Page 119 - Curse of Strahd_Neat
P. 119

GI\OOF  BLINSS
           N6F.  VAMPIRE NEST                                                                        AND  P1cc0Lo

             This large, drafty room is strung with cobwebs and takes
             up most of the upper Aoor. Stacks of wooden planks lie
             amid several crates marked "JUNK."

           The two southernmost crates contain old junk that
           Henrik has accumulated over the years. The six crates
           in the northern part of the room are packed with earth
           and serve as resting places for the six vampire spawn
           that lair here. If the characters open one of the occupied
           crates, all of the vampire spawn burst forth and attack.
             Teleport Destination. Characters who teleport to this
           location from area K78 in Castle Ravenloft arrive at the
           point marked  o n the map.
                      T
           N7.  BLINSKY TOYS


             This cramped shop has a dark entrance portico, above
             which hangs a wooden sign shaped like a rocking horse,
             with a "B" engraved on both sides. Flanking the entrance   • A headless doll that comes with a sack of attachable
                                                               heads, including one with its eyes and mouth stitched
             are two arched, lead-framed windows. Through the dirty   shut (price 9 cp)
             glass, you see jumbled displays of toys and hanging plac­  A miniature gallows, complete with trapdoor and a
             ards bearing the slogan "Is No Fun, Is No Blinsky!"   weighted "hanged man" (price 9 cp)
                                                               A set of wooden nesting dolls; the smaller each one
                                                               gets, the older it gets, until the innermost doll is a
           Vallaki's toymaker, Gadof Blinsky (CG male human    mummified corpse (price 9 cp)
           commoner), calls himself "a wizard of tiny wonders,"   • A wood-and-string mobile of hanging bats with flap­
           but he has been consumed by despair lately because no   ping wings (price 9 cp)
           one seems to like him or want his toys. His fascination   • A wind-up musical merr - go-round with figures of
                                                                                  y
           for eerie playthings causes most other locals to avoid   snarling wolves chasing children in place of prancing
           him. The burgomaster enables Blinsky to stay in busi­  horses (price 9 sp)
           ness by giving him a couple of gold pieces a month to   A ventriloquist's dummy that looks like Strahd von
           make festival decorations.                          Zarovich (price 9 sp)
             Blinsky is a heavyset man who wears a moth-eaten   • A doll that looks remarkably like Ireena Kolyana (not
           jester's cap during store hours, more out of habit than to   for sale; see below)
           humor visitors. In the past six months, the only paying
           customer who has set foot in the store is a visitor from a   Ireena Kolyana DoJJs. Blinsky makes special dolls
           faraway land named Rictavio (see area N2), who came   for the burgomaster's henchman, Izek Strazni (see area
           in two weeks ago and bought a stuffed Vistana doll.   N3 and appendix D). Izek doesn't pay for the dolls but
           Realizing that the toymaker was lonely, Rictavio gave   instead threatens to burn down Blinsky's shop unless
           Blinsky his pet monkey, Piccolo (use the baboon stat   the toymaker delivers a new doll every month. Every doll
           block in the Monster Manual). Overjoyed, Blinsky has   is modeled on a description given to Blinsky by Izek,
           begun training the monkey to fetch toys from hard-to­  and each doll has been closer to capturing.Jreena's like 0
           reach shelves. The toymaker has also fitted Piccolo with   ness than the last. Blinsky doesn't know that the doll is
           a custom-tailored ballerina tt,1tu.               meant to.be modeled after anyone in par"ticular. If Ireena
             When he meets new custo.me�s, Bli�sky recites a   is with the party, however, Blinsky realizes that she is ·
           well-rehearsed greeting: "Wyelcome; friends, to the   the inspiration for Izek's dolls.
           House of Blinsky, when" h:}'appiqe�s and �miles can   Von  Weerg's Masterpiece, Blinsky considers himself
           be bought at bargain pi:ic_es . Peinaps' y"o\.1. kn�w a leetle   a student of a great inventm_and toymaker named.Fritz
                                 .
                                                                                           .
           child in need of joy? A lee't!e toy f�r a: girl or boy?"   von Weerg. Blinsky has heard rumors that von Weerg's
                                                             greatest inven"tion-a clockwork mii:n-lies somewhere
           . CREEPY TOYS                                     in Castle Ravenloft. If the characters·seem intent on
           Blinsky believes the burgomaster is right-that the only   going there, Bli nsky asks,if they would be so kind as to
           way to escape from Barovia is to make everyone in town   find the clockwork "myasterpiece" and "dyeliver" it to
           . "hyappy." Blinsky would like to do his part by making   him, in exchange for which Blinsky offers to make them
           sure that all the children in Barovia have fun toys. On   any toy they desire. Because "byusiness" has not been
           display are a few of his creations:               good, he says, he has no other reward to offer except,
                                                             perhaps, his new monkey companion.


           OH APTER 5  I  THE TOWN  OF VALLAKI
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