Welcome to Mordavia!

Session 37 (October 14, 2024)

  • You watched the sun rise, and everyone had a moment of quiet reflection (Bjorn thought of winters and being cozy and home, Kyramara of the things she misses about the way HER woods look despite having been thrilled to leave, and Balthazar of the lizard and the flying claws in his dream)
  • That was the best part of Kyramara’s day though, the rest was extremely Mordavian in nature.
  • Sergei told them the ravens are muttering about a strange visitor at Old Bonegrinder
  • Davian suggested they take the wagon, check on Bella and the kids, then continue to Mordavia Village while you had the daylight
  • Ireena gave an inspiring(?) speech
  • No encounters on the way to the windmill, but Balthazar summoned Avigdor again. There have been some subtle changes to our boi (a bit more “warhorse” than “wild creature” now, a little grey-er, and much pointier). He also said he feels a bit more... bloodthirsty.
  • At the windmill, the doors/windows were shut and reinforced, children nowhere to be seen outside.
  • You made your way inside, and found Emmett practicing sword forms, Tilly playing with chemistry set, both a little afraid of Bella. In the attic, Kyramara and Björn found Bella sobbing hysterically over a photo of Tanya.
  • Bella trapped Kyramara to the floor and compelled (despite a SUPER HIGH saving throw) her to bring Tanya back to her. Kyramara is now under a Geas.
  • It was revealed that Horngaard had told her that Tanya was a vampire, that the Heroes had lied to her about knowing where she was, and that they would be coming to the windmill looking for a Ritual. So she has hidden it, and will only give it to whoever brings her daughter back to her.
  • Balthazar knows that the Blessing of Sorrows would let someone trade lives with Tanya and bring her “back,” but doesn’t know of another way.
  • Performing the geas / having steps taken toward getting Tanya back seems to have… detoxified Bella and Old Bonegrinder for the time being. But you don’t think it’ll last too long.
  • You hit the road for Mordavia Village: Ireena’s hometown, where it all began for three of you, where one of you is a homeowner, where the massive relic of an ancient hero is awaiting pickup, and where your deadbeat parents may have assumed your identities.

Session 36 (October 7, 2024)

  • Kyramara got an immediate nat 20 on a flavor roll (telling how long you’ve been in Mordavia: 17 days), which I honored by giving you pretty much every exit possible.
  • Balthazar got to meet HIS dead dad (sort of), who wanted you to know that he can’t truly rest until the sorrows of Mordavia are put to rest as well.
  • You opted to travel through the night to get to the winery, and on the road encountered 11 zombies who just popped up out of the earth. Mordavia, man.
  • The ensuing battle had anime levels of gore thanks to multiple Kyramara crits and Björn feeling rage-ful.
  • You then made the rest of the way to the winery uneventfully, ravens keeping watch and Sergei eventually tumbling out of bed long enough to let you inside, put you in a bedroom, and pass back out immediately.
  • 4Eyes had broadcast on a frequency somehow tuned to the Blessing of Dreams, with repeating messages that made their way into your subconscious. Balthazar learned that Piotyr’s skull is currently in a mausoleum in Mordavia Village, Björn learned that 4Eyes and DB are also camped out in Mordavia Village (in his house!), and Kyramara learned about the shortcut into the castle from Mordavia Village’s graveyard, and the most likely entry point to the catacombs where Ad Avis and Katrina both seem to rest. Balthazar also saw a glimpse of his dad Vlad riding forth but not toward Paladin’s Keep, despite what he said to you on the road yesterday morning.
  • Katrina’s regeneration time is up. And you have her heart with you.

Session 35 (September 21, 2024)

  • You found yourselves in Baba Yaga’s hut, where she had Ireena on her kitchen table in a trance and told you she would listen to you if you were interested in bringing Erana back. She explained that the only way to do so would be to collect all the Rituals, perform the summoning of Avoozl the Dark One into the world, and then separating Erana from its essence before banishing it (or not, she doesn’t actually care if things are light or dark).
  • She explained that her current strategy has been collecting Erana’s essence piece by piece, catching all the souls in Mordavia and not allowing them to leave so she can sort through them. Ireena is the biggest piece she has found in several centuries. She offered to give you what you wanted (the Blessing of Sorrows) in exchange for Ireena, but you were not interested.
  • Instead, Balthazar offered 25 years of service (effective immediately, and may include additional assignments as he moves through Mordavia) to Baba Yaga. He made a new Paladin oath to her, and in exchange, she dubbed him Balthazar the Deathless. He now has the revenant-like ability to re-form after death, as the wielder of the Blessing of Sorrows, he can trade one mortal’s life for another.
  • When you asked about the Heart Ritual, she was happy to explain to that it is contained within the crystallized heart of the Dark Master, a favor she did for Katrina a while back. This item replenishes to full health after every long rest of Katrina’s, and contains 200HP that she can essentially “tank.”
  • Baba Yaga’s goals no longer align with Katrina’s, since Katrina seems mostly interested in controlling Erana, so she was willing to exchange the heart for something valuable.
  • After some haggling, the price was set at one of Björn’s rages (permanently), one happy memory of Björn’s every time he falls in battle, Kyramara’s Immovable Arrow, and inflicting sorrow on Kyramara each time she takes damage.
  • She cautioned you that holding the heart will be very dangerous to you, as Katrina is intimately acquainted with it and still feels a connection to it. So you should figure out how to permanently destroy it, which will also unlock the Heart ritual, and do so soon.
  • You left by the front door, but the whole swamp feels… brighter. Less tangled and oppressed. It occurs to you that, finally being in possession of all 3 Blessings, you are seeing the real sun set for the first time in months
  • However… the sun is setting. And Katrina’s regeneration time is almost up.

Session 34 (August 29, 2024)

  • Ireena flattered Bonehead and offered him Bjorn’s distinctive and distinguished hat in exchange for information about the great witch Baba Yaga, and he said there was a password to get the house to stop moving and let you in, but that disenchanting it could also make it stop moving.
  • Meanwhile the hut continued to follow Avigdor and Balthazar as several scarecrows and wasps approached and began trying to pick them off.
  • Bjorn tried to charm the skull like Ireena and failed miserably even with advantage, instead setting off Bonehead and the other skulls’ alarms, so he ran to back up Balthazar instead.
  • Avigdor went down and Balthazar almost followed in one single round of attacks from the hut, prompting Bjorn to ask Ireena to use Dispel Magic on the hut.
  • Ireena cast the spell at only third level, which did not have the highest chance of success, and the hut rolled a 3 on its save so despite my best efforts, you solved my Don’t Die From The Hut puzzle; Kyramara then cast Ensnaring Strike on it to try to keep it down if it came back up.
  • The rest of the fight was mostly fear, telekinesis and bugs. You all made it inside the hut, and all except Balthazar were then immediately caught in a spider-web trap on the threshold.
  • The inside of the hut looks like between a cave and a dwelling, and every inch of all the walls is covered in huge, glistening spiderwebs. An old, creaky voice spoke to you from the dimness, and you now await whatever comes next…

Session 33 (August 3, 2024)

  • Mostly mixed successes on the extremely important off-camera luck rolls (more on that once you’re out of whatever Situation you now find yourselves in), but you used your inspiration strategically to ensure the baddies rolled low and none of your checks were below a 13.
  • You got into the muck of the swamp and saw a light signaling you from a ring of standing stones
  • You spent some time in the standing stones with Sergei and learned that this circle seems to have powerful anti-scrying magic
  • Sergei inspired each of you and told you some additional info about Baba Yaga (he didn’t know much about the hut):
    • She flies around in a mortar and pestle during the daytime, returning to the hut at night
    • She keeps goats in a pen near the old burgomeister’s mansion and they scream horribly on the nights of the new moon
    • She destroyed the town in his great-great grandfather’s day and it may have involved some kind of quarrel with the burgomeister’s family
    • Her scarecrows have attacked the winery before
  • You then decided to do some additional scouting, so Björn (still in bird form) flew over the scene. With a perception of 1, he saw a decent amount, like the skulls mounted atop the goat pen gate, but missed the giant bone graveyard and terrifying message (”DEATH IS THE GREAT EQUALIZER”) scorched into the earth, plus didn’t really get a good look at how many scarecrows etc. are strewn about the village.
  • Armed with *some* information, Balthazar and Avigdor took it upon themselves to lure the hut into a place where Kyramara could try to snipe it with the immovable arrow and kick off some Luke Skywalker tripping shenanigans. Ireena blessed you all because the whole situation made her rather nervous. Then she, Bjorn and Kyramara took shelter briefly in the old burgomeister’s mansion, trying to get a better sight line.
  • A ghost greeted you when you entered the ruins of the old burgomeister’s mansion, a man with almost no face and wearing his insides as outsides. When you asked him how to get inside Baba Yaga’s hut, he looked at you like you were crazy and said the only way he knew for sure was to die, so she could stew you in her cauldron and eat you for supper like she’s done with all the previous encroachers.
  • Kyramara signaled to Balthazar to abort, but he only barely noticed a signal and only after attracting the attention of the hut, which has begun stalking forward toward him.
  • On a final stealth check, Ireena failed miserably and attracted the attention of a large skull on the goat pen fence with a large, red-black gem in its eye socket. He sounded annoyed, but not hostile, saying “HEY! Whaddya want? Gimme ONE good reason I don’t wake these other boneheads and start callin’ for Baba!”

