Hugo Fowl

Session 3: The Bloody Crow and the Raven Maid. The party after searching the bodies of the werewolves discovered a wanted poster for Ireena, the woman being uneasy at how organized they seemed as compared to before. With that in mind, half of the party decided to split off as a decoy and meet them later when they could. And so, Ireena, Heinrich, Yimir and Vec together would go down the road, opting in the end to visit the village of Chalkworth where Ireena said a family friend ruled as Burgomeister. Chalkworth seemed more prosperous than other villages they had seen, the banner of Strahd flying over the gate. Actual currency was used here, stained glass windows adorned the massive church in the center and there was traces of interplane settlement here in some of the building structure. Arriving just in time for a funeral, Yimir and Vec became suddenly, intently interested at how three bodies in question seemed to be prostitutes killed and knifed. The odd part was the fact the spine and skull were removed, prompting them to wish to look more deeply into this. At Burgomeister Richards house, the group would meet the jolly figure who seemed to be looking into the deaths as well. On a scale model map, three places-an area in the slums, a factory and a graveyard would mark locations of deaths. It was here also they met Grimoire; an agent of Richard, a wizard who just wanted to set everything on fire and didn't care what it was. They also would meet a maid named Elena by happenstance, who used to work in the brothel and smiled a lot. As Heinrich and Vec interacted with their host, Yimir and Grimoire would head to the chapel to find out more. There, Yimir would have his hands full in keeping their newest ally in hand. With his constant wish to burn everything, irregardless of time and people, Yimir would be hard pressed. More disquieting was the chapel interior around them as well. Shadows made the pillars look embraced by tentacles and the stained glass images of a Shepard with goats would at a second look, reveal fear on the expression of the Shepard and subtle mutations on the goats. Behind the pulpit, a massive image of Strahd himself overlooked the audience in the pews. At the end of the funeral sermon, while Yimir spoke to the cleric Sister Syrena, Grimoire attempted to upgrade from arson to breaking and entering, attempting to sneak into her office. Luckily, she seemed more amused than anything considering how poorly planned it was and decided to speak to both within. Her holy symbol of a Crescent Moon to represent Mother Night would briefly look intertwined with some strange, twisted creature in the low light and shadows the cleric favored as they found the following. -A nine headed serpent tattoo on the wrist of the victims. Gaining additional information that all had worked at a brothel known as the Wink, they decided to leave even as the Sister watched them go with well wishes for their path. The meeting proved unnerving enough that the duo would head to the inn first to throw off anyone following, Yimir seeing a Raven in particular that followed after them. Meanwhile, while all this was going on, Heinrich and Vec would be interacting with Burgomeister Richard who was extolling the virtues of his home and how with Strahd and his patronage, the village prospered. He also upon being asked of anything that happened fairly recently besides the Ripper-esque murders, lamented how his favorite brothel was closed down. Though he had taken on the workers as his staff and even offered their use to his guests while here. When the others returned around this point and compared notes, Heinrich went and called one of the maids, further confirming this to him. They also discovered that Henry Sutton had visited Sister Syrena and the brothel, prompting an odd connection. Grimoire attempted to get ingredients for moltov cocktails. In the end, led by Alana during the evening hours, all of them headed to the slums and the Wink. With Yimir noting an odd, birdlike movement to Alana as she kept a lookout for danger. As she headed home, Grimoire attempted to burn down the door to get in, prompting Vec and Yimir to stop him. Heinrich went around the back and began to break open the back door quietly,though he found himself watched by a Raven intently. Taking a leap of faith, he said 'Alana?' And the Raven responded with a croak and then cursed, realizing belately that Ravens don't croak. Descending and transforming, Alana revealed herself in a Hunters guise and apologized for the deception. Revealing herself as a member of an order devoted to fighting Strahds influence, she also dropped the bombshell that she was the killer in town. The reason being that all the victims were already dead, infested by something that took over them. The proof of which laid within the Wink itself. Offering to keep an eye out, she transformed back into a Raven and flew away into the fog. Inside, all of the group fought off a trio of Shadow's, in eerie, barbed tentacled forms. From a treasure chest in the center of the room, Grimoire plucked out a letter and set off a silent alarm to Syrena though they did not know. The letter was addressed to Sutton, whom Syrena apparently hated as in the background she would gather up a mob. Meanwhile, back at the brothel the Wizard would plow ahead, finding the office of the owner and going after anything of value, ignoring the corpse and the portrait behind the desk of an apparently dead man watching him. The others catching up would perform an autopsy, discovering exit wounds along the throat and chest but also a lack of organs and a brain. Alana in Raven form would fly to the window, squawking a warning as a mob approached. And the wizard, yielding to temptation set the brothel on fire. The flames grew and spread, creating a beacon that inadvertently caught Strahds eye, who had been conducting other business and corrected his path to Chalkworth. By the time the party made it back to the manor, they had just enough time to make plans before the storm hit and they realized just who was in town. Back with the mob, Strahd descended to see what was going on and the crowd grew silent and fearful. The wizard ignored it, pointing to him and declaring him the murderer the mob was seeking. Cue every mob member splitting away from him, isolating him to Strahd who took his time walking to him. Realizing who he had just tried to invite violence against, Grimoire shit his pants and bowed. Strahd was distasteful, not wishing to sully his hands. But he recognized him as the Burgomeisters agent and produced an illusion of the party as he asked about them. Grimoire sold them out, speaking freely of where they were staying and who was with them, prompting Strahd to nod and walk away without even an afterthought for him, directing the mob to disperse as he sent his agent to the manor. The party meanwhile would be frantically packing and preparing the wagon. The skies would be rife as crows clashed against the ravens, bodies dropping from the skies as Strahds agent arrived. Alana, Heinrich, Vec and Yimir would fight as one against the Bloody Crow of Strahd, Alana unwilling to let Yimir sacrifice himself and the rest joining. Together, they defeated the Bloody Crow though he had served Strahds ultimate purpose. And so weakened, they emerged from the manor in time to meet Strahd himself, accompanied by Sister Syrena. Recognizing her clerical counterpart, the nun healed Yimir to allow him to stand on his feet, Strahd taking no notice as he looked at Ireena who seemed struck as she looked back, almost dazed. All of them attempted to appeal to Strahd to let them go, claiming it would be more entertaining if he did so. When Strahd declared they would leave Ireena, they stood as one and declared they would fight first. Strahd was thoughtful, then looked at Vec who had taken the Crows sword. Directing Grimoire(cringing, who had cowered and stayed out of the fight) to bring him the Crows body, he would take it and declare to them a test. Five Enforcers of Strahd, making up the Black Fist would now be actively hunting them. The goal was to survive and should they defeat the rest of them(the Crow being one of the five and the weakest), Strahd himself would come for them personally. He then left them, content to wait until then. Grimoire then attempted to loot the manor, only to be terrified off by Sister Syrena-the new Burgomeister of Chalkworth, the latter a husk for a lamprey-like worm Ireena killed in the background. Yimir, seeking closure went to ask directly the name of her God. Upon hearing it was the Goat of a Thousand Young, he vowed to return. Syrena merely smiled and told him she expected nothing less and they parted without any ill feeling on her part. And so here they are....With Grimoire at their side, Ireena safe...For now and an ally in the form of Alana. Soon to be hunted down by Strahds Black Fist, as Barovia looms before them.

