Session 25: Whispers and Watchers
At a glance
- Starting location: The Blue Water Inn, Vallaki
- Ending location: Lady Watcher’s House, Vallaki
- Characters present: Ignatius, Rage, Carver, Hyskosa, Lafing, Fling, and Slippery Siv
Summary
In the cellar of the Blue Water Inn, Urwin welcomed the company into the confidence of Vallaki’s Keepers of the Feather. The inn had belonged to his family for generations, and the half-elf entertainer from upstairs joined the conversation under the name Rictavio. His easy talk of traveling the Mists ended the moment he heard Hyskosa’s name. Rictavio denounced the Vistani as allies of Strahd, spat at their mention, and insisted that Hyskosa would eventually betray the party. The company defended its companion, though Urwin agreed that Barovia’s Vistani generally appeared to support Strahd.
The cellar council turned tense when Rictavio heard Hyskosa’s name and condemned the Vistani. View image record.
Erasmus van Richten manifested in the cellar and painted Vistani breaking into Richten House and carrying him away. Urwin could see the ghost; Rictavio could not. Once Urwin confirmed what stood before them, something in Rictavio’s manner changed. He promised a later conversation and hurried from the room.
Erasmus painted his abduction behind Rictavio, visible to Urwin but not to the entertainer standing before him. View image record.
Urwin warned the party against traveling at night. His ravens would watch over them, but Strahd had watchers of his own, could wear other forms, and sent vampire spawn to keep Barovia too frightened to resist. Urwin added that vampires should never be invited inside and said he had never seen one cross running water on foot.
Vallaki’s troubles extended beyond the night. Urwin said the Wizard of Wines—long the only winery in Barovia—had stopped producing because its grapes no longer grew, a crisis for which his father blamed him. The burgomaster tried to sustain the town through compulsory happiness, while trouble at St. Andral’s Church might be better understood by speaking with Father Lucian. Rage nevertheless persuaded Urwin to share a taste of the inn’s famous wine.
When the company asked about Vallaki’s gray residents, Urwin gave them a name: Shells. Some Barovian families inherited unusual gifts and duties, but the colorless Shells had no souls. Even so, their children were sometimes born with souls of their own.
Hyskosa then spoke for himself. He had been raised among a different Vistani tasque, came to Barovia only to marry, and was expelled after rejecting some of his people’s beliefs. He eventually reached Darkon, where he was captured. Ignatius explained that the company had traveled to Barovia seeking answers about Darkon and hoped to find Two Hundred Summers. Urwin promised to discover what he could and offered the party rooms at the inn without charge, asking his wife Danica to prepare them.
Before the company left the cellar, Carver asked Erasmus why Rictavio could not see him. The ghost answered with another vision: Van Richten studying in his home while unseen spirits crowded and haunted him. Then Erasmus vanished.
Lafing volunteered to scout the nearby forests with Fling, both to learn the land and to search for some path toward revenge on Azalin. Slippery Siv stayed behind at the inn. The others returned to the common room, where Hyskosa had sensed more people. One of the hunters from the road recognized Rage and called the party over. He identified two whispering young men as Lady Watcher’s sons, warned the company to avoid them, and invited the travelers to join a nighttime expedition into the woods.
Rage ignored the warning in his own fashion. He had Carver sketch a false treasure map, then sold it to the two young men for fifteen gold pieces. Their coins bore a family crest. With night plans made and counterfeit treasure now somewhere in Vallaki, the party went into the streets.
Rage supplied the story—and the cover—while Carver quietly prepared fifteen gold pieces’ worth of nonexistent treasure. View image record.
Lady Watcher’s House looked respectable from a distance, but closer inspection found untrimmed roses, cracks, and the wear of neglected years. Its front door opened as the party approached. When Ignatius called that Ernst Larnack had invited them, a small imp flew from a side room and vanished upstairs before heavy footsteps sounded elsewhere in the house.
Fiona Watcher welcomed them, dismissed the unseen Izek, and invited them to what she called a book club. In the drawing room, she handed out pamphlets preaching trust in the prince. She claimed adventurers could not survive Barovia without her, spoke of acolytes whose loyalty was rewarded, and repeatedly praised Strahd as the land’s only true source of power. Hyskosa quietly warned that he sensed evil. When Rage’s anger rose, Fiona called for Izek.
Heavy boots approached. Izek stepped into view, completely ashen, carrying an axe in a furred animal-like arm that ended in massive claws. Rage drew his red-tinted Sun Blade, and the meeting broke into violence.
Ignatius rushed Izek while Fiona wrapped herself in radiant protection and set her mace aglow. Her magic seized Rage’s mind, leaving him unable to act until Carver’s lightning orb and Chip’s force ballista shattered her concentration. She then compelled Rage to flee around the dining table as Izek cast fire across the room. Carver closed with the vine staff, but Fiona’s sanctuary turned aside his blow. Chip followed with a devastating gout of flame that killed Fiona.
Ignatius held Izek at close quarters while Fiona’s magic drove Rage into flight—until Chip ended the meeting in fire. View image record.
Freed from her command, Rage charged Izek and cut him with the Sun Blade’s red radiance. Izek dropped to his knees, raised his bestial arm, and begged them to stop. “I have not found her yet,” he said.
Carver demanded books about Strahd. Izek answered that Fiona’s last plan had culminated in the basement and that a newer design sought control of Vallaki through something involving the burgomaster. Other acolytes remained in the house and could arrive at any time. Ignatius offered him a choice: Fiona’s hold was broken, and the party would spare him if he stood with them.
Izek retrieved his axe and said he had no choice. The company sent him to guard the front door and announce that every meeting had been cancelled. The entrance sealed behind him.
Then footsteps began moving upstairs.
