High Rollers DnD - High Rollers: Curse of Strahd #19 | The Mind Palace

Episode Date: September 15, 2020

The Mad Mage interrogates the team in his mind palace! Support the High Rollers and get early access to podcast episodes (and more) on our Patreon: www.patreon.com/HighRollers Thanks to @jackgtmusic for the Aerois/Curse of Strahd mash-up intro! Music courtesy of Epidemic Sound Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

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Click the banner or visit bmo.com slash rise to learn more. The last time on the Curse of Strahd, our adventurers have travelled north, skirting around the edges of the Lachy to Lake Zarovich in search of a mad mage that Dog's body had heard screaming into the night. With the mountains rising up behind them, the team encountered this mad wizard. Clearly distraught by paranoia and trauma, he threatened the party and displayed immense magical powers. However, seemingly convinced for the time being that they are not a threat, the mage has invited the party to their mansion somewhere nearby.

And that, my friends, is where we begin the episode today. You are in the woods, deep within the woods, north of Lake Zarovich. You can still very faintly hear the lapping of the lake against the shore, but as you head further away and towards the mountains, the only sound is really the mutterings of the mage himself. As you travel, not in response to any questions you say or anything, you constantly hear him response to any questions you say or anything you constantly hear him chattering to himself can we can they really be trusted perhaps this is all a scam uh it's no

matter once they are in the mansion uh we will be safe yes yes yes much much much safer it's not safe out here eyes and ears everywhere. Is that something? No. Continues rambling as he makes his way through the woods, seemingly heading towards the large mountains that loom over Barovia. What would Enna think from the rest of you guys? I think this is the guy. Just FYI.

Just Tom saying that. You reckon? The guy? What kind Just Tom saying that. The guy? What kind of guy? Yeah, what guy? He seems like a wizard. Seems kind of mad, you know? He is definitely a mad mage. He calls himself a mage, though. Not a wizard. Oh, shit.

Let's turn around and leave, then. Yeah. It's not the guy. Wrong class. What's everyone's vibe with all of this this because the last thing that you saw was he attempted to cast some sort of spell on Zeros that failed he did stop

time briefly it seems and used considerable magic and he's just leading you deeper into the woods towards the mountains saying that he's going to take you deeper into the woods towards the mountains saying that he's going to take you to his mansion. What's the vibe here?

Extreme hesitance. 1% optimism. Keeping my wits about me. Keeping him at a safe social distance. So you're letting him move out front and staying behind two meters

yeah sure two meter Peter right here how many meters hmm some so I'm 152 centimeters and that is five foot so six foot five

anyway why do you want it in feet so 6 foot 5 anyway why do you want it in feet I want it to go in feet because that's what D&D is measured in and I can only understand distances in ranges of 5 foot squares so I was like how are you within melee range of him

no you're technically out of the five foot melee range. There you go. Longer than a Kim. Yeah. Way longer than a Kim. Most things are. That's two Kims. Two Kims. Two Kims gets you

out of melee range. Two Kims out of melee range. So... Exactly. It's exactly two Kims.s are you so you're just following there's nobody wants to do anything there's no you're just happy to just go where this man is taking you hey i i told you he was mad right i told you it's nice to know that it's not just me that's mad all right there's other people that are mad around here he he is here right he is here i'm not just we're not just walking through the woods.

No? He's here. You're a saint in the near future. He's here. Good. Are you all right? Dragon boy? He had you in that thing.

You all right? He also blasted him with lightning at one point. Oh, yeah, he did. I forgot about that. What's my health at? I'm okay. Nice. All right.

The woods, you are traveling at night, and the woods around you are full of long, dark shadows. There is no moon. The night here is nearly pitch black. The mage has conjured some sort of small glowing sphere that he's using to navigate, but that only serves to extend and twist the shadows as he moves ahead of you. The branches, the rocks, everything here seems to twist into a mangled form of itself in the dark shadows. to twist into a mangled form of itself in the dark

shadows. Tree branches become clawed hands stretching across the ground, reaching towards you like a murderous grip. Oh. Pleasant, then. Oh. Uh, it is Barovia.

I will tell, don't worry. That despite our hesitation Barovia. I will tell, don't worry. And, despite our hesitation on this person, he's very powerful and can probably hear everything we're saying.

So, if we want to maybe get on his good side, we should respect him. Ah, alright, alright, yeah.

Cool guy. Looks really strong and muscly. Really flex, mad flex. Attractive, too. Really attractive. Handsome. Doesn't seem to draw his attention. He continues just muttering. You kind of hear just,

Are these more of your agents, Strahd? Are they illusions? Shadowed assassins to kill me? Have you finally come to finish what you started? No, no, no. No, they do not. They do not seem to be threats. But perhaps that is their trick.

Perhaps that is it. We will... We will find the mansion. And then... Then we will be safe. Yes, yes. Yes, the mansion, yes. It's not far now.

Come. Speed. It's of essence. Well, I'm going to follow. Sure. Yeah. He leads you without six and a half feet away. Keeping a distance a little bit, but yeah.

There are no further events, and within about an hour or so of traveling, you can see the mountains now fully rising up. The forest begins to thin out, and the terrain begins to steep upwards, and you can

see these immense snow tipped mountains kind of looming above you all above the forest canopy and the mad mage leads you to a small um not quite a valley but almost like a a series where parts of the rocks have collapsed um and have formed uh kind of a small divot into the mountains themselves. And he leads you to what appears to be a dead end. He's like, yes, yes, here it is. The mansion. Ah, finally.

Finally, my mansion is here. Yes, safe, safety. Yes. No more eyes and ears to pry upon us. Yes. Look upon it. Look upon it and be amazed. Wow. That is like some prime real estate, mate. I am amazed. Yeah. Yeah, you should be.

Now come, enter. And he points to a flat chunk of rock that just is part of the mountains. After you. No, no, no, you must enter first. I do not wish to be. What if you leave? What if you run? What if you are illusions? No, I wish to know that you are real,

that you step inside my home. Yes, yes. The door is open. You may enter. It's a rock. I expect nothing. What? No, it is the door to the mansion.

Enter. And he just points at the rock. Dog's body will just shrug and walk forward and kind of close his eyes just before he hits the rock. Like, yeah. Yeah, dog's body, you walk through and you keep your eyes closed. And there is a moment as you're kind of walking forwards where everything seems to, suddenly there is a kind of warmth.

The cold air disappears and is just the kind of, you can almost hear the crackling of a fire. You can hear the shuffling of servants feets the smell of food Very quickly assails your senses kind of roast pig and among fresh bread and wine All sorts of things just kind of overwhelm your senses to the rest of you dog's body walks through the mountain He walks through the rock phasing through it as if it's not there. It's like Platform 9 3 quarters. You just got to have a good run at it. There you go.

Harry Potter nerd. I knew Harry Potter nerd would be well in. It's all right, Howie. We've just got to run through the platform. Wow. Some sort of illusion to hide you from Strahd's agents

You know nothing It is conjuration magic Enter the mansion Very well Your smelly friend has already entered Yep I will also do the same. Yep.

