Week 15: Baba Lasagna

**Week 15: Baba Lasagna**
Year 735, Fourth Moon, Day 14 - 15

When we left off...

The Argynvostholt chapel saw you and **Savid**safely through another night, but a strange rider approached on horseback shortly after sundown.  Nars investigated and found a coffin with his name on it outside by the dragon statue.  He gave it a sniff, but did not open it.  At dawn, the group discussed several options, but unfortunately nobody looped back to check on the coffin out front or the **Revenants**in the attic. Off to Krezk you went!

It took a full day of travel to reach the village, and even that was only possible because Clyde very expertly led the way by the most secure and direct path.  That map he snagged from Baron Vallakovich has really paid off (although I guess technically it was free, so...).  Krezek gave you a heart-felt welcome, but all was decidedly \*not\*well.  Selgaard had the singular experience of attending a birth at his host's home, and much to everyone's disappointment the baby was born without a soul.  Above the village, at the Abbey of St. Markovia, Sir Quintus arrived to meet with Vasilka and The Abbot; seeing the mongrel-folk, madmen, and the Abbot's handling of Vasilka was a bit shocking, but he kept to the plan you all had agreed on.  At least Ilya Krezkov, the Burgomaster's newly-resurrected daughter, seemed healthy.

Before you left, Dimitri and his wife attempted to persuade you all to stay in Krezk - even offering an advantageous marriage alliance to Nars, who is close to Ilya's age.  But Vasilka arrived bright and early, carrying her wedding dress in a chest, and she was eager to go to Castle Ravenloft, get married, and save everyone.  With a lot to discuss on the road, your group headed toward the Castle by way of Vallaki.  Doubt as to the wisdom and correctness of bringing Vasilka to Strahd continued to plauge some of you all the way to **Van Richten's Crater**, which is where Van Richten's Tower once stood.  This time, you decided to detour long enough to explore the site, and found **Ezmerelda d'Avenir** doing likewise.

Ezmerelda was desperate for information about the wizard and boy who made the tower disappear with Van Richten still inside it. **Mordenkainen**and **Victor Vallakovich**are gone to who knows where (Ulfar thinks probably somewhere in Frostholm, since the rest of Barovia seems to be leaking) and doing nobody knows what.  Worse, Ezmerelda wasn't willing to abandon her search for Van Richten to help you in your eminent battle with Strahd.  The necessity of lighting the Argyvostholt beacon, to inspire any measure of hope and gain even a chance of getting the various factions to cooperate, came to the forefront of Nars' thinking.

Your party made it to Vallaki by dusk, just in time to enjoy the end of **The Black Bird Festiva**l - Enjoy a Crow Pie for 2 coppers! Children Mandatory! None of you were keen to eat crow literally or figuratively, and you headed to The Blue Water Inn to find out what was going on.  At the Inn, the Martikovs were nowhere to be found.  Instead, Ireena and Demon-Hand Joe seemed to be running things -- Ireena more enthusiastically than her "brother."  All of the crows, ravens, and indiscriminate black birds in the city had been rounded up and baked into a nice crust with gravy, but a bit of investigation did suggest that the Inn Keeper and his family (alleged wereravens) made it out alive.

News of the pogrom against birbs went down about as well as either of your DM's expected, and Nars headed to the Burgomaster's manor for a "talk," while Clyde counseled him to sit and think about it for 10 minutes first.  Nars did, but the maid / cook adamantly would not admit him, and the Burgomaster was "not at home."  Nars left without saying what he wanted to say, a marked improvement in overall patience since the last time you had a problem in Vallaki.

Back at the tavern, Ireena was pouring wine and minding her own business when a crazy old woman and her army of scarecrows burst through the door and started killing people.  It happens like that sometimes.  **Baba Lysaga**announced herself with a big cloud of poison, which Nars quickly dispelled as Clyde focused on saving civilians.  Meanwhile, Ulfar and Selgaard cleaned up the scarecrows and Quintus stood toe to toe with The Devil's Own [Relationship Unknown].  As soon as the tide of battle turned, Baba Lasagna tried to run for it in her flying skull car (because we're Eastern European like that).  A flock of Giant Owls harried her in the sky, but not before she fireballed a group of injured townfolk fleeing the battleground.  It could have gone sideways in a big way if she escaped after murdering a bunch of people, but you got her in the end.  Then Quintus and Vasilka bashed in her skull chair for good measure.

**Vargas Vallakovich**, the Burgomaster who was "not at home" for Nars, came out to take stock of what the hell was going wrong inside his town.  He wasn't surprised to find your group there, but he did at least listen when Nars explained that he was the "wereraven," and that he was actually just a Druid who shape-changes into a bird somtimes.  Vargas wasn't really impressed with that explanation, but he did agree to honor Ulfar's request of "a feast" for The Heroes of Thundertree.

**Around Town...**

"All will be well."

There is a feast scheduled in honor of The Heroes of Thundertree tomorrow night, but rumor has it they aren't going to bother showing up. ​​​​​​​