Session 2. 'Come Little Children.' The party made it to Anarky, a town of near ghostly silence as a counterpoint to the nightmares that drove Cedric away into the blood night. There,they met an old woman who was selling Mince Meat Pies in town. Though she creeped out some of them, others accepted the pies and she gave them directions to the Burgomeisters House. She also upon being asked, mentioned how she had seen Dorian Gray and a gentleman with 'strange eyes' alongside the description of a Hyde. All of whom had apparently entered Castle Strahd some weeks prior to them. The manor looked as though it had endured a siege and only fortune spared the house survivors. Ismark and Ireena, son and daughter of the Burgomeister who had perished from fright. His body in a coffin, they wished to bury him in a churchyard, in sanctified ground. Staying overnight, Vec the Bounty Hunter and Billy the Gambler both experienced strange dreams of a nightmarish person, rotting from the inside out reaching for them and woke up with maggots in their bed from the dream intruder. Yimir, priest of Anubis would experience a vision of a storm swirling in black and hungry in the desert, as he prepped the body for worship. Escorting the body to the church, they met the priest and his son-a vampiric stricken man whose sanity was kept alive by the constant prayers of a fellow worshipper. After they buried the father of Ireena and Ismark, they heard the sound of a carriage. And they sent Ireena and Ismark into the chapel, as they met Strahd and his jester, Piddlewick. A wooden puppet with a sadistic tone and wicked humor. Strahd himself seemed respectful, placing a flower on the headstone of Ireena's father and talking politely to the party. Taking their measure in whether or not they'd bow to him, all seven remained straight and he seemed approving, even in the way all of them decided to protect the Ireena from him. His response was to corrupt one of his horses into a monster to deal with them and ride away. The party engaged in a fight then, repelling the creature as it came! But in the aftermath of the fight, the creature in it's death throes managed to desecrate the chapel and it was agreed they could not stay. For Ireena to be safe, she would need to go to the Abbey of Markovia on the other side of Barovia. The second night as they traveled had them encounter in passing a hut with legs, walking in the distance as it carried it's load of children, sobbing in fear. Though only Ireena heard them, oddly enough. The old lady they had encountered in the village then suddenly appeared in their midst, offering to invite them home as soon as she saw Ireena. The party warily accepted and at the windmill, they discovered the doors were magical in nature, the final one bringing them to a shrine to Strahd atop the mountains, though the image seemed warped and twisted oddly enough. The alarm spell she had set on the door they broke through tipped off the Hag, prompting her to trick them with an illusion before she tossed in a fireball spell. In the fight, she alerted Strahd to their presence and as he came, Vec killed the witch with railroad spikes after a weakness to radiant damage was found and the witch severely injured. The last they saw of the windmill was the presence of a single figure, landing on the ground from the skies. They then ran into Professor Vasili, a scholar and a traveler who helped them. Providing sanctuary and company, he made good company and discovered a tracking spell among them, throwing away the object which had it on as well as alerted them to a town in the mountains run by a Gun Smith and his company. The Black Kegs were among those like them, brought in from the mists and so they ultimately decided to visit later. At Lake Zarovich, they parted ways with the professor and learned of a process the village uses to protect themselves from Strahd...Which required a sacrifice to the God of the Lake of their children. They left the night before the sacrifice, believing their mission came first and vowed to return to deal with this when they could. Upon the road, they ran into a trio of werewolves who attempted to question them about Ireena and were blasted by the Warlock, prompting a deadly fight. In the end, they killed all three and discovered that Strahd had put out a reward for Ireena, with information about her or her whereabouts to be rewarded. Loot: One map of Barovia, one tarp, a week's worth of supplies, fifty feet of rope, crude tribal amulets ×3

