Party 3

Azgard looked to the team to see their reaction. The talk of new magic weapons interested him.
“Stubborn or not, I think she has a point. Maybe it is best we see what this place has to offer. What do you think Tara?” Azgard smiled at the panther beside Finarin.
 
Thia was feeling slightly better since they left the church. Burying Rasghull gave her some peace after she basically watched him get killed, but she still wasn't feeling completely better yet. The sound of magic items however interested her greatly, and it quickly distracted her mind from her troubles. "That s-sounds good.....I'm always up for looking at magic stuff...." She gave a weak smile, the first time she had smiled since Strahd visited them the night before.
 
“If the rumors was true that could be a good help. I didn’t mind a detour, and I wanted to see what magic items that they have. Lets go then while the sun is up!”
 
Finari listens intently, tilting her head for a moment before nodding. "They sound as though they may be useful, and they could have supplies or knowledge that will benefit us." She agrees. "It makes sense to go and find them first."
 
Azgard was frozen in shock when he first noticed his own corpse hanging from the tree. A mutual blank stare was shared between the two. His first instinct was to burn it, but he knew it may be an illusion. Upon inspection, there was nothing he could find that would defiinitively prove it was one. It was so surreal to see his own lifeless body staring back at him.

Azgard jolted his head around his surroundings, peering at every corner of landscape, hoping to find a culprit...

Nothing.

Nothing but his own flesh hanging from a tree like a dead limb, waiting to fall with the help of a strong breeze.

He wanted to yell. He wanted to burn it. But he was frozen there.

Azgard whispered to himself in Infernal, “If Kossuth wills it, I will die. Whether this is an omen or a taunt, I will not fear it. Purify me in your name.”

Switching back to common he responded to the open air, “Kossuth is the only one who decides if I live or die.”
 
Finarin snags a stick, using it to poke the body. She yelps when it immediately turns into acid-looking green ooze, and takes several large steps away, eyes wide. "What the HELL is that?"
 
“Well best we left things that is untrue. The path is long and we many things would try to divert us from our goals. Keep focused and we can do this.”

Fargrim encourages his friends to keep moving.
 
“Well let’s see if these Vistani are willing to help!” Azgard said, smiling as he approached the commotion. Finding his way to the fire where the drunk Vistani were, he politely interrupted the conversation to introduce himself and his friends.

“Hello friends! My name is Azgard, I hail from the Icerim mountains. These are my newly acquainted companions,” Azgard gestured to his party to see if they would like to introduce themselves.
 
“We are a group of travellers going towards vallaki, the road is dangerous so do you have any weapon or trinkets that can helps us on the journey? Something like a silvered weapon would do.”
 
Thia felt nervous around all of these unfamiliar people, and it made her self conscious about how disheveled she still looked. She thought about tidying herself up right now but then thought of how weird it would look in front of everyone, so she decided against it. "I h-have heard that you could have some m-magical items from y-your travels. If I c-could I would like to t-take a look at them...." Thia said quietly from behind everyone. She made herself known to the Vistani but didn't try to draw any large amount of attention.
 
Thia was interested in the story about the wizard, but was sad to hear it's ending, and nervous of the fact that her friends wanted to face off against Strahd after hearing of a failed attempt to do so by someone that was probably stronger then her and her friends. She broke away from everyone when she noticed a Vistani selling some items. She saw a hat that looked like it would belong to a witch, if said witch was very cleanly and kept her stuff really nice. She paid the price of 40 gp for it when she heard it was also magical. She went over to the tent of Madame Eva but didn't go inside, instead waiting for her party to be there as well. She fiddled with her hat silently in the meantime.
 
“Well hello Madame. Thank you for inviting us in.” Azgard looked around to his friends confused, and slightly worried.

“My name is Azgard. I am a follower and messenger of Kossuth’s purifying flame; I have been since birth, brought to him by fate. I seek to assist him in bringing his light to every corner of the material world.”
 
Thia hugs her new hat close to her chest as she nervously looks towards Madam Eva. "H-hello.....I'm Thia Liadon. I lived in the f-forest with my mother before she disappeared, t-then I lived with a w-wizard who found me.....then the m-mansion we lived in burned down with him i-inside and I was f-forced to live in the forest a-again till I b-became an adult......" She mulled over her sad upbringing for a moment before continuing. "I s-seek to b-better myself through m-magical knowledge." Thia looked away as she fiddled with the hat in her hands, waiting for the rest of the party to speak.
 
