Session 193 Part XI — When the Tide Turns

12/30/25

Day 43

The Vistani held the north end of the throne room, disciplined and silent, hand crossbows held at low ready. They did not interfere—yet—but every movement of claw, blade, and wing unfolded beneath their watchful eyes.

Lydia Petrovna broke from her grief long enough to hurl herself at Wolfram. Tears streaked her face as she screamed, “You monster! You murdered my child!” She tried to seize him, nails clawing at armor, but Wolfram brushed her aside with little effort.

“I know you’re upset,” he said bluntly, already turning back toward the fight, “but I have things to do.”

Her scream of frustration echoed through the hall, raw and helpless.

Laz forced his way through shattered pews and bodies, emerging at Strahd’s side. He struck—but the blow went wide, steel biting only air as the vampire lord twisted aside with inhuman grace.

Nearby, Dacso loosed two arrows at the vampire spawn still grappling him. The first went astray, clattering off stone, but the second sank into undead flesh, forcing the creature to recoil with a hiss.

Ismark recovered his fallen shortsword and charged Davrus, swinging with desperate fury. Twice his blade passed harmlessly through spectral form, but the third strike connected just enough to disturb the wraith’s shape. The blow mattered—but not nearly enough.

On the western flank, the Angel ended a bearded devil with terrifying efficiency. Two strikes of the greatsword reduced the fiend to ash and ichor, which scattered across the stones. With a powerful beat of radiant wings, the Angel lifted into the air and swept toward another devil near the northwest stairwell.

A vampire spawn rushed Lady Ireena, claws flashing—but both attacks failed, turned aside by her defense and the whirling ring of spirits that guarded her. Radiant blades tore into the creature as it passed, drawing a shriek of pain.

Beside Wolfram, Enrique—the vampire spawn who had lingered too long—was caught full in the blaze of the Sunsword. He did not even have time to scream. Sunlight reduced him to smoking ruin in an instant.

Another bearded devil emerged from the eastern hall and lunged for Laz, glaive and writhing beard striking together—but neither found its mark.

Celeste Milani sprinted through Lady Ireena’s spirit guardians, burning as she ran, and vanished into the treasury, fleeing the light.

Then Zuleika came.

In full werewolf form, she barreled into Laz with feral speed and sank her teeth into him. Pain flared as blood flowed freely.

Darius—still bound by Strahd’s will—cut into Dacso, his sword drawing a fresh line of red.

Baroness Wachter, still reeling from Wolfram’s earlier intimidation, dropped the Holy Symbol of Ravenkind and fled up the aisle. Karl Wachter darted forward, scooped up the amulet, and—astonishingly—seized Oloch, who was still locked in Strahd’s grasp. With raw panic-fueled strength, Karl dragged both paladin and vampire lord back toward the party, sunlight blazing anew as the symbol flared to life.

Nearby, Vasilka struck Davrus with her bare hands, and for the first time the specter recoiled in genuine pain. But the cost was evident. Cracks of radiant light spread through her wounds, her movements growing erratic, her expression distant—something inside her beginning to slip.

Davrus the Black Regent did not survive that moment. Lady Ireena’s spirit guardians closed in, radiant blades carving through the specter’s essence until nothing remained. The Black Regent was simply… gone.

Lady Ireena turned at once to Vasilka, seeing the strain threatening to overwhelm her. She spoke softly, firmly, gratitude and command woven together. Vasilka stilled, the light within her dimming just enough for control to return.

Above them, one of Davrus’s followers fled blindly, still broken by terror. Another forced itself back through the ceiling, resolve hardened once more. A third struck at Oloch—but missed entirely.

Meannwhile, Strahd burned.

Sunlight from the Sunsword and the Holy Symbol scalded him as he dragged Oloch—and the still-clinging Karl—down the aisle. His claws scraped uselessly against armor. His fangs found no weakness.

Wolfram pursued him relentlessly.

