Session Twenty Four

***The undead took their time with the church, that much is plain to see. Your only company on the road in front of the church is the wagon full of corpses, while not far to the west stands another of the old iron gates of Vallaki, and to the east the streets are still mostly deserted, aside from the guards out on patrol. As you stand there, Ismark staring between the wagon and the church with a mournful expression, a light rain begins to fall. While it is not the lashing, hard rain of last night's storm, it is no less cold for its slowness.***

## The Party

* Alyssandra, the Human Paladin/Warlock.
* Clara, the Human Warlock.
* Dakira, the Dragonborn Bard.
* Devi, the Drow Paladin.
* Kriswyn, the Firbolg Druid.
* Tansy, the Tiefling Light Cleric.

## Directions

While the party stood staring at the church, Kriswyn asked who it had been devoted to. It was a question the party did not know, but Ismark told them it was dedicated to Saint Andral, an important religious figure in the Barovian religion, though he admitted he was unsure about all of the details, beginning to mention Doru before stopping himself, instead ending the explanation by saying that few people in Barovia would know about it anyway.

The party discussed trying to find Yeska, unable to see him in the cart with the other dead bodies but also unable to see or hear him from inside the church, but decided there was little they could do for him even if they found him, and they had business to attend elsewhere. This thought was supported by the increasingly demoralized Ismark, who morosely stated that unless they planned to stay and help Vallaki rebuild, there was nothing they could do here; the damage had already been done.

Sensing his mood, Tansy attempted to comfort him, and though it was less than successful, he appreciated the gesture and pulled himself together as the party began to make their way out of Vallaki. He remarked that hopefully Urwin had been right, quickly and uncomfortably specifying that he meant Urwin's idea that the trouble at the winery was down to the druids breaking the wagons, and this would be over quickly. Tansy very kindly did not mention her doubts that it would be anything as simple as that.

### Going West

Once on the road, Kriswyn told the party that she normally scouted ahead while in wolf form, somewhat embarrassed by the admission of being able to turn into animals but not wanting to disturb the party by simply doing it without warning. Tansy immediately asked if it would be rude to pet her, saving Clara from needing to ask the same question, which made Kriswyn laugh, telling them it was fine. The explanation over, she shifted into a reddish dire wolf and made her way to the front of the group, to the delight of Tansy and the awe of Clara and Ismark.

The party crossed over a rain-soaked bridge and arrived at a crossroads, the main road stretching out ahead of them but smaller trails broke away to the north and south, leading elsewhere, though with the signpost broken and lying in the weeds at the side of the road, they could not be sure where these went. The party also saw an ancient stone structure sitting on a cliff high above the trees to the southwest, overlooking the area for what must have been miles around, one tower in particular rising up above the rest.

Continuing down the road, which grew increasingly muddy as the cold rain kept falling, the party passed by another path that branched off from the road, climbing up the side of the mountain just south of the trail, and which seemed to lead to the ruin high above them. It was not long after this that they crossed paths with a pale figure in rusty armor striding confidently down the same road they were traveling on.

### Orders

As the distance between them closed, the figure slowed to a stop, and demanded the party state their allegiance and if they served Strahd von Zarovich. Tansy looked to Ismark for direction on how they should reply, and unsure of the right answer himself he hesitantly said no, they weren't with Strahd. At the same time, Alyssandra declared the party as outsiders and enemies of Strahd, and Dakira asked if that was going to be a problem. The party was relieved when the figure replied with vehement approval, saying that the only problem would be if they failed to destroy him.
Alyssandra swore they would not fail, and the figure told her to ensure they do not, as there are fates worth than death, and everyone suffers them so long as Strahd still walks the land, angrily adding that they could feel his every step. Alyssandra said she knew what he meant, though to avoid the party's reaction she avoided going into specifics, but asked what else they might be referring to. They said there were many, and among them were the fate of their order, that everyone was forever trapped in this prison, that the people living here must live in constant fear and despair, and more, and none of them would end until Strahd himself was ended.

> “*"Many," they grind out. "The fate of my order is another. The endless war against Strahd's forces and supporters is another, existing in this prison is another, that the people must live in fear of Strahd's shadow and their lives hinge on the hope that he does not grow bored and slaughter them all in the streets is another. There is no end, and there will be no end until his shriveled heart is torn from his chest!"*”
> ― The Revenant, Former and Current Knight of the Order of the Silver Dragon
>
>

Curious about this order they had mentioned, Dakira asked the figure who they were, while Alyssandra asked if he was "one who remains," astonished to meet one herself. The figure hesitated before answering, their expression rapidly changing between confusion, anger, and sorrow many times before saying that they were a proud knight of the Order of the Silver Dragon, and pointed up to the dark manor upon the cliff far overhead, now to the southeast of their position, saying that it was their home, and always would be, and that it used to be so bright. Lost in their half-forgotten memories, they came back to themself after a few seconds to give Alyssandra a nod, saying that all of them were.

