The party are presently in the Carnival that has arrived at Vallaki; having visited some of the shows, they've regrouped and want to find out more about the mysterious Isolde who leads the travelling folk through the Mists. Is she an evil, cruel and dangerous mistress of death, or has Professor Pacali misrepresented her.
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.
4th December
The party, with the exception of Alexei and Ireena, reconvene at the Big Top. Inside, they can hear Tindal working the crowd's excitement as they get closer to the show beginning. Kel arrives last, running breathlessly, apparently having been to the Litwick Market which follows the Carnival through the mists, initially to hide but then to shop. He explained to Gaddock that he'd bargained with a Fey woman who had sold him a bag of sunshine big enough to fill a large room for two hundred gold pieces. He'd actually asked for a bag big enough to fill a castle, but the price was too high. The woman didn't want gold, she just wanted all the colours from his life. Kel wasn't ready to sacrifice that.
Sers Alys and Adon scouted around the back of the big top to where Professor Pacali had said that Isolde's office was, with the six distorted creatures that she had twisted cruelly that would prove that she was evil and keeping everyone there against their wills. They found a canvas door and slipped in, around them boxes and performers getting ready, in front a ten-foot tall monster of a man. He introduced himself as Hermos, the stage manager. Behind him, a dark skinned elf was checking through papers. While they talked to Hermos, they checked out the woman, who they quickly realised was Isolde herself. Strapped to her back, almost shadow-like and yet so real, leaving the iron taste of blood in their mouth as they looked it it, was a long bladed sword that definitely had the feel of an artefact. They challenged Hermos about the story they'd heard about the victims of Isolde. The two of them pulled a curtain back and revealed the twisted flesh of creatures.
Isolde told them that the Twisting was a natural force from the mists, and she had just withdrawn her protection from the individuals after they had broken the rules of the Carnival and committed heinous crimes. She defiantly held their gaze, and challenged if they felt she didn't have the right to protect her domain as she saw fit? Quietly, they agreed, confirming her mastery of the Carnival. They could sense the good in Isolde, but there was something cold brutal about her blade, a sense of blood and death. The talked for a few minutes; in the end, Isolde offered to take them with her as they were strangers in Barovia. They demurred when they found the Carnival had limited control on its path and rarely crossed out of the mists of the dark domains. Conversation finished, they headed back to find Kel and Gaddock.
Kel and Gaddock caught Tindal's eye as they entered. They were soon drawn into a show act with Wood'n'head, a man who could not be injured by a blade. Competing against the Blade Brothers, two Skurra who were expects in throwing swords and knife, Gaddock somehow managed to be last one standing and to defeat the last Blade Brother, winning some shadow dust and a silvered dragon's claw that never goes cold. Kel was knocked out second, so won a consolation prize of a bunch of funeral flowers which would never grow old.
The next act involved the Blade Brothers competing to get the closest miss when throwing blades and each other. Kel and Gaddock decided that discretion was the better part of valour. Instead, they had a chat to Adon and Alys on how their visit had gone to Isolde. Between then they decided that they weren't going to act against the Carnival's leader. In Ser Alys' case there were some deep respect there. Gaddock was then annoyed by a kid who wanted his autograph and managed to get cloud on a stick over his jacket. He nearly lost his temper over this.
The next act was the Illuminated Man, who presented an opportunity to face down your darkest fear. Ser Adon leapt up and took the challenge. The Illustrated Man drew on powers and drew something out of Ser Adon, a shadowy mass. He then drew a tattoo off his own body, which mixed with the form drawn from our hero. It took form and rose up; next thing that happened was that it started to attack him. With utter calm, Adon cut the form in half, dispelling the magic and destroying it with radiant fire as he struck it down with the blade "Deva's Redemption". He made it look easy. The Illustrated Man was hurt by the death of the tattoo, its original location looking like it had been burned. Unfortunately, the ease that he dispatched his darkest memories encouraged some of the Georges present to have a go. They were roundly trounced. He won some shadow dust and an artefact that looked like a dragon claw which was permanently cold.
Slipping out of the big top, they went shopping in the Litwick Market, where Adon bought some splint mail, and Gaddock some spell ingredients. They picked up some items (I gave them a budget and the chance to draw on some spending in the future if needed if they could justify it, a bit like a preparedness roll in Gumshoe). Kel went looking for a magical cloak of protection but decided that the cost was too high, as the fey-woman selling it said that all she wanted for it was for Kel to give her a smile. Becoming wise to the ways of Fey bargaining, he declined.
At the edge of the market, Gaddock discovered an old wagon, some distance from the nearest fire. He broke in, only to rush back out, pursued by Zombies. Ser Alys rushed in, taking one down in a complicated triple strike. Kel and Gaddock then let loose with fireballs, swiftly destroying the creatures. As the fire settled, the party noticed three creatures climbing out of the wagon; as they fled into the mists toward Vallaki, they moved just like the Vampire Spawn they'd faced previously on the roof of the Blue Water Inn. As the creatures escaped, the roof on the wagon burst open, and three larger creatures, took to the sky, obscuring the lighter moon as they lofted higher, hiding south into the town.
The characters agreed it was time to head back to town, away from the Carnival which was proving to be a dangerous distraction. As they headed back, they wondered if Strahd had broken the detente that he'd offered. Only time would tell.
GM Notes:
I'd forgotten how lethal the party are, but they have just reminded me that they are seriously down on magic and other consumables now. Some of the show elements worked well, others not so much. I feared that one of the players was fed up with it, so tried to keep it moving.
They nicely sidestepped the conflict in the Carnival; in some ways it's a shame, but it moves us back towards the main storyline. The big question is that Strahd had implied he wouldn't do them harm, and yet there was a wagon full of Zombies, Vampire Spawn and whatever the creatures that flew were waiting outside Vallaki. They'v established that the Litwick Market is not a direct part of the Carnival, just fellow Fey travellers, so the wagon wasn't something that Isolde or Pacali had been involved in as far as they could see.
The offer to take the two warriors with them startled their players; I don't think that they expected it, yet they turned it down because of unfinished business with Strahd. I think it may have given some hope that they can escape. The thing that they aren't clear about is whether the Carnival is there with Strahd's permission or if it can make its own way willingly.
9 February 2022
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