Entry 1: Into the Mist. The posse devoted to hunting Jack the Ripper has been brought together. Discovering the killer in Whitechapel, what they fought was no man but rather a beast! And when they killed it, it ceased to become even that as it reverted into the first victim of the Ripper. Bringing her body back to HQ, the Occult Society discovered that a love note found on her person was that of a particularly depraved man known as Sir Henry Sutton. His debauchery had brought many down to infamy, including a man named Dorian Gray whose townhouse the Ripper beast was said to have originated. Tracking it down, the party entered the house and was assailed by the haunts within, culminating in the united desire to burn it. It failed and stepping out,no longer were they in London. Instead, they find themselves in a strange country of perpetual night, a red moon and a name whispered in fear. Strahd von Zarovich rules these lands and the latest entertainment before him has appeared. Luckily, the party has met two potential allies. A crippled ex-hunter named Rudolph Van Richten and his daughter, who has read the tarot for the party concerning their fate and what lies ahead. From Rudolph, they learn where this place is and of a potential ally named Ireena who could very well be the opening key for the various towns that lie across the land of Barovia. If they can get to her first. Lord Strahd seeks to turn her into a vampire spawn and in protecting her, the eyes of the Dread Lord shall be fixed upon our intrepid heroes.... Loot: 50 GP each, one bottle of cure wounds(2d4+2 healing) each. Letter from Strahd to Dorian Gray. One longsword with Gray's emblem in the hilt. Three potions of Inner Transformation. One jewelry box radiating necromantic energies with a Raven necklace.

