As you all follow the trail further in to the forest, the mists grow thicker. At first, no one pays attention since the place is called Misty Forests for a reason. After a while, though, the mists grow so dense that the sun becomes nothing more than a hazy splotch in the sky. Between the haze and the foliage, so little light comes through that it almost seems like night is enveloping the sky. The air begins to grow colder and somehow sinister. Eventually, the mist is so thick, you can't see further than five feet ahead.

"This is ridiculous, I can't see a thing," Val whispers to the person next to him who he sincerely hopes is not a werewolf.

---

Have the tracks been lost?

In reply to Valentino Lo'Stronzo (msg # 81):

At this point, yeah.

Vargo was not at all pleased with this turn of events, watching the surrounding mist for any sign of movement "Should we stop? Maybe start a fire and be ready to defend. At least until this damn mist thins." Though he had whispered, to Vargo his the words sounded horribly loud.

Nessa glanced around the thick mists, eyebrow raised. Reminded her of the mists off the coasts of Algarond, but even they were not so impenetrable.

"Perhaps a fire will help. We should tighten up formation. Stand shoulder to shoulder with the people next to you. Don't wander, no matter what you think you hear. Fog can play tricks on the ear,"she warned in her usual low voice, and flexed her empty hand, her other arm raising her shield.

"We would lose each other gathering wood for a fire in this. We should stick together true, but this trail must lead somewhere, maybe to some sort of shelter."

The words come through a mildly chattering jaw giving the illusion of a stutter.

Anna drew in close to her companions for the protection of numbers.  She clutched a dagger in one hand, and her flat crystal focus in the other.  Next to these seasoned adventurers, she surely looked ridiculous.  Fortunately the fog hid her.  The fog itself troubled her.  It seemed sinister in some way, which isn't common for condensation, but she couldn't put her finger on what specifically was troubling.

Caught up in the excitement, she nearly forgot Lithuion was flying nearby.  She reached out with her mind to her familliar,

---

Spoiler text: (Highlight or hover over the text to view)
"You're good in the dark.  Can you get any information through this fog?  Are there enemies near?"

---

09:17, Today: Anna Mithwen rolled 9 using 1d20+5.  nature.
This message was last edited by the player at 04:31, Sat 13 Apr 2019.

Just when it seems the oppressive fog would consume the lot of you, it begins to fade and recede. You now find yourselves among towering trees whose tops are lost in the gray mist. The forest has the silence of a forgotten grave while simultaneously exuding the feeling of an unvoiced scream.

About thirty feet ahead, you all can see a dirt road. The mists prevail to the right of you, but the way looks clear to the left.

The scent of death soon catches your attention, and the source isn't hard to miss. Halfway between where you stand and the road is the crumpled body of a dead human.

"Oh dear, another victim no doubt."

Val moves to inspect the body, kneeling down beside it.

The body appears to be that of a young human male. By his clothing, he appears to have been a commoner. His muddy clothes are raked and torn with claw marks, much like the bodies outside the Misty Forest. Crows have been at the body, which is surrounded by paw prints. The man has obviously been dead for several days. [Secret to Valentino Lo'Stronzo: In one hand, he holds a crumpled envelope.]

"The claw marks match but it looks like he's been here a while though, the crows have been at him."

He wrinkles his nose and takes the envelope from the corpses hand, handing up to whoever was nearby while he looks through his pockets.

There is nothing in the deceased man's pockets other than some loose coin [Secret to Valentino Lo'Stronzo: [4cp, 2sp]]. Looking at the coins, you see symbols unlike any you've seen before. On one side is the relief of a man with sharp, angular features and a stern visage. The other side is a raven sitting on a shield.

"Huh, never saw any coins like these before."

He places two copper pieces over the corpses eyes then hands the remaining coins out to the others to inspect as well.
This message was last edited by the player at 06:09, Tue 16 Apr 2019.

"Whatever killed him didn't want to eat him, they left him to the crows. That, to me, suggests a monster of some sort. Werewolves are just as good a guess as any for this sort of attack...I've never seen a coin like this. I wonder what nation it's from."

Do some of the coins appear recently minted, or are they all old?

