A New Barovia: Chapter One

[steveflam]

PRELUDE.......


June 22nd, 775
Core of Ravenloft

Residents of the lands sleep from Immol in Barovia to Martira Bay in Darkon, and a strange transformation occurs. The whole core begins shifting and changing, earth moving, seas growing and expanding. Starting with the Nocturnal Sea. It shifts, expanding south of Nova Vaasa and then west to Barovia at Hoessla. Even as the residents slumber, Barovia now has two ports! One in Immol and the other in Hoessla. Strange enough is that residents will wake in the morning to know there are ports there. Over the next few years the seas will be terrorized by what some call the Dread Pirate. The few who live to see him can only say he hides his face behind a cloak, his cape red and blue. Long black locks escape from the hood of his cloak as well.

The land of Hazlan shifts, moving under the land of Nova Vaasa. Nova Vaasa itself moves North to make way for Hazlan. Now the lands of Nova Vaasa and Falkovnia border each other. The Shadow Rift shrinks to nothing. Tepest and Keening will now touch the tip of Falkovnia. The land of Forlorn shimmers and disappears, making way for a much larger Barovia.

Looking upon Castle Ravenloft, one might have to blink twice. Where once stood the Devil Strahd’s castle now lays an even more majestic one! Anyone approaching the castle swears to have heard shrieks which chill them to the bone, making them age a few years. Soon enough people learn to stay away from this place.

10 YEARS LATER, MORE OR LESS...

April 3rd, 785
Somewhere in Barovia

Consciousness arrives slowly. Trickling into the mind. Fire.... such pain....never felt..... Then nothing but blackness. Awarenss is next. Where am I? How long have I been this way? A slight mist moves around slowly, settling on a spot. A form slowly materializes. It doesn't move as of yet. The mind is now awake as is the form. Male. Over fifty, dark black hair, strong face. Black cape with red interior, black pants, white shirt, blood red pendant on necklace.

Nearby, a form stirs, looking at the happenstance within the cave. "So, you wake, my lord?," asks the voice. It approaches, unsure if it is correct.

The form now rises, sitting up. He looks at the cave's other occupant, eyes boring into its eyes. In a commanding voice, he states
"Tell me! Where am I and how long have I been here?"

The figure swallows, nervous. "Uh, from what I've learned, you have been away for over ten years or more, sire."

"Who are you? And why are you here?"

"I am Azrael, sire, your humble servant. Strange events abound in your land, sire. I waited for your awakening with eagerness."

The other frowned. This thing thought itself his servant? He eyes it more closely. "Creature, you say you are my servant, but who do you really serve? Yourself or someone else. Don't lie to me, I will find out soon enough and squash you like the
bootlicking bug that you are. Now, tell me of my land!"

"Sire, I... only wish to help you...... Bah, very well....... what do you wish to know?"

"First of all, how did you now to come here for me?. Answer me or face my wrath, bug."

Azrael shuffles his feet, nervous. He'd heard of this one from his former Lord and didn't wish to face this one's wrath.

"I learned it from my previous Lord, sire. The Blackest Knight, sire. I believe you know of him? Soth is his name."

The other frowns. "Soth? He is here? Now? And he told you of me? How is this possible?"

Azrael is nervous and answers quickly. "Yes he is here, sire. And resides in his castle, where yours once stood. I know not
where your abode is, sire. I do know it was replaced by Needragaard [sp] Keep a few years ago and Soth ahs been here
ever since."

The figure ponders the information. "So, Soth is now herwe in Barovia, posing as its Lord. I wonder, how came you to
be here and find me, Azrael?" The figures eyes flare red and he bares his pointy fangs at Azrael.

Azrael shifts from one foot to another, nervous. Honesty here would save his hide. "I learned of it from a gypsy, sire. She knew where to find you and the exact date. I let her live, of course. Why be more cursed than I am already, eh? I came and now you are alive, sire. I think that the great Strahd Von Zarovich should be returned to his rightful place as lord of Barovia, don't you?"

Strahd has no reaction to Azrael. He does know he has a few hours before the sun rises and he needs sustenance. "Very well. You may remain my servant for as long I have use for you, bug. Find out as much as you can about Barovia and Soth and come back to me in three days."

He changes into a bat and flies out of the cave and into the Barovian night.

