Unlike the small encampment where you had met with Madame Eva, this camp looked like a more permanent settlement and had a much more subdued atmosphere. Ouros, The Monk, and Venser were allowed entry after a brisk frisking by the Dusk Elf guards, but Venene became alarmed by the unsettling look given to her by the guards and conjured an Obscuring Mist to escape into the forest and away from their unwanted touches. Avon chose to follow suit and remained close by her while Arwen, Arya, and Ireena stayed in the wagon and continued tending to Zaref’s injuries.

Inside the main tent, the three adventurers walked in on Luvash, the leader of the bandits, mercilessly beating on a young Vistani man as punishment, as apparently he had abandoned his post to go drinking on the night of his daughter’s disappearance. At his side stood Arrigal, the camp’s second leader and the man who Ouros immediately recognized as the Vistani who initially gave your group the false letter that brought you all to this land. 

Venser stepped in and tried to reason with the enraged Luvash, but his bloodied captive protested against any leniency, for fear of appearing weak before his leader. Ouros, however, was not concerned with Vistani politics and instead went straight for Arrigal, taking him by the neck and demanding answers as to why they had been brought here. Arrigal laughed at his threats and explained that he had merely done as Strahd had requested, that his mission had been to lure in a random group of adventurers into this land, and that anything beyond that was Strahd’s business. 

Angered and unsatisfied by his confession, Ouros threatened to take the man’s life, a threat which the Vistani ridiculed, given the Vistani’s numbers against three would-be heroes. With neither man backing down, an alarm was eventually raised, rallying the Vistani and Dusk Elf bandits into action against the guests. Although several of the Vistani and Dusk elves were out searching for the missing girl, they still managed to raise a sizable defense numbering over a dozen able-bodied fighters. Having wanted no part in a senseless feud to begin with and seeing victory over the enemy as an impossibility, Venser withdrew from battle after sustaining several injuries, leaving his teammates to at the mercy of the attackers. 

The bandits had begun to make quick work of Ouros, their poison-drenched weapons crippling his defenses despite his final attempts at bargaining for his team’s lives. Before the bandits could finish the half-orc off, The Monk with No Name resolved to take everyone else down with him, knowing Ouros and he would be dead within moments. Taking his Staff of Power between his hands, he broke it at its center, unleashing the power that existed within it. A blinding light burst forth, surrounding the combatants in raw energy that could be seen for miles. Venene and Avon had come to Venser’s aid after hearing the alarm when the blast went off, and the three approached the site of the conflict to find that everything and everyone within the blast of light’s radius had been completely destroyed. Nothing, not even the bodies of the fallen, remained. And so, the surviving travelers naturally proceeded to loot anything valuable that they could find, taking a heavily locked golden wagon presumably filled with Vistani treasures with them as terrified children and elders looked on in horror.

What remained of your group eventually made it to the Town of Vallaki, where you were welcomed as Ireena’s escorting party. Entering the town, you found that it was a lot livelier and much more cheerful than any of the settlements you’d previously visited in this land. Aside from 'enemies of the well-being’ being punished and ridiculed in the town square, the guards and citizens were all smiles towards your group. A little unnervingly so, given the dreariness you had come to expect of this land thus far. After stopping by a general store that also served as a stockyard for wagons, your group decided to visit the town’s main tavern first, The Bluewater Inn, to gather more information. There, you met Urwin and Danika Martikov, co-owners of the establishment. They offered your group what little drink remained of their low supply of ale and wines, in addition to comfortable rooms in which to stay the night. Arwen and Arya helped Dragneel to his room as the rest of your group accompanied Ireena to the church, where she planned to stay while she figured out her living arrangements.

It was night by the time your group arrived at St. Andral’s Church. Upon entering, you found a group of townsfolk gathered for nightly prayer, under the guidance of Father Lucian. There, you were also surprised to find Ouros, alive but not whole. His bloodshot eye seemed clouded over and his sense of hearing seemed lost, so communicating with him proved difficult. At his side stood a Vistani half-elf that you had encountered earlier, and who had also presumably perished in The Monk’s explosion. The young man did not seem to recognize your group, and he appeared to be in a slight daze, but he remained by Ouros’s side. Both were wrapped in blankets, borrowed from the church, and carried none of their previous belongings with them.

Father Lucian explained that some of the townspeople had discovered the two a short distance from each other, wandering naked through the Svalich Woods close to the town and brought here for the time being.

Upon reaching the sloping structure, a raven perched atop it drew your attention with angry squawks and violent flapping of its wings, until one in your group seemed to perceive its warnings to steer clear. Unfortunately, the rest of your group decided to explore, and entered to loot what valuables may remain inside.