Session 32 (July 4, 2024)

  • Four Eyes and DB agreed to split up and work separately, since your missions are different (they will go scout the castle for additional intel before Katrina wakes up, and hopefully discover her resting place)
  • They plan to communicate with you as much as possible before the 24 hours are up, and after that they’ll try to reach you in dreams using the purified blessing stone as a focus. So don’t lose it!
  • Dr. Cranium gave everyone prototype presents as a thank-you for rescuing him.
    • Kyramara got a way to make silver arrows (with a small chance of failure)
    • Björn got a mouthpiece for his whistle that lets him call Dousha from anywhere (small chance of failure and a little static zap…)
    • Balthazar got a way to amplify his aura (chance of failure with a little zap. It’s a prototype!)
  • Björn’s dad taught him how to channel his rage (and his bear pelt) into not suffering cold-based exhaustion
  • Ireena pulled Balthazar aside and said she received a flash of a vision and feared that all was not well at Paladin’s Keep
  • Then everyone headed their separate ways. Dr. Cranium will attempt to re-secure the lair, the older generation headed to the castle, and you guys mounted up on Avigdor, who was faithfully waiting at the entrance to the shrine / dungeon where you started, surrounded by a few corpses of werewolves, necrotaurs and one or two human bandits who seemed to have been tracking you after your night outdoors.
  • You agreed together that Baba Yaga was the most likely person to have the final Blessing stone, and it seems as though she may also have a ritual in her possession (the “Heartless Hag” seems to fit her, you figured). And Balthazar and Ireena remembered a local legend about the Dark Master “taking out her heart and giving it to a witch,” which may also mean there’s a clue about how to defeat Katrina there. So you headed to the ruins of Berez!
  • On the road to Berez, you came across Vladimir Horngaard, one of Balthazar’s revenant dads. The introductions were awkward because you were all rather prepared for a fight, but both he and Balthazar were delighted and relieved to see one another again and in one piece. Horngaard said those at the Keep had feared you were lost, because they hadn’t heard word and he had ridden to Old Bonegrinder and they hadn’t had news of you for a day or two. You didn’t share too much information but did say you’d be there soon, and that you had made progress on your quest/learned about some important things needed to restore Piotyr, but that your quest was taking you onward on another road first. He said you were all welcome at the Keep and rode on home.
  • You arrived at the edges of the swamp, about a mile out from the ruins of Berez, where a tangible aura of dread and decay (yes, even more so than just generally in Mordavia) began to permeate the air. Kyramara and Ireena both are feeling creeped out by the vibe, and jittery.

Sessions 30 and 31 (June 4 and 11, 2024)

  • You peeped into some other parts of the castle that you hadn’t explored previously. I have provided the results of your recon in Discord.
  • All of you were eventually booted from the Matrix, but just before Kyramara, our last soldier to fall, was disconnected… Katrina appeared, and said to pass on the message to her mother that “The Dark One sends his regards.”
  • You all came back to yourselves back in the lab, but Four Eyes and DB were there too. It seems Katrina caught them and somehow used Four Eyes’ relay against her to find them and bring them to Mordavia once again.
  • Four Eyes, aka Tivara, asked to explain via telepathy rather than using words. She showed you a very complicated history, that boils down to: she and DB seem to have signed their firstborn kids away to the Dark One in exchange for getting out of Mordavia, and Katrina found a way to suck them back in.
  • At that point Ireena knocked and asked if you were done excluding her from important talks and whether she was allowed/invited in.
  • You continued your strategizing, but Björn -- who I guess REALLY KNOWS Ireena by now -- intuited that something was up, and was able to surprise Katrina before she could accomplish her nefarious plan (turn Tivara and Jorgagu aka DB into thralls for a difficult battle)
  • You guys followed several steps of your plan and did poof her into ashes! She will rise again in her resting place sometime in the next 24 hours, but for now she is off the board.

Sessions 28 and 29 (May 15 and 22, 2024)

  • You very briefly caught up with 4 Eyes and DB, and they let you know that 4 Eyes had been able to find a way to piggyback on Katrina’s scry network in the palace and could relay it to a secure simulator environment where you could observe what’s going on without being in direct danger. They can use your "eyes" because you're physically in the same plane as the castle.
  • DB, Cranium and Four Eyes can see through your eyes and detect your surface thoughts throughout to basically be able to collect the same info as you at the same time.
  • Your mission is to find as much info on the rituals as possible, and if you happen to learn more about Piotyr’s skull or Katrina’s resting place or any hidden treasures or really... whatever else you can learn, so much the better for future-you. This is your chance to stick your nose in all Katrina’s business, and won’t that make a nice change?
  • So far you’ve discovered:
    • a tree-blight in the courtyard
    • 23 necrotaurs in the gatehouse
    • 50-80 creepy dolls in the bower playroom
    • Tanya and 2 scruffy children staying in the Bower
    • Piotyr’s head and a plaque containing a prophecy about his light shining through Mordavia if he is put to rest in the dining hall
    • a huge fireplace in an otherwise empty room
    • some bamboozling portraits of Katrina (and one of Vladimir Horngaard, one of Balthazar's dads)
    • a grotto with bad vibes next to Katrina's office
    • a room where Katrina does NOT sleep/rest, including a shrine to Vampyr
    • a portrait of Bella in the gatekeeper's room
    • a vampire from Shapeir who signs his name Ad Avis staying near Katrina's quarters
    • a trapped armory full of non-magical weapons (with the 2 "good"/magical ones seeming to be in use)
    • a ballroom with a bloody fountain
    • Locrian's bedroom in the old knights' wing
    • a room with a doll or statue of a gnome in another bedroom in the knights' wing
    • a room that appears to be full of treasure next to the throne room
    • a hall of bones, some kind of macabre trophy room that is desecrated ground but seems to contain at least one if not more interesting items
    • and probably other things besides that I forgot.
  • You also noticed that the sky is much, much brighter than it was at the beginning of your adventure. Purifying the second stone seems to have made a difference, and Elyssa believes that purifying the third may actually allow the sun to shine.
  • You entered the matrix 2 sessions ago, and are now at 2 failed saves each (B and B) and 1 failed save (K)
  • Balthazar is first up, the DC is still 9 but will go up to 10 after Balthazar’s turn (order is Bjorn, Kyramara, Balthazar)

Session 27 (April 22, 2024)

  • First you had to solve my elevator puzzle - decipher the difficult pictograms. Kyramara wanted to try some other, more complicated stuff, which didn’t work but WAS impressive. She now knows what an elevator is.
  • Then you had to solve my screen puzzle - enter the password in the terminal (Dr. Cranium taped it on the back of the monitor). Björn and Balthazar tried breaking the bookshelf to move it instead, and also trolled me re: what you’d know about technology.
  • Finally you had to solve my pictogram puzzle - pick out the correct pictographs for the Rituals that would summon Avoozl. You did a great History check to remember that you’d seen them about 30-40 minutes earlier in the WISDOM chamber.
  • Then there was a BIG infodump (with Ireena in the room) while you did research.
    • It seems that this library pre-existed Dr. Cranium and Elyssa’s residence. It seems to have been an ancient stronghold of Avoozl, as you saw MANY cursed-looking tomes, several with tentacle imagery and other alarming pictograms.
    • In other words, Avoozl’s presence is deeply felt here, and this place may be the key to learning some more about this creature that took Erana with it when banished back to the Void.
    • It also seems that the “Chernovy cult” that the Dursts were part of is older and more horrible than you even realized.
    • Kyramara especially found a diary from someone who seems to have been the High Priest of the Chernovy Cult. This person seems to have perished after the original summoning of Avoozl when Katrina—then an ally of these people, it seems—was botched, and Erana lost. Knowing Katrina, these two things may not be unrelated. But it seems he had time to stash the rituals across the valley.
      • Bone - “Old Bonegrinder”
      • Breath - “shown by the light of the Paladin’s soul”
      • Blood - “in a house of the First Blood, kept by the faithful”
      • Essence - “the Moon maiden’s hound guards it faithfully”
      • Heart - “Given to the Heartless Hag to keep”
      • Sense - “Gave to Gregor for safekeeping." Then, a later note, “Where is Gregor?”
  • Once Elyssa was back on the board, she thanked you and explained—after politely asking Ireena to step out of the room—that you are deep, deep beneath Lake Rusalka, a place named for what she became after the Dark One came.
    • Dr. Cranium, A Hero of the realm and one of her strongest devotees, sought a place to trap and contain her to keep more people from being murdered, and found this empty place that seems to be an ancient underground stronghold of the Dark One, Avoozl.
    • Proximity to Avoozl’s essence, especially in light of the events you learned of in Katrina’s journal, led Dr. Cranium to go… well, perhaps a bit more mad than usual, but who can say really? In any case, he faked his death aboveground to get Katrina off his back and moved here permanently to keep Elyssa safe / Mordavians safe from her. He also tinkered a bit, here and there. And she did eventually overpower him thanks to all the improvements he made, but she was still bound to the location and missing her Blessing stone, which was the missing element he didn’t have to catalyze and remind her of who she truly was.
      • Bjorn, who was bitten during the battle, was offered an apology token: he can now, once a day, Wild Shape into a raven
      • Kyramara got her Ensnaring Strike back, for 3 long rests (#justfairythings), but Elyssa said she believes advancing your quest will align with getting it back for real
      • Balthazar got a mom!!! Surprise, Erana and Piotyr made a baby together. This makes him and Ireena… something.
      • And you all carry with you now the ability to un-curse any were-creature you find using the Blessing of Change
    • Elyssa knows her sisters’ essences are, in some way, still out there also unaware of who and what they are, and that they probably need to be rescued in some way as well (righting the wrongs)
  • Good news though: if we are far enough from Katrina’s power base for the Dark One to have this much influence, we are far enough away for him to make contact with the Order of Chaos. And even better news, Dr. Cranium seems to have made this room scry-proof somehow… so if you’d like to talk to DB and Four Eyes, there will never be a better time.

