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Exethanter Discussion, Exiting the Temple

Curse of Strahd 

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Session 62 – 2022-06-11

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We start this session in the library with Exethanter. Snoggly asked many more questions. First among them was for more information about the three Druidic women that were or are being worshipped across the land. What did Strahd do to them? Exethanter tried to give us the cliff notes version of their story. 

Long before Strahd came and civilized the valley, Barovia was a wild land. The valley was largely populated by scattered familial villages, usually no larger than a couple of dozen people, living in three or four houses to a village. They were somewhat barbaric. There were also groups of forest folks that lived in the wild and didn’t settle. The settled people and the forest folk have had a famously tumultuous relationship over the centuries. So, in a general sense, the land was separated into three fanes or environments. The swamps, the forest, and the mountains. The original inhabitants of the valley worshipped a trio of Arch Fey that were magically connected to the three fanes of the land. The Weaver from the Swamp Fane, the Huntress from the Mountain Fane, and the Seeker from the Forest Fane. The ladies of the wood almost never showed themselves to the people that worshipped them, instead would appear in dreams, auguries, and omens, speaking through the mouths of animals and in the wind that moves the leaves in the trees. The people in the valley used their worship to build the shrines. There is a swamp shrine in the swamps of Berez, a mountain shrine in the circle atop Yester Hill, and a forest shrine behind the Old Mill. As far as Exethanter knows, he’s not entirely sure, but believes the ladies exist in physical form, in Barovia, and hide themselves amongst the folk. The people don’t know that they are actually Arch Fey. He doesn’t know who they are of even if that is accurate. They could be more ethereal than that, and be more the embodiment of the area, but he thinks they took physical form. 

Snoggly asked, what Strahd did to them. He answered that Strahd first went to each of the Fanes and his first thought was that they were nothing of concern but soon learned they had real power. He couldn’t have any rivals, so he destroyed them. 

Snoggly asked, what dark god did Strahd request his power from. Exethanter told us that Strahd released the god Vampyr. His deal with Vampyr was to have Tatyana and live forever. To do this, he had to be exsanguinated by Vampyr and his flesh had to be torn from his body, and when he was restored, 
Strahd had to slay another humanoid that loved and/or revered him then drink that person’s blood within one hour of slaying him. That person was Sergei. He then pursued Tatyana but she wanted nothing to do with him. She fled from him and finally through herself from the balcony of Castle Ravenloft. At this, Strahds own people turned on him and when his soldiers tried to kill him, they were unable to. He was immortal then. 

Snoggly asked, what gift Strahd offered, to gain access to the Temple? Exethanter told us he didn’t know.

Snoggly asked that was this time is when Barovia was turned into a demi-plane? Exethnter said, “Yes!”. Then he pointed out that Vampyr wasn’t strong enough to do that but the dark powers wanted to trap Strahd and part of the curse of Strahd for accepting the gift of Vampyr, was that he would not have Tatyana and he would be isolated in Barovia. He would be the king and he would be powerful but, he would only have this limited area to rule, and he would never have the one thing he really wanted, Tatyana.

Zanfyr asked, where Vampyr was now! Exethanter told us he is in the ether or in the mists.  He is not a physical creature you can find, attack, or overwhelm anymore.

Dain asked if Exethanter knew who the other dark powers are. He told us that most of them are held within the Temple but there are greater powers than even that. We just call them the dark powers. Vampyr is simply a vestige, which is part of the dark power, but the actual dark powers are beyond even that. He tells us that he, Exethanter, made deal with Tennebrus. That is how he became a lich.

Rinn says, “So people gain powers by making deals with powerful creatures?”. Exethanter pointed out that there was a lot of power to be had within the temple walls, but that power would come at a price. Rinn wondered if they ever tell you what the price will be. Exethanter suggests that these vestiges may not know the price. He told us that what we might see as a negative or a deficiency, they might now. 

