The Fortress Consumed by the Mist (Session 82)

Summary

Audra opened the door to a forgotten barracks filled with blackened bunks and ancient debris. As she ventured inside, seven Ash Zombies and a Mist Wight rose from the beds and attacked. Ash clouds hindered Audra while the wight concentrated on Pyreece, but Elenor’s Magic Missiles, Oglesby’s arrows, and the combined attacks of Kipp and Brandy gradually overwhelmed them. Pyreece turned one zombie away, and the party eventually destroyed every creature. Their search uncovered silver, gems, a sword, six fine arrows, and a scorched ring, along with records describing guards who had vanished without blood or tracks. Orders warned that no one should enter the lower crypts or eastern vault without a heavily armed escort.

Continuing through the ruined chapel, the party explored an ancient kitchen and adjoining storerooms. Broken ovens, shattered pottery, spoiled barrels, and deeply worn flagstones spoke of the fortress’s former life, while a mocking inscription complained about Sergeant Halbrook’s cooking. More troubling was the mist, which had grown steadily thicker and appeared to seep directly from the stone. Beyond a pair of iron-banded doors, they discovered a vast audience chamber containing tattered banners, cracked marble, and a throne carved from dark granite. As they approached it, the temperature plunged and the mist gathered into the translucent form of an armored warrior.

The spectral guardian explained that the fortress stood upon a fragile seam between their world and a realm of dread and shadow. Centuries earlier, the veil had torn open and released a shadow demon that the fortress priests imprisoned in the volcanic depths, though they lacked the strength to close the rift. Now Lyssa von Zarovich had claimed the gateway, drawing power from it and summoning ancient evils to create an army. The guardian begged the party to seal the veil and defeat Lyssa so that his soul might finally rest. Before fading, he warned that Lyssa could travel between worlds, advised them to speak the name Strahd to break her composure, and cautioned them to reject any offer of immortality.

A hidden compartment beneath the throne contained a valuable silver box holding a potion, a Scroll of Protection from Undead, three moonstones, and a magical mace called Defender of the Faith, especially powerful against undead. The party withdrew to a mist-free chamber to rest, but the fortress offered little peace. During the first watch, phantom horns sounded and the thunder of hundreds of soldiers filled the halls. Voices shouted that the gate had fallen as unseen armies clashed, orange firelight flickered beneath the doors, and a tremendous crash ended the battle. Silence then returned as suddenly as the haunting had begun.

Later, Pyreece awoke to find the ghost of a wounded elderly knight laying beside her. He warned that Lyssa had come after the fortress fell and pleaded with her to seal the gate before the vampire opened it again. The apparition saluted with his broken sword and vanished, leaving behind a muddy footprint as proof of his visit. Convinced that he meant the supernatural gateway hidden within the mist, the party resumed exploring. In a fog-filled chamber, they encountered two mist-wrapped skeletons and Roland, an undead warrior in blackened plate armor whose visor burned with pale blue light.

Roland warned the adventurers to leave, insisting that he would not fail again, but the party stood its ground. Pyreece turned one skeleton and fought the other with Audra. Kipp and Brandy engaged Roland despite the terror radiating from the skeletal undead. Oglesby’s arrows glanced from Roland’s armor as Elenor battered their enemies with Magic Missiles. The skeletons dissolved into mist when destroyed, and Roland finally fell beneath Kipp’s magical blade, leaving behind his greatsword and a sunburst medallion. Brandy emerged from the struggle gravely wounded, but Pyreece’s healing and a Potion of Extra Healing restored her, allowing the party to prepare for the dangers still waiting in the upper fortress.

That's where the session ended!

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Exp: 4000 + 400 = 4400

Detail

Audra opened the door and found a long-forgotten barracks filled with blackened, decaying bunks and scattered debris. As she moved farther inside, the shapes lying upon the beds began to rise. Seven Ash Zombies and a Mist Wight attacked the party. The zombies exhaled clouds of dry ash that hindered Audra, while the Mist Wight focused much of its attention on Pyreece. Elenor struck the undead with Magic Missiles, Kipp and Brandy entered the melee, and Oglesby fired from a distance. Pyreece attempted to turn the creatures and drove one of the zombies away, though the strange undead did not respond as ordinary zombies would. They eventually destroyed the Mist Wight, and finished the remaining Ash Zombies.

A search of the barracks uncovered a well-preserved sword, six unusually fine arrows, and a scorched ring carried by the Mist Wight. The party also recovered 220 silver pieces and three gems worth approximately ten gold pieces each. Among the ruined belongings were a hand-painted deck of playing cards, old carving knives, bone dice, a whetstone, and a rusted dagger. One note reported that three more guards had disappeared during the night watch, leaving no tracks or blood—only empty armor.

A fortress duty roster contained special orders forbidding patrols from entering the lower crypts with fewer than four armed guards. Any unusual sounds, lights, or disturbances were to be reported immediately. A small map of what appeared to be the crypts ordered the guard doubled at the eastern vault and stated that no one was to enter without the commander’s authority. A small pouch held another eight silver pieces and fifteen copper pieces. The party spent about an hour searching the barracks for hidden doors but found none.

They returned through the ruined chapel and continued exploring. One doorway led into an irregularly shaped kitchen built to conform to the surrounding rock. A massive stone hearth, collapsed bread ovens, broken cooking pots, cracked counters, shattered pottery, and corroded bronze utensils remained beneath centuries of dust and rubble. Grooves worn into the flagstones showed where generations of cooks and servants had walked between the ovens and preparation tables. Hardened salt remained inside several ceramic jars, and a small leather bag found near a ruined table jingled when lifted.

