High Rollers DnD - High Rollers: Curse of Strahd #31 | Wolves of Krezk

Episode Date: March 16, 2021

The Abbot of Krezk is willing to help in our fight against Strahd but he has one quick mission for us first! 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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After defeating Babalasaga, though at great cost, the party find the symbol of Ravenkind and head for safety and rest. En route, they meet up with Esmeralda once again, and she tells them of safety in the nearby town of Krezik, as well as a powerful ally. She introduces Alvarski, a strange man and member of Krezik's clergy. The party agree to travel with her

and make their way to Krezik without issue. On arrival, they are given a home to rest in, and Alvarski and the Maya unnerve everyone else around them. During the night, Rose believes she dreams about Shadow beyond the Veil contacting her through a mirror, begging Rose to come to Castle Ravenloft and kill her and end her suffering as a creature of undeath. Rose soon realizes that this was no dream and softly weeps, clutching Shadow's amulet and Jesper's dagger close to her chest. As a new day begins, the party explore Krezik

and Tatiana asks Dog's Body to accompany her to a small pond nearby. Here she shows Dog's Body a vision of himself before his madness and curse of lycanthropy as a valiant protector and assures him that he can become that man again he asks tatiana to think on it and the party heads to the monastery to meet with the mysterious abbot who rules kresk or krezik whichever way you want to pronounce it and And that, my friends, is where we begin today. Bam. Big, exciting times.

Bam. So, you find yourselves... I'm going to bring up my notes, just so that I've got them to hand. You find yourselves... What's that? That's a stroke. That's right.

Your joke was, like, half lost as I was doing stuff, so I didn't actually hear it. It was a funny joke. It was very funny. Was it a funny joke? I'm glad it was a funny joke. Everyone's laughing. You are currently stood in a large main hall

of this old monastery at the very top hill of Krezik, looking down on the town below. The main hall is quite large with arched leaded glass windows. You can see that there is a large fireplace above which hangs a golden disc engraved with the symbol of the sun. There is a wooden staircase that climbs to an upper level, and then another staircase descending down into darkness opposite it. There is a large wooden table with several chairs,

and sat in one of them is this very beautifully handsome man in his kind of mid-20s to early 30s, long flowing blonde hair um looking at you with this very serene face and he has introduced himself as the abbot uh and we it's been you know we kind of mentioned a few things last time that he spoke of but we'll kind of just go through them again uh he kind of looks at all of you and nods his head I am pleased that you have made your way to me here in Krezic you may call me the

abbot I help protect this town as well as aid those lost souls who reside here Esmeralda tells me that you are enemies of the devil

of Strahd. And to that end, I believe that we can help one another. Do you have any questions, my children? No. Are we good? How are you going to betray us? Sure. No. Now we're good. How are you going to betray us?

Sure. That's not a question. That's not a question. I didn't think it was. Pretty much. I sense you are quiet. You seem distracted. It's been a very long day.

And we've lost a lot. Forgive me for being blunt to you. But how can we trust you? Given that anyone else we have trusted has died along the way. Or become some Barovian horror. anyone else we have trusted has died along the way or become some Barovian horror hmm I can see that you have suffered

I in terms of my life I have lived here a long time I have survived Barovia's madness I am more than I appear I am not than I appear. I am not filled with

darkness or hate. I am not filled with fear, only of light. I am a blessed servant of the Morning Lord, sent here to help rid Barovia of its darkness. Trust? Trust is a difficult

thing. I can assure you I am an enemy of Strahd's. My lord has given me some insight. I have seen visions. Terrible, dark dreams.

I have seen Strahd building something in his castle. some great machine. I see flames, and more importantly, I see Strahd escaping Barovia. This cannot be allowed to pass. Strahd's darkness here is limited, constrained, for even the Lord of the Mists cannot go beyond them. But if Strahd were to escape these bonds, to travel to other worlds, he would bring such misery and suffering that it would pale in comparison to what is here.

suffering that it would pale in comparison to what is here. I have my flock. They will serve me. And I believe that we will need to march on Castle Ravenloft. Assault it. Put an end to what the devil is doing. My hope is that all of you,

foes, enemies of Strahd, will join us in this grand crusade to rid Barovia of this darkness and bring light to it once more. I bow deeper at that,

as if to obviously agree with what he's saying. I'll ask you, my son. And he just kind of steps over and lightly, you know, in a way that a priest does lately, kind of places a hand on your head. Rise, you do not need to kneel. You will be a great warrior in this crusade.

It is my hope that you will travel with our companions, assure them of our intentions, show them that we can be trusted. Of course. Yes. The Morning Lord will ensure that you are rewarded for such efforts. I need none. Only to help.

Truly, you are a blessed child. Just kind of cups your face. It is you who bless me, Abbott. And what aid can I offer to the rest of you? there is something I would like to ask your assistance with before this crusade can begin something important to me

but if there is something that perhaps I can help you with I have magic I have power I have the safety of these very walls, food, drink, hearth, and home. What you require. Hmm. To know the full power of your force that we would be marching with. We need to know what we have to go against him.

He is a powerful being. We've faced him before. We've lost people to him. We don't want to go ahead and march on that castle without a very clear plan. Indeed. And it is to this that I have spoken with the one you call Esmeralda, this vampire

hunter. She tells me that you carry with you a weapon, a weapon of sunlight. This, in this rests our great hope. Strahd is powerful, yes. Strahd, even I alone could perhaps not face him, but warriors who have faced him before, who are armed with such a weapon, I believe that you have a chance.

of devils, of undeath that he can send against you, to whittle you down, prevent you from getting close to the beast himself, finding him in whatever lair he has made for himself in that ruin, and burning him in light. To that end, my flock, my people, they are warriors, but also i have created my children alvaski here is one of my earlier children but the others he holds up a hand you see this light this orb of light just swell in

the palm of his hand and then it just kind of erupts and it explodes and appearing within the room almost seeming to descend from a sky that you cannot see uh is this pale humanoid figure very muscular androgynous in its form uh long kind of golden hair dressed in plain robes you can see a pair of like angelic wings extending from their back uh you know completely covered in these like almost like white bandages and robes and they just bow their heads to the abbot and he kind of reaches up and tenderly is just like you have answered my summon child have you found any sign of our enemy? I have not, Abbott. I have scanned far, but seen nothing of what you seek.

Join the others for your meal. We shall speak later. They carry with them my light. Powerful tool against the devil. You have an army of angels? Army? All this time? I'm sadly that an army is even beyond my skill.

I have four of these children, plus Alvarski, who was younger. The four of them are no match for an entire army by themselves, but with my flock I believe that we could buy you time to enter the castle, to seek out Strahd. For once Strahd is gone, his minions, his creations, his devil spawn go with him. You make children from your light? Human have… have light? Human have light?

