_An adventure for five 4th- or 5th-level characters._ In this arc, the players seek entry to the village of Krezk before defeating the druids occupying the Wizard of Wines winery, either to obtain a cure for cackle fever from the Abbot, to pick wolfsbane from the shores of the blessed pool, or to seek out their foretold ally against Strahd. However, the village of Krezk is suspicious of outsiders, and won't allow the players to enter unless they first perform a task for their burgomaster, Baron Dmitri Krezkov. The players must travel to the ruins of Berez between Krezk and Vallaki, and there persuade the witch Baba Lysaga to scry the location of Baron Krezkov's son, Ilya, who vanished from Krezk in the wake of a recent werewolf attack. However, Baba Lysaga is a mad and fickle witch, and her methods of magic are twisted and dark. Can the players convince her to fulfill Baron Krezkov’s request, and so win them entry to the village of Krezk? # I1. The Road to Krezk The journey from the town of Vallaki to the **Village of Krezk** is six-and-one-quarter miles long and takes two hours. As the players cross the bridge over the Luna River, read the following: <div class="description"> <p>The path narrows, flanked by dense, towering trees. Up ahead, you can see an old wooden bridge come into view, its age-worn planks spanning the rushing river below. As you approach, you can see the dark river tumbling over the smooth stones of the riverbed, bordered on either side by gnarled bushes and trees.</p> <p>As you step onto the bridge, your boots echo against the old, damp wood. To the north, you can see the river meander upstream around the tree line before vanishing around a curve. To the south, the river winds like a ribbon between its banks, then gradually vanishes into mist.</p> </div> The Luna River Crossroads are as described in <span class="citation">P. Luna River Crossroads (p. 40)</span>. However, do not check for a random encounter when the players reach this area. As the players pass it, the path to Argynvostholt is largely as described in <span class="citation">Approaching the Mansion (p. 130)</span>. Read: <div class="description"> <p>A dirt path branches off from the Old Svalich Road here, winding its way south up a craggy mountain spur. The earth of the path is hard-packed, its color a pallid gray-brown reminiscent of cold ashes. The trees on either side stand silent and stoic, their leaves a faded green. As the path winds upward, it's eventually replaced by the deep shadows of the mountain's forested incline, vanishing into the gloom of the woods beyond.</p> </div> Just before the players reach the Raven River Crossroads, they come across the path to Lake Baratok and <span class="citation">Chapter 11: Van Richten’s Tower (p. 167)</span>, not far from the path that leads to <span class="citation">Chapter 9: Tsolenka Pass (p. 157)</span>. Read: <div class="description"> <p>An old hunting trail cuts away from the Old Svalich Road here, winding north between old, gnarled trees before vanishing into the underbrush. A hundred yards beyond it, an alpine path splits from the main road to travel south toward the mountains, rising in elevation until it disappears around a steep, tree-covered escarpment.</p> </div> The Raven River Crossroads are largely as described in <span class="citation">R. Raven River Crossroads (p. 40)</span>. However, do not check for a random encounter when the players reach this area. Additionally, add the following text to the end of the area description: <div class="description"> <p>A figure clad in rusty armor stands alone on the bridge, clutching a gleaming longsword in its pale hands.</p> </div> The figure is recognizably similar to the **revenant** standing guard at Tser Falls. If approached, it hails the players and asks after their destination. If the players tell the revenant that they are traveling to Krezk, it warns them that the burgomaster of Krezk, Baron Dmitri Krezkov, has grown wary of the outside world, and that few things have passed between Krezk’s gates in recent weeks. However, the revenant notes that the Krezkov line has long been an honorable one, and that the players may be able to find a way to persuade Baron Krezkov to lend them hospitality. If the players tell the revenant that they are traveling to the Abbey of Saint Markovia to seek a cure for their disease, it rumbles, “You travel to a dark place, friends. But a being of great age and power indeed dwells there, and may aid you—if not offended.” The revenant is willing to share the following information if asked: * Years before Strahd von Zarovich arrived in the valley, Saint Markovia, a cleric of the Morninglord, built the Abbey atop a spur of Mount Baratok as a sanctuary for those fleeing from war and devastation. * When the Mists surrounded the valley, Saint Markovia condemned Strahd as a tyrant, and raised a small army to march upon Castle Ravenloft. Her revolt was put down, however, and Markovia lost her life in single combat with Strahd. * With Markovia’s death, the monks and nuns of the Abbey withdrew in despair. Before long, paranoia and madness infiltrated their ranks, until none remained alive. Rumors of cannibalism abounded for decades afterward, and most folk shunned the Abbey altogether. * Just over a century ago, the Abbot arrived in the valley and reopened the Abbey. The revenant isn’t sure of the Abbot’s true nature or intentions, but is confident that he is far older—and far more powerful—than any of the knights of the Order of the Silver Dragon. If asked, the revenant can also provide directions to the mansion of Argynvostholt: The players must travel east toward the Luna River Crossroads, taking the ash-gray trail that splits south from the Old Svalich Road shortly before arriving. As the players depart, the revenant warns them that the werewolf pack of Mount Baratok has expanded its territory—and its ferocity—as of late, and advises them to be cautious as they travel the roads. The road to Krezk is as described in <span class="citation">S1. Road Junction (p. 143)</span>. # I2. The Gates of Krezk <span class="citation"><em>This scene takes place in Chapter 8: Area S2.</em></span> The gates of Krezk are largely as described in <span class="citation">S2. Gatehouse (p. 145)</span>. If the players have already defeated the druids occupying the Wizard of Wines in [[Arc J - The Stolen Gem]], Baron Krezkov recognizes them from the descriptions shared by Adrian and Elvir Martikov and welcomes them gladly into Krezk. Proceed to [[#I6. The Village of Krezk]] below. > [!profile]+ **Profile: Baron Dmitri Krezkov** > **Roleplaying Information.** > ***Resonance.*** Dmitri should inspire comfort with his quiet confidence and leadership, sympathy for his anxiety and grief following his son's disappearance, and mild annoyance for his stubbornness and habitual suspicion of outsiders. > > ***Emotions.*** Dmitri most often feels concerned, melancholy, somber, determined, wary, stubborn, or gracious. > > ***Motivations.*** Dmitri wants to protect his village and keep his family together. > > ***Inspirations.*** When playing Dmitri, channel Eddard Stark (*Game of Thrones*), King Théoden (*Lord of the Rings*) and Stoick the Vast (*How to Train Your Dragon*). > > **Character Information** > ***Persona.*** To the world, Dmitri is a grim, but warm leader. To those he trusts, Dmitri is a warm and loving father, husband, and friend. Only Dmitri knows the extent of his grief, anxiety, and guilt regarding his family's curse and the fate of his children and wife. > > ***Morale.*** In a fight, Dmitri would act only to protect himself or his loved ones, beginning by warning his opponent to stand down, then fighting fiercely until his opponent yielded or was defeated. > > ***Relationships.*** Dmitri, a secret **werewolf**, is the husband of Baroness Anna Krezkova, the brother of the **werewolf** cleric of Mother Night Zuleika Toranescu, the father of Kala and Ilya Krezkov, and the burgomaster of the village of Krezk. Otherwise, rather than asking the players to secure a wagonload of wine from the Wizard of Wines, Baron Krezkov asks the players to journey to the hut of the witch Baba Lysaga in the ruins of Berez to the southeast. There, he tells them, they must beseech Baba Lysaga to perform a *scrying* spell to discern the location and condition of a particular person. If the players accept Baron Krezkov’s task, he provides them with a few strands of dark hair for Baba Lysaga to use in her scrying, as well as a large gold bracelet inset with intricate carvings of wolves and ravens (worth 300 gp) as a gift to purchase her favor. If asked, Baron Krezkov confesses that the missing person is his son, Ilya Krezkov, who disappeared several days ago. A successful DC 15 Wisdom (Insight) check reveals that he is not telling the entire truth, though he is unwilling to share more. # I3. The Road to Berez The journey from the village of Krezk to the **Ruins of Berez** is eight-and-three-quarter miles long and takes three hours. To get to Berez, the players must first retrace their steps to the Luna River Crossroads, then head south. ## I3a. The Needle Blight Horde Soon after the players depart the Raven River Crossroads, they cross paths with a horde of ten **needle blights** migrating toward the Wizard of Wines winery. Read: <div class="description"> <p>The fresh corpse of an enormous wolf, easily the size of an elk, lies splayed across the center of the road. Its sides and face have been pierced with hundreds of needle-like thorns, and a pool of blood has gathered beneath its well-muscled neck.