At the head of the table sits an old tired dwarf, he is dressed in simple yet practical black and green robes, who is absently smoking a pipe. He waits for most of the commotion to die down before raising a hand. The hall falls silent as all eyes turn to him and he begins to speak.
"As you are well aware, we have fallen on hard times. The Crimson Taurus came out of nowhere and with their superior numbers and willingness to do 'no job too big, no job too small, the Crimson Taurus does it all'" there are some murmurings at this and he raises his hand again.
"I know, I know, that is one of their marketing lines. The point is Mercenary bands such as ourselves are either disbanding or joining the Taurus and without a steady supply of work, we are soon to follow. However, I have one last job I want doing. We are not getting paid and I'm assured it's a suicide mission. It is, in particular, a job the Crimson Taurus will not touch. So there is that."
He pauses to take a drag on his pipe and people shift and murmur uncomfortably.
"We are to uncover the secrets and if possible liberate the lands of Barovia." There is instantly a cacophony of exclamations and cries of madness.
"Silence!" His voice filled with power cuts through the noise and it dies away.
"I assure you I am only accepting volunteers for this... job. The rest of you may leave with my blessing, In fact, those with families I implore you to leave and be with them in this trying time. There will be no turning back once we cross over." There is an awkward silence before people start to filter out, many with sad faces and hesitant looks back. There are salutes and shaking of hands as some say farewells. Soon there are few left, resolute stern faces who have nothing else to live for and some still in the trappings of youth, curious to the adventure that lies ahead and nothing else to lose except their very lives.
"Right, so as some of you might know Barovia is a Planescape in of itself yet still here and part of the material plane. One doesn't simply walk into Barovia, except by the whim of its master, though there are ways, often long dangerous and singular in direction. I have discovered such a way in. Though if we were to charge in as an army we'd surely draw too much attention to ourselves and bring the horrors of Barovia upon us. As you might be aware, Barovia is ruled by a Powerful Vampire, it is unknown as to how he gained such power. One of the most prevailing ideas is he summoned, bound and consumed a god. Though it is unclear whom. It is more likely he was once a powerful Wizard who managed to close a chunk of his world into a demi-plane and thus through isolation and time has grown in power. Ideally, we'd want to avoid taking him head-on but rather subvert the very land against him, if at all possible, to weaken him so perhaps a confrontation could be made." He takes a short break to puff on his pipe.
"We will be entering in small groups, the first group's task will be at locating and marking a suitable rendezvous point before heading off to explore Barvovia as a whole. Others will gather at that point before filtering out into Barovia to assist in the reinforcing and securing of assets as the first team calls them in. We are no longer a strong standing force of men, we are to be like a sickness, perseverant and insidious. I believe I already have some who volunteered earlier to be the first Team, the rest of you gather what supplies you can. We have a country to liberate!"

Soon after the hustle and bustle sets in as people prepare he gathers your group.
"As at least some of you are aware, this isn't just about dethroning a vampire lord. A fair few years back there was a fight on the borders of Barovia and we found a child, grew up to be Castrel, no doubt you've heard of or met him. If you come across anything pertaining to the family name Isvari I want to know about it." He hands out a smooth black river rock to each of you. They fit easily in the palm of your hand.
"When held these rocks have been enchanted to allow you to communicate with anyone else holding one, by this means you can contact me. I do not know if it will work while you are in there and I out here, But I will be joining with the 3rd or 4th Group. Your way in will be through the ruins of Duskwood, I wish you luck."
This message was last updated by the GM at 09:54, Wed 18 Mar 2020.

<Any Questions you wish to ask Nyos Stormbottem, Current Leader and Warmage of the Emerald Hounds before the start of your mission, may be asked here>

In reply to In the hall of the Emerald Hounds (msg # 1):

Elban raises his hand as he pipes up "Yes--quick question, Sir. And please excuse me if this sounds rude in any possible way, but...what exactly is the significance of the Isvari family?"

"Do we have any idea what forces the Vampire lord has at his disposal?" Vola asked.

Cecil stares down at the rock in his hand warily. "How sure are you that these work?"
This message was last edited by the player at 11:38, Thu 02 Apr 2020.

@Elban

"Not at all Corporal Rose, it is a good question. Isvari is the closest thing we found to a family name when Castrel was found. We are not even sure that is the full name or even related to him. I feel I owe it to the boy to find out where he came from, and perhaps how they got him out."

@Vola

"We unfortunately do not. However, we can speculate he'll have spawn and all other manner of the undead."

@Cecil

"Should work as well as any wizards staff... Made them myself I did"