07/02/2025 - 'Valliki Vices'

Following Ernst through the city streets of Vallaki, the party find themselves in the run down northern end of the city. The only thing worse than every other poorly maintained structure is a large manor in somehow a more worse state than what surrounds it.

As the party draws closer, Abe shudders as he feels hate and distain coming from the house. It's not focused on them but... itself? The vibes remind Summer and Torbin of the Durst house, but for different reasons they can't put their fingers on.

Arriving at the front door of stained glass caked in dust and grime, Ernst opens the door and tells the party to wait as he prepares to announce them to Lady Wachter. As they wait outside, Slate tries to peer through the windows but finds the grime covering them is far too thick to see through. But rubbing some of the grime from the front window, he notices a somewhat familiar view: the mountain that Castle Ravenloft now resides, before Strahds Castle was built there. Wiping away some more of the dust, Slate comments that the house would look incredible if anyone bothered to clean it.

The Rogue jumps back as Ernst opens the door again, revealing the main hall is in a similar state of uncleanliness. As Torbin enters with Summer on a leash, still pretending she is his pet, Ernst stops him and asks that he leaves his dog outside. When Torbin refuses, the butler insists further until Abe threatens to leave the house and bid the Wachters farewell. Not wanting such a hasty end before the discussions can even take place, Ernst rushes off to speak to the Lady of the house.

Turning to Torbin, Summer grumbles that she'll pee on the floor before she gets sent to wait outside.

Ernst returns before Torbin can respond, stating that Lady Wachter has allowed Summer to stay by the gnomes side.

With each member of the party entering the lounge of the Wachters, Ernst gives them each a glowing introduction to the Lady. Except for Summer, they're a pet.

As Ernst leaves the room, Lady Wachter approaches Abe and greets him. She is aware of his family name, but unfamiliar with his or his fathers names and accomplishments.

Turning to Summer and Torbin, she asks why the gnome why he keeps the 'evil' Kobold on a leash. Seeing that the ruse wasn't needed here, Summer stood back up happily.

After formerly welcoming the party to Barovia, Lady Wachter gets wound up by Slate asking about Vallikis Baron which casuses Wachter to talk about how she dislikes Baron Valakovich and his stupid festivals. When she attempted to bring the two family houses together by the union of her daughter, Stella, and Valakovichs son, Victor, but her daughter was returned in a mad state.

She wants Valakovich to be removed from his position as Baron so she can become the Baroness and allow for Strahd to walk these streets once more.

Before the party can raise any questions, Lady Wachter asks them to join her in the dining room for lunch. Once everyone is seated, the party is offered the choice of tea or wine to drink as plates of sandwiches are laid out before them.

Raising her glass, Wachter toasts to Strahd and his beloved Barvoia.

...

The rest of the party remain silent but still clink glasses and mugs. While Summer and Torbin stuffed their faces with food, Wachter talks about Strahd and the time she went to Ravenloft. How she admired the Baron...

Seeing the topic was going nowhere, she asks the party how long they were planning to stay in Valliki and if the girl that helped them get into the city really was the former Barovia Burgomasters daughter.

Abe clumsily attempts to cover that it is Ireena, but Wachter saw through the lie and ponders why Strahd has so much interest in the party.

Slate asks her to get to the point of why the group is here with her right now.

Setting her glass down, she explains that she wants the party to gather some information about Valakovich for her:

- There are lights on in his attic of all hours of the day, why?

- Why does he have Izak, the City Guard Captain, remain so close to him?

- What happened to the people who have entered the Barons manor without ever exiting?

- What did Valakovich do to her daughter?

Torbin looks up from his meal, asking if the partys reward for this job could be their free passage out of Barovia. Wachter laughs with a 'don't we all?'.

Swallowing her sandwich, Summer asks about Izak and his weird arm. Wachter believes that the arm is something demonic that grants him the ability to throw balls of fire from it.

Slate asks if the party can meet Wachters daughter in an attempt to see what may have happened to her. The Lady agrees and calls upon her sons, Karl and Nikolai, to collect the key to their sisters room.

