[[1491-01-05|<< 5 Hammer 1491]] | [[1491-01-07|7 Hammer 1491 >>]] ## 6 Hammer 1491 Another rough night of sleep last night. I took Ezmerelda to her bed again - when I got back downstairs, Skoll was sitting up in his bed, waiting for me. He brought up how I freaked out about the whole “as you were, soldier” thing. I didn’t know what to tell him. Part of me wanted to just spill it - but I like Skoll, and I don’t want him to think less of me. So I told him that it’s just some stuff that I’m not proud of. He pressed me - I told him that I didn’t want to talk about it. I didn’t have too much time to feel bad, though, because then he asked what me and Ezmerelda have been “up to.” I was more than a little confused by the question. And then he asked if I was gay. By this point, Nia and Yesper were awake too. I kind of wanted to be dead - for starters, it was an embarrassing situation to be in. And then there’s the fact that I haven’t really spent much time considering my feelings on the matter. Sure, I know that I like her, and like talking to her, and am impressed by her and stuff. But I don’t know how far it goes beyond that. I mean, yes, I do worry about her, and I care at least as deeply for her as I do for the rest of our merry band of assholes. But that’s neither here nor there. Part of me still wants to keep my distance. I pulled back from Ireena for a reason - and Ezmerelda is likely in even more danger than Ireena, considering that she wants to be with us when we face off against Strahd. Then there's the fact that I might not even have to make the choice; I still can’t tell if Ezmerelda even likes me as a friend. She’s back to being a little mean to me, even if it’s not as bad as before she shot me with lightning. It took a while for me to answer Skoll, but I eventually did: me and Ezmerelda aren’t up to anything. But, would I like us to be up to something? Maybe. I spent the rest of the night staring at the ceiling. Come morning, Skoll decided to fuck with me even more - not on purpose, of course, but he did his fair share of damage. He went and told everyone that I killed a dragon, because apparently I wasn’t stressed out enough. I didn’t even have to look at Ezmerelda to know that she wasn’t going to believe me for a second, so I spent most of my energy trying to entertain her with a good story. I think I did a pretty good job, though not a good enough job to stop her from mocking me. And then - because he hadn’t fucked up my day enough - Skoll told Ezmerelda that I was drunk the first time I told the dragon story - which isn’t even true - so now Ezmerelda thinks I’m a lightweight. Before I could be shamed further, I gathered up Skoll, Nia, and Pidlwick and headed toward Ravenloft. Getting the bones was a piece of cake. Pidlwick led us to the room, Skoll picked up the entire dragon skull by his damn self, and then we were out of there. We had left our horses at the Tser Pool Vistani camp so that they wouldn’t be spotted in front of Ravenloft. To keep Magda from seeing us with the dragon skull (we don't know if she's working for Stahd), Skoll hung back while Nia and I retrieved the horses. While I was there, I picked up a sled dog and named him Ajax. We got swarmed by bats on the way to Argynvostholt. Skoll tried to take one of the bats with us, but it said that it worked for Strahd, so I killed it with a single arrow. The rest of the journey was uneventful. We carried the skull to the crypt, which - of course - had a conveniently placed pedestal inside. We hoisted the skull atop the pedestal. Golden light came from the skull, filling the crypt, and then the manor. Light gathered atop the manor; a beacon shot into the sky, parting the clouds. I’ve never seen anything quite like it. There were spirits drifting up and away from the building. We ran inside, seeking out Godfrey. He was in the audience hall with Vladimir. Vladimir’s spirit was drifting away from his revenant body. He apologized and thanked us - I could do little more than stare. Godfrey’s spirit wasn’t leaving his body. Vladimir asked why he wasn’t coming, and then Godfrey started crying. He told Vladimir that he still has an oath to fulfill. And with that, the two embraced and kissed, then Vladimir’s spirit lifted up and disappeared. To think that you could promise someone so much, could love someone so much, that your spirit stays bound to this world for them, even after death - I do wonder if I could ever achieve that level of care for another person. I also wonder if it is something that I would even want. The trek back didn't give us any trouble. Outside, when Rictavio asked us if we had been crying, no one really answered him - we just introduced Godfrey to him, and to Yesper. I went into the tower. I started to yell out my usual “honey, I’m home” to Ezmerelda, before I remembered the conversation that Skoll and I had - my tongue got stuck after the word “honey.” Ezmerelda did not take well to that. In any case, I managed to have an actual conversation with her later in the night. She didn’t threaten to kill me once. It was nice. Today was a much more emotional day than I’m used to. My head feels full, but I’m having trouble pinning the thoughts down. Tomorrow we head for the Mad Mage up in Mount Baratok. I’m thinking that he might prove a powerful ally against Strahd - if his madness doesn’t get in the way of that, that is. The journey will be long. I am hoping that my mind is quiet by then - I am not much a fan of these buzzing, elusive feelings. --- ## 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]]):** 01/06/1491