Episode 3: The Banished Grief (part 2)

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

B. Dave explains that he doesn't normally do episodes in two parts, but The Banished Grief refers to a part of the story they haven't encountered yet.

**Act I.**

We are back at the Carnival, and as Desmond, Fen, and Tatyana leave the big top, someone slides their hand into his. It’s Rose, back again with her enticing smile. She wants to know where Desmond is going. He says to catch up with his friends. Rose points out he just met some of those people, she wants to be friends, too. Desmond tells her he’s in no rush to make friends, but he’s fine with an acquaintance. Once more, Rose tempts him with anything that he wants. Desmond asks why him? Rose answers because she thinks he’s interesting. He’s lost someone, maybe Rose could help get her back.

Desmond is disturbed that she knows so much about him. He asks what Rose knows about who he’s missing, and Rose affects Voronika’s accent, quoting something she said before the wedding. Desmond shuts down, and Rose offers her life, if Desmond would like to take it, revealing that she knows about his lycanthropy as well. When Desmond doesn’t reply, Rose asks if he knows where he is. He asks her to enlighten him, and Rose explains the Mists as lands where you can find anything, if you know what you’re looking for. She says when the time is right, he can ask her to help him; call and she’ll answer.

Desmond asks her again what she wants, and Rose answers that she wants him to find what he really is. She’s about to say more when a crash and screaming (including a yelp identifiable as Brother Uriah) cuts her off. As soon as Desmond looks toward the commotion, Rose is gone.

**Act II.**

Back in the House of Horrors, Nahara, Uriah, and Valentine stand off against Professor Pacali. Nahara takes on her Form of Dread and casts Eldritch Blast on the professor. Green energy shoots out of him in all directions, hitting Uriah with force damage that feels like pure negative emotions. Pacali calls Nahara an abomination, jumping on her and biting her. Then he opens the cages and the punks come pouring out to swarm Uriah, biting at his shield and chainmail. Uriah casts Sacred Flame on Pacali, who winces away from the light and stumbles back out of the tent. Uriah and Valentine follow, Valentine casting Chill Touch on the professor. As Pacali falls to his knees, Tregrum asks if she would like some help. She tells it not to hurt the ones who came with them, and Tregrum reluctantly agrees. A brain in a jar that was hidden with the rest of the collection begins to hum, and a shockwave goes out from it, taking out most of the pickled punks. Valentine goes to pick up the jar.

Outside the tent, Desmond, Fen, and Tatyana see Pacali and Uriah come stumbling out of the tent where a tall elf wielding a longsword crackling with energy stands waiting. Fen recognizes the woman with kinky hair and brown skin as Isolde, lord of the Carnival. She asks Uriah if he requires assistance, and he begs for help, still being swarmed by the punks. Pacali tells Isolde he’s leaving, but she just asks Nahara and Valentine if he’s harmed them. They say yes, and Nahara adds that he’s guilty. Something comes over Isolde at those words, and she forces Pacali to the ground where she summarily beheads him. The punks die with Pacali, and Isolde apologizes to the party that they were harmed under her watch. Uriah thanks her and says he thinks he was the only one harmed. Nahara whispers to him that she was harmed as well, at which Uriah promises to heal her after he rests. Isolde asks Fen to walk with her, and they go speak privately.

**Act III.**

Uriah examines the professor’s body and finds he was not sick, but had been performing experiments on himself. He also notices that the brain in Valentine’s jar is undead. He warns her not to take it with them, but Nahara, Tatyana, and Tregrum join Valentine in insisting they bring it along. Desmond wants to know where the brain came from. When Valentine messages it telepathically, she gets an image of a massive mountain crowned by storm clouds. Misshapen shadows crawl along the fissures of the mountain. She recognizes the mountain and says nothing more. Hermos comes to escort them to a tent where they can eat and rest.

Elsewhere, Fen and Isolde discuss the group. Fen vouches for Uriah because of their bond, and she says his heart’s in the right place. Nahara intrigues her; she seeks her past. Isolde notes that Nahara seems more displaced than the others. Fen says she likes Tatyana, but Valentine is sneaky. Something about her gets Fen’s hackles up. When Isolde asks if Valentine is guilty, Fen answers that Valentine doesn’t need justice. Fen says she and Desmond are kindred spirits. Isolde warns Fen to be careful who she shares the road with lest she carry them forever; the Carnival used to be a place of wonders to Isolde, but now she feels bound by it. It’s clear Fen and Isolde have an intimate relationship and trust each other. Isolde says she needs something the travellers might be able to help with. She asks Fen to keep her company until the party leaves.

As the rest of the party prepares to rest in the tent, they put the brain inside a trunk and put blankets over the trunk so that it can’t watch them. Tregrum and Valentine are amused. Tatyana asks Uriah to look at the brand on her back. She tells Uriah of Lord Soth, and Desmond looks visibly upset. When Uriah asks if he’s alright, Desmond says no, and speaks of Voronika’s murder. Tatyana also gets upset and starts to punch the tent. Instead, she accidentally punches Fen, who was waiting outside. They try to sort out how Desmond, Tatyana, and Valentine came to be in the Mists. Tatyana mentions her dream of the house and the twins. Uriah says he remembers it, too. Fen points out Tatyana found the axe in the house. Desmond remembers, too, that she was trying to hurt them with the axe. Valentine says it was just a dream.