Session 26 (April 11, 2024)

  • You guys had a tough fight with Erana’s sister and the avatar of change, Elyssa
  • Dr. Cranium helped a bit but mostly just said wild shit
  • First she was a scary lady with tentacles (you rudely attacked when she asked u for help bc she was sooooo cold)
  • Then she was a scary mechanical spider lady with tentacles (Balthazar Commanded her to fall, choice move)
  • Then she was a werewolf with robot spider friends (Finish Her!!!!)
  • There was a point where Bjorn tried to throw the bomb crystal, which would have been great but he missed his sleight of hand check and blew himself and Balthazar up instead
  • Balthazar went down, Kyramara had to learn what a laser was (at least not the hard way, unlike the other 3), a bunch of crystals exploded, and Ireena was briefly bamboozled. It was a very tough fight! But you guys did it, and some critical crits were a big part of that.

Session 25 (March 18, 2024)

  • I was too high to make the puzzles properly difficult, I think, because you nailed them both tbh
  • In the Tenacity room Björn saw the wheel, turned the wheel, never even tried to take his hands off the wheel, and did a good job turning the wheel
  • Balthazar controlled the exit and he and Kyramara did several hundred damage to the creeping black tentacles of madness that wanted to go for Björn. The shadowy entity was un-destroyable, because it seems to have been some kind of projection versus the “real deal,” but you got a glimpse of the concept of Avoozl, eater of worlds. You didn’t enjoy it. But anyway nothing crazy happened, when believe me, it super could have.
  • Then you all did the textbook thing in the Wisdom chamber, and pulled the rope (the door was unlocked, btw) which unleashed chutes full of thousands of snakes, then you climbed up in the one that seemed broken and which had previously held a human skeleton.
  • You popped out in some kind of tank that was previously full of snakes, with multiple chutes leading back into the room you just exited.

Session 24 (February 15, 2024)

  • The gang (y’all are probably going to need another party name now that the configuration has changed…) took on the next testing chamber: COURAGE, where all you had to do was wait until the countdown ended and the door would simply release you.
  • You guys, not knowing this, variously: stabbed the apple, melted the gold on the apple, stole the apple, beat the shit out of the mechanical skull, and freaked out. V courageous!!! But you did eventually solve my Courage puzzle.
  • Then you were faced with some of your most difficult memories in the REVELATION chamber. Kyramara reckoned with a meeting 50 years ago that she still wonders about, Björn re-agonized over his decision to watch Ireena risk permadeath and try to kill monsters against the clock after approaching a risky encounter without a strategy, Balthazar remembered some of his most un-Paladinlike actions and the thousand moments where he's never felt good enough for his great destiny, and Ireena learned some new and exciting things about whatever’s going on with her magic. Everyone had a bad time.
  • You entered the fourth chamber, PRUDENCE, and Björn pretty immediately solved it with a nat 20 perception check and some smart spying around. He found a secret lair from a long-gone adventurer who seemed to have been stuck there for quite some time, and who had drawn a bizarre picture of a human/spider type creature, and saw the shadow of a creature hidden under the ice.
  • You were all pretty much set to leave the room when Kyramara decided to try zip-lining over the ice to see if the body under the ice was the spider creature. It wasn’t, but it WAS a humanoid begging you to free them from imprisonment with dire warnings of the door being a trap.
  • Balthazar ate shit multiple times trying to free the creature from the ice, before succeeding… and releasing a Wight, clearly re-programmed somehow to trick you as part of the testing. Everyone fell down on the ice, a lot, but the wight was ultimately destroyed by a massive smite from Balthazar’s glaive.
  • Congrats, you solved(?) my Prudence puzzle! Aren’t puzzles fun? Scientific discovery is so exciting.

Session 23 (February 5, 2024)

  • Ireena convinced you to sleep inside rocks during the night because she’s paranoid and Kyramara is REALLY good at finding rocks
  • Upon waking, you followed a general vibe of “we’re looking for Elyssa” until a sudden thunderstorm forced you to take shelter in what looked like a primitive shrine or something similar, with a nondescript woman holding a crystal in her open palms in it
  • Björn bravely tried stuff (as usual) and picked up the crystal in the statue’s hands, revealing the the hands said “WELCOME TEST SUBJECTS”
  • You then fell for quite some time, into some kind of strange… dungeon? shrine? pocket dimension? Who can say. But on the way down, a disembodied voice introduced himself as Dr. Cranium, saying you had stumbled into one of his Hero Assessment and Observation Stations. He congratulated you on your participation, which will help “create a better and more scientific future for all Heroes.”
  • He explained that your bodies would exist in a kind of stasis field and that you should not feel any hunger or thirst during the experiments, but that similarly you should not eat or drink anything you find. A “pizza,” which he opined at length about as the pinnacle of scientific achievement, will be provided should you feel any hunger for any reason.
  • You then picked up some rope and some wooden table legs from the detritus you found in the watery ante-room, and headed into the First Testing Chamber.
  • The word FRIENDSHIP was written on the ceiling of the chamber, and you quickly discerned that the puzzle involved having to defeat doppelgangers of your party members while they were frozen on platforms in the room.
  • At first you tried to cause a mass doppelganger battle, which honestly would have been cool, but that didn’t work and Björn’s double entered a rage and went ham.
  • After Björn fucked Kyramara right up, Ireena tearfully brought him down and then y’all made some smart checks to determine that you could probably skew the battles in your favor by tying up and otherwise incapacitating your teammates before they stepped to the platform.
  • Kyramara gave everyone some hands-on shibari lessons and everyone tucked this useful knowledge away for a future, less dire situation.
  • Your trust in each other, despite being near strangers with Balthazar (who specifically DISROBED to make things even easier), allowed you to complete the room relatively unscathed. Congrats, you solved my friendship puzzle!

Session 22 (January 27, 2024)

  • Kyramara and Björn left Krezk, and Dmitri re-iterated his promise to allow you in within the next 10 days provided you bring a fine dress with you
  • As they approached the Astronomy Tower, they encountered Balthazar and his moose Avigdor along the path to the Astronomy Tower. He said he had been given a vision about the Dream gem (which he had in his weapon), and that he was to follow you in order to help bring Piotyr the Paladin back to Mordavia.
  • Rictavio wasn't in when you got there, the tiger was though. You, probably wisely, ighnored it and simply focused on getting inside.
  • The tower also had the name Avoozl on the door, although you couldn't really figure out why. There was no secret torture dungeon or anything.
  • You took some fine robes, a scroll of Major Image and a scroll of Remove Curse from Rictavio. You also chopped up a suit of armor that was in his room.
  • You left the tower smoking and having set off two enormous lightning strikes that were visible across the valley during your attempts to open the door, but Rictavio didn’t bat an eye before heading inside to get a reward for you as promised. (This seems strange, no?)
  • You decided you no longer liked his vibes, and while he was inside you made your way together on mooseback toward the shores of Lake Rusalka, where you decided to camp outside for the night.

Session 21 (December 29, 2023)

  • You rested in the Abbey, chatted with the Abbot, and got a closer look at Vasilka (which means “Vessel” in the Abbot’s language)
  • He confirmed he was sent here on a mission from the Morninglord to rid Mordavia of its curse, and came from another plane
  • He has used the commune spell to keep in touch with his god, and believes his course of action (creating the perfect host for Erana’s soul) to be the best option based on this contact
  • You agreed that if you happened to find a perfect dress, you’d potentially be willing to help bring it back in exchange for something from his treasury (previous adventurers have left many things behind that he has little need for)
  • You went back down the mountain, and some necrotaurs followed you and asked you, again, to give back the diary. You complied this time (Kyramara tried to shoot it far away with an arrow, but it didn’t work.)
  • Once you arrived back in town, you each took turns drinking some water from the Shrine of the White Sun (a well at the bottom of the footpath, at the outskirts of the village). You all had visions of beautiful magic and color before being sucked into a void of darkness for eternity. You are pretty sure this is a fragment of the experience Erana had at the moment of the Dark Master’s ascendance/ever since. Ireena has to unpack some stuff now.
  • Ireena also touched her hand to the well and it performed a greater restoration on her hand. She has 2 normal human hands again now! Wow!!
  • Ireena offered to cast Gentle Repose on Dmitri’s son in order to get him 10 more days for the Raise Dead spell, in exchange for another night of lodging and re-entry to Krezk if needed

Session 20 (November 28, 2023)

  • You made your way up the mountain path, keeping your eyes peeled for gardens and (scarecrow) guardians
  • You perceived very well and found the scarecrow pretty quickly. Björn tried to commune with a rabbit, and Kyramara just got down to business and stabbed it
  • Inside the scarecrow was the third treasure - a journal kept by Katrina from when she first came into power from the Dark Ones
  • When you removed the journal, seven wights materialized dressed in tattered armor in the Dark Master’s colors. They demanded it back.
  • You fought them and broke up everyone’s favorite couple #Bick (wight gays, amirite) and killed all of them with a combination of Daylight, radiant and silver swords, and Just Regular Arrows (though you did try to attach silver to one of them).
  • At the end of your fight you had a little Rope Trick Short Rest before continuing up the hill to the Abbey.
  • During this time, you read Katrina’s Very Secret Diary
  • You headed up the rest of the cliff trail to the Abbey and the Abbot was waiting for you just around the bend. He seemed friendly, if a bit blasé.
  • When you arrived at the Abbey, you were taken through the ‘nice’ part that is in good condition. Inside you were served by a woman who does not speak, with red hair, who seems to have some kind of… skin condition. You were skeptical, needless to say. The Abbot said that “her name is Vasilka, and she will save us all.”