Snoggly asked if Rinn was thinking about taking a power for himself. Rinn suggested that he wouldn’t mind being a god, and if they could make him a god, them whatever the consequence of the deal, as a god, I could just fix the bad problem. Snoggly reminded Rinn that if he started acting like a nutter, he was going to knock me upside the head. Snoggly asked Exethanter about the constructed man in one of Maddam Eva’s cards from the reading. We speculated it might have been Piddlewick but Exethanter nixed that. He asked if we had ever met a constructed person. Snoggly finally suggested that the man playing music at the Abby, in the upstairs room. Exethanter says that the mongrel folk of the Abby are not constructs. They are healings that have been modified by the dark powers. Snoggly suggested that the Abbot had been here at some point, but Exethanter said the he has never been here. He followed that up with, “The Abbott is not a man!”. When we asked what he was, Exethanter told us that the Abbott is an Astral Deva, something like an Angel. He has a strong sense of order and anything to achieve order is on the table. The ends justify the means. Snoggly tells him that the Abbott built a bride for Strahd but it failed. 

Zanfyr asked tells Exethanter about the vision he had, of Rahadin slaughtering the Druids. Exethanter explains that Rahadin is a dusk elf, and as far as he knows, is not undead. That may have changed but he is not aware that it has. He is Strahd’s Chamberlain, and basically Strahd’s executioner. He carries out Strahd’s will against the people. He has killed many thousands; the druids were among them. Anyone that challenged Strahd’s power on the table. The Fanes and the druids who worshipped those Fanes, especially the higher-powered druids were targeted. He wanted to remove all knowledge of them. We mentioned that we’ve had run-ins with Rahadin. Exethanter suggested that if we’ve had run-ins with Rahadin and survived, then we have done well. We told hium that Rahadin warned us away from coming to the temple and then he invited us to Strrahd’s wedding. Exethanter asked then, if we were invited to the wedding, are we friends of Strahd? We told him no. We are not sure why he has invited us there. We are not friends, we’ve never met Strahd. Exethanter asked if we felt any connection to Strahd, as entering the mist would require his permission. We only understand that he brought us through the mists. None of us knew of him before and we know no reason for him to have brought us here. Exethaner corrected himself, actually the dark powers could have brought us here for their amusement. Snoggly exclaimed that he was going to ask Strahd why he brought us here. 

At some point, we let him know that we returned the light to Argynvosthold and that the castle is now ours. Of course, if we leave this place and it remains this closed realm, we will likely never see it again. Dain finally asked, what would it take to break the curse. Should our challenge be to the dark powers? Would Strahd’s destruction somehow hold the key to breaking the curse and freeing Barovia? Do we need to make some sort of bargain with somebody? Exethanter replies, “I do not know of a way”. That’s what Dain would like to accomplish. He assumes that in order to do that, someone would have to make a deal with somebody, with the dark powers, that amuses them more than Strahd. Snoggly went back to the question about the man in the room at the Abby. Does that sound like the man that the reading spoke of? Exethanter thought that he wasn’t the man. He said, considering the reproductive system, all men are created by man. 

We began going through the lists is items we needed, as told us by the reading. We no longer have the book as it was used to gain access to this temple. We suggested that the book was destroyed. Exethanter told us that no, the book was not destroyed. Nefron would never destroy something like that. He would have kept the book with himself. He will study it and learn what he can from it. Zanfyr wondered aloud, “Even if we had everything in the readings, would that be enough to take out Strahd?”. He says that over the years, many have tried. Kazan has tried many times. Dain speculated having someone like Kazan helping us might give us an advantage. Snoggly and Zanfyr both pointed out that Kazan can’t be trusted as he has his own agenda. Exethanter told us that we are correct. Kazan wants to be what Strahd is. Kazan believe he was robbed of being the ruler of Barovia by Strahd. The dark powers have been toying with Kazan by making a deal with him that if he can kill Strahd, then he can be the ruler of the land. The never-ending cycle is that Kazan cannot kill Strahd.

