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

[autorevive]

Uhhh ... fuck that, it's time for grenades! [fuck all y'all, pretty much. nathan young is a honey badger and does what he wants. he takes a few steps forward (updated on roll20) so he doesn't ... bonk willow in the head with a grenade, and tosses it at the dude charging towards them with a ranged atk 18. it's going to explode in a 20 ft burst radius and do 14 dmg unless dude (and his monster friends??) make a dc 15 ref save.]

[somepagesturn]

[Paige stays behind with poor scared Willow and clasps her hands together, singing a few notes as she casts a Prayer spell, which gives +1 luck bonus on attack rolls, weapon damage rolls, saves, and skill checks to all her allies, while each of the enemies takes a -1 penalty on such rolls.

Unlike Nathan, she assumes the guy fighting the monsters is... not an enemy and just a poor traveler, so he gets the bonuses too. HI FRIEND. This effect will last for eight rounds.]

[pickyourbattles]

[ aurelius is too freaked out to even identify what those monsters are beyond NOT GOOD so he will just raise one finger and cast ray of frost at the one standing next to the gallows (ranged touch... 12???? ... one... damage... if that hits. sob. ]

[wanttobeahero]

[ Henry's a fighter, but he's not reckless. His only weapon is a knife, and while he'll rush forward if he has to, it seems smarter to him to wait and see what happens, and stick close to his group for the time being. He'll defend, of course, and he grips his knife tightly in his hand, ready to use it. If he makes it out of this, he tells himself, he should really try to learn some magic... ]

Round 1

[count_strahd_von_zarovich]

[The sound of Nathan's grenade echoes throughout the countryside, sending a dizzying display of bats into flight overhead. It's not quite dusk, yet, but this country seems to be perpetually dipped in shadow. As the smoke clears, there is a vibrant shock of red running from the knight and his raven. The creatures he is battling appear completely unharmed. (Spot Check DC15: The shrapnel harmlessly passed through the ghost-like figures. Knowledge Religion DC:13 to Identify these creatures.)]

Alchemical weapons like that are powerless against these creatures! [The knight shouts at the strangely-dressed travelers. He then raises high his raven holy symbol] Be gone, servants of darkness! I call upon what petty scrap of attention the gods afford this accursed land to banish you! Begone! [A wave of holy energy surges forth, and two of the shadowy creatures are instantly annihilated. Two converge on the knight, while the one near the gallows goes for that pesky one with the ice beams...]

[The creatures reach out slowly, yet their ice-cold grasp cuts through all armor and defenses. One strikes a critical blow against the Knight, it's icy grasp clawing at his heart. He stumbles, his face goes pallid and blank, and his mouth hangs open dumbly. The creatures seem to be sapping his very being. Against Aurelius, A melee touch attack of 16 for 2 Wisdom damage.]

[autorevive]

[nathan comes to realize maybe he should not blow up the knight dude bc a) he does not seem to be a werewolf and b) these monsters are not his friends. it was a slow realization, ok. he's not very smart.] What about holy water? Would that work, then? What if I drink it then piss on them? [he is pulling out his water bottle's worth of holy water from his bag although he is not executing the latter half of that ... er, "plan" yet.]

[olreliable]

Aurelius! [She has no idea what is going on but she's gonna try to magic it away??? Gotta save the boy she has a crush on, duh. Magic missile time, yo. 3 damage if it doesn't just... pass right through them.]

[somepagesturn]

[Now that she's had time to look at them, Paige recognizes the creatures and puts a hand over her mouth in surprise.] Those are Murks! Aurelius, you have to get away from them or they'll sap the life out of you.

[she casts turn undead, holding up her silver harp pin. Her turning check is 16 and if that works, then her total damage is 17. Hopefully, that will... at least save Aurelius.]

[count_strahd_von_zarovich]

[Paige unleashes a blast of holy energy powerful enough to completely destroy the remaining murks. (End Init) After just a few moments of intense action, the land again falls under a heavy blanket of silence. The monsters leave no remains, the only evidence of the battle is the pockmarks of shrapnel and the blood of the knight, who takes this moment to Lay on Hands himself, before approaching the group.]

Many thanks. Had you not interceded when you did... The situation would have been most dire. I am Sir Urik, the last of the Knights of the Raven; sworn to crusade against the evils that plague Barovia, and friend to all the good folk who have the misfortune of coming here. Tell me friends, what brings you to this gods-forsaken land?

[pickyourbattles]

[ aurelius flinches and puts a hand to his temple as the murk evaporates in front of him. ow, his head. it takes him a moment to tune in and process all that. ] I'm er, Aurelius. Greyfire. We're with the Knights of the Silver Dragon, and we-- well, we really didn't mean to come here, if we're being entirely honest.

