The Fog Ascends
The mists have descended into the lands and our heroes find themselves in some unusual situations this week as they begin their adventures into the land of Barovia.
Anet and Thixian
Our campaign opens in the Sword Coast with Anet, an owl aarakocra and Thixian, the half elf, attending a dinner party in Daggarford for the Lady Morwen. To her distress, a band of foreigners have set up camp outside the walls of the city, harassing townsfolks as they travel to and from the city asking for money and wine and threatening to place hexes on them if they do not agree to their demands. Lady Morwen asks the duo if they might be able to deliver a message to the visitors - leave or face retaliation. The pair agrees and heads off to speak with the villagers.
Velcar
Elsewhere in the Forgotten Realms, Velcar finds himself sitting in a rather ordinary tavern as an unnatural fog begins to roll across the town. The tavern door slams open and a hush falls over the room. Framed by the lamp-lit fog, a form strides through the doorway. His heavy, booted footfall shatters the silence. Without hesitation, the stranger walks straight to Velcar and stands proudly in a wide stance with folded arms. In a heavy accented voice, he says “I have been sent to you to deliver this message. If you be a creature of honor, you will come to my Master’s aid at first light. It is not advisable to travel the Svalich Woods at night!” The stranger then places a sealed letter on the table beside Velcar, walks to the barkeep and orders a round of drinks for all in the tavern, tossing a purse of gold on the bar and walks out. Velcar picks up the letter, examining the red wax seal of a crest he does not recognize.
The letter peaks Velcar's interest and he decide to head out immediately for make the five mile trek thru the Svalich Woods.
Anet and Thixian
Traveling with their companions Ava, a half grown owlbear and Wraith, a Tressym, Thixian and Anut arrive at the makeshift camp on the outskirts of the city. They observe a small band of about 12 individuals engaged in drinking, music and merrymaking around a large bonfire. Even though the two believe to be hiden from view in the shadows some distance off, one of the men of the camp suddenly stares directly at them and with a smile invites them to join them, offering them some of their wine and companionship. The two approach, where they are introduced to Stanimir, the smiling host, who explains they are the Vistani and have no interest in Daggarford or upsetting Lady Morwen. They invite Anet and Thixian to have a seat and enjoy some of the wine brought from their lands, while Stanimir offers to tell a story. He fills his mouth with wine, then spits into the fire. The flames turn from orange to green. As they dance and sway, a dark shape appears in the bonfire’s core, taking the form of a man being knocked from his horse, a spear piercing his side.Stanimir tells the story of helping an injured prince from another land, tending to his wounds and nursing him back to health. Ultimately, the Vistani people helped to return this prince to his lands, fighting back assassins to do so. As his story comes to a close, the figure in the dancing fire vanquishes its final foe, then disperses in a cloud of smoke and embers.
HALO
Elsewhere, in an unknown land, HALO awakens on a wooden table in an empty room. As he reaches for his face, he is confronted with hands made of metal. He places these hands against his face, finding the hollow sound of metal upon metal unnerving. He cannot remember who he is or where he is, but he does know that this was not his normal - he has not always been a metal body. As he stands, he notices a folder sitting upon a table. Written across the top of the folder is one word - HALO. Upon examination of the folder contents, he is confronted with a sketch of a young soldier who's face looks familiar but who's name eludes him. Very little other information is contained in the folder.
Hoping to find someone who could explain what is going on, Halo makes his way thru the building, finding nothing of value beyond a shield and sword, which he takes. Exiting the building finds him in a icy wasteland with no other buildings around. As he begins to walk down the path away from the building, an eerie fog begins to encroach upon him, completely encircling him. A feeling of overwhelming fatigue overcomes HALO, and he finds himself drifting into a darkness while standing in the path.
Velcar
Travelling thru Svalich Woods is rather uneventful for the first 4 miles of Velcar's journey. However, approaching the 5th mile, Velcar begins to notice an unusual fog has began to descend upon the trail. This fog drifts in closer, encircling him and creating a sense of fatigue that Velcar has never experienced. He approaches the fog, experimentally reaching his hand into it and is quickly overcome with a sense of dread, his heightened senses telling him that this fog is not natural and entering it would cause his demise. As the fog closes in on him, the fatigue that he is experiencing becomes too much and he collapses in the middle of the road, falling into an unnatural sleep.
Anet and Thixian
Thixian awakens to Wraith flapping around the confinements of the wagon and pawing at Thixian's face. As the confusion of waking in an unfamiliar location clears and he remembers the night before, he also becomes aware that Ava, the owlbear, is outside the wagon in a somewhat agitated state. Stepping outside the wagon, he finds that the wagon is located in the middle of a trail in unfamiliar surroundings. He finds the source of the bears agitation is a strange fog that has surrounded the wagon on three sides. Familiar with fog, Thixian has a feeling that there is something extremely menacing about this particular fog and quickly wakes Anet. They stand outside the wagon, discussing what they should do when they realize that the fog behind them has begun to descend upon them, forcing them to begin traveling down the only section of the road that is clear of the fog. As they look back behind them, they can no longer see the wagon, as it too has been engulfed in the unnatural fog.