</p> <p>Suddenly, a flurry of black feathers erupts from the trees to the north, as a flock of ravens takes to the skies not a hundred yards from the edge of the road, their panicked cries echoing in the chill air. From the thicket beneath them, you hear the rhythmic and unmistakable sound of numerous, inhuman footsteps, and can make out the outline of a horde of shambling, thorned, shadows in the dim light. The figures, which appear to be approaching a bend in the road a short ways ahead of your position, don’t seem to have noticed you yet—but their silhouettes grow closer with each passing second.</p> </div> The players can do battle with the blights, or they can hide in the thickets to avoid the horde’s attention with a successful DC 10 group Dexterity (Stealth) check, as described in **Group Checks** (*Player’s Handbook*, p. 175). > [!combat]- **Balancing the Needle Blights** > This combat encounter is a **mild** combat encounter against a party of five 5th-level players, and will consume approximately 18% of their total maximum hit points. For parties of smaller or larger sizes, modify the encounter as follows: > > * ***Three Players.*** Reduce the number of needle blights to six. > * ***Four Players.*** Reduce the number of needle blights to eight. > * ***Six Players.*** Increase the number of needle blights to twelve. ## I3b. The Luna River Path As the players depart the Luna River Crossroads, read: <div class="description"> <p>Leaving the crossroads behind, you set a southern course alongside the Luna River, whose waters reflect only the gray of the sky above as it winds its way through the valley.</p> <p>Though the trees of the Svalich Wood close in oppressively on either side to start, it’s not long before the forest’s edge pulls away from the river and road, revealing a tributary that spills into the river from the mountains. The Luna River here encircles a small, forlorn isle dotted with tall evergreen trees, which stand like silent sentinels as the river flows around them.</p> <p>Not far from the road, upon a small peninsula that juts out into the river, stands a mossy stone slab standing just under six feet in height. It rests on an old, cracked stone circle, and seems to bear some kind of carving.</p> </div> If the players choose to investigate the slab, they find that it bears a carving of a spider over an engraved three-pointed star, the grooves lined with lichen and moss. (The slab is an ancient monument to the Weaver, and the three-pointed star the symbol of the Ladies Three.) Otherwise, read: <div class="description"> <p>Ahead, twin spurs of Mount Ghakis rise on either side of the road, enclosing it in a valley choked with fog. The mists hang thick in the air here, muffling every sound and glimmer of light as the road grows muddy and wet.</p> <p>Soon, as the fog swallows up the road behind you, it pulls back like a curtain to reveal a tall gnarled tree, ancient in years and thrusting up through the mist like a hunched-over obelisk. Rusted metal cages hang from its dead limbs, and strands of old spiderwebs cling to its trunk like gossamer veils.</p> <p>An enormous bird crafted of burlap, wood, and animal skins sits atop the thickest branch, its gourd-shaped head peering at you with coal-black eyes. With a low, grating shriek, it spreads its wings and takes to the air, the mists swirling about its creaking wings as it heads to the south.</p> </div> The bird is a **greater strix**, and is leaving to alert Baba Lysaga that outsiders are approaching the swamp. If attacked, it attempts to gain elevation until it escapes the players’ range. As a sentry and scout, it has no desire to do battle. # I4. The Ruins of Berez ## I4a. Approaching the Ruins The players’ approach of Berez is largely as described in <span class="citation">Approaching the Ruins (p. 161)</span>. However, revise the descriptive text as follows: <div class="description"> <p>The dirt and grass soon turn to marsh as the ground dissolves into spongy earth pockmarked with stands of tall reeds and pools of stagnant water. A thick shroud of fog covers all, though the fog is much thinner on the far side of the river, where a dark ring of standing stones stands amidst a copse of gnarled trees covered in thick, bluish webs.