Session 14 — Fire and Faith

The party discovers the Bones of St. Andral hidden in a coffin maker's workshop—a trap orchestrated by Strahd's greater vampire spawn. Combat erupts across a burning attic as Volenta, a deranged greater vampire spawn and bride of Strahd, pursues the party through Vallaki's streets. The chase culminates at the church, where holy magic and sacrifice determine the fate of sacred relics and a desperate town.

Pre-Session Recap

The party investigated the theft of St. Andral's bones and discovered evidence pointing to Milivoj, a young groundskeeper. Their investigation led them to the coffin maker's workshop, where the stolen relics were hidden—and where a trap awaited.

Session Summary

Opening — The Attic Ambush

The session opened with the party infiltrating the coffin maker's workshop, an attic space filled with construction-grade wooden materials, unfinished coffins, and the lingering scent of wood shavings and death. The interior was cramped, labyrinthine, and poorly lit—a perfect hunting ground for creatures of darkness.

Upon arrival, they discovered the attic occupied by multiple coffins containing vampire spawn. The party had barely begun their search when one of the coffins erupted with violence. A vampire spawn rose from its wooden casket and immediately attacked Father Lucian with predatory advantage, emerging from the darkness the priest couldn't penetrate. The creature's claws raked across holy vestments as it lunged for the cleric's throat.

The spawn's first attack roll was a 20—a solid hit for 10 damage. But it didn't stop there. The second attack was a 22, hitting Father Lucian's neck directly. The creature's fangs sank deep, and as they did, magical power drained from the priest—not just hit points, but his very essence. His maximum HP was reduced by 13 points, a wound that no amount of immediate healing could fully restore.

Father Lucian cried out in holy agony, his voice breaking as he invoked the sacred name: "The Mourning Lord! The Mourning Lord!" His prayer was half plea, half defiance, the anguish of a holy man feeling his own vitality being torn away by a creature of pure profane hunger.

Ria, witnessing the attack, made an immediate tactical decision. She had encountered vampire spawn before—had felt their strength, their predatory grace, their supernatural malice up close. She refused to repeat that experience. "I'm gonna set it on fire," she declared, already reaching for her firebombs.

The party erupted into argument. How could they burn the building when they didn't know where the bones were hidden? What if the relics were destroyed? But Ria was resolute: close combat with vampire spawn was a death sentence. Fire was faster, cleaner, and far more certain.

At that moment, as if summoned by the escalating violence, a figure emerged from the shadows of the attic—Volenta.

The DM's portrayal of Volenta was explicit and unnerving: she channeled Jinx from Arcane (chaotic, explosive, murderous), Ty Lee from Avatar: The Last Airbender (acrobatic, playful, disturbingly graceful), and Harley Quinn from Batman (theatrical, obsessive, violently unhinged). She was, in the DM's own words, "on the hot crazy scale, she is in a corner and busting through the roof."

Volenta was a greater vampire spawn—a bride of Strahd and a bride-level spellcaster with access to high-level magic, Spider Climb, the full suite of Vampire Spawn abilities, Vampiric Step (teleportation), mist form, and a seemingly endless supply of alchemical fire bottles. But more than her abilities, it was her presence that dominated the attic: seductive and theatrical one moment, violently cruel and childlike in her cruelty the next.

As Ria hurled her firebomb at the spider-climbing vampire spawn, Volenta made her entrance known. She lifted her dress to reveal her upper thigh, and there—holstered in a garter around her right leg—was another fire bottle. She smiled wickedly, her eyes gleaming with predatory delight as she held it up. "I have one too," the gesture said. The parallel was deliberate, intimate, a grotesque mockery of connection.

Combat erupted across the wooden platforms and beams of the attic.

Ria followed up her firebomb with Magic Missile, tracking the vampire as it clung to the ceiling, each bolt of force striking true. Aleric, channeling his acrobatic prowess, made an Acrobatics check to climb the treacherous wooden platforms, pulling himself up toward the creature. When he reached it, his blade struck home for 6 damage, but the vampire remained a lethal threat.

Father Lucian, despite the wound that had reduced his maximum HP, moved with the resolve of a cleric who had faced death many times before. He cast Cure Wounds on himself, magical energy knitting his torn flesh back together. Then, drawing upon his connection to the Morning Lord, he used Divine Eminence to empower Daisy with 3d6 additional radiant damage on her next melee attack—a surge of holy power that would make her strike devastatingly effective.

Daisy, now blazing with divine energy, approached Volenta. The vampire looked at her with hunger, and licked her lips in a predatory manner. The vampire's gaze was invasive, violating—a deliberate sexual menace that made the moment deeply uncomfortable. Daisy's player characterized the moment with dark gallows humor: "not even the worst sexual assault I've encountered in this land," acknowledging that their character had already experienced worse horrors in Barovia.

