Iron & Gold, Curse of Strahd
Previous Chapter 34 A Lich In Time — Next Chapter 36 The Dragon’s Home
Being an actual play of Curse of Strahd, using Precis Intermedia Games’ Iron & Gold, with Mythic as the GM.
35 - The Tower[1]
Felewin kept an eye on how tiring the first transit was for Hrelgi so he could judge just how much they had to protect Hrelgi after the second transit[2]. It turned out that the first transit was relatively easy, but Hrelgi had explained how bad it could be. “The problem isn’t the distance,” she had said, “because up to my limit, one is the same as another. No, the problem is making the rend big enough for the horses and holding it long enough for all of us to get through.”[3]
Hrelgi seemed fine after the first one, although she mentioned a headache. Only a little later, she was ready for the second. She spent a minute concentrating, and the rend appeared. They all rode through, from the snow of the pass to the lower altitudes, where it was still forever autumn.
At the Raven River crossroads, Felewin asked Kasimir, “What will you do now?”
Kasimir said, “I have to get into the castle and resurrect my sister. Your skills would be very helpful at that.”
“We have one more quest to undertake before we are ready to face Strahd in the tomb of the man he envied above all.”
“Have we figured out who he envied most, yet?” Hrelgi asked.
“Yes,” said Ninefingers.
Kasimir said, “Our goals align for now. I shall help you at the tower and you shall help me get in to the castle.”
“Fair enough,” said Felewin.
“Anyway, I must join you because Uthrilir cannot guide a horse.” He smiled (now a terrifying thing) and lightly touched the top of Uthrilir’s head.
“It’s not like you can go back to the Vistani anyway, looking like that,” Ninefingers said. “Uh, does the changed appearance go away once you use the dark gift?”
“I do not know,” said Kasimir. “But I have paid a different kind of price for a long time; if I can right that wrong I will pay this price.”
The ride from the crossroads to the tower was uneventful. Both Ezmerelda and Kasimir knew where the tower was, although Kasimir only by reputation. He said, “It was build by Khazan, who was a chief wizard for Strahd, when Strahd was still alive. Hhazan oversaw the construction of the castle, and then retired to the lake and built the tower there. I heard he sought lich-dom.”
“The lich we met at the temple?” Hrelgi asked.
“Perhaps. I thought Khazan had died, but that lich might have been he. I rather doubt it, though: I heard nothing about his mind going, and the lich we met was clearly addled.”
Hrelgi said to the others, “I didn’t want to say it then, but if a lich’s mind starts going first, they forget spells and names and, well, everything. Then they can’t cast the spells to keep themselves intact.”
“So you could have restored his mind?” Ezmerelda asked.
“Oh, no,” replied Hrelgi. “I was being honest there. That would require Fabrica Mentus as well as Fabrica Materia, and I don’t know that all.”
“Nor I,” said Kasimir.
“I know Sensus, but not Mentus,” said Ezmerelda. “I know a few simple things to protect your mind, but Van Richten always said they are gimmicks and won’t stand up to the real thing; it’s better not to be controlled.”[4]
“Great advice if you can manage it,” said Felewin. He remembered the ghost who had possessed him.[5] That felt like decades ago but it had been less than a year.
Ezmerelda shrugged. “I can teach them to you, but they’re not mastery of anything. If Strahd wants to control your mind, he will.”
“I would like them,” said Felewin, “because not everything we face is as puissant as Strahd.”
Ninefingers listened with interest, but the techniques took only minutes to describe. “Now of course, you must practice, and that is the difficult part,” said Ezmerelda. “Just as well, for we are here.”
“Here” was a cold-looking mountain lake enclosed by misty woods and rocky bluffs. Thick fog crept across the dark, still waters. The trail ended at a grass-covered causeway that stretched a hundred yards across the lake to a flat, marshy island with a stone tower on it. The tower was old and decrepit, with collapsing scaffolds clinging to one side where a large gash had split the wall. Time-worn griffon statues perched atop the buttresses that supported the walls, their wings and flanks covered with moss.
Parked near the base of the tower, within sight of the entrance, was a barrel-topped Vistani wagon spattered with mud.
“Did I warn you about the tower?” Ezmerelda said. “Magic doesn’t work there.”
Uthrilir asked, “All magic? Any magic? Divine magic?”
“Don’t know; I never had divine magic to check. I’d guess his spells worked, because there are some magical things he created that still work, but our magic won’t do anything.”
“Fortunately I know a lot about finding stuff that doesn’t rely on magic,” said Ninefingers.
“Stop here for a moment, and don’t go near the tower. I’ve heard that it’s trapped if you touch the sides. The first time I got in I used the scaffolding outside to get in, but that won’t hold Uthrilir or Felewin.”
Uthrilir asked, “Scaffolding?”
In answer, Kasimir guided his horse so that Uthrilir could see the scaffolding more clearly.
“It pains my heart to see that kind of hole in a stone wall,” said Uthrilir.
Hrelgi asked, “Could you fix it?”
“I could lay the bricks, but I couldn’t judge what needs to be done to the structure to make it safe.”
“The floor on that level is weak, too — I broke it that first time, it was so weak,” said Ezmerelda as she dismounted.
Felewin said, “Clearly you figured out how to get in.”
“I did, but let me go to my wagon and re-stock. At the very least, I want to get a proper cloak.” She handed the goat-skin to Felewin and crawled under the wagon.
Ninefingers asked, “Door is trapped?”
Her voice was muffled. “Of course.”
Hrelgi had already started walking across the causeway to the tower.
“Can you ride me over there?” Ninefingers asked. Felewin urged the horse along the causeway to right behind Hrelgi, and Ninefingers got off. Felewin rode back while they walked around the tower.