Dain asked, “If we were to take on Strahd, and if the battle went our way, would the dark powers intervein and destroy us to prevent it?”. Exethanter told us that the dark powers generally let things happen and generally do not directly intervein but the could and might! He said they seem to derive their amusement from watching events rather than directly intervening. After all, anything that is done, they can undo. Dain says, “So we could succeed, destroy Strahd, be victorious, and they can just put it all back?”. Snoggly asked again, have we completed everything told to us in the reading, recanting everything. The Holy Symbol of Raven Kind was the first item, recovered from the dragon’s house. We had found the book spoken of, Nefron has it now. The Sunsword is the other item; we have that now as well. Creature of darkness, whose power is beyond mortality, the Dark Lord who lurks in the depths of darkness in one place to which he must return. Snoggly says, “His crypt! Which now, we know how to get in to.”. Snoggly suggested that our next steps are to go to the wedding, find out what he wants from us, why he brought us here. If that doesn’t blow everything up, see what happens and go from there. Possibly chuck his crypt from the window.

Rinn asked, what are all the methods for destroying a vampire. We have the sword, the amulet, stakes, holy water. Exethanter comments, “Strahd is very powerful but in the end, he is still a vampire. Sunlight, a wooden stake through the heart while he lies in his coffin, the weapons we poses, he can be laid low, though, it would take great power and a bit of good luck. The fact that we made it here, and survived many of the challenges presented by the temple, Nefron is no Strahd, but he is no slouch either.”. Rinn poses another question, “Is there and actual exit from the realm, back to here we came from?”. He says, yes. Rinn asked, “There is an actual doorway or portal through which we can pass through to get out of here?”. Exethanter tells us, yes and no! We could simply travers the mist is we can survive it, but you will not survive it. The Vistani can come and go because they have an understanding with Strahd, they saved his life, they do not interfere with his doings, since ascending to where he is now. Strahd looks the other way with them, and they do not want to turn his eye toward them. He can shut that down if he wants to. There is no other such portal by which we could leave. The saying, he is the antcient, he is the land, is not just a saying: he is the land. He could plunge this land into eternal darkness with but a thought. He could lay mountains low and flood the lands. He flooded Barez for killing one of his perspective brides who looked like Tatyanna. Rinn asked, “So he has had other potential brides that looked like Tatyanna but he never successfully married?”. With the curse, every hundred years or so, another one comes along, in spirit, vitality, and appearance, everything that Tatyanna was, is in the new one. He pursues her relentlessly, and in the end, he is denied her, and the dark powers are again, amused. 

Snoggly suggested that in a way, we have been invited to see the joke. We get to watch Strahd be crushed again. Zanfyr and Dain both pointed out that the amusement comes at the expense of a woman’s life. That was a bit of a sobering thought. Exethanter points out that to marry her, she would have to become a vampire like him. She will not have a choice in the matter, he will enthrall and force her to marry him. This outcome is arguably worse than death. 

Rinn asked if there was a portal or something that we can use to get to the castle faster? Exethanter said no at first and then remembered that there was a portal in Tsolenka Pass that could get us to the castle. Rinn asked if there was a place in the temple where we could possibly rest. Exethanter says no, not within the temple. We will take some time to identify the staff and the wand. The white staff turns out to be a cursed staff of frost. As long as you remain cursed, you are unwilling to part with the staff, keeping it on your person at all times. It is a staff of frost but all nonmagical flames within 30 feet of you are automatically extinguished, fire damage dealt by the wielder is halved, and any creature that takes a long rest within 30 feet of you suffers the affects of extreme cold. That item sucks so snoggly returns it to the treasure pile. The wand is a wand of secrets which points out the nearest secret door or trap if it is within 30 feet of the wielder. It has 3 charges and regains up to 3 charges daily at dawn. 

Snoggly asked if Exethanter could do anything about Dain’s wolf problem, the lycanthropy. Dain explains what has happened to him. Exethanter chuckled and said, “Do I look like a healer to you?”. Dain asked if the potion we made for him would also work to restore Dain, removing the curse. Exethanter thought for a moment and then realized Dain was talking about the potion of Greater Restoration we made for Exethanter. He said that it would not help Dain. He told Dain that as he remembers it, it’s a combination of things, a greater restoration, a spell of atonement, and a removed curse. Dain must be in the cursed form and must be restrained. He must remain motionless during the ceremony. He suggested the Abbott might be able to handle it for me. Misty talks him into getting a potion which ends up being squid ink. If you drink it and follow it with a chaser, it gives you advantage on stealth rolls for 24 hours.

