Thread: [D&D 5e] [IC] The Curse of Strahd - Group 2

The Curse of Strahd
Group 2

12 Kythorn 1489

Through a combination of serendipity and luck – and perhaps some would say fate – the group individually found themselves along the famous Trade Way south of Waterdeep. Perhaps some of you traveled there together in groups of two or maybe even three. Whatever the case, you were all within the famous Way Inn, a veritable walled fortress that doubled as a merchant’s waypoint and watering hole along the heavily used trade route.

While having dinner and listening to travelers’ tales, they observe people from many different nationalities and hear a multitude of accents. But instead of the usual uproarious chatter and lively music, much of the conversation is subdued and quiet. Groups keep to themselves largely, but similar topics can be heard among them all. They’re all speaking of the events far to the north, as Neverwinter and surrounding areas are largely in ruins thanks to the Sundering - the eruption of mount Hotenow. Of the hordes of undead and elementals and worse horrors stalking the land there, preying on the survivors. And they speak of a thick fog that rolls out from the aptly named Misty Forest to the east – and an unseasonable cold chill to the air during this early summer settling over the area more and more.

Dinner concludes without much fanfare, but before each of you can retire and go about your merry way, a rather large man with the robes and darker skin marking one from Calimshan enters the tavern and loudly proclaims the he seeks able-bodied men and women to bring thieves and murderers to justice! Seeing this as a call to arms, all of you answer the man’s summons.

He introduces himself as Samaz, the guard leader of a caravan belonging to the Sand Lion Trade union. He tells a strange tale of a night-time ambush amidst the fog of oversized bats attacking the caravan, carrying off a few members (who were never to be found again). After the battle, Samaz says that they discovered that someone had stolen various goods. Given the concern for their merchant captains and noncombatants, the guardsmen did not pursue. Instead, Samaz’s superiors granted permission to hire a group of mercenaries (read: adventurers) to recover the stolen goods with promise of fair coin for their efforts.

The group learns that the missing items include:
- A small container of rather valuable gems
- A small box that had a small cache of magical wands within it
- A few well-crafted blades
- A small box with custom-ordered pendants for a craftsman in Neverwinter

Samaz gives the group a magic ring that is tied to the missing box of gems. It points the way to the box at all times, but does not indicate distance. And so the newly formed group of five agree to take on the job with promises of significant coin for the safe return of as many of the previously listed goods as they can.

13 Kythorn 1489

The day starts drearily as rain clouds had moved in overnight. Light drizzle greets the travelers as they buy provisions and then set out from the Way Inn. Their trip is mostly uneventful except for a trio of orcs that attempt to waylay them, which ends poorly for the outmatched would-be raiders. At night they experience the cold, cloying fog that creeps out from the forest to their east like a quiet hunter, stealing their warmth as they try to sleep. Occasionally, during the night they see fleeting dark shapes in the mist, both in the air and nearer the ground – any investigation into them reveals naught. During the day, the fog recedes to the borders of the forest, watching as an animal in a cage would, eagerly awaiting release.

Spoiler: Misty Forest

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14 Kythorn 1489

On the second day of travel, the summer rains continue as they reach the described site of the caravan's ambush. They find little evidence that any battle had taken place there, mostly due to the heavy amount of travel along the road and the rain. Using the ring provided by Samaz, they get the sense that the missing jewel box is somewhere to the east, towards to the forest. The search commences.

The day grows long and the sun begins to hang lower in the western sky. They are led by the merchant's ring in the direction of a steep hill. The fog from the forest rolls and swirls its way down the hill, meeting the travelers halfway and greeting them with a cold embrace. Towards the top of the hill, at the edge of the blurred forest line, they find a curious, if not disturbing sight. The ground is littered with dozens of dead black birds. The “beacon” from the ring points ever forward, beyond the threshold of the mist-laden forest.

