---

---

You gazed with satisfaction at the inferno that engulfed the windmill, basking briefly in the warmth from the flames, before turning you backs and heading back to Vallaki to deliver the children, Freek and Myrtle, to safety.

Passing the small clearing that led to Lake Vallaki made you recall and regret once again the Bluto incident, though knowing that Arabelle had been reunited with her family, and your rescue of two more children from the hag’s clutches, gave you some peace of mind.

Peace which was soon disturbed as you felt the air chill and the fogs rise suddenly around you, the padding of wolves and rattle of an approaching carriage telling you that another visit from Barovia’s lord and master was imminent.

Strahd stepped down from his conveyance and approached you, the familiar feeling of choking fear rising in your bellies as he did. He studied you for a moment, a wry smile on his face.

“I see you have destroyed Morgantha’s home - and I presume Morgantha too?”

Silence met his words as you waited to see why he was here.

“It is quite a bold message you send, I’m sure none in Vallaki nor Barovia have missed it. Once again you surprise, though only that you managed to defeat the old witches. Naturally we expect you would destroy everything in your path, it does seem to be your modus operandi.”

Garn spoke out at this, “We seek only to destroy that which destroys this land - and its peoples. You would do well to observe that.”

Strahd smiled at the challenge. “Oh I observe everything. I observe that you, for example, have visited somewhere you perhaps should not have. What happened to you? And to your eyes”, he said, turning to Bannor, “and to those unfortunates under the care of the Deva?”

Bannor grunted. “They were no unfortunates, they were abominations. As you well know.”

Strahd raised an eyebrow. “I wonder how it is that you can see so clearly now?” He turned to Zandeyr. “And you, Master Elf, seem to have acquired yourself some most unusual companions.”

“Nothing unusual, simply part of my investigations into power - and powers”, Zandeyr rejoindered.

“And what power do you seek? Is it my power that you wish to sup on, to usurp my place and sit on the throne yourself?”

“Never. We will never replace your evil with more”, Garn forcefully replied.

Zandeyr jumped in, “Garn! You speak too hastily!”

Strahd laughed. “Once you have tasted that power, it is hard to resist seeking more, is it not? I must say, of all Madam Eva’s ‘guests’, you have proven to be the most resilient, and the most intriguing. As such, I would like to invite you to dinner. It is not an invitation I give out lightly, so consider it a compliment. When you are ready, make it known and Rahadin will come and escort you to my humble quarters. There we will converse, as gentlemen do - though there may be other guests present too”, he said, staring directly at Viktor.

Viktor hung his head for a moment, then took a few steps forward. “Are you done?”

“Done? Why yes, I am done. I look forward to our next encounter, where I hope we can discover much more about each other. Remember, just let it be known, and it shall be done.”

---

In Vallaki, just for one night, you took the children to Father Lucian who promised to house them safely and find them good homes. Zane and Ireena made the most of their time, and the rest of you prepared for the journey to Berez.

At dawn you made your way East, then South following the tributary leading from Lake Vallaki. After several miles of walking, the road started to deteriorate, becoming more mud and bog than a clear path. The air grew thicker with moisture, tall sedges and pools of water starting to become frequent.

Almost before you knew it you were in the midst of a swampland. A dense fog hung over everything, obscuring your vision more than 50 yards, you often found yourself wading through knee deep water, the mud clinging to your every footstep. Frogs and toads kept up an incessant racket, and you were constantly swatting away clouds of insects. Birds or other creatures flew overhead, but you couldn’t make them out in the thick fog. It became darker as enormous thickly vined trees hung overhead, the wide wide river beside you the only means to navigate safely.

The path you were trying to follow split to the right and continued ahead, but the road ahead quickly devloved into a pool of water that you would have to somehow cross to continue. As you debated which path to follow, Xarann noticed a flashing light from the other side of the river. It was intermittent, but obviously not a natural source. Investigating seemed prudent, but the river was too wide to cross, and any notion of swimming or using rope to cross was quickly dispelled. Xarann revealed he could use his magik to carry himself and one other over, creating a portal to the other side, 300ft away. Splitting the party worried everyone though. Zane suggested his father could just fly over, with his newly revealed wings, but Viktor countered that whilst he could get over he wouldn’t' be able to get back for another day.

As the slow flashing continued and you pondered which path to take, Zandeyr proposed that he ask the local fauna what lay further into the swamp. He befriended a rat that was swimming over the flooded roadway, but struggled to get an intelligent answer. By asking non direct questions he did manage to discover that there were goats somewhere in the swamp - creatures Bannor observed were unusual for such an environment. The rat also seemed to think there were ‘tall ones’ here, but where and what was impossible to determine.