You are a curious thing. You are... I do not know what to think of you. You are neither living nor fully dead. You are the land, but you are also something else. What are you we are the Maya we are the Maya you reek of old magic

older perhaps than even my own I instill them with my light I do not create them from it. I give it to them as a gift, as a weapon, as a father may pass down an axe to his child. As I have done with Alvarski,

show them, my son, the light, the gift that I gave you. Yeah, I'll conjure a radiant sun bolt uh in a very dexterous flowing motion so you watch as yeah alvasky kind of almost punches up towards the air like he channels you see his skin glow this light almost pulsing through him and then when he punches upward this blast of sunlight, of radiant energy, it's not sunlight, this radiant energy blast kind of erupts from his hand

like a beam of magic. He just watches as Alvarski then returns to a former pose. I think my head would like snap to that light. Like a moth to a flame. Yeah, it's not sunlight.

It's not the same as the Sun Sword, but it's radiant energy. You feel goodness or light coming off of it. Are you responsible for his... Cuckoo! There's nothing wrong with Alvarski. Are you so different? A little bit of that.

Are you so different? You have wandered through Barovia. Have you not heard voices that call out to you from nowhere? The dark? that call out to you from nowhere, the dark. He just seems a bit more traumatized. This, you see what Strahd has done to the people of this world, of this land.

That is what I was sent to fix, and I have done so, in my small way. Is this enough? And I have done so. In my small way. Is this enough? And he looks at Rose. I have shown you some of the forces I have to bear. There are perhaps thirty villagers here, all who can be armed and armoured.

Along with yourselves, this Esmeralda, this vampire hunter. I believe it gives us a chance. You say you need our help with something. What is that task? I would like your help with something. I am loathe to leave Kresk without... without finding something precious to me. without finding something precious to me.

A woman, a girl, was taken from me. Vasilika, my beloved. She was meant to be what fixed Barovia. She was meant to end Strahd's madness but he has fallen far more than I could have ever expected she is perfect so innocent

so uncorrupted by this world but some foolish boy from the village has manipulated her, tricked her, put thoughts in her mind. He has done something. I found blood in her chambers, and they were gone.

They have fled Kresk. I would like Vasilica to be returned. Do you have any further information about where they might have gone to? My children are warriors, not hunters or trackers, and I am fearful to leave this place undefended without my light. I'm afraid the woods in this area are dangerous. Many wolves prowl it, and many of Strahd's minions lurk.

You could examine Vasilika's room, perhaps, see if there is something that I or my children have missed. Or perhaps outside the city walls you may find something. They would need to travel by foot. They do not have the capability to fly. Perhaps you may be able to locate them.

My Vasilika. I worry. She is so innocent to the world she would not understand the danger that she is in. She is so innocent to the world, she would not understand the danger that she is in. She's vulnerable. What of the person she's left with? He has taken Vasilika. He is a kidnapper.

If you can bring him back for justice, that seems fitting. But I am more concerned with Basilica herself. Was he known to you? Is he just someone who came in? Some boy. He is young. A teen, perhaps. Late. Not quite a man. But he was supposed to be faithful he has gone against all of my teachings in doing this

I believe, I fear I fear that perhaps he has been manipulated by Strahd perhaps he has been sent to take Vasilika from me to perish shots of thought sent to take Vasilika from me. Perish, Shots of Thor. Do this.

Do this for me and my children, my armies, my magic is yours. If you like, I could return one you've lost to you. I have that power. If you can bring me their remains, the Morning Lord may yet restore them to life. Sadly, the

ones we lost, there were no remains to bring. Ah. I mean, there's the dragons, Rose. The dragons, I think only one had remains, didn't they? Yeah. Ziki's remains, there were. Yes, Rose was crushed into a pile. Yeah. Ziki's remains, there were.

Jesper's was crushed into a pole. Dog's body buried Zeros, where the spear was. Zeros, but Ziki didn't. Jesper, I don't think, was fully crushed. There was enough of him. There was body parts left for Jesper. He wasn't turned to ash or anything like that. Yeah, he was kind of turned to gruel a little bit, wasn't he?

Yeah, he was a little bit squishy. You described it that he was. Well, because who was it that killed him? It wasn't... Me. Yeah, you just hit him with the sun sword, didn't you? Yeah, but then he was crushed by the tentacle vine things.

Oh, right. He's still, he's still, there's still body parts there. If I, I've perhaps given the wrong impression. There's definitely, there's pieces of him left. For sure. It's not like he's been disintegrated. Here's the eyeball, Abbott. What can you do with that?

Use a finger? There's like a, I would say as long as there's like a brain and a heart, which there would be, you could probably use that. I was thinking about picking up his eye and replacing my own with it. Damn it. Why didn't you? That would have been so cool! I picked up like a human baby thing instead. And kept that for like 20 minutes. Ah, human enough for the mire well

I need only a few remains but that offer still remains for you if we go near a place where we can find those then we will try but I don't know what you can do.

They were all killed in quite gruesome ways. Well, the offer is there. Or if perhaps one of you should fall, I have the power to restore you. I only ask for your

aid in returning a wayward child back to me. We will start with her house, see where we get, and then… She was here in the monastery, I can show you her room. We'll start there, then make a plan as a group and let you know. Of course. You are welcome here in Kresk. Whatever you need, whatever you require, my flock will ensure you have food, supplies, equipment, whatever you need.

You are welcome to spend your days here as you see fit, but I urge you to consider that Strahd, whatever he is building, I fear that it is not long until it is complete. I beg you to find Vasilika for me. I cannot spare the thought of leaving her. We will do what we can, but if she's been out in the wilderness, there is

a good chance that she too has been subject to the horrible creatures out there that we have. But we will do what we can. I taught her a little to defend herself I can only hope that it is enough until you can find her

I will show you in fact Alvarski you know of Vasilika's room you may show them there I should attend to the other children and make sure they are well thank you travelers Alvarski will see to any of your needs

and with that he just stands up and begins making his way to a second pair of doors that lead into other parts of the monastery and so my question is what would y'all like to do get snooping

snoopers gonna snoop yeah you want to snoop around the whole monastery or just go to theopers gonna snoop yeah you wanna snoop around the whole monastery or just go to the room and snoop room nah snoop room I guess

snoop room first see where it goes snoop room yeah okay see where the snooping takes us this way

follow yes so uh Alvasky will lead you. Where is her? Upstairs? I'm just trying to find exactly where. If you go to the bathroom, you've gone too far. All right, calm down.

There's a lot of text here and I'm trying to read through it all. Okay, so Alvasky leads you upstairs. He takes you to the wooden spiral staircase that leads up, down a few corridors and leads you to what appears to be a guest room. You can see that there is a kind of wooden desk with a few dainty books on it. You can see a rather comfortable bed with a knitted blanket, a cushioned chair.

You can see all sorts of, not quite toys, but you see things like quite a little pretty mirror. You see what appears to be makeup, like a set for makeup on the desk as well. You can see that there is a armoire, like a wardrobe with dresses and all things kind of hung up in it. But it is very plain

and there's not really much personality to the space. Apart from a few books and this makeup, it really is, and the blanket, it's unblemished in any way. Avatsky leads you up. The door is not locked. There is one single window that appears barred

that leads to maybe a sort of 15 foot drop down to the ground below. That's what you see on an initial glance of the room. Hmm. You mentioned room. Hmm. I mean, you mentioned blood. Hmm.