Volenta reached out and grabbed both of Daisy's wrists during the ranger's Burning Hands attempt, pulling her close with inhuman strength. Her breath was cold against Daisy's face as she whispered: "Are you burning up for me too?"

The predatory intimacy was absolute. Volenta wasn't merely attacking; she was playing, testing, enjoying the moment of near-contact with her prey.

Then, with theatrical flair, Volenta said "Come play with me" and leapt across the room using Vampiric Step, her form seeming to shimmer as she teleported through the burning attic. The fire spread rapidly in her wake, engulfing the wooden structures. Coffins caught flame. Beams collapsed. Exits filled with roaring heat.

Alaric found himself facing a terrible choice: cross the fire now and risk severe burns, or be trapped in the attic as it became a funeral pyre. He chose to dash through the flames, triggering an opportunity attack from the vampire spawn. The creature lashed out, but Aleric was already moving, desperation lending speed to his flight.

The attic had become a death trap.

Middle — The Bones and the Chase

While combat still raged in the burning attic, Ria had broken through to a second-floor room. Her fingers flew across the lock of a container, and her thieves' tools worked their magic. The lock clicked open, and there they were—the Bones of St. Andral, the sacred relics that had been stolen from the church, now recovered.

But Ria's victory was short-lived. She found herself alone on the second floor while Volenta's presence drew closer. The vampire's approach was announced not by footsteps but by something far more unsettling: an eerie, taunting whistling. The melody echoed through the burning structure, almost musical, almost mocking. Volenta was crawling on ceilings and walls, ballet-dancing through the inferno with the grace of a creature to whom fire and gravity held no terror. She was playing, hunting, enjoying herself.

The party made a desperate escape from the burning building. Father Lucian and Henrik van der Voort, the coffin maker (now revealed to be Volenta's thrall), accompanied them. As they fled, Volenta dropped down into the street ahead of them on a rooftop, her silhouette jagged and demonic against the flames behind her.

"Bring me the bones," she called down, her voice sweet as poison, "or I will put this town apart one building at a time until you do."

The threat was absolute. The party refused to surrender the sacred relics.

Then Volenta let out a shrill whistle—and something horrifying happened. Wolves began howling from WITHIN the town walls, not from beyond them. The creatures weren't outside; they were already inside Vallaki, surrounding, closing in. The party had moments to escape before being hunted down.

Chase Breakdown — Flight Through Vallaki

Phase 1: The Mounted Panic

The party made for their horses, which they had wisely left nearby. Aleric mounted his horse with Father Lucian climbing aboard behind him. Henrik van der Voort, in a state of shock and confusion, attempted to ride as well. Rhea (a party-affiliated NPC with her own mount) was also part of the escape.

The chase was chaos incarnate.

As the horses thundered through Vallaki's narrow streets toward the church and the town's protective walls, disaster struck. Rhea's horse clipped Henrik hard—a vicious collision that sent him sprawling. Before he could recover, Daisy's horse came thundering down the same street and trampled him. There was a sickening crunch of breaking bones, and Henrik screamed, his body broken and bleeding in the dirt of Vallaki's streets.

Aleric, riding hard toward the church gate with Father Lucian behind him, found himself facing a terrible realization: there wasn't enough room for both of them on the horse as it was, and they were losing ground to the pursuing wolves. Father Lucian invoked the protection of the Morning Lord: "Protect us from harming innocents!" It was a prayer born of desperation and faith.

Aleric made a brutal but pragmatic decision. Without hesitation, he kicked Henrik off the back of his horse. The coffin maker, already broken and traumatized, fell hard. It was a mercy compared to being caught, perhaps—but it was a ruthless sacrifice that would weigh on the party's conscience.

As the party approached the church gates, a dire wolf appeared, massive and slavering, rushing directly at Father Lucian. The priest was exposed on the back of the horse, vulnerable. But the party moved in unison—they pulled Father Lucian aboard one of the other horses, creating a tangle of desperate bodies and flashing hooves. The dire wolf snapped at the air where the priest had been moments before.

The party made it through the church gates. They were safe—at least for the moment.

Closing — The Holy Water Fountain

The party burst into the courtyard of St. Andral's Church, breathless and burned, carrying the Bones of St. Andral wrapped in blankets. They thought they had escaped. They thought the chase was over.

They were wrong.