An uneasy pall settles over them as they creep forward through the underbrush of the old woods. The forest quickly grows thicker and the dead black birds continue to litter the ground. They reach a small clearing and barely have time to react before screaming assailants come rushing at them from the fog. They are men and women in strangely colorful dress, brandishing swords and yelling at them in a language the group has not heard before. They have an unsettling look in their eyes, a combination of fear, rage and wild abandon as they attack.

Spoiler: Forest clearing

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After disposing of this threat and silence returns to the clearing, they hear a man’s gravelly voice not far away. He is chanting repeatedly, again in an unknown language. The group creeps forward and sees a man standing at the far edge of the clearing. The mists seem to recede of their own accord to provide them with a clear view of the scene. He is an older man, skin pale and wrinkled with a shock of graying black hair atop his head. He is wearing similarly colorful clothing, but it is faded and torn with age and wear. At his feet rest three small, opened wooden boxes arranged close together in a semi-circle as well as a pair of crossed blades. He is speaking rhythmically in that foreign voice and brandishing a short curved blade.

He seems to suddenly notice the group (or the first stealthy character) approach for the first time and he stops chanting and opens his eyes to reveal milky white orbs with no pupil. He speaks loudly and wide-eyed in a strongly accented common tongue, “I have seen you! And so I have waited! I give you Servants of the Master, forcefully taken and Servants of the Enemy, willingly ended. Your invitation is now complete and I humbly serve as the key!”

His sentence concluded, he drags the curved blade across his throat, gurgling and releasing ribbons of sanguine fluid all over the ground ahead of him. His face is strangely calm as he chokes and sputters on his own blood. He gathers a pool of the warm red liquid in his hands and flings it in an arc, the spray of blood hitting the boxes and blades in front of him.

Then, he drops to the ground face-first, lifeless.

Night draws nearer and you have confirmed that the blood-soaked boxes and their similarly-bloodied contents are indeed the missing items. As you begin to gather the goods together, the mists close in and surround you once more, bringing a deep chill to your bones. You’ve gathered them up and stowed them away, ready to return them to Samaz and be done with this eerie assignment. You search through the corpses of the attackers as well as the old man and find a small handwritten note on the old man. It simply says, “Bind them to the tarokka. You know their faces. You know the means. Send them to me.”

Spoiler: OOC All

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Okay! Welcome to the IC thread everyone!

Introduce your character and give their reactions to the other characters and any events along the way that have led you to this point if you wish. Also, indicate what you do from here. The group is still in the clearing, wrapping up the process of gathering the equipment and searching the bodies. Do what you will!

I'm no woodsman, but I would think with all this mist everything's too wet to get a good fire started without difficulty- besides, I wanna get back as soon as possible that last bit was a bit much... Anyone have any idea what that was all about?

Best case he was a madman chanting at whatever God he serves, worst case he cast a sending spell of some kind that I've never heard of calling something else to here. I'll hold onto that note in case it becomes clear. Either way, we should build a fire and street about something in case this mist turns to actual rain. Pik wanders about the edge of the clearing gathering twigs and small branches. Fire won't be the problem, bit tricky I expect but not the problem we will be facing. I intend to warm up and head back and use some of that coin to get all of us a drink or two.

Thalia shrugs as she picks up the dagger, wipes it of the dead man's blood, and twirls it into her belt, saying, "Who knows. Dime a dozen crazy cultist. The only thing that worries me is that he looks like he succeeded on whatever he was trying to do. I think it'd be best to get far away from here, as soon as possible, even if it means marching through the night."

Through Puff's eyes, Grimblenyk sees little beyond the silvery-grey mist that permeates the forest. The group gathered in the clearing below - through Puff's vantage point - is a gathering of barely more than hazy, indistinct silhouettes gripped by the mists' cold fingers. The familiar is unable to see much of anything else below. Above the treetops, Puff gains altitude a little more and is finally able to see that the mist continues for apparently miles through the forest to the east. More worryingly, in the last few minutes that they have been dealing with the old man and gathering up the boxes and gear, the mist has crept its way at least a mile beyond the forest's edge.

