CoS 2/Summary

This is the campaign summary of CoS 2.

Log

Start

(Session 1 - 2022-11-26 -Tobias) [Day -1]

The introduction starts near Waterdeep, the largest city on the Sword Coast and possibly the largest in the world (at least that you know of). Starting out as small fish in a big pond, you heed a call from Sir Isteval, a noted paladin of Amaunator (formerly Lathander) for adventurers and mercenaries to aid Daggerford in dealing with goblins, gnolls, and orcs who’ve been raiding the countryside, destroying homes and causing an influx of refugees to head to Daggerford.

A militia guards Dagggerford. Service is mandatory for all able-bodied adults, and lasts for twenty years. All citizens living within the town receive instruction from the duchess's own soldiers in the use of spears and other weapons, and must spend at least one day a month in defense of the town, standing sentry on its walls, or patrolling the nearby roads. Their training means that the common citizens of Daggerford aren't easily cowed by armed folk demanding goods, coin, or passage, and are slightly more likely to take up work as mercenaries, caravan guards, or adventurers. In this case, the troubles have been so large and such an influx of refugees that help is needed!

You heeded the call to arms coming from Waterdeep, but only came at the end of the crisis, assisting with a few minor erradications and to housing refugees, etc. Nevertheless, your help was greatly appreciated and you have been given a small reward of 25gp each and invited to dine in the Duchess Morwen's manor.

The largest and oldest building in Daggerford is the ducal castle, a three-level keep enclosed by a two-story wall that contains its own smithy, parad ground, and stabling. The dukes of Daggerford have always kept a well-stocked larder, capable of feeding the castle's inhabitants and any citizens that it might shelter inside during a siege.

The feast is lavish by any commoner's standard and is mostly attened by local militia, mercenaries and intrepid adventurers. The local nobility, including Duchess Morwen mingle among the common folk (some nobles seem to have been told to attend). (Passive society 14 informs you that though luxurious for commoners, this is a budget ordeal compared to a proper nobility feast, albeit accomodated for many times the amount of guests)

During the dinner you share stories with others and also have the luck to be seated fairly near Duchess Morwen and got some time to socialise in addition to regular mingling. She shows appreciation and while not heavy on the wine, not timid either. During the evening you convey regret you arrived too late to really make a difference defending Daggerford and Morwen politely acknowledges the sentiment and implies the time may yet come.

The cast of characters include: Terrance, the secluded sage seduced by celestial, Jormund the simply delightful wildman, Torbjoern, the shady half-elven outrider, Aelfric, the charismatic half-elven outrider.

Chapter 1: The Wolves at Mud Creek

(Session 1 - 2022-11-26 -Tobias) [Day 1]

Much of the dinner guests dissipates from Daggerford during the next day and many are allowed free housing either as guests at locals or at an inn while refugees are still catered for and repair work is in order. You spend time helping for free food and lodging and can do some downtime activity or simply help out with the work. Torbjoern couldn't handle the uneventful time and sought to visit the Constabulary and spoke to Sherlen Miller, Captain of the Constabulary, to get an actually rewarding job.

Mud Creek village council is having severe problems with wolves, possibly related to the goblin attacks, offering a 800gp reward to anyone who can wipe them out. The rest of the guard are too busy and if you elect to not go, there are others they can ask.

The travel to Mud Creek you traverse on foot and is uneventful for half a day's worth of travel. Nearing the town, a few miles up you see six wolves attacking two shepherds and a flock of sheep, seemingly herding the sheep into the woods with precision similar to a sheepdog. You intervene and though Jormung puts himself in harms way and is nearly injured, the wolves are killed or chased off and the shepherds and (most) sheep are saved, though Torbjoern manage to skewer one with an errant lonbow arrow. The party made a quick job of skinning the wolves, taking their pelts with them to town.

You get some odd stories from the shepherds in regards to the wolf attacks, and something is clearly amiss. Someone or thing is obviously controlling the wolves.

In town you're invited to a council meeting where they debade if it's worth the risk to continue to export foodstuff while the wolves attack (risking either starvation in the coming winter or a lack of money to re-stock in spring). It turns out the town guardian (and sorcerer) Alexi Merricksson, brother of the town priest, Father Merricksson, has been missing about three-four weeks and this is roughly coinciding with the troubles starting. There has been more disturbing reports like sheep stolen out of locked barns and when the village sent out a hunting party, several died and of the missing people only the halfling Willen Featherock turned up alive - but only barely.