It appeared that the windmill served as a makeshift home, and a sickly sweet smell hung in the air. After briefly searching the ground floor, you were surprised to see the old woman from before who had sold your tiefling almost two dozen Dream Pastries a few nights before. She greeted the unexpected guests, and sold the tiefling a dozen more Dream Pastries, but the encounter quickly became violent when the half-elf druid of your group attempted to steal gold from the transaction.

The world around you seemed to reshape itself into a ‘cotton candy heaven’, and she trapped over half of your team inside an invisible force-cage. Your drow wizard quickly identified her as a vile and dangerous Night Hag, and her sisters joined the battle shortly after. Fortunately for your group, two of the hag sisters fell into a scuffle among themselves, due in part to your cleric’s murderous suggestions, as the rest of your team tried to break free from the magical cage. During the breakout, your drow took severe damage, and would surely have perished if not for the combined efforts of your group’s rogue and cleric.

Your group barely managed to escape as the night hags eventually became preoccupied with extinguishing the flames that had sprung up inside their home over the course of the battle. Your group now finds themselves weak, tired, but nonetheless alive and once again on the Old Svalich Road towards the Town of Vallaki once again.

On the way over, you encountered an old woman selling Dream Pastries, a magical treat that promises a temporary escape from life's burdens through beautiful dreams or paradise. Your group's tiefling, Avon Vox, offered to buy all 20 of her Dream Pastries, but out of caution asked her to eat one herself. After she politely declined, he intimidated her into taking a bite, to no visible ill-effect.

Upon reaching the chapel and meeting a visibly weary and exhausted Father Donavich, you learned the tragedy of his life. Beneath the church, his son had been locked away, another of Strahd's cursed victims. As he was no longer fully human and his tortured existence only served to bring his father pain, as well as pose a threat to the town should he ever escape, your group decided to put him down, despite his father's protests. Offering them both a Dream Pastry, you were able to put an end to this painful chapter in an incredibly peaceful manner. The burial would take place at dawn, and so your group spent the night at father Donavich's chapel with Ismark and Ireena.

At night, your group was surprised to discover that a congregation of spirits would rise from the cemetery and march towards Castle Ravenloft. Ireena and Ismark assured you that this was a common occurrence, and nothing else came of it. In the morning, everyone set to work preparing two funerals. Father Donavich thanked you, and after discussing Ireena's concerns over her continued safety, recommended that she be taken to the Abby of Saint Markovia or, failing that, the fortified town of Vallaki.

You agreed to escort her there, and stopped by a small temporary settlement of Vistani travelers, the Tser Pool Encampment, to request horses and wagons for the trip. There, you met Madam Eva, a gifted Vistani fortune teller gifted with the 'Second Sight'. She congratulated you on surviving the land's perils thus far, and immediately recognized the nameless monk traveling alongside you. The two seemed to share a special connection, and after telling you of your connected fortunes and sending you on your way, the monk decided to stay behind to make up for lost time.

Your group now sits idly by a campfire, enjoying the joyful mood of the Vistani people and sharing their drink as you wait for the monk and his missed connection to wrap up whatever they may be up to. 

As you explored further, you uncovered the Durst family’s dark secret. Gustav and Elisabeth Durst had been leaders of an pseudo-necromantic cult called the ‘Priests of Osybus’, which worshiped a certain 'Strahd Von Zarovich'. The skeletons of the two children who had initially greeted you, Rosavalda and Thornboldt, were discovered locked away in their room, and two in your group became possessed by their spirits, who only sought warm comfort from their endless solitude.

Their bones were put to rest soon after, in a crypt deep within the dungeon hidden beneath the home and the children’s spirits were finally freed, releasing your companions from their possession.

Reaching the end of the dungeon, you came upon the cult’s ritual chamber, where intangible impressions of the horrors that had marked the house rose up to demand the sacrifice of one of your own. After some among you considered turning on each other and everyone argued over the best course of action to take, your group decided to stand united against whatever horror the Death House may hold for any who opposed its demands.

And that horror was Lorghoth the Decayer, a Level 6 shambling mound of decay and rotting vegetation. You take up arms and prepare to fight as the structure around you seems to fall apart.

On the way, you encountered a pack of wolves near the rotting carcass of a young man. In his possession was a bloodied letter similar to the original that you had received earlier, but instead with a warning to stay away. You succeeded in defeating a majority of the wolves, but one in particular stood out from the rest. Many of your attacks either did little damage to it or failed altogether.

Eventually, a mysterious fog fell upon you, and when it cleared, you found that you were no longer in the woods, but rather a small, dreary town. It’s only visible inhabitants, two young children, warned you of a monster that lived in their house and pleaded for you to help save their baby brother, Walter. Upon entering, you find the house dark and empty, and after climbing to the third floor and discovering an empty bundle where the baby should have been, you encountered two enemies; an animated suit of armor and the specter of a deranged maid. Defeating them took up a great deal of strength from many in your group, and you decided to stay in one of the rooms on the third floor to regain your strength.