Café de Nuit

Ixevim coughs "I'm here! Kimuriel? Heinrich?"
A mental note reaches all his allies minds. "I tried to use psionics to cut off the fuse but I didn't manage on time." The message is painted with agitation.
"Who was that man?"

Kimuriel stands up and looks if he is hurt. Fortunatelly the inertial barrier has protected him from the explosion. Only his eatrs are aching.

"I'm ok. I have no idea who was that man and I don't think we can have the opportunity to ask him. Poor man."

The sound of Rosette can be heard within the carriage -of which one side is slightly burnt and blackened.

"I am fine as well. What happened? I've never seen anything like it."

Ixevim's mental voice reached Rosette. "You will get used to it. Since I got along these guys, I have seen many things that I never believed possible! Where is Heinrich?"

OOC> Ixevim tries to find Heinrich. Assume a spot check. Result = . . .
nice! A natural 1 ! ! It would come some time.

Kimuriel looks nervously around and yells:

“Heinrich are you ok? Where are you?”


OOC> I have no dice here so the decision is up to you Coan, Kimuriel has +7 spot and +7 listen.

The group spend hours searching the area for Heinrich. At first they believed him to be blown into the nearby trees and knocked out due to not responding to their calls but no matter how they looked they could not find him. Artemis at last resorted to a divining spell but still nothing.

The sun was setting earlier than expected for the four and soon it would be night. Artemis leaned against the carriage.

"I don't understand this" he muttered to himself "What happened to him?"

Kimuriel shrugs.

"I really don't know. He seems disappeared with a non natural way. We are searching him for hours, we should have found somenthing. I can try to locate him using my psionic powers, maybe we will have more luck. In the mean time we should consider the possibility of resting the night here."

With that Kimuriel closes his eyes, concentrates and lets his psionic eye look for Heinrich.


OOC> Kimuriel manifests "remote view".

Ixevim sends Kimuriel a telepathic message. "I'm not sure you should do that. Heinrich probably disappeared through unnatural reasons. You might risk your sanity that way."
He sends them all a telepathic message:
"I agree with Kimuriel. We should rest here for the time. I'll take the first watch."

Kimuriel gives Ixevim a side look and opens his eyes. He had risked once with Lord Pieter and he doesn't want to risk again at least not so soon.

"Maybe is dangerous try to locate him psionically and if Artemis spell failed I don't think psionics can have a different result. I'll get the second watch and you Artemis the third. Tomorrow we will continue searching our companion."

The next day the group looks again but to no avail. Heinrich is gone.

A concensus was formed that the four; Kimuriel, Artemis, Ixevim and Rosette, should continue on and it was several days later when they crossed the borders. It was strange that they could 'sense' when they had crossed into the territory. Four almost a day the Crimson Road along the Luna River had become less maintained, the forest darker and more wild -if that were a possible word to describe it. The air smelt damp, of moist rich soil and decomposing plant life.

The sky was grey and overcast yet a feeling, a sense of something darker to come was with their hearts as they crossed into the land of Barovia.

"I think we should decide on our next move now." Artemis said as he pulled the carriage over to the side and retreived a map of the land
"You mean you don't know where you are going?" Rosette asked, her voice betraying a certain impatience
"We will soon enough." he pointed to the left side of the map in the upper quarter "We are here in the west, north of what once was Gundarark."
"I haven't heard it called that for years."
"Miss, I am trying to explain our situation... now I would imagine that given the time, the Gundar territories are a little more stable than they once we-"
"You're wrong! The revolutions in Falkovnia are fanning the flames of Gundarites everywhere."
"Truly? Then Lord Zarovich may have overestimated his army's ability when he marched all those years ago. Anyway we can continue south down this road to Ziedenburg and from there Teufeldorf and the outpost of Restoris before Kartakass, Forlorn and finally Hazlan or head east through Dreadpass to Vallaki, Ravenloft before sweeping down south east and arriving at the borders of the Red Wizard himself. Either way has its advantages and costs, which direction do you three suggest?"

"I prefer to go through vallaki and directly to Hazlan then. Barovia may have its dangers, being backwater, supersticious and xenophobic but also offers a kind of isolation and security to those that wish it."

"I agree with Ixevim. I have lived many years in Barovia and I know very well what to expect. I haven't been to Forlorn or Kartakass so I prefer to pass through a land I already know."

"Very well, to the east it is. Vallaki bound."

And with that the next stage of their journey began, not with battle or magics or even horror -but a simple decision along an empty road.

Time marched onwards and as the sun began to set the air cooled tremendously. Mist and fog seemed to seep up from the ground and clinged to the hooves of their horses. As the sun set the group saw the outline of a travellers rest house and several isolated huts in the woods. The trees had long ago been ring barked and killed for future clearing -in anticipation of future growth in trade between Borca and the west, trade which never arrived when the great wars broke out and descimated the landscape away from the sleepy domain of Barovia as Rosette explained. Artemis suggested they rest the night at the inn, a place called the Sleepers Den and by the look of some of the occupants slight opium use might have accounted for its name. But without a choice the four booked their seperate rooms.

"We'll head off in the morning." Artemis said "Places like these exist on the outskirts and we won't have much luxury when we hit the mountains."

Ixevim nodded and headed in the common room.
He sitted himself on a table ordering beer, pretending to just enjoy a calm night while picking motives and thoughts with his mind reading abilities and pieces of conversation with his superior hearing.

OOC> The Ixevim is getting the mood of the place. Anything special?

Kimuriel follows Ixevim and orders a beer too. Noticing that Rosette has gone to her room, he turns to mind flayer and says:

"Ixevim, what do you think we should do with Rosette? We have told her that we are going to leave her in a village of Hazlan, but I think we can leave her to Vallaki as well."