Party 15

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Sothoth looked to the spirit as it came up before Braid had a chance to act. His first reflex was to step back, lower his head and let loose an acidic cloud from his gullet aimed at the spirit. As it inveloved her, she recoiled in pain as it pushed through her form and melted the wallpaper off the walls
 
The spirit, angered by the spray of acid it had just taken, grabs ahold of the dragonborn's head and lets out an earsplitting scream. It's hand penetrates Sothoth's skull, causing a dark mark to boil up to the surface of his head.
 
Parundar, hearing the scuffle, headed towards Braid and Sothoth. He found the ghostly woman attacking them, and put his new sword to his hand to draw blood.

"Looks like we made someone mad."

Parundar balled his hand into a fist as he channeled anger. The blood shook and evaporated as it manifested into malevolent energy.

"Try telling me what to do now."
 
Eventually, the surge of power faded from Willan. This surroundings no longer glowed with the marker of magic his power enhanced eyes showed him only moments before. He knew, however, that deathly power still surrounded them, containing them in this house.

Hoping upon hope, the children who set them upon this errand would help them again, Willan attempted to reach out and speak with the children who's remains lay before him. "Outside, we promised to help you and your baby brother. I intended to bring you to a safe place and help you get away from the monster. Is there a way I... we can still do that? Tell us how we can help."

Willan stifled a surprised squeak as the apparitions of the children appeared above their bodies. They looked Willan and Parundar, seemingly confused. Rose makes a small noise and points to her doll house.

Regaining his composure, yet not completely trusting these figures before him, Willan cautiously moves toward the small house that Rose points at. Once there, Willan takes a moment with his eyes locked on Rose, to make sure this was her intent. As he turns to examine the small house, the hair on the Willan's neck rises. Willan you old fool. Haven't you the sense to not turn your back on a crop rotten ghost!

Willan found the house to be a miniature version one he currently stood in. Leaning and bending to shift his vantage point, Willan traced their ascent from the main floor, all the way to where he now stood. There's the kitchen, and the dumbwaiter, and oh yes, that must be the room Braid so adeptly found. Then up, up some more and... ah yes, that freakishly melted wall, leading me back up to... here.

He turned to Rose and smiled, as if to ask if he was doing well, which now seemed like such an odd thing to do in the circumstances. His smile turned serious again, he cleared his throat and went back to his ghostly task. In his mind's eye, he saw the foreboding glow coming from the basement. He now examined the small house for a way down. He discovered a small spiraling downward passage that seemed to begin in the room across the hall. He realized now that Braid and Sothoth were no longer here and he could hear loud noises coming from that direction.

However, not wanting to get distracted, he asked the children, "The basement, is this what you want? Do you want us to go into the basement and destroy the evil there?"

Thorn, who still seemed so timid, even in death, gave Willan a stern nod before hiding his face in his hands once more. Rose patted him on his shoulder then spoke, "We", pointing to their own remains, "belong somewhere else. We are not allowed to rest here."

Willan nods in thought then responds, "If it is within my power, I will see you moved to a place of rest."

A thought occurring to Willan, he asks, "The spirit downstairs, is she your mother? Why is she so angry?"

Rose shook her head, "She was our nanny. Father likes her a lot. He told us that she was bringing us our baby brother. Mother hated her and always looked at the baby in a strange way."

The sounds from across the hallway stopped and in a moment he heard Braid yell out what must have been an awful curse in orcish, "Naog Lag!"

Willan looked at Parundar with a regretful expression, "We had better go see what they've found." However, before he could make it out of the room, he heard a terrible shriek. The children let out a soft yelp of their own, and fled behind the protection of the living.

Willan immediately felt a very strange presence cohabiting his mind. He felt like he wanted to cry. Why was this house doing this to them? Why did they have to be so mean?

He felt himself moving towards the screaming, bound and determined to stop that racket!

He entered the room to see a ghostly woman, screaming and bearing down on Sothoth. She had her hand clenched on his head and a haze of smoke rose from her form. Afraid to get any closer to her, Willan lifted his hand, concentrating on his power through the fear. Crystals of ice began working their way through the ghostly form, her movements looking more sluggish, yet she did not seem to notice.
 
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The spirit Braid had tried to avoid angering, the same one that he tried to leave in peace, now appeared behind the half-orc. Its unnatural screech cut through Braid's bones. This did little more than ignite the flames of anger inside him even more.

