Curse of Strahd Solo Run (IC)

[RandomWombat]

The flames cascade down, but seem to dissipate in the presence of the woman's aura, unable to overcome. She doesn't seem to bother getting up, grasping manically at Anton's ankles. Her long-nailed, thin hand finds purchase and a grey rot begins to spread up his pantleg - and judging from the look of agony on Anton's face, the flesh below. His skin soon turns pale as black veins spider up his neck and down his arms to his hands, and he drops his wand and lamp. The lamp shatters and the flame within is swiftly snuffed by the spectral wind.

Trying to keep the ghost in the fire, Gweyir runs up behind her and stabs the silver sword into her form. "Get off of him!"

Spoiler: Combat Log

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The ghost's Dex save succeeds against Sacred Flame, despite me giving her Disadvantage for being Prone. RIP

The ghost uses her draining touch on Anton, dealing 16 necrotic damage and knocking him unconscious. The ghost fails her Dex save against continued bonfire, taking 1 fire damage.

Anton fails one Death Save. Two more failed saves and he will perish.
Gweyir moves up and attacks, dealing 3 damage to the specter after resistance.
It is now Kellon's turn again, and this will likely be my last post for most of the night. Running a session game soon, so got to get food and get ready.

[Prehysterical]

Perhaps the sky's fire does not burn as hot as Kellon thinks... Urgency spurs Kellon as the ghost seizes Anton and he collapses. Only the ghost's own wind stops a fire from erupting in the building. Kellon moves up beside Gweyir and holds his hammer aloft. "Sunburst!"

Spoiler: OOC

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Understood. Kellon casts Word of Radiance focused on the nursemaid.

[RandomWombat]

From his aloft warhammer, a golden gleam like the sun on a clear ocean morn shines down around him. The spirit hisses and recoils from the light. "MY LOOORD, MY LORD HAS FORSAKEN ME," the spirit laments with a wail as she lashes out, swiping weakly at Kellon with her twisted, clawed hand, the freezing air from it passing in front of his chest sending chills through his body - but it does not make contact.

Gweyir speaks in a projected whisper as she takes another swing at the ghost, passing her blade through the arm reaching for Kellon. The blade does little damage, passing through and leaving the arm to reform behind it. "Anton, rise up, your fight is not yet over!" At her command, laced with magic, Anton gasps. Color returning to his once grey and lifeless face. The ghost has not yet noticed his return, her new focus upon Kellon and his burning light.

Spoiler: Combat Log

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Kellon casts Hand of Radiance, dealing 6 radiant damage to the ghost.

The ghost takes a swing at Kellon, but misses. She takes another 1 fire damage.

Anton fails a second Death Save.
Gweyir casts Healing Word as a bonus action, healing Anton for 6 and restoring him to consciousness. She then attacks the ghost, hitting for 1 damage.
It is now Kellon's turn again.

[Prehysterical]

"It is you who have forsaken him through your rage, madam! CEASE! Sunburst!"

Spoiler: OOC

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Another Word of Radiance.

[RandomWombat]

The light sears her face, but her expression twists again from anguish to rage as she finally forces herself to her feet, rising against the light. The gaunt, ghostly flesh of her face peels away into a macabre skull as she opens her bony jaw and reaches for Kellon. But in spite of her defiance, the holy light from his icon of faith stays her hand and holds her back.

Behind her, Anton rises to his feet, the fear and naive inexperience that had laced his face for much of the exploration fading away into the sheer rush of adrenaline, the deep rooted wild instinct kicking in. He pulls a pen from his front pocket and pops off part of it, revealing a gleaming silver knife hidden inside, which he jabs into the back of the ghost's head. She is momentarily stunned by the attack from behind, and before she can react Gweyir capitalizes by driving her own blade through the spirit in a diagonal cut.

Too weakened to maintain her form, the ghost's shrieks drown and choke into a whimper, as she burns away, fading in the flames. The bonfire soon vanishes alongside her, as Gweyir dismisses the magic.

Panting and shaking with adrenaline still running through him, Anton points at the ground where the spirit had been and helpfully clarifies, "That was a ghost."

Forgoing any snappy comment, Gweyir steps forwards and checks Anton over, but he seems mostly alright. "You need to be more careful. That thing nearly killed you." It takes the man a few minutes to catch his breath as Gweyir helps him sit down against the wall.

