SESSION 46: DAY 13: Ravenloft: 5 Days Until Full Moon, Waxing Gibbous
Lost Heads
As Strahd held Vlad's dismembered head, the crowd of the gala stood in silent shock and awe. Then, the silence was pierced by Ireena's scream. "SERGEI! NO!" She shouted at the top of her lungs as tears streamed down her face. Recognizing that Ireena's alter self named Tatyana had returned, Song immediately ran over towards the weeping woman to hold her. Tatyana attempted to bat her aside to get to Vladamir's body, but Song held her where she was to keep her away from Strahd. The mourning girl eventually collapsed to the floor, unable to escape Song's grasp.
Strahd let out a laugh that seemed unusually nervous and tense to those with keener senses. He made a gesture towards Ludmilla to continue the waltz music like nothing happened. Then, the vampire lord summoned vampire spawn to take Vladamir's body away.
The moon cleric looked over to Strahd, apologizing for the disturbance and requesting that she be allowed to give Vladamir his final rites. Strahd denied the request, claiming Vladamir's remains as his trophy. Kee protested alongside the Song who made one last emphatic plea on Ireena's behalf. "But Strahd, he is her brother." The vampire lord remained unmoved and his burning red eyes pierced Song's purple eyes as he charmed her mind. With no will left to stand against him, she simply bowed her head in surrender to his judgment on the matter.
Kee peered down at what he believed to be Ireena, asking her how she was. Tatyana looked at him through Ireena's eyes and did not recognize him. However, looking at Strahd again, she immediately lost all composure once again. Tatyana began screaming in Strahd's direction. "YOU KILLED YOUR BROTHER! YOU KILLED MY LOVE!" She madly flailed about with fury and devastation.
Song cast lesser restoration on her to somewhat ease the young woman's maddened state. She hung off Song's legs, weeping with abandon. With sad eyes, she looked over to Strahd who was barely keeping his composure. Song politely asked if there was a place where they could step aside to give the deteriorating Tatyana some space and quiet. Strahd recommended the guard post, gesturing over to a pair of doors. Vasili and Ismark came over to help get Tatyana out. Song and Kee followed them out of the party into a dimly lit hall.
Meanwhile, Geraldine was intent on finding the dragon skull-a head for a head so to speak. He hiked up his skirts and headed back downstairs to the foyer, crushing the gray stone from the whispering wall to find it. He heard strange croaky noises before he arrived to find himself alone. Lovely recognized that the gargoyles above were likely alive. Gerald nervously looked up at them before opening the double doors that the party had not entered through. He sent Lovely ahead, but the invisible familiar only found a hall with the statues of armored knights lining the walls. Beyond them was another pair of doors with a beaten, bronze symbol of a rising/setting sun.
Geraldine anxiously entered the hall, closing the door behind him and passing by the knights. He could have sworn that they were watching him, but they did not move. He opened the doors into a large, shadowy chapel with cobweb-covered pews. The many stained glass windows were broken and boarded up in some spots. A few bats hung from a great domed ceiling. On a balcony far above, there were two figures slouched on thrones. Just ahead of Gerald was a crumbled figure under a cloak by a dropped black mace. It was close to an altar with a silver statuette that shined under a thin beam of light.
In two different alcoves, there were staircases and Geraldine was drawn to the ones on the northside that only went up. It was guarded by two more knight statues. The guiding magic tugged Geraldine further towards the outside of the chapel on the northside. Deciding to not go all the way around the front entrance, Geraldine popped out one of the stained glass windows and crawled outside into the rain.
The warlock in drag peered around, seeing tower walls and a carriage house. He also saw a slender wooden door with iron bands leading to another location within the castle. Upon trying the door, Geraldine discovered it to be locked. Through a window, he could see dusty furniture. Not having any luck with forcing the door, Geraldine made his own dimension door to enter the hall. There was a desk with a thick book, a quill, and an ink bottle. He looked around in the dim light, seeing a broken door and a staircase that led into darkness. Two skeletons with halberds were leaned up on either side of the staircase going down, and that was where Geraldine magically felt she needed to go.
The graceful Geraldine hiked up his skirts once more and sneakily marched past them to head forty feet down the stairs. As he entered the dark hall, Geraldine suddenly stiffened at the sight of a large shadow lurching towards him.
Back at the party, five party-goers hung out in the guard post hall, looking upon Tatyana with worry. It was decided that it was best that they get her somewhere to rest or leave altogether. Song decided she would speak up with Strahd to make the request. Doctor Vasili grimly asked her if he should use a sedative to calm Tatyana down. Song sadly agreed. He put Tatyana to sleep and she was laid to rest on a cloak.
