As we stepped out of Baba Lysaga's hut, we found ourselves in the middle of a bustling, thriving little town rather than the half-sunk marsh we had expected to encounter. For a moment, we paused to consider if this were some sort of illusion, or had we travelled back in time, or had we broken the curse that had so long held Berez under its spell? Mire first attempted to determine if it were the first through a concerted effort to break any magical enchantment holding us, but nothing changed. It was then decided that we should investigate our situation before saying if we had been, perhaps, cast back in time, or if we had done something to alter our own futures.

I suggested that it would be easy enough to tell if somehow Baba Lysaga had sent us either back (or forward) in time by checking the church and burgomaster's mansion. If the ghosts were still there, imprisoned by our labors, then something else was at work. If they were gone... That was more problematic.

Of course, when we arrived at the Church of the Morninglord, Brother Gregor's ghost was nowhere to be found. The ruins of the church were restored, but it was certainly no place of worship to the Morninglord. Inside, basins were filled with blood from sacrifices, and the bodies of dozens of ravens were impaled on spikes around a dark altar. Vasili said he believed it might be a church to Mother Night, the other of the old gods of Barovia and counterpart to the Morninglord.

Across the river, the burgomaster's manor had been fully restored as well. A guard stood outside the front gate forebodingly, and informed us that Burgomaster Barov was out. The burgomaster's name tickled at the back of my mind, but I couldn't place it. Roderick also felt it was familiar but could not remember where he had heard it. Helpfully, Vasili was able to inform us that it was an old family name from Barovia no longer in favor.

We were able to find Barov in the middle of town square, holding court with the villagers. His booming voice enraptured them, and the townspeople were obviously quite taken with him. A young peasant girl, quite pregnant, hung on his arm and looked up at him lovingly. Before we were able to approach and ask the burgomaster for an audience, a dark-haired woman came up to us and asked us for assistance. She introduced herself as Ravenovia, the burgomaster's wife. She said that the town school teacher, Lysaga, had used her magic to seduce her husband, and would we help her get Barov out from under her control. Chiefly, she wanted the woman killed.

After a brief discussion amongst ourselves, it was agreed that it would be best not to change anything... just in case Baba Lysaga's magic was actually somehow powerful enough to move us through time rather than being an illusion. Also, I wasn't all about killing pregnant villagers on the say-so of a single lady. We needed more information.

Trading upon my father's titles and my position as a knight of Abadar, I sought an official audience with the burgomaster to discuss initiating trade between our peoples via the construction of a Church of Abadar within his realm. The burgomaster was delighted by this suggestion, despite never having heard of my father's holdings, which was unsurprising. While in town, we were able to learn that we were, indeed, centuries in the past.

Time, however, did not seem to have any meaning. When we left the burgomaster's manor and returned to town, it seemed that months had passed. Lysaga had given birth to her baby, a young boy, named Strahd. We arrived in town in time to see Ravenovia marching through the streets with guards to steal the boy from the school teacher, stating that the lord's child had no place living among filthy peasants, that she would raise the boy.

Again, we opted not to do anything that might risk ruining our own futures. Vasili was fairly certain that this was not in fact how anything had happened, but no one could be positive. It was agreed upon that we all needed drinks, so we went to the local tavern for a pint instead.

I will not go into needless detail of the unfolding of the years that passed in a similar fashion. With every journey to and from that pub, every pint drunk, years slipped by. We were able to watch the construction of what appeared to be Castle Ravenloft on the outskirts of town, which geographically made no sense. We were able to watch young Strahd grow up, abused and neglected by the burgomaster's wife, who instead favored her own fair-headed son, Sergei, only a few years younger than Strahd.

After one round of drinks, we emerged from the tavern to be witness to the Lady Ravenovia being set upon by an angry mob of villagers and stoned to death. However, she was again alive after we left the Town Hall seeking more information about our whereabouts, only for her to be chained to a pyre and burned for the crimes of witchcraft. At that time, young Strahd and Sergei stood looking on, roughly teenagers. It was all very confusing. After taking our rest for the night, we woke to find most of Castle Ravenloft's construction finished. We used the same story of being a noble paladin in search of establishing friendships and trade agreements. This time, Lord Strahd was the one on the throne receiving audiences. Beside him was a redhead, his fiance, Tatyana. He was excited by the prospect and agreed to start a trade agreement immediately. It wasn't commented on at the time, but upon reflection, Tatyana looked exactly like I used to some fifteen years ago.

After breaking for a meal, it was years later. The construction of Castle Ravenloft was completed, and servants were decorating for an upcoming wedding the next day. The servants were all gossiping about how Lord Strahd's fiance was having an affair with Sergei. We stood watching as Lord Strahd's younger brother betrayed him, setting soldiers upon him. Despite being a certain falsehood, I couldn't stand by and let such a thing take place: I jumped into the fray to help protect Lord Strahd. The traitorous guards were all killed, and when Sergei attempted to kill himself to escape punishment, I quickly healed him.

Lord Strahd hurried off to the chapel to find Tatyana, but she attempted to throw herself from the castle wall. At Vasili's urgent request, I flew over the castle wall to catch Tatyana when she attempted to hurtle herself to her death. Unfortunately, I haven't quite enough strength to fly well while carrying others; it more becomes a slow, calculated fall. But it was enough to give Mire and Ragnar time to lower a length of rope. They and Vasili were able to pull me back up while I kept a firm hold on my doppelganger.

That accomplished, Vasili announced that he had had more than enough of this series of lies. He firmly insisted that what we had seen was not what had actually happened. Through some considerable effort, he was able to use his magic to dispel the illusion, and we were returned to the mucky swamp we had expected to be in.