"I think it should have," finally able to respond, Anton reaches into his jacket and pulls out what looks like a small lifelike effigy of himself. It looks withered and shriveled, the skin grey and covered in black veins as he was. "A sacrificial effigy. Took the death that was meant for me, but... I would have died regardless if not for you. You have my thanks." He regards the spent doll and sets it on the ground, picking up his wand instead. "She was a specter. A ghost held back by fear, regret, sorrow. Very near to growing into a true banshee, judging by her shrieks." Sorting out the scientific data seems to be helping him calm down and recompose himself.

Spoiler: Combat Log

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The ghost fails her save, but takes only 1 radiant damage this time.

The ghost stands and attacks Kellon, but misses. She takes no damage from the bonfire this turn.

Anton stands up and draws a weapon, attacking. He Flanks with Gweyir, granting him Advantage on the attack, which critically hits for 3 damage.
Gweyir attacks the ghost, hitting for 5 damage, which is enough to finish it off.

Combat has ended.

[Prehysterical]

Some semblance of warmth begins to return as the angry spirit is forcefully banished. Kellon lets out a weary sigh as Anton states the obvious in his delirious mind. While Gweyir checks up on their human, Kellon moves back over to the desk and moves it back in place to cover the hole. He gives a disapproving look out of the corner of his eye as Anton reveals the effigy. It reminds him too much of some of the vile voodoo magic that he has seen practiced among some cannibal tribes on the isles.

"She was the nursemaid of the family here. Caretaker of the children that we saw earlier and no doubt murdered by the wife. May Lathander have mercy on her..." Leaning slightly on the desk, but being careful not to put too much weight in one area, Kellon relents, "No more. We need a rest. You two go on back to the master bedroom. I will be right behind you."

After the two others leave the room, Kellon inspects the nursery that was so fiercely guarded.

[RandomWombat]

Gweyir helps Anton up and guides him away, leaving the hexed doll lying on the floor. Kellon steps into the smaller room, shifting aside toy blocks with letters on them, or small rattles filled with what sounds like sand. He reaches the crib, covered with a black veil, like one worn by a mourner.

Parting the veil reveals a baby-sized bundle of cloth lying in the soft cushions of the crib. But when pulled aside, the cloth reveals nothing inside but a wooden doll. Wherever Walter may be, he is not sleeping soundly in his crib as the ghost had believed in her madness.

Spoiler: Kellon Perception

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Just when it seems all was for naught, Kellon spies something inside the bundled cloth. A small card, which by appearances is from some fortune telling deck Kellon is not familiar with. The card's name, displayed upon its face, is the Ghost. It portrays a hideous spectral figure crawling across the ground.

[Prehysterical]

Kellon is not sure whether he truly desires to know the babe's fate. Of all the things he had expected to find, a fortuneteller's card was not one of them. He picks it up and heads back ponderously to the master bedroom.

The tortle moves to the right side of the room and begins using the alchemy jug to pour fresh water into the clean bowl on the table. "Are you all right, lad? Er, rather, do you still need a blessing? I'd prefer you to be fully free of the undertow."

[RandomWombat]

As he walks back, Kellon sees that someone has tossed the rotting tiger skin rug outside onto the landing.

Gweyir is seated in the larger, padded chair in the corner of the room near the fireplace when he arrives, while Anton is sitting in front of the vanity rubbing his face with his handkerchief. It takes him a moment to realize Kellon is talking to him, then he sits up and sets the kerchief down, looking over. "Huh? Oh. I think I'm alright, yes. Everything is where it ought to be," his eyes drift down to the bowl of water. "Could use a splash of cold water, when you are done with it. I ah, will take first watch, if we're going to sleep here. Don't think I can sleep yet."

"Nnngh, I could really use some time to meditate," the elf states tiredly in her armchair.

[Prehysterical]

While Kellon is glad he doesn't have to smell rotten tiger anymore, the Mist could just have as easily taken advantage of the open door and killed them faster than the ghost would have. It didn't, though, so no point crying into the ocean.

Once the container is suitably full, Kellon sets down the jug and lifts the bowl up to drink. Without any lips, he has had to practice tipping his head back and tipping coconuts and the like at just the right angle for the liquid to pour directly into his open mouth. Clear, fresh water earns a sigh of contentment from the tortle. Water that wasn't trying to kill him... That was a nice change. Setting the bowl down, Kellon removes the pack from his back and begins searching through it. As he scrounges, Kellon remarks, "You should get some food and water in you, Gweyir. You need to get your strength back. Rest with dehydration is hardly rest at all." He seriously hopes his rations survived the wreck...

