Iron & Gold, Curse of Strahd
Previous Chapter 36 The Dragon’s Home — Next Chapter 38 A Study In Strahd
Being an actual play of Curse of Strahd, using Precis Intermedia Games’ Iron & Gold, with Mythic as the GM.
37 - In The Dungeons[1]
The church was as they remembered it: an old building next to a churchyard, with a ruined steeple at one end. When the steeple had collapsed, the bell fell and split. The remains of the steeple were taller than Felewin, but not by much. The group hurried inside, bringing the horses with them.
The church doors did not close properly; Felewin fixed that by hauling the broken bell in front of them. The air in the church was close and ripe with mildew; the fallen steeple was loosely filled in with wreckage so it was not immediately open (as Argynvostholt had been)…but neither was it whole. Several of the windows did not quite close. It was closed enough to keep the smell in, and too open to keep anything out.
“We’ll need to post watches,” said Felewin.
“We’ll need to post insect netting,” grumbled Ninefingers.
“It’s night time and it’s cold. Most of the insects are resting,” said Hrelgi.
“No fire, no lights, we be quiet,” reminded Felewin. “Hrelgi, you think about getting across the river.”
Kasimir and Ezmerelda took the first two watches. Uthrilir and Ninefingers stood the watches during the dead of night; then Hrelgi, and finally Felewin took the pre-dawn watch. The night passed uneventfully.
In the morning they ate the last of their rations, supplemented by[2] a brace of rabbits that Felewin had caught in the dawn. Hrelgi cooked the rabbit meat with magic so they did not have to build a fire.[3]
“When we let the horses go, what will happen to them?” Felewin asked.
“They’ll head back to home, assuming they don’t get killed on the way and they can find it.”
“Hrelgi, how much trouble would it be to get to the castle via the Vistani camp so the horses can walk home?”
Hrelgi looked at him. “Right, just because I can create a rend, you can travel all over the land?”
“The horses,” said Felewin. “If we go to the bridge by the Tser pool — you said you could get there, right? — then they have hours of walking before they get back to the Vistani camp. Scarecrows and wolves might get them. But if we could get them near the camp, it’s possible for them to walk home.”
Hrelgi considered this. “It’ll take more effort, but I can send them to near the Vistani camp. But if we’re not going with them I have to use teleport.”[4]
“Can you do it?”
Hrelgi fussed, but started looking up the spell components in her grimoire, and Felewin got the tack on each of the four horses. He patted Oxblood’s muzzle, and said to Hrelgi, “Any time.”
She sent Oxblood first.[5] The horse faded from view and reappeared wherever she was sending them. “I’m sending them to the road,” she explained.[6] Eventually all four horses were gone.
Hrelgi said, “I have to sit down for a moment. It was easier doing them one at a time but it took a lot out of me.”
“Of course. We’re relying on you for this.”
When she was ready, they opened one new rend to the Old Svalich Road, onto the bridge they had crossed leaving the Tser pool with Madame Eva. There was no one coming in any direction, so they went with Felewin’s plan, and the next rend was opened into the castle.
“Oh. Yes, I can feel the redirection,” said Hrelgi. “Go, go!”
Water began pouring from the rend. Felewin stuck his head through and tried to pull it out again; he couldn’t. He stepped through, followed by Ninefingers, then Uthrilir, Kasimir, and Ezmerelda. Hrelgi desperately wanted to let more water pour out, but she couldn’t hold the rend open, and stepped through.
They found themselves in a sour dark dungeon cell filled with inky dark water. The water was deeper than Uthrilir and Ninefingers were tall: Uthrilir was clinging to the bars of the door to keep his head up above the water, and Felewin was holding Ninefingers’ head above water. Kasimir was holding his lantern above the surface of the water.
A mold-covered ceiling was maybe Ninefingers’ height above the still, black water that filled this dungeon cell and corridor. Square cells, their entrances blocked by iron bars, lined both sides of the hall.
The cell was at the back of a corridor of cells; there was nothing in the opposite cell.
“Hi,” said Felewin to Hrelgi. “Too bad we didn’t get more water out, huh? Ah well. Poorly maintained, that’s what we’re relying on. Can you take our goblin?” He passed over Ninefingers. When Hrelgi had the goblin, Felewin put his shoulder against the door for minutes.[7] Finally it squealed open.
“Would have been impossible if it hadn’t been under water for years,” said Felewin. “Shall we?”
“You first,” said Kasimir.
“The water is not pleasant, so be quick,” said Ezmerelda.
Felewin put Ninefingers on his shoulders, then stepped into the hall.[8] Nothing attacked him, so he waded to the end of the hall, pausing only once when he thought he saw a person in a cell. Ninefingers assured him it was someone dead. “Half-elf, it looks like.”
The cell on the other side, just before the barred door to the hallway, held a glowing thing. Felewin stopped and looked at it.
“We could use another light source,” he whispered.
