Party 3

Thia flinched reflexively when her shoulder was touched. She glanced at Naivara, then to the new elf. After a second of hesitation, she closed her hand around the fire and snuffed it out. "We have h-heard about t-the knights of this f-fortress, how they w-were once c-clean but they are n-now corrupted. We w-wish to help t-them is it is possible. What d-do you k-know about this p-place a-and its inhabitants?" Thia blocked the music out entirely, as she was too focused on the new elf. She was still wary about the situation, and she kept a sharp eye on him as she spoke, but at least he wasn't openly hostile to her group.
 
Thia's hopes are a little brightened at hearing that the Ravenants want to kill Strahd. She keeps her straight face as she responds to Savid, however. "We s-seek to take out Strahd as w-well, our g-goal is the s-same as t-the Revenants. We w-would like to s-speak with them a-about an item t-that could help us in t-this endeavor." Thia turns toward the door to the room, wanting to continue the search for the artifact before too much time passes. She glances back at Savid and speaks again. "Thank y-you for the information, b-but we do need to c-continue. We t-travel a dangerous road, one t-that you might n-not want to j-join us on. If you t-think we should k-know anything else before w-we go, then please s-share. Otherwise, I d-do hope w-we can meet a-again, under b-better circumstances."
 
Azgard wondered off at the end of the conversation. He walked back into the main hallway to see the broken bust lying on the ground. He looked around to see the other three still standing.

“No sense in leaving this broken.” He said, scooping up the remains of it, “Thia! Do you have any spell that could help bring this bust back to its rightful glory?”
 
Thia looks back to Azgard and opens her mouth to object, but she stops herself. 'I've been too stuck on this artifact goal, too stuck in my own head. There was a time where I would have stopped to fix this entire place...' She sighs as she thinks to herself. She moves back over to Azgard and takes the pieces from him with a soft smile. 'I know he means well, I just wish he wasn't connected to such evil. Maybe that can be remedied once we break free of this domain.' Thia starts to carefully mend the pieces of the bust back together on it's pedestal. After a few minutes, she is able to complete the bust. It is of a handsome man, although one that she does not recognize. She guesses that it's one of the knights of the fortress, and continues to smile to herself. 'Simple things like this can make the world just a little bit brighter, at least for a moment.' She admires her handiwork for a few more quiet moments, then she turns back to the rest of the party. "Shall we c-continue on? We m-might run into p-people who are willing to h-help us in this m-mess."
 
When the figures rushed to attack, Fargrim prayed to Umberlee to guard him from danger. A spectral siren with flowing white dress appeared, she cast a wave of radiance and the room suddenly looks like it was underwater. Her radiant wave successfully sustained damage to the undead.

Fargrim then read prayers to the queen to incur her wrath on the revenants, and so the siren dances across the hall to the middle of the room and she screams a shattering wail that bloodied the revenants’ internal organs.

Angered by the sudden attack, two of the revenants charge at him, the other one is busy fighting a lady in red that just comes up to help them. The one that successfully attacks him deal a significant amount of damage that leaves Fargrim no choice but to disengage, but not before he shocked the attacker with lightning from his open wound. He then hides behind a glass window but another revenant with a vengeance in his eyes break the glass and attacks Fargrim, but luckily, the queen is on his side. The revenant then attacked Azgard and downed him in two blows, Fargrim afraid that the revenant would eat his friends remains, heal him and tell him to run to safety. Flank by the two revenant his hope suddenly darken but quickly enough his friends, Naivara and Thia both dispatched the two revenants with bolts of fire. Found a new resolve he went again to the room and summoned lightning radiance to the last one fighting the dual wielding stranger. Soon enough with the help of Azgard’s flame, the battle is over and all the corpse are perished!

Fargrim, then dropped down to his knees, weaken by the injury, he prayed again to the wavemother to heal him. Hearing his prayer, the siren dropped down to her knees and touched the gashing wound on Fargrim’s shoulder and at first he felt salt in his wound and clenched his teeth but the pain quickly subsides and the wound closes leaving just a few scars. Fargrim sheds a tear and thanks the Wavemother. The siren then disappears, leaving a scent of water behind.
 