The moon cleric brushed off her velvet, magenta tunic and headed back out to the party to speak with Strahd. She found the vampire was once again listening to the complaints of Dr. Frantisek Markov. Politely, Song waited off to the side for a moment to speak. Seeing Song return, Strahd almost immediately dismissed the doctor to see what she had to say. She apologized again for the disturbance and suggested that it was best that they either take Tatyana away or bring her to a room to rest. Strahd discouraged the suggestion of leaving since the Wild Cards were his guests of honor and offered to have the distraught woman brought to his private chambers. Gertruda could keep her company.
Song's eyes brightened a little at the mention of Gertruda, as she remembered Mad Mary's pleas to find her teenage daughter who had been shut-in her entire life. She asked if it was that Gertruda and Strahd verified that it was. He had been keeping her safe in his castle. The charmed Song commented that Gertruda was lucky to have his kindness and empathized with the poor thing being cooped up. She offered to help but he dismissed the offer and suggested that she instead have more blood to drink. Strahd invited her to follow the spawn downstairs to drink from Vladamir. "I wouldn't want to impose," she attempted to decline. Song felt some discomfort at the idea of drinking the blood of another aasimar. However, Strahd insisted. She conceded to his insistence and briefly asked if he had any diamonds. With the diamond request going nowhere, she asked if she would see him again soon. Strahd assured her that she would. After a moment of hesitation, Song then asked if she could kiss him. The vampire lord looked upon her with bemusement, repeating her question. Immediately, Song saw it as a negative response, dismissing the request herself out of embarrassment before she awkwardly scurried away. Strahd chuckled to himself, watching her leave.
As Song left to find where the vampire spawn went, a slender arm of a petite woman wrapped around hers. The charmed dhampir looked in surprise as Volenta joined her with forced smile. The vampire consort in the gold gown and platinum mask informed Song that they were to be sisters soon. This seemed to blow Song's mind, confusing her. Then, she amusedly commented that Volenta did remind her of a far more twisted little sister. Volenta immediately countered that she was in fact the older sister. Song found that strange, used to being the elder one. She also sweetly told Volenta she thought that she was the cutest. Volenta tartly insisted that Song was only saying that because she was charmed. Song laughed and insisted that she wasn't charmed by Volenta. Then, she wryly muttered that Escher was the ugliest. Volenta begrudgingly agreed that he was the most annoying. Song took some small delight in having agreed over something, but Volenta was already quite over the interaction.
Kee and the two men guarded Tatyana, nervously waiting for Song to return. However, Song did not return even after ten minutes. This worried the aarakocra.
Geraldine laid his eyes on a short, stout fellow with a lantern hobbling down the hallway with a duck foot. The man had a fuzzy head with the round ears of a panther and disjointed teeth. Around his neck was a roll of twine with an eye as a pendant. The little man immediately asked the drag queen what she was doing down here. Geraldine innocently claimed to be lost, giving the man a demure look before asking who he was. The hairy man fussed and jibbered as he introduced himself as Cyrus. He seemed worried about his master being displeased about guests going where they shouldn't be. Then, Cyrus started hitting himself in the head. Geraldine rearranged his tactics and told Cyrus she was looking for a prop for her performance. Helping the lady find the prop would most certainly please the master. This seemed to calm Cyrus and make him become giddy.
Geraldine recognized that what he wanted was beyond another pair of double doors. Then, she asked Cyrus if he knew where a dragon skull was. Cyrus did know and said it was in the room beyond the doors, but Geraldine was absolutely not allowed in there. Geraldine then pulled out the dimensional chest and told Cyrus to put it in the box for the master and bring it back. Cyrus happily agreed and carried the chest away to the next room. The invisible sprite followed Cyrus into the room and Gerald looked through Lovely's eyes. The room was an immensely grotesque ossuary. The walls were lined with skulls. The table and chairs were made of bones. All the chandeliers were made of bones. There were bones absolutely everywhere. Over the eastern door was the skull of an ancient dragon. Geraldine nervously wondered if Cyrus was going to be able to handle it all by himself as the little man scurried up to get it off the wall. "She cannot see this room-my heart," Cyrus mumbled to himself. Then, he used every ounce of his strength to haul the skull off the wall and stuff it into the chest. "Master is gonna be happy!"
Geraldine's senses then returned to his hall as he sensed a commotion. He immediately turned invisible as vampire spawn scurried along, carrying Vladamir's decapitated body into another room, a large kitchen with a great bubbling pot. They were all eager to feast at the same time. There were groaning noises within. "Ugh! Cyrus, why do you keep these disgusting things in the kitchen?!" One of the spawn shouted.