“Didn’t help that guy,” Ninefingers retorted.
“Look, I have to deal with this door. Can you at least dive under and see if you can pick it?”
From behind them, Hrelgi said, “I’ll just bring it to the bars so we can look at it. Once you get that hallway open.”
Felewin expected the hallway door[9] to be as difficult to move as the cell door but instead he wrenched it off its hinges. Beyond the door was a set of steps that took them to a slightly higher level, where the water was only hip-high on Felewin.
Hrelgi waded up two steps and handed Felewin a glowing sword. “Magic sword,” she said. “It glows.”
“I can see that,” he said. He didn’t want to refuse it, so he sheathed his current sword and took the glowing one.
“To the left are stairs up,” said Ninefingers.
Felewin asked, “Everyone got that?”
“Stick to the wall,” Ninefingers added. “Probably nothing else to worry about here, but being near a wall means you can grab if something swims up and grabs you.”
“What a pleasant thought,” said Ezmerelda sarcastically. “Have you got any more happy gems to share?”
Ninefingers was non-plussed. “Don’t drink the water, maybe?”
“I don’t think that’s what she meant,” pointed out Felewin.
Uthrilir gratefully dog paddled out to the stairs and into the hallway, where he could stand with his head above water. Kasimir was still in the dungeon corridor.
New sword in hand, Felewin and Ninefingers moved slowly toward the stairs. As they got near the stairs, Felewin felt something shift under his feet. The water kept him from dodging away from the trapdoor; he felt himself falling….
…and found both of them in a different dungeon cell with a corpse. The head lolled back as they splashed in.
“Well, great,” said Felewin. “Am I going to have to open every dungeon cell?”
“It’s the dead half-elf,” Ninefingers said. “I’m going to look at the lock.” Ninefingers slipped off Felewin’s shoulders into the water. Felewin grabbed the half-elf corpse by its clothes and moved it. Their movements in the water made the corpse keep moving.
Meanwhile, Kasimir had noticed them and called, “They’re here!” He waded back and looked at them. “Are you hurt? We saw a huge splash of water rise up and then you were gone.”
“Teleport trap. I guess it randomly determines what cell to put you in.” Felewin grabbed the rope belt on the corpse’s waist, stripped off the pouches and sword (he tucked them in his mail to give to Ninefingers), and lashed the body to the bars beside the door.[10]
Ninefingers surfaced, gasping for air. “Got it.” He pushed the door open, until it hit Kasimir. Kasimir took it and pulled it open all the way.
Felewin put the goblin back on his shoulders. “Good to know we might have to do this more than once. Ninefingers, the half-elf was carrying these.” He handed the pouches to the goblin. “And a sword. Do you need a sword, Kasimir?”
Kasimir shook his head. “I have one, one that has not been under water for weeks or years.”
Felewin shrugged and said, “We’ll give it to Hrelgi. She ought to have a sword anyway. Now, shall we really try to get out of this water?”
Ninefingers nodded. “It’s disgusting,” he agreed.
When they got back to the centre hallway, they found Ezmerelda listening intently to the other barred hallway.
“I think I heard something,” she said. “Someone in the other cells.”
They stood quietly for a moment, and then heard it: “Help.” It was male, gruff, and exhausted.
“We can’t just leave him there,” said Felewin.
“An enemy of Strahd is presumably a friend of ours,” said Uthrilir.
“How do we get there?” Hrelgi asked. “There are probably more traps.”
“I’ll go,” said Felewin.[11] He and Ninefingers started across the hallway and suddenly found themselves back in the cell they had started from.
Felewin swore; Ninefingers swore more colourfully, and longer.
“Well…at least this cell is easy to get out of,” Felewin said.
They waded to the centre hallway again and found Hrelgi standing where they had disappeared.
“I had the idea of looking at the space magically,” Hrelgi said. “Those traps are not magic any more or they’re very low magic, so it must take them time to recharge.” She looked like she was exploring a missing tooth. “It won’t teleport you.”
Felewin nodded. “Thanks.” He carefully went over to the far door.[12] Trying for less force, he wedged this one open.
At the far end of the corridor, in one of the last cells, was a muscular young man, soaked and shivering. “Help,” he said.
Felewin said to Ninefingers, “You or me?”
“You try, then I’ll try. That was a tough lock.”
Felewin failed. Ninefingers dove down and failed.[13]
“I am Emil,” the young man said. “Please help.” His teeth chattered and he clenched his jaw shut to stop them.
Hrelgi waded toward them. “Problems?”
“Well, this is the cell where everything isn’t acting poorly maintained,” said Felewin.
“Just a second.” Hrelgi found the parts of the spell, reached through the bars and grabbed Emil’s shirt, and said, “I’m going to shrink you down, pull you out, and restore your size. Okay? Hold your breath.” Emil nodded and Hrelgi spoke the spell. Emil shrank to the size of a doll. On the other side of the door, she restored him. “Told you I could do that.” They started wading out.
