Session 7 — Summary

A new soul entered Barovia. Pipwick, a gnomish wizard with necromantic leanings and a toadstool mushroom hat, emerged from the forest, played by Anthony. His arrival was tied to a grim revelation: Vess realized that the dream pastries he had eaten were made from children. Horrified, he fled the windmill, transformed into a deer, and vanished into the woods.

In the forest, Vess encountered Pipwick. Pipwick shared a haunting vision he had received there—an encounter with Strahd himself. Declaring the forest his domain, Strahd cursed Pipwick, banishing him from all forests across the land. Marked and displaced, Pipwick ran with Vess until they reunited with the rest of the party.

Together, the group returned to the Old Bonegrinder. The windmill was set ablaze, smoke and fire cutting into the gray Barovian sky, and a violent confrontation followed with the hag who dwelled within.

What did Pipwick see in his vision of Strahd, and what price was implied but not yet paid? How does Vess carry the knowledge of what he consumed, now that there is no ignorance left to hide behind? When Strahd banishes someone from all forests, what does that mean in a land that itself feels alive and watching?