Paelius was glad to be alive but Thelari just had a hard time believingg it. They head to the bar where Mara, Paelius, and Maxillos engage in a drinking contest. Harex helps Ireena disguise herself as a man. Paelius can’t hold his liquor despite being a half-orc. Maxillos held well for a bit but failed. Mara held her own and was able to keep going due to her extensive life practice after her tragedy. Harex plays a fine tune during all of this for the guests.

Thellari talks with the Vistani women who inform her that Strahd loved another name Tatyana but they don’t know what happened to her.

Paelius and Thellari separated off to a room by themselves to talk.

Paelius: I take Thelari aside to have a private conversation, if possible. “Sis…sister? I…this is hard, but when I died, there was a gorgeous, beautiful light; warmth and joy spreading from it. But then, suddenly the shape of a terrible bat ecplised the warmth. It spoke to me with a terrible voice, and I recognized it as the voice of the devil Strahd. He told me I was to live again, that my good work was not yet done; that I was to deliver the girl to him.” This is Ireena or whatever her name is. “If I disobey, he promised that you should die, and it sounded terrible. Also, my new friend Billy-bob here” and I point to him “says I shouldn’t tell you this. He’s cool peeps but I figured you’d want to know. I’m gonna do it, I can’t lose the last family that I have.”

Thelari: I can’t help but wonder if he was/is hallucinating. “Are you feeling alright? We weren’t sure if you were truly dead. The others…might be uneasy about this kind of thing.” I look around to make sure none of them can hear our discussion. “Did either of these ‘people’ say why he wants to do with her? You shouldn’t worry about me. I’ll be fine, and we have other concerns here. If we run into the Count again, I’ll see if he can be reasoned with. He seemed pleasant enough, but I’m not going to just hand over an innocent against her wishes.”

P: “I feel like my soul was ripped out, torn apart and then forcibly sewn back together. So no, not really feeling the best. And you know I’m not the best with people, but it felt terrible, being spoken too in my mind. And haven’t I heard you describe the Lifegiver that way: warmth and joy and bright lights?”

“And I don’t feel right about giving her up, but I cannot lose you too…the hope of finding you is what kept me sane in the labor camps…”

T: I clutch my holy amulet and nod. “He is. He gave us the gift of our longevity. The Lifegiver knows the future and past of each elf, faerie, and sylvan being. He says it is important for us to be here.” I study him, to see if anything is afflicting him, besides these visions that he describes. “I don’t see anyone there. What are you talking about?”

P: “You can’t see Billy-bob? Hmm, interesting. He can see you. He says you need protecting. I told him about our sparring match, but he doesn’t believe me. Also, do I count amount those that the Lifegiver knows the future of?”

T: I am growing increasingly concerned about this scenario, and start watching him even more closely.

“What? Of course you are. You are of the Elven blood, whether or not you look it. Did Mother not teach you all this? He favors subtlety in his touch, but he cares for us all, and guides us in his way.” I keep looking at the place where this person is supposed to be.

P: Reminiscing about Mom “ah yes, it comes back now. I may have blocked out part of my memory, for fear the pain would send me into a rage. I learned to cope with the Mark of Gruumsh, it ever calls me to violence, just as the call of the Lifegiver calls me to protect and save. I’ve given in to the rage a few times, and it’s not who I am, who I choose to be. And billy is shaking his head, he’s wondering why you are staring at him with confusion?”

T: (Can I sense anything actually there? She’s debating between some sort of spirit and you just hitting your head too hard)

“There’s literally nobody there, Paelius. I think you need more rest. You would do well to at least try to remember the lessons Mother taught you. She was trying to share her wisdom with you. It’s to your advantage to use it.”

J: (Sarah roll a perception check.)

T: (7.)

J: (Wow. You sense that something is off. Weird I mean to say.)

T: (That was with my +5. 😭)

T: “How long as this Billy Bob been around and talking to you?”