Session 19 (November 14, 2023)

  • You didn’t remember your dreams but Kyramara awoke with a hangover (-1 to CON saving throws). She made a potion to remedy the situation, which would kick in in the afternoon.
  • You left with Adrian and Sergei, Davian’s sons, in the wagon late in the morning, and drove a few hours toward Krezk through the Werewood.
  • You were unlucky in your encounter roll and ran into an old friend : Malte seems to be in charge of at least a handful of werewolves, and she’s out to steal every horse in Mordavia.
  • Björn distracted one of the 3 bandits with Malte’s lucky ring, throwing it into the forest and sending him chasing after it. Kyramara tried (and failed, but it was a good effort) to lasso another.
  • Ultimately Malte & the second wolf were deterred by being frightened and/or commanded by Ireena. You got back on the road and stayed on the path, and made it more or less unscathed to Krezk. Nobody fully wolfed out, and nobody got hurt.
  • You did spy another, less-fortunate wagon that had run into the same party. There was a letter asking for help providing the bearer with a “formal dress for a formal occasion,” saying the bearer of the letter would explain in further detail (the seal had the initials DK).
  • At the gates of Krezk Björn tried to make friends with the guards but they did not drink on duty and the Burgomeister, Dmitri Krezkov (aka DK) was suspicious because you are adventurers. Coming with the wine delivery allowed you to bargain for entry, and you agreed to chop wood in exchange for one night of housing.
  • The village is small, chickens and pigs and sheep share living space with residents and it seems they eke out a subsistence living in almost perfect isolation from the outside.
  • Kyramara bonded with Dmitri over tree husbandry, and learned from him about the letter.
    • It seems his son Ilya died a week ago, and, having already lost his wife and daughter, despairs that this is the end of his line. In desperation, he traveled to the Abbey himself and requested a miracle, to keep his line alive.
    • The Abbot told him he could resurrect the boy within 10 days, but asked a favor in exchange: a formal dress, fit for a queen.
    • Dmitri sent a messenger to Vallaki asking for the Burgomeister’s assistance with such a dress, but could spare no more than one messenger and one horse.
    • With these missing or dead, he has no hope of making his dream come true, and he cannot justify further strain on the community’s resources for his own needs.
  • You rested and in the morning you headed off toward the gazebo and pool that are the location of the Shrine of the White Sun, which marks the start of the path up to the abbey.

Session 18 (October 24, 2023)

  • Björn had a dream with a recording from DB saying that there was interference occurring again and it was harder to reach you.
  • Kyramara woke up with a spell slot / a spell missing. Ensnaring strike is, for now, unavailable to her.
  • You woke up in the windmill to the kids being excited and trying to make breakfast. They got rid of the oven and mostly do soup and scrambled eggs these days. They also offered you some chicken paprikash.
  • You got a message from Milovij’s sibling with some news from Vallaki: Izek is already recruiting new guards (Milovij is one), Lady Wachter is having midnight book club now, and there is a new festival in town in a few days to celebrate the new moon.
  • Bella returned to the house from doing chores and begged you not to put a spell on her (since her last interaction with you was mostly her being bespelled into misery) and you chose to be kind to her.
  • You re-connected with Toby, who was looking younger and more fit. So was Bella, for that matter.
  • Bella confessed to having taken the stone from the shrine to avoid attracting bandits while she waits at the windmill for news of her daughter.
    • When you asked to put it back, she said she felt uncomfortable being without protection, whereas having the stone made her feel stronger and more able to protect and care for the children.
    • Toby told you Bella is able to move more stuff now, but that she smells different
    • Bella said she can put the children to sleep and she feels more… powerful when she has the stone.
  • You decided not to tell Bella that her daughter is (un)dead, instead claiming not to know what she looks like and therefore not to know whether you’ve seen her. You told Toby, who was very very sad and wanted to tell his grandma but couldn’t
  • Some good rolls on Religion and Arcana and Insight from the group meant you figured out that the Blessing/stone was still corrupted even after being put back in its place, and that this was probably beginning to cause the interference.
    • You think it might be safe for someone to have the stone if it’s purified, but for now it needs to be left alone or else it could corrupt the holder
    • You also figured out that a lot of the stuff around the Ladies and these legends are three-fold / sets of three, which smells like Fairy bullshit to you
  • Ireena used a Remove Curse on both Bella and the stone, and things seem to be re-stabilized (for now).
    • Bella agreed to only take the stone if there is imminent danger, and the kids helped with a little ceremony to re-consecrate the stones and the altar. Kyramara gave her the wand of smiles as a goodwill gift.
    • The ravens (through Dousha) let you know that they’ll continue watching the shrine and will try to alert you if anything happens.
  • You had a nice bottle of wine and absolutely NO serious conversation with Bella and the kids in the evening, stayed one more night, and then headed West toward the abbey and the village of Krezk.
    • Björn trained with Emmett for an afternoon and left him the silver sword to practice with, so he is now a level 1 fighter instead of a commoner.
    • Kyramara gave Tilly the poison you found the last time you were at the windmill.
    • Ireena told Toby he is a very good dog and made sure he knows he is in charge of protecting his grandma from the stone and from bad guys.
  • The Abbott of Krezk is supposed to be able to do miracles, so you figured he was your best lead for more information about purifying the Blessing of Dreams. Ireena also still wants to go there because she knows there is a holy site of the Lady’s that the abbey is built near.
  • Your other potential contacts for magical information: Kasimir (dusk elf), Rictavio (bard in tower)
  • Random encounter rolls went in your favor for a change, and you didn’t meet with any trouble (the wolves seemed to be avoiding the stone you carry) and then you met with Davian and Sergei driving the wine cart back to the winery in the afternoon which let you get a free ride back to the winery and a nice evening.
  • You decided not to go to Vallaki because it’s Too Soon and not prioritaire
  • The vines loved having the stone back even for a day, Kyramara got absolutely wasted (she may have accidentally opened a bottle of Purple Grapemash #3 instead of the good stuff), Ireena remained sober, and you guys made plans to go with the wine wagon in the late morning (the sunniest part of the day) to the gates of Krezk to deliver some wine and hopefully avoid any trouble in the woods.

Session 17 (October 4, 2023)

  • The Burgomeister claimed credit for your victory and was making a big deal at the ceremony about how he knows everything. It rained very ominously right at the appointed moment, almost like the Dark Master was watching somehow, and the wicker ball could not be lit.
  • Izek appeared late and with Starbucks Ireena, begging permission to “do with her as he sees fit” and claiming she was an agent of the dark powers and he had been tormented by dreams of her / was trying to scry on her for months.
  • The Burgomeister mentioned that he’d heard Old Piotyr had “picked up” a daughter somewhere, and Björn remembered what he’d learned about Izek’s past, and connected the dots that Ireena is his sister
    • This did not seem to stop the inappropriate horniness of Izek, for the record
    • Björn also noticed the Wachter boys slipping away at some point during the proceedings
  • You tried to appeal to the people, but the Burgomeister and Izek rolled really well so people were mostly siding with them.
  • Eventually, when the guards were summoned, Kyramara just bounced up the walls of a building and started shooting at them, and Björn went into a rage and attacked anyone that tried to detain Ireena.
  • The fight was pretty intense, but the Burgomeister was a coward who stayed out of it so it was mostly Björn & Ireena on the ground trying not to get grappled by 12 guards while attacking guards and Izek and then Kyramara on the rooftop picking people off and getting spears thrown at her.
  • Izek had 1 hit point left when the hell that the Wachter brothers had caused broke loose and reached the point of needing to re-focus - Rictavio’s racist saber-tooth tiger was on the loose, and you decided to try to join forces instead (temporarily)
  • You worked with Izek and the guards to get it subdued and Rictavio took it back and left town ; he Message’d you that he would be going to an old abandoned tower to the east, and that he’d be happy to reward you for your help if you decided to visit
  • You then worked with Izek to interrogate the Wachters (1 brother had escaped, but you had Lady W and tied her up/gagged her, and the other was held at knifepoint by Izek)
  • Kyramara got some information from Lady Wachter about how she would behave if she was in charge (civilians would have more rights, but so would vampires). You decided to stick with and support the devil you know—the Burgomeister and Izek—vs. the devil you don’t.
  • Once she saw that’s how it was going to go, she had her imp invisibly free her son, who stabbed Kyramara to get her to let him go. Kyramara then killed Lady Wachter without compunction, because fuck her at this point. The son escaped through the window.
  • Y’all decided it would be best to leave town, and with night coming on fast it was decided that the windmill where you left Tilly & Emmet would be the best place to try to get some rest.
  • The windmill has definitely been done up for house flipping; Kitchen has been de-cluttered and re-organized, and looks very minimalist now. Among other things, there’s a “live laugh love” decal on the wall above the water barrel.

