Session 4

Anakir refused to head the warnings of the shadows in the shrine, and kept the orb for himself. The party went to battle with the shadows, and Shalooti briefly put them to sleep and the party retreated and discussed how to hide.

While arguing over what to do next, the party hears the shadows awake to begin again their chant of "Return the Orb. Begone from this place". Pelanil ran back to the shouting shadows and blasted them with radiant light, obliterating each of them.

Bardolf followed the secret stairs up to find a trap door leading to the room with the stuffed wolves -- a quick escape if needed later.

Having taken care of the immediate danger, and healing the party, Pelanil takes Rose and Thorn's bones back to their tombs and laid them to rest.

Using the key she found around Gustav's neck, Elora opened the gate that lead downward towards the chanting. Quietly sneaking down the stairs, the party finds themselves in a reliquary full of trophies, all severed body parts.

Now they can hear the chanting clearly, "He is the Ancient. He is the Land".

The party quickly delves into a sort of jail cell, where Elora finds a ring on the finger of a skeleton, and Anakir found a secret door which he cowered away from, and Shalooti pulled out some cheese to try to make friends with a rat. Then, the party made their way back to reliquary to track down the source of the chanting once and for all.

The party found the chanting coming from a room blocked by a portcullis and flooded with water. Shalooti used her mage hand to turn the wooden wheel on the other side of portcullis to let the party through.

Once inside, the party is presented with a large flooded room with a raised dais in the center covered with blood

Elora walks to the top, and 13 spirits appear along the ledge surrounding the room and begin chanting "One must Die!". Thinking quickly, Shalooti pulls out some more cheese (the most pungent ever seen by the party), and attracts dozens of rats who swim all around the dais.

The party frantically grasps at the rats, Elora the only one able to successfully trap one. Ignoring pleas from the other members, she pulled out a dagger, sliced off its head, and allowed its blood to cover the altar.

The chanting stops for just a moment.

Then, "Lorghoth the Decayer, we awaken thee!”

As the spirits' chant changes, Pelanil notices that the pile of rubbish in the adjacent room begins moving. Out of the room bursts an amalgamation of various body parts.

The party fights with this monster, making only slow progress. Notably, Bardolf drenched it in grease while Pelanil struck it with magic fire. Then, out of nowhere, the beast morphed around Pelanil consuming him and wrapping him in viscera.

While trying to fight his way out of the monster, Pelanil found its heart: the re-animated corpse of baby Walter. Working quickly, Pelanil was able to separate the corpse from the muscles that attached it to the monster. Immediately, the monster fell to pieces, the chanting shadows left, and all was finally quiet.

Followed by the rest of the party, Pelanil laid to rest baby Walter and Margaret. Just has he closed the lid to the coffin, the party was struck by a vision. They saw Rose and Thorn alive and playing with Margaret. They saw Mr. Durst's impropriety Elizabeth's jealousy. They saw Elizabeth turn to dark magic in search for a youthful body. They saw Elizabeth take Walter from Margaret and sacrifice him on the altar. Then they saw, the Dark Powers enter the house and fully corrupt Elizabeth.

In the end, they see the ghosts of the children and Margaret once more as Rose thanks the party for saving Walter just before fading from sight.

After freeing the spirits from death house, the party walks out at level 3.

Bardolf unties a hungry Carlos, and as the party goes wandering in search of a place to rest, they encounter a friendly old lady, Morgantha, who insists they call her Granny. Granny sells the party some of her delicious homemade pies, and the party scarfs them down right away, except for Pelanil who packs his away for later. Granny also offers the following information:

• Rumor is that Burgomaster Indirovich is dead and that his son, Ismark Kolyanovich is set to replace him (Granny doesn't believe in his leadership)
• The party can find a place to rest at The Blood of the Vine Tavern
• Bildrath Cantemir sells wares on the other side of town
• Mary Swilova's daughter Gertruda has recently gone missing and Mary is beside herself
• The players are in the Land of Barovia, ruled by Strahd Von Zarovich

Exhausted, Pelanil heads directly to the tavern, where he pays for a bath, and proceeds to the bar.

Bardolf heads to Bildrath's Mercantile to find some feed for Carlos. Bildrath is unwilling to budge on his incredibly high prices, so Bardolf is forced to pay top dollar. As Barovia Map tries to bargain, Bildrath summons his nephew Parriwimple to deal with Bardolf.

Eventually, the party each make their the Blood of the Vine Tavern where they are finally ready to get some well-deserved rest.