The party is woken by loud banging on the front door of Alecs home. The voice of McCall calls out, demanding that the vampire should step out of the house so he can kill him.
With a sigh, Alec explains that McCall has been doing this every morning of for almost a month now, then he disappears for the rest of the day. Opening the door to Alecs home, Summer finds McCall holding a wooden stake in his hands. With the door open McCall attempts to push past the Kobold, but Summer punches him in the crotch causing the old man to crumple over and pass out from the pain.
While Tariel and Abe tie up McCall, Alec makes tea and tells the party about McCalls wife: Three months earlier, McCalls wife had walked into the nearby river and drowned herself. McCall had been distant and absent since his wifes passing, until a month ago when he started showing up at Alecs home accusing his neighbor of being a vampire.
During the discussion, Slate sent his new undead owl he named Skowl out to check the area only for her to immediately get distracted by chasing mice in the grass. After a few failed attempts, Skowl returned empty handed.
McCall stirred awake to find himself tied to a chair and looks confused at the group before Torbin wanted to see what happened if he turned into a bat in front of the old man, who screamed and passed out!
With their chance to ask questions of McCall gone again, Slate brings up that McCalls home could provide some clues. Leaving Tariel and *ahem* 'Dazza' to watch the two old farmers, the rest of the party head to McCalls home. Walking past McCalls pig pen, Abe and Slate notice a slain pig laid in the empty pen. Abe comments on the pig tracks leading out of the pen but none coming back in while Francesco and Torbin inspect the pig, noticing that the pig was killed by a piercing weapon. Something stake like...
Reaching the home, the party find the front door and the home scarce of any furniture of personal belongings. Except for scattered bones and charcoal markings running along the floor and walls. The group examine the markings, Fran noticing sigils in infernal while Abe and Torbin point out that some of the sigils that have been written over are similar to the ones the party saw in the Church of the Morning Lords. It looked like McCall had made some sort of ritual circle originally to ask the Morning Lord for something, assuming it was something to do with reaching for his wife, but as his prayers were not being answered he started asking darker entities to help him.
While the nerds were left inside the house to piece together the runes, Slate and Summer headed around the back of the home to see if anything back there could be of help. Instead they found dismembered and mutilated remains of pig carcasses along with a sow strung up to a large tree where multiple it appeared to have been recently stabbed to death by a small sharp object. Like a stake...
With all the information they think they can glean, the group starts to head back when Skowl tells Slate that the group is being watched by something. A raven is perched on the tree that the sow was tied to, watching them leave. Slate tells the party once they've gotten further from the house, bringing up that he reckons it could be the same raven the group saw before Strahd appeared in front of the party the day before. Unsure why this would mean anything, the five return to Alecs place to find Tariel standing outside. The paladin informs the group that she'd tried to make a prayer to the Morning Lord for McCall but it seemed to have angered him, stating that he only hears back from the dark ones.
Leaving Summer to fill in Tariel and *ahem* 'Dazza' of what the party discovered, the rest of the group headed inside to chat with McCall. Asking him about his wife, McCall tells the party says he's been told to kill a vampire to have his wife returned to him, while staring at Alec. As the party begins to ask more questions about what the markings in his home meant, McCall began ignoring them as he starts frantically speaking to something in another language. Fran recognizes that McCall is speaking Infernal and steps outside the home. The three girls on the porch watch as Fran steps outside and turn invisible. Confused, they head inside to see the others still trying to talk to McCall.
Now invisible to everyone, Francesco sneaks up behind McCall and begins speaking in Infernal to try and force McCall away from the other voices. But as he starts to be changing McCalls perspective, another voice speaks to Francesco. And without a word or notice, Fran stands up and exits the home...
Summer asks about what happened the day McCalls wife died, McCall responding that Barovia had taken her from him and that all he wants is to be with his wife again. And that he needs to sacrifice someone to bring her back. Torbin corrects McCall, pointing out that the cost for such a ritual would require a more personal sacrifice. Like his own life.
Turning to the party, Torbin explains that he believes that McCall had either misunderstood what the dark entities had asked of him or maybe McCall had convinced himself to think he needs to kill someone else other than himself for the ritual.
