The Falkenrath Incident

On the night of September 9th a breach was briefly torn between Earth and Barovia that allowed contaminated Falkenrath Pathogens to infect shiploads of military personnel and scientists in a national tragedy that would forever scar the city it was visited upon. This night marked the death of untold numbers when 'He Who Paints the Earth Red' was allowed to briefly extend his influence into our world.

The Falkenrath Pathogen
A bite or scratch from a plague victim runs the risk of turning blood to poison that eventually kills the host and rapidly reanimates them as their memories and soul are fed to Falkenrath's endless thirst for blood. The stages of the plague are:

1) Lightheaded/"Dizzyness" rapidly advancing to discombobulation as the poisoned blood attacks specific brain functions while awakening others. This will continue throughout the other steps until the victim no longer knows who they are.

2) Bleeding from the extremities; the blood thins and begins to leak through thin membranes of the body specifically near the gums and fingernails followed by the eyes and other orifices. Early sign of infection is the taste of copper.

3) Rapid Calcification in the mouth and hands causing extreme growth of the nails and teeth. Patients report extreme discomfort as the bones of their body dramatically shift in preparation for the next stage.

4) Coma/Death after expending all energy from the pain of the rapid mutations the victim falls unconscious and either dies to becomes a vampire spawn under Falkenrath's control or becomes a host to 1d4 vampire bats.

P. Parker Field Report; September 9th, 1997
Report compiled from testimony of N. Thornfield, A. Goodwill, E. Ironfist, G. Wulvax, and my own firsthand understanding of the events as they transpired.

''It was just past nine on the dot when Vulco came crashing through the reception area window carrying Marcus, bleeding and wounded. Before any of us could react Marc was limping for the offices shouting for Jack but Alex stopped him before he could bleed over the entire hallway. Jack was attending a conference that night at the Hotel Contessa to support his friend Dr. Silas Serendipity. Because he is the unluckiest man in New York we couldn't reach him with 'Message' and he forgot his sending stone on the scrying table.''

''Trouble worked on calming Marcus down meanwhile Vulco brought us up to speed on the situation unfolding in the harbor. By his description it sounded like a plague ship of vampire spawn but I still didn't grasp the severity of the situation until after we left to get Jack. Marc's condition worsened rapidly even with Alex doing his best to cure whatever had infected his wounds. By the time we made it to the Hotel and collected Jack, Marcus already looked like he had one foot in his grave.''

''The ride to the council was horrific to say the least, just ten minutes away from archmages who might be able to help Marc began to seize and his heart failed. Trouble tried her best to resuscitate but the poison in his blood had done too much damage. By the time we broke through the gate and drove into the courtyard he was already necrotizing into an incubator for those fucking bats.''

''We were carrying him past the fountain when he exploded. Jack and Vulco were quick to kill the bat-things that flew out of his corpse, I just stood there, unable to react. I forgot how we talked our way out of being detained by Elminster, pretty sure I was in shock the entire drive back to the office.''

''When we got back Dr. Serendipity was waiting for us in the hallway outside looking almost as shaken as we were. He told us he had been followed by two men who tried to abduct him in a bookstore and how he narrowly escaped. It seemed unrelated to the crisis unfolding in the harbor so we told him to calm down and use the phone in the back to call his wife. It rang five times before someone picked up and told Silas his wife had been taken and to meet at Zarovich manor. ''

''At this point we were all at a 10 emotionally and none of us had time for Strahd to fuck with us, so when we rolled into his private drive ready for war imagine our surprise when the old bastard extended the olive branch instead. The kidnapping of Lily Serendipity turned out to be just a ruse to get us to show up prepared for a fight. That was the straw that broke the doctor's back apparently; before Strahd could move onto whatever asinine monologue he had prepared Silas interrupted, "EXCUSE ME MR STRAHD."''

''Then the doctor began pulling books from the shelves in large bundles and stacking them in a tower right in front of Zarovich who just stood there watching. Once he had assembled a large enough pile he climbed to the top so he was at eye level with the 6' tall vampire and said in a low, serious tone that fathers use when they are too angry to shout, "You will never come near my family again."''

The air left the room as everyone held their breath for what came next. ''For two seconds they stared each other down, then I saw something that still amazes me to this day: Strahd blinked first. Apparently the elder vampire saw something in the doctors eyes that truly frightened him, and he apologized for his behavior. I made a mental note to buy Silas a drink at the next convenient opportunity.''

''Strahd led Jack, Vulco, and the Doctor into the study connected to the parlor for a 'private meeting'. None of us heard what transpired in the other room due to the doors being magically sealed so that no sound could escape, which frustrated me greatly. When the four of them exited the room 20 minutes later they all looked shaken by whatever Strahd had said. Even the Vampire looked a little more pale than usual.''

''Vulco and Jack flat out refused to divulge any information on what they learned in Strahd's study besides that they were sworn to secrecy. I called bullshit but decided not to push the subject; later I would have all the time I needed to put the story together piece by piece. ''

''Instead of briefing us on what they learned we were given only fragments of new information and assigned to various tasks across the city. Grimes and I were sent to hunt down the Doctor's children and put them in protective custody in the Feywild. Echo, Trouble, and Nils took some equipment Strahd provided and went with a contingent of vampires to lock down the harbor while Vulco, Jack, and Silas investigated the Vanderbuilt.''

''Grimes had taken a strand of the doctor's hair before he left and fashioned it into a quick divining compass making it that much easier to find his children. After dropping them off with their mother and grandparents in the Feywild we caught up with Trouble, Echo, and Nils just outside the mouth of the North River. The national guard had already set up a blockade when the cargo ship failed to respond to Port Authority and had helicopters in the air so our team spread out behind their line and waited for the inevitable. We didn't have to wait long.''

''Shit hit the fan when the first helicopter spun out of control and hit the water. The pilot hadn't noticed when a bat entered into the cabin and it was too late to save him and his crew. The Fireball from the crash briefly illuminated the swarm which was impossible to see against the night sky and the troops opened fire on the bats. Full-auto weapons are great against swarms but due to the darkness and the confusion the national guard quickly became overwhelmed as the dark cloud descended onto the soldiers.''