Before Braid could react, Sothoth stepped forward. The dragonborn opened his mouth, and from it spewed forth a line of acid. It went through the evil spirit and hit the wall behind it. The wallpaper and some of the wood paneling sizzled away. The spirit seemed to be far less affected.

In response, the ghost lunged forward. It grabbed Sothoth by his head and screeched again. In the meanwhile, both Parundar and Willan had come up and joined the fight. Braid didn't pay much attention to what they were doing. Red filled his vision.

These dead things would pay. Braid raised his axe. He would grind their bones into dust. The weapon went down. The spirit yelled again, this time out of a mixture of surprise and pain.

"Die maggot!" Braid screamed in Orcish. Going with the momentum, he pulled his axe up for a strike across the opposite way. He misjudged and missed. In the same motion, Braid stepped forwards. He roared right in the spirit's face. Spit flew everywhere. Veins bulged in his neck.

Braid was ready for a fight to the death.
 
sothoth could only feel a ringing in his ears, he couldn’t hear anyone or anything except the blood pumping through his body and the feeling of it pouring from his ears, dripping slowly down his shoulder. He couldn’t hear his roar but he knew it was ferocious. It shook HIM to his core and he was the one who did it. He ripped his axe from its position on his back and attempted to cleave into the spirit. “I WANTED TO HELP YOU” this was odd for Sothoth but it happened when he entered this raging form. Instead of his usual third person speak and only using people’s names. He had clarity in his rage, it unclouded his mind and let him speak like a normal person which he would always be greatful for if he would ever notice it. As he swung his axe through it’s form, it seemed to be affected but he couldn’t tell how
 
The screaming specter was now surrounded. She looked at Willan and Parundar with a moment of recognition, but quickly shook her head and lunged for the one who had angered her in the first place. She grabbed for Braid's head, but misjudged the distance in her rage and scratched and clawed at the air in front of his face. Her anger was like a force that could be felt throughout the area.
 
Parundar sees wrath take over her, feels a moment of recognition in her position in this "family", and moves closer behind her. Parundar makes a moment of eye contact with Braid and gives him a nod.

"Your bastard baby's dead!"

She wavers for a moment, stricken with a moment of hurt, hearing someone familiar say such a cruel thing.
 
Willan was still incredibly fearful of this ghastly woman but he oh so wanted her to just go away and leave his friends and his sister alone. Willan concentrated his power on her once again. Crystals of ice started to form within her. This time, however, the snarling woman turned to him, growled and pushed his power away from her. Willan felt frustration well from within him. It didn't work! Not FAIR!

His momentary tantrum subsided as he saw his friends tear into her once again, quickly vanquishing her writhing, screaming form.

Good. That nasty lady is finally gone.
 
The spirit hesitated for a moment at Parundar's words. Braid didn't have time to consider how oddly specific that insult was. Instead, his instincts took over. He took a step forwards and swung the axe down with all his might.

"Taste my blade!" Braid shouted in Orcish.

His weapon with right through the spirit. It bit into the floorboards. Splinters flew everywhere. The form of the spirit lasted for one more moment, cleaved in half. It then vanished. They had defeated the angry ghost.

Braid could still hear his heart beating in his ears. He gave a sharp tug at the stuck axe, freeing it without much effort. The half-orc let the weapon rest on his shoulders once more. He took a couple of deep breaths to calm himself.
 
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A narrow spiral staircase made of creaky wood leads you down from the attic. You make your way down single file over 50 feet into a stone corridor. The walls are 4 feet wide and 7 feet tall. There is no light source in this area, so the only one who can currently see anything is Braid. Off to the sides of this hall are some crypts that have name plates on them, and there are rooms on either end of this hall.

As you step onto this level, your begin to hear an eerie, incessant chant echoing throughout the halls. You can't gaugue where the sound is coming from or what they are saying.
 
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Braid took a few moments to catch his breath. In the meanwhile Willan had come up and talked about some sort of secret entrance. Braid wiped the sweat of his forehead and looked around. Parundar had gone back to the dead kids' room and said something. Braid ignored him.

