Doru

***The church’s undercroft has rough-hewn walls and a floor made of damp clay and earth. Rotting wooden pillars strain under the weight of the wooden ceiling. Candlelight from the chapel above slips though the cracks, allowing you to glimpse a gaunt shape in the far corner, curled up in the fetal position. Doru picks his head up as the three of you finally reach the base of the stairs, and a shaft of light falls across his face as he regards you warily.***

## The Idealist

Doru was born and raised in the village of Barovia, where he was childhood friends of Ismark and Ireena, and set to inherit the priesthood from his father once his father grew too old to keep up his duties. Doru had chafed under Barovia's air of misery and hopelessness, and wished for ways to make life better in some way, even if only slightly. While his father tried to curb his idealism with heavy doses of realism, his friends, and especially Ismark, listened to and encouraged many of his ideas.

When the wizard came through Barovia with promises of being able to lead them against Strahd and defeat him, his words and power stirred Doru's idealism and he joined the wizard in the assault on the castle. Though the wizard managed to hold his ground for a considerable amount of time, the mob consisting of peasants and a couple guardsmen had no such luck.

## Undeath, Rebirth

Though none of the mob ever made it out of the castle alive, Doru was one of the survivors. This meant that his fate was to become one of Strahd's vampire spawn, and was locked in the crypts for months and months until Strahd deemed it time to release them, assuming that they were all either fully broken or at least would not do something foolish like rebel against him again.

While the majority either fell to madness, accepted their new roles and new powers, were cowed into subservience, or otherwise indeed broken, a small number retained most of their own will and sense of self. Many of these people killed themselves or made failed attempts to escape, but Doru held out hope that if he was patient, a more opportune time to escape would arise.

One event caused his patience to come to an end, when he came across a portrait in Strahd's study. The portrait appeared to be of his friend, Ismark, but that was impossible - the age of the portrait and its frame aside, Ismark had never had clothes like those in the portrait, nor worn his hair like that, nor looked so happy and untroubled, and most certainly had never stood in a sunlit garden  - but was still clearly, indisputably the exact likeness of his childhood friend, Ismark Kolyanovich.

So troubled by this portrait and the implications of it, Doru felt the need to escape all the more, and additionally wished to warn Ismark, even though he did not know exactly what he was warning him against.

## False Freedoms

Doru managed to escape back home, where his father welcomed him back warmly. This warmth faded as his father learned of Doru's fate and new nature, and he lured Doru to the church's undercroft, where he would remain while his father spent day after day and night after night praying to the gods for help, at the cost of his own health and sanity. Having no desire to harm others, Doru did not attempt escape, even when starvation began to overtake him, though the wooden door and even the floor would have done little to stop a vampire spawn who truly wished to escape.

To add to his misfortune, Strahd did eventually notice his absence and used his magic to find him. Knowing the young man was from the village just below made this an easy feat. However, during his spying upon Doru and upon the village, he became aware of Ismark's existence and location, making all of Doru's efforts meaningless.

## Doru's Fate

Doru spent months wasting away in the basement of the church, and his moaning and calling for his father did nothing to help the state of church attendance. He was unaware of Strahd's attacks on the burgomaster's house, though these attacks would occasionally coincide with attacks on the church as well. However such attacks were few, and meant mostly to terrorize rather than to cause lasting damage or any other end goal. All attacks ended three days before the party's arrival, when the burgomaster died.

The party, as well as Ismark, became aware of Doru when they agreed to help Ireena and Ismark take their father to the church to be buried, a task they had not been able to get anyone else in the village to help them with. After getting the story from Father Donavich, Alyssandra declared the vampire spawn must die, and that this situation could not be allowed to continue. Donavich pleaded with her, and while the party agreed with her, they convinced her to wait at least until tomorrow. Reluctantly, she agreed. During this exchange, Doru was frantically calling out to Ismark after he had realized Ismark was there, though his warnings were all but nonsensical in addition to being too late.

During the night, the party split into two groups, and Dakira, Mirarook, and Tansy stayed behind with Father Donavich, while Alyssandra and Kalil followed Ireena and Ismark back to the manor. Tansy had a talk with Doru through the trap door, asking him questions, and offering to pray for him. He answered as best as he was able, though quietly told her that he did not believe the prayers would help. At the manor, Ireena had been unable to sleep, and when Alyssandra returned from watching the midnight march, she warned her about the dangers of traveling Barovia alone at night and brought up her idea of dealing with Doru during the service in the morning, to which Alyssandra agreed.

Returning to the church in the morning, Ireena approached Mirarook and Dakira with the idea as well, and though reluctant, all three agreed that it was what must be done. Dakira insisted that she wanted to speak to the vampire first, however, to try to get any answers to questions that she had. As Donavich finished lighting the candles and began leading the party out to the graveyard, Alyssandra stayed behind, and as they began to dig the grave, Ireena and Dakira slipped away back into the church. The trio questioned Doru about the painting, why he had come back, how he had escaped, and, out of questions, stepped back as Alyssandra killed him. Doru faced death with dignity, asking if his father was alright, and then asking them to take care of Ismark, and finally requesting that they kill him quickly, as he could smell their blood.

As they were carrying the body out of the church to burn it, those who had stayed at the grave had been returning to the church, having noticed they were missing and having grown concerned for their safety. Fortunately for them all, Father Donavich was not lucid enough to notice or comprehend what the party was discussing during the confrontation, and was quickly led inside away from the scene by Tansy and Ismark.

Doru's remains were burned in the yard outside of the church, before being gathered into a box Alyssandra kept for carrying remains in.