Flashback to Benjamin#

Benjamin was bandaged up by Danika Martikov. He wakes up later and is interrogated by two shady figures. They ask him questions like “Where are you from?” and “Where did you get that ring from”. Benjamin is wearing a ring a raven symbol. They take it from him and give him a potion that painfully turns him into a raven.

He flies east and is joined by an unkindness of ravens. While trying to approach the party Thaddeus kills a raven flying next to Benjanmin. He enters the winery, sits on a beam and watches events unfold.

Cleaning up the winery#

Then Benjamin rejoins the party and the hold up in a room for a short rest. Then they enter the cellar again and finish off the enemies there. Ilizeiros hears a strange voice while channeling his eldritch powers. “Who are you?” - Ilizeiros answers that he is a man needing power and help. Afterwards the voice disappears. The party finds a secret room with a brown mold inside which they first try to fight with fire which is a big mistake. They learn to use ice magic and that helps them to kill the sentient slime. Most likely this was the cooling for the wine cellar. The group decides not to tell the winery personel.

The group leaves the winery and rejoins the Martikovs hiding in the woods. Elvir - the youngest son - has an idea why the druids attacked. They dug up and stole magic gems that helped the grapes grow (after all there is no sun).

Thaddeus purifies the wine and the group is tasked with returning the wine to Vallaki. While the Martikovs have an idea where the druid might be hiding, there are more important things right now. In the foggy Barony of Barovia, wine isn’t just a drink. It is hope. The group reasonably asks for a reward and they get 180 gold.

Returning to Vallaki#

On the road to Vallaki the group sees a dead body on the side of the road in the woods. They decide to ignore it and continue on to Vallaki.

They enter Vallaki from the Western gate and get an extensive introduction to its laws and the punishments form violating them. Most of them are death.

The “festival of the blazing sun” is happening soon and attendance is mandatory.

In addition a Lady Wachter is inviting the group for lunch.