D&D Campaign Journal

Session 19: Into the Mists

Characters Present: Zoran, Luan, Brannor, Andy, Grusnarv

Recap

The adventurers find themselves in the cursed land of Barovia, having already lost a companion. They seek guidance and supplies to continue their quest against the darkness.

Narrative Summary

Trouble in Vallaki

The session opened at the mansion gates in Vallaki, where the party had just welcomed their newest member — Brannor, a towering half-giant paladin who would journey with them. Their conversation was interrupted by the arrival of twenty guards, led by a ranking officer with an accusation: Andy, their half-elf gunslinger, had allegedly robbed a shopkeeper over a crossbow.

What followed was a tense negotiation. Andy explained his side — the shopkeeper had agreed to one gold, then changed his mind and turned aggressive when paid. But the guards weren’t interested in heroes’ excuses. “You’re like the seventh one,” one muttered. Heroes came and went in Barovia. Most failed.

The party pushed back with speeches about helping Vallaki, about not having time for delays, about their recent losses. The guards wavered, clearly torn between duty and the knowledge that these outsiders might be their only hope against the vampire spawn plaguing the city. In the end, twenty-five gold pieces settled the matter — more than the crossbow was worth, but enough to smooth over the incident and let them leave.

The Road to Madame Eve

Leaving Vallaki behind, the party discussed their need for a diamond. Brannor had gained access to resurrection magic through his paladin oaths, but the spell required an expensive material component. If they were to survive Barovia, they needed to be able to bring back fallen companions.

For travel, Luan transformed into a direwolf using his druidic shapeshifting abilities. Brannor summoned a spectral direwolf made of mist — Vetjna — and the party rode east through the cursed forest toward the Vistani camp.

The Barovian wilderness was deeply wrong. Trees creaked with unnatural sounds. The mist moved with purpose. Then they spotted figures along the road — scarecrows that shouldn’t have been able to move, but did. When the party focused on them, they stood motionless. When attention wavered, they teleported to new positions, leaving impossible shadow patterns in their wake.

Battle with the Scarecrows

The scarecrows attacked with frightening intensity. Their gaze itself was a weapon — several party members found themselves paralyzed with supernatural terror, frozen in place as the constructs closed in. The wolves took slashing damage as animated straw hands reached and clawed.

But the party fought back with determination. Zoran’s radiant sun soul strikes tore through the creatures’ unnatural forms. When Andy doused one of the scarecrows in concentrated alcohol and called for fire, Grusnarv responded with a Chromatic Orb that set the construct ablaze in spectacular fashion. The explosion scattered burning straw across the road and singed nearby party members.

When the last scarecrow fell to Zoran’s devastating strike — a blow so powerful it opened a brief gap in the cloud cover, letting actual sunlight through — the party found a curious treasure: a silver ring with a black spiral design, clearly magical but ominous in nature.

The Vistani Welcome

Gradually, the forest gave way to healthier ground. Real grass. Living trees. The Vistani camp appeared like a miracle — six colorful wagons circled around a central bonfire, with music, laughter, and the smell of actual good food filling the air.

The Vistani welcomed them warmly, offering drinks called “Fruity Loops” — a deceptively sweet concoction that left Grusnarv pleasantly drunk by the fire. One Vistani named Sasha showed particular interest in Zoran, and for a moment the party could almost forget the mist beyond the firelight. They ate pannenkoeken with meat, drank, and let themselves relax.

Near the end of the evening, Andy and Zoran had a heartfelt conversation, processing the day’s events and what had happened in Vallaki.

But they had come for a purpose.

Madame Eve’s Tent

The party entered Madame Eve’s tent — a space impossibly larger on the inside, with a table surrounding a central fire. The elderly seer sat at the head, feet dangling from her oversized chair, regarding them with knowing eyes.

“Welcome back,” she said to some. To others, “I was expecting you, though I thought your path would take you elsewhere.”

Grusnarv showed her a painting he’d created in a trance — a gaunt, unhealthy-looking figure connected to Castle Ravenloft by threads of energy, with more threads reaching back from the figure to the castle. He spoke of disturbing memories that didn’t feel quite like his own: being a researcher, developing magical stones, being forced into experiments that required human sacrifice. Memories of moral conflict, of unwilling complicity in dark work.

Madame Eve studied the painting with gravity. “I see something surging,” she said. When pressed about what it meant, she replied simply, “I’m afraid this is not my story to tell. I’m afraid you know.”

She reminded Brannor that she’d given him a prophecy before — that he would lose the light. That prophecy had come true; he’d lost his eye. Now she offered new prophecies for the group, speaking in riddles:

The Price of Resurrection

When asked about the ring, Madame Eve identified it without touching: the Ring of the Champion, created long ago to heal its bearer in battle but corrupted by the souls of all those killed by its wearer. It would grant enhanced healing while attuned, but came with a terrible curse — the first time the wearer dropped to zero hit points, the ring would turn gray and prevent all magical healing. Worse, removing it while attuned would cause instant collapse.

Finally, they negotiated for the diamond Brannor needed. Madame Eve’s price was steep: seventy-five gold, and a favor from each of them — no questions asked, to be called in at a time of her choosing.

The party debated. It was a dangerous bargain, binding them to an unknown future. But with death so close in Barovia, with the seventh group of heroes to attempt this quest, could they afford to refuse?

One by one, they agreed. Brannor offered to entertain the children. Others promised wood, party tricks, drinking companionship. The deal was struck.

Key Discoveries & Decisions

Open Threads

Notable Quotes

“You’re like the seventh one. Yeah, you’re not very birth to find the… Maybe they lost a bit of their charm.” — Vallaki guard, on heroes in Barovia

“We’re we are clueless. We have no clue what to do at the moment. The only thing that we know is that we want to get out of here… But we just want to get out of here!” — Grusnarv, frustration mounting

“I find it very important that people have their own voice.” — Madame Eve, refusing to simply tell them what payment she wants

“This is a good way to get cursed.” — Party member, trying unsuccessfully to prevent someone from immediately putting on a magical ring found on a monster

“I was not expecting that. That was very bright.” — Party member, after Zoran’s radiant-powered axe strike briefly parts the clouds

Session 20: The Wizard's Crypt →