[[1491-01-01|<< 1 Hammer 1491]] | [[1491-01-03|3 Hammer 1491 >>]] ## 2 Hammer 1491 This morning, Nia, Skoll, and I hatched a plan for how to deal with our old friend Izek. We all agreed that it would be best to have one less person hunting down Ireena. I thought to draw him out to Berez and deal with him there; all we would have to do is leave a note informing him that Ireena was in the ruins. The rest would be a piece of cake. Nia and Skoll left early for Vallaki to look for Rictavio and to leave the note. I spent most of the morning playing dice with Ireena and Ezmerelda. They’re both good conversational partners, even if Ezmerelda still occasionally likes to inform me that she wants me dead. I may have spent some time studying her while we were playing. Not in a weird way, or anything. I was just curious. For starters, she didn’t cheat, which was a little disappointing. I wanted to be able to call her out on it. Beyond that, Ezmerelda seems to be much more...anxious, than she lets on. Which I suppose makes sense, given how much time she spends tucked away in corners, pouring over any resource she can get her hands on. If her bravado wasn’t some kind of facade, I don’t think she would be so obsessive. There are a multitude of reasons I want Strahd dead, and this only adds to them. I would be happy if I could ease some of her worries - again, not in a weird way. Just in the “maybe if I do this, she’ll stop threatening to kill me” way. Nia and Skoll returned around noon, Rictavio - the bastard himself - in tow. He wasn’t nearly as happy to see me as I was to see him, and he’s much drier than he was as a circus ringleader. He kept going on about how he’s cursed, and that everyone who works with him dies, or whatever. I didn’t pay much attention to that - I was too concerned with calling him a bastard. Skoll and Nia were busy in Vallaki - in addition to finding Rictavio and drawing Izek to Berez, they killed Lady Wachter. It was Rictavio’s suggestion - he confirmed that the lady was working with Strahd, and he figured that she might take power with the baron’s main muscle gone. Not wanting the town to fall into her hands, Skoll and Nia took care of it. I was kind of disappointed that they managed to do so much without me, but at least I didn’t have to do the work, I suppose. Ezmerelda dragged Rictavio away to talk; Ireena wished us luck; we were off to Berez. On the way, we came across a corpse that looked like Nia at first glance. It was actually just a skeleton - Skoll and I figured out what was going on fairly quickly - but Nia was pretty shaken. I can’t say I blame her. She was ready to fight by the time we got to Berez, though. Izek wasn’t alone - he brought Lazlo and Miruna as backup. Without giving us away, Nia was able to question Izek with her freaky physic powers. He gave us some information about why he’s seeking out Ireena - apparently, he has visions of her and has no idea who she is. We also found out that his biological father is not, in fact, Baron Vallakovich; his family had all died in a dire wolf attack when he was young, which is when he lost his arm. We also found out that he attacked the Vistani camp, thinks the people of Vallaki are largely pathetic, and that he’s a misogynist. I wanted to kill him then - but Skoll came out disguised as Ireena first, trying to get more information out of him. Izek was mostly just an ass. The fight was easy. We convinced Miruna not to fight at all. Lazlo got set on fire by Izek pretty early on, what with Izek being the worst shot in history. Nia got most of the hits in. I got him a couple times with my arrows, but I didn’t get to stab the man until he was already unconscious. It was kind of disappointing - but we got the job done. Plus, Skoll caused an earthquake, so that was pretty cool. Lazlo was covered in burns. I felt bad for the guy, even though he sucks. But Skoll healed him up good, and I’m pretty sure Lazlo is in love with him now, which is hilarious. I took Izek’s armor and battleaxe. The armor will suit me well, after a few modifications for my wings - the battleaxe was mostly for showing off. There were no corpses on the way back to the tower, thankfully. We told Ireena about Izek - she wants answers about his relation to her, so it looks like we’ll be talking to the burgomaster of Vallaki, just in case he knows anything. We also decided that we’re going to turn Vallakovich into a donkey for a bit in front of the town. Poetic justice, and all. Not to mention that, even if he manages to hold onto any power at all in the wake of Izek's death, he won’t have much after the fact. Most of the afternoon was spent waiting for the Keepers of the Feather. Eventually, I got bored and asked Ezmerelda to go hunting with me. I made three clean kills, but Ezmerelda wasn’t as impressed as I thought she’d be when I accidentally nailed that squirrel to a tree after killing the two deer. While we were waiting, Skoll, Nia, and I asked Ricatvio a little more about the curse that he’s so worried about, since he had taken to spending all of his time sitting in his wagon, away from everyone else, like a complete loser. Back in the day, Rictavio didn’t do a great job of distinguishing Vistani who worked for Strahd and Vistani who didn’t, and ended up getting a curse from a Vistana who had lost someone at the hands of Rictavio - someone innocent. I asked Rictavio who gave him the curse, but he wouldn’t tell me - he would only say that they aren’t in Barovia. He also refuses to do anything about it, since he thinks he deserves it. I was more than a little pissed - still am, honestly. There might be a fix, so he should try to fix it. To his credit, I understand regret well enough, and I understand that it can sometimes be impossible to make amends. Still, shouldn’t he do something? It took forever for the ravens to show up, but they did eventually. Skoll, Ezmerelda, and I had just finished cooking dinner when a black cloud and cacophonous sound filled the sky. Most of the ravens broke off into the forest, until five were left: Urwin Martikov, Danika Dorakova, Sorina Garvinski, Yesper Taltos, and Robi Rilsky. Over dinner, Urwin - the inkeep of Vallaki, and the leader of the Keepers of the Feather in Barovia - spoke to us of his organization, and what he knew. We talked to him about the first fortune given by Madame Yva; he thinks that the woman over a roaring fire is probably a metaphor for a portrait over a fireplace, which would probably be located in a noble’s home. Urwin also promised me a hand crossbow, which I'll pick up tomorrow from Vallaki. He, Rictavio, and Ezmerelda worked on some maps together, and they came away with many locations marked. We asked about a few of them. The Mad Mage’s land is home to a wizard who is insane; Christopher said that it could possibly be Khazan, but he’s not so sure. The Druids of Yester Hill worship Strahd, so we may be avoiding that location. Then there’s Amber Hill, which was discovered by Rictavio - he doesn’t know its contents, but it probably contains treasures. The only problem is the roc on the way. There are no membership fees to be a Keeper; you do, however, have to take an oath: if you are given the opportunity to help someone in Barovia, you take it. I wasn’t sure how well I could follow through on this, but it’s not like I’ve been avoiding helping anyone. I reasoned that, for starters, it’s not like the oath can be enforced; I also reasoned that Skoll was going to join, and so I was going to be doing good anyway, since I’m not about to let the guy wander off and die on his own. So, I joined the Keepers of the Feather, and got a really cool cloak for my troubles. Nia and Skoll did too, though Nia turned down the opportunity to become a wereraven. Tomorrow: Vallaki. Hopefully we can show the people there a good time. --- ## Page Tags/Properties **Tags:** #Journal **Category:** [[Journals and Writings.base|Journals and Writings]] **Character:** [[Krue d'Avenir|Krue]] **Campaign:** [[Curse of Strahd]] **Date ([[Calendar of Harptos|Harptos]]):** 01/02/1491