While the sons are away, Torbin asks about the vast wine collection that the Wachters have. He offers to complete the work she asked of them if she is willing to send some of her wine to the Blue Water Inn for the upcoming festival. Lady Wachter laughs and declines.

Abe asks about the Durst family, curious what happened to them. Once upon a time, the Durst family were a famed farming family in Barovia. Until they fell into the company of demon worshipers, around the time that 'the Darkness' come.

Slate asked if 'the Darkness' could have been Strahd, but Lady Wachter doesn't know.

Karl returns to the room and offers to escort the party to his sisters room.

Unlocking the door to the room, Karl allows Slate and Torbin to enter. A young woman crawls on all fours to the bed and climbs onto it, hissing at the new people in her room. She speaks to the two, but she referrers to herself as 'Kitty' instead of Stella.

After some questioning, the party learn that 'Kitty' had just 'started' one day. She remembers Victor being puzzled by her, but he wanted to read a large book rather than play with her. So she left and was caught by the two brothers.

But she refused to give anymore information after Slate used his magic to create a small rubber ball for her to play with.

Leaving the room to join the others, Torbin notices that Stellas mannerisms and speech pattern reminded him of talking to cats...

With nothing else to ask or discuss, the party decide to take their leave. Bidding their farewells to the Wachters, Ernst is sent with them to escort them back to the Inn.

On the walk back to the Inn, Ernst asks that the party keep the condition of Stella Wachter to themselves as it isn't public information. Slate stops Ernst and asks him what his deal is. Ernst explains that he is an intelligence gatherer, for the right price.

As a free piece of information, Ernst explains that souls of those who die in Barovia are trapped and are unable to pass on. And that souls are also unable to be created, leading to some people being born without souls.

Arriving at the Inn, Ernst says quietly that he knows of the parties misdeeds, eyeing each of them before he turns and leaves them alone. Shrugging off the threat, the party stand outside the tavern as they work out their next step. Maybe they should visit Baron Vallakovich?

Deciding that was their best option, the group takes off for the Barons Manor. Arriving outside the manor, they see a man in chains being led inside by two guards. They also notice servants carrying wicker sticks, claiming they were requested by "the Ladyship" possibly for an upcoming festival when Abe asks what they are doing. The house doors are left open, and the party enters cautiously. A feeling of unease settles over them.

Seeing as they're alone in the foyer, Slate begins searching rooms. He finds a feminine parlor with a tea set. In the next room further down, Slate can hear women talking about festival decorations. Another door leads to a storage room filled with vegetables. Nothing outright sinister, but the house still feels off. 

As Slate and Abe begin checking a room beyond the staircase, Summer takes off up the stairs with Torbin giving chase. Reaching the next landing, Summer can hear a male voice is yelling from down the hall. Summer, curious, runs toward the noise and scratches at a door. From inside, a loud gruff dog barks back. A moment later, the door swings open, revealing a man in armor and two large mastiffs. He orders them to sit, and behind him. Summer spot what looks like a library or study, along with a man bound to a chair in the room with two guards standing behind the man.

Torbin quickly covers for Summer, claiming that his 'dog' ran off. The armored man, not interested in conversation, tells the weird child to keep his freakish looking mutt in check before he slams the door shut in the short duos face. Hearing the one of the mastiffs on the other side of the door, Torbin casts Speak with Animals, learning that the mastiff is disappointed that their master wouldn't let them 'play' with Summer.

Downstairs, Abe and Slate are met by a women exiting the room Slate heard the voices coming from earlier. Seeing the two men in the hall, she calls back into the room she was in and a maid comes out to greet the duo. She guides them into the one room they hadn't check in the foyer, leading them into a lounge of sorts that smells strongly of tobacco and alcohol. Slate is startled when he turns and sees a taxidermized bear in the room. Giggling at Slates surprise, the maid tells him that the bear is a gift to the Baron but he likes to claim that he slayed the bear himself. The Ranger and Rogue wait patiently for something to happen.

