Too Much Religion Will Kill You

In the morning, the group briefly discussed the possibility of continuing south toward Tsolenka Pass and the Amber Temple to bring peace to Damian immediately. That plan is, however, abandoned, much due to Bart’s desire to quickly get to Krezk and visit his home. Another argument against heading up the mountains is the need for cold-resistant clothing.

Before leaving the mansion, Xuza pulls Marillion aside and, for the first time, warns him against letting anything loose in there. Marillion is confused about this but agrees not to. Xuza also tells Marillion what he had learned from Strahd’s diaries. For now, they decide not to let Cinna read the journal.

An hour or so into their travels, the party was met by their old friend Ezmeralda, who was heading the opposite way. She says she is headed to Argynvostholt for the same journal the party had just recovered. Since Ezmeralda was acting strangely, for example, not recognizing the group initially, Xuza and Marillion decided not to let her know that they had the book. The group’s plan to sneakily follow Ezmeralda failed, and Cinna was unable to see her from the skies.

The rest of the journey to Krezk is relatively uneventful. Arriving in the city, Bart insists on going alone to his camp to catch up on the news and prepare accommodation for the others. The rest of the travelers venture into the city to meet Cinna’s friend Illya and the Abbot, who at least Xuza was eager to meet.

At his camp, Bart is met by his sister Ana and his father Pyotr. Ana is (understandably) somewhat upset about it taking Bart several days to respond to her message during a crisis. Still, after some encouragement from Bart having a plan, she calms down. Bart learns that no Vistani people can leave or enter Barovia, which significantly threatens not only Bart’s business but also the supply routes and survival of the whole land. Bart verifies the grim news by traveling to Barovia’s border and testing the mists. For the first time in his lifetime, Bart cannot leave Barovia. Consequently, his resolve to join forces with Nikolaj to explore methods of removing Strahd from the throne strengthens.

Meanwhile, the rest of the group explores Krezk after being let in by Cinna’s friends at the gate. Unfortunately, they are told that Illya (the Burgomaster’s daughter) is too ill to meet with them. Instead, the group ventures up to the abbey to meet the Abbot. After a tiresome hike up the mountain, the group is greeted by two mongrefolk who take them to see the Abbot. To their dismay, Xuza and Marillion soon realize that something is significantly wrong with the Abbot. They learn that he is building a bride for Strahd out of the body parts of deceased townspeople. The party also meets Vasilika, the bride-to-be, who only has a face missing. Learning that Cinnas’s face probably would not do and that Strahd already had a bride, the shaken Abbot asks the party to leave. Being slightly unsettled by everything they learned, the party refused to go. Xuza especially seems upset that a supposed follower of Eilistraee would commit such acts. Getting increasingly aggravated, the Abbot finally reveals his proper form as a deva, which quickly escalates toward direct aggression. Full-out combat is, however, averted by Xuza suddenly disappearing, right before telling the others to flee. The rest of the party exits under tense but non-violent circumstances and is joined a minute later by a transparent Xuza rushing out from the room. Xuza tells them that he had been transported back into the plane of the dead, where he had a quick chat with his “patron.” The party decides to leave the abbey for now.

On their way back toward Bart Vistani’s camp, Cinna made a new attempt at visiting Illya. Cinna found the girl gravely ill and very hungry. Worried and without clear answers, she promised to return the next day.

The party spent the evening and night under the hospitality of Bart–or mostly Anas–camp. The wine was drunk (by some more than others) vague plans of rebellion were made (after some had passed out) and feelings were hurt before the party fell asleep under the stars and in the warmth of the Vistani campfire.