Thalia frowns nervously and says, "That's not good...We need to get back to the inn, as soon as possible. Let's go."

If you lot want to hike now I suppose we can. He tucks the firewood he's collected so far under on arm and looks I'm the general direction of the inn. Lead the way Fizzlebang, you have the best sight line.

Grimble trips and stumbles a few times as his familiar's sight can't penetrate the fog entirely to show the many sticks and roots and small branches that are in his way. With the others' assistance holding his arm and following his guidance, they slowly make their way towards the edge of the forest. Their footsteps through the forest undergrowth are muted and shallow as the mists press ever closer. Soon, the silvery-grey mists grow so thick that they lose track of their companions. The sounds of their footfalls and their voices as they call out to each other are muffled and mangled. The mists seem to take on grotesque shapes. The sounds each person makes echo back to them as though moans of spectral pain.

Grimble's sight through the familiar reveals that the mists have grown so thick as to almost entirely block out all sight of the forest. Since all benefit of this aerial vantage has ceased, he calls the familiar back down to him but before it can reach him, he feels a dizzying, almost nauseating forced return to using his own eyesight. Grimble has experienced this before: he's lost connection to his familiar entirely.

The tension finally breaks as the mists thin again, revealing the landscape once more. But something is very wrong.

The air has become much colder, as though at the tail end of winter. The trees here are tall looming evergreens with branches that claw at the mist, whereas the forest was full of majestic oaks and maples and birches just a moment ago. Gone are the sounds of insects buzzing and chirping. The only noise comes from their own breathing and movements.

A few steps later as the mists recede a little more, the group stumbles out of the forest line much sooner than they expect and onto a lonely, muddy dirt road cutting a swath through the thick evergreen forest. To their left, the trail leads into thick mist after a dozen yards or so. To their right, the trail continues until their sight gives out in the faint illumination. The sky overhead is overcast and dark, well into the night if the group had to guess.

To their right also, a wooden sign rests on the path a few feet from them in the gloom, having once been nailed to a tree. Next to it is a dead crow, frozen by rigor mortis and partially eaten by vermin. In oddly slanted letters, the sign reads:

Welcome to Barovia

Spoiler: Grimble

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Your familiar is gone. Whether it was killed or something else happened, Puff is no longer there. You will have to cast find familiar again.

Spoiler: OOC

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Where do you go? What do you do?

Determined to not let the others know that he was bothered, Pik decides to speak up, the first few words being squeaks. Well, whatever that madman did was magic because we've easily traveled over a hundred miles. Probably north. Well, we're going to have to figure out where we are now, I vote for asking the locals, at least we can probably figure out where we are in relation to something we know, maybe find out how to get back to the sea and take a boat back. Pik nervously looks around, uncomfortable with having his surroundings changed so much.

Thalia's eyes widen and she lets out a short gasp of, "No...No...This...I-It can't be..." She takes a deep breath, quickly regaining her composure, and produces her rapier, saying, "Wherever we are, I doubt it's friendly." As she speakings, her hand clasps a small locket on a string hanging from her neck, as though to reassure herself it was present, then continues, "We need to get moving. Find civilization. Woods at night are terrible, no matter where you are. Gods know what could be lurking."

Spoiler: OOC

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Sorry for not being able to post, was really busy these several days IRL and even when I logged in here I couldn't find this thread due to never posting in it (wasn't marked, so).
I will just say that Sui Ren has been with the party all this time, but she was keeping really, really quiet.

Sui Ren glances around, her garnet eyes gleaming through the mist. She certainly has no idea of what has happened, but her expression is unwavering and relaxed - she was educated to never openly express fear. Even if it was just pretending, it lessened panic and allowed her to maintain her calm attitude.

"Civilization is quite nearby," Sui Ren whispers to Thalia. "In fact chances are this right path directly leads to a city. Wooden signs don't come growing out of the ground...This sign must show travelers the path."

