Side quest The Village of Barovia Level 3

The Fourth Rumour

Summary

Vasile and Petre have traded the same three rumours since the mist came down. They might take a fourth, if somebody made one.

Walkthrough

Getting the quest

Vasile and Petre stand in the street outside the Blood of the Vine in the Village of Barovia from 10:00 to 17:00, unless there's a storm. Ask either of them "Heard anything interesting?" and Vasile admits they've had the same three rumours since the mist came down, and take turns. Talk to either of them and choose "Ever thought of having a fourth rumour?" The quest starts at Offered.

Step by step

  1. Offer them a rumour. They agonise over whether a rumour can be made, or only happens to you. Then pick one of three:
    • "The Baron of Vallaki is bald under his wig."
    • "The burgomaster's old dog Lupu can count."
    • "Bildrath gives discounts on Tuesdays."

    "Never mind." leaves the quest at Offered. Come back with "About that fourth rumour."

  2. Sell it. Three ways:
    • [Deception DC 11] "(Tell it with a perfectly straight face.)"
    • [Performance DC 11] "(Tell it as a story, with gestures.)"
    • "(Just say it plainly.)" always works. They half believe you, which in Barovia is as much as any rumour gets.

    A pass or the plain telling moves the quest to Planted. Vasile plans to start tomorrow with the new one, and Petre wants to tell Goodwife Petra at the well. A failed roll is spent for good: Vasile says you can tell when a story was made by hand, offers you one of his instead (Goodwife Petra's well has a bottom), and you're back to picking a rumour. You can pick a different one this time, and the plain telling is always there.

  3. Let it come back wrong. Ask around. Either of these will do, and once one has told it back, the other won't:
    • Arik behind the bar of the Blood of the Vine, "Heard anything interesting?": he gives it back to you in a word ("Wig.", "Counting dog." or "Tuesday.").
    • Goodwife Petra at the well (8:00 to 17:00), "Heard anything lately?": she has it garbled. The Baron now wears a second wig to keep the first one warm, Lupu counts the dead in the churchyard every night and is never wrong, or the Tuesday discount is only for folk christened Tuesday.
  4. Tell Vasile and Petre. "About that rumour of ours." The rumour went to the church and round by the well before noon, and came home "wearing somebody else's boots". They pay you 10 gp, the whole party gains Heroic Inspiration, and the quest ends at Done (Kip Smudgewick +1, Wren Featherfoot +1).

Choices and endings

There's one ending. Which rumour you plant only changes how it comes back, with one exception: the Tuesday one. Once it has come back to you (from Arik or Petra), go to Bildrath's Mercantile and tell Bildrath Cantemir "They're saying it's Tuesday." Three paupers have already told him so since dawn. He respects local custom, he says, and gives you ten percent off for good: his prices drop from ten times the usual to nine. It's the same discount you can win by haggling with him, so the option doesn't show if you already have it. You can do this before or after finishing with Vasile and Petre.

If you're stuck

  • Vasile and Petre are only outside the tavern from 10:00 to 17:00, and Goodwife Petra is only out from 8:00 to 17:00. None of them come out in a storm. Arik is always at the Blood of the Vine.
  • "About that rumour of ours." only appears once Arik or Petra has told the rumour back to you.
  • Two failed rolls don't stop you: "(Just say it plainly.)" always plants it.
  • Bildrath's shop is shut at night, and he only mentions Tuesday if that's the rumour you planted.

Rewards

  • 10 gp

What your companions think

  • Kip Smudgewick: +1 you planted a rumour for Vasile and Petre
  • Wren Featherfoot: +1 you planted a rumour for Vasile and Petre

Journal

Every journal entry and hint

Offered: Vasile and Petre have traded the same three rumours outside the Blood of the Vine for years, in turns. Neither thinks a rumour can be made; they think it happens to you. They might be talked round.
Hint: Talk to Vasile and Petre outside the Blood of the Vine in the village and offer them a fourth rumour.

Planted: The village has a fourth rumour now, and we made it. It will go round, and come back wrong; that is how a rumour is known to be working.
Hint: Ask Arik at the Blood of the Vine, or Goodwife Petra at the well in the village, what they have heard lately.

Done (the end: success): The rumour went round the village in a single morning and came back garbled. Vasile and Petre say that is how you know it is a good one, and claim it as theirs.

Every skill check in its conversations
  • Deception DC 11: (Tell it with a perfectly straight face.)
  • Performance DC 11: (Tell it as a story, with gestures.)