Key events
- Urwin briefed the party on Strahd, Vallaki, the Keepers’ local network, the Wizard of Wines, St. Andral’s Church, and Barovia’s soulless Shells.
- Rictavio rejected Hyskosa and the Vistani, then rushed away after learning that Erasmus had appeared beside him.
- Erasmus showed his abduction by Vistani and later depicted Van Richten haunted by ghosts he could not perceive.
- Hyskosa revealed that he had entered Barovia to marry, was cast out by other Vistani, and later reached Darkon before his capture.
- Lafing and Fling left to scout the forests while the party accepted an invitation to hunt outside Vallaki after dark.
- Rage and Carver sold Lady Watcher’s sons a false treasure map for fifteen gold pieces.
- Fiona Watcher attempted to recruit the party into Strahd’s service, then called Izek when they resisted.
- Chip killed Fiona, and the party forced Izek to surrender before hearing more people moving upstairs.
Decisions and consequences
- The party defended Hyskosa. Rictavio’s hatred did not persuade the company to abandon its companion, despite Urwin’s warning about the Vistani’s general allegiance in Barovia.
- The party accepted several Vallaki leads. It plans to learn the woods from local hunters and now knows of crises at St. Andral’s Church and the Wizard of Wines.
- The party visited Lady Watcher. Ernst Larnack’s introduction led directly to a Strahd-devoted recruitment attempt, combat, and evidence of a conspiracy against the burgomaster.
- The party spared Izek. Ignatius offered him freedom from Fiona’s command, and Izek now guards the front door while unknown occupants move upstairs.
- Rage and Carver deceived Lady Watcher’s sons. The false treasure map gained fifteen crested gold pieces and may create a future grievance.
People
- Urwin: Offered the party rooms, local warnings, and help contacting Two Hundred Summers.
- Rictavio: Mist-traveling entertainer who despises the Vistani and cannot see Erasmus.
- Erasmus van Richten: Revealed his Vistani abduction and showed Van Richten surrounded by unseen ghosts.
- Hyskosa: Defended his history as a Vistani exile and former resident of Barovia.
- Fiona Watcher: Strahd-devoted host killed by Chip after attempting to recruit and dominate the party.
- Izek: Bestial-armed defender who surrendered and disclosed part of Fiona’s conspiracy.
Places
- Blue Water Inn: Keeper refuge where Urwin offered rooms and briefed the party.
- Wizard of Wines: Barovia’s only known winery, now failing because its grapes have stopped growing.
- St. Andral’s Church: Vallaki chapel where Urwin reported trouble and directed the party to Father Lucian.
- Lady Watcher’s House: Site of Fiona’s recruitment meeting, the battle, and the session’s upstairs cliffhanger.
Clues, lore, and notable items
- Strahd can assume other forms and uses vampire spawn and fear to suppress resistance, according to Urwin.
- Urwin advised never inviting a stranger inside and said he had never seen a vampire cross running water on foot.
- Many Vistani in Barovia support Strahd, though Hyskosa says he was cast out for rejecting some Vistani beliefs.
- Barovia’s gray Shells have no souls, but their children are sometimes born with souls.
- Some Barovian families inherit supernatural gifts and traditional duties.
- The family crest on Lady Watcher’s sons’ coins may identify the fifteen gold pieces Rage obtained from them.
- Fiona maintained acolytes, praised Strahd as the only source of power, and had plans involving both her basement and Vallaki’s burgomaster.
Story threads
- Advanced: The Keepers of the Feather; Urwin offered shelter, warnings, ravens, and help finding Two Hundred Summers.
- Advanced: The Legacy of Van Richten; Erasmus’s visions and Rictavio’s reaction tightened the connection between the entertainer and Van Richten’s past without revealing its meaning.
- Advanced: Predators Around Vallaki; the party accepted a nighttime invitation from local hunters and received more warnings about Strahd’s spawn.
- Opened: The Struggle for Vallaki; Fiona’s acolytes and plans threatened the burgomaster’s control before the party broke her meeting by force.
- Opened: Trouble at St. Andral’s; Urwin directed the party to Father Lucian at the troubled church.
- Opened: The Silent Vines; the Wizard of Wines has stopped producing because its grapes no longer grow.
Rewards, losses, and character changes
- The party received free rooms at the Blue Water Inn.
- Rage obtained fifteen family-crested gold pieces from Lady Watcher’s sons in exchange for a false treasure map.
- Ignatius offered mercy to Izek after the surrender and turned a defeated foe into the house’s temporary doorkeeper.
Memorable moments
- Rage persuaded a worried Keeper to produce a taste of Barovia’s increasingly scarce wine.
- Carver drew a treasure map convincing enough to sell to the very family whose house the party was about to enter.
- Izek was ordered to tell every arriving acolyte that all meetings were cancelled—just as footsteps began above.
Open questions
- Who is Rictavio, and what did he understand when Urwin confirmed Erasmus’s presence?
- Why can Rictavio not see Erasmus, and what did the image of Van Richten’s unseen ghosts mean?
- Whom has Izek failed to find?
- What happened in Fiona’s basement, and how did her new plan involve Vallaki’s burgomaster?
- Who or what is moving upstairs?
- What is happening at St. Andral’s Church, and why have the Wizard of Wines’ grapes stopped growing?
- What consequences will follow from the false treasure map sold to Lady Watcher’s sons?
Next session
- Immediate situation: The party stands inside Lady Watcher’s House after killing Fiona and sparing Izek while unknown occupants move upstairs.
- Likely goals: Secure the house, learn who remains above and below, investigate Fiona’s conspiracy, and survive long enough to pursue the hunters, St. Andral’s Church, the Wizard of Wines, and Rictavio’s promise to talk.