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Thia pleads along with Naivara to the revenants, hoping that their words would reach them. She was so sure of the good in them, that she stood at the front of the party to address them. When the revenants rushed forward, swords in hand. Thia was genuinely shocked. She stood completely still as she watched them slip and fall in the grease Naivara made. The sounds of everyone else around her gearing up for combat shook Thia out of her daze. She turned to escape the room, but one of the revenants cut a line down her right calf. She tries to stifle a cry of pain, and she stumbles out of the room and catches herself on the large table outside. She holds a hand to the bleeding wound, and when she lifts her hand back up it's soaked in her own blood. Gritting her teeth in a mix of pain and anger, she ignites the room with fire, catching the revenants and the grease they were laying in. Thia almost unleashes another fireball, but the new arrival screws up the positioning. Gritting her teeth even more, she narrows her eyes and shatters the other two revenants instead. After the room clears a bit, she throws out another fire ball, then resorts to throwing bolts of fire out to her opponents.

Noticing Fargrim's strength and hope diminishing, Thia hobbles to his side after taking out the revenant beside him. Better for her to be stabbed than for him to just be the sole target, if it came to it. She couldn't have another death weigh on her. Luckily, the last threat was taken out before anything else could happen.

Sighing quietly to herself, Thia slides down the wall until she reaches the ground. She watches Fargrim heal himself as she holds her hands to her wounded leg. Closing her eyes, Thia tries to slow her breathing down, hoping that it would banish the stray thoughts in her head. She looks up at the new person after a few moments, and speaks in a soft and exhausted voice. "Who a-are you? Why d-did you s-save u-us?"
 
Azgard moved back, stunned by the commotion and saw how Thia’s pleas went unanswered, so he fought along side his companions. Azgard was hopeful that by the end of this they would be able to get through to the revenants. It wasn’t long before one rushed him, slashing through his chest, striking him down before he could react.

Laughter. All Azgard could hear was laughter until a soft voice guided him back to consciousness. It sounded like it was coming from ... under water?
Doesn’t matter, Azgard popped back up and retreated, still bloodied. He was able to fire off a powerful blast to kill the remaining revenant.
 
Naivara steps into the room more boldly than her friends, and calls out with a smile to those on the other side, “Ah, here you are! At last we meet. We mean no harm.” She has a feeling, however, that they do mean some harm, and so she prepares to cast grease in the middle of them, just in case they rushed to attack with their rusty swords.
And thank goodness she did!

With all the moving, slipping, sliding, running, slashing, and hiding, Naivara quickly loses track of where her friends are and which of the attackers has already taken damage. She can’t even tell if she herself was hurt or not. All she can think is to get somewhere safe. The stairs seem promising, but just before she ducks into them she realizes that will cut her off from helping her friends. So instead she does her best to hide behind the altar, peeking out to cast a few spells, not thinking how she has ironically traded places with the attackers.

When all is done, there is no more sound of breaking glass, shouting, or clanging of weapons, and the flames have calmed down, she asks: “Is everyone ok?”
No answer.
She peeks.
Everyone is in the other room.
She meekly joins them, listening to the new comer introduce herself.
 
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Fargrim clears his eyes, stands up, and greets the lady, “Fargrim Flinthook, at your service milady. Thank you for the help, we’d be pretty much dead if not for you.”
He glances at his friend, “Sorry about the wagon, but yes we need rest, do you know any safe place in this wretched country? We thought vallaki is a good place til that crazy strahd’s bitch goes into power. And about Krezk, the abbot has a beef with our friend here,”, he nodded to Azgard. “So we prefer staying out of there until we fulfill his request.”
 
Thia stands up shakily and bows towards Ezmerelda. "I s-see....Well i-it is a p-pleasure to meet y-you. We would b-be d-dead if you d-didn't help us out h-here. As f-for our reason in t-this place, we w-were searching for an i-item that would h-help us f-fight Strahd. But y-you are right in s-saying that w-we are in n-need of rest." She limps to the entrance of the room, and leans against the wall for support. "We can h-head back to Vallaki in the m-morning. Our n-new friend c-could help us get the d-dress that we n-need. We can return to t-the Abbot afterwards and c-collect our reward f-from him. Maybe t-the werewolves w-will be g-gone by then, if not b-beforehand."
 