Anything? Do you want to go looking for some blood? I'll go sniffing around for some blood. Sure. Make me an investigation check. Okay. Okay. Investigation plus zero.

Here we go. It's a four. It's a four. I mean, there is blood uh you just can't really tell anything more from it so just by the corner of the bed there is a not it's not a lot of blood um not enough that somebody would be seriously like you know bleeding out from but it's still a lot like this was a fairly nasty wound that somebody was dealt um maybe like a cut you can't really tell anything apart from there is a a good amount of blood here um on the floor it's kind of stained the stone floor kind of turning that murky brown in color where it's dried onto the stone itself can i get maybe an idea of how long it's been there sure um i'd say rose

being arranged you don't really need to do a check for this um it's not sticky so it has dried it must be at least several like a few days old there's no kind of stickiness to it um it's been cleaned away as well you can see that somebody's come in and scrubbed it um but it still left this kind of dark stain on on the stone itself um yeah you estimate maybe sort of like three days to a week something like that um maybe two days using my heightened senses which is uh advantage on perception checks that rely on hearing or smell. Can I be like a little tracker dog and try and track where the blood

goes, maybe? It's going to be tough because it is old. It's been washed. Give me a perception check with advantage, but this is going to be a pretty high DC. I roll a 10 as my highest. Yeah. No, nothing. So you do get some

sense, but not enough to track anything by. Most of the smells are limited to this room and then outside of that it gets a bit too busy. You can smell the musty walls and roof you know timbers of the roof of this monastery. The whole place has this

very odd smell to it. Almost like chemical in nature, but not quite. And it's kind of masking a lot of things. You do get a sense of a tiny whiff of blood. You also get the scent of perfume, as if somebody had been wearing quite a a fragrant floral perfume um in this room um quite recently like maybe as as recently as like uh the the blood is um it's kind of like you know a few days old the perfume smell uh there is also the smell of straw and hay um but you can't track

it you get those kind of like lingering notes of the you know presence that was here in the room but it's it's long gone can i see if they're amongst the makeup and all that if there's a perfume bottle that that is the same scent as the one i can smell yeah there is there is like a little kind of like spray bottle of perfume that seems to be uh match the same sort of smell so it's vasilica i i guess dog's body would in tune that that is probably vasilica's perfume then um you would make that assumption for sure yeah yeah yeah alasky what what do you know about this girl? I know as much as you know. You must have seen her around though, right? here time it's difficult i'm out missions for the abbot time is lost in the woods time is lost in the shadows time i'm lost my shadow mocks me

has she been here as long as you've been here? I'm here now. She is not. I don't know. Does she look like you? Does she look like some of the other people in the flock? I... don't know. Okay.

Someone could have gone pretty far in a couple of days here. We should probably start looking for some tracks, maybe outside this room. I don't think there's much in here can I give it another just like search around to see if I can find anything

of interest in the room make an investigation check ah poop nine nine it's a little bit better than the myers attempt more also because of your natural things of being a hunter and a tracker and i think you don't get the sense that this was like a monster attack or anything like that the blood the way it's been sprayed looks like somebody was attacked with a weapon.

But then it seemed to just, there's no more other violence. Like there's this spray of blood, but there's no other sign of violence. There's no damage to anything else around. You don't see any chips or marks on the walls or anything like that. The window barred, looking at it, you don't see any signs of that being tampered with. You don't think they went out there. They must have left through sort of the actual monastery itself um yeah i think that's pretty much what you would get with your nine what are the ways out of the monastery is is there areas that are not guarded

maybe at night that she could have been taken. Do you know that, Alvasky? Through the bath, no. Through this door, the only way. From here, complex. Many places. What's the most

secretive way out, out of this door to exit What's the most secretive way Out Out of this door To exit the town Can you take us that way We have no secrets here The most Inconspicuous way

The rear not the front The back Can you take us there yes thank you yeah um so okay well if are you guys just going to follow alvasky or is there anything the mire is anything you guys want to do or i'm just uh i'm obsessed with alvarski right now yeah stanning so hard rn do you are you do you want to like make any like checks or anything tom or is it like you're just like are you like just staring at him intently or it's just i'm still trying to figure out humans in general and then then Alvaski comes in. And it's like, this is not humans as I know them so far

in my three days of being alive. Alive. Make a perception check for me. A perception check. Let's see. If you're watching Alvaski very, very carefully, I will have you make a perception check. Oh, plus 4. 22. Yeah, okay yeah okay that's enough i see it all as he's

speaking and as rose is in terror like questioning him and he's walking around and things like that you have noticed something about alvarski something that was kind of partially hidden by the way he wears his robes and his clothing. Some of it has slipped. Where he bent down to kneel to the abbot, and then he's gotten up and been moving around, some of the bandages around his neck and one of his arms have come loose, and you just happen to spot there are lines of stitching around one arm and around his neck.

Almost like piano wire. Thin. Yeah. Super thin. You've only just at 20, 22, 21, you've just seen these two thin lines around his neck and then around his bicep. And it's only because the bandages have come

loose that you've spotted them. Well, other Maya will know that immediately because I spotted it. Okay, sure. Well, I mean, we have the same thoughts. Like, if I spot it, other Maya spots it. Yeah, I've said that you guys have, like, a limited telepathy. Yeah, for sure.

Human makes light very interesting. Yeah. Man man I love it but no I'm not going to say anything to anyone else sure no that's fine this land's weird you know yeah thank you for your assistance as always you are an invaluable member

of this party I know I'll keep that to myself I wasn't thanked for slowing down a house so I'm not going to tell you about Alvasky spite, the mire has spite so much spite

concept of thanks so Alvasky is a weird human you would, in terms of like not secret ways out, but the easiest way out, you can show the team that they can come down the stairs and that they can make their way out into the sort of, like,

main sort of inner courtyard of the monastery. The monastery has its own walls, so it's kind of its own kind of separated complex. But showing them that there are, you know, there are sections of the walls that are, you know, could be climbed over. There is also the main gate that is maybe watched by just a couple of normal acolytes in normal robes. They look like villagers who have been positioned there. who have been positioned there. Rose, looking around,

if somebody moved at night, they could probably sneak out of here as easily as anybody could, right? Like if they were being quiet and stealthy, people could move out of here. If you want to make a check for looking for tracks, that's a survival test. Survival check. I shall. survival test survival check i shall uh 21 21 yeah so what becomes obvious is that not a lot

of people move through this courtyard there are definitely you've seen people around, not a lot of people coming to and from this front door that leads to the actual abbey itself, which is strange. What you do find, maybe a couple of days old, like two days old, is two sets of footprints. One quite dainty and small. The other appears to be wearing sort of traveling boots. And the other one is

barefoot. So the tiny petite feet and then a pair of like hunting boots alongside them. And they walk side by side and kind of doing an Aragorn from Two Towers. You're kind of like checking the ground, seeing the indentations, the weight of where they pressed. It looks like they stopped and waited um at the corner behind several bushes for

a while and then they made a very quick run for the main gate and then it quickly uh diverts and heads south down to where there is a large hill that begins to slope down and head into the woods around cresc um the trail is going to become harder to follow in those woods, but you definitely get the sense that about two days ago, two people snuck out of the Abbey and then have basically made their way out into the woods. Led away from the battle

into Fangorn Forest. And so we shall go there, I guess. Cool. I will relay that to the rest of the group after I've done my snooping. Tell them to stop to the rest of the party. That's useful. It is, isn't it?