Upstrairs, Summer and Torbin find a solid, barred door at the far end of the hall. It looks different from the others. Stronger. Meant to keep someone inside. Summer, without hesitation or listening to Torbin telling her to leave it, uses her staff to unbar it. The door opens to show the tiny duo a small, dimly lit room. With a man is chained to the wall.

17/01/2025 - 'Is Not Sad, Is Not Blinsky'

 With the party settling into their rooms for their first night in Villaki, Ireena and her new ward Alan share a room with Tariel. Ireena expresses her concern for revealing her identity so soon upon arriving in Valliki, she feels it was a mistake. Tariel brings up that if Ireena hadn’t done so that the group would be outside these walls to fend for themselves over night.

Blue Water Inn

In the next room over, Slate steps over Summer sleeping on the floor to slip out the door. Passing the girls room, he slips a small chalkboard under their door with the letters ‘BRB’ written on it. Going downstairs to the tavern, the Elf sees a flock of ravens sitting on the beams above before he slips off the bar on the door and exits the tavern. Down on the streets of Vallaki, Slate attempts to slink in the shadows but finds it difficult with the exceptional amount of torches and light illuminating most corners of the side streets.

Back in the boys room, Abe tosses and turns in his sheets as he relives the death of Alans sister. He recalls the sound of her skull cracking under his swords hilt and the scene resets, this time with him skewering her skull with the blade end. Then resets with him slamming her head into a post until she stops crying. Then himself biting her face off.

With the crashing sound of a bell, Abe sits up in a cold sweat and feels something wet in mouth. Touching his lips, he finds blood running down his chin…

Slate looks toward the bell tower before hearing voices call out the phrase ‘All will be well’. Sounded like they were calling out from the guard towers, was this their way of checking in with each other?

Seeing that the buildings he checked were closed up tight, Slate returned to the Inn and making sure he closed everything he opened on his way back to his room.

The next morning, Torbin and Summer wake to Abe cradling in his bed and Slate talking with the shaken Ranger. He tells Slate about what he experienced before going to join the short companions for breakfast.

In the girls room, Ireena tells Tariel that she doesn’t feel safe in Vallaki just yet and wishes to stay in the room for the time being. She suggests that the party should try and find somewhere safe for her to lay low in the city.

Agreeing with Ireena, Tariel leaves to join the other downstairs to discuss it with the party with Allan tagging along for breakfast.

While the party, except for Summer who’s eating under the table, discusses their next step, Allan joins the barkeeps children in their games. As they run around, Slate notices something drop from the ceiling. A bat toy that startles Allan for a moment. The other kids talk about taking Allan to see Blinskys toyshop. Summer peeks out from under the table having heard that name before.

As the kids run out the door, Torbin and Summer both notice a man who was about to enter the tavern turn and step out of sight. Summer suspects that the man might have been observing the party. Heading outside to find the man, the party find nearly the whole street stops and turns to face the adventurers. Seeing the kids running ahead, Summer pulls on the lead Torbin put on her and starts dragging the gnome after them. Abe and Slate follow behind Tariel, still talking about Abes dreams when the Ranger notices behind them that the man they saw before is behind them and tailing the party. Telling Slate, the Elf slips out of sight and follows behind the man.

Turning down an alley after the children, Tariel, Summer and Torbin see the kids look at a store in disappointment before running off again. Slate sees another person approach the man following the party, the two individuals exchange something before the man follows down the alley. Abe hides behind a crate as the man approaches Tariel with a letter, an invitation to a lunch with ‘The Watcher’. The man, who calls himself Ernest, tells the party that the Watchers were the original owners of Vallaki before the current Burgomaster.

Abe rejoins the party, Ernest making a jab at Abes attempt to hide himself from him.

Ernest is confused by Summer, asking Torbin what they are. Torbin says a dog, but Summer makes a donkey noise instead.

Ernest offers to meet the party at the tavern later if they choose to attend the lunch, bowing to the party before leaving. As Slate rejoins the party, Summer points out someone turning the closed sign to open on the toystore. 

Passing under the placards showing the slogan ‘Is No Fun, Is No Blinksy’, the party find themselves surrounded by all sorts of wood carved figurines and contraptions.

