More Than He Seems

**"More Than He Seems"** is the ninth episode of *From Barovia With Love*, airing on October 4th, 2022.

The session was DMed by TanisJr93 and hosted on his channel on Twitch.

## Summary

*...continued from session eight*
Having woken dripping in blood, Draven returns to the Inn to find the rest of the party downstairs waiting for breakfast with Rictavio, and Shayne promptly casts *Prestidigitation* to clean up the Paladin; Avi leads Draven upstairs and learns that he remembers nothing of the night before or how he wound up bloody outside. She finds the note left for him, and he discovers that it was left by Ireena, indicating her hope that the two might have a future together. While he reads, Avi attempts to call to and then telepathically connect with Jessamy, but receives no response; concerned, she dismisses the familiar before resummoning her in the form of a pseudodragon, and learns that Jessamy also remembers nothing after returning to the Inn the previous night.

The conversation is interrupted as Urwin returns with groceries, and Vive teaches him how to make croissants as Urwin describes a commotion in the town center that delayed his return. Rictavio leaves the Inn to visit the town center, while the party decides to head back to Blinsky's Toys, where Ira had spotted the monkey in the window; they find a collection of macabre trinkets inside, including dolls that look similar to Strahd and Ireena, while Draven, Vive, and Ira recall Madam Eva's advice to seek "an entertaining man with a monkey." Vive learns from the shopkeeper that the monkey was given to him by Rictavio, after which he buys a doll that looks like Strahd, Ira surreptitiously takes a doll that looks like Ireena, and Draven buys a collection of toys.

The group leaves the store and heads toward the town center, where a crowd is gathered to witness Burgomaster Vargas Vallakovich sentence Henrik von der Voort to death for the destruction of the Church of Saint Andral; Lady Fiona Wachter, on the other hand, counters that the townspeople should rebel against the Burgomaster's tyranny and embrace the reality of Barovia, and initiates a coup with a group of cloaked figures. Draven uses his Channel Divinity to *Turn Undead*, causing an unseen entity to flee from the area, and Ira unleashes her *necrotic shroud*, after which the party battles against nearly a dozen cultists with help from Errol and Rictavio.

Avi succeeds in killing Lady Wachter with an *Eldritch Blast* as the cult members kill nearly all of Vallakovich's guards, while Henrik and Milivoj escape. Two vampire spawn arrive in the midst of the fight: one is cut down by Draven and Shayne, while the other is destroyed by Rictavio and Vive. The party succeeds in summarily destroying Wachter's cult while taking almost no damage themselves, after which Strahd von Zarovich appears in the Square, congratulating the party on an entertaining performance before killing a woman. Ira then attacks and taunts him, causing him to cast *Immolation* and *Finger of Death* on her: when asked for a reason that Strahd should let her live, Ira kisses him, after which he stabs her with a Ba'al Verzi Dagger, rendering her unconscious.

He then leaves the Square, and while Lilly and Vive cast healing spells on Ira, she remains unconscious.

*continued in session ten...*
## Notes

* Shayne was played by Megquins for the session due to Capwithoutacountry being unable to play.