Nah. Ismark, because Irina and Ismark are, as always, with you, but they just tend to hang back. Is Mark looks at you a bit more cautiously, and he looks at Dog's body and Rose specifically. If they have made their way into the woods near Kresk, I am feared of what may have become of them. There are always stories of wolves in the woods,

but around here, and you can see that he's constantly, like, his eyes flick to dog's body and then flick to dog's body again. I hear a tale of wolves that walk like men in these woods. Oh, don't worry about it, mate. I've met them. They're pricks. You can say it.

They're like me, but they're pricks. I've met them they're pricks you could say it they're like me but they're pricks I was less that it is more that I am afraid that they are the ones that did this to your dog's body and I know that that is likely not a very pleasant memory

if we are to go after this girl we should make sure that we are ready make sure that there is if there's anything else we wish to do if there are supplies we wish to gather if there if we wish to seek esmerelda's aid we do that here now before we head into those woods we should get all the help that we can if i i honestly i'm not sure there's anything left to find by this point. If they've been out in the woods for two days... But, yeah. Let's... I won't lie.

If they're out there with the wolves, yeah. Their survival chances are not high. We... As much as I have issues with her, we should probably consider getting Esmeralda. She'd know what to do. She does know how to hunt these creatures, as you do as well, Rose. I say that perhaps we follow the trail. If we see sign that they did not survive we return as quickly as possible but um before we go we should definitely like i said like my like is mark says if there's anything that we wish to do before we leave supplies uh weapons um equipment anything like that we should give we should gather it now whilst we can. Dog's Body, your experience is invaluable here too.

If you know anything else that might help us, please let us know. We don't want to put anybody in danger, but I know that this might be a difficult situation for you. I'm fine. I deal with it. But I'm not dealing with it. Just.

Don't get bitten. Yeah. Don't get bitten. And. Oh. Silver. Lots of silver. Don't like it.

Hurts. Well let's see what we can find then. Oxbody, teach us more of this language you speak of. You call these wolves pricks.

We've not heard this word before. Right. So, you know how Crunchy Meyer over there and I point at Ria Meyer

can do the thorns the ear that's a prick it hurts it's annoying it's rude

I hurt I I hurt... Don't do that, love. No, no. Do you... Is you prick? Are you prick?

What happened to your intelligence in the last episode? Is you prick? Is you prick? Is you prick? Minus one to intelligence. I can be a prick, yes. I also probably shouldn't be telling you this, but prick is also a reference to male genitalia. So it can be used as an offensive term. You have a prick.

And you are a prick. I am a prick. I can be a prick. I can be a prick. I worry that you're arming the mire with swear word potential at this point. We're probably going into territory range. They're going to start... You know what? Yep.

Never mind. Never mind. That's fine. Are there more? Do you have any swear words that I could learn? I'm leaving this to you guys. I'm not getting involved. Alvasky slams his hand on the wall. Disrespect the abbot.

Find Vasilika. That is your task. I'm not disrespecting anyone, apart from the werewolves. Pricks. We're making plans that... Disrespect time. We're making plans that mean that we don't get killed. If we get killed, then Vasilika's not coming back. Learning the word prick won't get you killed.

He does have point alright I will go and see the abbot mentioned that the people in the town are armed I will go and see if there's a smith or someone who can if there are any weapons see if we can find this Esmerelda.

She may have more. This is where she was the one who I got this silver flail from. Perhaps we can find more of these type weapons there. Arrows or some such for Rose. I don't know what mire that one insect mire uses, but maybe we find weapon for insect mire.

Everyone else seems to have magic, so maybe you are okay. If I could make a request, please keep all silver away from the dog's body. Thank you. Let's go. Sure. Okay. Yeah, if you guys just want to...

You guys can just try and gather a comment there. Anything else that you guys want to get? Do you want to go speak to Esmeralda? Do you want to go and speak to the abbot? What do just want to... You guys can just try and gather a comment there. Anything else that you guys want to get? Do you want to go speak to Esmeralda? Do you want to go and speak to the abbot? What do you want to do? Are we not getting Esmeralda to come with us? Do you want to? In that case, you can go and find her and talk to her.

Yeah. Okay. Yeah, you find her in the house that you guys had stayed in. She's laid out on the table this long sort of leather uh almost like a satchel but it's like rolled up and so it expands outwards um and inside when you enter you can see that she is basically pulling out things like there are all sorts of like you know stakes daggers uh crossbow bolts um she set out three kind of clay looking canisters um as well as a few kind of glass vials each kind of engraved with a silver and gold filigree um and she seems to be cleaning weapons and gathering up her equipment and you know making

sure that it's all prepared and ready to go ah uh how did your meeting with the abbot go? As well as could be expected. We are tasked with finding Vasilika. And we wanted to see if you might be able to help us. I don't know who that is, but is this

a condition for the abbot's help? Is this something the abbot would like you to do in exchange for their assistance? Yes. Then I will help see it done. I think that we genuinely need the abbot. If we're to attack Ravenloft, we need a force to get us there.

Getting inside, I think that smaller numbers will be to our advantage, but to get into there. Getting inside, I think that smaller numbers will be to our advantage, but to get into the castle, to not have gargoyles and vampire spawn swooping down to attack us from above in great numbers, I think we need the abbot and his flock. So yes, if this is required,

I will come and help you locate this basilica. Did you say who is it? Some child? One of his students? A wayward child. That? Terrifying swamp monster? You said a child?

A wayward child. A wayward child. Kidnapped by a boy. Sent to the wolves. Probably expired. Well, yes, if they're out in the woods, then I'm not going to have many chances, but maybe if we can find some body parts,

we can appease the abbot that we've done our best. Very well. Are we expecting anything in particular there's gonna be werewolves you're ready for that she looks at you dog's body there's she smiles and you do not like that smile it's it is a it's a smile of somebody who is going to enjoy killing werewolves like a lot oh i'm definitely ready for that i'm assuming i know that some of you use magic rose do you have anything silvered Rose, do you have anything silvered? Not right now.

I have the sun sword, but silver would be useful. The sun sword should be more than enough. Werewolves generally, silver is the legendary thing that they are fearful of that bypasses their natural resilience. But any sort of magical weapon will suffice. The sun sword will uh certainly help you there i do have some silver arrows i know that you prefer to use a bow would you care for those i only have about 10 they would be more of a crossbow user myself yes very well um she pulls over she goes over to another pack and pulls out um kind of a bundle of arrows with silver tips. There are ten silver arrows in that.

