Strange dreams and await the party as they bed down for the night, putting the trying day behind them only to be besieged by nightmares and visions of great import. Lucian wakes fitfully at midnight, scrubbing his hands and muttering to himself as he paces with a letter from Strahd, subtly waking Nikael. The two digress on nature, man, choice, and fate, Nikael offering to share his knowledge on such philosophical learnings from his homeland putting a gleam in Lucian's eyes. The two return to their beds, and when everyone wakes they all sit down to a graciously large breakfast curtesy of Danika to discuss planning and direction. Resolved to tackle the vineyard and its unique set of circumstances, Valdr takes the lead only for the group to run smack dab into Lady Wachter outside the inn. She and Malchior share tense words as Lucian interjects to fortify Malchior's attempted deception. Lady Wachter is obviously skeptical yet gives an affirmative sniff and leaves with a huffing air of disappointment. The plans and dealings of the court and its royal hyenas is an area of expertise for Nikael, and the intimate knowledge from his homeland is a warning to Malchior in particular, of cloak and dagger intrigue and mystique most tragic. One by one the group follows Valdr out of Vallaki but not before Nikael leaves a note with Danika detailing their whereabouts for Ching Shih, and as our adventurers step foot out of town the towering half-orc tells of the harrowing dream he had of Yesterhill, his homeland, and a strange voice speaking of a spear. Lucian changes in the blink of an eye to a horse, galloping back to retrieve Ireena as our intrepid heroes head southwest, towards Krezk, swiftly encountering a Vistani camp of lit wagons and tents. Daven, the resident master thief, is familiar with the gray elves lining the encampment, searching for the centerpiece and encountering the leader of the camp, Arrigal, and his brother, Luvash, whipping a teenage boy who supposedly lost Luvash's seven year old daughter. The girl was last seen northeast of camp, in the direction of Vallaki, and after the hint of reward from Arrigal, the party agrees to keep an eye out. Lucian locates a set of tracks, small, to a hill where they are met by a heavyset man's tracks before heading back to Vallaki, the girl's prints having simply stopped. On their way to the vineyard Lucian informs Luvash and Arrigal of their search as the journey southwest takes a turn for the eery. That familiar feeling of being watched, first felt on the road into Barovia, haunts the party as Nikael spies a tall and striking tower in the distance to the northwest, Valdr cutting a direct path through the woods towards it. Lucian is quick to pick up the scent of a freshly killed human, following his nose to the mauled body of a cleric, torn apart by werewolves. Nikael, ever the pragmatist, searches the body and finds a signet ring and a writ of identification naming him one "Brother Damian Hendricks." The ground is littered in blood and abnormally large paw prints, some veering off to Vallaki and some leading away to the deepwoods. A gruesome end to a pious life, providing the party with answers and a sense of completion that tastes of salt and ashes.
