Expedition to Castle Ravenloft (IC)

[Kish]

"You came in response to what now?" the woman asks suspiciously. If Ismark is to be believed, the Burgomaster has been dead for some time.

[RolandDeschain]

Tarak

He shakes his head momentarily, then produces the letter and holds it aloft "Ismark did not believe it either, but we were invited to Barovia by the Burgomaster himself. This letter was his call for assistance."

[Kish]

A beam of light, like that of a bullseye lantern, plays over Tarak's face from the window above, and then over Celesta, Feagon, and Suga. After a minute, the window closes. A minute later, you hear the sound of the front door being unbarricaded. A beautiful, haunted-looking young woman with jet black hair, dressed like an adventurer in a chain shirt and with a rapier at her side, opens the door. "Come in," she says quietly.

Spoiler: anyone who accepts her invitation

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The well-furnished mansion shows considerable wear, though the holy symbols hung in every room of the house draw attention from the soiled divans and ratty carpets. A man’s body in burgomaster’s robes lies in state in the front room.

[razorback]

Putting the arrow back and his quiver and hanging his bow, Feagon fingers the rapier at his waist, the one they found, before moving in. "Don't let her skewer me." he says as he passes the group and enters the home.
Looking about, he asks "As my friend said, I am Feagon. Who are you?" he says, noting her armor and weapon.

[RolandDeschain]

Tarak

Tipping his head slightly Tarak slowly enters the room behind Feagon. Stepping reverently over to the body lying in state, he bows his head and says a silent prayer, before returning to the woman's side and handing her the letter.

"I'm sorry for your loss ma'am....Ireena, right? This is the letter that brought us here. Needless to say we were greeted by an entirely different and nasty surprise when we entered the town."

[Cavir]

Suga put his axe away symbolically and let his shield hang. He still had his shield and spiked gauntlet available as weapons but it would have made a commotion undoing all that. He followed the others in and nodded to the woman.

[Kish]

"I'm Ireena Kolyana," the woman says, taking the letter from Tarak. She reads it silently, before saying, "I haven't been bitten by a werewolf and my father didn't write this." She shudders. "But you said you might have done something about the walking corpses. Can you elaborate?"

[RolandDeschain]

Tarak

Reclaiming the letter the hobgoblin pushes back a lock of shaggy hair, "Well ma'am, I don't rightly know how to describe it really. We came to this village and were beset by the waking dead as we made our way through the streets. We eventually won our way through to the local tavern where we found many villagers, Ismark, and a holy warrior named Ashlyn holed up. After a brief rest, we went to the village church to determine the fate of Ashlyn's compatriots. It was there that we discovered the local cleric had lost his mind and performed some heinous rites on his recently deceased son. My friends here, Feagon and Suga, slayed the abomination, captured the cleric, and we returned to the tavern. Ismark pointed us here. We have encountered no waking dead since....perhaps the priest and his son were the source of undeath, or perhaps it's merely coincidence, but for now they seem to be gone.

Uh....I don't want to sound forward, and again I grieve for you loss, but legends say those bitten by werewolves themselves are transformed into werewolves. If that were the case, wouldn't you lie to us about being bitten?" Tarak looks the young woman intently in the eyes watching how she reacts to his query.

Spoiler: Sense Motive

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not great, but what the heck (1d20+6)[12]

[Kish]

"Uh. I doubt it? I've never heard that werewolves can instantly override--anyway, you can ask the people in the tavern. There...are actually werewolves in the area...but while they make it deadly to travel through the forest, especially closer to the full moon, they've never attacked Barovia itself. During my lifetime, anyway."

She considers for a minute before saying, "I have a request for you, though. If the zombies are gone, will you help me take my father's body to the cemetery? And then we can talk more about this letter, and who really wrote it."

Spoiler: OOC

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She doesn't seem particularly nervous, but you can't really tell whether she's a practiced liar or isn't lying. Her revulsion when she speaks of the letter is plain. If anyone else wants to try a Sense Motive roll, they might learn more.

[razorback]

Feagon keeps to the back as he looks at the body, then turns to Ireena "I will help. What was your father's name and what God did he pray to? I will say a prayer for him to Ehlonna, at least, if that is acceptable to you."

Spoiler

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Sense Motive
(1d20+4)[22]

[RolandDeschain]

Tarak

Looking over his shoulder at Feagon, then Suga, "I suppose we could help you put your father to rest, as of now the streets appear to be clear. To be frank, we came here out of a sense of obligation to find out about the letter and your father. If things are as they appear in this little town, it's no small miracle that you're alive and well. We've plans to seek out one Madam Eva tomorrow, but I believe that's out of town in an entirely different direction. Would you like us to try to fetch Ismark, he seemed....well, he was rather....despondent and morose when we departed."