Swamp Maya, creature, person, thing. I don't really know what you are. The one with the bow, and she points at Reemaya. You use that in your hand, yes? You use the crossbow? I do. She slides over ten silvered crossbow bolts. I'll keep ten for myself, but those are for you.

These will be useful. They will, yes. All right, then. You are no prick. That is a very unnerving thing to hear coming out of whatever you are. The only other thing is... I've got my own weapons. I have some alchemist's fire. I'll take that with me.

I want to save my holy water for dealing with Strahd. All right. All right. I've got a few traps we can maybe take with us as well in case we need to lure some of them out. Perhaps interrogate one, if we can find one of them. Might be able to get through to it to find out where the rest of them are. Still, very well.

I'll need a few moments just to gather up my things. Alvasky, I'm assuming you are coming on behalf of the abbot as well? The abbot has entrusted me in assisting you to retrieve that which is precious to him. Wonderful. Awkwardly, it's like, great. Creepy swamp thing, religious zealot, werewolf, or not werewolf. I still don't quite know where dog's body stands.

And then Rose, and then there's Mark and Irina. Excellent. Well, what a party. So you drink life then before spitting it out. What? Who are you talking to? It's maybe best not to question too much. We should probably just keep moving.

Seems to be a strange quirk of this one. Do you have a rough idea of where we can begin this search? Is there anything else you wish to do here before we head out? Irina or Tatiana will look at you, dog's body. Do you still need time to you, dog's body. Do you still need time to think, dog's body? I, uh... Especially with where we're going.

I just wonder if we need powers to track. I don't know if... I don't know if that will be needed. Rose is a good tracker, but if you feel that you wish to still think on what we discussed,

that's fine. More time. I think I need to face up to Demon's past, and it would seem that this Vasilika heading into the domain of the werewolves has given

me that opportunity sooner than I thought I understand very well well in that case let us go and see if we can let us hope and pray to the morning lord that this girl maybe has somehow survived let's just at least hope that until we find otherwise and with that uh rose can lead you to roughly where the tracks led off down the side of the hill that connects the monastery to Krezik.

You guys can make your way. Let me just get up a little map here. The areas of Borovia. Okay, leading down to the base of the hill around Krezik, you will basically be traveling through the woods and then heading up into the large hills. You'll actually be heading northwest of the lake where you first met Esmeralda,

where you saw the tower around Lake Baratok. I'm going to need... You are traveling in the day, so I'm going to need Rose. I need you to make uh several roles for me please as you're gonna basically you and dog's body are gonna be leading this tracking effort along with esmeralda as a backup um so uh rose if you can make a survival check for me uh with advantage because esmeralda will aid you dog's body if you can make a perception check with

advantage because you're keen senses and then if anybody else has anything else they want to do to try and help in locating this quarry, now is the time to say so. 24. In terms of roleplay, I feel like Dog's Body would be tracking the perfume. Makes sense. I rolled a natural 20 and a natural 1.

Well, it's a good job you had advantage then. Okay. So Dog's Body is probably out ahead and is sniffing around and giving a vague direction to look in, whereas Rose and Esmeralda are actually checking the ground for tracks and signs of life. Maya, both of you, and Alvasky, what are you guys doing while they're doing this?

like are you guys going to does one of you want to keep watch for like any critters or beasties that might come up on you, do you want to try and help in the tracking down, what's the plan? can I use my pass without a trace again to give us like the veil of flies

to make sure that we're hidden out in the dangerous woods yeah absolutely, you can cast pass without a trace gives everyone plus 10 to stealth let's see if I can see anything the veil of flies to make sure that we're hidden out in the dangerous woods. Yeah, absolutely. You can cast Pass Without a Trace. Gives everyone plus 10 to stealth. Let me just see if I can see anything. Bzz!

Well, the thing is, is with the Pass Without a Trace is the flies know, the insects are helping you hide, but they also know not to impede you, right they so when you go to look like parts of them disperse enough for you to like look around and then when you start creeping around again they and they form like this barrier to sight hmm yeah I don't really know

other Maya Alvaski that's fine you don't you don't have to do anything this is just an opportunity to do something if you would like make it easier Alvaski is warrior instinct just That's fine. You don't have to do anything. This is just an opportunity to do something if you would like. Make it easier. Alvaski is Warrior Instinct just on alert for any threats. Okay, sure. Roll initiative

for me, Alvaski. If that's going to be your thing, you're going to keep alert? Yep. Rolling. That's a 21. Okay, nice. Okay. And then the mire.

So you're going to do nothing? You're just going to follow behind? I'll just... Even though other mire is casting the spell, I'm helping in some way. I'm there doing mire stuff with mire. Doing mire stuff? Sure.

Sure, okay. So with dog's body leading the head uh you begin making your way through the kind of early parts of the wood on the low banks of these rolling sloping hills dog's body amongst all the all the flora and the fauna it's it's difficult to always get a scent but you do occasionally get whiffs of that perfume and you use that to kind of be like you know over here like this way you kind of guide rose and esmeralda who then managed to find like some evidence of passing for the first sort of 30 minutes you're making your way through these woods and you do find several uh seem to be you know trails or you actually find find parts looks like maybe some rations, pieces of beef jerky, some

nuts that have been discarded, a small piece of cheese that's fallen onto the ground. You see signs that space on the ground was cleared away. Whether it was somebody to rest or sit down, you're not quite sure. Then tracks continue leading on. You don't see any more sign of anybody else, but this is definitely recent, recent enough to match up to the timeline of two days ago, judging by sort of like some of the mold and things like that that you're looking at, all the foodstuffs.

You continue on. Alvasky keeps watch. Alvasky, roll a d20 for me, please, as you were the one who was keeping alert. Just a straight-up d20. Five. The first half an hour, Alvasky, you don't sense any immediate dangers.

You're kind of keeping out for the beasts of the woods. Nothing seems to disturb you just quite yet you seem to be at ease as you travel along pass without a trace seems to keep you hidden from anything that might come after you as well the second half an hour the first kind of hour of you guys traveling out you've made your way to the very base of the hills that begin sloping upwards above Lake Baratok. You find evidence for the first time, Rose and Esmeralda, with Dog's Body leading it. Dog's Body, you first pick up the scent of this floral perfume, but also fresh blood. Not human blood, though.

Wolf's blood. You come across a small clearing at the very base of the hills, where a few rocky mounds have been piled up, almost like cairns, unmarked graves. But here, in a small clearing, you find three woven carcasses, and they have been ripped in half by something of pure strength has gripped two and ripped them in twain. The body and the blood is scattered everywhere. You find in the ground a broken short sword. It looks fairly plain, maybe something that was passed down between family to family as a tool, a weapon of protection,

but it lies snapped in half, just scattered on the ground. Two of the people you've been following, these dainty barefoot footsteps and these heavy boots, continue heading off, not going up the hill, but actually heading down towards the lake. The one wearing boots is limping.