“I did not doubt that you could,” said Felewin.
“You’re Emil?” asked Uthrilir from the hall.
“Yes. I am from Vallaki. Dire wolves chased me to this castle, and one of Strahd’s people put me in here.”
Felewin could feel doubt, but it was radiating from the sword, not his own. Great, he thought. A sentient sword. No, Master Ambrigolus would say a sapient sword. Master Ambrigolus had been his tutor, and the one who had first told him about knights. He forced his attention back to the conversation.
“The creepy elf put you in here?” asked Hrelgi.
“The chamberlain, Rahadin,” said Kasimir.
“Let’s go,” called Uthrilir from the centre hallway.
In the centre hallway, they stuck along the one walll to the stairs, then went up. Once they were out of the water, Hrelgi spent a couple of minutes drying people off.
“Emil, Vallaki has had a change of leadership since you left,” Felewin said.
“The burgomaster?” asked Emil.
“Lady Wachter is the new burgomaster,” Uthrilir said.
Emil took that news without showing emotion.
Up the stairs, they came to a corridor.[14] There was an odd projection off one side, and Ninefingers said, “Wait a second,” at the same time as Felewin’s new sword radiated dread.
“Something bad ahead?” Felewin asked.
“I think so,” said Ninefingers. “This section of floor, it’s not attached to the other sections. See the seams? They run the walls too. So this section moves, somehow.”
“Can you disable it?”
“No, not from here.”
“Do you know how the trap is activated?”
Ninefingers looked at him scornfully. “No.”
“Can you guess? Your guesses are better than those of anyone else.”
Ninefingers looked at it. “Floor moves. Goes up probably. Nothing on ceiling to indicate it squashes you, so ceiling probably goes up too.” He spotted other grooves. “Oh, there is where something drops out of the ceiling, so it makes it like a box. Box goes up.” He paced along the seam and looked down the spur section. “No protrusions, and it doesn’t go anywhere. Counterweight probably lands there. So it’s like an elevator. But what sets it off?”
Ninefingers squatted to look at the floor of the “elevator.” Finally he stood and said to Felewin, “I can’t be sure, but I think it’s pressure-activated. There are a couple of other possibilities, but that’s my guess.”
“But there’s no way to turn it off or to know how much pressure would set it off?” Ninefingers shook his head. “But if we get to the other side, we should be safe from it?”
Felewin turned to the others. “Too far to jump. How do we get across that space?”
“If you don’t mind some risk, you walk,” said Uthrilir. “Ninefingers thinks that space over there is for the counterweight, right?”
“Did I say that?” Ninefingers shook his head. “That’s my guess, but I might be wrong.”
“So one at a time we step around the corner to the counterweight side, cross the distance, and then step around that corner, without ever touching the elevator part.”
“And if the elevator moves anyway?”
“That person probably dies,” said Hrelgi. “The other option is that I use motus and fling everyone across the space one at a time, but Uthie’s way doesn’t involve magic.”
“I’m the heaviest; I’ll go first,” said Felewin. “If I can make it, anyone can. It might be poorly maintained.”
“You’re the heaviest, so you’re most likely to set it off. You’ll go last,” said Ninefingers.[15]
They each went: Ninefingers, Kasimir, Hrelgi, Ezmerelda, Uthrilir, Emil, and last Felewin. All carefully moved around the corner, sprinted to the far side of the spur, and eased around the other corner.
Felewin said, “Emil, this is not your fight. Escape when you can and we will think no less of you.” The sword kept giving him dread. Felewin thought, If the sword is correct, he’ll betray us.
“Easy to say,” said Emil. “I have no idea where we are or how to get out.”
“This is true,” said Ninefingers. “I hate making the group bigger, but I don’t see where he’s going to go.
Once they were all beyond the trap, they huddled together, and Ninefingers crept to the next intersection.[16]
The hall at that end was silent. Heavy beams supported a sagging ceiling. Fog as tall as Ninefingers clung to the floor, so he could not see much. Ninefingers came back and reported that.
Ezmerelda asked, “Send someone taller, maybe?”
Ninefingers said, “Not Felewin or Uthrilir. Hrelgi is good—”
“Thank you,” said Hrelgi.
“But not stealthy,” said Ninefingers.
“I could be stealthy,” said Hrelgi.
“I have been stealthy,” said Ezmerelda.
“Are you certain?” Felewin asked Ezmerelda.
Ezmerelda took it as a veiled comment about her foot, and kicked him. “Yes.”
Felewin grinned. “That was not stealthy.”
“Getting it out of my system.” Ezmerelda moved quietly to the door. She cast a spell[17] and vanished. The door opened and they could see candlelight beyond the open door. After many heartbeats, they heard a slow male voice and the door opened wide, with the male voice urging Ezmerelda through. Ninefingers noticed that her footsteps moved forward through the mist and then the mist vanished, and so did evidence of Ezmerelda.