Irena slash Tatiana and his mark will follow. The mad mage looks in the dragonborn's direction. Especially you, large one. We're not going to get along, are we? Ah! Good. not going to get along are we ah good fucking mad man

um yeah all of you now experience the same thing as you step through the rock a sense of warmth dryness um the crackling of a fire uh the gentle almost like a smell of perfume or incense um mixes with the the smell of a feast a banquet uh full of of the finest foods and drinks um appears before you those of you who don't have your eyes closed, you see that you step into a literal mansion. Those of you who are familiar with the Forgotten Realms, which all of your characters would be, it has the appearance of a

manor house in Waterdeep. Rich, luxurious woods, polished stone floors, tapestries that display the heraldry of places like Luskan, Neverwinter, Cormyr, Dot Around. You can see that there are cabinets full of strange antiquities,

books of history and knowledge and magic all scattered around this mansion. And before you is a long, elongated wooden dining table that is stacked with all sorts of foods. Anything you can imagine. Cakes, roast pig, fresh breads, cheeses. Everything is laid on. And all of it is being managed by these floating, almost elemental-like creatures. They have almost like suits of armor,

but infused with elemental powers. Some of them have flames. Some of them seem to be encrusted with gemstones. They have vaguely humanoid features, but they're quite androgynous. They're quite difficult to see their detailed features, but they silently just go around the room. They pull out chairs, one for each of you.

Drinks are poured. The mage actually kind of offers his cloak to one of them who takes it and hangs it up next to the door, and then he rubs his balding head. The mage, to give him a description, by the way, he wears these kind of very stained and and dirty red robes and you can see he's quite thin but he has a bald head he has a black goatee he looks a little bit like ming the merciless um he's got very long eyebrows that almost come off his head and kind of float down

um he would looks at you ward and is just like, Welcome to my mansion. This is my home. And it is my home. It is under my control. Know this, strangers, that if you plan to harm me, I can simply eject you from this place, leave you to the mercies of the wilds and of Strahd.

So you must behave. We intend to thank you for graciously inviting us to your home. I have not. I have invited you here so that I can decide whether you are my enemy or not. You have spoken pretty words. You have used magic to perhaps try and convince me, but I am smarter than that. I know that there are ways to trick the mind

to create falsehoods, but you have not attacked me yet. So I have decided to allow you a moment within my home. Time for me to think. Time for me to remember why I am here. Why you might be here.

And then I will decide. Until then, you may eat. You may rest. Know this, if you wish to. If you are servants of Strahdad you will have no way of speaking to your master here his eyes cannot see within my walls his ears cannot hear my words or the words of those within my home he has no power here and he just sort of shuffles off and wanders off as if suddenly remembering something i think up up until this point, Dog's body is just dribbling.

Like, at the sight of the food, he's just dribbling and almost, like, quivering slightly, kind of just waiting for, like, polite company. And then as soon as, like, it seems acceptable that he's just going to dive into the food and just be like, ah! Yeah, and the thing is, Dog's's body as you start eating it like as soon as you finish a meal like a dish like even if you're scooping it with your hands these kind of elemental spirits appear next to you they bring like a napkin they wipe your face or like your hands if they've given a moment. They pour you drink. A huge tankard of like a frothing ale is poured for you. As soon as one plate is finished, another one just appears. They just bring it to you and lay it down.

He's just crying. He's crying and eating. And you're like, I must be dead because I am so happy. This is heaven. Oh, come here. And he tries to hug one of the elemental spirits but still eating a chicken leg i it doesn't resist it does have a kind of physical form it you can kind of it feels slightly amorphous like you could almost squish it um like a kind of

jelly substance um but it doesn't bother it doesn't seem to be affected by the hug it just kind of lets you hug it you're my best friend you're my best friend oh i've never had to fight this time yeah that's what's going on my corner yes it's gonna be a bit more cautious like pick up an apple or something and really inspect it and see if there's any trickery going on here i mean without any ability to like detect magic or anything like that it looks like magic so i'll do that did you want to cast that yeah sure um this is definitely... This food has been created by magic. I'll look up the spell now. Sorry, just to check what kind of... Sense the presence of men. The Feast of Heroes, perhaps.

Ah, yeah. It is not a Feast of Heroes, no. It is not a Feast of Heroes. I'm not that kind. That would be expensive to give people you don't think he wants to buff us. I'm not that kind. That would be expensive to give people you don't know. Yeah, this whole place, Jesper, this whole mansion

is conjuration magic. It's not that it has conjuration magic in it. It is made of conjuration magic. It's not so bright that it's overwhelming, but you almost like seeing like when Neo sees the Matrix, you can see the walls and the magic that they're formed from the whole thing is conjuration magic the food conjuration magic the servants

conjuration magic that said the food is real it has real nourishment it has real sustenance um it does not you don't get any hint of any sort of like magical poison or infections or anything like that. It does look real, basically. I'll communicate that to everybody in case they're all wondering. Such power. This man wields everything here. All

conjured by him. You're saying that the food is safe, Jesper? It's as nourishing as any real food, please. We may never get this chance again. I was going to say, we've been eating rations on the road for a long time. I know I'm struggling to not dive in as Dogbody has. Perhaps we should take this moment to eat and get our strength.

We should. I was worried of some sort of trickery but it seems good clearly dog's body doesn't worry well dog's you see Irena looks over and smiles at dog's body well he has not

fallen dead or he has not collapsed or fallen over dead or in some enchanted stupor. So it seems safe. Perhaps some indigestion he will have to suffer with. That's very convincing hiccups. Is he literally throwing up so he can eat more? No. Or is it just like...

Well, maybe when you've had too much and you have a little vomit bur more or is it just like he's just well maybe like you know when you've had too much and you have a little vomit burp and you're just like i need to stop and then no yeah is mark and irena will head over and start sampling things as well and this table's so huge and there's so much food on it um that yeah they they just take their time sort of picking at pieces and and slowly amounting to that shit yeah i'm going i'm going in yeah yeah rose zeros ziki same thing just all gonna sort of help yourselves are there yeah are there windows in here there are not windows any windows that are there have curtains drawn over them. Right, okay.

Do you think this is really safe from Strahd? A sanctuary? I mean, he said Strahd's never been in here, right? He's been safe this whole time. I'd like to believe that, to some extent. He is powerful. Maybe a true enemy of Strahd we just need to make sure his memory his mind

doesn't turn on us yes we must also still trust him keep our wits about us I've never seen anything safe in Barovia truly from Strahd

or any other evil so enjoy it's better than the monastery yeah alright I'll go to Dragon Town. Yeah, there is any sort of drink that you could want, you know, wine, ales, water, anything basically that you could possibly really want

from a huge noble's feast is on offer. So you can enjoy, and this is perhaps the first time that you have enjoyed a full, hot, fresh meal that hasn't had some twist of Barovia to it. You know, even the rations here, you're constantly having to check them for, you know, rot and maggots and things like that. You know, it becomes, Ismark has become quite adept at kind of like making sure that he checks the supplies regularly. But with this, everything is fresh and hot and flavorful. You know, everything else here is dulled. The food tastes quite bland and heartless.