</p> <p>Before you, the trail splits to form two soggy paths that ring a central, swampy green. One path runs alongside the swollen river, while the other curls inland.</p> <p>Scattered throughout the marsh alongside the paths are old peasant cottages, their walls covered with black mildew and their roofs mostly caved in. These decrepit dwellings seem to hunker down in the mire, as though they have long since given up on escaping the thick mud. Everywhere you look, black clouds of flies dart about, hungry for blood.</p> <p>Two old scarecrows lashed to wooden posts flank the trail here, their burlap faces seeming to leer into the mists behind you.</p> </div> The two **scarecrows** are as described in <span class="citation">Marsh Scarecrows (p. 162)</span>. If the **greater strix** successfully alerted Baba Lysaga to the players’ approach, add: <div class="description"> <p>A light flashes amid the fog beyond the scarecrows, a woman’s silhouette emerging from the swirling mist.</p> </div> The silhouette belongs to Wensencia, a shrill, mocking, and sharp-tongued **Barovian witch** from Vallaki who has been studying under Baba Lysaga for the past three months. (Wensencia, like Baba Lysaga’s six other current students, viewed Strahd’s revival as the coming of a dark messiah, and sought out the swamp witch at the advice of Strahd’s vampiric bride, Ludmilla Vilisevic.) Wensencia curtly informs the players that “Mother Lysaga” has summoned them to her cottage, and that they must follow her if they wish to reach it safely. She asks no questions and answers none, except to tell the players that none come to Berez except to seek “Mother Lysaga’s” favor, and that Baba Lysaga alone will determine whether they may earn it. > [!abstract]+ **The Megaliths** > > The megaliths beyond the Luna River demarcate the boundaries of the Swamp Fane: the shrine to the Weaver of the Ladies Three. > > (The Swamp Fane is named as such because, before the multiple invasions of the valley, this area was originally a swamp. It was King Dostron who dammed up the tributary to the Luna River from Mount Ghakis to the northeast, thereby creating arable land that his troops could farm—and Strahd who destroyed that dam using the powers of the Fanes as Berez's punishment following Marina's death.) > > As the players approach the megaliths, read: > ><hr> > > A circle of stout, smooth megaliths stands amidst thick mud at the center of a copse of gnarled trees not far from the river's edge. The trees and standing stones are choked with a thick shroud of bluish-white webs, whose thick cords seem to shimmer with an ethereal quality. > > <hr> > > The area within the stones is obscured by the cover provided by the webs, which are described in **Webs** (<span class="citation">Dungeon Master's Guide, p. 105</span>). If the players reach the center of the circle, they find that a five-foot-diameter stone of smooth, black onyx is half-buried at the center of the circle. The stone has no visible marks or symbols upon its surface, and is impervious to all damage and attempts to move it. > > One minute after the players enter the shroud of webs, their presence draws the attention of one **phase spider**, which uses its **ethereal jaunt** to briefly flicker into (then out of) the Material Plane. The following round, the first phase spider repeats the process, now joined by five additional **phase spiders**, before all return to the Ethereal Plane. If the players remain within the webs, all of the spiders attack the following round. > [!abstract]+ **Ruins of Berez** > Should the players attempt to explore the other structures within Berez, those ruins are largely as described in <span class="citation">U1. Abandoned Cottages (p. 162)</span>, <span class="citation">U2. Ulrich Mansion (p. 162)</span>, <span class="citation">U4. Churchyard (p. 164)</span>, and <span class="citation">U5. Marina's Monument (p. 164)</span>. However, Lazlo Ulrich's ghost does not appear in the Ulrich mansion, and Baba Lysaga's goat pen is as described in [[#I4c. The Scrying Spell]] below. ## I4b. Baba Lysaga’s Hut <span class="citation"><em>This scene takes place in Chapter 10: Area U3.