[RandomWombat]

"Water's easy enough with the magic jug. But I lost all my things in the wreck," she answers, sitting up and rubbing her eyes. Kellon searches through his pack and finds the package of trail rations inside. Soggy as they are, they should still be edible, but they won't last long in this state without getting moldy.

"Let me take a look," Gweyir waves him over and looks at the soiled rations. Holding out her hand, she begins performing arcane gestures over it, slowly drying it section by section. "A little bit of high elf prestidigitation," she says as she works through it.

"Did you say you two were in a wreck?" Anton asks, turning his chair around with a scraping on the floor.

[Prehysterical]

Kellon sets the rations out on the table one by one. He had packed about ten days' worth for the journey, more than enough if something went wrong... At least, that was the intent. It would not last nearly as long between three people. Thankfully, Gweyir seems more than up for the task.

He explains to Anton, "Aye. We were part of a crew of pirate hunters, tracking the brigands across the sea. A storm overtook us out of nowhere. Not even I had any inkling of it." Kellon sounds incredulous at the admission. "One second, bright open sunny skies, then waves like walls, rain coming down like ocean spray, and a forest of lightning with thunder to match. Our ship struck rock and we were all cast into the air." He turns to Gweyir. "Did anyone else even survive the impact?"

[RandomWombat]

Gweyir thinks it over. "Before I hit the water, I saw you and the captain both get tossed overboard. I don't know if anyone else survived the impact, but if we both ended up here the captain may have as well."

"So you washed up here from a shipwreck. Curious..." raising a hand to his chin, Anton runs it up and down the cleft in the center. "I myself was invited. A letter was sent to me by a Lord from Bavaria... or, Barovia? I assumed he had simply misspelt Bavaria. He knew of my profession and wished me to appraise some occult artifacts he had come into the possession of," the man explains. "The Lord was named Strahd von Zarovich. The messenger, who also brought me here via carriage, was a man named Arrigal. Though I lost track of him in the Mist soon after we arrived in the village."

[Prehysterical]

"We barely escaped ahead of the Mist. It's very possible that even if the captain survived, the Mist might have gotten him. Best not lose sleep over it."

Kellon fixes Anton with a curious gaze. "So, we were brought here unwillingly, but you were invited? Why would this Arrigal leave you to the mercy of the Mist if he brought you here? Did he describe the artifacts at all?"

[RandomWombat]

"I'm afraid not," he responds with a slow drift of his head from side to side. "Arrigal certainly didn't seem concerned when the Mist started rolling in, but some of the locals told me it was cursed and to get inside."

"... Do you mind if I have some?" Gweyir asks, motioning with a hand to the trail rations she'd dried out.

[Prehysterical]

A scoff greets Anton's answer. "Some host, if he doesn't warn you about the Mist that can kill you."

Kellon nods agreeably. "That was the intent, lass. Please, eat up." He grabs one of the other rations and begins crunching into it himself with his beak. After the hell that they have gone through, it's like eating a banquet meal.

[RandomWombat]

Picking up a handful of dried foodstuffs, Gweyir pours them into her mouth and chews, leaning her head back again in relief. Since the others are eating as well, Anton brings out a container from a messenger bag at his waist and opens it up. Inside is a piece of bread and some sort of spread in a jar, which he begins applying with a knife, using the vanity as a table. "Would either of you care for some marmalade?" he asks.

"Sounds fancy. I'll take a bit, sure."

Anton brings out a spoon and scoops some of it out, offering the utensil to her. She brings it to her mouth for a taste and nods in approval. "Thas pretty good."

[Prehysterical]

Kellon eats with the quick efficiency of someone who views eating as a necessity and not a luxury. Once he downs the rest of that pack of rations, Kellon pours himself another bowl of water and glugs it down to cleanse his palate. When Anton offers the marmalade, Kellon eyes it dubiously. "I'll stick to what I know, thank you. Could be poison to tortlefolk, for all I know."

