Lessons from the Mists: Session 17 - the Lone Vistana

Welcome back to Lessons from the Mists! This week, the heroes continue to explore the ancient mansion of Argynvostholt, speak to an undead knight, meet a dangerous Vistana, and discover there is more to Rictavio than meets the eye... Let's get started!

The four heroes are stunned in the presence of Argynvost. Angvar grips his sword, ready for a fight, and Mary Sue Ann stands in awe of a creature with vast magical knowledge. Argynvost relays the history of the Order, and how they came to Barovia as a shield against great evil, but he and his Order fell under Strahd’s armies. He senses a corruption in the highest tower of the mansion, and pleads to the heroes to restore his Order to glory, to put their souls to rest. He fades from view.

Ylenia says that she has heard of dragons but never seen one, and asks the others if they have seen dragons where they are from. They all say no, and that they are as surprised to see one as she was. Kane attempts to recall knowledge of consecration and desecration in regards to the corruption in the high tower, and believes there either was an explicit magical desecration, or a relic that might provide consecration (like the bones of St. Andral) has been removed. They discuss speaking to Vladimir, but decide on seeing what is happening in the topmost tower. The heroes ascend to the roof.

Unable to access the tower because of a barred door, Angvar climbs a turret built into the tower, enters, then lets the others inside. Ylenia leads the way, but as she climbs past the second landing, the wood crumbles underneath her, and she hops to the other side. A ten foot wide gap separates the party on the stairs. Angvar looks down the tower and sees far below in the chapel a trio of knights praying before an altar. On a balcony overlooking the chapel a lone knight sits praying on a throne. Angvar and Kane assist in throwing Mary Sue Ann across the gap, then jump across themselves. When they make it to the pinnacle of the tower, they can see all across the valley of Barovia. In the center of the room is a large reptilian skeleton with wings, placed here with obvious care: the skeleton of Argynvost. Most notably, however, the skull is missing.

Mary Sue Ann insists on exploring the mansion more, they need more information. Ylenia uses Divine Sense and gathers that the beacon has been corrupted. They travel back downstairs and enter a room neighboring Vladimir on his throne. When they enter, they see five revenants surrounding a table in what appears to be an old war room. One of the revenants does not seem hostile, and asks the others to leave. The knights obey him, and he invites them to sit, introducing himself as Godfrey Gwilym. Angvar remains ready for a fight, but Ylenia and Mary Sue Ann sit and tell him who they are and why they have come. They are searching for power to kill the devil Strahd.

Godfrey relays to the heroes why Agynvost came to the valley in the first place: to protect a site of ancient evil, the Amber Temple. Strahd came to the valley as a conqueror, and slew the Order. Godfrey believes he found the Amber Temple and what he discovered within led him on the path to vampirism. Vladimir’s hatred is what animates the Order, and though only killing Strahd will release them from undeath, relighting the beacon may allow him to set aside his spite to assist the heroes. He also knows that shortly after the knights fell, Strahd’s old wet nurse, a supremely powerful witch named Baba Lysaga attacked the mansion and stole the skull then brought it to Berez. It was Lysaga who taught Strahd magic and assisted him in desecrating the land. Godfrey warns Mary Sue Ann and Ylenia that she is not to be trifled with.

The heroes begin to hear hoofbeats approaching the mansion. Ylenia immediately springs up and looks out the window and sees a lone Vistana woman riding up the road then tying her horse up to the dragon statue outside the mansion. Godfrey says, “Expecting company?” The Vistana woman draws a sword and enters the mansion. Mary Sue Ann decides to send Guinevere to spy on the Vistana, but when she sees it, she immediately attacks it and kills the wizard’s familiar. Ylenia suggests they hide in the nearby study and wait for her to come up the stairs.

When the Vistana arrives on the third floor, Ylenia reveals herself and says that she has friends nearby while the Vistana holds her at the length of her blade. The Vistana is succinct and to the point, and introductions are made. She tells them her name is Ezmerelda and she has come to find power to defeat Strahd. Ylenia tells her all they have discovered in the mansion, and that a dead knight in the next room has some powerful magic. Without hesitating, Ezmerelda saunters into the next room. Angvar grabs her arm, and tells her that he will not allow her to get them all killed. Ezmerelda says that she will not die. Their safety is not her concern at the moment, and wrenches her arm free. She continues on, but Kane apologizes and Commands her to approach him. Miraculously, the spell works, and when it wears off, she warns Kane against doing that again.

