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

[wanttobeahero]

[ They seem to have everything of use, and Henry's with Aurelius. ]

Yeah, good idea.

[autorevive]

Forward, then! TO MURDER! Or, uh, that other shit, too.

[pickyourbattles]

[ /leads the way???? and goes a-knockin' back at ireena's if they don't hit any encounters on the way ]

[count_strahd_von_zarovich]

[All along the way, they see what remains of the risen dead, now lying motionless scattered in the streets. The small town will have a long restoration to face, now that this plague has been brought to an end. The group has a quick and safe journey to Ireena's house.]

Oh, you're back! What the devil happened? There were such horrible noises outside a few moments ago... Has the town square fallen?

[autorevive]

Guess again! We did it! We stopped the zombie apocalypse! Right heroes, we are! [he's so enthused. and still emphatically waving that greatsword around.]

[pickyourbattles]

We found the source of the contagion. A magical incantation cast by a man attempting to bring back his son. [ he sounds sad about it BECAUSE HE IS. ITS SAD even if he was crazy. ]

[count_strahd_von_zarovich]

That's... that's incredible! [She says, flabbergasted, as she wrestles with getting the barricaded door freed.]

If you can handle this, you might be able to help us fight off that devil, Strahd!

[After a few moments she frees the door, and comes out to meet the new heroes of Barovia face to face.]

[somepagesturn]

We intend to... Possibly after a good night's sleep.

[I Want My Spells Back, a story by Paige Lyons.]

[pickyourbattles]

[ aurelius' eyes go wide as saucers, and it takes a moment for his mouth to connect to his brain. when it does, he all but sputters as he stares in disbelief at the woman. ] Aurelian?

[autorevive]

[so oblivious] And you tried to tell me it was like South Korea over here! Look at you, findin' your old mates.

[olreliable]

[Im guessing a wis check of 18 is enough to connect similar features and similar names.]

...Are you two related?

[pickyourbattles]

She's my twin sister!

[autorevive]

Wait, so ... does she have a cock? Or do you have a clunge? How does that work, exactly?

[/unfamiliar with the concept of fraternal twins]

[somepagesturn]

[HISSING:] Nathan.

[autorevive]

What?! Come on, you can't tell me you don't want to know, too!

[olreliable]

That's not how it... [Willow just shakes her head. Nathan please.]

[count_strahd_von_zarovich]

[She gives Aurelius a strange look. Though it's less "long lost brother," and more "Are you drunk?"]

Aurelian? That's a new one... Sorry, hero - I must just have one of those faces. Seems that everyone's mistaking me lately...

[She looks suddenly uncomfortable, and without speaking she starts the short march back to the town square.]

[somepagesturn]

[Oh... That's terrible. Instantly, Paige puts a hand on Aurelius's shoulder.] Aurelius...

[autorevive]

I knew it couldn't be true!

[what???]

[pickyourbattles]

[ aurelius shrugs off paige's hand, albeit politely, to jog ahead so that he can walk right next to ireena, peering at her face from close up. less politely. ] It has to be. You don't just look like her. She's my twin sister! I'd know her anywhere!

[olreliable]

[Hanging back with Paige but not really planning on letting Aur run off on his own, Willow lowers her voice.]

Do you have any...truthy spells that you know?

[Not exactly any way to do a DNA test rn.]

[somepagesturn]

[Paige hangs back with the others, frowning deeply.] Just when I thought we'd pieced together the puzzle, somebody goes and throws in another weirdly shaped sky piece...

[Willow snaps her out of her muttering, however, and her frown deepens.] No... Those are a little above my ability. You don't think this is Strahd's doing too, do you?

[olreliable]

Probably... I'm just not sure if it's to make her forget or to make her look like his sister. [All kinds of fucked up magic yo.]

We shouldn't leave him alone, though. If it's a trick, then it's probably a trap too.

[count_strahd_von_zarovich]

I'm sorry... I was born and raised in this valley. If you're looking for your sister, I'd suggest paying a visit to that old crone Madam Eva.

[Fortunately Ireena is a terrible liar, so Aurelius can sense that there's a fair bit she's leaving unsaid... She seems very sympathetic, but also very uncomfortable. Before he has a chance to press her, however, a grim-looking Ashlyn approaches them. Ireena seizes the opportunity and says, "I'll leave you heroes to it. If you need me I'll be at the tavern having a word with Ismark."]

[Ashlyn watches Ireena go, then eagerly digs out a charred and crumbling tome from her pack.]

I went to dig around the ruined church, to collect my companions remains, and I discovered this journal lying among the wreckage. Most of it's ruined by whatever magic you used to destroy the place, but there's a few... interesting sections left intact. I thought you'd want to see them.

[She has small flags stuck in the pages, but they're easy enough to find anyway. Most of the rest of the book was blown apart or consumed by fire.]

["25th Elesias, The Year of Shadows - There is a book, the 'tome of strahd' that might shed light on the steps necessary to destroy the monster dwelling in the castle. It is well known that Strahd kept meticulous notes from the ancient times on all he did or said. Perhaps therein some weakness might be found. The tome must have once been a part of Castle Ravenloft's great library, but now I am unsure where it is. I have hired several expeditions to scour the library. The only one which returned came empty-handed. I went to Madam Eva yesterday, but she just muttered some indecipherable nonsense. Why must seers always speak in riddles?"]

["7th Nightal, The Year of Maidens - Today, Kolyan confessed a great secret to me. It seems that Ireena Kolyana is not the natural born daughter of Kolyan Indirovich. He hasn't told her, and he loves her dearly as one of his own children. That is not so strange, the manner in which he came upon the girl is of interest, though. Old Kolyan found her one day near the edge of the Svalich wood, near the very foot of Ravenloft's crag. She was but a small child, with no memories. I cannot determine whether this omen bodes ill, or otherwise. She is a strange girl...]

[Ashlyn watches Aurelius digest the information, probably as the rest of the party catches up.]

[pickyourbattles]

The Veil. It has to be. [ aurelius mutters it quietly, looking between paige and willow, as if to make sure he's not the only one thinking it. ]