By then, Ezmerelda was crawling out from under the wagon. She was now wearing a dark heavy cloak.
Felewin said, “Anything we should know about in the tower?”
“A set of golems for the lift box, but they won’t attack. There’s nothing else on the floor; second and third floors aren’t safe. Fourth floor is living quarters; from the leftovers, Van Richten found it and was living there, so he had figured out the door, too. Do the dance as instructed by the pictures.”
Over by the tower, Hrelgi and Ninefingers were looking at the door.[6] Ninefingers did an odd dance, and the door to the tower swung open.
“Looks like Ninefingers figured it out,” said Kasimir.
Ezmerelda grumbled, “It wasn’t that hard.”
Ninefingers held Hrelgi back from going in. To the others, he cried, “Hurry up!”
Felewin looked at the others. Uthrilir shrugged, and they walked briskly across the causeway.
Inside, they had to walk through a vestibule and then a moth-eaten curtain. The first floor was dim and littered. The centre of the room was dominated by four hasps sunk into the corners of a square wooden platform. Chains ran up into the ceiling; a second set of chains ran from the ceiling into the grips of four clay statues around the platform.
“Same chains,” said Ezmerelda. “The pulleys are attached to the roof.”
Ninefingers asked, “You’ve looked in the crates?”
“Of course. Empty. They’re relatively new; I think Van Richten brought them in.”
“Any chance Van Richten found and hid the ’sword of sunlight’?”
Ezmerelda shook her head. “Anything’s possible but that’s not his style.”
“I’m pretty sure he doesn’t have it,” Hrelgi said.
“Yes?” asked Ezmerelda.
“Just a feeling,” said Ninefingers.
“Uh-huh,” she said to them. “We will talk about this later. We stand on the platform. Everyone bunch together.” When they had, she said with clear enunciation, “Top floor.”
The statues moved, and the platform jerked into motion, rising up. Ezmerelda said, “They don’t understand any other language that I speak.” The platform stayed level, but progress was irregular. They slowly and noisily rose past the second floor, which was empty. Ninefingers took note of some places to check for the sword. On the third floor, Ninefingers had to turn to see the hole in the wall and the scaffolding outside. They slowly reached the fourth floor. The smell of mildew grew strong.
Ninefingers saw a wooden chest on one side of the room ahead and a wooden bed on the opposite side. Beside the chest, directly to Ninefingers’ right and against the wall, was a suit of armor. Behind him, when he looked, was a writing desk. Some windows had intact shutters but all were almost opaque with dirt; by one was an iron stove. Tapestries hung against each wall; from the way that some of them were billowing with wind, they were covering intentional holes, like arrow slits, or unintentional holes, like broken windows. The tapestries gave off the smell of mildew: Ninefingers could see black spots of mildew across the nearest tapestry.
Above them, on sagging rafters, were the pulleys for the chains holding up the platform. Ninefingers stepped off as soon as it was prudent. “Don’t like that gadget,” he said.
“We had them, back home,” said Uthrilir. “Whole process is a bit smoother if you use rope instead of chains. Using golems means you can synchronize and keep it level, but the ones back home were more like a crate.”
Ninefingers walked around the room, looking at everything and noting its ability to hide things.
“Something sword-sized, right?”
“A sword of sunlight, Madame Eva said,” repeated Felewin.
Kasimir said, “If it is Sergei’s sword, there is no blade. I know that was destroyed. I had presumed the hilt was, too, but that was a task assigned to Khazan.”
There was a slight mechanical sound. Everyone looked to see where it came from.[7]
Ninefingers walked around to the suit of armor. “Felewin, be ready in case I’m wrong.” To the suit of armor, he said, “Khazan bids you squat and then stand.”
The suit of armor squatted and then stood up.
“Well, let’s try.” Ninefingers said, “Khazan bids you retrieve for us the hidden sword.”
The armor turned and took two steps to the wall, then manipulated something that was hidden by its torso. When it turned back, it had a box in its hands, and presented that to Ninefingers.
Ninefingers opened it and pulled out an ornate sword-hilt. There was nothing else in the box; once the box was empty, the suit of armor returned the box to its hiding place.
“That was anticlimactic,” said Hrelgi.
“So was the book, but we couldn’t really have read it if Ireena hadn’t spent the time,” Felewin said sadly.
“Or the items are actually cursed and will hinder us in our attempt to kill Strahd,” said Ninefingers.
“Pessimist,” said Felewin. “So what is the sword like?”
“You try it,” said Ninefingers. “It’s almost certainly made for someone your size.”
Felewin took it. “It’s a sword hilt.”
“Magic items sometimes require time to get to know you,” said Kasimir.
“Is it..sapient?”
“We usually say sentient,” said Kasimir.
Felewin grinned. “My tutor made a distinction between sapient and sentient, and he claimed that most people mean sapient when they say sentient.”
“Your tutor sounds quite educated,” said Kasimir. “And pedantic.”
Felewin nodded.
“Do we go to the castle now?” Ezmerelda asked.
“The sword is not used to me yet, though.” Felewin went over to the western window and opened it. He studied the sky. “We could go. We have most of the day ahead of us. I’d rather spend the rest of the day thinking and making plans, rather than heading straight in. Gives us a second if we decide we need anything special in the way of supplies.”
“What kind of planning?” Hrelgi asked.
“Well, Ezmerelda was invisible in the castle. What did she see? How does she know that unauthorized teleportation sends us to the dungeon? How well maintained is it?”
“What?” asked Ezmerelda. “It’s big and labyrinthine. I made only the smallest sorties out. Insofar as the teleportation trap, I heard Rahadin mention it to the...butler? Whatever you call him.” She said to Felewin, “What did you mean, well-maintained?”
