Act 3: Pips, Pips, and Pips

## Act 3, Scene 1: Goodbye, Hello, Goodbye Again, Hello Again

"Dear ZanZan,
"Today I felt pretty good. I got to leave that horrible Abbey behind and head towards better pastures. It’s wine time! I feel like no one likes us though. Ezmeralda didn’t want to come with us, the villagers at Krezk didn’t seem to want us to stick around and then Rudolph heartlessly abandoned us. Then I was all alone with my only friend, Ismark as the rest of my friends chased after Arrigal, who is an assassin??? Such betrayal. Who would have thought this sort of thing would happen in cheery Barovia. Talk to you soon.
"Love Sylvain"
—Sylvain Vanborin
Day 13. Our heroes say goodbye to Ezmerelda, the Abbey, and Krezk; hello to some shady Vistani on the road; goodbye to Rudolph as he fulfills his duty of escorting them to the winery; and hello again to Arrigal when he attempts to assassinate Ayduin, only to discover Ayduin's a lot harder to kill than he used to be. Our party assumes Vistani treachery; Arrigal argues treachery *against* the Vistani. Bodaway is pro-murder; Sylvain is pro-assisted-temporary-suicide. Ismark plays politics. The matter is shelved until the situation at the winery has been assessed.

* Dear Zantras
* Consequences

## Act 3, Scene 2: The Wizard of Wines Winery

"As I prepared to move, suddenly dozens of small plant creatures melted into view. They were coming from the veranda and…there was a lot of them. I heard Ayduin yelling in the distance something like “this is also a problem” as I watched these little ones manifest."
—Sylvain Vanborin
Day 13. Upon arriving at the winery with captive assassin in tow, our heroes learn, to their surprise, that everything has gone wrong at the winery. They meet Davian Martikov, Urwin's father, as well as his siblings, siblings-in-law, nieces and nephews, and various other non-Martikov winery employees. It seems the forest folk have taken over the winery with their magic and their strange plant creatures after weeks of harassing the winery. For two days, the winery employees have been in hiding, while the forest folk have done who knows what inside. After initially planning to investigate the following day, they decide to at least do some initial recon. Osrin and Sylvain scout ahead, only to find themselves ambushed by several of the plant creatures they'd seen before in the woods — the same kind that had killed Ismark only a handful of days earlier. Battle ensues.

* Consequences
* This Is Also a Problem
* Number 5 on the Case

## Act 3, Scene 3: The Missing Gem

"You better get working hard on that vodka project, Rudolph."
—Sylvain Vanborin
Days 14–15. After a restless night, our heroes learn that though the winery is free, it's not yet saved: the last of three magical gems that allow its crops to grow in grey Barovia was taken by the forest folk to Yester Hill. Though in no shape to take on the druids that day, our heroes spend the day resting, recovering, sparring, preparing, and repairing. That night, more bad news arrives: it seems at least two vampires have been in the vineyard, having bitten five of the Martikovs' employees, though none remember being bitten. Despite this, no vampires attack that night, which passes peacefully. The following day, Osrin receives a message from Cal, seemingly confirming that Sylvain's dream visit with Bren was real. The group heads south with Arrigal, Ismark, Carac, and a peekaboo-smokebomb-arrow.

* Air Speed Velocity of an Unladen Raven
* Ismark's Self-Discovery
* Gold Nipple Tassels

## Act 3, Scene 4: Yester Hill

"My friends noticed it long before I did as I was stopping Ismark before he rolled his ankle. I looked up and I saw a light…a fire streaking through the sky. I cursed under my breath, because I had been joking about the real Strahd showing up at the hill. His stupid fucking flame horse was galloping through the sky towards the top of the hill. We couldn’t see anyone upon the beast, but we all knew who it was."
—Sylvain Vanborin
Days 15–16. After an uneventful journey, our heroes arrive at Yester Hill. They find a seemingly abandoned shrine, make a new raven friend, see their first benign skeleton, narrowly avoid an early run-in with some berserkers, and easily evade all the patrols on their way to the top of the hill. Partway up, they see a flaming horse fly to the top of the hill, about 15 minutes ahead of them. No one enjoys this new knowledge. They reach the top and, discerning some form of ritual is taking place, stage their attack. A brief but brutal battle ensues, in which everyone tries not to be too concerned about Strahd and Ireena being there. The ritual is disrupted, a monument to Strahd destroyed, the gem reclaimed, and our heroes prepared to make a hasty retreat before the friendly forest folk appeared once again, asking if they'd like to end the evil on Yester Hill once and for all. Sylvain agrees on their behalf, and with the help of their allies, they wipe out all the hostile forest folk on Yester Hill; Osrin breaks the Gulthias staff, instantly killing all the nearby blights; they chop down the Gulthias Tree and begin to uproot the stump. They give in to rest for the evening, exhausted, but Grghshnq continues to dig, singlehandedly dealing over 500 points of damage to the tree over the course of the night. What a good boy! The tentative alliance somewhat less tentative in the wake of this achievement, with Mathghamhain revealing her name and some of her history to Ri-An and Ayduin, the party heads back to the winery.

