Week 14: This is Fine

**Week 14: This is Fine**
Year 735, Fourth Moon, Day 13

When we left off...

The Argynvostholt chapel proved secure enough for a short rest,  but the manor's interior turned out to be much bigger than any of you anticipated. Searching room by room, you found a whole lot of nothing... Until a yelp from inside the wine pantry alerted you to the presence of an unknown entity.  The cowering Dusk Elf, named **Savid**, was injured while out searching for the Vistani girl **Arabelle**(who you all found about 2 days ago at the Lake). He had no choice but to hide inside Argynvostholt, but all the same he feared the ghosts that (allegedly) haunt this place.  Through this interaction, the group learned that Strahd had all the female Dusk Elves killed centuries ago -- and those remaining (all adult males) live under the constant surveilance of Luvash's caravan.

Savid was more than happy to remain hidden in the pantry after being fed some Goodberries, but unfortunately for all of you, Selgaard smoked him out about 20 minutes later. Beneath the shadow of a dead Dragon, this haunted mansion spooked our Son of Skyrim into attacking a **fire-thingy** in the fireplace. Naturally, that set the whole north wing ablaze, particularly as nobody tried anything to put it out.

Cue the Benny Hill music. Sir Quintus escaped like the Grinch up a chimney while Clyde and Nars tried to find some source of water. Meanwhile, Ulfar went ahead and agro'd half the dungeon, leading a whole train of **phantom warriors**, soot dragons, and who knows what else into the upper levels. But at least he got first dibs on all that good junk, like such crispy classics as

The Oath Celestial

All this culminated in Nars crashing into the throne room just as Quintus finished his civil (if unproductive) talk with **Sir Vladimir Horngaard**, undead reverant and ranking officer of Argynvostholt. Nars narrowly persuaded Selgaard not to attack Vladimir (a feat, considering Vlad owns a very magical great sword that would be a perfect accessory for any fashion-forward Nord), and you all focused on the army of phantom warriors instead.  After scraping the ectoplasm off your boots, Quintus explained that Sir Vlad refused to give his remaining forces permission to aid in the destruction of Strahd. Most of them were content to sit around doing nothing, but**Sir Gregory Gwilym** (Vlad's husband) was not really content with that arrangement. Sir Gregory agreed to speak with Sir Vladimir for the first time in a century if you all thought it would help... but he wasn't very optimistic about his prospects.

About that time, Clyde manage to repair a painting from Lord Argynvost's study.  When the image of the manor was fully mended (more or less, using Quintus' 2 remaining jars of paint) it animated and a spectral dragon instructed you to return its skull to the mausoleum on the property. Only then would the "beacon of hope" ignite the lands of Barovia, and the spirit of Argynvost would rest.  Objectively, this was a great idea! Big problem, though: the skull (like your last artifact and so many other plot items) seems to be locked away deep in the recesses of Castle Ravenloft.

Sir Gregory is still willing to ask Vlad to help you (he might grant some kind of boon if he thinks the mission is to retrieve the skull, but any mention of killing Strahd is strictly off the table), but you're still in the unfavorable position of needing to enter Strahd's lair without the Order of the Silver Dragon's aid at least once to retrieve the damn thing.  Plus there's the matter of **Vasilka's wedding**, something terrible is probably happening in Vallaki, and the Amber Temple keeps being name-dropped all over the place.  What to do next? Get some rest and head to Castle Ravenloft before your Vistani magic fades was the general consensus.

**Around Town...**

It is well after midnight, and everyone needs to rest in the (still smouldering) ruin of Argynvostholt or risk being outside without protection.