Alas, the rest of the group was very visible, standing in the area. The man was a hunched over creature like the ones they had seen in the Abbey — he had lizard scales and panther fur on his face, and he wore a robe. Around his neck he carried a key and a small wooden plaque with an eyeball varnished onto it.
The man or creature stopped and looked at them.
“Hi,” said Felewin. He had put his glowing sword between his backpack and his back while squeezing around the corner, but he could feel disapproval coming from it. “Your cousins at the Abbey? They sent us.” This was a bold lie[18] but its audacity did not make it more credible.
“Don’t be silly,” said the man. “You’ve entered the castle and got turned around. No doubt the master would like you to wait in your rooms. I will lead you there.”
Behind him, Ezmerelda flickered into view.[19]
“I don’t think so,” said Kasimir. “You are Cyrus Belmont, correct?”
“I am,” said the man, blinking. “Have we met?”
“Years ago. I looked different. We seek the catacombs.”
“The Master will take you. I’ll take you to see the Master.”
“He’s in the catacombs, and we are supposed to meet him, but we’ve gotten turned around. Could you direct us there?”
“Oh, the only way I’m allowed to walk there is through the Master’s study. I can’t walk through walls, of course, like the Master.” Cyrus giggled. “I remember when we put the new wall in.”
“So take us to him,” said Ninefingers. “In the catacombs.[20]”
“Up in your room, of course.” Cyrus turned to lead them to somewhere, possibly the dungeon.
Ezmerelda said, “We’re not getting anywhere with this,” and stabbed him.[21]
Hrelgi shrieked in surprise. Felewin stepped forward, but Ninefingers held him back.
Ezmerelda said, “There must be a way to get to the catacombs and crypts, if you cannot pass through walls. What is it?”
Cyrus held his hands over the stab wound. “Uh..uh,”[22] he moaned.
“We’ll make it simple. From this floor or another floor?”
“Enough!” Felewin said. “I don’t accept torture.”
Kasimir said, “We can’t leave him to tell Strahd, though.”
Ezmerelda said, “Kill him and we’ll be off.”
“No!” Cyrus cried. “From the brazier room.”
“Where do we start?”
Cyrus pointed in the direction they had come.
“He’s lying,” said Ninefingers. “That way leads down to the dungeon.”
Cyrus said, “Up two floors, then down through the secret stairs.”
“Why don’t you show us?” Kasimir said.
Cyrus nodded, eyes wide. Ninefingers thought there was no scheme yet, but one might come to Cyrus.
“How do you avoid setting off the trap?” Felewin asked Cyrus.
“You know there’s a trap?” Felewin nodded. Cyrus’ hump sagged. “It’s weight sensitive,” replied Cyrus. “One person—even you—won’t set it off.”
Ezmerelda said, “Ninefingers, you heard that?”
“I did.” The goblin brandished his sword. “Let’s test it. You and I will walk over there. You and I will wait while everyone else comes across.”
They marched over. Counting to fifty between people, the rest of the group crossed. Cyrus led them into the stairwell and up a dizzying set of circular stairs. Finally they came out on a dark landing with statues of figures in the alcoves.
“Just me,” said Cyrus shakily. “No need to attack. Me and some guests for the Master.”
Alone of the group, Ninefingers recognized the figures in the alcoves as swarms of rats stacked into roughly human form.
Cyrus opened the door. A sweet yet pungent smell of decay wafted out, and then the smell of dust. The room was some kind of dining hall. There was a long oak table in the center of the room, covered with fine china and silverware under a thick blanket of dust.
The middle of the table was dominated by a large tiered wedding cake that leaned to one side; the frosting had been white but now was green. Cobwebs hung like dusty lace down the sides of the cake. The cake had a single figure on top: a well-dressed woman.
Above the table was an iron chandelier, also shrouded with webs.
To the south were heavy curtains, probably covering a window. By the curtains sat a lute in a stand, and a cobweb-shrouded harp loomed in a corner.
“You’re not really dusting, are you?” Ninefingers said.
Cyrus was offended. “If it is this way, it is because the Master prefers it this way. If he wants it cleaned, I arrange for it to be cleaned.”
“He doesn’t want much cleaned,” murmured Hrelgi.
They turned to the north and went through the double doors. Cyrus had a momentary flagging of spirit when he realized that his master was not in the room.
This room looked like a study, and a cared-for one, at that. Unlike everywhere else in Barovia, this room was tidy and well-kept, meticulously clean, the wood waxed and polished. A blazing fire crackled on the hearth; bookshelves with nice books and tomes lined the walls. There was a thick, luxurious rug with a large low table on it. Two burgundy chairs faced the hearth, and above the mantelpiece was a huge expert painting in a gilded frame.
The painting was of Ireena Kolyana.
“Mind yourselves,” said Cyrus. “The Master is very particular about this room.”
