The party returned to the Blue Water Inn late in the morning, sneaking Stella inside. They shared with Urwin what had happened at the Wachterhouse and that they had saved Stella. The party asked Urwin if he had seen the Wachter brothers but they had not been at the Inn that day.

The party retired upstairs for a short nap before heading out to the festival. They decided to ask Urwin to watch over Stella which he graciously agreed to. Iryna wanted to come with the party to the festival as bad luck seemed to follow her when she stayed behind. Tess dressed her up in a robe and applied make up to try and disguise her as best she could.

Tess asked Iryna if she could handle a weapon and Iryna shared that she often hunted rabbits with her brother with a bow and arrow. Upon hearing this, Doc gave his short bow to Iryna.

The party prepared to go to the festival. They saw that Stella was on a table in the corner meowing and lapping up milk in a saucer that Urwin had provided for her.

The party asked Urwin to tell the brothers that they did everything they could and they left the Blue Water Inn. The party could see that Iryna was excited and anxious.

---

The party walked to the festival and were immediately drawn to the 12 merchants.

Merchant Name	Description	Proprietor
The Popular Shield	Outfitter	Hoknath – Orc male
The Honest Raven	Antique Shop	Guldulvest – Gnome male
The Groping Grape	Brothel	Shrend Ashbane – Kenku Male
The Bard’s Bar	Music Store	Sariac – Dragonborn female
The Generous Genie	Pawn shop	Scarface McKinsey – Human Male
Pho Real/Ramen Numerals	Soup / Ramen	Phan Duy Tran – Human female
The Pretty Tower	Supermarket	Rosa Littlefeet – Halfing female
Church of the Sun Lord	Church	Odarin – Human male
Fire Wings	Bat Wings	Blonk – Goblin male
What Ales you!	Beer	Irish Paul – Dwarf Male
Baked & Baked	Bakery & Cannabis Shop	Hippie Elf – Dude Riversong
Inked and Dangerous	Tattoo shop	Goliath – Barth
Blinsky toys	Toy shop	Blinsky

While the other party members visited the merchants, Dymos was drawn to the attraction of Rictavio and Sabretooth Tiger. Dymos asked the tiger if he was being treated well and if he wanted to be released. The tiger replied and he was being treated ok and was being fed well. Dymos tried to offer the tiger a pastry which the tiger politely refused.

Dymos went to leave but before he left he approach Rictavio and said:

“If you mistreat or beat the tiger, I will kill you”

Rictavio looked at Dymos with a stunned expression and looked back to his tiger. The tiger had an equally blank expression. Dymos rejoined the other members of the party.

Tess outfitted Iryna at The Popular Shield while multiple party members sold items at The Generous Genie.

Aldric visited The Church of the Sun Lord and received a blessing. Aldric drank from the chalice after the blessing and felt refreshed and full of vigor.

Doc grew tired of visiting the merchants and walked over to look at what games were offered. Doc chose to play the Hunt the Wolf game once he heard the odds. Although Doc only won 10 gold pieces the first time he played, Doc won the jackpot the second time and won 1,000 gold pieces.

Doc decided to play one more time and Doc was sure he knew who had the wolf token but was surprised when he was proven wrong. Doc felt that he had been cheated and tried to grab the token bag, but he missed. Doc tried to rile the crowd up saying that they were all being cheated, but Doc moved on after he saw that no one was willing to pursue the issue.

Back at the merchants, Tess and Iryna stopped by at What Ales You and ordered a refreshing Stout and Pilsener.

Tess then stopped at one last merchant, Baked and Baked. Tess purchased 5 edible gummies and moved on.

---

The party all agreed to visit Inked and Dangerous and the proprietor Barth offered them magic tattoos for 10 gold pieces but they could only choose one. Barth explained that each tattoo has different effects based upon the individual.

Aldric chose the Raven tattoo, Doc chose the Fate tattoo, Dymos chose the Wolf tattoo, Tess chose the Saint’s Tear tattoo, and Iryna chose the Dragon tattoo.

The tattoos took about 30 minutes to apply and Aldric was the first one to scream during the tattoo application. Everyone laughed at Aldric, but howled when Dymos screamed through his tattoo application.

After the tattoo application, the party understood that they had gained the following magic effects:

Raven Tattoo – Aldric

A black raven spreads its wings across the back or shoulder.

Benefit:

• Gain advantage on Perception checks.
• +1 WIS
• Once per long rest, you can cast Misty Step as a swarm of ravens.
• Ravens are naturally friendly toward you.

Tattoo of Fate – Doc

The tattoo constantly shifts scenes of the character’s future.

Benefit:

• Gain 3 Fate Marks each long rest.
• Spend a Fate Mark to:
  • Reroll any d20.
  • Force an enemy to reroll a d20.
  • Add 1d8 to any roll after seeing the result.

