Storm of Souls Adventure Overview

The adventure journal below records the events of the campaign Storm of Souls, in the adventure saga Tales from Ravenloft. The adventure began with Curse of Strahd and concludes in Heart of Midnight!

## **Act I - Mordentshire-by-the-Sea**

### **Prologue**

**28th Nightal, 1375 DR**

After vanquishing the vampire lord, Strahd von Zarovich, the adventurers responsible for his defeat returned to their own world of Faerun. Drakos Warbinder returned to Waterdeep, where he reported his discoveries to the Order of the Gauntlet and was subsequently promoted. Afterward, he made his way to the shining city of Aion, a bastion of goodness recently established in Tethyr to seek aid in researching the shadowy domain of Barovia. Shade returned to the Chondalwood and decided to confront the ghosts of the past. But upon returning to his kingdom, he discovered his people had been corrupted by shadow and were under the thrall of the night hag, Mother Morgantha, a villain the adventurers faced in Barovia. Severa Xorlarrin returned to her home of Menzoberranzan amidst the tumult of the Rage of Demons. She was able to appease her patron, Dispater, who purged the chaos from her soul and she joined her uncle, the lich-drow Kharza-kzad, in his crusade to aid the Council of Spiders in overthrowing the Demon Queen of Spiders, Lolth. The fate of Guthri Emeraldheart remains unknown.

One night, after a particularly violent storm shared by each of the adventurers, they experienced a strikingly lifelike dream about their final encounter with the vampire lord. The details, however, were horrifyingly different than they remembered. Strahd's brides possessed a deadly cunning, and were able to interrupt nearly every spell that was cast. Guthri's defiance occurred much sooner than remembered, and Casimir Lukas's lycanthropic onslaught was relentless. Even the *holy symbol of Ravenkind* and the *sunsword* were powerless. The vampire lord himself gave no reprieve, and it wasn't long before each adventurer fell to the wicked might of Strahd von Zarovich. But instead of standing before the Crystal Spire and pleading their cases to Kelemvor, the adventurers awoke in a rustic seaside inn within the village of Mordentshire-by-the-Sea. They found themselves in the midst of a terrible storm, just as on the previous night, but they were no longer in Faerun. They had been drawn back into the mists of Ravenloft.

### **Part 1 - Dreams of Mordentshire**

**1st Octyavr**

After waking up, they were greeted by an old friend, Doctor Germaine d'Honaire, who had been tending to them for the two weeks that they were unconscious. They also were introduced to a new companion, the duergar Galdheim Lutgehr-Deepaxe, a paladin of Berronar Truesilver who was visiting Aion along with Drakos and seems to have replaced the absent Guthri Emeraldheart. While the adventurers were resting and eating a good, hot dinner, Dr. d'Honaire told them that their expenses had been handled by Lord Byron Weathermay, the master of Mordentshire-by-the-Sea and the uncle of their old companion, Calvin Weathermay. Lord Weathermay saw to it that their damaged and waterlogged equipment was sent to the proper tradesman in the village for repair and storage. Doctor d'Honaire invited the adventurers to visit him at his sanitarium soon, but suggested that they first spend some time retrieving their equipment and then paying their respects to Lord Weathermay at his estate.

As the adventurers were leaving the Blackard Inn to go about finding their equipment, they were nearly accosted by a raving madman named Luker, who seemed terrified and violent. When two town guards came to subdue him, he became highly agitated and exclaimed that one of the guards was not who he was. Luker was then taken to the Saulbridge Sanitarium, accompanied by Doctor d'Honaire.

