_An adventure for five 5th- or 6th-level characters._ In this arc, upon gaining entry to Krezk, the players must ascend to the Abbey of Saint Markovia, where they are destined to meet their foretold ally against Strahd. Upon their arrival, the Abbot can provide the players with a brief tour and history of the Abbey, as well as inform them that the Vistana monster-hunter Ezmerelda d’Avenir has been a guest of the Abbey in recent days. If the players have arrived before the second night after the full moon, the Abbot informs the players that Ezmerelda is away and will return soon. If the players have arrived on or after the second night after the full moon, the Abbot leads them to Ezmerelda, who is glad to join their efforts—on the condition that they help her save Krezk from the Abbot’s madness. # K1. The Village of Krezk The players’ first journey to Krezk is as described in [[Arc I - The Walls of Krezk]]. However, if the players have already completed [[Arc J - The Stolen Gem]] and the Martikovs have delivered a shipment of wine to the village, Baron Krezkov has already heard of the players’ exploits and gladly allows them entry. (The Krezkov and Martikov families have long been close, ever since an heir of the Martikov clan married a member of the Krezkov family and inherited ownership of the Wizard of Wines winery. If the players have aided the Martikovs, Baron Krezkov feels he owes them a debt of personal gratitude.) > [!profile]+ **Baron Dmitri Krezkov** > **Roleplaying Information.** > ***Resonance.*** Dmitri should inspire comfort with his quiet confidence and leadership, sympathy for his anxiety and grief following his son's disappearance, and mild annoyance for his stubbornness and habitual suspicion of outsiders. > > ***Emotions.*** Dmitri most often feels concerned, melancholy, somber, determined, wary, stubborn, or gracious. > > ***Motivations.*** Dmitri wants to protect his village and keep his family together. > > ***Inspirations.*** When playing Dmitri, channel Eddard Stark (*Game of Thrones*), King Théoden (*Lord of the Rings*) and Stoick the Vast (*How to Train Your Dragon*). > > **Character Information** > ***Persona.*** To the world, Dmitri is a grim, but warm leader. To those he trusts, Dmitri is a warm and loving father, husband, and friend. Only Dmitri knows the extent of his grief, anxiety, and guilt regarding his family's curse and the fate of his children and wife. > > ***Morale.*** In a fight, Dmitri would act only to protect himself or his loved ones, beginning by warning his opponent to stand down, then fighting fiercely until his opponent yielded or was defeated. > > ***Relationships.*** Dmitri, a secret **werewolf**, is the husband of Baroness Anna Krezkova, the brother of the **werewolf** cleric of Mother Night Zuleika Toranescu, the father of Kala and Ilya Krezkov, and the burgomaster of the village of Krezk. The village of Krezk is as described in <span class="citation">S3. Village of Krezk (p. 145)</span>. Once the players are within the village walls, Baron Krezkov is glad to share any or all of the information provided in <span class="citation">Krezk Lore (p. 146)</span>, but with the following changes: * Dmitri's sole two children are the thirteen-year-old Ilya and the eight-year-old Kala. Ilya recently went missing after a werewolf attack. * The Abbot doesn't demand tribute in the form of wine. Additionally, while many believe the Abbot is Strahd or one of Strahd's servants, Dmitri's late grandfather once spoke of a time when the Abbot was kind and compassionate, and cared for the sick and suffering of Barovia. (Dmitri isn't sure whether he believes this or not.) If the players mention their interest in the Abbey of Saint Markovia, Baron Krezkov’s expression becomes stony and cold. He warns the players that the Abbot is a cruel and capricious creature, and further shares the Abbey’s sordid history and the strange rumors surrounding the Abbot. If the players have completed [[Arc J - The Stolen Gem]] and are looking to stay overnight in Krezk, the Baron feels indebted to the players given his family's long friendship with the Martikovs, and invites the players to stay as guests in his family’s home. > [!lore]+ **The Baron's Grief** > The Krezkov family has a secret: ever since a werewolf bit the Krezkov heir eighty years ago, some of the family’s direct descendants have been natural—born lycanthropes. Because these descendants are not the product of a union between two werewolves, they are born without the benefits of their curse, which emerges only on the night of the first full moon after their thirteenth birthday. > > Today, Baron Dmitri Krezkov is a **werewolf**, as is his thirteen-year-old son, Ilya Krezkov. Baroness Anna Krezkova, who married into the family, does not share the curse. Their eight-year-old daughter, Kala Krezkova, is too young to know whether she also shares the curse. (Baron Krezkov also has an elder sister, Zuleika Toranescu née Krezkova, a **werewolf** who abdicated her position as heir to join her lover, the **werewolf** Emil Toranescu, as a member of the Lake Baratok werewolf pack fourteen years ago.) > > Every two weeks, on the night of the full moon, Baroness Krezkova harvests a wolfsbane flower from the shores of Krezk’s blessed pool and brews a *potion of wolfsbane*, which she gives to Baron Krezkov to suppress the curse’s aggression. She then locks the Baron in silver shackles in the hidden basement beneath their cottage, where he transforms into a docile wolf at moonrise. Until recently, both Ilya and Kala were ignorant as to their family’s true nature, which their parents have kept a careful secret from both the village and their children. > > One month ago, while constructing the **flesh golem** Vasilka, the Abbot of the Abbey of Saint Markovia determined that his creation required a living human heart, given willingly to strengthen its potency in “matters of the heart." After reviewing the family cemeteries within the village, the Abbot learned that Baroness Krezkova was, in fact, a direct descendant of the Federovna line and a distant relative of Tatyana Federovna. He decided that, as a blood descendant of Strahd's first love, she would therefore be a perfect candidate for Vasilka’s completion. > > The Abbot, however, knew that the Baroness would never give him her heart willingly—and so, he developed a dark and cunning plot. > > As a celestial, the Abbot could sense the scent of lycanthropy upon Baron Krezkov and his son, Ilya. Through the use of his ***change shape*** ability, the Abbot appeared to Ilya in the form of Ilya’s long-absent aunt, Zuleika. > > "Zuleika" revealed to Ilya that he and his father's line were werewolves—misunderstood creatures once feared and respected as enemies of Strahd. She claimed, however, that Strahd had corrupted their bloodline by convincing his ancestors to poison themselves with wolfsbane and silver, removing some of his most powerful foes. > > "Zuleika" told Ilya that she had abandoned Krezk because she refused to accept the family's poison, fearing that Strahd might one day rise again. She told Ilya that he shared the blood of great warriors, and that, by embracing his curse, he could protect his family and neighbors in the calamity of Strahd's reawakening. > > To do so, "Zuleika" told him, he must pretend to drink the potion his mother provided him on the night of the full moon, and secretly discard its contents to fool her. She warned him to tell no one of their conversation—and especially not his parents. > > Ilya, unwilling to believe that he or his parents were werewolves, rejected “Zuleika’s" story with anger and disbelief. But when, several days later, his parents informed him of his lycanthropic heritage, his world was shattered—and the Abbot's words filled the void to take its place. > > On the night of the full moon, Ilya fooled his mother into believing he had drunk the *potion of wolfsbane*, but secretly poured it out in the earth of the family garden. That night, he transformed into a fearsome and aggressive werewolf, destroying his restraints and embarking on a rampage across the village—killing his younger sister, Kala, in the process. By midnight, Ilya had vanished from the village, fleeing the villagers' weapons and clambering across the walls to escape into the Svalich Wood. > > The following morning, the Abbot's messengers—Otto and Zygfrek Belview—approached the grieving Krezkovs and invited them to an audience at the Abbey. There, the Abbot promised to restore Kala's life—on the condition that the Baroness offer her own heart to the Abbot in trade. Baron Krezkov, horrified, watched helplessly as his wife gladly accepted the Abbot's offer. > > The Abbot resurrected Kala immediately as a sign of good faith. Then, in an attempted act of mercy, he allowed the Baroness one month to bid her goodbyes before returning to the Abbey to surrender her heart. Should she fail to return, he warned her, he would come himself to collect—and her entire village would pay the price. ## K1a. The Krezkovs’ Cottage As the players approach the Krezkovs’ cottage, read: <div class="description"> <p>The cottage before you is the largest structure you’ve seen within the village, still but modest in its design. Its outer walls are constructed of sturdy pine logs, weathered by time but well-maintained. A thick thatch roof slopes gently above, crowned by a stone chimney from which a thin wisp of smoke rises into the air. The windows are small but adorned with simple lace curtains, offering a glimpse of a warmer interior. </p> <p>Nearby, a fenced-in area reveals a small garden, the earth freshly turned and bearing a variety of herbs and vegetables. To one side of the cottage, a narrow path leads to a small family graveyard, its tombstones casting long shadows in the grey light.</p> </div> The front door to the cottage leads to the entryway. ### Entryway When the players enter the cottage’s front door, read: <div class="description"> <p>The heavy wooden door creaks open to reveal an entryway with a worn rug underfoot. The scent of pine wood mingles with the earthy aroma of burning logs from a nearby fireplace, and a simple wooden table sits beside the door, holding a bowl filled with small trinkets.</p> <p>A mounted hand-carved board holds two hanging coats—one sized for an adult and one for a young child—with two pairs of boots hanging beneath the coats. Two additional empty pegs jut out from the board beside them.</p> </div> Upon entering, Baron Krezkov—who insists that the players call him Dmitri while guests in his home—hangs his coat on one of the pegs on the wall and removes his boots. He then calls out to his wife, Baroness Anna Krezkova, who exits from the kitchen to warmly greet the players. > [!profile]+ **Baroness Anna Krezkova** > **Roleplaying Information** > ***Resonance.*** Anna should inspire gratitude and comfort with her kindness and hospitality, mild irritation with her no-nonsense attitude, and (when the players learn of it) sympathy and endearment for her promise to the Abbot. > > ***Emotions.*** Anna most often feels compassionate, worried, determined, skeptical, thoughtful, sorrowful, or melancholy. > > ***Motivations.*** Anna wants to help Dmitri lead and support the people of Krezk, keep her children safe and happy, and see Ilya safely returned to Krezk. > > ***Inspirations.*** When playing Anna, channel Catelyn Stark (_Game of Thrones_), Molly Weasley (_Harry Potter_), and Joyce Byers (_Stranger Things_). > > **Character Information** > ***Persona.*** To the world, Anna is a compassionate and strong-willed leader dedicated to the safety of Krezk. To those she trusts, she is a caring woman who has resigned herself to the Abbot's bargain—and who grieves the thought of her children growing up without a mother. > > ***Morale.*** In a fight, Anna would take up her battleaxe and command any opponents to lay down their weapons, but wouldn't hesitate to fight to defend herself, her family, or her neighbors. > > ***Relationships.