“The portrait,” said Uthrilir. “Who is that?”
“Why, that’s Tatyana, the Master’s true love. I’ve never heard her last name, but I am assured she was of fine lineage.”
“Reincarnation,” said Uthrilir. “As I thought, though the body does not have to reflect the soul so directly.”
Ezmerelda said, “Didn’t someone say this is a curse for Strahd? He is being punished by having Tatyana’s reincarnations look just like Tatyana.”
“We have places to be.” Ninefingers poked Cyrus with his sword.
“Yes, of course. The doorway to the left. That has the stairs we want.”
Once they left the study, things were dark and ill-tended again. The stairs coiled down again, pausing at a landing where they had to walk a few dozen paces to continue down, and ended in a balcony or room overlooking a flooded torture chamber. The room had two wooden chairs — thrones in design — and was backed by a dusty red tapestry or curtain.[23]
Ninefingers glanced at the torture devices rising from the brackish black water when Cyrus grabbed him, and lifted him up. “Let me go or I’ll throw him in!”
“Let him go or we’ll kill you,” said Ezmerelda. Hrelgi was already looking up a spell.
“I can drop him before you kill me. There are things in that water, things that would tear him apart.”
“Drop him,” said Emil. “Go ahead. You’ll die, but you’ll be able to think that they can’t rescue him by magic.” Cyrus looked at him, eyes wide. “Or you take us where we want to go and look for a better place to betray us. Maybe there’s a trap we won’t notice. Maybe you can lie about what crypts we look at.” Emil shrugged. “You drop him, you die. You don’t drop him, you have a chance to impress your master.[24]”
Cyrus looked at him for a long time, and then slowly put Ninefingers down.
Ninefingers backed away from him. “We don’t think less of you,” he said. “We both know you’ll try to kill me next chance you get.”
Cyrus shook himself and said, “Let’s move on.”
“Let’s,” said Emil. “Ninefingers, I can be close to him instead of you.”
“You have no sword,” Ninefingers pointed out.
“I can use yours,” said Emil.
“Rather not,” said Ninefingers. “Not carrying a spare.”
“Hrelgi, can Emil here use that sword I gave you?”
Hrelgi shrugged. “Sure.” She passed it over.
The glowing sword was not happy about this. “Not a magical sword,” muttered Felewin. “Been under water for a while.”
Ezmerelda sidled over to him and murmured, “You certain you want to do that?”
“Unless you have a good reason. What’s your reason?” asked Felewin.
“I get a sense of….evil….from him. It’s the eyebrows,” she explained
Felewin nodded. “But he’s playing on our side for now, so I’ll let him have the sword that has been underwater and unmaintained.”
“Your call,” she said. “And at least if he has a sword, he won’t feel the need to turn all werewolf.” Felewin looked at her. “The eyebrows. He has the signs,” she explained. “They’re not reliable, but it is Barovia.”
“Are you done talking about whatever?” said Ninefingers. “We have a crypt to get to.”
“Sorry,” said Felewin.
Ninefingers waved Cyrus on; Emil followed closely behind him, and then Ninefingers, Felewin and Ezmerelda, and finally Hrelgi and Uthrilir. They went up another set of stairs and ended up in a small corridor filled with fog. Felewin and Hrelgi had to stoop to walk along. The walls looked rougher and less finished than any previous corridors. The stone was different. Uthrilir asked about it.
Cyrus had been muttering but he stopped. “This hall is newer,” he said. “Older than I am, of course, but the Master had it done only a century ago or so.” Cyrus kept going, saying, “The Master was quite proud of it. The floor was done by labour from Barovia but the walls are entirely by the Master’s magic. They don’t have quite the same sheen as the other castle walls but they are quite smooth. Carved right through the Pillarstone’s rock.”
“And under the castle?” asked Uthrilir.
“Yes. It leads straight to the crypts.” The group walked for a bit in silence and then Cyrus suddenly stopped. “You should take a look at the flooring there. The master is particularly proud of it.”
Ninefingers sighed.[25] To him, the pause and the sudden invitation to go ahead of Cyrus spoke of a trap. He looked at the walls and poked at the flooring. It seemed solid, but then Ninefingers found a seam in the floor. He pressed down, harder, harder, and then the floor tilted under the pressure of his sword. Ninefingers said, “I’m sure he would be proud of that trap. Where does it lead? The dungeons?”
Cyrus looked abashed at being caught.
“Perhaps it re-sets itself. Please step on it, Cyrus, and show us.”
“It goes to the dungeon,” Cyrus said. “I’ll drown in those cells.”
“I’d have drowned in the torture chamber, or been ripped apart. But you didn’t worry about that.” Ninefingers gestured Cyrus forward. “And, as Emil suggested, you’re looking for another chance to betray us. Because Felewin is soft-hearted, I would not dream of killing you myself. However, I’m willing to have that trap kill you.”
