Get Him to the Point

**"Get Him to the Point"** is the seventeenth episode of *From Barovia With Love*, airing on December 6, 2022.

The session was DMed by TanisJr93 and hosted on his channel on Twitch.

## Summary

*...continued from session sixteen*
Resting shortly in the Southwest Annex to recuperate following the departure of the berserker battalion from the Amber Temple, Lilly recalls her conversation with Vive during the previous evening: having found the ring that Vive gave her when he cast *Revivify* to resurrect her during the battle against Baba Lysaga, she pulled him aside while the rest of the party prepared camp and handed the ring back to him, explaining that she wanted him to ask her while she was conscious. He did, and she accepted, almost immediately after which Strahd materialized on the mountainside, congratulating the two on their engagement and promising them a wedding gift when they visit Castle Ravenloft.

Deliberating how to proceed through the Temple, the party eventually decides to continue through the northern doors, beyond which Draven spots three hovering flameskulls. Unsuccessfully attempting to close the door quietly, the skulls attack before being destroyed by the party, after which Lilly discovers an abandoned staff in the hall that she claims. The group searches an adjacent hallway, finding a door that appears to have been sealed from the opposite side; they further investigate two storage rooms, finding a model of Castle Ravenloft in one as well as a wooden chest that Avi and Shayne store in the bag of holding.

Still suffering the disorienting effects of having been battered by the roots of the Creeping Hut, Draven bursts through another set of doors into a dining hall where the party finds a table set with a magnificent feast that several of them quickly realize is illusory. They determine that the illusion originates from a ewer on the table that Avi lifts with her *Mage Hand*, causing the illusion to dissipate, and Lilly takes the item from her before it can be placed in the bag of holding. The group proceeds through another set of doors and across a crumbling balcony to the west of the massive statue, continuing through another set of doors into a shrine containing an obsidian statue that Draven and Semyaza are briefly, inexplicably drawn to before Draven's protective aura dispels its effects.

Vive continues through another door into a small archer's post, while Avi notices a seam in the northern wall that opens into a narrow alcove packed with human skulls, and the group continues through the alcove into an ornately furnished room when they encounter a decrepit skeleton wearing tattered robes. The man confusedly asks if he knows the party, and offers Draven a vial of liquid when the dhampyr confesses to being confused himself; against the advice of the party, Draven drinks the substance, which turns out to be a potion of *greater restoration*, healing his concussion. The party deduce that the man is a lich, and convince him to take a potion of *greater restoration* himself to cure his own confusion.

He does, restoring his memories, and expresses his gratitude for the party's help, explaining that Strahd had come to the Temple centuries prior and tampered with his memory. The group explains that they have visited the Temple in search of a power capable of defeating Strahd, as well as to find a way to release Ira's soul from the Ba'al Verzi Dagger, and the lich leads them through a hidden hallway into an adjacent library, where he explains that the lower level of the Temple houses sarcophagi that contain the imprisoned vestiges of creatures capable of granting dark powers, and that he himself accepted one such power: the knowledge of how to make himself a lich.

He introduces himself as Exethanter, and agrees to lead the party into the lower level of the Temple, assuring them that his presence will prevent the creatures there from attacking. Accepting the dagger from Semyaza, he reveals that thirteen souls are trapped within it, and advises the group to leave the library while he attempts to release those souls into the afterlife. They do, and moments later feel a thunderous shockwave from the library; returning, Exethanter explains that he was successful in releasing all of the souls, admitting that Vladimir Horngaard will likely return within a few days to pursue them.

The party then realizes that Kasimir has gone missing; Draven hears the Dusk Elf fleeing down the circular staircase from the library and pursues him into the undercroft of the Temple, reaching a chamber with six crates. On top of one, he finds a sheet of parchment and the platinum hilt of a sword; the parchment contains a letter from Kasimir entrusting the weapon to Draven for use in the final battle against Strahd: "I wouldn't have made it without you. I hope this aids you all in your quest to bring Strahd down. Though I will not be there, know that my hopes go with you."

Attuning to the sword, the paladin feels a deep desire for vengeance, a surge of rageful fury, and then a flash of fear.

*continued in session eighteen...*
## Notes

* Having acquired the Sunsword from Kasimir Velikov, the players advanced from Level 7 to Level 8 following this session.