*** Anna is the wife of Baron Dmitri Krezkov, the mother of Ilya and Kala Krezkov, and the sister-in-law of the **werewolf** Zuleika Toranescu. In exchange for Kala's resurrection, Anna has also promised to allow the Abbot to remove the heart from her chest. If the players intend on staying the night, Anna asks the players to assist her in completing a series of chores before dinner: feeding the chickens, mucking out the pig pen, weeding the vegetable garden, and (most importantly) obtaining a bucket of milk from the cow of Kretyana Dolvof—a widow whose cottage lies just southwest of the village’s freshwater pool. Anna also welcomes the players’ help in the kitchen as she prepares an evening meal. Though the Krezkovs’ cottage doesn’t have much space, the players are welcome to set down their packs and bedrolls in the animal pens and the structure’s only empty bedroom (see [[#Ilya’s Bedroom]] below). ### Animal Pens Behind a partition in the rear of the cottage are the animal pens. When the players enter this area, read: <div class="description"> <p>The grunting of pigs and clucking of chickens fill this area. Straw covers the floor, and wooden fences separate a pair of pens, which lie next to a trio of large chicken coops. A few lanterns hang from the ceiling, providing dim light, and a thick barn-style door leads out into the yard beyond.</p> </div> ### Kitchen When the players enter this area, read: <div class="description"> <p>A large wooden table stands at the center, surrounded by chairs and covered with a simple checkered tablecloth. Copper pots and pans hang from hooks above a stone hearth, and a variety of herbs dry from a wooden rack on the wall. An open window allows a cool breeze into the space, and a small pile of birdseed rests upon the windowsill.</p> </div> If the players linger here, they notice that a musty, acrid odor emits from a mortar and pestle atop one of the higher shelves. If retrieved, the mortar contains a faint ground powder colored a vibrant shade of purple, identifiable as wolfsbane with a DC 13 Intelligence (Nature) check. At some point before dinner, Dmitri and Anna meet in the kitchen for a quiet conversation, asking any players present to excuse themselves from the room for a moment of privacy. A player who eavesdrops on the conversation sees the following: <div class="description"> <p>A small robin flutters down to the windowsill, pecking quietly at the birdseed, as Dmitri and Anna huddle closer together and begin to speak in hushed voices.</p> </div> The robin is the Abbot in disguise. A player can make a DC 14 Wisdom (Perception) check to attempt to eavesdrop on the conversation. On a success, they hear the following: <div class="description"> <p>“I know you said you’d made up your mind," Dmitri murmurs. “But please, Anna — you have to reconsider."</p> <p>“Dmitri—" Anna begins.</p> <p>Dmitri clasps her hands, his voice strained and desperate. “Gargosh, Ivan, and Falkon will help us. They won't ask questions; they know how dangerous it is to travel the roads. Ivan can lend us his mules—we can make a new life for you in Vallaki."</p> <p>Anna jerks her hands away. “No," she whispers. “I made my choice—for Kala and our people. How <em>dare</em> you ask me to flee like a coward?"</p> </div> Dmitri flinches, then reflexively checks over his shoulder to ensure that no one is listening. A player must succeed on a DC 16 Dexterity (Stealth) check to remain unobserved; otherwise, Dmitri hears and smells them through the use of his ***keen hearing and smell*** feature. (Dmitri sharply asks the player whether they were eavesdropping, and tells them to forget what they heard and tell no one if they admit to doing so.) If the eavesdropping player escapes detection, read: <div class="description"> <p>Dmitri closes his eyes and swallows. “I’m sorry," he says. “I just don’t want to lose you. With Ilya gone, and Kala in so much pain . . ." You hear the sound of a half-stifled sob. “I can’t do this on my own. I can’t do this without you."</p> <p>Anna embraces him. “We’ll figure this out," she whispers. “We always do."</p> </div> The robin on the windowsill flies away shortly thereafter. ### Garden When the players enter this area, read: <div class="description"> <p>Rows of vegetables—cabbages, carrots, and hardy turnips—grow in organized plots, their leaves a vibrant green against the dark, tilled soil. A wooden fence encloses the garden, its posts adorned with simple talismans—feathers, small stones, and bits of twine—that sway gently in the breeze. </p> <p>A small, lonely graveyard sits in the shadow of the cottage just beyond the fence.</p> </div> If the players enter the garden during the day, add: <div class="description"> <p>A young girl sits atop a boulder in the cemetery, staring at something just out of sight.</p> </div> The girl is Kala Krezkova. She doesn’t respond if the players call out to her. ### Graveyard When the players enter this area, read: <div class="description"> <p>Tombstones, some weathered by time and others freshly carved, mark the resting places of the Krezkov family in this small, snow-dusted graveyard. A small grave, freshly dug but vacant, stands apart from the others. </p> </div> If the players enter the graveyard during the day, add: <div class="description"> <p>A young, dark-haired girl sits atop a boulder nearby, her hands hugging her knees to her chest as she stares silently at a small grave. She wears a thin tunic and no shoes, her small body so still that she seems almost to be a statue.</p> </div> ![[Kala Krezkova.png]] <span class="credit">"Kala Krezkova" by Caleb Cleveland. Support him on <a href="https://patreon.com/calebisdrawing/">Patreon!</a></span> The girl is Kala Krezkova. She doesn’t immediately respond if the players speak to her. If the players approach, however, she abruptly asks them: "Have you ever had a bad dream you couldn't wake up from?" If the players answer her question with thoughtfulness and compassion, she asks: "If something bad happened, but then went away, is it like it never happened?" If the players again answer her question with thoughtfulness and compassion, Kala looks them in the eyes and whispers, "I don't think bad dreams ever really go away." Despite her young age, her eyes look haunted and weary. Baroness Anna Krezkova arrives shortly thereafter and exclaims, “There you are, Kala! You can’t go outside without a coat or boots; you’ll catch cold." She then scoops Kala up and brings her inside. (If asked, Anna awkwardly apologizes for Kala’s macabre thoughts, and claims that Kala has been like this ever since she “took ill" a few days ago. A successful DC 12 Wisdom (Medicine) check suggests that Kala has no apparent illness, while a successful DC 12 Wisdom (Insight) check suggests that Anna is not telling the entire truth. Anna refuses to elaborate and doubles down on her claim if challenged.) ### Dining Room & Living Room The dining room shares a space with the living room, with no wall dividing them. When the players enter this area, read: <div class="description"> <p>This large room is divided into two halves: a dining room and a living room. In the dining room, walls of aged pine softly absorb the flickering light from an wrought-iron chandelier that hangs overhead, its candles casting a cozy glow. A sideboard against one wall holds a variety of ceramic dishes and wooden utensils, as well as a few clay jars that might contain preserves or spices. The center of the room is dominated by a wooden table crafted of solid oak, its sides carved with patterns of forest leaves curled around crescents, circles, and oblong shapes. Six hand-carved wooden chairs sit around the table.</p> <p>A stone fireplace dominates a wall on the opposite side of the chamber, crackling softly as it bathes the space in a warm, flickering glow. A few well-worn chairs and a sofa huddle around a low wooden coffee table nearby, and shelves along the walls hold an assortment of books, family portraits, and small whittled wooden sculptures.</p> </div> Close inspection of the patterns on the table reveals that they depict the phases of the moon. The whittled sculptures depict an assortment of small wooden wolves and ravens, as well as a carved wooden sun and moon. Dinner consists of borscht (warm beetroot soup with carrots and potatoes), crusty rye bread with butter, and spiced milk with nutmeg (purchased from a Vistani caravan). If there aren’t enough chairs for both the Krezkovs and the players to sit at the dining table, any remaining players can take their meals in the living room. Midway through dinner, there comes a knock at the door. When Anna goes to answer it, a woman with the voice and appearance of Kretyana Dolvof greets her. When Anna greets her in return, with some small amount of surprise, and asks her business, read: <div class="description"> <p>One moment, the visage of an elderly woman stands before you. In the next instant, without any shade of transition or spectacle, she is gone—and in her place stands a handsome young man in a brown monk's robe, a painted wooden symbol that depicts the sun hanging from a chain around his neck. He carries himself with an ageless grace, and his eyes bear a quiet, cold serenity.</p> </div> This is the Abbot. Anna and Dmitri react to his appearance with shock, and a player with a passive Wisdom (Insight) score of 13 or higher notices that they appear to be terrified. In a low voice, Dmitri commands Kala to go to her bedroom—an order she silently obeys. The Abbot greets Dmitri, Anna, and the players cordially, and notes with mild interest that the Krezkovs have guests. Dmitri nervously asks to know why the Abbot has come to visit them. In response, as he steps toward the shelves above the hearth to inspect the whittled statues there, the Abbot asks whether it is a sin to visit the home of his friends and neighbors—"especially," he notes, with a glance toward Anna, “friends and neighbors who may soon be family?" As the conversation continues, the Abbot asks the players the following questions—ostensibly to ask their thoughts about Krezk, but meant in truth to deliver an ominous warning to the Krezkovs regarding the consequences of betrayal: * "How do you like the village? A quaint and quiet settlement, no?" (*The village is safe and quiet—for now.*) * "The children of Krezk have always seemed healthy and well-protected. The Krezkovs have been good stewards of this land, haven't they?" (*I gave you your child’s health. She and your neighbors will keep their lives and livelihoods—if you uphold your end of our bargain.*) * "I see by your weapons that you're no strangers to the dangers outside these walls. It's good that the good people of Krezk are protected, isn't it, from the threats that lurk beyond?" (*Krezk’s mighty walls will not protect you from my wrath.*) * "Isn't it beautiful how such a small, fragile thing can exist on the corners of Strahd's domain?" (*You exist because I allow it—and you will end if I demand it.*) If asked why the Krezkovs appear to be afraid of him, the Abbot insists that they have nothing to be afraid of. “There is no fear in doing one’s duty," he says serenely, “nor shame or sin in accepting one’s fate. Like the sun, moon, and stars, we all have our parts to play, and theirs is a blessed one." (The Abbot won’t share the Krezkovs’ “duty," insisting that one’s relationship with the gods is a private matter, to be shared only as one chooses. If addressed, the Krezkovs appear paralyzed with fear, and Dmitri only shakes his head instead of responding.) If further addressed, the Abbot looks briefly stricken and adds sadly, as he inspects a carved figurine of a wolf upon the mantelpiece, “It is true that many instruments of the gods have first rejected their calling. But is it not written that those who refuse to serve the divine become the tools of the divine, while those who serve the divine themselves become the divine?" He murmurs, mournfully, “The choice, I fear, is never an easy one." Unless stopped, the Abbot inclines his head respectfully toward Dmitri and Anna, apologizes for disturbing their meal, and bids them a good night. “You will consider my words tonight, I hope," he says, bowing deeply. “May the light of the Morninglord go with you." He then departs the cottage. Read: <div class="description"> <p>Through the front door of the cottage, beneath the fresh-falling snow, the young man’s silent silhouette stands wrought in a halo of dark moonlight. Then, within the blink of an eye, the man simply ceases to be; in his place, an eagle taller than a man stands upon the earth, its feathers blending seamlessly with the falling snowflakes. With a powerful flap of its wings, the creature ascends, soaring into the night sky until it vanishes into the depths of the Barovian darkness.