Curse of Strahd

The Martikov Family

If the characters head toward the cloaked figure, the other wereravens emerge from the stand of trees and greet them in human form. They wear dark leather rain cloaks and cowls.

One of them is the current owner of the winery and vineyard, Davian Martikov, who is an old and suspicious man. Until he trusts the characters, he says nothing about the stolen gems but tells them that evil druids and blights have attacked the winery and forced his family to take refuge in the woods.

If the characters rid the winery of its invaders, Davian is grateful. Only then does he tell them that the vineyard's three magic "seeds" have been stolen. He describes them as gems the size and shape of pinecones, each one containing a glowing green light as bright as a torch. For the good of all Barovia, he urges the characters to travel to Berez (area U) and Yester Hill (area Y) to retrieve two of them. He has no idea what happened to the third gem.

Davian's group includes the following people:

• Davian
• Adrian, his eldest son
• Elvir, his youngest son
• Stefania, his adult daughter
• Dag Tomescu, Stefania's husband

All five are members of the Keepers of the Feather (see chapter 5, x). Also present are Stefania and Dag's four children: a teenage son named Claudiu, two young boys named Martin and Viggo, and a baby girl named Yolanda. The three youngest children are noncombatants; the boys are wereravens with 7 hit points each, and Yolanda is effectively a human with 1 hit point (she can't assume other forms yet).

If the characters come to the vineyard looking to obtain wine, Adrian can confirm that there are three barrels in the loading dock (x), plus another three barrels and several wine bottles in the cellar (x). There is more wine still fermenting (x).

W1. Stables

The Martikovs keep two draft horses here and use them to pull their wine wagon.

W2. Loading Dock

Wine barrels in the cellar (x) are rolled up a ramp (x) to the crane on the upper floor (x), then lowered into the wagon from above. Empty barrels are rolled off the back of the wagon and stored in x. The three barrels on the wagon hold Purple Grapemash No. 3.

The south door has been forced open and hangs ajar. It can't be closed properly until repaired, though it can be barricaded.

W3. Barrel Maker's Workshop

Wine barrels are made here. The north door is barred from the inside.

W4. Barrel Storage

The room contains thirteen empty barrels.

W5. Veranda

This veranda is where grapes from the vineyard are crushed into juice. The sliding wooden doors are chained shut from the inside, and the smaller door is barred shut from the inside. Breaking through either requires a successful DC 20 Strength check.

W6. Well

A ring of tight-fitting, moss-covered stones encloses this 40-foot-deep well.

W7. Outhouse

The outhouse contains no surprises.

W8. Storage

Before fleeing the winery, the wereravens took the leather rain cloaks stored here, but they left behind the wooden sandals that they wear when crushing grapes on the veranda (x).

The wooden beam on the floor can be used to bar the outer door.

W9. Fermentation Vats

Four swarms of ravens perch on the rafters but don't attack the characters under any circumstances.

Unless they have been drawn outside, twenty-four twig blights and one druid (NE female human) are also present. If they are here, read:

The four containers are fermentation vats, where grape juice is mixed with other ingredients and turned into wine. The easternmost cask has split in the back, creating a 6-inch-wide, 6-foot-high opening through which the twig blights can pass. All twenty-four twig blights are hidden in the cask, ready to emerge and attack when commanded to do so. While inside the cask, they have total cover against attacks that originate outside the cask.

[image: Twig Blight]

The druid is poisoning the fermentation vats. The three westernmost vats contain poisoned wine, enough to fill a total of twenty barrels. Drinking the poisoned wine has the same effect as drinking a potion of poison. Pouring antitoxin into a vat neutralizes the poison, but it also spoils the taste of the wine. Casting a purify food and drink spell on a vat neutralizes the poison without spoiling the wine.

In addition to her animal skin gown and horned headdress, the druid wears necklaces of human teeth. If the characters attack the druid, she calls forth her twig blights. When that happens, the swarms of ravens descend from the rafters and begin attacking the blights. Each swarm tears apart one twig blight on each of its turns.

The sliding wooden doors along the north wall (leading to x) are chained shut from the inside. The key to the padlock can be found in the office (x).

The single door leading to area W5 is barred shut from the inside, as is the single door leading to x.

W10. Glassblower's Workshop

The stairs lead down to x. The bottles stored in the rack don't have labels. The east door is barred from the inside.

W11. Spiral Staircase

The stairs connect all three levels of the winery.

W12. Ramp

The spiraling ramp connects all three levels of the winery. The evil druids who have taken over the winery use this ramp to move between levels.

W13. Back Staircase

This staircase connects x and W14.

W14. Wine Cellar

In the winery's heyday, the wine cellar was packed with barrels awaiting shipment, but those days are long gone.

Unless they have been drawn outside, five needle blights and one druid (NE male human) lurk in the eastern portion of the cellar. If they are here when the characters enter that part of the cellar, read:

On his first turn, from behind the wine rack, the druid casts a thunderwave spell, which shatters 1d20 + 10 of the wine bottles as it resounds throughout the cellar. The druid then orders the needle blights to attack.

