Act 2: Growing Pains

Vallaki: The Festival of the Blazing Sun

 * Where were you Vargas when we were desperately trying to restore the Hallowed ground? Where were you when all your people were cut down? Where were you when Strahd took Ireena? Where were you when a Half-Elf vampire stuck a blade through my heart?
 * —Sylvain Vanborin

Day 9. Our heroes, hoping to leave Vallaki and make their way to the Wizard of Wines winery, instead find themselves attending the Festival of the Blazing Sun after some heavy guilt trips from Danica Dorakova. The burgomaster uses the festival as an excuse to put the blame for Vallaki's misfortunes square on our heroes' shoulders. Fiona Wachter uses the festival as an excuse to point out what a douchebag the burgomaster is. The burgomaster's son uses the ensuing chaos as an opportunity to practice his fireballs. Chaos ensues, cultists are slain, little boys turn into ravens and Sylvain and Osrin survive wounds that they shouldn't. Read more ➜


 * Boundaries
 * Ri-An is Mad

Flight from Vallaki

 * I couldn’t think. I was just nothing. Reanimated corpse like those zombies. Should have felt rage, sadness, uncertainty, guilt…something. I was nothing. I had two tasks. Walk and drag.
 * —Sylvain Vanborin

Day 9. Aided by Danica and Ispati, our heroes run to the west gate and into the woods, headed for the Vallaki Vistani camp, carrying one (1) unconscious cultist and having two (2) conscious cultists run themselves almost to death chasing them. The gang takes a breather in the woods and tortures a man a bit. A creepy little girl comes upon them in the woods before skipping back off to the Vistani camp. Read more ➜


 * Ri-An is Mad
 * Revenge by Storytelling

The Vallaki Vistani Camp

 * Little glimmers of hope. It makes me all the more melancholy. These people shouldn’t be stuck in Barovia.
 * —Sylvain Vanborin

Day 9. Our heroes visit their second Vistani encampment, led by Luvash and, to a lesser extent, his brother Arrigal. They find some familiar friends in the form of Rudolph, Atanasie and Manda, but to Ri-An's eternal sadness, no Lech. Our heroes lick their wounds, tell the story of the fall of Vallaki, and get an update from a battered Ispati, who finally got the chance to really risk his life for Sylvain's rapier. Read more ➜


 * Revenge by Storytelling

Arabelle

 * Arabelle asked us if we were going to kill him. I said I didn’t know and that we might bring him back to camp. She said that if we did, her uncle or father would just kill him so we might as well not waste the effort. Arabelle added that she had seen people get killed before so it was fine. Okay.
 * —Sylvain Vanborin

Day 10. Our heroes awake to an unwelcome revelation: Arabelle, the little Vistani girl they'd met the night before, has gone missing. With some of our heroes having made the decision to ignore a cry of distress the previous evening, this does not sit well with any of them, and they set out in search of her. Ayduin Sees All. They fight some pokey wooden lads and find Arabelle in a potato sack in the arms of a sickly man on a boat in the middle of Lake Zarovich. The man attempts to sacrifice Arabelle to the lake in exchange for fish and fails. Arabelle offers her theories on how best to defeat Strahd. Enter Chuckles. Read more ➜


 * Morning at the Beach
 * Chuckles

The Dusk Elves

 * There was…something else behind his words and gaze. Perhaps it was just the feigned friendliness, but he has another motive for going to this place.
 * —Sylvain Vanborin

Day 10. Having heard a bit of the dusk elves' story from a rambly Rudolph, our heroes go to investigate and see whether or not they and the elves might be able to do some business. Ayduin, Sylvain, and Kasimir Velikov, the leader of the dusk elves, have a totally happy, calm, smiling conversation in Elvish. Kasimir definitely does not give them any information about any of Madam Eva's predictions, nor does he offer his assistance when they feel ready to head in the direction of one of those predictions. Nothing but tea and polite Elvish here! Read more ➜


 * Chuckles
 * Kasimir's Secret Lovers

Bodaway's Choice

 * I woke up to see Chuckles and Ri-An dancing around in circles while everyone watched. Again, not the most disorienting awakening I’ve had here.
 * —Sylvain Vanborin

Days 10–11. The last of our heroes to be offered power by a mysterious force, Bodaway seems at first to be interested, but takes the opportunity to politely dump the Star of Secrets. The Raven Queen rewards him with visions of Arrigal through the years, and hijacks his body the following morning to give Kasimir a warning: they were overheard. Ri-An tries to teach Chuckles to use his words, with mixed results. Read more ➜


