We have liberated the winery!
We went back into the main chamber searching for the bottle that held the liquid that the blight druid was pouring into the wine cask. What we found was a broken bottle. Kyana and Zanfyr both check out the liquid residue and eventually determine that it was a poison. They poured poison into the wine cask. We have to assume that they poured some in every cask. We need to warn Davian about this. As if on cue, we noticed that Davian and his staff were making their way back already. As we were talking about steps we need to take to help Davian get things back, in order, he and the rest walked up.
Davian exclaimed that it was a sight to behold, as we challenged the druids and the blight creatures. How the ravens joined in the battle and how everything seemed at once, dire and then how it turned and the battle was won. One of the returning crew was in the field examining the vines. When asked who he was, Davian told us, he was his son Elvir. He is largely the caretaker of the business. He is looking at the vines to see how they are. Davian said, “They look weak but there is a fair chance they will recover!”.
Snoggly brought up the poison that we had found and that was used on at least one of the cask. Davian agreed that they’ll need to check the other casks for the poison. Snoggly asked if it was going to hurt their business. Davian, looking at the vines, indicated that the winery and the vines won’t recover quickly. He tells us those were the last vats. Snoggly spoke up with a suggestion to tide them over while they recover from this attack. He suggested that they maybe make whisky to cover them for a while. Davian says that the Vistani have drinks from outside of Barovia, like whisky, scotch, ales, and beer. Snoggly implies that we really don’t want to mess with those people. The conversation broke down to a discussion of how to make it. They suggested that the “Wizard of Whisky” would make a good name for it. Snoggly told them that if they let it age for 8 years, you could call it “Snoggly’s Signature Blend”. Rinn wondered if there might be a spell that would allow the aging process to go much faster.
Davian asked about the condition of the inside of the facility. We told him that a couple of the casks had been moved but other than that, it should be mostly okay. Everyone started in. As he enters the building, he moves to a trap door that the group hadn’t noticed before and opens it. He seemed relieved to find that it’s still there. He puled out a bag of coin and tossed it to us, Rinn caught it. He said we’re not rich but we aren’t poor either. It’s not much but take this for the service you provided. 350 gold pieces. He also pulled out a couple of other things. One item he pulled from his jacket. That item was a wand of magic missiles. Snoggly took that and then Davian offered something to Misty, since she was always so curious. It was a Robe of Useful Items. There were little patches on the robe and whenever you pulled one off, whatever was picture on the patch, it became real and there.
Davian and his crew seem happy to be back in there and have started preparing a meal. They’ve told us we can stay as long as we like. Elvir started to head back out to inspect the area when Dain asked him to wait while he asked the whole group about the druids. There are these blight druids and they are basically the bad druids. Are there good druids? Druids that could be sought out to assist in the recovery of the vineyard and the wine? If they exist, would you know where to find them?
Davian explains that years in the past, this whole valley was filled with druids. They were called the Rozana and were composed of the three ladies, the Ladies of the Feigns, The Seeker, The Weaver, and the Huntress (a wolf). They were a peace-loving people and worshipped the land. And then a figure came along, a conqueror. His name was Strahd Von Zarovich. Von Zarovich moved into the valley and crushed the three Arch Fey very quickly. At that time, the druids split apart. There were druids that saw Von Zarovich at the real god and and that the Fey they had worshipped ere not worthy of worship at all. The druids that would not follow Strahd scattered. Some call them the wild people and some call them the forest folk. They aren’t referred to as druid much anymore, but that’s where they descend from. The group that follow Strahd is more organized. Haldar asked, “So you think the group that attacked here is the group that doesn’t follow Strahd?”. He answered, “No, that would be the group that does follow Strahd!”.
After Snoggly describes the staff that the leader was carrying and after Davian confirms it with Adrian, he tells us that about five miles south, there is an area called Yesterhill. Even before Strahd’s time, there is a tree that grows there that fits that description. It’s black, it bleeds and appears dead. Davian has not known anyone to try to cut a branch off of it but perhaps they did. It certainly sounds like they did. These druids are in that area. Adrian suggests that they are up to something.
