Following the destruction of the Wizard of Wines, the party heads to Yester Hill to avenge the loss of the winery and put a stop to the evil druids once and for all. Upon arriving at the hilltop, they stare into the wall of fog beyond the hill and have visions from their past. When they emerge from their waking dream, they are confronted by a powerful enemy and learn the terrible truth about one of their own.
Player Characters: Barsun, Gydean, Kane, Nyr
Part 7. Gydean’s Farewell
1.
After the loss of the winery, the Martikovs were at a loss as to what to do. The Wizard of Wines had been destroyed by the tree blight. Although the heroes had defeated the monster and recovered the magic gem from its rotting tree trunk, the grapevines and the winery were in ruins. It would take a long time to rebuild the winery and replant the grapevines. How would the people of the valley survive in the meantime without a source of wine?
The more immediate concern was that the Martikovs had nowhere to go. After two consecutive attacks from the druids of Yester Hill, the family feared that it was no long safe for them here. But where could they go? Camping in the woods of the valley at night was just as dangerous if not more so.
The party decided that the winery would still more easily defended than a camp in the wilderness. Together with Davian and his family, the heroes began to clear away the rubble in front of the cellar which was relatively unscathed. They ushered the distraught family of wereravens into the cellar and set a watch upon the entrance. Then they tended to their wounded and tried to get some rest. Gydean had been grievously hurt in the battle with the tree blight, but fortunately his injuries were not fatal.
The party feared that the druids would not rest until the wereravens had been wiped out completely. Although the magic gem had been recovered, they decided that they still needed to go to Yester Hill to confront the druids once more and put an end to their evil.
When Gydean regained consciousness, he summoned Cespenar the imp and sent him ahead to Yesterhill. While lying in his sickbed, Gydean peered through his familiar’s eyes from a distance as the imp flew southwest over the dark lands of the valley. From high in the sky, Cespenar saw the lands changing from the thick, dark forests to blighted woodlands and marshes. Then he saw a distant hill whose base was encircled by piles of dark stones arranged in concentric rings. On the hilltop, there was a small thicket of trees beside a small circle of dark stones. West beyond the Hilltop, all that could be seen was a thick wall of fog.
As Cespenar approached the hilltop, a swarm of bats flew against him like a sudden storm. The imp cursed angrily as he was bruised and scratched by the onslaught of dark wings. Then, Cespenar let out a shriek of sudden fright, and without warning Gydean’s connection to the imp was severed. When Gydean tried to summon his familiar again, the imp did not appear. Some power had taken hold of the imp and held him against his master’s will. Gydean was not pleased.
Having lost his means of reconnaissance, Gydean’s mind turned to the tome of Strahd von Zarovich. In his moments of rest, he had pored over its ancient pages. Now he leafed through its pages again, hoping to glean some new clue that might help the party in the battle that was to come. He had shared what he learned from the tome so far with his companions, and it confirmed the veracity of the vision given to them by the Sunsword.
Gydean sensed that Strahd might be more powerful than any of them imagined. He might even have power over the land itself. That would explain why the druids of Yester Hill worshipped him like a god. But as much as Strahd was the master of the valley and its people, this land and his immortality were also his prison. Whatever dark powers had endowed him with eternal life had also trapped him here in the shackles of his own making. For Strahd was obsessed with the Barovian woman named Tatyana, calling her Joy, Treasure, and Perfection in his own words. Tatyana had shunned him and departed long ago, but the memory of her still haunted him. Now Strahd chased the vestiges of Tatyana that he saw in other women from the valley, women like Ireena Kolyana.
As Gydean put down the tome, he remembered Ireena’s locket. He had been considering what to do with it. Finally, he called to Ireena, and when she came he gave her back the locket. When he handed it to her, the locket was open, revealing the picture of the infant and the boy.
“I think this belongs to you,” said Gydean. “You should not give away such a precious thing.”
Ireena was startled and taken aback. Then, she grew angry.
“You stole this from Mr. Martikov, didn’t you,” Ireena said pointedly.
Gydean tried to deny it, but in her heart Ireena knew the truth.
“You had no right, Sir Gydean,” Ireena said sternly. “The choice was mine to make, and you took that away from me. How dare you!”
