Session 13 — Stolen Bones

The party discovers the "safe city" harbors supernatural threats within its walls. A mysterious figure attacks Ireena during the night to harvest her blood. The investigation into stolen church relics reveals a young man caught between desperation and darker forces. Time is running out—without sacred bones, the church's protective wards will fall.

Pre-Session Recap

The party arrived at the Blue Water Inn in Vallaki, finding warmth and apparent safety after weeks on the road. They secured lodging and began to rest, unaware of the supernatural dangers lurking in the town.

Session Summary

Opening

The party entered the Blue Water Inn at 8:31 PM on a heavily raining evening. The establishment was warm and well-lit, filled with hunters, nobles, and commoners. A half-elf bard named Rictavio stood at the bar with his wine glass, rings glittering in the firelight. He commanded attention with practiced ease, telling a dark foreshadowing story about a master monster hunter and his young student sent to kill a vampire. The vampire came for the student rather than the hunter. The hunter survived but lost everything worth losing. When the story concluded with the statement that the monster fears only "a hunter who has already lost everything," Rictavio's smile did not reach his eyes.

Aleric initiated conversation with Rictavio, asking about Rudolf van Richten and seeking advice on surviving Barovia. Rictavio obliged with five essential pieces of counsel: stay on the roads; fear the night; understand the mists move with intention; be suspicious of kindness; and don't go to the castle. When discussing Strahd, his gaze lingered on Irina with clear recognition of her significance.

Rictavio revealed he knew Rudolf van Richten, the legendary vampire hunter. He was a Carnival Master with a wagon in the Parasitic Stockyard on Vallaki's east side, recently arrived through the Sallage Pass. He kept a saber-toothed tiger named Arabelle for three months—"a terrible traveler" whose stares were utterly unreadable. He released her outside Kresk, and she simply sat and watched him leave.

The proprietors of the inn, noting the party's status as adventurers, offered a bottle of Red Dragon Crush wine for one silver in exchange for potential future services. The proprietor revealed they had a Dusk Elf colony at the Vistani encampment. He also produced Irwin's Reserve, a centuries-old brandy so ancient its base material is indeterminate. Ria drank four sips, each requiring progressively higher Constitution saves. By the fourth sip, she was incapacitated, her head on the table.

The proprietors' two children approached Ria. The younger boy, Brom, poked her and tried to touch her braid. His older brother, embarrassed, had sent him back with a poetic compliment about her eyes resembling "the moon on a starry night in a clear sky just over the horizon." When Ria eventually passed out, the older brother gave her his personal cloak (wolf skin and silk) as a gesture of chivalry.

Rictavio approached the table, impressed by Daisy's genuine interest in his stories. He sat with them and engaged in extended conversation. Daisy revealed herself as a Cleric of Sune (goddess of beauty and passion) from the Moonshade Isles. Rictavio spoke to her with genuine appreciation, noting that truly extraordinary people are those who decided early who they would become.

The party negotiated lodging, securing a room for ten copper (one silver) for the night. They were given room 2C, which contained four double beds.

Middle

During the long rest, Aleric awoke to find a cloaked figure crouched in the open window. The figure wore spectacles, dark boots, and black pants, with white hair visible at the cloak's edge. It held a cross and bulbs of garlic over the terrified, paralyzed Irina. A syringe in hand had just finished drawing her blood. The moment the figure saw Aleric awake, it fell backward out the window, vanishing into the night.

Irina was frozen in silent scream but otherwise unharmed. When Aleric examined the puncture wound, it sealed before his eyes. Most horrifyingly, the two bite marks on her neck from Strahd's earlier assault had completely healed. When Irina looked in the mirror, her reflection appeared translucent.

The party rushed through Vallaki's streets, smiling at early morning pedestrians to avoid suspicion. Vallaki's guards were posting notices for the Festival of the Blazing Sun, proclaiming strict laws: silver weapons were illegal (except "registered" ones); black magic and witchcraft were prohibited; night curfews required written authorization.

The party encountered Henrik van der Voort, the town's coffin maker, carrying supplies to repair storm damage to the church. He mentioned Father Lucian had requested tools to repair floorboards damaged by a falling tree branch the previous night.