Rinn, sneakily followed Elvir out and he made a bee line for a particular spot near the center of the vineyard. He dropped down to his knees and starts digging with his hands, frantically. Rinn attempted to move closer at an angle where he can see what he is digging for. Elvir stops, clasps his hands to his head, obviously upset about something. Rinn attempts to sneak closer but Elvir hears his and leaps up drawing a dagger. Rinn holds up his hand and gently asks, “What’s missing?”. Elvir put away his dagger, more than a little irritated, and tells Rinn that he shouldn’t sneak up on people like that. Rinn notices that there are tears running down Elvir’s cheeks and asks again, “What’s missing?”. Elvir says, “Follow me!”, as he starts walking back to the house at a good pace. Rinn followed him back.
Davian starts explaining the Ravens common around here. This is going to sound crazy, you’ve no doubt noticed all of the Ravens, to which we nod in agreement. He tells us Ravens have been common around here and are a good omen and good luck. We don’t worship them but we revere them. The druids of Yesterhill and that area hate them, the druids of the Berrez Bog. They are a community that wants to kill the Ravens. That’s probably why they were here, to kill the Ravens in the Winery, pointing up to the Ravens in the rafters. The were likely here, not so much for us, but more about our connection to the Ravens.
Davian turns as Elvir and Rinn enter the room. Davian asking Elvir, “What is it?”, to which Elvir replies, “It’s over, we’re done!”, in a very matter of fact way. Davian asked for an explanation which is when Elvir whispers something to Davian who replies with, “Are you certain?”. Elvir tells him it’s gone! Rinn suggests that they might as well tell us all, we might be able to help. Davian was reluctant to impose on us any further but Rinn insisted, reminding him that we came here to get the wine flowing again. If this is going to hinder that, then we still have work to do. He tells us this is more than simply hindering, this stops it all together. Kyana asks, “How?”.
Davian passes out wine to everyone and tells us something that he says, very few know. He tells us that long ago, the Rozana gifted the Kreskov’s that owned this property, with three gemstones. The gemstones granted abundant life to the valley, and when planted in the ground, yielded these crops. They were life giving and the Krezkovs used them and built this vineyard around them. The Wizard story was largely a cover so as not to tell people about the gems for fear they would come and take them. Over time though, it is hard to keep a secret. Word has gotten out to the people around here. Now knowing that this gem is gone, may mean it was the reason for the attack. It would certainly kill the winery. He tells us that Elvir just told him, the last of the gemstones is gone. Without the gemstones, there will be no vines and with that, no wine.
Kyana asked if the place where the gemstone had been, looked like it had been disturbed? Elvir answered that it had been disturbed. There were a lot of little blight beasts stick prints around the area. When asked, Davian confirms that the other two gemstones had already ben taken. The first was ten years ago. It made their finest wine which we call Champaign du-Stomp. No one knew where it went, no clue, no information as to where it might be. Haldar asked if that meant they haven’t been able to make that wine in ten years. Davian replied yes, that’s why it’s more expensive. The one casks is the last of it and they’ve poisoned that. We got by for a while, about three weeks ago, the second gem was stolen. It was taken at night, no fight or anything like that. Haldar asked if they had a visitor at the time, to which Davian replied, “No!”. Adrian is a bit of a huntsman and followed some tracks to Berrez but no one goes there. Berrez is a swamp area East and a little South of here. He begins digging to a map so as to show them where it is.
Kyana asked what the gems looked like so we could be on the lookout to make sure we’ll recognize them so as can return them. They will glow with the light of life, as nothing else in the cursed land will, we will know them when we see them. Snoggly asks, what use would the be to others. Davian indicates that they have immense power, there is no telling what someone could do with them. Haldar points out that the stone taken this time was obviously take by these druids and is likely taken back to the tree. Davian says that all he knows is that the gem is not where it is supposed to be. It is decided that the stone is likely with the druids at the tree. Rinn suggests that if Zanfyr could talk to the Ravens, maybe they can tell us more about where they are and what happened to the gem.