Having satisfied his immediate needs, Kellon gingerly squats and goes to all fours before setting his shell down on the floor. "I'm done with the water; use it as you need it. Anton, wake me in a few hours for my watch." With an almost cartoonish popping sound, Kellon withdraws into his shell for some rest. Minus the poor condition of the wood, the wooden floor is no worse than the paneling of a ship.

[RandomWombat]

"A fair reason if ever there was," Anton admits, getting up to retrieve the jug and bowl, pouring some more water. As Kellon settles in to rest, the other two finish eating and hydrating themselves, and Gweyir folds her legs up on the chair with her to meditate with a quiet hum.

Spoiler: Long Rest

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Taking a sleep, the party regains their hit points and spell slots, and each recover from 1 level of Fatigue - for whom it is relevant.

Sleep comes easily, tired as Kellon is after the effects of the Mist. Alas, when he's awakened for his watch shift, he can tell from the windows and the balcony outside that it has not dissipated. Someone is gently rocking his shell from outside. "Erm. Kellon? Can you hear me?"

[Prehysterical]

Despite the horror of the day's events, sheer exhaustion draws Kellon into a dreamless slumber. The rocking of his shell has Kellon poke his head out to regard Anton. "Ugh, aye. I can hear you, lad. Damned Mist has not left us, I see. You best find a good spot to lie down before I change my mind about relieving you," he remarks wryly. Just a few hours of rest has done wonders for the tortle's mind, but he won't mind returning to the depths of sleep.

Spoiler: OOC

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Can Kellon prepare his spells during his watch?

[RandomWombat]

Spoiler: OOC

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He can, yes.

Anton returns to the vanity and closes a book with a fancy pattern on the cover, fastening a lock. Tucking it back in his bag, he walks over to the bed and climbs in, it would appear he has no compunctions about sleeping in the abandoned bed of some missing cultists.

With the adrenaline finally purged from his system, Anton passes out very quickly. Gweyir is still softly humming in her chair.

Spoiler: Long Rest

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As an elf, Gweyir takes less time to rest than most. Normally long resting twice in a row doesn't really do a lot... but she gladly continues meditation, for that sweet, sweet Fatigue recovery.

For the first half, Kellon's shift goes uneventfully. Then he hears a quiet creaking sound, and small snapping sounds like tiny threads being pulled apart.

[Prehysterical]

Kellon hardly faults Anton for wanting to sleep on the bed. Warmbloods have such soft skin and this is far from prime wooden flooring. During his vigil, Kellon invokes the Tempest and the elements to renew the storm in his shell for the coming day.

He snaps to attention at the sound of movement. His warhammer raises as he warns, "Wake up, you two." Kellon's voice is low but firm, the rumbling of a distant storm approaching and heralding trouble.

[RandomWombat]

Cracking open her eyes, Gweyir unfolds her legs and stands up. She was never really asleep, and so ready to respond at a moment's notice. Anton on the other hand groans and rolls over onto his back, forcing himself up into a seated position off the side of the bed. He makes a quiet, inquisitive grunt.

Seemingly not frightened of his rumbling, a figure starts to droop down from the hole in the ceiling, parting the webbing. A hairy arachnid head dips into the room, mandibles twitching and eight beady black eyes staring into the room.

Then, perhaps the most unexpected thing happens.

"Hello!" chirps a cheerful, soft toned voice from the arachnid perched above.

[Prehysterical]

As the spider descends, Kellon keeps a firm grip on his warhammer. He is visibly taken aback when the spider not only speaks, but arguably with more warmth than any other greeting in this land. Kellon gives a significant look to Gweyir. She had volunteered to be the "spider whisperer" and Kellon was prepared to follow her lead.

[RandomWombat]

The elf seems as baffled as Kellon as she stands and walks where she can get a better view of their guest. Anton doesn't seem to have realized what's talking yet, with the veils and curtains of the bed in the way. "Oh, did we find another person? Or them find us, rather." He yawns, holding a hand over his mouth.

"I'm going to go with a solid maybe," Gweyir answers. She waves at the spider, which droops a mandible down, mimicking her motion upsidedown. "Hello there. Sorry if this is rude, but how can you talk?"

"With my mouth, silly!" the spider chirps, followed by a high pitched clicking noise something like chopsticks being tapped together... or spider laughter?

"Of course, how silly of me," she reaches back and rubs the back of her head, looking at Kellon and only offering him a shrug. "Do you live in this house?"

