The party brutally killed Morgantha, the leader of the Hags that live in the Old Mill on the ridgeline between Barovia and Vallaki, then prepared to head home rather than risk fighting her two sisters without some time to rest.
Our dramatis personae:
Ser Alys de Adon-Rouge of House Starbright (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... Married to Ser Adon.
Ser Adon de Rouge 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. Married to Ser Alys.
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
Afternoon 22nd November
Having killed Morgantha, the party took her head as evidence, along with her eyelashes and iron-hard nails, and other body items which could potentially be useful to spells. They started back to town, with a young 6-year old boy called Ethan who had been sold to the wyrd sisters in return for a supply of the Dream Pastries and Pies that they made. Ethan rode on the wheeled trolley that he had previously been imprisoned on in a burlap sack. It seemed to reduce the weight of everything placed on it, and items rode in a very stable manner. Although it took nearly five hours, they reached Vallaki without incident despite the wolves howling in the woods that seemed to be tracking them.
Ser Adon called on the Priest, Father Lucian, once again and asked for his help to look after the latest stray he had collected. He talked about the hag they had slain, telling about the terrible suffering that the child had had when his parents gave him away, probably to be fattened up and made into a pie after his bones had been ground down. He managed to shift the opinion of the priest about him, perhaps not moving from the dislike he had garnered through the killing of his nephew and brother-in-law and the casting of his sister out of her house, but certainly earning grudging respect. As he left, he noticed the former Baroness starting to care for the child; perhaps this would be the start of a healing process.
23rd November
The next morning, they came up with a cunning plan. The party enlisted Rictavio's help in changing Ser Alys' likeness to look like Morgantha. They planned to play the 'I've died and come back from hell' gambit. Gaddock would pose as a child on the trolley, Kel would hide 100ft away and Ser Adon would be invisible. They soon set off; along the way, they discovered another package of clothes, this time with strict instructions to leave them in place. They did just that. Again the wolves were howling in the distance as they approached the Old Bonegrinder.
Their plan sprung into action; somehow, Ser Alys managed [great roll] to convince the two remaining Hags that their mother may potentially have returned despite her body (less head) being buried in the grave outside the Mill. The grave was marked "Our Ma, and a Beloved Sister, Cruelly murdered".
Enough doubt was there that Bella came out, at which point they attacked. Ser Adon's attempt to freeze her in place failed, but she was caught squarely by Kel's fireball. Rapidly escalating, fireballs rained down, and blades crunched. A dire and evil demon appeared and attempted to attack, releasing a fetid smell. The second hag, partly caught in the fireball blast, disappeared. A lightning bolt transfixed three party members who managed to stand in a straight line, with the hag casting it just managing to disappear into the ethereal plane before they could kill. A desperate fight escalated, with a cat and mouse element as the hags shifted. More demons emerged, choking Ser Adon with their foul stench, only the hasting by Gaddock stopped him from falling out of the fight. A battered Kel cast witch bolts once he ran out of fireballs and sorcery powers. Eventually, the party killed one of the hags. The other phased away.
Ser Adon kissed his wife gracefully, restoring her health only for her to be horrified as he turned into a frog in her arms. Warning the others not to step on any frogs, she stood ready to engage. Eventually, a bag of flour from Gaddock's familiar revealed the hag as she started to emerge; swiftly and brutally, Offalia was killed with a magic missile barrage. As she died, Ser Adon changed back to his human shape, along with a bewildered merchant who appeared in the ground floor kitchen in the Mill from a frog hopping there which had escaped from a jar in the fireball blast.
Searching the Mill, they found two young children (Freek and Myrtle) imprisoned there, being fattened up. They liberated some valuables and found three potions. Gaddock discovered a platinum amulet in the attic, with a red crystal stone set in it. It felt powerful, and the use of the identify spell revealed that it was the Holy Symbol of Ravenkind, worn by warriors who sought out and destroyed vampires and long lost. Ser Adon eagerly took possession of it.
The bones and bonemeal flour of the children lost at the Mill were buried with ceremony, and then wood brought and a pyre set in the ground floor of the Mill to burn the bodies of the hags and destroy the nest of evil. The party then set off with children and the merchant, heading back to Vallaki leaving the Mill burning on the ridge, again tracked by wolves. When they reached the Blue Water Inn, Danika Martikov encouraged Ser Adon to take up the holy symbol to help him in his battle against the Devil Strahd. He happily agreed.
GM Notes: mainly a battle, which was good as I was tired after a bad night's sleep. The party came close to failure again, but somehow prevailed. Fortunately for them, Offalia was low on hit points and spells and was revealed by Gaddock's trick. This marks the end of this section of the plot arc; Vallaki is quiet and the evil of the Hags destroyed. A powerful artefact has been found which may well help the party in their plan to cleanse the valley. Of course, the wielder of the Holy Symbol of Ravenkind had been killed in the past, and it was lost. Will they fair better? Next session, we will start towards the Wizard of Wines Vineyard...
5 May 2021
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