</em></span> Baba Lysaga’s Hut is as described in <span class="citation">U3. Baba Lysaga’s Hut (p. 163)</span>. However, the sound of a soft lullaby can be heard emanating from the hut’s open doorframe, muffled by the sound of the ravens’ squawks. Additionally, if the **greater strix** warned Baba Lysaga of the players’ arrival, it is perched atop the hut, silently watching the players as they approach. Upon arriving at the base of the stump on which the hut is perched, if Wensencia is present, she announces the players’ presence before turning to depart. (Note that, because the hut is built atop an enormous stump, the players must climb the roots of the stump to reach the hut’s entrance and front door.) If the players enter the hut, they find Baba Lysaga humming a lullaby above the illusory child and crib. Otherwise, the lullaby ends one minute after the players arrive; if Baba Lysaga was alerted to the players’ arrival by the **greater strix**, she then emerges to greet them. Baba Lysaga is tentatively willing to grant the players an audience, assuming they have not yet battled the druids occupying the Wizard of Wines winery in [[Arc J - The Stolen Gem]] (If the players have already done so, Baba Lysaga attacks them on sight.) However, if the players offend Baba Lysaga—such as by asserting that the baby in the crib is illusory and proceeding to argue about it, or by expressing distaste for Strahd and refusing to apologize to the “baby”—she orders them to leave her hut, attacking if they refuse. > [!abstract]+ **Lysaga's Wrath** > If she successfully knocks them unconscious, Baba Lysaga magically polymorphs the players into **goats** and locks them in her goat pen (described below), where they awakens 1d4 + 1 hours later. There, the players are met by a Barovian **scout** named Darzin Voltanescu, who has been polymorphed into a goat like them. > > Darzin warns the players that Lysaga intends to keep them as sacrifices for use in her longevity potions. He can share, however, that a Barovian witch taunting him let slip that Lysaga keeps doses of a potion called a *null tincture* on a shelf in her wicker cabinet, which, if imbibed, ends all spells and magical effects currently affecting its drinker. Players who successfully escape the goat pen and sneak into Baba Lysaga's hut can find six *null tinctures* in her wicker cabinet. To earn the right to speak with her, Baba Lysaga ordains that one of the players must first pluck a feather from one of the ravens in the hanging cages and lay it in “Strahd’s” crib as an offering. (Baba Lysaga notes that ravens are said to be the servants of prophecy, and that the fate of a royal child should be exalted above all others. The feather, if plucked, falls through the illusory crib to the floor of the hut, but the mad Baba Lysaga pays it no mind.) Once the players have made the requested offering, Baba Lysaga is glad to do business with them. She is willing to accept Baron Krezkov’s gold bracelet as the payment for a single *scrying* spell. Should the players request it, she is also willing to accept an item of similar value to cast *scrying* a second time on a target of the players’ choice. Upon accepting Baron Krezkov’s payment, Baba Lysaga directs the players to travel to the goat pen beside <span class="citation">U2. Ulrich Mansion (p. 162)</span> and fetch a single live **goat**. (Baba Lysaga needs the blood of the live goat to create a medium through which to perform her *scrying* ritual.) Though there is no gate in the fence of the goat pen, she informs the players that they can magically create one by speaking the passphrase: “Death to Ravenovia.” If asked about the strix, Lysaga gleefully explains that they are an artifact of her own creation—excellent for killing or capturing ravens, which she loathes. If asked about Lady Fiona Wachter, Lysaga’s mood plummets, and she darkly warns the players never to speak “that foolish girl’s” name again in her presence. > [!abstract]+ **Baba Lysaga’s Cure** > > If the players ask Baba Lysaga to cure their disease, she dismisses their request with a cackle, claiming that her price would be far too high for them to afford, and that they would not enjoy her remedy. She refuses to discuss the matter further, hinting only that “flesh must pay for the sanctity of flesh.” ## I4c. The Scrying Spell The goat pen is largely as described in <span class="citation">U2. Ulrich Mansion (p. 162)</span>. However, speaking the passphrase “Death to Ravenovia” while within 10 feet of the goat pen creates a gate in the wooden fence for one minute. The players can capture a goat by knocking one unconscious, by restraining or leading it with a rope, or by grappling it and pulling it directly to the hut. If conscious, a captured goat struggles and bleats pathetically while being led toward the hut. If the players successfully retrieve a goat for Baba Lysaga, she retrieves a rusted, blood-stained dagger from her wicker cabinet and directs the players to orient the goat such that its neck is above the bathtub. Read: <div class="description"> <p>With a swift and seemingly practiced ease, Baba Lysaga slits the goat’s throat. A sudden gush of blood spills into the tub, filling it with a deep, visceral red. The goat’s body tenses, then relaxes, its death mercifully quick as the hut fills with the metallic tang of fresh blood.