Curse of Strahd Solo Run (IC)

[RandomWombat]

Turning alongside Kellon to face the Barovians, Gweyir nods along and backs him up. "Fighting the siren here in her element would have been foolhardy, even if the plan to play music over her song worked. This way, at least, future danger is minimized."

Father Donavich opens his mouth to protest, but no sound comes out, and he closes it with a frown. It takes a moment of collection before he speaks. "To my knowledge, my son has not harmed anyone despite his condition," the priest says solemnly to Kellon. "I would be remiss to fault the 'siren' for being what she is... but trespasses committed is another thing entirely."

"Weird point of view from your flock," Arabelle looks up at the priest, who looks aside, perhaps worried he'd let on too much about his son's condition.

Rather than involve himself further in any argument, Sokol simply nods. "Do as you must." He goes over to Bluto, who is still getting his bearings, and gently but firmly takes hold of the back of the man's collar to prevent him from fleeing. Bluto flinches away from the touch, looking at them all more like a frightened rat than a hollow-eyed ant marching to the tune of a fungal infection.

"A- ah, well, Bluto sirs, Bluto's my name," the man stammers with a nervous grimace that never even evolves into a strained smile. "I seem to have... made some mistakes while I was under the fish missy's song, hey?"

[Prehysterical]

Kellon feels a little guilty about leaving Sokol high and dry, but there's still the small fry...

He stares down Bluto like a hungry shark. His tone is mocking as he answers, "Oh, that would be a convenient story, wouldn't it? But something tells me that you were not blameless in it..."

After a brief prayer and gesture, Kellon regards the man with a warning. "If I catch wind of you dodging the question, the fish will be eating well today. Now... the siren only instructed you to bring her Vistani. You're the one who decided to make it easy on herself and bring her children, aren't you," Kellon barks accusingly.

Spoiler: OOC

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Kellon casts Zone of Truth centered on the man.

[RandomWombat]

The man's mouth opens and he coughs, clearing his throat. Sokol jostles Bluto by the collar and he swallows, wetting his throat. "I was... I was ordered to bring a Vistana... b...but I'm. There's no way I could overpower a full grown... Vistana, you see? But... I had to do as she said. So... I did what I was able to." The man swallows again, eyes darting at everyone around him for some sign of sympathy.

Stepping through the bushes to take stock of him, Gweyir frowns, but does give Kellon a sympathetic look. To avoid the man overhearing and butting in, she steps next to Kellon and speaks to him quietly, "From what we've seen of the Vistani, I don't think he could have taken one. There's no doubt he chose to target a child, but his options were to obey the siren and grab someone he could or obey the siren and get his ass kicked or killed." The druid growls. "Mind control is always fuzzy. You need to consider if the choice is one someone would have made if their options weren't narrowed to bad and worse."

[Prehysterical]

Gweyir's argument, while somewhat logical, does not impress the tortle. That was the logic of a shark, not a person. They were held to a higher standard, even if this one did not feel like he needed to meet that standard.

Looking back to Bluto, Kellon decides to hit him with the hardball. "You don't feel sorry about it at all, do you? You Barovians think that they're all in cahoots with Strahd, anyway, so what's the harm if a few have to die so that you can live and get a nice fish harvest, eh?"

[RandomWombat]

The man staggers as if physically pushed, flinching away. His mouth is set in a firm line, avoiding Kellon's gaze. "Ain't think, outsider. That's a fact. If your fancy magic can force someone to speak true, why don't you ask her yourself?" he points accusingly at Arabelle, who pulls herself from keeping watch over the forest to meet his accusation. "Tha'ss why the Baron never lets them inside the walls."

Arabelle's face dims with guilt - no, not guilt. Similar, but different. Kellon sees shame in her eyes. She steps inside the spell of her own accord to answer him. Kellon feels her accept the magic willingly. "I do not serve Strahd, and not all Vistani do... but... my uncle acts as his carriage driver. Bringing select guests in for Strahd," she admits.

Spoiler: Kellon Insight

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Kellon recalls Anton describing a man bringing him here via horse drawn carriage.

[Prehysterical]

Contrary to Kellon's warning, Bluto is ducking the question. That gets an angry beak clack from the tortle, but Arabelle's own self-admission gives him pause. What a terrible burden for a child... Knowing that your own blood was a delivery driver for a vampire.

