Varga Vallakovia

Lucian Petrovich (Brother in Law)

***The burgomaster's hands tighten on the reigns as she shouts out over the town square, "All will be well!" She jumps down from the back of the horse, her smile wide and tight as she snatches a sputtering torch from one of the guards and storming towards the wicker sun. The women all back away, and the children have slowed to a wary stop, and the harpist blandly plucks at his harp as though oblivious. "All will be well," the burgomaster shouts again, shoving the torch forward. It goes out before it can even reach the false sun, a thin plume of smoke rising from it. The crowd descends into whispers and, as those nearest to your group begin to part so Tansy can approach, a single short bark of a laugh erupts from somewhere in the square. It ends quickly, but it is met with gasps and horror as the crowd turns to look for the source: a pale guard who has clasped a hand over her mouth, eyes wide. Lady Petrovna's smile has taken on a strained edge where she still sits stiffly atop the horse, and the burgomaster's expression has become more a snarl than a smile as she looks out over the square, eyes wide and blazing.***

## The Burgomaster

"Baroness" Varga Vallakova ruled Vallaki as her family always has, and because her family always has. Ruthless and prideful, Varga had an ego as brittle as her retribution is swift, and while you would be hard pressed to find anyone in all of Vallaki who enjoyed living under her or her leadership, fear kept the townsfolk in line more often than not. She was fond of making examples out of those who did not, though like the bully she was at heart, she shied away from confronting the few who refused to be cowed and had the power to face her.

Having convinced herself that if she can make everyone in Vallaki happy then the town will slip free of Strahd's grasp, she staged one festival after another, forcing the townsfolk to participate in them. The worst crimes in Vallaki were those that infringed upon her power over the town, and the worst criminals were those who defied her, and in almost every case these related back to the festivals. Quick to anger and quicker to lash out, citizens being arrested for "spite" or being "malicious malcontents" were exceptionally common, as were her claims that those who stood against her were obviously spies of Strahd, who was threatened by her plans.

Those who acted against her - which in her mind included things such as questioning her claims that "All Will Be Well" or refusing to go to a  festivals - faced anything from days of being left in the stocks, sometimes calling upon other townsfolk to gather in front of the stage to ridicule the prisoners, to having Izek sent to hunt them down.

## The Henchman

Izek Strazni served both as captain of the guard and Varga's personal attack hound. At her command, any citizen could be dragged through the streets, and if they were lucky it would only be to the stocks. Others were dragged in front of their home or place of business and forced to watch Izek burn it down in front of them. Others were dragged to the burgomaster's mansion, often never to be seen again, though enough people returned for the town to know what happens to prisoners of the burgomaster. Others would be dragged to a public execution, which the burgomaster enjoyed making spectacles. For lesser crimes, such as murder or theft, she usually allowed the normal guardforce to handle, leaving Izek for special situations.

There was some very quiet, very privately shared talk around Vallaki that the burgomaster also feared Izek, and what he might do if he ever decided to turn on her.

## The Party

During the Festival of the Blazing Sun - the latest of her endless festivals - she prompted the party to speak about their sun after spotting them in the crowd from atop her horse. Following a moving speech from Tansy, as well as a showing of the Holy Symbol of Ravenkind and a promise to bring Barovia the sun once more, the burgomaster was all the more eager to have the festival begin. The weather had other plans, and a sudden storm prevented the wicker sun from being lit, and between that and a guardswoman accidentally laughing, she turned on the crowd immediately.

While the party struggled to get the situation under control, the burgomaster began to shout for the guards, calling the woman a traitor and a malicious malcontent, and ordering them to arrest her. Though Tansy was able to reach the wicker sun and cast Light upon it, it was too late to soothe the burgomaster's bruised pride, and she only told the guardswoman to beg the light for mercy, and commanded the guards to take her to the horse and have her dragged behind it through the town. Chaos decended very quickly as the guardswoman was able to free herself, a rock struck the burgomaster's head, Devi cast Darkness around the burgomaster, and the town square boiled into a riot.

During the riot, a group of citizens rushed the burgomaster, pushed her to the ground, and began kicking and beating her. One woman, outraged at the death of her son who had been imprisoned in the stocks during the vampire spawn attack the day before, even used one of the signs for the festival to hit her with. This continued for several minutes, and when they finally moved away from the burgomaster, she was not moving, and after not recieving treatment for her injuries, she eventually succumbed to them.