Esmeralda

Status: Alive — traveling with the party; at Wizard of Wines Winery (Session 16)

A Vistani woman. Monster hunter by training and practice. Associate of Rictavio — whose real name she confirmed is Van Richten — and the last person to have had regular contact with him before two years of separation. She has been using his tower at Lake Baratok as her base of operations.

Appearance and Bearing

Young. Charisma +3. Sassy enough to season SpaghettiOs while explaining the provenance of a severed head in her chest. She arrived at the tower on horseback, slumped over her saddle, and was nonetheless unimpressed by the crowd of adventurers who had broken into her bedroom.

The Wagon

The barrel-topped wagon parked outside the tower was hers. The party broke into it via the hidden trapdoor, found Van Richten's journal page, and then Brother Moro rolled a natural one on the trap disarm and detonated the entire thing. By the time Esmeralda arrived, there was a dead dragon, a dead tiger, an empty chest, and strangers distributed around her furniture.

She asked if anyone had potions. They gave her their last one.

What She Knows

• Her mentor is Van Richten; they are estranged not by falling out but by his deliberate isolation — the curse that kills those who travel with him means he works alone; she has not seen him in two years
• She described Kazan's fate: arch-wizard, Strahd's castle architect, attempted demi-lichdom at the Amber Temple to escape Barovia's domain, destroyed himself, entombed somewhere in Castle Ravenloft
• The Vistani severed head in her chest is Jan — a man who traveled with Van Richten and attempted to steal both the wagon and his pet monkey; Van Richten dueled and killed him; Jan's head was then retained as useful

Castle Ravenloft

She came directly from it. She survived. She considers this an unqualified win. She declined to elaborate further in Session 15.

Threads

• What did she learn at Castle Ravenloft? She survived the trip and hasn't told the party what she found
• Does she know Van Richten is still at the Blue Water Inn in Vallaki — and that the party has already met him and taken all his things?
• Her travel plans: she is going to find Van Richten; the party is going to the Wizard of Wines Winery; these are not the same direction
• She has spells up to fourth level (Greater Invisibility is her fourth-level slot); she is not a healer

Session 19

Van Richten was at the tower when the party returned. He and Esmeralda were reunited after two years of separation. The conversation about the destroyed wagon, the Sun Sword, and Stanley's current status was managed with practiced diplomacy and minimal formal accusations.

She confirmed to Merich (during their upstairs conversation at Argenvostholt) the full story of her history with Van Richten: her caravan was destroyed by him when she was young; she originally wanted revenge; over time she learned what drove him and what the Vistani's loyalty to Strahd actually was; she chose to ally with him and work toward Strahd's defeat instead.

She is now traveling with the party as they explore Argenvostholt. She contributed two attacks (one rapier, one short sword, both piercing) in the bat fight in the foyer. Brother Moro is managing her character sheet; she is described as one of the most potent potential allies in the source material.

She did not know Van Richten had recently acquired the Sun Sword — their reunion was also new information for her. She expressed brief wide eyes and then agreed it was in good hands.

Session 18

Stayed back with Stanley while the party investigated the vineyard and fought the creature in the tree line. The winery is fully cleared inside and out. Her stated intention to continue toward Vallaki to find Van Richten remains unresolved.

Session 17

Stayed downstairs with the cat during the upper-floor clearance. The winery is now fully cleared; her stated intention to continue toward Vallaki to find Van Richten has not yet been resolved since the party did not rest this session.

Session 16

Persuaded to travel with the party to the Wizard of Wines Winery before continuing to find Van Richten — her supplies were destroyed and the gold and company were useful. Celeste is officially managing her character sheet. She cast Lightning Bolt down the winery hallway, killing the second druid and badly damaging twenty-four twig blights in a single action.

First Seen

Session 15 — arrived at The Stone Tower (Lake Baratok) on horseback