This has taken about an hour, so the pass without a trace fades. And you guys will need to make new checks as now you are heading down towards wetter ground the tracks become difficult to follow so I need again perception check from dog's body survival check from rose with advantage and then the alvaski

maya and maya anything you guys want to do to try and help in this situation same for me alert okay so initiative for you again please I'll ask you 20 total can I be

looking for any blood or anything like if they got in a fight with the wolves and ripped them in half you can make another perception check as well 19 total was that yeah are these wolves? Like, are they werewolves? Yeah, the three bodies that you find are,

they're large wolves, but they're wolves. They're not werewolves. They are, like, you know, large Barovian wolves. And, yeah, they've been ripped in half. Like, you know, all their heads have been teared off, one of them. You don't see Any cuts or

Slashes or The only weapon you've seen is this broken short sword Almost as if This has been done by Somebody's bare hands Maya and Maya So Maya, perception check, we're looking for blood 13

13, okay And then re maya anything um how how like tall is the tree cover is it like really high up uh where you are at the moment so the trees begin thinning out um so it's not immensely it's not heavily covered here uh you can see this kind of like rolling hills to your north the trees there are still some around you but they've thinned out this isn't a thick dense forest but the land begins sloping down towards the lake um you know it becomes a bit more wet and marshy um can i use my arriving tide nimbus flies and try and hover up over the trees and try and get like a look out over like the horizon okay sure yeah so a couple of things happen so you don't really

you do find a little bit of blood my atom uh dripping in a kind of trail but not any large more not large amounts not like somebody's bleeding or anything like that like somebody maybe had a minor cut and it's it's dripping and bleeding uh dog's body the scent of the perfume is has gone but instead you have that strong scent of wolf's blood um and there seems to still be a trace of it down near the lake's edge uh and kind of reporting this back to Rose and Esmeralda, you do continue finding these little footsteps, these bare little feet. They seem to be carrying something heavy. The little bare feet are carrying something heavy.

They weigh deeper into the earth than before. And the heavy boots are dragging as if they were limping. Following these, but it's the Maya that sees this first, as you guys are following the tracks. The Maya who's kind of flying above on this cloud of insects, you see kind of sat on the very edge of the lake, tucked into what appears to be like a little rocky outcropping.

There's like a kind of like little picnic blanket strewn over the ground. There is a little basket with food rations in it and things like that. But sat on it is a young man, maybe 17, 18 years old, covered in blood. Neck down, blood smeared across the face, hands covered in it. And he's just holding what appears to be a wolf's head in his hands. And he's just looking at the lake like blanks dead. I like sink down on my little cloud.

There is a boy, a boy by the lake. there's a boy a boy by the lake he has a wolf's head is there anyone else there is it just the boy does he look like he came from Krezik he's covered in

blood it's just him. I would advise caution. If he is strong enough to tear wolves apart with his bare hands, Well, that's a lot of strength. Certainly the type of strength that a lycanthrope may have, yes. I wish I was that strong, Esmeralda, I really would. No, you are only not quite a full werewolf, if I understand what you were telling me before.

I've certainly seen them able to do similar wounds to regular people. Would a werewolf rip and tear at its own kind? Very territorial. If it's a rival, perhaps, or

was simply in the court in the throes of violence and savagery. Evil to the core. You just see her, like, turn around. Well, if they are there, they will either know what happened to the young girl, or they need to be put down.

Alvarski, would you recognize someone? If they were from the village, would you be able to talk to them? And do you think they would listen? Recognize, yes. You don't know about the second bit. He's muted. Or he's just being Alvasky. There we go. I was muted. I'd like to think that Alvasky has moments of speaking,

but not actually speaking. I think that's what it is. Just looks at you. Yeah, there we go. And in his mind, he's speaking, but he's not actually speaking. I think that's what it is. And in his mind, he's speaking, but he's not. Yeah. You see Esmeralda pulling out her hatchet and her rapier and crouches down.

If we're going to approach, we should do so quietly. Let's just bear in mind the fact that the footprints there's not seemed to be much of a struggle for most of this journey for whoever this girl is. That's what concerns me. We just want to make sure that we can... let's not jump to conclusions. How about this?

You and Alvasky here and perhaps Dog's Body or the Mire or somebody else, you go and speak with this boy, determine what happened. I, and perhaps the Mire, shall move quietly and try and make sure that we have it flanked, have the tactical advantage on it, should they try and run away or engage you. I'll go with you, Rose. I think that would be best.

I think maybe there's some reasoning you can do as well. I will come with you as well. I would like to, at least, I would prefer to be there trying diplomacy first. Okay, let's try. Very well, I will go with, I will go with our cheery vampire hunter then. And you see Ismark moves off with Esmeralda. Have fun with that. Ismark gives you a like, does kind of like look at you with a like, yeah, I know, tell

me about it, what a bitch, right? He does kind of look at you. He's on Dog's body's side. He doesn't want to hang out with Esmeralda. He's just doing it because it's the tactical warrior's thing to do. He does see the point of the tactics that Esmeralda's proposing, he just doesn't like her as a person. Can I give him a little

brofist? What about the Maya? Yeah. It'd probably be more like a kind of slap on the back. You both slap each other on the back. I don't think he's a fist bump kind of guy. What about the Maia? What does the Maia want to do? Yeah, we'll head off with not a prick Esmeralda.

Sure. So stealthen. And get stealthy, yeah. Sure. So stealthen. And get stealthy, yeah. Sure. All right. Well, Ismark, Esmeralda, and the buyer can make stealth checks whilst the rest of you all approach. Ooh, what have we got?

Plus three. Big roll. Ismark is not particularly stealthy. But let's see how everyone else does. Twelve? Twelve. Okay. i got 14 so four of you split off begin kind of using the woods and a little bit of swamp land as cover as you begin making your way around meanwhile rose uh irena dog's body and for alvarski you guys approach from the other angle moving towards this boy and

you begin to see what the maya had seen sat on the sort of like not on the exact bank of the lake but close enough to it where he can see the waters and you can now see the broken ruined tower that you had once occupied and met esmeralda at uh on the far shore um just sat on this picnic blanket this kind of dog's head in his lap his boots up you can see he's wearing these big travelers boots uh his leg has been bandaged and he's just kind of staring at the lake absentmindedly does not seem to notice or or care that you're approaching you're not sure which hey there traveler nice killer you got there what he just seems to like he he looks around

and then he looks at you and his eyes are completely unfocused he looks very dazed and confused. Maybe a little bit dehydrated or malnourished. No, it wasn't me. I kill? I didn't kill. I didn't kill. He just kind of rolls the head around in his hands, getting blood everywhere. You can see it's kind of rotting a little bit.

Do you need some help, my friend? You seem to have taken an injury. Ah, no. She fixed my leg. The... The wolves, they hurt it. And then he kind of looks and realises what he's holding and he throws it down towards the lake

and the shore he's like he like looks at his hands properly and like it seems like this conversation he's like no no it it wasn't so much blood so i i i didn't know what to do i tried to protect with my sword but they they snapped it. Their jaws just broke it in half, and then everything was a blur. You can see him, like, beginning to shake and, like, clutch his head. What did you guys do? Stealth party Esmeralda is, like,

beginning to, like, move forward with the axe. Like, you can see her, like, beginning to move up on this. She sees this kid shaking and she's just like we don't have much time. Alveski gets into like a fighting stance ready to engage. We don't have much time here. Let's dispatch him quickly.