But she was not on trial. Once Kellon sank his beak into something, he had a hard time letting go. Kellon stares at the man, as if trying to peel off skin and muscle and peer into his very soul. "So, if the water maiden had insisted on Barovian children instead, you would have said 'no'? I mean, it would take a real monster like Strahd to steal away someone's children as chattel..."

[RandomWombat]

Face twitching from grimace to glare, Bluto spits into the mud at his feet. "I couldn' say 'no' no matter how. Lake Beast was in my head," he slaps the side of his head with an open palm in exasperation.

"He is asking if you would feel differently if it was a Barovian child you dragged out here. Would you feel any guilt at all?" Sokol's hard voice slaps the man upside the head again, as surely as his own palm.

"Yes! Yes, I would! And ah, I guess if your fancy truth magic says she's no servant of the devil Strahd either... I'm glad you stopped me," Bluto manages to look at Arabelle once, before looking away at the water.

Tucking the wind instrument back into her bag, Arabelle heaves it over her shoulder and starts to walk back along the shore to the south. "Let him go. Maybe he'll learn something... if you want to return to camp with me, my father might give you a reward for saving me," she suggests, turning away from the fisherman.

"Ooh, reward! That sounds neat. Does your father make good food? Can we have lunch?" Spider queries, crawling along after Arabelle like a puppy at her heel.

[Prehysterical]

Every one of Kellon's scales rankles at the man's callousness, but it seems all too typical of the Barovian attitude. Even the man's limp expression of regret shows his complete lack of sympathy for the souls murdered. The tortle is seriously tempted to kick the man in the rear straight to the Baron's hall and having the man judged... but what good would that do? The Baron would likely just affirm the man's sentiment and ask what the problem was.

In the end, it is Arabelle's forgiveness, the one most wronged by Bluto, that finally causes Kellon to wave off Sokol. Kellon tells Bluto, "The law may be lenient in your case, but you have chummed your own waters. Perhaps if Poseidon has any sense of fair play, your nets will turn up empty for a while. By the way... she doesn't even like the taste of human flesh. Think on that the next time you see a Vistani and think unkindly of them."

Unsatisfied, but knowing that it's time to cut bait, Kellon turns his shelled back on Bluto and walks after Arabelle (after making sure that Sokol doesn't decide to simply murder the man). When he catches up with the girl, Kellon waves off Arabelle's offer. "Och, think nothing of it, lass! We didn't come out here for payment or anything. To be honest, we came out here hoping that you were someone else. No offense to you, but..." Kellons looks back subtly at Sokol. "Your father is not the only one who has been worried about his little girl."

[RandomWombat]

Sokol looks Bluto in the eye, before releasing him and smoothing out his collar. He turn and walks away without another word to the fisherman, who stands there rubbing his neck as everyone marches away. He knows better than to hurl any last words at them.


Everyone falls into step alongside Kellon and Arabelle. He nearly walks into her when she stops and turns around to look at Sokol, following Kellon's look. Picking up on her pointed look, Gweyir asks, "What is it? Do you know something?" the druid asks hopefully.

Pressing her lips into a thin line, Arabelle looks hesitant. But in the end she chooses to speak, "I heard my uncle talking the other day. He said that Strahd had plans to ransom a girl for someone named Tatyana in Barovia village."

Walking forward, Sokol has to stop himself from taking her by the shoulders to shake answers out of her. His hands shake at his sides. "Ransom? A girl? When? When will this happen?!"

Arabelle swallows and holds her elbow in her hand. "Yesterday."

"What- then what were the terms, what will he do?" Sokol demands, legs unsteady as he falls to his knees.

"I'm sorry! Really, I don't know anything else. I mean it could be any girl..."

"Not just any girl is missing from Barovia village!" Sokol snaps back, falling forward onto his hands. "What do we do? What can we do? What if it is already too late?"

"We... have an invitation to Strahd's castle, don't we?" Gweyir cuts in. She looks at Kellon. "The one from Anton's grave."

[Prehysterical]

The bottom falls out of Kellon's stomach as Arabelle reveals the true nightmare scenario. No doubt the undead bastard was cackling and fondling his canines at their failure to heed his invitation.