</p> </div> Baba Lysaga then commands the players to dispose of the goat’s body in the grass outside of the hut. She warns them that they must not speak a word while she is within the grasp of the spell, lest they disturb her focus. She then begins to cast the *scrying* spell. Read: <div class="description"> <p>WIth the dripping dagger clutched in one shriveled hand, Baba Lysaga begins to trace strange, arcane symbols across the surface of the goat’s blood with the other, her fingers leaving trails of eerie, shimmering magic.</p> <p>The light in the room dims as the shadows grow darker, the air stilled by an eerie silence broken only by the witch’s murmuring incantations.</p> <p>Magic seeps from her fingertips, flowing like water into the tub of blood. Gradually, the crimson pool begins to ripple and churn, shimmering with silvery light—and then abruptly stills, now as smooth and reflective as a mirror. Baba Lysaga leans forward to peer into the pool, her eyes flickering with a gleam of interest and cruelty.</p> <p>“I see a boy,” she hisses, “adolescent, shaggy-haired, and claw-scarred.” Her voice is a mixture of intrigue and mockery, and she licks her lips in obvious amusement. “They have collared him with silver, and chained him to a post. There he sits, huddled and pathetic. His eyes, oh, they are hidden, buried in his knees as he snivels and sobs.”</p> <p>She frowns, as if concentrating, and her voice drops to a rasping whisper. “The post is in a cavern—a dismal chamber lit by flickering torchlight. There is a woman chained beside him, sharp-eyed and with long, shaggy hair. I smell the gift of Mother Night on her. Nearby, I see a statue of a woman, wolf-headed—an idol to Mother Night, adorned in garlands and surrounded by a bounty of treasure. Rotting corpses kneel before her, bent to her majesty.”</p> <p>Lysaga’s fingers twitch—and the blood returns to its previous state, rippling faintly as the magic dissipates.</p> </div> If asked, Baba Lysaga can inform the players that the she-wolf was a **werewolf**, and that Mother Night is—in addition to her divine portfolio of trickery, death, and the occult—the patron deity of lycanthropes. Baba Lysaga cannot tell the players, however, *where* the cavern is actually located, noting scornfully that the *scrying* spell observes only a creature’s immediate surroundings. To rescue the boy she saw, the players will need to find the cave on their own. # I5. Return to Krezk The players' return to Krezk is eight and three-quarter miles long and takes three hours. Alternatively, if the players lack the time to return to Krezk, the journey to Vallaki is four and one-half miles long and takes an hour and a half. > [!info]+ **Forced March** > Remember that players who travel more than eight hours in one day risk exhaustion, as described in <span class="citation">Travel Pace (Player's Handbook, p. 181)</span>. Regardless of their destination, the players experience the <span class="citation">Lost Battlefield (p. 166)</span> event as they pass the point where the Luna River splits. # I6. The Village of Krezk If the players return successfully to Krezk with information obtained from Baba Lysaga’s *scrying* spell and share it with Baron Krezkov, he gratefully grants them entry into the village. The village of Krezk is as described in <span class="citation">S3. Village of Krezk (p. 145)</span>. Once the players are within the village walls, Baron Krezkov is glad to share any or all of the information provided in <span class="citation">Krezk Lore (p. 146)</span>, with the following changes: * The Krezkovs have had only two children, rather than four. * Ilya, his elder son, is thirteen years old and went missing several days ago. (Although Baron Krezkov won't mention, Ilya went missing on the night of the full moon on Octyavr 22, exactly fourteen days before the most recent full moon on Neyavr 8.) * Kala, his younger daughter, is eight years old and alive. If the players mention their interest in the Abbey of Saint Markovia, Baron Krezkov warns them of the Abbey’s sordid history, as well as the strange rumors surrounding the Abbot. He is glad, however, to provide the players with directions if requested. Baron Krezkov doesn't yet mention his family's problem with the Abbot, described further in [[Arc K - The Fallen Abbey]], but a player who succeeds on a DC 12 Wisdom (Insight) check notices that a shadow crosses the Baron's fate at the mention of the Abbot. ***Milestone.