“The tunnel isn’t an option, not anymore,” Andrei said, finally breaking his silence as Ismark swigged down the brandy. “And Elrick is in it still. He’s... one of the reasons we can’t make use of them.”<br/><br/>It took an act of will to suppress his frustrated fury as he watched Ismark drink. It wasn’t supposed to be like this!  He’d looked up to the Burgomeister’s son!  He’d trusted Ismark to bring help!  Trusted that, once he did, everything would be all right!<br/><br/>Hoped that his trusted “big brother” would make everything all right.<br/><br/>With a sigh, Andrei squared his shoulders. This was<i>Barovia</i>, and the Devil Strahd was on the move.<i>Nothing</i>would be<i>all right</i>.<br/><br/>“There<i>are </i>other weapons,” he said, opening a side door. “This s the Burgomeister’s summer home, after all. Most of them were moved to the main house, but there will be something. For the guard, just in case.”  He gestured into a small room. Mostly empty weapon racks lined the walls, but there were still two halberds and three cudgels. “For dealing with bandits,” he explained, leaving the<i>or unruly peasants</i>part unspoken.<br/><br/>Instead, he selected one of the halberds. “Nothing that would kill a<i>vrykolak</i>, I’m afraid. But they’ll work well enough on wolves. Or on the restless dead.”  He stared at the blade, then carried it back into the main room. “Oh. And I am Andrei Ovidiu Constantin, the, uhm... the Burgomeister’s Guard. May I ask your names, and what skill you have with the weapons you bear?”  He cocked his head and grinned without mirth as something groaned and rattled the door. “We May have need to call upon those skills, ere Lathander kisses the land.”