Party 4

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Arinthia tucked into her soup with relish. While she preferred to be travelling and had no problem with campfire food, there was something special about just sitting in an inn and eating the soup of the day.

Listening intently as Urwin spoke of his problems. She was tempted immediately by the promise of free lodgings but decided to ask a few questions before letting on that fact.

"How long overdue is your shipment?" asked Arinthia, "And who owns the vineyard?"
 
Nodding at Arinthia, Beldar was just as curious. Is nothing in this land going to go well for us? We can't even get some decent drink without hearing of problems.
Shaking his head to throw away the sour thoughts, I believe we can be of some use to this establishment, Beldar said with a smile, ...after a good night's rest that is, he added with as cheery a voice as he could muster.
 
Arinthia could see from the way Urwin talked about the winery that he was very proud of it. The mention of no deliveries for two weeks did give the young tiefling cause for concern.

'What could cause deliveries to just cease for two weeks?' thought Arinthia, 'is this more work of the devil Strahd? I hope we're not about to find Urwin's relatives all dead or worse.'

Hearing Beldar's encouragement, Arinthia looked to both Dess and Juniper, along with Ismark and Ireena. "Sounds like a fair trade, no?"
 
Juniper lets out a sigh. I guess I'll never get that pie.

"Two weeks. Wow, yeah something isn't right there. I would be happy to help. Yes Ari, it does sound like a fair trade. But I agree with Beldar, we need a good nights rest. I am exhausted."

This definitely smells like Strahd. What a vile man...thing... creature. His effect on the simple things is outrageous.

Juniper begins to stuff her face. She smiles as the warm soup hits her tongue. "Fantastic", she manages to say between bites.

With a mouth full of bread she looks towards the two men at the table. "May I ask what your names are?"
 
With a nod and a slight smile on her lips, Dess dwells on her memories of home for a moment as they wander the streets, her eyes wary of the shadows she would have used herself in the past. As they walk, her fingers absentmindedly trace various patterns at her side, her attention split between wariness and theory as she plays with fragments of spell concepts in her mind. After they reach the inn, she relaxes a little, her attention is obviously more on her own thoughts, until she notices that Ari directed a question her way with a slight start, and she blushes with embarrassment, taking a moment to try to sort our the conversation she had been only half paying attention to.

"Shit. Sorry. I got a little carried away playing with spell concepts in my own skull. I'm quite willing to trade a quick job for food and lodging. Maybe even including some of the nicer meals as part of the deal?"

She looks over at Urwin and gives a slight smile.

"If I could have the stew and bread for now, please, I believe we could split two rooms for the night."
 
Arinthia smiled to both men as they introduced themselves after Juniper had addressed them. At Urwin's mention of monsters, Arinthia had a terrible thought.

'There could be a chance those monsters are the reason why there's been no shipments from the vineyard.' she thought, and hoped she was wrong.

"So, what sort of monsters are there in these parts?" Arinthia said as casually as she could, though her tail coiled tighter around her leg reflexively. It was one of the few times Arinthia was glad her eyes were just one solid colour - it would make it harder for people to tell when she was afraid if they couldn't see a pupil dilating or an eye widening. 'Forewarned is forearmed,' Arinthia repeated to herself, 'Might make it easier to work out tactics beyond dashing about and striking.'
 
Juniper gives Frederich and Ulbrek a smile. "I am very pleased to meet you both. I am very interested in your tunic. Raven feathers? "

Juniper was a hunter herself. Only for necessity. She took no pleasure in killing the creatures of the forest. But if ordinaries wolves are monsters in these land, then there will be no time for sympathy. Learning more about the lands with definitely help them.

"I am not sure about my companions, but I would love to be meet the famed Szoldar and Yevgeni."

She takes a piece of her bread and opens her cloak and gives it to Monte. He hasn't really had a chance to stretch his legs since Daggerford. There was no way she was letting him run around in the land of
Barovia.

"Urwin, do you mind showing me where the rooms are? I want to relieve myself of some things."
 
Hunters? Beldar puzzled. He had heard of hunters before, but those people always hunted for sport, not necessity. The thought of people killing creatures not for self defense or the safety of others, but simply too say they had done it infuriated Beldar. But let's not be too hasty here, this is a dangerous land and perhaps these hunters do it for the well being of this town and the surroundings.

Yes, I too would greatly like to meet these hunters, and I have no problem waiting, as it gives us plenty of time to enjoy a meal and situate ourselves in this establishment.
 
Arinthia smiled, it sounded like they could learn a great deal from the hunters. 'Everything we learn is an advantage.' Arinthia thought to herself. Thinking back to the battle with the scarecrows, Arinthia wondered how common such things were.

Picking up a piece of bread, Arinthia broke it in half. Seeing Juniper feeding Monty, Arinthia wondered how the small thing was doing, cooped up in Juni's cloak. Deciding to share her bread, Arinthia cast mage hand and used it to float some more bread towards Juni.

"Could probably learn a lot of them, so I'd like to meet them too." said Arinthia in a cheerful manner.
 
Annoyed by the attitude of the brothers, Juniper gracefully stands up. "Nikolai and Karl, it has been a pleasure. Maybe my comrades can tell you about the killer scarecrows."

