The party awoke the next morning and prepared to set out for Vallaki with Iryna. The day was much like the others, gloomy, foggy, and murky. The party returned to stock up on supplies and bid their farewell to the town of Barovia.

The first few hours of the journey was uneventful. They soon made their way to the edges of the Svalich Woods. The woods had an eiree sense about them, like every tree was watching them.

Towering trees, whose tops are lost in heavy gray mist, block out all but a death-gray light. The tree trunks are unnaturally close to one another, and the woods have the silence of a forgotten grave, yet exude the feeling of an unvoiced scream.

The party soon detected a rotten smell. The foul scent led them to a human corpse half-buried in the underbrush about fifteen feet from the road. The young man appeared to be a commoner. His muddy clothes are torn and raked with claw marks. Crows have been at the body, which is surrounded by the paw prints. The man was obviously dead for several days. He held a crumpled envelope in one hand.

The party, without care or concern, grabbed the envelope.

Hail thee of might and valor:

I, the Burgomaster of Barovia, send you honor—with despair.

My adopted daughter, the fair Ireena Kolyana, has been these past nights bitten by a vampyr. For over four hundred years, this creature has drained the life blood of my people. Now, my dear Ireena languishes and dies from an unholy wound caused by this vile beast. He has become too powerful to conquer.

So I say to you, give us up for dead and encircle this land with the symbols of good. Let holy men call upon their power that the devil may be contained within the walls of weeping Barovia. Leave our sorrows to our graves, and save the world from this evil fate of ours.

There is much wealth entrapped in this community. Return for your reward after we are all departed for a better life.

Kolyan Indirovich
Burgomaster

The party received confirmation that Iryna was indeed the daughter of the Burgomeister. They also remembered that Father Donavich shared the tale of her being found by the river and not being the Burgomeister’s true daughter. The party moved on.

They soon encountered a bridge over the River Ivlis. The river flows as clear as a blue winter sky through the valley. They saw that on the other side of the bridge stood two scarecrows seemingly tending watch.

Cautiously Dymos sent a squirrel over the rickety bridge to check out the bridge and scarecrows. The bridge was stronger than it appeared and the scarecrows remained still. Aldric was still hesistant and attacked one scarecrow destroying it into a pile of straw. The party finally moved forward and Aldric cleaved the remaining scarecrow as he passed leaving a pile of straw behind.

The party moved forward and were attacked by four animated scarecrows moving out of the woods. These scarecrows were altogether different than the scarecrows overlooking the River Ivlis. The party moved moved and massacred these scarecrows. Although they looked fearsome, they were incredibly inept in battle and did not hit the party even once. Once the battle was over, Dymos moved forward an examined the head of a fallen scarecrow and took it in his mouth and shook it side to side. Suddenly, a single ruby fell out of the head. It looked to be worth at least 500 gold pieces if it was just a normal ruby. The party searched the other three scraecrow heads and found each contained a ruby. They gathered all the rubies up and continued on.

The party continued on through the Svalich woods and noticed the forest was becoming thicker and the trees were closer together. The really was no option but to stay on the path. They carefully moved forward and Doc hid in the shadows sensing possible danger.

Suddenly one of the trees attacked! It was a Needle Blight and it called other Needle Blights to attack along with a massive Tree Blight. They all moved forward to attack but the party was skillful at avoiding almost all the attacks. The Needle Blights were dealt with quickly and the Tree Blight only found purchase once. The Tree Blight was soon destroyed and the forest was again quiet. Finding nothing of interest the party again continued on until they came to a crosssroads.

An old wooden gallows creaked in a chill wind that blew down from the high ground to the west. A frayed length of rope danced from its beam. The well-worn road splits here, and a signpost opposite the gallows points off in three directions: Barovia Village to the east, Tser Pool to the northwest, and Ravenloft/Vallaki to the southwest. The northwest fork slants down and disappears into the trees, while the southwest fork clings to an upward slope. Across from the gallows, a low wall, crumbling in places, partially encloses a small plot of graves shrouded in fog.

The party examined the crossroads and decided to take the northwest route. Before they left, Tess creating an image of Count Strahd swinging in the noose on the gallows. If they would have stopped and paid attention, the party would have noticed that the wind blew colder and angrier.

The party followed the river to the base of a canyon, at the far end of which a great waterfall spilled into a pool, billowing forth clouds of cold mist. A great stone bridge spanned the canyon nearly one thousand feet overhead.

The canopy of mist and branches suddenly gave way to black clouds boiling far above. There was a clearing here, next to a river that widened to form a small lake several hundred feet across. Five colorful round tents, each ten feet in diameter, are pitched outside a ring of four barrel-topped wagons. A much larger tent stands near the shore of the lake, its sagging form lit from within. Near this tent, eight unbridled horses drink from the river.

The mournful strains of an accordion clash with the singing of several brightly clad figures around bonfire. A footpath continues beyond this encampment, meandering north between the river and the forest’s edge. The party slowly approached the fire.

Tess introduced the party and asked if they could approach. The party soon learned that these were the Vistani and that they were welcome by the fire. The party asked if they could stay in the camp and the Vistani welcomed them and said that they could camp near the outskirts of the camp.

The party asked if they could purchase horses from the Vistani. The Vistani declined as they couldn’t spare four horses, but they did offer one horse if the party promised to return it to the Vistani camp outside of Vallaki. The party agreed and asked many questions including questions about the Old Bonegrinder windmill. The Vistani shared that they recommended steering wide of the windmill as the location is sour.

The Vistani recommended talking to Madame Eva if they had more questions and gestured towards the large lighted tent. Tess eagerly strode towards the tent while the others joined the group around the fire.

The Vistani around the fire resumed their story telling:

“A mighty wizard came to this land over a year ago. I remember him like it was yesterday. He stood exactly where you’re standing. A very charismatic man, he was. He thought he could rally the people of Barovia against the devil Strahd. He stirred them with thoughts of revolt and bore them to the castle en masse. “When the vampire appeared, the wizard’s peasant army fled in terror. A few stood their ground and were never seen again.

“The wizard and the vampire cast spells at each other. Their battle flew from the courtyards of Ravenloft to a precipice overlooking the falls. I saw the battle with my own eyes. Thunder shook the mountainside, and great rocks tumbled down upon the wizard, yet by his magic he survived. Lightning from the heavens struck the wizard, and again he stood his ground. But when the devil Strahd fell upon him, the wizard’s magic couldn’t save him. I saw him thrown a thousand feet to his death. I climbed down to the river to search for the wizard’s body, to see if, you know, he had anything of value, but the River Ivlis had already spirited him away.”

Tess slowly strode up to the large tent and parted the curtain. Magic flames cast a reddish glow over the interior of this tent, revealing a low table covered in a black velvet cloth. Glints of light seem to flash from a crystal ball on the table as a hunched figure peers into its depths. As the crone speaks, her voice crackles like dry weeds. “At last you have arrived!” Cackling laughter bursts like mad lightning from her withered lips.

“Come, sit and be welcome. Would you like a reading?”