# The Abbey of St. Markovia

> From the Curse of Strahd game wiki (it covers the whole game, spoilers included): https://curseofstrahd.app/wiki/locations/the-abbey-of-st-markovia.html. Unofficial Fan Content permitted under the Fan Content Policy, not approved or endorsed by Wizards of the Coast.

> [!infobox]
> ![loc abbey of st markovia 1](https://curseofstrahd.app/wiki/img/shots/loc-abbey-of-st-markovia-1.webp)
> **Region:** [The Abbey of St. Markovia](https://curseofstrahd.app/wiki/regions/the-abbey-of-st-markovia.md) · level 7
> **Resting:** Risky
> **Light:** dim, outdoors
> **Getting here:** the travel map (The Abbey of St. Markovia)
> **Quests:** [Clovin's Audience](https://curseofstrahd.app/wiki/quests/clovins-audience.md), [Mother's Ninth Improvement](https://curseofstrahd.app/wiki/quests/mothers-ninth-improvement.md), [The Abbot's Bride](https://curseofstrahd.app/wiki/quests/the-abbots-bride.md), [The Destined Ally](https://curseofstrahd.app/wiki/quests/the-destined-ally.md) and 1 more

## Overview

A walled stone abbey on a shelf of the mountain above Krezk: a church wing, an east wing of old wards, a bell tower, a cart shed and a walled garden. Built by a saint for the sick and the motherless; kept now by the Abbot and the Belview family he has been improving.

The switchback track arrives at the abbey gate. Inside: the courtyard with its well and a statue of Markovia, the church doors to the north, the wards to the east and the garden door to the west.

**Resting:** Risky: a rest here can be interrupted.

![loc abbey of st markovia overview](https://curseofstrahd.app/wiki/img/shots/loc-abbey-of-st-markovia-overview.webp)
*The whole place from above.*

## Getting here

### Ways in

- **The travel map:** The Abbey of St. Markovia, in Krezk and the Abbey of St. Markovia. It shows once visited krezk or tarokka.ally.npc is ezmerelda or tarokka.tome.region is abbey of st markovia or tarokka.symbol.region is abbey of st markovia or tarokka.sword.region is abbey of st markovia.

### Ways out

| # | Exit | Leads to | Only when |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Down the switchback to Krezk | [Krezk](https://curseofstrahd.app/wiki/locations/krezk.md) |  |
| 2 | The road down the mountain | the travel map |  |
| 3 | Into the church of St. Markovia | [The Church of St. Markovia](https://curseofstrahd.app/wiki/locations/the-church-of-st-markovia.md) |  |
| 4 | The wards | [The Wards of St. Markovia](https://curseofstrahd.app/wiki/locations/the-wards-of-st-markovia.md) |  |
| 5 | The walled garden | [The Abbey Garden](https://curseofstrahd.app/wiki/locations/the-abbey-garden.md) |  |

## Map

![abbey of st markovia](https://curseofstrahd.app/wiki/img/maps/abbey-of-st-markovia.svg)

**Key:** gold, people; red, containers; purple, hidden finds; teal, skill checks; white, exits; orange, traps. The numbers match the lists on this page.

### Close up

![loc abbey of st markovia spot1](https://curseofstrahd.app/wiki/img/shots/loc-abbey-of-st-markovia-spot1.webp)
*Belview*

![loc abbey of st markovia spot2](https://curseofstrahd.app/wiki/img/shots/loc-abbey-of-st-markovia-spot2.webp)
*Belview, the bell tower, a little chime hung inside the great bell*

## People

- **[Belview](https://curseofstrahd.app/wiki/people/belview.md)**, One of the Belview Family: The courtyard (#8)
- **[Belview](https://curseofstrahd.app/wiki/people/belview-sweeping-the-courtyard.md)**, Sweeping the Courtyard: The courtyard, 08:00–18:00 (#10)
- **[Belview](https://curseofstrahd.app/wiki/people/belview-carrying-wood-to-the-wards.md)**, Carrying Wood to the Wards: The courtyard, 08:00–18:00 (#11)
- **[Belview](https://curseofstrahd.app/wiki/people/belview-in-the-cloister.md)**, In the Cloister: The cloister walk, 08:00–18:00 (#12)
- **[Belview](https://curseofstrahd.app/wiki/people/belview-at-the-gate.md)**, At the Gate: The abbey gate (#13)

> [!note]- Who turns up at points in the story (3)
> - **[Ezmerelda d'Avenir](https://curseofstrahd.app/wiki/people/ezmerelda-davenir.md)**, The top of the switchback (#6): when tarokka.ally.npc is ezmerelda and not ezmerelda with the party
> - **[Clovin Belview](https://curseofstrahd.app/wiki/people/clovin-belview.md)**, The abbey gate (#7): when not (abbot struck down and not abbot fate)
> - **[Ireena Kolyana](https://curseofstrahd.app/wiki/people/ireena-kolyana.md)**, The courtyard (#9): when ireena waits in courtyard and not ireena with the party

## What to find

| # | Where | What | How |
|---|---|---|---|
| 14 | Clovin's handcart | [Sack](https://curseofstrahd.app/wiki/items/equipment.md#sack) ×2, [Rope](https://curseofstrahd.app/wiki/items/equipment.md#rope), [Jug](https://curseofstrahd.app/wiki/items/equipment.md#jug) ×2, 6 gp | open it |
| 18 | a little chime hung inside the great bell (hidden) | [Chime of Opening](https://curseofstrahd.app/wiki/items/magic-items.md#chime-of-opening) | Search: Perception DC 15 |
| 19 | a stone bench heaped with feathers (hidden) | [Feather Token (Whip)](https://curseofstrahd.app/wiki/items/magic-items.md#feather-token-whip) | Search: Perception DC 12 |

The containers here also get random magic items and potions, rolled for a party of level 7 the first time you come ([Random Treasure](https://curseofstrahd.app/wiki/items/random-treasure.md)). Hidden finds need a Search (F) nearby; the party's best roll counts.

### Skill checks

| # | Where | Check | Try | What it does |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 15 | a statue of a woman | History 14 | Recall Saint Markovia's story | lore: Saint Markovia |
| 16 | the bell tower | Athletics 15 | Climb into the bell tower | finds Chime of Opening; on a failure: 2d6 bludgeoning damage |
| 17 | the barred windows of the wards | Stealth 14 | Watch through the bars unseen | reveals abbey_of_st_markovia_wards:foundling_treasure; lore: The Belviews |

## Quests and lore

- [Clovin's Audience](https://curseofstrahd.app/wiki/quests/clovins-audience.md): Clovin Belview, the abbey's errand-runner, has written jokes for forty years and wants to tell them once to people who could choose not to…
- [Mother's Ninth Improvement](https://curseofstrahd.app/wiki/quests/mothers-ninth-improvement.md): Mother, the Belviews' matriarch, hasn't left the abbey since she was carried up the mountain as a baby. Now that the Abbot is done…
- [The Abbot's Bride](https://curseofstrahd.app/wiki/quests/the-abbots-bride.md): The Abbot of St. Markovia is stitching a bride for the lord of Barovia from Krezk's dead, and believes a wife will cure him.
- [The Destined Ally](https://curseofstrahd.app/wiki/quests/the-destined-ally.md): Madam Eva's fourth card named the one who will stand with us against the devil.
- [The Waystone](https://curseofstrahd.app/wiki/quests/the-waystone.md): Every night somebody goes over the Abbey wall and down the Krezk road to light the candle at the old sunburst waystone.