The group split up and meandered about parts of town to retrieve their equipment. Severa went to the Livery to check on her carriage while the others stayed together and gathered some of their more mundane gear. While at Kervil's general shop, the proprietor, Volger Kervil, attempted to swindle a bit more gold out of the heroes, not knowing that they were already informed that Lord Weathermay had paid their bill. This greatly offended the sensibilities of Galdheim Lutgehr-Deepaxe, who flew into a righteous temper and demanded that Kervil confess his treachery. When Kervil refused, Lutgehr called upon Berronar Truesilver to create a *zone of truth* to interrogate Kervil. This caught the attention of the two town guards the heroes encountered earlier, on their way back from the sanitarium. They kindly but firmly informed Galdheim that such a use of magic in the the village of Mordentshire could be potentially very dangerous. The people of Mordentshire are a superstitious and fearful lot, and such an act could easily be seen as witchcraft.

After reuniting, the heroes continued to the church on the northern hill to recover their magical items. On their way, they overheard the strange sounds of revelry coming from a nearby dockside inn. Within the Traveler's Inn were the jovial adventurer Sir Tabb Finhallen, staying for an extended length of time to convalesce, and the half-orc druid, Sister Summer. Both were loud, drunk, boisterous, and sharing stories of how they've tried to leave the land of Mordent and failed. Sister Summer agreed to join the group to help restore the warmth of the sun to this gloomy land as long as the heroes help her to look for Ustis Maravan, the innkeeper's husband, who disappeared mysteriously while fishing off the Pale Lady Cliffs.

The heroes, now joined by Sister Summer, made their way to the Church of Saint Ezra, on the northern side of Mordentshire. The priest, Father Joshua Talbot, led them to the undercroft, where their magical items were being held in a vault for safe-keeping. While the heroes were in the undercroft, they encountered four ghastly undead creatures. One was gaunt and twisted with a deathly stare and the three others were covered with writhing, glowing green worms. Upon sending the undead to their final rest, both Galdheim and Drakos felt an overwhelming sense of loss and sadness. The heroes located their magical items beside the shattered *crook of Saint Ezra*, a holy relic that once protected the church from the forces of evil. After leaving the undercroft, they were unable to find Father Talbot anywhere in the church.

But the storm raged onward, and a strange sense of unrest hung over the sleepy village of Mordentshire-by-the-Sea. The heroes stood outside the ruined Church of Saint Ezra as the end of their first adventuring day drew to a close.

### **Part 2 - The Mesmerist's Pendulum**

**1st Octyavr**

Outside the Church of Saint Ezra, while the heroes were preparing to retire for the night, they noticed a plume of fire rising up into the night sky, despite the storm. Upon investigating the fire, the heroes arrived at the farm of Lobelia Tarner, and discovered that Widow Tarner along with a few hired ruffians had locked a creature inside their barn. Believing that they had caught a devil and being more superstitious than intelligent, the ruffians were attempting to burn the barn down and the devil along with it. The heroes discovered that the creature was not, in fact, a devil, but a tiefling called Panic, who had arrived in Mordent several weeks ago as well. Panic agreed to join the heroes if it meant finding a way out of Mordent. With their group one larger, they returned to the Blackard Inn to rest and recuperate.

**2nd Octyar**

After resting most of the day, the heroes decided to pay a visit to their benefactor, Lord Byron Weathermay, to thank him for his generosity. On the way to Heather House while passing the wharf, the heroes were ambushed by a strange and eerie group of fanatics who were dripping wet and reeked of the sea. Some of them were quite deformed, with bulging eyes and wide mouths. The heroes dispatched the ambushers and continued on their way to Heather House.

Upon reaching Heather House, the heroes were greeted by Mistress Ardent, the head servant of the household. She lead the heroes inside and brought them to the dining room, as Lord Weathermay and his guests were just about to sit down to dinner. The heroes were introduced to Heather House's guests: Baron and Baroness Fielder, along with their daughter, Lady Ophelia; Lord Byron's brother, Lord Henry, and his wife, Lady Alice, the parents of the heroes' adventuring companion, Calvin; and Lord Byron's daughter, Lady Virginia, and her fiance, Lord Hugh Wescote. It wasn't long before Lord Byron and Mistress Ardent joined them. The dinner conversation was led mostly by Baroness Fielder, who seemed to suffer from what Dr. d'Honaire would call "pressure of speech." With prodding from Baroness Fielder, Lady Virginia and Lord Hugh Wescote spoke briefly of their recent time at the Gryphon Hill estate. Both fled from the house weeks ago in terror and don't remember a thing about their experience.