This tastes like it has been poured with love and attention to detail. The fire is warm. It is dry. It is bright. There is, you know, bright lantern light that fills the entire place. It is probably the brightest place you have been without the aid of the Sword of Sunlight,

without the Sunblade's light. Yeah. And yeah, you guys... I thought what color looked like. Heaven. Yeah. Reds, greens, blues. Oh. yeah and yeah you guys what color looked like heaven yeah reds greens glancing around for the mad mage

where is he he's not here he he has seemingly he's not in this dining room you don't know where he's gone i might um get up with like a chicken wing in my mouth or whatever and just start doing a cursory glance at all the textbooks

and libraries of things of what they're about, what sort of subject matter is here. Sure, yeah. The books, it takes you a bit of time because there are so many. And what is in display and this is kind of like you're looking at like the display cabinets of like oh look at my dining room look at all my cool stuff that i have but it doesn't take long before you glance down a corridor because this place has corridors leading off from it's not just this one room there are corridors

there are doors and looking down one of the corridors it seems to lead into an expansive library um you can even see what appears to be a rotating model of different spheres all kind of moving around each other and rings kind of all kind of turning around um but the books on display the ones that you can see they are histories of the forgotten realms you can see books like The History of Neverwinter, The Noble Houses of Cormyr, Treaties of the Red Wizards of Fae. There's just all sorts of Faerun information here. The Adventures of Elminster of Shadowdale,

The Dark Elves of Menzo-Baranzan. All of these different topics are covered in these books. There's also a large section, a lot of the book seems to deal with magic, you know, theories of conjuration magic, the principalities of evocation and the art of elemental flame, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah.

Like all of these kind of like magical theory books and stuff like that. Very impressive collection. Very, very powerful. Well, sort of, you know, this is the kind of thing that a very impressive collection very very powerful or sort of you know this is the kind of thing that a very grand wizard would have this is only this person's collection it's quite the collection this person is either an avid collector or extremely intelligent

and powerful I just say that this is already it's definitely a good ally if we can keep on his right side I just hope that we can talk

to him and he remembers something useful or a way I just hope that we can talk to him and he remembers something useful. Or a way to help him and his mind, perhaps. We might not be powerful enough. Everything here, it's all conjuration. So is this all in his memory? Does he have all this information in these books? Does he have this knowledge to conjure these books?

To detect magic, are the books themselves and the objects, are they real or are they also... They are conjurations as well. These are not real things in this place this whole place everything here has been created by magic um you suspect that maybe if you took these books out they might be blank you're not sure if they'll actually have any written information in them but the positions of them the titles of them they've clearly been pulled yeah they've probably been created if this mage has made this place,

these are likely memories of a real place. He's probably based this mansion on a place where he actually lives to create it. It's the kind of, you know, he's fabricated it from something that he knows. I'll just pass it on to Zeke. Yeah, it's his mind house. It's incredible

the detail the extent of what he must know and it's more than as I said this room is just one room you can see down the hallway there appears to be a grand library there are paintings along the corridors there are

stairs that lead up to another floor of rooms up here. Seems to be even more expansive. It's just a fucking, just sometimes D&D, right? It's just like, I wish I had that power. It's so freaking cool.

Yeah, yeah. This is a cool spell. Love this. It's a very cool spell. I'd probably fuck it up and just just do it all wrong but anyway just create like a cube a metal cube it's always been one of my things where like you know if you had the like the oh you could you know if you had a wish or if you could wish for superpowers i'd be like i want to be a 20th level wizard from dnd and have all the spells in the player's handbook and i can cast them as many times yeah because you could just be fucking everything you could do whatever the fuck you wanted um yeah it's cool yeah it's cool shit anyway uh yeah so the mad mage doesn't

yeah yeah the mad mage doesn't reappear um the the figures the elemental figures any of you who have um like torn or dirtied clothing they come up and they sort of um they bring you a set of very basic kind of i wouldn't call them like a gown or anything like that but like a basic tunic and trousers and they they offer them in one hand and then they tug at your sort of like tattered ruined clothing in the other um so all of them went to Dog's Body. Yeah. Dog's Body, for sure, they're like tugging at your clothes

and they're offering you these other clothes. Well, there's a dog who's also now just covered in dirt and grease and food debris all over his beard and chest hair. And he's just one big greasy, dirty mess at this point in time. I think one of them is offering you a hand

as well. So while they have one offering you clothes, the other one is tugging on your clothes. One of them is making a come with me gesture. Hey, what? I don't swing that way, darling. Can I just... I want more chicken. Help.

Yeah, they bring you a plate of chicken. They literally pick one up and offer it to you. So I'm just eating more chicken as I guess they're tugging on my clothes. I'm like, uh... I don't know what's going on. It looks like they're trying to clean your clothes.

And you? All of us? In Rose's direction, they nod. And one of them makes one that seems to be kind of covered in coral and like seaweed, begins sort of like just like, almost like as if miming

washing itself. I've never known such kindness in my life! Just full on breakdown. i've never known such kindness just full-on breakdown full-on nervous breakdown hatch your next body's not offended yeah uh yeah i guess i'll go wherever they want to take me to clean me if if you follow them they lead you to a bath house like a kind of indoor roman style bath where it's all stone tiles, there is warm water, there are bottles of

perfumes and lotions. They... You're going to come back and you're going to be gorgeous. I know. If you undress Dog's body... His hair is going to be so luscious. They set out a spare pair of these clothes and then they take all of your dirty

clothes and take them away um all your equipment they take it away um but yeah one of them stays in the in the bathhouse and like helps like wash and like you know comb your hair and wash your back and things like that yeah they literally are like bathing you and and look pampering you um yeah well it's very hairy back there. I think, are they trying to take my axe, though? Is it dirty? Probably, yeah. I haven't maintained it.

They will go to pick it up, yeah. They look at you. Where are you taking it? They place it down and just bow their heads. All right. Don't, yeah just bow their heads. All right. Don't. Yeah. No. No.

Thank you. No. That stays with me. But yeah, I guess. Yeah. As they're washing me. Doug's body is just going through something. He's just crying.

Thanking them. Like if you if you guys can hear in the next room you'll just hear lots of splashing like lots and lots of splashing um while dogs but but also like sobs of dog's body just crying but also just saying thank you like about a million times like thank you they never respond they never speak they just sort of nod their head patiently sort of like you know they bow their heads whenever you say thank you but then they just go about their duties, whether it's washing your back or whether it's, yeah, doing anything else. The baths are big enough for more than just one as well. Like, these baths

are massive. It's like a proper sort of communal massive bath. There's water everywhere. Yeah. Splashed it everywhere. Ismark will probably be, well, I'm not going to say no. It's been a while since we've been able to get clean. We've been on the road a few days.

I might wait till Dog's body's finished, though. Oh, get in here, friend! No, I don't want your hair all over me, Dog's body. No offense. Still. Oh, yeah, if anyone comes in the room, by the way, Dog's body's very comfortable being naked, and you being naked doesn't care.

Not in a pervy way, but just in a very, like comfortable being naked and you being naked doesn't care not in a pervy way but just in a very like just doesn't care about it yeah don't care clothes are an option like you know it's like geralding it up just yeah little flannel on my head like yeah drink i wasn't care more so if anyone wants to join nudity don't worry about it mate feel free to get

as naked as you want yeah is mark is more consented gross is this kim talking or dog oh this is very much

kim talking i is yes but bathing or is yes but also waiting for dog's body to be finished uh no yes but we'll bathe he's yeah lived a life in tents and uh on the move a lot so he doesn't really care he's happy to kind of like uh get clean for sure yeah no and they'll do the same thing jesper um any equipment or like clothing that you leave that's dirty, they take away, unless you say no.

They'll leave it if you otherwise. And, yeah, like a fresh pair. And it's just like a loose kind of, you know, something that a guest of a noble might wear, like a loose tunic and trousers and a pair of, like, slippers are left for you after you finish. Nice. There's, yeah, all sorts of, like, incenses and lotions

for washing bodies and hairs and uh combs um everything you could need really is provided i might request from one of the uh servants that are taking stuff from me uh it just looks and bows its head provide can you provide me the tools to clean my own swords and i will leave them here they nod yes um within a few moments they bring back um they probably wouldn't leave it in the bath they probably have like they they point outward um and in the hallway they have left a small wet stone like they've left like a small little stool with a wet stone or bottle of oil and cleaning rags um all on the stool.

