M2S9

## The Battle of the Winery

The party defeats the druids and blights infesting the Wizard of Wines.

“
*I told you I don't like veggies!*
”
— Gromash as he turns two blights and a druid into salad.
**The Battle of the Winery** was the 9th session of the Strahdborne campaign. In this session, the party battled a horde of Forest Folk and their blight minions.

## Summary

Warned by the Martikovs of the enemy within, the party prepares a defensive position outside of the Winery. Soon, Angmar and Coldias, the heads of the Forest Folk infesting the winery, reveal themselves.

Mustering their forces, and controlling them through a distinctive staff, the party is quickly beset on all sides by a horde of plants and druids. The party is able to withstand the onslaught, defeating several waves of enemies.

After Gromash slays one of the last druids standing, the enemy's composure breaks, and the few survivors are routed away from the Winery.

It is then that Strahd appears. He congratulates the party on their victory, amused and entertained by their great exploits, but nonetheless advances in the direction of Tzulft's corpse.

## Quests

### Ongoing

* **Pyromaniacal (Everyone):** Attend the Blazing Sun Festival (two days remaining).
* **The Devil is in the Details (Everyone):** Investigate the strange Toy-Maker.
* **With a Little Luck (Everyone):** Find Arabelle.
* **A Throw for the Ages (Everyone):** Suplex Strahd.
* **With Friends Like These... (Lautrec):** Leverage your newfound position to accomplish your aims.
* **Under New Management (Everyone):** Investigate the coven of hags at Old Bonegrinder mill.

### The Deck of Fate

* **The Fount of Knowledge (Everyone):** Discover the source of knowledge below the guardian of a garden.
* **The Symbol of Hope (Everyone):** Claim the holy symbol by finding the tomb of a great wizard with a famous staff.
* **The Blade of Light (Everyone):** Wield the sunlight blade in the den of wolves near the moonlit lake.
* **The Ally of Righteousness (Everyone):** Identify your pivotal ally, the man in disguise.
* **The Shadow of Barovia (Everyone):** Defeat Strahd.
* **The Moon (Aellun):** Find the place filled with bones, for the clues you seek lie there.
* **The Everstone (Arbrek):** The power you seek lies within an evil tree, growing atop a hill of graves.
* **The Headsman (Gromash):** Find the fortress within the fortress, which contains the treasure you seek.
* **The Phantom (Lo-thak):** Find the location of the one who gave birth to evil, for she is the key to your goals.
* **The Balance (Thalia):** Discover the whereabouts of that which you seek.

### Completed

* **Aqua Vitae (Everyone):** Investigate and fix the root cause of the delay in wine shipments.

## Reflections

* **Example:** "Example"
* Thalia: "What were these imbeciles thinking?! I leave them alone for an hour and come back to find them fighting the entire forest! Once this is done I am getting some answers. We all agreed on the plan - take the winery first, then hold it against the forest folk in the fields. Then I made the mistake of taking some time to scout the perimeter, and what do these imbeciles do but march straight towards the front door and draw every forest folk and rotting tree branch in the winery AND the fields towards them! Were "approach from the rear" or "scout the perimeter first" or "move quietly" too obscure tactics for our brave band of heroes? We were fortunate their force was dependent on their druids and fell apart without them - had those been humanoid adversaries, the situation would have turned out far less favorably. As it was, two of the leaders escaped, and given the amount of shrubbery each druid could animate against us, I can't imagine it'll be long before they return with reinforcements. The winery won't be safe unless these savages are driven off, and given Strahd apparently has better things to do than actually run his country, no prizes for guessing who gets the job..."
* Lo-thak: "I can hardly believe people live in these forests, as hostile a place as they are. Even the trees themselves are out for blood! Though they were individually quite weak, there were so many of them I almost thought we would be overrun. The newcomer, Thalia, probably arrived just in the nick of time to save our hides, but something has her angry as a mother bear. I'd hate to be on the receiving end of her ire. Luckily, the battle was won when Gromash Thousand-Pierced slew three enemies in a single mighty cleave. While it may be a problem that two of the forest folk escaped, I am not sure all of us would have survived had they stood their ground. Now, hopefully none of us decides to pick another hopeless fight with the beast Strahd."
* Arbrek: "That's got to be the best barbarian I’ve ever seen. It’s a testament to Gromash’s fortitude that he wasn’t slain after he charged at those creatures. And he managed to slay three in a single blow too. Ha! Those tree huggers couldn’t stand against our might. I would offer a drink to Gromash for his heroics in battle, but I am dangerously low as it is. That's not the only thing that needs to be replenished though. I used up all of my healing salves and clay during that fight keeping my companions in the fight, and I will need to create some more during our next stop. The Blackhammer will not continue in its current state of disrepair. Soon, I will repair the weapon and return it to its former glory and with its repair Tzulft and his sacrifice will not be forgotten."
* Aellun: "I have... mixed feelings about this encounter. I've been mistaken for an elderly human before, but to see one so like me, he could be my twin, I'm a bit taken aback. Not that the commonality runs more than skin deep, seeing how he stood back for all this, but I really can't blame him. I knew the forest folk would be deceptively strong, but to be organized in such numbers and almost military in behavior, that is highly unusual and alarming. It is rare to have so many wilderlings that they could afford such an approach outside the heart of their woods, and even there they'd rather rely on the environment where they could snap in and out with predatory cunning, not engage so directly and so openly. I certainly never thought I would ever successfully use the woods against their kind. We bled dearly, true, but we held strong; most of us are still standing, and their leaders are in retreat. Thalia is right that we invite disaster by letting them go, but she is the only one fresh from the fight. Worn as we are we'd only be walking into one of their traps to have our feet swept from underneath us. For now, we must recover, and consider our next move. It should be of some consolation that there's yet another force here that openly acts against Strahd, but I fear the implications might be as grim as the vampire lord himself. He is certainly aware of these groups and watching them, his current appearance shows as much, yet he allowed them to grow so strong they would visibly defy him. Just what is this curse that makes him both so powerful yet powerless over his own domain? Speaking of which, I need to check on Thalia. That woman has a strong spirit, essential to survive in these dark lands, but if she mouths off to Strahd as she is wont to do, I don't mean to bury another companion so soon."
* Gromash:" Ugly vegetables are dead Gromash Happy only meat is allowed in my sight. This would been a clear victory for any carnivorous orc such as myself my fellow friends form the Orc Pork will be proud. I’ve always knew that vegetables were ugly but today I learned they can hurt. I mean even carrots are eatable trash but that, that my friends was the ugliest salad I’ve encountered in my life!

## Appendix

Strahdborne Sessions
**Chapter 1: The Gates of Barovia**
 Session 1 · Session 2 · Session 3 · Session 4 · Session 5 · Session 6

 **Chapter 2: The Fall of Vallaki**
 Session 7 · Session 8 · **Session 9** · Session 10 · Session 11 · Session 12 · Session 13 · Session 14 · Session 15 · Session 16 · Session 17 · Session 18 · Session 19 ·

 **Chapter 3: The Muster at Krezk**
 Session 20 · Session 21 · Session 22 · Session 23 · Session 24 · Session 25 · Session 26 · Session 27 ·