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# Curse of Strahd: Session 12
## Wine Tasting, Party of Three
### Players
[[Arbane Elkhorn]]
[[Bea Boglak]]
[[Pip]]
### Family Campout
The group has finally arrived at the **Wizard of Wines** winery in the late afternoon. As they approach the vast winery, a figure in the woods catches their attention. It's an old bearded man in a cloak, beckoning them to come over to him. The group reluctantly agrees to approach carefully. He leads them to small clearing in the woods we're a small encampment has been set up. The man introduces himself as **Davian**, the owner of the winery. He informs them that the winery has been overrun by evil **Druids** and twig creatures. His family who runs the winery were forced out and have been taking refuge in the woods for a few days.
![[Davian.png|200]]
*Davian Martikov*
In the camp are his sons, his daughter, her husband and their children. The group share their intentions at the winery, and that [[The Martikovs.png|Urwin and Danika]] sent them here to check on a missing shipment they've been expecting. **Davian** reveals that he is a **Martikov** and that **Urwin** is his son. The adventurers notice there seems to be bad blood between them. When asked about it he alludes to his disapproval of **Danika**, and that he's not surprised that **Urwin** sent someone to check on the winery instead of coming himself.
He asks the party to help them take back control of the winery, by clearing out the **Druids** and their **Blights**. He mentions that many **Blights** are hiding in the **Vineyard**, and that the party would need to be very careful in their approach, making sure to investigate the best path forward. He tells them about which entrances should be open, and what to expect inside. He shares the location of some barrels of wine the party would be welcome to take once they've completed the job of making the winery safe again:
- There are 3 Barrels in the **Loading Dock**
- The **Cellar** Has 3 barrels and several bottles
- The **Fermentation Vats** have wine still fermenting in the vats
He also mentions there are **Swarms of Ravens** in the vineyards that he regards as pets, and that they may be of use if the situation gets tricky.
### The Approach
After a short rest at camp, **Pip**, **Arbane**, and **Bea** decide they would approach the camp, with with [[Ireena.png|Ireena]], [[Yevgeni.png|Yevgeni]], and [[Szoldar.png|Szoldar]] in tow. During the rest, **Bea** finally returned to her rightful age as the **Potion of Youth** wore off. **Bucket** and the others decide to stay behind at camp. A light drizzle begins to fall as they approach the fence and gate leading into the **Vineyards**. They take a close look for signs of danger. **Arbane** noticed shadows moving between the vines, and **Pip** feels a general presence of magic around the rows. **Arbane** quietly lifts Pip **over** the fence, but **Pip**'s feet break a twig as he is set down, triggering the blights around them to close in.
![[WizardofWines.gif|600]]
*Wizard of Wines Winery*
Running towards the winery, **Arbane** uses [[Sword Burst]] to hold off the vines reaching towards them. During the mad sprint through the rows of vines, **Bea** lifts up **Pip** and launches him towards the winery, giving him a 40 foot lead towards the building. **Pip** uses this time to start climb the vines growing up the front side of the building. He uses [[Vicious Mockery]] to distract the **Needle Blights** who taking aim at him. Their volley of thorns missed, showering the wall around him. He used [[Disguise Self]] to turn into a **Twig Blight**, and sneaked into a window above the **Loading Dock**.
![[Blights.webp|400]]
*Vine Blight, Needle Blight, Twig Blight*
The group behind were also being targeted by volleys of needles and thorns as the rushed to the front of the winery. **Arbane** used a [[Fire Bolt]] to zap a smoking hole through the wooden head of one of the **Needle Blights** taking aim at them. **Bea** lowered her shoulder as she bashed into the locked front door, but was unable to knock it down. After a few tries, **Arbane** did a spinning kick to knock it down, and group quickly rushed inside. While scrambling to barricade the door with a few items in the room, a **Vine Blight** was able to reach its arm into the door, showering the room with thorns and hitting the two heroes. **Arbane** slid a workbench in front of the door, while **Bea** sunk her **Javelin** into the frame to jam it, successfully barricading them into what looked to be a **Barrel Maker's Workshop**.
### A Moment to Snoop
Up above on a u-shaped platform, **Pip** encountered a crouching **Druid** man with wild hair and red paint on his skin. Unnoticed, **Pip** watched as it grew a **Twig Blight** out of the end of the staff, dropping it down to the **Loading Dock** below while it watched in anticipation for any intruders to enter through the open entryway. Pip tried sneaking by, making it to a doorway across the space. As he opened the door, a creak caught the attention of the **Druid**, who seemed confused and interested in where this little blight was going. Pip tried to play it cool, and darted down the hallway and into a **Kitchen** unsure if the **Druid** would follow him.
Downstairs, **Bea** and **Arbane** explore a neighboring room which was filled with many barrels. They note that the barrels seemed to be empty and this must be some kind of **Barrel Storage Room**. They ascend up a spiral ramp on the far side of the room, with **Ireena** and the **Wolf Hunters** following. Right at this moment, a **Twig Blight** runs out of the **Kitchen** to meet them at the top of the ramp. **Arbane** takes a swipe with his sword at the creature, who dodges it and removes its disguise, revealing himself to be lil **Pip**, who warns the group of a **Druid** following closely behind him. With this knowledge the group prepares a surprise attack on the incoming enemy, with **Arbane** preparing a [[Fire Bolt]], and **Bea** raging, ready to jump on whoever approaches.
### Surprise Kitchen Party
The **Druid** rounds the corner into the **Kitchen** and had no idea what was coming. A **Fire Bolt** to the face and a wild **Bea**, surrounded by shadowy tendrils, leaping onto him. The **Druid** escaped **Bea**'s grapple attempt and managed to compose himself against the terror of the sight of **Bea** enough to start fleeing down the hall where he entered. Unfortunately for him, **Bea** took the opportunity to successfully land an attack with her axe, triggering her **Sentinal** ability halting his movement completely. The **Druid** yelled out something in **undercommon** and casted [[Fog Cloud]] to shroud his escape attempt. This hardly deterred **Bea**, who used **Reckless Attack** through the darkness of the fog, landing the final blow on the **Druid** killing him and dispersing the fog. She looked in the pockets of the **Druid** finding a small black book with some writing in **undercommon**, and mostly blank pages.
![[Gulthias Staff.png|300]]
*A Strange Staff*
**Arbane** retrieved the staff wielded by the dead **Druid**. Ashen smoke wisped around it, and It was a surprisingly spongy texture. It seeped dark blood-like ooze out of the pores of its black wood as he gripped it. **Arbane** started the ritual of casting [[Identify]] which would take **11 minutes** to perform. After making a successful entrance to the winery and defeating one of the **Druids** inside, the group was off to a good start clearing this place out. It was unknown what else to expect within the walls of this overrun building, but could probably guess it wouldn't be all day-drinking and brunch at the **Wizard of Wines** winery.