Difference between revisions of "2018-05-06"

Revision as of 15:35, 6 May 2018

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Decisions on the Vertical Axis

After some deliberation they decide to head down and try to obtain the Holy Symbol of Ravenkind, but first they want to investigate the false wall they noticed earlier.

Sardalis pauses after a moment of inspiration and inspects the wall in the room adjoining Lief Lipsiege's, and finds a door previously obscured by webs which lead to a corridor mirroring one they saw on a lower floor.

They decide to investigate the hidden door before looking any further at that. On opening it they come across a door and immediately spot a woman moving lithely through the room cleaning. The woman turns and immediately bursts into tears, though Lekki & Pavel think they perceive them to be disingenuous. She claims to be Helga Ruvak, the simple daughter of a bootmaker who has been forced to work as a maid for Strahd, but her fancy necklace seems incongruent with this and after some masterful questioning by Lekki which reveals that she doesn't know the word "cobbler" she suddenly grows coldly confident and admits that the jig is up.

Pavel levels his sword at her throat and asks her to try again, while Sardalis closes in on her which causes her to suddenly lash out with her suddenly-clawed hands, targeting Pavel and lashing his face before backing up to the far wall of the room.

Pavel responds with an Eldritch Blast that misses and Hexes her. Lekki flings a firebolt at the vampire but misses, though Sardalis manages to hit her and she screams with rage and pain as she charges towards Pavel, grappling with him and just barely missing him with her snapping teeth. He smashes a vial of holy water on her face which melts her skin and causes her to screech in pain and fury.

Lekki steps up behind them and summons a Sacred Flame down to hit Helga, causing her to writhe around as she sinks her claws into the Half-Elf. Pavel finally manages to wriggle free and desperately backs off, casting False Life on himself to give himself some buffer against his impending death. Lekki turns and sends motes of holy light into him further invigorating him.

The vampire turns her attentions to Lekki, latching onto them and sinking her teeth into their neck.

Sardalis casts Haste on Lekki in anticipation of their being able to make good use of it, though in the ensuing fracas Lekki is bitten again

Pavel makes the connection of Holy Water helping to prevent the regeneration and uses his to good effect and Lekki manages to cast Fear on the vampire who drops them immediately. As Helga attempts to bolt from the room she is subjected to a punishing barrage of blows leaving her barely functional. She rockets down the hallway and up a flight of stairs with Pavel & Lekki in hot pursuit.

Another flight of stairs later and Pavel fails to hit her, dropping the Luckblade in his eagerness and scooping it up to hurry after her but again failing to hit her.

Finally Sardalis unleashes a flurry of Magic Missiles streaking to hit the fleeing creature, finally dropping her lifeless body to tumble further down the stairway she was just starting to head down.

Strahd's Red Throbbing Love Shaft

Pavel begins warily trudging down after her body but has only taken a step onto the spiral staircase when a reddish light flares high overhead, then settles into a dull, pulsing red glow. They now see the full immensity of this tower. The spiral staircase circles up the tower’s full height. The tower, sixty feet wide at its base, becomes narrower as it climbs. At the pinnacle of the hollow tower, a large crystal heart pulsates with red light. Above the heart, the stairs continue upward.

Sardalis casts Mage Hand to retrieve the necklace from the vampire corpse and suggests that they retreat, leading the way back down the corridor from which they came. Pavel asks if they have any idea what that was in the tower. Sardalis suspects it might be some kind of reliquary.

Slumber Party

They move back to the bedroom where they discovered Helga Ruvak and set up magical alarms, followed by a casting of Leomund's Tiny Hut by Sardalis allowing them an 8 hour period of rest.

Sardalis' alarm goes off after a little over an hour. He can hear groaning in the passageway outside and soon they all hear banging on the door and eventually zombies smash their way into the room. The creatures approach the dome and continue for a couple of minutes to try to enter so they cull the zombies by stabbing through the sides of the dome.

Morning Has Come, Lief is Gone

They decide to check in on Lief Lipsiege and find him gone, his manacle empty. Cyrus is no longer in the chest and Lekki mentions that they had instructed Lief Lipsiege to release the creature after a few hours. There are spots of

They investigate the extra hidden door they found before sleeping and realize that the corridor beyond intersects the hollow tower with the crystal heart that they saw before.

Bone-Zone Detour

Sardalis points out that they do not know that the crypts aren't though the so-far unexplored door from the Bony Hall. They open the door and find a thirty-foot-square room in a shambles. Scattered furniture lies in heaps near the walls. Broken bones lie scattered amid crumpled and crushed plate armor. Shields and swords jut from the walls as if driven into them by some tremendous force. Two doors stand opposite one another in the center of the north wall and the south wall. A dark archway leads out through the east wall.

Opening the door opposite, they find a shadowy room is in perfect order. A great table stands here with its chair, inkwell, and quill set carefully in place. Lances, swords, and shields that bear the Barovian crest are hung neatly on the dark, oak-paneled walls.

Pavel see's a terrifying demon-like creature silently staring in his direction, while his wizardly companions are observing a conjuration aura in that corner. As he describes the demon to them they spot it too, a horrible smile slowly spreading over it's face. Just as Pavel mentions the sound of footsteps approaching, a secret door opens in the western wall and Rahadin comes through. The Dusk Elf stops in his tracks when he sees the party, his mouth working for a few moments before he gives up and his hand begins to move to his scimitar.

CLIFFHANNGERRRRRR!!!!

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