Opening the Tome of Strahd
When we find our friends today, they have gathered around the Vistani’s warm, welcoming fire. Tilly regales them with a sweet song of adventuring, while Thaldir’s hearty laughter and stories fill the air. As the fire dies down, the group decide to retire for the evening and go into the wagon the Vistani have said they could use. Once inside their dwelling, Jaylin explores the secrets of the Tome.
Jaylyn begins to leaf through the pages, some torn or flooded. Some branded with unknowable symbols, and others still artfully scribed with a murky, black ink. The tale is long and written in a series of foreign scripts, save for the first page which transforms before his very eyes. It begins very simply with the following words on the page:
“I, Strahd, Lord of Barovia, well aware certain events of my reign have been desperately misunderstood by those who are better at garbling history than recording it, hereby set down an exact record of those events, the truth may, at last, be known.”
Suddenly the pages flutter open to the book’s center, and mist begins to pour from the binding. This makes Jaylyn and everyone inside feel somewhat lightheaded. Their vision fades, and from the blackness now surrounding them, a hungry fog rolled along the ground.
The group tries to shout, and no sound escapes their lips. The mist choked closer and a man clad in a black cloak and a regal, red tunic looked at them through the cloud with a stern face and piercing eyes. He stepped forward with the grace of a king. Their eyes met his cold glare and as it bared down, he spoke.
“I am the Ancient. I am the Land. My beginnings are lost in the darkness of the past…”
Strahd – The Early Years
The visage of the man dispersed into a black and red cloud before reforming into a young boy no older than 12, with a small sword at this side and tears were streaming down his checks. The mist recedes further, revealing a well-adorned, sunlit castle courtyard.
The low buzz of insects and humidity added weight to the summer air. Hanging on the ramparts overhead were red banners depicting the same raven iconography cast in metal on the cover of the tome.
The boy that stood before the group moments ago then sat atop a small set of stairs leading to a wooden door. From beyond it, the group heard distant but boisterous laughter.
The group, bewildered and confused, realize that they now inhabit different human bodies and as they begin to react to these bodies, the child began to speak. He identifies himself as Strahd von Zarovich and tells them that he is meant to become the lord of the castle. He goes on to tell them that his mother thinks he will make a great lord. His father, King Barov, believes that he might, but also says that he has a lot of work to do.
The boy seems nervous about living up to his father’s expectations. His father’s advisor, Rahadin, is his teacher and Strahd says that he is difficult and pushes him hard because he wants him to be a strong leader. The group also learns that his mother is pregnant with a boy, Sergei, and she says it’ll be his job to teach Sergei everything he knows. He says he is quite nervous about having so much responsibility.
The bewildered group tries to reassure their new young friend. Thaldir uses his way with young ones to engage him in further conversation. When the imposing figure of Rahadin approaches and admonishes them in a booming voice, the adventurers feign interest in visiting the expectant mother. They are quickly dismissed, and Strahd is urged away to resume his training. The image before the group returns to that of a man, who says,
“…yet that past now is filled only with regret.”
And, just like that, they blink their eyes and find themselves back at the Vistani camp in their own bodies.
Briefing on the Battle with the Order
Though they are taken aback by their journey into the pages of the dark tale, they agree to venture in again. It seems the only way to discover the true origins of their evil foe.
Jaylyn once again begins to turn to the next page trying to decipher the writing. He studies it and and suddenly like before, they are sucked into the pages of the book. They also see the visage of the man once more. He looks at them and speaks.
“I was the warrior, I was good and just. I thundered across the land like the wrath of a just god…”
The mist coalesces into the dusk elf they saw in the previous chapter, not aged a day. The chatter of voices and the clanking of metal sang from outside the walls of an enormous tent. Its primary occupant was a colossal, rectangular table atop which was carved an intricate, scale map of the lands of Barovia.
The model mountains climbed nearly five feet high, and valleys sank deep into the tabletop. The group saw a man to their right, who did not appear dissimilar to a young boy you met at his home one summer afternoon. He now stood clad is scarlet armor adorned with angelic feathers etched in gold leaf.
He gestured across the table,
“Commander Gwilym, the table is yours.”
The group looked down at themselves and realized that this time, they were in the bodies of what appeared to be human lieutenants in Strahd’s army.
Gwilym smiled and looked at the group. He told them that the Order of the Silver Dragon is proud and plans to fight rather than be starved out of their castle. The castle itself sits high on a cliff overlooking a valley, and the knights will have nowhere to go but down toward the village. He tells them that they are splitting into three groups.