A flicker of shadow drew the party's attention to the center of the courtyard. There, standing alone by the fountain—the beautiful, ancient stone fountain that stood at the heart of the church's sanctuary—was Volenta. She was waiting. She had anticipated where they would go, and instead of chasing them through the streets, she had simply intercepted them at their destination.

"Why chase them when I can just go where they're going?" The logic was perfect, predatory, certain.

Three guards stood at the church gates, but they were mortal, fragile, useless against what Volenta was. The party was on their own.

And then Ria's player had an inspiration—a moment of tactical brilliance born of desperation.

"I would like to run into the fountain."

Ria dashed into the holy water fountain. The water was blessed, consecrated, kept pure by the church's faith and Father Lucian's constant prayer. As she stood in it, she realized the full implication of what she had done and shouted: "If that blanket goes in the holy water, will it absorb the holy water?"

The DM confirmed: Yes.

"Holy blanket! Holy blanket!" Ria cried out, her voice ringing across the courtyard. The party understood immediately. This was their advantage. This was how they could protect the bones from a creature of darkness and evil.

Daisy, gripping the bones, also dashed into the fountain. But she didn't stop with just the blanket. She wanted total protection, total consecration. "I want to dunk everything. I want to dunk myself. Everything I have in this fountain." She submerged completely, the Bones of St. Andral wrapped in blankets, soaking in the holy water, absorbing its sacred power.

Father Lucian stepped forward, moving toward the fountain, and cast Sacred Flame at Volenta. But the vampire's reflexes were supernatural—she saved with a 25, and the divine flame passed harmlessly by.

Then Henrik van der Voort, broken and traumatized, hobbled into the fountain as well. But his body told a story of absolute terror—he was covered in his own filth, the result of his terror and psychological collapse. His presence in the fountain muddied the holy water, contaminating it with the physical manifestation of his despair. The party's reaction was darkly comedic: the fountain had become a "holy shit fountain" (an actual quote from the table, laced with gallows humor).

Volenta watched intently, her eyes tracking every movement. The DM rolled Insight for her—and she understood. She realized exactly what the party was doing. They were creating a holy artifact, weaponizing the fountain itself against her.

"You see a spark," the DM said, "and she stands up."

The Heart on a Stick

A moment of horrific theater unfolded before the party's eyes.

Earlier in the sequence, Volenta had killed a guard—a simple, brutal execution performed without breaking eye contact with Daisy. The guard had been nearby, possibly trying to protect the party or the church. Volenta had simply reached into his chest and pulled his heart out, a moment of casual gore that demonstrated her complete indifference to human life.

She had handed the organ to Daisy with grotesque hospitality: "Snack?"

Then she had grabbed the guard's javelin, speared the heart on the end like a piece of roasted meat, and walked back toward the burning building, eating the heart on a stick like a child with a twisted lollipop.

Now, standing before the fountain, watching the party realize their defense, Volenta pulled that same heart—still dripping, still fresh—back up to her face. Her expression was one of pure, gleeful cruelty. She took a hearty bite, the organ tearing in her fangs, blood dripping down her chin.

Then she threw it at Daisy.

The heart fell in pieces—plop, plop, plop, plop—landing on the ground in front of the ranger. It was a message: This is what I do to those who oppose me. This is what awaits you.

Volenta Destroys the Fountain

As a bride-level spellcaster, Volenta had access to magic far beyond that of a normal vampire spawn. She was, in many ways, a mage with vampiric abilities grafted onto her frame.

The party had just realized their advantage. The fountain was consecrated. The bones were protected. The blankets, soaked in holy water, had become instruments of divine wrath against undead predators.

Volenta would not allow this.

"The ground beneath you rumbles," the DM announced, "and then begins to bulge."

Volenta raised her hand, and magic flowed from her. Not vampire magic—sorcerer's magic. She raised the ground of the fountain, centered just below it, 20 feet in the air. Earth and stone responded to her will as though it were clay.

"The stones that make up the walls begin to crack and crumble and roll down the sides, and the fountain empties."

The beautiful, ancient stone structure was torn apart from within, its interior support structure collapsing under the force of Volenta's magic. Water cascaded out of the ruptured fountain, emptying in seconds.

"She then clenches her hand and cuts off whatever supply was feeding it." The magic that sustained the fountain's water, the blessing that kept it pure—all of it severed, annihilated, leaving only rubble and ruin.

"The fountain is now dry, and it collapses and heaves into rubble. None of you are hurt, but you are upheaved and dropped to the ground."

The party fell, dumped unceremoniously as the fountain's destruction threw up waves of stone dust and debris. But as the dust settled, they realized something crucial: "You still have your soaked vestments, however." The blankets, the clothes, the gear—all of it remained drenched in holy water. The fountain was destroyed, but the party's sanctified items remained.

