romania ♔ in the end of the night i can feel you breathe

[pickyourbattles]

♬ Night - Zola Jesus

WHO || Willow, Paige, Nathan, Henry, Aurelius, Dovan [Closed]
WHAT || The Knights travel to Romania to investigate a mysterious, magical fog
WHERE || Romania
WHEN || April 11th [back dated]
HOW || Actionspam. Single thread, don't worry about maintaining tagging order.

February in Romania isn't very comfortable, so hopefully everyone bundled up for this little trip into the countryside.  The appearance of a mysterious bank of fog into which several locals have gone inexplicably missing upon entering, has caused Wynn to speculate that it might be connected to the mist that appears when the Veil brings people from other worlds.  Could this be the first instance of a door going the other way?  If so, here's hoping it's a round trip...

Comments

[somepagesturn]

[Paige is from Alabama, so this outfit makes perfect sense to her. Her silver harp cleric symbol is even pinned onto her stupid camo jacket aww. She also has a whip attached to her belt.]

Anyone want a granola bar? I brought plenty.

[olreliable]

Ooh! Yes, please! [Willow bounces over to Paige with a grin.] I'll split a bag of trail mix with you later, if you want?

[gonna be the cutest friends istg]

[wanttobeahero]

[ Henry's pretty well prepared, he thinks, wearing a coat that should keep him warm enough. He smiles at his companions, and for a moment, thinks about saying no to the offer because he doesn't want her to have less food, but if she brought plenty, well... ]

Sure, yeah. Thanks! I've also got some chocolate if anyone wants some later. [ Priorities, he has them. It's not like they have to worry about it melting. ]

[ironsides]

Make certain ye spare some for later, young ones. Who knows what we might run into in that Mist. [ dovan's leading the charge as they hike through the wilderness, ofc, and he nods up ahead to where they can see the fog begin with startling abruptness, as if a wall suddenly rises up amid the trees ] Puts up a chill up yer spine, doesn't it?

[somepagesturn]

[Paige divvies out a couple of granola bars for Henry and Willow to do with as they please, looking up with a surprised gulp at the SUDDEN FOG.]

I guess it could be pretty in a... very unsettling way. Are we just going to... walk into it?

[count_strahd_von_zarovich]

[Farther inward, most buildings survived. Doors were barricaded with tables, broken carts, and smashed furnishings. Windows were shuttered and planked. But had anyone been saved? Silence was thick in the fog-bound streets, as though from cotton stuffed into the ears. Nothing living stirred, nothing breathing walked the streets. But where the living were absent, the newly dead shambled. And hunger, too, raw and unstoppable stalked the village, multiplying with each new corpse that kicked and shuddered it's way back towards animation. A hunger which could never be slaked. An infection that could never be stemmed...]

[Sparse light gleams from gaps in the boarded up windows of a dilapidated old building. A sign over the door creaks on it's hinges, proclaiming, "Bildrath's Mercantile."]

[Across the way, a mutter of voices, the clatter of dishware, and the squeal of a poorly played wind instrument usher from this rambling building. A sign hanging precariously askew reads, "Blood of the Vine Tavern" A thin skein of smoke curls up from the wide chimney.]

[The Lightbringer Ashlyn patrols from barricade to barricade, peering over, protecting the surviving townsfolk from the undead plague, while awaiting news from her fellows at the Church, to the north.]

[Barricades that can be climbed by the living with relative ease block roads leading out of the square in all four cardinal directions.]

[Feel free to stick together, or split up, and investigate these various people / places as you see fit. Please title Reply threads: Merchant/Ashlyn/Tavern/Barricade/Other. Assume all threads are open to other team mates jumping in, unless you specify you're going solo.]

merchant!!!!111

[autorevive]

[as soon as they're all sorted out on this side of the barricades, nathan beelines over to bildrath's mercantile without waiting for any of his teammates and busts through the doors like] I NEED A FUCKING HAT!! Several hats! I need so many hats.

[count_strahd_von_zarovich]

[A withered old man, with a gaze that sends chills down Nathan's spine, peers over the counter at him. He sits, unimpressed and silent for a long moment after Nathan bursts in, then croaks;]

Fetch the customer a hat, Parriwimple.

[From the corner of the building, a giant of a man, nearly twice as tall as the old shopkeeper, moves into the back, returning shortly afterward with a hat, grunting stupidly as he sets it on the counter.]

Good work nephew. [He glares at Nathan.] That'll be Five gold coins, kid.

[autorevive]

[that hat is so fucking ridiculous but nathan is going to take it and pretend it isn't. fuck da police.] I haven't got any gold, but what if we struck up a bargain? I've got all sorts of shit to trade. [he opens his backpack and presents it to the old man. inside there are a bag of potato chips, two water bottles (one marked "holy water" in sharpie), 3 frag grenades, 3 smoke grenades, and 3 tear gas grenades.] I've got some other shit, too. Ya want a smoke? I've got that.

[count_strahd_von_zarovich]

[The man curiously picks through the arrayed bits and bobs, and lifts up one of the grenades.]

What are these strange egg-shaped rocks? Some kind of art?

Tavern

[somepagesturn]

[Don't let the Tuneservant-in-training hear the sound of a poorly played instrument. Her poor ears. : ( Bars are, in movies anyway, good sources of information, so perhaps someone in here knows more about what's going on.

Paige wanders in and zeroes in on the musician, giving a polite nod and smile.] Ah. Hello, there.

