A Strahd Tail

Nothingness. Blissful nothingness. And then... "What... what is happening?" "You have died. I am speaking to your head, which has been removed from your body. It was subsequently thrown at one of your brothers to scare him before he too was murdered." "Oh... it feels weird to be dead." "Yes, no doubt. Well, what happened exactly? There were seven of you guarding the entrance. And another dozen or so on the slopes. What kind of army was it that wiped you all out without giving you a chance to raise the alarm?" "Well, I... er..." "Go on." "I saw three of them. Actually four, I think, though the fourth one was quite far." "Four?" "Four." "FOUR?" "..." "How did these four manage to defeat seven of you without any one of you making it out to raise the alarm?" "Well, first, we actually did hear the alarm being raised. There was a horn sounded further down the hill. Gri...

And so it was, the Heist of Yesterhill went down in history as one of the greatest heists in all of Barovia, told and retold to many as an inspiration of courage and sacrifice. The origin and many facts of the event are no longer known. But this much we do know for certain: Hoskgak the half-orc did exist and the heist probably happened around 400 years after Barovia was taken by Strahd. Although many of his companions died that day and Hoskgak himself was said to have suffered grave injuries, they were able to recover one of the legendary gem of Rozana right under the nose of Strahd. *** The rain is hard and lightning strikes sporadically at the top of Yesterhill. Ahead of them is a large circular field and on one end is a giant 50 foot high statue made out of living wood. Inside the statue is a glowing green gem, the very item they are tasked to recover for the Martikovs. A woman is tied halfway up the statue, a daughter, and mother, of the Martikov clan. A stone wall 10 foot tall sur...

Hoskgak rests his back against a rock, blood running down his face, eyelids almost closed. The hill was supposed to be easier after the scouting Destiny did, but it turned out to be a challenge at every step. So much blood spilled on this land, so many hopes and lives crushed. Hoskgak's curiosity is growing stronger: what is driving this madness? A few hours before… At a short distance, the cats do their best: talk. Hoskgak is now listening despite pretending to be doing something else. The wine grows thanks to magic, says the winemaker. Would anything dare to root in this land if it weren’t for magic? There are three gems the ancestors passed on. Now they have been stolen by druids and witches. After a description of the gems and their last known location, the party decides to go and explore the hill to rescue what might be the remains of their kin. The hill, surrounded by mist, dark and with no vegetation other than a tree at the top. The formation has four levels that spiral the...

There is a saying amongst the wise : Curiosity killed the cat. If this was true, then at this very moment Destiny would be the one who is alone in the wine cellar of the Wizard's of Wine, ambushed by three giant tree-like creatures with half a dozen more coming from behind the wine racks. Of course, whoever coined this sage saying didn’t know Destiny. Hoskgak, on the other hand knows Destiny only too well, and if anyone asked him what happened here, he would say, “Curiosity killed Watch.” **** “Aren’t you even a little curious what’s in the basement, Watch?” pesters Destiny, “We’ve searched the whole house and all we found is some poisoned wine.” “Well now, didn’t you also find that beautiful +1 cooking pan? It’s even pre-coated with grease! I bet even you can cook well with that pan.” Watch says sarcastically. “What’s a +1 cooking pan? Oh never mind. I know it’s just a cooking pan, Watch. I told you, it’s metal and metal is worth something. Anyway, there must be more secrets to th...

Destiny is holding a used cooking pan and is distinctly pleased with herself. “You look very pleased.” “Yes I am Watch, yes I am. We have a job! And we are being paid for it. I’ve never had a paying job before, it’s sooooo cool.” Says Destiny beaming with pride. “Eh, that’s what you think just happened?” Watch asked, sarcastically. “Yeah. Didn’t you hear that old man? He said if we help him and his family claim back this winery, then he will pay us. That’s what a job is Watch, you do something and get paid for it. It’s ok, you probably probably don’t know anything about jobs since you’re an Imp.” “I’m not even going to comment on that. Anyway, you do know that he said he didn’t have anything to pay you, right? That he lost all his money thanks to the monsters taking his winery.” Watch corrected. “Yeah...” Destiny explained in a slow and deliberate way just like she would to a child Tabaxi back home, “... and so he said that we could take whatever we find in here as payment. Why are you...

It all comes back to wine. Wine saved me from the memories that were haunting me. Wine strengthened my fighting style. Now my quest is to save the wine. It seems my destiny is inseparable from the wine. - Rictavio... the mystery man of knowlege. He would have us believe he is our greatest ally, sharing so much of what he knows, but keeping so many more secrets. We do not even know his real name. Now he tells me my monastery was part of an Order of vampire slayers, that the Abbot was well known to him and also kept so many secrets from me. Did my family at the monastery know? Was being sent out by the Abbot a test? Did I fail? The more I find out, the less I know and the less I trust. What I do know, is that we are no longer welcome in Vallaki, whichever way the political games play out, we lose. The only sanctuary there is with the Martikovs, who showed us nothing but kindness and hospitality. Yet once again, more secrets, can they really be trusted? Rictavio tells us they have secrets...