For a moment, Kellon merely stands there, twitching. The thunderhead finally breaks and the tortle begins screaming in unintelligible rage. He kicks rocks, snaps branches, and drags his claws through the dirt to kick up dust. After his tantrum, Kellon sits down on his tail and fumes, feeling like he swallowed some particularly bitter seaweed. His answers comes out in barks. "Fine! Fine! Fine! ****, fine!" Taking a few deep breaths, Kellon manages to quell his anger and recover his composure. He stands back up and looks to the others, resentment clear in his voice.

"Then we have no choice. Before we go visit that lamprey-faced son of a snake, we need to head back to town. There are a few things that need settled before we get to the carriage."

[RandomWombat]

Kellon's rage is joined by Sokol, who slams a fist into the ground repeatedly, but his fury soon peters out into slumping back onto his knees. The others back away, giving them space.

"Is this a sneaking mission?" their arachnid companion asks, perhaps hopeful of some way to help the two, who are clearly distraught.

Crouching down, Gweyir helps Sokol back to his feet, once Kellon has calmed down and announced their destination. "Alright. What still needs doing?" The group begins making their way back onto the path, and towards Vallaki. Arabelle watches them go, turning away.

"I can't go with you into town. The Baron has banned us from entering... if I can do anything to repay you, find me at the hill southwest of Vallaki," the girl holds up a hand and waves awkwardly, before shuffling away into the bushes alone.

[Prehysterical]

Kellon sighs as he answers the ever-positive Spider. "No, lad, this is not a sneaking mission... not with the carriage." Before he can answer Gweyir's query, Arabelle's reluctant goodbye stops him in his tracks. As the girl walks away, Kellon's tail flails behind him as he scrambles to catch her.

"Whoa whoa, let's hold on there, lass! No one will be going alone in this country on my watch! Come with us. We have a reputation in town. People trust us. If you're with us, then they will know that you are not one of Strahd's puppets. And if the Baron has a problem with it, he can eat my shell." He beseeches her, "Come with us. You've been through enough already. Let us escort you home. We... I need some things done before we go marching in as Strahd's dinner guests."

Spoiler: Persuasion

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(1d20+3)[8]

[RandomWombat]

The girl stops, looking back at Kellon with a small, forced smile. She wipes away some of the streaks from her eyes, left from crying "It's alright. I don't really like it in towns anyways. I'll stay close to the wall on the way back."

"At least let me walk you there, then," Gweyir insists, patting Sokol on the arm now that he's standing on his own and walking over to the girl. Looking back at Kellon, the druid gives him a nod. "You'll be fine without me for a little bit, right? I'll make sure Arabelle gets home safe."

[Prehysterical]

It breaks Kellon's heart to see a young girl cry like that. Thankfully, Gweyir's older sister instincts kick in as she volunteers. Loathe as Kellon is to split up from his shipmate, it is far preferable to leaving Arabelle alone. Kellon nods. "I'll do you one better." Turning and walking to Spider, Kellons asks the overly-sized arachnid, "Spider, could you go with them? Safety in numbers and all that. Besides, maybe the Vistani will have some more of that steak you like so much."

[RandomWombat]

"Oooh, do you think so? I could really go for one!" turning towards the two, Spider clicks its mandibles together excitedly. "Can I? Oh, I want to hear your music too!" The critter crawls over to them, putting a real smile on Arabelle's stressed out face. She reaches down and pats Spider on the head.

"Sure. We love music, I'm sure there'll be lots."

The two of them begin carrying on, and Gweyir gives Kellon one last look and a short salute before following them.

It is still daylight out, Lake Zarovich not far from the north gates of the town of Vallaki. With the girls (and Spider) off for the Vistani camp, the menfolk return along the fishing path. No fuss from the guards as they go back in, their group gradually earning a positive reputation around town. Sokol is quiet and brooding, and the pace of his storming walk could probably outpace the others if he were any faster.

"We need a plan," finally breaking the silence from their walk back, Father Donavich speaks up. "Do you think there is anyone here who would have a map of Castle Ravenloft?"

[Prehysterical]

It hurts to see Spider go... Kellon has grown incredibly fond of him. Seeing the change in Arabelle's mood, however, tells him that he made the right choice.

When Donavich speaks up, Kellon scratches at his neck in thought. "If anyone does, most likely it's either the Baron or our noble friends. Whatever needs done, I need to visit the church before sundown. I need the Father's blessing to stave off the Beast tonight."

