The Tower

The Tower#

Upon setting a foot on the bridge, the surrounding area suddenly becomes foggy and reminiscent of the painful fog surrounding Barovia. A hooded rider on a skeletal horse gallops towards the party - not wasting any time, the party retreats into Thaddeus’ extraplanar dusty attic. As the rider gallops by it becomes apparent that the stonework of the bridge looks very different: it appears to be older and made from different stone, as if from a different point in time.

While Thaddeus and Ilizeiros enjoy another piece of the mysterious pie, Yaroslav and Reese help themselves to their dry rations.

North of Lake Baratok, a lone tower appears. The party follows a swampy path across the cold, dark mountain lake to find a barrel wagon at the tower’s base. The door appears locked with no visible mechanism; “Exethantor” is engraved above the archway. A resourceful Yaroslav attempts to climb a rotting scaffolding, falls down, tries again after drinking a magic potion of Flight by Thaddeus only to fall down again in much the same way. Meanwhile, Reese interprets the magically sealed door and performs gestures that open it to reveal a dusty interior. Four large statues stand in the center beside chains and crates. Reese yells for Ezmeralda and surprisingly gets an answer from up top; she suggests standing on the plate between the statues to trigger a pulley mechanism.

Meeting Ezmeralda#

On the top floor of the tower, Ezmeralda is surrounded by portraits of different people - two take a central spot: the known face of Strahd of Zarovich, and the other is described as Rudolf von Richten. As Ezmeralda explains, the surrounding portraits¹ are connected to the two central ones by lines of string due to their connection to them. Rudolf, her mentor, opposes Strahd; another faction, the “Keepers of the Feather”, keeps a low profile. The Blue Water Inn in Vallaki is connectedto the keepers, implying its owners, the Martikov family.

Ezmeralda mentions an amber temple south toward Solenski Pass that might be the amber crypt the party seeks. She directs further questions to Buster, an animated bust downstairs. He only discusses his creator Exethantor, who left seeking a place to live forever in that amber crypt. Buster requests the party bring him poetry books and flowers to impress Ezmeralda.

Seeing the state of the tower, its anti-magic properties and the fact that it was build by an enemy of Strahd and still stands, the party decides to leave Ireena in the safety of the tower and Ezmeralda.

Going back to Vallaki#

To conclude Milivos’ interrogation and the stolen artifacts case, and to speak with the Martikov family, the party returns to Vallaki. They cross the bridge again - as Ezmeralda explained before it’s where another plane of existence overlaps this one. This time, no beings from that plane appear.

Upon reaching Vallaki, smoke rises from the village and a new coat of arms hangs on the palisades: the Wachter family’s, confirmed loyal to Strahd.