Henrik van der Voort, who had been sitting in the fountain when it collapsed, found himself on his back, gasping, broken, covered in the filth of his own terror and the contaminated holy water. His response was one of absolute despair: "I fucking hate this. I can't believe I let that she-devil seduce me."

It was a moment of tragic vulnerability—a man destroyed not by physical violence but by the revelation of his own weakness and the horror of what that weakness had enabled.

Volenta, after destroying the fountain, stood amidst the rubble and spoke with a voice dripping with satisfaction: "That really takes it out of me."

It was, bizarrely, a statement of genuine exhaustion mixed with pride. She had accomplished nothing—she had not retrieved the bones, she had not captured the party—but she had destroyed something sacred, and that small victory seemed to satisfy her.

Then came her threat, delivered with absolute conviction:

"When we're all done here, and I have the bones, and I have all of you, we're going to have to really have just a special moment. I'm going to need a massage. Who wants to go first?"

It was seductive, threatening, and profoundly disturbing—a promise of suffering disguised as invitation, a statement of intent that mixed violation and intimacy in equal measure.

Combat Breakdown — The Church Courtyard

Phase 1: The Fountain Defense

Father Lucian moved forward and cast Sacred Flame on Volenta. Volenta saved with a result of 25, negating the damage. She was fast, preternaturally aware, impossible to catch off-guard.

Daisy submerged herself and the bones in the holy water fountain, soaking everything to capacity. The bones in their blanket began to radiate warmth—not heat, but warmth like the morning light. A blue flame began to surround the blanket, and the party understood: they were protecting the relics with divine magic.

Phase 2: Volenta's Realization and Response

Volenta, watching intently, understood what the party was doing. She stood and drew upon her sorcerous magic—high-level magic far beyond the capacity of a normal vampire spawn. Using magic that allowed her to reshape earth and stone, she raised the ground beneath the fountain 20 feet in the air, cracked and crumbled the fountain's walls from within, and severed whatever magical supply sustained the fountain's water.

The fountain collapsed. The party was thrown to the ground. The water drained away. But the party's holy-water-soaked items remained sanctified.

Phase 3: The Holy Blanket Defense

Daisy wrapped the Bones of St. Andral in the holy-water-soaked woolen blanket. The blue flame spread, a supernatural protection that radiated warmth and safety. When Volenta attempted to approach and seize the bones, she found herself unable to touch them directly.

The DM explained the mechanics: "Wet wool is mundane, but the holy water you've been soaking it in is not. You're not dealing damage with a weapon. You would be wrapping her in a sustained, clinging, unavoidable, consecrated surface."

When Ria attempted to wrap Volenta in the blanket, the vampire screamed in horror and agony. The holy cloth touched her skin, and she recoiled as though burned by the sun itself. She was nearly frozen by the pain, trapped in a moment of absolute anguish.

Ria, inspired by the supernatural pain afflicting her enemy, approached closely and made eye contact with the vampire. She stared into what the vampire had become—a creature without soul, without humanity, nothing but hunger and cruelty. And she taunted:

"I'm gonna just stare into her nothingness, because she doesn't have a soul anymore, and just say, oh, but now I want to play."

Her breath catches, and you see her breast heave.

The words hit Volenta like a physical blow. This was her own language turned back on her, her own predatory framing weaponized against her. She had been the one playing, the one hunting, the one in control. But now the roles had shifted.

Volenta's response was a vow of absolute vengeance: "My vengeance would be complete. I promise you."

It was a promise born of genuine rage—the rage of a predator realizing it had been outmaneuvered, that its prey had found a way to fight back.

Phase 4: Flanking and Tactical Positioning

Aleric attempted to flank Volenta, successfully moving into her space to give Ria tactical advantage. The positioning reduced Volenta's AC, making her more vulnerable to attack.

Daisy used Channel Divinity (Warding Flare) to impose disadvantage on Volenta's attacks, creating a moment where divine protection actively deflected the vampire's predatory assault.

Aleric also used Lay on Hands to heal Father Lucian when the priest's state grew dire, channeling paladin magic to restore the cleric's health.

Phase 5: Volenta's Final Act — The Fire Bottle

Realizing that the party had found a way to block her access to the bones through holy protection, enraged by losing her psychological composure to Ria's taunt, and determined to inflict as much damage as possible before escaping, Volenta made a final, vicious decision.

She casually dropped a fire bottle from her hand as a free object interaction. The alchemical device detonated with force and fury. Everyone within 5 feet caught fire, including the party members, Father Lucian, and anyone else nearby.