The mist had grown thicker as the party traveled deeper into the fortress. Brandy could find no opening through which it entered; it appeared to seep directly from the stone. Writing on one kitchen wall declared that the stew had been better before Sergeant Halbrook learned to cook. An adjoining storage room contained broken crockery, collapsed crates, old cloth, cobwebs, rat droppings, and small tunnels burrowed through the debris. Another chamber held the remains of wine, beer, ale, and water barrels. Most had collapsed long ago, leaving behind a strong odor of vinegar and spoiled drink.

The party eventually opened a pair of heavy, iron-banded doors and entered a vast audience chamber. Faded banners hung in tatters from the walls, and cracked marble tiles lay beneath a blanket of dust. At the far end, three broad steps rose to a throne-like chair carved from a single block of dark granite. As the party approached, the temperature plummeted, their breath became visible, and their light sources dimmed. Mist gathered upon the chair and formed the translucent figure of an ancient warrior in heavy plate armor.

The spectral guardian demanded to know why the living had entered the fortress. The party explained that they were pursuing slavers and searching for captured friends. The guardian told them that the fortress had been built upon a fragile seam in reality, where a thin veil separated their world from a realm of dread and shadow. Centuries earlier, the veil had torn open and released a powerful shadow demon. The fortress priests could not destroy it, but they bound it in the volcanic depths beneath the hall. Their strength was exhausted, however, and they could not close the tear.

For centuries the rift had remained a stagnant wound, but something new had taken control of the gateway. A creature of living death now occupied the lands above the fortress, feeding upon the energy of the torn veil and summoning ancient evils through it to build an army. The guardian could not rest because an ancient dark power held a partial claim upon his soul. As long as he remained seated upon the stone throne, the mist could not take him. He asked the party to close the veil and defeat the pretender above so that he could finally be released.

The party understood that he was speaking of Lyssa von Zarovich, the vampire about whom they had previously been warned. The guardian said that every corridor and locked door above had been chosen for a purpose. The dead obeyed Lyssa, the living feared her, and neither escaped her. She had learned to move through the veil between worlds. He warned that she could not bear reminders of the one whose shadow she followed and told them to speak the name Strahd and watch her mask crack. He also warned them to possess the wisdom to refuse if she offered them eternity. With that, he dissolved into mist and merged once more with the throne.

A piece of the throne slid open to reveal a concealed compartment beneath the it that held a silver box worth approximately five hundred gold pieces. Inside were a potion, a Scroll of Protection from Undead, three moonstones, and a finely crafted mace. The party decided to rest before continuing toward the upper fortress. They moved to a round chamber in one of the first rooms they'd searched, there was no mist there. Elenor later cast Detect Magic over the newly recovered objects plus a few from the last session. The potion, mace, scorched ring, six arrows, another ring, an iron bound wooden shield, and sword. Apparently, the detect magic and the identify part of the session was not recorded. The mace is called Defender of the Faith and is a +2 weapon, +3 vs the undead.

During the first watch, a horn sounded somewhere beyond the fortress and was answered by another. A cold breeze passed through the chamber, followed by the pounding of hundreds of boots, weapons striking armor, and soldiers shouting orders. Voices called for the west wall to be held and warned that attackers had broken through the gate. Orange firelight briefly flickered beneath the doors and at the distant end of the corridor. The sounds of battle intensified, ending with a tremendous crash and hundreds of voices crying out together. Then everything stopped, leaving the fortress completely silent. The party believed they had witnessed a ghostly repetition of the battle that destroyed the stronghold, and they resumed their rest.

During Brandy’s watch, Pyreece awoke and found the translucent figure of an elderly knight beside her. His plate armor was damaged, his face was pale and bloodstained, and he carried a broken sword. Only Pyreece heard his warning: “She was not here when we fell. She came later. Seal the gate before she opens it again.” He raised his broken sword in salute and faded away. Pyreece softly murmured a blessing for him. When the party awakened, Kipp discovered a fresh, muddy boot print beside the place where Pyreece had slept. Pyreece told the others about the knight, and they concluded that the gate he mentioned was probably not the fortress’s ordinary entrance but the supernatural gateway within the mist.

After completing their rest, the party opened another door and entered a chamber filled with especially dense fog. Through the mist they saw an armored skeleton hunched over a desk and a warrior standing beside it in blackened plate armor. Pale blue light burned behind the warrior’s visor. As another mist-wrapped skeleton emerged, the armored warrior, Roland, warned them to leave, saying that he had failed once and would not fail again.

Pyreece attempted to turn the undead and drove one of the mist-infused skeletons back. As she charged Roland, something about the skeletal figure caught her attention and she felt as though she should avoid it, but that only drove her to change direction and charge him instead. Kipp charged Roland with his magical short sword, while Brandy joined him in close combat. Oglesby’s arrow deflected from Roland’s armor, and Elenor repeatedly attacked the undead with Magic Missiles. Audra and Pyreece fought the skeletons while resisting the fear and deadly energy surrounding them.

When one of the skeletons was destroyed, it dissolved into mist instead of collapsing. Roland called out for his warriors not to fear, and the turned skeleton moved to attack again. Kipp and Brandy noticed that Roland wore a medallion bearing a large sunburst. The unturned skeleton’s mist thickened into a powerful aura, as it continued it's attack but Audra resisted its deadliest effect. The party continued attacking until the second mist-infused skeleton was destroyed. Kipp then struck Roland down. Like the skeletons, Roland dissolved into mist, leaving his greatsword and sunburst medallion upon the floor.

Brandy had suffered the worst of Roland’s attacks and was left badly wounded. Pyreece healed her several times, after which Brandy drank a Potion of Extra Healing.

That's where the session ended!

Please start the recorder!

Exp: 4000 + 400 = 4400