The Cost of Survival
The session opens in the aftermath of the battle for Vallaki.
Rain continues to fall over the courtyard as the body of Ibrynn, the Horned Prophet, lies dead in the mud. The former paladin, once a friend and ally of the Stunorians, has fallen to Vestri's Guiding Bolt. His final warning still hangs in the air, but for the first time since the battle began, everything is silent.
The quiet does not last long.
Bethany and an unfamiliar man rush to Merlin's side and manage to bring him back from the brink of death. Disoriented, Merlin mistakes the newcomer for Abel before Bethany quickly explains that the man is actually her half-brother, Caelum. She also takes the opportunity to tell Merlin that he desperately needs to stop falling in love with every mysterious man he encounters.
Attention soon turns to Celeste.
While her body lies motionless in the mud, her spirit finds itself somewhere entirely different. The pain of battle disappears, replaced by warmth, stillness, and peace. There she finds Karl, no longer dead or broken, but whole.
Karl tells her she no longer needs to fight.
He reminds her of the sacrifices she made and the lives she protected. He assures her that what happened was not a failure, but a choice—one she made willingly to save others. For perhaps the first time in her life, Celeste is offered something she has rarely allowed herself.
Rest.
When Karl offers her his hand, she takes it.
And chooses not to come back.
Back in Vallaki, the reality of that decision devastates Izek.
He refuses to accept that Celeste is truly gone. He demands that Vestri heal her. He begs. He argues. He searches desperately for any solution. Only when it becomes undeniably clear that no spell can bring her back does the truth finally settle in.
Celeste is dead.
His grief quickly turns toward anger.
He blames Strahd.
Standing before the vampire lord, Izek accuses him of allowing all of this to happen while simply watching from above. Strahd offers no comfort and no explanation. Merlin and Vestri manage to stop Izek from attacking him outright, reminding him that throwing his life away now would only make Celeste's sacrifice meaningless.
Instead, Izek swears revenge.
No matter what he must become, no matter what it costs him, he promises that he will one day destroy Strahd and everything he rules.
Strahd, however, seems far more interested in Marius.
Marius has died during the battle, and Strahd refuses to allow that outcome.
Crushing a diamond in his hand, Strahd uses a scroll of Revivify to restore Marius to life. He reminds the hunter of a promise he once made: Marius will die alone and unwanted—but only when Strahd decides the time is right.
As Strahd prepares to leave, Marius finally snaps.
He demands to know if this is what Strahd enjoys. If all the death, betrayal, suffering, and heartbreak are simply entertainment to him.
Strahd calmly admits that they are.
The answer enrages Marius.
He calls Strahd pathetic. Lonely. A miserable figure who delights in the suffering of others because he has nothing else.
For a brief moment, Strahd is speechless.
Then he smiles.
One day, he tells Marius, he may understand. One day, Marius may find himself just as alone.
With that, the vampire departs.
Meanwhile, Vestri finally uses Sending to contact Elrohir, who had never attended the sermon and had instead continued with the original plan of retrieving Karl Wachter's body.
Elrohir's response only raises more questions.
They have Karl.
And they touched a statue.
And someone came to life.
Then the message ends.
Earlier that day, after bringing Karl's body into the basement of the abandoned Wachter estate, Elrohir had discovered a remarkably intact stone statue of a knight. The statue appeared almost alive, covered in cracks as though something inside was trying to break free.
When Elrohir touched it, the stone felt warm.
Moments later, the statue shattered.
A knight emerged from within.
Disoriented but immediately battle-ready, she called out for Argynvost and the Order of the Silver Dragon before Elrohir managed to explain where she was and what had happened.
The knight introduced herself as Lady Mirena.
After a brief conversation, Elrohir received Vestri's message and asked Mirena to help carry Karl's body to the courtyard.
When the two finally arrive, they find the aftermath of the battle.
Marius has arranged the bodies of Celeste and Ibrynn side by side in the mud. After breaking into a nearby market stall, he has even gathered flowers and placed them in their arms.
The gesture infuriates Izek.
He cannot understand why anyone would show kindness to the man who murdered his sister.
Marius explains that he remembers who Ibrynn used to be before Barovia changed him. Before the darkness consumed him. To Marius, the tragedy of Ibrynn's death began long before the battle.
Izek remains unconvinced.