A DC 10 Dexterity save at the end of each creature's turn could extinguish the flames. Everyone caught in the blast took at least 8 points of fire damage. Most of the party managed to extinguish themselves or recover, but Henrik van der Voort—already broken by fear, trampled in the chase, and psychologically shattered—did not survive.

Henrik failed his saves. The flames spread across his body. The party watched helplessly as the coffin maker, Volenta's dupe and thrall, was consumed by fire. He had let himself be seduced by promises and threats. He had enabled the theft of sacred bones. And now he paid the ultimate price.

Henrik van der Voort was dead.

Father Lucian, in a moment of desperate faith, attempted Divine Intervention. As a high-level cleric (normally 12th level, but neutered to 10th level by Strahd's curse), he still had access to this extraordinary ability. He spoke a full prayer:

"In the name of his holiness the lord of mourning and his light I beseech that we be healed so that we may continue the fight in the name of the good and the righteous and please let that silver hair dusk elf make it out alive."

The prayer was offered with absolute conviction, with the full force of a holy man's faith. Father Lucian rolled a d100 and got an 88—a number too high for success.

"The Morning Lord's power is still limited in this place."

Even divine intervention could not overcome the curse that Strahd had placed upon Barovia. The god's power was present but constrained, unable to fully intervene in a land where a vampire lord held dominion.

Volenta, seeing that the party had turned against her, that she couldn't reach the bones, that her prey was defending itself with holy power, made her final choice. She could not win this engagement. But she could make a promise.

She looked at Ria and Daisy directly: "She had so many plans for you. And now she's gonna have to wait."

Then, in a final act of theatrical power, Volenta transformed into incorporeal mist. Her form dissipated like smoke, becoming insubstantial, untouchable, impossible to follow. She vanished into the stormy sky, disappearing from immediate view but not from threat.

She would return. The promise was absolute.

Key Events

• The Attic Ambush — Vampire spawn rise from coffins; Father Lucian is immediately bitten and his maximum HP is reduced by 13 points through a devastating magical wound
• The Firebomb Escalation — Volenta matches Ria's threat by revealing her own fire bottle hidden in a garter; the moment of dark humor amidst mortal danger
• Volenta's Emergence — A deranged vampire ascendant emerges as a primary antagonist, channeling Jinx/Ty Lee/Harley Quinn energy; pursuing the party with chaotic, theatrical intensity
• The Bones Located — Ria successfully lockpicks the container holding the Bones of St. Andral
• The Street Chase — A mobile combat through Vallaki's streets with devastating consequences; Henrik van der Voort is trampled multiple times; wolves are summoned inside the town walls
• The Holy Blanket Defense — Daisy wraps the bones in holy-water-soaked blankets, creating a supernatural barrier that repels Volenta and causes her agony
• The Fountain Destruction — Volenta, as a bride-level spellcaster, uses high-level earth magic to raise and destroy the holy water fountain, collapsing it into rubble
• Ria's Taunt — Ria stares into Volenta's "nothingness" and whispers her willingness to play; the moment breaks Volenta's psychological composure and triggers a vow of vengeance
• Henrik's Death — Henrik van der Voort dies to fire damage after being broken by fear, seduction, and trampling
• Volenta's Escape — The vampire spawn transforms to mist and vanishes into the stormy sky, swearing her return

Decisions Made

NPCs Encountered

Locations Visited

Combat & Encounters

Combat Breakdown — The Attic Ambush

Phase 1: The Vampire Spawn Rises

• A vampire spawn erupts from its coffin and attacks Father Lucian with advantage (attacking in darkness the priest cannot penetrate)
• First attack roll: 20 hits for 10 damage
• Second attack roll: 22 (critical success zone) hits for a bite to the neck
• Life drain reduces Father Lucian's maximum HP by 13 points—a devastating magical wound
• Father Lucian cries out in holy agony, invoking "the Mourning Lord"

Phase 2: Fire and Escalation

• Ria throws a firebomb at the spider-climbing vampire, igniting the attic
• Volenta emerges from shadows, lifts her dress to reveal a garter-holstered fire bottle, matches Ria's threat with theatrical malice
• Ria uses Magic Missile against the spider-climbing creature
• Fire spreads rapidly through the wooden attic, blocking exits and creating environmental danger

Phase 3: Combat Across Platforms

• Aleric makes Acrobatics check to climb wooden platforms, strikes vampire for 6 damage
• Father Lucian uses Cure Wounds on himself, recovers from initial bite wound
• Father Lucian uses Divine Eminence to empower Daisy with 3d6 additional radiant damage on her next melee attack
• Daisy approaches Volenta, who licks her lips in predatory manner; Volenta grabs both of Daisy's wrists: "Are you burning up for me too?"
• Volenta says "Come play with me" and uses Vampiric Step to teleport across the attic
• Aleric realizes he must cross the fire now or be trapped; he dashes through flames, triggering opportunity attack

