Session 1.5a – Bildrath’s Mercantile

Players: Lyasra, Cassandra
Summary:

• Cassandra enters Bildrath’s Mercantile barefoot, having been whisked into Barovia without shoes. The shop appears unstaffed — shelves partially stocked, nobody at the register
• Lyasra enters moments later, immediately colliding with a freestanding display and sending roughly 1,000 ball bearings cascading across the hardwood floor. She catches a falling perfume vial with her trunk at the last second, narrowly avoiding the only true catastrophe
• Perriwimple — Bildrath’s nephew, an enormous, heavily muscled man with the emotional register of a child — emerges from the back room in distress. His primary concern is not the chaos but a single blue ball bearing (“Bluey”) that his parents helped him count, and which he fears is lost
• Lyasra vacuums up the scattered bearings with her trunk (Perception 22) while Cassandra counts and organizes. Cassandra spots Bluey before it disappears into Lyasra’s trunk and saves it. Perriwimple is moved nearly to tears with gratitude
• With the crisis resolved, Perriwimple attempts to run the shop per instructions left by his uncle Bildrath. He sells Cassandra shoes and a cloak and Lyasra a small assortment of supplies (chalk, pitons, waterskin, soap, oil, whetstone, blanket) at 5x the listed prices — Bildrath’s policy due to the undead situation making resupply impossible

• During the transaction, Perriwimple provides several pieces of lore unprompted:

  • His parents and a monkey named Alenik went on a “long adventure” to keep him safe — he has not seen either in many moons
  • Alenik belongs to a “scary mean man” who never smiles, not even at the monkey. Bildrath hates the man but takes his gold
  • The scary man lives down the street, with Ismark, Ireena, and “Mr. Kol” (i.e. Kolyan)
  • Both Alenik and the scary man have been gone for some time — Bildrath told Perriwimple both are gone now

Key revelations & consequences:

• Perriwimple is established as a reliable source of incidental information — he shares freely and without guile, though his comprehension of what he’s sharing is limited
• The “scary mean man” who never smiles and lives with Ismark’s household is almost certainly Van Richten — his monkey is a known companion. His current whereabouts are unknown to Perriwimple
• Alenik the monkey is noted as missing alongside Van Richten — the two are connected

Key NPCs established:

• Perriwimple — Bildrath’s nephew; enormous physical presence, childlike affect and emotional register. Deeply attached to his parents (absent, whereabouts unknown) and to Alenik the monkey. Counts everything in groups of 13. Genuinely kind and without guile — a useful incidental information source if treated with patience and warmth

Open threads:

• Where are Perriwimple’s parents — are they connected to the undead situation or something else?
• Where is Van Richten (“the scary mean man”) now, and what is his connection to the Ismark household?
• Alenik the monkey is missing alongside Van Richten — are they together