Ludi Blog

64. Castle Ravenloft

The coach came to a halt at a broad turning point on the mountain road, leaving the party stranded on the mountainside on the edge of the gathering storm.

They pressed forward on foot, rounding the last bend, and were confronted by the staggering sight of Castle Ravenloft itself.

A gigantic gothic castle, built upon a single pinnacle of rock, towering a thousand feet over the valley and the village of Barovia, whose lights are lost in the swirling mist far below. The castle is connected to the balinoc cliffs by a drawbridge of ancient timbers, the rusting chains groaning under the weight.

The castle itself is a mass of hulking walls and buttresses, domes, towers and slender spires that reach more than three hundred feet into the night sky. 

Crossing the drawbridge proved to be difficult, as several of the smaller timbers had rotted through - almost leading to a deadly fall for Hugh.

Making it into the entryway, the party passed under a rotting portcullis, green with age - and green slime. A patch of the acidic slime fell onto Jacob - but Isaiah's quick action to scrape it away saved Jacobs life. (But resulted in some minor acid burns to Jacobs shoulder and Isaiah's right hand - and the loss of Jacobs's battle worn old cloak).

Finally, the party made it into the huge flag stoned courtyard. The first thunder of the approaching storm sounded overhead, and a thin, fine rain began to fall, whipped by the approaching storm front wind. Mist swirled all around. Gargoyles leered down from the castle walls. But the doors to the castles entrance hall hung open, warm torchlight within...

Inside, they discovered a beautifully appointed entry chamber with a high vaulted ceiling of the finest workmanship. A broad archway lead into an inner hall, flanked by truly exquisite carvings of dragons - flames flickering like sconces in their open mouths. But as the party made to advance through the arch, the dragons began to move! Not statues at all, but some strange creatures who use camouflage to resemble stone - they moved sinuously, like snakes, flowing through the arch to the chamber within.

The party pressed forward, finding themselves in a wide circular hall with three exits (a broad staircase to the left, double doors ahead, and a wide columned hall to the right). The hall was high, its ceiling more than 60' up and shrouded in darkness that not even Bovrain could see. What the party could see however was that there was a balcony running around this circular chamber some 20 feet up. Perched upon this balcony were four stone gargoyles leering down at them.

The dragons skittered up the walls, clinging to the underside of the balcony with their stony claws. They opened their mouths and breathed short, intense cones of fire at the adventurers below who cursed and screamed as they dodged the flames. Immediately, the gargoyles came to life and joined the fray, leaping from the balcony and flying around the room, slashing with their talons as they flew past the party, and battle was fully joined.

Pafflouous disabled one with a "Feather fall" spell, dropping it in front of Marsha who was able to kill it quickly. Everyone fought hard, but it was Cweno who brought the battle to a shattering halt, smashing and cleaving the remaining monsters to rubble with the Axe of the Sea Reavers.

Jacob used all of his lesser spells to heal the party, and they made ready to proceed into the castle.

The wind picked up, the blue tinged flames of the ever burning torches flickering madly but refusing to go out. And with the wind came music, the sound of some great organ from somewhere nearby on the ground floor. Marsha used Nicoli's compass to try and divine Strahd's location, and indeed it pointed towards the source of the music.

A collective decision was soon reached - to head away from Strahd and try to find the castle's library, where Hugh hoped to find and perform the ritual of steel to re-forge Luminous Est, and where Pafflouous hopes to find an antidote the deadly poisoned fog that rings the land of Barovia, a poison that has been slowly killing him since his attempt leave several weeks before.

And so the party ascended the stairs. Immediately, they reached a broad landing, with more stairs leading up, and two alcoves containing statues of warriors. Both statues had been dressed in suits of old, but very real armour - and Isaiah was quick to remove one set for himself. He took a suit of old, dry leather, studded with short black metal spikes of archaic design. It was a lucky choice, as Pafflouous was able to detect a magical aura from the suit - probably a very lucky find.

The party continued up the next stairs and came into a large dark audience hall, where, despite their best efforts to avoid him, Strahd von Zarovich was waiting.

Much to their surprise, all the lord of the castle wanted to do was talk. He apologised for inviting the party to his home on false pretences. No dinner had been prepared for them. In fact, Strahd admitted that he had invited them here for three very different reasons. Firstly, so that they would bring both parts of the sword, Luminous Est, something that he has sought for many years. Secondly, that they would bring Hugh's sister Irena to the castle (who Strahd refers to as Tatyana, believing her to be the physical and spiritual reincarnation of his long lost love). And lastly of course, to kill them. To take his revenge upon them for the actions of their fathers - who, he said, had come here once, years ago, with plans to kill him.

But now the time was at hand, Strahd said that he was actually minded to let the party leave unharmed. Although he was unhappy that they hadn't brought Irena with them, all that he required in return for their lives was that they lay down the two parts of the sword, here and now, and tell him where Irena was being hidden so that they might finally be reunited. That done, the party would be allowed to leave Barovia, never to return.

To his obvious surprise, the party refused. Instead, they bluntly asked him for directions to his library. And Strahd laughed. He asked if the party liked his books - particularly the book that he had sent them. He thanked them for returning that particular tome to General Kavan at Ravenwood Hall.

Unperturbed, the party asked again where the library could be found. So Strahd said "If that's what you want, then please, stay and explore. But be careful, for the castle can be a dangerous place for...unwelcome guests". And with that, all the lights went out. And through the castle their came the sound of groaning timbers and winding chains, and the sound of a hundred doors slamming shut.

When the magical darkness finally retreated, Strahd was nowhere to be seen, leaving the party alone in the audience chamber as the storm broke in earnest overhead.

And that was how the exploration of  Castle Ravenloft began.

On this level, the party found a balcony overlooking a castle chapel far below. But instead of heading there, they returned to the audience chamber and took another exit, which lead into a paper strewn office.

A small man sat behind a huge oak desk, scratching at a long parchment with a quill pen. Three robed figures stood about him. The party had discovered the Count's accountant, and Bovrain made the mistake of bursting in. The man put down his quill and snatched up a dagger, also making the mistake of shouting and swearing at the dwarf and demanding that he leave.

Two such mistakes were bound to end badly. Bored, frustrated and angry, Bovrain decided the accountant's fate in a heartbeat, and swung the daemon axe across the desk at his throat. But much to Bov's surprise, the man dodged backwards, avoiding the worst of the blow. Not only that, but he fought back, slashing with his long, heavy knife.

And as they fought, something strange began to happen. The man got bigger. Physically larger in stature. He began to froth at the mouth. His eyes glazed over. And somehow his dagger grew with him, until Bovrain was facing a raging barbarian swinging a gigantic greatsword!

The robed figures withdrew to the back of the room and began casting spells at the party, with Isaiah as their main target. Pafflouous used his magic to Slow the raging clerk and Haste Isaiah, and whilst the ranger dealt with the strange zombie wizards, Bovrain continued his battle to the death with the accountant. Cweno joined the fray, only to receive a critical strike upon the helm for his trouble, dazing him and blinding him in one eye.

But the party fought together and coordinated their attacks, and despite putting up a hard fight, the accountant and his minions were soon overcome.  

As Jacob used more of his spells to heal his battered and bloodied friends, the party caught their breath and turned their attention to searching the cluttered (and bloody) office.