99 | An Old Friend

The fog in Barovia never truly lifts - it just waits.And sometimes, when you least expect it, it parts just enough to show you something you thought was buried forever.The party descends into the castle’s oldest wounds: cold stone corridors where torchlight barely dares to reach. Dust hangs suspended, time feels thin, and every echo lands like a warning. One companion storms ahead, restless and ready, slamming fists against a wall that refuses to yield.He names it.He threatens it.He glares at it like it personally owes him money.The wall doesn’t blink.Nearby, two others settle into the absurd normalcy of a card game - Piles - laughter cutting through the gloom like a blade. Bets are made. Tongues are stuck out. And then, in a heartbeat, one steps forward… and simply passes through the impossible barrier as if it were smoke.On the other side: ruins of a place that shouldn’t exist. Two strangers. And one face from the past - someone thought long gone, now standing in the half-light of another world.The moment that name is spoken, everything shifts. A snarl. A storm of footsteps retreating. The group fractures, drawn in different directions by old wounds and older loyalties.They slip from the castle under cover of magic and shadow, a crimson shape wheeling high overhead, unseen but felt. The dragon’s wings carve silence from the sky.Back in Vallaki, firelight dances on Dragonborn scales. A voice rises - loud, proud, carrying news that should end a nightmare. Cheers erupt.But not everyone steps into the light. Some retreat to the edges, where the sun can’t reach.Bellies growl. Plans are whispered. Eyes turn toward a distant spire where something ancient still circles, patient and hungry.Steel & Sorcery returns to the quiet after the storm… but the storm isn’t finished. Old friends resurface. Old grudges stir. And something massive waits in the sky, watching, waiting for the next move.What lies on the other side of that wall? Can past promises survive present pain? Will the survivors of Vallaki finally breathe free… or is the real fight only beginning?This is the episode where everything you thought was settled starts to crack open again.The fog is listening. The dragon is circling. And the story refuses to stay buried.Don’t miss it. Light a candle. Turn up the sound. The mists are calling you back in.Recorded: December 20, 2025Released: February 7, 2026Intro Music: "Battle of the Beast" by The SoundingsMid-Episode Quest: "Deck the Halls" by TarjaBook JoltSw1tch for your own table at ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Start Playing⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠, or hop in his play-by-post Pokémon open world adventure!Join us in ⁠⁠⁠Discord⁠⁠⁠ for the next chapter of Steel & Sorcery.