Quoted By:
<span class="mu-s">Barovian Legends #2: The Curse of Strahd</span>
...
The carriage had arrived early in the morning. Fionia insisted you venture outside of Vallaki alone to receive it, and it was there as she said it would be: a large black vehicle drawn by two black horses. The side door of the carriage swung open silently as you approached. The carriage did not appear to be driven by anybody, and and the fog seemed to follow it, growing thick and dense as you stepped into the passenger seat.
But the carriage was fast. Compared to the days it had taken you and Ireena to travel from the Tser Pool to the eastern gate of Vallaki, this magical carriage took mere hours. Already you are past that crossroads where the road atop the mountain split west and east - one way to Vallaki, another to Castle Ravenloft.
You're not sure what you will say when you meet with the Lord of Barovia. You don't have much of an impression of him aside from his reputation, which, until speaking to Fiona, was overwhelmingly negative. Will he really help you find your sister? Fiona had said Strahd leads a dull life, and that he has a great deal of curiosity about outsiders. Therefore, she claimed, she could think of no better incentive for him to help you than the promise of friendship. But what if he declines? Are you merely wasting his time?
And what about what he did to Ireena? You won't forget that. Lord, you hope she is safe with Vasili.
...
After winding through the forest and craggy mountain peaks, the road takes a sudden turn, and the startling, awesome presence of Castle Ravenloft towers before you. The carriage comes to a dead stop before twin turrets of stone, broken from years of exposure. Beyond these guard towers is the precipice of a fifty-foot-wide, fog-filled chasm that disappears into unknown depths.
A lowered drawbridge of old, shored-up wooden beams stretches across the chasm, between you and the archway to the courtyard. The chains of the drawbridge creak in the wind, their rust-eaten iron straining under the weight. From atop the high walls, stone gargoyles stare at you out of their hollow eye sockets and grin hideously. A rotting wooden portcullis, green with growth, hangs above the entry tunnel. Beyond this location, the main doors of Ravenloft stand open. A rich, warm light spills from within, flooding the courtyard. Torches flutter sadly in sconces on both sides of the open doors.
(cont.)
