Act 1, Scene 6: The Road to Vallaki: The Marathon

Morning came, and one by one, our fallen heroes rose. Ireena tried to mend Ri-An's dress to mixed results; Ayduin swept in and casually made a masterpiece. While Ireena slept, the rest of the party discussed what had happened, and what they ought to do next. The fortunes Madam Eva had offered two nights before were discussed, and the party agreed it was worth keeping an eye out for the signs she'd given them, as any help they could get in defeating Strahd would likely be sorely needed. In particular, the revelation that the revenant they'd fought the day before was a member of the Order of the Silver Dragon seemed to fit with one of the clues they'd been given, and they agreed to pursue that lead at the first opportunity.

For now, their priority had to be reaching Vallaki before nightfall. They'd been told it was possible to make it there with only one night on the road unprotected, and after the previous night's battle, all of them were eager to avoid a repeat performance, fearful it would be their last.

So, once Ireena had woken from her rest, the group set off at a brisk pace, eager to see the walls of Vallaki and some prospect of safety. Sylvain and Bodaway discussed the unique chemical properties of Bodaway's blood, and Sylvain mused on the possibilities of weaponizing blood against vampires. The group crossed an old stone bridge over the precipitous drop to the rushing waters of Tser Falls and nothing threatened their lives in the process! They reached another crossroads and Ireena stomped off down one fork, grudgingly admitting that the other path led to Castle Ravenloft. Osrin fought the urge to take the road less travelled to go chill with her new bff.

The group passed through the west gates of Barovia and tried to come to terms with their being a Barovia, a Barovia, and a Barovia. Our heroes noticed a wolf following them from a safe distance and decided to live and let live, so long as it didn't make any move to attack.

For the first time, Osrin experienced the sublime joy of having a disaster cleric speak directly into your mind. Cal, who Osrin had known in her life before Barovia, was checking in to see if Osrin was alright. Over the next few hours, through scattered bits of conversation, Osrin learned that back in Faerûn, the group had been missing for over a month, rather than the matter of days that had passed for them. In return, Osrin passed on messages, particularly once she learned that Cal and her friends were nearing Baldur's Gate, where Bodaway had a contact. He asked that she find Grik Jakkenstone and pass on a message to El'zai, requesting information on Barovia and Strahd von Zarovich.

Not long after the messages started to arrive, the group came upon a familiar but unwelcome sight: a decrepit windmill, looking very much like the rundown version of the windmill found all over the Death House, with the heavenly scent of Granny's Extra Special Nighty Night Pies drifting down the hill from it. An argument ensued, and while the group fully expected Bodaway to give in to his base pie-craving desires, no one anticipated Sylvain and Ireena suddenly arguing to approach after a sound that may or may not have been a child in distress was heard. A brief bit of friendly fire ensued, and the tide was turned when Ayduin charmed Sylvain, leaving Ireena outnumbered 5-1 on the issue of "hey, should we see if maybe there's a child in mortal danger who might need our help over there?". Ireena stomped off down the road, and Sylvain followed placidly, feeling super cool about the situation thanks to his best friend Ayduin.

Not long after, the group found itself attacked by swarms of bats. Sylvain absolutely fucking wrecked the bats, mirroring Ayduin's wanton wolf destruction the night before. Then Sylvain tried to wreck Ayduin, having realized what Ayduin had done to him.

The group pressed on, fighting exhaustion as they sought the gates of Vallaki and the promise of safety. Not long after the bats were dispatched, they found a corpse in the road — Ayduin's. It bore the marks of the worst of the wounds the group had suffered the night before, and appeared to have been rotting for some time. The moment it was disturbed, the illusion melted away, leaving only an old, inert skeleton. Ayduin confessed what he'd seen at the gallows two days before. The group accepted all of this as one more ridiculous shitty thing about Barovia, and pressed on.

Less than an hour after that, the group found a smattering of zombies, and once again entered battle. Even Ireena got in on the action, though she nearly went down herself in the process, having found some of the Barovian monsters stupid enough to attack something Strahd wants kept safe. Ireena confessed that this was not the first time she'd dealt with zombies, as the village of Barovia is full of them. The group tried not to dwell too long on the implications of this, and pressed on.

And pressed on.

And pressed on.

Finally, they came to a stop, having travelled several hours past their limits, with Ayduin and Ireena promptly passing out (give or take a little bush-vom first). Ri-An constructed a little shelter for Ayduin, and Sylvain and Osrin took first watch. Thankfully, the night passed without incident, and the group prepared for the (hopefully) final stretch of road to Vallaki.

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