Chapter 10: The Ruins of Berez - Curse of Strahd

Chapter 10: The Ruins of Berez. Long before Ireena Kolyana, there was a peasant from Berez named Marina. The vampire Strahd first met Marina in this small village on the shore of the Luna River. Marina bore a striking resemblance to Strahd's beloved Tatyana, both in appearance and manner, and she became Strahd's obsession. He seduced her in the dead of night and feasted on her blood, but before she could be turned into a vampire, the burgomaster of Berez, Lazlo Ulrich, with the aid of a local priest named Brother Grigor, killed Marina to save her soul from damnation. Enraged, Strahd slew the priest and the burgomaster, then used his power over the land to swell the river, flooding the village and forcing the residents to flee. Later the marsh crept in, preventing the villagers from returning. Berez has remained mostly abandoned since. The ruins of Berez are now home to Baba Lysaga (see appendix D), an almost mythic figure tied to Strahd's ancient past. A hermit, she spends most of her time crafting and animating scarecrows to hunt down and kill the ravens and the wereravens that infest Strahd's domain. When she isn't working evil magic, Baba Lysaga sacrifices beasts to Mother Night and collects their blood, then bathes in the blood on nights of the new moon in a ritual to stave off the effects of extreme old age. Baba Lysaga recently stole a magic gemstone from the Wizards of Wines vineyard (chapter 12), in the hope that the wereravens who protect the vineyard will try to reclaim it. She keeps it in her hut as bait to lure her enemies to their deaths. The gem has given her hut a semblance of life. I had nothing left to give but my own life's blood, but it was hers to take. She would at last be my bride. Approaching the Ruins The following boxed text assumes that the characters approach Berez from the north, along the trail leading from the Old Svalich Road. If they approach from a different direction, don't read the first sentence. The trail hugs the river for se...