After leaving Madam Eva's tent, we retired to Roderick's wagon to attempt to find out more information. Among his many talents, Roderick has some amount of gift of his own with reading cards. Several questions were put to him, and a number of possibilities were revealed. In short, the cards suggested that:

Self-doubt and loss of purpose likely drove Gertruda to leave home to seek a wider knowledge and understanding of the world than she was gaining locked "safely" in her mother's home. The cards suggest wherever she is, that realism is a harsh one. Mire is likely to have an important role in finding Gertruda. Wherever she is now, the person she's with is likely to be upsetting to her mother. Unfortunately, her mother seems the sort to be upset by anyone. Madam Eva agreed when we asked her the next morning, saying that what she could see in the cards was that the young girl was obsessed with the fanciful and was currently in a place of wisdom and warmth in a castle or mansion somewhere, either with someone of royalty or who had told Gertruda that he was.

While Doru initially thought what he was doing was right, seeking a relationship with a vampire, the cards suggest that he was very much out of his depth in doing so. There was a bit of groaning as Roderick stated it was a "grave foolishness". The cards indicating Doru's future suggest that he will be caught up in something more powerful than himself, for good or for ill.

Of the items referred to by Madam Eva (the home of a dragon, a dead city, the Devil's bride, and a rich woman with a closet full of bones) Roderick's reading suggests these things were involved in some righteous path in the past. Each was a key to unlocking an important destiny for someone. Currently, they represent control and moving in the right direction, towards a major future win involving something powerful and ancient. Mire wondered if this might mean that someone close or special to Strahd might hold a special power over him.

When trying to learn more about Strahd's goals, the cards suggested that Strahd may be trying to go somewhere to escape the control of forces with power over him. Strahd seems to be looking for someone, possibly someone personal, possibly someone to help him, possibly someone to defeat him. Madam Eva actually had something to add to that. She said that she has personally known the Count for a long time. She says that the cards speak of a sad past in reference to him. While he is currently surrounded by the finest things in life, he longs for something more, for someone.

In return for all her assistance, we gave Madam Eva the jar of pickled ghoul tongues, and the woman was far too pleased by this gift. Disturbingly pleased. In such a way that none of us want to know what she plans to do with them. After ensuring Doru was fed well, the group set off again along the Old Svalich Road towards Vallaki.

A few miles from the Vistani camp, our group came upon a small hamlet celebrating its yearly harvest festival. Music and laughter carried through the air along with the scents of fried foods and cooked meats. Everyone was in agreement that a small detour would not be amiss. All of the villages storefronts were closed in honor of the festivities, and the people were some of the most welcoming I've come across since finding myself in Barovia. Flowers were weaved into the hair of men and women alike, and it wasn't long before even Finrar had a flower crown placed on his feathered head.

A few coins bought rounds of drinks, which in turn bought us information as well. The hamlet is known as Achelia, and like everywhere in this country, even this friendly place has something of a dark past lurking behind it. The Harvest Festival used to be some old pagan sacrifice that would happen on the day when the boundaries between life and death were weakest. Now, it's just an amazing party. The beautiful festivity was marred only by the looming sight of a tall wizard tower from centuries past moldering in the distance outside of town.

For whatever reason, the children of the town were attempting to give us the Evil Eye, then they would disappear into the tower. A few more drinks bought us some additional information: the tower was an ancient structure from even before the arrival of Count von Zarovich. No one lived in the tower any longer, and the village had forbidden going there after several people had disappeared inside never to be seen again. Only screams could be heard coming from the tower at night.

Naturally, we had to figure out what that meant. Because we're nosey and were a touch inebriated at that point. Ireena was probably the smartest among us, as she wished us the best of luck in our monster-hunting and promised to keep close watch on the horses until we returned. Which is probably for the best, after all, since we're being paid to keep her safe.

Once inside, the first floor of the tower was covered in a thick blanket of dust. The stairs led up to the second floor, revealing nothing of interest except a cloaked figure approaching us out of the darkness. Doru was able to tell us that the figure "smelled" of the undead, but the figure said nothing, did nothing. We continued on up to the third floor.