Dakira asked if she knew what the Order of the Silver Dragon was and if this meant anything to her, and Alyssandra bowed to the figure, saying she was sorry for their circumstances but honored to have met them before telling Dakira no, but explaining that beings sometimes called "revenants" were special to the Raven Queen, and that unlike her feelings on almost all other undead, she would allow them to remain long enough to deal with unfinished business.

The revenant offered an explanation instead, saying that their order had moved into the valley long before Strahd had come to conquor it and rename it, and stood watch over a temple older than even Argynvost himself. Whenever refugees from the wars waged by Strahd and his father before him would find their way to the valley, the order would do what they could for them, and some even joined the order's ranks. But when Strahd himself swept through, the order tried to stand in his way, but Strahd's forces and skills outweighed their own, and "even a dragon may die." The revenant's fury returned, their voice rising as they declaired that Strahd must die, and that for centuries now they have all felt him, and long to wipe his foul presence from the face of this world.

Dakira agreed, saying they planned on doing just that, and asked if the order could help them, and Ismark, his earlier feeling of growing hopelessness returning, asked if they had been trying to fight Strahd this whole time. With a growl, they answered both questions by saying yes and no; while for some reason their leader, Sir Vladimir, would not give the order to attack the vampire lord, and had in fact forbidden them from approaching the castle, but they had other ways of combatting Strahd, such as slaying those who serve him, though they must petition Sir Vladimir to be permitted to do so. If the party sought allies, they said Argynvostholt would be home to many, but that Sir Vladimir had only become more stubborn after his death, and that while all of them had lost something of themselves, Sir Vladimir seemed to have lost the most, with almost nothing left of him.

Alyssandra and Ismark both quietly brought up to the rest of the party that this all seemed to match one of the parts of the card reading they had recieved; the fallen knights, the dead dragon's lair, the lingering like a ghost. As they agreed that they should visit this place once they were finished with the winery, Dakira asked if there was a way to convince Sir Vladimir to change his mind, if the revenants needed his permission to leave. The revenant shook their head, saying they were not sure, as he had never explained himself, but it seemed as though the very idea infuriated him, adding that that there was almost nothing left of him but fury now, but he had been a good man, once. Alyssandra theorized that this was due to the fact that revenants usually did not last for centuries without fulfilling their goals, so he likely had forgotten himself. The revenant agreed that it had been a very long time, and mentioned that if they could not convince Sir Vladimir, they could try speaking to someone else, someone who had always been abl to get through to Sir Vladimir, but they were unable to remember his name. Ismark asked if they would find him at the manor, and the revenant said yes, that this one never left, and that he could speak with Sir Vladimir or find some other way to help them.

The party gave their thanks, and the revenant wished them good luck and said they might meet again if the party went to Argynvostholt, and then the two groups returned to their own travels.

### The South Road

   As the party continued on, Clara asked who this "Strahd" person was and what his deal was, and the party summarized the vampire lord to her, saying that he was the ancient ruler of Barovia, that Barovia was his domain, and that he was a nightmare. While in wolf form, Kriswyn saw a few instances of the Barovian druids' primitive, ragged form of Druidic carved into some of the trees along the way to the crossroads, such as "cursed cold" and "home hill."

Arriving at the crossroads, the party took the path that the signpost marked as "The Wizard of Wines," which led them down through the woods and to the misty valley in which in vineyard grew, finding the trail branched off here as well, one leading down towards the vineyard while the trail also continued to the south. Just before the branch, they found another broken signpost, this with only one sign, the text reading "Vineyard." As they began making their way down the final hill into the valley, Kriswyn sniffed around, sensing mostly vegetation in various states of decay, but also that there were people somewhere nearby, and as she looked over the vineyard itself some of the vines seemed to move, though she was unsure if that was the fault of the rain, or a trick of her eyes.

When she shifted back into her firbolg form to tell the party what she had noticed, all of them noticed a woman step out of the line of trees, waving her arms and a small mirror to get their attention. Between the fog and rain, the party were unable to tell much about this woman, but when they stood watching her she began to wave more frantically, and they finally began to cautiously approach. Once they were within range of being able to spea without shouting, she greeted them but told them the winery was not safe enough for visitors, and they should turn back. Tansy told her that was why they were there, actually.

## Things Gained

* More knowledge of Argynvostholt.
* More depression.
* Rain.

## Developments

The party has left Vallaki.

The party has seen Argynvostholt.

The party has encountered a revenant.

The party has learned more about Argynvostholt and the Order of the Silver Dragon.

The party has reached the winery.