</p> </div> Dmitri and Anna then collapse onto their knees, holding one another and crying quietly. If comforted, they can share the following information: * Recently, a werewolf attacked the village of Krezk, somehow managing to bypass its walls. In its rampage, it wounded many and killed Kala. (“I held her in my arms as she died," Dmitri sobs. “Half her side was missing. She kept whispering, ‘Daddy’ and ‘Mommy’ over and over again, until she finally fell still.") * The Krezkovs’ son, Ilya, vanished in the chaos, and hasn’t been seen in days. (If the players located Ilya in [[Arc I - The Walls of Krezk]], Dmitri adds that, until recently, they feared him to be dead as well.) * The Krezkovs prayed to the Morninglord for guidance and deliverance, begging for mercy and salvation—and the Abbot answered. * The following morning, the Abbot’s bestial servants—a pair of creatures who called themselves Otto and Zygfrek—invited the mourning Krezkovs to the Abbey. There, the Abbot offered a bargain, promising to resurrect Kala in full health if Anna promised to sacrifice her heart to the Abbot’s foul creation: the **flesh golem** he calls Vasilka. To Dmitri’s horror, Anna accepted—and the Abbot brought Kala back to life. * The Abbot gave Anna one month’s time to make peace with her family and neighbors—an act he called “the Morninglord’s mercy." The Krezkovs don’t have much time left. (The Abbot’s deadline expires two weeks and one day after the players’ first full moon in Vallaki.) * Kala hasn’t been the same since her resurrection. Dmitri and Anna haven’t asked, but they’re terrified that she remembers the experience of dying—and that what she saw beyond the veil of mortality scarred her forever. The life and laughter have gone out of her, and she spends much of her time staring at the grave her parents once prepared for her. ### Kala’s Bedroom If the players enter this area, read: <div class="description"> <p>A small bed sits against one wall of this small, muted bedroom, its quilt a patchwork of floral patterns and faded pastels. A shelf above a nearby dresser displays a few simple toys: a stuffed bear with button eyes, a whittled wooden horse, and a small, tattered book of Barovian folk tales. On the windowsill rests a small ceramic pot that holds a wilting flower, its petal drooping in the shadowed light.</p> </div> If Kala has been dismissed to her room, she can be found here, sitting on her bed with her knees clutched to her chest and staring at the wilted flower on the windowsill. If a player speaks kindly to Kala, she asks them whether they’ve ever seen a “monster" before. She then asks, “Why do monsters like the dark so much?" As the conversation continues, Kala hesitates, then asks the player if they will help her. If the player agrees to do so, she insists that they keep her request from her parents, “because I don’t want to make them sad." If the player agrees again, she can share the following information: * Her parents won’t tell her, but she thinks she died—and that the Abbot had something to do with her coming back. She doesn’t remember exactly what happened: only a flash of teeth and claws, and blood and pain. * Kala then remembers being somewhere dark, filled with mist and distant screams. “I felt like I was supposed to go somewhere," she mumbles, “but the mist stopped me. Every time I tried to leave, it brought me back into the screams and the darkness." * Eventually, she awoke once more into her body—healed and whole, without any more pain. Her parents took her home and lavished her with love and care, but Kala could tell that they were nervous and afraid, as if one wrong move could break her. Kala has had nightmares ever since her resurrection—dreams of the monster that killed her, and of the dark place she went to when she died. She believes that confronting the monster will allow the nightmares to stop. Kala informs the player that she had snuck outside to play in the garden on the night that she died—and that the monster came from the wine cellar beneath the house. She asks the player to wait until her parents are asleep, then bring her there and keep her safe, so that she can either see the monster for herself or confirm that it has gone forever. If the player attempts to dissuade Kala from venturing down to the cellar, she replies, "I need to see for myself. I don't want to be afraid of the dark anymore." ### Ilya’s Bedroom When the players enter this area, read: <div class="description"> <p>The bed in this modest bedroom is neatly made, covered with a hand-stitched quilt. A wooden shelf above the desk holds an assortment of curios—a feather, a small rock crystal, and what appears to be a wolf's tooth. A small weapon rack hangs on the wall, currently holding a short sword and a hunting bow with a quiver of arrows beneath it. A round window with simple lace curtains lets in a sliver of natural light, illuminating a hand-drawn map tacked to the wall beside it.</p> </div> The map depicts the local woods around Krezk, extending as far south as the Wizard of Wines and as far east as Lake Baratok. (It doesn’t include the werewolf den or the tower on Lake Baratok.) A player who inspects the map observes a small piece of parchment tucked away behind it. If removed, the parchment contains a charcoal sketch of a woman, described as follows: <div class="description"> <p>The sketch depicts a woman with narrowed, low-set eyes, whose lips seem to unconsciously curl into a snarl. A gray bandana ties back a set of thick, short-cropped dreadlocks behind her head, and a half-shredded black tunic lies beneath a set of worn leather armor upon her chest.</p> </div> The woman is Zuleika Toranescu, Dmitri’s elder sister. A player with a passive Wisdom (Perception) score of 13 or higher notices that she bears a striking resemblance to Burgomaster Dmitri Krezkov. ![[Sketch of Zuleika.png]] <span class="credit">"Sketch of Zuleika" by Caleb Cleveland. Support him on <a href="https://patreon.com/calebisdrawing/">Patreon!</a></span> If shown the picture, Dmitri’s face pales, and he asks the player where they found it. If told that the player found it in Ilya’s room, he insists that it is impossible. “That is a drawing of my older sister, Zuleika," he says hoarsely, “and she has not been seen in Krezk in nearly thirteen years." (If asked why Zuleika left, Dmitri shares only that she had a fight with him and their ailing father about personal family matters, and that he has neither seen nor heard from her since she departed.) ### Wine Cellar A heavy wooden bulkhead door stands against the cottage, on the side facing the garden. Close inspection reveals that two of its hinges are broken, and the lock is battered and broken. The center of the door bulges slightly outward, as though struck from the inside by a great force. The door opens to a descending set of stone stairs that open into the wine cellar. When the players enter this room, read: <div class="description"> <p>The room is chilly, and the walls are lined with empty wooden racks that once held bottles of wine. The scent of damp earth is pervasive.</p> <p>The floor bears a trail of deep gouges and claw marks. The marks lead to a bare spot between two wooden racks, covering a portion of the far stone wall approximately three feet across.</p> </div> A DC 12 Wisdom (Nature) check reveals that the marks and gouges were left by a large, lupine beast. The bare spot on the wall hides a secret door. No check is required to spot the secret door, which can’t be closed completely due to Ilya’s damage, leaving a thin crack in the wall from the floor to a point six feet above the ground. A player can force the secret door open with a successful DC 20 Strength check. Alternatively, the player can find the mechanism that unlocks the door—a disguised lever on the wine rack—with a successful DC 15 Intelligence (Investigation) check, succeeding automatically with 1 full minute of searching. Once the lever is pulled, the lock on the door releases and the door drifts slightly forward, revealing handholds along its side that can be used to pull it fully open. The secret door leads to the hidden basement (see below). ### Hidden Basement This area is unlit. When the players first enter it, read: <div class="description"> <p>The air here is thick and musty. Three sets of heavy silver shackles are bolted to the stone walls, with two surrounded by disturbed half-circles of salt. Claw marks mar the walls and floor, and the silver shackles bolted to the east wall have been heavily damaged, with one shackle burst open and the other torn from the wall entirely.</p> </div> If the players haven’t taken special steps to prevent or watch for the Krezkovs’ appearance, Dmitri and Anna find Kala missing from her bedroom, exit into the garden, and descend the wine cellar steps upon noticing the players’ footsteps in the snow, finding the players at the door to the hidden basement. “I’m sure you have questions," Dmitri says, quietly, when he first arrives. His eyes are haunted and sad, and his gaze lingers somberly on Kala’s face. “I ask only that you not judge us too harshly when you hear the answers." Dmitri can share the following information if asked: * Eighty years ago, his grandfather was bitten by a werewolf. His ancestor survived, but the curse of lycanthropy remained with him until his death—and was passed down, intermittently, within the Krezkov line. The curse emerges on the first full moon after an infected Krezkov’s thirteenth birthday, transforming their body into a powerful, violent beast on that night and each full moon thereafter. * Since then, the Krezkov family has kept the curse under control by binding themselves in silver on the nights of the full moon and imbibing a *potion of wolfsbane*, which keeps the spirit of the wolf docile and calm. * Dmitri was born a werewolf. When Ilya was born, his parents hoped that he might escape the curse—but as the night of his first full moon approached, the signs of lycanthropy were impossible to ignore. (The signs of lycanthropy, Anna can share, include sudden, uncharacteristic bursts of restlessness and aggression. sharpened senses of hearing and smell, an amber tinge to the irises, and a markedly increased appetite around the time of the full moon.) * Anna prepared Ilya a *potion of wolfsbane*, and helped bind him to the shackles upon the walls beside his father. Somehow, however, when Ilya first transformed, the potion failed to suppress the rage or strength of the wolf inside. Ilya broke free of his shackles, escaped the cellar, and rampaged across the village—though not before wounding several of the villagers and killing his sister, Kala. * Ilya then fled across the walls and vanished into the Svalich Woods. Despite arranging several search parties in the weeks since his disappearance, Dmitri and Anna have found no sign of him. Dmitri apologizes to the players for concealing this information from them, and notes his understanding if the players are frightened or upset. > [!abstract]+ **The Players'Choice** > The Krezkovs, self-reliant and proud, would never dream of asking the players to find Ilya or stop the Abbot for them. If the players offer to do so, however, the Krezkovs are humbled and brought to tears with gratitude, though they apologize for not having much to offer in thanks. (Even if the players don’t offer to do so, Ezmerelda d'Avenir will recruit them to save Ilya and defeat