And there's two sets. There's one for you, and then there seems to be ones for Dog's Body's axe as well. Nice. Nice. I'll take all of our weapons, mine and Dog's Body, your mines. Yeah, yeah, all right. Keep me busy for a bit.

I'll start treating all the weapons. Just taking my time with it and sharpening them up. Yeah, yeah, alright. Keep me busy for a bit. I'll start treating all the weapons. Just taking my time with it and sharpening them up. In the corner. Can you sharpen yours? Sharp a point of a rapier. Yeah. Oh, rapier. Oh, that one.

Okay, yeah. Oh, the sun sword, yeah. Yeah, the sun sword. You've got the difficulty of it pretty much. You can deal with that. But the dagger and rapier you can certainly take care of. What's everyone else doing? While Dog's Body and Jesper are bathing,

Ismark probably will eventually join if he sees Jesper and Dog's Body. So it kind of leaves Zeros and the girls. Everyone else. I was going to ask for an armory, but if they've literally left shit outside the bathroom, i'll just grab some of that and start uh i mean any if you ask them for anything they provide it so like suit like yeah if you ask for like things to clean your weapons and armor they provide it to you like oil for greasing up chain mail um you know cloths and oils whetstone anything you need they provide um he who grins, the edges have not got any duller.

He who grins does not need cleaning or sharpening. Not sharpening. I could use some cleaning. It's got some blood on it and bones. No, any blood on it doesn't remain. It is unnaturally clean, this sword. Nice. I'll go with some armor treatment in that case,

and I'll like scoop off a chunk of the table the food just piled it further into the middle and clean an area so i can like take off my armor and start uh cleaning that up repairing it and whatever else yeah sure yeah one of the one of the elemental servants will like a rocky kind of one you can see it almost has like geodes of like iron and stuff like that sticking out of it it patiently waits at your side and whenever you need somebody to hold something to like get at a tricky point or if you need something hammering in it takes care of that for you it just takes it and like holds it or like hammers it for you um to keep it in place

i imagine it's a really slow awkward awkward relationship, but towards the end, he's like, dancing around the table with him, like, hammer this bit, yay! Okay, sure. I don't know how it works, but towards the end, it's like, yeah, I love this dude, he's awesome. Geodude. He's Geodude.

Geodude. Geodude. Geodude. Nice. What about Rose, Ziki? I think she would probably wait to bathe until the others had gone. And then she would go and bathe and similarly clean her own weapons. Definitely. She'll probably start doing that before she goes in and bathes, washes her hair. Yeah, they give you blacks for the bow

and stuff like that. And yeah, same thing. Irina would probably potentially join you unless you don't want anybody to join you. But she'll probably come in with you as well. She'd probably be fine with Ze as well with she'd probably fight be fine with ziki or arena joining her she just doesn't particularly want to do wants to go in with any of the any of the dudes to be honest hairy dudes um yeah sure she's probably quite private

so yeah yeah i think irene is actually somewhat similar as well like she doesn't want to go in uh she'll happily go in with rose and ziki but yeah the same thing um and yeah basically anything you guys yeah this is a moment of incredibly pleasant peace where you are not bothered there is a i think irena whilst you're bathing kind of properly lets out a long sigh. This is perhaps the safest I have felt in centuries. It's hard to explain, but for the first time, it's like I don't have eyes watching me. I don't have that prickling sensation at the back of my neck that tells me that danger is just around the corner.

This is the first place that I've felt... I feel like I'm not in Barovia anymore. Feels like home. Well, that tells me that this person is probably someone we definitely need to get on our side. I don't know how we can help him. Do you know if there's any way we can help his mind? I'm afraid that that sort of knowledge is beyond me, Rose.

I'm not very skilled in things like magic or divinity, things like that. I know songs, I know music. There were tales of old songs, magic, bardic magic, that could help restore those that had been cursed or had had these sorts of madnesses placed upon them, but it's not something that I can do, and I don't know of anyone in Barovia that could do it. Perhaps the abbot of Krezik would be the only one I think powerful

enough. Unless there is perhaps a more mundane way of fixing his mind. Perhaps we need to understand more about why he is here. What it is. He does not seem to be of Barovia. He is more like

you and your companions. Why did he come here? To what purpose? Perhaps there is a secret to the madness in that. Maybe it's just a case of asking the right questions to him. Perhaps. I fear that if we ask the wrong ones

though, it may trigger more of his paranoia. He does seem to be very guarded. I think if we're honest with him he'll be honest back if we show him some of our vulnerability our experience tell him of that maybe he would reciprocate maybe it would give him more trust in us yes perhaps perhaps She kind of looks over. Zeke, are you with them? With who? Sorry, this is

Mark asking Zeke. Are you with Irina and Rose? Yes. Rose will probably look over to you and Zeke and be like, what do you think, Zeke? I know that you have some magic that can heal and things like that. Is this anything that you know of? Do you have any ideas?

Honestly, I don't think he trusts me. He mentioned before with Zeros, with me, he knows about us like Rose said I think the best idea is to be honest I know what we did wasn't right but we didn't do it to hurt anyone

hopefully he can understand that I think he thinks and understandably he seems to think everything is a threat that we all work for Strahd that we are being sent to trick him to attack him such things Strahd is capable of

I'm sure he's done it to many others in the past perhaps that is our approach we need to prove that we are enemies of Strahd that we don't have any affiliation with him perhaps yeah still Strahd that we don't have any affiliation with him perhaps yeah still at least it's nice to have this moment of quiet

I'm afraid I don't know perhaps something to discuss with everyone we can tell him our experience here yes we can tell him obviously we have we've lost someone to him since we've been here.

I feel that words alone... I don't know how best... Yeah, I think that words alone might not be enough to convince him. If his madness is full paranoia, well, I think that we need to find a way to show, to prove what our words are. I think that just explaining things alone might not be enough. We have the sword.

At least that's some physical proof. No servant of Strahd's would carry a weapon like that, I believe. So perhaps that may do something. Still. I believe. So perhaps that may do something. Still. Perhaps we will find out more about our strange host later on.

He seems to have vanished for the time being. Maybe he's resting. You're not there. Man. Oh yeah. They're in the tub room. But however, we will throw over to

Dogsbody and Jesper and Zeros what are you guys doing so once you guys have finished bathing and sort of getting changed into these provided clothes what's going on I worked exclusively on my armour and I sat in that room on my own with Rocky boy right yeah

once everybody stops eating Zeros that table is cleared within and I sat in that room on my own with Rocky Boy. Right, yeah. Once everybody stops eating Xeros, that table is cleared within minutes. Just dozens of these servants come and just carry the plates of food away and they just... Everything is whisked away. I think I pretty much sit in the corner with my sword and armor on,

on full attention. And I guess after a long amount of time, I'm like, this chair's pretty comfy. Like, there's nothing happening. There's no noise. There's no threat. Like, it's as safe as it seems. I slowly start to, like, just rest back

and just, like, close my eyes. Okay. For the duration of the time that I've got some silence away from these jokers. Wow. So you're like the kid who goes into another room at a house party and just sits in the corner quietly and is like,

I didn't think I'd be attacked today, Mark. Dude, I was that kid, so it's not an attack on you. That was me too. I was going to say, that was me too. You got invited? I bet Chris Trott was the type who stood in the kitchen and talked to everybody. I bet he was a cool guy. Frick.