At St. Andral's Church, they found Father Lucian, a middle-aged priest with graying hair, observing repairs. Milivoj, a dark-haired, broad-shouldered young man (late teens/early twenties), worked on a broken window while Yeska, a nine-year-old boy, swept the chapel. When the party explained Ireena's condition and need for sanctuary, Milivoj became suspicious and protective, questioning whether these outsiders were vampires or worse. Father Lucian dismissed him to continue work.

Father Lucian then cleared the chapel and swore the party to secrecy with a solemn oath to the Morning Lord. He revealed that the church's protective wards derived their power from the blessed bones of St. Andral, the church's founder and a great cleric of the Morning Lord. The bones rested in a crypt beneath the altar.

Father Lucian explained that he must perform a protective rite each year at dawn on St. Andral's Feast Day. This year, the rite could not be performed: the bones had been stolen the previous night. Someone had broken into the crypt, pried up floorboards, and stolen the entire collection of bones. Without them, the wards would fail at dawn on St. Andral's Feast—which was only four days away. The theft occurred when Father Lucian was unlocking the church; he heard the window break but the thief had already fled.

Closing

The party descended to the crypt beneath the altar. Investigation revealed:

• Large boot prints filled with earth, pale green grass, and white flower petals, consistent with someone roughly Aleric's size
• Gray wool fabric snagged on a nail on the stairs
• Rust-colored stains on the floorboards
• The window was broken from the inside out (the thief exited through it)
• Footprints led from the front door down the stairs, around the slab, and back up

The white flower petals matched samples of a plant called ransom (also called a garlicky plant said to ward vampires) that grew in the church's cemetery garden. The boots came from someone who had been near that cemetery.

When Yeska returned from an errand, the party questioned him gently. He revealed that Milivoj was in the church when Father Lucian told him about the bones, and Milivoj has "very good ears"—he can hear things people whisper in confession. Milivoj had mentioned tales to Yeska about the devil potentially attacking the church.

Father Lucian provided a hand-drawn map showing Milivoj's house in the impoverished northwest quarter. He also noted that when the party roughly pressured Yeska (particularly Aleric), causing the boy to run away in distress, Father Lucian rebuked them sharply. He noted that Ria was more reasonable, and that Aleric had clearly never had children.

Following the hand-drawn map (though Daisy read it upside-down initially, adding an hour to the journey), the party found a leaning, decrepit structure in the impoverished quarter. At the door stood Milivoj's mother—a gaunt, glassy-eyed woman with matted, greasy hair, wearing a faded beaded necklace, appearing to have just consumed a dream pastry from Morgantha.

Milivoj emerged when called—a nineteen-year-old with long, shaggy hair, carrying a three-year-old on his shoulders with twin sisters hanging from his arms. The moment he saw the party, his expression shifted from joy with his siblings to concern. He gently shook his sisters from his arms, set the three-year-old down in the older brother's lap, and stepped out into the rain. His shirt bore a tear in gray wool—matching the fabric found snagged in the crypt.

The Interrogation

Milivoj initially denied everything with the defiant confidence of a nineteen-year-old who believed himself invincible: "I just saw you for the first time today." He started to turn away, but the party confronted him with their evidence: the torn shirt, the white petals, the window broken outward, his keys to the church, the boot prints. He scowled, realizing they had done their due diligence.

When Ria pressed harder, he broke: "Fine, fine. You don't have to go crazy. I stole them. What's it to you? They're just bones."

The party asked why, and the defiance drained from him: "You know what else is important? Feeding people you care about. My father's away. He can't provide for us anymore. And that old woman has been around, getting my mother addicted to those damned pies. I've heard of children gone missing. I'm not going to let anything happen to them."

He slipped — "What do my siblings need for some old bones?" — without the party having mentioned bones at all. He tried to recover: "Father talks loudly."

He revealed he sold the bones to the coffin maker for five gold. Henrik had asked him to retrieve them; they planned the theft together. When Ria offered him five gold to help recover the bones and promised to shut down Old Bonegrinder, Milivoj stared in shock: "You just carry five gold about like it's nothing? That's five years' wages for a commoner." Then: "You're a scary woman. You go from rage to roses in a moment."