Instead of introducing herself to the hunters like she planned, she instead gravitates towards the half-elf in the corner of the room. She watches him with fascination.
 
Regarding both drunk men with a look, Arinthia decided she could entertain them for the moment. At Juni's prompt about the killer scarecrows, Arinthia started retelling their encounter for the two noblemen, though she left out the part about Beldar getting knocked unconscious by the scarecrows and embellished the magical attacks.

As she talked, Arinthia realised she sounded exactly like the adventurers that came by her mother's shop when she was younger. Having finished her tale, though her own tail was still coiled tightly around her own leg as she was not yet relaxed enough to unwind it, Arinthia asked, "So, what is it you fine men do with yourselves for a living?"
 
Juniper smiles at the thought of Rictavio's pet monkey.

"Please to meet you Rictavio. I am Juniper Redwood and you are correct, I am very much a stranger in these lands. You too are not from these parts? What brings you here?"

Juinper wonders what other reason would someone come to Barovia. Did Rictavio also become swallowed by the mist like her and her comrades?
 
While she was a little put out by the remark about working like peasants, Arinthia did her best not to show it. Keeping a smile on her face, Arinthia realised there were two things the brothers had said that could prove important. The first, that the burgomaster was apparently demanding people keep smiles on their faces all the time. The second, that a baron had gone mad.

'With how deep into their cups they're getting, might be able to get them talking about things they wouldn't otherwise say,' thought Arinthia to herself, 'still need to tread carefully though.'

"Excuse me if I'm being a bit dull, not from around here," said Arinthia, "Who are the burgomaster and the baron? Why would the burgomaster demand everyone smile? Is there a reason they shouldn't be smiling?"
 
After she finishes her food, Dess offers Urwin the coin for her share of the room and food, then stows her gear in the room, taking some time to set mental alert alarm spells on the door and any windows, before coming back down with just her belt and dagger over her clothes. She settles down at a quiet table by the end of the bar, deciding to nurse a glass of wine after some time, and spends the time working in her spellbook, her fingers regularly producing Minor Illusions of a rune above its pages, each appearance slightly different from the last as her pen etches notes and patterns into the burnished pages of her book. As the bar begins to fill up, she reluctantly wipes off her pens and closes up her inks, before tucking everything away in their pouches. She watches the newcomers quietly, listening in on the Wachters' loud discussion with Ari until she finally picks up her glass, Nadir hopping up to her shoulder, and moves over to settle onto the seat next to her with a supportive clap on the shoulder.

"It's hard enough to keep going, much less smile at times like this, isn't it? Like when the wind dies on the waves, and you're left sitting for days wondering if you'll be food for the fishmen, or a new pet toy for one of the leviathans of the deeps before it returns. And here, hope is even further away than it is on the seas, after all the time despair has reigned over the land."

A grimace crosses her face for a moment as she shivers in the somber atmosphere.

"On the seas, I'll take a storm any day, you can at least fight a tempest with a grin on your face. Here though... I think I'd rather it stay quiet."

She purses her lips slightly as she considers what the brothers have been saying, before raising the snippet that drew her attention in the first place, quietly given the questions potential repercussions.

"By royal, that would mean that the Baron's family traces its roots back to the same blood as Strahd himself?"

Memories of Madam Eva's reading linger in her mind, and she finds herself hoping that the unstable baron is not a thread they need to unravel to trace back to Strahd.
"This card tells of history. Knowledge of the ancient will help you better understand your enemy."'
Click to expand...
 
Wanting to continue her conversation with Rictavio, she follows him out the inn. As she leaves, Juniper sees Rictavio making his best attempt to blend into the shadows.
How odd. It's like he doesn't want to be seen. I wonder if I should tell the others. In this unknown town, I don't think it is a good idea to be alone. Juniper continues to walk, her curiosity getting the better of her. This was the first person she met that was also swallowed by the mist. There was no way she would let him slip away without more answers.

Lifting her hood over her head she whispers, "Monte if anything goes wrong you need to find Beldar."

Juniper finds herself walking into the Arasek stockyard, watching as Rictavio steps towards his wagon. As Juniper hears cracking of wood, the scraping of metal, and the snarl of something inhuman, she no longer believes he has a pet monkey.
For once can someone be truthful around here? Ha! Pet monkey? Yeah right! I guess everyone has their secrets.

"I bring you from Shadow into Light. What an odd saying for a carnival wagon." Juniper says to herself. Once Rictavio drops the food into the wagon she immediately retreats back to the inn.

Juniper thought she would be used to surprises by now. With the mist sending her to this place and with the kid pastries and now she happens upon this half-elf who has some creature that eats Vistani. Her brows furrowed with frustration.
She slumps to the ground next to the inn. The journey of today finally hitting her. She wearily pulls Monte out and places him in her hand. She strokes his back gently. Monte wrinkles his fur with delight. "You're the only thing keeping me sane. I know I should tell them what I saw, but who knows if they would believe me. They didn't believe me when I saw myself hanging in the gallows." She shivers as the memory comes flooding back.

