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“We could try to find someone else in Vallaki to take care of them,” Ismark suggested. They did not want to go back to their parents. They told the adventurers that their parents had sold them to the hags in exchange for dream pastries. The two children were Freek and Myrtle, from Vallaki.
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From the top of the windmill’s hill they could see a ring of four squat megaliths at the forest’s edge, ravens wheeling in the air above them. The domed attic was filled with old machinery, and the mangled, gnawed-upon body of Grosk the half-orc gladiator was somewhat strewn about the place. Of Barovia and took power over the people in the name of a just god, but with none of a god's grace or justice.Exploring the rest of the Old Bonegrinder turned up six pieces of cheap jewelry stuffed in a moldy straw mattress. This exhaustion can't be removed while the creature is in the fog.
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Even flying creatures are subject to the fog's effects, which are as follows: A creature that starts its turn in the fog must succeed on a DC 20 Constitution saving throw or gain one level of exhaustion (see appendix A in the Player's Handbook). MISTS OF RAVENLOFT A deadly fog surrounds the land of Barovia and engulfs any creature that tries to leave. The dark silhouette of Castle Ravenloft looks down on this village from its perch atop a 1,000-foot-high column of rock known as the Pillarstone of Ravenloft. East of the mountains lies the village of Barovia, shrouded in mist and bereft of walls and defenses. Between Vallaki and Krezk lie the ruins of Argynvostholt, the fallen bastion of a knightly order called the Order of the Silver Dragon, wiped out by Strahd and his army. West of the two mountains, atop a hill, stands the Abbey of Saint Markovia, around which the Barovi ans built a walled village named Krezk. On the south side of the lake rests the town of Vallaki, enclosed by a palisade. Between these two mountains stands Lake Zarovich, which is fed by streams of ice-cold water pouring down the face of Mount Baratok. Baratok's slightly smaller twin, Mount Ghakis, is mostly bald with tufts of trees here and there. The larg est of these peaks is Mount Baratok, with its snow-cov ered cap and rugged slopes. The evergreen trees of the Svalich Woods climb the sides of the mountains that enclose the valley. A deathly stillness hangs over the dark woods, which are patrolled constantly by Strahd's wolves and other servitors. LAY OF THE LAND Rolling thunderclouds cast a gray pall over the land of Barovia. Not powerful enough to defeat Strahd on their own, the Keepers read ily assist adventurers who find themselves drawn into Strahd's domain. Among these people are the Keepers of the Feather, a secret society of wereravens. Barovians congre gate in the valley's three main settlements-the villages of Barovia and Krezk and the town of Vallaki-for fear of falling prey to wolves and other beasts that prowl the woods. Native Barovians have been terrorized for centuries by the one they call "the devil Strahd." Only a handful of them have the will to oppose him. Nevertheless, the Vistani are willing to sell them for a hefty price. The Vistani claim to possess potions that allow them to leave Strahd's domain, but the potions are false concoctions with no magical power. As a soldier centuries ago, he suffered a grievous injury in battle, and the Vistani tended his wounds and returned him safely to his family without making any demand for pay ment. He also owes an ancient debt to the Vistani people. Strahd allows the Vistani to come and go as they please because he admires their lust for life and their willingness to serve him when he needs them. No creature can leave without Strahd's permission, and those that try become lost in the mist. It now exists within a demiplane formed by Strahd's consciousness and surrounded by a deadly fog. The land now called Barovia is no longer part of the world that Strahd once tried to conquer. Struck by the scenic beauty of his most recent conquest and eager to escape the shadow of his father's legacy, Strahd made the valley his home and named it Barovia after the late King Barov, his father. The serenity of the place was forever shattered when Strahd led a bloody crusade against the enemies of bis family that ended here with the slaughter of hundreds. Balinok Mountains was a slice of heaven to those who knew of its existence before Strahd's arrival.