Talking to Featherock who claims the wolves SPOKE and investigating Alexi's town house that seemed like he had not planned to leave for "one of his long trips", the party decided to rest for the night and use the slow spoken Corel of the Fleecers' Guild to aid them track the wolves from their last attack point into the forest. But first they would have a rest in the Shepherd's Crook inn. [Day 2]

Tracking the Wolves

The party was joined by Corel and he was assisted with the tracking. The first 1,5 hour was uneventful but the party noticed rustling in the bushes ahead and spotted a wounded and enraged owlbear.

(End of session)

(Session 2 - 2022-12-05) [Day 2]

Standing their ground, the party did its best to pile on the wounded owlbear, but not before it ferociously swiped and bit at Jormund, seriously wounding him. Before long he was downed and Torbjoern was in turn wounded as well. Fortunately, Torbjoern's cousin Aelfric had been tracking the party the last day or so and caught up with them in the nick of time so with his help and Terrence's holy powers the party employed some serious team work, tripping the owlbear and smashing its head in.

Taking a breather and then continuing on, Torbjoern spotted a lone wolf eating a rabbit near to the party but it was gone by the time they had discussed the matter to go look and see.

Eventually the party reached a clearing and a wolf den that was guarded by oddly behaving wolves, among other things they had dressed themselves in strips of cloth, had made a campfire and crude fencing. Apparently they also made noise traps as when the party were approaching the clearing, it was set off and all the wolves went to high alert. Torbjoern who accidentally had stepped on the tripwire moved to stand with the rest of the party.

(End of session)

(Session 3 - 2022-12-12) [Day 2]

As the wolves closed in, Torbjoern thwomped one of them and they assumed it was more hunters so they attacked. Shortly after, two huge wolves with fiery and electrical magic flowing about them came out of the wolf den. As the party seemed to lose hope on teh situation, the fiery wolf (Flame) halted the lupine attack and the two groups discussed the matter, though the electrical partner seemed to get more infuriated by the minute.

Terrence, in a bold move, invisibly went in to the wolves' den and saw pups there, just starting to learn how to talk. He decided to try to bluff being the "Lightbringer" and cast some minor cantrips to make him seem like a powerful Lightbringer. After some talk he managed to, with the aid of his compatriots, convince the wolves to move away to some other forest.

They came home and rested. [Day 3]

With the aid of both Corel and Father Merrickson they convinced the council the wolves had left. The council wanted more proof though and asked the adventurers either only take a fraction of the reward or stay three months to guard the town.

(End of session)

Double-Checking the Success

(Session 4 - 2023-01-23) [Day 3]

Torbjoern first negotiated the three month guard period down to 1 month but then Terrence suggested they could do the guarding for a week or so and go check the wolf den. In the meanwhile, the burly types (Torbjoern, Aelfric and Jormund) did the guarding, uneventfully, while Terrence had free reign of the sorcerer's house, trying to decipher his esoteric interests.

[Day 11]

• Went there - no wolves - followed to dreary forest, they are there with all the stuff. Talk a bit, will be ok. Back to the Mud Creek. Got money. Go to Daggerfall, arriving late at night.

(End of session)

Chapter 2: Barovia Calls Heroes

(Session 5 - 2023-01-28) [Day 11]

It seemed to not be any more immediate jobs in Daggerfall at first, but the party was interrupted in it's partying with its newfound gold when a colourfully clad man with a proud swagger entered the Happy Cow Tavern, striding right up to our heroes and proclaiming that they were destined to aid him and his people to lift the curse of his land's master and receiving near boundless amounts of riches in the process. He introduced himself as Arrigal and left a siezable bag of gold behind the bar, paying for everyone's drinks (including numerous destroyed ale cups, compliment of Jormund). A local dishonoured city guard also took to the party, interested in helping out following some unfortunate events of his own and a representative from the Ducal Manor handed over writs granting a few small-scale rewards for aiding Daggerford in this dire time.

