With the party tying up the Druid they jumped, the crows outside the building are seen flying back towards the edge of the vineyard. Checking from the sliding door, Abe can see that the Blights are still moving around the area. They seem a little more aimless than before.
Behind the ranger, Torbin inspects the staff the party suspected controls the Blights. The wood itself feels wrong in his hands, as if the wood is cursed. Or the tree it’s from was cursed when it was stripped to make this staff? Whatever it is, it feels evil. He tosses it to the floor in disgust, declaring to the party that it needs to be destroyed!
Without a moments hesitation, Summer leaps into the air, landing on it with all her might and snapping the twisted staff in two! The staff explodes with black smoke billowing out and cloaking the party as the evil unleashed attempts to enter their minds, but it doesn’t seem to take hold despite Slates headache. Torbin, being more attuned to nature, hears a deafening wailing scream as the staff disintegrates in Summers hands, the pain causing him to collapse and hold his ears as he’s deafened from the cry.
Checking outside the door again, Vanros sees that the Blights had all become motionless on the ground. Seems like the staff being broken has broken them as well?
Wanting to get a better view of the downed Blights, Summer started up the stairs to look out the windows.
Wanting to get a better view of the downed Blights, Summer started up the stairs to look out the windows.
But she catches a glimpse of a figure trying to hide upstairs, she reaches the top of the stairs and prepares to call out the hiding individual when the figure jumps out and casts Thunderwave on her, sending the Kobold back along the walkway!
As the party below, besides the deaf Druid, all turn to see what the cause of the noise was and see Summer fending off another Druid holding a staff! Grabbing the end of the mans staff, Summer jabs it into the mans face with enough force to make him bleed. Seeing the running blood, her eyes widen and her fangs sharpen. She’s so goddamn hungry! She lunges at the Druid, her fangs missing him by inches as he beats her back to the floor, knocking her out!
Before the party can even start climbing up the stairs, vines shoot out of the ground and start to envelop the party in an attempt to stop them reaching their fallen comrade!
As the party below, besides the deaf Druid, all turn to see what the cause of the noise was and see Summer fending off another Druid holding a staff! Grabbing the end of the mans staff, Summer jabs it into the mans face with enough force to make him bleed. Seeing the running blood, her eyes widen and her fangs sharpen. She’s so goddamn hungry! She lunges at the Druid, her fangs missing him by inches as he beats her back to the floor, knocking her out!
Before the party can even start climbing up the stairs, vines shoot out of the ground and start to envelop the party in an attempt to stop them reaching their fallen comrade!
While Slate gets stuck in the vines, Abe managed to avoid them and Vanros ripped himself free, the two racing up the stairs to the upper level. Slate manages to break free behind them, following them all up the stairs as well while Torbin is still too out of it after the staffs scream to notice what’s going on.
As the trio almost reach the top of the stairs, the druid on top of Summer casts Thunderwave on them, sending Slate and Abe into a half-full vat of grapes before fleeing as Vanros reached the upper landing and moved his way to Summer.
As the trio almost reach the top of the stairs, the druid on top of Summer casts Thunderwave on them, sending Slate and Abe into a half-full vat of grapes before fleeing as Vanros reached the upper landing and moved his way to Summer.
The Kobold Monk immediately got to her feet and bolted in the other direction, where she had seen the first druid in an attempt to get back at them! As she rounds the crates they were hiding behind, she catches sight of a door ahead swinging shut. Charging up to the door, she kicks it forcefully off it’s hinges in time to see the Druid climbing down the loading ramp and out of sight.
Back inside, Slate boosts Abe out of the vat so the Ranger can join Vanros in shooting at the other druid fleeing in the other direction.
Abe calls out to Vanros to follow Summer while he tracks down the druid that Thunderwave’d them. Slate struggled to get free of the vat, Vanros stopping above him to lend a hand before giving chase after Abe instead of Summer. Slate went downstairs, knowing the door Summer kicked down led to the loading docks and tried to catch the druid from the other side! Finally seeing the party scrambling, Torbin gives chase after Slate!
Abe calls out to Vanros to follow Summer while he tracks down the druid that Thunderwave’d them. Slate struggled to get free of the vat, Vanros stopping above him to lend a hand before giving chase after Abe instead of Summer. Slate went downstairs, knowing the door Summer kicked down led to the loading docks and tried to catch the druid from the other side! Finally seeing the party scrambling, Torbin gives chase after Slate!
The two get out to the docking area in time to see Summer rounding a corner and sliding a door open open with a thundering slam, followed by the sounds of startled whining.
Summer sees the druid she was chasing attempting to get on a horse, but her entrance to the space seems to have startled the beast of burden and kicked him off! Lying on the ground, the druid starts to sit up when Summer leaps over the horse and lands on his chest with a devastating kick to the ribs. Enough force to make him cough blood, making the pale Kobolds eyes dilate… her sharpened claws raked across his throat and chest, leaving large gashes before sinking her fangs into the exposed meat.
Feeling the taste of meat on her tongue, this is the best she’s felt in days! The most alive she’s felt since the fight in the Coffin makers! The druid screams in agony as the kobold tears him apart, but a panicked horse hoof silences him with a stomp to the head as the horse bolts for the open door.
After letting the horse flee out the door, Slate and Torbin are stunned at the sight of Summer ripping chunks of meat out of the druid and scarfing them down like a starved animal. Well… looks like she’s got this covered… Should probably go check on Abe and Slate, right?
Abe chased the second druid downstairs and outside, but loses track of him once he gets outdoors. He sees Slate and Torbin running over to him when he hears Vanros call out from around the corner. The Cleric found the druid trying to sneak out of the outhouse and managed to slay them, approaching the other three with the head of his quarry.