“That’s not fair,” said Emil.
“I know. That’s why you’re going too.”
“But…”
“Yes. You’ve been in the dungeon; you can hold Cyrus up.”
“But you freed me!”
“And we’ve opened some of the cells in the dungeon. Maybe you’ll end in one of them.”
Hrelgi[26] spoke the words of a spell and both Cyrus and Emil stumbled onto the square of floor that Cyrus had said was special. The floor opened up and the two fell down to the dungeon.
Ninefingers waved as they fell and then said to the others, “Now I know where to put the iron spikes.”
After they were across, Hrelgi said, “I’ll bet I can get them back.”
“Cyrus?”
“No, silly, the spikes.” She looked up the spell and made the farthest spike fly into her hand.
Ninefingers said, “I can get the ones on this side by myself.”
The tunnel was marvellous engineering: it ran on more than a hundred paces until it came to a stone door.
Felewin said, “Kasimir, we part once we are in there. You seek your sister’s crypt, and we seek Strahd. Strahd will turn on you if you are with us, Strahd will turn on you; Strahd might discover us if we accompany you, and we have reason to believe he is in these crypts.”
Kasimir nodded. “Very well. You have been excellent companions.” He reached out to shake Felewin’s hand. “I believe this is what your people do.”
“Not my people, actually, but it’s common. Good travelling.” He shook Kasimir’s hand and then let the elf light his lantern.
“Which crypt are you going to?” Kasimir asked casually.
“The tomb of the man he envied most,” said Felewin. “That is where he is.” Felewin tucked the glowing sword through his belt and took in hand the sword hilt they had found in the tower. It sent grim satisfaction to him as he held it, and a blade of sunlight sprang forth.
“Works,” said Ninefingers. “I’ll take the other sword.”
“Do you want to keep it?”
“No. I try to sneak around,” Ninefingers said, “and it glows, which ruins the sneaking. I don’t think you can turn it off, and just looking at it hurts my eyes.” It disapproved of Ninefingers and let him feel it. Ninefingers gasped. “It’s sentient,” Ninefingers said.
“Sapient, yes. It knew that Emil was a werewolf.”
“And you still gave him a sword?” Hrelgi asked.
Felewin nodded, shrugging. “We know that not all were-things are bad.”
They came to the door—really a stone slab set behind a doorway. Felewin took a deep breath. “Everyone remember the plan we discussed back in the tower?”[27]
“Marked the pages in my grimoire,” said Hrelgi.
“I imagine we’ll travel together for a moment longer while we find the right crypt,” said Felewin to Kasimir, “but you can leave us at any time. This is not your fight.”
Kasimir nodded. “That is fair,” the elf said.
Felewin grabbed the stone slab that was acting as a door, and heaved.[28] The slab moved to the side, even with soft guano covering the floor. The catacombs reeked of bat-shit so as to make eyes water, and Ninefingers and Uthrilir saw the swarms of bats milling along the ceiling, up more than twice Felewin’s height. Felewin grabbed the sword again, and sunlight spilled into the catacombs, possibly for the first time since they were built.
They were obviously at a corner: ahead, along the left wall, was a tomb entrance, alone on the wall. Stretching to the right was a grid of huge columns. They could see a name plate on the first one, but could not read it. Each column was apparently also a crypt.
“Let me go ahead,” murmured Ninefingers. “Shield the light of the sword. Kasimir, I’ll tell you if I see your sister’s crypt.”
Felewin nodded and extinguished the sword. There was still light from the two lanterns, but the cavern was suddenly much dimmer.[29]
Ninefingers did not try to hide as he returned, though he was silent. He murmured, “I have found Sergei’s tomb. I did not see your sister’s crypt. If Madame Eva is correct, Strahd is in there now, but the tomb is down some stairs and I could not see.”
Kasimir briefly touched each of them on the shoulder and headed to the right, his lantern gliding through the darkness.
They moved forward, letting Uthrilir and Ninefingers guide them. As they descended the stairs, trying to be as stealthy as possible. The door to the tomb — portcullis, really — was closed, and Felewin flicked the sword into being. Ninefingers threw a lever at the top of the stairs, and they walked in. Felewin flicked the sword into being, and sunlight came with them into the tomb.
The first thing they felt was stillness—a calm.
The room was rectangular, wider than it was wide, with a vaulted ceiling only dimly illuminated by light from the sword. In the center was a white marble slab, holding up a gorgeous and intricately inlaid coffin. At the foot of the slab was a name: Sergei Von Zarovich.
North were three alcoves each with a beautifully carved statue: the center held a stunning young man, and the two flanking it held angels.
And bent across the coffin was Strahd Von Zarovich, He looked up at them, blood trailing from his eyes like tear-tracks, and he straightened.
