Abandonded Tower and Reunions in Vallaki

The day begins again at the vineyard, with a bit less hangover than the morning before. Thanks to Cinna’s intensive dancing and the recovered gem, some very early signs of revitalized growth could be observed in the fields outside of the vineyard. As such, Davian is in noticeably higher spirits and seems confident that the vineyard might be able to return to normal operations soon. Even so, he reminds the group that two of the three gems are still missing. Davian seems convinced that Baba Lysaga in Berez has one and that Urvin Martikov, the innkeeper in Vallaki who is also Davidian’s brother, is somehow responsible for the other being lost.

As the trip back to Vallaki is relatively short, the Lost Travelers follow Cinna’s suggestion and detour via the abandoned tower near Lake Baratok. On the way, the group comes across a wagon from Vallaki. It turns out that the wagon belongs to a pair of guards who are out hunting something for the upcoming tournament in Vallaki. By connecting with the guards via their shared background, Darren learns that “going for the adult” will most likely be helpful when encountering these beasts in the tournament.

Arriving at the tower, the lost travelers do not find it nearly as abandoned as their druidic friend had led them to believe. Instead, they find an unmanned wagon outside and a bottom floor that looks like someone recently moved in. The group investigates and finds evidence that the current resident is scheming something against Strahd himself. The group’s sneaking is interrupted by Ezmeralda D’avenir, the current resident of the tower, riding in on her horse. After some initial tension, the group manages to convince Ezmeralda of their good intentions. Bart also recognizes Ezmeralda as Emily, the long-lost Vistani girl.

The party then spends time discussing with Ezmeralda. They learn that she lost her parents at a young age and left Barovia to seek out the legendary vampire hunter Rudolf van Richten to train under him. Even though the old vampire hunter agreed to train her, he kept her at a distance and never trusted her fully. Their relationship broke off a few years back. The group also learns that Richten is in Barovia hiding under the pseudonym Rictavio, the bard that the group had met a few days ago at Blue Water Inn. Currently, Ezmeralda is in Barovia hunting Strahd, the greatest of the vampires, hoping to impress her old master.

The discussion briefly touches upon the amber temple in addition to Ezmeralda herself. Esmeralda tells the group that, according to her, the Amber Temple might be the key to ridding Barovia of Strahd and the vampires for good. While this intrigues the group, some more than others, the Lost Travelers decide to stick with their plan and head back to Vallaki to reunite with Geoff and take part in the tournament. Ezmeralda asks the group to return the horse she rode to the Vistani camp outside Vallaki. The group learns she had liberated the horse against the camp’s wishes. The group agrees despite vivid protests from Bart, who seems very reluctant to visit the said camp.

The group’s journey back to Vallaki is interrupted by an unexpected encounter with a drow merchant who introduces himself as Vasil. The party walks in on Vasil’s wagon, which is looking fully overturned by bandits, and Vasil himself is unconscious on the ground next to it. The group revitalizes Vasil, who then asks them for safe passage back to town. Surprisingly, Vasil seems more interested in traveling with the group than in his wares or wagon. During the trip back to Vallaki, Vasil asks suspiciously specific questions regarding the group. He also tells them about his shop in Vallaki. Even if the described location of the shop is reasonable, Bart and Cinna have yet to heartore in that particular location. Finally, Vasil also asks the group to look into a shipment from the town of Barovia that has yet to make its way to Vallaki. Even if the group is suspicious of Vasil, they still agree to look into it.

When arriving in Vallaki, the party bids Vasil farewell and decides to split up. Darren and Xuza go to the Vistani camp to return the horse, while Bart Marillion and Cinna head into town to find Goeff and reunite Olivenka with her dad.

Xuza and Darren quickly realize that the Vistani camp at Vallaki significantly differs from the one at Tser Pools. It is much less well maintained, with signs of neglect and decay everywhere. They soon also learn that the camp is led by the two brothers Luvash and Arigal, who, at the time of the Darrens and Xuza’s arrival, are busy punishing another camp member for apparently losing the horse. Darren and Xuza return the horse but cannot convince Arigal to stop disciplining the poor camp member. They are, however, able to determine that the potion for surviving in the mists surrounding Barovia that Arigal was trying to sell them is most likely fake.

Meanwhile, the three other members of the lost travelers immediately realize something is wrong in Vallaki. There is a lot of unrest in the town, with huge mobs protesting outside the Burgeonmaster’s house and the church. All of the protesters are demanding that Geoff be removed from town, believing that doing so will bring back the supply of pies that had unexpectedly dried out due to the group’s actions at the old mill. Worrying for Goeff’s safety, Marillion and Bart set off toward the church, hoping to get him out. Cinna turns into a horse and sets off to find Darren. With clever magic and a portable ball of darkness, Geoff is rescued from the church while a somewhat shaken Ireena Kolyana is left in Lucian’s care.

The travelers reconvene at the Blue Water Inn, where they are met by Urwin. He thanks the party for finding Olivenka and grants them a free stay at the inn. Given Goeffs relative safety, the party decides to split up and spend the rest of the day running errands. They meet the burgomaster Vargas Vallakovich, who is most displeased with the current situation and strongly urges the party to get out of Vallaki as quickly as possible. They also met Jeny, who identified some of the items they had found in their travels and gave them some prehistoric ideas for possible substitutes for the human-based substances in Morgantha’s pie recipe.

After a very long day, the party lay down for some well-deserved rest at the inn, still hearing the unrest outside.