He pauses for a moment, hesitant to say the words aloud. "Honestly, Father, I don't think a daring rescue and escape is in the cards. You don't live to be a real monster like Strahd without thinking of things like that. We need to seriously consider that whoever enters the castle might not be coming back..." Kellon puts a clawed hand on the priest's shoulder. "Your boy needs you, Donavich. If you don't come back from the castle, who is going to take him to the Abbey? It should just be Sokol and me. The less of us that Strahd is able to catch in one net, the better."

[RandomWombat]

"You may be right..." the priest looks down at the rough, unkempt road as they walk nearer to the center of town. "But what am I, if I allow another tragedy to pass by while I wallow in my own misery?" Lifting his head up, Father Donavich takes a deep breath. "I will renew the ritual of repose on my boy before we go, while you visit Father Lucian."

"So you plan to leave without waiting for your friend, Gweyir?" Sokol asks, voice quiet and raspy.

[Prehysterical]

Kellon appreciates the man's self-sacrifice. He gives a small wave to the priest when he leaves.

It takes a few seconds for Kellon to answer Sokol's quiet question. "...Aye. Strahd brought us here for a reason, Sokol. Us, specifically, out of all the people in Faerun! From what I can tell, Strahd is like some twisted hunter and we are the prey that he turns loose for sport! I have no intention of serving the vampire a full meal. Let him work! Far better that only one of us dies, if it comes to that... Gweyir is a druid. She can survive in the wilds, comfortably at that. Besides, her brother is out there somewhere... and so is the Captain.

She will curse me for it, call me every single slur and swear she ever picked up on the docks... but she will be alive. That is enough."

[RandomWombat]

"Then we best be quick," Sokol says simply. The two of them carry on through the town, an air of melancholy and purpose around them shaking off any Barovians admiring the newly famed vampire killers.

Nothing stops their march, and they soon arrive at St. Andral's Chapel. Pushing inside the exterior door, Kellon reaches the interior door. Inside are the church regulars gathered in prayer, Father Lucian leading from the alter. He sees Kellon and Sokol peeking inside and nods to them, winding down to a place he can stop. Leaving the altar, Father Lucian steps out to join them in the coat and boot room.

"Hello again. And thank you so much for returning the bones to me... and for cleansing the vampires from this town," he extends a hand and bows his head in gratitude. "Even the people have begun to speak of you in awe instead of fear."

[Prehysterical]

Kellon nods respectfully to the priest and gently shakes the man's hand with his claws. "Glad to be of service, Father. Have you seen Milivoj since the incident? I feel sorry for the lad... The undertaker poured poison in his ear about the relic."

[RandomWombat]

The priest nods with an understanding smile. "The boy came to me on his own and confessed everything, after hearing you dealt with the vampires. I think he has a great many extra chores waiting in his future... but I'm not going to mention him to the town guard." As he breaks the handshake, Father Lucian looks out through the exterior door to the orphanage across the street, where Milivoj must have returned to.

"Worry not, I have the ritual of protection prepared already. I can renew our town's barrier when the time comes. Is there anything I can do to repay you?"

[Prehysterical]

One less piece of misery in this land... Good. "Well, Father, giving me another blessing to keep the Beast chained wouldn't hurt. I'm going to need it."

[RandomWombat]

"Gladly." Stepping forward, Father Lucian places one hand on his holy symbol and the other upon Kellon's forehead. He chants, strengthening the bindings holding the Beast at bay, and Kellon can feel it squirm and struggle, testing the limits. It feels closer to the surface than it had been, something he'd scarcely noticed until now when it is pushed back down, buried deep. Its rage bubbles up through cracks, until they are mended and sealed shut once again.

As the ritual ends, Kellon exhales and sucks in a fresh breath, realizing he'd been holding it in. "It is done. The seal should hold for another few days," Father Lucian steps back, folding his hands in front of him.

Through it all Sokol is quiet, waiting with the patience of a man who wants to march out and storm the castle on his lonesome.

[Prehysterical]

"Thank you, Father. I wish that we could stay and chat, but we have an appointment. May the ritual bindings go smoothly."

Excusing himself, Kellon walks out of the church with Sokol. "Just one more stop and we will head out... I need to make sure that the children are all right." He looks across the street at the orphanage.

[RandomWombat]

"You are welcome whenever you need the strength to hold this curse at bay. Walk in the Light," the priest makes what must be a religious sign of parting, before going his own way to resume speaking his soothing words to the congregation.