the Abbot after meeting Ezmerelda in [[#K2c. The East Wing]].) > > The Krezkovs also have additional aid in locating Ilya: Ezmerelda d’Avenir, a monster hunter and a friend of the Krezkovs, has been traversing the Svalich Woods for the past several days in search of him. (See **Ezmerelda’s Visit** below for more information.) > [!lore]+ **Ezmerelda’s Visit** > Five years ago, shortly after she and Dr. Rudolph van Richten parted ways, Ezmerelda d’Avenir was grievously wounded in a werewolf attack in the western woods of Barovia, losing her lower right leg to the jaws of Kiril Stoyanovich—the werewolf that now leads the Barovian pack. > > Dmitri and Anna, traversing the woods with a hunting party, scared Kiril off and found Ezmerelda unconscious and near-death amidst the trees. They brought Ezmerelda back to Krezk and nursed her back to health. As she regained her strength, Ezmerelda regaled Anna and the young Ilya Krezkov with tales of her adventures in the lands beyond the mists, filling Ilya’s head with dreams of hunting monsters as she did. > > When Ezmerelda’s wound was fully healed, Anna and a party of three Krezkians escorted her to nearby Vallaki, where Ezmerelda commissioned her prosthetic leg from the toymaker Gadof Blinsky. (Although Baron Vallakovich's edicts prohibited Vistani from entering the town's walls, Baroness Krezkova's steely will and diplomatic manner were sufficient to bypass any such restrictions.) Ezmerelda thanked the Krezkovs deeply for their kindness, and swore to aid and protect them should they ever require it. > > When Ezmerelda returned to Barovia in search of Dr. Van Richten, she sought shelter with the Krezkov family once again—and learned of Ilya’s fate and Anna’s bargain. Incensed with righteous fury, Ezmerelda vowed to bring Ilya home, as well as find a means of dissuading the Abbot from collecting his payment. Since then, she has spent most of her days and nights prowling the local Svalich Wood for signs of Ilya and—if the players completed [[Arc I - The Walls of Krezk]]—the den of the werewolves that took him, using her wagon as a mobile base near the shores of Lake Baratok. > > Ezmerelda, a minor clairvoyant, has also sensed that the spirits within the Abbey are disturbed and restless. Though she hasn’t had a chance to do so yet, she plans to conduct a seance upon her return from the Svalich Wood in the hopes of contacting a spirit with more information about the Abbot and his plans. # K2. The Abbey of Saint Markovia The road to the Abbey of Saint Markovia is as described in <span class="citation">S5. Winding Road (p. 147)</span>. ## K2a. Entering the Abbey The gate to the Abbey and its occupants are as described in <span class="citation">S6. The North Gate (p. 147)</span>. Before escorting the players into the Abbey, Otto and Zygfrek demand to know why they’ve come. > [!profile]+ **Otto & Zygfrek** > ***Roleplaying Information*** > ***Resonance.*** Otto and Zygfrek should make the players feel amused with their antics, eccentricities, and squabbles, uncomfortable with Otto's lack of personal space and Zygfrek's bluntness, sympathetic to Zygfrek's discomfort with her appearance and voice, endeared to Otto's boundless positivity, and mildly irritated with Zygfrek's rudeness. > > ***Emotions.*** Otto most often feels curious, excited, annoyed, or satisfied. Zygfrek most often feels annoyed, suspicious, insulted, melancholy, or thoughtful. > > ***Motivations.*** Otto is primarily motivated by his desire for food and attention. Zygfrek is primarily motivated by her bitterness and self-loathing. Both are motivated by their loyalty to the Abbot and desire for the Abbot's "perfection." > > ***Inspirations.*** When roleplaying Otto, channel Dobby (*Harry Potter*), Gollum (*Lord of the Rings*), Jar-Jar Binks (*Star Wars*), and Pinky (*Pinky and the Brain*). When roleplaying Zygfrek, channel Squidward Tentacles (*Spongebob SquarePants*), Marvin the Paranoid Android (*The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy*), and Oscar the Grouch (*Sesame Street*). > > ***Character Information*** > ***Persona.*** To the world, Otto is a braying, over-enthusiastic loudmouth with a fascination for interesting things, while Zygfrek is a brooding, grumpy cynic who can always find something to insult or complain about. To those she trusts, Zygfrek is a quiet, melancholy, self-loathing woman who desperately longs for the "perfection" the Abbot promises. > > ***Morale.*** If attacked, Otto would gallantly declare his intent to fight, then immediately back down, while Zygfrek would demand her attacker cease, and plead for mercy if denied. > > ***Relationships.*** Otto and Zygfrek are servants of the Abbot, cousins of Clovin Belview, and the grand-niece and -nephew of Strahd's butler, Cyrus Belview. If told that the players are seeking a Vistana who’s staying at the Abbey, Zygfrek responds as follows: * **If Ezmerelda has not yet returned**, Zygfrek informs the players that the Vistana called Ezmerelda d’Avenir is away on business, and is expected to return on the second day after the full moon. (Zygfrek doesn’t know where Ezmerelda is, and shrugs with a grunt when asked where she’s gone.) * **If Ezmerelda has returned**, Zygfrek offers to lead the players to the Abbot, who knows where Ezmerelda is staying. > [!info]+ **Where's Ezmerelda?** > In the days leading up to the players’ first full moon in Vallaki, Ezmerelda is searching the Svalich Wood near Krezk for signs of the missing Ilya Krezkov, as well as the den of the werewolf pack that haunts those woods. She doesn’t plan to return to the Abbey until the second day after the players' first full moon in Vallaki. After passing through the north gate, the players pass <span class="citation">S7. Graveyard (p. 148)</span> and approach <span class="citation">S10. Abbey Entrance (p. 148)</span>. If Otto and Zygfrek are accompanying the players, Otto leaps toward the wooden doors and knocks three times, whinnying in greeting. A few moments later, Clovin Belview (who is as described in <span class="citation">S17. Loft and Belfry (p. 152)</span>) answers the door and greets him skeptically, noting with irritation, “You’re not supposed to leave your posts." Otto apologizes for doing so, and Zygfrek introduces the players and their purpose (if shared). Clovin then inspects the players for a moment, then turns and invites them to follow him into <span class="citation">S12. Courtyard (p. 150)</span>, toward the main hall, where the Abbot awaits. (If they do, Otto and Zygfrek then return to their posts—and their naps.) > [!lore]+ **The Belviews' Perfection** > When the Belviews’ ancestors came to the Abbot over a century ago as described in <span class="citation">The Abbot (p. 225)</span>, they did not suffer leprosy, but a congenital disease that struck in early adulthood, leaving its victims physically frail and prematurely aged in appearance. > > The Abbot, though able to cure ordinary illness, could not heal them of this condition. Frustrated, desperate, and reluctantly encouraged by the Belviews’ pleas, the Abbot searched for other means of doing so. > > It was Strahd, in disguise as Vasili von Holtz, who delivered the answer, furnishing the Abbot with forbidden lore plucked from the Amber Temple. With Vasili’s aid, the Abbot offered a new and unique treatment for each of the Belviews in turn, replacing blinded eyes with the eyes of a cat, arthritic knees with the legs of a mule, liver-spotted skin with the scales of a snake, and swollen feet with the wings of a bat. > > The Belviews were delighted with their new appearances and attributes. The Abbot’s experiments, however, drove them to a strange kind of madness, infecting them with the mental traits of the animals whose parts they now shared. Those with carnivorous limbs or organs proved most dangerous to those around them, but even those with herbivorous parts proved unpredictable and uncontrollable at best. > > With the Belviews’ reluctant consent, the Abbot sealed them away in the Abbey’s madhouse, promising to find a way to complete and “perfect" their transformation. He has toiled for over a century since then, occasionally abducting new Barovians and conducting additional experiments while searching in vain for a way to rid them of their condition. In recent decades, however, he has largely given up hope, choosing to focus his attention on other, more fruitful endeavors (such as lifting Strahd’s curse). > > The Belviews’ descendants, however, have not yet lost hope. In the generations since their arrival, they have interbred both with one another and the new victims the Abbot brought to the Abbey, mixing their bestial traits and becoming strange chimeras with deep, twisted madness. The Abbot promises them regularly that he grows ever-closer to “perfecting" their transformations, giving them the beauty, strength, and swiftness they desperately crave—and so, the Belviews linger restlessly in their cells, awaiting a day that will never come. > > Three months ago, when Strahd awoke in Castle Ravenloft, Rahadin came to the Abbey to announce his revival. As a means to win Strahd’s attention for his upcoming project, Vasilka, the Abbot offered Cyrus Belview—the oldest of the modern Belviews—as a “wedding gift," noting that Cyrus’s conscientiousness and dexterity would make him a fine servant for Rahadin’s master. > > The Belviews, however, would have never tolerated the loss of their “patriarch." To address their concerns, the Abbot told them that Cyrus had reached a "new stage" in his journey; that this stage would unlock the doors of "salvation and transmutation"; and that Cyrus had been selected for a "special role at Castle Ravenloft" as a result. He didn't elaborate, however, that the "salvation and transmutation" in question were Strahd's alone, or that this "special role" was one of servitude, allowing the Belviews to assume that Cyrus had been elevated due to his "perfection." If the players appear disturbed or amused by the Belviews’ condition, Clovin asks as they walk whether they are surprised by his family’s appearance. If asked, he can share the following information: * Long ago, Clovin’s ancestors came to the Abbey seeking a cure for a strange and mysterious illness. The Abbot healed them by perfecting their bodies, giving them new parts and traits that elevated them beyond their former, pitiful condition. * The Abbot’s work, however, is not yet finished. The Belviews patiently await the day when their “blessed perfection" shall be complete—a day that Clovin believes is fast approaching. (If asked why, Clovin says only that his father, Cyrus, has only recently been perfected. Clovin shares that he is confident his turn shall come next, given his own long-standing loyalty and service to the Abbot.) If the players ask Clovin about the Vistana described in Madam Eva’s reading, he notes only (and with minor irritation) that the Abbot will answer their questions. ## K2b. Main Hall This area is largely as described in <span class="citation">S13. Main Hall (p. 150)</span>. However, there is no music if Clovin is guiding the players. Additionally, Vasilka is a **flesh golem** with an Intelligence of 17, a Charisma of 8, proficiencies in Religion and Nature, and the ability to speak and understand Common and Celestial. > [!profile]+ **The Abbot** > **Roleplaying Information** > ***Resonance.*** The Abbot should inspire discomfort with his stoicism and routine observations regarding "mortals," disgust for his lack of respect for human life or values, anger for his supreme and unshakeable self-confidence, and gratitude for his (somewhat off-putting) friendliness and willingness to cure the players of lycanthropy without cost. > > ***Emotions.*** The Abbot most often feels curious, intrigued, cold, dispassionate, or (rarely) enraged. > > ***Motivations.*** The Abbot wants to lift the "curse" upon Barovia and preserve the "sanctity" of the Abbey of Saint Markovia. > > ***Inspirations.*** When playing the Abbot, channel Vision (*Marvel*), Data (*Star Trek*), and Dr. Manhattan (*Watchmen*). > > **Character Information** > ***Persona.