Felewin said, “Stoke up that stove. I’d like some heat.” He removed some of his kit and sat cross-legged on the floor. Uthrilir went to the stove and took wood from the generous stack. Hrelgi got out food and drink. “We’ll bring in the horses before dark, but they should be okay right now. Be nice if there were a kettle.”
“That I can help with,” said Ezmerelda. She went to the writing desk and pulled a pot from one of the drawers. “I have clean water in the wagon, and tea.”
“Actual tea?” Kasimir asked.
“From beyond Barovia,” said Ezmerelda. “I can go get it.”
“Take Hrelgi with you,” said Ninefingers. “Would be useful if she could get into your wagon without crossing the space.”
Felewin asked him, “What are you worried about?”
Ninefingers ticked them off on his fingers. “We’ve seen scourges, forest folk, wild men, zombies, scarecrows, vampires, gargoyles, ghouls, ghosts, ghasts, and disembodied hands. Well, more, but those are the top of the list.”
“We also have werewolves, witches, and there is rumoured to be a monster in the lake by Vallaki,” said Kasimir dryly.
“You are not making me feel better,” replied Ninefingers.
Ezmerelda shook her head and went to the platform. After a moment, Hrelgi joined her.
“Seriously?” Ezmerelda said.
“Seriously,” said Hrelgi. “Ninefingers is right.”
“She can’t open a rend from here.”
“But she’ll be able to if we’re trapped outside, or if she steps out onto the scaffolding,” said Ninefingers.
“All right,” said Ezmerelda. She called downstairs, “Ground floor!” and the platform began to slowly descend.
“I’ll get us back easily,” said Hrelgi.
“No magic, remember,” called Ninefingers. Hrelgi looked annoyed.
“We’ll talk philosophy until you get back,” said Felewin. “Uthrilir, do you suspect that many of the people don’t have souls?”
“We’ve heard that souls reincarnate in this land because they cannot pass on,” Uthrilir said. Kasimir nodded.
“This is somewhat more,” said Felewin. “The midwife in Krezk said that many babies were born without souls. We have met a number of people who certainly do have souls and who were born in Barovia, but there are others who might not.”
“You have to be careful that you don’t accuse a person of not having a soul because you don’t agree with them,” said Uthrilir.
“True,” said Felewin.
The platform started to move again and some time later, Hrelgi and Ezmerelda stepped off it. “Water,” said Ezmerelda, “and tea.” She was holding a basket with a clay jug, a ceramic teapot, two enameled metal mugs, and a smaller box of some kind of ceramic. “I only own two drinking vessels.”
“May I help?” Kasimir asked.
“No need,” said Ezmerelda. She poured water into the pot found earlier and set it on the iron stove. Then she scooped tea from the smaller ceramic box into the teapot.
Kasimir asked, “May I smell it?”
Bemused, Ezmerelda said, “Yes,” and Kasimir went over and slowly smelled the tea.
Felewin watched this, and said, “The reason I asked about souls is because things are not maintained here. The gate at the Durst house was rusty and squeaky; the portcullis in the castle and the slats in the bridge were terrible. Other gates we’ve been through were largely un-greased and poorly maintained. We saw pigs in Krezk and Vallaki; the inhabitants have access to pig-fat. I saw fat on Sangzor when skinning him. There is grease but it seems rarely used. Barovians are not obviously stupid; it’s a resource they would use.”
“And your point?” Kasimir asked.
“I have a wild scheme that hinges on lack of maintenance.”
“I have to hear this,” Ninefingers said. “If Felewin thinks it’s a wild scheme, it might be very extreme. The man wants to be a knight, after all.”
Felewin retorted. “I don’t think that’s as odd as you do, but my proposal is this: We teleport into the castle. Not the yard, but into the castle.”
“But there’s a teleport trap,” said Ezmerelda. “If you teleport inside the castle, you end up in the dungeon.”
“Exactly. I assume that the tomb we seek (and the tomb you seek, Kasimir) is near the dungeon. Dungeons and tombs are normally near each other.”
Kasimir was finished his tea; he offered the mug, and Hrelgi took it; she put hot water and tea in it. “Is there honey?” she asked Ezmerelda quietly.
“Sorry, no.” Hrelgi shrugged. Ezmerelda continued to Felewin. “But then we’re trapped in the dungeon,” said Ezmerelda.
“With all of our gear,” pointed out Felewin, “and in a poorly-maintained dungeon. Breaking out should be easy.”
“If breaking out isn’t easy?”
“Not all of us go in. Ezmerelda, how many can you make invisible?”
“At once? Two,” she said.
“Hrelgi opens a rend. Ezmerelda and Hrelgi stay behind. Our lock expert, the holy knight who can affect vampires and I go through, and we break out of the dungeon. Hrelgi uses magic to check whether we have, in fact, broken free. (You can do that, right? We had an adviser once—)” Hrelgi nodded. “If we have broken free, you come through the rend. If we haven’t, you come in invisibly by whatever means Ezmerelda used before.”
“Believing we can escape a prison is very…unlike you,” said Ninefingers.
“I have extra respect for your abilities now,” said Felewin. “Plus, the dungeon has been weakened by every set of adventurers who has been caught there, which must be dozens. Maybe by now the dungeons are weak enough; and we have a backup in Ezmerelda and Hrelgi.”
“I did not hear my name,” said Kasimir.
“It is not your battle, Kasimir. We would love to have you join, though, and we have promised to get you into the castle. You have the choice of staying behind with the women,” said Felewin, “but three is too many for Ezmerelda to make invisible, or coming with us.”