Then she adds with a grim expression, "Unless this whole forest is an illusion or a trap, that is.

"Thalia, could you inspect that sign if it's an illusion or not? If it's a trap, we need to know now."

Spoiler: OOC

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She means "Thalia! Use Detect Magic!"

Thalia nods to Sui, and hums briefly, eyes glowing green, then shakes her head, saying, "Nada. No magic around at all. To..." She glaces at the sign, "Barovia, I suppose."

Leaving the rotted corpse of the raven and the fallen sign behind, the group begins their journey down the muddy road. Pools of still water in the road reflect the faint moonlight above. The fog spills out of the forest to swallow up the road behind them.

After about five minutes of walking down the lonely dirt track, they find the land to be jagged and uneven, with boulders jutting from the edge of the forest. Evidently they're in the foothills of a mountain or range of mountains. They have little time to consider these thoughts however, as a shape looms in the darkness in front of them.

Ahead, jutting from the impenetrable woods on both sides of the road, are high stone buttresses looming gray in the fog. Huge iron gates hang on the stonework. Dew clings with cold tenacity to the rusted bars. Two huge headless statues of armed guardians flank the gate, their heads lying among the weeds at their feet. They greet the travelers only with silence.

Spoiler: Gates

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Thalia looks up at the gates, tilts her head slightly, and says, "Huh...I can't say I've seen anything like this before..." She sighs, and glances at Nyk, saying, "It's just a pair of gates, though. Onwards we go," as she walks confidently forwards, without concern.

Pik frowns, uncertain if he's scared or simply nervous. Readjusting his pack, he follows Thalia.Slow down Tlia, fizzlebang needs a moment to enjoy the view. Can't say I expected much more than this. What with how little affection the welcome mat recieved. He offers a wink to Nyk and hops into line behind Thalia humming.

At Thalia bravely steps forward, the gates creak open slowly and loudly with a grinding screech that pierces the misty silence. Neither Grimble nor anyone else sees any sign of gate attendants or guards to operate them. Nor does Grimble pick out any symbolism on the armor or statues in general when he takes a closer look. A crow sits atop one of the heads, pecking at its stony eye as it watches their approach and passing. The gates are similarly unadorned by any territorial, country, or family symbols of any sort.

As soon as the last person is through the gate, it shuts of its own accord while producing an equally loud screech followed by a loud metallic clang! as it latches into place. This side of the buttresses hosts no guardian statues nor any adornments of any sort. Ahead of them, the road continues into the darkness, still surrounded by the impenetrable, fog-shrouded forest.

Thalia chuckles as she watches the crow futilely peck at the stony eye, shaking her head, but when the gates slam closed behind them, she shivers, and frowns as she looks around and realizes there are no visible people that are operating the gate. But she sighs, shakes her head, and moves forwards in uncharacteristic silence, now on edge and wanting to get to some sign of civilization before too much longer.

Does anyone else get the feeling that we're going to be ambushed? Maybe we should be ready for the worst. Pik glances back at the gate before moving a few feet to the side of the others, pulling out his switch of yew.

Gabriel nods to Pik: I think you're right, this place haunted at the very least.

Sui Ren's expression is rather grim. No doubt this was the only way to go - as Thalia had mentioned, staying in the forest was not an option - but this place didn't seem like the shelter she had half-expected it to be. Still, if there was a sign, there had to be someone who wrote it. If there was a city, there had to be someone who built it.

If this is of the world we know, at least. Sui Ren mutters to herself in her head.

Sui Ren will move onward, sticking with the others, looking around for any sounds and signs of movement.

Spoiler: Perception to tell if anyone is there

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(1d20+5)[14]
Of course, this may not be used if there's no signs in the first place. But from a meta-gaming viewpoint, something has to happen.

Spoiler: OOC

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Sui Ren will be cautious - she wouldn't yell into the mist like "ANYBODY HERE?" or knock a door, or do other things like that. But personally I feel someone could do it. Just a thought.