*** To the world, the Abbot is a serene, but inhumanly dispassionate holy man and "scientist." Only the Abbot knows that he is Ithuriel: an angel of the Morninglord sent to honor the memory of Saint Markovia. > > ***Morale.*** In a fight, the Abbot would reveal his divine form, then command his enemies to lay down their weapons and surrender. If they failed to do so, he would attack them mercilessly, seeking to crush any resistance until and unless they surrendered or fled. > > ***Relationships.*** The Abbot, an angel of the Morninglord once called Ithuriel, is the master of the Abbey of Saint Markovia, including the **mongrelfolk** Otto, Zygfrek, and Clovin Belview. He is also the creator of the **flesh golem** Vasilka and the resurrector of Kala Krezkova. The Abbot greets the players with warmth, welcoming them to the Abbey of Saint Markovia. If asked about the Vistana described in Madam Eva’s reading, he can share the following information: * **If Ezmerelda has not yet returned**, the Abbot informs the players that the Vistana called Ezmerelda d’Avenir is away on business, and is expected to return two days after the full moon. (The Abbot doesn’t know where Ezmerelda is, and notes gently that her business is her own. “She is a free spirit, that one," he observes thoughtfully.) * **If Ezmerelda has returned**, the Abbot offers to show the players to her room. However, he first asks the players to assist him with a particular task. (See **Vasilka’s Lesson** below.) ![[The Abbot.png]] <span class="credit">"The Abbot" by Caleb Cleveland. Support him on <a href="https://patreon.com/calebisdrawing/">Patreon!</a></span> ### The Abbot’s Knowledge The Abbot can also share the following information about himself, Vasilka, and Strahd if asked: * He serves as the Abbot of the Abbey of Saint Markovia in Saint Markovia’s honor, a position he has held for some years. He was sent to reopen the Abbey following its tragic fate and abandonment—to make it a place of healing and sanctuary once again. (If asked how many years he has served at the Abbey, the Abbot shares that he has held his position for one hundred and seventeen years, ten months, and twenty-six days—a trivially brief time, in his mind. The Abbot won’t share his true angelic nature or identity, noting simply and serenely that he is merely a humble servant of the Morninglord.) * Twice has he had the opportunity to look into Strahd’s eyes—which, as it is said, are the windows to one’s soul. On the first occasion, he saw a man who ached with an unquenchable thirst to fill the void in his heart, like a parched desert longing for rain. On the second occasion, he realized that Strahd was cursed—a curse that clutched his very soul—that his soul was tied to the land itself, and that his ailment rendered the land barren and its people imprisoned. (If asked, the Abbot can share that the first occasion took place four hundred and seventeen years, eight months, and three days ago, and that the second took place one hundred and fifteen years, six months, and sixteen days ago. If asked how he met Strahd on the first occasion, the Abbot smiles serenely and states merely that the Morninglord’s service leads one on many paths.) * The Abbot believes that filling the void in Strahd’s soul—which Strahd has filled uselessly with power, pride, and wealth—is necessary to heal the wound that afflicts the land of Barovia. Only love can fill such a void, however: the deep, abiding, and unconditional love that Strahd has been denied all his life. * As an immortal, however, Strahd requires the companionship of a creature that will last for as long as he will. It is for this reason that the Abbot has constructed Vasilka: a **flesh golem** built to be the perfect bride to a man of power, stature, and noble descent. Unlike others of her kind, Vasilka was forged with a spark of life within her heart, allowing her to be the companion that Strahd so desperately needs. * The Abbot has begun to train Vasilka in the arts of etiquette and romance. Given Strahd’s brilliant intelligence and his respect for creatures of similar intellect, the Abbot has also taught her philosophy, theology, and the natural sciences. Soon, the Abbot will offer her to Strahd as his bride—and when they are wed, the Abbot believes, the curse upon the land shall be lifted. The Abbot notes, however, with some concern, that his window of opportunity is fast drawing to a close. Although he cannot discern neither its true nature nor its manner or time of arrival, he can sense the approach of a great storm on the horizon—one that will soon alter Strahd’s fate forever. (The Abbot is referring, of course, to the impending Grand Conjunction, though he does not know its name.) The Abbot can also share the following information about the Belviews if asked: * Shortly after his arrival at the Abbey, a family suffering a debilitating, unwholesome disease, came to the abbey seeking salvation. Their hereditary condition, which struck in early adulthood, left its victims physically frail and prematurely aged in appearance. * The Abbot could not heal their malady—a congenital disease, rather than a mere infection or wound—directly. However, he was able to ameliorate its effects through grafting the parts of beasts upon their ailing bodies, replacing blinded eyes with the eyes of a cat, arthritic knees with the legs of a dog, liver-spotted skin with the scales of a snake, or swollen feet with the hooves of a mule. * The family’s illness, however, left their minds weak and vulnerable. The process, sadly, left their thoughts and emotions in a disturbed and unquiet state, requiring them to remain patients of the Abbey indefinitely, until their transformation could be perfected. The modern-day Belviews are their descendants. (The Abbot insists, if asked, that he is confident that he will one day find a cure for their condition.) Finally, the Abbot can also share the following information about Saint Markovia and the Abbey if asked: * Saint Markovia was of the same generation as Strahd von Zarovich—but where Strahd lived a life of steel and blood, Saint Markovia walked in grace beneath the light of the Morninglord. * As a youth, Markovia followed her heart and became a priest of the Morninglord soon after her eighteenth birthday. She proved to be a charismatic proselytizer and, before the age of thirty, had gained a reputation for allowing no evil to stand before her. * It was Tasha Petrovna, an oracle and cleric of the Morninglord, who, with the guidance of one of the Morninglord’s angels, elevated Saint Markovia as a new prophet of the Morninglord’s faith. Following internal strife with Saint Andral, the Most High Priest of the Morninglord’s church, however, Saint Markovia departed the Morninglord’s holy lands and built a new sanctuary in the quiet wilderness: the Abbey of Saint Markovia, which served as both a convent and hospital. * Shortly after Strahd’s curse fell upon the valley, Saint Markovia gathered her followers and marched upon Castle Ravenloft. Strahd destroyed them all, and those who remained at the Abbey soon fell into madness and despair. (“The darkness cannot be defeated by steel alone," the Abbot murmurs sorrowfully. “Only light can do that." If asked about the “sword of sunlight" Madam Eva mentioned, the Abbot shakes his head and laughs softly, insisting that no such thing dwells in Barovia.) > [!lore]+ **Who is the Abbot?** > The Abbot—in truth a **deva** named Ithuriel—was once an angelic emissary of the Morninglord. It was he who chose Markovia to be the Morninglord’s prophet, and he who guided the oracle Tasha Petrovna to find and sanctify her, bestowing upon Markovia the holy relic that would one day become the *Icon of Dawn's Grace*—a mark of office that contained a spark of the Abbot’s pure divinity. (It was on this occasion that the Abbot—by chance—first encountered Strahd von Zarovich, then a commanding officer in King Barov’s army.) > > The Abbot, who first arrived in Krezk as described in <span class="citation">Chapter 8: The Village of Krezk (p. 143)</span> and <span class="citation">The Abbot (p. 225)</span>, came to the Abbey in memory of Saint Markovia, hoping to honor and restore the legacy of the woman he had once elevated. > > However, the Dark Powers have corrupted his soul, subtly binding and tainting the Abbot’s divinity with chains and shrouds of spiritual mist. It was the Belviews who, through the Dark Powers’ quiet machinations, forged the first link in that chain—and Strahd who helped the Abbot fall from grace completely. > > The Abbot has since descended into madness and quiet zealotry, wholly convinced of his own righteousness. Only by defeating him and unlocking his soul with the *Icon of Dawn's Grace* can the players cleanse the corruption that taints his heart and restore him to sanity. ### Vasilka’s Lesson Before escorting the players to Ezmerelda’s room, the Abbot first asks them to assist in Vasilka’s next lesson. Although the Abbot has much experience in love of the divine, he admits he is wholly ignorant in the ways of love between a man and a woman. He therefore asks the players to teach Vasilka their knowledge of romantic love, including any tales they may have of their experiences with it. "If she is to wed," he says, “she must first understand the complex and irrational ways of mortal love." If the players accept, the Abbot asks Vasilka to introduce herself, which she does with a small, if clumsy, curtsey. The Abbot defers almost entirely to the players for the duration of this brief “lesson," though he steps in to discourage unsavory topics if necessary. ![[Vasilka.png]] <span class="credit">"Vasilka" by Caleb Cleveland. Support him on <a href="https://patreon.com/calebisdrawing/">Patreon!</a></span> > [!profile]+ **Vasilka, the Flesh Golem** > **Roleplaying Information** > ***Resonance.*** Vasilka should inspire endearment for her clumsy sweetness, occasionally awkward naivete, overpowering innocence, insatiable love of learning, and ability to find a silver lining to every cloud; sympathy for her anxiety and fear of angering the Abbot; and flattery for her genuine and rapt fascination with the players and their heroic adventures. > > ***Emotions.*** Vasilka most often feels curious, joyful, thoughtful, shy, anxious, hopeful, and dreamy. > > ***Motivations.*** Vasilka wants to make the Abbot happy, befriend her **flesh golem** "brother," and learn as much as she can about people and the world. > > ***Inspirations.*** When playing Vasilka, channel Newt Scamander (*Fantastic Beasts*), Hinata Hyuuga (*Naruto*), and Alice (*Alice in Wonderland*). > > **Character Information** > ***Persona.*** To the world, Vasilka is a polite, withdrawn, and well-mannered maiden. To those she trusts, she is a shy, occasionally anxious, and desperately curious spirit. > > ***Morale.*** At the time the players meet her, Vasilka would cower and plead for peace if attacked, not fighting even to defend herself. > > ***Relationships.*** Vasilka is the Abbot's creation and the "younger sister" of the Abbey's mindless **flesh golem**. Throughout the lesson, Vasilka listens to the players with rapt attention and fascination, asking frequent clarifying and follow-up questions. At an appropriate time, she asks the players whether flowers are a proper way to signify one’s care for another. As soon as the players have answered this question, Marzena, the bat-winged Belview in the courtyard (described in <span class="citation">S12d. Tethering Posts, p. 150</span>), escapes her post. Read: <div class="description"> <p>The terrible splintering of wood suddenly splits the air, followed immediately by the sound of rattling chains, beating, leathery wings, and an unintelligible scream of triumph. A moment later, a wide-eyed Clovin Belview bursts through the doors, his chest heaving as the cherubic head upon his shoulder wails with distress. "Marzena has escaped," he pants.