Outcome: Combat shifts away from attic as party prioritizes escape with bones

Chase Breakdown — Flight Through Vallaki

Phase 1: The Desperate Escape

• Party makes for horses; Aleric mounts with Father Lucian behind
• Henrik van der Voort attempts to mount; Rhea has her own horse
• Volenta drops down on a rooftop ahead of them: "her silhouette jagged against the flames"
• "Bring me the bones," she calls down, sweet as poison, "or I will put this town apart one building at a time until you do."
• Volenta lets out a shrill whistle—wolves begin howling from WITHIN the walls, not just outside

Phase 2: The Trampling

• Horses thunder through narrow Vallaki streets toward church and town walls
• Rhea's horse clips Henrik—collision sends him sprawling
• Daisy's horse comes down the same street and tramples him—sickening crunch of breaking bones
• Henrik screams, broken and bleeding
• Father Lucian invokes Morning Lord's protection: "Protect us from harming innocents!"

Phase 3: The Brutal Sacrifice

• Aleric, realizing insufficient room on horse, kicks Henrik off the back to make room
• Henrik falls hard, left behind in the street, broken and abandoned
• Party loses ground to pursuing wolves; desperation increases

Phase 4: The Church Gates

• Dire wolf appears and rushes toward Father Lucian
• Priest is exposed on back of horse, vulnerable to attack
• Party pulls Father Lucian aboard another horse at the last moment
• Dire wolf snaps at air where priest had been
• Party escapes through church gates

Combat Breakdown — The Church Courtyard

Phase 1: The Interception

• Party burst into church courtyard, breathing hard, burned, carrying bones wrapped in blankets
• Volenta standing alone by the stone fountain at courtyard center
• "Why chase them when I can just go where they're going?"
• Three guards at church gates—mortal, fragile, useless against Volenta
• Party is alone against the vampire ascendant

Phase 2: The Holy Water Fountain Defense

• Ria's player inspiration: "I would like to run into the fountain"
• Ria dashes into holy water fountain, realizes: "If that blanket goes in the holy water, will it absorb the holy water?"
• DM confirms: Yes
• Ria cries out: "Holy blanket! Holy blanket!"
• Daisy dashes to fountain, holding bones: "I want to dunk everything. I want to dunk myself. Everything I have in this fountain."
• Daisy submerges completely—blanket, pelt, bones, herself, everything
• Bones in blanket begin to radiate warmth like the morning light
• Blue flame surrounds blanket, not hot but sacred, protective

Phase 3: The Heart on a Stick

• Volenta earlier killed a guard without breaking eye contact: "she just like grabs and her hand thrusts into his chest pulls his heart out"
• Offered to Daisy: "Snack?"
• Speared heart on javelin, ate it walking back toward fire
• Now, at fountain, Volenta pulls heart back to face and takes hearty bite, blood dripping
• Throws the heart at Daisy—plop, plop, plop, plop—lands in pieces before the ranger
• Message: This is what I do to those who oppose me

Phase 4: Volenta's Realization and Response

• Volenta watches intently as Daisy dunks everything in holy water
• DM rolls Insight for her—she understands what party is doing
• "You see a spark, and she stands up"
• Volenta realizes holy water is being weaponized against her

Phase 5: The Fountain Destruction

• Volenta draws upon bride-level sorcerous magic—high-level magic far beyond normal vampire spawn
• "The ground beneath you rumbles and then begins to bulge"
• "She raises the ground of the fountain, centered just below it, 20 feet in the air"
• "The stones that make up the walls begin to crack and crumble and roll down the sides, and the fountain empties"
• "She then clenches her hand and cuts off whatever supply was feeding it"
• "The fountain is now dry, and it collapses and heaves into rubble"
• "None of you are hurt, but you are upheaved and dropped to the ground"
• "You still have your soaked vestments, however" — party keeps holy-water-soaked gear
• Henrik, sitting in fountain when it collapses, ends up on back: "I fucking hate this. I can't believe I let that she-devil seduce me."
• Volenta after destroying fountain: "That really takes it out of me."

