The Over View

 Enroute back to Roanor, the Capreton Military are loading up all available spare supplies to bring back to Forsdon City.  It seems all of the food stores in the City have spoiled.  Before leaving Roanor, there's messages that have arrived by Hawk for Calvin, Raiden, and Bam-Bam?  IG takes the one meant for Bam-Bam.  For Calvin, it's a letter from his wife who has traveled back home due to the unfortunate food supply issues in Forsdon.  Raiden receives a message from his guild, calling him to investigate further into an issue in Saarten Docks.  Bam-Bam also has a message from his guild bringing more light into the history of the broken off piece of the crystal.  With knowledge where the other lost pieces may be found, the group travel towards the port of Bayside where the supplies are being loaded to hop a ride back to Forsdon City and from there, charter passage to Saarten.   Upon arrival at the ship, while supplies are being loaded, a s...

 After taking out the Drow priests come to offer tribute to Ombra in the depths of the Tomb of the Twilight Mistress, Frank, Raiden, Binx, and others begin to assess their surroundings.  The room has golden murals all around it with different colored inlay for Ombra's eyes, ears, and mouth.  Frank quickly asks for the gems and climbs atop the statue to place them in according to matching colors to the mural counterparts.  The statue rises above revealing a staircase leading down into an open cavern.  "I'm coming!" Frank shouts as he goes running quickly inside.  The others follow more slowly behind.   Ombra greets Frank welcomingly and is please he's brought so many willing sacrifices to her, motioning towards many skeletal bodies below her.  Her avatar form floats above them with her bottom half dissolving to ethereal mist which ties back to an obelisk on the ground which glows with a dim violet light.  Darkness almost moves like a curta...

The company proceeds onward towards Roanor without Bam-Bam.  Several in the group discussed whether or not it was right to leave him there like that, but arguments in favor of keeping the rest of everyone alive/safe consoled all to leave the discussion behind.  Upon reaching the town in the mid-morning, a rag-tag group of every type of person from guards, soldiers, farmers, and merchants come marching from the North entrance of town, with any wounded being brought on carts at the rear.  Each one of them are very tired, they are wearied from an all-night battle.  Upon asking, they have been fighting against several groups of Drow who have begun to grow seemingly erratic in their actions of late.  The Drow push towards the town, razing farms, and homes in the surrounding valley.  Though they have lived in dark caves further up the mountain valley and tend to only surface at night, they usually keep to themselves. A Black Dragonborn Rune Knight named Brock o...

We all awake refreshed, thanks to a stay in the tiny hut provided by Frank (though I don't know how much sleep Raiden got since Slippy used his cloak as a nest).  Upon awakening, you see the Siege Workshop Captain trying to free himself from his bonds.  Calvin casts Zone of Truth, which compels our prisoner to answer truthfully to our inquiries.  As we question him further to see what he has to offer, we find out that he has the crystal shard already on him!  He had been for weeks luring guards down here, convincing them of riches to help him find out what lay at the end of the hallway.  What happened to these guards?  He gestures down the dark hallway beyond the trapped armor and boulder.  Several bodies are strewn about sticking halfway out of the floor.  Convinced that maybe a few of us would also fall prey to some traps, he goads us on to get across. Bam-Bam is eager to do so and makes the leap using the Jump spell to get down the hallway. ...

  You awoke to begin your journey again into Solfare.   Bam-Bam is slowly, "earning" his stuff back as he questions everyone to see who has it.   I.G. grants it to him willingly, though only one piece at a time.   Once arriving at Solfare, you begin to ask around the lower market area concerning "James" who you last knew was headed back to Solfare many centuries ago with a shard of the crystal.   Most laugh since "James" seems to be a very common name here, mostly owing to the founder of the Solfare Siege Workshop after Nylus was abandoned centuries ago.   A magical alchemist’s shop near the end of the market, near where the road leads up to the high castle keep above, catches the eye of Raiden along with Frank.   While the others go to inquire about town, Raiden is looking for that boost of power and defense he so craves and begins to negotiate with the shop keep for a ring of protection.   The Alchemist agrees to bargain for a lower price in...

