Chapter 1 Exile
"Get out!", the kumpania raunie shouted at the young man. "How dare you make such an offer! Be gone or I shall curse you with the evil eye!"
Mario Veccini just shrugged and smiled. He backed away though. He wasn't stupid. Vistani curses were both notoriously cruel and notoriously difficult to remove.
"You are no longer welcome in our camp!", the middle aged, tan skinned woman added as she watched the young man turn to leave. "Ever!"
Mario turned away and took a few steps towards the road, then he noticed someone hiding in the shadows behind the raunie's vardo. He looked closer. Then his grin broadened. It was her, Tshaya, the young girl who he had come for but would not be leaving with. Tshaya was the most beautiful Vistani woman that Mario had ever seen. Several days before he had seen her dance as skillful Vistani musicians played wild and passionate music. When Mario watched Tshaya dance wildly and passionately, matching the musician's frenzied rhythms, he was overcome with the desire to have her, a desire that wouldn't go away. That evening Tshaya had won the attentions of one of the town's nobles, a mark who she would later seduce, put to sleep, and rob, and so Mario spent the night alone, plotting how he could have the girl to himself.
"I will have you.", Mario said to the young girl as he walked out of the camp.
Tshaya said nothing in return. She only glared at the man's battle-scarred face. She had overheard the deal he had tried to make with Misha, the raunie of her kumpania. First he wanted to buy Tshaya as a concubine. When the raunie refused he offered the same amount for one night of pleasure with her. He'd offered a lot of gold, but still the raunie refused, indignant that a gaje would even think of insulting the integrity of a Vistani woman. But Tshaya was not a full blooded Vistani, and the others in the kumpania had never truly accepted her as one of their own, so Tshaya feared that the raunie might have accepted the man's offer. Her fears had been built upon years of persecution at Misha's hands.
As Tshaya listened to Misha ranting at her husband, Captain Rvachov, she felt good that Misha was so passionate about defending her honor. There were many times in her life that she doubted that Misha considered her one of the clan. Misha was wrong to be so prejudiced. After all, it wasn't Tshaya's fault that her mother had broken the clan rules and made love to a non-Vistani. But Misha was the raunie and her judgment was that of the clan as well, and so Tshaya had spent much of her young life fearing that Misha would send her and her mother into exile or worse. Now it seemed as though those fears were now being put to rest. But just as she turned away from the raunie's vardo she overheard something that brought all those fears screaming back.
"But he offered a lot for her.", Captain Rvachov said as Misha's rant died down. "And we have fallen on hard times."
"What are you suggesting?", Misha hissed at the captain. "That I become a Madame? That I sell our women's bodies to gaje men like common whores?"
The captain spoke slowly and carefully. "I'm not saying that we become a traveling brothel.", he replied, trying to calm his wife. "But there are some gaje who would pay a lot for a woman like Tshaya. Noblemen looking for a wife or a concubine."
Misha scoffed at the idea but the captain kept after her.
"And no one need know about it. We could do it in secret.", Captain Rvachov explained. "With her mother now gone, who would object? Who would ask questions?"
Tshaya listened closely, hoping to hear Misha explode at her husband and chastise him for suggesting such a thing, but Misha said nothing, nothing at all.
"One day Tshaya would be gone. We could say that she ran away or make up any story that we liked.", the Captain added. "The half breed would no longer be an embarrassment to us, and life would go back to normal."
The captain's words cut Tshaya like a knife. Misha's silence hurt worse. Tshaya felt sick. Feeling betrayed she stumbled away from the vardo and into the woods where she vowed to leave the kumpania that night. As the realization of what she was about to do sunk in Tshaya thought about what she would be leaving behind. Everything. But as she thought about it she was surprised by how little she cared for her clan, the only family that she had ever known. But there was one Vistani who she felt that she had to see one last time before leaving, the clan's Seer, Madame Raisa.
Madame Raisa had always treated Tshaya nicely. The Seer didn't care that Tshaya was not a full-blooded Vistani, and she forgave Tshaya's mother, Natalya for her one night of indiscretion. And Madame Raisa was the one who fought against the raunie's wishes that both mother and infant be exiled when the truth of Tshaya's heritage was revealed. As a whirlwind of emotions swirled within her, Tshaya went to Madame Raisa's vardo and found her sitting before her short sitting table as usual, shuffling her Tarokka deck.
"I always knew that this day would come.", Madame Raisa said to the young woman.