Upstairs, the remains of a rotted mess hall and kitchen remained, teaming with hundreds of rats. Again, Doru proved invaluable. He had a few "words" with the sea of vermin, and they helpfully excused themselves from our way. Looking around was a filthy, filthy thing, that made me disgusted. Ragnar, however, is made of sterner stuff, and managed to find the key to the door leading up to the next level.

The fourth floor was dominated by a decaying library. All those poor books. Again, Ragnar found the "key" to moving on in the form of a magical bookshelf. The damned wizard living there centuries ago had a perverse sense of humor, making the magical key a puzzle game with four books and jokes about their titles.

Up from there was a room covered in white dust cloths. Ragnar, on his finding streak, found a chest in the room containing three scrolls and a small silver dagger, while I found an ornate golden mirror in which one can see the spirits of the dead. Spirits of dead children were definitely in the room. One of them on a rocking horse; the skeleton of a little boy was stuffed in a locked wardrobe. Before moving on, the group allowed me a few moments to offer a blessing and rite over the child's remains (and the remains of a dead bird in its cage). The hooded figure appeared again, toying a moment with Doru before disappearing. It seems to be aware that he's like them? I'm not sure, but it hasn't done anything against us yet.

The next few floors held more riddles. Maneuvering stone soldiers into the appropriate positions, finding our "clear hearts" behind portraits of sin. The ninth floor held four rooms filled with the spirits of dozens of dead children. Mire didn't wait around to investigate these areas, as a small girl pulled her off into a game of hide and seek upstairs. Doru and Roderick went upstairs as well to help keep her safe, while Ragnar and Finrar remained with me to ensure there was nothing important to be found among the souls of the dead. As far as we could tell, there was nothing more than the souls of children in different rooms, some having a tea party, others playing with plush toys.

Upstairs, Mire wasn't having as easy a time... The 10th floor held something of an undead mockery of the ninth floor. While the room one floor below held the spectral remains of girls having a tea party with her dolls, the room above it held angry shadows, reaching out to make intruders one of their own. Where an upset boy had been crying below over his spilled cup of juice, upstairs held a viscous monstrosity. Above the room holding a little boy playing with a stuffed rabbit was an unspeakable creature with the skull of a baby atop the undead corpse of a vulture. This disturbed Doru greatly, as it attempted to... feed on him? It attacked him in some way, and he did not like it. All told, this floor was quite traumatizing, although it was not as bad as the ones to come.

The last room held the remains of the little girl playing hide and seek with Mire. Her tiny hand was clutching the key to the door at the top of the stairs leading up to a set of administrative offices. Under one window stood a desk covered in a thick blanket of dust. Trying to clear some sent up a choking cloud of the stuff, but we were able to find the journal of Sister Allayah. She wrote in her diary that the town had been invaded during a long and grueling war. To keep them safe, the town's children had been gathered together and locked inside the tower with her, and she had been charged with keeping them safe until the war ended.

Unfortunately, the war raged on outside longer and longer, and the children began to become sick as their food and other supplies dwindled. The Sister was able to get out one last message with a terrible request: enough vials of poison were delivered to the tower that the town was able to ensure their children would not starve to death or be taken as spoils of war.

As we finished reading her journal, the Sister's spectral form appeared before is one last time, thanking us for having found her children. The final floor of the tower was neatly arranged with the bodies of 22 children. Their spirits lingered in the room, looking at us with expectant gazes. We recognized some of them from the festival earlier, some of them from the play rooms below. One asked why they had been murdered, another what they had done wrong to keep him from being able to go to heaven. We paused to give the children as much comfort as possible, then set about bringing their bodies one by one outside to the base of the tower. The guards outside work conscribed to help dig graves while we brought the children's bodies down. Happily, Doru listened when he was told he could not just chuck them out the window "since they were dead and would not feel it". Apparently, sensitivity is something that we will continue to work on.

Ireena was rather shocked to find all that she had missed by staying to party with the Villagers. She was not terribly upset, however. The time had been well spent, allowing her to "talk shop" with some of the town's people. She made it clear to the mayor that she was being sent to Vallaki to open trade negotiations, and Barovia Village would be only too happy to trade with them as well. The mayor seemed excited by this prospect and the potential business it might bring to their inn and other establishments.