Phase 6: Volenta's Threat

• Volenta: "When we're all done here, and I have the bones, and I have all of you, we're going to have to really have just a special moment. I'm going to need a massage. Who wants to go first?"
• Seductive, threatening, disturbing promise of suffering disguised as invitation

Phase 7: Tactical Positioning and Holy Defense

• Father Lucian moves forward, casts Sacred Flame at Volenta
• Volenta saves with 25—spell fails, no damage
• Daisy wraps Bones of St. Andral in holy-water-soaked woolen blanket
• Blue flame spreads—supernatural protection radiates warmth and safety
• Ria attempts to wrap Volenta in the holy blanket
• DM rules: "Wet wool is mundane, but the holy water you've been soaking it in is not. You're not dealing damage with a weapon. You would be wrapping her in a sustained, clinging, unavoidable, consecrated surface."
• Volenta screams in horror and agony as holy cloth touches her
• Nearly frozen by pain, recoiling as though burned by sun itself

Phase 8: Ria's Taunt and Volenta's Rage

• Ria stares into Volenta's "nothingness"—creature without soul, without humanity
• "I'm gonna just stare into her nothingness, because she doesn't have a soul anymore, and just say, oh, but now I want to play."
• "Her breath catches, and you see her breast heave."
• Volenta's response: "My vengeance would be complete. I promise you."
• Absolute vow of vengeance born of genuine rage

Phase 9: Flanking and Divine Defense

• Aleric flanks Volenta, reducing her AC, giving Ria tactical advantage
• Daisy uses Channel Divinity (Warding Flare) to impose disadvantage on Volenta's attacks
• Aleric uses Lay on Hands to heal Father Lucian
• Volenta attacks multiple times but is hindered by divine protection

Phase 10: The Fire Bottle and Final Casualties

• Volenta, enraged by losing psychological composure, makes final vicious decision
• Casually drops fire bottle from her hand as free object interaction
• Alchemical device detonates—everyone within 5 feet catches fire
• Party members, Father Lucian, all burned
• DC 10 Dexterity save at end of each turn to extinguish flames
• 8 points fire damage minimum to everyone
• Henrik van der Voort fails saves—flames spread across his body
• Henrik dies to fire damage—tragic casualty of party's desperation

Phase 11: Divine Intervention Attempt

• Father Lucian (10th-level cleric, neutered from 12th by Strahd's curse) attempts Divine Intervention
• Full prayer: "In the name of his holiness the lord of mourning and his light I beseech that we be healed so that we may continue the fight in the name of the good and the righteous and please let that silver hair dusk elf make it out alive."
• Rolls d100: 88—too high for success
• "The Morning Lord's power is still limited in this place."

Phase 12: Volenta's Escape

• Volenta looks at Ria and Daisy: "She had so many plans for you. And now she's gonna have to wait."
• Transforms into incorporeal mist—form dissipates like smoke
• Vanishes into the stormy sky—disappears from immediate view but not from threat
• Promise of return is absolute

Outcome: Party survives; bones secured; Henrik killed; fountain destroyed; Volenta escapes swearing vengeance

Loot & Rewards

Memorable Moments

"When we're all done here, and I have the bones, and I have all of you, we're going to have to really have just a special moment."

— Volenta, speaking with clear intent to return

"I'm gonna just stare into her nothingness, because she doesn't have a soul anymore, and just say, oh, but now I want to play."

— Ria, taunting Volenta at the fountain's edge

"Holy blanket! Holy blanket!"

— Ria, discovering the party's advantage

"I want to dunk everything. I want to dunk myself. Everything I have in this fountain."

— Daisy, sanctifying all her belongings

"Bring me the bones, she calls down, sweet as poison, or I will put this town apart one building at a time until you do."

— Volenta, from the rooftop during the chase

"That really takes it out of me."

— Volenta, after destroying the fountain

"I fucking hate this. I can't believe I let that she-devil seduce me."

— Henrik van der Voort, broken and desperate

"The Morning Lord's power is still limited in this place."

