Widower Once and For All?

Baru again awakened with a start, grabbing for his sword and scanning the room.  Seeing that none of his fellow adventurers were intent on attacking him, he let his head fall back to the bed.  Ralom awoke in the common room but did not see any of the other patrons staying there react in any way.  What was that dream and why is it recurring?   Meanwhile Varrid opened her eyes and wondered how she had drifted off to sleep again, but she felt very good after the events of the dream.

As the sun rose the party gathered for the morning meal in the common room.  Seglun and Grunyar were all for heading out to see the Vistani on the edge of town since there was no armor of their size available elsewhere.  Just as they were about to leave Conrad, the local blacksmith, entered and strode over to their table.  "That gypsy has to go, I believe he has a vampire hiding in his wagon," stated Conrad.  "I'll give you 50 gp to drive him away."  Conrad didn't elaborate on his contention that a vampire lived in the Vistani's wagon just kept mentioning that dancing woman.
The group then left for the Vistani camp, just a mile or so outside of Dundee.   Approaching they heard the sound of metal on metal hammering and rounding a bend they saw a brightly colored wagon covered with iron work: maces, railings, nails, spear-heads, spikes, knives, horseshoes.  Also there were various sizes and types of armor surrounding the wagon.

  They then spied a heavily muscled man with massive arms and broad shoulders working at a hearth.  He appeared physically to be in the prime of life, but his face was heavily lined with creases and his eyes were bloodshot.  His hair and drooping mustache were almost entirely white.  He was dressed all in black and a sooty brown apron.  Varrid approached and hailed the smithy while Grunyar sneaked around in the woods trying to hide while observing.  Arvien moved in to look around the wagon while Seglun immediately started searching through the armor.  Drovic strolled into the camp looking for magic.  Baru and Ralom held back.  The Vistani introduced himself as Raul and offered to show them around his camp since they were obviously not townsfolk.  He showed everyone the armor, the brightly colored Vardo, the forge and hearth.  Arvien noted a ornate white iron tripod, from which a small crib hung suspended, rocked by the fitful breeze.  In the crib Arvien spied a baby, who is deathly pale and appears very listless.  Not even a cry or pule comes from the crib.  "What is wrong with your baby?" asked Arvien.  Raul steered everyone away from the crib when Seglun and Grunyar were interested in purchasing armor from his store.  Arvien called Ralom over to look at the baby and they agreed that something needed to be done.  Raul came over to join them, wanting to distract them from Nikko but as he peered on his son with the heroes he is overcome with grief and says:  "Nikko's mother, Leyla, died in childbirth and I grieved as any father would.  I burned her possessions, as required by our custom.  Her clothes, jewelry, veils, amulets and cards were all consigned to the flames of my forge hearth.  Three nights after her funeral, after I left my tribe to wander on my own, Leyla came back to visit me.  She nursed Nikko, cradling him in her ghostly arms.  After Nikko was sated, Leyla approached me, her auburn hair shone in the firelight, her perfume filled my senses like a seduction.  'Play for me, Raul,' she said, 'Play me a happy song.'  "So I played the violin and Leyla danced with her usual sinuous grace.  In the morning, I woke exhausted to Nikko's crying and found myself alone."
"This has continued every night for six months," continued Raul, "And now Nikko looks deathly ill.  I don't know what to do.  Can you help me?"  Varrid asked about the burning, which Raul explained is required by Vistani custom to release the past, not only for the living, but more importantly for the deceased.  Now Varrid wondered if Raul had missed some small token of Leyla and asked Raul if she could search the Vardo for something he may have missed, to which Raul agreed.
Meanwhile Drovic casts a healing spell on Nikko, he appeared to be stabilized, less pale, but still deathly ill.  He immediately falls to sleep as Arvien rocks the crib.  Varrid entered the vardo spied a scimitar, a buckler and a violin just inside the doorway, and perused the interior.  A small table, a bedroll and trinkets littered the messy interior.  She found some hidden compartments in the walls and ceiling of the vardo but Raul indicated he knew of all those and had thoroughly checked them.  Ralom was still checking for magic items, the scimitar, buckler and the violin detected as magic.  The violin with a powerful aura of enchantment on it.  Nikko showed a subtle lingering necromantic aura.  Having failed at finding anything in the vardo, Varrid asked about the violin.  Raul explained that his mother-in-law had created the violin for him as a wedding gift and he carried it as a memory of Leyla, but it belonged to him.  Varrid noticed that the strings looked suspiciously like hair.  When queried about staying in the area Raul admitted that it was probably time to move on, as most of the townfolk were anti Vistani.  He had come from Valachan and advised against going there.  He himself was from Forlorn.
As the group waited for night, a light rain started to fall, it eventually turned into a cold, steady downpour, with the occasional sound of thunder in the distance, Varrid, Raul and Nikko went into the vardo, while Baru and Ralom gathered under the bottom of the wagon.

