Week 16: Strahd's Basement

**Week 16: Strahd's Basement**
Year 735, Fourth Moon, Day 16

When we left off...

The village of Vallaki woke up to prepare a feast for The Heroes of Thundertree while said heroes made an Irish exit out the west gate... but not before paying a minimally productive visit to the coffin maker's shop (who might be a nocturnal monster?), speaking with the priest, and accusing the Captain of the Night Watch of being a vampire.  Captain Von Holtz took it like a (sleepy) champ, but he and his "good" men ended up with a very generous tab at the inn, paid for by Nars, for their trouble.  That is, of course, contingent on Ireena figuring out math.

Nars took wing as a Raven to track down **Urwin Martikov** and his family, the (alleged) wereravens who once ran The Blue Water Inn, heading toward The Wizard of Wine vineyard.  The rest of the group started heading east, toward Castle Ravenloft, with Vasilka in tow.  Luckily, we can fast-forward through some of that and jump back in at the point where Nars caught back up to the party.

He shared that Urwin and his family were staying with Davian, who is actually Urwin's father.  He also shared that Daran Edermath was planning to go out looking for the as yet MIA seed that Baba Lysaga stole from the vineyard, which prompted Nars to gift him a generous supply of magical gear.

Back in the east, **Vasilka**was busy raising portcullises like a one-woman siege engine on the main approach toward Castle Ravenloft.  This method proved really effective, because you got inside with minimal bother.  Of course, once you were in there, the way back closed and some creep in a cape started playing the organ... but other than that, it was fine.  This was all fine. Right up to the moment when Vasilka touched Strahd's programmed illusion and **Elrich** **Kessler** invited himself to the party, things were actually going great.

Naturally Kessler had Some Thoughts™ in regards to your plan to marry Strahd to Vasilka, but since you weren't here to kill the vampire he just handed you a list of demands and ate some supper. [List linked at Bottom]

The party took the first downward staircase you found, descending nearly 80 feet in a spiral before landing in a partially flooded corridor. The teleporting trap doors proved a minor and profitable setback as you gathered all the crap left behind by countless other adventurers who died down there. Ulfar even picked up a glowing, magical shortsword (not that he is attuned to it yet).  Much to Clyde's chagrin, you all began to realize that you might spend days in here looking for Argynvost's skull... If you ever find it at all.

Across the hall, you discovered/freed a live prisoner in another room full of cells: **Emil Toranescu**, who Quintus sized up and found wanting. When you told him how to get out (along with giving him a lot of coin) he took the opportunity to run back upstairs. Only time will tell if he makes it out the front gate.

And finally, after dealing with the teleport jail trap, you made it to the end of the hallway and found a partially flooded arena with a pair of thrones on the balcony above it. Ulfar activated his boots to run across the water, and Selgaard finally got his wish for a fight when an arm reached up and attacked the Dwarf.

We resume tonight with the call to arms!

**Around Town...**

Wet dungeons are how you get a yeast infection.