We left our heroes having dinner with Abbot at the Abbey of St Markovia, a holy man, perhaps angelic in Ser Adon's view, but there was definitely something suspect with him...
Our dramatis personae:
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
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.
also featuring:
Ireena Kolyana (a human warrior, daughter of the Burgomaster of Barovia, Twice-Bitten reincarnation of Strahd's unrequited love, Tatyana) - upgraded as a sidekick.
with :
Alexei the Vistana (a young human expert, sent to pay off his debt to the party by his Vistani elders after they rescued Arabelle from certain death when Alexei lost her in town. A late teenager who is so taken by Ireena and the excitement of the adventure that he's forgotten he planned to be sulky and surly for his 13 moon exile) - upgraded as a sidekick.
All characters are presently 6th level, including the sidekicks.
1st December
The party ate a convivial meal with the Abbot, enjoying simple fare, washed down with good wine. The Abbot's companion was quiet through the meal, occasionally instructed in points of etiquette by her master. Kel noted that she reminded him of Ireena, perhaps a distant relative? He also noted that she had what looked like embroidery or fine stitches on the wrist of her arm which were momentarily revealed when she reached for something on the table. After the meal, the Abbot called out to Clovin, an assistant, and the haunting violin music stopped. The Abbot told the party that they were welcome to check out the library, which was two flights up.
On reaching the first floor which was very cold, Clovin met them, dressed in a monk's habit. Short (4ft 7") with a goat-like face and what looked like rams horns under the hood, Kel spotted that he appeared to have a second head. He offered wine and lanterns for the library, but they declined. Ser Adon spotted a body on a stone slab with what looked like packed snow and ice under it. He asked who it was, and Clovin explained it was someone who had died before the Abbot could save them. They were being prepared to be put to rest. Ser Adon pulled the veil back and found a young girl, dead of what seemed like natural causes. There were no signs of vampire bites, but a patch of skin had been lifted from her back, carefully. When asked, Clovin said it was useful, for dealing with burns. Feeling an increasing sense of disquiet, Ser Adon blessed the girl.
They talked some more, and Clovin offered to show them the hospital the next day. He said many of his relatives were there, and they could get disagreeable and rowdy at mealtimes. He also mentioned that they had emptied the old children's rooms to create more space for patients.
The party headed up to the library. It niggled, feeling wrong; aurally, it was like a much larger space than the 50 ft square room that they expected. It was full of books and detritus from a children's schoolroom and nursery. You couldn't see the other side of the room and the space seemed bigger than it should be as they tried to wend their way through the stacks. Kel established that they were definitely still in the North tower at the Abbey by looking out of the windows. Gaddock detected for magic and established that there was magic all around, especially in the centre of the room. Working their way through the stacks which took longer than it should they came upon a glossy black, almost ebony, wooden door with a surrounding frame covered in silvered sigils and formulae. Nestling in the middle of a run of shelves, books were almost nestled against it.
Gaddock detected Abjuration and Conjuration magic; he suspected some form of warding was present and that it could be dangerous. They got Alexei to check for traps while everyone else sheltered in the magical hut Gaddock conjured. He didn't find any, so Kel gently opened the door with a mage hand. Nothing happened, and Gaddock's familiar flew in, tendrils of mists touching it, a loose-leaf from a book fluttering in after it.
Inside, darkness, shelves, books and a welcome deck with visitor cards and registration books. A Shelved corridor carried on in. Leaving Alexei and Ireena to mind the entrance, they went in. Following the corridor, it opened up into a map gallery, full of maps and charts. Some they recognised; the Realms and Barovia, others were new to them. Gaddock had heard of some of them at his alma mater. There were tomes of building designs and atlases and more. Searching, they found sixty assorted gold of different types in a box marked petty cash, plus a vial of a magically ink-like liquid. More usefully, there was a box of candles, which they subsequently used to mark their path in the darkness. Looking for exits, they found an archway which more stacks of books heading away and a dangerous-looking locked gate. Kel failed to pick it, using a nail file and the gloves of thievery he'd found in Graenseskov. Ser Alys went back to the entrance and swapped out with Alexei, who came and expertly picked the gate. The padlock on the door behind the gate radiated magic, which Gaddock neutralised with a Dispel Magic spell.
Beyond the door was a shaft with a ladder, with bookshelves all around the walls. Gaddock carefully dropped a candle down, lighting it. Fifteen to twenty feet below, there was an exit, so they decided to go down to see what was there. They'd already decided that this must be either somewhere else in Barovia or an extradimensional space.
They found themselves at the top of a large spiral staircase that was going downwards. On the landing they had come out on was a stone sarcophagus, with an inscription that Gaddock translated as the tomb of a Chief Catalogist. They decided to open the tomb to see if had any clues, finding a shrouded body, a pen and ink set that radiated magic, and a library tool for bookbinding which was effectively like an improvised battleaxe. It was definitely magical as well, so a debate ensued as to whether they should rob the grave or not. Eventually, Gaddock wrote an IOU and Ser Adon said a prayer and ritually drew images of the items just in case the corpse needed them in the afterlife. As they lowered the sarcophagus lid back into place, Kel and Alexei heard a flapping noise. Suddenly a flock of what could only be described as animated books burst out from the stairwell; Kel cried out in excitement and startlement and they shied away, almost nesting on the roof supports above.
Our heroes carried on down; the next level opened into a large space with the staircase continuing down. It was filled with taxidermied animals and they decided that discretion was the better form of valour and carried on down to the next level, where they were surprised.
They discovered a cosy room with warm tea, scones, jam and clotted cream and sandwiches on a side table labelled 'early evening refreshments'. The room was warmed and lit by many candles and they started to discuss whether to rest, return or press on. As they did, something black/blue, shimmering with iridescence, flowed out from the shelves at the back. At least as large as the sofa, it started to flow at them. Gaddock activated his mage armour and cast an illusion of fireworks in front of the party. The blob flowed away, avoiding the display, followed by several smaller blobs, perhaps its children. It didn't seem to like heat and fire and continued away and up the stairs. They debated what it was; perhaps a form of Ink Elemental. Deciding not to rest, they carried on down to the bottom of the staircase that opened into another library space full of statues, some made of silver.
In the depths of the space, they discovered some lost adventurers, who had run away from a tall paper-like giant which had attacked them. Two of their party had been lost to it. They soon ascertained that the group had not come from Barovia, but from the Great Library in Waterdeep and had performed a ritual to get here. Reading between the lines, they decided that they were perhaps some kind of cult. After a discussion, they agreed to guide them out so they could rest. They explained about Barovia so the other party were keen to re-enter the library as soon as possible after resting. Heading back out, Kel stumbled on some abandoned letters, correspondence between a Van Richten and an Ez d'Avenir who seemed to be planning to hunt and destroy Strahd. Or rather, Van Richten was planning to do it himself and telling d'Avenir that it was too dangerous for her.
They exited to the library, planning to re-enter it soon as they were certain they could find the information that they sought.
GM Notes: This was where I started to blend the Stygian Library into Curse of Strahd. They can't escape Barovia from here (and indeed, the four people they 'rescued' are now trapped by the Mists). The information is there if they want to delve deep enough - they want lore on vampires, Strahd and the Fanes. They were smart in not fighting the ink elemental, and know that this is a dangerous and weird space; after all, it is an OSR adventure!
10 November 2021
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