12. Back in Barovia

[GreyWolfVT]

Gragog looks surprised at first then realizing it's gypsies "Surprising but then again not so much, lead on my good man." the half-orc will follow the fat man to Madam Eva's

[Inferno]

Agax the dreamer brings along the adventurers whose minds were blasted to the cosmic void. "Well... Perhaps Madam Eva can help them?"

His first time in the gypsy camp, the game mage hopes the merry singing is another positive omen. He follows with naked curiosity.

[Dram]

Bragar guides his friend Castran. Yes we seek guidance from Madam Eva.

[Zhym]

Date: Trieluna 14, 1222
Time: ~7:00 PM
Weather: Fog
Location: Gypsy Camp
**************************************

The fat gypsy leads you to a tent and opens the flap, bidding you to enter.

Within, all is dimly illuminated in pools of red light. A small, low table stands across from the doorway, covered in a black velvet cloth. Glints of light seem to flash from a crystal ball on the table as a hunched figure peers into its depths. She speaks. Her voice crackles like dry weeds. Her tone soars and falls like the wind outside. “Right on time!” she croaks from withered lips. "You'd had quite an adventure, haven't you?"

She looks at Agax with cloudy eyes. "Agax Gryyg, Game Mage of Urth, never sure if you are dreamer or dream. Would you wake, if you could? You had but to wish for it—but you wished for something else, didn't you?"

"Bragar Battlehammer," she names the dwarf as she turns to him. "Deprived of your protection and your possessions. You have gained something, though you have not seen it."

"Gragog Orthak, the cards favored you with wealth. You, too, are now in possession of something unseen. Neither shiny nor glittery, this unwanted prize will spell your doom."

She shakes her head and at the vacant-eyed Shinyah. "Shinyah chose poorly. Now he is gone." She clucks sadly. "Him too," she adds, looking directly at the invisible Castran.

"Peytr and Bogdana, quiet and faithful. For now, anyway, hm?" They both begin to protest, but she just laughs.

She sighs heavily. "And so many departed. That Agrippo fellow, for example. Eva offered to show him a good time. Give the condemned man a last roll, you know. Ah, but young bucks think they'll last forever. Just as well. I'd have blown his meager little mind." She cackles again and winks lewdly.

"So. What do you want from old Madam Eva?" she asks.

----
Status: Gragog (F8): 60/60; Bragar: 42/42 (C7); Agax (MU7/C4): 45/45; Petyr (F3): 23/23; Bogdana (C3): 23/23; Mindless: Castran: 23/23 (F5/I6); Shinyah (D7): 38/38
Effects: Phantom Armor (Castran): 6 pts
Light sources: CL coin (60', held by Shinyah); CL gem (60' Agax's staff)

[GreyWolfVT]

Gragog "Well now I'm curious of this unseen thing I have, but originally we came to ask if there was anything you could do to help us fix Castran and Shinyah here. I think also our dreamer gamer mage was curious if the wish truly defeated Strahd or not." taking a moment to calm down before continuing to mention the ghost/spirit parade "Also I'm a bit curious as to the procession of spirits we encountered on the road back from the castle all of our dead friends were in that march of ghosts or spirits, at least all that have perished within that castle of evil. I am sure it was a sign but I feel in my gut it is no sign of good."

[Inferno]

Agax, dreaming wizard:

In pleasant consternation, the game mage tries to understand these intriguing new riddles. It seems Eva loves puzzles as much as Stradh does. Hm. A thought gnaws at Agax and is quickly replaced with another. "I am dreamer and dream," he tells himself, not entirely convinced.

Agax nods at Gragog's queries, curious for answers from one who seemingly sees so much. He adds, "Yes, Madam. Is Stradh undone? And if he is, please tell us why do the mists remain?"

[Dram]

Bragar curious as to what he has gained. Thinks quietly. Then speaks. Yes madam has Strahd been defeated? And if so why has n't the fog lifted?

[Zhym]

Date: Trieluna 14, 1222
Time: ~7:00 PM
Weather: Fog
Location: Gypsy Camp
**************************************

Hoping Madam Eva's sight will finally provide some answers, you ask how you can help Castran and Shinyah, whether Strahd is defeated—and just what the heck was that ghostly procession?

Madam Eva places two withered hands with translucent grey skin around the crystal ball on the table before her. She closes her eyes and looks upward, bending her head so far back you worry that her frail neck might snap. She mumbles to herself in a tongue none of you understand before snapping her head back down, eyes wide open in an unsettling gaze that seems to focus on a point several feet behind you.

"These two are beyond my sight," she says of Castran and Shinyah, in a broken, croaking sing-song voice. "Gone, they are. The Lord Strahd is done and undone; defeated and victorious; ruler of all and of nothing. The spirits are your doom—the doom of all who go against the master of Ravenloft. They are the souls of those who have died trying to defeat the Vampyre. At midnight their spirits rise from the earth, march to the castle, and throw themselves down the shaft of the highest tower. Every night they try to do what they could not do in life. Each night, as in life, they fail."