Torbjoern took the opportunity to join Arrigal an his people, introduced as the Vistani; the travelling folk, and had a great time with song and dance and stories of this "cursed lord" in their home lands of Barovia. He laid out the plan to go south from Daggerfall and into the Misty Forest and there the Barovian valley could be found; not as large as a kingdom but more a small county but abound with riches.

Arrigal was in charge of the caravan safety but the caravan's elder, Stanimir supplied stories about his people's past and how they became associated with the cursed lord, some even call him "the Devil". Stanimir's son Ratka aided the bruisers of the party to keep watch and Damia had her own plans for the party's biggest guy; unrelentingly so. Before leaving, the party shopped around and used their writs to gain their grants of aid.

[Day 12]

After most of a day's travel, the party reached Liam's Hold which was a fort once occupied by priests of the death god but now long since taken over by a small human settlement. On the eastern side was a camp of the The Order of the Gauntlet, lead by Lanniver Strayl and a small number of knights. He talked to the party and informed them they should look out for werewolves. He said they attack villages and rather than just maim, they kidnap children! They then disappear as soon as they appeared and The Gauntlet believes they use some sort of portal, a few miles into the Misty Forest. He said if the party can find this portal and report back they would be handsomely rewarded but still adviced anyone from directly engaging the werewolves.

The party rested ([Day 13]) and then followed the road towards Misty Forest together with the rest of the Vistani, past Hilltop and then in to the forest. As they stopped for camp, it seemed ok, albeit a bit misty.

[Day 14]

The party was rudely awoken in the middle of the night by wolves attacking. Everyone got on their feet and quickly dispatched the majority in a few seconds. The howling on the wind indicated some larger beasts nearby, however.

(End of session)

(Session 6 - 2023-02-27) [Day 14]

A few moments of respite followed by

• A handfull of wolves
• Two dire wolves
• A couple of werewolves
• One werewolf not dead (sleep by Stanimir)
• Jormund took canines
• just a young man who wasn't in control :(
• Sent werewolf back with 2 vistani and one of the wagons
• dark mist sweeping over

(End of session)

Durst Manor of Mystery

(Session 7 - 2023-03-06) [Day 14]

• Continue up the road, take camp
• Wake up, someone has stolen all/most gear [Day 15]
• Walk shoeless
• One corpse with shoes - wolves howling
• Come across a milestone
  • Arrow on the larger road: "Barovia 11 miles"
  • Arrow up to the hamlet: "Soveja"
  • Durst family:
    • Thorne (7) and Rose (10) asks help to aid their parents who are fighting a monster (they think; screams at least)
  • Thorn is weeping and clutching a stuffed doll. Rose tries to sush him.
  • They were supposed to stay upstairs and care for their baby brother, but Thorne got scared by the monster’s cries and ran outside.
  • Rose ask the players to go make sure Walter is okay.
  • There are plenty of shiny things, weapons and armour inside the building
• Someone recently left dinner
• Some crossbows in "hunting room"
• Group focus on finding weapons and the basement
• No basement stairs on 1st or 2nd floors. Odd.
• Dumbwaiter leads only up.

(Session 8 - 2023-03-20) [Day 16]

Heading up to the third floor, sounds of bricks moving suddenly surrounded the party and the light sources dropped out, one by one. Trying to take the mace of a set of armor on the 3rd floor, Jormund activated an animated suit of armor that attacked and was subdued as a group effort (including being thrown down the stairs repeatedly).

The party found the remains or Rose and Thorne, who in turn regained lots of their memories and turned transparent and ghostly glowing. They found the nursemaid Margaret (who the father Gustav Durst clearly had an affair with, resulting in baby Walter), Margarets remains in a chest, killed with a knife in the back, and finally the hidden staircase leading to the cellar.

Death House Dungeons

It was a long and winding set of stairs leading to corridors deep in the ground with packed dirt walls and wooden beams for support. Meandering, Terrance aggravated a small carrion crawler which after being bashed in attempted to escape, leading Jormund to wake long-buried ghouls waiting for years to pounce on fresh meat. A hard fought battle later and the carrion crawler and all ghouls, bar one, were dead. The party let the last one slip and stopped to regroup.

(End of session)

(Session 9 - 2023-03-27) [Day 15]

The party followed the fleeing ghoul into some sort of quarters area of the dungeons with beds and chests as well as a well. A smelly, ghoulish figure grappled Jormund down into the well and a lethal fight broke out, just barely a success. After all this the party contemplated whether or not to have a long rest.