“Enough of this!” he roared. “Enough of you!”

The first blow missed.

The second landed—and with it came divine wrath as Wolfram used his powers to fully smite the dark lord.

Wolfram smote Strahd von Zarovich, and Strahd staggered.

The Lord of Barovia stood amid shattered stone and scorched banners, his once-impeccable bearing fractured at last. Dark ichor streaked his armor; his expression was no longer amused, but cold and furious. The mask was slipping.

“This is not the end,” he snarled, voice echoing through the ruined throne room. “You have wounded me, yes - but I have survived worse. The castle will embrace me, and I will heal in the dark. In less than a minute, I will return - completely restored, and this defiance will be repaid a thousandfold.”

Even as he spoke, the shadows beneath his armored feet deepened and writhed. Stone softened like mud and Strahd began to sink into the floor, one clawed hand reaching down and lifting up as if to pull the darkness up to him - a practiced, contemptuous retreat.

Then, a piercing whistle split the air.

An arrow appeared out of thin air. Its stiletto point made of gleaming sanctified steel. Its mithrilwood shaft etched with runes of silver. It struck Count Strahd squarely between the shoulder blades, punching through the vampire lord’s armor with a burst of pale, hungry, white light.

The Arrow of Vampire Slaying drank deeply.

Strahd screamed.

Not in rage—but in shock.

White radiance spiderwebs from the point of impact, raced through dead veins, attempting to unravel him from within. He clawed at the arrowhead before him, his fingers smoking where they touch it, his body seizing as the magic attempts to take hold -

- and somehow, despite it being the only purpose of its creation, Strahd was able to resist its power, which retreats back into the gleaming length, contained once more. 

He twisted, snarling, desperate to see – 

At the far end of the aisle of shattered pews stood the chamberlain.

Immaculate. Still. One hand lowering from the shot, the other gripping the finely-crafted elven bow he bears. Ash and smoke curled lazily around him as he meet Strahd’s gaze with a cool, knowing smile - polite, but in no way deferential.

Strahd’s mouth opened, as if to speak a name, a curse, a command—

—but even that is stolen from him.

Despite his resistance to the power of the purpose-fashioned arrow, it was still a remarkable shot, and around it his pierced, undead heart constricted, and failed. In a moment, his form collapsed inward, flesh unraveling into roiling vapor. With a furious, wordless howl, Strahd von Zarovich dissolved into a torrent of black mist, vanishing into the smoke, ash, and fog that chokes the throne room.

Leaving behind only the gleaming arrow to clatter to the ground.

The chamberlain raised his voice, calm and commanding.

“Gentlemen,” he said to the Vistani, “now.”

Hand crossbows snapped up as one. Bolts filled the air, cutting down devils and vampires alike.

Alan appeared briefly at the chapel doors, took in the scene, and decided—wisely—that this was not his fight. He vanished again.

Amid the chaos, Carl whispered a Message to Zuleika. “We’ve been true to our bargain.  Your mate has been freed and waits downstairs.  Use your nose and you’ll sense him.  Now either go to him or come with us but leave off your attack!” 

She released Laz, cocked her head at Carl, then stepped back, choice finally her own.

Laz fought his way toward the chamberlain, blade flashing to keep a bearded devil at bay. “Where do we go from here?” he asked, breathless but focused.

Oloch drove his blade into a vampire spawn with brutal precision while, behind him, Dacso loosed another arrow into a nearby vampire spawn, refusing to give ground as the battle—at last—began to turn.

*************

Turn by Turn

Wedding Battle - 12/29/25 Session (hopefully)

Vistani are all at the north end of the hall, watching the fight with hand crossbow at low ready

Lydia Petrovna says to Wolfram, “You monster! You murdered my child!!”  She attempts to grapple Wolfram but he easily shakes her off, telling her, “I know you’re upset but I have things to do.” Lydia screams in frustration

Laz moves through the pews / crowd and ends up next to Strahd. He attacks Strahd, but misses.