The spot where the dragonborn's acid breath had hit the wall had turned dark. Parts of the wallpaper had started to melt. Then Braid finally saw it, a small opening indicating a secret door. As the half-orc came up to it he heard the distanct sound of bones shattering. Turning around, Braid saw Parundar standing over what was left of the nanny's corpse. The skull now had a gaping hole. That wasn't there before.

Before Braid could comment on this odd behavior, Parundar spoke up:

“Anyone!?!?" yelled Parundar.

Braid surprised at this sudden behavior, responded: "What are you talking about?"

Parundar then stamped his foot: “Nothing!!”

"Riiiiiight." Braid rolled his eyes. Humans.

"Anyway, I found the door Willan was talking about. Do we push forward or shall we take a break first?" Braid then noticed something. The human was carrying around one of the bedsheets. Out of it poked a couple of small bones. Was he…


“I say we push forward! Full steam ahead!” Parundar seemed eager, way too eager. Braid decided to change topics for a moment.

"Are... Are you taking the skeletons from the other room with you?" The half-orc said.


“Uh... yeah?" Parundar replied, looking a lot more confident than Braid had ever seen him. It was probably best to drop this for now.

"Huh. I prefer if we take a break now. That spot on Sothoth's head doesn't look good."


“He’ll be fine!” Parundar stepped towards Sothoth and healed the dragonborn. “You guys said you were the strongest heroes in the land, didn’t you?!”

Braid grunted, "That was after five pints of ale and a pitcher of wine. I think."

Sothoth seemed pleased with the heal. Willan had come up to assist Parundar with the improvised bone carrying sack. The halfing then spoke over a weird doll house in the kids room. Apparently the ghost of the kids had appeared before them while Sothoth and Braid were in the storage room.

"The dead children told you this? The same ones that got us in this mess in the first place?" Braid said, tightening the grip on his axe, "Where are they now?"

Sothoth replied: “Somewhere in Mount Celestia hopefully”

As if it ever was that easy. The group decided to press on. The door lead to a narrow staircase that went way down the house. Grey shapes emerged beneath the stairs. There was no natural light. Before Braid could concentrate, Sothoth lighted a torch. Braid blinked, listening to the noises he heard. It was a weird, constant chanting. So they were not alone.

As Braid regained his vision, he noticed Parundar walking to what seemed to be crypts. As the human pointed out the name plates, Braid breathed a sigh of relief. At least they wouldn't have to worry about those bones anymore.

"Well guess we found the last stop for your skeletons Parundar." Braid said, and opened the coffins that belonged to both children.

While Parundar and Willan put the skeletons back into their final resting place, Braid took a look at one of the rooms at the end of the hallway. It was an old banquet room, with bones spread across the floor. There was a door on every wall, though the one on Braid's left looked like it lead to nowhere. The chanting also seemed to get louder as well. This didn't look too good.

Parundar in the meanwhile had lighted a candle in the back using Sothoth's torch. "Man, I could use a rest.. " he said. Braid raised an eyebrow towards him, not sure if the human could even see it. Well whatever, Braid made his way towards the room opposite the banquet room. Aside from the smaller table and a couple of hay cots, there was nothing of note there.

Willan and Parundar discussed whether to explore further or go straight to the chanting. They both seemed to be in favor of checking things out first. For some reason, both of them seemed a lot more level headed than a few moments ago. Braid shrugged: "Fine by me."

After the hay-filled room they encountered another peculiar one. This room had five alcoves and a well in the middle of the space. Willan ran up to the well and dropped a rock in it. Braid went up to one of the chests. The lock seemed to be rusted beyond repair. Braid took his axe and tried to pry it open. After a few moments he heard a loud CLANG. The half-orc turned his head, and saw Willan going to town on the locks with his hammer. Well if the halfling was getting more results this way... Braid took a step back, letting Willan finish the job.
 
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As soon as the ghost of the nanny fell, Willan felt a mental pull from the bones in the other room. Making brief eye contact with Parundar, he knew he was going to do the same. When they arrived at the small pile of bones Parundar got right to work and called out for help. However, Willan was lost in thought, mesmerized by the small house. In his mind's eye, he combined the small house with the imagery of the basement his power showed him only a few minutes before. He didn't know what was down there but fear threatened to take him over.

"Anyone!?!", the annoyed Parundar blurted out as he shuffled awkwardly with the bones. Willan could hear the soft persistent whispers in his head once more, urging him to attend to the bones.