“The dungeon fools,” said Ninefingers.
“The dungeon fools,” admitted Felewin. “But we dungeon fools can use magic. So you would be welcome with us.”
“I had hoped my entry into the castle would be less…risky.” Kasimir accepted a mug of tea from Ezmerelda. He cradled the mug in his hands and inhaled its scent.
"I will not force you,” said Felewin.
“Are there no other ways?”
Felewin said, “Open for discussion. Other ideas? How did you get in, Ezmerelda?”
“Front door, sneaked in while invisible. If you aren’t invisible, the dragon statues will attack. If you don’t sneak, well, rumour is that there are inhabitants who can see invisible things.”
“I’m terrible at being stealthy, worse than Uthrilir,” said Felewin.
“Who isn’t bad, as dwarves go,” Hrelgi said.
“You’ve met less than a dozen dwarves,” Uthrilir pointed out, “even counting the two vampires.”
“The vampire dwarves were stealthy, though,” Hrelgi said.
“They were vampires—stealth is part of the deal,” said Ninefingers.
Felewin waited. Hrelgi drank her tea.
Uthrilir said, “I don’t think Felewin and I can be stealthy, and Ezmerelda can’t make enough of us invisible. Can anyone think of another way in?”
Ezmerelda said, “The windows far below the overlook.”
“Yes?” asked Felewin.
“When we looked over the edge of the overlook, there were windows about, what, maybe a hundred paces down the wall.”
“We don’t have enough rope,” pointed out Ninefingers. “We need a fair length of rope to get to that window.”
“I have rope and climbing equipment in my wagon,” said Ezmerelda.
“How much rope?” asked Ninefingers.
“Enough if we splice the two ropes together. Or Hrelgi can make it longer.”
“While Felewin supports the weight. Hrelgi, can you go down the rope? Then you can open a rend and we all walk in.”
“Me?” Hrelgi looked happy at the thought.
“We’ll all have to climb down the rope, so it will have to be tied off,” said Felewin. “We can’t teleport inside the castle; if we do, we might as well go with my plan and not risk a lethal fall off the rope.”
“I forgot about the teleport trap,” said Ninefingers.
“I can give people wings for a bit,” said Hrelgi. “One at a time, but I can do it.”
“Do you have practice with wings?”
Hrelgi looked cautious. “That would be irresponsible. I’ve been told.” She smiled. “Maybe.”
“We don’t. You felt that the wind up there. It can be tricky. And this tower is a no magic zone; we’re not going to get any practice in here. If you go first, you can draw the fliers to you so they don’t need as much control…Except you’ll also have to be up top to grant wings.”
Hrelgi looked at Ezmerelda. The Vistana said, “I’ve never tried body modification like that. I don’t know if the wings I made would work.”
“And while Kasimir knows motus, he doesn’t know it well enough,” Hrelgi said. “Fine. We teleport in, but all of us together. If we get stuck in a dungeon cell, I’ll make Ninefingers so small we can shove him through the bars.”
“Still want the rope, though,” said Ninefingers.
“You have rope,” said Ezmerelda.
“The one time we needed it, it wasn’t long enough.”
“You can’t carry twice as much rope all the time.”
“Not all the time,” said Ninefingers. “But this time.”[8] He cocked his head to one side. “Do you hear that?”
“Wolves baying,” said Felewin. “But that’s usually a nighttime thing.”
“Werewolves baying,” corrected Ezmerelda. “They’re on the hunt somewhere within earshot.”
Felewin said, “Grab your weapons and let’s get the horses inside. We want them.”
While everyone else was getting weapons, Hrelgi was already on the platform, looking through her grimoire.
“I will look after the horses once they are in,” said Kasimir. “They know me.”
The trip down was interminable. Getting out the door was easy, and Ninefingers tried to hold it open so they could get the horses inside, but it closed after a minute and they had to do the dance again.
Felewin had to lead each horse in to the tower, which was new to the horses. By the time he was escorting the third horse — Oxblood, the one he had been riding, there were two grey blurs behind him.
“Keep going,” Ninefingers yelled. “We’ve got your back.”
The horse jerked a bit at the sudden appearance of predators but rushed in much faster — perhaps the presence of two other horses made it a better place to be, or perhaps the werewolves were just that scary.
The last horse, Maria, neighed in consternation, and by the time that Felewin came out, he found Uthrilir and Ninefingers standing between Maria and six or seven wolves; there were more, totaling more than a dozen, but several of them were shifting into more humanoid form.[9]
Ninefingers[10] moved and slashed one wolf deeply, hoping to make a clear area for Felewin to move Maria.
Felewin[11] dashed forward to grab the horse’s mane. He used his hands as blinders to guide the horse past the existing wolves and toward the tower. The platform still had not retrieved Kasimir.
Uthrilir stayed ready for when the wolves attacked—which they did:[12] Several missed by a smidge; one was growing into a hybrid form, and one managed to nip at Ninefingers.
Ezmerelda guarded the doorway to the tower so that Felewin could get in once he got the horse there.[13] A werewolf was near, but Ezmerelda and the werewolf exchanged inconclusive attacks on each other.
Felewin got the horse inside and past the curtain blocking the foyer. As he re-entered the foyer, one of the werewolves had just bounded in; Felewin drew his sword.
Ninefingers killed the wolf he was facing but two more were upon him: one missed but the other did not: its bite, however, was stopped by Ninefingers’ armor.
Ezmerelda[14] used her silvered short sword against her foe and hit; the werewolf folded in sudden pain and died.
