So, this section of the adventure served to give a (temporary) resolution to the Ireena quest: she would stay with the Burgomaster until the players found a better way of protecting her.Curse of Strahd is a fairly free-form adventure where the characters are drawn into Barovia and must defeat Strahd to escape.
![the abbot curse of strahd the abbot curse of strahd](https://pbs.twimg.com/media/ErO89D0XYAI3Of2.jpg)
They’re there to give you material with which to run the adventure, but the adventure doesn’t require you to use them. You can successfully run the adventure without going to the majority of the locations. That’s something to keep in mind when running Curse of Strahd: there are areas that the players will only touch upon lightly. We get echoes of the Island of Dr Moreau and Frankenstein here, although my group didn’t explore it much. The abbot is fascinating: a fallen deva who Strahd has made quite mad. I find these stories of loss to be incredibly compelling if run well highlighting the effect Strahd has on the land, and heightening the desire of the players to defeat him.
![the abbot curse of strahd the abbot curse of strahd](https://64.media.tumblr.com/0a12849ee57b7f109ee573fda7645e67/fffd84a2cf311ed3-76/s540x810/a24827ab0612b6e57420decfcb21ad2286cad054.png)
That said, the Burgomaster’s sorrow can be emphasised far more than I did here. The actual village is quite odd: more trees than people! There’s not that much happening in Krezk proper, and it has few defined NPCs to interact with – which means that DMs who are good at making up a bunch of characters aren’t going to be hindered by existing lore so much. Krezk is one of the more challenging areas for me to run. They would go to Vallaki, and there search for an appropriate dress! DM Notes The players returned back to the village of Krezk, wondering whether the abbot’s plan would work, and decided it was worth a try if it could lessen the threat of Strahd. They agreed, as it is wise to not disagree with powerful madmen. He implored the group to procure one for him. The abbot revealed he lacked one thing: a proper wedding dress for the bride. He describes how he was creating a bride for Strahd, and displayed his work: A gruesome creature made of many body parts stitched together. They were soon disturbed by his words, which displayed obsession and a mind that migt not be entirely sane. He was an authoritative, handsome man, and he was happy to greet the party. The adventurers threw its lifeless body back into the well. This creature was not happy to see them and attacked! However, it was hampered by a chain tethering it to the well, and it was soon killed. Investigating their surrounds, they discovered another malformed creature hiding within the well. The gatekeepers then scurried away to inform the abbot of the visitors. They were taken to the courtyard of the abbey and told to wait until the abbot could see them. They welcomed the adventurers and offered to escort them to the bishop, an offer that was accepted by the players. The gatekeepers proved to be strange, misshapen creatures that were part beast and part human. It was not in a great state, with much of the grounds overgrown and wild. Ireena stayed with the burgomaster and his wife as the players ascended to the abbey. The sadness of the burgomaster was explained when the players found the graves of his children begin his house, taken from him by illness. It seemed that there had been screams heard and that none of the villagers had seen anyone except for the bishop. The adventurers learnt from him of strange goings-on in the abbey that stood even higher up the mountainside. There they met the town’s burgomaster, an elderly gentleman who was possessed of a great sadness.
![the abbot curse of strahd the abbot curse of strahd](https://icv2.com/images/article_thumbs/650x650_bce95c5e75060968a8467c15790949136959be6e9ce87ca8414b3ac0.jpg)
The inhabitants of Krezk were overjoyed to have the wine arrive, and gratefully welcomed the adventurers into their village. Soon enough they were climbing up towards the mountain town. The trip back occasioned a couple of minor attacks by wolves and stray blights, but both those threats were dealt with efficiently, much to the approval of the winemakers who were accompanying them.
![the abbot curse of strahd the abbot curse of strahd](https://64.media.tumblr.com/264a7a1d38480a8a9188f08f9beffd02/31a09aa7d02c8e2e-02/s640x960/1a0c9e494f6697aabb91870def98147e28bc21f3.png)
It was now time for them to go to Krezk with the winecarts, fulfilling their pledge to the villagers and thus gaining access. In our previous installment, the adventurers had defeated the druids and blights that had taken over the Wizard of Wines winery.