* Appease the Bird
* Chuckles' Final Flip
* Arrigal Pulls a Sylvain
* Spawn of Chuckles
* Breaking Points

## Act 3, Scene 5: Return to the Abbey

"van Richten is dead, I think, or something. We're all alive. Fuck off."
—Osrin Baralet
Day 16. Another uneventful journey takes our heroes back to the abbey, while Osrin receives messages from Cal throughout the day, learning of a group called the Coalition, led by the King, that has seemingly been growing more and more powerful back in Faerûn over the course of the last year, and features some familiar names. The Martikovs and their allies are overjoyed to find the gem returned to the winery, and listen to the whole tale while sharing the wine — no longer so endangered as it was. Adrian, Elvir, and Carac, planning to start delivering wine around Barovia that day, offer the party the opportunity to go with them, citing strength in numbers. Ismark suggests it may be best for him to go with the wine rather than the party, as it may be his best shot at getting back to his village sooner rather than later. The modest group of 12 (and two draft horses) heads north, travelling into the night as Osrin continues to learn things she probably didn't want to. She compliments Cal, who immediately gets 500 XP. They reach Krezk and make their way in easily, trudging up to the abbey where they find an unexpected sight: the dead body of Dr. Rudolph van Richten. After some corpse-punching, warforged-choking, and a bit of discussion, they agree to revive him, to see if Strahd's account of how van Richten ended up there is accurate. Turns out it was! Awkward. Arrigal killed Sylvain and the party began to resurrect him but got interrupted b Strahd's very important "Thank you for resurrecting the legendary monster hunter" business. Sylvain got resurrected.

* Breaking Points
* Heroes and Monsters

## Act 3, Scene 6: Next Steps

This is when I learned that I don’t understand farm animals.
—Sylvain Vanborin
Days 17–19. Ismark departed and Chuckles nearly left with him. An old acquaintance from Vallaki turned up, and she and Bodaway had a passive-aggressive conversation while she made porridge. The party had some long-overdue discussions about dreams, the ethereal plane, and political events back in Faerûn. They agreed to relocate to the village, with Vitaliya finding a temporary home for them in the form of Magda Yankov's cottage. They met Valentina, the local blacksmith, who specializes in armour but is much less used to weapons, and she offered the use of her forge but required payment for any materials used or armour commissioned. A discussion ensued regarding possible work or favours as payment, leaving the party with two likely avenues of investigation: the local werewolf population, or the potentially abandoned Fidatov estate to the southeast. A goat loved Bodaway's coat and hated Ayduin. Strahd made a generous gift of armour and metal which the party was suspicious of for some reason. Signs of their pacts began to appear on Sylvain and Ayduin. The party reunited with Ezmerelda, and both sides had quite a lot of stories to tell. No one enjoyed talking to the Abbot. Ri-An built a lantern allowing them to see into the Ethereal Plane, confirming their suspicions regarding spies. Ri-An accidentally inspired a cult in Krezk, and Osrin narrowly prevented Strahd's spies from stealing the Symbol of Ravenkind. Ayduin banished Strahd's flaming horse, an act which did not have any consequences whatsoever.