Uthrilir hit again, but again his blow seemed to have no effect. He began to pray for the Maiden’s blessing.[15]
Hrelgi had climbed onto the wagon, and she had her grimoire open. First, she granted Uthrilir toughness.[16] so he wouldn’t be hurt at first. Then she checked quickly for the different demarcation of wolves versus werewolves.[17]
The werewolf shut the door and howled. Felewin feinted, the werewolf attacked, and Felewin smote him strongly.[18]
Ezmerelda[19] struck at the wolf, and hit; the wolf tried to bite her, but failed. Another wolf came up and growled at her.
Uthrilir found the tower door closed, so he struck at the new wolf.[20] He hit it with his mace, and the wolf yelped and circled around.
Ninefingers, not having moved, found himself facing two werewolves: one the goblin had wounded but the other was fresh.[21] Ninefingers killed one and weakly hit the other; the werewolf responded by clawing him.
Hrelgi saw this and resolved to help once this werewolf was dead,[22] though that meant looking up a new distance modifier. She cast her spell and killed the distant werewolf just as the wagon rocked and a werewolf bounded on top of it. Hrelgi put out her staff, but she didn’t expect it to help any. The werewolf clawed at her[23] but hit the staff instead.
Hrelgi couldn’t jump off the wagon; three of the wolves were circling.
Ezmerelda managed to hit the wolf again, giving it a second, grievous wound; the wolf snapped at her but missed. Uthrilir[24] hit his wolf and killed it, and then Ezmerelda’s foe and killed it, too.
“Thank you,” said Ezmerelda.
“Glad I could help,” said Uthrilir.
The door in the tower and Felewin came out, carrying a dead naked woman. He dropped her on the ground and shut the door. “The body would scare the horses,” he said.[25] “You get to the wagon for Hrelgi; I’ll help Ninefingers!”[26]
Felewin charged over and attacked the werewolf.[27] The werewolf ducked under the first blow and set itself up for the killing blow.
Ninefingers said, “Thanks.”
“You okay? We’re not done yet.”
Uthrilir charged over to the wagon and smashed one[28] wolf twice, killing it; Ezmerelda hit another; and the third leapt at Uthrilir;[29] it bit at his byrnie and darted away.
On top of the wagon the werewolf slashed at Hrelgi[30] and connected; Hrelgi healed[31] herself but got the headache that came from an improper grasp on reality
There was a howling in the woods; more wolves and werewolves were coming.
Felewin said, “Ninefingers, go open the door!” He got the unhurt wolf with two quick slashes that killed it. Ninefingers took off.
Ezmerelda said, “We can’t fight them all. Hrelgi, jump off!” Ezmerelda managed to cut her wolf again but it wasn’t quite dead yet. She counted three more still up, heading for Felewin and Ninefingers — or waiting for the others to arrive.
Hrelgi jumped, choosing to aim for Ezmerelda’s wolf.[32] She hit it, driving its body into the ground and managed slide onto her feet. The wolf did not get up again. The werewolf leapt down after her[33] but missed. Uthrilir knew his mace did not affect werewolves but it might distract the beast.[34] The prayer he had offered to the Maiden held true, and the mace did damage.
Three wolves had blocked Ninefingers’ retreat, and Felewin joined him. Felewin killed one while Ninefingers defended from the others;[35] both moved in for attacks, but Ninefingers kept them away with his sword.
Ezmerelda also hit the werewolf and killed it. “Let’s go!”
Circling to face the wolves, Felewin slipped.[36] The wolf dashed in and bit at him, but the bite was stopped by chain mail.
Ninefingers[37] slashed at that one and hit it; it ran, but the other attacked him and hit. Ninefingers screamed in pain.[38]
All three wolves darted in to attack Ninefingers. The first[39] missed because Ninefingers managed to bat it away with his sword; the action made the other two miss. Felewin[40] killed one of the unhurt wolves. The other wolf attacked the badly hurt Ninefingers, and Felewin quickly dispatched it.
Uthrilir[41] and the werewolf moved at nearly the same time, but Uthrilir managed to deliver a killing blow before the werewolf’s claws hit him.
Ezmerelda said, “Quickly! I see shapes in the trees!” She grabbed both Hrelgi and Uthrilir and urged them back to the tower.
They passed Felewin, who was carrying Ninefingers in his arms. “He’s hurt,” the big man explained.
“I’ll open the door,” said Hrelgi.
The door opened, and Kasimir was there. “Inside!”
They rushed in as the first werewolf of this wave bounded up the causeway. Uthrilir, Kasimir and Ezmerelda pulled the door shut.
The foyer inside was crowded with almost everyone. Felewin was already on the platform with Ninefingers; the way was clear, because Kasimir had tethered the four horses together and put food down on one of the crates.
The group crowded onto the platform. “Up,” said Hrelgi Ezmerelda started to look at Ninefingers.
His wounds were wolf bites. One bite had also torn the buckle on the shoulder strap of his hauberk.[42]
At the top, Ezmerelda said, “Lay him down, take his hauberk off. I need to examine him for other wounds.”
There were three nasty bites, jagged and torn, two on his legs and one on his shoulder. Ezmerelda examined them carefully and then said, “Most of my chirurgical knowledge is basic, and my plants and salves are in my wagon. I think he will live and even heal in a few months, but his walk will forever be impaired. Only magic can help him, and this tower is a no-magic place.”
Felewin looked at Uthrilir. “Can the Maiden help?”
“I can ask,” said Uthrilir.[43] He began to pray.
The wounds began to close as they watched, they disappeared entirely. Uthrilir wept and could not speak.
“Hey,” said Ninefingers. “What’s going on?”
“The Maiden has blessed you,” Hrelgi said.
“Well, sure. I had Uthrilir on my side,” said Ninefingers.
Uthrilir shook his head and started crying again. “I am not worthy of that kind of trust. It is you that she chose to save.”