Yet she could not help but look at the portraits inside the locket now that they had been revealed.
“But who… who is this boy?” she said falteringly. “Is this… could this be my… brother? Do I have a blood sibling?”
When Ireena left Gydean’s bedside, she was deeply troubled by what she had seen.
Kane, who had been hiding in the shadows, watched her go. He had overheard the conversation between Gydean and Ireena. Presently, he went to Ismark and demanded that he reveal the truth about Ireena and himself. But Ismark had seen the state that Ireena was in, and he was in a dark mood.
“I think you know enough of the truth already, Master Kane,” Ismark said coolly. Then he spoke no more and went to comfort his sister.
The following morning, the party set out for Yester Hill. Now, in addition to facing the evil druids, they had the imp Cespenar to rescue. But this time, Ireena and Ismark did not join them. The two Barovians remained behind to help the Martikovs make what was left of the winery more defensible and habitable.
“We do not have the strength to fight alongside you, and we do not wish to burden you,” Ireena said flatly.
The two Barovians bid them farewell and spoke no more to the adventurers.
2.
The party traveled southwest, following the landmarks that Gydean had seen through Cespenar’s eyes. Along the way, Barsun the gnome spotted a trinket on the road. It was a small pipe made of black wood. The gnome was intrigued by his discovery. He produced a handful of pipe weed from his pouch and proceeded to test his new pipe. It was a finely made pipe indeed! And most amazingly, the puffs of smoke that he blew with the pipe formed the shapes of skulls in the air. The gnome happily puffed a trail of floating skulls as he continued down the road.
By the time Barsun had finished smoking his magic pipe, the party spotted the hilltop. The circle of black stones on top of the hill was the last thing that Cespenar had seen. Although it was still daytime during their approach, dark clouds were swirling overhead. Every once in while, a bolt of lightning streaked down from the sky and struck the circle of black stone on the hill. The heroes cautiously stepped passed the piles of black rocks that encircled the base of the hill and crept up towards the hilltop.
When they reached the circle, they saw that it was actually two semi circular walls with a path between them. Inside the walls, there stood a giant wooden statue of a man. Barsun did not recognize the figure, but Gydean, Kane, and Nyr knew him from the vision given to them by the Sunsword. It was a wooden effigy of Strahd von Zarovich.
When they looked more closely, they saw that the statue had a hole in its chest about the size of a fist. A faint magical aura could be felt, and the walls of the cavity gave off a dim green glow. Then the heroes saw the grove of trees beyond the circle of stone. In the midst of the grove, there was a large hole in the earth surrounded by several smaller holes resembling shallow empty graves.
Kane, who had plenty of experience with dark rituals, understood what he was seeing. This was the aftermath of a ritual to animate the tree blight that had attacked the Wizard of Wines! The druids of Yester Hill had used the power of the magic gem stolen from the vineyard to turn one of the trees in the grove into a hideous monstrosity. They had embedded the magic gem in the heart of the tree and sent it back to destroy the very vineyard that it had once nourished with its life-giving energy.
It was then that the heroes saw the wall of fog beyond the hill. Inside the thick mists, they saw a white tower far off in the distance. It was faint and difficult to discern, like the memory of a fading dream. The heroes to wonder if they were seeing something real or a vestige from someone’s past conjured by the mists.
As they stared into the mists, each of the heroes was reminded of something from their own past.
3.
Staring into the endless wall of fog, Nyr recalled the endless days of training that she had endured with her mentor, Terry. The early morning drills, the harsh regimen, and the countless blisters had made her the expert sharpshooter that she was now. But for all the skill that she had gained, what possible lives had she given up?
As Barsun stared into the wall of fog, he thought back to his childhood and remembered a young girl that he knew. In his memory, he watched her as she was running away. As he saw her go, a tear had rolled down his cheek. Now, he relived that moment again as if he was watching her leave for the second time.
In the wall of fog, Kane saw a vision from his youth. He had been mortally wounded. The lower half of his body had been torn apart, and all that remained of him was his upper torso. As he watched the flies gather around his entrails, a small demon sat down next to him. This was the day that Kane had made his dark pact with a fiend.
