An old man named Garlan Shepard, travelling in a covered wagon drawn by two dappled grey/black Basuto ponies, had picked up five travellers looking to head north of Neverwinter. The five were Virro, Ignacious Teegan, Edric Storm, Retnuh, and a scrawny boy in ill-fitting plate armor they’d come to know as Red, for his wispy ginger hair and boyish hints of a moustache. The journey led them into the hills of Neverwinter Wood, where a thick fog rolled in and swallowed the road.
As the mist thickened and the trees became mere ghosts in the haze, the wagon was forced to a halt. Garlan could no longer see the road ahead. Retnuh, the half-orc, sat up on the driver’s box beside him and noticed the old man looked unwell. Four days riding through cold rain had left him fevered, and there was no chance a man his age, with his sight failing him now, could navigate these roads blind. The party climbed down to investigate the fog-shrouded woods around them. Red refused to leave the wagon and with some effort, managed to stay inside. The trees here stood ancient and gnarled, their bark black with damp, branches twisting overhead like grasping fingers. Moss hung heavy from the limbs, and the fog curled between the trunks so thickly that the woods seemed to breathe.
Edric cast a light spell on the wagon’s cover to illuminate the area, and it was this glow that let Virro catch the silhouette of a beast among the trees near the road, it drew the shape of a great wolf, with eyes burning a bright unnatural amber
Before he could get a proper look, it slipped away into the brush.
Ignacious, the paladin, noticed the old man’s fever worsening and moved to heal him but he was too late. Garlan collapsed, toppling from the driver’s box and landing with a sickening snap beside the wagon’s wheel before rolling off the road..
The rush of panic that ensued wasnt lost on the ponies, (who the party had named Keneticut and Stanford) and the animals were in a frenzy. Edric managed to get control of them for a time until Stanford broke free of the reigns, this sudden change of balance caused the wagons front left wheel to snap free of its axle and roll into the ditch. At this time Virro went to check on the old man but before he could reach him, the mans body was dragged into the treeline by an unseen creature. the cacophony of gore that followed was the sound of rending flesh and snapping bones. At this point, the gang breaks into a sprint down the road, eventually hoisting Red onto the remaining horse and bringing him in tow. They came to a fork in the road with a sign pointing to The Last Gasp and OLD SVALICH ROAD, Red went up to the last gasp as the rest of the gang followed the Old Svalich Road.
After some time on the road the gang encountered The Gallows Oak Inn, where they met the brothers Oskar Senostrov and Arjun Senostrov and their adopted daughter Adeline. The proprieters agreat to put the gang up for the night in exchange for some labor. Arjun also informed the gang that their coins would be of no use here and that in Barovia, most coins have the profile of Strahd von Zarovich, who they learned is the lord of this land. The Senostrov family seem to have no qualms with the count and though they are suspicious of the mists around them and seem to believe what lurks in them is dangerous, they do not appear panicked. Virro sits down with Adeline, who tells him of the colourful adventurers who have passed through and agrees to add him to the tapestry that she is embroidering. The tapestry contains a line of distinct forgotten realms species joint hand-in-hand with X’s stitched across their eyes? i think) once she finishes the embroidery it slides off the table as the adventurers who have passed through seem to drag Virro’s caricature to the ground with them.
Oskar and Arjun informed the gang of a small camp of Vistani near a tributary of the River Ivlis. Where they heard the tale of the Wizard who challenged Strahd last year and led a failed peasants uprising. Among the peasants incited to riot was Adeline’s Father.
Laszlo, The Storyteller made a deal with the gang that if they brought a missing girl by the name of Arabelle back to camp, they would be able to discuss safe passage beyond The Mists.
The Party went into the tent to meet with Madam Eva, who foretold their fortune using Tarokka cards. The party seemed amenable to a reading of their fate
She unwrapped the deck slowly, her fingers moving with the ease of long practice, and began to lay the cards face-down in a line. One by one, she turned them.
The Conjurer. She frowned at it a long moment. “I see a village that drowned, swallowed by a river long ago. Something evil rules there now” Her eyes lifted to the party. “What you seek lies in that dead place.”
The Avenger. Her jaw tightened as she turned this one. “A house built for a dragon, though the hands that hold it now are far from clean. Corrupted .” She tapped the card once. “Tread carefully”
The Rogue. A thin, humorless smile crossed her face. “Ravens,” she murmured. “A nest of them, where no one thinks to look. What you need is hidden there, tucked away by clever hands”
The Marionette. She turned this one slower than the rest, her gaze softening with something like pity. “A man of music, but he wears two faces, two heads, and neither one is free. He lives somewhere thick with hunger and sorrow. He may yet walk beside you.”
The Broken One. She turned the final card over with a look of resignation. “Your greatest foe in this land haunts the tomb of the one he envied most.”
With their fortune fortold, the party were each given a card that tell of their specific fates
