CoS - Vallaki Ambience
Located close to the shores of Lake Zarovich, the town of Vallaki (pronounced vuh-law-key) seems like a safe haven against the evils of the Svalich Woods, if not Strahd himself. The town lies beyond the sight of Castle Ravenloft and doesn't, at first blush, seem as depressed (or oppressed) as the village of Barovia farther east. Characters who spend time in Vallaki, however, quickly realize that there is no happiness here, only false hope—which Strahd himself cultivates.
Vallaki was founded not long after Strahd's armies conquered the valley by an ancestor of the town's current burgomaster, Baron Vargas Vallakovich. The Vallakoviches have royal blood in their veins and have long believed themselves superior to the Zarovich line. Baron Vallakovich has deluded himself into believing that hope and happiness are the keys to Vallaki's salvation. If he can make everyone in Vallaki happy, the burgomaster thinks that the town will somehow escape Strahd's grasp and return to the forgotten world whence it came. He stages one festival after another to bolster the spirits of the townsfolk, but most Vallakians consider these festivals to be pointless, meaningless affairs more likely to incur Strahd's wrath than to provide any hope for the future.
Baron Vargas Vallakovich is the product of his father, a dour, cruel man named Vargon Vallakovich. Vargon ruled Vallaki with an iron fist, and believed that Strahd’s presence was punishment for the moral failings of his sinful subjects. Under Vargon, Vallaki enforced a strict curfew from dusk till dawn. Public torture was commonplace for criminal activity, including public beatings and whippings. Children showing signs of ill temper were taken from their families and re-educated at Vargon’s training camp, where they were raised to be cold-hearted, broken members of the town guard.
Vargon Vallakovich died young, at age forty-six. His son, Vargas, took his position as Baron at the young age of twenty-one. Though Vargon’s official cause of death was illness, several suspicious circumstances surrounded Vargon’s death. However, the young and idealistic Vargas was quick to rescind his father’s cruelest laws, and few Vallakians cared to investigate the old tyrant’s premature death.
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Creative Commons Sampling Plus 1.0 License.
- Hell Rumble by By Mariusz Jasionowicz - RareSound Production - www.raresound.co.uk +)
- Dark ambient by Empty +)
- horse trap by LukeIRL from freesound.org +)
- echoing steps by ocelma from http://freesound.org +)
- Angry Cat by Secondbody of the Freesound Project +)
- barovia town by tabletop audio +)
- Church Bell x3 by Unknown +)
- Medieval Army Marching & Chant by Yap Audio Productions *)
*) Soundsnap.com license
Image from: Wizards of the Coast