[[1491-01-13|<< 13 Hammer 1491]] | [[1491-01-15 I|15 Hammer 1491 (Part I) >>]] ## 14 Hammer 1491 Well, we have a plan. Yesper got back last night and said that people would be arriving in the afternoon. Skoll cooked a big breakfast this morning. Unfortunately, it only takes so long to eat, so I filled my time by going out and hunting. My excuse was that we would have a large crowd to feed. The Keepers of the Feather arrived first, once again in a giant flock of ravens. They certainly have a flair to them. The Keepers settled in. I started to get worried that Mordenkainen wasn’t going to show, but it was just my anxiety getting to me - he was there within an hour of the Keepers. I was surprised that everyone was able to pack into the room, but we managed to set up at the table on the second floor of the tower. The meeting had barely started when Nia pulled out a bag full of Rahadin’s severed head. The display was pretty unnecessary - but Nia has her own style, I suppose. Nia suggested that we use the head to get info on Strahd. I pointed out that Rahadin probably wouldn’t be very talkative - still, we agreed that we would try to bait him into giving us information after we ironed out the particulars of the plan. That said, as I am writing this, I am realizing that we never actually did this. Oh well. I wasn’t really itching to talk to that fucker anyway. Whatever the case, it was down to business. We decided that tomorrow will find us splitting off into four teams. The first team is obvious, comprised of those who will be facing Strahd head on. There’s the three of us who were brought to Barovia by the man: me, Skoll, and Nia. Godfrey is obviously coming with, since he has an oath to fulfill through Strahd’s death. Pidlwick will lead us through the castle. Ezmerelda also volunteered herself for the fight against Strahd. I knew it was coming - still, I can’t help but be anxious at the thought of it. Me, Nia, and Skoll will have mind blank cast on us. Mordenkainen believes that he only has three chances to use the spell between now and our assault, and everyone figured it would be our heads that Strahd might try to mess with. The spell should protect us from his mind-reading bullshit. There will be a team on the outside, acting as relief and running interference. This team consists of the Keepers: Danika, Urwin, Yesper, Robi, and Sorina. That leaves two more teams, both inside the castle: one team to cause a distraction in the hallways, and one team in the crypts. The distraction team consists of two members, one of them Christopher, who volunteered himself for the job. The other member of the team is Ottavino (which, as of today, is what Rictavio's tiger is called - Skoll insisted that he be given a name). Rictavio and Ezmerelda pointed out that Strahd will probably turn into mist and head for his place of rest if things are looking too rough for him. We asked Pidlwick where this place might be - he indicated a coffin in the crypts. So that’s where Rictavio and Mordenkainen will be posted, waiting for Strahd with a wooden stake. It certainly is a plan. I hope it is enough. After the meeting was adjourned, I sought out Skoll and Nia. It only seemed right to speak with them, since we had all ended up in this shitshow the same way. I asked them how they were doing. Skoll shrugged and said that he’s hoping he won’t have to use his resurrection power - I can’t say I disagree. Nia told me that she’s eager to get it all over with. I could tell that there was more going on with her, that there was something she wasn’t saying - but I’m kind of used to it, at this point. They both seem to be doing as okay as they can be doing. They’re both pretty focused, which seems preferable to my frayed nerves. I found Rictavio outside afterwards. He was looking at the sky, as he often is. Rictavio is worried that we’re going to see losses tomorrow. He’s anxious; so am I. As we were talking, something became clear: we both have a lot more to lose now than when we first arrived in Barovia. I couldn’t do much to reassure the man. Skoll walked up as I lost my words, and I let the two of them be. I found myself looking for Ezmerelda without realizing what I was doing. Still, I knew what I had to do. Ezmerelda was on the roof of the tower. Like Rictavio, and like she was yesterday, she was looking up at the sky. I asked her for a particular favor. She yelled at me, as I thought she might. But I wasn’t leaving until she accepted the Charm of Nine Lives. She gave me her arguments. She’s the reason Rictavio is cursed, she said - her family, Vistani, took Rictavio’s son, and gave him up to a vampire lord. She came to Barovia to make it up to Rictavio. If dying is what it takes, then that’s what it takes. I thought it was all a whole lot of bullshit. Ezmerelda isn't responsible for her parent’s actions, and she’s not responsible for Rictavio’s actions in turn. I tried not to use the word “bullshit,” though, because it was clear that she believed what she was saying. And then there was the matter of home; specifically, that neither of us have one. Ezmerelda refused to believe that I could possibly have as little outside of Barovia as she does. But it’s the truth, and it was frustrating to have her dismiss me like that. I wanted to shake her and ask: don’t you know that I care about you like I have nothing else before? But I didn’t. What good would it have done? If anything, it might have made her less likely to accept the charm. What it ultimately came down to is that neither of us wants the other to die. Ezmerelda said that she’s not willing to put her life above mine - but I’m not willing to put mine above hers either. In the end, it took a word: please. Ezmerelda took the charm; the fight left her, and then I left too. I am hoping that she finds it within herself to forgive me. I only want her safe, and it’s not like I’m asking her to stay at the tower. I’m only asking to give herself a couple extra chances. I'm worried for them: for Rictavio, for the Keepers, for Christopher, for Godfrey, for Nia, for Skoll, for Ezmerelda. I’d be worried for Mordenkainen too, but I hardly know the guy, and he seems like he can handle himself. It is hard to take what this country has done to me - but it will all be over tomorrow, one way or another, and I will at least be beside people that I care about. I only hope that I don’t let them down. --- ## 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]]):** 01/15/1491