Can't rest here.

By the time Willan caught up and put his hands under the bulging sheets, Parundar had come to a stop and put the sack down. Willan awkwardly stepped back. "Rose and Thorn pointed me towards their dollhouse. It's a miniature of the house. Using it, I was able to find a passage to the basement. If anyone wants to look for more hidden rooms, passageways, etc. you might want to check it out before we move on."

His companions only seemed interested in the passage leading to the basement. It didn't take long to find it, thanks to Sothoth's acid melting away part of the wallpaper. After a cramped climb down a very dark spiral staircase, the group arrived in the basement. In the pitch black, he focused on the sounds around him. Willan could hear his own heart pounding and also the distant noise of... chanting?

Before he knew it, Sothoth had lit a torch. Willan winced and shielded his eyes, taking a moment to adjust. He saw crypts set into the walls with names above each. Home! Here... here is where I can finally rest.

Willan retrieved Thorn's bones from the bundled sheets and carefully placed them in the boy's coffin. As he stepped back, the presence he hadn't consciously known was there was suddenly gone.

Willan felt invigorated, mind clear and already thinking ahead. We're definitely not alone down here. It would be best if we didn't have to fight whoever they are all at once. Perhaps I can... "It might be possible to draw out whoever or whatever is chanting. I'd much rather take them on one, or a few at a time. I can make some noise with my powers if needs be. Screaming or perhaps an argument."

His companions nodded silently, seeming to like the idea but clearly focused on the exploring the immediate vicinity. They slowly walked through a banquet hall, bones crunching underneath. I can't let my fear shake me now.

Now that they had moved around a bit, the chanting seemed to be coming from this direction. Doubling back, they walked through a small room with cots. Willan inspected the straw stuffed cots to see if they had seen recent use. However, the surroundings seemed just as abandoned and decayed as the rest of the house. Listening to the distant chanting once again, Willan thought, but clearly it's not abandoned. Right?

In the the next room there was a well. Willan took a second to retrieve a torch from his pack and light it from Sothoths. Feeling impulsive, Willan picked up a small stone and tossed it down the well using his torch and the sound to tell him how far down the water was. He smiled a little at the pleasant sound of the splash.

Braid seemed to be fiddling with something, a lock perhaps? Oh yes, there were a bunch of them. Willan pulled the hammer from his belt as he walked briskly over to one of the chests, and promptly smashed it. It felt surprisingly good. He pictured that wicked woman, screaming at them all. He stepped over and smashed the second one. In rapid succession now, he smashed the 3rd and then the 4th, Braid barely getting out of the way before the hammer came down. Wow, that felt great! Willan puffed his chest out and slipped his hammer back into it's belt loop.

Braid gave him a quirky little smirk before turning to open the chest and examine the contents. Apparently, Willan's hammer had brought them a small fortune! He opened one of the chests to see what was inside. "Oh hello shortsword, what's your name?" Disappointingly, the sword simply stared back at him. It was beautiful but clearly this sword was meant for someone else. He would not carry such a rude weapon.

As the objects were examined and passed around, the three stones caught his eye. He would love to behold their beauty and maybe carve their likeness when this was all over.

He looked around at his companions. "Well? Now what?"
 
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The chanting stops as you peer into this fourty-foor-square room. The smooth masonry walls provide excellent acoustics. Featureless stone pillars support the ceiling, and breach in the west wall leads to a dark cave heaped with refuse. Murky water covers most of the floor. Stairs lead up to dry stone ledges that hug the walls. In the middle of the room, more stairs rise to form an octagonal dias that also rises 3 feet above the water. Rusty chains with shackles dangle from the ceiling directly above a stone altar mounted on the dias. The altar is carved with hideous depictions of grasping ghouls and is stained with dry blood.
 
Sothoth would follow the group down the stairs to the basement, occasionally offering a few words for a comment. This was the extent of what he did for the most part though, that was until they came across the room with the stone altar. Sothoth had tired of the voices chanting, so he did the most logical thing and yelled "STOP CHANTING VOICES" to his dismay though, this did not shut them up. He looked to braid, their eyes met and he knew they were thinking the same thing. He charged into the room, his ally at is side, all the way up onto the ghoulish dias
 
After rummaging through the contents of the footlockers in the well room, the group continues on, pursuing the chanting. Eventually, they come to a room with a water filled floor. This is where the chanting is coming from. However as soon as they step into the room, the chanting abruptly stops. As much as Sothoth wanted the chanting to stop, Willan feared this was worse. He couldn't keep a sense of dread from gripping him.