The first group will consist of the Lord General Strahd who will hold the rear of the forces from the village of Zmei.
The second group will be lead by Commander Rahadin who will hold the base of the hill and will monitor the treeline to ensure that they are not routed.
The last group consists of Commander Gwilym who will ride up the hill to the castle to challenge the remaining forces directly.
He turns to our time travelling friends and asks, “What questions or concerns do you have about the impending battle?”
The group asked for more details about the town and he told them that the people of Zmei are commoners who will not stand in the way, and that they will do what they can to protect them.
He demands that the five visitors declare where they will stand in the battle. As the battle assignments are made, discussion about the plan of attack continues. The Order of the Silver Dragon seems to be a worthy and noble guard, one that has held out against Strahd’s rule for years. The group tell Commander Gwilym that they will stay behind with the first group to help Strahd hold the rear.
Just as their departure seems imminent, the scene transforms once more.
Strahd is wounded in Battle
The conversational chatter of the camp built to a roar and the group blinked to find themselves standing amid a quaint farming village, many of its buildings wreathed in flame. Dozens of soldiers adorned with ravens are locked in combat against knights in silver and blue armor.
Strahd sat atop a stocky, black mare, pointing his blade forward and shouting ‘Advance!’. As he did, a javelin struck his side and he was knocked to the ground. Ahead the group observed Rahadin and Commander Alek Gwilym galloping off toward their posts, unaware that their lord had fallen.
Aydin, now an unnamed soldier, runs to Strahd as he falls from his horse. Thaldir also rushes to attend their fallen acquaintance, vowing to heal him. As the remaining party members run toward the fallen general, they are blocked by an ominous band of soldiers from the Order of the Silver Dragon.
Term lunges forward and quickly dispatches one of their opponents with his thunder gauntlet. Aydin’s rage knows no limits, and he enters the fray with a powerful yell and a deadly blow to the soldier before him. With divine inspiration, Thaldir engages in battle with a menacing priest, while Tilly trades blows with another angry warrior. Two of the Silver Dragon minions wrestled with futility inside the growth of spikes Syrren cast to surround them. Their fates were sealed by Jaylin’s scorching fireball.
As the party finished up their battle they noticed that three Vistani arrived to help nurse Strahd back to health. They helped him get up and walked him to one of their wagons.
The group looked on and saw a river of blood flowing down the enemy’s silvered sword laying idly in the mud. A divine cacophony of thunderous booms beat on their eardrums. The swell of sound is followed by a cold shiver that ran the length of their spines. The cold seemed to emanate from the mansion high on the hill.
Then they heard a blood-curdling roar rip through the air, silencing the battlefield, and drawing their attention southward. The sun above reflected harshly off a pair of glinting silver wings and claws that crested the turrets of the castle, and they gazed, in full view of Argynvost. The Silver Dragon.
The mist fills their vision again and they hear Strahd’s voice once more.
“…but the war years and the killing years wore down my soul as the wind wears stone into stand.”
And, with that, they are returned to the camp of their Vistani friends, trying to make sense of all they’ve seen.
Visiting an old friend
The images of Strahd and the Vistani remind the friends of a story they were told by Stanimir when they first began this journey. They agree that they must find him and probe more into Madame Eva’s fortune about “the Seer,” and understand the plight of Strahd.
As they leave the privacy of their caravan, they run into Arabelle. She is happy to tell them all the ways she has used her axe to kill all manor of small animals. She mentions that she doesn’t share Izek’s taste for eyeballs, but she is pleased to learn from Aydin that dried eyeballs make the best slingshot ammo.
They come upon Stanimir’s small house and he excitedly welcomes them inside. Aydin shares the details of their “dream” with him. Stanimir confirms that the Vistani would have gladly helped Strahd at that time because that is their nature. He paints a picture of Strahd’s former self that shows him as a kind, loyal protector of the Vistani. Aydin presses Stanimir for more about Strahd’s transformation.
The story goes, according to Stanimir, that Strahd was very jealous of his younger brother Sergei. There was a beautiful young woman, called Tatiana, who fell in love with Sergei. Strahd loved Tatiana, and he grieved that she loved his brother. On a single night long ago, the manor was attacked, and everyone was killed. Everyone except Strahd. He was injured but managed to survive, and no one knows why. It is widely theorized that Strahd made a deal with the devil that allowed him to live – alive but cursed. To this day, no one knows the source of the attack. Strahd seems intent on digging into these events too, and collects every book he can find on the history of magic.