Her eyes refocus and she looks at each of you again. The performance, it seems, is over. "Be careful what you wish for, eh?" she says conversationally.

----
Status: Gragog (F8): 60/60; Bragar: 42/42 (C7); Agax (MU7/C4): 45/45; Petyr (F3): 23/23; Bogdana (C3): 23/23; Mindless: Castran: 23/23 (F5/I6); Shinyah (D7): 38/38
Effects: Phantom Armor (Castran): 6 pts
Light sources: CL coin (60', held by Shinyah); CL gem (60' Agax's staff)

[GreyWolfVT]

Gragog "uh ok... well then still doesn't explain why this place still feels cursed. Guess all the other evils of the castle still remain? Or perhaps a greater power than Strahd resided within it? I guess I am lost as to what we do from here."

[Inferno]

Agax Gryyg, game mage:

"Be careful what you wish for, eh?" she says conversationally.

The crestfallen wizard says quietly, "Madam, that colloquialism customarily ends with, "for you may get it." Meaning, if you get the things that you desire, there may be unforeseen and unpleasant consequences, eh?

"But its use here is inappropriate. We got none of the things we desired. If foul Strahd is victorious and still master of all, as you seem to say, then the deck granted none of our wishes. We wanted Strahd hurled into the sun, vampires banished from this land, and the party restored. But none of those things happened, it would appear. The deck was a fraud, an illusion, a trap.

"Or do I misunderstand your riddles?"

[Zhym]

"Don't sass your elders, boy," the old lady answers sharply.

"What you wish for isn't always what you want. Your absent druid friend was stupid. What he wanted was Strahd dead. The lad had just enough to sense to know that wishing for that would not work out well, so he wished for the sun thing. The djinn fulfilled his duty; granted the wish. But Shinyah's wish was not his desire."

She takes a pinch of something out of a tin and puts it in her mouth. "And then he wished all the vampires out of Borovia. That, too, was granted. But think, now, because Shinyah did not think then—where did the vampires go? Maybe to some peaceful little village where people haven't learned not to invite strangers into their houses?"

"Wishing for death is always tricky. You should know that, 'gaming mage.' You had three wishes between you. You could have wished for so many things—knowledge of how to defeat Strahd, a weapon to defeat him, deliverance from this place—but you went for the gold. 'Destroy the ancient Vampyr and restore everyone in our group!' " she says in a mocking falsetto. "You weren't afraid to go big, granny'll give you that!" She winks and leers in the vicinity of Gragog's crotch. "But Strahd has been Lord of Ravenloft for generations of men. Do you suppose no one in all those centuries has wished him destroyed?"

Madam Ava spits into a brass pot near her feet. "Is that all you traveled here to ask me?"

[Inferno]

Agax Gryyg, game mage:

"You could have wished for so many things—knowledge of how to defeat Strahd, a weapon to defeat him, deliverance from this place..."

The mercurial mage calmly smiles at the armchair general: "I certainly appreciate your gracious advice, kind Madam, but I'm afraid we already possess the knowledge of how to destroy a vampire. We also have many weapons that can kill a vampire. And sadly, we didn't desire to abandon this place, and your warm hospitality, having come all this way to help.
"Besides, couldn't all those wishes be equally twisted into nothingness by a malevolent granter of wishes? Hmm?"

Then he sees a glimmer of useful information buried deep within the old crone's spite:

"...he wished all the vampires out of Borovia. That, too, was granted. But think, now, because Shinyah did not think then—where did the vampires go?"

"Why, to the heart of the sun, I would imagine. Poor Shinyah's intent was painfully clear to anyone looking to honour it."

Then Agax's mirth left him. He grew gravely still. "Where is Strahd? Why does the fog barrier persist?"

[Zhym]

At Agax's insistence that he knows how to kill Strahd, Madam Ava chuckles and raises an eyebrow. "You are not the first to have thought so."

"Why would the fog not persist?" she asks.

"The first reading was a freebie, dearie. What are you willing to pay to see into the beyond?"

[Inferno]

Agax Gryyg, game mage:

"Where is Strahd?" Agax repeats with a grim, dark urgency. "Put us near him so we can kill him. Or he us. Either outcome should be payment enough for you."

[GreyWolfVT]

Gragog doesn't even notice the gypsy stare at his crotch he appears oblivious to the flirtation. "Very well how about a question you will be able to answer for free, how much will it cost for a reading and answering any further questions we might have madam?"

[Zhym]

"That depends on the question, dearie. What would you ask?"

[GreyWolfVT]

Gragog scratches his head for a moment then answers "I would ask a rather simple question though it's a bit of a two part question. Can we freely leave Barovia? Is our work here done or do we still need to return to the castle. Well I guess it's turned into a three part question...sorry."

[Zhym]

"Those sound more like questions for yourselves to answer than for old Madam Eva!" she responds. "How can I tell you whether you can leave, or if you would do more in the castle?"

[GreyWolfVT]

Gragog shrugs "Been informed until we kill Strahd and the fog lifts we're trapped here."

[Dram]

Bragar- I have been here far to long. I would like to leave place and come back with a army if possible.