Session Seventeen

***As Ismark leads you away from the burgomaster's mansion, one long, loud rumble of thunder is the only warning you receive before the sky opens up above you, sending drops of cold rain down upon you and the rest of the town. The wind and the rain combine into weather that is uncomfortably cold and wet, and you all pick up the pace, hurrying past houses and what, at a glance, appears to be a toy store. The guards you pass by are not as lucky, though their smiles remain fixed in place despite their exposure to the elements. The windows of the Blue Water Inn are lit from within, light peeking through the shutters, and you hurry towards them as soon as you round the corner. A painted wooden sign hanging above the main entrance depicts a blue waterfall, and the sign swings in the strong winds. Further up, a pair of ravens make themselves known only by cawing at your approach from where they are nestled in the beams that support what is both the second floor of the inn, as well as the awning that is keeping the space nearest to the entrance dry - for now. Ismark hurries to the doors and pushes at them. Thankfully, they open, delivering you out of the storm.***

## The Party

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

## Through the Night

Finished with their visit to the burgomaster's mansion, the party began walking back to the inn they had passed on their way into town. As they did, a storm rolled in, causing the party to rush into the inn to avoid being caught in it for too long. Secured inside the Blue Water Inn, the party found it was not unoccupied, as besides the woman behind the bar there were also two men and a woman. The woman behind the bar greeted them, welcoming them to the Blue Water Inn, though saying that if they wanted rooms for the night they were going to need to split up, as they had two rooms with two beds and another room with four beds. The party stopped to discuss who would share with who, and it was settled that Alyssandra would share one of the paired rooms with Ismark while the others took the communal room, as no one wished to leave Ismark alone in case something happened to him during the night.
The woman, Danika, said that it would be two gold each, which Ismark quickly paid for.

### Discussions

Rather than turn in immediately, the party decided to have some food, and see if the locals could tell them anything about the region. Danika motioned to the two men and the woman at either ends of the taproom, saying that the party was in luck, as the men were hunters and the woman was a fisher, so could likely tell them more about the land.

Tansy went to speak with the hunters as Danika went into the kitchens to see what they had left. Of the two men, Yevgeni Krushkin was the most talkative, while his partner Szoldar Szoldarovich rarely spoke up. When Yevgeni agreed to offer information, Tansy was grateful, and asked them about the "wizard's tower" as well as the "dragon's den" that the cards had mentioned. The two men were able to confirm that the tower at Lake Baratok was the only true tower in Barovia, though they were not sure about the dragon's den. There were wolf dens in Barovia, but the only dragon either had ever encountered had to do with the ruins to the south-west, which were highly dangerous and likely haunted - or worse. At this time, Danika had returned from the kitchen, and Tansy offered to buy the two hunters a round of drinks as thanks, but was refused as they were going upstairs soon, and they already got a discount from the inn.

At the bar, Danika announced that there was meat and fish left, along with vegetables, bread, and other dishes. Devi asked Alyssandra what of the surface food might be something she would like, to which Alyssandra stiffly replied that wine, cheese, and bread were basic foods that even Devi's palatte might enjoy, causing Devi to tell her that she knows Alyssandra does not like her but she would attempt to exist as non-revoltingly as possible. Alyssandra said that she had not meant any offence, only that the Underdark and the surface have very different tastes when it comes to food, and that as long as Devi was not commiting evil Alyssandra had no reason to not act civil around and to her. In Undercommon, Devi offered to tell Alyssandra the story of everything that had happened to her since her arrival on the surface, and gestured for her to follow her to one of the tables, where she went on to explain her backstory.