Thia pulls out her bedroll lays it out on the ground, then she sits cross legged on top of it. She relaxes for the first time since she woke up this morning. "We w-were given a f-fortune by Madam Eva. In it, the c-cards told of locations w-where we could find objects t-that would h-help us fight a-against Strahd. We already h-have one, and we k-know of the locations f-for the other t-two. The Abbot has one, b-but he wants us to get a w-wedding dress from Vallaki before h-he'll give it to u-us. The s-situation we c-caused there has h-hindered us from going and g-getting t-the dress...." Thia trails off for a moment as thoughts come back to her, thoughts she didn't want to think about. "Anyway, t-the other one is w-with the Revenants. Although I g-guess they are t-too strong for us r-right now. We h-have also heard of a c-companion that w-will help u-us, but they are w-within the castle. We w-will try to m-meet up with them once w-we actually g-go there. Apart from that, t-there are many s-small things that I a-also want to help w-with. Things l-like the hags at t-the mill near Vallaki, or t-the tree that d-destroyed the w-winery. The werewolves t-that w-were near the tower also s-should have someone i-important that we n-need to find, a c-child. If y-you could help us w-with any of these t-things, I w-would be v-very grateful."
 
Fargrim, steps inside the dome, and he felt the chill of Barovian air was changing into a warmer atmosphere. He lets out a huge sigh, and started to doff his armor.
“Many thanks, milady. We’ve been through a lot this past week.“
He looked around towards his friends.
“If we want to continue this quest, we need to plan on how to approached each situation. This past week we have faced problems but also knowledge. I think we can’t just run around Barovia no more.”
He then turn back to the Ezmerelda.
“What do you suggest we do next, milady?”
 
Azgard moved into the dome behind Fargrim.
“This is quite useful!” He says with a smile. He waited for Fargrim to finish his request, but politely interjected before she could respond. “If there’s something here that you believe we should do before moving on, I’d love to hear about it. You did come here for a particular purpose, correct? If not, I think it would be wise for us to scrounge around this mansion for a bit longer, to gain more insight, not to fight.”
He paused, looking around the inside of the dome, “do you think you could teach me this marvelous spell?”
 
Alas, Naivara had not been as much help in the fight as she wished. She feels so helpless. Worthless. She trudges behind the others, head down, shoulders slumped. As she watches the group disappear into the hut one by one, she wonders if they would even notice if she didn’t go in. Would they be better off without her?
You did help. The grease slowed them down.
It wasn’t enough. She argues back to herself.
No one single-handedly defeated them. It was a group effort.
True.
Naivara steps into the hut. She sits near Thia and gives a weak smile. When the talking is done, she wants to sleep and let this sadness melt away into nothing.

She may not have a clue as to what this group is doing, or where they are going. But she can still be with them, and learn... And maybe, she may yet find a moon blade...
 
"I t-think the safest option i-is to keep t-the artifacts w-where t-they are. As for t-the Abbot, I b-believe the safest option i-is t-to just d-do what he w-wants. Whatever can g-get us his artifact t-the easiest. Everyone w-will live b-better lives once Strahd is d-defeated, so it m-might be worth it t-to p-please the Abbot f-for now. We c-can go pick up t-the dress t-tomorrow, and then r-run over and hopefully c-collect our reward from h-him. After that, w-we can see w-what we are the m-most e-equipped to handle." Thia looks over to Naivara after she finishes speaking, giving her a smile in return. "Naivara, c-could I copy a s-spell from y-your book into m-mine? I have s-seen your m-magical s-shield protect you a f-fair bit n-now, and I feel f-foolish for not l-learning a p-protection like that s-sooner. You c-can rest while I c-copy it, you d-don't need to b-be awake for i-it."
 
Naivara nods to Thia’s wisdom. She is a good leader for this small party of travelers.

Her question about the spell book completely stuns Naivara, though. Confused, she mutters and stutters for a while before blurting out, “I’ve never used that spell here. Not since I’ve come to this place. How the hell did you know I know it?”
Afraid she may have said something socially awkward, she shrugs and adds, “I mean, of course you can learn it from my book. But if you used some sort of spell detection, I didn’t notice.”
 
“I’m afraid the guards wants our head if we goes to Vallaki this soon. The town would be on high alert. If we’re going there we should use some disguise or help drom our friend at the inn.”
Fargrim shrugged, “Well, let’s discuss this in the morning. I need my rest.”
Fargrim then closes his eyes, and falls asleep.
 
Near the Fortress of Argynvostholt | Morning:

Nestled into the protective Tiny Hut, the night passes without incident, the sounds of the night fading away during your sleep. The dawn slowly wakes each of you, finding Ezmerelda is already awake and beginning to prepare herself for the day. Seeing some of you stir she claps her hands, a few times, "Good -- good. I know good sleep is hard to find here, but we mustn't waste the day. We've got a fair amount of travel ahead of us, and if I leave this dome the effect fades." Looking out from the semi-transparent walls of the dome, it appears to be misting faintly, water collecting on the trees and grass. A few droplets gather enough to streak down the sides of the dome, the woman watching them -- almost more out of training to notice any movement than it seems actual interest. "I thought you might prefer to be dry while you slept, so I waited. Do any of you have thoughts on how to deal with Vallaki, given your apparent reputation there?"
 