* A Certain Kind of Asshole
* Speaking Terms
* Cult of Ri-An

## Act 3, Scene 7: Seeking a Stronghold

For the 900th time in Barovia: Well shit.
—Sylvain Vanborin
Days 20–23. The party awoke to find Magda Yankov having "committed suicide" with a silvered dagger in the night, and made a hasty departure from Krezk after alerting Vitaliya and her husband. They discovered Victor Vallakovich's fate while on the road to van Richten's tower, but still did not realize it was he who threw the fireballs at the Festival of the Blazing Sun. They reached the tower only to find a mob of Totally Normal Villagers outside; Ezmerelda singlehandedly slaughtered nine of them, an act which did not have any consequences whatsoever. They explored the tower and quickly came to the conclusion that it would not be an ideal base of operations, between its antimagic properties and limited number of escape routes. Instead, they pressed on to the Vallaki Vistani camp, where they helped save the elf Arrigal is in love with, and found a surprise vampire spawn van Richten, the camp's new eternal guard. Some of them got drunk, because what else were they supposed to do with that? At midnight, they were awoken by Arrigal bearing a message from Strahd: Ezmerelda was to come to Castle Ravenloft by the following dusk, or Strahd would kill one of the Martikovs, who he had taken prisoner. After brief discussion and hasty farewells, Ezmerelda began her journey, with the rest of the party left to try to finish their rest. The following morning, another announcement came, delivered by a beautiful young man with long golden hair: Vallaki was now under the rule of Strahd von Zarovich, care of his regent, Father Lucien Petrovich, and the Vistani were once again welcome to join. Our heroes trudged begrudgingly to Vallaki, where they saw the aftereffects of the riots and began to preoccupy themselves with a new villain: the Reformation Centre. They met Jeny, an old woman with surprising powers, and befriended a guard named Friedrich, who arranged meetings for them with two of the Reformers who guide the centre. Neither our heroes nor the Reformers enjoyed these meetings. The night after their second meeting, Ayduin noticed a group of townsfolk trying to sneak out of the city to Krezk, and the party decided that despite one of them not having finished their long rest, one of them being unconscious, one of them being at about half-health, and the townsfolk being as good as unarmed, the best course of action was definitely to go with them, and ensure they'd all be outlaws in Vallaki in the process, an act which did not have any consequences whatsoever.

* A Study in Social Awkwardness
* The Shit Show Must Go On
* Foppish Blonde Whatever
* Kiss Ass
* Give Up
* Fungi Funda Is Not a Fun Guy
* Reckless Abandonment

## Act 3, Scene 8: Flight to Krezk

"Everything about this was such a stupid, ill-conceived, rushed, mess. Why didn’t I stop this? Why did I need to get out of Vallaki that bad? What in the Nine Hells was I thinking? Gods…"
—Sylvain Vanborin
Day 24. With Osrin unconscious for the first several hours of their journey, the party begins an onslaught of battle after battle — rarely enough to put any of *them* in any real danger, but more than enough to endanger the less battle-hardened charges they're escorting. Over the course of the journey, they fight off eleven dire wolves, thirteen wolves, six zombies, and four swarms of bats before they reach Krezk. However, they are unable to keep one of the commoners' children from dying, and tailor Savva loses his leg on the way. They encounter two familiar faces: Arrigal, who is headed west with some other Vistani for Normal Non-Shady Reasons That Won't Come Back to Haunt Us, and Bray Martikov, **WHO ESCAPED CASTLE RAVENLOOOOOFFFFT**. Sleep-deprived and utterly bewildered by Bray's tale — how he and his family were charmed, the town of Vallaki turned against them, and taken back to Castle Ravenloft, but how Bray fought off Strahd's charm effect and, fleeing, lucked out by finding the one room in Castle Ravenloft it seems Strahd can't enter, and escaping through a window. The mechanics of this all become slightly clearer when it is revealed that Bray, along with the various winery adults escorting him, is a wereraven. He also gives the party a mysterious ring with healing properties, which Bodaway claims — Bray had discovered it as a result of having been stored in a dead saint's tomb, like you do. Finally, after a long night and day and evening's travel and various levels of exhaustion, they reach Krezk, only to learn that the village has no room to take on twelve new residents, thanks to the depletion of their food stores during Ilya's demonic hunger. For lack of an alternative, the party trudges their way up to the abbey to figure out next steps.

* Biiiiiiirdman!
* The Howling

## Act 3, Scene 9: The Wolves

"For the last time I did something very dumb and instead of shoot them from a distance, I rushed them with my rapier. This is when I realized I had made a mistake up on the hill. Two of these wolves were not being overly damaged by Bodaway’s blows. However, my silvered blade cut through them with ease. While Ri-An dealt with a bunch of other wolves, I fought the two stronger wolves on front of me. One sunk its teeth into my flesh and I faltered, if only for a moment."
—Sylvain Vanborin
Day 25. Right around midnight, the party's attempt to rest at the abbey is disrupted by an unwelcome sight: many wolves leaping over the abbey's low garden walls and heading down towards the village of Krezk. A chase ensues, the party realizing as they try to take down the beasts that not all the wolves they fight are regular wolves. Sylvain proceeds to yell mean things about Strahd to some very bewildered werewolves. The party is separated, as Osrin's exhaustion prevents her from keeping up, and down in the woods of Krezk, Bodaway, Ri-An, and Sylvain save two people from being abducted by the wolves, but at a cost: in the fighting, both Sylvain and Ayduin were bitten by wolves, and as the two very humanoid corpses of some of the wolves they've slain shows, there is a serious risk of infection. The party is informed that Sylvain and Ayduin, along with all the villagers who were bitten, will need to be kept in isolation until the full moon on the following night, which will reveal whether or not they too are now werewolves. If so, they're told, they will be put down immediately.

