Our online D&D game set in Ravenloft continues...and the arc ends.
The Characters
Tekla Vardagen, half-elf warlock
13 Shattered Mirrors, tabaxi warlock/rogue
Tank Orkerson, half-orc fighter
Gnagar the Bloody, kobold monk
Al', drow cleric
Events
When we had last left our heroes, they had ventured into the ballroom of Leonora Vos's house--where they found themselves mocked by the wicked painter Donna Pietra Sangino. Sangino used the landscape paintings hanging in the room as portals to summon three painted monstrosities to accost the party: an owlbear, a hell hound, and a maw demon.
Al' quickly exploded the maw demon with a bolt of divine radiance, but in its death throes the creature leapt across the room and delivered a ferocious bite to its killer before expiring. The hell hound proved even more dangerous; it breathed great blasts of fire that enveloped multiple members of the group. A powerful spell rendered the hell hound blind, which greatly weakened it and allowed it to be dealt with more easily.
Tank kept the owlbear tied-up and unable to reach the rest of the group. Although the monster was hideously strong, its horrific beak and claws had trouble piercing Tank's defenses. Once combat had begun, Donna Pietra Sangino stepped out of a painting and joined the fray; unerring darts of magical force sprang from her fingers. One of Sangino's attacks nearly killed Tekla, but the warlock discovered that being returned to a strange state between life and undeath by the Raven Queen had imbued her with unnatural vigor that resisted the finality of death. Tank gained the upper hand against the owlbear; a blow from his sword reduced the monster to a splatter of oil paint.
Things looked dire for our heroes at points throughout this battle. Members of the party would be taken out by Sangino or her minions, only to be brought back from the breach by magic, a potion, or the blessing of the Raven Queen. Once her painted monstrosities were vanquished, Sangino attempted to save her own skin by creating a painted duplicate of herself, but in was in vain: a mighty swing from Tank cut through both her duplicate and neatly bisected the malignant artist. The party's most hated villain, the woman who had gotten them entangled in machinations that led them to the gallows, now lay dead at their feet.
After collecting Emilia, who had been cowering in a corner of the room, the party resumed their search for Leonora Vos and the long-promised way home. A search the remainder of the house uncovered more evidence of a break-in and the rampage of Sangino's painted monsters; it seemed likely that the servants had been killed much like the dwarven miners excavating in the stone ruins. On the second floor, the party found a door that was blocked from the inside. Tank put his muscles to good use and shouldered his way through what turned out to be a barricade made of furniture. Inside this master bedroom they found Leonora Vos. Frightened out of her wits, Vos summoned a magical flame shaped like a bird and yelled "Stay back, I know magic!"
The party attempted to put her at ease. Gnargar cut himself to illustrate that they were flesh-and-blood mortals, and not creatures of paint and magic who served Donna Pietra Sangino. They explained that the evil artist had been dealt with and why they had come to her house. Leonora was satisfied with their explanation, but still worried about any monsters that may still be wandering in her house. The group assured her that they had killed the threats, but Leonora pointed to the dark shapes moving on the balcony outside the bedroom and said, "Then what is that?"
The lurking beasts shattered the windows and lurched into the room. They were driders, save that the drow upper torso of each appeared to be limp, dead eyed, and cadaverous. Inconveniently, Emilia announced that she was going into labor; the birth of her child was immanent! The group quickly sent Emilia and Leonora out of the room while they engaged the last of Sangino's interlopers.
The last of Sangino's minions dispatched, the group went in search of Leonora and Emilia, but they didn't have to go far before finding them; Emilia was lying in the hallway, about to give birth. Despite her familiarity with the propagation of rare plants, Leonora knew nothing about delivering a baby...so it was up to Al' to serve as the midwife in attendance. Discovering a previously unknown aptitude, Al' successfully guided a new life into the world. Everyone was relieved to find that the child had been born without any sign of corruption.
However, the birth of the child did bring a further supernatural intervention. The moonlight streaming into the hallway went dim, and a familiar woman clad in a black gown, a crown of twisted iron, and a cloak of feathers emerged from the shadows--the Raven Queen had manifested before their eyes once more. She declared that Emilia would stay with Leonora and that they would raise the child together.
She then turned her attention to the party and offered them a further bargain. She noted that they had succeeded in removing the child's curse where their ancestors had failed generations ago. She also said that Ravenloft was still in need of such daring champions. To that end, she posited two possibilities: Leonora could use her magical statues to send them back to their home world or the Raven Queen could restore them fully to life if they would agree to remain in the Land of the Mists to continue to fight against the evils that plague this world.
The party unanimously agreed to stay and bring light to the dark places of Ravenloft.
The Raven Queen gave them a rare, uncharacteristic smile. Thick gray mist rose from the floor, clouding their vision and enveloping them. When the mists cleared, they found themselves standing at the side of an unfamiliar road. Their skins had returned to their living hues and the marks of the nooses that had taken their lives had now been erased. Looking to east, they saw the sun rise over a troubled land that they had sworn to protect.