Session 16 (August 22, 2023)

  • You were awakened after dreams and boons (Kyramara made a deal with a ghost at Lady Wachter’s house which she has not actually honored yet lol); you’re level 7!
  • Father Lucian appeared to present a message from Izek – who immediately took control of the situation and you got to see his weird fucked up Ancient Hyrule Hand
  • Izek invited you to stay at the Burgomeister’s mansion any time you want, and also that you are requested to be present at the ceremony so that they can declare you Heroes of Mordavia for destroying the vampire nest
  • The party split up for more espionage.
  • Kyramara:
    • Disguised herself as the man you killed the night before and let herself in to the servants’ entrance
    • Ineffectively searched the first floor, but found the library and soon found the key + chest in the library that contained all the goodies you were looking for that prove she’s working with the Dark Master PLUS some bonus property deeds (#landlordlife). There was also a pipe, and a letter from someone named Katya Indirovich thanking a Wachter ancestor for her support and friendship through the years.
    • Shortly thereafter, Lady Wachter herself found out about the theft (Kyramara rope trick’d to safety) and consulted the Dark Master through a mirror (who reminded her that there are new arrivals in the city, adventurers) then called the household out to search
    • Kyramara jumped out the window and fled on foot, taking tons of damage from attacks from Lady W but outrunning all the servants until she could change back to her “real” face discreetly.
    • She led pursuers to the same alley where you stabbed the man, then planted some money and the pipe on his body and changed into a misc. generic-looking townsperson and watched the people discover the body and call for the cops, then headed back to the hotel to rendezvous with the party
  • Björn:
    • Rendezvoused with Dousha in an abandoned folly behind the treeline and out of sight of the mansion, and arranged a distraction with 4 crows to enable him to search the house later.
    • Went to the burgomeister’s and had a chat with him upstairs
    • Found out more about Izek; he is proud of him, and thinks of/treats him as well as he treats and thinks of his dogs (better than his son)
    • Izek was taken in as an orphan to be a page boy in the house after his parents were killed and his sister disappeared in a dire wolf attack near the lake
    • He lost his right arm in the attack, but after several years of faithful service to the Burgomeister’s house he awoke one morning with a supernatural arm attached that could do crazy shit (e.g. create fire) and everyone in the house thinks it was some kind of sign from the Morninglord; from then on he started training with martial arms and soon became captain of the guard
    • Burgomeister thinks Lady W is ‘not someone you want to make an enemy of’
    • Bird distraction wasn’t AS helpful because one of the Burgomeister’s massive mastiffs stayed behind with you and wouldn’t let you try anything. You didn’t make it into Izek’s room but you did more or less figure out that there’s nothing useful in the library.
    • Second distraction came when Izek was called out to lead the guards to respond to a murder (...)
    • Björn failed two strength checks in a row and did not manage to find out any more/see into Izek’s room
  • The party shared what they each uncovered and headed to the rendezvous point for the festival procession. Ireena cast invisibility and went an alternate route, but assured you she’d be hiding near the rendezvous point.

Session 15 (July 31, 2023)

  • You sent Henrik ahead of you to the church to seek Father Lucian’s support if possible
  • Kyramara did a quick check of the room with the spawn, counted the crates, and then the group whittled 6 stakes using the carpenter’s tools
  • Björn suggested trying to nail the crates down, nobody did any perception checks, and so you all split up around the room to hammer nails in. Unsurprisingly, this awakened the whole nest of 6 vampire spawn and you were spread out.
  • You learned the following about vampire spawn:
    • if a full vampire kills someone and that person has been bitten, they rise the following night as a vampire spawn
    • they are not full vampires yet because they haven’t been given blood from a full vampire (their creator or another vamp)
    • they follow the orders and desires of the Dark Bitch
    • their souls are trapped here even if they are destroyed, so many to most of them would prefer to be vampires
    • they are always hungry
    • they heal at the beginning of each turn
    • they heal when they bite you
    • their bite reduces your max HP because they sucked your blood out
    • they take radiant damage if they start their turn in sunlight
  • Kyramara went down twice (rip queen) but you survived
  • Ireena used the Holy Symbol that you found in the Vistani treasure wagon and it created a huge radius of sunlight which did massive damage to the vampires each turn
  • Björn critted savagely 3 times
  • You staked the motherfuckers in their crates and they dissipated. You kept one (E, the dwarf) “alive” with a drop of Björn’s blood but he simply wanted to attack you again, because there is no freedom for him if he is destroyed (his soul is trapped in Mordavia either way). You killed him again and then staked him.
  • After surviving your scrap with the spawn, you headed back to the church with Father Lucian and Henrik in tow (he does not want to be anywhere but the hallowed church at the moment)
  • En route, you noticed a man tailing you who claimed only to be keeping an eye on anyone new in town for no particular person. However, you rolled a nat 20 on Björn’s intimidate check and then on Kyramara’s insight check, which means you realized he would sell you out immediately and was dangerous as fuck
  • Björn decided it was too big a risk and slit his throat at the same time as Ireena stabbed him in the back and Kyramara shot him in the face
  • The man mentioned Izek, making Ireena realize she wasn’t invisible/couldn’t be invisible anymore today, so you tried to be stealthier on the rest of the route. You asked Father Lucian for help concealing you so he let you into the back of the church
  • Father Lucian gave you some gold trinkets as thanks that are worth about 3-4GP which you used to bribe and intimidate Milovij into doing his / his siblings’ best to get intel from town
  • You guys made a plan to have Kyramara disguise herself as the man you killed and explore Wachterhaus with his keys

Session 14 (July 2, 2023)

  • The party split up as planned to make inquiries; Kyramara went to the Burgomeister's mansion and Björn went to Wachterhaus.
  • Kyramara:
    • made a hat and learned people seemed scared of being caught talking out of line
    • snuck upstairs via stealth through the kitchen and checked out the master bedroom and the attic
    • pretended to be Lady Lydia to Victor in order to peep inside his room (gave him the stolen Ireena doll and told him it was from Izek)
    • saw some unsettling things in Victor's “lab” but nothing that made you feel like you had to act immediately, and anyway he shut the door on you
    • snuck into the library as the cook (AFTER raising a bit of alarm with the actual cook) and noticed that the burgomeister wears his armor and sword even when relaxing? his 2 dogs didn’t seem to hear you either (advantage is good).
    • couldn’t get into Izek’s room so peeped through the keyhole and got a stupidly high roll so you now know he has a LOT of Ireena dolls.
    • tried to open a door you heard moaning behind but to no avail
  • Björn:
    • went to book club and skimmed the book; it seems to be about how Lady Wachter has learned a prophecy that an outsider will come and cause great change in Vallaki and that with their blood they can bring the sunlight back to Mordavia
    • Lady Wachter was very solicitous and friendly once she realized Björn was an outsider
    • ate cakes and tea and discussed poetry and politics. Lady Wachter does not care to live under an authoritarian state and doesn’t seem to care if others hear her talk that way. She says the Dark Mistress isn’t the problem, the oppression of freedom in town is.
    • was asked for help curing or understanding what caused her daughter Stella to be unwell.
    • saw Stella, who has become like a cat in all but body and thinks she is a kitty
    • tried to beast sense into the mansion as dousha but a sleeping figure in the bed put you on your guard; you got a basic layout of the house as the bird peeping in windows, and then sent word to the others back at the tavern and headed to the Blue Water Inn to check on her sons.
    • the sons are shithead drunks who had nothing much to contribute, but you also locked eyes with a nasty-looking pair of mercenaries who will supposedly escort people around Mordavia for a fee.
  • After everyone shares intel back at the hotel, Urwin’s wife Danika--who Björn noticed picking up a shift at the Blue Water despite being the co-owner of the Emerald Eye--dived into your window in raven form and transformed to share the grave news that St. Andral’s bones have been removed from the church, un-hallowing the ground. She and Urwin suspect this means an incoming strike from the Dark Master, perhaps to coincide with the festival.
  • You went to the church and learned about the holy amulet of Ravenkind that Ireena picked out from the treasure wagon, as well as about the bones which hallow the church.
  • You found the eventual thief (Milovij) and he told you Henrik the coffin maker had paid him to steal them.
  • You broke into Henrik’s shop window and he surrendered to you immediately. He said the vampires made him do it and when you asked more he told you he was told to behave in exchange for his son (who provides lumber) to be spared from the wolves in the forest.
  • He says he received 6 boxes from either the Dark Master or someone acting in her name and he believes there to be vampire spawn inside.
  • Kyramara sneaked upstairs hella good and swiped the bones AND made it back down without triggering the passive perception of the vampire spawn.
  • You are now downstairs in the coffin shop trying to decide amongst you what to do next. It is the afternoon, and you hope to deliver the bones back to St. Andrals with the stipulation that Henrik receive sanctuary, as you know he was forced.