— DM, after Father Lucian's failed Divine Intervention

• The Initial Bite — Father Lucian's cry of holy agony as the vampire's fangs reduce his maximum HP through a devastating magical wound; the moment a priest realizes his body can be permanently violated
• The Firebomb Escalation — Volenta's matching of Ria's firebomb threat, revealing her own from a garter around her upper thigh; the moment of dark humor amidst mortal danger; the parallel invitation to play
• Volenta's Predatory Intimacy — The vampire licking her lips as Daisy approached; the grab of both wrists during Burning Hands; the whisper "Are you burning up for me too?"; the seduction of violence
• The Eerie Whistling — Volenta whistling through the burning attic, ballet-dancing through fire, pursued by prey who understood she was enjoying herself
• The Street Chase — Horses thundering through narrow streets; the trampling of Henrik; the summoning of wolves from within the town walls; desperation made physical
• The Brutal Sacrifice — Aleric's decision to kick Henrik off the horse; pragmatism overriding mercy; the collateral damage of survival
• The Holy Blanket Revelation — Ria's inspiration to dunk the blanket in holy water; the party realizing they had discovered a defense against the vampire; the moment of tactical brilliance born of desperation
• The Blue Flame — The bones wrapped in blankets radiating warmth like morning light; blue flame surrounding the sacred relics; the visible manifestation of divine protection
• The Heart on a Stick — Volenta eating the heart of a guard she had just killed; the casual demonstration of her indifference to human life; the grotesque theater of cruelty
• The Fountain Destruction — Volenta reshaping earth and stone with sorcerous magic; the ancient, beautiful fountain collapsing into rubble; the party's advantage literally crumbling
• Ria's Taunt — The moment Ria stared into Volenta's soulless essence and declared her willingness to play; the roles reversing; the predator becoming prey to psychological manipulation; Volenta's breath catching, her vow of vengeance absolute
• The Holy Repulsion — Volenta's agony as the holy blanket touched her; the vampire screaming in horror; the supernatural rejection visible and agonizing; the moment a creature of pure evil realized it could be hurt by something beyond its understanding
• Henrik's Contamination — The coffin maker, broken by fear and seduction, soaking in the holy water fountain, contaminating it with filth; the "holy shit fountain" darkly comedic tragedy; a man destroyed not by violence but by revelation of his own weakness
• The Fire Bottle — Volenta's final vicious act; dropping the bottle as a free object interaction; everyone within 5 feet catching fire; the moment desperation and cruelty merged
• Henrik's Death — The coffin maker failing his saves, flames spreading across his body, the party watching helplessly; a civilian casualty who had been seduced and threatened and ultimately destroyed by forces beyond his comprehension
• The Failed Divine Intervention — Father Lucian's prayer, rolling an 88, the realization that even the Morning Lord's power is constrained by Strahd's curse; the moment faith confronted the absolute limits of divine power in a cursed land
• The Mist Escape — Volenta's transformation into incorporeal mist; her disappearance into the stormy sky; the knowledge that she will return; the promise hanging over the party like a curse

Plot Threads

Threads Opened

• Volenta's Obsession — The vampire spawn did not die; she escaped as mist and made her intention clear to pursue the party. She is now a confirmed persistent threat who knows the party's capabilities, understands their ability to weaponize holy objects, and bears a grudge born of psychological humiliation. She swore vengeance with absolute conviction.
• The Bones Secured — The party now possesses the Bones of St. Andral, the primary objective. The next session will involve a restoration ceremony at the Church of St. Andral. The bones are wrapped in holy-water-soaked blankets that protect them with divine power and blue flame.
• The Fountain Destroyed — The beautiful, ancient fountain at St. Andral's Church has been destroyed by Volenta's sorcerous magic. Its replacement or restoration may become a plot point; its destruction may have spiritual ramifications for the church and town.

Threads Advanced

• Father Lucian's Power and Limitations — The party learned that Father Lucian is a capable combatant with high-level cleric abilities (Divine Eminence, healing, Divine Intervention), but his power is artificially constrained by Strahd's dominion over Barovia. Even his Divine Intervention failed because the Morning Lord's power cannot fully overcome the curse.
• Strahd's Control and Curse — The session reinforced that Strahd's power over Barovia is absolute—even a high-level cleric's divine magic is constrained by the curse. No miraculous intervention can overcome it; the party must rely on tactical ingenuity and holy relics, not divine rescue.
• Volenta as a Bride-Level Threat — The party learned that Volenta is far more powerful than a normal vampire spawn; she has access to high-level sorcerous magic (earth shaping), Vampiric Step, mist form, and the full capabilities of a vampire ascendant. She is a serious, persistent, escalating threat.
• Holy Water as a Weapon — The party discovered that holy water can be absorbed into clothing and blankets, creating sustained, clinging, unavoidable consecrated surfaces that cause vampire spawn agony. This mechanic may become crucial in future encounters with undead.

Threads Unresolved

• Will the bones be successfully restored to the church, re-establishing the protective blessing over Vallaki?
• What will be the consequences of Volenta's escape and her promised return? Will she escalate her predatory behavior? Will she hunt the party directly?
• What role will the mysterious scarred nobleman in Vallaki's alleyway play in future events?
• Will Henrik van der Voort's death affect Vallaki's political atmosphere? Will the coffin maker's demise create complications for the party?
• How will Daisy's experience with Volenta's predatory seduction and the gift of the heart on a stick affect her psychologically?
• What is Volenta's true connection to Strahd? Is she merely his tool, or does she have independent agency and agenda?

PC Highlights

GM Notes