While this conversation went on, Tansy returned to the group from speaking with the hunters, finding Dakira alone, with Devi and Alyssandra having moved to a table of their own, and Ismark waiting at the bar for their food. Dakira complimented Tansy's way with people, saying it was good to have her and Alyssandra around, as they both seemed to know what they were doing. Tansy was grateful but flustered, saying that she was glad she came across as competent, because she didn't feel that way, having only recently become a Cleric or dealt with anything more intense than a fistfight, adding that Dakira was doing fine as well, in her opinion.
Eventually, Danika returned with the food, and the conversations turned to where they would be sleeping tonight, as they would be unable to sleep in a whole group as the communal room only had four beds, and both of the two private rooms only had two beds in each of them. After discussing it among themselves, the party decided that Alyssandra and Ismark would share one ofthe private rooms, and that the rest would take the communal room.

### Restless

After eating, the party began to filter outside and upstairs to their designated rooms. Devi, as an elf, did not need to sleep, however the rest of the party was troubled by strange dreams, which left some of them more unsettled than others when they awoke. In addition, Merletta warned Alyssandra through their telepathic bond that during the night, she had seen a bat flying around the windows before being chased away by a swarm of ravens, and that the bat disappeared when the ravens wounded it. She advised caution, as familiars cannot go far from those who summon them.

The party made their way back outside and downstairs, finding the taproom quiet and empty, but the sounds and smells from the kitchen made it clear they were not the only ones awake. Ismark arrived last, and hesitated before sitting with the others, spending the next few moments sitting stiffly in a bar stool with his scarf wrapped too tightly around his neck, until Dakira pressed him to tell them what was wrong. Though he at first tried to resist, Ismark's tension became too much for him and he said there was no end to the things that were wrong, and that he had no idea where to start, and became incresingly distressed as he tried.

 -Ismark

Tansy offered her support, trying to assure Ismark that they would find a way to make this better. Dakira reached out to loosen Ismark's scarf from around his neck, which startled him out of his panic, and he loosened his scarf himself. Noticing he kept one area in particular covered, Dakira asked him to take his scarf off. The idea made Ismark uncomfortable, and he refused, though he did say again that Strahd had visited him twice before during the attacks on his home, now adding that the bite was refusing to heal, even with healing potions. Dakira asked Ismark if he had seen Strahd since those two bites, and Ismark said not outside of his nightmares, explaining that they eventually managed to set up wards and other magic able to keep him away in person. He went on to describe his dream, of running with Strahd at his heels, knowing he was somewhere very high up, climbing up and over a wall, and then falling down from a great height.

Tansy asked Alyssandra if she knew enough about vampires to know what, if anything, any of this meant, but Alyssandra did not. Dakira asked Ismark if the priest at the church they were going to would know more, which Ismark said he did not know but that it was possible, unless Father Petrovich had convinced himself not to know. Ismark also said that if they were going to stay in Vallaki more than just the night, there were things they needed to know about the town, including:

* It is forbidden to say Strahd's name, in any capacity.
* As outsidered, they may not be forced to prepare for any upcoming festival, but the burgomaster would likely insist they attend her festivals if they were in town.
* It is illegal to speak ill of the burgomaster, her festivals, or anything related to them.
* The burgomaster might have a demon working for her, but that might just be a rumor.
* There is very little to do in Vallaki besides the inn and the toyshop.

Alyssandra asked what he meant by "demon" while Tansy asked if it was too early for wine, and if they could just get food for the road and leave. Ismark reminded Tansy he needed to stop at the church long enough to give the priest the garland, first, and then explained that there were rumors that the captain of the guard was a terrible demon who stayed at the burgomaster's mansion. Tansy replied saying that she didn't like Vallaki, and Ismark agreed, saying no one did besides the Vallakovich and Petrovich families, and began to talk about a Wachter family before cutting himself off, saying he didn't want to bore them with politics.

## Things Gained

* A long rest.
* More information about Strahd's interactions with Ismark.
* More knowledge of Vallaki.

## Developments

* The party has found Blue Water Inn.
* The party has spent and survived another night in Barovia.
* Backstories have been discussed.
* The party would like to leave Vallaki as soon as they can.