Escher and the no good very bad day! The adventurers died. Time to take matters into our own hands.

So we're gunna bribe the ravens to lead his flesh golem bride into the countryside. We need to do something about the evil druids at the Wizards of Wine Winery, surely this won't come back to bite us in the ass.

While this happens, Zane battle of the bands it with Strahd, who is playing his organ, to distract from the noise paradethat is 'directing the "bride" outside'

SOMEHOW we beat the door, and then we discovered that Regina, Gretchen, and Susan the other brides are mean.

And oh no we are summoned to the room where Strahd is playing with his organ. Ah. He has a friend here from the Vistani camp.

Becaaaaaaaaaaaause we have to go see if Madame Eva is alright. And either retrieve or kill the corpse bride that soooomehow mysteriously escaped. We have a very tight deadline this is fine.

Said bride is not at the Vistani camp, where they're a bit suspicious of us but they chill out after a few drinks.

We even get a reading.

The Hooded One -something we neede is at the Amber Temple deep in the mountains

THe Enchanter -the Sun Sword is, heh, with Baby Lysaga.

the Conjurer-so is the holy symbol of Ravenkind (a rose plucked too soon)

The Mists -a Vistani person who will help us defeat Strahd, currently at St Markovia's Abbey

And we need silvered weapons

Also, apparently adventurerers are stupid.

A funeral was held for a minor illusion of Zane's body. Y'know, because he never had one.

A glorious day to set off into the woods from the Vistani camp to track a corpse bride.Oooooh, Lilli, no. We're not going into the water. We're going across the water. Everyone, yes everyone, is happier that way.

Ah. Behold! doggie prints. Nooo thank you. And we are trying to be quiet.

...trying.

Good news! We found the bride! Bad news! We found the doggies dire wolves. They can fuck you up. And uhhh the bride is taking them to...pound town? That's certainly words that got said and now I had to write down.

We won, somehow, and discovered that this tabaxi that was treed is a dead adventurerer named Devaris. He looks really alive though. He said the rest of his party is actually dead, but he just pretended to be dead when his party died at Baba Lysaga's hut. She has all his shit. We're not up to retrieval there.

(Fiona, be nice)

Baba Lysaga does tend to give Strahd her trophies. So we might be able to get Devaris's shit. Maybe. He's gunna hang out with us, he seems to think (finally?) that we're not going to murderize him. So we'll see how long that lasts. And if we can make him into clank clank here comes the tank.

annnnd now with our wolf pelts we're going to merrily lead a flesh golem back to the castle with the most innardly bait because everything here is normal and fine and that's why we never see sun. Maybe we can skip!

And we're back, in beautiful Barovia. With Devaris, who is not a clank tank. He's a leather tank. And real flexible. Starting strong, this adventure.

But more ?importantly? at least to our continued survival, we're leading a ||flesh golem|| through the countryside with offal in an invisible mage hand. This is the *least stealthy* parade. Because parades are, of course, famously stealthy. Perhaps that's why we can't sneak? Nothing ambushed us though.

Devaris is going to Vallaki for obvious reasons. Like he doesn't wanna play 'the floor is lava' in Strahd's chapel while we get a new veil on the Bride for Strahd so she'll be pretty. Whatever. You gotta find your fun where you can. Rahadin is, apparently, allergic to fun and not impressed with her new veil, but he does give us the key so we can let Escher out.

Escher needs a good cry and a good bath. While we're down here we're going to loooooooooooooooook in another grave, one rumored to have a magic item. *But Escher turned around so he could have deniability*. Just go somewhere else buddy. Take that bath. Have that cry. Go read Strahd's diary. We got a well preserved lady thighbone. From a Saint Markovia. She got a present that was oops, all vampire spawn, and died about it but now her leg is a Mace of Disruption.

Dawn, don't say we never give you anything. We gave you a Thighbone of Disruption.

When I was talkin' to my birb friends about artistic pooping and the latest hot gossip (a fight? with some Vistani? interesting!) a raven who speaks Common came and invited us to the winery to clean up a teensy tinesy fey infestation. By which he means a hag infestation. THere's one, except when there's two. So that's fun. (It is not!) He doesn't know when pie time is so that might be a concern.

CONVENIENTLY Madame Eva also asked us to deal with the winery. And sent Strahd a letter to that effect. He'll even let us take gear this time. Shopping montage! And we set out tomorrow.

Ireena gets to go on a field trip with us! If she dies so do we! And we got all our shopping list! So we are heading towards Valaki to get our kitty cat friend.

...wow I hate this gallows. we all hate this gallows. Oh of COURSE it was set up by Rahadin to be morbid and demoralizing. He's the worst.

Ooooh wait Valaki is now made of skellingtons, nevermind. We are the least sneaky party in all of ever!

We instead went to a Vistani camp, and did not have to fight any wolves, annnnnd lied our entire faces off about our intentions towards D'varis, and they let us in and there was much drinking and fooding and talking about how to make your bread. And then Fiona did NOT murderkill the nice dusk elf who heard her saying we had to kill Strahd, and he gave her a silvered dagger for her restraint.

So now we're camping in the safest bubble in the ever.

At the Vistani camp overnight, the Dusk Elves were lookin for something...hmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm that's something to look into later. WHen we fix the wine situation maaaaaaaaybe we can get, liiiike, information?

And we finally made it to the winery! A were-raven asked us how we think we're gunna win (power of friendship! We gotta try!) I think he thinks we're full of....sooooomething...but he did give us potions and some good intel.

We, like, cirque de soleil'd into that bad boy and immediately found a druid. Whoopsie doodle.