Tariel was extremely impressed, picking up and examining a bunch of little figurines as a man in a ragged jester attire approaches the newcomers.

With an exaggerated ‘Wyelcome’, Blinksy introduces himself to the party.

Seeing something moving around on the toy shelves, Slate reached for his knife before he saw the monkey in a tutu land on Blinksys shoulder. The ‘Wizard of Tiny Wonders’ introduces his furry companion as Piccolo. He tells the party that Piccolo was the pet of a friend of his called Rictavo, but the party don’t seem to know the name.

Abe asks Blinsky if he is willing to sell Piccolo to him, but the Toymaker looks offended and asks if Abe would sell a friend. Behind him, Slate and Torbin look at Summer…

Seeing that Abes purchase wasn’t going anywhere, Slate asks if Blinsky is able to make a brass sconce. Blinsky tells him that he doesn’t have enough brass to make what Slate requires.

Tariel picks up a comically accurate looking puppet of Strahd, then notices the mechanism at the back to make it act as a ventriloquist dummy. Sitting it back down, the paladin notices a doll that looks almost exactly like Ireena. Torbin noticed Tariels find and inquires about it.

Blinsky tells them that it is a special order for the Captain of the Guard, Izek.

Apparently he has had dreams of a woman of this likeness and had been forcing Blinsky to create dolls of her for him. But it always seems that Blinsky is off each time, Izek giving him a beating each failure.

Blinsky attempts to draw the parties attention away from the Ireena Doll using a series of dolls that can be squeezed from behind to make their head pop off on a drawstring to pull it back into place.

Torbin kept eyeing the monkey Piccolo, casting Speak with Animals so he can communicate with the little monkey. 

Torbin asked Piccolo why he is with Blinsky, he said he wanted to make Blinsky happy because Blinsky seemed sad. Hearing about the Captain of the Guard, Torbin asked about that was well. Piccolo said that Izak has a really strange left arm, not human.

While Torbin was talking to Piccolo and Tariel was buying a series of toys, Summer had snuck past the group and slipped the Ireena Doll into her pack. She wasn’t a complete monster, leaving 5 gold coins behind in its place.

With Tariels purchases complete, Abe asks Blinsky if he has a toy that could cheer up a boy that recently lost their sister. Blinsky shows the ranger a small toy coffin, which winds up and pops open with a small vampire on a spring popping out, like a jack-in-the-box!

Abe politely declines when Torbin plays a merry-go-round music box, the horses replaced with carved vicious wolves chasing small children and the music gets slightly distorted and depressing…

Slate looks at another music box and notices that the mechanics inside are made of brass.

Weighing the toy and looking at the collection of music boxes, Torbin estimates that there may be enough brass between all the boxes to make that sconce Slate wanted!

Turning back to Blinsky, Torbin asked if he could purchase all the music boxes for a Gold Piece.

SOLD

Torbin then dumps all the music boxes on the floor and breaks some, asking Blinsky to remove all the brass components and smelt them down to make the sconce Slate asked for.

A distraught Blinsky nods, asking for 2 gold for this kind of work. Slate leaned close to the upset toymaker and tells him that he will tell Izak that he is slacking on making the doll he wanted.

‘1 Gold Piece it is then! Please leave…’

Leaving the store, the party start to explore the town and find themselves in the town square. Seeing the dying plant life in the area, Torbin cast a small spell that revived all the plant life around him as he walked.

Hearing some jeering, Tariel and Slate took notice of a set of stocks with people loaded inside them. One man walks past the stocked people and throws a rotten vegetable at one person, turning around to see a glaring Slate inches from his face. The man put his head down and walked away.

Abe and Summer noticed that the posters are being ripped down by a group of guards, one person in particular catching their attention. Standing with his back to them in a wolfskin pelt, Izak the Guard Captain ordered his men to tear down the old posters and put the new ones up. The left arm is out of view, but the two can tell that it is irregularly large for a human.

With some bystanders noticing the newcomers eyeing the Captain, the square seemed to clear a little for the party to see Ernest approaching with what appeared to be a menu for the lunch they were invited to.

Hell with it, we didn’t eat much for breakfast!