(End of session)

(Session 10 - 2023-04-03) [Day 15]

Following a short rest ([Day 15]), the party continued through the dungeon, finding Elizabeth durst as a horrid ghoul herself. She didn't want visitors but she did respond when spoken to and the party convinced her they were making a sacrifice so she gave them the magical key to the lowest part of the dungeon and they headed down.

Going down they faced thirteen of alcoves with weird fetishes in each and an almost deafening chanting "He is the Ancient, He is the Land," coming from the nearby room. Looking down the floor was full of water with a dais in the middle. Entering the room and stepping on the dais, suddenly thirteen ghosts appeared all around the edges and the changed the chanting to "One must Die," over and over again. A few moments later what had looked liek a waste pile in the far side of the corner started moving and a wendigo appeared just as the roof eerily started producing snow flakes. A little girl's voice echoed from the beast.

The battle was harsh as the monster crawled up the roof and quickly was obscured by snow and managed to down Terrence but after a few decisive blows, it was defeated. The ghosts returned to their old chanting of "He is the Ancient, He is the Land," and the door unlocked. Inside the monster, the corpse of a baby boy, presumably Walter, the illegitimate son of Gustav Durst and the maid Margaret, whom the party already had found murdered in the attic.

The portcullis of the flooded sacrificial chamber was not overly hard to lift and the party is back in the fetish room.

(End of session)

(Session 11 - 2023-05-29) [Day 15]

As the very foundation of Durst Manor began to groan, the party hurried to look around for anything of value, snatching a gold ring from a man no longer in need of it and the contents of Elizabeth's footlocker and then headed up and out. On the way, she noticed them and started to give chase, calling on her trusted Sophaxis as well.

Before running up, Jormund wedged the portcullis towards the stairs to his best ability. In the attic he also threw a heavy oak table down the narrow stairs, significantly halting the devil dog and the retched wench. The house itself seemed to want to kill them, turning each door into a swirling set of sharp wooden stakes, cutting people trying to get through.

Torbjoern and others of the first party members up did what they could to disable the deathly portals and everyone rushed to the bottom floor and started crashing the exterior door.

Elizabeth and Sophaxis was catching up and it took the whole party's effort to distract her to let Jormund crash through the door and get everyone out safely.

The minute everyone got out, Elizabeth screamed in anger but seemed like the outside air hurt her, so she rushed back in. A sound of bricks scraping on one another was heard and the party could see the windows of the house un-brick themselves, the door repair then close itself and lights turning back on in the rooms, one by one. It appeared like it was trying to look welcoming again in the pre-dawn hours of the morning.

As they turned back towards the road down the hill, a wicker basket with a red-and-white quilt on top stood before them. Torbjoern looked inside to see a simple card, a bottle of "Champagne du le Stomp", several types of cheese, grapes, pears and shortbread crackers from Daggerfall.

Walking up from the side of the house was two small somewhat transparent and glowing figures.

(End of session)

Welcome to Barovia Village

(Session 12 - 2023-06-08) [Day 15]

• Figures were Rose & Thorne who were a little dismayed but had full udnerstanding party doesn't want to go back in
• Headed to town
• Saw some people boarding up a house - "zombies"
• Go to Blood of the Vine tavern with a surly barkeep
• Man from the boarding comes, Ismark, turns out is the Burgomaster's son (Burgomaster now dead) and he wants help getting his sister to safety
• Torbjoern tries to get Ismark to accept his father's quest but he doesn't recognise the handwriting and the message is all weird
• Ismark provides the party with shoes and blankets and offer to put them up for the evening

(End of session)

(Session 13 - 2023-06-22 -Terrence) [Day 15]

The party speaks with Ismark and his sister Ireena, and discuss getting their father Kolyan properly buried in the church up on the hill by the village. It has almost not been in use since the Mad Mage came and pulled a bunch of able-bodied young men up to the Ravenloft Castle to take on the Devil, Strahd von Sarovich but the local priest should be able to do a decent ceremony regardless. The people talk a lot in the house and is having a rewlatively nice time. Ismark is also happy to provide the party with whatever arms he has in the house, including swords and armor.

