After two weeks in Waterdeep, Cardiel was invited to a party at the Temple of Sune, where he met a visiting priestess there who apparently made an impression, for he went to three more parties there in the following week. Red hair is apparently sacred to Sune, so I understand a little of why Cardiel was invited back to the parties at the temple. Apparently red eyes are not, but they can overlook that in him. Then she apparently left without a note, and he appeared a bit crestfallen for days afterward.
After a few days, however, she returned, this time with her sister in tow. Cardiel then introduced us over lunch, and, to her credit, they are both astonishingly good company, and radient in a way that only aasimar can be. Their mere presence demands the attention of every man in the room, and stand out like a candle in the night.
Frankly, I am surprised at first that Cardiel would have the courage to speak with Sapphire at all, but a few minutes of conversation with them answered that question – she is very good at making people feel at ease, blessed with true social grace. I do note, however, that he still gets a little tongue tied around them both. I attempted a little light hearted flirting with the sister, but I am so rusty at this social skill that I doubt anyone noticed it. She is so beautiful and socially skilled, not to mention preoccupied, that my efforts fail to garnish attention. Which is likely a good thing. I recall an odd phrase that Aasimir and Tieflings don’t often mix well. With my own stygian heritage, I often come across as cold and unapproachable, or so my socially proficient siblings tell me.
The sisters are apparently searching for some missing friends, and trying to avoid attention from some group of criminals, I gather, although it’s not said out loud. Cardiel (and by extension, myself) offer to escort them south east to Daggerford, where Sapphire says they should expect to find word, or at least to get guidance from her goddess. I of all people understand this, as I receive cryptic messages from Shadow in my dreams quite often, however, the decyphering of its meaning is often beyond my comprehension, especially since Uncle died. He had a gift – or at least decades of experience, in determining what was needed.
We leave Waterdeep, and head south. I’m not entirely unhappy with this as my purse was getting a bit light for the kind of social calendar we enjoyed there, or at least that Cardiel enjoyed there. On the second evening out, the mists start gathering, and out of the mists come two figures.
Tall they are, and muscular, but their limbs seem clumsy, at least at first. They are also blue, and dressed is mismatched commoner clothing. And identical. I confront them, and ask them their business, but they seem confused, and, if I may say so, daft at times. They slightly remind me of some books I’ve read dealing with golems made of flesh, but their description is all wrong, so I’m really not sure what to make of them. I offer them some food, unfortunately only the travel rations we have with us, and they eat, but seem very uninterested in it all.
Cardiel seems a bit protective, and when the strangers mention piles of bodies ten minutes walk away, we decide we must go investigate. I extinguish the fire, and we set out. Which turns out to be a big mistake.
The mist apparently is magical, and carries us away. We walk about twenty to thirty minutes, and come across a road, with the mist filling in behind us. It’s unnaturally cold and clammy, and I notice the others all seem to be affected by it. We agree to follow our footsteps back, but not five minutes in, several of us stagger as if under a heavy weight, and we take the hint – we are not allowed to leave.
Oddly, far from being scary and intimidating, the shadows and mist seem oddly familiar. Which is not to say that I doubt they will turn on me if they could, but for now, I appear to be the only one comfortable in the rain and mist of this odd plane. Whether it’s because of my Stygian blood or the influence of Shadow, I know not.
We are herded by the mist down the road, where we come to a large wall with a gate and two giant statues. We make camp under one of the statues, which provides some shelter from the rain, and bed down for the night. Getting a campfire lit requires magic, but it keeps us warm. In the morning, two of our watches reported hearing wolves howling in the distance.
We enter the gates, and it ominiously swings closed behind us. We keep moving, and come to a place where there is the body of a young man alongside the road. He has a letter and a few coins on him, and I notice when we approach him that Vendetta is noticably upset, until it’s confirmed it’s not her friend, but a stranger. The letter says:
“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”
My blood runs cold as I read the letter. Memories from a lesson with my grand uncle Therion made mention of Barovia. It is a plane off of the Shadowfell, where my guide and mentor Shadow resides. It holds a great evil, and is essentially a prison. If we are there now, we are in grave danger. Sometimes, if it useful to know a language nobody else does. And Infernal is possibly the best language for swearing I’ve ever heard of.
I do not, however, let on to the others too much, other than to say that I suspect we are not in our plane any longer, and to be very cautious. A few minutes after finding the body, we are set upon by wolves, and I am happy to say, we were victorious. All of our little group appear to be proficient with violence and cool under pressure.
We continue along the road, and pass a cluster of buildings, barred and locked up as if they were under siege. We then hear crying coming from ahead, and quicken our pace. Two children, perhaps 7 and 10 years old, dressed in somber clothing, are crying outside of a large house. They tell us there is a monster in their house, and that their baby brother is still inside.
Cardiel looks them over, and then the house, and turns a little pale at the evil he senses there. We all decide we are going in, and as we enter I put a charm against evil over my brash younger brother. The first two floors are empty, with the exception of a music room with instruments which appear to play themselves. As we make the third floor landing, a suit of armor animates and attacks. We manage to take it down, but not before I take a strong hit to my side, most likely breaking some ribs, as my breathing is difficult and painful, but not too debilitating.