Wow. What do you say? What do you say? Nothing. Yeah, what does Jesper think? Jesper is going to find some parchment if there is any yeah

he's basically testing the boundaries of this place he's going to get some parchment if there's any writing utensils he's going to lay it out on the table that's recently cleared and try and draw as best he can from memory the map of Barovia where we are

so when you go looking for the parchment, one of the servants does kind of not block your way, but they very quickly come to you as you start exploring the mansion, trying to find parchment. And they look at you as if to say, like, what do you want? What do you need? I'll get it for you. Writing implements, I need to make a map.

Nods, flies off within a few few moments comes back and gives it to you thank you and then as you hear it kind of makes a sort of gesture it kind of does this do you have gold treasures do you have gold

treasures right very well thank you and I'll lay out the map and start drawing it best I can yeah and you sketch out a map of Barovia yeah 100% nice how good is it

I mean how good is Jes jesper drawing maps you tell me he's it's crazy right he can draw it almost 3d and he knows exactly where we are and where we need to go yeah it's almost like it looks like a map of Barovia as featured in the Adventure Guide Curse of Strahd. Yeah, and weirdly enough, he knows the inside and outside of Ravenloft. He hexes all of the parchment first and then draws it in. The only way you can keep things accurate.

Weird. The only way you can get the scale right is to have the hex map there. But yeah, no, you can draw a really nice... You can draw a really nice map. The parchment is high quality. The ink, easy to use. Yeah, it's fine.

I can't wait to take this with me. I'm sure. It'll be great. Really useful when you go back outside. Yep. Jesper does it anyway because he's testing so everybody who um pretty much everybody things like you kept your weapons i'm assuming everybody made that kind of clear that they were going to keep their weapons on them but things like um clothes and equipment that was all taken

away to be repaired or cleaned or whatever like that um so you guys mostly have these kind of provided clothes for you um the servants the kind of elemental servants bring more drinks um they can bring you hot non-alcoholic drinks they can bring you alcoholic drinks um but they eventually try and kind of gesture for you for you to follow them again they kind of make these kind of gestures can i just say that at this point dog's body So Dog's body Has been napping In front of the fireplace Once he was done Okay

Yeah But he looks like You know Beauty and the Beast When the beast Gets cleaned up And he has like Really curly hair

With a little bow That's what he looks like He looks like that And he's got a shirt But it's He doesn't know How to deal with buttons So like

It's just kind of like It's still Yeah With big And the curls On like You know the hairy chest That has a little bow On it as well He doesn't know how to deal with buttons, so it's just kind of like... It's still, yeah, with big... And the curls on, like, you know, the hairy chest? That has a little bow on it as well. Okay.

Who's put the bow there? Dog's body. Dog's body did. That's fine. I just need to check. Yeah. Dog's body looks... What?

Tie a rope? Tie a bow? Can't do a button, though, can I? Yeah, it's like a tie a rope, tie a bow. Yeah. It's the same thing buttons fiddley um and i think like yeah dog's body looks like a completely different person right like being completely cleaned up you know having food in their belly smells very different um yeah so

you guys kind of see this transformation almost um and it's kind of the same for is mark in a lesser sense in that you know he's you know been on the road for a few days now you know he's shaved he's kind of you know pulled his hair back um he's washed up quite nice um and again you've just got this kind of like sense of for the first time you know people have had a chance to get clean and eat eat well and be safe for a moment um but yeah the elemental servants all try and guide you towards a parlor um a separate room to the dining area this one features large plush leather chairs with thick cushions um in amongst this enormous library another fireplace is lit um the curtains are drawn and at the center of the room is this sculpture which appears to be i guess the best way to describe it would almost be like a plot like a

map like a kind of thing of the solar system like a planetary map but it's made from thick bronze rings that all spin um but rather than being planets you can see that at the very center there is a single orb with draconic runes written over it then it extends to there are two smaller spheres that move around the central orb then there is one large ring around both of those that spins on a top axis and then finally an outer ring that spins on a diagonal axis around the whole thing. And it all just gently moves and rotates around. Each of the rings and each of the kind of spheres have draconic writing on them. Anybody who can read draconic, the central sphere, it says material plane.

The two smaller spheres, it says Feywild and Shadowfell. The inner ring is inner planes, and then the outer ring is the outer planes. And this appears to be a model of the planar universe. For those of you who understand magic, this is a map of how the planes function in this universe. Cool. Oh my goodness goodness that's incredible as you say that Ziki you hear a voice coming from a balcony above

yes incredible I cannot I can read the words but their meaning is lost on me I know it is important I know that once I try to understand something

about this place and this device, but I cannot remember it. I assume that you have fed, that you are clean. Yes, thank you. Thank you for your kindness and generosity. It's the first time in a very long time that we've had a hot meal.

It is not kindness. I could not bear your stench. Either way, it's appreciated. It is the most deadly enemy that speaks in honeyed words but hides blades behind its back I have not yet decided if you are my enemies or not

but you are safe here at least if you truly are enemies of Strahd he looks down at you all and then he just steps off the balcony and floats down to the ground just like oh he's so cool um dog's body's got a toothpick and he's just like honestly mate if uh if you decide to kill me now because like you know whatever i just want to say i'm gonna die happy because that

is the most food i heard in i don't even know how long so before i get emotional again i know you don't like kindness but thank you i i can die happy now with a warm belly and not smelling of my own farts it's great very well i will consider this if you must be killed today. At least there will be no guilt that I have doomed you to an unpleasant demise. Pucker. Still. Now, I would hear from each of you. Who are you?

Why are you here? What have you come to do? What devilry has sent you to me? You, points a yes there. Yes, the Vistani. Your kind have brought many, doomed them to a fate in this place. It is by following some of you that I... Was it... was it that I came here?

Or was it something else? Was that me or someone that I sent to you? Speak! Why are you here? Who are you? I am Jesper. I am a Vistani. I was born here under the curse of Strahd,

tutored by Madam Ava. Ava. To be... Ava. Go on. To travel to a different plane in the hopes that with destiny on our side to gather the right people to end this curse.

End the curse. End. End the curse. Strahd. You speak of Strahd. Of course. The mists. Him. Everything. He is too powerful. Why would you hope to accomplish such a foolish mission? It is hopeless. The readings have taught us that there is hope. Readings? What readings? And it has led us to the first Taroka. The teachings that Madam Ava, through her wisdom,

has given me guidance through the power of the cards to lead us to the weaknesses and the relics that can help us defeat Strahd, and this is one of them, and I hold up the handle of the sun sword. A broken sword is no match for a vampire lord. I light it again for him. Ah, sunlight. Sunlight, yes. A weapon. A weapon most powerful.

Magic, magic relic, magic weapon. You have found something of true value, but if you carry this, if you carry this, you are Vistani, but you carry a weapon that Strahd cannot stand. Very well. Have you been outside in a long time?

Me? I wander most nights. I am... Why? Why do I wander? I am searching for something, but it is... I cannot remember what I am searching for. Something... No, no, no, I cannot... perhaps you, perhaps you, Vistani. I will trust you for now. You carry a weapon. You carry a weapon against the devil.