Session 13 (June 11, 2023)

  • You woke up in the Blue Water Inn and decided to stealth out. As far as you are aware, nobody except the innkeeper is aware you were there.
  • You explored the lakeside Vistani camp and it was mostly full of drunk idiots and Lugash, who was beating up a teen boy for being a bad babysitter. His brother Arrigal (short king) was there too, but y'all didn't like him even if he didn't really do anything.
  • You learned that Alexei, the teen, was being punished for letting Lugash's daughter Arabelle disappear while watching her.
  • On your way out of the camp, the leader of the dusk elves, Kasimir, waylaid you briefly to discuss a way to bring his sister Patrina back from her fate (she was stoned to death before she could become the bride of Katrina). He believes the secrets to Vampyr's power, as well as those of the other Dark Powers, lie in the Lost Library, a place he knows the way to. You agreed to come back and discuss further with him after taking care of other business.
  • You followed her trail to the lake and saw a single solitary figure trying to fish on the (almost black and so still as to be eerie) lake, who then dumped a bag full of Vistana child into the lake.
  • Kyramara tried to pin the bag with an immovable arrow (fail), Björn hulked out to get there in a rowboat in time (based), Arabelle was moderately grateful but demanded to be returned to her father immediately and annoyed you guys with her talk of a great destiny.
  • Lugash said you could have anything from their treasure wagon in exchange for this service, so you chose the pendant that Ireena's magic sensed was the holy symbol Madam Eva told you of about a week ago. In Ireena's hands it glowed slightly.
  • You then made your way to Vallaki, entered the city, and were taken to the burgomeister (whose slogan is All Will Be Well). He said he had work for you to do on the upcoming Festival of the Blazing Sun, which is in two days.
  • You got some intel at the Emerald Eye Inn about Lady Wachter's culty book club, Rictavio the bard and his mysterious wagon, Blinsky the toymaker, and Yzek the burgomeister's dog.
  • Björn bought an ugly doll at Blinsky's store and in exchange he gave you information about the orders he gets each month from Yzek to improve or change the doll he is working on. He rolled very low on perception so he didn't notice Ireena but this felt like bad news.
  • You tracked Rictavio in the morning as he escaped out his window and headed off to visit his horse. You followed him to the stockyard and he was spooked from doing more than simply opening a hatch in the top of the wagon and dropping some food.
  • Björn spoke with the horse and the creature inside the wagon, which was identified as a saber toothed tiger. You considered letting it go, briefly, or killing it, but decided this was not urgent for now. You did notice a torn Vistani doll wearing cultural vistani dress inside.
  • You decided that the best path forward would be: Ireena stays in the inn for safety for the rest of the stay in Vallaki unless there is a real need. Urwin can probably be trusted but anyone else could have seen the dolls or heard Yzek talk about them. Kyramara will go to the burgomeister's mansion to snoop around about what Yzek might be doing, and Björn will go check out his political rival Lady Wachter's home under the pretense of attending her book club.

Session 12 (June 3, 2023)

  • You awoke in the protected/sacred grove of the defeated blight/berserker army that is now the restored Lady's Garden.
  • There was a present for Kyramara from (you assume) Four Eyes when she woke up -- a Cloak of Elvenkind. You all also did some inventory swapping and meditation so that everyone is attuned to their optimized items.
  • You headed back to the winery with a discreet escort of ravens. Once you got there they celebrated you enormously. (Well, for Mordavians. There was wine and some people actually smiled.)
  • Björn wrote a poem that blew EVERYONE's minds (literally 2 nat 20's, and even with disadvantage got a 19 on the die) that began with the line "The Dark Bitch lurks". The Dark Bitch is now everyone's favorite way to refer to Katrina. Sergei was so inspired he immediately went to set it to music.
  • You guys named yourselves the Immovable Ragers: Reckless & Shirtless
  • After a brief discussion of the main details of each of the settlements you could go to, you decided to stick with your plan of heading to the lake next. Davian said his network is reporting a missing child of a chieftain in the Vistani settlement near there, and his family member owns the Blue Water Inn which means you could stay there for free while adventuring. The older boys were assigned to escort you on the wine delivery.
  • Along the road, a pack of 12 necrotaurs attacked. Kyramara luckily heard them in advance so everyone could prepare themselves, but even so Björn (who was alongside the wagon vs. in it) was relentlessly mauled around the neck, arms, legs etc. and he was knocked out once (but stayed up) and then knocked out a second time for real. This was terrifying for the party members, who had perhaps started to relax a bit and think Mordavia isn't so bad.
  • Upon arrival at the Blue Water Inn, shaken up, the Martikov brothers went to secure accommodation and entry away from prying eyes for the night, and you had a conference of war in your room where you discussed your tentative plans to kill Katrina. They are still (regrettably) fuzzy for now, but the team are aligned on what information will be useful and some possible places to search.

Session 11 (May 20, 2023)

  • As you faced off against this small army of Blights, your resolve faltered slightly (and all but Kyramara had pretty meh initiative).
  • Björn snagged the axe from its trunk before the tree went heading in the direction of the winery, tearing down anything in its path. You quickly figured out that it wasn't aware of anything more than 60ft from it.
  • Kyramara set some earth on fire and used that to ice some lower level blights, Björn chased after the tree, and Ireena got killed by wussy little blights twice. RIP. She did look very cool covered in ravens though. Y'all finally decided to just not bring her back til things were calmer in that area.
  • After several more rounds of combat you more or less finished off all the blights and took aim at the tree--literally. Kyramara did 52 damage with one critical hit on fire with poison, it was brutal.
  • There was a moment where it looked pretty dire but Kyramara resolutely decided not to break the staff. You guys did eventually succeed in bringing down the tree, and then the ravens all flocked around like they had at the windmill.
  • You placed the stone in a notch in some of the runes of the old graves, in the place that seemed most likely fit for purpose. This did indeed trigger the purification of the stone, as well as the whole area.
  • The tree itself re-rooted to the ground and connected to a deep underground spring and the terrain totally shifts and changes. The obsidian ring from the hill evaporated into thin air with one final lightning crack, then seem to magically reconstitute around a much smaller, central area of the circle where a pool formed.
  • Nine hazel trees sprung up around the pool, the hazel nuts drop into the water where they are eaten by salmon (you ate some of this salmon and got a permanent +1 to WIS)
  • Kyramara also discovered that the staff also was purified when the tree blight was destroyed, and it has a space perfectly suited to holding the purified Blessing of Change.
  • During a long rest, while everyone else rested and slept, Ireena translated the runes around the newly-formed pool: “When three Gifts are sanctified, three Curses are purified, and three Wrongs are rectified, the tri-fold essence of the Ladies may return to this place."
  • Kyramara, after spending time around Malte and also realizing what a dangerous place Mordavia can be, is learning the value of staying in the shadows and sniping from a safe distance or from hiding in plain sight. She took a level of Rogue rather than leveling up again as a Ranger this time.
  • Likewise Björn, having watched Ireena fall twice and feeling powerless to do anything about it, vowed to be more than just a punching bag and to learn to fight smarter, faster, and better. So he took a level of Fighter when he leveled up, and will be working on his forms and skills.
  • You agreed that next session we will head back to the winery to discuss the next location and, hopefully, receive further payment for this incredible service that you've rendered them.

Session 10 (May 7, 2023)

  • Björn also wrote some letters: to the kids at the windmill changing the password to "Björn is rad" (who mentioned Auntie Bella has come to take care of them in their reply...), to Malte (encouraging her to go easy on the murders), and to the wine owners to think about the Bear Wine idea.
  • You welcomed the Martikovs back to their home, also immediately asked Davian about his dead wife and he was like great way to snoop through all my shit guys.
  • You learned the legend of Gulthias, an ancient champion of Vampyr who first created the Blights with his corrupted blood after being staked to the earth by an ancient hero. The Tree of Life (an old name for the tree on Yester Hill) appears to have been corrupted in this same way now that Vampyr once again has a champion on the throne of Mordavia.
  • Kyramara made some grape juice with her feet that was put in the tank to ferment with the Flash of Genius cuvée; Davian said that his wines are all named after Heroes of Mordavia, and have been made since before his time. He agreed that if you become bona fide Heroes of Mordavia, he will do co-branded wines with you and give you a percentage of the take.
  • Davian discovered the missing gem in the basement and broke down; Kyramara created a rope trick pocket for Björn, Davian, Stefania and Adrian to go inside to discuss. Sergei and Ireena were not invited so she got a private stripper bard show in the next room over while you strategized.
  • You moved toward Yester Hill with three swarms of ravens + Björn's speak with animals spell to help you spy. The ravens reported 12 graves that seemed to have traffic in and out of them.
  • Björn met a new and exciting (bloodthirsty) spear from the cairn of a dead berserker king
  • Kyramara attuned to the staff... some absolutely disgustingly creepy roots attached themselves to your hands when you grasped it, but now blights will not harm you if you do not harm them first.
  • You then proceeded to kick my encounter's ass and luckily one of the druids got a bat off to the Dark Master before dying an extremely ignoble beheading death (Kyramara's 8th, I think) so Katrina completed the chanting ritual and then bounced.
  • The Bleeding Tree was awakened and roared to life, ripping its hideous roots from the ground and awakening a couple dozen blights that had previously been dormant. From what you can tell, it seems to be guided by the gem in its mouth (the Blessing of Change) and to be heading toward the winery.