Madame Raisa's vardo was filled with what seemed like a million wonderful things. Tshaya was always fascinated by them, but tonight she had other things on her mind.
"Why didn't you tell me", Tshaya asked.
"Sometimes we control our fate. Sometimes it controls us.", Raisa replied.
"Is my fate to be a whore or an outcast fugitive?", Tshaya asked indignantly.
Madame Raisa looked at the poor girl. "Neither, I would think.", she said, trying to raise Tshaya's spirits. "That much is up to you."
Tshaya nodded. "I'm leaving tonight.", she said, fighting back a tear. "I just wanted to say goodbye. I want to try and find my father."
Madame Raisa nodded silently. "I wish you well, Tshaya. You will be missed. You were always my favorite.", she added.
Tshaya had a thousand questions to ask, but she knew that she didn't have time for them all.
"Tell me what it will be like to be alone.", Tshaya began.
"In ways it will be no different than before.", Madame Raisa said slowly. "The others never did truly accept you. But in other ways it will be very different. And there will be no one there to protect you when you get in trouble."
"I know all this.", Tshaya said curtly. "Who's life do you think I've been living?"
"Ah, you are young.", Madame Raisa replied with a smile. "The world can be a hard place. Much harder than you know."
Remembering the raunie's conversation, Tshaya contritely replied, "I'm learning quickly."
"I have something for you.", the Seer said as she turned and searched through her vast collection of fascinating things. "Something that helped me out of many troubles when I was young."
Tshaya stretched and tried to look over Madame Raisa's shoulder, trying to see what is was that the Seer was looking for. Having been in her vardo, Tshaya knew that it could have been just about anything in the world. The Seer opened a few drawers in a small chest and finally found what she was looking for. She pulled out a small red shawl with golden trim. She held it up as the memories came flooding back to her.
"What is it?", Tshaya asked.
"The veil.", Madame Raisa said as she held it before Tshaya. "That's what I used to call it."
"It's beautiful.", Tshaya said as she ran her fingers through the heavy material.
"It is. And it is enchanted as well.", Madame Raisa whispered.
Tshaya Looked up at her and smiled. "Magic?", she gasped. "What does it do?"
"You are a wonderful liar.", Madame Raisa said with an air of admiration. "But there are those who can see through your lies and deceptions using magic."
"Yes, I know.", Tshaya replied, remembering a certain wizard who could not be fooled.
"The veil lets you trick them.", the Seer explained. "If you look at someone and speak the magic word, the wizard will see that person instead of you. If you lie, but they do not, the wizard will believe that you tell the truth."
"What if I look at the wizard?", Tshaya asked, already thinking of potential uses for the shawl.
"Clever, but dangerous.", Madame Raisa replied. "He may figure out that he is bewitched. But if you have no choice, then you must try."
Tshaya took the veil and wrapped it around her shoulders. "What is the magic word?", Tshaya asked, already feeling comforted by the gift's presence.
"Kashmir.", Madame Raisa whispered. "The name of our ancient homeland."
Tshaya whispered the magic word to herself so that she would remember it. It made her feel safe. "Thank you.", she said earnestly.
Madame Raisa looked down pleasantly at the young woman, remembering how she used to be long ago when she wore the veil. "Now then. Would you like your fortune told?", Madame Raisa asked. "One last time?"
"Yes, please.", Tshaya replied. And she sat down at the small table across from Madame Raisa.
"Very well.", Madame Raisa said, getting comfortable once again. "Touch the Tarokka, so that it may know you."
Tshaya picked up the cards and held them in her hand, thinking of them as an old friend that could not speak. Madame Raisa watched Tshaya fondly, and was as anxious as the young girl was to learn of her future. Then Tshaya set the cards on the table in front of the elder. Madame Raisa drew the first three cards, placing them on the table in a pattern so that she could divine their meaning. Tshaya watched as Raisa laid out the cards. She knew how to read them as well, but she knew that Madame Raisa could see depths that she could not.
"I see a man in your future, an older man, but still full of passion.", Madame Raisa said with a twinkle in her eye and a smile on her lips. "A lover he could be, but far more valuable as an ally. The cards will let you decide which."
After hearing the words of the raunie, the signs of an older man in her future caused Tshaya to hold her breath. But the words 'ally' and 'choice' let her breathe a sigh of relief. Madame Raisa laid down three more cards.
