Act 1, Scene 11: Vallaki: The Feast of St. Andral's

Our heroes left Wachterhaus, leaving aside All That for later — tonight, they had some stolen bones to re-steal. None of them noticed an invisible Vasili von Holtz following them from Wachterhaus, just far back enough to see where they were going.

Successfully sneaking to the back of the coffin maker's shop, noticing only one light in one window in the front of the building, the group began to work on the lattice, with mixed results. At one point most of them fled into the trees nearby while Ri-An did some performative vomiting — regurgitating largely whole food due to their lack of a digestive system — while Sylvain apologized to the guards, saying they would clean the mess up and get their drunken friend back to the inn as soon as possible. The guards, convinced by the performance, left, and our heroes got back to the business of B&E.

The lattice removed between Ri-An and Sylvain's efforts, they went to work next on the window itself, *almost* removing it without a sound, though at the last moment it tipped inside with a loud *clink*, saved from shattering only by a coffin directly below the window. The party waited, sure they'd been made, but when no one came to investigate, they made their way inside, beginning to investigate.

The first room they found was, shockingly enough, full of coffins. When none of the coffins seemed to contain any spare bones, they began to investigate the rest. Seeing the light from under the doorway of one room and rightly guessing that Henrik van der Voort was inside, they checked the other of the downstairs rooms, finding a wholly mundane workshop.

They had a choice: to confront the coffin maker, or to check upstairs and see if they could leave without ever being detected in the first place. After some brief, whispered discussion, it was agreed that Sylvain would go upstairs to look and, if he found nothing, they'd discuss next moves again. Ireena rushed to follow Sylvain, perhaps concerned about his track record of brushes with death, and stumbled slightly as she did so, still rather tipsy, though the coffin maker did not come to investigate.

The pair went up to the coffin maker's kitchen, finding a dismal assortment of bland foods, before making their way through the next door, where they found his equally depressing bedroom. Sylvain couldn't find a thing, whereas Ireena caught an irregularity in the bottom of his wardrobe. Opening it up, they found two bags: one full of bones, and the other full of silver coins.

Sylvain retrieved the bones, and a moment later he and Ireena both froze as they heard an all-too-familiar voice nearby say, "Do it now."

Into the kitchen came a half-elf woman with a sharp smile and pale skin. Charging down the stairs came a mighty, pale goliath, who raised his greatclub as he went and cracked Bodaway right in the face. Even those who hadn't heard Strahd's words could hear the sounds of many footsteps as suddenly they found themselves in a battle with six vampire spawn.

Upstairs, the half-elf told Sylvain and Ireena that all they had to do was surrender the bones — there didn't have to be a fight. Ireena was frozen in panic; Sylvain tugged her back into the bedroom with him, declining the half-elf's very kind offer.

Downstairs, a fierce battle began, with the goliath quickly identifying Bodaway as the main threat the moment his weapon lit up with radiant energy, and doing everything he could to take Bodaway out as quickly as possible. The moment Bodaway was unconscious and out of his way, he made his way out through the front of the shop, seemingly disinterested in continuing the fight.

Two vampires followed him, one of them stopping to drain Bodaway of life immediately after Osrin had gotten him back up. Upstairs, the half-elf and one of her companions attacked Sylvain, knocking him unconscious, with her big-chinned companion absconding with the bones. Finally snapping out of her stupor, Ireena fed Sylvain a health potion, and he jumped up, getting one good stab in at the man with the bones before the half-elf came up from behind and skewered him straight through his heart. Leaving him to his death and Ireena to her inevitable nervous breakdown, she followed her companion. Her companion got wrecked by our heroes, who knocked him prone and stole his bones, Ri-An handing them off to Grghshnq and telling it to run. The moment Ayduin opened the door for Grghshnq, it ran, vampires hot on its four heels.

The vampires seemed much more interested in the bones than in the fight, though some were still engaged with the party when Sylvain came charging downstairs, fresh off a quick conversation with Zantras, the Kingmaker, who Sylvain had mistaken for Strahd himself during his second close call with death in the Death House. Zantras offered Sylvain a deal: a second chance at life, and an amplification of his natural charms, in exchange for the power of those who Sylvain killed. No big! Though Sylvain was skeptical, he was also extremely dead, and given his limited options, he went for the deal.

Ireena, who had been trying to avenge Sylvain's death, got that much closer to her inevitable nervous breakdown. Sylvain gave a manic giggle and went after the bones, to save Grghshnq and Vallaki.

Inside, only two vampires were left, one of whom had grappled Ireena and pulled her back from the others. Ri-An was on the verge of helping Sylvain save the day, when they, Ayduin, Osrin, and the remaining vampire — a sulky blonde — found themselves trapped inside an invisible dome.