He agreed to help.

Key Events

• The Midnight Visitor — A mysterious figure with white hair and spectacles attacks Irina during the night to harvest her blood
• Ireena's Rapid Transformation — Her reflection becomes translucent; her previous bite marks completely heal; she is rapidly becoming a vampire spawn
• The Stolen Bones — St. Andral's sacred bones are stolen from the church crypt; the theft occurred the previous night
• The Time Pressure — Without the bones, the church's protective wards will fail in just four days, on St. Andral's Feast Day
• The Investigation — Evidence points to Milivoj, the groundskeeper, as the likely thief
• Rictavio's Warnings — A mysterious bard provides crucial advice and hints at knowledge of Rudolf van Richten
• Vallaki's Dark Underbelly — The "safe city" hosts oppressive laws, mysterious fires, and supernatural threats

Decisions Made

NPCs Encountered

Locations Visited

Combat & Encounters

No Direct Combat

This session focused on investigation, revelation, and roleplay rather than tactical combat. The mysterious figure attacking Ireena fled before combat could occur. The investigation scenes required Insight, Investigation, and social checks rather than combat abilities.

Loot & Rewards

Memorable Moments

"A monster does not fear your preparation. It does not fear your silver, your stakes, or your thirty years of hard-won knowledge. The monster fears only one thing: the hunter who has already lost everything, because that hunter has nothing left to hesitate for."

— Rictavio, describing the price of confronting evil

• The Midnight Violation — The terror of Irina paralyzed while a stranger harvests her blood; the immediate threat to her humanity
• Ireena's Translucent Reflection — The horrifying realization that she is transforming into a vampire spawn before their eyes
• Rictavio's Knowing Gaze — The lingering look toward Irina when discussing Strahd; the suggestion that even strangers recognize her danger
• The Proprietors' Children — Moments of innocent charm from Brom and his brother, contrasting sharply with the supernatural horrors surrounding them
• Alaric's Shame — Father Lucian's rebuke of Aleric's harsh interrogation of a child; the moment of genuine regret and vulnerability
• Milivoj's Torn Shirt — The physical evidence that connects the young man to the theft; the tension of a confrontation with incomplete information
• Milivoj's Siblings — The image of a nineteen-year-old carrying a three-year-old on his shoulders and twin sisters on his arms, then gently setting them down before stepping into the rain to face accusers
• "You go from rage to roses in a moment" — Milivoj's stunned assessment of Ria after she goes from intimidation to offering five gold in the same breath

Plot Threads

Threads Opened

• Ireena's Rapid Vampiric Transformation — She is rapidly becoming a vampire spawn; her reflection is translucent; her bite marks healed; her teeth are sharpening. Days remain before full transformation occurs.
• The Midnight Visitor — A mysterious figure with white hair, spectacles, cross, and garlic attacked Irina. Its identity and connection to Strahd are unclear, but suggest organized hierarchy.
• The Stolen Bones Crisis — Without the bones, the church's wards will collapse in four days, removing Vallaki's primary defense against undead and dark forces.
• Milivoj's Guilt or Innocence — Evidence points to Milivoj, but his motivations remain unclear. Is he working under duress, acting from desperation, or something darker?

Threads Advanced

• Rictavio's True Identity — His knowledge of Rudolf van Richten, possession of a wagon, and personal interest in the party strongly suggest he may be van Richten himself or a direct associate
• Vallaki's Oppressive Control — The Festival of the Blazing Sun, oppressive laws, and closed gates suggest darker forces control the town's leadership
• Party Reputation in Vallaki — Mixed impressions: the proprietors favor them; Father Lucian trusts them despite Aleric's poor handling of Yeska; Rictavio shows genuine interest

Threads Unresolved

• Who is the mysterious visitor with white hair and spectacles?
• Is Milivoj truly the thief, or is he being manipulated?
• What is the connection between the midnight visitor and the bone theft?
• Who or what is controlling Vallaki's leadership?
• Can Irina's transformation be stopped or reversed?

PC Highlights

GM Notes