 After some discussion atop the cliffs over Nylus Academy, the leader, Tomas Esdot, brings you all down into the deepest portion of the Academy basement, through an old, decrepit dungeon.  As with most things here however, it has been repurposed into a locked study, complete with bookshelves, desks, and artifacts.  Chief of which seems to be a large crystal, floating above it's stand.  "Guarding" the crystal and books inside is an academy scholar and Hwei, a crazed old....man?  His arm, face and back have mutated by some twisted attempt to extend his own life and survive the ancient age of the blight by drinking Dragonblood Brew.  It also seems to have affected his mind as he keeps rambling, muttering to himself, and talking in circles. Calvin bravely approaches as close as he dare to the crystal and finds similarities reflected in the sample of ooze from the wound Denton had in his side from the crystal shard.  There also seems to be small cut facets ...

  Our champions all met briefly in the preparation hall for an upcoming contest.   Several of you were first timers, but there were some veterans made doubly known later by the crowd’s enthusiasm at your entrance.   The crowd is chanting for the entertainment soon to come.   There was one champion from every faction present except Capreton.   Their champion got dragged in later by two assistants.   Despite him looking as drunk as a dwarf trapped in a wine cellar and losing his lunch all over the prep room floor they hastily strapped on his gear and tossed him into the arena with the others.   The contest of the day was a game of points, sponsored by the Capretons.   Larger foes are worth more points.   Those with the most kill points to their name at the end wins the prize, a tavern in the middle tier of town that was repossessed for dealing in stolen goods.   William Capret, Royal Steward of the Capretons, is at the front of the roy...

  As we return for the final chapter, our intrepid adventurers are still in the crypt with the reincarnation of the evilest creature that Barovia has ever seen.   The demon from the netherworld hovers above the sarcophagus of Lord Strahd, who reposses inside with a purple magical shield protecting him from all.   This unearthly fiend blasts us all back against the wall or, in Castiel's case, through the doorway and back into the crypt.   We begin the battle and notice that we are striking and blasting it with our many abilities, but it occurs to us that we aren't really doing that much damage.   Then, out of nowhere, a pillar of light penetrates through the building and strikes our enemy.   We notice that he crumples under its radiance and that gives us hope.   We surge forward and continue to press on.   Yet, again, we feel that no matter what we do, we are not able to strike this beast down.   Then, as if on cue, another pillar of light...

  As we finished last weeks battles, we thought that we had vanquished our foe but alas, ‘twas not so.   But I am getting ahead of myself.   As we left the Shadows behind, we enter another section of the water-logged dungeons and find a cell room.   In the cells, we come across the bones of the wizard friend that had traveled with Dorol...did I say friend?   Boy did Eravan really misread that connection and all came to light when Dorol, upon seeing the corpse, runs it through with his sword (And I thought Paladins were benevolent).   We also come across a prisoner who begs us for help.   Dante breaks him free and he joins on...cause.   Well at least we thought he would join us but soon after we leave the cell room, he is no where to be found.   Sneaky little imp! Before we continue too much farther, Castiel, thinking ahead, grants us all the ability to walk on water.   Grateful for that boon, we continue down the corridor in hopes of f...

 This episode of the adventure finds our weary travelers exhausted and almost to the breaking point, yet they are determined to help the people of Barovia and free them from the tyranny of Lord Strahd.  When we last ended, the group had met the forgetful librarian of the Amber Citadel.  They help him understand that they are here and have been searching for a way to defeat Lord Strahd.  He who forgets his name, lets them know that there is much knowledge in this library, but he doesn't know how to find much.  Feeling a little tired of being in the citadel, they ask him if he can show them the way out and he points them in the right direction but not before deciding to help them by opening the vault for them to see if there is anything there that could help them on their path. As they arrive to the vault, He who forgets his name needs the groups help to open the huge double doored vault.   He steps back and as the door opens, we are greeted with the glimme...