You debated walking back to where the river was fordable, before Viktor eventually struck on the idea of signalling back. He pulled out the green glowing lantern you had found on your first day in this land, and flashed it a few times. The light on the other side seemed to respond, changing it’s pattern slightly. Viktor mimicked the new sequence, and it became clear that something intelligent was controlling the lights. After the third repeat, the light suddenly shut off.

Soon you heard the beat of wings overhead. Squinting up you could see a dark bird circling, slowly descending. Zandeyr tried to focus on it and confirmed it was a Raven. It landed a few yards away, and suddenly morphed into a woman standing before you, wearing dark layered clothing.

---

“I have been expecting you,” she said.

She introduced herself as Muriel Vinshaw, and told you that she worked with the Martikov’s in protecting and watching the land. Urwin had sent word that you intended travelling to Berez, and Davian had also said to keep an eye out. It felt good to know that the Ravenkind were watching out for you.

Muriel explained that for her sins, she watched over Berez to keep tabs on Baba Lysaga. Lysaga was one of the deadliest and least predictable creatures in Barovia, so the wereravens made it their duty to warn when she moved about. Lysaga hated the ravens, and had taken sides with the druids in raiding the Wizard of Wines to steal the gems, as you knew. Muriel was grateful that you had helped Davian and destroyed the Druid coven and the Gulthias tree. Baba Lysaga hadn’t taken well to that development, Muriel believed, and she confirmed that the old witch was currently in Berez.

She gave you rough directions, pointing out where the ruined village lay, along with the remains of the burgomaster’s great mansion which now held a collection of penned goats that Baba Lysaga used somehow. She also warned you that Lysaga had a collection of ‘scarecrow’ minions who obeyed her instruction. Muriel couldn’t be sure how many there were, saying she’d only seen two together at any one time. She also confirmed that Baba Lysaga did indeed fly around in the huge skull of some long dead creature.

As you were about to head out to take the Westerly path, Zandeyr walked to the rivers edge and started patting the patches on his new robe. He found the one he was looking for, and quickly ripped off the patch and threw it down on the river’s edge. You could barely believe your eyes as you watched a large wooden rowboat materialise out of the scrap of cloth.

Incredulous you questioned Zandeyr, who merely shrugged and suggested hopping in. There was, barely, enough room for the six of you and the two hellhounds. Muriel, back in raven form, perched on the prow and guided you past the ruined village and down to a small tributary that led you close to the mansion, and to Baba Lysaga’s hut.

---

Wading futher into the swamp, which was often waist deep, you debated how to approach Baba Lysaga, Bannor saying that the general idea was to negotiate with her and obtain the skull that way. Xarann wanted to make it clear that you had precisely nothing to offer her, so the idea of engaging in negotiation seemed a little far fetched. Garn countered that your offer was clear - to change the power dynamics in Barovia. Xarann scoffed at this, repeating that you were bringing nothing she could want to the table.

Bannor said that you should just talk to her, find out what she wanted, and give it to her if it was within your power. Zane jumped in to say that you could offer her the death of Strahd, but Zandeyr disagreed - were you even sure they were enemies? Madam Eva had said offering Strahd was the only thing that might soften Baba Lysaga, but offer him how?

As you walked and argued, you spotted a human-like figure in the thick fog, unmoving and mysterious. You didn’t want to investigate, pressing on, and you spotted another as you continued the debate, also deadly still and unresponsive to your presence.

Viktor tried to quell the growing unrest, outlining two practical options. The first was to reconnoitre the area and work out an approach to the hut. The second was to do as Bannor said and simply approach her with an open mind and fast talking. Garn pointed out that there was also the Holy Symbol of Ravenkind to recover, something that had slipped your minds in the focus on Argynvost’s skull. He said it wasn’t like she would be giving you both things without a fight. Viktor said that none-the-less, getting out of this without a fight, like you had done with Exethanter, was your best chance of survival.

Zane cut into his father’s words with anger, “We can’t keep doing this, these bad guys are BAD guys, evil creatures, and we should be destroying them not codding them. We need to take care of them once and for all!”. He stormed off…and almost ran directly into one of the humanoid creatures that was standing only a few feet ahead. Zane recoiled and headed off in the opposite direction, somewhat fortuitously as it led you directly to what you’d been seeking: Baba Lysaga’s hut.