We thanked Exethanter for his help and information and finally leave. We headed back to the outer cold room where we left Helwa and Skald. We arrive to find a scene that is a bloody mess. Helwa and Skald’s blackened and ripped corpses are a testament to a savage attack. The puncture marks and familiar gray-yellow tinged, torn flesh are the same as those on the earlier victim. The bodies have been dead some time now. They are rigid and frozen in the icy climate now that fires are extinguished. Haldar moves to the opening to see what the weather is like. It’s much the same as before. Snoggly brought up the hut so we could rest. We finally got a good rest in and then we bid farewell to the Amber Temple. A storehouse of incredible evil that could create the likes of a Strahd.. or Exethanter..  Somewhere in the back of our mind we wondered what power could have been ours, could we have managed or negated any consequence of that power. Kasimir may have seemed a little paler.. a little more gaunt, but the expedition had taken a toll on all. What power did he truly possess from his ‘deal’ with Fekre. What price will he truly pay to see his sister resurrected.

We decided that Zanfyr would be able to turn into a giant eagle and carry those that need the assistance across the chasm, one at a time. We approached the chasm and Zanfyr transformed into a giant eagle. He flew around a bit to test out this new ability and felt confident that he could maneuver in the wind fine. Zanfyr picked up and carried Dain over first. Dain noticed an immense snow mountain marking the grave of the Roc of Mt. Ghakis. The form only barely discernable now. The mist is so thick, Dain can’t see back across the chasm and no one else could see Dain. Zanfyr went back for Ezmerelda, bringing her over and dropping her off next. At that time, we had to roll for initiative. In the dense mist around us, Dain saw pockets of mist that were more dense, and even started to take on a shape. Within these areas, Dain could see something that looked like crimson veins spreading throughout the form. They had been clustered around the Roc.

Suddenly, one of the forms seemed to rush into Dain’s space and attempt to overwhelm him. Whatever it tried, apparently failed as Dain was not harmed. Another of these creatures rushed Zanfyr, the Giant Eagle, he felt a cold sensation around the ends of his wings but took no damage. Zanfyr called out with his loud Eagle call and then attacked the form on him, striking it twice. Kassimir looked at the rest of the group on this side of the chasm to try and gauge their response to the Eagles loud call. Haldar uses Zepher Strike to rush across the bridge and though the wind swirled around him, he was able to push through without issue. He presses on and gets close to the action. He could tell that Zanfyr and Dain were engaging something but he couldn’t make out the enemy. Kyanna made it halfway across the bridge before she lost her footing, slipping off the side of the bridge. She managed to hook the side of the bridge and not fall. She attempted to scramble up but again, failed. Ezmerelda shouts out, ”Vampiric Mists, look for the dense areas of fog!”, as she moves towards Zanfyr and quickly slices and jabs at the enemy and blood from it sprays the snow nearby. Snoggly made it halfway across the bridge, seeing Kyanna’s situation, reaches down and helps her back up. They notice at this point that being crouched seems to lessen the winds push on them. Misty, crouching and using her claws made it halfway across and then pounced over Snoggly and Kyanna and continued on and just off the other side.  Zanfyr and Dain were both completely engulfed by their respective attackers but remained undamaged. Dain took two swats at the one on him and managed to hit it. 

Misty was swarmed by one of these Mists. Ezmerelda was attacked as well and took a little damage. Rinn crouched and made it halfway across the bridge before he ran into Snoggly and Kyanna. Zanfyr attacks the one on him again and destroys it then moves to attack another hitting it as well. Kassimir crawls across, catching up behind Rinn, and is blocked there. Haldar uses a called shot and fires at the one on Misty hitting it twice. Kyanna crawled the rest of the bridge and take a sharpshooter shot at the one on attacking Dain. She took that one out. Ezmerelda attacks the one on her and hits it twice. One of the mists moves in on Dain again and hits him, damaging him and reducing his max hit points by 10. Snoggly finishes crawling off of the bridge. Rinn takes a couple of his held actions to move off of the bridge and closer to the fray. Kassimir finishes crawling across the bridge. Misty moves forward to attack hitting twice. Rinn finally moves up and pulls out the Sunsword for the first time, striking with it, doing a good deal of damage. We suffered a couple of additional hits from these creatures before we finally finished them off.  

This is where we left off.