Well after midnight, in the foggy rain she approached, a captivating beauty with a dancer's tall, supple curves and the height of youth and beauty.  She wore multi-tiered skirts, anklets, and an embroidered halter, revealing a finely muscled midriff.  Her delicately featured face was framed by a splendid cascade of auburn hair, and her almond-shaped eyes sparkled captivatingly.  She appeared unconcerned by the driving rain, but Arvien then noticed that the rain was passing right through her.  Baru and Drovic stood in awe as she passed by the heroes and into the vardo through the walls.  Inside Raul and Varrid also stood in awe as she cradled Nikko and started to nurse him.  Arvien through open the door of the vardo and Ralom cast channel divinity damage onto the spectre.  Grunyar fired arrows and Seglun jumped into the vardo to attack.  Damage was limited, as expected, and Leyla seemed confused and slightly demented as she demands to be allowed to nurse her son.  Being denied she passes through the wagons walls once again, touches Baru and Ralom as she fights back.  Soon the party overwhelms her defenses, even without Baru, Drovic, Varrid or Raul's help, and as her body begins to waver and fade, she gazed at the group menacingly, her beautiful face contorted in fury and rage and screamed.  "I curse you, murderers, from the depths of my heart!  From this night forward may you know how it feels to be separated from your love.  May you never know the healing of compassion!"  Then she disintegrated as if torn apart by an undetectable wind.
At this the awed party members revived and Varrid immediately asked Raul to burn the strings of the violin.  He admitted that they were Leyla's hair and slowly removed them and burned them in the hearth.  When Ralom attempted to heal the injured party members they found that only minimal healing was received.  "Now we are cursed!" cried Grunyar, "How do we get rid of this enchantment?"   Varrid suggested going back to Forlorn to break the curse.  When asked where that was he indicated it was to the east past Verbrek,  Barovia and Kartakass. It was time to rest and as Arvien checked on Nikko, he still looked deathly ill but was sleeping contentedly.
As Varrid watched the fire and was on lookout she saw Arvien rise from her sleep, awkwardly and slowly, she moved as if in a trance to Seglun, pulled her dagger and stabbed the ground just above Seglun's shoulder.  Varrid rushed to Arvien, restrained and easily disarmed her.  Arvien appeared as if sleepwalking and when awakened had no memory of attacking Seglun, only that damned dream again.  When everyone was back to rest Varrid found herself falling asleep by the fire again.
As the rising sun burned away the cool morning fog, it became clear that the landscape had changed.  The group was on a small island, in the middle of a wide river.  All around, forested hills painted spectacularly in the bright yellow, red, and orange colors of autumn, stretched westward to meet a crisp blue sky and eastward to distant mountains.  Wild birds flew overhead, small flocks of swallows and crows, mostly interspersed with a few noisy bluejays.  Raul and Nikko were here also along with the vardo, but no horses.  The island was a narrow strip of land covered by brush, some evergreens and a few tall sugar maples at the height of their fall transformation.  Ralom was sure that it was not autumn in Mordent when they were just there.  The island was about 100 feet long and 20 wide, the shores were at least 100 yards on either side.  There were docks or piers of some sort on each side of the river banks.  Summergale flew out over the river banks, found a few trails but no people were apparent.  The waters rush by the island, they are murky and shallow.  Broken twigs and clumps of wet leaves are swept inexorably downriver.  Dark slimy, inhabitants appear to be swimming in the waters.  The water is chillingly cold, leaving a hand in for a few minutes numbs it to the bone.  Seglun suggested that Summergale fly a rope to the shore, but Arvien indicates that she wasn't strong enough to carry that much rope, and did they even have enough for 100 yards?  Beside which they also have a baby to deal with.  Raul has no idea where they are, either and fixes a quick meal from his stores.  Riding a log into the raging river does not seem feasible but maybe they could float the vardo.  Raul begins to look at removing the wheels since they would weigh down the wagon's ability to float.
There was a sound of breaking branches and a young deer come leaping into view on the east bank.  It stared wide-eyed at the river, its nostrils flared, sweat shone on its hide. Then it wheeled about, the sound of barking dogs drawing close, and fled southward along the river.  Moments later a man astride a black destrier emerged from the woods.  Although clearly in pursuit of the deer, clad as he was in the greens and leathers of a huntsman, he reined in the horse, shielded his eyes and looked across the river at the island.  "My," he said, "what have we here?  How did you manage to get yourselves stranded on Dead Man's Perch with a horseless vardo?"  The party relayed their story, unbelievable as it was, and asked for help in getting off the island.  The huntsman laughed at their predicament and said that Karina was only 60 miles downstream.  Maybe he would see them there.  At that statement a group of six young men emerged from the woods with six emaciated hunting dogs, covered with cuts and welts.  The young men were carrying packs and were dressed in dirt smeared shirts, brown trousers and vests.  "You sluggards, get moving," he berated them as they took off after the deer.  "They are so inept and lazy," he related to the party as he wished the party a good day and took off after the dogs.
The party returned to working on the wagon and creating a raft from the fallen logs on the island.  A short time later they heard singing, a bawdy sailor's song, coming from upriver.  Soon a tall white sail appeared on the horizon followed by a single masted river schooner.  The party moved to the shore trying to attract the attention of the singer.  As the boat drew nearer, the man at the rudder stopped belting out his tune,  Even before the last note had stopped its echo off the hillsides, the bright sail was being lowered, and the boat slowed as it reached the shore.  As the boat drew up to a small cove, its only apparent crewmember, a man of average size with a wild mane of black hair and a full beard, waved to the party.  He was dressed in a dark sweater and trousers.  "Ahoy there!  Cap'n Timothy's the name. and this is milady, the Virago,  Would you folks be needing assistance?"

DM's Notes:  The heroes earned 500XP for the nights adventures and now have 8500XP, requiring 5500 additional XP to reach 4th level.