Sparing a lost soul 05/01/2023

The most of the party lay asleep or missing. The only ones left after this horrid night and drinking to remedy it, were Meghan, Lukas, Keyeth and Evander. They woke up at a reasonable time and summoned Meghan to help them take Ismark and Ireena's father to the graveyard. Ismark asks the party to first go set up a time they could bring their dad, and also, wanted the party to see the scenario happening in the church. So they went through the empty town. Cloaked in a off-white fog. The buildings stand high and sharp like jagged teeth on the lower maw of a wolf. The lady in the house continues howling in despair. They press on to the intersection, heading towards the church.
A once holy place has suffered centuries of attacks from the creatures of the night. Opening the doors, they see the following horror. 
All the pews in the church have been destroyed. A lone priest kneeling in front of an alter, muttering. A well lit hall. 4 rooms and the audience hall lay in shambles. Shingles on the floor. Holes in the ceiling. Screams and loud thumping on a metal trap door. The party goes up to the priest. Father Donavich invites them into the Morning Lords home inviting them to prays as the howls of hunger continue under them. The party isn't interested in prayer but in the shouts for food coming from the the undercroft. Donavich does everything he can to avoid the question, twitching. His sanity breaks the more he is pressed on the matter. He lets them know he has been in this church praying for his child Doru to get better and doesn't want to stop praying. 
Keyeth calms his emotions and he is able to speak rationally for a few moments, recounting the story of the incident turning Doru into a Vampire spawn. 

"A mage of strong will and superior intellect came to this land promising freedom from the cursed Devil Strahd. He gathered the towns in Barovia and made a march with the mob to dethrone the wicked monster. Beasts from the wild came to aid him, eventually turning the tides of the battle in Strahds favor. Doru was one of the brave souls near the mage. He came in too close to Strahd. Instead of ripping out Doru's throat, he turned him into a monster of the night and sent him back to me. I didn't know what to do, so I locked him in the undercroft when he wasn't expecting it."

The party listened and responded with an alternative to living this Hell. They kill this vampire spawn because he isn't his son. They must put the body to rest. Donavich, vehemently against the idea, looks for every possible way to harness the Morning Lords power. The party caves and they ask Donavich to bury the Burgomaster Kolyan Indrovich. He agrees and says preparations will be ready before sundown and to bring him then. 
They eerily wait for dusk to set in the thick fog and, with Ireena and Ismark, begin their march from the Burgomaster's mansion to the Graveyard. The 4 men all carry the intrinsic coffin on their shoulder over to the graveyard. On their way, they see a cloaked figure, walking around with a hand-led wagon down the road. They stop at a house and knock on a door. This door opens and they immediately see who it is, closing the door and coming back with a sack, something or someone kicking. inside. The cloaked figure throws something in the bag and it doesn't move. Lukas tries to go over but letting go of the coffin would cause it to drop. He continues to the church. 
A ceremony is held for the Burgomaster, Father Donavich prays to the Morning Lord to save the soul of Kolyan and guide him to a restful afterlife. Keyeth performs her own ritual to bless the deceased. After the ceremony, Ismark lets Donavich know they will be taking Ireena to Vallaki to protect her from the Devil Strahd. Donavich recommends taking her to the last left holy land in Barovia, Krezk. They dispute about it and the party decides to take Ireena to Vallaki.
The party give the mourning children some time. After some moments pass, Ismark goes up to the party. He asks the party for their opinion of what they saw in the church and asks if it would make sense for anyone to go to church after hearing such horrendous noises. He feels certain, with Doru gone, the people of the Village of Barovia can again find some comfort in the church instead of the bottle of a wine bottle or dream pastry. With a stern disposition, Ismark tells them he will distract the priest inside the church halls while the party, deal with Doru in the undercroft. 
It was a difficult battle. But everyone came out with their lives. They finished in the uncroft and went up to tell Donavich. He broke down incoherently, mumbling. The man has lost all his family, including his sanity. Keyeth guides him to the undercroft and calms his emotions down to give his son a short, but heartfelt farewell. They go back to the main chamber and offer to bury the body, but the magic had worn off and Donavich's mind was broken once again.
A knock was heard in the main entrance. Without a thought, Lukas opens the door and a tall, ghastly man in luxurious, silk clothes walks in. He stands over 7' tall and walks elegantly with a slender build. 
"Good evening. I come because one of my entertainments has been disposed of. Pity. Though I hold no ill will towards you all." Gliding through the desolate church, he looks at Ireena sending charm her way.  Strahd then appreaches Meghan, laying his sharp nails on her face, gazes into her eyes, pressing his request, "I want you all to come have dinner in my castle. The village of Barovia is not a place of hospitality. Come to my home."
Keyeth goes over to Meghan, breaking her from her trance and exclaims to release her friend. With a booming laugh, he follows with, "Everything in the fog is mine, I am the land and I do what I want. You are all for my entertainment." Then transforming into a swarm of bats, leaving the church. There was nothing else to really say. At that was left is to bury the body of Doru and rest for the night at the Burgomasters mansion. Ismark insisted, they leave tomorrow. 

Doru's Last stand
Doru is very hungry and wants to escape.
Doru is howling in the under croft, asking for his freedom and food. Once the trapdoor is opened, the wails will stop and inside the croft, you will see only one humanoid standing wimply, begging for his life. If he attacks the party, Strahd will summon a swarm of rats to attack the group from the top of the trap door. Doru is howling in the under croft, asking for his freedom and food. Once the trapdoor is opened, the wails will stop and inside the croft, you will see only one humanoid standing wimply, begging for his life. If he attacks the party, Strahd will summon a swarm of rats to attack the group from the top of the trap door.
1x - Vampire Spawn