In reply to The Mists (msg # 50):

I will try to find time to do gold today.

In reply to SIRE (msg # 51):

Done, and character sheets are up to date on the other site. I rolled for gold (you can see it in the dice roller) and bought equipment instead.

In reply to SIRE (msg # 52):

Forgot to mention that I don't think I need anything else unless a) the Vistani advise that I buy something in particular, b) something is on sale (or Ritin can haggle a bit), or c) there's something uniquely interesting.

OOC: Should I roll for trinkets or something?

In reply to SIRE (msg # 53):

I believe it is your turn.

In reply to SIRE (msg # 54):

I continue to believe it is your turn.

Sorry, work has been busy. And before that I took days off to finish the apartment.

In reply to The Mists (msg # 56):

It's ok. Just keeping it "red" so you don't lose track.

In reply to SIRE (msg # 57):

Ping

Ok, you travel with the vistani deep into the woods, which becomes more spread out and filled with fog. The land is at a gentle downward slope. Black pools of dark water stand like dark mirrors in and around the muddy roadway. Giant trees loom on both sides of the road, their branches clawing at the mists.

The fog spills out of the forest to swallow up the road be­ hind you. Ahead, jutting from the impenetrable woods on both sides of the road, are high stone buttresses looming gray in the fog. Huge iron gates hang on the stonework. Dew clings with cold tenacity to the rusted bars. Two headless statues of armed guardians flank the gate, their heads now lying among the weeds at their feet. They greet you only with silence.

The vistani wagon approaches the gates without slowing and the towering gates begin to open as they are still at a distance.


This message was last edited by the GM at 19:55, Mon 13 Apr 2020.

In reply to The Mists (msg # 59):

Along the way, I Edwin (and Imondo) keep an eye out for mushrooms.

OOC: I have gotten into looking for mushrooms IRL. Very fun.

Ritin: What do these walls mark the border of?
Edwin: What is known of these gates?
Imondo and Sen: Silence, other than Sen muttering a prayer of readiness.

"They mark the borders of Strahd's kingdom," one of the vistani replies simply. They don't seem to know much history of the gates.

Whoever has the highest insight bonus marks it as the first time any of them have used the name 'Strahd'.

In reply to The Mists (msg # 61):

Imondo notices, who then whispers it to Edwin, who then (when he gets a minute) mentions it to Ritin, who then says:

You had not said his name until now. Is there a reason?

“We may not be yet through his gates, but we are in his realm. Anyone who has made it this far will know him soon enough.”

In reply to The Mists (msg # 63):

If we have the time, Edwin and Ritin would like to take a moment to examine the statues. Edwin would take some notes.

Regardless, we follow the Vistani through the gates

They stop the wagon for you, but will get annoyed after about 10 minutes. Anything in particular you are looking at/for?

In reply to The Mists (msg # 65):

Inscriptions, distinctive features on the statues, and committing the faces on the statues to memory--the theory being that the model for the statues was more likely to be of historical consequence than not. Of course, if they know, then asking them is just as good.

Each can roll a Perception, Investigation, or history.

In reply to The Mists (msg # 67):

Mostly crap:

16:35, Today: SIRE rolled 19 using 1d20+5.  Sen (Perception) +5.

16:34, Today: SIRE rolled 6 using 1d20.  Ritin (Investigation) +0.

16:34, Today: SIRE rolled 10 using 1d20+6.  Imondo (Percepion) +6.

16:33, Today: SIRE rolled 12 using 1d20+6.  Edwin (History) +6.

The statues look weathered and old, probably hundreds of years. You don’t see inscriptions, though it’s possible it’s been defaced or just weathered away. Sen discovers the bones and mostly decomposed body of a corpse. It has a coin pouch with assorted coins equaling 11gp, a rusted short sword and dagger and an uncorked and busted glass vial. It is in the grass near one of the statue heads.

In reply to The Mists (msg # 69):

Sen asks the Vistani, suspecting the answer, if it is common practice to leave the dead unceremoniously rotting in the open. He does not loot the corpse.

He points the corpse out to the remainder of the party. Edwin attempts to discover if the dead man and the statue heads being on the ground are related

“Sometimes. Unless there is someone around who cares to bury the poor soul. Or just the poor sap. Nobody knew it was here, in all likelihood.”

If nobody in your party takes the coin, one of the vistani do.

When the vistana takes the coin, he says, “you will find that in these unforgiving lands that nothing sacred lasts. Even a few coins can mean the difference between life and death. Or at least, a little more life.”

The mists seems to close in behind you as you pass through the gate, then continue a short distance behind you. They seem to roil and grasp, like skeletal hands. The vistani don’t seem phased. The gates clang shut and you are reminded of a prison door slamming shut.

Towering trees, whose tops are lost in heavy gray mist, block out all but a death-gray light. The tree trunks are unnaturally close to one another, and the woods have the silence of a forgotten grave, yet exude the feeling of an unvoiced scream.

After a little while of traveling through the trees (maybe 20min), the forest dies away to rolling and stony grassland. One of the vistani says, “not far now to town where we will sell our goods.”

In reply to The Mists (msg # 72):

Sen: Shakes his head at the lack of respect for the sanctity of death
Edwin: Carefully taking note of his surroundings, looking to learn
Imondo: Carefully taking note of his surroundings, looking for threats
Ritin: Making sure he looks spiffy for an introduction to the townsfolk

Edwin asks about the trees being close together, the fog, and the silence. Also how the gates opened and closed without an apparent operator

“Everything in Barovia is the way Strahd wishes it to be. I do not know by what devilry these things are possible, but I must warn you against the mists. If you try to leave these lands they will choke you with their poison.”

After another 30min or so, tall shapes loom out of the dense fog that surrounds ev­erything. The muddy ground underfoot gives way to slick, wet cobblestones. The tall shapes become recognizable as village dwellings. The windows of each house stare out from pools of blackness. No sound cuts the silence except for mournful sobbing that echoes through the streets from a distance.

“Welcome to the village of Barovia.” One of the vistana says in a tone the belies the palpable sorrow that hangs in the air.

In reply to The Mists (msg # 74):

Ritin asks for a rundown of the key locales and individuals in Barovia.