 * Kasimir's Secret Lovers

The Body

 * And Ismark dead at our feet, for committing the crime of giving a fuck about his sister. Gods, he must have hated us so much in the end. Failing him. Failing Ireena.
 * —Sylvain Vanborin

Day 11. Our heroes set out on the road, hoping to finally get to go to the winery. They are offered a Vistani guide as thanks for their help with Arabelle, and between their own regrettable choices and the twists and turns of fate, end up with Rudolph. Halfway to the winery they find one (1) dead Ismark Kolyanovich, seemingly felled by some pokey wooden lads. After some discussion and some uncomfortable revelations c/o Ismark's journal, they make their way northwest to Krezk, either to bury Ismark's body or to see if Krezk's Abbot really can raise the dead. Read more ➜


 * Kasimir's Secret Lovers

Krezk: The Abbey

 * If nothing else, this place has a nice cliff to toss Chuckles off when time and energy permit.
 * —Sylvain Vanborin

Day 11. Our heroes, exhausted from their push to Krezk with literal dead weight in tow, finally arrive, and manage to charm their way into the village. They briefly meet the burgomaster, who offers them a meal and shelter in his home if they come back for the evening. They begin the long trek up to the abbey, which is about as horrifying as you'd expect anything in Barovia to be. Maybe a little more horrifying than usual. The Abbot, a straight up hottie with only the slightest veneer of humanity to him, is creepy but effective at raising the dead. They meet Ireena Puppet. Thankfully there's wine. A spy observes them. Read more ➜


 * Creepy Facesplicer

Krezk: Ezmerelda

 * plabcdefghj klmn o.p.qr
 * —Abby

Day 12. Our heroes begin to discuss what to do next, almost debriefing one another on the various secrets they've accumulated over the last few days, when... Ayduin spots someone spying on them. After much bluffing and blustering on both sides, Ezmerelda introduces herself, and gradually admits that she isn't necessarily from Barovia either, but came here in search of her bff, Rudolph van Richten. Read more ➜


 * Animal, Vegetable, or Mineral?

Krezk: The Symbol of Ravenkind

 * I looked around at all of us and saw these qualities reflected in part in everyone. Osrin defending and protecting Ri-An, Ayduin trying to ease tensions at the riot, Bodaway protecting and looking after those kids at the orphanage, Ri-An showing great care for their creations and those around them, Ismark standing up to Strahd for his sister’s sake… Any of them have the potential I’d say, but my definitions of good people might not carry over to a powerful artifact. I settled on my previous assessment. Ri-An had to be the one to use it.
 * —Sylvain Vanborin

Day 12. Having made a tentative peace with one another, our heroes and Ezmerelda — plus a recently revived Ismark, a cautiously friendly Rudolph, a more or less behaving Chuckles, and a Very Good Doggo — have a look at the abbey's gardens, following a hunch of Osrin's. Sylvain finds something sewed into a scarecrow's smile — surprise! Wight fight! Our heroes realize what they've found, and can't help but feel cautiously optimistic for a couple of hours. Read more ➜


 * Garden Guardians and Grilled Grghshnq
 * Thanks, Lucy

Krezk: The Hunger

 * I will never forget that image of that child completely consuming the top half of his body. The only good image I’m left with after that fight. Ezmeralda is giving me weird looks. I keep giggling to myself.
 * —Sylvain Vanborin

Day 12. Making their way down into the village to see what they can find there, our heroes partake of the blessed waters of the Pool of St. Markovia for the first time, melting away exhaustion, mending wounds, and healing battered spirits just a bit. As is so often the case, trouble comes to find them in the form of the burgomaster, who confesses Krezk has been having a little problem lately: their livestock is going missing, at a rate that will doom the village come winter. Some investigate, others talk to shepherds, and one talks to the sheep. Turns out it was that same old story we've all heard a million times: the wife was stealing the sheep to feed their son who'd recently been brought back after his "best if revived before" date and had been overtaken by a demonic hunger. The son tried to eat the Abbot's head and failed. Sylvain swooped in for the end of the fight for the killing blow, like you do. Our heroes made their way back to the abbey, catching up on their reading, their tinkering, and their melancholy conversations. Read more ➜


 * Thanks, Lucy
 * Surprise Vore

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