Too Much Pie Will Kill You

The first night in Barovia started like any other. Due to his elven heritage, Xuza woke up a few hours before everyone else and went to help Danika Dorakova, one of the innkeepers, set up breakfast. Soon, it was time for the others to wake up so the party would not miss their meeting with Ismark. Unfortunately, Xuza found it impossible to do any of them. Unbeknownst to Xuza at the time, the pies they had bought from Morgantha yesterday had put the non-elven members of the group into a magical, uninterruptable sleep. When finally waking, the group hurried to their meeting with Ismark and, unfortunately, bought more pies from Morgantha for breakfast.

When arriving at the Burgeonmaster’s house, the party is again greeted by a demonstrating mob demanding that Ireena leave town. Ismark explains that the current unrest in town is due to several people recently disappearing, the latest being a man called Gregor Stanovich. Many in town, including the mob outside of the house, believe Strahd is orchestrating these disappearances, and removing Ireena Kolyana from town would make the disappearances stop, which is why there are demonstrating people outside. Ismark, on the other hand, does not believe Strahd has anything to do with the disappearances but rather thinks that the culprit might be somewhere in town. He urges the party to investigate and nudges them toward Gregor’s house as a starting point.

On the way to Gregor’s house, Xuxa had a sudden urge to eat more pies, alerting the party to other, more devious properties of the pies. Xuzas’ urge was strong enough for him to purchase a single piece from Geoff (who saw a good opportunity) for a sum of money, surpassing the price of a whole pie.

Investigating Gregor’s house and questioning the neighbors, the party found signs pointing toward the church. Following up on the trail, the group found more suspicious clues outside the church. Inside, the group was met by a very nervous priest, father Donavich, who dodged all of the questions. When finally confronted, Donavich admitted that his son Doru had been turned into a vampire spawn. Unable to put Doru out of his misery, Donavich had instead locked him in the basement and brought him “sustenance” in the form of innocent townspeople. Donavich plead for understanding was heard, but the party still decided to send for Ismark and let him decide how to deal with the situation. Realizing that the gig is up, Donavich urged Doru to flee. Doru then proceeded to break down his cage door, and hostilities quickly followed. After finishing Doru, the party was again confronted by Strahd, who avoided being aggressive himself, choosing instead to test the party by sticking two ghosts on them. The party managed to defeat the ghosts and were thus only left with the priest himself. Donavich seemed disturbed about what had happened but did not take any further aggressive action.

After the dust settled at the church, the party decided to regroup at Ismark’s house. Leaving the church, Cinna insists that she stay behind to look after Donavich. Sensing that something is off, Xuza decides to also hang back and observe Cinna. By doing so, Xuza learns the truth of Cinnas and Strahd’s relationship: that he is her adoptive father.

The party returns to Ismarks house to find that Ireena had run away, supposedly to avoid causing Ismark any more trouble. They spend the night there, aiming to move west the next day.