Juniper sits there for a minute thinking. "If only there was pie," she says with a giggle.
 
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Arinthia couldn't help her curiousity, though her tail tightened noticeably around her left leg, the tip sinking into her boot out of the way, "The Dark Lord you say? Are there any interesting tales you can tell me about him?" Arinthia realised what that sounded like, so she quickly added, "You see, I used to live in a small town and sometimes adventurers would pass through telling stories. You know, 'I've just come back from the deadly dungeon of doom made by Grand Pubar Morty Kinden'."

Arinthia shrugged, "That kind of story. So, if I ever make it back to Highcliff, it'd be nice to have a story or two and maybe saying I met some wonderful noblemen who told me a grand story of The Dark Lord would be enough to have a few people trying to get up here."
 
Having found a seat in the corner of the room, Beldar sat alone with his notebook and a warm meal. Watching the room and jotting notes on everyone he sees, he eyes the half-elf and the two well-to-do men who sat near Arinthia. Beldar looks at them not with malicious intent or fear brought concern, but rather the way an entomologist would look at an insect he had never seen before.

In between bites and sips, he scribbles in his pad, as he jots details down on dress and mannerism, and any other interesting observations the folks in the common room reveal. So engrossed in his writing, he almost didn't see Juniper get up and and follow a the half-elf outside. Now where in the light is she headed? Please do take care of yourself, but...then again, we are inside the city walls, surely there must be some semblance of safety here.

Nodding with a blank face to the open air, Beldar finishes the last of his food and follows it quickly with his drink. As if on cue, he overhears Arinthia ask, something something ...fancy another drink?

Putting his notebook away, he stands up and walks over by her, Another drink sounds wonderful! Beldar says to Arinthia, then introducing himself to her table mates. Beldar Tallwood, pleasure to make your acquaintance.
 
Taking in a deep breath she hauls her self off the ground. Juniper enters the inn. She looks a little defeated. She's not in a hurry to tell the others yet. She wants to get them alone before she tells them what the night brought her.
Looking towards her table she still sees the drinking fools talking to Dess, Ari and watches as Beldar approaches the table. Juniper didn't feel like dealing with ignorance. She walks up to the table and grabs her drink giving her comrades a glance.
She looks aimless around knowing very well where she will sit.
Juniper pulls out a chair and joins the hunters. "Hello Szoldar & Yevgeni, my name is Juniper Redwood. My friends and I are foreigner as you can tell. I hear you can tell me more about the land."
 
Seeing Beldar come over, Arinthia relaxed a little, her tail unwinding but still wound a little around her leg. 'Just going to have to get used to it, especially with the way everyone talks about 'The Devil Strahd'.' thought Arinthia, 'Not everywhere is like Waterdeep. Having some of the soup she'd ordered and some more grapemash, Arinthia managed to smile.

Turning to Ismark and Ireena, Arinthia lowered her voice a little, "So, what're you both going to do now we're in Vallaki?"
 
Arinthia gave them both a sad smile. They'd left one town under siege for another, and in this one they wouldn't even have the home advantage. "So, what do you know about this abbey?" Arinthia asked, keeping her voice down so that Nikolai and Karl would hopefully not hear her while she intended to bring Dess, Juniper and Beldar up to speed with whatever she learned when she could, "We've already told the innkeeper we'll help out with his family's vineyard problem but keeping Ireena safe is still something I'd at least want to do, and I think my friends feel the same way."
 
Arinthia listened to Ismark carefully, something nagging at the back of her mind. As Ismark finished his tale and Ireena chimed in, Arinthia realised what it was that was eating at her mind. The card reading. Madame Eva.

Arinthia smiled as Ireena offered their aid, "Heh, I think we might be able to help each other out." The young tiefling said, "Remember Madame Eva's tent and her reading? She mentioned an abbey as well. Saint Markovia's Abbey if I remember right." Arinthia's grin broadened, "And she mentioned that knowledge of the ancient would help us understand our enemy." Arinthia smiled, "It could just be a massive coincidence, or maybe Madame Eva knew we'd be needing to head to that abbey together."
 
Hearing the talk of an Abbey and a place that even Strahd won't go near made Beldar smile to himself...until Ireena mentioned that no one knows why even Strahd won't approach the place.

I'm not a big believer in coincidence, so perhaps there is a reason why Madame Eva would mention something so similar to the hunters. Either way, staying in this town is not an answer, so I am in favor of heading out first thing in the morning.

Waving over a server Beldar saids aloud, Can I get another round of drinks for the table please. Turning towards the hunters, he adds, I'd be very happy to hear about any landmarks of note, do tell, as he pulls out his notepad ready to jot down any interesting facts.
 
Juniper smiles wide. "These two men deserve a good drink! On Nikolai and Karl of course." Juniper looks at Dess. "Hey Dess, can I see the map please? Marking these landmarks will be extremely helpful. "
 
"Of course! Let me dig it out here."

Dess pulls her spellbook back out of its pouch, setting the tome on the table, its brass pages clinking quietly as she flips through them to find the map, and lays it out on the table before them.

"More information is always useful, thank you. Beldar, I think we'll need your pens for this, my inks don't suit paper."
 
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