“You think to take me here, in my own domain?” Strahd sneered.[30]
“We will try,” said Felwin. He stepped forward and slashed at Strahd with the sun-sword, and it had no effect.[31] Ninefingers also had a glowing sword, and he hit as solidly as Felewin.
Again there was no apparent effect.
Ezmerelda spoke the words of a spell,[32] and nothing happened. Uthrilir held the holy symbol aloft, and there was a kind of thickening of the air.[33]
Hrelgi spoke a different spell,[34] and water began running from a rend in the air, landing in the tomb after pouring over Strahd.[35]
Strahd smiled and looked at Ninefingers, and said, “Come to me, my child.[36]”
Ninefingers stumbled forward…and then grinned and slashed at Strahd with the glowing sword.[37] Ninefingers made a long bloodless cut in the vampire’s torso. “Nope,” said the goblin.[38]
Strahd back-handed the goblin[39] and moved to one wall, where he easily climbed up the wall and vanished through the ceiling. Hrelgi shut the rend, leaving them knuckle-deep in water.[40]
“I didn’t know he could do that,” said Felewin. “Did you know he could do that?”
“No,” said Ezmerelda. “After him!”
“No,” said Felewin. “He knows the castle and we don’t. No, we have to bring him to us, wherever we stop.”
“What he cared about was Ireena, but we don’t have her as bait,” said Ninefingers.
“He cares about us,” said Hrelgi, holding a rend open to drain the water out of the tomb and letting it run back into the dungeon.
“True, but not the same thing,” said Felewin.
Ninefingers asked Hrelgi, “Why are you draining the water?”
Hrelgi explained, “It seems rude to leave the water here. Disrespectful.”
Felewin continued. “But we do know where Ireena is—or rather, Tatyana.”
“Yeah. Heaven, with Sergei.”
“Not that,” Felewin explained. “The painting of Tatanya. It’s all he has left.”
Ninefingers smiled with understanding. “And we know how to get to it.”
“Question is, where do we make our stand?” Uthrilir said. “The only place we really know is the dungeon.”
“No, not the dungeon. All that water. For the threat to be useful,” said Ninefingers, “Strahd has to think he can get the painting back without harming it and the dungeon is too dangerous to the painting. Otherwise he already hates us, and it just makes him hate us more.”
“I’m not sure it matters,” said Hrelgi. “He can walk through the ceiling and floor.”
“True,” said Felewin, and looked carefully at each of them. “Listen. All hands in the castle are against us. We must deplete his resources before the final battle. I am loathe to say it, but we do not hold back. We must be lethal, because he is.”
“But where?” Uthrilir asked.
“The only idea we have is the study with the painting. I remember how to get there!” He bounded up the stairs to the catacombs.
Without a choice, the others followed. Felewin slowed in the corridor with the trap door, looking for the marks that Ninefingers’ spikes had left on the flooring. He spotted them and let Ninefingers spike the floor once more. When they had come across, he said, “Should we leave those? Might be useful if they stayed there, in case we had to suddenly run down this hall.”
Ninefingers said, “Awful if someone removed them but we expected them to be there, though.”
Felewin nodded. “You’re right. Remove your spikes.”
Previous Chapter 36 The Dragon’s Home — Next Chapter 38 A Study In Strahd
Monsters
Not really anything to fight.
Game Mechanics
[1] Mythic suggested theme Violate Victor (Move Toward A Thread)
[2] Felewin makes his survival roll, margin 4.
[3] Not that we care, but Hrelgi rolled a 5, margin 5, and & 8 on the r+c
[4] Hrelgi rolls 9.7. 8, 45
[5] Hrelgi rolls a 6 for Materia, a 6 for R+c, a 2 for Ge (margin 3, margin 5, margin 5).
[6] A failure, then a 7, 7, 8. Actually, because there’s no pressure, she just keeps trying until she gets the right set of rolls.
[7] The first roll is an 8 which makes difficulty 2 — too bad this is difficulty 4. He tries again and again (rolls of 10, 11, and finally 4). All I was really looking for was not-a-12.
[8] Question: Is this the half with Emil or not? 123 it is, 456 it is not. Rolled a 5.
[9] Felewin rolls 2 on his Strength-Athletics roll. The door comes off.
[10] Meanwhile, Ninefingers rolls a 10 (failure) and a 3 (easily enough for difficulty 4).
[11] On a 1,2,3,4 Felewin triggers the trap to 74e. 3 - he does.
[12] These doors are difficulty 0, and Felewin opens it with margin 2.
[13] Felewin rolled a 12, so he doesn’t get to try again. I rolled for Ninefingers and it took 17 tries to get to the right number; while that’s possible, instead, Hrelgi is going to try magic. She rolls 8 for the materia, 7 for the R+C, and 10 for the ge. She shrinks Emil down and then pulls him out and drops the spell.
[14] Ninefingers rolls a 3 on Investigation and spots the trap.