Me too.

Corvo looked up from his work and gave a nod. "Excellent aim. But we need to get you used to heavier projectiles. Cliff might know some exercises to build strength better than I and Komi should be able to aid in terms of the health aspects and how far you can be pushed." "Perhaps increase her stamina too? That brief exercise winded her."

"I'm sure you'll do wonderfully." The Tiefling said with a nod, looking back to the ring as he went off to the side and began to quietly prepare two sticks.

They feed him Zwei.

Corvo looked at Cliff and then back to their principal. He stared at the mask she made, at how flashy she was before he spoke dryly. "I'm not sure how suited she is for it. But that's a good idea too. Muggy could help with that then?"

Corvo nodded. "That's fine. We'll need you in case of accidents." He stood off to the side and smiled briefly as he crossed his arms to watch.

"Ah, thank you Steve." Corvo said aloud gratefully. ....The man talked to a sword, it wasn't hard to realize he had a habit of assuming almost everything had something similar as he beamed beneath the mask and spread his hands. "So shall we draw straws as to who goes first? Or have we any volunteers?"

I'd be down to join and generate more interest. I'd personally prefer a city over galaxy hopping myself, though mostly because my preference are for those kinds of stories.

Wow, that was closer than I expected it to be.

Corvo hummed in thought. "Be that as it may. It can't surely hurt to train her further to defend herself just in case? We won't have much time, but it may spell the difference between enough time for one of us to make it to her side in the worse case scenario. It helps also that a slingshot is an easy weapon."

"You're too dangerous to be used in a spar. If I do draw you, it means someone is going to die." Mentally, Corvo replied to Jessamine in a somber tone as he crossed his arms and spoke on. "Besides, I've been trying to talk to you for a while...And her name is Komi, not kitchen maid. She deserves that much. Other than you, how many others back home ever looked at us like we weren't cursed?" There was a pause as he added. "And I do NOT fantasize about her....Do I?" Aloud, he cleared his throat as he spoke. "Myself, I'm a jack of all trades. I can fling swords with my arcane training as you've all seen me do. I have enough skill with weapons that allow me to use any of them in a pinch. I can invoke curses and fire doesn't hurt me as much. I also can fly so I can switch between melee to ranged without much difficulty." He spread open a wing to reveal Jessamine on his hip as he added. "But I'm deadliest with my partner. We take care of each other and most of my techniques are devoted to how I can fight with her as one. Speaking of which, yes...My sword is a woman. Please address her kindly if you must and know that I consider her as much a part of our group as the rest of you." He let his wing drop down and waited for the rest.

Actually, the idea came from something else entirely. Anyway, Corvo would be waiting for everyone on the top deck. Hands in the pockets of his coat and his wings out and wrapped around his shoulders like a cape, the Tiefling humming a sea shanty before looking at them all. "So! I've called you all here because while we are aware of each other's capabilities? We've no experience in seeing them in action or learning to work alongside each other. I'd like to change that today with a series of spars and exercises. Tests to determine our skills and see if we can't create a few teamwork combinations by the end of today. Any questions?" He looked over the party.

Michael Keaton played Ken from the Barbie line of toys in one of the Toy Story movies.