[steveflam]

Sunday May 1st, 785
Krezk, Barovia, mid afternoon

Everyone but Khalfani

Passing through the gates you first notice the that the streets are of cobblestone. As you walk through the city, you notice that the population are very leery of you and ignore you for the most part. Some do stare at you, in a standoffish kind of way. Making your way further into the city, you now notice a few things. Having been walking around for a while it is evident that the city is split into four quarters. The East quarter appears to house the poorer of the city as well as the slums. The Western quarter is the
Merchant's quarter as well as the center for Inns, Taverns and all around drinking holes.

The Northern quarter appears to be the official one, with a large many large buildings, a park in the center and what appears to be at least two temples.

Here you spy something rather unusual. What looks to be eight creatures walk in a rank? They resemble badly misshapen humans, with greenish brown warty skin. Their hair is long, unkempt and shaggy. This surrounds its large bald deformed head. It has a rather large, fanged mouth. The most bizarre part of their bodies are their glowing red eyes which have no pupils or irises. They actually walk along the street, ignoring the population. The residents tend to give them a wide berth, but appear to be used to these beasts. The sight of them makes you shiver.

Finally, in the Southern quarter is what looks to be the more fortunate area of town. These don't even begin to compare to what you've seen in the East quarter. Moving back to the Merchant's quarters, you find an Inn. The sign is of what looks to be a dying fire. Entering, there is a small hallway opening up into a larger room. There are stairs to your right and a door on the left at the back. In the middle back wall is a reception area. A man stands behind a counter reading.


Khalfani

Your day is terminated and you return to the Dying Ember Inn.

[BigBadQDaddy]

Thomas approaches the man. "Good afternoon, I would like a room and a stall in the stables for my mule."
Thomas give the man a friendly enough face as he awaits the inn keepers response.

[Zilfer]

OOC Again not sure if we are already together and know eachother. Since I’m new to the site I’m going with my gut feeling here, let me know if it’s wrong. xD

Coin strolled through the roads into town on his grey horse named ‘Steel’ the owner he had bought him hadn’t been very creative with names and had also been a blacksmith. The horse had been good to him through his travels, though he seemed droll and uncaring most of the time. The town was of decent size and he saw split into sectors each one seeming to have a world of its own. First on his list was finding a place to rest, and a place to allow Steel to rest since he’d been carrying most of the load through the journey. He noticed very odd…. Humanoids walking the streets that everyone else seemed afraid of. He was sure with good reason after he saw the red eyes that made him shiver like a cold wind had just blown underneath his cloak. ‘I’ll make a note to avoid them in the future…’ thought Coin.

The symbol on the front of the first Inn he came across made him raise an eyebrow, though he always found that Inn’s had a colorful way of advertising. He walked in and saw a man at the front desk checking in, he walked behind the man waiting his turn. He kept an ear out for how much a room would cost him for the night.

[steveflam]

The man behind the desk looks at Thomas. Mordentish "Yes. Will that be for the night or the week? For the week is 3 silvers or 5 coppers each night, sir. The stable is the same, sir." Once Thomas decides and pays the innkeeper, he is handed a key and told to mount the stairs and his room is there.

The same thing occurs with Coin. It is near the evening meal hour.

[Ail]

Robert arrives to the same inn as the others on that day, although later. He comes on foot, a bit travel stained. The gear he carries seems to make him weary, but he still brings no mule nor horse.

That's something I should buy one of these days he thought to himself.
He looked around, noticing the people present in the room, the general look of the room and trying to gauge the level of business this inn had.

Then he approached the innkeeper and asked in a merryful tone:
"Good evening sir, might you have a room for me tonight, please?"

After the man tells him the price (OOC: I'm assuming the same that he told the others), he tries to negotiate.

"Say, you seem to have a fine house here. Have many customers? What say you, I play for them and entertain them for a while, could you make me a discount in the price of the room?"

He points at his lute that he carries over his backpack to reinforce his words.

[steveflam]

The Innkeeper looks at Robert's lute, no expression apparent. "Thank you for the offer, but we have no need here for entertainment at this time. Our customers is of no concern to you, sir. Here is your key, enjoy you stay." The man looks away from Robert and opens a book, peering into it.

[A G Thing]

Josem sighting the strange humanoids looks up from his note pad of which he has been entering various Barovian words that he has been able to interpret. He is marveling at the towns ability to accept such wondrously different creatures. Of course the fact that he was having trouble purchasing some supplies he attributed mostly to his distinct racial qualities but then again he had yet to see another of his kind outside of Mayvin but that was most likely due to simple probability.