Stepping into the water, Willan grits his teeth and uncomfortably wades through on his tippy toes. With his chin barely above the water, Willan scouts for higher ground and spots a staircase along the wall. He climbs part way up and scans the room. The blood on the dais, the carvings, none of it helped to reassure Willan's growing dread.

In the mean time his companions stepped up onto the dais. Immediately the chanting came back into full force. Willan let out an embarrassing yelp and then a scream when a black robed figure materializes mere feet from him. Their words are clear now "One must die! One must die!" Braid and Sothoth below seemed to be struggling to decide what to do, obviously not realizing the peril they were all in.

Before he knew it, the chanting changed and suddenly a huge mound of grotesque moss merged from the water. If we won't give them a sacrifice, they're going to take it! It was time to get out of here. Willan thought quickly then raised his hands and spoke in a loud voice.

"Hear me spirits! We hear your call for blood and we have brought an answer! The illusory children in the street can only net you so many sacrifices." Gesturing to Braid and Sothoth below, "See here! I have brought strong scale and muscle that can bring in sooooo much more so you can all bathe in blood!"

Moving towards the door now Willan briefly makes eye contact with Sothoth and gives him a curt hand gesture and clipped whisper, "Catch me!"

Shouting loudly again, Willan makes his final desperate attempt to hold the danger at bay, "In just the next room, we have fresh life, just waiting to be delivered!"

Willan now walks briskly to the edge of the platform to Sothoth and under his breath gets the attention of Braid as well, "let's go let's go c'mon let's go." He leaps off the platform onto Sothoth's waiting shoulders and holds on tight as the dragonborn propels them forward.
 
The chanting called for a sacrifice and Parundar flinched.

Not even one...

Braid seemed to agree with this notion, as he grabbed Parundar and the pair took off running in a sort of duo race following behind Sothoth and Willan.

Seeing Willan's deception quell the beast, Parundar sought to amplify it by creating the sound of a prisoner, desperately trying to call out through a gag. His magic seemed to fail him, however, and he produced what amounted to a squeaking siren sound, which stirred the mound once more.
 
Sothoth was scared for the first time in years, maybe for the first time since his father died even but he knew he couldn't freeze like he did on that day. His first thought when he saw the monster was to grab willan, he was too small to get through this water quickly. He let the halfling get on his back, he was too focused for words, only actions prevailed.

As they ran and Willan made distractions, Sothoth had to dash past falling rocks, narrowly careening past a few and just dextrous enough to avoid them all. he soon found his way to the stairwell and crashed through a wall, only to find another that braid had to crush. This led them into a room filled with black smoke that sothoth barely avoided breathing in as he ran down to the first floor, willan still on his back.

Rats were pouring from the now decrepit walls but sothoth knew how to control such primitive beasts "GO RATS! OPEN UP A HOLE IN THE WALL TO FREE YOUR NEW MASTER" he bellowed, which surprisingly worked. he just barely made it out in time for the building to implode and for him to land face down in the grass outside with Willan at his back
 
Now that they had started fleeing in earnest, Willan knew the mound of moss and who knows what else might be right on their heels. Clutching to the desperately running Sothoth, Willan turned behind them and did his best to demoralize their pursuers. Spreading his hands out towards the water, Willan touched his thumbs together and shouted, "You can't shrink a halfling like meeeeee!!!" Sheets of flame burst from his fingers over the water, creating billows of steam.

The building began to rumble. Willan closed his eyes and held on tight, letting Sothoth carry him away. Suddenly they stopped and Willan looked around. He recognized this part of the house but just barely. He felt like he was loosing his mind. There were rats and smoke.

He knew now that the spirits he saw before were sacrificed on the bloody alter. Willan called out to them. "If you ever want rest, please, release your grip on these walls and let us escape! We will bring you aide - those that can put your souls to rest!" Their surroundings were still chaotic but seemed somehow to be different. "Downstairs everyone! They're responding!"