[15] Call it difficulty 4. Felewin, Ninefingers, and Uthrilir will make it without rolling. Actually, Kasimir and Hrelgi have Sure-Footed, so they’ll make it without rolling. That leaves Emil and Ezmerelda. Emil is Fitness 4 so he doesn’t have to roll. That leaves poor Ezmerelda. Though the characters don’t know it, she alone won’t set it off. So she’s safe.
[16] Ninefingers rolls a 6 on stealth. Margin 3
[17] Ezmerelda rolls a 3 on F. Sphaera,so she’s invisible for 3 turns, margin 4. That’s difficulty 2 for Cyrus, because he has Acute Sight; his Awareness is 3, so he spots the shape in the fog
[18] Felewin has no deception skills except maybe etiquette, so he’ll try that. He fails utterly, rolling a 12.
[19] Mythic: Has Kasimir ever met him? CF 8, 50/50, 85% chance of a yes: rolled 30%. They’ve met before.
[20] Because of Felewin’s failure, the difficulty is +2. Ninefingers is the only one with Subterfuge, so he tries; he rolls and gets margin 0, which doesn’t make it with the increased difficulty
[21] Ez rolls 6 to hit. Cyrus takes 2 Injury. And Ez rolls a 5 on Lore, so she knows what the eye is.
[22] Cyrus doesn’t have Composure, so his Fitness+Composure roll of 6 is a failure
[23] Well, because I’ve said that Mongrelfolk have Brawling at six or less, and Cyrus just rolled a 5, Cyrus grabs Ninefingers.
[24] Look, Emil wanted to be leader of the pack, so he’s got some Influence and some Persuasion/Leadership, but probably not a lot. Say Influence 3 and Persuasion 3, and a -2 difficulty because Cyrus doesn’t actually want to die. Emil rolls a 7, which just makes it. Also, Emil is thinking of ways to impress Strahd, and having his servant killed ain’t on the list.
[25] Ninefingers rolls subterfuge, and rolls poorly — a -2 margin — and while Cyrus has subterfuge, he rolled a -3 margin. Ninefingers is not fooled. Ninefingers then rolls a 2 on Investigation and spots the trap.
[26] Hrelgi rolls a 4 on athletics, and 6 on her F. Motus spell, beats the +2 difficulty.
[27] Reminder: Uthrilir’s purity endowment requires Strahd to make an Awareness+Composure task of difficulty 4 to approach. In Felewin’s hands, he’s 13- to hit with the sword and it does 5 levels of damage against undead, 4 against others. The light triggers the vampire’s vulnerability to sunlight as well: he can’t shape change in the light, and he doesn’t have his Supernatural healing *and* takes 1 level of lethal injury every turn
[28] Felewi rolls a 3 on Athletics, so he makes it by 7: that’s a big enough margin.
[29] Ninefingers rolls a 7, which makes his stealth roll; the difficulty for him is 10, because there’s mist (of course) and soft footing.
[30] Reactions: Felewin 13 Ninefingers 13 Hrelgi 7 Uthrilir 12 Ezmerelda 12 Strahd 17 Strahd is moderately surprised this round, so he’ll wait nad see what the others have.
[31] Strahd doesn’t try to dodge, because the visual is worth it. However, Heart of Sorrow takes 5 of its 15 injury levels.
[32] Too bad Ez rolls a 10.
[33] Amazingly, Strahd fails his difficulty 2 Awareness+Composure roll because he rolls 11 and he doesn’t have Composure in this version. (Rationale: His stats have become so high that he has forgotten what he knew, over four centuries.)
[34] Hrelgi rolls 6, and she makes the Ge spell. Strahd is now in running water (she rolls a 4 on Athletics to place it above him)..
[35] He ends this first turn in running water, which reduces the Heart of Sorrow to 0 levels of inj. This is a great advantage to them, because he can’t break the connection in time to let it heal. From this point on, he actually takes damage. (They will still probably lose.)
[36] Strahd is summoning a swarm of bats from the catacombs. A new tunrn means he takes 1 level of injury from the running water. Sorry, it’s still daytime; he can’t. So he’ll try and charm Ninefingers; Ninefingers needs to make a Awareness+Ccomposure roll at difficulty 3. Ninefingers rolls a 4, mhich makes his A+C roll by.5, making he 3 difficulty easily.
[37] Aw, man. Ninefingers rolls a 2, or triumph. So he hits despite anything Strahd could do. Strahd, however, has Toughness 1. The sword does extra against undead, though. So checking 4 inj, Toughness protects against 2 of that, but now Strahd is in actual trouble. Good thing he will go first with lair actions.
[38] This time Strahd makes his composure+Awareness roll so he can move.
[39] He rolls a 5 (margin 3) versus Ninefingers’ 8 (margin 2); he does 2 fat damage to the goblin.
[40] Hrelgi opens a new rend to the dungeon but this time the this-end is at water level and the that-end is above the water level. So it’s the same length of time but she’d draining stuff.