* Don't Tell Arrigal

## Act 3, Scene 10: The Wait

"Was it chesterfield? Do they not like chesterfields?"
—Cavan Bodaway, shortly after being slapped by Ri-An
Day 26. As Ayduin and Sylvain wait in isolation — eventually getting a tent all to themselves as, while Sylvain's mysterious headaches cleared up after he broke his pact with Zantras the night before, Ayduin's sulfurous cough only gets worse and worse — their companions search for solutions. They learn that the Abbot may or may not be able to cure werewolf lycanthropy (helpful as always, that Abbot), that in a pinch wolfsbane can help fight off a new infection but is just as liable to kill the patient as cure them, and that resurrecting Fedora Khramov may be a waste of a favour, as most Barovians are soulless. Bodaway brings up the merits of just letting commoners die going forward, if most of them don't have souls anyway. Klavdiya — one of the winery wereravens — comes up to give Osrin, Bodaway, and Ri-An information about the Fidatov Estate, offering a list of potential leads to talk to: all nobles whose family members disappeared at the Fidatov Estate so many years ago. Agreeing, given some of their most recent interactions with local Barovians, that perhaps they ought not to investigate the Fidatov Estate just yet, they spend most of their time at the abbey until that night, when it's time to go witness their friends' fates. Ayduin and Sylvain are led up to hang from the walls of Krezk by their ankles — to be pulled up once the moon is fully risen, either to be freed or to be put in a cage and killed — and to the party's relief, though one person changes form, it is not one of them. Instead, a man named Nikita Spencer — one of the ones they had saved from the wolves — is brutally stabbed and beaten to death with crudely silvered weapons, while Ayduin and Sylvain are led back to the abbey to recuperate.

* We Did Something

## Act 3, Scene 11: The Last of the Pacts

"We're a fuckin' mess. Absolute fuckin' mess. But we keep chargin' headlong into shit to help these people. And keep takin' shit from 'em. Fuck 'em. Just fuck 'em. That's where we're at right now."
—Ayduin Thekan, definitely feeling like his normal self
Day 26. The party's trials continue with an unwelcome discovery that morning: Ayduin is unconscious, the smell of sulfur lingering around him, and no one can rouse him. His companions watch over him, Vitaliya and her daughter Klavdiya coming up to the abbey to attempt to help him through it. She tells the party a story of a similar sickness, a tale she was told by her grandfather long ago, of a drow who was brought to Barovia and succumbed to corruption. He developed a sulfurous cough, getting so sick with it he was bedridden, and when he woke, he was different. Colder. More violent. He summoned hellhounds, setting them on Barovians, and eventually his own party had to take him down. She suggests praying to whatever gods they have available to them, and Osrin takes an unusual path — she reaches out to a deva she used to know. That afternoon, a messenger informs them someone has come to the gates asking for them: Doru, in Strahd's carriage. Doru, looking much healthier now that he hasn't been starving for over a year, hands them an invitation from Strahd: a dinner one week from that day at Castle Ravenloft. Ri-An, Bodaway, and Osrin discuss — Sylvain back at the abbey, watching over Ayduin — and accept, sending Doru off with their reply. Osrin gets updates from Cal from another year passed back in Faerûn, with one notable piece of news: they have confirmation from a god that if any of the party's friends come to Barovia to assist them, the party will fail in their quest. That night, seeking to break his pact a second time, Ayduin finds an unexpected ally: he looks like a young human man, but Seriach greets him as "deva." With Alandras's power coursing through Ayduin, he finds the resolve he needs, and breaks his pact — leaving the entirety of the party far more vulnerable to death than they've been in a long time.