Hearing his foolishness said aloud, McCall seems to calm down and beg the party to let him go to be with his wife.
Let him die.
As the party step away to discuss what they should do, the screech of an injured swine breaks the silence! Convinced they could have the wrong guy, Summer bolts out toward Alecs pig pen to find Francesco with his face in the belly of a pig ripping it's heart out with his bare teeth!
He looks up and bites down on the heart before snapping back to his senses with the party looking at the gory display...
Torbin tells the rest of the party to go discuss McCall back at the house while he helps clean up Francesco. The two talk about Frans 'urges' coming back due to the Infernal language being spoken and that Torbin needs to keep a closer eye on Fran so he doesn't step out of line like that again...
Returning to the other on Alecs porch, Fran and Torbin hear Abes suggestion that they help McCall attempt to redeem himself. Live his life to the best of his abilities and potentially rebuild rather than give up on his life here and now. As much as the group seemed to like that idea, it ultimately comes down to McCall.
Stepping inside the house, the group asks McCall if he really wishes to die and offer him a place with them on the road to change his life. But he chooses to die, the same way his wife did.
With the decision made, the party let McCall and Alec talk for a moment. McCall leaves the remains of his property to Alec before he hugs his neighbor and leaves with the party. The group walk past McCalls home and down to the river where they find a well dressed man fishing.
The man excuses himself and moves further upstream as McCall greets him as Vasili Von Holtz, a local nobleman. He does comment that it's odd to see him around here this time of year before turning back to the river. He says this is where he last saw his wife before she walked into the river and was swept away. He walks to the waters edge before looking back and locking eyes with Francesco before asking in Infernal if he is doing the right thing. Seeing Frans dumbfounded expression, McCall turns Torbin and thanks him for helping decide before he steps into the flowing river. He laughs giddily as he states he can't swim before he dives into the water, the party watch for a moment to see if the man resurfaces. After nothing happens for a minute, Fran heads down to the waters edge to clean his bloodied clothers when he notices Vasili fishing just of out view of the rest of the party.
Slate offers to clean Frans clothes with a spell, leading him away from the water.
With his freshly cleaned clothes, Francesco leads the others over to Vasili just in time so see him catch an odd translucent trout. The strange noble offers to cook the fish and share it with the party, which they agree and sit around a small fire that Slate starts.
As the fish cooks, Vasili asks about the party. He hasn't seen many elves in these parts and there seems to be a few in this group which he finds interesting. Slate introduces himself and explains that the group is heading to Vallaki.
When asked about what he does, Vasili explains that he runs some businesses and rents out land his family owns around Vallaki. He says he's currently looking for someone he can marry to continue the lineage as he is currently the remaining. The party notices him looking at Tariel, but suggest they can keep a look out for anyone they might know who could be interested.
Summer, with her mouth full of fish, asks how come the man is walking around with no forms of defense on him, only for him to explain that he and his family has made dealings with Strahd in the past and they have received his blessing to wander Barovia without any harm to him. But he has a dog companion, a black mastiff that seems to have wandered off somewhere. Seeing the party looks a little worried about the dog being on its own, Vasili assures them that his pet will return to him when he goes on the road.
Seeing that the fish is missing from the pan, Vasili decides he should pack up and start heading home. He thanks the party for the delightful chat before walking off.
The party start to head back to Alecs place when they find the old man standing outside of McCalls home. They ask him if it is okay to burn down the house since it's a bad reminder of what McCalls descant into madness. Alec agrees, watching the party torch his former neighbors home. The pentagram and markings on the floor burn rather quickly, the house being a pile of ashes within a couple of hours.
Returning to Alecs place, the party stay one more night before thanking the man for being a good host and hit the road.
Reaching the bridge over the river the party watched McCall walk into, *ahem* 'Dazza' stops and contemplates on the area. She explains that this was where her step-father had found her walking around all those years ago. She explains that he step-father was on his way to see the Vistani leader, Madame Eva, when he found her and took her home. Stepping over that bridge was the first true step away from the only home she'd ever known...
Reaching a fork in the road under a gallows where a broken rope sways in the light wind, the party decide on their next direction...