[autorevive]

Yeah, I was hoping for vikings, but the mist mucked that shit right up.

[somepagesturn]

[Now that safety is in sight, Paige runs over to Aurelius to... mother him a bit. She doesn't have any spells to restore wisdom, tho. :(] We're looking for our friend- a dwarf named Dovan. You haven't seen him, have you?

[olreliable]

[At the same time as Paige, Willow is moving to get over to Aur, concern etched into her features despite me sleeping through most of this. Paige already asked the most important question, so she can just help fret over the half elf and look to this possibly kind stranger??? for answers.]

[wanttobeahero]

[ Relieved that Aurelius seems...well, better than he was, at least - and also super impressed by Paige, wow - Henry directs his attention to Sir Urik for the moment. ] I'm Henry. And, yeah, if you know anything about Sir Dovan, we'd appreciate it. We came here to find him.

[count_strahd_von_zarovich]

[The knight looks at Aurelius with some concern, and begins digging through his pack as he speaks.]

Well that's a curious tale... You don't much look like knights. I'd assumed by your garb that you were some relation to the Vistani of the region... I can't say I've ever seen, much less heard of these Vikings you'd hoped to encounter, nor have I seen any Dwarves of late. They are quite a rarity here in Barovia. Ah, here we are. [He produces a small scroll, tied with a small knot or prayer beads, and hands it to Paige. (Scroll of Lesser Restoration)] I trust you know how to use that, it should help Sir Greyfire's condition... I would perform the magics myself, but I fear it may be a tenday or more before wit enough returns to me after that battle. [11 Wisdom drain is a problem.] You might check in at the town, just follow the east road. Perhaps they have heard news of this Sir Dovan.

[somepagesturn]

Thank you so much, Sir. [She takes the scroll from him with a polite nod.] We were headed that way before we ran into you. If I could... How did you come upon those creatures?

[and are there more??]

[autorevive]

You wanna come with us? Sorry I almost blew you up, mate.

[nathan young: expert recruiter.]

[pickyourbattles]

If it's not out of your way, that is. It's just we-- might be a bit out of our depth here.

[olreliable]

We have food? [Willow offers to idek sweeten the deal?]

[count_strahd_von_zarovich]

Murks are not uncommon, especially at this crossroads. The souls of many evil men are tied to this graveyard, and it's rejected all of my attempts at consecration. I make a habit of passing through every few months to clear it out, to try and keep the road safe for travelers like yourselves.

[He frowns, looking more upset with himself than he is with Nathan, and he reluctantly returns to rummaging through his pack.] Wounds of the flesh are the least of my worries, friend. I fear I cannot tarry here long, I am hunting a Dwarf of my own. A sadistic lunatic who goes by the name Varikov the Trapper. However, I shall give you what little assistance I may... [He produces a small parcel consisting of a blanket bound by a belt, and passes it to Nathan.] I had intended to trade those for gold coin on my next visit to town... They should aid you in your travels, should you happen upon any more Murks, or worse... [The package is heavy, and there is clearly some shining silver blades, wrapped in simple leather, protruding from one end, and gleaming hilts from the other.]

When my business to the west is concluded, I shall stop in at the hamlet to resupply. We can speak more then, if you'd like. Shouldn't be more than a few days.

[autorevive]

[nathan takes the parcel and yanks one of the blades out, immediately recognizing ... what a sword is.] Holy fuck! We're like proper knights now!

[somepagesturn]

I really hope we're not still here in a few days, but I think that's a moot point. [she's going to use that scroll now. 4 wis restored, which is... probably over what he lost so that's also moot. She rolled that d4 like a badass.

And she just... makes pained faces at Nathan and those swords. sobs.]]

[olreliable]

It's an upgrade from the knives at least. [She gingerly takes one from the bag and tries to get used to the weight.]

Thank you. And good luck finding your dwarf.

[count_strahd_von_zarovich]

[The parcel contains three +1 Silver shortswords, and three +1 Silver Daggers. They gleam bright, are of perfect craftsmanship, and haven't a nick or scratch marring their surfaces.]

Indeed. You would do well to try and find yourselves some armor. [He eyes Nathan skeptically] Steel doesn't afford much protection from apparitions like these Murks, but if you cross paths with a werewolf, you'll be wishing you had at least some leather.

Good fortune in your journey, and much luck in locating your missing dwarf as well. I hope you are right, and your time here will be brief. Plans have a way of... going awry, in Barovia. [He gives them a grim smile, claps Nathan on the shoulder, and begins to set off along the west road.]

[autorevive]

[nathan stares off as urik sets off into the distance, grinning stupidly like DID I JUST MAKE A NEW RANDOM SURROGATE FATHER FIGURE????? yep.]