Wolf Mark of the Hunt – Dymos

A wolf’s eye tattoo appears somewhere on the body.

Benefit:

• Darkvision +30 ft. (or gain 60 ft. darkvision if none).
• Advantage on Survival and stealth checks.
• Once per long rest, gain advantage on all Initiative rolls for 8 hours.
• +1 Strength

The Saint’s Tears – Tess

A tear-shaped tattoo beneath one eye.

Benefit:

• Learn Spare the Dying.
• Gain proficiency in Medicine.
• Once per long rest, when healing another creature, maximize one healing die rolled.
• Can cast Healing Word as a Bonus Action

Dragon Sigil – Iryna

A draconic rune burns like molten silver.

Benefit:

• +1 AC.
• Develop faint scales when threatened.
• +1 INT

---

The party then decided to visit the riddles attraction and were unnerved when they met the riddle mistress – Vasilka Drachenova – the Bell-Widow of Berez.

Vasilka is a gaunt woman wrapped in layers of black mourning cloth stained with swamp-water and candle soot. Copper bells of various sizes hang from her belt, wrists, and neck. None ever ring when she moves.

Her eyes are pale silver, cataract-like, yet she appears to notice things no one else can. Ravens frequently perch nearby. The smell of rain and old grave dirt follows her.

Iryna shared that she was aware of the legend of Vasilka. The people of Barovia say that whenever someone dies alone and forgotten, a bell somewhere in Vasilka’s tower rings by itself. Vasilka claims she once served a church in Berez before its destruction. She says she has spent decades recording the names of the dead so their souls are not swallowed by the Mists.

Vasilka offered to write their names in the book if they successfully answer a riddle. The cost is 10 gold pieces to play.

Aldric used his lantern to see if any undead were close by, but found that none were currently close by.

The party asked Vasilka to confirm whether Iryna’s name was in the book. Vasilka confirmed that she was, but that the name was her soul’s name. not her current name. Vasilka also shared she does not know people’s soul names – only the book knows. Vasilka also shared that none of the names of the party were in the book.

Dymos paid 10 gold pieces to plat the riddle game. Vasilka then asked:

The more that fear me, the stronger I grow.

Before me all travelers eventually go.

I stand unmoving upon the height,

Yet cast a shadow through every night.

What am I?

Dymos grew frustrated immediately and walked away. The rest of the party followed him

Vasilka yelled at them as they left:

“The dead ring before they rise.”

---

It was almost time for the parade so the party quickly visited several attractions and found that the staked vampire was fake and that the shocking wereravens and dog-people were authentic.

The wereravens changed from human to ravens before their very eyes. The dog-people appeared to be dog-people stitched together in unnatural ways.

The party heard that the festival parade was coming and went to the main road to watch the parade. They could see the parade coming:

Marching Band	A pathetic marching band comprised solely of violins and one piccolo
Blinsky Toys	Igor Blinsky handing out samples of small puppets that all look like Strahd
Wizard of Wines	Micro samples from only one bottle
Baron and Baroness	Riding in a regal carriage
Henrik’s Coffins	An open drawn trailer with different coffin styles
Abbot and new bride	Franskenstein bride that seem to be stitched together
Vistani	Garish wagon with music, wine, and laughter
Black Carriage	Strahd with three skulls beside him

The parade moved down the main street and Strahd’s carriage stopped right in the middle and he stared at the party.

Tess moved to hide Iryna while other party members created distractions at The Bard’s Bar and using a phantom sound.

Suddenly a daggar was thrown at one of the skulls beside Strahd and it exploded on impact. The crowd dispersed in a clamour of shouting and panic!

Strahd waved his hand and 8 skeletons climbed out of the ground and attacked. The battle was vicious and Tess hid Iryna in The Popular Shield. The skeletons attacked on two fronts and sought to separate the party from Iryna.

Dymos entered The Popular Shield and cast invisibility on Iryna on the hope that it would help her escape.

Tess was knocked unconscious, but just then Sir Godfrey came out of the shadows and struck down three of the skeletons. Sir Godfrey was a revenant, but he was clearly not aligned with Strahd.

Tess got back up and cast Misty Step to find Iryna. She first cast an illusion on herself in the image of Strahd. When she went in the tent she could not find Iryna though. It appeared she was gone. She commanded the skeletons to attack, but the skeletons did not listen to the commands of the illusion.

Aldric cast Guiding Bolt on Strahd which he deflected with a laugh. Sir Godfrey slaughtered the rest of the sksletons.

The party then saw Iryna become visible briefly beside Strahd before they both disappeared in a plume of smoke. Tess cried out.

The party ask Sir Godfrey if he could get them out of town which he agreed and the party bid a hasty retreat following the only ally they have in Barovia.