COS 044 - Gods And Kings
  1. Adventures

COS 044 - Gods And Kings

Completed
Curse Of Strahd

Exhausted, the five barely had time to consider the implications of Ajuni's scary new form as they rode from the dragon's mansion. The sorceress now radiated an otherworldly cold, with a glistening sheen, shadowed orbitals, and tendril-like hair; as they camped, the nearly disastrous heist forced the party to reconsider their relationships with power. Delban revealed his true form to Ajuni, who intuited that the more she relied on his powerful magic, the more he would take from her. She shared a tender moment with Tobias, who promised to never forsake her, and the gnome began building her a prototype forearm based on Ezmerelda's prosthetic.

Meanwhile, on his watch, Mormeros invited another conversation with Dharus, but regretted it. He accidentally persuaded his patron to invade Barovia with the full forces of the Hell once the warlock opened the mists. He was unable to backpedal the idea, and Dharus would decide later on if he would allow Momo's friends to survive. After that concerning conversation, he was contacted by another potential patron. "The Kingmaker" Ten-Zras believed that Strahd and Vampyr's rule could be supplanted, and that even an archdevil would not find his plane through the mists. 

The party had a full day of rest as Ezmerelda recuperated, and got a chance to reflect on how their individual magics had grown. During a conversation with Ghalwin and Mormeros, Ez mentioned that months ago, she too had been contacted a Dark Power. She had refused the call of Fekre, the Queen of Poxes; Mormeros had surprisingly little to say. Pip Squeak, however, learned the meaning of sacrifice and told Ghalwin he too would offer himself up to a Dark Power if the need arose.

They traveled through the next day, not quite making it to the Luna River Crossroads before electing to camp. During their rest, they were ambushed by two bodaks in the night, and Ghalwin recognized one as a horror who had been turned away by Atlas months ago. They approached with withering gloom, but the sightless paladin was undeterred; he no longer had to meet their deathly gaze to fight them. As his radiant smites lit the darkness, Verity charged, and gored the bodak with its antlers. Ajuni blasted back the other with her newfound eldritch force, keeping Mormeros and Ez safe from its aura of annihilation. This bought time for Ghalwin and Ezmerelda to take down the last bodak using blind fighting and magic missiles that required no vision at all. 

As they savored another triumph over darkness, they went over their route, unsure if it was smart to visit Vallaki or the Vistani Camp. With the future unknown, they busted out the deck of cards and had Ez perform a 10pm Tarokka reading. She set up the decor in her vardo, and the divination revealed that the Tome of Strahd was now in Berez, and that with van Richten's death, Ezmerelda had become their fated ally. Further prophecies read into the party's personal struggles, but confirmed that the corrupted bishop would be unable to revive The Pack, that Tobias' betrayer was now undead at the Vistani Camp, that Ajuni would face temptation before an amber sarcophagus, and that Mormeros would be a harbinger of a calamitous reckoning. 

Not looking for a scuffle with Marcus Cromwell or Fiona Wachter, the party decided to make for Castle Ravenloft. They would travel in darkness and without rest, putting as much distance between them and the werewolf den before the full moon arose.