assistant session lists. GMA doesn’t distinguish visited/met/found from mentioned, so these lists can include things only talked about.

Present in this session

Quests & Threads touched

Also noted (no wiki page)

  • Spells & abilities used: Elementalism, Guidance, Hex, Mage Armor, Thaumaturgy

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