Sothoth and Braid, seeing the crumbling walls, decide on a more direct route and bust through. While still holding on to Sothoth, the impact of taking the wall down drove the wind from Willan's lungs. When they emerged into the next room, Willan sucked in a full breath of thick smoke. The lack of air and the toxins in the smoke made Willan cough uncontrollably and he vision started to go to black.

Wanting to know if his plea for help was actually working, Willan felt the flow of his power course forward and illuminate the spirits around them. He could see the spirits flowing around something dangerous in the front doorway. Good, they're helping.

After that, Willan barely remembered what happened. Before he knew it, they were all laying on grass with fresh air blowing around them. He heard the chatter of people around them and the sounds of a busy street. Blinking at the sun, Willan saw that he and his companions had somehow been ejected from the house. Looking back he saw the house warping and shuddering, then finally imploding on itself. Instead a totally different house stood in it's place. What just happened?

Braid let out a big sigh, "I need a drink". Sothoth did too, "I need a nap". Willan groaned, "I'd like to go back to hunting a nice... normal... werewolf, and pretend none of this ever happened."
 
So this was a sacrifice room according to Sothoth. A knot formed in Braid's stomach. Is that the reason why the children had died? Nothing about this made any sort of sense. Sothoth wanted to step off the altar. Braid had other plans. He lifted his axe.

"These things worship a Strahd right? Then SHOW YOURSELF YOU MONGREL! FACE MY WRATH!" Braid challenged the spirits.

For a moment, the half-orc could have sworn he saw something in the corner of his eye. That thought was interrupted by an angry dragonborn rushing towards him. Sometimes Braid forgot how scary his companion could be. The fury in Sothoth's face reminded Braid of the best warriors of his tribe. They channeled their rage in vicious blows, tearing their foes aparts with reckless abandon. Braid never was able to do the same, try as he might. Which is why he had learned to fight another way.

Sothoth's massive hands went for Braid's shoulders. Braid dove in and went low. Both men were now locked in position, with Braid now having the leverage advantage. The spirits kept chanting "One must die!". Sothoth's foot then went off the dais. The ground began to shake. Oh these things wanted a sacrifice *now*.

Slight panic set in Sothoth's face: “BRAID STEP DOWN THE SPIRITS SHALL SLAY YOU BEFORE WE REACH STRAHD”

Guess Sothoth didn't realize that it was too late already. Braid smiled at him,: "Let's go and have some FUN!" With a twist and a shove, Braid forced the both of them off the platform.

The chant changed. "Lorgoth the Decayer, we awaken thee!"

The ground shook even more. The large pile of moss and seaweed lying in the hole in the wall began to move. It slowly slithered forward into view. Braid slowly put his axe away. Aw hell no.

The thing was a pile of moving flesh. It had way too many mouths and eyes, all pointed in different directions. The mouths made horrible sounds that Braid could discern no meaning out.

Maybe another time.

The entire group seemed to collectively decide that, and turned around to run. Willan did something to distract the spirits before Sothoth grabbed him. Braid followed the dragonborn's example and grabbed Parundar by his collar before shoving him forwards.

Rocks began to crumble and fall around them. They were almost at the stairs. Willan turned around again and shouted something. It seemed to work. Sothoth nimbly dodged every falling debris with ease, even while carrying the halfing. He then was about to make a wrong turn.

"No Sothoth, this way!" Braid said, running next to Sothoth. The half-orc guided them all on the quickest route to the stairs while looking back every few seconds. That thing they saw wasn't following them anymore.

However their troubles had not ended. When they came up the stairs the house had… changed. Smoke filled the rooms. Rats crawled everywhere. The already quite disturbing images on the walls were now ever more disgusting to look at.

The house had come alive.

"Oh Gruumsh the house is alive!" Braid shouted. Willan shouted something as well. His words seemed to have some sway over the spirits in the house. Sothoth rushed forwards right towards the wall. The wall lost.

They moved through the newly created opening. They were now on the stairs that had lead them to the attic. Climbing them all the way would take too long. Sothoth had the right idea. Braid tackled the wall. The brittle construction crumbled under the sudden force.

Even more smoke filled the room they were now in. Fortunately most of them were able to hold their breaths. Parundar stepped forwards and guided the party through the thick smoke. They were now on the first floor in front of an open doorway. Willan stopped them from going through. He assured them something was wrong with the openings. Considering the state of the house, Braid was inclined to believe the halfling. But how were they supposed to move now?