[count_strahd_von_zarovich]

[The common room is packed with townsfolk. Paige would see there's at least ten families worth of people packed just in the common room, with the hallways, closets, other guest rooms, and probably even the cellar overflowing with refugees as well. At least a lot of the town seems to have eluded the plague of undeath.]

[Apart from the huddled families, there's a table with three rakish looking gentlemen, dressed in stark vibrant clothes, like minstrels or entertainers (One of which is poorly playing the flute) - and in the corner at a table sits a lone figure, sipping wine somberly from a goblet.]

[The Vistani men look grim as Paige approaches, and the musician replies;] Hello, indeed. [And he returns to his flute. They don't seem like a very friendly sort of folk.]

[somepagesturn]

[She has enough friendliness for all of them. She flashes her silver harp pin proudly.] My name's Paige. I'm a cleric of Milil.

[She wrings her hands a bit in front of her, glancing around.] I was wondering if perhaps... everyone would like something a little more spirited? After all, we're all in this mess together. We might as well take some joy where we can. [She smiles cheerfully. (Diplomacy 27)

She figures if she can get everyone in a good enough mood, they'll be more inclined to have some hope about the situation.]

[count_strahd_von_zarovich]

[They're not in much of a mood to protest, especially not with how overwhelmingly cheerful Paige is. Some ignore her, but many turn to stare at her, expectantly. The three Vistani men perk up actually at the mention of her God. The man in the corner pays her no heed, though.]

barricades

[olreliable]

[Willow offers for Henry and Aurelius to join her while she peeks at the barricades around the square. If Dovan isn't here then she wants to see if she can maybe suss out any clues as to where he might be. She even goes so far as to climb on over, but doesn't stray terribly far, just in case she needs to jump back over.

And she's apparently trying REALLY HARD because she got a nat 20 search check while she pokes around the... west side, I guess.]

[count_strahd_von_zarovich]

[Nat 20 cant be plenty to poke around all of the barricades, if they're willing to invest the time. (Since there's not much going down on the West side, and it's a shame to waste a Nat20) The West side is pretty boring, apart from a handful of shambling undead. The North and South seem pretty clear. A lone figure slowly shuffles to the East of the barricades. The fog clears a bit due to some helpful breeze, and Willow can clearly see the church and graveyard to the North, and investigating the South she can see a mansion in the distance. Both the mansion and church lie about 200 feet from the town square. Many undead are gathered about the mansion, scraping at it, but it seems to be well barricaded.]

[In fact I'll just hand Willow this map here, she could have pieced this together from their trip in, and her in general badass surveying skills.]

[Make a Listen check, while poking around the South barricade.]

[olreliable]

[Listen 24! She's just super focused on figuring out what the heck is going on around here.]

[count_strahd_von_zarovich]

[Willow's senses are "turned up to 11", which is a good thing in Barovia. While scouting around the South barricade, she hears the distinct notes of sobbing from a house that is barricaded but, for the moment, unmolested by zombies.]

[It is four houses down, on the left.]

Reunion!

[count_strahd_von_zarovich]

[As Nathan and Paige venture beyond the south barricade - Nathan still cradling a punched gut - the rest of the team is helping a mad elderly woman crawl out of her own window.]

[A few houses south of the barricade, the two groups reunite, with the new stranger in tow.]

[somepagesturn]

[Paige has been aggressively ignoring Nathan since she tried to run off and leave him, but her anger dissipates when she sees the rest of the group and she books it over to them.] Oh, thank goodness, you're all right.

[wanttobeahero]

[ Henry has a soft smile for Paige. ] Hey, you guys okay? [ He glances over at the elderly woman. ] We have some company, her daughter's...been taken. [ Missing. Sort of. She's a little...interesting. ]

[count_strahd_von_zarovich]

[The party returns to the small village of Barovia, bearing several powerful relics. The blade of the fabled Sunsword, the Holy Symbol of Ravenkind, the Icon of Ravenloft, and the Tome of Strahd. All powerful weapons for good, in a land tainted by darkness. There is smoke rising from a pile of corpses at the edge of town. People are milling about the streets with renewed purpose, rebuilding their shattered home.]

[For their role in saving the town, the new Burgomaster Kolyan awards a fine townhouse to the party, for their role in saving the town. It is the least he can do. There would be no peaceful rest this night, however. As they are settling in, and planning their next move, there is a heavy knock on the door. Opening it reveals a small wooden box resting on their doorstep.]

[Inside the box, there is a hastily penned letter from Strahd, and a something bundled up in a cloth sack. You can feel the anger flowing through the text, and it's apparent that he snapped a few quills while writing it. It's marred by large splotches of ink, and also smears of blood: "I tire of your games. Perform the task you were brought here for, and I may yet allow you to leave my realm in one piece. Continue to cross me, and it will cost your friend dearly..." Inside the grisly sack, they find two severed hands. Two severed Dovan-sized hands.]

[pickyourbattles]

[ aurelius watches as the package is unwrapped, and recoils a bit in horror, especially once realizing who the hands likely belong to. ] That bastard.

[autorevive]

[i was like oh maybe nathan's wis check won't be good enough to realize what the fuck these hands are about but he got a 17 so ...] What the fuck's this cocksucker's problem? Jesus!

[olreliable]

Oh god... [Willow backs up, horrified.]

Is that..? I mean, it might not be... Right??