Where is she? She went she went to she said she was going to make them pay for hurting me she she what is she I thought that she was like I thought she was a person but no person could do what she did I thought she was just a girl and you can see he's sobbing like openly, openly, just like, I don't know what she was. I didn't know.

Hey, hey, hey, hey, hey. Listen to me now. What happened? Why did you take her? I didn't take... Oh, God, he sees Alvarski. He's with the abbot. He's here to kill me.

No, nobody is here to kill you. We want to find out what happened. No, you don't understand. He does what the abbot says. The abbot will kill me for what I did. For rescuing her from his sick castle. From his sick children. Like him. He points at Alvarski.

Can you tell us more? We don't understand what you mean you need to explain to us she's not a girl she's she's something a monster she did that to the wolves it wasn't me it wasn't them she did it she ripped them in half with her hands she was protecting you though She ripped them in half with her hands. She was protecting you, though? Yes. Yes, I... We spoke. I made her laugh. She doesn't speak much, but I could make her laugh.

I sang her songs and told her stories. I brought her treats that my mother would make because the abbot wouldn't let her have anything sweet. We talked. She told me about books and what little she did speak. I thought I loved her. She's pretty, so very pretty, and she said she liked me that I was different that that huh she wanted me to rescue her like the prince in her books so we ran we snuck out I thought that we could come down to

the lake maybe get to Vlaki or somewhere else and then the wolves came I had my father's sword I I drew it. I thought to fight, but they broke it, and they scratched me and hurt my leg, and then she changed. She changed. Her eyes became red, red like a fire, and she moved so quickly,

like faster than anything I have ever seen. She's small. She's smaller than me, than you. She's small, she's smaller than me, than you. She's no more than sixteen, seventeen, but so small. And then her hands, they went into their flesh like it was butter, and then just teared and flesh and blood became tendons and entrails in her hands. carried me down here she set me down and said to wait but she would go and make them pay and then she went up the hill to where they'd come from the silica is not a girl he her. He made her like he made them.

And he points at Alvarski. He wants to bring her back. No, you can't. You can't take her back. I don't... He's sick. He claims to be this... He claims to be a father, a preacher, but he's not. He's... something's wrong with him. I've seen it. I've seen the blood in the parts of the monastery he doesn't let anyone visit.

He killed things down there. He killed lots of things down there. People that weren't people. Can I position myself between Alvarski and the boy so that if Alvarski wants to do anything... Sure. Alvarski, there are certain things that are being said here where there's definitely pain in your mind and there's definitely things that would probably be triggering certain things um yeah anyone looking at alvaski there's certain moments where he's like twinging

uh as if his head hurts his stance is kind of warbling a little bit but he goes back to it like shakes his head you in front tactical disadvantage can I yes can I yes yes can Can I? Yes. Yes. Can I cast Zone of Truth around Alvarski and Sure. the boy as well?

Yeah. I mean, you summon the area, right? Saving throw? The kid's not gonna save it. It's more for Alvasky's benefit than mine. 13. Not very high. You can make it with disadvantage

if you want, Trot, because part of you probably would want to tell the truth, but part of you probably doesn't. What's the roll? Wisdom. Just a straight-up whiz. Wisdom saving throw, DC 13. No, it's a charisma up whiz. Wisdom saving throw, DC 13. No, it's a charisma saving throw. Oh, charisma saving

throw. Much better. That was a wisdom save. You can keep the roll. I'll roll with disadvantage. Well, yeah, and then you can just take the three. Oh my god, 15. Okay. So, I mean, yeah, and then you could just take the three. Oh my god, 15. Okay.

So, I mean, Rose, you know that Alvarski is not affected by it. You can tell that he's not affected by it, the spell. There's nothing tactical happening here. I'm just taking the boy to wash the blood off his face. It's not a very pleasant experience. And can I kind of just slowly kind just taking the boy to wash the blood off his face it's not a very pleasant

experience and can i kind of just slowly kind of guide the boy to the lake and you know just trying to the boy is nervous but you get the sense that he's too shocked to really resist especially anybody being kind to him he just kind of like goes where you take him like if you try and lead him he's just like following you shaking like as he takes a step you know he winces as his injured leg touches the ground but like he is in a state of shock and he's like shuddering around esmeralda is looking very confused um no longer in a combat stance, she just kind of motions to the mire and to Ismark. Can I just hold my hand up to Esmeralda and just to keep her there for now and just turn to Alveski and say,

I know that I wasn't successful here, but can you trust me? Do you serve the abbot? Or do you fulfill his task? All I want to do is rid this land of Strad. That's all I want. That's the same goal. Alvarski, what is going on here? Has he hurt you? Hurts? No. Pain.

Pain means you're lucky. Flash, there's a flash, Alvaski, of you lying on a table and searing pain, cutting through you, a blade sharp. Alvaski, I can tell that you're not telling us everything. You're lucky to have your own skin. Yes. Can you

tell me more? What was the blessing that he gave you? I fulfill his wishes. You're a distraction. No, we are aligned. We have the same goal. I just want to make sure that you're okay. As a friend.

I serve the abbot. Friend, that's a funny word. Friend is a funny word. You had a friend once. They were taken to the monastery just before you were. Where did you go? Wait, was that you? Where are you now? I'm right here.

I'm trying to help you. Stitch by stitch, there I go. So he hurt you. No pain. Not anymore. But there was pain. There's always pain. No, no there isn't. I'm fine. Alvarski, we are on your side. Please tell us what's been happening. We can help.

I don't remember. It's... All I know is what is now. Not then. Never then. You don't seem... The elephant doesn't want to talk about the person in the room. You don't seem... The elephant doesn't want to talk about the person in the room.

There's no one here but us just now. Can you please be honest? The Maya, I'm just going to say Tom the Maya, because you two are obviously watching this quite intently, studying this thing. You can see more of those stitches where he's in distress where he's been shaking and wobbling like the bandages around his

legs and robes you see that same razor thin line around like his legs you see part of like one crisscrossed up like you know his chest kind of coming up by his neck there's dozens of these things all over Alvarski's body focus focus the task

i'm going to take out the sun sword i'm not gonna activate it i'm just gonna hold hold the handle and say, I have a weapon that will get the job done. The same goal that you want, but I'm not going to hurt you to get that goal. Trust us. Please.