Gydean too was entranced by the mist. He remembered a time when he was a young merchant, plying his wares at the market. He was once a man of modest ambitions, but he was attracted by the lives of adventurers and the treasures that they found on their lucrative quests. He would never have believed it if someone had told him of the fate that awaited him.
………………….
When Cespenar the imp had been taken, his fiendish life had flashed before his eyes, and he thought back to the happiest time of his material existence. Around nine years ago, Master Gydean had been briefly separated from his tiefling partner, Kane. Finally, Cespenar and his master were alone, just the two of them on the road. The imp did not know what Gydean saw in Kane. The foolhardy tiefling did not even have his own familiar. Instead, he had bound himself to the service of a lesser fiend! Clearly the tiefling could not be his master’s equal, so Cespenar could not understand why Gydean insisted on treating him like one.
It was during this time that Gydean and Cespenar, together with another group of adventurers, had delved deep into the bowels of the Amber Temple. They were a druid, a fighter, and a wizard who came from beyond the valley. One by one, they fell to the traps and perils of the dungeon until only Gydean and Cespenar remained. Then Gydean had entered the final chamber alone. When he emerged, Cespenar’s dark intuition told him that something had changed about his master.
…………………
When the heroes awoke from their reverie, they were startled to find that they were no longer on Yester Hill. Instead, they found themselves standing in a shadowy dungeon. The walls of the chamber could not be seen in the darkness. The heroes were confounded, but Gydean knew where they were. He recognized the ancient stone floor dimly illuminated by an amber glow that seemed to come from nowhere.
From the shadows, three dark figures approached them with halting steps. They were wrapped in the stench of death and decay. When they came into view, they looked like the walking corpses of a druid, a fighter, and a wizard. The undead creatures surrounded the heroes, and were calling out to them. They were calling to Gydean.
“Gydeaaaaan… whyyy… diiiid… youuuu… abaaaandon… uuuuus…”
Gydean drew his Sunsword and held it before him in terror. The light of the sword shined in the darkness, but the shadows threatened to swallow it up.
4.
The heroes defended themselves against the undead horrors that assailed them. Their swords, bolts, and spells sent the limbs of the corpses flying in all directions in a gruesome display. When Nyr shot the zombie druid with her crossbow, her keen eyes detected something strange. He was not a druid adventurer at all, but one of the druids of Yester Hill. Then Nyr saw that everything around her was a mirage. The walls of the Amber Temple were an illusion that veiled their true surroundings. The party was still standing in front of the grove on Yester Hill!
When Nyr told her friends what she had discovered, they too saw through the illusion. They realized that they were not fighting Gydean’s former companions at all, but the evil druids of the valley who worshipped Strahd von Zarovich.
By the time the heroes realized where they were, the zombies had been defeated. But one of them did not see through the illusion. In Gydean’s mind, he was still trapped in the Amber Temple.
From the shadows of the temple, a dark figure emerged before Gydean. It appeared to the others as well, but to everyone else the figure appeared to pass between the semicircular walls of black stone. He looked like a lord, dressed in dark exquisite clothes. Barsun noted with dread that the man bore a remarkable resemblance to the wooden effigy in the circle of stones. The others recognized him from the vision of the Sunsword as the master of the castle in the east, Strahd von Zarovich. When he spoke, his voice was like a dreadful shadow that fell upon the listener’s heart.
“Greetings… Gydean,” he said slowly, as if savoring each word as he spoke.
“I have been expecting you and your companions. Know that it was I who brought you all to this land, and I alone have the power to release you. But you, Gydean, have already been released. Or have you forgotten?”
Then Strahd von Zarovich revealed the terrible truth.
Gydean had gone alone into the deepest chamber of the Amber Temple, leaving even the imp Cespenar behind. In that dark hall, he had found the vestiges of the ancient Dark Powers that had granted immortality to Strahd himself. These vestiges had made an offer to Gydean. He could leave the valley of Barovia with all the knowledge and treasure he had acquired, upon one condition. He must leave behind a piece of himself, a vestige of his own soul, which would be bound to this demiplane. Gydean accepted the offer and was released by the mists.