Session 9 (April 22, 2023)

  • You finished off the basement blights and checked out the secret door to the cellar cooling area Sergei told you about (but couldn't figure it out right away)
  • Immediately upon returning to the ground floor, Malte performed a perception check and, on an 18, heard horses whinnying in the distance. She immediately wolfed out and fled.
  • When leaving, Malte dropped everything (her items, clothes, and ring...) which led the others to realize that the ring was cracked / something seemed to have been done to it by contact with the druids perhaps? Björn left the clothes and other things in a little pile in case she came back for them later, but the party took the weapons and the ring for safekeeping.
  • After leaving the cellar a few bottles lighter you proceeded to the fermentation room where Kyramara disguised herself as the dead druid. This worked briefly (Ireena "helped" by flailing around a lot), and the druid sent some twig blights off to "find Claude".
  • Kyramara performed another Immovable Arrow Nearly Headless Druid situation, Ireena teleported to a balcony, some more druids and blights came from everywhere, but you killed them all.
  • Ireena was able to identify the poison / sheeny substance you found on the twig blights as poison, and not only did she purify the wine but the Goddess Erana intervened and she performed a miracle, filling the remaining (empty) vat with Red Dragon Crush, the finest vintage the winery makes but which has not had a good harvest for many years.
  • Björn decided to keep the staff, hoping to be able to purify it. This left 30 blights outside threatening the crops / house which you picked off from upstairs windows.
  • Searching the house after the violence was finished, you uncovered some treasures (mostly coin and gems) and decided to leave the picture of Davian's hot dead wife vs taking it. Very heroic of you.
  • Revisiting the cellar was easier without swarms of druids and blights, so you spent more time and were able to solve the puzzle of placing wine bottles at the right intervals to open the secret door. However, there was nothing particularly ground-breaking there except an empty niche, which Dousha said was for "stone! missing!"
  • You also found, upon searching in some of the less obvious hiding places in the house, thinking back on the clues from Madam Eva ("peddling vice with virtuous intentions") and realizing one of the three treasures she spoke of MUST be here, since it wasn't in the hags' windmill. After digging through an entire barrel of sand, Björn found the Sun Blade, a hilt that can create a radiant sword when it is activated. The sword speaks to Björn of its thirst to kill the Dark Master. It is a spectral sword that creates bright daylight, copying that of the sun, making it a true bane to the undead (it does Radiant damage). This makes 3 swords that Björn is carrying at any given time.

Session 8 (April 11, 2023)

  • Sergei brought you back to the campsite where his family (Davian, Adrian, Stefania, Dag, and little Nina, Yolanda and Davy) were gathered near the winery
  • Davian (Sergei but daddy) explained what happened: "at least three" druids attacked during the morning when many family members were... attending to important business (significant glance at Sergei), and they had dozens of blights with them. One druid was carrying a staff that Davian thought was made of the same wood as the cursed tree from Yester Hill (which he called the Lady's Garden). There are druids who live there and are in league with the Dark Master or Baba Yaga.
  • Malte immediately asked for ownership of the winery and/or its horses as payment for helping. Davian countered with saying you could keep "things" found in the winery if they would be of use in your quest (not horses), and that according to family lore there is something hidden in the winery that could help with your quest against the Dark Master.
  • Björn scared Nina and Yolanda. Everyone enjoyed wine. Björn pitched a new wine concept (badly) and asked a racist question.
  • Kyramara mostly just asked smart questions.
  • You gathered information about the house's layout, various entrances, and how Björn could use a raven named Dousha (who was fond of him) to scout the house ahead.
  • Sergei mentioned not touching the cold moss in the cellar if you go through the secret door because it will freeze you very badly.
  • Sergei the stripper bard gave you each Bardic inspiration (1d4) with a nip slip.
  • You scouted ahead using Dousha to figure out that people were mostly in the South and West parts of the house, and found 30 Needle Blights acting as a security system. You then broke into the south door, barred it with the wooden beam, and entered the cellar to poke around for the secret door Sergei carelessly mentioned.
  • Kyramara got a nat 20 on initiative and immediately iced a druid who was trying to destroy the reserves of cellar wine. Malte followed up for the final 1HP and then Björn and Kyramara killed 2 blights, so you guys are doing pretty well at the moment. Kyramara was last to go, Malte is up next.

Session 7.5 (April 7, 2023)

  • You finally made contact with your off-planar allies, they found some kind of gap in space-time and pulled Kyramara and Björn through into a small pocket dimension.
  • They are an orc man code-named Direbear (DB) and an elf woman code-named Four Eyes (because she's a nerd, and the best scryer they have). They said they are agents of The Order of Chaos, an inter-planar organization of Heroes. They didn't give you tons of details, and you didn't really ask.
  • They seem to know things about Katrina, vampires, and Mordavia, although they kept it vague.
  • They had recruitred Aurelian (Locrian's sister), but she won't join without their help finding out what happened to Locrian; they followed the trail to you guys, but no further. You used your knowledge of Locrian to aid with the scrying.
  • You also set up a code phrase + plan to potentially communicate with them later without Katrina being able to listen in: salad algae choke daddy
  • You found out Locrian is a vampire now, as is Tanya (Bella’s daughter)
  • Vampires (spawn of Vampyr, the dark power) will almost certainly need to have their resting place destroyed in addition to whatever additional sources feed their power.
  • You also heard the ballad of Tanya and Toby, and saw some images of St. Piotyr fighting a dragon as well as an incredibly powerful tinkerer-mage in a tower and other heroic figures on tapestries. Kyramara copied the one Björn was obsessed with while he was high, of Tanya and Toby, to be part of the Rope Trick space.

Session 7 (March 21, 2023)

  • Y’all found a note from the Dark Master saying that she would let you try whatever stuff you thought you needed to do but that she’d be watching
  • Then you did some team-building activities such as recreational berries and comparing how hot each other are and when everyone last got laid and who has the biggest parent issues
  • Turns out Mordavia has a very rich but pro-vampire theater culture
  • Toward the end of the afternoon, you came across a clearing with ten bushes in a circle. Malte ruined the first part of my puzzle with a Nat 20 investigation check lmao
  • THEN you engaged in a riddle contest with the Leshy and won (grinch fingers), but then Malte asked where you could find horses along with 2 other equally helpful questions (to be fair you did learn about nightmares)
  • Björn won a strength contest to prevent Malte from asking another question when the Leshy took pity on Kyramara and offered her one question. Then she and Kyramara considered carefully together before asking: how to “fix” the next Blessing. The Leshy said, to purify the blessing you must restore the stone to Erana’s Garden, but to undo what has been done, the Dark Pack must be eradicated
  • Sergei, a very hot man Kyramara is apparently interested in, came out of the sky as a raven and told you that the winery is under attack

Session 6 (March 14, 2023)

  • Nobody could roll for shit except the ravens but you still killed Mordra *and* Morgantha and purified the Blessing of Dreams 🎉
  • You are all level 5 now! Hooray :)
  • Emmett and Tilly agreed to take super good care of the chickens, windmill etc. and only to let people in with the password "Laughter, Youth, Mother's Milk" so they are, temporarily, taken care of.
  • You learned that Youth is used to make the hags look young and beautiful, Laughter to make them laugh (often mixed with drinks) and that Mother's Milk is probably poison
  • The ravens attended and seem to have rather presided over the purification of the Blessing of Dreams before flying away, and you know without knowing that Mordavians can dream again without the aid of Dream Pies and that your mysterious helpers on the outside can possibly connect to you now.
  • Emmett converted to worshiping Erana and wants to become a Hero now too
  • The party spent part of the morning preparing for the ritual of purification and then, once it happened they headed off into the woods and in the direction that the ravens flew in. This seems like a promising lead for more about these Blessings. The party agreed that they trusted each other and a talking raven who helped with the ritual more than strangers in cities, and Ireena is keen to keep a low profile.

