Page 146 - Curse of Strahd_Neat

S2. GATEHOUSE If the characters force their way into town using magic
or strength of arms, Dmitri tells his guards to stand
The map of Krezk includes a diagram of the gatehouse. down, hoping to avoid bloodshed, and does everything
he can to expedite the characters' departure.
The air grows colder as you approach the walled set­ A character who succeeds on a DC 12 Wisdom (In­
sight) check can discern that Dmitri is trying to hide the
tlement. Two square towers with peaked roofs flank a
fact that he is distraught. He is grieving over the natural
stone archway into which is set a pair of twelve-foot-tall, death of his youngest son, Ilya-the last of his children
iron bound wooden doors. Carved into the arch above the (see area S3).
doors is a name: Krezk.
The walls that extend from the gatehouse are twenty S3. VILLAGE OF KREZK
feet high. Atop the parapet you see four figures wearing When the characters get past the outer wall, read:
fur hats and clutching spears. They watch you nervously.
The mist-shrouded village beyond the wall is nothing
Cut into the upper floor of each tower is an arrow slit 6 more than a scattering of humble wooden cottages along
inches wide, 4 feet tall, and 1 foot deep. An open door­ dirt roads that stretch between stands of snow-dusted
way leads from the archer's post in each tower to the pine trees-so many trees, in fact, as to constitute a for­
adjacent parapet. Behind the walls, wooden ladders lead est. To the northeast, gray cliffs rise sharply, and the road
from the parapets to the ground 20 feet below.
Two archers (LG male and female human scouts) are winding up to the abbey is easy to see from this vantage.
stationed inside the gatehouse, one in each tower. Four
guards (LG male and female humans) man the adjacent The village operates as a commune, with no exports
walls. If the characters are seen flying or climbing over or moneymaking businesses. Villagers grow trees and
the walls, the guards assume that the village is under vegetables, cut wood to heat their homes, raise chickens
attack and cry out in alarm. Five rounds after the alarm and pigs, and share their food. A few villagers have cows
sounds, every able-bodied adult in the village arrives at and mules, but there are no horses in Krezk. The village
the gatehouse, ready for battle. Krezk's militia consists has no inns or taverns. Characters who are willing to
of four more guards plus forty commoners (LG male chop wood, milk cows, or perform other chores can
and female humans) armed with handaxes. spend the night in the burgomaster's cottage or some
The double doors are made of thick wood planks other residence.
bound with iron bands and sealed shut with a heavy
wooden bar held in iron brackets. The bar can be lifted COTTAGES
with a successful DC 15 Strength check. The doors re­ Krezk's residences are single-story pine cottages with
quire a siege engine to break them open. stone chimneys and thatch roofs. Pigs and chickens are
There aren't enough people in Krezk to adequately kept in indoor pens and coops so that they don't freeze.
defend its outer wall. Every 300-foot stretch of wall is BurAomaster's CottaAe. The building closest to the
watched over by a lone guard (LG male or female hu­ outer gate is the burgomaster's cottage-the largest
man). The guards are trained to crouch behind the wall building in town-but still a modest dwelling. Dmitri
and sound the alarm at any sign of danger. Krezkov and his fearless wife Anna (LG female human
noble) have no living children. The last of their four chil­
BURGOMASTER DMITRI KREZKOV
dren, Ilya, died of an illness seven days ago at the age of
If the characters ask to be let inside or otherwise draw fourteen. Given their age, the Krezkovs are unlikely to
the attention of the guards on the wall, one of the guards have more children-a source of great consternation to
fetches the burgomaster, Dmitri Krezkov (LG male hu­ everyone in the village, since that means the end of the
man noble). His ancestors built Krezk at the foot of the Krezkov bloodline.
abbey after Strahd's armies conquered the valley. The burgomaster's cottage has a wine cellar (currently
Dmitri is a lord and expects to be treated like one. empty) and lots of space for pigpens and chicken coops.
He places the safety·of his village above the welfare of Behind the cottage is a graveyard where deceased mem­
strangers. He has seen adventurers before and assumes bers of the Krezkov family are interred. Dmitri and An­
that the characters are Strahd's allies or enemies; either na's four children, all of whom died of illness, are buried
way, their presence spells trouble for Krezk. Dmitri here. Several of the family caskets are empty, their
.
isn't prepared to shelter Strahd's enemies any more contents stolen in the night by the Abbot's mongrelfolk
than he is willing to humor Strahd's allies. The only gtavediggers (see area S6). Ilya's plot is fresh and undis-
·
way the characters can earn his favor is to help Krezk .. ·-turbed, since he was interred o n ly four days �go.
in some way, whereupon Dmitri is required by his oath . ' . Commoner c�ita�s. A typical cottage is only 200.
.
of office and his honor as a Barovian noble to show sq�are feet yet co�t�in;:; td4; adqlts (L9 ma!<_:: an.ii. fem,.�!� ...
them hospitality. If the:ch;aracte�s ask what they can do, .. : hurrian.comniQn.ers), ll:i4 -.i cbili:freii (J;,G male <;1nd .- ..
.
Dmitri asks them t.o secure a wagonload of wine from :. female: hu�a�,rior\c!orribatarits), plus:the.f;am\ly'� pigs,·
the Wizard of Wines wfnery.to.the south. His people • ; . hares, and chickens. • • • •f • '. .... '. ·, ; _;:.,. . . • ' ..
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have been w_ithotJ.t \Vj n � fcir days, and the next delivery' is . : . Eye_;y ·<;ot.tage\as i.t� o�n:gr�v�t�ft�lie,r�'.family
.
long overdue.' · : members.are interred . All the ca��ets plaP;ted in the
.
:
CHAPTER.8 I THE VILLAGE OF KREZK