Session 50 - Assault on Ravenloft

The plans are made. The party agree to use the secret entrance to sneak into Ravenloft and try to take down some of Strahd's minions allowing for a thinned herd for the final confrontation. 

Ismark leads them out from Barovia at Dawn, they take the forest route to the South East cliff face under Ravenloft and are able to find the rock formation that looks like a Bear sitting on its haunches from behind as described by Sergei. Sure enough there is a very well concealed natural fissure in the rocks behind the Bear.

The cave is about 3ft wide and varies from 5-7ft tall in places, they head in and travel about 500ft where the cave opens into a larger cavern, a elevator which is up at the moment, is at the end of the cavern, and there is evidence that someone has made a very small fire, and camped out in here. 

Searching around they find a scrap of paper which scrawled in what looks like charcoal from the fire are the words

N - Se

S - St

E - K & Q

The party ponder this for some time before deciding that the first letter is a direction marker, and the other letters are Sergei, Strahd and King and Queen.

They work the elevator and 2 at a time they go up and into the crypts. The Small room they come out in has a fake tomb with plaster bones on the top of it. 

They send Snowy owl to scope out the crypts and work out that the scrap of parchment indeed showed the locations of Strahd, Sergei and the King and Queen's tombs. 

Strahds tomb has a heavy portcullis blocking the entry

Sneaking around the party decide to peer into Strahds tomb and they see his coffin on a stand in the center of the room and three mounds of dirt comprising what they assume are three fresh graves in alcoves at the back of the room. 

Baromar and Gnarvick position themselves to open the portcullis using mage hand and as they sneak around, the unthinkable happens, they trip two traps, Gnarvick triggers a firebolt trap and is able to get out of the way in the nick of time. Baromar is not so lucky and triggers a thunderwave trap alerting well more or less the whole castle to their presence. 

The piles of dirt start to move and slowly the three brides of Strahd make their way up and out of the graves as the portcullis opens Strahd throws the lid off his coffin and stands to face his aggressors.

Denzel runs in with his Scimitar blazing and swings at Strahd then gets the hell out of there. Ismark attacks, and Strahd says to him "You Serve me, how dare you attack me" 

Ismark retorts with "You stole my sister"

Strahd "Tatyana Belongs to me, she may be the flesh of your sister but her Soul belongs to and with me for eternity"

Ismark moves back almost clearing the room as Snowball casts bane on the collection of Vampires. Grimdur runs in and attacks Strahd with the sun saber prompting a response from Strahd of "Nice to, do you know how to play with that?" and "You have come a long way since our dinner party"

Anastrasia grabs Grimdur and holds him while Strahd bites him regaining some of his lost health. Pallas casts the Sunburst spell via the scroll, and Strahd attempts to counter it, but fails the bright light damaging his wives and him somewhat. 

Ludmilla heads towards the door and looks hungrily at Ismark and..........