Very well. But what of you? You, dog, this bestial creature that you have now cleaned and bathed, but there is something about you that is unnatural. I can sense celestial blood, but something more, something darker. Who are you? Why are you here? Why am I here? The name's Dog's Body, at least that's my name now.

I came here, I don't know how many moons ago, maybe years now. I was part of the 14th Battalion of the Order of the Aesimar. I came here, I don't know how many moons ago, maybe years now. I was part of the 14th Battalion of the Order of the Aesimar. We called ourselves Kelimvor's Hand. Kelimvor. Kelimvor name. Why is this name? I remember it. It is the name of... Who is Kelimvor? He's a god, like many others. And we were part of his arm of justice, I suppose.

And we came here to investigate this Strahd, to try and figure out what was going on, to dispense justice and bring light. And, uh... Yeah know I was failed yeah and I was just a private you know I was a nobody and I watched slowly as one by one everyone in our battalion was picked off and soldier turned against soldier. My captain, I thought she would get us out of here and she died.

There is no escape. You cannot get out of here, can you? No. You've been trapped here as I have been trapped here, sent on a foolish mission to destroy a creature that cannot be destroyed pretty much the same and the last of my battalion i saw torn apart torn apart by you dog's body and he puts his hands on the side of your head and he's looking deep into your eyes. Continue.

My captain, I thought she'd get us out of here. She was brave and she was wise, but she was too trusting. And eventually, the lieutenant turned on her and quite literally fed her to the wolves as was I

no no not Strahd's wolves you speak of others but your sadness your tragedy that is real your eyes they're like my eyes Your sadness, your tragedy, that is real. Your eyes, they're like my eyes.

Mad eyes. Well, it's the only way to survive here, isn't it? A single tear. Very well, dog's body. You are not my enemy. you have known the same pain that I have known he turns and leaves you for a second

he looks at Rose and you you are from a very different place you are from where are you. Where are you from? Who are you? Rose Vanandi.

I travel around, and I am far from home. I lost my brother to a beast. And since then, I've dedicated myself to ridding the world of unnatural creatures. A cleric helped me put my brother to rest and for a while I traveled with her. She needed someone to protect her. I had some skill with a bow. I've traveled, I've learned about creatures I've fought creatures and then she needed to come here the cards told her to come here as Jesper had said I travelled here with Shadow and she

was taken from me by Strad Shadow Shadow in the night shadow beyond the veil this shadow was a cleric you say what god did this shadow

serve can I take out the beetle that she had because I think Rose would just have kept that on her and just show you that yeah uh he goes to snatch it from you would you would you try and stop him like i think she would flinch back instinctively first and then hold it out to him

you have to understand that this is this is worth a lot to me now. He holds it. I have no intention of keeping your trinket, but... He looks at the back of the scarab. Shadow indeed. Why does this dark eclipse hit? It is familiar to me this darkened moon

this blot of night this shadowed star Sha enemy of Mystara enemy of my friend Elminster your shadow was more dangerous than you knew

he goes to give it back to you not to me she came here with the same purpose and that was to rid this place of strad and so now I have to continue.

You cannot rid this place of strad. For her, for my brother, for my father, for every wrongdoing that has been done from these unnatural creatures. This creature has done more than you could count. It has affected many brothers, many husbands, many fathers, very many mothers. I... I came here to stop him as you did.

I came to kill Strahd. We fought. We fought. We fought. I see the battlements of Ravenloft, the castle, in my mind. We fought for hours. He chased me through the corridors and across the roofs, flying through the air as my magic. He was like I was hitting nothing. Even my ability to stop time did not seem to err him.

Water. I fell amongst water. He could not pursue. But I lost something. I lost something. The thing that I am looking for that I cannot remember. Very well, Rose. Friend of shadow.

Who served the dark shah. I do not believe you are my enemy. You lost something in a river. I know that rivers are something that vampires cannot... Flowing water, they can't... That is why he could not... They can't be in flowing water. He could not pursue.

I threw myself into the waterfall. Yes, a waterfall. I tumbled through the air. My body was broken and bruised. And something was lost to me. What was it? And he kind of almost seems to snap. Asmodeus, you, you are a servant of a devil.

Why do you travel with one who is lost, one who has suffered, and one who seeks, one who is an enemy of Strahd. Why are you here? Devil child. I'm here for my sister, Ziki. She brought me to this land. Hired me to this land

as her bodyguard, her protector. I lost her for many years, lost to the military, to fighting, to warfare. I forgot what family means. I found family in Barovia. I found Ziki again. I also found Asmodeus, a new enemy of Strahd. I also found Asmodeus, a new enemy of Strahd. This blade is forged from the blade of Nessus, one that claimed Madame Ava and was destined to claim you too.

Nessus, Nessus. His hand runs along the outer ring of the model in the middle, and then his finger stops. where his finger stops you can see that there are indentations along this outer ring and there is Draconic written on all of them and he points it and when you realize that the one he's pointing

at says Nessus in Draconic Nessus final lair of the nine hells the realm of Asmodeus. I know this name. I was, you say I was etched upon this blade, and now you carry a weapon forged from its remnants? Have you come to slay me, dragon man, child of Timanthia?

Have you come to slay me, dragon man? Child of Timanthia? If I struck you once with the blade, you would vanish instantly. If the blade wanted you dead, you would be dead. We're talking. And you, sister that he has come to protect oh I feel the power in you I may be a shell of whom I once

was but I once commanded magic magic and I were one I have glanced at the weave I have sat at the foot of the goddess of magic herself I see that dark power in you. The same power

as in the mists. Why? Why are you here? Why do you have this power now? I came to help. The same as my friends with me. The cards, we followed the cards here.

You do not look like a killer, child. Did you come here to destroy Strahd? I thought I could do good. I, I'm a worshipper of Lyra. Bringer of joy, light, laughter. I thought I could help with that alone, but I was naive. I was weak.

I fell to a vampire spawn. And... You have died here. I have. And I found the mists. The mists. The mists found me, and... They brought me back with...

The promise of power, with the ability to perhaps do more. The mists, they have the same cause as we do. To destroy Strahd. With that power behind me, I hope to harness that and do more. Do more to help. Child, I will say this. Even though I am mad, I know that these mists, the powers of this place, they are old. They are old and they are powerful.

And until now they have allowed Strahd to rule this place as a dreadlord. If they seek to destroy him now, it is because he has lost their favor. it is because he has lost their favor. Be careful. I have known many that have gained power through deals and bargains. It is no replacement for true magic. You too. You too.

You may not be my enemies. You may be enemies of Strahd, but... I fear that the two of you will bring just as much evil into this world. But you are not my foes. You are not here to kill me. So you are safe for now. I grow so tired, so weary of this place, this prison. The cold of the grave, it clings to me. I just want to be free.

Why can I not find what I am looking for? And he smashes the model and sends it clattering to the ground. And then he just kind of scrunches up into a ball and you can hear him just sobbing to himself. Who did this to you? Strahd. Who else? He fought me. I fell into the river.

I lost something that I needed, and then I was trapped here. For so long, I am not meant to be here. I am bound for another world where I did things where I did good. But here I am powerless. I cannot defeat Strahd, and I cannot be free. And without the thing that I need, I cannot be complete. We might be able to help. If you can recall where you fell in the water.

The falls. The waterfall near the castle. The water, it was cold like a shell to my bones. I felt it through my body. The rocks broke my limbs. They tore at my flesh. And I emerged not a man but a broken toy.