With one thing down, he and Sokol walk across the street to the orphanage, and Kellon knocks on the door. It is soon answered by Patron Feddick, who greets them warmly. "Good afternoon! It's good you're here, I was never able to properly reward you for keeping that monster out of the orphanage," the man waves them inside with a bright smile. "And don't give me that 'I didn't ask for a reward' look. It's not money, come on in."

[Prehysterical]

Kellon nods reluctantly, choosing not to argue. "How fare the children? Is the paperwork business finally done?"

[RandomWombat]

Kellon is led inside, Sokol following along behind. They enter the main room of the orphanage, where the kids all look up to see who it is. The rescuees brighten at seeing Kellon. "Children, why don't you give Kellon what you made?" Feddick tells them. They quickly run up, each of them grabbing a piece of paper from the table in the middle of the room and holding it up. On them are crude children's drawings, each of them portraying some number of Kellon and his various friends and allies.

Myrtle tugs on Kellon's few scraps of decorative clothing, holding up a card in her hands. "I foun this. Wand you have it."

Behind the array of excited children, Patron Feddick smiles and nods, "Thanks to Master Ismark, the paperwork has been taken care of. Everything is settled."

At the back of the orphanage, Kellon spots the familiar face of Milivoj, bearing a look of guilt, peering through a crack in a bedroom door.

Spoiler: OOC

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Kellon has obtained a Lesser card from Mother Night's Deck, the Paladin of the Swords suit.

[Prehysterical]

Spoiler: OOC

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Aw, you didn't have to up the reward to a Tarokka card. Kellon would have been more than happy to accept little Myrtle's drawing as thanks.

The looks on the children's faces stir a glow in Kellon's salty heart, which blossoms into radiance as he sees their adorable little drawings. He gasps with delight and makes a show of marveling over their art. "Wow! I think you best watch out, Feddick! We've got some budding artists in this bunch!" Looking down at Myrtle's tugging, Kellon's eyes widen as he realizes the true nature of Myrtle's gift. How did she even find that? Ah, it didn't matter! The gesture is more than gift enough. Kellon accepts the card, plucking it up delicately with the points of his claws. "Thank you so much, dearheart! A fine gift, make no mistake!"

The nature of their upcoming dinner date with a monster, and their potential demise, leaves Kellon with a desire to say farewell, but how can he possibly put that on the children? Especially with all that they had been through already? He chooses instead to give each one a hug, being as gentle as his shelled form would allow. After giving them some attention, Kellon struggles to keep his composure. "Now, Uncle Kellon's going to be out of town for a few days, all right? I need you all to be on your best behavior here!"

When Kellon spies Milivoj's peeking look, he moves toward the young man's door. Rather than looking directly at Milivoj, however, Kellon knocks lightly on the door and looks straight ahead. "Y'know, lad," Kellon speaks for Milivoj's benefit but pretends to do it through the door, "my mother always told me that as tempting as it may be to hide in our shells when we make a mistake, we all have to face it some time. Doesn't make it any easier, but life ain't always easy now, is it? That's why it's important to surround ourselves with people who help catch our mistakes. If you don't want me to be one of those people, that's fine, but... I meant what I said about that drink."

[RandomWombat]

"They certainly do enjoy their drawing time. And recently they have all focused on one idol in particular. And his companions of course."

Sokol, too, receives at least one picture from one of the children. "Here you go masked hero!" the boy says earnestly, before shyly running off. Through the dead man's mask, Kellon can sense a midst of melancholy and happiness looking upon the little drawing, no doubt thinking of his own daughter. "Thank you, little one."

The children from the windmill, at least, return Kellon's hug with familiar comfort. And the children echo promises to be good and eat their vegetables. Some of them trail behind while he wades his way through the crowd of children to knock at Milivoj's door.

There is the sound of someone clearing their throat on the other side of the door, and the gravedigger comes out, rubbing his arm. Kellon can see the room behind him is all the lived-in mess of a teenager's room. "I am... really sorry for all the trouble I caused."

[Prehysterical]

"Oh, I know ye didn't mean to cause trouble," Kellon assures him before he hugs the adolescent, teenage awkwardness be damned. "Bear up, son. We should all be grateful that it didn't turn out much worse... Just be a little more mindful in the future, eh?" Breaking the hug, Kellon whispers conspiratorially to Milivoj. "We're going to be gone for a little while. Be a good first mate and keep an eye on the little ones, will ye?"