The Martikov Family

The Martikovs found at the Blue Water Inn of Vallaki

***Besides yourselves and the soft sounds of the Martikov family preparing breakfast, the Blue Water Inn is quiet and empty, and the air is filled with the scent of the food being cooked. The lamps have been lit, brightening the taproom far more than the grey light of Barovia would normally allow from where it peeks through the still-shuttered windows, as if seeking a way inside. The door to the kitchen swings open, and Ismark takes a breath and pulls himself upright as an older man steps out into the taproom and moves to take his place behind the bar, his hair and beard streaked with grey, and his dark eyes are moving over each of you.***

## The Family

The Martikovs are a large family who own both the Wizard of Wines winery located in a valley to the far west of Barovia, as well as the Blue Water Inn in Vallaki.

## The Inn

Four Martikovs live and work at the Blue Water Inn:

* Danika Martikov, the owner.
* Brom and Bray, her two young sons.
* Urwin Martikov, Danika's Spouse.

Under the burgomaster's strict laws, no one within the town is allowed to trade with the Vistani. While many individuals still do so privately, it is still at great risk. As such, the inn largely relies on the goods provided through trade with Krezk, what the hunters and fishers are able to catch and deliver to them, and donations from home gardens. In exchange, the Martikovs offer steep discounts to anyone who provides them with assistance, with the more dangerous work of the hunters and fishers ensuring them free rooms and dining.

The inn receives free shipments of wine from the winery, as do the rest of the taverns and inns of Barovia.

## The Winery

The Wizard of Wines produces wine for the whole of Barovia, delivering barrels of wine free of charge throughout the valley, as well as to the Vistani when they are within Barovia. Wine is one of the few indulgences left for the Barovian people, and all that keeps many of them from falling entirely to despair, which makes the Martikovs a deeply appreciated family as well as a necessary part of Barovia's wellbeing.

Many Martikovs live and work at the winery:

* Davian Martikov, the current head of the family.
* Stefania Martikov, the eldest daughter.
* Adrian Martikov, the eldest son.
* Elvir Martikov, the youngest son.
* Dara Tomescu, Stefania's wife.
* Claudiu, Stefania and Dara's teenaged son.
* Martin and Viggo, Stefania and Dara's twin boys.
* Yolanda, Stefania and Dara's baby girl.

The winery suffers from attacks by the feral and corrupted druids of Barovia, at least in part due to the winery's proximity to the hill to the south that the druids call home. It has also clearly been suffering from a failure of whatever magic normally allows them to grow their grapes, with the fields being left full of nothing but withered and dead vines.

## Lycanthropy

Known to a very small number of people in the already-small population of Barovia, the Martikovs have carried a rare form of lycanthropy for several generations, and their identity as wereravens is a secret they guard very closely. That said, not every wereraven within Barovia is a member of the Martikov family, though they are extremely cautious about passing the lycanthropy onto others.