Vallaki

Vallaki was a fortified settlement in the Domain of Dread known as Barovia.

Geography
The town was located at the heart of the valley that is Barovia, beyond the view of Castle Ravenloft, on the south side of Lake Zarovich. It was connected to the land's other two settlements by the Old Svalich Road.

Along Old Svalich Road, between Vallaki and the village Barovia, which was farther east of it, there was an old grain mill that had served Vallaki until it was taken over by a coven of hags.

Description
The town was was surrounded by a tall wooden palisade with its vertical logs held together by thick ropes and mortar. The top of each log was sharpened to a point and, above the ground, wooden scaffolding hugged the inside of the palisade.

Three tall, sturdy iron gates were the only ways to enter the town. At night they were kept shut with heavy iron chains and iron padlocks, while during the day they weren't typically locked, though still closed. The north gate was known as "Zarovich Gate," the was west known as "Sunset Gate," and the east was known as either Morning or "Mourning Gate". Flanking the road outside these gates were a half-dozen pikes with wolves' heads impaled upon them.

Government
The town was governed by a burgomaster named Baron Vargas Vallakovich.

The burgomaster mandated that a festival be held at least once every week, despite most of its residents considering them to be pointless and likely to incur Strah's wrath. This was due to the burgomaster having deluded himself into believing that the only way for Vallaki to escape Barovia and return to the Prime Material plane was for him to make everyone happy and hopeful.

Those who expressed ill about the festivals would be declared in league with Strahd and be arrested. They would then either be thrown into the stockades or taken to the burgomaster's mansion to have the perceived evil purged from them.

History
Vallaki was founded not long after the armies of Strahd von Zarovich had conquered the valley that would become Barovia.

At some point in the town's history, the monster hunter Ezmerelda d'Avenir came through on her wagon in search of her mentor Rudolph van Richten.

Some time after that a traveler from late-15 century DR Toril, Volothamp Geddarm, visited to meet the half-elf bard named Rictavio, another newcomer to Barovia that he had received a suggestion from Arik Lorensk to seek out. He found his journey to the town to be ultimately uneventful and not worth committing to paper, but did observe in his personal notes that the town seemed more joyful than the rest of Barovia.

Notable Locations

 * Blue Water Inn: the town's only inn and the temporary residence of Rictavio.
 * St. Andral's church: a church dedicated to the Morninglord.

Inhabitants
The village was inhabited solely by humans, who weren't welcoming of Vistani and wouldn't willingly allow strangers into their homes.

Some of the houses in the village were infested with rats, servants of Strahd, and some of the residents belonged to a cult that worshiped devils.

Appearances

 * Adventures
 * Curse of Strahd
 * Video Games
 * Dungeons & Dragons Online (Mists of Ravenloft) • Idle Champions of the Forgotten Realms