The party regroups inside the building, Summer arriving caked in blood with the mangled head of the other druid. Torbin is shocked she managed to get around the Snare trap he had set outside the door to catch her, but she’s here now…
The group discuss what the next step was: they haven’t properly explored the top floor, or the cellar. Slate decides to take Summer upstairs with him, wanting to keep an eye on her as they explore. Abe and Vanros start looking for a way into the cellar: Vanros finding a staircase through the kitchen while Abe found a room behind the building that had a flight of stairs leading down. The two arrive and find each other in the chilly cellar, the floor covered in dead Blights. Oh, and a druid. Except he’s on the floor, his body cold to the touch but barely breathing. Vanros is suspicious of a vent in the partition wall between two rooms, but isn’t willing to touch it.
As Abe ties up the guy, he suddenly wakes and begins speaking in a language they can’t understand. Is that Druidic?
Vanros heads back up to the main floor, asking Torbin, who was watching the unconscious druid they knocked out earlier, to come see what the guy downstairs is saying. Seeing the mans gagged expression, Torbin can immediately tell that they’re terrified. Not of the party, but something else seems to put more fear in the man than anything Torbin has ever seen…
Abe and Vanros start to carry the man upstairs, but notice that his body is getting even colder the further they go up. The gag in his mouth freezes and begins to suffocate the man, Torbin urging the two to take him back to the cellar. Removing the thawed gag, Torbin sees a brown mold crawling across the gag towards his hand. Throwing it to the tied up druid, Torbin knows what’s happened to him: The brown mold is in the walls of the cellar, being used to remove heat from the space and keep the wine cold and age longer. Seems that the druid managed to get some in his system and now it’s stealing his body heat. If this stuff manages to get into a warmer environment, it could get out of control!
Snapping his fingers, Torbin casts Mould Earth and buries the druid alive. The guy was going to end up dead either way, this just means the party can’t catch this mold.
As Abe ties up the guy, he suddenly wakes and begins speaking in a language they can’t understand. Is that Druidic?
Vanros heads back up to the main floor, asking Torbin, who was watching the unconscious druid they knocked out earlier, to come see what the guy downstairs is saying. Seeing the mans gagged expression, Torbin can immediately tell that they’re terrified. Not of the party, but something else seems to put more fear in the man than anything Torbin has ever seen…
Abe and Vanros start to carry the man upstairs, but notice that his body is getting even colder the further they go up. The gag in his mouth freezes and begins to suffocate the man, Torbin urging the two to take him back to the cellar. Removing the thawed gag, Torbin sees a brown mold crawling across the gag towards his hand. Throwing it to the tied up druid, Torbin knows what’s happened to him: The brown mold is in the walls of the cellar, being used to remove heat from the space and keep the wine cold and age longer. Seems that the druid managed to get some in his system and now it’s stealing his body heat. If this stuff manages to get into a warmer environment, it could get out of control!
Snapping his fingers, Torbin casts Mould Earth and buries the druid alive. The guy was going to end up dead either way, this just means the party can’t catch this mold.
Upstairs, Slate finds a manifest of all the shipments the vineyard had made in the last decade. Most of the abbreviations make sense to him: BV for Blood on the Vine in Barovia, BW for the Blue Water Inn in Valaki, V for Vistani… S is what Slate thinks means Strahd and K could mean Kresk?
Summer follows Slate into a bedroom, having raided the kids room for some new clothes. Her old gi was covered in blood and gore, it wasn’t going to clean out well and she doesn’t have any other clothes of her own to wear.
While checking out the parents room, Slate notices slits in the wall that can be pushed to reveal a hidden room with a chest of coins. He takes half of its contents and heads out to see Summer checking drawers. The Rogue notices that a drawer Summer had opened has a false bottom and pops it open, finding a golden locket and some gem stones. Popping open the locket, Slate sees an image of a woman. She looks kinda like the woman from the Blue Water Inn?
They decide to give the locket back to the family, but make it look like one of the Druids found it. Giving it to Summer, she rubs it against her bloodied gi to make it look it was ripped off a body.
They decide to give the locket back to the family, but make it look like one of the Druids found it. Giving it to Summer, she rubs it against her bloodied gi to make it look it was ripped off a body.
Heading back down to the main room, the other three come in from below as the remaining druid they had tied up comes to. Seeing those who had jumped him standing before him, he curses at them for attacking their home. Torbin feigns ignorance, stating that the Druids had attacked the party first and that they had fought back in defense.
The Druid declares that he and his grove have taken back this land and are preparing to cast a ritual to return growth and life to this land. Torbin argues that what the druids are doing is not growth, but festering.
Vanros asks what the Druid knows of about Baba Lasaga: the druid says she helps the grove from time to time, as long as they can give her something in return. Like one of the artifacts the druids removed from the Vineyard for example.
Seeing Vanros clutching his holy symbol, the druid recoils and begins to mutter something. Thinking a spell is being cast, Torbin shoves his staff in the druids mouth to keep him from conjuring anything.
Slate offers to let the druid go for more information, but the druid refuses. Then he asks who holds his staff. Torbin informs the druid that the staff was destroyed, making the druid wail in anger. His staff was a gift from Winter Splinter, and Torbin would pay! The Druid quickly calls a curse upon Torbin, but it doesn’t seem to take hold.
Biting his tongue, he spits his blood at Torbin in attempt to use his blood to curse the Gnome. But the moment he goes to spit the pooling blood in his mouth, a blood craving Summer slams his head back and rips out his throat with her teeth, killing him. She spits and coughs, complaining that some tasted weird.
What the hell is going on?!