I don't even have words for this bullshit.

We left the Vistani to their own devices with some promise that we could return to rest if we required it. Helpful, I suppose. As we proceeded through the antechamber before us, a large statue at the end of the room attacked us, getting the jump on us by casting a chain lightning spell. Thankfully Oswald was prepared and managed to counterpsell it before it could harm any of us. Little did I know that this would be a prelude of things to come. I moved to block Marushka from the creature's line of sight, needing some time to get a read on it and work out a plan of attack.
 
Something... happened, then. I can't explain what it was. Visions flooded my mind.. memories? I can't recall. They all felt so distant. So long ago. I could hear a voice but could make out no words. I care not to reiterate the visions here on parchment, but they disturbed me. For what seemed like a brief moment to me had apparently ended up a deal of time later. When I came to my senses, I was welcomed by the sight of a large demon casting a spell where the "statue" once stood, seemingly being held at bay by Kasimir. Adrostos lay prone on the ground a little ways behind the demon, and scorch marks covered the room around his body. Eerika was no where to be seen. Marushka was still around where I remember her being, though on the other side of the pillar I was using to help conceal her. I was on the opposite side of the room from where I remember being, and under the effects of an Invisibility spell. I could only assume that was of Marushka's doing. I wish I could let her know how much it means to me that she seems to think of my safety as much as I think of hers.
 
Oswald was near me as well, holding off the statue from earlier in a corner of the room, and Bryndon was hiding behind a pillar to support him with magicks. Elaine showed herself to me soon after by teleporting with Adrostos next to Marushka in order to get him healed. I saw Piddlewink on either side of the statue creature, apparently torn in half and left for dead. Without knowing of Eerika's whereabouts, I gathered my wits and turned towards the statue creature who seemed unaware of my presence. I withdrew my old whip along with the new, and began wailing on the creature with a zeal that bordered on fury. I wanted it all to stop. Why had I lost that time? In the middle of combat, no less?! I was angry at myself, mostly. Was it Strahd? Perhaps some other dark power here within this place? Would such a being have such ease of clouding my mind in the future? I dare not dwell on the answers.
 
From what I gathered, Kasimir's efforts to prevent the demon (how the fuck had it even arrived? Summoned by the statue..?!) from casting the spell it had been since I regained my senses proved to be futile, and it tossed a ball of arcane energy into the room. The energy turned a sickly green and curved around the pillar being used as a shield, and slammed into Bryndon's lower body. His scream will probably haunt me for years to come. When the energy dissipated, Bryndon lay on the ground, leg-less from his upper thighs down. The smell was horrendous. The demon had conjured so much energy to cast the spell that it un-summoned itself by doing so.
 
Eerika suddenly burst (back?) into the room, coming from what seemed to be a chamber at the back of the room that I couldn't see before. As Oswald and I (and perhaps Elaine?) continued our relentless attacks on the statue creature, it eventually fell. It was.. somber, as we regrouped. Bryndon was alive, but just barely. I was certain that had Marushka not given him some added constitution when this started, the boy would be dead. Given everyone else's reactions to Eerika, she was apparently also slain during my blackout. Seems that the arrow slits we noticed before proceeding into the room had spellcasters up there and they let loose with a series of fireballs that killed Eerika and downed Adrostos. But yet here she was, alive and.. seemingly well? As the party interrogated her, I learned that the creepy dwarf-obsessed vampire that had taken Errki's body was here, and had retrieved Eerika as well. She made some sort of agreement with him in exchange for him casting a spell to revive her. The deal involved some newly branded glyphs burned into her skin around her neck like a necklace.
 
I stepped over to Marushka and wrapped my arms around her. I was glad she was unhurt. Physically, at least. No telling how much more all of this was compounding on her mind. I wanted to give her some comfort, ease some of her pain, but it seemed the time would not be given to me to do so. The doors at the back of the room opened, and the others sought to leave this room as soon as possible. I can't blame them, to be honest. I felt that Marushka wanted to return to the safety of the small room being guarded by the Vistani, but there was some trepidation amongst the group about going back. Staying close, we proceeded into the next room.
 
So of course we walked straight into the bedchambers of a lich. Thankfully for us all, the lich had become so old and had gone so long without rejuvenating its phylactery that it had become more apathetic than me on my drunkest day. It offered us a respite and allowed us to recover in its room, having no desire to deal with our party. I immediately stepped over to the bed that was still in good-looking condition in the room and dusted it off so that I could relax on it. I was just about to pull Marushka aside so we could talk when Adrostos dropped Bryndon's unconscious body onto the bed as well. Thanks, Ajackass. As the others began questioning the lich, I picked up Lieutenant Dan Bryndon and placed him in a nearby empty chair to rest instead.
 
As talks with the lich ceased and the group began discussing our next steps, I noticed that Oswald had locked his gaze on the lich, and the lich likewise. It was not a look of hatred, which wouldn't surprise me of a paladin in the presence of an evil such as a lich, but more a look of held attention. They were talking. At one point the lich even presented its phylactery to Oswald in what I could only assume was a sign of good faith. It didn't take long for the rest to notice this exchange and then everyone's attention was back on the lich and Oswald. I swear, I'm going to have to learn a sending or messaging spell if I ever want to speak to Marushka again. We learned that the lich offered to heal Bryndon's legs if Oswald would bring it a soul, any soul - it even suggested one of the Vistani hiding near the entrance, and Oswald was considering it. The moral dilemma was of course going around the party and around this time Bryndon was starting to come around to consciousness.
 
It was around this time that the Dwarfpire showed up, and I offered its soul to the lich to fullfill its deal. The vampire was confused and the lich was intrigued. It told me that it likely would not be agreeable to the vampire. My rebuttal was that its agreeability was not a part of the deal. Our part was to "bring a soul". And here we had. A discussion broke out amongst everyone, and a lot of caution about being caught up in the battle between this lich and vampire may not be best for our party given our current state. Well, that was pretty accurate. I was the only one uninjured, thanks to Marushka. Pretty soon the conversation shifted to the vampire talking to us about the traps he had set and whether or not he should let us go, wanting to be freed from this prison as much as the rest of us. Through some discussion on the topic, I ended up managing to convince the vampire to remove the glyphs on Eerika that allowed him to control her completely. How he fucking fell for it I have no idea, but if it isn't broken, don't fix it.
 
The vampire gone, we decided not to trust the lich, and Elaine struck at its phylactery with a magic missile spell, and Eerika tackled the orb to the ground, shattering it and causing the lich to vanish. Now it was gone as well. We had finally all decided to get some rest, and Elaine made another Tiny Hut for us to be safe in. At some point I don't know when, both Kasimir and Adrostos slipped away from us and proceeded further into the Amber Temple, likely in some rush to make a deal with the dark powers. From what I gather, both of them are trying to revive a loved one. I guess neither wanted to let the other get that "blessing" before them and they snuck away. Whatever. I just want to get out of here with my treasure and go deal with Strahd...