“You asked. It wouldn’t have happened without you,” said Felewin gently.
“I am not worthy,” repeated Uthrilir.
“I heard a joke once,” said Ninefingers. “A ship is sinking, so the holy men on board decide to pray. All worship the same god, Kiri, but by different names. One priest is Mujabi, one Skjold, and one Tannen. The Mujabi priest says, ‘O Lady Kirish, I am nothing before you but please see fit to save this vessel.’
“The Skjold priest says, ‘O Lady Kela,’ for that is what they call her in the Skjold countries, ‘I abase myself for I am insignificant, but please save the people on this ship.’
“The Tannen priest kneels and says, ‘O most wise and fair Lady Kiri, I am invisible to you….’ At which point the Mujabi priest elbows the Skjold priest, and quietly says, ‘Look who thinks he’s nothing.’”
Felewin and Hrelgi laughed; Kasimir and Ezmerelda looked confused. Ninefingers said, “My point is, be nothing to her but do not use your proclamations of nothingness to exalt yourself as being possibly more worthy. You have studied her works and done your best. You sometimes beg her for help. And sometimes, the Maiden listens, and sometimes she does not.”
Uthrilir shook his head and walked to the space behind the stove, where he sat and meditated.
Hrelgi said, “He’s probably got to rest; that took a lot out of him. I recognize the signs. I’d help him, but I can’t in this tower….”
There was another chorus of bays outside, and Felewin went to the front window.
“Your wagon is suffering,” he said.
Ezmerelda joined him. “Oh, they shouldn’t rock the wagon like that.”
The werewolves had gathered around the wagon and were shaking it, possibly to make the group come out and secure whatever was threatened.
Felewin asked “Why?” at the same moment that Ninefingers asked “Trap?”
Both their questions were answered when the wagon exploded. The force of the explosion shook the tower and the sound deafened the people inside.[44]
Felewin grabbed the sill of the window and saw, below him, the scaffolding collapse. He hoped the horses were all right.
Uthrilir felt the shaking tower and wondered if the building would actually survive. He re-fastened his byrnie and grabbed his gear.
Ninefingers seemed to have the same thought. He grabbed his armor and his gear. His mouth moved but no one could hear. His eyes widened but he set about quickly gathering his gear. Uthrilir instead moved to the platform in the middle of the room and barked an order that no one else could hear. The constructs, being magical, could still hear and the platform started to descend. Hrelgi noticed and ran to the platform; she was able to jump down to the platform because it had moved less than a foot. She had her grimoire case clutched in her hand.
By the time that Felewin noticed the platform was moving, it was too far to jump safely. He shook his head and experimentally said something; he could hear himself through a lot of ringing, so he said, “Can anyone else hear?”
No one responded.
He didn’t bother to shout down the hole, because he doubted they could hear him yet.
How loud was that explosion? he wondered. Have they heard it in Krezk? The Winery? Vallaki? Barovia wasn’t that big, and for all he knew, the sound made it to the edge of the land.
We will have company. More werewolves, maybe, more of the forest folk and the wild men. Strahd certainly knows where we are, now, or he will by the time someone can report to him.
He had hoped to spend the night here. That wasn’t going to be possible.
The group had to deal with any werewolves who had survived that blast, and then run.
But run to where?
Presumably there were ruins throughout the woods, but Felewin didn’t know how to find them. They couldn’t put the winery in trouble, and there was no shelter at the hill beyond. Krezk had made it clear they did not want the group, and Vallaki sounded like it was in the midst of turmoil. Presumably the Vistani were searching for them, too.
Then Felewin remembered the mill.
It was probably inhabited by awful things — what in Barovia wasn’t? — but it was within rend distance of the castle and they hadn’t been there, so it couldn’t be associated with them.
Felewin started packing his gear. Ninefingers noticed and nodded. Every once in a while Felewin would say something and see if Ninefingers, Ezmerelda, or Kasimir would respond. Eventually they did. By then, Ninefingers was collecting Uthrilir’s possessions.
Felewin laid out his thinking and the others reluctantly agreed. Ezmerelda and Kasimir began to pack too.
“I know one other place we could go,” said Kasimir as he put things away. “It was a mansion built by someone who against Strahd, and we might find succor there. The disadvantage is that it is far from the castle, as far as this is.”
“Is it inhabited by fell beasts or monsters?” Felewin asked.
“I cannot say,” said Kasimir. “My people say it is haunted, but we are more likely to find a friendly ear there than in the mill.”
Ninefingers had packed Uthrilir’s gear and handed it to Felewin; he started on gathering Hrelgi’s gear.
Ezmerelda included the tea and mugs in her packing. “You mean Argynvostholt,” she said.
“I do,” said Kasimir.
“According to the tales, Argynvost was a dragon who frequently took human form,” Ezmerelda said.
Kasimir said, “The tales are true. Argynvost also founded the Order of the Silver Dragon, which opposed Strahd.”
“A good sign,” said Felewin. “Shall we?” He yelled down the hole for the platform. The movement and rattling of chains indicated that the golems were still active. He yelled that they were bringing down all the gear.[45]
When they got downstairs, there was no sign of Hrelgi or Uthrilir. Felewin put down the gear and rushed outside, sword drawn, but Uthrilir and Hrelgi were standing there, with many dead wolves, dire wolves, and werewolves on the ground.
“Went down so the chains would help hold the tower together. Then came out to see if any survived,” Uthrilir said. “Some had, but they were mortally hurt.” He nodded. “Three. I put them out of their misery.”
“We were going to pile them for a pyre,” said Hrelgi.