</p> </div> The Abbot gracefully excuses himself, insisting that the players continue their lesson with Vasilka rather than accompany him. He accompanies Clovin outside into the courtyard, whereupon he uses his ***change shape*** feature to assume the form of a **giant eagle**. He then takes to the skies in pursuit of Marzena. (Clovin stands guard in the courtyard, politely asking any players who depart the main hall to remain there until the Abbot has returned.) Once the Abbot has gone, Vasilka shyly asks whether she can share something with the players. If the players assent, she removes the golden sun disk hanging about the fireplace, which no longer conceals a *potion of healing (superior)*, but a small, clumsily-made garland necklace of red wildflowers. Vasilka first asks to confirm that flowers are a way to signify care. (If the players previously told her that they are not, she appears crestfallen and slightly abashed upon asking.) She can then share the following information: * The east wing of the Abbey is guarded by a **flesh golem** like her, but which lacks whichever spark allows her to think and speak. Vasilka doesn’t know much about it, but knows that the Abbot built it before her, as a means to first perfect his craft. * The Abbot has strictly forbidden her from approaching it, insisting that interaction with such a brute would “disturb her delicate constitution" and “afflict her mind with unpleasant thoughts." * Vasilka has watched it from a distance, and feels that it must be lonely. She feels sorrowful for it, and believes that it deserves recognition and respect for its toils. “We are siblings, in a way," she says quietly. “Were we not both made by the same hand?" * While exploring the garden, Vasilka was struck by the beauty of the wildflowers there, and linked them into a garland to give the golem as a gift. “It seems so terrible that it should lurk always in the darkness of the east wing," she says, “and never see the wonderful things that await outside." She has kept the garland hidden, however, fearing that the Abbot would not approve of its purpose. > [!abstract]+ **Anna's Sacrifice** > If the players ask Vasilka about Anna Krezkov's sacrifice of her heart, Vasilka shares her genuine discomfort and sympathy for Anna's situation. "But I trust the Abbot," she says, somewhat reluctantly, and adds, "Surely he must have good reason for his decisions." Vasilka asks the players to deliver the garland necklace to the flesh golem as a gift from her. “I do not know if it regards me as its younger sister," she says softly. “I do not know if it regards me at all. But it seems a cruel thing to leave it alone and unloved." If the players agree, Vasilka asks them to keep the garland hidden from the Abbot until they’ve delivered it to the golem, fearing how the Abbot might respond upon learning of her duplicity. Whether the players accept or refuse Vasilka’s request, Marzena Belview bursts in through a courtyard-facing window shortly thereafter. Read: <div class="description"> <p>With a deafening clash of shattering glass, a winged figure bursts through one of the main hall's towering windows—the bat-winged Belview you saw in the courtyard. Her leathery wings beat desperately, and a heavy wooden post and chain dangle beside her.</p> <p>As quickly as it enters, the figure is violently yanked back, stopped in her airborne escape as the post and chain snag on the corner of the windowsill. A wail of frustration tears from her lips as the chain goes taut. "Where Cyrus?" she screams, gnashing her mandibles together. "Want Cyrus!"</p> </div> The Abbot descends to the courtyard immediately thereafter, landing with the sound of heavy, beating wings before assuming human form once more. (If the players have not already concealed it, Vasilka glances toward the flower garland with wide, terrified eyes.) As the Abbot re-enters the main hall, accompanied by Clovin Belview, he apologizes to the players for the disturbance. He then moves to inspect Marzena. “Cyrus has gone, child," he reminds her, calmly moving to untangle her chain from the windowsill. “He has moved on to the next stage of his journey. Perhaps you shall join him, someday." (As the Abbot takes hold of her chain, Marzena collapses onto the floor, sobbing quietly in anger and despair.) The Abbot then hands Marzena’s chain to Clovin, and asks that she be bound in one of the sheds in the courtyard. “I had thought the light and air would prove a curative for her diseased mind," he says sorrowfully. “But the solemnity of solitude may provide a better environment for her reflection and healing." As Clovin guides a sobbing, unresisting Marzena into the courtyard, the Abbot apologizes again to the players, thanks them for sharing their knowledge with Vasilka, and offers to lead them to the east wing of the Abbey, where Ezmerelda is staying. He can also share the following information about Cyrus as they walk: * Cyrus is—or was—the patriarch of the Belview clan until recently. Marzena, his grand-niece, held him in particularly high esteem. * All of the Belviews seek perfection, as their ancestors did. “Cyrus," the Abbot says softly, “has proceeded to the next stage in his journey. It is difficult, however, for the other Belviews to hear that they have been left behind. I prefer not to discuss it, for it upsets them deeply, and to no meaningful end." (The Abbot declines to discuss Cyrus further, noting his belief that “idle gossip" is a dull and poisonous disease.) ## K2c. The East Wing The Abbot guides the players to the doorway of the foyer of the East Wing, which is as described in <span class="citation">S14. Foyer (p. 151)</span>. As he opens the door, the **flesh golem** is waiting for them. Read: <div class="description"> <p>Just beyond the doorframe stands a towering figure exceeding seven feet in height, its shoulders broad and hulking. A patchwork of skin—varying in color, texture, and age—covers its body, crudely sewn together with thick, dark thread that zigzags across its form like a cartographer's nightmare. Muscles bulge unnaturally, as if overstuffed, and you can see places where the stitching has pulled tight, the skin almost tearing from the tension.</p> <p>Its eyes are deep, empty sockets filled with a dark, glassy material that reflects no light. Arms hang by its sides, each finger elongated and tipped with a jagged nail, resembling more the claws of a beast than the hands of a man.</p> </div> The Abbot asks the golem to “escort our guests to Miss d’Avenir’s chambers." The golem makes no verbal response, but turns and pauses, as if waiting for the players to follow it. If the players do so, the Abbot bids them farewell and returns to the main hall. The golem leads the players past <span class="citation">S15. Madhouse (p. 151)</span> and up the stairs to <span class="citation">S20. Upstairs Office (p. 154)</span>. It then opens the door leading to <span class="citation">S18. Curtain Wall (p. 154)</span> and silently points toward <span class="citation">S19. Barracks (p. 154)</span>, though it never steps foot outside of the East Wing. (Each of these areas are otherwise as described in the original module.) If a player proffers Vasilka’s garland necklace to the golem, it regards it with little comprehension. If asked to lower its neck for the player to place the necklace around it, the golem does so without protest. If the players provide the golem with the necklace to hold, it can be seen wearing the necklace when the players next return to it. The door to the barracks is slightly ajar, and the sound of scratching chalk can be heard from the other side. As the players move to knock or enter, they can hear the sound of chalk breaking, followed by a muffled curse immediately after. (If the players knock, an annoyed woman’s voice invites them to come in a moment later.) ### Meeting Ezmerelda The barracks are largely described as in <span class="citation">S19. Barracks (p. 154)</span>. However, add the following to the end of this area’s description: <div class="description"> <p>At the center of the chamber, a ten-foot-square section purged of mold stands in stark contrast to the surrounding rot. An unrolled bedroll rests within this small island of cleanliness, accompanied by a worn backpack and a trio of sheathed weapons lying nearby.</p> <p>Beside this small camp stands a half-finished chalk circle nearly ten feet across. An olive-skinned Vistani woman stands crouched along its edge, her long, black, frizzy hair tied back with a wide, orange-red headband.</p> <p>She wears a mud-stained longcoat of similar color, a well-oiled suit of studded leather armor catching the light just beneath it. She seems to be wearing boots of two different colors: one an ordinary brown, and the other colored a dull, metallic copper. She glares at a snapped piece of white chalk in her hand.</p> </div> This is Ezmerelda d’Avenir. Her statistics are given below. <div class="statblock"> <h2>Ezmerelda d'Avenir</h2> <em>Medium humanoid (human), chaotic good</em> <hr> <strong>Armor Class</strong> 17 (+1 studded leather armor) <br> <strong>Hit Points</strong> 82 (11d8 + 33) <br> <strong>Speed</strong> 30 ft. <hr> <table class="ability-table"> <thead> <tr> <th>STR</th> <th>DEX</th> <th>CON</th> <th>INT</th> <th>WIS</th> <th>CHA</th> </tr> </thead> <tbody> <tr> <td>14 (+2)</td> <td>19 (+4)</td> <td>16 (+3)</td> <td>16 (+3)</td> <td>11 (+0)</td> <td>17 (+3)</td> </tr> </tbody> </table> <hr> <strong>Saving Throws</strong> Wis +2<br> <strong>Skills</strong> Acrobatics +6, Arcana +5, Deception +7, Medicine +2, Perception +4, Performance +5, Stealth +6, Survival +4<br> <strong>Senses</strong> passive Perception 14<br> <strong>Languages</strong> Common<br> <strong>Challenge Rating</strong> 4<br> <strong>Proficiency Bonus</strong> +2 <hr> <p><strong><em>Special Equipment.</em></strong> In addition to her magic armor and weapons, Ezmerelda has two <em>potions of greater healing</em>, six <em>vials of holy water</em>, three wooden stakes, twelve silvered crossbow bolts, and a <em>runeguard stone</em> (see below).</p> <p><strong><em>Spellcasting.</em></strong> Ezmerelda is a 5th-level spellcaster. Her spellcasting ability is Wisdom (spell save DC 10, +2 to hit with spell attacks). Ezmerelda has the following ranger spells prepared:</p> <ul> <li>1st level (4 slots): longstrider, snare, zephyr strike</li> <li>2nd level (2 slots): darkvision, cordon of arrows</li> </ul> <p><strong><em>Runeguard Stone (1/day).</em></strong> Ezmerelda possesses a <em>runeguard stone</em>. While holding the stone, she can cast the <em>magic circle</em> spell without components. (The spell retains its usual casting time.)</p> <p><strong><em>Scroll Adept.</em></strong> Ezmerelda can cast spells from spell scrolls as if they were ranger spells. <h3>Actions</h3> <p><strong><em>Multiattack.</em></strong> Ezmerelda makes three melee attacks: two with her +1 rapier and one with her +1 handaxe or her silvered shortsword. She can replace two attacks with an attack made with her hand crossbow.</p> <p><strong><em>Rapier +1.</em></strong> <em>Melee Weapon Attack:</em> +7 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target. <em>Hit:</em> 9 (1d8 + 5) piercing damage.</p> <p><strong><em>Handaxe +1.</em></strong><em>Melee Weapon Attack:</em> +5 to hit, reach 5 ft. or range 20/60 ft., one target. <em>Hit:</em> 6 (1d6 + 3) slashing damage.</p> <p><strong><em>Silvered Shortsword.</em></strong><em>Melee Weapon Attack:</em> +6 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target. <em>Hit:</em> 7 (1d6 + 4) piercing damage. <p><strong><em>Hand Crossbow.</em></strong><em>Ranged Weapon Attack:</em> +6 to hit, range 30/120 ft., one target. <em>Hit:</em> 6 (1d6 + 3) piercing damage. If she has a silvered crossbow bolt remaining, Ezmerelda can choose to use it instead of an ordinary crossbow bolt when firing.</p> <p><strong><em>Cast Spell.</em></strong> Ezmerelda casts <em>longstrider</em>, <em>darkvision</em>, or <em>cordon of arrows</em>. <h3>Bonus Actions</h3> <p><strong><em>Cast Spell.</em></strong> Ezmerelda casts <em>zephyr strike</em>. </div> ![[Ez_trans.png]] <span class="credit">"Ezmerelda d'Avenir" by Caleb Cleveland. Support him on <a href="https://patreon.com/calebisdrawing/">Patreon!