10. Return to Castle Ravenloft

[Inferno]

Agax Gryyg, game mage:

The mercurial wizard suddenly grew somber, and gravely croaked in a low voice, "This poor wretched creature... his mind broken and enslaved by a vampire lord. His personality chained, warped, destroyed. We would be doing him a merciful service by putting him out of his misery. In truth, this pathetic slave was slain by Strahd when first they met and his will was overthrown. How long has this pale reflection been made to continue onward, a jeering, hollow mockery of his former identity... and of Life itself?"

[GreyWolfVT]

Gragog the half-orc looking the odd man over asks thinking he knows this man from somewhere when suddenly a name comes to mind and he speaks "And where is the young Frankenstein I wonder? Might I ask is your name Igor?"
"Where is your master and whom might you be?"

[Zhym]

Let's not bring the OOC obviousness of the photo capture IC. Thanks.

[Dram]

Bragar- Watching the actions of the stranger. Oh yes you are a fine servant of your lord. Where might he be we would like to have some words with him? Will the lady of the house be near?

[Stirling]

"Gentlemen please, lets not frighten and intimidate this poor fellow" Scarlett will say, looking over the shoulder of the fighters in front. She will move to the hunchback and offering her hand lead him to one side."good fellow, I hope we haven't startled you from your daily service. Before dinner is served we hope to pay our respects to this great castles' former owners. Strahd says the way was down this hallway, perhaps you could lead us onwards, is it through this door?"(pointing to the banded door). If the servant takes her hand Scarlett will step him to one side and engaging in small talk, she is aware that he shrank back from Lars and wary it may be his godly divine protection shielding him but maybe too a knight in shining armour is a bit big and brash and a ladies touch my calm this fellow. Also Scarlett will give him the once over looking for any keys jangling from his robes. "my this fog gets everywhere you should install some 'punkawallas' to fan the mist away, and those bears maybe beyond that gate is a suitable pen for them away from those nasty wargs,blah blah"

[Cwreando]

Lar watches the others and says,"Be wary my friends as sometimes all is not what it seems at first." He whispers to the others so the servant can't hear and if necessary passed from friend to friend, "This may be a trap or we may be lead to one."

Lar stays close enough to share Ohama's gifts with her as they continue.

[Zhym]

Date: Trieluna 13, 1222
Time: 6:23 PM
Weather: Fog
Location: Castle Ravenloft, Servants' Entrance
**************************************

Reactions to the strange man vary.

"Be wary my friends," whispers Lar in a voice he hopes the servant standing right in front of him cannot hear. "Sometimes all is not what it seems at first. This may be a trap or we may be led to one."

Agax suggests killing him. "We would be doing him a merciful service by putting him out of his misery," he says in a low voice.

"Miss Eerie? Never met her," replies the man, who seems to have exceptional hearing—or at least good enough to hear words spoken right in front of him. "I hear she's freaky!" He giggles again.

"Where is your master and whom might you be?" asks Gragog.

"Might be lord o' the jungle!" he says. "I ain't, but I might be! Haahahaha!" He's so amused at his joke that he spins in a little circle. "Call me Cyrus Belview. That works out well cause it's my name! The master will see you soon. No need to worry about that!"

"Will the lady of the house be near?" inquires Bragar of the stranger.

"The lady of the house?" answers Cyrus. His non-wandering eye seems to scan Bragar's equipment as if the battle cleric were wearing a traveling merchant's stall. "Reminds me of a story, that does! See, I says to the master, I says, 'Who was that lady I saw you feeding on last night?' and he says, 'That was no lady—that was one of my brides!' HAHHAAHHAA oh my, that one kills me every time! 'Course, better to be killed by a joke than by the master, right?" His wandering eye winks at, you can only presume, the wall.

"Before dinner is served we hope to pay our respects to this great castle's former owners," says Scarlett, looking the man over to see if he has any keys jangling from his robes. What Scarlett can see over the fog is key-free. "Strahd says the way was down this hallway, perhaps you could lead us onwards, is it through this door?"

Cyrus is taken slightly aback. "The catacooms? Why'd folk like yourselves want to hang around with a bunch of dead folk who don't even talk...much? Nope, the tower's the place for guests of your luminance! Off you go, then! Old Cyrus has work to do!"

With that, he starts shuffling off toward one of the doors in the north wall.

-----
Status: Gragog (F7): 49/49; Lar (P6): 37/40; Bragar: 41/42 (C7); Castran: 23/23 (F5/I6); Scarlett (C7/T5): 34/34; Agax (MU7): 45/45; Petyr (F4): 30/30; Bogdana (C3): 23/23; Shinyah (D7): 37/38, Honeynose: 26/28, Treescratcher: 29/29, Hihu: 4/4
Effects: Phantom Armor (Castran): 6 pts left; Invisibility (Castran); Detect Invisibility (Agax): 0.2 turns

[Dram]

Bragar- Do we want to head into the catacombs where the zombies are many or head into the towers where the wraiths attacks in large numbers. I say we have a better chance against the zombies, but what going to stop the wraiths from following us into the catacombs? He looks to Castran for any other input as they are the only two that have any knowledge of the castle even though it was a brief trek thru the castle.

