It was clear that we were best to get out of the Durst house when we did. Looking back over the lot behind us, the walls were rotted, the ceiling falling in, the windows smashed and broken. While going through the house, we had managed to find a few objects belonging to the cultists that were sufficiently intact to sell. The four of us journeyed down the lane to Bildrath's Mercantile. Mire did a fantastic job chatting up the cheap bastard with her ample "conversational skills" -- he gave us a remarkable deal on the few pieces we brought him. Fantastic for him, at least. We ended up keeping a magical cloak, a few potions, a lantern, and a letter from Count von Zarovich to the cultists.

It was difficult to avoid audibly gloating as we left Bildrath's. The ridiculous markup on his products available for sale did do something to prevent egos from getting too out of control. It was agreed that we didn't need anything badly enough to pay his prices and that we would keep our profits for another day. We had barely stepped out of his establishment when we saw an elderly woman selling her wares in the street. Her prices were not much better than Bildrath's... but her goods smelled much better. Granny had meat pies, potato pies, and maple nut, all of which smelled divine, but was about five-times the cost of the tavern fare. She said that the cost was owing, in part, to the special qualities of her pies, which inspire good dreams in those who eat them. Granny was so certain we would enjoy them that she gave us one for free to sample.

After giving her our thanks, the maple nut pie was tucked away for later. We still had a pair of deeds to property belonging to a long-dead family, and it was agreed that the burgomaster would be the most logical person to give them to so that the proper heirs could be identified. Once again, our journey down the main thoroughfare was interrupted. Despite being midday, there was virtually no other foot traffic. Few lights shine from any of the windows in the townhomes lining the street; however, from one home, the sound of profound, mournful weeping was able to cut through the silence. Mire felt it was important that we stop and look in on the family; rightly so.

Ms Mary, as we came to learn, informed us that she was beside herself with grief because her young daughter, Gertruda, had run away from home nearly a week ago. More accurately, she said that her nine-year-old daughter "broke out of the house". She invited us into her home and allowed us to look around more closely to ensure there had been no foul play. As far as Ms Mary knew, no strangers had been lingering around the home, and Gertruda had no other family that she might have run away to see (or who might have absconded with the girl). Her bereavement was compounded by the fact that, after alerting the authorities about the abduction, nothing was done to look for Gertruda.

Since my new companions had neither lodgings nor occupation in this land, I thought it might be wise to find some sort of potential income for them. Ms Mary was agreeable to the idea of our small group looking for her daughter, for a modest fee. She was also agreeable to allowing us to take one of Gertruda's plush toys and an article of clothing in the hopes that Finrar might be able to catch her scent as we travel. The only potential lead that she could offer was that her daughter was obsessed with fairy tales: castles, princesses, knights, dragons, and jousts.

Unfortunately, Finrar wasn't able to catch Gertruda's scent leading away from the house. A week later, it wasn't too surprising, but it was worth a try. Attempts to gather more information at the burgomaster's manor failed. While the gate around the property was hanging open, the door was shut tight, and knocking went unanswered. We had better luck at the Blood of the Vine Tavern, which was booming with midday business. I may have mentioned before that one of Barovia's most popular establishments is a pub run by a trio of Vistani women, Alenka, Mirabel, and Sorvia, with another Vistani gentleman named Arik manning the bar with his daughter. The tables were packed with patrons, enjoying drinks and pub fare.

The only person in the tavern sitting alone waved us over, introducing himself as Ismark Kolyanovich, the burgomaster's son. He greeted everyone, welcoming Mire and Ragnar as newcomers to Barovia, and letting the group know that his father had been ill recently and had only just passed away a few nights ago. The family still had the body at the home owing to some local custom, a wake with the dead, and they intended to bring the burgomaster's body to the town church the following morning for service and burial. Ismark explained that, in part, Gertruda's disappearance had not been looked into because the village lacked a proper police presence, not even a guard watch. He explained that the young woman was actually a teenager of around sixteen and that Ms Mary was not in full possession of her faculties.

While the burgomaster would normally have been in charge of looking into the matter, extenuating circumstances (his death) had prevented it. For the time being, Ismark will be serving as burgomaster in his father's place, at least until such time as representatives from the Castle appoint someone else. As part of his plans for improvements to Barovia village, Ismark said that he wanted to try to re-initiate trade with surrounding towns. To that end, he intended to send his sister, Ireena, to Vallaki to begin trade agreements. Having had a chance to speak with us for a time, Ismark asked if we would be open to travelling with her to ensure her safe passage. Again, for a modest fee. His only concern was that, as he said, "Ireena fancies herself a fighter and doesn't believe she needs the protection". After a brief discussion, it was agreed that we could use the funds and that it would give us the opportunity to look for Gertruda.

To celebrate our new partnership, we split our pie and several alcoholic beverages of questionable vintage with Ismark. He said that the woman known as "Granny" had been selling her pies around town for years. The people of Barovia loved them to the point of being almost obsessed with them. In fairness, it was delicious.

Somewhere in the middle of the rounds of drinks, Ismark admitted to not having any other family or friends in the area besides his sister, effectively not having anyone to help with the funeral arrangements. Because of my background with the church, he asked if we would be willing to help with the funeral procession and services. There was a lot of alcohol involved, and so we ended up helping to carry the burgomaster's coffin from the manor to the church in the dim light of the early morning.

