In order to keep him safe, the group decides to return Savid back to the ground floor of the manor. They return him to the room where they found him with the wine casks where he hides behind the barrels and waits for their return. Then they return to finish looking through the third floor.
They enter a room and find five revenant knights seated around a table. They look to the group in the doorway and ask why they have disturbed the dead. Bramo tells them not to worry because they oppose Strahd and trying to destroy him. The entire group tenses up as they realize what Bramo has said. Everyone looks back and forth, hands towards their weapons, waiting to see how the revenants will react. They are relieved when one of them introduces himself as Sir Godfrey Gwilym.
Godfrey’s memory is better than the other knights they have spoken to. He remembers the order’s history along with his oaths and prayers. He tells them he can sense that the dragon Argynvost’s spirit is not at rest and does not approve of what has become of the order. He wants to the help the group but is limited in what he can do as they are all bound to obey Vladimir’s orders. They are all sitting in this room awaiting his commands.
They ask where they can find information on the order’s prayers and oaths, and he directs them to the study down the hall. He tells them it contains many books, including books about their order. They thank him and ask if they can look around the rooms nearby. Godfrey tells them it’s all right.
They find a bedroom in northwest tower. It contains a nice double bed with carved dragon posts along with a stuffed bear and wolf. Dim light spills into the room through cracks in the tower, but the interior is dark and gray and there is a rainstorm inside of the tower. Looking out the nearby windows, the group can see it is not raining outside and the storm is contained within the tower. They find the occurrence strange. Lancelot begins howling mournfully. The group wonders if this storm is magical and caused by some sort of sadness. Riley decides to investigate.
The rain is normal rain that appears from nowhere and doesn’t seem to be pooling within the room. Looking around the room reveals little as the only chest contained within is empty. Based on what they know about the knights and the order, the group concludes that this was Vladimir’s room that he shared with his lover and the storm represents his sadness over the loss of that lover.
The group asks Godfrey if he had a special relationship with Vladimir. Godfrey tells them that he was a knight and Vladimir was his commander and nothing more. He does not recall Vladimir having a special relationship with anyone. Godfrey seems sad to the group and they wonder if perhaps he was Vladimir’s lover who has also forgotten him and whether the storm inside the tower might be his sadness.
The group head down the hallway and into the study Godfrey described to them. They find the room nearly empty; picked clean by looters. Large bookshelves line the walls, but they are all empty. A single chair lies toppled over near the cold hearth. Above the mantle is a large panting which has been slashed. The bottom of the painting hangs folded over itself, obscuring the subject of the painting.
Riley enters the room with Lancelot searching for a book she can give to Elora. Beneath the overturned chair, she finds the only remaining book, The Oath Celestial, a damaged book details the oaths and beliefs of the order. She turns the book over to a grateful Elora much to the approval of Lancelot. Looking through the book, Elora discovers it and the knights came from a place called the Holy Empire of Valentia.
Looking through the rest of the room, Ireena discovers a treasure vault which has also been ransacked. Johan decides to investigate the painting. He reaches up and places the torn, lower half back in places. The painting reveals the manor in its former glory with a silver beacon shining from the chapel’s tower. As the painting is restored, there is a flash of silver light and suddenly and huge, spectral silver dragon appears before them, the spirit of Argynvost!
The spirit tells them its “skull lies in a wet place of great evil, desecrated by the undying.” If they return the skull to his crypt, then his spirit will shine forever and bring hope to this dark land. Then the spirit disappears. The group understands that the missing skull is what is allowing the darkness to fall over the manor and that it must be returned to the mausoleum. They are not sure where the skull is though.
They consider that it could be in the manor, but based on the image of Argynvost, the skull must be quite large and hard to miss. Studying the map that Wyssilka gave them, they note that there are two swamps in Barovia, one of which is in the ruins of Berez. Lucien mentions searching the other swamp, the Ivlis Marsh, and he found no sign of any dragon skull there. They also consider the skull may be at one of the lakes.
Pietro searches the northeast tower under direction from Johan. The tower is empty except for some long claw marks on the floor. The group concludes the tower was Argynvost’s bedroom. Johan asks Pietro to open the curtains in the room, testing a theory. Pietro opens the curtains revealing the night sky and the half-moon above. Nothing happens and Johan is forced to rethink his theory.