P: “Umm…since I came back to life? He was down in the room with us. He was right behind me when you let me out of the cellar. And yeah, I’m working on using the wisdom thing, it’s slowly coming back to me.”

T: “Okay, well you don’t have to take my word for it…. But nobody except you sees this ‘Billy’ fellow. I don’t think you should talk to him anymore. He could be an evil spirit, or a spy of some sort.”

P: “Nah, he’s good peeps. He just wants to help keep you safe!”

T: “Why wasn’t he helping us fight the vampire, then? If he was there, he let you die. And don’t you find it odd that I can’t see or hear him? I don’t need his help.”

P: “You know, this is getting old. He’s here, he’s a friend, and he was probably scared during the fight. That was a tough son of a bitch we fought”

T: I clench my fists and groan in audible frustration. “You need to listen to me! I’m telling you not to trust some random invisible person that only showed up after you had a vision of a bat who talked to you. Do you not realize how insane you sound right now?!”

(She’s probably beginning to shout.)

P: “We’ll have to agree to disagree here. He’s so cool! And so trustworthy! He’s wants to help us take down this Devil guy and keep you safe!”

T: Face palm. “See, this is exactly why I didn’t want you coming here with me. You’ve already gotten yourself killed and won’t listen to anything I say! This non-existent person has done nothing to earn your trust. Right now, I honestly would feel safer with ‘the Devil’ than I do with you and your little ‘sidekick’!”

P: (Josh, does any of her persuasions affect my trust in Billy-bob?)

J: (No. You firmly believe in Billy-Bob. He is real and nothing can sway you.)

P:”Then me and Billy are gonna try and take Ireena to Strahd, keep you safe, and then get out of your hair.” At this point I go sulk in the corner. My tattoos keep randomly glowing and stopping, showing a bit of the madness/rage kicking in as I struggle to remain me, remain calm and sane.

T:”Over my dead body.” I let him storm off and then go to the rest of the group.

(Maybe Maxillos can help me examine him and figure out why he’s crazy?)

They come back to join the group with Thellari visibly frustrated. The adventurers decide to retire for the evening. While upstairs, Paelius wants to stand really close to Ireena and keep Billy-bob by his side as well. Thellari insists that he and Billy-bob go to bed. He sulks away with Billy-bob following him.

Thellari expresses her concern over her brother’s recent change. She warns them to not let him be alone with Ireena. Ismark warns that he would not allow Paelius to touch her. The adventurers decide to go to sleep for the night.

Upon waking up, the adventurers told Ireena and her brother to go get ready. They assured them that they needed about a day to get ready and that the adventurers could go around the town finding people to help. The adventurers walk around and hear a child yelling for help and they find a brother and sister claiming a monster is in their house with their baby brother upstairs. The adventurers head inside.

Mara takes to the stairs rushing up to see if she can find the baby.  Harex casts unseen servant and gets him to go around opening the doors on different levels. They make it up to the attic where they fight a suit of animated armor. Paelius keeps his attention most of the time flanking with Billy-bob although he doesn’t get the natural advantage one is accustomed to by flanking. Harex gets his unseen servant to throw oil lamps on the animated armor and Maxillos lit it on fire.

After the burning suit falls apart, Mara searches the upstairs until she finds a nursery. Upon entering, she is attacked by a specter. The other adventurers come to aid her. They defeat the specter and discover an empty bundle of blankets in the crib shaped like a baby. They find a woman’s body stabbed repeatedly. Paelius lock picks and the adventures see the two children from outside, Rose and Thorn Durst standing in the room as ghosts. They also see their bodies and Thellari realizes they starved to death. Rose points out the secret door into the basement.

Maxillos goes to investigate another room and Thorn attempts to possess him but fails. Mara exists the room and Rose possesses her. The children want to go along with the adventurers and don’t want to be left alone. They asked if Rose would leave Mara and she wanted to stay for now. The adventurers decide to check the rest of the house before proceeding down the secret passage.