Party 17

Thorvir looks at Magnus, an expression of concern on his face. "All right there, friend? Can't let this dark place get to you just yet, or you'll end up in a bad way."

He turns to the rest of the group and says, "Aye, if any of you have any wisdom on what not to say to folk like these, then please share it. If not... I say we try to get into this little party."
 
"These people are agents of Strahd?! Then why are you even going here?"

Kiv scans the camp. The revelry did sound familiar. It reminded him of nights spent in their army camp, drinking and laughing until they paid for it the next morning. But nothing about this place felt right. He and the Snail were going to have words.

Kiv eyes the two humans one of the others had addressed. They dressed differently from the rest of the group, and judging by the question, they must be natives of this land. He takes the large half-orc, who preached caution, by the elbow.

"You trust these humans?"
 
An Oracle? Some divine intervention would be useful right about now.

But any case, having a pack of armed adventurers hiding nearby the Vistana camp isn't gonna make us any friends. Anyone got any alcohol? Thats always a good way to enter a party. As drunk as they look, I'm pretty sure sure they would welcome a bear if it came bearing drinks.
 
Rolax spoke quietly to the Dragonborn that had taken him aside "Trust is a funny thing. I trust that currently our goals align. I trust that they will work with us. But that doesn't mean I'm letting my guard down. And you shouldn't either."

Walking back he looked towards the camp. "Well, lets go and have a chat with our new friends? Let's keep it friendly, and I agree, drink would help them welcome us!" He started to move down the path before looking over his shoulder "But lets not get separated if we can help it." Facing the camp again he said "Shall we?"
 
Magnus nods to Rolax and walks towards the camp with a huge smile on his face. Once he's close enough, he says to no one in particular. "Hello everyone, we were going towards the lake and noticed the fireplace gathering. It was a long way to get here, and we wouldn't say no to a friendly chat and the opportunity to share some stories."
 
As the older gentleman tells his story, Thorvir listens attentively. He sips a cup of wine, eying the strange and seemingly friendly group of people. As a silence falls over the fire, Thorvir raises his cup, and says, "To standing up for what you believe in," before taking one last swig of wine.
 
Patrick raises his cup and agrees

To standing up for for your beliefs.
And for having big dreams.

Patrick gently puts down his cup and looks to the old man.

Thank you for the tale, but before we go to Madam Eva,
May I know your name?
 
Kiv eyes the woman suspiciously from the doorway. Of course he'd seen charlatan fortune tellers before, but they offered vague promises and warnings about the future, not tools to defeat Strahd. Despite himself he found himself more and more intrigued about the situation he had literally tumbled into. The drunk's story about the wizard's battle with the monster himself only made him wish he had been there to see it himself, assuming it was true, of course.

The dragonborn listened to the tale while taking time to practice an old trick he had learned back in his days in the academy. He never could figure it out back then, but for some reason it just seemed to click now, and these Vistani were helpful enough in parting him with some gold in exchange for the necessary supplies. Before he new it, an owl was perched on his shoulder. It took in the scene with its wide golden and black eyes. Kiv was stunned it had actually worked. Perhaps it would help them find these keys to defeating Strahd.

"Go," he whispers to the owl. "Keep an eye out. Make sure no one sneaks up on us." Then he turns to the old woman.

"My name is Kiv Turnuroth. I'm a soldier and that's all you'll get out of me for now." He crosses his arms and leans against a post by the door.
 
Rolax steps over to the short table and lowers himself into a seated position facing Madame Eva

He contemplated what to share, if he even should share with a stranger he had just met. He sighed and resigned himself to the fact. They wanted information and help. Then they would have to give something themselves.

"Greetings Madame Eva. My name is Rolax. I am happy to share with you, and with my new companions as we have not had the luxury of getting to know each other." He paused as his eyes flicked to the group and smiled.

" As you can see, I am a half-orc. I have never known my parents and I was raised by the monks of Ilamter. Because of this, I follow the path of the One Who Endures. Albeit in my own way. Once I was old enough I travelled and routed out those that caused suffering and brought their pain back upon themselves." Taking a breath he continued "I had a wife and children. But it was not to last. To live is to suffer, and they suffer no more."