Aydin, in return for the story of Strahd, gave an account from his own life. He talked about the loss of his love and his family in a tragic story of blood and heartache.
Tilly asks their host “What has it cost you these many years of knowing this history?” Stanimir sighs and says that their relationship with Strahd is a complicated one. His friends have suffered many losses, especially his friend Kasimir. As he talks, Thaldir realizes that Kasimir is the one that Madame Eva spoke of with her cryptic card. Kasimir lives on the other side of the hill.
Before they take their leave of Stanimir, Thaldir asks if he can give them a way to go beyond the mist. They are all shocked to discover that they are now in the land beyond the mist.
Aydin inquires about a tomb of amber and a land of ice. Stanimir cautions that this is a very dangerous place, this land of ice, and it lies just beyond the Tsolenka Pass.
Tilly asks about a village that was drowned by a river, the village known as Berez. The people there were rumored to have angered Strahd. Once they were in his line of terror, he killed their burgermeister, drowned the village, and the people who didn’t perish. The land is now marsh. Strahd allegedly took one captive and claimed her for his bride.
(Strahd has many brides. Stanimir is very pleased to learn that his guests have killed three of Strahd’s brides, among them Ludmilla, who is one of the most evil.)
Syrren and Aydin recalled this chilling tale of the people of Berez. The fair Irena told them the story while the rest of the group took the troubled Mary to her home.
(Later that evening, Tilly confides in Syrren about her lusty adventures with Iosef. He cautions her to guard her heart in such matters. She cheekily responds, “It’s not my heart he’s playing with.” They both laugh. Tilly also presents him with a poem he might share with his “lovely” Madame Eva. She gives him her blessing to slip away and steal a few moments with his elderly sweetheart.)
A Fated Ally
After they leave their friend Stanimir, they head toward Kasimir’s modest home on the other side of the hill. He welcomes them in, since they are friends of Stanimir. Kasimir wears a dark cloak and sits in the midst of a filthy room.
Kasimir is hesitant to open up at first, but, when he hears of the party’s quest, he reveals his dark history with Strahd. When he removes his cloak, the friends see that both of his ears have been cut off. “Strahd cut off his ears to punish me. You see, he wanted my sister as his concubine. He warped her mind and convinced her to go with him. We stoned her to death to keep her from him.”
Tilly and Thaldir plead with him to share more of his encounter with Strahd and to share what his sister speaks of in his dreams. Aydin, relays Madame Eva’s fortune to him. He is unmoved, until he sees the coin that Syrren wears around his neck. “You must have been quite small when last I saw you,” he says to Aydin.
Kasimir says he is the one from the fortune, but he doesn’t believe that this group is capable of handling the formidable task that lies ahead. He tells Aydin that he knows the location of the amber tomb. Kasimir also knows the details of how Strahd became who he is.
Aydin stands up and pleads with Kasimir to tell her about the amber tomb so that she can find “he of many lives.” He is hesitant, but relaxes slightly when Tilly casts a spell to bring them all into a magical hut. Inside, they will be able to speak freely.
Kasimir begins by asking if the adventurers have ever heard of the “dark powers.” He begins the tale of Strahd. Kasimir believes that Strahd has struck a deal with one of the dark powers and that the amber temple is a place where the dead can be brought back to life. He hopes to bring his fair sister back to life in this temple. In his dreams, his sister Patrina revealed secrets about the temple to him.
Within the amber temple is a weapon that can destroy Strahd and the dark power that raised him. Patrina says that the amber temple is the key. Term tells Kasimir of a piece of amber that he once had and passed along to van Richten to dispose of.
Kasimir seems interested in the origin of this amber, which Term explains was found in a very old manor.
After many hours of talking and learning of Kasimir’s fate, the party is certain that they need to grow stronger before they are ready to face what lies in the amber temple. Kasimir agrees to accompany them when they are ready. He implores them to make a solemn vow to keep what they have learned a secret. They agree to tell no one, and Syrren promises to find a way to heal his elven brother’s ears.
Tilly asks Kasimir if he knows of the village of Berez. He warns them, as Stanimir did, that it is a very dangerous place.
Before they depart for their caravan, they share the story of the windmill that Stanimir enjoyed so much. They go toward the Vistani fire, where they join their allies for more stories and “diplomatic relations.”