"Now I see another man, one with a heart of stone.", Madame Raisa said with a well practiced theatrical tone. She placed two more cards, adding to the pattern. "He serves two mistresses but only one deserves his devotion. He is confused. I see you helping him in making his decision."
Tshaya listened quietly. She didn't want to disturb the flow of fate passing through the cards. Madame Raisa placed two more cards on the table above the others.
"I see a woman, no, two women, a pair joined together.", the Seer said, still fascinated by the secrets that her cards could reveal. She placed a third card on top of the other two. "Ah, one is good, the other evil. The evil one brings destruction. She must be stopped."
"A pair joined. Good and evil.", Tshaya thought to herself as she wondered how the men fit into it all. Tshaya decided to wait for the reading to be finished before speaking again.
Next to the cards she had just put down, Madame Raisa placed a single card.
"And now I see another man, a powerful man, a man whose hands are soaked in blood.", Madame Raisa said as she placed three more cards about the previous one. "He was once evil, but is now both good and evil. He intends to bring war, a terrible war. I see the world in flames."
Madame Raisa picked up one more card and began to place it on the table, but before Tshaya could see what it was the Seer placed it back down on the deck. Tshaya looked up and saw fear in Madame Raisa's eyes, but only for a moment. The Seer then looked back at her and then her expression softened.
"What is it? Tell me, please.", Tshaya pleaded.
"The Tarokka does not always tell the truth.", Madame Raisa said as she forced a grin.
"I know. But the lies are telling.", Tshaya countered.
But Madame Raisa would speak no more about what she had seen. She picked up the cards and placed them back on the deck. "That is the last lesson that I need to teach you.", she said, no longer serene. "That which you read will not always come to pass."
"So none of this may be true?", Tshaya asked, disappointed and a little angry. "Then what's the point of looking if you can't see?"
"They are possible futures.", Madame Raisa explained. "The better you can see, the more likely they are. But no one can ever be sure."
Tshaya thought for a moment. She knew better than to argue with the Seer. Either Madame Raisa knew too much for her to understand or she was the best liar of all.
"How will I know the evil woman?", Tshaya asked.
"Ah, you are good at deceiving others, but to see the truth requires a different skill, one you need to learn.", Madame Raisa replied. "And now time is short. You must leave now."
Tshaya stood up and hugged the Madame. "Thank you.", she said gratefully. "I don't know if I will ever return. So, I want you to take everything in mother's vardo. I'd rather you have it then those vultures."
Madame Raisa rose as much as she was able and hugged Tshaya tightly, as if it were the last time she would ever do so. "I will see that they get nothing of Natalya's.", she promised. "I wish you well Tshaya. You were always like a granddaughter to me."
Tshaya looked into Madame Raisa's eyes. There was so much to say, but so little time left, and she didn't know where to start. Instead she just gathered up her things and left the vardo before she lost her nerve. Madame Raisa smiled warmly and watched Tshaya quietly as she went. Words were not enough.
Tshaya walked out of the kumpania and into the night. She wondered about something that Madame Raisa had said to her, that time was short and that she had to leave. "Did she mean tonight? Or did she mean right then?", Tshaya asked herself. Then it all became clear.
She could barely see them in the dim firelight, but the camp was surrounded by armed men who were moving into position around the camp. They hadn't seen Tshaya yet and so she quickly ducked into the forest and hid, watching the men closely. Slowly the armed men crept up on the camp all around her. She stayed as silent as she could, not flinching a muscle, for fear of being discovered.
Then Tshaya saw a group of soldiers walk into camp led by two men. The first man Tshaya recognized. It was Mario Veccini, the man who had tried to make a deal for her earlier that night. He wore the same lecherous smile that he did before, a smile that did not make Tshaya feel comfortable. The other man wore a suit shining armor and a sweeping white cloak with not a speck of dirt on it. On his shield was the symbol of Ezra, a shield crossed with a sword. His helm was open and Tshaya could see the man's cold, grim, and determined face. The other soldiers were dressed in shining armor and white cloaks, like the stone-faced man and they stood behind their leader as he stopped in the middle of the encampment. The Vistanis sitting around the fire watched the intruders approach, switching from their usual glum demeanor to the festival mood that they showed to all outsiders.
"Greetings fellow travelers. I am Oleg.", one of the older Vistani said with a flourish as he rose to his feet. "How can we be of service?"
The stone faced man reached into a pouch and pulled out a scroll. He unrolled it and began to read it aloud, "By the order of the Lady Ivana Boritsi, Queen and ruler of the land of Borca, and in accordance with the laws of Invidia and the Lord Malocchio Aderre, I, Petrov Nichola, do hereby place all the Vistani of Misha Rvachov under arrest."