Wandering back to the inn he had placed lodgings at earlier Josem was engrossed fully in his thoughts on listening to and studying the local language, classifying the possible races of the troop of humanoids, calculating the probability again of meeting another gnome and also counter balancing his thoughts of how best to connect outside of race meaningfully so as to lead to further dialogues on the proper views and applications of magic in society... So of course watching where he was going did not factor heavily into what he was doing...

"Oof! (Twang!) Sorry, my apologies good sir!" Looking to the instrument his head had smacked he identified it as lute and quickly adds... "That is quite an instrument you have there! I do hope I have not damaged this fine piece of musical craftsmanship? Do you know where it was made? Kartakass maybe?"

[Zilfer]

Coin reached in and grabbed a single gold coin from his pocket.

"I'll take the week, I plan to stay for a good while," said Coin placing it on the counter. "Keep the change."

He wasn't worried about money at the moment. He kept a few gold coins in his pocket and the rest in his backpack. After he paid and tipped the man he headed back outside to his horse. It snorted at him as if to say 'now what?'

"Come on Steel your going to have a new home for the next week, lets go see if they got a space for you," said Coin untying the rope and leading the horse into the stables. He lead his horse to an open stall, and began to unpack his horse. He remembered that the horse had been carrying him for most of the trip along with his belongings. Poor thing needed a rest. He hadn't been in one place for very long, and he hoped to change that. It was no stranger to him the smells of this stable, he had grown up originally on a farm. It had caused quite a stir at his home when he told them he was leaving. Farming just wasn't what he wanted in life, and it was clear his father did not approve, but he didn't try to stop him. This surprised him, if anything he was expecting resistance but he gone none. He vowed that he would one day return, and patch things up between him and his family until then however he needed to figure out a way to stop depleting the money he had and start increasing it. He had gotten it mostly from a parting gift from his mother, and picked up a bit of gold from odd jobs along the way. Steel snorted in his face again breaking him from his day dream.

"Haha, you must be hungry boy. I'm sure they'll be along soon to feed you, it's almost supper time if I'm not mistaken. If not I'll be back to feed you soon enough don't worry," said Coin with a smile on his face. Steel stared at him for a moment before walking off to a corner of the stable. He chewed on a few left overs that hadn't been eaten from the last horse that had been in the stable. Coin hoped it would hold him over until he was fed. He didn't need a grumpy horse on his hands.

Coin exited the stables and head back to the main lobby of the Inn, he moved towards his room and opened the door were he unpacked his things, grabbed some more gold from his backpack and stored the rest for later. He headed down towards the Dining room, they had to have some good food here....

[Ken of Ghastria]

Khalfani moved his way, quickly and quietly, through the streets and back toward the inn. In the time that the dark-skinned gnome has spent in this cold, humid, dreary land, Khalfani has learned painfully that paranoia breeds in isolation. Many times, scowls and suspicious glances were directed at him by ignorant yet (understandably) frightened Barovians who wondered why their land has suffered so much lately and been isolated. While the situation has improved slightly, Khalfani has no illusion that people's bigotry will follow suit.

Hmmm, haven't seen that horse before, he thinks as he approaches the Dying Ember Inn. Fresh faces? Excellent! He adjusts his keffiyeh to reveal his slightly hooked nose, piercing eyes, brown beard, and a chin that is surprisingly strong-looking for a gnome. He sees several people whom he hasn't seen before... but they seem to be speaking comfortably in that Set-cursed Mordentish tongue.

He gives a casual wave of greeting to the innkeeper as he enters and walks up to the bar. "Good evening," he says in Balok. "Something warm from the kitchens tonight, perhaps?" He then turns his attention to the two men having an impromptu conversation about the lute. "Excuse me, please," he continues in Balok. "Is one of you a performer?"

[Ail]

Robert has just about time to reply to the innkeeper with a gracious smile

"such a bad temper, sir, please take no offense, I was just offering. You know, happier customers consume more. But nevermind..."

He lays 3 silver on the table and says

"I'll take the room, please make it a nice one" he winks.
Then he is suddenly interrupted by what appears to be a child at first glance. Then he looks better and this creature seems to be a bit old for a child. A halfling perhaps? Nay, a gnome?!

