Objective
Investigate the haunting discreetly.
What the Party knows
- For the past two months, a spirit has haunted the Vallakovich mansion.
- Servants have seen its reflection in mirrors or darkened windows, and have reported cold drafts, strange sounds, and objects that move of their own volition.
- The mansion’s butler and the baroness’ lady-in-waiting have already left the Baron’s employment, too fearful of the ghost to continue working in the house.
- The Baron’s wife, Baroness Lydia Petrovna, hosts daily lunches for a group of Vallakian women, who Vargas uses to prepare costumes and decorations for his weekly festivals. Vargas is desperate to ensure that the women remain ignorant of the spirit’s existence.
- The Baron’s cook, a doughty woman named Tereska, has seen the spirit most recently, and nearly quit her job before the Baron convinced her to stay by (reluctantly) increasing her pay.
Leads
- Talk to Tereska in the kitchen of the Vallakovich Manor
Outcome
Quest Complete
The party discovered the source of the haunting in Session 13. After being visited by the ghost of Erasmus (who wrote “Help Victor” in frost), the party met Victor Vallakovich in his father’s library and followed him to his attic workroom.
There, Victor revealed the truth: the “haunting” was caused by Stella Wachter’s disembodied soul. Two months ago, Victor and Stella attempted to create a teleportation circle to escape Barovia. The experiment catastrophically failed, severing Stella’s soul from her body and trapping it in the Ethereal Plane. Her ghostly presence—desperately trying to communicate or find help—manifested as the paranormal activity throughout the manor.
Erasmus van Richten’s poltergeist has been protecting Stella’s soul from dark entities in the Ethereal Plane, but she is slowly fading. This revelation led directly to the quest The Lost Soul.
Appearance in Sessions
- Session 12 — Received the quest from Baron Vallakovich
- Session 13 — Discovered the truth about the haunting; quest complete; led directly into The Lost Soul