After convincing Lady Fiona Wachter to allow them to browse and borrow any books that would help the group, the party searched through the slim pickings of the private library. They were able to find a few particularly interesting books, including one on the flooded town of Berez and another on monster hunting. While looking around, Caleb sensed a very faint trace of magic coming from the other side of a bookshelf in the office.
Domitrius was able to...persuade... Haliq to leave the room to allow the party to investigate a little more thoroughly. They were able to glance through an old journal of a Lovina Wachter that mentioned receiving a manifesto of sorts called the Tome of Strahd. Looking for a way behind the bookcase, Caleb found a key on the collar of one of the cats. Quickly looking inside the room behind the bookshelf, the adventurers found a large iron chest with its own, separate lock on it. Before getting a chance to look into the chest further, Mrs. Wachter came back into the library to check on the group. To buy some time, Domitrius let out Peter in an attempt to scare Mrs. Wacther, but she seemed unfazed and simply asked Haliq to kill the rat. Luckily, Domitirus was able to get Peter back before Haliq was able to find him. Meanwhile, Lady Wacther thanked the group for coming, and even offered a complete book series for Caleb to read.
After leaving, the group went to Saint Andral's Church to learn about the missing bones from Father Lucian Petrovich and altar boy Yeska. When asked, Father told the group that at one point he informed Yeska about the existence of bones to calm his night terrors. The party questioned Yeska next. They easily found out that the young boy let slip the location of the bones to Milivoj, the grave digger, after being offered extra food. They were told that Milivoj recently fell ill and was at the nearby Saint Andral's Orphanage where he lives.
Spending the night in the pews or where able, the group got some sleep and read some books, including the book Van Richten's Guide to Monsters and Berez: Then and Now.Caryll learned about a large evil plant entity called a Gulthias Tree that may be leading to the creation of the Blights that were threatening The Winery. Domitrius learned the full story of Berez and found the painting that Izek Strazni possibly used to get his dolls created by Gadof Blinsky. Wagner and Caryll both woke up feeling terrible, and suspected either the missing bones or recent "connection" to the Gulthias Staff as the cause. Before leaving, Father Petrovich asked the group to help keep the secret of the bones' existence and location. Although knowledge of the church providing the town with hallowed ground was public, the fact that the bones even exist was not.
The group then went to Saint Andral's Orphanage to search for Milivoj and tell Headmistress Claudia Belasco about the existence of the secret bones. There they found Milivoj in an unresponsive sleep that even Wagner's healing magic could do nothing for. The Headmistress informed the group about a recent string of bad luck, including the death of one of the children due to falling out of a window. She gave the group a locket which she took away from two boys fighting over it - a boy named Felix and the boy that recently died, Cedrik. Checking the locket, Caryll found an inscription inside written in Abyssal saying "Let darkness hide from the gaze of the light." Searching the rooms for Felix to question him, Wagner tried the scary approach and traumatized the children, to the major annoyance of Headmistress Belasco. Wagner did, however, quickly and efficiently confirm that none of the kids on the lower level of The Orphanage were Felix. While searching the rooms upstairs, they were able to find more inscriptions on all beds except for Felix's. At the far end of the hall, above the broken window from Cedrik's fall, Wagner noticed a hatch leading to an attic, a good place to check next.