Cyrus scuttled out of the ossuary, hauling the chest. "They're my friends," he said gleefully with a snort. One of the spawn asked what he was doing with the chest. Cyrus explained he was helping the master and a lady with something. There was some confusion as no one saw what lady the little man was talking about. "Lady?" Cyrus called, unable to see the invisible Geraldine. Dismissing Cyrus' business, the vampire spawn returned to the kitchen to begin feasting on the paladin's corpse. Bones snap.
While Cyrus was alone, Geraldine invisibly kissed his forehead and took the chest away with a gentle thanks. Cyrus blinked in confusion as the chest disappeared from sight. He called out for the lady a few times and then smacked himself on the head.
Geraldine and Cyrus then both heard the voices of Volenta and Song as they came downstairs. Song shyly questioned if there would be enough to go around. Volenta firmly asserted that they would either intimidate or kill the spawn if they got in the way. Song expressed some surprise at the thought of killing vampire spawn, but Volenta only seemed to view them as vermin.
Geraldine carefully slipped away and sent Lovely over to quietly inform Song that she was charmed. Song looked around in confusion, recognizing Lovely's voice. "Lovely?" Volenta questioned Song's out of nowhere response and then reacted with some amusement at the thought of Song hearing random voices.
The little golden bride led the charge into the kitchen demanding for all the rats to leave. Unsure of what else to do, Song gave a reinforcing hiss with thaumaturgy. The vampire spawn protested, stating that it was for them, too. Volenta insisted and the spawn all reluctantly retreated from the kitchen. Song saw zombies chained up in the kitchen that smelled of boiling decay.
Volenta and Song had a brief conversation with Cyrus. Song learned that he was Cyrus Belview and he had siblings at the abbey in Krezk. Amused by him, the moon cleric briefly attempted to pat his fuzzy head until he let out a little shriek. Cyrus didn't want his head touched since there was bad stuff in there. The little man also mentioned an interaction with a lady who disappeared. Then, he scurried off to find the lady, calling out "Lady! Lady!"
The pair briefly watched him leave, a little baffled by the sad, strange, little man. Volenta wryly commented that he had been at the castle for a few months. The bride then looked upon Vladamir's headless body that was laid up on a table. Volenta approached the open stump and gleefully offered the open veins of the neck to Song.
Song shyly approached the body, knowing that feeding would please Strahd. She opened her fanged mouth to bite into her dead friend. Then, something snapped in her mind, recognizing the pain this would bring her. Blinking out of the charmed state, Song recognized what she had nearly done and grew ill. Absolute agony seized her heart and entire body. Her legs collapsed beneath her as her body shut down into a deep sleep that could not easily be broken.
After watching Song pause, contort, and pass out; Volenta rolled her eyes. "Amateur. More for me." She bit into the aasimar food cake by herself.
Back upstairs, Kee was about to leave to look for Song when a striking young lady entered the room. She was in her late teens, had bright blue eyes, and wore a nightgown with slippers. The innocent-looking girl informed them she was here to have Ireena brought upstairs. Vasili and Ismark carried Ireena's body through a room and up some stairs behind the girl.
Kee had other plans in the meantime. He stepped out into the gala hall and saw no sign of Song or Strahd. In fact, most of the crowd had seemed to have dispersed aside from the living Barovians. They all expressed some disappointment in Vladamir's death, commenting on how it was just the usual fate of most adventurers. The birdman headed downstairs and saw more unfriendly faces hanging about the octagonal entry foyer where he met the consorts earlier. He could find no sign of Song anywhere.
Giving up on his search, Kee returned to find Ireena and the others. Stepping through the room they had gone to, Kee found many bookshelves, locked chests, and an accountant sitting at a tall desk on a stool. The accountant was an old, grumpy-looking Barovian man who had a chain attached to his leg. He scribbled into a book with ink. A tassel hung next to him. Another door was on the other side of the room.
Kee approached the old accountant, asking if he had seen his friends. The old man dismissed him and told Kee he was working. Kee attempted to bribe him and the old man shook his head, claiming money was of no use to him. Kee agreed with the sentiment and decided to just follow the dusty footsteps out the room.
Outside, he found a spiral staircase that went up and down. He climbed upward, tracking the party's movement until he reached another landing with a door. Two misshapen statues stood within alcoves near the door. Kee approached the door with curiosity only to be assailed by the misshapen statues, which were actually three swarms of rats. Unlike most people however, the aarakocra delighted at the arrival of fresh appetizers. He skewered and devoured them with little trouble.