Session 5 (March 8, 2023)

  • You woke up and had presents from the Goddess
  • A woman came from the windmill and Ireena cast Hold Person and it worked... too well?
  • You tried a few options for getting information (deception, making out, pretending to be the Dark Master) but ultimately were forced to kill Bella after learning her sister and mother were nearby
  • You had some assistance from some ravens, who seem to be vibing with Björn
  • In the windmill you learned that the dream pies’ magic seems to have something to do with – gulp – the fact that the flour is made of children’s bones :)
  • You also saw a barrel of gross liquid in the kitchen that seems to be used for summoning and/or scrying, and Malte took 3 potions (“Laughter” “Youth” and “Mother’s Milk”)
  • Her sister Mordra tried to ambush you in the windmill but a flour cloud hit her (points to a dead kid for the assist) so she was visible and Kyramara pinned her temporarily with the immovable arrow. She since pulled away but it hurt bad.
  • Just as you had Mordra on the rocks, Morgantha (granny) got home and has just disappeared… along with a stone that looks like it maybe fits the description of the Blessing of Dreams
  • Malte just made a massive flour bomb that will help you find invisible people for a few turns; however, Morgantha doesn't appear to be in it anywhere

Session 4 (January 29, 2023)

  • As though by divine intervention, you were led away from the windmill and toward the monoliths at the bottom of the hill
  • Upon investigation, these proved to be a fae holy site of great power, with rat-eaten dream pies and other signs of desecration which you tried to clean; once the stones had been touched, the party went inside for a night of safe rest and a TRAINING MONTAGE!
  • You met Erana, aka the Lady of the Vistani stories. Kyramara is pretty sure she’s also heard the name somewhere before, maybe in a book or something. Ireena apparently has a piece of Erana’s soul in her, but she was super brave and mostly just compartmentalized to avoid a mid-dream breakdown :)))
  • But then you fought the moose again and did WAY BETTER this time (except it knocked out Malte in a single hit… EXCEPT IT DIDN’T because psych, Malte is a werewolf and doesn’t take non-silvered/non-magical damage, and also goes feral every night. Tentative plans and abilities to avoid this have been developed thanks to this realization. ("Pack" can help you on your nightly or mid-combat wisdom rolls.)
  • Ireena finally came clean that she doesn’t sleep.
  • You fought a druid and got really lucky, so I’m not sure how much you really learned about fighting spellcasters, but y'know.
  • Erana also told you of the three Blessings (Dreams, Change, and Sorrows) that were given to her sisters Morgantha, Elyssa and Lysaga, and contained powers used to anchor the world in reality and give it its unique spiritual character. These have been corrupted over time, and she can only appear to you here because of the combination of Ireena’s presence along with four “whole souls” and the stones’ power. Each Blessing is a stone carried by a powerful magical being that used to be one of her sisters before being corrupted by the Darkness. Each must be purified if the world is to return to a safer, kinder, more nurturing state.
  • You also figured out that Morgantha is the name of the woman selling dream pies in town, and that it’s quite possible there’s more to this whole Dream Pie operation than you were aware of before.
  • Also, not everyone in Mordavia has a soul????? So that’s something that was mentioned in passing and not explained at all!
  • At the very end, you got a brief glimpse into two voices trying to scry on you… they suggested that if only something could stop the ‘interference’ on dream communications, you might have allies interested in what happened to Locrian.
  • Ireena, who failed her Wisdom save, during her first sleep in literal months also saw a horrible vision of Locrian hanging in suspended animation in a gruesome pose, crucified on Kyramara’s old Immovable Rod. SO that's great!
  • As you woke up, someone is coming down the hill from the house with some Dream Pies, ostensibly to put them on the shrine.

Session 3 (December 11, 2022)

  • Everyone awoke from horrible nightmares and Bjørn went hunting and killed something overnight so was just. Covered in blood in addition to a ripped outfit. Kyramara was cranky.
  • A vaguely ragged-looking but beautiful blond woman named Malte came seeking Madam Eva's Sight on a revenge quest, and was told that she will need allies in Vallaki (Madam Eva suggested she team up with the Heroes) and that she must seek to remove the corruption of the curse... a figure represented by the Empress card. Malte's aims, according to Madam Eva, overlap with those of the party, so at least until everyone has reached and conducted some business in Vallaki, they will travel together.
  • The party opted NOT to steal horses from the camp with a clairvoyant Vistana, which is probably a good idea. Everyone agrees they will try to steal some horses later from rich assholes though.
  • While in the forest, Bjørn tried playing his bird whistle and a huge Mordavian Moose answered the call. You fought it valiantly. Locrian passed out again.
  • Everyone (including the Moose) rolled like shit for a long time.
  • Locrian had his best battle ever (despite passing out again), as the Judgmental Rock injured the moose and he tripped the Moose while invisible.
  • Kyramara killed it with a slow-mo jump out of a tree that involved a Robin Hood arrow inception shot into its ear, then landing on its antlers andn sliding down its back and landing in a superhero pose.
  • After killing the moose and resting a bit, Drash, Mirabel and Alenka drove by in their caravan on the way to a gig. They offered Locrian a chance to play for them, since Drash's cousin Thrash was sleeping off his alcohol (again). Locrian joined their troupe and said their goodbyes to the group, for now at least, with a beautiful performance of pink fire and sad tunes.
  • The rest of the group turned off toward the windmill and encountered a raven who was clearly determined to warn them about something. There are lights on inside the windmill building and more ravens circling some megaliths in a clearing behind the windmill. You opened the door to see who the squatters are, and that's where we left it for the remaining players.
  • Locrian was put under some kind of spell by Drash and Mirabel while doing a toast, which gave him disadvantage on wisdom saving throws. Then later when they arrived at the gig, it turned out to be at the castle for Katrina, her new ward/"niece" Tanya, and a truly awful butler.
  • Locrian hit a natural 20 on their Performance check when performing the Ballad of Tanya and Toby for Tanya, which made Katrina decide to keep him around as a vampire instead of killing him outright. He is now in a locked room in the castle, but may yet find a way to escape or otherwise help his friends. Or he might not. Who knows.

Session 2 (November 20, 2022)

  • Bella Markarov came to Ireena & Ivan's house to beg them to help her look for Tanya, who has gone missing. The Dark Master later confirmed that she took the girl. Locrian cast hideous laughter and sent Bella away rolling down the hill shriek-laughing.
  • You buried Ireena & Ivan's dad in the graveyard and (probably wisely) ignored the horrible screaming in the church basement.
  • The Dark Master is a hot MILF vampire named Katrina Borgov, she claims to be some kind of distant cousin of the old ruling family
  • Ireena has been pursued by the Dark Master for a few months, and wants to get out of Dodge/find out how to destroy or stop the Dark Master from taking her to the castle and turning her into a vampire prisoner
  • You fought a pack of necrotaurs (undead Direwolves) and Katrina herself; Katrina showed a lot of terrifying skills in the encounter but you escaped having lost only a lot of blood and your Immovable Rod
  • You made your way to the Moon Pool encampment and found yourself among the Vistani, who told you how their people came to Mordavia
  • Madam Eva gave you clues to the locations of 3 treasures (secret knowledge, a weapon, and a powerful talisman) in the cards she gave you; the Lore page has the encounter stored for your reading pleasure
  • Two of you are suffering from dream pie withdrawal and feel horrible sadness; you have disadvantage on your ability checks until noon tomorrow.
  • Bjørn is a bear until tomorrow morning but the Vistani seem fine with it as long as he doesn't steal their wine/food.
  • Locrian had a dream about people trying to reach him that he doesn't remember. He also played some sick tunes and got the Vistani of the camp on your side.

Session 1 (October 30, 2022)

  • The entire dungeon was pink because Locrian decided it'd be more fun to prestidigitate colorful fire.
  • Mr. Durst had been killing ("sacrificing") his own family members in his spiral into madness; you ended the curse by killing his eldritch undead spirit.
  • Ireena picked up a strange book in the basement that seemed to increase her powers somehow. Also her hand is a skeleton hand now, and until tomorrow evening undead creatures can't attack her or harm her unless they succeed on a Charisma saving throw against her spell save DC. She also has a wand that can force people to smile.
  • Kyramara gained a Cloak of Useful Things that was mostly still intact (items listed in your inventory), a healing potion, and an immovable rod
  • Locrian picked up a beautiful black violin, a cloak of accompaniment (details in your inventory, but it plays tunes that soundtrack your actions unless you want it not to).
  • Bjørn has a ghost-notarized deed to the Durst House and the Mill, a healing potion, his cool hat, and a silvered shortsword.
  • The house is now a normal house, though Mila, Walter, Rose and Thorn still have their tombs in the basement but otherwise it is a normal empty basement with some cold storage. The house has re-entered "normal" time, and the items inside it are more or less worthless, but it is a safe place to stay.
  • You purified the Death House! You now have a base of operations in Mordavia.
  • A kind Granny (her name is Morgantha, but no one calls her that) gave you some Dream Pies to try.
  • Just when you were trying to get your flirt on with Boris, Ivan Petrovich (Ireena's hot brother) came in and told her that her father was dead. Soon after returning to the Burgomeister's mansion together, she received a note from the Dark Master giving them until the following noon to bury him.

Session 0 (October 9, 2022)

  • You arrived in Mordavia just the 3 of you in a clearing and all your belongings were gone
  • Bjørn rolled a 1 while dumpster diving and got exhausted (mist = bad)
  • You met Ireena Petrova, Olga and Boris Stovich (shopkeepers), Yuri Markarov (hotel owner), and Drash the Vistana (who gave Locrian some drumsticks).
  • You learned about Mordavia (a demi-plane controlled by The Dark Master) and the Death House (a place where horrible cultists Elizaveta and Vernon Durst performed deranged and misguided rituals to try to summon eldritch abominations to become immortal)
  • Bjørn got a hat, a sword, 6 silver knives, some jewelry and the deed to a house and a mill.
  • Kyramara forgot to use her Detect Magic knife on some armor and it almost killed everyone. Whoops!
  • Locrian passed out, and their pet rock seems pretty judgmental.
  • You met the ghost of Mila, the mother of bastard son Walter (but she loved and took care of all the kids), and found out that the kids died of hunger after being locked up when Mila didn’t come back
  • You have some children’s skeletons in your packs now
  • You reached the basement via a secret stairway at the very end of last session
  • There’s a “monster” in the basement. Or maybe an altar. Or a tomb? WHO KNOWS!