COS 009 - The Straw Men Of Vallaki

As living scarecrows descended on the Pack, the hunters proved well-equipped for the horrors of Barovian nights. Shakti blasted the constructs with moonbeams as Szoldar doused their straw-filled foes in oil, prompting Yevgeni and Ghalwin set them alight. The party largely resisted the scarecrows' magical fear, and Ireena proved herself in combat, feinting with her torch to give Jarmo room to wreak havoc. Yevgeni was downed in the melee, but the Pack repelled the attack, marking one of their first conclusive victories. They rewarded themselves with a long rest. While the hunters nursed their wounds, the party devised watch code-words for subtle communication.

Jarmo and Ghalwin bonded over shared trauma, while Shakti and Ireena discovered they simply could not connect, despite their best efforts. By late morning they emerged from the Svalich Woods, and Szoldar paid out for the wolf pelts and offered standing work; the hunters could always use help culling wolves. He briefed them on Vallaki, a town ruled as a police-state under the Vallakovich family, where dissent was crushed and Strahd's name was forbidden. The Burgomaster Vargas Vallakovich enforced mandatory town-wide festivals as a ward against the Count, which had seemingly worked; "the Devil" hadn't terrorized the town in living memory. 

On the road, two Vistani riders approached. The party recognized Floriana, bound for the Vistani Camp west of Vallaki, accompanied by Arrigal. He was second-in-command of the camp, brother to its leader Luvash, and their horses carried saddlebags loaded with spices foreign to Barovia. Ghalwin charmed Floriana, called her his "wildflower," and the party got on well with Arrigal. The Vistana mentioned his niece Arabelle's birthday was approaching and asked the Pack to visit Blinsky Toys in Vallaki for a gift, as Vistani were banned from entering the town. The Pack accepted, and their hunting friends visibly relaxed once the Vistani rode on, clearly mistrusting the group.

Vallaki's gates were heavily fortified, and every visitor had to surrender their name as well as a full weapons list. The Pack complied, though Ghalwin smuggled in two shortswords and Jarmo concealed a flask of alchemist's fire. Ireena announced herself as nobility, immediately putting the guards off-balance, and allowed the Pack to walk through unchallenged. Once inside, they parted temporarily with Szoldar and Yegeni, planning to re-meet at the Blue Water Inn. They noted the Arasek Stockyard, a large plot hosting livestock, horses, and a strikingly bright carnival wagon, before continuing without delay to Saint Andral's Church to lay Franz's body to rest.

Father Lucian Petrovich received them with deep gratitude, sending his altar boy Yeska Urzica to fetch tea. He reported that the church's gravedigger, Milivoj Temesvari, had fallen seriously ill, and Ghalwin volunteered the Pack to dig a grave in his stead. Learning the church had no funds, the party went further and resolved to cook dinner for the children of Saint Andral's Orphanage, combining their two-day-old wolf meat with root vegetables purchased in town. With that, the Pack set off for the orphanage, ready to cook up a storm.