Page 201 - Curse of Strahd_Neat

Y5. WALL OF FOG (area Y4) has been reduced to O hit points, the ritual
won't work. Druids who realize that the tree has been
Yester Hill gets its name from a strange phenomenon destroyed know enough not to attempt the ritual.
that can be observed by anyone who looks into the mists Strahd observes the proceedings, defending the dru­
from the hilltop or the western hillside: ids if they are attacked and retreating if outmatched.

DEVELOPMENT
As you look west into the curtain of fog, you see a white If the characters are present when the druids complete
fortress on a hill above a great city. The city appears the ritual, read:
quite distant, maybe a mile away. The fog obscures all
detail, but you can hear what sounds like the echo of a
church bell. A thirty-foot-tall plant creature bursts out of the statue,
sending twigs and earth flying. The creature resembles a
dead treant with green light seeping out of it.
The Dark Powers have created a false image of Strahd's
ancestral home within the fog, just beyond reach.
Strahd comes to the hill on occasion to gaze upon the The creature that erupts from the wooden statue is a
city, even though he knows it can't be real. The image tree blight (see appendix D) that the druids call Win­
tantalizes him. tersplinter. The green light comes from the magic gem
Any creature that enters the deadly fog is subject embedded in its "heart." The gem can be removed only
to its effects (see the "Mists of Ravenloft" section in when Wintersplinter is dead.
chapter 2). The druids command Wintersplinter to travel north
If the characters ask an NPC spellcaster about this and lay waste to the Wizard of Wines vineyard (chapter
part of the wall of fog, that person might relate an an­ 12). Although the characters might not understand what
cient legend about it. According to the mountain folk the druids are up to, they will no doubt wonder where
of Barovia, there was always a wall of mist near Yester the druids are sending the tree blight. As Wintersplinter
Hill, even before the deadly mists entrapped all of Baro­ travels north, its destination should become clear to
via. The ancient folk called the mist the Whispering characters who have previously visited the winery and
Wall, for within it they could hear the whisper of voices the vineyard. Whether they try to halt its advance is
from the past and the future. They believed that an up to them.
ancient god gave up his divinity to preserve the world Once the tree blight departs, Strahd commands the
from destruction and that his last exhalation as a god druids and berserkers to leave the hill so that he can be
produced this mist. Within it were all his memories of alone. As they flee into the woods, he gazes longingly
the world and all his visions of its possible futures, and at the image of his ancestral homeland to the west
with proper preparation, a seeker could go on a vision (see area Y5).
quest within it. Some students of the arcane contend
that the Dark Powers took a bit of that fog and twisted it BLOOD SPEAR OF KAVAN
to create the mists of Barovia, and that perhaps Strahd's The spirit ofKavan, a long-dead barbarian chieftain,
domain is just a dark memory in the Whispering Wall. reaches out to one of the characters, preferably a barbar­
ian, a druid, or a ranger. Read the following text to that
SPECIAL EVENTS character's player:
You can use one or both of the following special events
while the characters explore Yester Hill. You hear a whisper, a deep voice carried on the wind.

DRUIDS' RITUAL "Long have I waited," it says, "for one who is worthy.
My spear hungers for blood. Retrieve it, and rule these
You can allow this event to unfold regardless of whether
the characters have visited Yester Hill. Even if the char­ mountains in my stead, just like the mighty warriors from
acters don't experience this event as it happens, they the early days of the Whispering Wall."
can still deal with the aftermath. (see "Wintersplinter
Attacks" in the "Special Events" section in chapter 12). The character feels drawn to one of the cairns on the
Strahd travels to Yester Hill, arriving astride his hillside (see area Y2). When the character approaches
nightmare, Beucephalus (assuming the characters within 30 feet of it, the presence of Kavan's magic spear
didn't kill it in the catacombs· of Castie Ravenloft), or (see "Treasure" below) under the rocks is felt.
in bat form.
Strahd's arrival prompts the druids in area Y3 to rise TREASURE
from their "graves" and begin their ritual. When the The rocks of the cairn are heavy but can be rolled aside,
ritual begins, the druids use their actions to chant and revealing a blood spear (see appendix C) lying amid
dance about. To complete the ritual, the druids must Kavan's moldy bones. Any creature can wield the spear,
chant for 10 consecutive rounds, with at least one of but only the character chosen by Kavan to wield it gains
them chanting each round. If a round goes by and none a +2 bonus to attack and damage rolls made with this
of the druids are able to chant on their turn, the ritual magic weapon.
is ruined and must be started anew. If the Gulthias tree

CHAPTER M I YESTER HILL
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