Dacso fires two arrows at the vampire spawn grappling him.  The first one misses, but the second one hits.

Ismark picks up his shortsword from the ground and rushes Davrus.  He swings three times at the specter, missing twice but finally scoring a hit.  However, the strike seems to do very little damage to it’s ghostly form.

The Angel hits Bearded Devil #4 twice, and the devil dissolves into ash and ichor.  The Angel then takes wing and flies to the next bearded devil by the NW stairwell.

Male Vampire Spawn #1 re-enters throne room and engages with Lady Ireena.  Both his attacks miss, but he takes damage from her Spirit Guardians.

Male Vampire Spawn #3 (Enrique) is standing next to Wolfram and takes the full blast of sunlight from Sunsword, killing him instantly.

Bearded Devil #1 re-enters throne room from eastern hallway and tries to take down Laz, but both his glaive and his beard tentacles fail to find their target.

Celeste Milani (vampire spawn) re-enters Throne Room, runs through Lady Ireena’s Spiritual Guardians taking damage, and continues running into the treasury, out of the sunlight.

Zuleika now in werewolf form, rushes Laz and bites him.

Darius, dominated by Strahd manages to hit Dacso with his sword, drawing blood.

Vasilka, standing next to Lady Ireena, hits Davrus with her fists, actually doing damage to the spirit.  However, she’s taken a lot of damage. Her wounds are starting to glow with a radiant light and she appears to be losing control of her higher functions.

Female Vampire Spawn #4 (Kalina) - hiding behind the pews crouched just beside Laz, ready to spring on him.

Baroness Wachter - standing right next to Wolfram, having been successfully Intimidated by him drops the Holy Symbol of Ravenkind then scrambles away up the aisle away from the fight.

Karl Wachter then picks up the dropped Symbol of Ravenkind and grabs Oloch who is currently grappled by Strahd.  Amazingly enough, he manages to drag Oloch AND Strahd back in the direction of the party.

Davrus the Black Regent, heavily damaged, now is completely obliterated by Lady Ireena’s Spirit Guardians.

Lady Ireena sees that Vasilka is having problems controlling herself.  She calms the creature, telling her that she is grateful for what she has done and that it’s ok for her to stand down if she needs to.

Davrus' Follower #1 continues to flee from the effects of the Mace of Terror, however Davrus Follower #3 appears to overcome it, as it decends back through the ceiling, ready to engage.

Davrus' Follower #4 attacks Oloch but misses. 

Count Strahd continues to take damage from the Sunlight streaming both from the Sunsword as well as the Amulet of the Ravenkind.  He drags Oloch and Karl (who is still clinging to Oloch) back down the aisle.  However, he is still unable to bite or claw through Oloch’s armor.

Wolfram pursues Strahd and attacks, telling him “Enough of this! Enough of you!” His first swing misses, but his second attack hits.  Wolfram doesn’t just strike Strahd, he smites him.  Strahd, realizing he is in mortal danger, attempts to withdraw from the fight by sinking through the floor.  

However, he is shot in the back by the Chamberlain who used an Arrow of Vampire Slaying.  

The Chamberlain raises his voice to address the Vistani and says, “Gentlemen, now.”

With that, the Vistani open fire on the remaining vampires and devils.

Alan pops back into the room, sees how the tide has turned and retreats back the way he came.

Carl casts Message to Zulika, telling her “We’ve been true to our bargain.  Your mate is freed and waits downstairs.  Use your nose and you’ll sense him.  Now either go to him or come with us, but leave off your attack!”  Zulika releases her bite on Laz, tilts her head at Carl and takes a step back

Oloch brutally stabs Vampire Spawn #5.

Laz moves forward through the fray to the Chamberlain and asks him, “Where do we go from here?”  As he does so, he swings out with his sword to keep a bearded devil at bay.

Meanwhile, Dacso put another arrow in a vampire spawn standing next to him.