[Storm11]

"I think we should follow the advice of the gypsy seeress and head below. The dark spirits are restless and can seemingly venture anywhere within the castle, so it would behoove us to be swift!" the gnome hisses through the mist quietly at the dwarf.

[Cwreando]

Lar says whisphers to the others, "I agree. Down to the catacombs. We should make haste my friends. Let's hope this is actually the way to the catacombs. Is this servant charmed or is he even human?"

[Inferno]

Agax Gryyg, game mage:

Bragar- Do we want to head into the catacombs where the zombies are many or head into the towers where the wraiths attacks in large numbers.?

"That depends," intoned Agax, still deadly serious. "Does Strahd reside in the catacombs or the tower?"

The dreaming wizard uses his otherworldly sight to ensure that the enslaved wretch doesn't try to follow them.

[Stirling]

"Thank you Mr Belview, oh no please let me call you Cyrus", Scarlett will try the female charm effects on the mad butler, following him to the door slipping an arm around his hunchback shoulder, then continuing in hushed whispers to him, "Brides you say, oh yes, well our gorgeous lady friend (she will roll an eye in Cyrus fashion in the direction of Bogdana), behind us has been invited to wed, what will she be now, everlasting bride number 3 or 4? gosh that Count is such a cad isn't he. Now the 'dead who do talk', maybe they have some words of wisdom to help the marriage be a better one,(nudge, nudge, wink, wink) I hear his last bride was such a vain vamp, she hated mirrors. Now do lead on to those catacombs, we can't be here all evening"

Basically Scarlett will try and engage the butler in small talk and try to get him to show the way to the catacombs and give us information on those 'dead who do talk'. She has a speak with dead spell memorised and if the spirit is willing, it may show us the way to this weapon of power the gypsy seer said was hidden there.

[Storm11]

"Our former companions and rescuers already searched the towers to no avail I believe." the invisible gnome says into the fog

[GreyWolfVT]

Gragog adds his thoughts to the conversations "I'd agree then we go below forget the towers, if that lead to nothing good for the others then let us set that aside for later. If the advice of the gypsies was to go below we have two reasons worth doing so then."

[Cwreando]

Let's see if this heads to the catacombs. Lar waits until they are out of the Cyrus' hearing range and says, "Do not expect him to be unguarded my friends. We will have our work cut out for us I fear."

[Storm11]

"It is possible this fog hides many traps, we should cross the room most cautiously. Does anyone have a pole to tap or a spell to locate traps?" the gnome hisses, keeping to the wall and moving around it slowly.

[GreyWolfVT]

Gragog "Well there is my spear and we had the other we got elsewhere so we have two spears we could use one to tap with." the half-orc warrior openly suggests.

[Dram]

Bragar- Moves looking over the area cautiously. Maybe someone with the skills to find traps should take lead with Paladin behind them to detect evil.

[Zhym]

Date: Trieluna 13, 1222
Time: 6:25 PM
Weather: Fog
Location: Castle Ravenloft, Servants' Entrance
**************************************

Scarlett tries to use her charms of the non-magical sort on Cyrus, putting her arm around his shoulder, talking trash about Strahd and his brides, and asking Cyrus to lead the way to the catacombs.

Cyrus seems unswayed. "I ain't going down there, and you won't neither if you know what's good for you! Course, if you knew what's good for you you wouldn't be here, would you?" He opens the middle of the three doors in north wall. A horrible odor of decay emanates from the room beyond. "Sorry, but ol' Cyrus has work to do. Dinner won't just cook itself, you know! And we've tried!" He giggles again and passes through the door.

The rest of you discuss your next destination. Despite Cyrus's insistence that you should return to the tower, there seems to be a growing consensus to head down into the catacombs. But Cyrus didn't tell you how to get there, leaving you to choose from the available exits: three doors to the north (one of which Cyrus just used), one to the south, a double door at the west end of the hall, and a portcullis at the east end. Which way will you go?

-----
Status: Gragog (F7): 49/49; Lar (P6): 37/40; Bragar: 41/42 (C7); Castran: 23/23 (F5/I6); Scarlett (C7/T5): 34/34; Agax (MU7): 45/45; Petyr (F4): 30/30; Bogdana (C3): 23/23; Shinyah (D7): 37/38, Honeynose: 26/28, Treescratcher: 29/29, Hihu: 4/4
Effects: Phantom Armor (Castran): 6 pts left; Invisibility (Castran); Detect Invisibility (Agax): Expired

[Stirling]

"Well he was no use. The wretch seems to accept his position of servitude. Better watch out, he may send someone or something to follow us", Scarlett will say.

" I say we either go through the iron bars down there or these double doors", pointing to the banded ones.