Father Donavich

***The chapel is a shambles, with overturned and broken pews littering the dusty floor. Dozens of candles mounted in candlesticks and candelabras light every dusty corner in a fervent attempt to rid the chapel of shadows. At the far end of the church sits a claw-scarred altar, behind which kneels a priest in soiled vestments. Next to him hangs a long, thick rope that stretches up into the bell tower. The priest does not react to Ireena's voice for a moment, then suddenly jerks, looking around at her with wide eyes. He looks pleased for a moment, and opens his mouth, though before he can speak you hear a young man’s voice cry out from beneath the chapel floor, “Father! I’m starving!” The man's mouth shuts and he sways in place, looking ill.***

## The Priest

Donavich inherited the position of priesthood from his father, and would have passed it to Doru had fate not intervened. It is not a lofty position, as centuries of hopelessness and centuries of prayers going unanswered have thinned the flock and turned the church into little more than another building in the village.

Donavich fills his time with priestly duties such as tending to the graveyard, reciting prayers over the ancient altar, keeping the candles lit, and keeping the walls and holy symbols intact in an effort to stave off whatever forces might decide to attack or be sent by Strahd in a fit of boredom.

## The Broken One

Over a year before the party arrived in Barovia, there was a powerful wizard who came through, alone. He claimed that he could lead a mob into the castle and destroy Strahd once and for all, and moved between the various Barovian settlements to gain support. He found it primarily in the younger and less jaded citizens, such as Donavich's son, Doru. In the end, he had almost two dozen people with him when he attacked the castle.

The plan ended in disaster, and none of them ever returned. The last anyone saw of the group was the clash of magic between Strahd and the wizard, their battle raging from the depths of the castle to the highest tower, visible across the land.

Following the wizard's defeat, Strahd took the mob of peasants. Those who had survived the battle were turned into vampire spawn, while those who did not became other undead minions. The vampire spawn were kept locked in the crypts until Strahd believed they were fully broken, though some still retained their will. One of them was Doru's son, who waited for a safer time to escape, and ran back home to the castle.

Donavich has kept his son locked in the basement ever since his return almost three months ago, and has been praying night and day to the gods for a way to save him, refusing any outcome where his son must die. The sleeplessness, desperation, and near-constant cries from Doru have taken a heavy toll on his health and his sanity.

## The Party

While giving the former burgomaster his final rites and praying over his grave, Ireena, Alyssandra, and Dakira went down into the basement of the church. Ireena had hoped that by doing this while he was distracted, they might spare Father Donavich at least some pain and suffering, and leave him unable to stop them dealing with Doru. Unbeknownst to the rest of the party, they questioned Doru before executing him and bringing his body out to be burned. Doru faced death with only the requests that they take care of Ismark and that they kill him quickly, as he could smell their blood.

Donavich was not lucid enough to take note of what he saw when he and the others returned from the graveyard, and was hurried inside by Tansy and Ismark. The two proceeded to try to very gently break the news to him, with Tansy saying that his prayers were answered, and Doru has been freed from his suffering, and has joined the Morninglord. At first ecstatic, Donavich's mood fell somewhat as he realized what that meant, though Tansy and Ismark distracted him before he could dwell on it too much, before leaving him to rest.