Where: The valley of Barovia, in the land of Barovia — they really do say it like that. The castle looms above on a pillar of cliff.
Visited: Sessions 4–5 (two days). We left west along The Road West with Ireena Kolyana.
A sorrowful, jumpy place. People took one look at us and scurried indoors; curtains twitched; the tavern went dead silent when we walked in. Strangers are trouble here — strangers draw the devil’s eye. Everything empties and bolts at twilight. Nobody in Barovia is out after dark.
Places we know
- Blood on the Vine — the tavern. Where Ismark waved us over and told us the truth about this land. Wine is cheap and drinkable; the menu is on the Traveller’s Almanac. The board reads “Dogs welcome.”
- The church — Father Donavich’s parish, tired and hollowed out. We buried the old burgomaster in its yard with our own hands. Beneath it, the crypt that held Doru now stands empty.
- Bildrath’s Mercantile — see the proprietor. Everything a doomed traveller needs, at four times the price unless Sirius does the talking.
- The burgomaster’s house — Ismark and Ireena’s home, where we stayed two nights — and where Strahd came to call on the second. Even indoors, even as guests: this village is not safe from him.
- Mary’s house — Lancelot lives here now, again. Her daughter Gertruda is still missing.
- Granny’s cart — the pie woman, first voice to greet us in Barovia. Her mill is somewhere outside the village. We have not seen it. Based on everything else, we’re in no hurry.
Village wisdom
- Ravens are good luck. Two watched us arrive from a rooftop.
- The villagers still make an old sun-sign — an archaic gesture to the Morning Lord, Fëanor says.
- The dead here are buried fast and the grief runs slow: the whole village turned out, silent, for the burgomaster’s funeral procession.
The full record: S4 notes · S5 notes — or listen to Episodes 4–5.