Nahara rolls to gain Knowledge from a Past Life. She remembers the vision of the lady knight and her army, and everything that happened in the house when they were there, including the twins asking the party to come find them. She’s so happy to have remembered something, Nahara weeps as she tells the party what she just recalled. The party argues about the axe, Fen and Nahara warning that it’s dangerous, and Tatyana and Valentine refusing to give it up. Uriah asks them to table the discussion for now, and asks where Desmond, Tatyana and Valentine are from. No one in the Mists has heard of Faerûn, except Uriah, who remembers stories of Faerûn as just fairy tales. Tatyana says the Mists are just fairy tales in Faerûn. The party resolves to trust one another and work together until they know more. Desmond tells them what Rose said to him, that you can find anything in the Mists if you know how to look. He agrees that they should find the twins.

Tregrum tells Valentine that Desmond is withholding the truth. She asks what it suggests, and Tregrum says ally themselves with him to get what they want. Valentine says what if she wants him dead for killing Nika? Tregrum says they could kill Desmond in his sleep, or they could use him as a weapon instead. They wouldn’t have to worry if he’s maimed or killed in the process. This crosses a line for Valentine and she ends the conversation.

Tatyana reminds Desmond she promised to watch over him while he was sleeping. They argue about whether Desmond was capable of killing Voronika or not. Tatyana worries about his lycanthropy in the Mists. Finally Desmond accepts her help to watch over him, and they drink together.

**Act IV.**

Finally, the living fall asleep. Nahara has her recurring dream of being chased and leaping to her death. Valentine sees a single white eye, staring at her as she rests. They look at one another and leave the tent to talk, noticing Fen is not with them. Nahara and Valentine bond over being undead. Valentine is intrigued by the two sides of Nahara’s personality. Nahara asks if Valentine remembers her life. She does. Nahara says Valentine is lucky to have Tatyana. She likes to think someone might be missing her somewhere. Valentine says no one will be missing her or Tatyana where they come from.

Valentine leaves to take a walk alone. She sees a tall robed figure at the edge of the Carnival. It tells her it’s here to help her. When she approaches, the figure disappears into the Mists, leaving only a body behind. There are four puncture wounds at the base of the man’s neck, and the fluid surrounding his brain is gone. Valentine leaves the body and goes to find a private place to cry for Voronika. The Mists shrink away from her sincere emotion and the keepsake she has from Voronika’s wedding garland. When she walks back to the tent, composed once more, Valentine runs into Tatyana, who is starting her morning exercise routine. They share their anger at being trapped here and not being able to get justice for Voronika. Tatyana asks Valentine what’s been going on lately with her telepathic silences; she knows the look. Valentine says whatever kept her alive comes with consequences, but she’ll figure it out. Tatyana asks Valentine to confide in her, but not too much, because she has a big mouth. Valentine sends her off to exercises, warning Tatyana about the dead body and to protect her brain.

Inside the tent, Uriah wakes up to find Nahara crouched over him, staring. She tells him she’s watching over him in his sleep in return for him healing her wounds. Nahara tells Uriah she gave him her word, and entreats him to trust her, even though he’s been scared of her so far. She apologizes for startling him, and Uriah says so long as he’s expecting to see her there when he wakes up, he doesn’t mind. Nearby, Desmond hears them talking and opens his eyes. Uriah asks if they want breakfast, and Nahara says she doesn’t eat. Uriah realizes she doesn’t breathe, either. Nahara asks to watch him eat breakfast.

**Act V.**

Hermos arrives and invites them to breakfast with Isolde. Tatyana and Valentine return, and they all go, with Valentine riding on Hermos’ shoulder. Inside Isolde’s tent, she sprawls in a throne-like chair as Fen sits in her lap, feeding her grapes. As Tatyana goes in, Hermos challenges her to an arm wrestling contest. When she begins to lose, he throws the fight. Isolde says there might be a future for Tatyana in the Carnival, and Tatyana says maybe she could run fighting pits.

As they eat the best meal they’ve had in the Mists so far, Isolde introduces the party to Nepenthe, her blade. Nahara introduces the brain in a jar, which she’s considering naming Stewart, because he’s stewed. When Isolde laughs at the joke, the whole Carnival seems to become happier. Isolde tells them she used to have companions, but now she watches over the Carnival. Tatyana says that when you have the right weapon, you’re never alone. Isolde offers Tatyana her blade, but Tatyana hesitates, saying she can’t offer Isolde her axe. Isolde offers the sword to Desmond, who takes it and has a vision. In his mind, he faces Lord Soth on the night of the wedding, and Nepenthe yells for vengeance. Desmond is able to wound and decapitate Soth, and then he returns to the present. He gives Nepenthe back to Isolde and says he can see why she likes it.

Isolde says she and Nepenthe want the same thing: justice. She tells them she is hunting the Caller, who murdered her family. She moves the Carnival in pursuit of the Caller. She knows that Desmond, Tatyana, and Valentine also seek revenge. Tatyana makes Isolde an offer: if they can help her track down the Caller, she will help them get back home. Isolde asks Fen in Elvish if she thinks they’re up to the challenge. Fen says she does. Isolde notes that only those who truly deserve help never ask for it. She offers the group a task to prove themselves to her: four scouts accompanied Fen into the Mists and never returned. She asks the party to find them and bring them back, but warns that they are in a strange and terrible place beyond the Carnival. Isolde asks if they’ve ever heard of Falkovnia, and B. Dave tells us it’s a good place for us to stop.

**Epilogue:**

In Barovia, Azalin Rex and Strahd continue their duel of words. Azalin asks Strahd how many times he’s fallen to outlanders, to van Richten, and risen again. Does he even know? Strahd says doom comes and doom goes, but he remains. Azalin tells Strahd he’s a puppet and Azalin pities him. Strahd is offended at being pitied by a darklord without a domain. Azalin offers to share the knowledge he’s gained of the Mists and the bigger picture with Strahd, and the episode ends as Strahd considers.

Previous Episode: 2 - The Banished Grief (part 1)

Next Episode: 4 - Vergissmeinnicht (Forget-me-not)

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