</a></span> The weapons on the floor are recognizable as a handaxe, a shortsword, and a rapier. The uncovered blade of the handaxe glints strangely under the light. (A player who casts *detect magic* observes that the rapier and handaxe are magical, as is Ezmerelda’s leather armor.) A player who inspects Ezmerelda’s boots automatically notices that the copper-colored boot is not a boot at all, but an intricate metallic prosthetic that has replaced her right leg below the hem of her breeches. > [!profile]+ **Ezmerelda d'Avenir** > **Roleplaying Information** > ***Resonance.*** Ezmerelda should inspire amusement for her irreverent sense of humor, gratitude for her cool competence, endearment for her fiery spirit in the face of adversity, and sympathy for her complicated feelings regarding Dr. Rudolph van Richten. > > ***Emotions.*** Ezmerelda most often feels determined, thoughtful, skeptical, proud, enthusiastic, angry, amused, wary, or cautious. > > ***Motivations.*** Ezmerelda wants to save innocents from things that go "bump!" in the night, escape her parents' dark legacy, and prove herself as capable a vampire hunter as Dr. Van Richten. > > ***Inspirations.*** The Tenth Doctor (*Doctor Who*), Captain Jack Harkness (*Doctor Who*), Buffy Summers (*Buffy the Vampire Slayer*), Malcolm Reynolds (*Firefly*) > > **Character Information** > ***Persona.*** To the world, Ezmerelda is a cool, suave, professional monster hunter. To those she trusts, Ezmerelda is a fiery, wise-cracking, and eternally loyal friend. Deep down, Ezmerelda wonders if Dr. Van Richten thought she wasn't good enough—or if her family's crimes against him are enough to stain her legacy forever. > > ***Morale.*** In a fight, Ezmerelda would move swiftly and tactically to secure an insurmountable advantage, then strike when the moment was right. > > ***Relationships.*** Ezmerelda is the former student of Dr. Rudolph van Richten, and the daughter of the d'Avenirs who kidnapped and sold his son, Erasmus, to the vampire Baron Metus. As the players enter the room, if they didn’t use stealth when approaching, Ezmerelda glances toward them with raised eyebrows. “Given the noise you made coming up here," she observes wryly, “I assume you’ve not come to kill me?" If the players indicate that they’ve come to recruit her or otherwise mention Madam Eva’s name, Ezmerelda is immediately intrigued. She stands up, dusts herself off, and introduces herself with a grin. She then invites them to enter and share “what sounds like a *very* interesting tale.* Ezmerelda shares the following information freely if asked: * Her name is Ezmerelda d’Avenir. * She is a Vistana, though she travels with no caravan. * Unbeknownst to the Krezkovs, she has come to the Abbey to learn the source of the Abbot's madness, and how it might be cured in order to save Anna Krezkov's life. Ezmerelda is reluctant to share further information unless the players first prove that they can be trusted. If the players attempt to dig more deeply into her personal life or her purpose at the Abbey, she says, amusedly, “Well, that depends—who wants to know?" Ezmerelda invites the players to explain themselves and their presence before she shares anything more personal. “I’ve only just met you," she says, laughing softly. “Knowledge is power, and I’ve not survived this long by letting any stranger put a blade to my throat." If the players share that they are newcomers to Barovia (“You certainly don’t *look* like you’re from around here," Ezmerelda observes), she is willing to share the following information: * She arrived in Barovia herself just under two weeks ago via wagon. Since then, she’s remained largely in and around Krezk, though she left her wagon near the shore of Lake Baratok as a mobile base. She’s been searching the nearby woods for Ilya Krezkov, the missing son of Burgomaster Dmitri Krezkov and his wife, Anna. (“They saved me from the brink of death, once," she says, quietly. “I owe them at least that much.") * Since her arrival, she’s been disturbed by just how much Barovia has changed since she last visited—owing largely, it’s clear, to Strahd von Zarovich’s reawakening. (She narrows her eyes playfully, surveys the players, and notes, "With the lord of the castle up and about, I assume it's not difficult to fall under his sway. None of you have fangs or a thirst for my blood, I hope?") If the players share that they are enemies of Strahd von Zarovich (“Ah, so that makes us either allies or competitors!" she exclaims), she is willing to share the following information: * Rather than traveling with a Vistani caravan, she hunts monsters—"old, dusty vampires included." (Ezmerelda shares this fact with a wry grin.) * She was trained by “the finest vampire hunter alive," a man whose name is so legendary that not even monsters dare go “bump" in the night upon hearing it. (Her boastful smile then fades, and she adds, quietly, “At least, if he’s still alive to speak it.") If the players share that they’ve come to recruit her to their cause, Ezmerelda raises an eyebrow and asks, amusedly, exactly *how* they found her. If the players share the words of Madam Eva’s Tarokka reading, Ezmerelda is willing to share the following information: * Her mentor is Dr. Rudolph van Richten, the legendary vampire hunter. Three months ago, she and his other former students received a letter he’d sent announcing his intention to travel to Barovia. * As the sole Vistana among his students, only she was able to trace his path through the mists and track him to the valley. Upon her arrival, however, she learned from a traveling Vistani caravan that Dr. Van Richten was rumored to be dead, having fallen in battle in a failed rebellion at Castle Ravenloft. > [!abstract]+ **Ezmerelda & Van Richten** > If the players mention meeting Dr. Van Richten in [[Arc E - The Missing Vistana]], Ezmerelda is delighted and grateful to hear that her mentor is still alive. She asks the players, however, to refrain from telling her his location, at least for now. "Knowledge grows more dangerous the further it spreads," she says, "especially when a vampire can easily charm it out of you. If the old man wants to stay hidden, it's probably best that it stays that way." ### What Ezmerelda Knows Once she’s satisfied that the players are trustworthy, Ezmerelda is willing to share the following information: * She has come to the Abbey because Burgomaster Dmitri Krezkov told her that the Abbot appeared to be growing increasingly unstable, and that he feared for Krezk’s safety as a result. * Upon first visiting the Abbey, Ezmerelda—a weak clairvoyant—swiftly sensed that unquiet spirits lingered within its shadowed halls. She has intended to return ever since, planning to contact those spirits to further investigate the Abbot’s identity and the cause of his growing madness. (The chalk circle is meant to provide the medium for a seance, focusing the energies Ezmerelda must call upon and acting as a protective barrier against malevolent spirits.) * Three nights ago, she successfully found what she believes to be Ilya’s location: a cavern at the base of a spur of Mount Baratok along the northwestern shore of Lake Baratok. There’s one catch, however: Barovia’s werewolf pack uses the cave as its den, making any effort to rescue Ilya tremendously risky. * After capturing and interrogating a werewolf with the Barovian pack, Ezmerelda learned that the bulk of the pack will soon be departing Barovia to range beyond the Mists with Strahd's permission. The pack's expedition, Ezmerelda shares, will take place at dusk the following night. "My source didn't know how long the pack would be away," she notes. "It might be anywhere from twelve hours until twelve days, so we'll want to get in and out before dawn." If asked how she lost her leg, Ezmerelda grins wryly, and says only that it's "a story for another day." (Ezmerelda can share the full story of her prosthetic leg in [[Arc L - The Den of Wolves]].) Ezmerelda is tentatively willing to join the players in their fight against Strahd. Before she does so, however, they must first prove their worth by assisting her in the following two tasks: * conducting a seance immediately to contact the Abbey’s restless spirits; and * investigating the werewolf den **the following** **night**, while the bulk of the pack is away hunting. If the players agree to do so, Ezmerelda invites them to assist her in completing her chalk circle and conducting the seance. (See [[Arc L - The Den of Wolves]] for more information about Ezmerelda's plan to investigate the werewolf den.) ### The Seance To begin the seance, Ezmerelda retrieves a deck of Tarokka cards from her coat and lays the entire deck out flat across the center of the chalk circle. She can inform the players that, like a spirit board, the cards will allow spirits to communicate with them from across the veil. She warns the players, however, that they may ask only ten questions of the spirit that answers her call—and that once the seance has concluded, she won’t be able to conduct another one for a full three days. Once the players are ready, Ezmerelda invites the players to sit around the edges of the circle and join hands. Read: <div class="description"> <p> <p>Ezmerelda’s eyes meet each of yours in turn before closing. She bows her head, black curls cascading across her shoulders, and softly begins to chant.</p> <p>The air thickens, as if charged with static, and the hairs on your arms begin to stand on end. You hear the soft scrape of chalk against stone as, one by one, the lines of the pentagram begin to glow faintly, emanating a soft, silver light.</p> <p>A low, resonant hum fills the room, vibrating through the floor and into the soles of your feet, as if the very stones of the Abbey have joined in the chant. The ambient sounds beyond the walls fade away, leaving only the rhythmic cadence of Ezmerelda's whispered incantations, which rise and fall like a distant tide. The air grows colder, each breath forming wisps of mist that rise and swirl above your heads.</p> <p>"Spirits," Ezmerelda murmurs, swaying faintly. “We seek your wisdom and knowledge. The Abbot of this Abbey has fallen to darkness and corruption. Aid us, and tell us how the stains upon his soul may be cleansed."</p> <p>There is a pause — and then the temperature plunges, your skin prickling fiercely. You feel a sudden sense of being watched, as an unmistakable, yet unseeable presence settles like a shroud across the room.</p> <p>Ezmerelda’s eyes snap open. “We are not alone," she whispers.