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Finarin hesitates, one hand coming to rest on Tara's back as she fidgets with the other. "I am finarin, and this is Tara. I am a ranger from a small City, before I was thrown out and spent years in the wilderness. I seek freedom from tyrannical opression for my people and for this land."
 
Azgard was surprised that Madame Eva knew of his true patron, but he didn’t let it show on his face. Brushing it off, he further listened to her prophecy of strength, hope, and light. He could feel the essence of her words sink deeply into his mind.

After she dismissed them, Azgard took a last long look at the cards before him before letting out a quiet “Thank you”. He turned and moved past his friends to exit the tent.

When he reached the fresh air, a tear welled in his eye, but wasn’t allowed to drop. Azgard was reminded once again of the hatred that burned inside of him for his true patron. He is a slave to a cause he does not even understand, much less believe in. He pulled himself together before his party could follow him out.
 
Finarin slips out of the tent, shaking slightly as she worked to silently ignore the memories of her family that resurfaced. She gives a soft whistle and Tara moves, putting her front paws on her knees and nuzzling the tiefling's neck and face for a long moment as finarin waits for the others, wondering what the cards meant
 
Thia distracted herself from what Madame Eva said about her by writing down what was said about the cards on a piece of paper. Once Madame Eva was done Thia rolled up her parchment and quickly nodded to Madame Eva before leaving the tent. As she did she thought about what was said about her. She never truly realized how many have died or disappeared around her, her life was full of it. She sniffed and wiped the tears off of her face as she remembered all the people who had left her over the 100 years she had lived. She tried to regain some of her composure as she saw her friends outside. "Once Fargrim c-comes out I guess we c-can start h-heading to Vallaki......" She said quietly as she continued to hug her hat to her chest.
 
The ground tremble and the tent flaps when Fargrim start speaking. With a booming voice he says,

“Her majesty already spared me from her vicious storm! This worship is not fueled only by fear, but also by awe and gratitude! And regardless of who you are, you should always fear the sea, It’s for your own good. Good Evening madam! Thank you for your guidance.”

And then he left the tent.
 
Finarin dips her head, turning to send a harsh look towards the dwarf. "Thank you, ma'am. My apologies for his rudeness, it won't happen again." She turns back to the others, glancing at the way out of the camp. "We should go now, I think."
 
Fargrim didn’t say a word, he mutters a prayer silently to his goddess. And his paleness starting to fade, he slowly stands up then go with his friends out from the camp.
 
Finarin walks briskly, letting her fingers drag over the Panther's fur as she glances around, still pondering the cards that the woman had drawn. "I wonder what those cards meant."
 
“Whatever it is its not just a parlor trick! This woman have some real power in her. Probably we should try to search for the meaning of those cards after we arrive at Vallaki.”
 
While on their long travels to Vallaki Thia messed around with her hat enough for her to be able to use the magical properties that it had. Once she achieved this she put it on her head, tipping it upwards slightly so that she could still see clearly. She found that it hid how disheveled her hair looked, which she was grateful for. Along the way her party had passed many interesting sights. At one point the road split into two separate paths, but Ismark quickly told them which one led to Vallaki. He did tell her where the other path led, which Thia quickly wrote down so that she could remember for herself. They finally got to Vallaki but first encountered a windmill that was just on the outskirts of the town. Thia saw a raven perched on top of the door, and when she studied it's behavior it seemed to be warning her and her friends. She was curious enough however to go invisible and sneak closer to the door. Once she smelt some familiar pies her footing faltered, and quickly stepped backwards away from the building. She told Ismark, Ireena, and Finarin of the pie hag she had encountered before, then she continued on with her party down to Vallaki. They eventually got to a gate at the front of the town, barring their way in. Thia tentatively walked up to the gate, trying to ignore the wolf heads, and spoke in her usual shy voice. "H-hello, we are adventurers a-and we would l-like to be let i-inside.....We d-don't mean you any h-harm...." She fiddled with her hands as she talked, hoping that these shadowy figures would be nice enough to let her and her friends inside.
 
Fargrim was grateful that he can immediately recover his health just enough to go on the road. On the way to Vallaki, he continuesly prayed for his life to the goddess. When they arrived at Vallaki, a sigh of relief came out of him.
“Well the goddess protects us from dangers on the road, we all should be thankful.”
 
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