Episode 5: Vergissmeinnicht (Forget-me-not) Part 2

This episode guest-stars Jason Carl @vampiresnvino as Strahd von Zarovich.

**Act I.**

As the party follows Adi through the forest to meet the wondrous plant, Fen feels the hairs on the back of her neck stand up, and she hears a mysterious voice calling to her in her head. The voice introduces himself as Jander Sunstar, an elf who shares her burden of vampirism. He asks for her help and offers his assistance in return. Jander claims his daughter is in trouble and wants Fen and her party to find her and make sure she’s alright; stories of Fen’s prowess have traveled far through the mists. He says once he’s able to scry on his daughter, who is hiding from him, he’ll contact Fen again with her location.

Fen says they’re already on a mission in Falkovnia. Jander becomes very concerned, asking if she can escape. He warns that the new moon is close, and urges her to get out of Falkovnia as soon as possible, or at least to the capital city of Leskar. Fen asks why he can’t rescue his daughter himself, and Jander says his power is fractured after his time in Mordent. When she asks where he is now, Jander says he is seeking an audience with an old friend, looking for explanations from Strahd. He warns Fen again to get out of Falkovnia as soon as she can. Fen asks how she can reach him when their mission is complete, and Jander says to just call his name and he should be able to find her. He wishes her luck, and Fen thanks him.

**Act II.**

We return to the party following Adi into the woods and hearing a voice in their heads. Uriah asks if they all heard that, and everyone admits they did. Adi says she is happy the plant spoke to them and offered its protection; now they’ll be safe from the zombies after they feed the plant. Fen and Valentine ask what food the plant needs in exchange for protection. Adi says they should ask the plant themselves. Uriah notices that the plants in this part of the forest are all new growth, and he recalls their vision of a meteor falling and setting a forest on fire. He guesses the wondrous plant is not native to this region, and Fen agrees. The plant congratulates Uriah on his insight, saying that it realized the undead would destroy Falkovnia without intervention, but now Delmunster will last forever. Fen asks what the plant is doing to the townsfolk.

Nahara notices that the roots that extend across and beyond the forest floor are those of the plant, and they’re surrounded. She whispers to Valentine that the plant is everywhere, and Valentine says she would respond telepathically, but she thinks the plant would still hear. Uriah insights what the plant has told them, noting that what it’s saying is technically true, but only technically. He asks the plant what price it’s extracting in exchange for protecting the people. Adi tells him some things were extracted, but it’s worth it because they would be dead anyway if the undead had come for them. Valentine asks again what the deal is.

Just then, they enter a clearing and see the plant. It has a huge central pod that pulses slightly, surrounded by many other pods that look like eyes or mouths, and spindly vines that snake off in all directions. Tatyana asks if this is the thing they worship. Adi answers that it’s not worship, they feed it and it makes sure everyone is safe and happy. When Uriah asks what things it took from them, the plant says, “Nothing they’ll miss.” When Desmond asks how many of them it’s eating, Adi’s eyes turn green and they hear voices from all over the forest speaking in unison. The voices say you must empty out the vessel and refill it. The plant says its podlings serve as its eyes and ears, and with them, it can be everywhere. Tatyana says they should have slain the townsfolk. The plant tells them victory is hopeless, but they will be happy and cared for as its children. It opens its central pod and asks who wants to go first.

**Act III.**

As combat begins, Nahara casts Armor of Agathys, which appears as a smokeless layer of fire all around her. Desmond draws his swords, waiting for the plant to attack. Tatyana rages and draws her axe, looking around at how many townspeople they will have to fight. There are about 12 surrounding them, so she slashes at one, but they move out of the way just in time. The townsperson asks her why she’s so angry when she could just let it happen and be happy and peaceful. Fen attacks another townsperson with her sword, but they’re pulled out of the way by someone behind them. Fen gets back to back with Desmond, preparing for an attack. Valentine casts Firebolt on the plant, and when it hits, all of the townspeople scream. A vine lashes out at her, doing acid damage, and knocking Valentine unconscious. It begins pulling her toward the pod. Desmond tries to hack at the vine holding Valentine, but he can’t cut through it. The plant tells him he’s next, calling Desmond an abomination. He uses his shortsword to sever the vine, and the townsfolk scream again.