Again, a series of hoofbeats outside. Angvar asks Ezmerelda, “Expecting company?” and she curses under her breath. Mary Sue Ann looks out a window and sees a few Vistani led by Arrigal approaching the mansion. Ylenia says that they know Arrigal, and Ezmerelda looks incredulously at her, and asks if she knows he makes frequent trips to Castle Ravenloft. This is a revelation to the heroes, and paints Arrigal in a very different light. Ezmerelda asks them to come with her to deal with this, and they oblige. Angvar steals one last glimpse at Vladimir Horngaard before descending down and out of the mansion.

When the heroes go outside with Ezmerelda, there is a tense standoff with the Vistani. Arrigal tells them that thievery is not looked kindly upon in the family. Realizing he is outmatched, he takes his hand off his blade and tells them there need not be any bloodshed. He will take their horses and the horse Ezmerelda stole, and forget this encounter ever happened. The heroes agree to his terms, and he rides off with their mounts.

Mary Sue Ann invites Ezmerelda to travel with them, and to spend the night on the road with them. They found a lot of information at Argynvostholt, but it is more complex than they first thought. Ezmerelda agrees, and says that she can lead them to a place she wants to make her base of operations - a tower on Lake Baratok. Ylenia tells her they have heard of this, that a bard named Rictavio told them to meet him there. Ezmerelda looks surprised, and asks, “Rictavio is in Barovia?” She laughs at this, and says they must go at once.

After a long rest in which the heroes fill Ezmerelda in on what they discovered at Argynvostholt and send messages checking in with Ismark and Rictavio, they set out to the tower. They encounter no hostilities on the way there. When they arrive, Pidlwick goes limp, and Angvar tells the others he believes there is an enchantment against magic here. Kane confirms this when his shield fails to light. Approaching the tower, Ezmerelda tells them there is some ward on the door that she was unable to solve. Angvar and Kane decipher it, believing it is a set of instructions to a dance. Angvar instructs Kane in the dance, and the door opens. Ezmerelda is baffled at these protections, and they all go inside. A group of four clay golems operate an elevator within the tower and they ascend to the top floor. They find a small living quarters, and Ylenia begins digging through the items, finding notes on anatomy, necromancy. A jar with a shrunken head and alchemical supplies. She begins to suspect who Rictavio really is. Then, they hear a wagon approaching. Ezmerelda, excited, suggests they go say hello.

The heroes descend the tower and meet Rictavio outside. Ezmerelda steps out of the tower and says, “Long time, no see, old man.” Rictavio frowns, then doffs his hat, and his form dissolves, revealing an old man in a long coat, with long mutton chops. He places spectacles on his face and introduces himself. “My name is Doctor Rudolph van Richten,” he says, “and I have come to Barovia to kill the devil Strahd.”

And that’s where we left it!

Pretty well, I think! There were some snags and I felt like I talked for a long time this session, but the heroes learned a lot from some very important NPC’s, so that seems par for the course.

In the early part of the session, I found I am still having a hard time with conveying an accurate and understandable description of a three dimensional location. As I am writing this, I remember that a lot of the boxed text within DnD adventures use cardinal directions when describing where in a room something is, as well as providing specific dimensions of the room. I have not been doing this, but my GMing may benefit from that, especially in adventures like this.

The players finally met Ezmerelda and she’s given them some info they don’t know yet, because she has been doing her own research in Barovia. Revealing Arrigal is a servant of Strahd felt great because now the players really don’t know who they can trust or not.

We also got Rudolph van Richten’s reveal, which sped past some of my encounters I planned last week to get to. I wanted to save the exploration of the tower for this next week and more roleplaying between the two of them because I had not prepped van Richten, but I could feel the table finally sighing in relief that they have allies that know something.

Halfway through the session I looked over at our map of Barovia and found several new strings had been placed by Liv, Mary Sue Ann’s player, connecting all types of information to the Amber Temple.

Not a lot of crazy stuff happened this session, but a lot of information was revealed, and we had a lot of great banter and laughs, so despite it being a low key session, it was one of my favorites we have played. Really excited to see what they do next. I think Rudolph van Richten may tip them off to the winery for some level appropriate heroics.

Until next time!