---

A warm flickering light shone from inside the open doorway of the hut, in front of which hovered a huge floating skull: Argynvhost. The hut perched on top of a massive stump, with multiple thick roots giving what looked like easy access to the outside of the ramshackle dwelling.

On either side of the doorway hung two cages, inside of which were scores of ravens, who started a deafening cacophony as you cautiously approached. Despite seeming like a warning system, no one emerged from the hut when they started their calls.

Bannor stealthily made his way around the back of the hut, determining that the doorway was the only viable entrance. He scaled the massive roots and tied a rope so others could quickly join him. A very narrow ledge made it possible to shimmy around the edge toward the front door. As he did so he could hear the sound of someone talking and humming inside, an aged and crackling woman’s voice. Bannor struggled to make out the words, but she seemed to be talking to…Strahd? And the tune she sung sounded almost like a lullaby.

Zane and Garn joined Bannor on the ledge, whilst Viktor scaled the leg on the opposite side. Zandeyr and Xarann moved toward the two raven cages, the birds still making an unholy racket - which luckily or unluckily, served to hide any noise of your approach.

Steeling himself, Bannor stepped into the entranceway to the hut, and he was shocked to the core by what he saw. Inside was an ancient woman leaning over a pristine white crib, in which lay a child. A childe. Bannor’s mind spun and his chest started pounding with a mortal terror and before he could speak he had to step away into the shadows again.

No-one could get past Bannor to find out what had spooked him so. His heart was racing, but he used well practiced means to force his soul to listen to his mind, and accept that this was not what he feared. It could not be.

Overcoming his panic, Bannor stepped back into the room, dropped to one knee, and spoke. “Great Baba Lysaga, we come to parlay”

---

The woman turned around slowly, quietening her baby. She spoke sharply, pointing a long finger directly at Bannor. “And who are you to be visiting Baba Lysaga?”. Her voice carried great power and brooked no quarrel.

Bannor removed his glasses. “My name is Bannor. And we come seeking…”

“Stop. Who is ‘we’?”, she demanded, at the same time as looking to the baby as if to calm it. The intensity of her gaze was deeply unsettling, and even Bannor felt a chill run up his spine.

Her bony finger remained directed at Bannor as Zane and Viktor stepped into the room, also lowering themselves, though Zane merely hovered his knee above the floor. Garn kneeled in the doorway too. Bannor moved forward slightly, closer to the crib, as the others entered. You saw the almost glowing crib, and behind a filthy bathtub stained deeply with blood, as well as a bad and small table.

“And then there were four”, she said, pointing her finger in turn at each of you.

Garn spoke. “Powerful Baba, we come to offer you something. And we hope that you will see fit to offer something in return”.

“Shhh, Strahd, shhh” she said toward the crib. She turned her gaze on Garn. “Get down. Further. Both knees”.

Garn looked up at her through his misshapen face. She was relishing this. But he lowered his other knee. “We seek something, and we believe that you too-”

“What, strange creature, would you offer Baba Lysaga?”

“We would offer you…Strahd, the man”.

Baba Lysaga shrunk back. Before leaning forward again and piercing Garn with her gaze. “Strahd you say? You can no more ‘offer’ Strahd than you can offer Mother Night herself. Strahd is eternal. Strahd is perfection. Strahd is the land.”

You all felt trapped, the intensity of her words leaving you with, as Xarann has suggested, nothing.

Lysaga broke the silence. “How many others?”

“Two more”, Garn offered, “if we may enter then they too can make themselves known to you”.

Baba Lysaga spoke again, her voice cutting through. “You may come forward, on your hands and knees. Crawl”.

Garn paused, then slowly started to lower himself to all fours. Bannor had seen enough started to stand, and Zane rose up too. She pointed a finger at both of them. “Get. Down”.

Bannor’s anger spoke out, “We will not play your games, hag, with your blood soaked tub and ungodly child!” Simultaneously, Zandeyr and Xarann released the ravens from their cages outside, Zandeyr telling them to hush as he did so.

And in the quiet you heard Baba Lysaga snap her fingers.

“I shall enjoy this”.

---

And she vanished, replaced by a cloud of flies that flew toward a small opening in the ceiling of the hovel.

The floor of the hut suddenly sprouted dozens of hideous black grasping tentacles, and a noxious green fog congealed inside the room. Bannor was leaping toward the cot to grab the living breathing child he could see in there, but a tentacle wrapped itself around his waist and dragged him to the floor and into the fumes.