Anna sheathed her dagger when it was obvious that this body had been here a while, and the killers were likely gone.  She nodded in agreement with Findabair as she examined one of the coins.  She wasn't sure where they were from, but she didn't know of a raven crest like that from anywhere nearby, and the face was unknown as well.  "I don't think these are local.  He could be a traveler from far away."

15:53, Today: Anna Mithwen rolled 12 using 1d20+5.  history.

"The beast, probably. Probably not animals. Left the corpse. It wasn't brigands. Left the coin," Nessa chimed in, looking impassively down at the slashed corpse. She also didn't recognize the coin nor the face on it. But the world was a big place.

While the others examined the corpse and coin, she cast her eyes and ears around her, taking in her surroundings. The mists may have cleared, but she needed to know where they had wandered to, and whether any monster had followed along.

19:27, Today: Nessa Rhone rolled 15 using 1d20+3. Perception

Fin, the coins most certainly appear old. While all the images on the coins can still be seen, the edges have been worn soft.

Anna, you have no historical knowledge of who the man could be, nor what the raven on a shield represents.

Nessa, this place looks nothing like the Misty Forests that you know of, nor do you perceive any creatures nearby.

Placing a hand against the bole of one of the large trees Vargo looked around critically at the groups new surroundings. "I wonder where we have ended up. This forest feels far older than the Misty Forest." Looking over to the group all of which were more magically inclined than himself "Anyone got any idea on how we got here?"

"We did not travel far, yet this place is different," Nessa agreed with Vargo, eyes narrowing. If this sudden shift in location bothered her, she didn't show it. She let out a huff and shrugged her shoulders. Fell magic ran through her, but she did not know a thing about it.

"We entered the mist in the Misty Forest, and came out of the mists here... Wherever here is. The werewolf clearly did the same. Anna, do you know of magic that can do such a thing?" she asked the young wizard, black eyes turned to her.

She took the envelope Valentino had found on the corpse and tore it open not too gracefully, reaching in to see if any clues could be provided on their current... Situation.

Anna thought on it for a moment before responding, "there are surely spells, but to send a whole party would take a great deal of power.  There is another possibility.  There are parallel material planes, like the Shadowfell, and the Feywild, that are distorted reflections of our own.  The barriers between such worlds, and ours can be thin in places, perhaps thin enough to allow us to  cross over.  It's just a thought though at this point, without further investigation."

In the envelope is a letter, which reads:

Hail thee of might and valor,

I, the Burgomaster of Barovia, send you honor - with despair.

My adopted daughter, the fair Ireena Kolyana, has been these past night bitten by a vampyr. for over four hundred years, this creature has drained the life blood of my people. Now, my dear Ireena languishes and dies from an unholy wound caused by this vile beast. He has become to powerful to conquer.

So I say to you, give us up for dead and encircle this land with the symbols of good. Let holy men call upon their power that the devil may be contained within the walls of weeping Barovia. Leave our sorrows to our graves, and save the world from this evil fate of ours.

There is much wealth entrapped in this community. Return for your reward after we are all departed for a better life.

Kolyan Indirovich
Burgomaster.

Anna, gain Inspiration for that brilliant deduction.

Nessa read the letter out loud, eyebrow quirked as she tried to make sense of it. When she was finished, she looked around the group, black eyes narrowed. "First werewolves and now vampires. A long way from a few scrawny goblins," she said dryly, rereading the letter again.

"This passage about containing the evil within the walls of Barovia... Does not sit well," she mused, glancing back at the mist. "Anna, you said that there are barriers between the planes, but that we can pass through certain points. Do these passages go both ways?"

"Barovia? Isn't that where Ivan said he was from?"

He looks down at the mangled body.

"Do you think this could be his brother?"

In reply to Nessa Rhone (msg # 101):

Anna hesitated before speaking, "It's possible," she said almost in the tone of a question, "I mean to say, that there's so much we don't know about our situation that I can't be certain.  Just in case though" she gathered some stones from the side of the road and set them in a pattern as a marker.  Then she took out a paper and pen and scratched out some notes.  "It's hard to say how far down the road we walked after our crossing, but we have a general direction.  This is assuming the barrier didn't reassert itself."  She shrugged, "that's all I have at the moment."

Vargo had heard of such places as Anna mention. The thought of having crossed into another parallel plane was something he didn't want to dwell on. "We should get moving, unless you think there is more you can learn from the corpse. The road must lead somewhere."