Side quest The Village of Barovia Level 3

Six Feet

Old Mihail the sexton digs graves before anybody has died. There's always somebody by the end of the week.

Walkthrough

Getting the quest

Ask Arik at the bar "Heard anything interesting?". He hands out one rumour at a time, and "Mihail. Digs early." comes once the stories about Grigore and Widow Ileana have started. That puts the quest at Rumored. You don't need the rumour, though. Old Mihail digs in the churchyard from 8:00 to 16:00 (not in storms). Ask him "Who is it for?" and then "How do I know there'll be somebody?", or, after the rumour, "Arik says you dig your graves early." The quest moves to Asked.

Step by step

  1. Hear Mihail out. For forty years a woman's voice has come up the village well at night and said a name, and by the end of the week someone fills the grave he digs. This week's name is Petra, his sister. A one-try [Insight DC 12] "(Does he know who the woman is?)" gets him to say "Ask Petra about the bride."
  2. Ask Goodwife Petra. Goodwife Petra carries water between the well and the east road from 8:00 to 17:00. "Your brother Mihail is worried about you." gets the story of Zinaida, who went down the well forty years ago rather than marry the man the castle sent. The quest moves to The Bride. This step is optional, but it lets you calm Zinaida in step 4 without a roll.
  3. Go down the well. Examine the names scratched on the well's lip, by the well in the square. At night you can lean over and hear her ask for a grave. [Athletics DC 13] "(Climb down the rope to the bottom.)" can be tried again if you fall in. At the bottom you find her bones in her veil, and the quest moves to Raised. When you climb out, Zinaida is standing behind you.
  4. Calm her or fight her.
    • If Petra told you the story, "Zinaida. Nobody's marrying you to anyone. We're taking you to a grave. Your own." calms her with no roll.
    • [Persuasion DC 14] "We're not the castle's..." is one try; failing it starts the fight.
    • "(Stand your ground.)" starts the fight.

    The fight: at level 4 or higher, Zinaida (Banshee), 2 × Specter and 2 × Shadow (1,700 XP); at level 3, Zinaida and two shadows (1,300 XP); below that, Zinaida (40 HP) and one shadow. Her once-a-day Deathly Wail can drop anyone at 25 HP or less straight to 0, so heal people up before they get that low. She resists weapon damage and most elements and is immune to cold, necrotic and poison, while the shadows are vulnerable to radiant damage.

  5. Bury her. Go to the grave Mihail dug this week by the churchyard's east wall and choose "Lay her in it." Mihail cuts ZINAIDA on the back of his sister's board, fills the grave in, and gives you her 60 gp of silver coins and the little blue stone she wore with them, with a wind shut up in it: an Elemental Gem (Blue Sapphire) (Liriel +2, Godrick +2, Thistle +1, Wren +1). The quest ends at Buried.

Choices and endings

There's one ending; the only choice is whether Zinaida comes quietly. Afterwards Mihail stops digging graves ahead of time, and Petra keeps carrying water and coming home.

If you're stuck

The well's names and the open grave only respond once Mihail has told you the story (the quest is past Rumored). The grave does nothing until Zinaida has been calmed or beaten.

Rewards

What your companions think

  • Liriel Dawnsong: +2 you buried the bride in the well
  • Godrick Pendlebrook: +2 you buried the bride in the well
  • Thistle: +1 you buried the bride in the well
  • Wren Featherfoot: +1 you buried the bride in the well

Fights

By party level (the first line your party fits is the fight you get)

Journal

Every journal entry and hint

Rumored: Arik says Old Mihail the sexton digs his graves early. Nobody in the village asks him who they're for, because by the end of the week there's always somebody.
Hint: Ask Old Mihail, who digs in the village churchyard by day, who his new grave is for.

Asked: Every week a woman's voice comes up the village well at night and says a name. Mihail digs, and by the end of the week there is somebody to put in the grave. He has done it for forty years. This week's name is Petra: his sister, Goodwife Petra, who carries water from that well every day.
Hint: Ask the village's older women about the woman in the well (Goodwife Petra remembers), or look closely at the well in the village square.

The Bride: Forty years ago a girl called Zinaida went down the village well on the night before her wedding rather than marry the man the castle sent for her. Nobody ever brought her up. Nobody ever buried her.
Hint: Go down the village well and bring up what's left of Zinaida.

Raised: We brought up what was left of Zinaida from the silt at the bottom of the well, wrapped in her veil. She came up behind us.
Hint: Lay Zinaida in the grave Old Mihail dug this week, in the churchyard.

Buried (the end: success): Zinaida is in the grave Old Mihail dug for his sister. It was always for her: every grave he dug for forty years was for her, and nobody ever put her in one. Petra carried water this morning, and came home.

Every skill check in its conversations
  • Insight DC 12: Study him properly.
  • Insight DC 12: (Does he know who the woman is?)
  • Athletics DC 13: (Climb down the rope to the bottom.)
  • Persuasion DC 14: We're not the castle's. We're taking you to a grave, a real one.