All at once everyone in the camp burst out in loud laughter as if this were all someone's idea of a joke.
"My apologies.", Oleg said as he caught his breath. "We do not wish to insult you as you are our guests. But I feel the need to inform you that you are in Barovia, not Borca, and not Invidia. You have no jurisdiction here."
"As you have committed a number of crimes in the land of Invidia including theft, bribery, resisting arrest, assaulting an agent of the Lord Aderre, and numerous acts of fraud, I, Petrov Nichola, have been given the authority to extradite the Vistani of Misha Rvachov to Invidia to be imprisoned until a trial can be conducted.", the stone faced man continued to read.
"Yes, yes, we know why you are here.", another Vistani man explained. He turned to his friends with a big smile and added, "Malocchio and Ivana have not paid your salaries this month."
The camp erupted in laughter once again. "So how much is the fine this time?", another Vistani man called out amidst the levity.
"Yes, it must be a lot, to cover the cost of polishing your armor.", added a third laughing Vistani.
Mario looked at the Vistani faces all about him, trying to find Tshaya, but she was nowhere to be seen. The commotion had awakened Raunie Misha and Captain Rvachov who emerged from their vardo and came out to face the visitors. The captain calmed the others as Misha spoke to Petrov.
"This is absurd.", Misha said angrily as she shot Mario a harsh look. "We are in Barovia, and here we are protected by Count Strahd. He would never have approved of such an edict. You will leave at once."
"The church of Ezra claims jurisdiction over every land where her followers are victimized by evildoers." Petrov said as he rolled up the scroll and slid it back into his pouch. "Raunie Misha Rvachov, if you so request, you and your fellow Vistani will be placed under the protection of the church of Ezra until such time as we deliver you for trial. Do you submit to the authority of The Lady Our Guardian in the Mists?"
"I most certainly do not!", Misha hissed as she stared at the stone faced young man. "Be gone! Be gone from this place or I shall place a most hideous curse upon you!"
The stone faced man did not flinch. "We are right and just.", Petrov replied with an air of righteous confidence. "Our Goddess will protect us from your foulness."
Then Petrov nodded to Mario, who gave a signal to the mercenaries hiding about the camp. Dozens of men came out of hiding, all of them wearing armor and brandishing weapons and torches. They converged slowly upon the camp, stopping to light their torches and set fire to the beautifully painted vardos which went up like matchsticks.
"You shall pay for this dearly!", Misha shouted at Mario. "My evil eye will gaze upon you until the end of your days. You shall know true pain and suffering."
Mario grinned widely as he pulled a long, nasty looking knife out of his belt. "Ah, but your evil eye is not enough.", he said, lifting the knife up to Misha's face. "I shall have them both."
Violence erupted as the Vistani men and the Invidian mercenaries clashed. Curses were thrown and blood was spilled in the fierce melee. The Vistani fought valiantly, bravely trying to protect their wives and families, but the Naiat clan were not warriors, and they were no match for the well armed soldiers. Slowly but surely the mercenaries tightened the circle around the Vistani while the White Knights of Ezra stood firmly, standing in silent witness to the carnage, and taking neither side. Before long the fighting was over and the Vistani were subdued.
The mercenaries bound the survivors, and made them kneel in a circle about the campfire, surrounded by the burning wreckage of their once proud vardos. It was then that many of the mercenaries began to feel the sting of the Vistani curses that had been inflicted upon them during the fray. The mercenaries demanded that the Vistani lift the curses but the Vistani bravely refused, even under the threat of death. But the Invidians were growing desperate and so they began to take desperate measures.
Mario was walking all about the camp, looking for Tshaya, and very disappointed that she had somehow escaped his gauntlet of mercenaries. Tshaya watched him from a safe distance and wondered why he was not suffering from the many curses that she had seen Misha hurl at him. She had never seen anyone escape the raunie's curses, but somehow Mario was immune. Disgusted, and angry, the Invidian took out his frustration upon raunie Misha. He forced the other Vistani's to watch as he beat the middle aged woman mercilessly, demanding that the other Vistani lift their curses on his men. Some did, but not all, and so Mario did what he promised. Tshaya watched in horror as the man who lusted after her used his horrid knife to carve out Misha's eyes.
Tshaya could take no more. She fled into the forest, never to return.