Valentine finds herself floating in a blue-ish purple mist she’s seen before. Tregrum whispers in her ear, reminding her of its promise not to let her die, and suddenly she returns to consciousness. Uriah casts Guiding Bolt on the plant, which tells them they’ll be fertilizer now, not podlings. The townsfolk attack, hitting Desmond, Tatyana, Nahara, and Uriah with farm implements and two by fours. Nahara is holding Stewart and tells him she’ll protect him, before casting Eldritch Blast on the plant, blowing a chunk off of it and making the pod people howl in pain. Albrecht asks her why she’s doing this, they just want to make peace. Stewart’s water begins to bubble, and he hits everyone with a psychic beam except for Nahara and Valentine. Desmond and Uriah fall unconscious thanks to the blast. When Nahara scolds Stewart for hurting their friends, Stewart argues that he doesn’t have friends. Nahara tells him they will talk about this later.

Tatyana runs at the plant, hacking a piece of it off with her axe. With a scream of rage, Fen casts alter self, and a purple mist surrounds her. When it dissipates, she has draconic wings, long claws, and her fangs are fully extended. The first voice in Valentine’s head approves. Fen attacks the plant and misses, screaming in anger. The pod people offer her a chance to live if she leaves her friends. Fen refuses. Valentine runs to stand between Desmond and the plant, casting Firebolt on the plant again and setting it on fire. Three vines reach out to attack Nahara, Fen, and Tatyana, who is dragged into the central pod and eaten, axe and all.

Suddenly Uriah sits bolt upright and a foreign voice speaks from his mouth, telling him he can’t die yet, it has a use for him. A nimbus of energy surrounds Uriah, and he regains consciousness with full health. Uriah immediately casts Spare the Dying on Desmond and runs to cure Desmond’s wounds. Desmond returns to consciousness and asks what he missed. Uriah recommends that Desmond stab things. Nahara takes on her Form of Dread, and this time her wings are made of flame. She demands the plant give Tatyana back and fires a Witch Bolt at it. Because she’s trying not to hit Tatyana, her attack misses.

Inside the plant, Tatyana is stunned. The plant urges her to join them, but she tries to push its voice out of her head. Fen rushes the plant and pulls Tatyana out of it, using her movement to pull Tatyana further away. Enraged, the plant lashes out at Valentine, Tatyana and Fen with its vines. It grabs Fen and begins dragging her toward it. When it hits Tatyana, she falls unconscious. Valentine runs to her, and Uriah casts Spare the Dying on Tatyana before Cure Wounds. When Tatyana returns to consciousness, she suggests running, then notices that the plant is very injured and rallies the others. Desmond transforms into his lycanthrope form, preparing to attack, but the plant snatches him up with its vines. It’s excited to use him as a vessel, and tells the podlings to attack again. A townsperson tries to attack Nahara but becomes afraid of her Dread Form and stops. Nahara Eldritch Blasts the podling, punching a hole through them. Desmond casts Zephyr Strike and bites and tears the plant to shreds. The plant tries to plead for mercy, but he destroys it and all of the townsfolk fall to their knees. As he dies, Albrecht says it was a mistake bringing them to their town. Uriah tries to cast Spare the Dying on Albrecht, but he was already dead thanks to the plant.

As the party tries to recover from the battle and take stock of their injuries, Nahara realizes that they’ve cut down the plant’s flower, but its roots are still alive.

**Act IV.**

Uriah apologizes to Fen that he’s out of spells, but he goes to bind up her wounds without healing magic. He suddenly notices her wings, claws, and fangs, and hesitates. Fen says she’s become one of those things she warned him about as a boy, but Uriah protests that her heart is still pure. Desmond is still in his wolf form, breathing hard, covered in plant ichor. When Deejay admits above-table that Desmond ate a bunch of the plant, he has to roll a CON save and B. Dave makes a note for later.

Valentine asks Uriah about the fascinating thing he did during the battle. Uriah says he heard a sound from Stewart’s jar and then he was on the ground, hearing the voice of his king. He found himself standing in the throne room of Castle Avernus, the king spoke to him, and then he was back. Valentine suggests Uriah is “one of them.” Uriah offers to bind Valentine’s wounds, and Tatyana rushes over to pick up Valentine, seeing how injured she is. Tregrum says it promised it wouldn’t let Valentine die, but she points out there was nothing Tregrum could do to protect Tatyana. She thanks Uriah for helping Tatyana. Uriah asks Desmond how he’s doing as Desmond changes back to human form. He says he’s tired but he should be fine after some rest.

Nahara scolds Stewart again for attacking the party. He says they’re all still alive and asks why she’s still angry. Stewart suggests she needs stronger friends. Uriah asks Nahara what Stewart is saying, and tells Tatyana that Stewart almost killed him and Desmond. Nahara apologizes, and Tatyana threatens to smash Stewart if he doesn’t behave, but she winks at Nahara to show she’s not serious. Stewart asks Valentine what she sees in Tatyana, and Valentine tells him she would self-harm to end his existence if anything ever happened to Tatyana. Stewart goes silent.