Thia did some writing in the night while the others slept, putting two new spells into her book carefully and quietly. Writing new stuff into her spellbook always calmed her down, it was her favorite thing to do for relaxation. When she woke up from her trance she stood up and stretched, then grabbed her things and packed them away. "I w-wrote d-disguise self into my s-spellbook last n-night. I c-can disguise m-myself and go in to g-get the dress, and y-you can accompany m-me as well since t-they don't know a-anything about y-you. I was a-also c-curious about Lady Wachter's e-estate, and now that w-we have the key I w-would like to see a-about going in there a-as w-well. She's not using w-whatever she h-has in there a-anymore, maybe she h-has something magical t-that we could u-use on our j-journey." She glances at everyone as they wake up before she continues. "T-They can s-stay outside of Vallaki while w-we do all t-this, it s-shouldn't take us t-too long and it w-would be s-safer for t-them t-that way. If w-we need to e-escape from the city q-quickly, I have s-spells for t-that as well."
 
“Well, good luck for both of you then, we will make camp outside of town, if anyone can make this fancy hut again just outside the city walls it would be great.”
Fargrim woke up fully rested, the hut made him feel safe and warm throughout the eerie night of Barovia. He don his armor one by one and equip his shield and mace. He then do his morning prayer just outside the camp, so he can feel the morning dew, to remind him of the Wavemother’s scent.
 
Near the Fortress of Argynvostholt | Morning:

Nodding at Thia's suggestion, "Yes, a spell to hide your appearance will help for sure, my concern is ..." she placed a hand at the base of her throat, "Apologies dear, but your speech pattern is fairly unique. We can try to investigate the house, but that may be something to decide once we're in town. For all we know, someone else has moved in already."

Gesturing towards the dome, "Unfortunately whoever casts this must remain inside it, if I were to create it again, I could not aid Thia in the city."
 
Thia lowers her head when her speech pattern is mentioned. It was something never got a full grasp on, and situations like this didn't help her. She remembered it being much better when she still lived with her Master, before the warlock came in and everything changed. Now it was something she constantly lived with. She stayed silent for a few moments, before raising her head to Ezmerelda and speaking in Elvish. <"I can speak like this just fine, but I do not know if the shop keeper will understand me."> Her voice is still quiet and meek, but her words are eloquent and free from her usual stutter. It would be the first time anyone has heard her speak this easily, even if they didn't understand the words. There's a small fire in her eyes, like she's trying to prove a point, but it's unclear if it's directed towards someone, or just herself. She switches back to common and continues. "You m-might need t-to be t-the one who t-talks to the d-dress m-maker, I can j-just be there t-to help, if n-needed. I m-might have a p-plan for the house if s-someone is i-in t-there already."
 
Naivara spent the night thinking. She watches Thia work to copy spells, and wonders if magic is really her passion anymore. She wasn’t as eager as Thia here, for example. Was it this place?
***
When Thia speaks in Elvish, Naivara gapes in amazement. This is a surprise. She says nothing. The two of them have never discussed their homes or families. Was Naivara forgetting who she was? Has she traveled too much? Is it this place?
 
Azgard remained sitting down near the edge of the dome, looking into the sides of the magical shelter.
“I can accompany you, Thia. Should we try to visit the tower again? Maybe we can figure out how to get inside if the wolves aren’t there...”
 
Thia looked over to Azgard and sighed quietly. "E-Everyone knows y-your face in Vallaki, u-unless you c-can hide your a-appearance, y-you can't join me. Ezmerelda can c-come because s-she wasn't c-connected t-to the i-incident, and I have d-disguise self. It w-would be s-safer for everyone i-if y-you all stayed outside. We'll b-be f-fine."

She thought back to the tower, and the wolves that used to be there when they tried to return. "Let's g-give the w-wolves enough t-time to leave, if t-they haven't a-already. Naivara thinks s-she knows the w-way inside, but I have a s-spell t-that can get me i-inside as w-well. We will g-get in one w-way or a-another, but let's p-please the Abbot f-first. Having a-another a-artifact would make m-me feel much s-safer..."
 
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