[[1491-01-12|<< 12 Hammer 1491]] | [[1491-01-14|14 Hammer 1491 >>]] ## 13 Hammer 1491 Ezmerelda didn’t eat at the table this morning. I would’ve made fun of her - compared her to Rictavio, maybe - if it didn’t sting. Nia wouldn’t let us take our horses to Ravenloft. She showed off one of her new spells from the Amber Temple; and, while it did take a half hour, she summoned two - apparently faster - horses, along with a flat floating disk that essentially functioned as a wagon. Me, Godfrey, Ezmerelda, Pidlwick, Skoll, and Nia left for Ravenloft. We left Ezmerelda at the hill that leads up to the castle; we’d either meet up with her after killing Rahadin or we’d send her a signal if we needed help. The castle didn’t give us issue. We quickly came across a very depressing accountant - in addition to learning that we aren’t the first adventurers to try to take on Strahd, we learned that Rahadin’s quarters are near where we found the skull of Argynvost. So we doubled back and headed in that direction. As we were entering the bone room from the north, Rahadin came through the double doors to the east. He asked what we were doing there. But I was already rushing at him - I needed to let loose some steam. He kept...smiling, every time we hit him. Fucking weirdo. We beat him down pretty easily, but he also got me good with his scimitar and mind screaming bullshit. He got Skoll with his poison darts, too. Rahadin was on death’s door when Godfrey seized his opportunity. Godfrey’s eyes flashed as Rahadin’s faded. He issued a command: grovel. For the first time, Rahadin looked scared - and furious. I incapacitated Rahadin. He was slumped against the wall as Nia approached him. There was little he could do as she drove Kasimir’s blade into his chest. Somehow holding onto life, Rahadin started going on about how we’re not going to be able to kill Strahd - so Godfrey took Vladimir’s sword off his back and struck him down. And that was the end of Rahadin. Godfrey slung the body over his shoulder - Nia wanted the head for fucked up communication purposes, and we didn’t want Strahd to know that he was dead - and then we were out of there. Once we were outside, we found Ezmerelda, but she wasn’t alone. The vampire spawn was an aarakocra - the first one I had seen in nearly a year - and a ranger at that. It took some doing, but we killed him eventually. I got the last hit in; he disintegrated around the blade of the sunsword. It only made me a little queasy. Nia, Skoll, and I stopped at the Luna River camp on the way back to speak with Kasimir. With no other reward to give, he thanked us sincerely. The lack of reward didn't bother me - I’m rich as fuck, anyway. Back at the tower, Nia sent Yesper to let the Keepers of the Feather and Mordenkainen know to meet us there tomorrow. It’s a long trip - I feel bad for Yesper. Still, it’s necessary; we have plans to finalize. I almost left Ezmerelda alone for the night. I probably should have, since I’m pretty sure that she’s not interested in whatever I have going on inside me. But I wanted to talk to her. I found her outside, looking at the ever-cloudy Barovian sky. I asked her what she plans to do after this is over. She wasn’t certain - wandering and adventuring, mostly. Monster hunting. The usual. I was expecting the question in return, but I didn’t have an answer prepared. It was difficult, but I tried to reiterate some of the thoughts that have been plaguing me. Ezmerelda didn’t make fun of me, at least. I also told her that - as fucked up as Barovia is - the general “adventuring” part of it all hasn’t been that bad. While I wasn’t lying, something didn’t feel right about the answer - but I’m trying not to interrogate it. I don’t think I could afford to, at this point. Whatever the case, it’ll be over shortly. I’ll find out what’s next soon enough. In the meantime, I have other things to worry about, I suppose. --- ## 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]]):** 01/13/1491