Trust is not in dispute dispute that is not the task I'm aligned with you Alvaski have you ever gone to the pool to the pond in Kresk the pool is forbidden you've not been allowed to

touch it have have you? We protect it. We do not look. Rose, I think the abbot knows that something is wrong with Alvarski. I think that... I think I know of a way to help him. I think that... I think that there is something wrong with his memories,

because they're not right. There's a madness at work here. I don't think he's hiding anything from us. I think it's that he can't tell us. well I don't want to go back if we can't trust we can't there is

another weapon potentially out here that girl. I don't want to fight that. I want that to be on our side, but is that too good to be true? At this point, Dogspot, you've kind of finished washing up the boy. Would you want to take him back with you to rose and tatiana or no i'm just gonna stay like how far away is the water's edge like it's not that far any of this like

yeah you can hear the conversation it's like 20 feet away uh he looks up um and the only thing he whispers to you is like i she wanted to leave... She wanted to leave. She... She wanted to leave. I don't... She didn't hurt me. That's all I know.

She was terrifying. But... She's not human. But she didn't hurt me. She wanted to protect me. Like your friend said. I... What's your... What's your name, boy? Dwyer.

You'll be safe. I'm not going to let you go back. You have my trust in that. It's not just me. It's not just saving me or her it's it's there are more people like him and he points like nods in alvasky's direction those children but also the people of kresk they're they follow the abbot because they think that he can save them that he can protect them from the devil they they follow the abbot because they think that he can save them, that he can protect them from the devil, they think that the abbot is the lesser of two evils.

I don't want to just abandon my mother and my father and my uncles and the other people of Kresk. I don't just want to run away, I wanted to help Vasilika escape maybe find other people that could come learn what the abbot has done I'm guessing they don't go willingly to the abbot's basement I don't know

we just people come out of the monastery these children of his that one is the eldest that one is the first one I remember coming out it was maybe four or five years ago

the abbot told us that Alvarski was his child, his servant, that he would help us, protect us. And then maybe a year later, another one, this time stronger, bigger, with wings. A year after that, another one, a woman this time, even stronger, bigger. after that another one, a woman this time.

Even stronger, bigger. He's getting better at making them, conjuring them. I don't know what they are. But Vasilika was there long before. Vasilika was there before I was born.

She's, I don't know, she looks young, but she can't be. Mark, as a blood hunter, I have Hunter's Bane, which means I have advantage to track fey fiends or undead, as well as on intelligence checks to recall information about them. Would Dog's Body, in this capacity, if I was to make a roll,

would he know anything about these monstrosities that are being created? You can make a roll. Okay. So I have advantage, and it's an intelligence check. I rolled a 16 highest, plus one?

Yeah, 14. 14 total? No, sorry, I rolled a 16 plus a one. Math is not happening for me tonight. I'm glad we're not in combat yet. I mean, this doesn't sound like any undead or fiend that you've ever heard of. I mean, you saw those.

You saw the abbot's children. They were angels. They didn't give you any impression that they were anything, but it doesn't sound like any monstrosity or any of the things you listed. It doesn't sound like any of themrosity or any of the things you listed it doesn't sound like any of them yeah yeah okay maya you've been pretty quiet i want to give you guys a chance if there's anything you want to do

are you just happy watching this all go down i'm loving watching it however i'm i've also trying to piece together exactly what alvasky is so like I've seen the stitches and everything pieced together and is there something I can do I don't know history or nature or something

a medicine check that ain't human to see if I can pinpoint exactly what he is. You can make a medicine check. Yeah, you can make a medicine check. Sure. I was joking about medicine.

I've got plus seven with it, so I'll go with it. I mean, you understand bodies, right? 14. 14. It's kind of a mixture of your connection to the land, your knowledge of, bodies the maya is made up of many different bodies the maya is this kind of primal life essence that knows how to make a body move and how to make a body of life he is not like the maya where you

are something that has been brought has been reanimated with real life like you are a living creature because you are made of living matter you're not undead even though you might look it you still have like insects and moss and like living things amongst you alvarski isn not undead, even though you might look it. You still have insects and moss and living things amongst you. Alvarski isn't undead either. He doesn't have the same kind of dark aura. He doesn't exude the same pressure on the living world. It's almost like looking at a body stitched together and then a piece of light has been used to fill that body with warmth

to make you know his blood move to make his eyes function like it's it's not natural life but nor is it undead uh he is he is a creature like you have never really seen before um but not a person in fact i would say that at this point the maya would probably be able to sense that there are multiple people alvaski is not one living soul alvaski seems to be many souls stitched together cool and bound by light kind of like the light fuses it together. I knew it! I knew it! Um, cool. I love this! The horror fan in me

is just like, oh, I love this. I love this so much! Anyway. Other Maya, you know that as well now, because, I mean, yeah uh did you want to do anything with that my maya my maya re maya i think my would just assume that everybody else already knows about it right like humans humans but humans be humans humans human things. There's many types of humans. Well, this is the thing. You know it's not a human. In defense of the party,

this one ain't human. This one is not it. Yeah. This one is many humans put together and then sort of glued together. Many humans but with one body. Kind of like the mire.

Will you just real quick, how would we feel about this? I was going to say, there's an element of the Maya to this thing. True. But we've seen raven people. We've seen dog's body. There's many different shapes and forms of life. It's like... Oh, no.

Yeah, I get that. Dog's body is still human, but also kind of wolfy alvarski he's like seven humans maybe more technically asmr i'm just wondering does the maya approve of someone reanimating quote unquote dead and sticking together into one weird homunculus thing true together into one weird homunculus thing true oh did he take them from the land he takes them from we are being starved tom the abbot owes us food now he owes us food now guys he doesn't owe you food. He owes you grubby. Grubby! Strava owes us grubby.

Abba owes us grubby. Yes. Then I've got to buy another shirt. I guess you wouldn't approve. Well, I am going to, because I have another thing I need to get ready for, and I need to take a quick break to go to the bathroom. So we will, there's going to be, as you guys are all discussing this, as the Maya's thinking about this, Dog's Body, as you're speaking to Dwyer, as Alvasky and Rose are having this conversation,

we hear echoing from the mount, from the kind of hills behind you, a long, powerful echoing OOOOOOOH and that's where we'll end today's episode God damn God damn Boom boom boom

Oh damn Translation Prick Translation Pr Prick! Translation. Pricks. Pricks. Yeah. The plural of prick.

Now we know. We know now. Man, that was so cool. That was so cool. Yeah. Horrific, but in the best way. And would you believe it? The one person who's going to give us an army,

oh, he's a weird, creepy, evil freak too. God damn it. Well, I mean, so far, he's not done anything to you guys. So far oh he's a weird creepy evil freak too god i mean so far he's not done anything to you guys so far he's like never what's the problem he means well well he's been the greater good you know come on guys yeah the good of the village think about it for him what's in it for him who's he gonna turn and make into his giant army in Ravenloft once Strahd's gone huh

huh all I know is a very good three those are great questions I want you to save them and next time you see the abbot

you can ask him that how about that yeah pin it at the same time he has a he has a bitchin' pond though and

he has got a bitch in pond. I really like that pond. Well, I also like... That liquid hole is great. As Tatiana would know, Tatiana knows that if you want to help Alvasky, that pond's one of the ways to do it. And she knows it would be a big help to Dog's body. Yeah, you know.

And Alvasky, you are going to get dunked. Get dunked? Second baptism. Dunked on some. With that, my dear friends, that's where we're going to end there. Bye! Thank you.