Chapters 11-15

The party quickly moved on from Vallaki, with a heavily injured Ismark and three days of safety from Strahd. They set out for the village of Krezk on the west of Barovia. Along the way they discovered an old tower sitting on a small island in the middle of a lake. Before they could enter however, Menowin and Tess sensed something familiar and safe coming from a caravan outside. In the heat of the moment they forced their way inside and were met with a devastating explosion. Most of the party survived, largely thanks to the help of a new found companion, **Zilyana**, intervening. However Tess was once again lost.

After regrouping, the party was led into the town of Krezk thanks to Zilyana’s access. There they met a local guard named **Barren** and the town’s **Burgomaster Dmitri**. They announced their plans to fight against Strahd and informed him of what had befallen Vallaki. Dmitri was hesitant and said they had their own issues to deal with before being able to consider joining the cause. He requested that they investigate what is happening in the **Abbey of Saint Markovia**, which rests atop a hill overlooking the town. The party agreed and set out together, discovering on their way a pool of water that had healing abilities. A one handed Pallas decides to take a risk and put on the metal arm of Izek, fire burns through his body as the arm latches onto his stump and digs itself in.

After a failed attempt at sneaking into the Abbey, a mongrelfolk guard named **Zygrek** let them in and told them that the Abbot would see them in the main hall. The Abbot turned out to be a godlike man in appearance with a disregard for the party. He had constructed an **undead bride** for Strahd and only needed a wedding dress to complete the gift. He offered the party three resurrections, if they could retrieve **Baroness Lydia’s wedding dress** from Vallaki. The party said they’d consider the proposal and began exploring the rest of the Abbey. They discovered many rooms filled with insane and food starved Mongrelfolk, all were once worshipers of Saint Markovia, experimented on and turned into these beasts, willingly. Pallas began his collection of candlestick holders within the halls. It wasn’t until the party had fought a room full of Shadows that real danger arrived. **Morgantha** had returned and was currently fighting with a woman called **Ezmerelda** down in the courtyard. After a long and arduous fight, Morgantha exploded, leaving only a letter behind. A letter of kind regards by a woman calling herself **Baba Lysaga**. Ezmerelda revealed she was the apprentice of **Rudolf Van Richten**, a famous vampire hunter living in Barovia. She also revealed her relation to Menowin and that they were both the grandchildren of Madam Eva, Strahd's sister. After a debate with Menowin on the expectations and values he should hold on blood connections, they all decided to get some rest. Beforehand however, Nebrix re-entered the Abbots room and retrieved something from inside and returned with a book that appeared to be written by Strahd himself. Dankin also re-entered the room alone after seeing a hallucination of his dead friend Kamos. Dankin taunted the Abbot and in return the Abbot took one of Dankin’s ears. Pallas, in realization of what the sword was doing to him and not wanting to go down a path of darkness, gave the Sunsword up to Marsden, who began his pact with the weapon.

Upon returning down to Krezk, they were met by Ismark, who was thankful for their help and distressed about the fate of his sister Ireena. In an effort to calm him from his ramblings about being the cause of the fall of Vallaki, Pallas baptized him in the healing waters of the pool, repairing some of the gruesome burn scars he’d acquired due to Izek. Feeling united under the burden of what they had caused and what had been done to them, they set forth on an attempt to find allies in the coming fight against Strahd.