“We don’t have time. We’ll have to leave them out for Mother Night, I’m afraid,” said Felewin. “Let’s bring out the horses. We’re going to a place called Argynvostholt. It’s not far.”
Previous Chapter 34 A Lich In Time — Next Chapter 36 The Dragon’s Home
Monsters
Wolves are in the rulebook.
Werewolf (Hybrid)
| Abilities | Fitness 3 Awareness 3 Creativity 1 Reasoning 2 Influence 2< |
|---|---|
| Skills | Athletics 4 (≤7), Brawling 4 (≤7), Survival 5 (≤7), Tracking 4 (≤6), skills as a human (might use armor and weapons) |
| Gimmicks | Acute Smell, Musclebound, Special Weapon (teeth: 1 inj, claws: +1 inj), Toughness, Immune[non-magical or non-silvered weapons] |
Game Mechanics
[1] Mythic suggested theme: Malice A Representative (PC Positive)
[2] The first rend, Hrelgi rolls an 8, which isn’t big enough for the horses. On the next, she rolls a 6, which is, and she holds it for +3 Fatigue to get everyone through.
Then she fails to heal herself (10), but then rolls a 4 and is all better. The next roll is a 2, and so the rend is perfect and takes them just to the crossroads.
[3] Re-read the rules. The task gets easier for every two turns spent preparing, so she makes the rend 3 meters wide (+2 difficulty) but she preps for 4 turns to counteract this. She holds it open for 2 extra turns, which is 1 FAT damage.
[4] In my head, it means that she knows a couple of things that would make it +2 difficulty to try some Mentus thing on her, but not the skill itself.
[5] In the second Felewin & Ninefingers adventure.
[6] Hrelgi rolls a 7, which isn’t enough for Investigation difficulty 2, but Ninefingers rolls a 2, which certainly is.
[7] Everyone gets an Awareness roll. Only Ninefingers has Investigation, and it’s difficulty 2, so let’s see who can figure it out. Felewin rolls a 6, which fails. Ninefingers rolls a 6 (margin 4). Hrelgi rolls a 7 (margin -4). Uthrilir rolls an 8. Kasimir rolls a 9. Ezmerelda rolls a 3, which is actually Margin 1 (or margin 5 if I decide to give her Investigation, but I won’t, because Ninefingers made it)
[8] Perception rolls for everyone, Difficulty 4; Ninefingers and Ezmerelda are Awareness 4 so they make it as an automatic task. Felewin’s Survival skill is better than 6 so he hears it as an automatic task. Hrelgi rolls a 6 and doesn’t hear it. Uthrilir rolls a 4 and doesn’t hear it. Kasimir rolls a 4 and doesn’t hear it.
[9] Reactions… Felewin 12 Ninefingers 14 Hrelgi 11 Uthrilir 12 Ezmerelda 12 Wolves 11 Hybrids 10
[10] Ninefingers rolls a 5 to hit one (a wolf, it turns out) margin 6; it rolls a 3 margin 3, so that wolf takes 3 Injury
[11] Felewin rolls a 5, which makes his Animal Handling roll.
[12] Wolf 1: rolls a 12; a miss versus Ninefingers. Wolf 2: rolls a 12; a miss. Wolf 3: rolls a 7, a miss versus Uthrilir. Wolf 4: rolls a 3, hits Uthrilir, whose armor stops the 1 injury damage. Wolf 5: rolls a 4, hits Ninefingers and armor does not help. Wolf 6 is going hybrid Uthrilir rolls a 7 to hit that one, margin of 2, so it takes damage.
[13] Felewin rolls a 5 on Animal Handling, so he’s still moving the horse. Ezmerelda spots a werewolf in hybrid form coming close; she rolls an 8 margin 0 Vs its 4 margin 3, so she misses; it rolls 10 (margin -3) to hit back but she rolls 8 (margin 0).
[14] Ezmerelda rolls a 7 (margin 1) and the werewolf rolls a 12; she gives it damage from her silvered short sword, because toughness doesn’t work. 2 injury It ripostes but rolls a 12 again to hit. Lucky lady.
[15] Uthrilir rolls a 10 and does not get it. Fortunately the werewolf rolls a 10 to attack him and fails.
[16] Hrelgi has it as a memorized spell, and rolls a 4 (margin 5), which works even with the distance. For the next 4 turns, Uthrilir’s armor rating is 6. Then she rolls 5 for R+C (Difficulty -2, margin 5)
[17] Reactions: Felewin 11 Ninefingers 9 Hrelgi 8 Uthrilir 13 Ezmerelda 13 Wolf 10 Werewolf 9
Uthrilir breaks free to run to the door. Werewolf takes opportunity to slash him but rolls a 12. Ninefingers rolls 5 (margin 5) vs 3 (margin 4) does hit; this is the werewolf who was just beating on Uthrilir. Does 3 levels of injury because it’s a magic sword. Ezmerelda discovers the door has been shut, so she hits nearest thing, a wolf. She rolls 6, margin 2, and wolf rolls a 5, margin 1 or 2 so she misses. Hrelgi spots a werewolf and casts salubrity the bad way; distance makes this difficulty 2. She rolls 11, but makes the R+C roll.
[18] Inside, Felewin and werewolf square off. Felewin rolls 10 (margin 1) vs Werewolf rolls 5 (margin 3). In response, werewolf rolls 5 (margin 3) vs Felewin’s defense of 2 (margin 9 and a triumph so I’ll say he hits, and werewolf toughness does not work at all, giving werewolf 4 Injury Let’s just resolve this one Felewin rolls 7, margin 4 vs werewolf’s 10 (margin -5). Toughness activates for 1, but other 3 get through; Werewolf dead
[19] Ez hits wolf, margin 1; wolf rolls 6, margin 0: wolf hit for both levels of injury. Wolf misses counterattack (8 margin -2 vs 9 margin -1).
