The Hunters at the Inn

Walkthrough

Getting the quest

Szoldar and his son Yevgeni sit in the corner of the taproom at The Blue Water Inn in Vallaki, at any hour. You can walk up to Szoldar without any introduction. Or ask Urwin Martikov "Heard anything interesting?" first: he points out the two hunters and says they've been asking which of his guests can fight, and the quest opens at Rumored.

Step by step

1. Hear Szoldar's offer. The Baron pays 300 gp for Old Greytooth, a wolf the size of a horse. Szoldar will find him if you kill him, and you split the bounty. Before you answer you can try Insight DC 14 ("Watch him while he talks"). It only tells you he's hiding why he chose you, and if it fails it can't be tried again. "We're in. Where and when?" moves the quest to Asked. The place is the landing at Lake Zarovich, at dusk.
2. Get the truth out of Yevgeni (optional, but worth it). Talk to the boy mending the bowstring. Persuasion DC 13 ("You look like a man who wants to say something") works, and so does simply buying him a drink for 2 gp, which always works. If the Persuasion fails he clams up and you can't try it again, but the drink is still there. He tells you that Arrigal pays his father for every strong stranger he brings to the lake at dusk, that the wolf belongs to the castle, and that his father will be up on the rise with a bow. The journal moves to The Trap. You can do this before or after you agree with Szoldar.
3. Deal with Szoldar (only after Yevgeni has talked). Go back to Szoldar and say "We know who pays you, Szoldar. Arrigal. The castle." You then have two choices:
   • Intimidation DC 14: "Shoot the wolf, not us." On a success he's turned: he'll be on the rise with his bow pointed at the hill, and he won't fight you.
   • "Then don't come." He stays at the inn and drinks. A failed Intimidation lands you here too.

   Either way, Szoldar isn't among your enemies at the lake. If you never confront him, he's on the rise behind the shacks as a Bandit Captain shooting at you, and he runs once he's below 25 HP.

4. Go to the landing. Lake Zarovich: the Fishers' Landing is an hour from Vallaki along the lake path past the Vistani camp. Find "Pawprints as wide as a plate" in the middle of the landing, between the jetty and the lake path, and pick "Wait here for the wolf until dusk". Time jumps to 19:00 and the fight starts.

   

5. The hunt (greytooth_hunt). Below level 7 you face Old Greytooth (140 HP), two Dire Wolfs and two Wolfs. At level 7 it's Greytooth and three dire wolves. At level 8 a Werewolf (the "Castle Wolf") joins in. In every version Szoldar is added on the rise unless you dealt with him in step 3. Greytooth is Huge with a 10-foot reach and a bite that knocks you prone. His howl (recharge 5–6) frightens anyone within 30 feet who fails a DC 15 Wisdom save, and he shrugs off two failed saves a day. He also has Pack Tactics, so he attacks with advantage whenever one of his wolves is next to his target. Kill the wolves first, and don't stand out on the open shore where he can reach you from three sides. Winning moves the journal to Hunted.
6. Collect from Yevgeni. Back at the inn, Yevgeni gives you the whole 300 gp, not half, and his father's Horn of Valhalla (Silver). The quest ends at Done.

Choices and endings

The quest always ends the same way: 300 gp, the Horn of Valhalla (Silver), and approval from Thistle (+2), Godrick Pendlebrook (+1) and Wren Featherfoot (+1). Killing Greytooth adds a mark to Strahd's attention. What changes is Szoldar's fate:

• Turned, or told to stay home. He survives and stays in the taproom afterwards, grumbling about the empty purse he'll get from Arrigal. Yevgeni says his father wanted you to have the horn.
• On the rise, and he ran. He flees toward Arrigal's fire at the Vistani camp and is gone from the inn. He left his horn on the rise for Yevgeni to give you.
• On the rise, and he died. Yevgeni hands you the horn sadly. Szoldar is gone from the inn too.

Afterwards Urwin's gossip mentions that the ravens saw you take Old Greytooth.

If you're stuck

• No pawprints at the lake. The spot only appears once you've agreed to the hunt or Yevgeni has told you about the trap. Hearing the rumour isn't enough.
• Time jumped a whole day. "Wait until dusk" always waits for the next 19:00. If you arrive after 19:00, you lose almost a full day. Get there in the afternoon.
• No confront option with Szoldar. It only appears after Yevgeni has told you about Arrigal.

Rewards

• Horn of Valhalla (Silver)
• 300 gp

What your companions think

• Thistle: +2 you hunted down Old Greytooth
• Godrick Pendlebrook: +1 you hunted down Old Greytooth
• Wren Featherfoot: +1 you hunted down Old Greytooth

Fights

• Old Greytooth comes down off the hill trail with his pack fanned out behind him, and the howl goes up from…, in Lake Zarovich: the Fishers' Landing: Old Greytooth, Dire Wolf, Werewolf, Bandit Captain, Wolf. Scales with your level.

Journal

Related

• People: Szoldar, Yevgeni, Urwin Martikov
• Places: The Blue Water Inn, Lake Zarovich: the Fishers' Landing
• More in Vallaki: Black Roses, Lady Wachter's Book Club, One Lantern Too Many, Ribbons, The Attic Circle, The Bones of St. Andral, The Cat in the Window, The Count's Portraitist