The calm after the storm...
Our dramatis personae:
Ser Alys de Rouge (a half-orc Fighter with a soldier background, currently the leader of the town militia of Daggerford), played by Tom (Guvnor). Lawful Neutral. Imagine a slightly greener take on Grace Jones...
Kelwarin (Kel) (a half-elf Sorceror flush with the powers of wild magic, an outlander), played by Graham (First Age). Chaotic Good.
Gaddock Teeg (a halfling wizard and former prizefighter), played by Alex (Doggetay), Neutral Good
Ser Adon of House Starbright (a half-orc Paladin, from a knightly background, with two human retainers and a priest), played by Paul (dr_mitch). Lawful Good.
and reintroducing:
Roscoe Tosscobble (a halfling Cleric of Life, a follower of Diancecht, god of medicine and healing, former hermit and companion of Ser Adon), played by Jag (Jagusti). Lawful Good.
Alex wasn't with us tonight so Gaddock spent the session recovering from his exertions in his room at the Inn.
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November 13th, continued.
Our brave heroes were back at the Blue Water Inn, licking their wounds and recovering. There was much celebration for the destruction of the evil vampire spawn and the tale initially grew at the telling before they reigned it back in. Reality was sinking in, as was the fact that they had celebrations to prepare for. They had a service booked at 3pm, but nothing else.
Kel had been asked to be best man for Ser Alys and Ser Adon, and started to take his duties seriously. He started by negotiating the use of the Landlord's rooms for the couple for their first night together along with trimmings like incense in the room for the fire. After a few words from Danika, Urwin agreed. Kel politely pretended that he didn't here her say that they never used the bed anyway. He also booked the wedding breakfast and Ser Alys requested that it be an open house after the Festival of Blazing Light concluded.
Ser Adon, Ser Alys and Kelwarin headed out into the town centre to prepare for the wedding. Ser Alys found a hairdresser and Ser Adon went to find a simple gift, and then buy himself a surprise new killer outfit for the wedding. He managed to find a puffy red shirt, black tasselled trousers, and a tricorn hat with a black feather. He had them bagged and returned to the Inn, confident that he would look very dapper fo the love of his life.
Kel was ordering the flowers in the main square and observing what was going on. The Town Guard had five people chained up in the stocks, all wearing plaster donkey heads. The guards were practicing casual cruelties; they'd encourage kids to throw rotten vegetables and muck at the prisoners, and sometimes they'd throw a bucket of cold water from the fountain at the centre over them, causing them to shiver and recoil. They seemed to think that this was funny. While he watched, another prisoner was led out by a guard and the brute that he later found out was the leader of the guards, a hulking man called Izek who had an unnatural looking arm. Already angered by the way that the prisoners were treated, Kel spotted that the new prisoner looked familiar. He suddenly realised that he was wearing the same distinctive trousers as Rosco.
Kel decided that he needed to take action, decisively. He paid some urchins to make a ruckus on the other side of the square, then - having bought a crowbar - went invisible and released the prisoners. He shocked Rosco, talking to him as a disembodied voice. He cast invisibility on his former colleague and got him back to the Inn while the guard chased around after the prisoners. They quietly went upstairs to Kel and Gaddock's room and Roscoe started to get warm and recover. Kel slipped back out to get clothing for him, and overhearing Izek telling his guards that two recaptured prisoners would be part of the centre-piece of the festival the next day along with the coffin-maker, he realised that this meant they were likely to be burnt alive in the large wicker sphere sun emblem on top of the staging. He decided to quietly sabotage the door on the wickerwork using mage hand, so it would be easy to escape.
Ser Alys had a discussion with Izek when he came into the hairdressers; they ended up agreeing on the need for law and order and she was offered a job if she needed one. On returning to the Inn, she found out that Kelwarin had booked a trio of women singers who would perform traditional Barovian folk songs at the Wedding Breakfast.
Kel was catching up with Roscoe, who explained that he had been imprisoned after getting slightly the worse for wear on drink at the Blue Water Inn, managing to repeatedly curse the Devil Strahd. A tall, pale, dark haired noblewoman, Lady Molot Kosti, had apologetically reported him to the guards and he was summoned before the Baron. Unfortunately, he compounded his error by being disrespectful to the Burgomaster and ended up imprisoned.
There was a knock at the door to the room, and Rictavio was there. The circus-master came in and started by talking to Roscoe directly, explaining that he knew that they had come in (despite the invisibility) and apologising for not having rescued him earlier. However, he'd wanted to wait until closer to the Festival to ensure that the Baron didn't want to deal with him severely. He said he'd help, placed his hat on top of Roscoe's head and some magic happened, making him taller and look like a human rather than a short halfling. He told him he'd be back in the morning to restore the spells. Rictavio then became very serious and interrogated Kel over the Vampire Spawn. He warned him not to attack then without involving him in case things got out of hand, as he could help. He headed downstairs to the bar then.
Soon after, Kel and Roscoe headed down, Roscoe's head all around how he could carry out a halfling style blessing for the wedding. He went to the bar, ordered drinks and asked Kelwarin what he wanted. Then he realised he had no money as all his equipment was in the Baron's lockup. So Kel bought the nightcap.
Meanwhile, one of the locals walked into the room, and went to the bar, asking the Landlord "Where the Knights are?" in a strangely disconnected voice. He headed straight at them. Ser Alys realised something was up and caught Ser Adon's attention. Ser Adon activated his radiant light javelin, and the man shuddered and then looked confused, wondering why he was there. They calmed him, bought him a drink and discovered that he had been charmed out in the Cheapside of town to the east near the Coffin Maker's shop they'd burnt down. He was to give them a message:
"We haven't forgotten. We know where you live. We will have our revenge."
Ser Alys and Ser Adon were delighted; being threatened on the night of a wedding was a traditional orcish blessing, although more traditionally done by the in-laws to be. They half-wondered if Kel had been involved in organising this. They soon sent the man on his way, with him worrying about what his wife would say about the smell of alcohol and the lost bucket for water from the well.
The priest (Roscoe) with Kel, introduced himself as Faygon, and started to debate theology with Ser Adon. Ser Alys quickly realised (from the mannerisms) that this was Roscoe in disguise. This was another orcish tradition when a friend plays the trickster and tries to fool his friends, bringing a special blessing on the couple.
Rictavio gave a toast to the happy couple and then they all went to bed.
30 December 2020
GM Notes - Rather than stopping for a long rest, I reminded the players that their characters had a wedding the next day and it would be significant to their characters. The spotlight was more on Kel than I expected as he decided to go and act on his own to rescue Roscoe. There's possible conflict in the party as Ser Alys is quite hard on laws being important. She may not be impressed with Roscoe's predicament. I got a hard nudge at the end from Tom that he wanted a faster pace to action next week. From my perspective, the build to the wedding is important (as the players brought this into play so my assumptions are that it needs some time). However, the nudge is noted. Full action will come and I hope it's what they wish for.
Curse of Strahd will return on 13 January 2020.
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