[20] Uthie rolls a 3, for margin 6 vs wolf’s 4 (margin 2); Uthrilir hits and does 3 injury.
[21] Ninefingers tries to hit both, with difficulty +2; he rolls a 5 to hit (margin 3) vs a 10 (negative margins); that werewolf is dead. He has margin 0 against 12, so he hits the new one, too, but his toughness protects him from 2 of the 3 injury levels. The new one however is better at hitting, and rolls a 6 (margin 1); Ninefinger’s armor stops 1 of the 2.
[22] Hrelgi rolls a 4, margin 4, which beats ifficulty 2. That werewolf is dead.
[23] Werewolf rolls 7 (margin 1) vs Hrelgi’s 7 (margin 1)
[24] Uthrilir is going to try to hit both which I think is +2. The first attack gets margin 0; the second gets margin 1. The wolves do less well, getting margin -1 and margin 0. Both are killed.
[25] Felewin rolls a 6 and sees both current werewolf attacks.
[26] Reactions. Felewin 14 Ninefingers 12 Hrelgi 10 Uthrilir 12 Ezmerelda 11 Wolves 10 Werewolves 9; All the *wolves will attack. Uthrilir rolls a 6, margin 4, vs a wolf 10 gives the wolf 3. Ezmerelda rolls 4 (margin 4) vs a wolf 7 (margin 0) and gives that wolf 2.
[27] He’s going to try two hits, difficulty 1 each. First roll is 9 (margin 1) second is 6 (margin 4) werewolf rolls a 2 to stop the first but 11 to stop the second. Toughness doesn’t help; that werewolf takes 4 levels of injury.
[28] Uthrilir rolls 3 and 4, which is two hits; wolf rolls 7 and 6. That kills the wolf.
[29] Uthrilir rolls a 1, so armor helps
[30] Wolf rolls 7, Hrelgi rolls 10. Hrelgi takes 2.
[31] Hrelgi rolls a 7 to heal (memorized spell), but a 10 on the R+C test, so she takes 1 Fat and can’t use magic next turn.
[32] Hrelgi rolls 6, which makes her Athletics roll by 2 and the wolf isn’t expecting it at all. The impact kills the wolf and Hrelgi lands upright.
[33] Werewolf rolls 9 (margin -2) and misses.
[34] Uthrilir rolls a 7, which is margin 2; the beast rolls a 6 which is margin 1. He hits, but does no damage. This is silly; I’m going to add a use to “consecration” (which I think I did at Yester Hill, too) and make the weapon divine or magical for 1d6 turns, and I’ll make that retroactive. It’s a freebie, for <Consecration skill> turns.
[35] Felewin rolls 2 and 7 for two attacks against one wolf; each does 4 damage, so that wolf is dead. Ninefingers is going to try to Defend vs two wolves, and he’s injured so each one is at +3 difficulty, or effectively 7-. Ninefingers rolls 4 (margin 3) against the first wolf, who rolled an 8 (margin -1). The second wolf rolled a 7 (margin 0).
[36] Yup, Felewin rolled a 12, but the wolf rolls a 4. Guess the wolf succeeds. The wolf’s bite doesn’t penetrate Felewin’s chain.
[37] He’s going to try two attacks this time, at 7 and 4. Both hit, both do 3 damage to the wolves.
[38] Reactions again. Felewin 9 Ninefingers 11 Hrelgi 11 Uthrilir 8 Ezmerelda 13 Wolves 12
[39] Wolf rolls 9 (margin -2) Ninefingers 8 (margin -2); second wolf rolls 9 and misses; third one rolls 11 and misses.
[40] Felewin attacks twice; first time he rolls 7 (margin 2) and wolf rolls 8 (margin -1), so he hits; second time he rolls 4 (margin 5) and kills the wolf.
[41] Reactions: Felewin 9 Ninefingers 5 Hrelgi 9 Uthrilir 9 Ezmerelda 8 Wolf 6 Werewolf 7 Wolf attacks Ninefingers; Ninefingers only defends. (Margin -2 vs margin 0) Ninefingers wins. Felewin attacks wolf twice at +1 difficulty both times, kills it with. 6 (margin 4) and a 7 (margin 3). Uthrilir rolls a 6 (margin 4) vs werewolf’s 7 (margin 0); Toughness doesn’t help, so Uthrilir kills it.
[42] Ezmerelda rolls a 5 on Medicine, which she has at 6-.
[43] Uthrilir has his holy implement, but also the holy symbol of Ravenkind; we’ll count that as counteracting the usual -4 for endowments. He’s going to make this a prostrated task, so he needs to roll 11 or less, and then 1d6. Uthrilir rolls 8, takes a level of fatigue, and succeeds. He rolls a 5 for the amount healed, so Ninefingers is fully restored.
[44] Everybody gets deafened; their F+C rolls determine how fast they get hearing back. Felewin: rolls 8 Margin 2 Ninefingers: Rolls 9 Margin -1 Hrelgi rolls 3 margin 3 Ezmerelda rolls 3 margin 0 Uthrilir rolls 4 Margin 0 Kasimir rolls 2. Margin 0. Time is 6 turns - margin. Felewin 4 turns; Ninefingers 7 turns; Hrelgi 3 turns; Ezmerelda 6 turns; Uthrilir 6 turns; Kasimir 6 turns.
[45] Let’s see if they could win a fight. There were 15 outside, six werewolves (the pack site now has 2 old ones and five children) and 2 dire wolves. The explosion did 5 levels of damage to anyone within ten meters (everyone); the wolves were killed.
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