On our way back from the Death House, we bumped into the old lady with a hand cart that we had spoken with the previous day. Apart from Ismark and Ireena she was the only one in this grubby little town that we knew. She had been selling pies. Gorek had bought two.
“Hullo Mother.” I called out, interrupting her conversation with a couple of people I couldn’t quite see. When I looked more closely, I saw a small boy of maybe seven or eight years old peeking around the skirts of his mother. I caught the end of their conversation before she turned to look at me with a smile. The parents had been thanking the old woman for escorting their son out of town.
“Hello, deary,” she said. “Well, don’t you look like a sorry bunch.” And I suppose we did strike quite the sight, covered in soot and a couple of us sporting wounds from our recent encounters.
“I suppose we have been a little busy.” I replied, grinning. “But now we’re off to Vallaki on an important errand for the Bergermiester.”
“Well,” she said, smoothing her apron, “what a lovely coincidence.” She looked at us in turn. “I am taking this young man with me to Vallaki first thing in the morning.”
“We should travel together.” I said at once. “Your company on the road would be most welcome. And I have some questions I’d like to ask you.”
“That’s settled then.” She smiled. “I will see you in the market square at dawn. What a merry party we shall be.”
Lunae looked queerly at me and once the old lady had turned the corner shivered into her wolf form and padded silently after her.
A little while later, Lunae returned and told us that she had lost the old lady in the northern part of the town. When I asked why she had followed her, she shrugged and said she was off to meditate. Before she could leave the room however, we were interrupted by Ismark. With night drawing in he was frantic with worry about his sister who had not returned from her errands. Karak was studying, Bastion was asleep and Gorek was setting about one of the old lady’s pies, so Lunae and I offered to go with him to search for her, he agreed at once. Outside Lunae turned to me and told me that we would travel more quickly if she walked as a wolf, would I like to ride on her shoulders?
I have never been more thrilled in my life, not even that time that I met the Silver Dragon. I was more excited than a goblin in a dung heap, (as my brother used to say,) and nodded furiously, my belly doing flip flops as she once again slipped into her wolf form and looked at me. Without needing further invitation, I climbed gently onto her shoulders and sat behind her neck. She growled slightly as I grabbed a fistful of fur to steady myself, so I let go. I immediately had a very strong feeling that she wouldn’t let me fall.
To my dismay Ireena was in the first place that we checked, so without much else to do, we all made our way back to the Mansion House, Ireena and Ismark squabbling, and me sitting atop a Direwolf like halfling nobility. (Which I think I might be.)
The following morning Gorek burst into the room that I was sleeping in and roared. “Let’s get to it halfling! The day has begun, and we should be on our way!”
In all the time that I had known him I could not recall seeing him so animated. He was bustling about us all, trying to get us away to Vallaki. He told us all of the amazing night’s sleep he had just woken from, his vivid dreams and how he now felt stronger than he had done in some time. Encouraged by his renewed vim, we set out to the market square to meet the old lady.
We waited for until the bells rang twice, and I began to suspect that she wasn’t going to appear. Lunae looked at me knowingly and suggested we make our way out of town. Reluctantly I agreed.
Both Ireena and Gorek were keen to get going so as a group we headed out of town on the old road, past the gallows we had spotted a few days before, which were now devoid of any ghostly paladins and headed out into the countryside.
We had been on the road for most of the morning when I noticed Gorek, who had been speaking to himself throughout the morning as we travelled, was looking a little pale. I assumed his muttering was to commit some dedication of his lord to memory. I don’t know much about magic or faith, but I do know that their use requires the utmost concentration. However, as we walked on, I began to pick up words that he repeated over and over again.
‘Pie’ he would mumble to himself.
‘Pie need more pie’. I hadn’t taken any pie with Gorek, but it must have been delicious, because that’s all he was saying.
We crossed a strange bridge, with gargoyles on the pillars and reached a crossroads, one branch of which seemed to lead to an imposing building, like a castle, at the top of a mountain. We were debating whether to detour when Gorek, who by this time looked really pale, started to rummage through his packs and the bags on his mule with some aggression.
“What are you up to Father?” I asked nervously.
“Pie.” Gorek snapped back at me. “I need more pie.”
“Well, I’m sure it was lovely, but there’s sure to be more pie in Vallaki.” I reasoned.
“PIE!” He bellowed. And started tearing into the remaining packs and bags.
“We should see how far we are from Vallaki.” Lunae said, obviously worried about the knight’s behaviour. We told the group that we were going to the top of the nearby hill to scout ahead. Bastion and Karak said they would remain with Gorek, who by this time had removed his shield and war-hammer.
Lunae took the form of the Direwolf once more and we started on up the hill but were soon stopped by the sound of an almighty shout from behind us. I turned to see Bastion sitting on top of the prone paladin with Karak lying on his back on the side of the road. From what we could see, the portly priest was pinning the paladin down to prevent him from running to the castle in search of more pie. Karak appeared to have been brushed to one side as he tried to help.
Red faced, ill formed threats of mistreatment streaming from the holy knights mouth, Gorek was frustrated in his efforts, for as much as he tried, he could not shift the weight of the cleric who had planted himself directly on his chest. Arms crossed and a frown on his brow that would suit a school master, Bastion was admonishing Gorek and telling him to be quiet.
I smiled and crested the hill to see what we could see. There was Vallaki in the distance, thin lines of chimney smoke creeping their way into the overcast midday sky. A lake behind the town like a stone-grey smudge. I thought to myself it would be another three hours before we would get to the town. And then, just at the bottom of the hill on the opposite side to where we had left our three friends behind was the sight of an old lady pushing a cart ahead of her.
Lunae Wolf, with me once again perched on her shoulders, ran the distance to the old woman in no time at all. It was the old lady from Barovia. I was very cross with her and let her know that we waited for two bells in the town square, but she didn’t seem at all repentant. I calmed down a bit and started to let her know that I was just a little disappointed when Dog came charging along the road, (Lunae said afterward that she had summoned him,) closely followed by Karak. Dog slammed to a halt about 10 feet away from the old lady and started growling really loudly. Karak pulled himself to his full height and Lunae shimmered back into her elven form. The old lady took one look at the formidable group that was now surrounding her (and me) and then floated into the air by about two or three feet. As she did so, she sort of blurred a bit, like looking at a reflection on the surface of a calm lake and where there had once been the face and body of a kind old lady, there was now the crooked, twisted body and hideous face of what I can only describe as an evil crone. She shrieked with laughter and then much like smoke drifting away from a fire she seemed to evaporate in front of our eyes and was gone.
We looked at one another, quite stunned, when a small voice came from of the cart. Karak looked inside to find the boy we had seen the previous evening. He was shaken and confused, not really knowing where he was. And there were pies, so many pies. I briefly thought about giving one to Gorek to calm him down, when Karak, who seemed to read my mind, shook his head and started stomping them to bits on the ground. Before long he and I had smashed every single one of them to an unrecognisable pulp, smearing them across the roadway. With a wry smile, we turned to see Gorek and Bastion making their way along the road towards us. Karak and I had dealt with the pies in the nick of time, I thought to myself.
Aside from a brief encounter with a pack of wolves we quickly made our way to Vallaki. Gorek and Bastion went straight to the temple to see if the local priest could arrange care for the boy and Ireena, Karak and I went to the Bluewater Inn to see about rooms, wine and maybe some idea of what is going on in this strange, forbidding valley.