"Yes! I used to live outside but now I live here. There aren't as many things to eat here. Do you know the way out?"

[Prehysterical]

This place only brings stranger and stranger things... Kellon brings himself into the conversation. "Yes, we do, but the Mist is unfortunately keeping us in here. Even if we needed to go outside right this minute, we would be dead in less time than it would take for us to have walked down the stairs to the door."

Kellon examines the spider's demeanor closely. "You said there weren't many things to eat in here... What have you been eating, exactly? Do you have a name?"

Spoiler: OOC

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Insight: (1d20+5)[12]

[RandomWombat]

"Oh, that's not good," the spider laments in a disappointed voice that doesn't last long before its bright demeanor returns. "I eat the bats, and the rats, and sometimes the dead bodies!"

"Dead bodies? Other people have died here? Did you kill them?" cautiously, Gweyir questions the spider further. Anton finally leans out from behind the bed curtains to see what's going on and looks up in fascination.

"So many things I've never seen before. Such a curious, if terrifying place," he murmurs to himself, audibly.

"I don't kill people, that would be very rude! Unless they try to stab me. One tried to stab me. I tried to tell him not to, but he wouldn't listen! It was very sad," after its lamentations are finished, the spider answers Kellon's other question. "I'm Spider! What are you?"

"I am Anton. Do you mind if I try something? It'll tingle a little, I just need you not to resist." Bringing up his fingers, Anton forms them into a shape of a rectangle, as if framing an image of the spider in the hole above.

"Okay!"

"Hey, you're not going to hurt it are you?" Gweyir steps up and puts a hand on his shoulder. "I'm Gweyir, an elf. Nice to meet you."

"Nice to meet you, Gweyir An Elf and Anton!"

"Of course I'm not going to hurt it," Anton answers. A small field of purple light begins to shimmer between his fingers, like a pane of glass, and his eyes glow in the same hue. With a somewhat disappointed frown, he lowers his hands. "... Well, it's no demon or devil in a disguise. Its True name is... Spider."

[Prehysterical]

The spider truly seems innocuous. Kellon slings his warhammer back into its halter as Anton attempts more of his strange magic. The purple light of his shows more witchery and Kellon grows ever more concerned about how Anton has gone about acquiring his powers. Focusing on the moment, Kellon clacks his claws on his plastron as he gives a slight bow to Spider. "I am Kellon. My people are the tortles. We are strangers to this land of Barovia." His mind races with questions, but Kellon focuses on being diplomatic in this case. "We don't have much in the way of liquid food, but could we interest you in some water? It seems like the plumbing in the building has gone dry."

[RandomWombat]

"Barovia? I never heard of it, nope." At the mention of water, the spider lowers itself down to the floor by a strand of white webbing and lands, crawling over to Kellon. Its limbs make a sort of eerie creaking sound when they move, the same sound he heard moving above them on the next floor up before its appearance. "I'd like some water please! Thank you, you're very cute!" it says gratefully.

Anton takes a few steps back, as the group has started to cluster together and the floor groans a bit under the weight. "I've certainly never heard of anything like this. Highly unusual. Do you think Spider is a native of Barovia, or lost like ourselves?"

Gweyir shifts from one foot from the other, seemingly resisting the urge to get a closer look at the spider now that it's down there with them. 'Spider' has a large body - comparatively speaking, to ordinary spiders - about the size of a larger dog like a mastiff. "I'm still only an apprentice, but none of the druids of my circle spoke of anything like this. A few awakened animals, perhaps, but nobody was ever said to have awakened something like a giant spider."

"Don't worry, you didn't wake me up," the spider reassures her. "I woke up to go hunting for prey! A bat got caught in my webs in the higher place."

[Prehysterical]

How can something be so unsettling and yet endearing at the same time? Kellon found the question turned on himself when Spider compliments him. Of all the things that Kellon has ever been called, "cute" was limited to only his own parents. While Anton and Gweyir discuss academics, Kellon gingerly makes his way across the floor past Spider. They need to redistribute the weight. It's also necessary so that Kellon can access the table in the corner and use the alchemy jug to pour some water for Spider. Once Kellon fills the bowl up, he sets it on the floor for Spider's easy access. "Tell me about the man that tried to stab you. Was he part of the family that lived in this house? Or did he come in alone like you did? Have you seen anything strange, like dead things that are not dead or anything that howls?"