Searching through the rest of the third floor, the group discovers an art gallery of sorts depicting religious frescoes on the walls. Three stained glass windows display images of Saint Andral, the Morninglord, and Saint Markovia. Bramo, Elora, and Bronwyn catch brief flicker where the images displayed on the glass change into a slender, fanged, crimson shadow, a skull with an intricate pentagram on its forehead, and a dark star with many tendrils extending from it. The rest of the group sees nothing.
Elora takes a much more aggressive role in searching the rooms. She is seemingly much bolder than before and makes her way through two crumbling rooms on the south side of the manor. Ireena watches with concern from the hallway while Riley looks on in horror, imploring her to use caution. Elora searches through the ruined rooms but finds nothing of note.
The group make their way upstairs to the roof. It is fully dark out now with only a little moonlight filtering in through the fog. Johan draws his new longsword which glows a calm, blue light in the darkness. Lucien notes the light is beautiful and impressive, but not as radiant as the sun. Johan agrees, saying it is much more like moonlight than sunlight. The light of the sword seems to have a strange effect on both McCoy and Pietro. McCoy feels a strange sensation inside of him. He fights against it. Ireena notes that Pietro‘s face is covered in sweat, but the boy says he is all right.
The group briefly looks around the rooftop, noting a large hole in the center of the roof leading down to the third floor. They head into the tower of the chapel and find a landing with a wide, spiral staircase leading upwards. They follow it upwards, stopping to note two doors which lead outside to battlements with staircases leading down. The group makes their way to the top of the tower.
Ravens roost in the rafters at the top of the tower. In the center of the room is a large black cloud swirling and flashing silently from within like red and orange lightning. The room has an uncomfortable atmosphere. Lancelot is disturbed and begins growling and snapping. Riley tries to soothe him, and he snaps at her, becoming aggressive. Elora tries to investigate the cloud and figure out what it is. McCoy feels a strange sensation come over him. He resists the rising tide of rage building him.
Pietro succumbs and transforms into a raging werewolf, tearing through his clothes. Johan rushes over to seize his son but can’t control him. McCoy grapples with him, holding the beast at bay with his mechanical strength. Riley tries to contain Lancelot, but he is too incensed and slips out of her hands biting her. She is patient and chides him knowing he is not himself and will regret his actions. Lucien grabs a hold of Lancelot and keeps him from attacking her further.
The rest of the group isn’t sure what to do and try to stay out of the way as they move back down the tower. Lucien and Riley work together to get Lancelot down the stairs while McCoy and Johan struggle with Pietro. When they get outside to the roof, Lancelot calms down and seems both exhausted and contrite, but Pietro continues to rage in his werewolf form. The group drags him back inside to the gallery with the religious art and stained-glass windows. They tie him up with some rope and McCoy and Johan stand guard over him.
The rest of the group returns to Godfrey and ask him about the possible whereabouts of Argynvost’s skull. Godfrey tells them that he isn’t sure where the skull is but tells them the battle was fought north of the manor. The group notes Godfrey’s sadness in contrast to the rage of Vladimir. They wonder if Godfrey is the cause of the rain in the tower bedroom.
The group reassembles and decides to leave; concluding there is nothing more for them to do there without the skull. They return to Savid who is frightened and disturbed that Pietro is now a snarling werewolf! He uneasily joins the group to return to the Vistani Camp.
As they exit the manor, they see a raven waiting outside on the statue of Argynvost. It flies over and perches on Elora’s shoulder. When the group starts to leave, the raven cries out, “Danger! Danger! Stay safe!” The group is confused and surprised that the raven can talk, but Elora explains that ravens are able to speak with a limited vocabulary imitating the words of others. Through questioning the raven, they learn that the danger is at the Vistani Camp and the raven is insistent that they do not go there.
When Savid learns of the danger at camp, he insists on return to protect Kasimir. With this realization, Elora insists on returning as well. The raven squawks in protest at this suggestion and the group tries to convince Elora not to go. Ireena supports Elora and says she will do whatever Elora decides. Savid tells them whatever they decide, he must return to the Vistani Camp even if he must do it alone. After much debate and convincing, Elora decides with a heavy heart that she will not go. She asks that Savid tell Kasimir that she loves him, and he agrees to do so, departing into the darkness.
With the Vistani Camp no longer safe and the state of Vallaki still unknown, the group decides to head to the winery instead. The raven enthusiastically supports this idea and leads them away to safety.