Tatyana suggests they go back to the town to rest, and Desmond offers to burn the plant. He does a nature check and realizes they can only destroy the roots with salt or poison. Nahara casts Poison Spray on the roots until they begin to wither and crackle. About five feet down beneath the remains of the plant, she finds a glowing red crystal and takes it. Noticing it’s the same color as the meteor in their vision, Uriah suggests they don’t take it, but Nahara refuses to leave it. When Tatyana suggests they can come back for it later, Nahara pockets it. Tregrum approves, and tells Valentine the seed could be of use to them later.

As they walk back to town, Uriah helping Fen walk, she tells him about Jander Sunstar contacting her and warning her to get out of Falkovnia before the new moon. Uriah has never heard of him, but says Jander must be a spellcaster if he could contact her in this way. He says he would warn her against speaking to him, but the same thing happened to him recently with his king. Uriah wonders what happens on the new moon, and Fen suggests it was something to do with the plant, so the danger might be over now. Uriah is not convinced.

**Act V.**

The party chooses the biggest house in town to rest and recover, barricading themselves inside for safety. Before sunset, Uriah and Desmond gather all of the podling bodies and burn them. They go up like kindling, and do not smell like dead bodies as they burn. Inside the house, Fen finds Desmond and they talk about their alternate forms, and how and why they shift into them. Fen says her gifts come from spending time with Isolde at the Carnival, and Desmond tells of being bitten by a large wolf when he was very young. He learned to control his transformation over time. Fen asks if Desmond will shapeshift and sit with her until she falls asleep. As a girl, she used to crawl into the kennels and sleep with her family’s hunting hounds for comfort. Desmond agrees, and Fen curls up with him, patting his head and giving him chin scratches until she falls asleep. Uriah walks in on this and quickly leaves.

As they prepare to rest, Valentine tells Tatyana that something is wrong; she is paying the price for being alive. She says it’s worse than her darkest inclinations, but she will try to control it. Valentine asks Tatyana to kill her if she ever does something out of character. Tatyana says she has had to kill many friends, and she doesn’t want to make this promise. She also understands having urges that put your friends at risk. Valentine says everyone knows about Tatyana’s cursed axe. They promise to do their best to stay themselves and keep an eye on each other when they’re not. Tatyana promises she won’t let Valentine become something she hates.

Uriah finds Nahara in the attic, wishing to speak with her before he sleeps. He notes her habit of collecting dangerous objects. Nahara says she doesn’t collect them because they’re dangerous, but keeping things she finds is a substitute for not having memories. It’s a comfort to her. Uriah asks her not to keep the jewel from the body taker plant, or at least to put it in a protective casing. She asks if he wants to sit with her and figure out what the jewel does, and Uriah agrees. When he raises his Eyes of the Grave, Uriah senses undead in the ceiling.

Just as he does so, a boneless undead falls on Nahara, wrapping around her. Uriah casts Turn Undead, but it affects Nahara, who goes crashing out the attic window. Tatyana hears the glass shatter, and sees Valentine sit up and look at something out the window. Tatyana unleashes a battle cry and jumps out the window with her weapons. Her cry wakes up Fen and Desmond, who run to the door but struggle to move the furniture barricade. Nahara manages to squeeze her way out of the boneless’ grip, and Uriah casts Toll the Dead on it from the attic window. Nahara takes on her Form of Dread and destroys the boneless with an Eldritch Blast.

Just then, Uriah realizes that boneless wasn’t the only one…

**Epilogue:**

Back in Barovia, Strahd tells Azalin he sees the piece but is neglecting the board. Azalin asks Strahd to enlighten him. He claims to have perspective which Strahd lacks. Strahd says he’s grateful to Azalin for giving him three things with his visit: he’s shown Strahd just how much Azalin has grown in power, he’s confirmed for Strahd that Azalin’s perspective is limited, and he’s given him a new interest. In return, Strahd gives Azalin a name: Nahara. Strahd says now the pieces are in place, and the game is sweeter for it. Azalin admits he might have underestimated Strahd, but he is still a king who plays his own fool. Azalin leaves, saying they will speak again soon. The darklords bid one another a catty farewell. Once Azalin is gone, Strahd calls for his chamberlain to bring up the prisoners for questioning.

**Previous Episode:** 4 - Vergissmeinnicht (Forget-me-not)

**Next Episode:** 6 - Weapons of Last Resort

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