They never thought the battle would be this difficult, nor did they anticipate the cost to their souls.
A determined Term tries once again to free the Fey Gem, but his strength fails him. Tilly struggles to decide whether to come to his aide or hold her position. She releases Uncle Mortimer in an attempt to help her friends. The shape-shifting raven continues his struggle against her direction. Syrren is unable to help her understand his pleas, so Uncle Mortimer tries a different approach. He flies directly toward the statue and hovers over the heads of one of the failing bodies attached to the vines. Term and Tilly, in the same moment, recognize that the two sacrificial lambs are, in fact, the Martikov children.
Tilly rushes to the side of one of the boys and musters her strength to free him. She drags his dying body to the side.
A raging Aydin is the main defense the group has against the lingering berserkers. Just when he and Syrren’s new group of bears are able to eliminate the berserkers and the druids, a new problem appears on the horizon.
A shriek rings across the circle of stones, and a dark sorceress appears – Volenta. She rails against the adventurers for interrupting the sacred ritual. Before she can unleash her wrath, Syrren surrounds her and her protectors with a cloud of spikes.
Tilly, still invisible, angered by the sacrifice of these two precious children, approaches the dark queen and critically wounds her with her shortsword. She follows that up with a dagger swipe.
The sorceress quickly heals and launches a fireball attack, which might have killed a now visible Tilly and Thaldir, but for the protection of their barbaric friend Aydin. He shields them from the grave damage of her wrath, but little Brom perishes from the fire.
With renewed fervor, the group presses forward against their foes. Aydin barrels forward with a vengeful strike at the sorceress. It seems barely a scratch, as she turns to continue fighting the transformed Syrren.
Term doesn’t give up. He begins hacking at the twigs around the gem to loosen it. Again and again, he slices at the offending growth. He has nearly freed the gem from its hold, as his friends continue to be ravaged by the evil witch.
Volenta casts a powerful fear spell that crumples Aydin and Tilly almost to their knees. Syrren takes a bite out of Volenta with his saber-tooth jaw, but she rebounds quickly, Even a dose of Holy water from Aydin `barely disrupts her focus. She is a force, and it seems that no hope is left for our friends.
Term’s hard work finally pays off, and he is able to secure the precious gem. He levitates to the center of the battle and hovers above Volenta, attacking her with a his lightning launcher. Tilly takes the opportunity to stab the witch and run to the side of the only living Martikov child. She narrowly escapes the vampire witch’s wrath.
Izek, as though coming to life, slashes at the witch, dealing her massive damage. She shrugs off half of its effects and laughs maniacally. She easily claws him repeatedly and nearly knocks him unconscious.
The fight is nearly over, so the would-be heroes continue their quest to eliminate Volenta. Tilly bestows a curse on the evil sorceress to slow her attacks. Syrren transforms into an elk and tramples her wicked face. Aydin deals her the final blow, straight through her mid-section. He stands over her splayed corpse and drives a stake deep into her cold heart. Tilly, Jaylin, and Izek dispatch the remaining berserkers.
Before the party leaves the area, Thaldir removes Volenta’s head and keeps her mask of metal and bone. Tilly takes the head of one of the battle axes. Syrren remains in elk form so that he can carry both of the boys.
Tilly speaks quietly to Syrren about the need to discern what Uncle Mortimer has learned during his time with the Martikovs.
Thaldir implores them all to make haste in leaving. They oblige and make their way down the steep mountain. Above their heads, they see Strahd astride a fiery horse, flying in the direction of the mountain top.
They continue down the mountain side and find a place to rest in the forest. Tilly conjures a tent for them to rest overnight. They sleep, but Aydin is haunted by dreams of Rose. Syrren makes the mistake of falling asleep in his newfound mask and forms a permanent bond with the object. Each time he tries to separate from it or put it away, it reappears in his hand.
Term can’t shake the strange feeling that he had while slashing at the twigs. It conjures a dark connection to a vine that crawled under his skin. He knows that he needs to return to the tree on the top of the mountain.
Syrren prepares a spell to allow him to talk with Uncle Mortimer. The kindly raven tells Syrren that he desperately wanted to warn them that the children were in danger. He also said his goodbyes, as he plans to return to train with the Martikovs, in hopes that he could free himself from this form. As he leaves his family and new friends behind, he tells them to be sure and ask the Martikovs about a certain merchant guest that was mentioned in the journal.
With that, the heroes turn to the comforts of an open keg as they recall the events of the last two days. Their hearts are heavy at the loss of a small child, but they hope the Martikovs will find some consolation in the return of the sleeping child who rests among them now. They approach the winery with hope and a new resolve to see the land rid of its evil captor – the demon Strahd.