Episode 14

This is Episode 14 of Dice, Camera, Action.

The Party
(Anna) Evelyn - Human Paladin of Lathander

(Holly) Strix - Tiefling Sorcerer

(ProJared) Diath - Human Rogue

The Gulthias Staff
The group holes up in a room for a while so that Strix can learn what the staff does.

Diath stays near the window to keep an eye on the blights. They're very slowly approaching the building. They behave a lot like zombies.

Strix learns that, if she hits someone with the staff, the staff lets her drain that person's hit points. If she attunes to the staff, the twig blights wandering around outside the winery won't consider her a threat.

Diath finds a secret door and creeps through. It leads to a bedroom. He finds a secret compartment in a bedknob. It has a key to the chest in the room.

In the chest, there's a pile of gold, electrum and silver. Strahd's face is stamped on the electrum pieces. It's pre-vampire Strahd. In the desk, Diath finds records of wine shipments.

Strix finishes attuning to the Gulthias staff. Strix's eyes go dark. She is transported away from the winery! She awakens near a tree. An axe is embedded in it. She hears the Friday the 13th noise. There's a wooden statue of Strahd here, too. She wants to set it on fire.

Suddenly, the tree comes to life. There are blights wandering around. Strix can command the blights. Strix realizes that this is a vision - she's still at the winery, unconscious.

Diath and Evelyn aren't sure what to do. Diath knows her consciousness is gone - he has experience with people leaving their bodies.

Evelyn tries to hug Strix into consciousness. It works! From Strix's perspective, roots dragged her into the ground.

She snaps out of it and actually spits dirt out of her mouth. Diath kicks the staff away.

Suddenly, the group notices blights coming down the hall toward them.

The Vats
Diath wants to run. Evelyn and Strix are shocked and wonder if someone cast a fear spell on him. They retreat through the secret door.

Strix goes into the adjoining room. She thinks the blights won't attack her because she has the staff.

Diath suddenly realizes that if the group destroys the staff, it might destroy the blights. Strix really doesn't want to destroy it because it matches her outfit.

Finally Strix gives in and Evelyn gleefully chops it up in the name of The Morninglord. The staff lets out an inhuman shriek and all of the blights in the area collapse and shatter.

Blood spurts out of the staff and covers Evelyn.

Someone in the building yells out, "No!" The group heads toward the sound. They come to a big room with four large fermentation vats. There's a druid here. It looks like she's dumping something (poison?) into a vat.

She is on a walkway above the vats. The group is on the floor below her.

Evelyn gleefully challenges the druid in the name of Lathander. Evelyn uses her boots to fly up and attack her. The group is rolling really bad. Jared had advantage and he rolled a 2 and... a 1.

The druid swings her staff at Evelyn and she rolls a 1. She slips and falls into the massive vat of wine. After much debate, the group decides to let her drown.

Evelyn reaches in to grab the druid's staff, which is carved to look like Strahd. The druid lunges out of the wine and casts thunderwave. The heroes go flying and the cask shatters. The wine pours out and the druid is free.

Diath jumps down, stabs her and actually makes her heart explode. The group applauds.

The heroes go outside. All the blights are dead. They meet the Martikovs, who thank the heroes and tell them that there's more work to do. To get the winery working, the group needs to obtain three magic gems. One gem is at Yester Hill.

A woman breastfeeds her baby as she tells the group about the gems. Diath nervously looks skyward.

Diath hands over the electrum pieces he looted.

Davian warns them about an "old witch" and to avoid her at all costs.

He also mentions the Amber Temple. Diath remembers that the amber doors of the temple were part of his tarokka reading.

The heroes take a short rest, then they get on Mourning Glory and Valentina. The whole group rides to Yester Hill. A bolt of lightning hits the hilltop.

They spot the statue of Strahd at the top of the hill. They want to burn it. They approach. There is nobody up there.

At the top of the hill, they look into the distance an spot a city in the fog. The city appears to actually be made of fog. They feel like it is baiting them. It has a castle with two spires with a bridge connecting them.

The group goes around the circle and heads for the tree. They want to find this glowing green gem.

There's an axe stuck in the tree and a skeleton lying at the base of it.

Evelyn wants the axe. She grabs it. That's where we stop.