And Strahd von Zarovich revealed himself, crawling awkwardly in through the window.

Outside, Sylvain bore witness to Grghshnq's death, and pelted after the vampires, doing his best to take back the bones. The vampire who had just killed him was, understandably, somewhat bewildered by this turn of events.

Inside, Strahd and Ireena began a conversation in Barovian, while the vampire who had been holding her ran outside to join his companions. There was nothing our three heroes could do but watch as Strahd spoke to Ireena, revealing himself to have been Vasili von Holtz — a revelation that visibly shook Ireena, though a moment later there was anger in her face and her voice as she said something that seemed, just for a moment, to wound Strahd in turn, his confidence momentarily overshadowed by a cold anger.

Outside, time and again, Sylvain caught up with the vampire running with the bones, only to lose her as she continued to run. Tearing open the bag, he felt a moment of triumph, something to make up for the considerable wounds he was sustaining as part of the chase, only to have his hopes dashed when the vampire gathered up all the bones again and resumed her flight.

Inside, Ireena spoke in Common to Strahd for the first time since he'd appeared and asked one question: If I go with you, will you leave them alone?

And Strahd answered, Да. Yes.

With an additional request that he order the blonde vampire trapped with her friends not to attack, Ireena took off her pack and followed Strahd out the door.

Outside, Sylvain continued his chase, with one truly disorienting moment of seeing Ireena sat in front of Strahd on a mighty dark horse wreathed in flames, flying through Vallaki's night sky, screams starting up around him as the devil was sighted within the town for the first time in over a century. Before he could say "what the fuck," he found himself suddenly bereft of the boost of energy and power Zantras had granted him, sagging with exhaustion and hiding, well aware that he was in no state to continue to fight three vampires.

So the vampires left Vallaki, wounding two guards and killing a third, and fled into the night with the bones of St. Andral.

Inside, Ri-An, Osrin, and Ayduin, thoroughly demoralized, tried to hit the remaining vampire, who had been ordered to "sit and not bite." Despite this edict, they had a surprisingly difficult time hitting her.

After a couple of minutes of stewing, the invisible force holding them dissipated, and they found themselves in the company of three strangers — two older men and a younger woman — asking if they needed help. The three were understandably unimpressed with the timing of their cavalry, and summarily dismissed the strangers, with Ayduin offering a vague thanks for the offer.

Outside, Sylvain began making his way back to the group, while Ayduin began searching for Sylvain in the opposite direction. Ri-An went to find Grghshnq and realized that they had the tools but not the magical reserves left to restore life to their faithful hound.

While searching for Sylvain, Ayduin found a fallen guard — the one who'd taken such a dislike to Bodaway — and stabilized her before heading back to the group. In the distance, he heard screams, but all our heroes knew they were in no shape for another fight that night.

Eventually, all five of them reconvened, short one Ireena and one Grghshnq, and they began to make their way back to the Blue Water Inn, a solemn procession, Ri-An carrying Grghshnq, Ayduin and Osrin splitting Bodaway's prone body between them.

Rictavio came running up to them, fresh off the battle at St. Andral's Church, where thanks to Rictavio tipping off some guards ahead of time he was able, with their help and a couple basins of holy water, to destroy two of the vampires, while a third fled. He was badly injured but still up, and when he heard that the blonde vampire was scootching away at Sylvain's suggestion, eager to escape within the terms set out for her by Strahd, he went off to try and take her out, too.

Our heroes returned to the Blue Water Inn, meeting a sea of crossbows quickly lowered once those assembled within the tavern realized they weren't vampires come to wreak havoc on them all. Sylvain went down to speak to Danica, who made him sit down and have a glass of wine, taking a long drink herself once Sylvain began to catch her up. Casting a glance around the tavern, she told Sylvain to come to the kitchen with her to get something for Ri-An, in the wake of her dog's death. Leading Sylvain behind the bar and into the kitchen, she gave a cursory nod to those stationed at that door before revealing another, hidden exit to Sylvain — one that led up a hidden staircase, culminating in another door. She led him up the stairs, telling him that on the other side of that door was the hallway across from our heroes', and if he went down it to the farthest door on his left, he would find a bedroom, with a hidden door in its far left corner. That door would lead him into the loft above the stables.

She didn't know if he would need that information, but she thought he ought to have it, just in case.

Thanking Danica and suggesting they might need to talk more later on about why her tavern was full of hidden passageways and doors, Sylvain followed her back into the kitchen, where she pulled together a surprisingly delicious concoction of wine, tea, and honey, sending Sylvain back to his friends to recuperate and wait out the night.

Those who could sleep, slept. Others stayed awake a little longer, alone with their thoughts whether they wanted to be or not.

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