M2S15

Fanning the Flames was the 15th session of the Strahdborne campaign. In this session, the party defeated Izek, received a disturbing but unsurprising announcement, and discovered the dark crime behind Strahd's appearance in Vallaki.
== Summary ==
=== Schemes and Conspiracies ===
Once Izek reappears, he accuses the party of being in league with Strahd and attacks. Arbrek freezes him, and the party proceeds to easily dispatch him. Fiona is positively impressed, and commends them for their efforts, informing them that their reward awaits them in the Wachterhaus, to pick up at their leisure.
Fiona murders Lydia, the former baroness, with a firebolt to the head, subsequently forcing Viktor to declare his allegiance to her, and sending her son Nikolai to torture Viktor as vengeance for his crimes against Stella, Fiona's daughter. This spells the end of the Vallakovich line.
The party discovers that Strahd and his henchmen have free passage into Vallaki because someone desecrated the bones of St. Andral, ancient relics that hallowed the town and kept vampires at bay. The secret crypt where they lay was infiltrated and the bones pillaged. Father Lucian did not reveal this information out of fear it would cause pandemonium in the town. The party resolves to retrieve the bones and restore them to their previous location.
=== The Prisoners ===
The Wachter men, accompanied by Aellun and Ismark, travel to the cells in the reeducation center to free the Baron's prisoners. As they do, the Wachter men distribute peculiar masks among them; unbeknownst to all, the masks influence the thoughts of their wearers to adhere to Fiona's will.
Esmeralda d'Avenir, one of the prisoners and Rudolph van Richten's protege, refuses the mask. Instead, she talks with Ismark and Aellun, discovering that they have much in common. 
However, the captain of the Wachter men, with 12 soldiers at his command, tries to force the three to surrender to them, to be taken to the Wachterhaus by force. Led by Aellun, they refuse, and a fight ensues. The mercenaries are no match for Aellun and Esmeralda, and are quickly routed from the field of battle.
=== Strahd's Departure ===
Strahd, mounted on his dark steed Bucephalus, escorts a troupe of minions and abductees out of Vallaki. Upon spotting the party with Father Lucian and Claudia, he deliberates on which one of them to abduct, deciding to abduct Claudia. The party is powerless to do anything about this--yet.
Strahd announces that he has presented Irina with a ring, making their engagement and betrothal official. They are to be wed "by the fortnight." Referring to the party as his friends, he urges them to accept his invitation to his wedding, to be delivered soon.
With his minions and prisoners in tow, Strahd departs for Castle Ravenloft for an event he refers to as the "Feast of St. Andral."
=== A Crime at St. Andral's ===
=== Battle of the Coffin Shop ===
== NPCs ==
* Claudia Valaskov: Abducted by Strahd.
* Izek Strazni: Killed by the party.
* Hendrik van de Voort: Killed by vampires.
* Baroness Lydia Petrovna: Head exploded by Fiona Wachter.
* Fiona Wachter: Proclaims herself regent pro tempore of Vallaki.
* Esmeralda d'Avenir: Rescued from the Baron's jails.
== Inventory ==
== Quests ==
=== New ===
=== Ongoing ===
* Chaos is a Ladder (Everyone): Determine the future of Vallaki.
* No Dark Deed Goes Unpunished (Everyone): Investigate the Orphanage and get to the bottom of Arabelle's murder. Interrogate Hans, Lazlo, and Franz about Arabelle.
* Treasures of Yore (Everyone): Recover the other two gems of the Wizard of Wines.
* Under New Management (Everyone): Investigate the coven of hags at Old Bonegrinder mill.
=== The Deck of Fate ===
* The Fount of Knowledge (Everyone): Discover the source of knowledge below the guardian of a garden.
* The Symbol of Hope (Everyone): Claim the holy symbol by finding the tomb of a great wizard with a famous staff.
* The Blade of Light (Everyone): Wield the sunlight blade in the den of wolves near the moonlit lake.
* The Shadow of Barovia (Everyone): Defeat Strahd. Optional: Suplex Strahd.
* The Moon (Aellun): Find the place filled with bones, for the clues you seek lie there.
* The Headsman (Gromash): Find the fortress within the fortress, which contains the treasure you seek.
* The Phantom (Lo-thak): Find the location of the one who gave birth to evil, for she is the key to your goals.
* The Balance (Thalia): Discover the whereabouts of Lautrec and Gascarde.
=== Completed ===
== Quotes ==
Lord Strahd: "Come, will you join us for the feast of St. Andral's?" Arbrek: "Will there be ale?" Lord Strahd: "That depends on how you define ale." Arbrek: "... Can't discount that there might be ale."
Lord Strahd: "Come, Gromash, if you were left in the desert with nothing else to eat, which of these men would be most savory?" Gromash: "... I'm sorry, but I like vegetables." Lord Strahd: (laughs) "A valiant effort, but we both know that vegetables do not suit men such as ourselves."
"I shall have either your knee or your head, the choice is yours." -Fiona to the Baron's son after literally blowing his mother's head off with a nat 20 firebolt. (He bends the knee)
== Reflections ==
*Aellun: "Ack... that's going to take a bit to set straight. Not that you could have done a thing about it, Arbrek, but you provide no cushioning at all. If I'm going to keep engaging enemies directly like this, I really must get re-establish my muscle memory. Back in the day I'd have instinctually rolled and softened the fall. For now, though, we've persevered. By the skin of the teeth, perhaps - battered and many fallen, even Gromash nearly so, and is that not food for terrible thought - but we've persevered all the same. I hope it gives Ismark some hope that he continues to fend off the worst that Barovia throws at us, and that dour Esemeralda has proven to be a capable ally. This battle and all that's led to it might seem disastrous, but to me it seems a double-edged blade, and for once that bears a positive note. It appears my little gamble was indeed well justified: Strahd was planning some great gambit in Vallaki, and had been planning it for some time, as evidenced by the lady Watcher's mind-controlling masks and his raising of vampire spawn. In summoning him, I cajoled him into showing his hand early - while the town still suffers, there is now a window to head off the worst of it, and head it off we shall. The lady's guards acted too quickly, tipping us off as to the nature of her plan, and while the spawn proved almost deadly, they were still quite infantile, and we slew them before they could unleash whatever havoc they were undoubtedly meant for. Now, if we act quickly enough, we might yet return the remains of St. Andral and re-establish a refuge in this place. I can't imagine how long it would last - it would provide a certain target for Lord Strahd, should we achieve it, and he has already shown he has means to undo the saint's protection - but even a momentary respite would give us much needed footing in this uncertain place. We'll certainly need the time to recover after the battle with the spawn, but for now, there's much more to do before we can finally rest!"
*Gromash: I think i've never seen my life on the line on so many instances in such short time, I felt like a punching bag on this last battle we sure got surprised by those vampire spawns thankfully meat makes my body thick and no veggies means no weakness so we managed to stay alive even do the whole party was in the brink of dead numerous times. I gotta say do i don't no what is harder any more eating veggies or expressing I like them. 
== Appendix ==