The church's exterior was nearly as sad as that of the Durst house, with a sagging roof, worn wooden beams, and crumbling stone. The interior of the chapel was even worse: the altar was claw-scarred, the pews all broken and scattered. Before the funeral ceremony could get underway, Father Donavich's greetings to the family of the deceased was interrupted by tortured screams coming from below the church. >When pressed for more information about the cries from the undercroft, Father Donavich broke down tearfully. He admitted that a year ago, his son, Doru, had "fallen in with a bad crowd", which had attracted the attention of Lord Strahd. The count had turned him into a vampire as a prospective consort, but Father Donavich intervened, effectively kidnapping his son and locking him under the church over the last year without food or social interaction of any kind. Father Donavich expressed his single-minded conviction that unceasing prayer to the Morninglord would somehow bring "redemption" to his son.

After a brief discussion, it was agreed that this was unacceptable. Holding a man captive, starved, without right to trial before a magistrate of the law, is morally reprehensible. A quick ceremony was performed to allow Kolyan Indirovich to find his final rest. While Ismark and Ireena remained outside to pay their respects, the rest of us put our heads together to discuss what to do about the issue of the starved vampire. Happily, my healing magic seemed to be sufficient to replenish blood loss, and a modest offering was sent down the trapdoor in the floor into the undercroft for him to drink so that he was of sound enough mind to enter into a discussion.

According to Doru's account, Lord Strahd came into the village over a year ago, and they happened upon each other. The friends that Doru's father did not approve of had become somewhat obsessed with discussing Lord Strahd and the mysteries of Castle Ravenloft. Because of the intrigue they had built up around the man and the fact that no one had heard from anyone in the Castle for so long, when they received word one day that it was rumored the count had been seen again, the group of friends became excited and actively went searching the woods outside the city.

Sneaking up on a vampire is no easy task, and they returned to the village unsuccessful. According to Doru, however, Lord Strahd found the group the following evening. They spoke at length about a number of topics, the majority of the group quickly losing interest in the face of an actual vampire seeking them out. For whatever reason, Doru says that he and Lord Strahd found each other's company to be enjoyable, and they arranged to meet up on several subsequent occasions in secret. Doru says that they quickly became enamored with one another, and that Lord Strahd extended an offer to make Doru his consort.

Unfortunately for the pair, Father Donavich learned of the clandestine meetings, likely from one of his son's friends. Donavich was too late to stop his son from being made into one of the undead. When Doru attempted to return to the village to collect his possessions and say his farewells before joining Lord Strahd at Castle Ravenloft, he says that his father overpowered him and forced him under the floor of the church, where he has been trapped for the last year.

I'm not entirely certain what to make of this fantastic story. To begin with, it has been said from multiple sources that no one in Barovia has heard from the occupants of Castle Ravenloft in decades, not until the last few weeks; yet, Doru says that he was in contact with Lord Strahd a full year ago. Second, it seems odd to me that the lord of the land would meet up with some local youths in town and enter into what seems to effectively amount to an impromptu marriage contract with a townie youngster. Perhaps I simply don't know enough yet of the local customs? Third, it doesn't seem likely that a lone priest and his dilapidated church would be able to ward off an angry vampire lord intent on rescuing his new ... bride? If Doru truly did enter into an arrangement with the lord of the land, where has he been, and why has he not come to rescue his consort?

Mire immediately pointed out without hesitation or reservation that it was far too cruel a thing to leave the poor man to suffer at the hands of his father and suggested that we take Doru with us to prevent further maltreatment. After a brief dialogue, everyone proved to be in agreement: it would be inhumane to allow Doru to continue to be tortured any further, and he should be escorted safely out of the village. Vampire or not, no one should be starved in forced isolation, no matter how well-meaning the intentions.

The first step in this three-stage operation was fairly simply. Doru took virtually no convincing whatsoever; he was more than ready to be free on the church's undercroft. He swore to do no harm to others, provided that we could continue to arrange Meals Ready to Eat for him. With my particular talents as a paladin, I've become quite adept at magically replenishing my blood. I tend to lose a lot of it anyway, so donating a portion to our new companion is not too much of a hardship. The man's father took a little more convincing.

Ultimately, Father Donavich agreed to entrust his son to our care because, in his year of prayers to the Morninglord, Doru has not been spontaneously converted from a vampire back into a human. I do not believe this to be possible, personally, but through god, faith, and sufficient spell-casting, almost anything is possible. Rather than focusing on his transformation, I stressed to Father Donavich that if Doru were allowed to travel with us, he would have the opportunity to experience the world and perform acts of goodness, charity, and kindness. Through personal introspection and engagement with the community, Doru will have the chance to find peace and salvation. Neither of these things can be found locked away under the church, half-mad with hunger. Furthermore, by entrusting Doru to our care, Father Donavich can spread his attention to others in his flock in Barovia who need his nurturing and guidance.

Although Ismark had (reasonable) reservations about a vampire traveling with his sister, but he and Ireena were both touched by the poor man's unfortunate story. It was agreed that we would take Doru to the Tser Pool were Vistani loyal to Strahd reside. At that point, Doru would have the opportunity to head north to Castle Ravenloft with a Vistani escort or to continue on to Vallaki with the rest of us in order to have some time to himself to consider his life and choices free of outside influences.