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| Team Rams have reunited the Halvhrest Family |
Session 227- A Return to Barovia Part 77; Borca 4
7/5/2026
Dmitri suggests grabbing a sprig of Belladonna from the Conservatory
to complete the Shield of Ezra icon protecting the children’s bedroom.
Team Rams and Dmitri go downstairs and collect the Belladonna.
Dmitri checks in on his brother Aurek, who is nearly ready to hold
another seance.
Back upstairs, they use the Belladonna sprig to complete the
Shield of Ezra protection icon on the wall of the nursery to reveal the
hidden door to the children’s bedroom.
They enter the children’s bedroom and see the skeleton of
Theodora Halvhrest in a rocking chair. As they walk into the room,
they hear children’s voices, seemingly emanating from the stuffed
toys on the beds.
Gugula receives another vision of Theodora asking for the party to
take the Dragon and Knight toys away from the house. The spirits
of her children are trapped in the house.
Tim and Fecus think it’s a worthy cause, but they speculate it can’t be
that simple. They gather the toys and finish exploring the third floor.
In the servants’ room they find a Bag of Holding in the female
servant’s room.
As they are wrapping up the third floor, they hear Aurek calling up to
them to let them know he is ready to hold the third (and last) seance.
They troop downstairs and settle around the parlor table. As a
preface to the seance, Aurek gives his POV on his and Dmitri’s time
in the domain of Richemulot.
During the seance, all of Team Rams receive the vision of
Theodora Halvhrest requesting they remove the Dragon and Knight
toys holding her children’s spirits from the house. The Spirit Board
planchette spells out “GET THEM OUT”. Aurek tries to ask about his
wife, again, and several dark spirits/entities manifest in the room.
A large, dark amorphous entity manifests behind Aurek and asks him
what he would trade for restoration of his wife Natalia and invites him
to come do further bargaining in the basement.
Aurek abruptly sprints out of the parlor and Dmitri immediately follows.
Team Rams decides to go down to the basement and in the storage
room they thought was a dead-end, an archway is revealed.
They push through the ruins and descend into a pit where Aurek is
crawling around on his hands and knees sobbing for Natalia as Dmitri
tries to hold off the Mara Silvra Banshee.
They defeat the Banshee.
Dark tentacles emerge from the pool around the Amber Monolith and
move to attack Tim, who holds the Mark of the Raven.
After a round of combat, the voice of the Amber Monolith asks who
would trade their soul for the restoration of Natalia.
Fecus proposes the children’s souls inhabiting the Dragon and Knight
toys, but as he and Tim ponder why Aurek wouldn’t make the trade for
his wife’s soul, Elise steps forward and volunteers.
The Amber Monolith seems pleased with the bargain and even allows
for Elise to leave the premises and return when the House recalls her
in its own time. This doesn’t sit well with Tim and Fecus, but Elise
says it's a good bargain and maybe a better fate than she would see
down the road as a fractal of the God-Brain of Bluetspur.
The bargain is struck and the Monolith pushes a body out of its bulk
and flings it across the inky pool surrounding it. Aurek is in shock as
his wife Natalia embraces him on the edge of the pool. Dmitri joins
the two in a group hug.
As Team Rams, Dmitri, Aurek, and Natalia try to leave the house
through the kitchen door, a Shadow Demon and 2 Specters attack.
The Team, Dmitri, and Aurek fight and kill the monsters and escape
the House of Lament.
Out in the open, Theodora’s spirit cuts through the fog, the children’s
Dragon and Knight toys dissolve in a vaporous cloud and the party
sees a spirit family reunion of the Halvhrest’s. Theodra’s voice can be
heard saying thank you as the spirits fade away.
Out of danger, Aurek and Natalia embrace. Dmitri realizes the gravity
of Elise’s bargain and thanks her while shaking her hand. He tells his
brother Aurek that he owes everything to Elise and her friends.
Aurek thanks Elise and introduces his wife to everyone.
Aurek and Dmitri invite Team Rams to come rest and relax at
Esecklae, the Nuikin family estate. They just have to travel through
the Founder’s Forest to reach the estate.
Banshee (Mara Silvra) killed = 1100 XP
Shadow Demon killed = 1100 XP
2 Specters killed = 400 XP
Amber Monolith/House of Lament bargained with = 500 XP
2 CP = 1 XP
13 SP = 1 XP
Bag of Holding
Total XP = 3102 XP
Tim and Fecus each receive 1034 XP
Gugula and Shelby each receive 517 XP
The following members of Team Rams have been touched
by the House of Lament and will receive Dark Gifts: Gugula,
Fecus, Tim, Victor, and Shelby.