"Oh, hi there. Another traveler I see, it's always good to meet fine new people. Yes, thank you, a fine piece indeed. I had it custom made, and with Verbrekan wood too! They say it has a certain wild melodious nature in its fibers that give it a remarkable new tone... As to where it was made... I would not tell it anyone, you see, or everyone might want to steal it from me (he lowers his voice and his body to almost whisper at Josem's ear): I commissioned it from a master bard in Egertus... a gypsy who had learned the craft in Kartakass... Kartakans are great bards, but for lute and violin... trust me, there's no one like the gypsies."

OOC: Bluff (telling a tall tale):
1d20+8 = 15
http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/2996516/

He then sees another newcomer arriving, also a short character but dressed in a fancy costume. The new arrival addresses him a strange harsh language, while pointing at his lute.

Robert smiles and says
Vaasi
"No, it's not for sale, but my services can be rented if you wish"
he tries in the strangest language he knows. Maybe the other will understand.

[BigBadQDaddy]

Thomas pays the inn keeper for a weeks rent and a weeks stall in the stable. After which he makes a brief stop in his room to drop off his things and get a bearing on his surroundings. His father had said inns were the last place you should allow yourself to get comfortable at. But of course he said that about quite a lot of places.
After locking his room, he makes his way back down the stairs into the main room of the inn, pausing momentarily at the sight of so many travelers. And lo and behold two of them were gnomes! How utterly rare.
He takes his strides confidently and exits the inn to gather Tack, his faithful, though stubborn mule. Leading the mule to the stables he gives a nod to the man exiting whom he had seen moments before at the front desk. Upon entering the stables, Thomas wastes little time on putting up his pack animal and making sure he is properly cared for after there long trip. Once he is finished he makes his way back to the inn itself, stopping to take in it's layout and relation to it's surroundings, and of course noting any possible additional exits. Once satisfied the young man heads in to what he hopes to be a suitable supper.

[steveflam]

OOC: Presuming everyone heads for supper here. Not railroading anyone, of course.

Evening meal

The dining room seats close to one hundred, more or less. Simple tables fill the dining room. The walls hold pictures of scenery, Barovian or foreign. One wall is actually a fireplace which heats the room lightly. Several patrons are already seated. They will look up at you as you enter, then return to their conversations.

A waitress comes to serve you. Soon, a man at a table looks over in Thomas' direction. He does this but not in trying to hide his curiosity. Soon enough, he rises and approaches Thomas' table.



"Pardon me, but you remind me of someone I knew years ago. A William Tack, in fact. I am Vassili, Vassili Ivanovich. Captain of the militia in Krezk."

[Zilfer]

Coin entered into a crowded room, been awhile since he had been in a place with such noise. Perhaps he had been getting too used to the open road and the silence it brought. Well near silence, Steel's hooves repetitive clacking never did cease on the open road. He went and ordered dinner before sitting in the middle of the room. A generally odd place to sit since most would sit in the far reaches of the place keeping their distance if they didn't know anyone. A mug of beer was well on it's way, he was sure the man behind the counter had given him quite the look. He didn't look that far into manhood to be drinking, a bad habit he had picked up along the road but it hadn't killed him as of yet. Besides, it was nice to indulge every once in awhile.

He then look a look around the room to see what he could see, if anything was out of the ordinary.

ooc I guess this is were I roll a spot check? If not aw well.

1d20+7 → [8,7] = (15)
Link
http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/2997581/

[A G Thing]

To Robert

Josem noting the conspiratorial tone that the seeming bard and his insistance at the truth of the tale facinates him quite a bit... While he had never heard of such he would play along with the story until such a time that he could properly research it... The wood did seem to match anyway but he was only guessing and disturbed by this deficency set off to start to resolve this lack of knowledge...

"Really!?!? It is refreshing to hear of someone dealing with Vistani so peacefully! Most tales I have heard place them in the realms of superstition and warps the distinction of them from that of demons or the like to the point that it breeds fear! Of course it is possible that they are some sort of mythical creatures as I have never met any! You look relatively unburnt, so either they did not breath flame on you, or you have some sort of magnificent resistance to fire... Or they can't breathe fire in the first place! I hope to learn the secret of that trick in a more mundane fashion to teach my pony Yaoental! Though he has been skipping his Vaasi lessons in order to rest more often, though he is rather old for a pony! I did teach him one time to reply in a primitive sign the words 'My the weather is seasonable!' Though since it was out of context and he repeated it until my rewards for him were gone I cannot call that definitive! I am certain however that..."

Josem does not seem to realize the way he is carrying on and continues to flood this poor bard with constant streams of questions and factoids getting wrapped up in the conversation that he is unable to do more than breathe between sentences.