Through the Mists

Session 9: Blood at the Pale Lantern

At a glance

  • In-game date: Following the party’s arrival in Martira Bay
  • Starting location: Streets near the Pale Lantern
  • Ending location: An alley near the Pale Lantern
  • Characters present: Ignatius, Rage, and Carver

Summary

The party waited among the residences near the Pale Lantern when a black-haired human man called out to Carver. Recognition came before explanation: the stranger was Vidic, revealed now in the third of his shapes—not raven or winged hybrid, but wholly human.

Vidic asked what the party had uncovered at Richten House. They told him of its ghosts, the séance, and the horror summoned in the cellar. As he listened, he cast bones across a spirit-board-like surface and finally named the order behind his watchful birds: the Keepers of the Feather, travelers of the Mists whose ravens carried their eyes between domains. Their headquarters, he said, lay in the village of Vallaki in Barovia.

Carver asked about Azalin. Vidic spoke of the Darklords who ruled the domains—Azalin, Strahd, and others—and claimed that the Keepers had watched Azalin’s attempted transformation fail. He also drew a firm distinction between his order and the King’s Ravens, another raven group tied to Darkon’s vanished ruler.

Rage, forever determined to improve his vampire expertise, paid a gold piece for practical instruction. Vidic supplied advice, though the details did not survive in the party’s notes.

When Ignatius mentioned Erasmus van Richten, the silent ghost appeared without warning. Vidic’s composure broke. Rage seized the opportunity and persuaded the astonished hunter to donate a gold piece and a half for the privilege of meeting Erasmus. Before parting, Ignatius suggested that they reconvene at Richten House after the party’s meeting with the Kargatane. Rage stopped Vidic with one final question about Martira Bay’s strange rats, paid another gold piece, and received information about creatures capable of assuming ratlike forms.

Vidic stares in shock as Erasmus appears at the sound of his name.

Even Vidic was unprepared for the ghost at the sound of his name. See the image record.

Some time later, Black Lily emerged to collect them. His confidence had frayed into nervous excitement. The party was about to meet Darian Corvrick, a relatively new but full member of the supernatural Kargat—and the vampire who gave Black Lily his monthly “gift.”

Inside the Pale Lantern, a lounge of conspirators waited beneath a skin of casual revelry. Black Lily joined his companions at a table and invited the party close. Conversation died when he rose to offer thanks to Darian.

The vampire glided into the room with fresh blood at his mouth.

Carver stood and claimed the party’s success in killing High Sentinel Ablander. Ignatius added that Ablander had died a coward, a detail Darian found pleasing. Their host spoke of the Kargat’s pursuit of power and greatness. The party generously credited Black Lily’s inspiring leadership, and their inexperienced sponsor glowed beneath the praise.

Then Darian raised the cry of “For the Kargat.” He opened a finger and let a single drop of his blood descend into Black Lily’s mouth.

The gathering broke into ecstatic motion. Music and frenzy overtook the lounge; bodies whirled through a celebration that felt less like a formal meeting than a nocturnal rave. Rage eagerly joined it. Ignatius held himself apart and watched. Several revelers became bats and circled overhead. When Black Lily emerged from the rite, he looked visibly younger.

Darian lets a single drop of blood fall toward Black Lily as the Pale Lantern erupts into revelry.

Darian bestows his monthly gift upon Black Lily. See the image record.

Darian dedicated the celebration to the party’s deed and presented a bag from which each adventurer drew a reward. Rage pulled eighteen gold pieces, Carver ten, and Ignatius six.

As the gathering relaxed, an elated Black Lily proposed another assignment: travel to Castle Avernus and “fuck it up.” The scale of the suggestion divided the party. They had already received an invitation to the castle; attacking it on behalf of the Kargatane was another matter entirely.

Before leaving, Rage wandered through the lounge and noticed a pattern of dried blood circling its center. He attempted to set the room and its furnishings ablaze, probably with a torch, then ordered the others out. The party waited outside, but no fire took hold. Whether someone extinguished it by mundane means or the Pale Lantern resisted the flame remained unknown.

Rage presses a torch against a chair that chars but refuses to catch while the others wait outside.

The Pale Lantern will not burn. See the image record.

Two men left the gathering soon afterward. The party followed and overheard them discussing the seizure of new territory and expansion of Kargatane influence. Their attendance and conversation made their affiliation likely, though no one explicitly confirmed it.

Then a rat crossed Rage’s path.

His handaxe struck it—and the wounded animal rose onto its hind legs.

Ignatius closed immediately, hammering it with disciplined strikes and a flurry of blows. Two more rats rushed into the alley. They did not fight like vermin. All three converged on the monk with coordinated ferocity, biting him down into the stones. Ignatius’s life hung by a thread after a disastrous attempt to stabilize.

Rage charged into the melee and killed the first attacker. Carver slid beside Ignatius and poured healing magic into him, pulling him back from the edge. Then Chip’s spectral form flared as Carver turned his Artillerist weapon upon the remaining creatures.

The survivors fled. Rage caught one before it could escape and struck it unconscious. The other vanished into Martira Bay, leaving the party with one dead attacker, one living captive, and proof that the city’s rats were no ordinary infestation.

Carver restores Ignatius while Chip attacks and Rage prevents one ratlike creature from escaping.

One attacker lies dead, one is taken, and one escapes. See the image record.