Realising his face had become hard, and the red starting to tinge his vision, he made the conscious effort to relax and control his breathing. "So I set about the world again. Which is what brings me here in a round about way. And now I look to end the suffering Strahd brings."
 
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Thorvir looks evenly at Kiv and Rolax as they speak. A silence falls for a moment, and he decides he may as well be the one to break it.

"Greetings, madam. Thorvir. I don't have much of a story. I've lived a life of unscrupulous banditry, but I managed to get out of that vicious cycle. Not many others can say the same. I hope you'll judge me for who I choose to be now, rather than who I was then."

Thorvir's young face sharply contrasts his almost wizened voice. He bows slightly, and takes a half step back, letting his companions follow suit.
 
Magnus waits for his turn and speaks up. "Hey, I'm Magnus. I lived most of my life with a travelling group of misfits, much like this one to be honest." He pauses for a second looking around at his new companions. He smiles to the old lady and continues, "I've had some friends who did this fortune telling thing. I've picked up some card tricks, if you'd be interested in seeing them."
 
"Wow.... everone in this land is such a beacon of hope." Magnus brushes his hair out of his face and smiles to try to break the tension inside the tent. "Well, some of that wasn't completely gloomy. There were some nice tips on how to go against the Blood Drinker, regardless of the extremely shady atmosphere." He then faces the old lady and bows, "That was an amazing reading ma'am, I loved what you did with the candlelight - simply amazing."
 
Rolax sat deep in thought, pondering the cards and the woman who had drawn them.

He had watched closely, but had seen nothing to bring doubt into his mind. Something he could not fully fathom had occurred.
The God's or Fate's or whatever name they go by were at play. Or so it appears to him.

The clues were clearer than he had expected, yet still vague enough to mull over.

More knowledge would be much needed. Going into this blind would be folly.
Magical items to aid in battle should not be ignored. If they can be obtained then they should be.

But the card that excited him most spoke of an ally.

"Thank you Madam Eva. You and the cards have given us a start."

He stood and turned to leave the tent, he was tempted to stay and ask more questions but did not want to push his luck after Eva had dismissed them.

Addressing his companions. "It seems we have been given some direction. We should discuss where we want to go first. Once we have figured out where we actually need to go..."
 
Thorvir continues staring at the cards after the reading finishes, mentally cataloguing them. "Mountains of gold, with the dead. Holy symbol, to the west, pool of light. Sword of sunlight, treasure behind amber doors. Old feathered leader among the vines. Creature beyond mortality on a dark throne. Seems easy enough."

"Thank you, madam. Your wisdom and assistance is appreciated." Tightening the bandana on his head, he replies to Rolax, "Indeed. Do any of these locations or items seem familiar to you? If not we may ask the siblings."
 
Kiv shifts his sense to his owl as the old woman finishes her reading. He wasn't sure he believed her, but then he had seen some strange things in the last few hours. He notices some movement in the undergrowth below them, but it could as easily be a deer as an enemy.

"Thank you, ma'am," he says, shifting back to them. He was intrigued by the promise of magical items that would help them defeat Strahd.

"I'd like to hear your story next," he says, turning to his newfound comrades. "Seems you've been traveling together a while. How have you come to these lands? And how did you fall in with the locals here? Er, no offense."
 
Thorvir shifts and glances around at his companions. "Actually, I came into this group much the same way you did - swallowed by the mists. I've not really been with them that long, but you all seem to be a trustworthy sort. At any rate, I doubt traveling alone here is a smart idea, so we'd best stick together whether we like it or not."

Thorvir begins to make his way out of the tent. "Now, shall we?"
 
ismark.jpg"This is no common hunting pack," mutters Ismark, "rather Strahd's servants, sent to test us, I wager."