* Explosives and Cookies
* Not a Doctor

## Act 3, Scene 12: The Fidatov Estate

"I think that our entire experience in Barovia could be categorized as 'The Insane Truth,' but sometimes I wonder if even my own experiences have been warped by this place."
—Sylvain Vanborin
Days 27–30. It is perhaps a blessing that Ayduin has several levels of exhaustion, as that alone may not have been enough to keep the party from going to the Fidatov Estate too early to survive it, but combined with the party's latest trial, they agree to hold back. Bodaway, when he wakes, finds his eyes filmy and dry, his vision compromised. The party passes a relatively quiet day after establishing that no one seems able to fix Bodaway's eyes at the moment, and it's only one of Bodaway's dreams that gives any context to the sudden appearance of the woman in black and several Vistani, most of whom are dead: it seems Strahd decided to take care of the Reformation Centre for them. This is deemed a later problem, as the woman in black shows no interest in fighting, having dropped the Vistani off so the Abbot can attempt several resurrections in the coming days. Ayduin continues to have mysterious raven visitations. The following morning, Bodaway's eyes are even worse, but at noon, the crusts come off, leaving him with far more human eyes than he previously had. Sylvain discovers what became of Dmitri and Anna Krezkov, and wishes he hadn't. The party prepares to set off for the Fidatov Estate the next day — and they do! They take a lovely little journey, finding the somewhat overgrown path to the estate, and eventually emerge in... a spring afternoon 17 years before. It doesn't take long for them to realize the estate is caught in a time loop, though it does take them a while to figure out why — and by the end of the night, over half of them still don't have it right. They meet several nobles who the rest of Barovia thought long dead, including a Vallakovich cousin, the von Holtzes, and Danica's grandfather. The nature of the curse becomes more clear when it's discovered the wine is poisoned, and moments later they find themselves in battle with ten ghouls, the manor suddenly in shambles, bodies rotting all around them. Osrin falls, and the party stores her body in the cellar, her ghost accompanying and assisting them throughout the night, thanks to the help of Ri-An's lantern. Bit by bit, they unravel the mystery, fighting mirror copies of themselves, a fiendish hound, curse-empowered skeletons and The Banshee Fidatov herself. Thankfully, one or more of the party understands enough of what transpired and what must be done to free the estate of the curse, and the party feels a new timeline of memories settle in alongside those they already had — in this timeline, the poisoning never happened, nor did the curse that followed.

* Special Eyes...
* Creepy Wood
* Socialites
* Struck By You
* Illogical Dupes
* Unresolved Puppy Trauma

## Act 3, Scene 13: Resurrection

Day 30. The party secures assistance from the Lady Fidatov, who freely offers food, supplies, diamonds, money, magical items, and whatever other assistance they need. Sylvain debates whether or not to give back the diamond he stole from her family vault. He asks the others. The others, despite having had confirmation within the past 24 hours that there was necromantic magic on the treasure, go nah, keep it. The others, despite having been taught a valuable lesson about stealing books from the Fidatovs vs. just asking like normal people, go nah, keep it. I'm sure this won't come up again. The Lady Fidatov — softened by the years, and for some reason in a better mood now than she was after a dude totally flipped out on her and tried to ruin her life less than a week before because she had the audacity to dump him — has a daughter now, and makes sure they're all well fed and prepared for the journey back, before sending them back with a wagon full of supplies, one of her servants, Osrin's body, and a diamond for her resurrection. Reaching the village of Krezk, they find this timeline's new burgomaster Vlad Vallakovich grateful for the assistance, though somewhat harried: it seems that the night before, there was another werewolf attack, with four more gone and five dead. As Vlad, Vitaliya, and the servant work out the logistics of saving Krezk, Osrin fights a brief battle for her life, with two of Strahd's spying spawn — unable to follow them into the time loop, but having caught them again at the gates of Krezk — trying to destroy her very soul. She tries and fails to possess Ayduin before leaping into a commoner's body. This is how Osrin becomes the first party member to learn Yes, Some Barovians Are Soulless. When the lantern is turned on, she vacates the body — and is immediately attacked again, her soul badly wounded. She leaps into Bodaway's body and remains there as the party rushes up to the abbey, eager to have her resurrected. After a short rest to help Osrin's soul heal, the ritual is performed, with Ayduin playing a song celebrating the changing of the seasons, Ri-An providing a statistical breakdown of Osrin's damage dealt vs. damage taken, and Sylvain pleading for her to come back to them. For the second time, it seems, Osrin's old deva friend helps give them the boost they need, as his power shields her soul from the onslaught awaiting her when she tries leaping from Bodaway's body to her own: she makes it back into her body, with three hit points to spare. That night, both Ayduin and Bodaway are offered choices: Ayduin's leads him to a prophecy of sanctuary and Lake Zarovich, while Bodaway's declines power, choosing the party and the hard way through instead.