Velcar
Velcar awakes to find himself in the middle of a path unfamiliar to him. Rising to his feet, he notes the extreme overcast skies as well as the fog that hugs the side of the path and circles behind him, leaving only one direction open to him to travel. His cat, Grim, peers into the mist, hair raised on her back, signaling that something is in the mist. As Velcar also looks into the mist, he sees shadowy forms moving within but is unable to make up what they are. He decides to start ascending the path. He comes to a crossroad where he can turn either to his left or right. He crouches down, placing his hand on the path in order to use his abilities to sense which direction to go. His senses tell him that there are two entities approaching to his left. He stands, reaching over his head to place his hand upon the sword that he keeps sheathed upon his back and waits.
Anet and Thixian
As the two make their way down the trail, they see in the distance a man standing some distance in the road. Cautiously, they continue to approach. Seeing the defensive posture of the man, Anet takes it upon himself to diffuse the situation by making introductions and they approach the man. He removes his hand from his weapon but remains alert and cautious.
Velcar, Anet and Thixian
The three begin conversation, trying to figure out where they are. Questions are asked where each of the heroes had came from and how they came to be on this path. Thixian states she believes this is a land called Barovia, as the Vistani man, Stanimir had mentioned the land. Velcar states that in all his travels, he had never heard of a land called Barovia.
Ava becomes restless, alerting the trio that the mist is again beginning to creep upon them. The path that Velcar had originally traveled has been cut off by the mist, leaving only one option available to them. Some ways down the path, they see a large figure standing in the middle of the pathway. Anet takes to the air, flying over the figure and returns to report that that it appears to be a metal humanoid figure that is stationary and unmoving in the road. The party approaches cautiously. Velcar uses his senses which tells him that while the figure is currently inactive, there appears to be a sentient being within. As they stand around making observations of the figure, the eyes light up and the head turns to look directly at Anet.
HALO
HALO awakens to find himself in a strange pathway, the icy baren waste he originated from replaced by a misty forest. He also finds himself surrounded by three individuals he is unfamiliar with. He fixes his gaze on the strangest of the three, a large male owl aarakocra. Confusion descends as the already confused HALO is overwhelmed by the sudden changes of his situation. The three speak to HALO, asking where he is from (he does not know), what his name is (he only knows HALO) and if he knows where they are (He does not). Unbeknownst to HALO, Velcar removes a notebook and pencil, making a quick sketch of HALO as well as jotting down some notes since Velcar has never seen a sentient being like HALO before in his travels.
Velcar, Anet, Thixian and HALO
Recognizing HALO as being confused, the three quickly agree that HALO must travel with them. HALO agrees and the four continue to travel together down the only available pathway clear of mist. Valcar stays close to HALO, keeping his distance from the other two for reasons unknown. After traveling for some distance, they come to the outskirts of what appears to be a town veiled by the mist, the roof tops vaguely visible thru the fog before them. To the left, they notice a house that appears was once a pretty grand home in its days but is now somewhat dilapidated and run down. Near the house, they hear a soft whimpering sound. They encounter two children, a boy and a girl, holding hands, the little boy crying softly while clutching a doll. The heroes approach the children and introduce themselves. They learn the names of the children, Rosavalda and Thornboldt (Rose and Thorn for short), who tell them that there is a monster in the house and that their infant brother, Walter, is inside the house in his crib located on the third floor. When asked for further information, Rose states that her mother and father went down to the basement where the monster was located but told the children to stay in their room. The children, terrified of the howling sounds, left the house to find help but have been too afraid to venture to the town to find someone due to the fog.
Velcar, apprehensive about two small children alone in this area, sends Grim to the children to see how both the cat and the children react. The cat rubs against the children's legs and the boy, Thorn, giggles a bit thru his sobs at the cat. This seems to ease Velcar's apprehensiveness that maybe the children aren't what they seem. He approaches the children and tells them that they will enter the house to find the brother and the children's parents. He also tells them that if the fog gets to close, to enter the house and stay by the front door. This sends Thorn into more sobs and he states that he is too afraid to reenter the house because of the monster. Valcar tells the children to instead stay on the front porch, leaving Grim with the children on the porch as a comfort to them while the party goes inside. As they enter the house, they hear a hiss from Grim who runs thru the doorway just as the door slams shut. The party tries to open the door but it will not open. They look out the window near the door to see if the children are okay but only see a thick wall of fog obscuring their view.
The session ends with the party realizing they are trapped within the house.
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