I fled here. This place, I remembered how to make this place still. I had learned it. Yes, I learned it along with my other magic. I remember I had learned it. Yes, I learned it. Along with my other magic, I remember the formulas. I remember the words, the gestures.

But I used to know so much more. How do I not remember? Why do I not remember more? Can I, um... Yeah. Go on. Eh, there's nothing like i really do yeah other than like i mean you want to make an intelligence check for me yes but you're a traveled you're a bard you've traveled a fair bit i'd say i don't think anybody else maybe rose actually um if you make a just be make a just Just B. Make a... Just a plain-up intelligence check.

So just roll D20 plus intelligence. Would Dogspotty, like, knowing a bit of Barovia, and would he know anything of, like, falls? Like a waterfall by the castle? Oh, yeah. You and Jesper definitely... There's only really one waterfall in Barovia, which is the Sir Falls.

It flows right next to Castle Ravenloft like you and Jesper know that place without a doubt I only got a 9 a 9? Nope I'm afraid everything he's saying it's just mirrored in this kind of language he doesn't really seem to understand what he's saying

Trot? I don't think yes but would uh he knew about sir falls it's more a case of trying to figure out what's wrong with him i don't think yeah well that's why i said make an intelligence check for me because there's one thing i might be able to tell you that like from based on what he said you might pick up on nine nine no it's uh same as rose it's just all muddled in everything that he's uh he's kind of babbled on about um obviously as players if you think like hang on it sounds like he's talking about there then by all means you're allowed to have those assumptions don't feel that you can't i've got no idea yeah yeah that's that's fine then you have no idea um but yeah

he goes very quiet he eventually picks himself off off a chair he moves over to a very large chair in front of the fire and just sort of slumps into it his bald head kind of resting against the back leather and he just sort of like leans into it and his eyes seem to just go soft. I'm tired. I must sleep. Must remember my magic for tomorrow. In case more enemies come. You may rest.

There are beds. You are safe here. Strahd cannot see in my walls. His ears cannot hear my whispers. I am safe. I am safe. I am home. You see his eyes close.

Fucking, fucking fucking fucking just loving the roleplay right now just last week we were joking about Zim Zim Zambalam no turns out this dude is so much cooler no this is emo Zim Zim Zambalam this is goth

Zimblam he's so far from Zim Zim goth Zimblamam. He's so far from Zim Zim. Goth Blam. So well done. What do you guys do? We get some rest. I will, yeah, take his generosity and rest.

There are grand bedrooms for anybody who wants one. One each, if you so desire. Four-poster bed, silken sheets, feathered pillows. Oh my god. Amazing. Luxury. As we're going up to the bedrooms,

can I like, can Dogspotty kind of tug on Rose's sleeve? Mm-hmm. Just like, can I just have a quick and quiet word? Sure. Just, you know, we were speaking all our truths down there. Couldn't help but overhear the bit about your brother?

Brother? Do you mind telling me what happened there he was attacked by a werewolf he didn't survive the attack it got away before we could kill it

one it got away before we could kill it um one very sorry to hear that uh yeah that sucks um how do you feel about werewolves shhh I'm just gonna get I'm just gonna get

I'm just gonna get a combat tracker ready guys don't worry Kim why do you do this um not good wolves in general I hear a wolf and I kind of it takes me back Not good. Wolves in general.

I hear a wolf and I kind of, it takes me back to the day when I lost Ben. I notice you're a bit of a hunter. Yeah. And now that I actually look at you and some of your weapons, they seem very specifically catered towards the wolfy types. A lot of silver there. Guessing you've been hunting werewolves. Not just them, but I have in the past. Any good at tracking them?

in the past any good at tracking him would Rose would know wouldn't she by now there's elements you've you've you fought werewolves you've seen what happens I think that given dogs bodies current line of questioning the fact that he is very hairy he seems to have very strong animal senses say that he does not hairy he seems to have very strong animal senses did say that he does not his captain to being torn apart by wolves torn apart by wolves and things like that and the you know the way that the mad mage spoke to him the way that like irene has spoken to him you can definitely pick up on the fact that like there's definitely something here i think like i don't know if you would know if he is a full werewolf he doesn't seem to have

any of the other traits of werewolves most werewolves lose their sense of self much more they tend to be much uh less in control of themselves than dog's body is so if he is a dog if he is a werewolf then he has managed to retain way more control than you've ever seen. You were fed to wolves. Yep. How are you still here? I wish I knew. I don't really have an answer for you, I'm afraid.

I don't know what to say, except that I like you. And I think you're really nice and I hope you think I'm really nice too and he doesn't know before that you had someone mentioned curses and you said that you've already got enough of that. Yep. You seem... very in control of yourself. Which is why... I'm calm right now.

However, I do need you to tell me the full details. I need to be able to trust you. Where's everyone else at this point? Have they all like... You keep it down out there, I'm trying to sleep. Yeah. Apparently you are outside of Zeros' room in the corridor. Imagine a hotel

corridor and you are stood in the hallway having a in the corridor. Imagine a hotel corridor, and you are stood in the hallway having a conversation. We're like, yeah, I mean, I guess, unless anyone else is, I feel like we're gone. So I feel like if I heard Dog's body just like, what happened to your brother? I'd just be like, well, we're stopping in the hallway and listening to this shit. What's the tea, girl? Oh my God.

Well, I also think you probably hear like a kind of like clunk from behind a door um and irena opens in it's like oh i'm sorry what are you guys talking like tries to play it off like i'm just gonna go get a drink uh oh is something going on like yeah now uh rose do you wanna can i just show you this thing in my room? Whichever one of these is my room. Can I? I just want to ask you. Me and Jesper peek from the same room.

Yeah, I just want to. Stop fueling the shipping. I'd rather you just showed me something here, if necessary. I don't really mind. We're a group anyway. We're in Barovia. Okay. If there's something you have to say,

we've got a dragonborn who has a pact with Asmodeus. Honestly, I'm just trying to survive at this point. Look, and I'm very much into that. I don't want anything to happen to you. I don't want to do anything bad. I've made no pets with anyone, except maybe Kalimvor. But, you know, look what fucking happened with that. Yeah, I don't know what i can do lady i i just i'm sorry about your brother and

i you make me very nervous i'm very nervous uh i mean rose that alone says a lot that the fact that you know most werewolves they're so so territorial, they're so alpha-dominated, this kind of passive behavior is, yeah, like nothing you've ever seen. You've never encountered a werewolf to behave in this way. What can I do? I'm at your mercy. If you want me to leave, I'll leave. I don't want people to be scared around me. People scare me. I don't know. Have you attacked people?

No. Not to my knowledge, no. Ever since I woke up and I first discovered what had happened to me, I've tried to stay away. I've been living in the woods. I try and just pick off the occasional sheep or that's about as close, you know. I mean, I had some of those cakes, but that was mainly because I rustled through someone's bag when they weren't looking. I've tried to keep myself to myself. This has been an interesting time and a difficult time.

I've lost someone else now. an interesting time and a difficult time. I've lost someone else now. And you had it. So at the moment, I'm willing to let this slide, but I am nervous to be in the company of someone like you someone who could have killed my brother but you seem to be in control the creature that killed Ben it was so quick

so violent and there was no chance that I could... I couldn't even draw an arrow before that thing shot back into the woods. And it was too late for Ben. I just... I understand that you have suffered. You're trapped here. I understand that you have suffered. You're trapped here, or now. You've been through horrible things.