Key events

  1. Vidic appeared in fully human form and named his order as the Keepers of the Feather.
  2. Vidic said the Keepers travel the Mists, operate from Vallaki, and witnessed Azalin’s failed transformation.
  3. Vidic distinguished the Keepers of the Feather from the King’s Ravens.
  4. Rage purchased vampire-hunting advice and information about rat-shifting creatures.
  5. Erasmus appeared when Ignatius named him, shocking Vidic; Rage persuaded Vidic to donate 1.5 gp for the encounter.
  6. Black Lily introduced the party to Darian Corvrick, a vampire and full member of the Kargat.
  7. The party claimed credit for Ablander’s death while praising Black Lily’s leadership.
  8. Darian fed Black Lily a drop of his blood, and Black Lily appeared younger afterward.
  9. Darian rewarded Rage with 18 gp, Carver with 10 gp, and Ignatius with 6 gp.
  10. Black Lily proposed an attack on Castle Avernus.
  11. Rage attempted to burn the Pale Lantern after discovering a circular pattern of dried blood, but no fire took hold.
  12. Three unnaturally capable rats ambushed the party, nearly killed Ignatius, and left one attacker dead, one captured alive, and one escaped.

Decisions and consequences

  • The party revealed Erasmus to Vidic.
    • Vidic learned that the ghost can manifest beyond Richten House and was visibly shocked by the encounter.
  • The party praised Black Lily before Darian.
    • Black Lily’s standing and confidence appeared to rise during a successful introduction to his Kargat patron.
  • The party did not accept or reject the Castle Avernus assignment.
    • A dangerous new offer now overlaps with the party’s unexplained invitation to the castle.
  • Rage attempted to burn the Pale Lantern.
    • The fire did not visibly take hold, but the attempt may have consequences if it was noticed.
  • The party attacked the passing rat and pursued the resulting fight.
    • Ignatius nearly died, one strange rat escaped, and the party gained a living captive that may answer questions about the city’s hidden network.

People

  • Vidic: Revealed his human form, his allegiance to the Keepers of the Feather, and information about Azalin, vampires, and rat-shifting creatures.
  • Erasmus van Richten: Appeared when Ignatius spoke his name and astonished Vidic.
  • Black Lily: Presented the party to Darian, received his monthly gift of blood, appeared rejuvenated, and proposed an attack on Castle Avernus.
  • Darian Corvrick: Vampiric Kargat member who celebrated Ablander’s death and rewarded the party.
  • Two likely Kargatane attendees: Unnamed men overheard planning territorial expansion after leaving the Pale Lantern.

Places

  • Pale Lantern: Kargatane lounge and meeting hall where Darian conducted the blood rite and Rage attempted arson.
  • Vallaki: Barovian village identified by Vidic as the headquarters of the Keepers of the Feather.
  • Richten House: Proposed as a future meeting place between the party and Vidic.
  • Castle Avernus: Target of Black Lily’s proposed new assignment.

Clues, lore, and notable items

  • Vidic can assume raven, winged hybrid, and fully human forms.
  • The Keepers of the Feather use ravens to observe events across the Domains of Dread and can travel through the Mists.
  • The Keepers claim to have witnessed Azalin’s attempted transformation fail.
  • The King’s Ravens are distinct from the Keepers of the Feather.
  • Darian is a supernatural vampire and full Kargat member; Black Lily remains a mortal Kargatane agent beneath him.
  • Darian’s blood visibly rejuvenated Black Lily.
  • Dried blood formed a deliberate circular pattern within the Pale Lantern.
  • The three ratlike attackers showed coordination and fighting ability far beyond mundane animals.
  • One ratlike attacker remains alive and unconscious in the party’s custody.

Story threads

Rewards, losses, and character changes

  • Rage received 18 gp from Darian’s reward bag.
  • Carver received 10 gp from Darian’s reward bag.
  • Ignatius received 6 gp from Darian’s reward bag.
  • Vidic donated 1.5 gp after Rage negotiated access to Erasmus.
  • Rage paid Vidic 1 gp for vampire-hunting advice and 1 gp for information about rat-shifting creatures.
  • One unidentified ratlike attacker was captured alive.

Memorable moments

  • Erasmus appeared at the sound of his name and left the normally composed Vidic staring in shock.
  • Darian glided into the Pale Lantern with blood still wet on his mouth.
  • Black Lily swallowed a single drop of vampiric blood and emerged looking younger.
  • Rage joined the Kargat’s ecstatic revelry, then tried to burn down its meeting hall before leaving.
  • Carver restored Ignatius after a catastrophic death save while Chip turned upon the creatures in the alley.

Open questions

  • What exactly happened when Azalin’s attempted transformation failed?
  • What is the relationship between the Keepers of the Feather and the King’s Ravens?
  • What advice did Vidic give the party about vampires and rat-shifting creatures?
  • What does Darian’s monthly blood do to Black Lily beyond restoring his youth?
  • What purpose does the dried-blood circle serve?
  • Why did Rage’s attempted fire fail to take hold?
  • What does the Kargatane hope to accomplish at Castle Avernus?
  • What are the ratlike attackers, and who directs their organized movements?
  • What can the captured attacker reveal—and will the escaped creature bring reinforcements?

Next session

  • Immediate situation: Ignatius has been restored, one ratlike attacker is dead, one has escaped, and one lies unconscious in the party’s custody.
  • Likely goals: Secure and question the captive, learn what the rats are doing beneath Martira Bay, and decide how to answer Black Lily’s proposal concerning Castle Avernus.

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