Sothoth then roared. A swarm of rats then suddenly gathered on the walls. Then they started to gnaw right through it. There was now a hole in the wall for them to go through.

Braid decided not to think too hard on that display and ran. They finally got at the front doors. They were now finally open. Braid went through first. A blade appeared out of nowhere right out of the opening. It dug in Braid's side for a bit. The half-orc grimaced, and leapt forwards. They got out.

The house then changed again. It imploded. The air got hazy for a second. Braid blinked. There now was another house standing in the old one's place.

Braid fell on his back. He stared at the misty sky: "I need a drink"
 
Parundar did his best to help the party navigate through the crumbling building. Over there... Parundar initially thought, but a sudden burst of inspiration pushed him in the other direction, thankfully allowing the group to avoid a falling beam.

Feeling the pressure to perform, Parundar decided to follow Sothoth's lead in handling the rats, transforming himself into a giant rat and attempting to direct them. Unfortunately, this fell on the side of Idiocy, as the rats began to strike Parundar as well with their claws and bites.

The hole in the wall opened wider and wider and the group burst through, finally into freedom. Finally into... Wait, where are we?...
 
Up a small hill and away from the rest of town, stands a gray, sagging ediface of stone and wood. This church has obviously weathered some kind of assault over the centuries and is worn and weary. A bell tower rises toward the back, and flickering light shines through holes in the shingled roof. The rafters strain feebly against their load. You can see a small amount of smoke rising from the left side of the building.
 
This town was… strange even with the mists not being as oppressive as they had been. The few humans that had been outdoors were avoiding the party's gaze. When Sothoth finally approached a young woman on the street, she seemed to be terrified. Both initially of the dragonborn and of something else. The woman ran off. The next villagers they encountered had even more sealed lips. Braid could feel the hairs on his skin stand up. Everyone in this village was afraid of something.

Finally they a saw a church not that far away from the tavern (which name appeared pretty ominous to Braid's eye). The holy building seemed to have suffered through a lot of hardships. Right next to it was a forge.

"Sothoth, we've found you a forge!" Braid exclaimed. The half-orc gave his axe to Sothoth for the latter to work on.

While the dragonborn and Willan decided to stick by the forge, Braid and Parundar walked towards the tavern. A stiff drink would be nice right about now.
 
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More than a few strange looks were directed at Willan and his companions. Willan wasn't sure how they had come to be here but it must have been unusual with the way the townsfolk reacted. After a few groans and curses, the group got up and dusted themselves off.

Moving further into the town now, Willan realized the looks and odd behavior wasn't due to their ejection from the house. Something was off here. Looking around, Willan tried to get his bearings. He had traveled around a lot in these parts but he was having a hard time remembering a village like this. He casually asked a few of the townsfolk about their whereabouts and got the name Barovia.

Hrm, still not a place I've heard of. Where are we? We haven't traveled that far.

Bothered now, Willan pressed a few more villagers for details of their whereabouts. He mentioned local places, or at least places that should have been local but the villagers had no idea what he was talking about. Furthermore, most people tried to avoid him entirely which was unusual for the charismatic halfling.

The group was moving on, wanting forges and drinks. Yes, yes, I could use a distraction.

As they moved toward a beat up looking church, Willan scanned the ground for a good chunk of carving wood. Sothoth was excited to find a small forge and immediately immersed himself in work. The rhythmic pounding of the forge paired with the pealing and scraping of Willan's craft helped calm his racing mind. Hopefully Braid and Parundar are finding their own solace across the street.
 
Willan & Sothoth:

Soth spends some time stoking the flame, adding wood, and preparing the forge. All of the tools are sitting at the ready to allow him to get to work. As Willan is sitting up against the wall of the church, he starts to hear a male voice inside. It sounds like the person inside the church is praying, even weeping on occasion. As the sun sets over a distant hill, the prayer inside is suddenly drowned out by an inhuman scream rising up from below the building.

Braid & Parundar:

Inside the small tavern that seemed to have once seen better days you find a bar with a barkeep behind it, a group of three women who are dressed simmilarly to the strangers you had met back in Daggerford all talking quietly together at a table, and a drunk young man sitting alone in the corner, his head in his hands. The pudgy little man behind the counter is cleaning glasses, mindlessly.
 
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