He had abandoned Kane and everyone else he knew in the valley, even his familiar Cespenar. But perhaps the worst of his sins was the price that he paid for his freedom. Gydean left a piece of his soul behind. That vestige became an echo of the Gydean that others had known. It had only some of the original Gydean’s memories, and it would not be able to retain all of its own. Moments of its life would be lost forever, devoured by the hungry mists.
This simulacrum was the Gydean that Kane had known for the past nine years. He went on to discover the Sunsword in an old windmill and stand against a tree blight at the second battle of the vineyard. And now, he had learned the awful truth and the reason that he had gaps in his memory. He was not Gydean but only a vestige of him. He too had been abandoned in this land by the real Gydean, trapped by the mists and left to wander in this dark, forsaken valley.
Rage filled Gydean’s heart at the revelation of the wrong that was done against him.
“I’m going to get out of this valley,” Gydean said coldly. “I’m going to find Gydean. And I’m going to kill him.”
Strahd von Zarovich laughed mockingly and said, “But alas, only I have the power to release you from this realm.”
“Then I will take that power from you,” Gydean replied. He ignited the Sunsword.
Strahd von Zarovich winced as his flesh burned and withered in the awesome presence of the sword once wielded by his younger brother, Sergei. But he also grinned deviously. Using his dark arts, he transformed himself into the likeness of Gydean himself. He also held what looked like a sunsword, casting its own brilliant light. To the others upon the hill they looked identical and one could hardly tell them apart.
Strahd-Gydean said in a voice that mimicked Gydean’s own voice.
“Come and take it.”
5.
High upon Yester Hill, a fierce battle was waged between the two Gydeans. Each time their Sunswords clashed, they illuminated the hilltop with flashes of blinding light. Barsun watched their duel in awe. He held up his crossbow, but he was paralyzed with indecision. Who should he help? Which one was the real Gydean, or rather the Gydean that he knew?
Kane tried to get between the Gydeans to halt the fight. He did not care if this Gydean was a vestige or the original. This was the man he had traveled with for these past nine years. Now he feared for his old friend’s soul. But each time he stepped between them, one of the Gydeans leaped out and bit him on the neck, forcing him to stumble back. The movement was so swift that it looked like a blur.
Nyr watched the battle carefully with her keen eyes. She saw that one of the Gydeans was gaining the upper hand. This Gydean threw up a shield of magic each time the other’s attacks came too close. It was almost as if one of them was deliberately losing the fight. She felt in her heart that something was wrong, but she took aim and fired her crossbow. Barsun followed her lead and fired at the same Gydean.
Strahd-Gydean grimaced as he plucked the bolts from his shoulder and chest. He reached out with his hand and gestured to one of the dead trees in the grove. The tree began to stir and move. Its rotting roots tore themselves out of the earth as the tree gained a twisted semblance of life. The extent of Strahd’s power over the very land itself became evident to the heroes. The animated tree moved ponderously as it took up a position between Gydean and his companions, blocking their view of the combatants.
Even as Strahd-Gydean animated the dead tree, Gydean swung one last time with the sunsword and pierced his enemy to the hilt. Strahd von Zarovich returned to his true form, but now his body was withering to ash from his chest where the sunsword had pierced him.
Yet Strahd smiled, as if a great burden was being lifted from him. In his final moment, he spoke in a voice filled with dark foreboding.
“You wanted… my power……. Take… it…”
Then Strahd von Zarovich was no more. His ashes flew away on the cold wind toward the east.
The heroes watched as the animated tree shuddered and collapsed. When the dust cleared, both Strahd and Gydean were gone. Gydean had left the party, following the ashes on the wind. He was carrying the Tome of Strahd and the Sunsword.
The sword had become a part of him now. During the battle on the hilltop, Gydean and the Sunsword became one in their rage and desire for revenge. As their consciousness melded together, the object of their hatred became an amalgamation of Strahd, the slayer of the Sunsword’s master, and the original Gydean, who had left Gydean to rot in this valley. Together, Gydean and the Sunsword traveled east toward the dark castle that was the seat of Strahd von Zarovich’s power. Their vengeance had yet to be achieved.
Session #4 Rewards
4 Advancement Checkpoints
4 Treasure Checkpoints
10 Downtime Days