Vallaki Lore

The Blue Water Inn area N2 offers food, wine, and shelter to visitors

The burgomaster, Baron Vargas Vallakovich, has decreed that the Festival of the Blazing Sun will be held in the town square (area N8) in three days

The previous festival, which he called the Wolf's Head Jamboree, was less than a week ago

Vallaki has endured at least one festival every week for the past several years

The Baron's father was a severe man and had tough laws

It's said he died from illness, but there were some suspicious circumstances surrounding his death
It's rumored that he abused his wife and his son

Those who speak ill of the festivals are declared by The Burgomaster to be in league with the Devil Strahd and arrested

Some are thrown in the stocks (area N8), while others are taken to the burgomaster's mansion so that The Baron can purge them of their evil

The Burgomaster's henchman, Izek Strazni, has a history of violence as well as a fiendish deformity: a monstrous arm with which he can conjure fire

who is often quoted as saying, "I'd rather serve the devil than a madman."
She owns an old house in town (area N4) but rarely leaves her estate
Her two adult sons, Nikolai and Karl, are local troublemakers
Lady Wachter also has a mad daughter whom she keeps locked away
The Burgomaster doesn't confront Fiona or her offspring because he is afraid of Lady Wachter, whose family has old ties to Strahd

Purple flashes of light have been seen emanating from the attic of the burgomaster's mansion

Wolves and dire wolves prowl the woods and aren't afraid to attack travelers on the Old Svalich Road (A)

Well-armed groups of hunters and trappers have managed to kill several of the wolves, but more keep coming

It's too dangerous to go fishing on Lake Zarovich (L)

but the threat of Strahd's wolves hasn't stopped Bluto Krogarov, the town drunk, from trying
He sets out each morning and returns every evening, but hasn't caught any fish in a while

There have been no recent sightings of the Mad Mage of Mount Baratok (Mount Baratok)

Folks used to see him skulking along the north shore of Lake Zarovich, shooting lightning bolts into the water to kill the fish
(If the characters seem interested in meeting this wizard, locals recommend that they use the fishing boats on the south shore to cross the lake, because it's shorter and a lot less dangerous than walking around the lake)

There's a Vistani camp in the woods southwest of town (area N9). The Vistani there aren't very friendly

West of town is a haunted mansion (see Argynvostholt (Q))

South of town is a village that has been abandoned for decades

Its burgomaster committed some terrible offense and incurred the wrath of Strahd

It is rumored that The Baron will occasionally personally punish certain prisoners in his own home