Zane, standing on the small balcony, reacted instantly, hauling his father out of the grasp of the tentacles, while Garn managed to dive outside the hut and into the skull. Both were coughing from the foul air pouring out of the hut. Xarann sprinted up a root to try and access the room, but in his urgency he lost balance and fell on his back into the swamp below. Zandeyr clambered up the other root and into the skull, looking for a target.

Viktor’s wings formed and he flew to the rooftop, hoping to catch the swarm flying out. Zane yelled to Xarann and Zandeyr to target the three distinct swarms emerging from the rooftop. Xarann lurched to his feet and obliged, shooting out three flaming rays from his fingertips, each targetting one of the swarms. Zandeyr followed suit, sending out several bolts of flaming arrows, and instructing the ravens to attack the insect swarms - which they did, destroying one and distracting another.

Baba Lysaga suddenly reappeared on the roof, and laughed with glee at seeing Viktor, Zane, Garn and Zandeyr lined up below her. She waved her hands and a massive bolt of lightning shot down and into everyone.

Reeling, Viktor spluttered out a silencing spell that would stop her from following up with any further devastating strikes, and at the same time summoned a spiritual hammer that thumped Baba Lysaga at the same time his own did. Zane leapt up onto the roof and charged into the witch, slicing her badly and opening four nasty wounds before getting his matching pink rapiers slightly tangled in the sheer speed of his attacks.

Bannor, desperately trying to breath in the noxious cloud, freed himself from the tentacles and reached for the child. But his hands passed clean through both the child and the cot. Cursing at the illusion, he flung himself across the room and outside onto the balcony. Xarann flung a trademark witch-bolt at its namesake, trading her lightning strike for his.

Garn muttered a prayer and then bampfed behind the hag on the roof, preparing to swing his axe. Before he could, she changed into her swarm form again, and flew to the skull below - Zane and Viktor swinging somewhat futilely at the swarm as it passed. She reappeared in the skull where Zandeyr and Bannor waited, and spoke a few words to Zandeyr. A thorned iron crown appeared on his head, befitting for his newly imagined royalty, and a madness swept into his eyes. He turned his bow toward Xarann, preparing to fire on him next.

Bannor seized the opportunity to dive onto the skull and absolutely bury his twisting knife into Baba Lysaga’s belly, drawing a howling screech as black-green blood exploded from the deep wound. Zandeyr rose up and grandly spoke a few mystical words, waving his arms for extra effect: you heard a deep bell tolling, and wondered for whom it did. Alas it wasn’t Baba Lysaga, who seemed unaffected.

Garn, frustrated at missing his swings, charged down the roof and leapt into the skull, slicing into Baba Lysaga as he landed. Zane followed suit, albeit with more style, somersaulting through the air and onto the witch. The combined weight of all the skulls inhabitants rocked it dangerously, but everyone managed to stay aboard. Viktor flew down and added his hammer strikes to the melee.

Baba Lysaga, badly wounded now, ordered the skull to rise, and it suddenly flew upwards at great speed. Garn and Zane lost their footing and fell to the swamp below, with Bannor alone remaining in the flying skull. Viktor tried to grab hold to be pulled along, but it was too difficult to stay attached.

She looked down with delight at those flailing in the mud, and unleashed a fireball into the midst. It exploded in flaming fury, badly burning everyone but Garn, who managed to raise his shield and submerge himself just in time.

At the same time, you realised with horror that the hut itself was moving. It reared up on its hind roots, and brought the two frontal roots down on Zandeyr and Zane with devastating force. Zane was crunched under the root, but survived the blow. Zandeyr wasn’t so lucky, as the crushing blow caught him full bodied, and he fell lifeless into the murky water.

In the skull, Bannor tried to pin Baba Lysaga again, but was flung to the side by the steeply turning conveyance. Just as it looked like Baba Lysaga could escape, or unleash further destruction, Garn stepped through the mists and directly into the skull. He wasn’t going to miss his opportunity this time.

Garn swung his massive axe in two exquisite arcs (that even Zane had to grudgingly admire). The first sliced the witch’s back open, and the second her chest, and with that Baba Lysaga was dead. Her body exploded into chunks of flesh and squirming maggots,

The skull fell to the swamp below, Bannor exiting gracefully as it fell, while Garn clumsily ended up face down in the swamp waters, somewhat mollifying Zane’s jealousy.

---

Zandeyr felt himself returning to the darkness, but this time he was almost looking forward to seeing what would come next.

A voice in the dark, different to the last, spoke.