*** Obtaining Baba Lysaga’s aid completes a story milestone. When the players first gain safe passage through Krezk’s village gates, award each player 750 XP. ## I6a. The Blessed Pool This area is largely as described in <span class="citation">S4. Pool and Shrine (p. 146)</span>. However, add the following to the end of this area's description: <div class="description"> <p>Small purple flowers dot the shores around the pool, their stalks swaying gently above the snow-covered grasses below.</p> <p>A handsome young man in a brown monk's robe kneels before one of the flowers, cupping its petals delicately in his hand. A painted wooden holy symbol that depicts the sun hangs from a chain around his neck, and he gazes thoughtfully at the flower between his fingers.</p> </div> The flowers are *wolfsbane*. The young man is the Abbot of the Abbey of St. Markovia, who is largely as described in <span class="citation">S13. Main Hall (p. 150)</span> and <span class="citation">The Abbot (p. 151)</span>. ![[The Abbot.png]] <span class="credit">"The Abbot" by Caleb Cleveland. Support him on <a href="https://patreon.com/calebisdrawing/">Patreon!</a></span> Should the players approach or address him, the Abbot, without looking up from the flower, says: "A ward against evil, and yet a deadly poison. Is it not strange that a mere flower can hold such duality within it?" > [!profile]+ **Profile: The Abbot** > **Roleplaying Information** > ***Resonance.*** The Abbot should inspire discomfort with his stoicism and routine observations regarding "mortals," disgust for his lack of respect for human life or values, anger for his supreme and unshakeable self-confidence, and gratitude for his (somewhat off-putting) friendliness and willingness to cure the players of lycanthropy without cost. > > ***Emotions.*** The Abbot most often feels curious, intrigued, cold, dispassionate, or (rarely) enraged. > > ***Motivations.*** The Abbot wants to lift the "curse" upon Barovia and preserve the "sanctity" of the Abbey of Saint Markovia. > > ***Inspirations.*** When playing the Abbot, channel Vision (*Marvel*), Data (*Star Trek*), and Dr. Manhattan (*Watchmen*). > > **Character Information** > ***Persona.*** To the world, the Abbot is a serene, but inhumanly dispassionate holy man and "scientist." Only the Abbot knows that he is Ithuriel: an angel of the Morninglord sent to honor the memory of Saint Markovia. > > ***Morale.*** In a fight, the Abbot would reveal his divine form, then command his enemies to lay down their weapons and surrender. If they failed to do so, he would attack them mercilessly, seeking to crush any resistance until and unless they surrendered or fled. > > ***Relationships.*** The Abbot, an angel of the Morninglord once called Ithuriel, is the master of the Abbey of Saint Markovia, including the **mongrelfolk** Otto, Zygfrek, and Clovin Belview. He is also the creator of the **flesh golem** Vasilka and the resurrector of Kala Krezkova. After the players have had an opportunity to discuss and debate his question, if any are infected with the curse of werewolf lycanthropy, the Abbot's nose wrinkles. He then turns to any infected players, his brows furrowing. "Forgive me, my friend," he says, "but you bear the stench of the wolf. It is an unpleasant thing and befouls the air of this sacred place. May I remove it from you?" If the player assents, the Abbot uses his _healing touch_ to cure their lycanthropy. If the players ask his identity, the Abbot introduces himself as the Abbot of the Abbey of St. Markovia and invites them to visit the Abbey should they wish to learn its history. (Should they wish to do so immediately, he is glad to accompany them.) If asked the source of his power, the Abbot laughs softly, stating only: "Beneath the Morninglord's light, all things are possible." ## I6b. The Abbey of St. Markovia If the players have journeyed to Krezk to seek a cure for cackle fever or their foretold ally, they must ascend the switchback road to the Abbey of St. Markovia, where the Abbot is happy to cure any disease with his ***healing touch*** without payment. See [[Arc K - The Fallen Abbey]] for more information about visiting the Abbey.