After resting for the night, we were back on the road with first light. Well, perhaps "second line", as we deserved a lie in, and Ireena had partied rather hard the day before. After brunch, we were back on the road.

I have come to enjoy the company of my traveling companions quite a lot. While we are all unique, I believe we share many similar qualities -- although I would never tell the dwarf that I think he and the elf are much the same in many ways. That would be cruel. In a similar way, I find myself enjoying Ireena's company as well. Somewhat shamefully, I also find myself thinking that I will be glad when we reach the relative safety of Vallaki so that we can leave her there. Not a charitable thing to think, but I have already found myself twice now going out of my way to avoid interacting with others because of the possible dangers it might bring to Ireena, whom we are being paid to protect. It would be wrong either to knowingly or foolishly put her in danger, but it also feels wrong to avoid the walking dead of this land because of "possible" danger.

For example, along the road, we met a skeletal rider. Rather than confront him, we simply pulled over and let him pass. His expression gave no indication that he even realized we were there; he simply rode on. Roderick says this is not an uncommon phenomenon. Those who die within the mists are often cursed to wander them for eternity, always looking for a way out yet never finding one. If not preoccupied with Ireena's safety, we might have stopped to help this poor man's soul find rest. Perhaps on the return trip to the village, we will see him again.

Another example, along the same stretch of road, shortly before setting up camp for the night at the west gates, we ran into a most unusual man. Rather, I suppose, the remains of what had once been a man. He was dressed in rusty, ruined armor, holding a longsword at the ready as he lumbered down the road. I approached him to ensure he meant no harm to our wagon of travelers, for again, if we could simply pass without conflict, that would be safest for Ireena. The man could no longer remember his own name but did recall belonging to the Order of the Silver Dragon. His hatred for Count Strahd had consumed him so that, in death, he returned to walk among the living as a revenant. He asked if we were friend or foe of the Count, to which I truthfully replied that I was new to this land and had never met his lordship. This seemed enough to appease the revenant's anger before announcing his intent to march on the castle and kill the lord of the land.

Once he had passed by, we all took a moment to reflect on what had been said. The man's words were enough to make Roderick recall tales of a silver dragon and his order of knights from hundreds of years ago. Ireena agreed with him, able to remember a legend about Strahd wiping out an entire legion of knights and felling a gigantic dragon from the sky. She had assumed, of course, that was one of the silly stories people told each other to make them afraid of the noises in the dark: behold, the Devil Strahd, he's so terrible, he can slay dragons and other terrible monsters as well! Apparently, there is some truth to this legend. No one knows why they fought, though.

Ireena was also able to recall another legend she had heard about involving Lord Strahd and a dead city. According to the local legend, the Devil Strahd, of course, killed everyone in the town from spite at some imagined slight. Ireena says that she heard more to that story from her father: the burgomaster of the now-dead city did something truly terrible. A young woman died because of it, and Lord Strahd was enraged. Because of the burgomaster's actions, Lord Strahd (somehow) caused the river to rise and the lands to flood. He killed the burgomaster and a priest that aided him in whatever terrible thing happened, and they still haunt the ruins of the town even now. Which sounds a lot like the sort of story she might hear from Ismark on a rainy night rather from her father, but perhaps it is a cautionary tale amongst current burgomasters? Do not cause the death of young women, lest the lord of the land come for you. Regardless, Ireena did not know who the final card in Madam Eva's reading might have referred to: the Devil's Bride. She says that Lord Strahd has several consorts, assuming that the "Devil" is, in fact, referring to Lord Strahd. I shouldn't be at all surprised to find out some fiendish monster truly did reside in this land.

Discussions concluded, we pressed on once more until the looming West Gate grew nearer. As the sun was sinking in the sky, it was agreed that an early rest would not be amiss. The roads in Barovia simply are not safe at night, and the walls of the gate would provide some measure of safety for camp. Tomorrow is another day, and we shall set out again then! Depending on the pace we make, we shall arrive in Vallaki either late tomorrow or likely quite early the next day.