We settle in for a nice meal and though they didn’t have any whiskey, they did break out a bottle of the Champaign du-Stomp from his reserves. He asked if any of us were wine aficionado’s to which Rinn and Dain say that they both appreciate a good wine but are not necessarily aficionado’s. Elvir invited Rinn to come see the wine cellar. Rinn took him up on it. We went back to an area behind the building and down some stairs that was very cold. There is a secret door there that goes back into an area where there is brown mold that gives off a cooling temperature and that keeps the room refrigerated. He breaks out one of the barrels and we start drinking quite a bit. He starts asking Rinn about his adventuring and even more about his ability to sneak around. Rinn tells him the sneaking is a quality he developed as a skill he used as a spy. He had server in skirmishes and battles by getting information about the enemies. He suggested that maybe, if things go well, we could use my skills at being sneaky, to make a little money.
Upstairs, Davian starts trying to get a little more information about the rest of our group. Finally he just asks about our feelings towards Strahd von Zarovich and what we know about him. Tells him what little we know about him is that Vallaki wouldn’t even allow his name to be spoken. We tell him that we understand that he used to be a general and became cursed. That’s how this land became shrouded in mist and was separated from the rest of the world around it. That he is the ancient and he is the land. Davian told us that he is indeed part of the land. They are not sure he even can die. He asks if we know that we are trapped here. We replied that we’ve heard there might be a way out. The Vistani are rumored to be able to come and go. For now we know we are trapped here.
Davian tells us that, as he understands it, Strahd is the only one with the power to allow people to come and go. He retells the story of the Vistani and Strahd’s beginnings. He tells us that many would say the Vistani are Strahd’s servants and many who would say they aren’t. He tells us that if the force brought us here, it was for a reason. He tells us that there is a darker force above Strahd. That we may have been brought here to be Strahd’s new tormentors. The main thing we should know is that Strahd knows we are here. He knows all about us, more than he should know. That once we came through the mists, he new all things about this group. He then asked if we have a name. Barovian Bastard’s seemed to roll of the tongue. It’s not elegant but may work for us. Davian broke out the cigars and Dain took one. Davian says they come across information and would be happy to pass that on to us when they can.
Davian asked why we were here. Dain told him that we were sent to check on the winery as they ere expecting a shipment and needed it to be there before the next feast which was coming up. Adrian speaks up, that he needs to go to Yesterhill. Haldar says that he would be willing to go and help bring back the gem. Adrian decided that we had not been given the whole story around Yesterhill. It is largely a cemetery. So you have about a 400 foot hill that’s probably about 200 yards long and it’s terraced. It’s about 100 feet up, 50 feet across, 100 feet up and 500 feet across, and it continues like this until you are at the top. The upper layers have the 10 foot tall Cairns that are burial places for these ancient druids from the years before Strahd. They have been relatively undisturbed. We know there is activity at the top and the tree is at the top.
We’ve generally tried to stay away and leave them alone and hoped they would leave us alone. That’s not working anymore! They carry out their rituals and their worship at the top. He describes the path to take to get to the top, is a rut. Depending on what they are up to, they may have very little guard out. Snoggly points out that this is probably where they are keeping the stone, which Adrian agrees and says that’s why he is going. Snoggly suggests that we would be willing to assist him. Dain asks if the rest of the Bastards are willing to take this on?
Rinn and Elvir return to the main room after drinking a little too much. Elvir being a little more drunk, while Rinn just had a good buzz going. He could almost look and speak as if he wasn’t drunk. We turn in for the evening in the main room with some guest beds. Rinn puts Boo out to be a lookout for us. Boo flew up to the rafters where the Ravens were but they didn’t seen to happy about him being here so me moved back down to the rim of one of the large casks. The night passes uneventfully.