I wasn't sure what to expect. But very entertaining. As to who wins, what limits are they working under? Does Batman know about the Ghost with the Most? Is the Dark Knight weak to toon force? And when does Ken show up?

OOC: Naw, but he would engage him in debates over philosophy. On the sanctity of life, what measure of worth is a person, etc. He'd also admit being a Tiefling troubles him at times, but it's given him perspective not to judge on looks but on deeds.

Corvo nodded to Komi and after a few moments he beamed and clapped his hands. "I have something special for today! So everyone if you please, come up on deck as soon as you're ready within ten minutes!" And with this mysterious bit, Corvo would get up and strode for the door. His tail flicking out briefly, the Tiefling much more relaxed about his fiendish parts at this point.

Corvo was in equal parts heaven and hell. The job was wonderful. Being at sea did wonders for him, exercising by doing flying laps around the ship as well as harpooning whatever he could when he flew. He enjoyed the chance to know his teammates, the confines giving him an insight into their personality. He even found a chance to leave the bedroll by Clara and their clients door with no one seemingly the wiser. He enjoyed his roommate. A little too much to the point he was discomfited. What innocence and a life in the Abbey had obscured, puberty and a lack of supervision made him realize how much his friend had grown. Both in her confidence as well as...Well, a woman. He felt guilty at first and wondered if he should bunk with Cliff. Then he realized that might offend her, and he was a professional after all. He could handle this. Jessamine had been no help,his attempts at seeking aide always leaving him feeling like he did something wrong from her tone. In the end, all he could do was chalk it up to women in general and seek Cliff or Farley out for manly time or discourse. But he was no longer ignorant. The question was...What exactly does on do about it in this situation? At the table, he'd be helping set up before he opted to go last for his food. And after he ate, asked aloud. "How's our water supply? Is there a need to restore it anytime soon?" He tried not to feel how much more aware he seemed to be now, a faint scent he identified with Komi by now wafting past his face as she'd turn her head.

Ruby discovers he likes to eat and shares her cookie stash. Cue some sudden, best friends shenanigans as they realize he's not just an animal and do a super team up. All seriousness, Taz isn't a bad guy. Just hungry all the time and he can be reasoned with if you appeal to his stomach.

"Be careful. I hear they can smell fear." Drawled Corvo, walking calmly by as he looked and realized they'd have to share rooms. Without thinking of the implications, he said simply. "Komi, do you want to be my roommate? It would be nice to have someone who keeps the same schedule." @michalecs This looked straightforward enough and he was getting excited about the journey.

"Should we find anything your skills may aid us, we shall do just that. Now unless there's anything else, I'd like to get to the ship now. The more we familiarize ourselves with it, the better we can do our job." Corvo said with a firm nod.

Corvo had all that he needed. Using a combination of his arcane abilities and skills,he barely needed more than the bare minimum of equipment which suited him fine. Which was why, upon noticing the deficiency in Clara's equipment, he very quietly bought an extra bedroll suitable for the outdoors without sacrificing comfort and opted to leave it by her with an anonymous note later. Rest was important after all and for better or worse, they would be working extensively. He would give her one more chance as well as look out for his companions as normal. Though without the thanks people usually did such tasks for. That said, it appears their new escort mission seemed to have quite the effect on their party. She seemed to have charmed the majority of his companions, Corvo content to stay back for now to avoid smothering the poor girl with introductions. To Komi he gave another eye smile, nodding once as he spoke. "Quite. I can't wait to get on the ship too." All that open water meant he could fly to his heart's content without worry for torch or pitchforks by deranged villagers! This coat was nice, but his wings felt so cramped.

Corvo was prepared and ready for anything. He was also in a cheerful mood. The sun was shining, Komi was here and there was a mission to be had. A task within their power. As far as he was concerned, he was going to give this a hundred percent and he nodded to the two. "Greetings sir! The Workers Of Requisite, Sly and Egnimatic Solutions are here to assist!"