Am I truly a great leader if I could not even save my own younger sister?” Sorrow as deep as if the wound had recently carved into his heart rings through Kasimir’s voice. Even at Saraphim’s compliment that would have made him puff up with pride before, now left him looking cold and withdrawn from the conversation. Or, perhaps too much had happened for him not to change. In the past, Kasimir would have rigidly stuck to only bowing to others, but he appeared more relaxed in his age. “You must be a great leader,” Saraphim said after shaking Kasimir’s hand. Despite some small signs of reservation I could see in his face, Kasimir greeted him with relative ease. I introduced Saraphim to him as a werewolf I had taken under my wing and thought of like a son. We talked for quite some time-catching up on the centuries we had lost and how our lives had been forever altered by Strahd. “I suppose I shouldn’t have had to introduce myself. Especially you.” He ruffles the silver hair growing down the back of his neck. Many apologies for the state of my humble dwelling, for I have not expected visitors from outsiders in quite some time. “My name is ”/characters/kasimir-velikov" class=“wiki-content-link”>Kasimir Velikov. A tapestry of a forest hung on the wall opposite him. I knew them very well, and his expression showed the same recognition. At the table sat a fourth elf who appeared to be a young man, though his eyes held the look of someone who had experienced many horrors in life. Wooden statuettes of elven deities stood in cubby holes along one wall beside beside a table. The hovel had a simple living room with a fireplace and one comfortable bedroom beyond. I motion for Saraphim to come with me, and at the others to stay by the wagon. “However, I believe the only one who can answer your questions after all this time remains inside.” He opens the door carved with a special emblem behind him, and candlelight floods the darkness outside. “If you seek to deliver wine, you must be searching for the Vistani on top of the hill.” The third man gestures toward the glowing tents above us. I came to help deliver wine, and to ask a few questions.” “No, we cannot, but that is not why I am here. Yes, I suppose they would have rather caused my death than be married to Strahd back then, if they knew what he would do to them later on. The image of a young woman with silver hair tied to a wooden stake in the ground flashes through my memory. I regret that we allowed you to be taken in by him, but we cannot change the past.” He has wounded many of us beyond repair, even the land itself. “At last you have come to understand Strahd’s true nature. “I did love him, once, back before he became…this. I clutched the moon pendant in my pocket. “Indeed,” the middle cloaked man said, “it has been quite some time. Their shocked tones and wary glances did nothing to hide their true emotions. The three figures-all men-turned their heads and whispered to each other, though I could hear most of their conversation thanks to my vampiric sense of hearing. At my approach, they asked for my name and purpose in order to judge my trustworthiness. Standing quietly in front of the house, bathed in the warm light of its lanterns, were three sullen, gray-cloaked figures, their angular features and black, flowing hair half-hidden under their cowls. Everything was so familiar to me, yet my memories remained clouded much like the fog surrounding us. I stepped off of the Martikov’s wagon and walked up to the the first wooden house. Even a distance, I could smell the odors of wine and horses that emanated from the central area above. Atop the hill, above the fog, was a ring of barrel-topped wagons that surrounded a large tent with a column of smoke pouring out through a hole in the top. Many, many years ago they would have been elegant, but the passage of time and little care turned them into hovels. Fog obscured the details, but I could see that the buildings featured elegantly carved woodwork and had decorative lanterns hanging from their sculpted eaves. The woods outside of Vallaki parted to reveal an expansive clearing: a small, grass-covered hill with low houses built into its sides. It was simpler to kill two birds with one stone. Saraphim still needed to deliver the toy he bought for Eliza’s niece as well. Now that we had spent some time completing different missions, the Martikovs would be ready to deliver the next shipment of wine to the camp. We set a course for the Vistani camp outside of Vallaki after regrouping at the Blue Water Inn.
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