When they reach the winery, Davian is waiting there to greet them. He ushers them inside. They ask if he sent the raven to them, and he admits that he did. They settle down inside to some dinner and drinks while Davian has his son Adrian explain what happened.
Adrian tells them their spies learned there was an attack on the Vistani Camp. The Devil’s forces descended on the camp to capture Alkazaar. There was a furious battle with much destructive magic going off. In the end, Alkazaar managed to escape and is now on the run. As far as they know, the Dusk Elves were not involved in the conflict and Kasimir is okay. Luvash and Arrabelle were also both away from the camp when the attack occurred and are also okay.
The group wonders if this means there is a spy in Vistani Camp or if it was possibly the scrying power of the Devil. The group concludes that Alkazaar is all too aware of that scrying ability which would have tipped him off to escape prior to the attack. All signs point to a traitor in the camp. Elora is relieved that Kasimir is okay but is still wracked with worry and regret for not going herself to check on him.
Before heading to bed for the night, Johan says a sacred prayer to summon a divine steed to his side to serve him. He calls forth a divine warhorse and is shocked to see the horse that arrives is skeletal instead. He accepts that this is simply how things are in Barovia and stables the horse. Locked in another stall in the barn, his son, Pietro, still rages on as a werewolf.
That night, McCoy eats another dream pastry and dreams of his wife Gertrude and his daughter Matilda, remembering their names and faces clearly. He basks in the happy memories of being together with them, but upon waking from the dream, finds it leaves him feeling hollow and sadder than ever. From deep within himself, he hears a bestial growl.
Bronwyn dreams of being in the snow on a mountaintop standing before a massive temple built into the face of the rock. It is snowing heavily and shivers in bone chilling cold. She feels a presence behind her as backwards tiger hands lay themselves on her shoulders and offer to make the cold go away. Shivering now with revulsion, she declines.
Riley dreams she is surrounded on all sides by enemies. Vampires and werewolves close in around her and even Lancelot is growling and snapping at her. She is all alone. Suddenly, her shadow peels off from her becoming a hazy duplicate of her. They fight back to against the monsters and defeat them. The shadow reaches out a hand to her, offering its help, but Riley declines.
Bramo dreams of his daughters thrashing restlessly in bed as the suffer the effects of their illness. He tries to soothe them, tears welling up in his eyes. The strange woman appears to him again covered in the red and white fur or feathers. She offers peace to his children. Bramo tearfully asks if she can help them. The woman tells him that she can and asks if Bramo will accept her help. He does.
Johan dreams that he is old and useless and weak. Pietro curses his incompetence. He hates his father and transforms into a werewolf! Johan collapses to his knees defeated, unable to protect or care for his family, cursing his own human frailties. He sees the strange clawed creature with many faces. It chides him for his weakness and offers to make him strong. Johan readily accepts.
Elora finds herself in a strange library. She is surrounded by massive bookshelves that stretch far above her to the darkness of an impossibly high ceiling. She is excitedly reading through new tomes when a red hand appears from behind her. The hand looking like it is draped in a silky, red cloth, places a large book in front of her. It opens the book, showing her the pages within. The information within details all about the Fanes and the rituals required to reconsecrate them, there is information all about Strahd, his weaknesses and how to destroy him permanently, there is also information about Kasimir and the magic he plans to use to resurrect his sister.
Elora is overwhelmed by the array knowledge contained within; everything she needs to know is there! And then the red snaps the book closed in front of her. She sees the red stain of blood on the book cover. She realizes she is in the bloody lap of the tall creature she has dreamed of before, not covered in a sheet of cloth, but a sheet of blood. The creature holds up the book, offering it to her, and Elora accepts.
The morning breaks with screams tearing through the room! Johan awakes to find his entire body covered in bloody, pus-filled boils. The painful sores erupt in a vicious acid; his newfound strength! Bramo awakes and tries to scream, but finds he cannot, because he has no mouth! Where his mouth once was is now only smooth flesh. He howls a sick moan that cannot escape from him! Elora’s every movement is pure agony as the sheets scrape that sandpaper over her flesh! Every inch of her body is covered in horrific burns! She immediately regrets her foolish decision. Ireena, sleeping next to her, looks over to her and screams!
Curse of Ravenloft 