After dinner, Lord Byron met with the heroes privately in his study, where they were joined by their old companion, Calvin Weathermay. The Weathermays discussed the ominous aura about Mordentshire-by-the-Sea. They believe some ancient evil hangs over the town, and that the storm is a manifestation of it. Calvin also mentioned that some of the people have been acting strangely of late. When asked about the odd fanatics who ambushed them in the streets earlier, Calvin confirmed that there have always been tales of eerie strangers along the docks but that the boldness of these strangers has increased drastically since the storm began. Lord Byron also tasked the heroes with a quest. He is curious about his soon to be son-in-law, Lord Hugh Wescote. Hugh's father, Lord Charlton, recently purchased the old estate of Gryphon Hill and sent him from Wescote Manor to live at Gryphon Hill despite the superstitious rumors that surround the old house. Lord Byron is curious why someone would do such a thing, and has asked the heroes to investigate the young Lord Wescote's history. He is most curious about the sale of Gryphon Hill and the mysterious 'Campbell Curse' that is somehow tied to the Wescote family.

The heroes then decided to visit their old friend, Dr. d'Honaire, at the Saulbridge Sanitarium. They brought both Lady Virginia Weathermay and Lord Hugh Wescote along with them, hoping that Dr. d'Honaire's hypnotic techniques could help them remember what happened to them the night they fled from Gryphon Hill. Dr. d'Honaire was delighted to see his old friends and gladly agreed to help hypnotize Lord Wescote and Lady Weathermay. Refer to the transcription of the Mesmerist's Pendulum for details about the event.

The hypnosis was cut short by a riot initiated by a particularly violent patient named Marston. Without warning, he flew into a murderous rage and incited the other patients to attack and kill the attendant Axtel Bartel. The patients began to run amok throughout the sanitarium, and the heroes had to suppress the riot by subduing as many patients as possible and rescuing Dr. d'Honaire's terrified staff. Once the riot was quelled, Dr. d'Honaire attempted to help the heroes interpret the visions they experienced while under hypnosis. Severa Xorlarrin was also reunited with her servant, Cyrus Belview, who had been committed at the sanitarium recently.

After their horrific experience at the Saulbridge Sanitarium, the heroes returned to the Blackard Inn to rest.

**3rd Octyavr**

The heroes, along with Panic and Sister Summer, planned to set out along the road east to Wescote Manor, the first stop on their journey to investigate the young Lord Hugh Wescote for Lord Weathermay. Drakos brought his squire, Drakos Jr., to the blacksmith to get a proper sword and Severa visited Kenkiny's Old Books to research a bit about the history of Mordentshire-by-the-Sea and its surrounding lands. As most of the shops were getting ready to close, the heroes set out on their way along the Mill Road toward Wescote Manor.

As they were leaving Mordentshire, just a few miles north up the Mill Road, the heroes encountered two members of the Baelfire Troupe, an enigmatic acting ensemble of Vistani origin that is traveling the land. The two Vistani informed the heroes that they have recently performed in the town of Hope's End, near the northeastern border, and will soon be performing in Blackburn's Crossing, to the south. They offered the heroes a flyer before traveling on.

It wasn't long before the heroes reached the edge of the Wescote Bog, a brackish and sinister place. The storm certainly did not help the conditions, which were dark and treacherous to begin with. While trudging through the mire, the heroes were attacked by wicked plants with corpses hanging from their vines. The plants reeked of decay and were able to raise the bodies of the dead that floated in the muck. After dispatching the corpse-flowers, the heroes made camp for the day.

## **Act II - Howls in the Night**

### **Part 1 - Hound of the Wescotes**

**3nd Octyavr**

The heroes set up camp on the edge of a small ridge within the Wescote Bog after spending most of the day slogging through the mire.