Lady Mirena introduces herself to the party and explains her connection to Argynvost and the Order of the Silver Dragon. The revelation leads to a flood of questions, though Mirena has little knowledge of recent events. She has, after all, spent centuries trapped as a statue.
The reunion takes another violent turn when Izek notices Elrohir.
Consumed by grief, he accuses the fighter of abandoning the group and claims that Celeste might still be alive if Elrohir had been present.
Elrohir disagrees.
They never even knew a battle was taking place.
The argument escalates quickly.
Izek punches Elrohir square in the jaw.
Elrohir responds with a single punch of their own.
Izek immediately collapses unconscious into the mud.
Recognizing how valuable resurrection magic has become, the party next visits Vallaki's jeweler, the Lord of the Rings shop operated by Vasili.
The meeting is tense from the start.
Merlin distrusts Vasili immediately, and the feeling appears mutual. The tension only grows when the shopkeeper charges six hundred and fifty gold pieces for a diamond worth barely half that amount.
The conversation becomes even shorter once Vasili learns that the Stunorians killed Vallaki's ruler.
Concerned about riots, looting, and the power vacuum now threatening the city, he quickly decides to close his shop.
The party takes the hint.
With the city increasingly hostile and unstable, the Stunorians decide it is finally time to leave Vallaki behind.
Traveling west along the Old Svalich Road, the group eventually stops to rest.
The Mad Mage summons Mordenkainen's Magnificent Mansion, and everyone settles in for the evening.
Izek places Celeste's body in her own room before locking himself inside one of the prison cells in the basement. He no longer trusts himself.
Merlin chooses to stay close to him.
Before doing so, however, he places both Ibrynn's body and Ibrynn's sword, Otis, inside his own room.
Elsewhere in the mansion, the Mad Mage attempts to wash away the smell of death that has clung to him since his bargain with the Queen of Poxes.
The bath fails.
No matter how hard he scrubs, the scent remains.
Concerned about what he has agreed to, he begins researching the mysterious entity in the mansion's library. Through ancient texts and forgotten records, he learns that the Queen of Poxes is not truly a goddess but a Vestige—an ancient power whose plagues and diseases seem to function as adaptive forms of magic.
More troubling still, Mordenkainen realizes that his resurrection was not the full price of the bargain.
Something else is owed.
He simply does not know when the debt will be collected.
His research is interrupted when Mirena and Marius arrive with questions about the ghosts who mysteriously gather in the mansion's kitchen every evening for a drinking party.
Mordenkainen admits he has no idea who they are or why they keep appearing.
Soon afterward, Vestri joins them and asks about the enchanted prayer book he recovered from Saint Andral's Church.
Using Identify, Mordenkainen discovers that the holy text grants blessings tied to the Morninglord, strengthening Vestri's healing magic and protecting him from necrotic energy.
As night falls, the mansion slowly grows quiet.
Most of the party falls asleep without difficulty.
Lady Mirena struggles more than the others.
The mansion is strange enough already, but subtle crying and distant giggling echo through the halls whenever she closes her eyes.
Thankfully, Merlin sends Thalia the panther to keep her company.
After using Speak With Animals and befriending the great cat, Mirena finally manages to relax and drift to sleep.
Merlin remains with Izek until exhaustion finally overtakes him.
Once the grieving vampire spawn has fallen asleep, Merlin settles down as well.
And dreams.
At first, the dream resembles one of the most important moments of his life.
His turning.
Barefoot in a chapel lit only by cold candlelight, he stands holding a silver chalice filled with impossibly dark blood.
But something is wrong.
This is not how it happened.
As he drinks, reality begins to unravel.
Stone twists into bone.
The chapel pulses with life.
Shadows stretch across the walls.
And somewhere in the darkness, something watches.
Something older than Strahd.
Something far more alien.
A reflection steps from a mirror and smiles at him.
When Merlin follows it, the mirror ceases to reflect and instead reveals something terrible lurking behind its surface. Tendrils writhe in the darkness beyond the glass.
One reaches toward him.
Merlin refuses it.
The mirror shatters.
And he awakens.
Not with a scream.
Not with a jolt.
But with a slow breath.
His mouth tastes faintly of iron.
And something sweet.
For just a moment longer than it should, his shadow lingers behind him.
Then it follows.