As we start getting ready and eat, Adrian comes down with his long bow, prepared for the days events. We finally head out. Nothing happened on the way to the hill but a lot of talking out of character. As we came out of the woods, we see a 400 foot hill. It’s terraced as Adrian described before. On the back side of the hill, the mist is thickest, like in the border areas. We have a clear path that is a little sunkin that moves up the hill. Rinn sends out Boo to gather some information for him. That prompted a major discussion on Familiars. Boo flies out of my range but before he does, I see some people walking around the first tier. He flies further and come back. I get a since of lots of people, trees, rocks, lightening, and storm clouds. The storm cloud is something we were able to see from the ground and seems to be only at and around the top of the hill. He didn’t see anything particularly tasty. He also gives off a sense of a giant person made of sticks.
We exit the clearing and stay low. We move to shadows of one side of the embankment and start making our way forward. We climb the first 100 feet but we don’t run into anyone. There is a path on the tier that seems to be a walking path around it. There are also the Cairns spread out along this level. Adrian gets up to the top of that tier and peers over the edge of the mound around the path. Rinn uses his messaging spell to have him wait there. Adrian, not used to someone speaking into his mind, appears startled. Rinn tells him that it is he who is speaking to him. He looks back and Rinn give him an affirming nod and tells him to wait while he sends boo out for another look. Boo flies back away from the group and comes back out of the trees further down and flies over and around the tier. He sees three of the wild men like the one we fought from the path before the winery. They appear to be walking a path as guards. He starts to see over the edge of the next tier when he starts to leave Rinn’s range. Rinn has him return. The wild men were making their way toward us. Rinn explained this to Adrian again and then had to give him a quick tutorial on how to use the message spell. Adrian did point out that one of the men had a horn, something to blow into to warn others. Misty can take care of the horn. She peers over the mound and casts a silence spell at an area that would encompass the person with the horn. She took a moment on her way back to let Snoggly, Kyana, and Rinn know where she casts the spell. We begin to move forward in a sneaky fashion and Dain slips a little and makes a clanking sound of metal on ground.
Haldar start with a couple of shots at the wild man with the horn. He also marks this person as his prey. Kyana takes the next shot striking another of the men. The man with the horn runs forward and attempts to blow the horn but no sound is made. He tries again and it’s still silent. He threw down the horn and moved forward. Misty moved forward and struck one of the men for quite a bit of damage. The battle continues on like this until the Basterds and their guest Adrian, finally defeat the wild men. Rinn snatched up the horn and then they moved the bodies into the darkened side of the path, partially hidden.
We began moving up the path to the next tier. Rinn sent Boo out for more reconnaissance. Rinn did take some damage in the battle and while move along, Kyana healed most of that. On this level there are no Cairn’s. Boo circles around and Rinn sees nothing. He sees a couple of people walking on the next tier though. More of the wild men but also a robed figure were moving away from the path. Rinn had everyone stay low while we wait for a moment to see if anyone was on the back side coming around. Seeing nothing one his way to the path to the next tier. He sends boo around the path to the west and still sees nothing moving. We cross this tier and start up the next path.
As we near the next tier, Rinn lets everyone know that he’s seen the wild men and the robed person moving around to the east path. As we reach the next tier, Rinn sends out Boo to do another pass to see where everyone is now. He doesn’t see anyone on this tier but gets a glance at the next level. It’s a rather large field with several people, a large ring of stones. Within the rings are more people and a gigantic stick man. It’s like a statue made of sticks. We all heard the loud crack of lightening. Boo moves toward the eastern side and they seem to be stopped. We decide to wait where we are, crouched in a position to spring on them when they return. Rinn decided to move out to behind one of the Cairns and wait there.
After a bit of a wait, they still don’t come around. After about two or three minutes, everyone seems to be getting a little antsy. Rinn sends Boo out again who sees the enemy sitting around taking a smoke break or something. Rinn messages Haldar to see what the main group wants to do. It’s finally decided to pass these guys and head to the next level. Off they went. They reach the top level and peer over the top. They all see the ring of stones. Lightning strikes the edge of the ring from time-to-time illuminating a ghastly 50 foot statue made of tightly woven twigs and packed with black earth. The statue resembles a cloaked man with fangs.
-to be continued