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Notes
We were invited to dinner by Duchess Morwen Daggerford. During dinner she told us of a band of travelers outside the town wall, that was harassing villagers. She sent a group of guards to deal with them, but they came back seemingly charmed.
We went to talk to the travelers, who were camping around some fires. Stanimir, who seemed the leader came to talk to us and told us a story of his people.
Stanimir 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. “We come from an ancient land whose name is long forgotten—a land of kings. Our enemies forced us from our homes, and now we wander the lost roads.” The dark shape in the fire takes the form of a man being knocked from his horse, a spear piercing his side. Stanimir continues. “One night, a wounded soldier staggered into our camp and collapsed. We nursed his terrible injury and quenched his thirst with wine. He survived. When we asked him who he was, he wouldn’t say. All he wanted was to return home, but we were deep in the land of his enemies. We took him as one of our own and followed him back toward his homeland. His enemies hunted him. They said he was a prince, yet we didn’t give him up, even when their assassins fell upon us like wolves.” Deep in the bonfire, you see the dark figure standing with sword drawn, fighting off a host of shadowy shapes. “This man of royal blood fought to protect us, as we protected him. We bore him safely to his home, and he thanked us. He said, ‘I owe you my life. Stay as long as you wish, leave when you choose, and know that you will always be safe here.’” The figure in the dancing fire vanquishes its final foe, then disperses in a cloud of smoke and embers. Stanimir’s face becomes a somber mask. “A curse has befallen our noble prince, turning him into a tyrant. We alone have the power to leave his domain. We’ve traveled far and wide to find heroes such as yourselves to end our dread lord’s curse and put his troubled soul to rest. Our leader, Madam Eva, knows all. Will you return to Barovia with us and speak with her?”
We agreed to travel with them to try and help, but in some strange fog we suddenly lost the caravan of travelers.
After travelling a while we came upon the body of a man with claw marks on him, bearing an envelope with a letter.
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
Travelling further, we came to a village that seemed pretty empty. We met an old lady selling cakes in the street (we kinda chased after she ran away) who called herself Morgantha. She lives in "Old Bonegrinder" up the road from the village. She told us this is the Village of Barovia and there are other towns around: Vallaki and Krezk. She pointed us toward the tavern/inn in the town and we were going to leave. As we did one of us heard her knock on another door in the street, where she seemingly started kidnapping a child.