“You are back. This is encouraging. Your appetite marks you, as does your thirst. Last time you didn’t want to choose. This time you must. You seek to know the truth of undeath. I will bestow that power upon you that you may learn even darker secrets. You must simply choose by what means: through the living, or through the dead?

Zandeyr didn’t pause this time. He knew what he sought and what he needed to do to find it.

“The living.”

“The right choice, for the course you have set. It shall be so. Before we depart, understand this: we have now taken two deaths from you. The next time you visit, you will not return.”

---

Zane crawled to Zandeyr’s lifeless body and tried to stabilise him, but his own wounds - and natural inclination to attack rather than mend - made it difficult to know what to do. Xarann joined him at the dead Ranger’s (or is it Mage’s?) side, pulling an almost forgotten potion from his belt and easing it down Zandeyr’s throat, willing him back to life. And he was rewarded as the elderly Ranger slowly opened his eyes.

Eyes that were sickly yellow, unhealthy and pale. Xarann looked at Zandeyr’s hands that were clutching him, and was disturbed to see the fingers and hands now look brittle and skeletal, skin stretched then over pale bone. And instead of healthy red, his wounds now oozed blood pitch black and viscid like tar.

Xarann looked to Zane, who shook his head and walked away. Garn too looked grim, his own visage a good match for the clawlike hands on Zandeyr. At least he was alive.

---

Bannor hopped back up into the now stationary hut, his attention drawn instantly to a green glow emitting from under the floorboards where the crib had been. He ignored that and instead started checking the chest that was the only other interesting object in the room (the blood-stained bathtub being too disturbing to warrant getting close). He discovered it was protected by a magical ward of some kind, and summonsed Viktor to dispel it. Viktor paused to case a curative spell on everyone, healing some of the hurt Baba Lysaga had inflicted, before working on the chest.

Once it was disabled, Bannor again carefully checked for traps, warning everyone to back away. He slowly lifted the lid, rechecking, before finally opening it fully. Inside was a small but very valuable cache of items, including the fabled Holy Symbol of Ravenkind, as prophesied by Madam Eva’s reading all those moons ago. Viktor picked the symbol up and studied it, and Xarann suggested he should wear it. Viktor looked at Garn, who nodded, then he slipped it over his head.

There were also several spell scrolls, a bag of valuable gems (including the large diamond Viktor sought), some musical pipes made from bone, a vial of silvery gel, and a small carefully polished agate stone - that Bannor slipped into one of his eye sockets, using sleight of hand before anyone could notice it.

---

Outside, Zandeyr started recovering by scraping some samples off the roots supporting the stump, confirming that it was still alive in some planty-way. Much to everyone’s horror, he also started crawling around bottling chunks of Baba Lysaga’s exploded flesh, along with some of the maggots. Xarann pondered the skull and how you might be able to move it, though to Zane’s eyes Xarann was busy doing exactly nothing. He commented to his father that his dark elf protégé was ‘weird’. Viktor sternly shushed him.

Inside the hut, Garn confirmed the magical nature of many of the items in chest, and of the green glow. Zane had a go at ripping up the floorboards, but found them too strong. Viktor casually attempted a lift on his way to the chest but also failed, and Bannor managed to get his fingers stuck in the floor cracks when he gave it a go. Against the odds it was Xarann who finally prised the floorboard off, after arriving carrying a crowbar that the recovering Zandeyr had pulled out from beneath his coat. Xarann also managed to somehow break the crowbar in the process, perhaps more in keeping with his magical nature.

Below the floorboards lay a glowing green gem in a three foot cavity. Bannor recognised it as one of the Wizards of Wines' magical seeds - the final missing one, used to create their premium Champagne de la Stomp. Zane shoved Xarann aside and reached down to take the seed, narrowly avoiding having his hand severed as the hut tried to bite it off in using its last shards of lifeforce. Zane displayed the seed with a flourish, and you were all forced to once again admire the frankly incredibly dextrous skills of this young man. Lucky Ireena.

---

Baba Lysaga’s cache

• 1300GP
• Five 500gp gemstones, including a single pristine diamond
• A vial of gelatinous oil that sparkles with tiny, ultrathin silver shards (Oil of Sharpness)
• Two spell scrolls (Mass Cure Wounds and Death Ward) (readable by any who can cast those spells)
• A pouch containing 10 sling bullets +1
• A set of bone pipes, with a bird skull on each pipe (Pipes of Haunting, wondrous, requires musical proficiency)
• A brilliantly polished agate stone (Stone of Good Luck, wondrous, requires attunement)
• Holy Symbol of Ravenkind

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Sessions played: 27 April & 4 May, 2020