</p> </div> The presence is the spirit of Saint Markovia, which can communicate with the players by flipping individual Tarokka cards face-up from the Ethereal Plane. Each time the players ask a new question, the spirit flips all face-up cards face down and chooses a new set of cards to flip face-up. (A player who inspects the room using the *spirit mirror* sees Saint Markovia standing over Ezmerelda’s shoulder, wearing the clean, white robes of a priest with a golden mace in the shape of a sunburst sheathed upon her back.) > [!info]+ **Seances with the Tarokka Deck** > When using cards of the Tarokka deck to answer player questions during a seance, each card possesses a unique meaning described in <span class="citation">Appendix E: The Tarokka Deck (p. 243-44)</span>. (For example, the <strong>Artifact</strong> card represents “The importance of some physical object that must be obtained, protected, or destroyed at all costs.") > > If she is present, Ezmerelda can share each card’s meaning directly, though the players must interpret that meaning themselves in the context of their original question. A player with proficiency in the use of Tarokka cards also knows all card meanings automatically. Otherwise, a player must succeed on a DC 15 Arcana (Intelligence) check to recall the meaning of a particular card. > > **Choosing Cards** > When choosing cards to answer a player question, use the following guidelines: > > * **Unknown Answers**: For answers that St. Markovia doesn't know the answer to, flip the Mists (Unknown). (Remember that St. Markovia died shortly after Strahd became a vampire, that she doesn't know all of Strahd's secrets, and that her spirit hasn't seen anything of Barovia beyond her crypt and the Abbey since her death. For example, Markovia can't tell the players about the Amber Temple, the Mountain Folk, Strahd's brides, or the traps and layout of Castle Ravenloft.) > * **Simple Questions, Yes/No Answers**: For simple questions that can be answered with a simple “Yes" or “No," flip either the Diviner (Yes), the Anarchist (No), or both (Maybe). > * **Simple Questions, Simple Answers**: For straightforward questions that seek direct identification or yes/no answers, opt for a single card or a pair of cards that symbolize the answer most succinctly. > * **Complex Questions, Multiple Cards**: If the question requires a nuanced or detailed answer, don't hesitate to flip multiple cards. Each card can represent a different facet of the complex answer you wish to convey. > * **Contextual Interpretation**: Cards can have multiple meanings depending on the context of the question. Feel free to reuse cards for different queries, but ensure that their interpretation aligns with the context. > > **Sequencing Cards** > When flipping multiple cards, consider using the following guidelines for sequencing them: > > * **Chronological Order**: When the question pertains to events that have occurred over time or a transformation, arrange the cards in a chronological sequence to depict the evolution or the series of events. > * **Importance**: If the question is about traits or qualities, you might choose to place the most dominant feature or most important card first, followed by cards that represent secondary or tertiary qualities. > * **Contrast and Transition**: When you choose cards that represent contrasting ideas or states, arrange them in an order that best illustrates the contrast or transition from one state to another. If the players appear at a loss for which questions to ask, Ezmerelda suggests asking any or all of the following questions: * “Who are you?" (The spirit responds by flipping the Priest card, which it then flips face-down. It then flips the Missionary card, which it then flips face-down. It then flips the Shepherd card.) * “Are you Saint Markovia?" (The spirit responds by flipping the Diviner card.) * “Who is the Abbot?" (The spirit responds by flipping the Healer card, which it then flips face-down. It then flips the Broken One card.) * “What happened to the Abbot?" (The spirit responds by flipping the Marionette card and the Enchanter card.) * “How can we restore the Abbot?" (The spirit responds by flipping the Artifact card.) * “What does this artifact do?" (The spirit responds by flipping the Healer card.) * “Where can we find the artifact?" (The spirit responds by flipping the Darklord and Donjon cards.) * “How can we use the artifact once we’ve found it?" (The spirit responds by flipping the Warrior and Executioner cards.) * “Who do we need to kill?" (The spirit responds by flipping the Broken One card.) Immediately after the spirit answers the players’ tenth question, the players experience a series of visions. Read: <div class="description"> <p>A rush of ethereal wind sweeps through the room—and a radiant burst of light erupts from the center of the pentagram, painting the walls in shades of silver and gold.</p> <p>Flashes of images flicker across your mind's eyes. A white-robed woman kneeling before a man with wings as white as the purest snow, who directs a gold-robed woman to present her with a silver statuette of a cleric kneeling in supplication, its chest glowing with the same golden light that encircles that man's head. The white-robed woman, standing before a half-built structure atop a cold mountain spur, her hands calloused as she lays bricks upon a mortared wall. The same woman, raising a golden mace above her head, a prayer upon her lips as a shadowed fortress looms above her. The silver statuette, sitting alone in a dark, cold tomb beneath a dark, twisted keep. The man, alone on a mountaintop, a veil of mist shrouding his eyes.</p> <p>Each image is accompanied by a surge of emotion: humility, hope, defiance, and sorrow so strong it rakes at your chest with long, bitter claws. But as quickly as they appeared—the visions fade, and when you open your eyes again, you find the room returned to its former state.</p> </div> > [!info]+ **Running Party NPCs** > Party NPCs like Ezmerelda d’Avenir and Ireena Kolyana can add depth, resonance, and additional role-playing opportunities to your campaign. However, it’s crucial to manage them in a way that doesn’t steal the spotlight from your players. As you do, keep these guidelines in mind: > > * **Topics of Interest**: Party NPCs should generally remain in the background, speaking up only when spoken to, or when the conversation involves a topic directly related to them or their interests. They might also chime in with occasional banter or commentary where it is in-character to do so. > * **Deference to Players**: Party NPCs should generally defer decisionmaking to the players. Their role is to support the players, not to lead them. (The sole exception lies in matters of deep personal or emotional significance to a party NPC, which may lead them to argue or even disagree with the players if doing so is in line with their character.) > * **Multi-NPC Conversations**: If other NPCs engage party NPCs in conversation, try to redirect the interaction to include one or more players, keeping them involved and central to the current scene. > * **Guidance and Advice**: Avoid using party NPCs to provide direct solutions to puzzles, challenges, or strategic decisions. Although a party NPC might provide quiet commentary where a matter pertains to their expertise, they should offer clear hints or guidance only when directly asked, and the scope of their help should be relatively restricted. > [!info]+ **The Artifact** > The statuette depicted in the séance is currently located in Saint Markovia's crypt in <span class="citation">K84. Catacombs (p. 85)</span>, and is described further in [[Arc P - Ravenloft Heist#South Crypts, Third Row|Arc P - Ravenloft Heist]]. ***Milestone.*** Recruiting Ezmerelda d'Avenir as an ally completes a story milestone. When the players complete the seance, award each player 1,250 XP. ##### The Eavesdroppers Shortly after the seance ends, Ezmerelda and any player with a passive Wisdom (Perception) score of 13 or higher hear a sudden noise outside the door. Read: <div class="description"> <p>Suddenly, from just outside the door, you hear a loud thud. The door shudders briefly as if struck by a falling weight, followed by a trio of high-pitched yelps and groans.</p> </div> A player who opens the door sees Clovin, Otto, and Zygfrek Belview lying in a tangled pile on the balcony beyond, each Belview cursing the others as they attempt to untangle themselves. When revealed, the Belviews look slightly abashed, with Clovin looking especially flushed at their discovery. (Clovin is not pleased that Otto or Zygfrek chose to join him in this eavesdropping expedition, and is further irritated that Otto’s clumsiness—while scratching an itch—caused them to get caught.) The Belviews can share that they began eavesdropping on the players because they wanted to know more of the world beyond the Abbey’s walls. Given the players’ evident interest in Castle Ravenloft, the three Belviews have decided that the players might be able to help them learn the fate of their family patriarch, Cyrus Belview, who they believe to have been “perfected" before immediately being spirited away to Castle Ravenloft. The Belviews ask the players to find and speak with Cyrus upon visiting Castle Ravenloft. They are clearly anxious to learn more of his experience with “perfection"—both the process that created it, and his life since attaining it. In exchange for news of Cyrus, Clovin promises to provide the players with a treasure hidden away somewhere in the Abbey. If the players agree to carry out their request, the three Belviews are deeply grateful, with Otto leaping and hee-hawing with joy as Clovin hurries to quiet him. > [!info]+ **Clovin's Treasure** > If the players return from Castle Ravenloft with news of Cyrus, Clovin brings them to a wooden stand covered with black cloth in the southeast corner of the <span class="citation">S17. Loft and Belfry (p. 152)</span>. From the stand hang two sets of *wings of flying* with animal-bone frames and the following changes: > > * The wings are artificial wings, rather than cloaks, and animate when activated instead of transforming. > * A set of wings animates for 1 minute, rather than 1 hour > * Once a set of wings has been used, it can't be used again until dawn. > One set resembles bird wings and bears hundreds of large, downy feathers plucked from the Abbot's **giant eagle** form, while the other resembles bat wings and bears long membranes of tanned animal hide. ### The Abbot’s Wrath When the players re-enter the East Wing to descend to the courtyard once more, they are met once again by the **flesh golem**. If given Vasilka’s flower garland before, the golem is now wearing it as a necklace around its neck. As the players exit the East Wing into the courtyard, they are greeted by the Abbot, who is accompanied by Vasilka. If Ezmerelda is present, the Abbot greets her warmly. After he has made pleasantries with the players, if the **flesh golem** is wearing Vasilka’s necklace, the Abbot’s eyes fall upon it. His gaze tightens, and he asks the players how the golem came to possess such an ornament. A player must succeed on a DC 20 Charisma (Deception) check to successfully lie to the Abbot. Should the check fail, the Abbot recognizes the flowers as originating from the garden, notes that most of them appear to be several days old, and surmises that the players—who only recently arrived—could not have picked them. His gaze then flickers perceptibly to Vasilka, who appears mortified and crestfallen. In either case, the Abbot commands the **flesh golem** to lower its neck, whereupon he removes the garland from its person. “Decoration and ornamentation are the first steps to pride and vanity," he observes serenely, adding, “Such follies are unbecoming of the gods’ creations." If the players failed to deceive him, the Abbot’s tone is chilled, and his eyes are tightened. Additionally, the Abbot then asks aloud for the perpetrator who crafted the necklace to come forward, and receive the Morninglord’s enlightenment and mercy. A player may subtly attempt to convince Vasilka not to reveal herself (e.g., by using body language) by succeeding on a DC 20 Dexterity (Deception) check and a DC 20 Charisma (Persuasion) check. If the player fails the first check, the Abbot notices their attention to Vasilka and asks her to confess if she has given her hands to “the sins of vanity and pride." If the player fails the second check, Vasilka meekly confesses that she made the necklace. In either case, Vasilka insists that she did so only because the flesh golem looked so lonely, and she wished for it not to feel so alone. The Abbot thanks Vasilka for her honesty, noting that “the Morninglord smiles upon those who reveal the truth"—but adds, quietly, that they will speak of her penance later. > [!abstract]+ **Vasilka's Punishment** > If the players gave Vasilka’s necklace to the flesh golem and failed to deceive the Abbot, he later punishes Vasilka by forcing the flesh golem to burn the necklace in the hearth of the main hall—a task that terrifies and distresses it due to its ***aversion of fire*** feature—while making her watch. When the players next return to the Abbey, Vasilka is quiet and withdrawn, and she steadfastly refuses to approach the hearth unless forced to. > [!info]+ **Redeeming the Abbot** > The players can redeem the Abbot in [[Arc Q - A Shining Beacon]], which takes place in the immediate aftermath of [[Arc P - Ravenloft Heist]].