I'm not saying that all monsters need to be in the same category here. Werewolves were monsters to me before now, but someone who can control that i don't know time will have to tell thank you for giving me a chance and all i can say is i'm scared of you too you know i i've never been around this many people for a long time and I fully expect to be alone again very soon. And I'm sorry what happened to your brother. I really am.

That's not right. And I'll leave you alone. It's okay. You don't have to worry about me. You don't have to leave you alone. It's okay. You don't have to worry about me. You don't have to leave me alone. Just be honest. If being around people, if anything changes, you need to take care of ourselves too.

Yeah, I get that. Don't worry. Old dog's buddy gets that. And yeah, I go to like, kind of pat your shoulder, but then I just stop before I touch you

and just give you a nod and turn away and go into whatever room. Dog's buddy. Irina will... Go on. Yeah?

Thank you for being honest it's alright you guys seem to have a problem with honesty I would have said sooner I just didn't know I didn't know I didn't know so not many people do these guys do You know, I didn't know. So, yeah.

Not many people do. These guys do. But probably because they get the sound of wolves. And Shadow knew because she was the one who laid Ben to rest. She sounds like a cool person. Wish I could have met her. She was. Unfortunately, you might still get the chance to.

Wait, what? Just not in the form that... If a vampire cat does come to see us, which she probably will. My goodness. You guys. Oh, you guys. So many stories to tell, and you've only been here less than a week. I'm done. You guys. You guys.

So many stories to tell. You've only been here less than a week. I'm done. Out. Bye. Good night. Last thing that she said to me was that I was to bury her body. She would not want to be that way.

And so I have to complete that. I need to put her to rest. We will. And I'd appreciate wrongfire. Irina will look over to you, Rose. Rose, if you don't want to be on your own, I'm happy to stay with you if you want. Or if you want to be

on your own, then that's fine as well. I just want you to know if you need someone there. I think a little bit of time on my own would be great at the moment. Of course. She nods. Yeah, sure.

Ismark will kind of look off. In this whole exchange where everyone's kind of been listening in, Irina and Ismark at the door, Ismark is definitely looking at Dog's body a little bit differently after all of that as well. You can see that he's perhaps a little wary. He hasn't said anything, but kind of like Rose, he's kind of on edge.

And he just looks at Irina and nods. And then I think I'm going to stay up for a bit. Just keep an eye out. And then he basically leans up against the wall outside her door and kind of plants himself there. Anything from anybody else? I think Zeke would quietly go into her room. But this is the first time, I guess, she's been alone since she's been this is the first time I guess she's been alone since

since she's been to Barovia so yeah so I think because she can't sleep she's just gonna pace around trying to think of what to do is there anything in particular like anything like

that she's doing or that you want to kind of like do or like spells or anything like that she's doing or that you want to kind of like do or like spells or anything like that i think she's just trying to figure out where where to go from here because she knows she needs to go to mount gackus at some point but whether that whether the rest of the team would want to go whether she'd want to even take them because that might be something that they're not going to want to do because it's a mists thing and

so that's a dilemma that Ziki's got to work out I'm afraid yes I think she's just going to pace around think and scribble in her sketchbook and try and come up with a plan of sorts.

Zeke being the only one awake late at night. Unless there's anything from Xeros or Jesper before I go on. I think if Zeke is going into her room and she's ahead of me and she closes the door behind her, I'm kind of like... Okay, so I me and she closes the door behind her. I'm kind of like...

Okay, so I'm slowly reaching for the door and I'm like, she's never been left alone but also the shit she's been through. So he'll go to the next room. Well, I think because Ismark was waiting outside Irina's door, Ismark looks at you about to follow and you just hear

a... and he's just staring at what you're doing. She can protect herself. She can. Sisters need time away from their brothers from time to time. Use glass. We do anything for our sisters we would

especially to those who hurt them you better not touch Zeke then like you said she can defend herself goodnight Ace Marker goodnight Zeros yeah he just waits lets you go babe um you guys get a lot

you guys i can't handle all this sass on all sides jesus ismark was your bro and you betrayed him. Ismark, friendship with Ismark ended. Dog's body likes it. You're just going to be lucky if you still get that achievement. After you guys finish your long rest as the evening of Barovia nears its end, sunrise is once again coming up.

You hear the mad mage. Now! Now! You must leave now! Something has happened! Power like I've never felt! My magic! Now! And then suddenly the world shifts and warps around you and you feel yourselves thrown out into the cold, wintry air of Barovia. Your gear is with you.

You have everything around you. Anything that you gained from the mansion that wasn't the clothes or anything like that, things like the maps, any books, or anything that you took, any food, doesn't exist. You have your own gear you have your own clothes they're all mended they're freshly repaired cleaned all your own gear has been sorted out but anything else is lost and immediately as you arrive and you feel the rush of this you know the cold barovian air you can see that the sky is not the dull

grey that it always has been. The sky is not the dull overcast misery of Barovia. Far in the east, in the direction of Castle Ravenloft

and the village of Barovia, on the fourth day of your the village of Barovia on the fourth day of your adventures here in Barovia the sky is blood red and thick orange crimson clouds

spread out from that direction and any of you with any magical presence can feel power radiating from it Zeke the earth, the land

the souls of the people of the village of Barovia you can feel them burning and that is where we'll end today's episode of Curse of Stride. Holy shit! Alright!

Stride is pissed! Oh, he's on a rampage! He laid down a ultimatum to the village of Barovia. And it was not. It's been four days!

Jesus. Hey, Mark, by the way, and it was it's been four days Jesus hey Mark by the way I know I said it in the episode but fucking I love this dude this mad wizard thank you incredible thank you guys

how good you are at mad but seemingly super smart wizards really old grizz at mad but seemingly super smart wizards really old grizzled mad but sad wizards I think it's quite easy like they give you they give you quite a lot of like

information about this guy and it's kind of easy to kind of take that and kind of think of the things that he might say and do and stuff like that. So yeah, it was fun. I like doing this. It's my old Thesp coming out. The inner Thespian is like I must perform to you! Ah!

There it is. Wizard! You shall not pass! You shall not pass! Yeah, it's also just like like i don't know easy to kind of play off that madness with a bit of sadness as well he is kind of a tragic character uh that he is very powerful but also very helpless and very vulnerable uh which is fun but honestly also you guys round of applause today. I think you guys all did some fantastic RP, especially Kim and Katie. Loved that bit with the dog's body.

Fantastic. About time. About time, innit? Yeah, no. Since you created him, I was like, you fucker. Yeah, well, as soon as... You little shit. We've known about it for a while, Kim and I,

and obviously in battle, there could have been a transformation that could have triggered this, which would have gone in a very different direction. But I think hearing the story of Ben, it made sense that Dog's body would go, oh, shit. I haven't talked about this. So, no, it's really good.

And banana. That's a new one. I think with Rose having to have accepted Zeros and Zeke now after what they've been through, and but then also seeing... Has anyone really accepted Zeros? Well, he doesn't make it easy, does he? He doesn't make it easy. Zeke is like, oh, Zeke.

He'll prickly pork your hand. I'm the slowest burn you'll ever meet she like well dog's body has fought with them and is clearly on the same side and has been really nice so it's like I can't really put him in yeah

can't put him in the doghouse don't put me in a doghouse fantastic stuff fantastic stuff all around everybody bit of an earlier end but it was just too good a point to stop as always that's it from us

we'll see you then thanks for watching thanks for tuning in we'll see you next time bye bye everybody Thanks for tuning in. We'll see you next time. Bye. Bye, everybody.