The cellar gets markedly colder the closer one gets to the north wall. Against that wall in the eastern portion of the cellar rest three frosty barrels containing Purple Grapemash No. 3, a fact that is emblazoned on each barrel's side. A single bottle of Purple Grapemash No. 3 lies on the flagstone floor in the western half of the cellar.

The wine rack in the eastern half of the cellar holds forty bottles, the labels of which show that the wine is the winery's Red Dragon Crush.

A secret door between the two halves of the wine cellar can be pushed open to reveal a freezing cold passageway (area W15).

W15. Brown Mold

If the characters open the secret door, read:

Characters who have a light source can see brown mold covering the walls, floor, and ceiling around the archway and the cave beyond. Growing throughout this area, keeping the wine cellar cool, are ten patches of brown mold (see "Dungeon Hazards" in chapter 5, "Adventure Environments," of the Dungeon Master's Guide). The characters are safe from the mold as long as they keep their distance.

W16. Loading Winch

The man is a druid (NE male human) who fights only if cornered. Otherwise, he tries to flee by dropping onto the wagon in the loading dock (x). He then looks for a place in the winery to hide. A character who understands Druidic can translate the his words: "Nature bows to my every whim, for I have the vampire's staff!"

A secret door in the north corner of the west wall can be pulled open to reveal a bedroom (area W17).

W17. Master Bedroom

This bedroom normally belongs to Davian Martikov but is currently being used by his daughter, Stefania, and son-in-law, Dag, while they raise their baby daughter.

[image: Davian Martikov]

One of the wardrobes contains Stefania's clothes, and the other contains Dag's. The desk holds manifests recording wine shipments for the past century. A cursory examination of recent records reveals that almost all shipments are made to the following locations:

• "BV" (the Blood o' the Vine tavern in the village of Barovia)
• "BW" (the Blue Water Inn in the town of Vallaki)
• "K" (Krezk)
• "VISTANI"

Characters who check the oldest records also find entries for "S" (Strahd).

The wooden chest is locked, and the key is hidden in a compartment in one of the bedposts. A character who searches the bed notices that a knob on one of the bedposts is loose and can be removed, revealing the compartment inside. The contents of the chest are described in the "Treasure" section below.

A secret door in the north corner of the east wall can be pushed open to gain access to the loading winch (area W16).

W18. Kitchen and Dining Room

The cupboard holds dishware and eating utensils. The pantry holds cooking ingredients and the winery's stores.

W19. Sleeping Quarters

Davian, Adrian, and Elvir sleep in the westernmost room. Claudiu and his two younger brothers sleep in the easternmost room, where a few toys are scattered about. One of the toys seems to resemble a child's wooden rocking horse, except that the horse is black with wild eyes and has painted orange flames where its mane, tail, and hooves should be. Carved into the wooden nightmare is the name "Beucephalus" and, in smaller lettering, the slogan "Is No Fun, Is No Blinsky!"

The footlockers contain clothing and personal belongings, but nothing of value.

W20. Printing Press

The door to this room hangs open.

Two vine blights and one druid (NE female human) are in the room unless they have been drawn elsewhere, If they are here, read:

The druid and the vine blights fight to the death.

Inside the cabinet is a key hanging on a loop of twine. The key unlocks the padlock on the sliding doors between the veranda (x) and the fermentation vats (x).

The contraption standing near the north wall is a printing press, which Davian Martikov uses to make wine bottle labels. The ink is made from wine and stored in bottles in the cabinet, along with pieces of parchment and jars of glue.

Wine Delivery

After restoring the Martikovs to their rightful positions, the characters might ask them to deliver wine to the Blue Water Inn (chapter 5, x), the Vistani in the camp outside Vallaki (chapter 5, x), or the burgomaster of Krezk (chapter 8, x). A grateful Davian sets his sons to the task immediately. Adrian Martikov brings the three remaining wine barrels up from the cellar and sets them on the wagon while Elvir Martikov secures the horses. Adrian and Elvir make the delivery themselves, but they welcome the party's escort. If the characters don't volunteer for guard duty, Davian Martikov suggests they go along with the wine wagon to ensure its safety.

If the characters escort the wagon, check for a x once for each mile traveled. The wagon is also watched over by two swarms of ravens that swoop down to attack anything that threatens the wagon or the characters.

Wintersplinter Attacks

If the characters leave the winery and return at a later time before dealing with Wintersplinter (see the "x" section in chapter 14), the enormous tree blight (see x) is sent from Yester Hill to ravage the vineyard and destroy the winery.

The characters arrive to find the grapevines trampled and the winery in ruins. Wintersplinter's tracks are clearly visible on the trail to the south. Characters who follow the tracks catch up with Wintersplinter as the blight slowly makes its way back to Yester Hill.

The Martikovs narrowly escape the carnage and flee to the Blue Water Inn in Vallaki (chapter 5, x). Davian Martikov is crushed by the loss of the winery, and morale in Vallaki sinks to an all-time low as word of the winery's destruction spreads through town.