Session 16

Danika and Urwin Martikov revealed themselves to be members of Keepers of the Feather. They and their comrades are all wereravens and run a spy network to collect intelligence on Strahd and his minions. They told the party:

• The Abbot is able to bring Pelanil back to life
  • but he "has a penchant for the grotesque"
  • Most likely, this is where Strahd is currently taking Ireena
• The party doesn't stand a chance against Strahd at the moment
  • their best option is to gather allies and grow their strength
• They were the ones that helped the party out at Old Bonegrinder
• They have seen the Mad Mage on the banks of Lake Zarovich at the base of Mount Baratok

Bardolf asks if they would bite him and turn him into a wereraven. They give him a pamphlet on lycanthropy so that he can provide informed consent, but Bardolf declines the procedure after better understanding the risks.

Father Lucian comes running upstairs yelling for the party. He tells them that there is something wrong with Pelanil.

The whole party runs downstairs to find Pelanil sitting up, alive. His once gray hair is now snow white and thin, his green eyes gray, and his skin incredibly pale.

He remembers Strahd killing him, his spirit leaving his body and floating through Barovia searching for an escape, and the mist acting as a solid barrier for his soul. He prayed to his deity, Jesus Christ of Nazareth, but was still unable to pass through. A shadow in the mists asked Pelanil some unknown question, and Pelanil agreed only to wake again inside the Blue Water Inn.

The party questions Pelanil on what happened to him, and many distrust that their old friend is still sane or good. Pelanil, his whole belief system upended, goes on a long walk around a quiet Vallaki.

Pelanil's NDE

Izek explains their family's history to Elora:

• Their distant ancestors are the Dursts from Death House
  • The evil they conjured in that house caused a demonic stain on their bloodline
  • Every so often, children in the family are born with deformities (Izek's arm and Elora's tail)
• Their parents tried to hide Izek's arm, but one day it finally slipped to the wrong person
  • That person threatened to tell the Burgomaster whose strict laws would likely lead to imprisonment
• The family fled, but were attacked by wolves in the woods, and the parents died
  • Izek was found by someone who took him to Vargas Vallakovich who pitied him
  • Izek came back looking for Elora, but she was gone
• Baron Vallakovich raised Izek like his own son, so Izek feels somewhat bound to fulfill his duty to The Burgomaster
  • He's not as violent as people assume
  • But the perception is useful in performing his job
• Izek, since he was a child, has had recurring dreams of Elora wherein she aged in real time
  • This is how he was able to have the dolls made

Elora tells Izek that the doll thing is weird and that he should stop. Izek said he never threatened Blinsky, but the man made the dolls for free out of fear. Izek invites Elora to meet Vargas.

The wolf hunters come back to the Inn to return Carlos to Bardolf. After being paid, they also give Bardolf two letters: Strahd's Invitation and Ismark's Letter.

After a long rest, the party wakes up the next morning to the smell of bacon. Anakir has terrible nightmares, but his pie cravings seem to be subsiding. He no longer has disadvantage on skill checks.

Before they leave the Inn, a crier brings news that the Festival of the Blazing Sun has been moved up to this afternoon. Bardolf strikes the crier with his hammer, knocking him unconscious. Brom and Bray drag the man into a back room and gag him.

The party decides to go looking for Milivoj to appease Anakir, but in the rubble that used to be the orphanage, they can't find him. They make their way towards Lake Zarovich.

Once at the lake, they see a boat out in the middle of the water and a man sitting inside with a fishing rod. Assuming this is the Mad Mage the are looking for, they row out to meet him, Pelanil in his own boat, Anakir, Shalooti, and Elora in another. Bardolf stays behind to try his hand at hammer fishing, but the fish aren't biting.

Once closer, Pelanil recognizes that the man has a large, moving burlap sack that he tosses into the water. He asks the man, Bluto, what he's fishing for to which he responds "fish". Pelanil jumps in after the sack, but is unable to reach it on his first attempt. On his second try, he pulls the bag into his boat and tears it open. Inside is a 7-year-old Vistani girl, Arabelle. She asks to be taken back to her family in the camp just south of Vallaki.

Pelanil jumps into the boat with Bluto and slits his throat.

As they're headed back to the southern shore of the lake to meet Bardolf, they see, on the northern bank, an elk transform into a man in black robes. Sure that this is in fact their wizard, the party head towards him and tell Bardolf to catch up.

Bardolf rides Metarlos around the lake and through its tributary to the other side.

Arabelle is not happy that the party is not taking her back to her camp. Fed up with her attitude, Anakir charms her and tells her to go get all the money her family has and bring it back to the party. When her boat reaches the shore, she takes it directly back to the other side by herself. Anakir leaves a note.

Pelanil is the first to reach the man. Scared, he starts running for the woods and shooting firebolts at Pelanil. The rest of the crew finally catch up. Elora is able to swing from the trees with her tail and head him off in the woods. Surrounded, he relents.

At first he doesn't know his name, nor does he have any information for the party. With some successful arcana checks, the party realizes he's under the effects of a Mind Blank spell. With this information, he's able to end the spell he cast on himself.

He reveals himself as the great and powerful, Mordenkainen, an archmage of Oerth and the leader of a powerful group of adventurers called the Circle of Eight. He came to Barovia more than a year ago to free its people from Strahd's tyranny, but he underestimated Strahd's hold over the land and the creatures in it. After a battle between the two in Castle Ravenloft, Strahd drove the Mad Mage to the mountains and sent the wizard hurling over Tser Falls. The wizard, his staff and spellbook lost, survived the fall and retreated into the mountains, hoping to regain his power, only to be driven mad by the realization that he no longer has any hope of defeating Strahd or freeing the people of the vampire's damned realm.

He leads the party to his mansion in the woods, which is actually a Mordenkainen's Magnificent Mansion spell, an extradimensional dwelling that is very large on the inside. He tells the party there that he is not able to join them on their journey, but that when they are ready to take on Strahd, he is willing to assist them in battle.

Having recruited the somewhat loopy Mordenkainen, the party is ready to head toward Argynvostholt. They make their way into Vallaki to follow the road west. The guards at the gate tell them the festival is about to begin and insist on escorting them. The party refuses to go, and just as things are about to turn violent, Izek shows up and diffuses the situation.

The party is able to convince him that they don't need to go to the festival. He agrees to come with Elora even though he is torn about leaving the only father-figure he's ever known. The party makes their way towards the eastern gate.