"Sister," he says to Ireena, "take my crossbow and make for the bridge." But she's already wading in with her rapier drawn. Ismark smiles, draws his swords and moves to her side. "Not that I thought you'd take my advice." He finishes off a wolf she's wounded before rushing forward to slay one of two beasts that have flanked Thorvir. "Welcome to lovely Barovia," he quips as the half-orc takes out the other one.
 
Kiv rushed forward as the wolves emerged, hacking and slashing at the beasts, marshaling whatever extra adrenaline he could to strike faster. The chaos of battle was full of shouts and snarls and whirling fur. It was difficult to find a target, but at last his sword managed to find wolf flesh.
 
The Wolf had clamped down on Rolax's arm before he knew they were under attack.
Ripping out of the Wolf's grip a red mist crept in to the edge of his vision.
Letting out a roar he swung his axe at the Wolf, felling it in one hit.

Looking up for more targets he saw one attacking Patrick. He covered the distance in short order and leapt and brought his Axe down, making a bloody cut through the wolf and into the ground.

Quickly he turned to find something else to kill. But there were no targets left. Turning back to the Wolf at his feet, he raged and hit it again, and again until he was covered in gore. He licked his lips and savoured the taste of a fallen foe.

Slowly he took a few deep breaths, calming himself. Taking stock of the group, he saw all were ok other than some cuts.

"Is everyone good?" Blood trickled from the wound in his arm and dripped off his hanging Axe blade.
 
Thorvir charged forward to meet the wolves head-on, trusting in his companions to back him up. He felled a wolf illuminated by magic quickly, but soon felt another's jaws clamp on to his arm. Despite the blood lost, he managed to fight on, inspired by Magnus' fey magic and wondrous appearance. As he pulls his axe from the body of the final wolf, he turns to Ismark and smirks. "Glad to be here. If only getting out could be as straightforward as hunting a pack of wolves. I've a feeling this won't be the last time we must fend off the beasts of the night."
 
Magnus felt his heart accelerate when the wolves appeared. He saw his new companions charge towards the enemies as he reached for his pan flute to make a good use of the magic once taught to him. The animals managed to resist most of his spells, the only thing he could do was to invoke his Fey magic to inspire those who got hurt to keep fighting.

After the last one fell dead in front of Thorvir and everyone calms down, he replies to Rolax. "I'm great. Although I can't say the same about you guys. Those beasts put up a good fight."
 
Patrick felt a sense of relief when he saw the wolf pack. After being thoroughly thrashed by this Stradh fellow and dealing with these drunken mystics travelers, and their magical cards, Patrick was itching to sink his rapier into something. He struck first dashing at the nearest wolf watch with a sense of satisfaction and the wolf fell from one blow. Then lost most of that confidence as two wolves chomped onto his arms and legs. Out of the corner of his eyes, Patrick watched as Kiv and these new fellows struck down half of the remaining wolves, and smiled. They looked clean and composed. Then Patrick saw the half-elf chanted an incantation and felt strength resurging in his veins. Patrick then promptly took out a wolf snarling at him and moved up to support Kiv staring down 2 wolves. And after taking one final bite from a wolf, the party finally killed the pack.

Clutching his neck, "Hey, Magnus was it? I have to thank you for your magic, I would have gone down without you but I gotta ask you for another favor here. I got a couple of bits coming out of me at the moment, think you can magic them back in me? I think they are important. Thanks."
And Patrick promptly sits down on the road.
 
ismark.jpgIsmark prods the nearest slain wolf with his boot. "In life their tempers were foul, but in death their meat and hides can be used. If we can manage to truss these beasts up and carry them on to Vallaki without spilling blood all over ourselves, it might go a ways to showing the people there we're no friends of Strahd and his minions. Are any of you competent woodsmen? Ireena and I know how to handle a blade, but our father's notion of a genteel upbrining deprived us of some other practical skills."
 
Watching Ismark's prodding and inspecting of the wolves provokes a chuckle from Thorvir. "That much is clear. I can ready the wolves with some rope. None of you happen to have a cart or wagon hidden in your packs, do you? It might make transporting them easier. Otherwise, we'll carry on as soon as I tie the beasts up."
 
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