Ismark and Ireena expect there to be another "wolf attack" on the house and everyone prepares with sleeping in shifts, however, other than some wolf-like sounds in the night, the morning comes without interruptions. [Day 16]

In the morning they start heading towards the church but at the top of the road they see people shuffling aimlessly and at closer inspection it is clear it's zombies! :O

(End of session)

(Session 14 - 2023-06-26 -Terrence +Izzat) [Day 16]

Letter from Strahd to Ireena

"My Dearest Ireena,

I wish to bestow upon you my deepest condoleancesfor the loss of your father, my most humble servant. Despite his many shortcomings, he most certainly succeeded in raising a strong, beautiful young daughter.

Please accept this rose: a token of my affection. And know that, should you ever need a shoulder to lean on during these trying times, my castle gates are always open to you.

Eternally Yours,

Strahd von Sarovich"

The zombies are despatched and the ruckus has led Izzat to the scene, another adventurer that arrived a couple of weeks ago and has stayed safe with a family in the town. They all discuss their situation a bit and resume carrying the remains of Kolyan Indrovice (Ismark & Ireena's father) to the church on the hill.

Take me to Church

The church showed lights on the inside but father Donovich was reluctant to open. The party eventually tired of his ramblings and let Jormund brake the door in. As they convinced him to perform the ceremony for Kolyan, a voice from under the floor boards echoed out saying "Father, please, I am starving". The party, focused on getting the ceremony done, ignored that and went out to the graveyard to the Burgomaster's crypt and laid Kolyan to rest.

Interrupted half way, a man with gray skin, pointed ears and a large scar across his forehead appeared. He wore some well worn armor and had swords on his hips, but the most prominent feature of the man was screams of horror and pain surrounded him. He seemed unaware of them but faint echoes could be heard quite far away from him. Ismark noted it's Rahadin, the right-hand man of Strahd von Sarovich, the man called "The Devil".

Ireena was furious and asked him to leave, even rushing up to hit him, accusing him or his master to cause their father's death. As she came up, he handed over a rose and a letter that she threw aside. He momentarily seemed to concentrate, causing Ireena to fall over and then he left with apologies if he may have interrupted. When she arose she had a trickle of blood coming out of her nose. Someone other than Ireena picked up the letter (to the right). A few moments after he left, a carriage was heard leaving from the front of the church.

The group turns on Donavich who asks the group to leave. They found numerous new graves despite no ceremonies and they eventually strongarm him into explaining the sounds of a voice from under the planks. His son, Doru, was one of the unfortunate that went up to oppose Strahd as they were inspired by the Mad Mage that came about a year ago. Doru was the only one to come back, and he had changed. He could mostly contain himself but after a while his hunger for blood overcame him and Donavich started feeding him off of himself whikle praying to the Morning Lord for salvation to his son. At some point Donavich had started bringing Doru members of the town itself as sustenance for Doru, but ensuring they didn't perish by the drain as that would have turned them also into these vampiric spawns.

(End of session; summer break)

(Session 15 - 2023-10-11 -Terrence -Jormund) [Day 16]

It's still before lunch time as father Donavich's horrendous deeds are uncovered and the party wants to let Ismark be the judge of it all. They decide to take the priest to be held at the burgomaster's mansion until they can call together the village for a town meeting and pass judgement. Then they turned to the issue at hand, the monster in the basement. Doru, Dovanich's son, was one of the "survivors" after the Mad Mage rallied young men from the village to take down Strahd a year ago and is now a vampire, somewhat weakend from not drinking any blood for a long time but still powerful and potentially deadly. Izzat just wanted to burn the whole church down but besides practical issues or if there are valuables (or value for the town) in the church there's also the risk of the fire above not really hurting the vampire, letting it escape back to Castle Ravenloft.

In the end they all decided to try sto surprise it and try to damage it into submission, putting a stake through its heart, hoping its coffin is in the basement so it all can be burned - hopefully without having to burn the church down.

Torbjoern carefully unlocked the chains with the keys given to them by Donavich, threw down a torch to be able to see in the dark and rushing down, pummeling Doru, who was hiding behind a pillar near a stone coffin. Whacked by everyone, including Sol's holy fire, Doru attemped to feed on the intruders but still got more and more hurt, became desperate and tried to flee with the party hot on his heels, trying to surround him.

(End of session)

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