The Characters
Tekla Vardagen, half-elf warlock
13 Shattered Mirrors, tabaxi warlock/rogue
Tank Orkerson, half-orc fighter
Gnagar the Bloody, kobold monk
Al', drow cleric
Events
When we had last left our heroes, they had ventured into the ballroom of Leonora Vos's house--where they found themselves mocked by the wicked painter Donna Pietra Sangino. Sangino used the landscape paintings hanging in the room as portals to summon three painted monstrosities to accost the party: an owlbear, a hell hound, and a maw demon.
Al' quickly exploded the maw demon with a bolt of divine radiance, but in its death throes the creature leapt across the room and delivered a ferocious bite to its killer before expiring. The hell hound proved even more dangerous; it breathed great blasts of fire that enveloped multiple members of the group. A powerful spell rendered the hell hound blind, which greatly weakened it and allowed it to be dealt with more easily.
Tank kept the owlbear tied-up and unable to reach the rest of the group. Although the monster was hideously strong, its horrific beak and claws had trouble piercing Tank's defenses. Once combat had begun, Donna Pietra Sangino stepped out of a painting and joined the fray; unerring darts of magical force sprang from her fingers. One of Sangino's attacks nearly killed Tekla, but the warlock discovered that being returned to a strange state between life and undeath by the Raven Queen had imbued her with unnatural vigor that resisted the finality of death. Tank gained the upper hand against the owlbear; a blow from his sword reduced the monster to a splatter of oil paint.
Things looked dire for our heroes at points throughout this battle. Members of the party would be taken out by Sangino or her minions, only to be brought back from the breach by magic, a potion, or the blessing of the Raven Queen. Once her painted monstrosities were vanquished, Sangino attempted to save her own skin by creating a painted duplicate of herself, but in was in vain: a mighty swing from Tank cut through both her duplicate and neatly bisected the malignant artist. The party's most hated villain, the woman who had gotten them entangled in machinations that led them to the gallows, now lay dead at their feet.
After collecting Emilia, who had been cowering in a corner of the room, the party resumed their search for Leonora Vos and the long-promised way home. A search the remainder of the house uncovered more evidence of a break-in and the rampage of Sangino's painted monsters; it seemed likely that the servants had been killed much like the dwarven miners excavating in the stone ruins. On the second floor, the party found a door that was blocked from the inside. Tank put his muscles to good use and shouldered his way through what turned out to be a barricade made of furniture. Inside this master bedroom they found Leonora Vos. Frightened out of her wits, Vos summoned a magical flame shaped like a bird and yelled "Stay back, I know magic!"
The party attempted to put her at ease. Gnargar cut himself to illustrate that they were flesh-and-blood mortals, and not creatures of paint and magic who served Donna Pietra Sangino. They explained that the evil artist had been dealt with and why they had come to her house. Leonora was satisfied with their explanation, but still worried about any monsters that may still be wandering in her house. The group assured her that they had killed the threats, but Leonora pointed to the dark shapes moving on the balcony outside the bedroom and said, "Then what is that?"
The lurking beasts shattered the windows and lurched into the room. They were driders, save that the drow upper torso of each appeared to be limp, dead eyed, and cadaverous. Inconveniently, Emilia announced that she was going into labor; the birth of her child was immanent! The group quickly sent Emilia and Leonora out of the room while they engaged the last of Sangino's interlopers.
The last of Sangino's minions dispatched, the group went in search of Leonora and Emilia, but they didn't have to go far before finding them; Emilia was lying in the hallway, about to give birth. Despite her familiarity with the propagation of rare plants, Leonora knew nothing about delivering a baby...so it was up to Al' to serve as the midwife in attendance. Discovering a previously unknown aptitude, Al' successfully guided a new life into the world. Everyone was relieved to find that the child had been born without any sign of corruption.
However, the birth of the child did bring a further supernatural intervention. The moonlight streaming into the hallway went dim, and a familiar woman clad in a black gown, a crown of twisted iron, and a cloak of feathers emerged from the shadows--the Raven Queen had manifested before their eyes once more. She declared that Emilia would stay with Leonora and that they would raise the child together.
She then turned her attention to the party and offered them a further bargain. She noted that they had succeeded in removing the child's curse where their ancestors had failed generations ago. She also said that Ravenloft was still in need of such daring champions. To that end, she posited two possibilities: Leonora could use her magical statues to send them back to their home world or the Raven Queen could restore them fully to life if they would agree to remain in the Land of the Mists to continue to fight against the evils that plague this world.
The party unanimously agreed to stay and bring light to the dark places of Ravenloft.
The Raven Queen gave them a rare, uncharacteristic smile. Thick gray mist rose from the floor, clouding their vision and enveloping them. When the mists cleared, they found themselves standing at the side of an unfamiliar road. Their skins had returned to their living hues and the marks of the nooses that had taken their lives had now been erased. Looking to east, they saw the sun rise over a troubled land that they had sworn to protect.
