Three dire wolves leading six others had encircled the quartet, and Ghalwin plead with them to leave in beast-speech. The hungry predators could not be convinced, however, and attacked using pack tactics to create openings for each other. Ireena found that the wolves were not attacking her, and Jarmo sussed out that they were likely servants of Strahd. Outnumbered, they fought with desperation and suffered terrible wounds in the darkness of the night, with Jarmo once again inhibiting his Circlet to survive; his curse had a greater hold on his body than before, having removed the circlet three times.
While Jarmo held firm, Ireena flanked and dispatched the wolves that targeted her friends. Though the battle was close, the party was eventually able to turn its tide, and the last two beasts alive attempted to flee. Not wanting information to get back to Strahd, Shakti wildshaped into a dire wolf herself to catch up and pin down an escapee, as Ghalwin performed a miraculous longbow shot through the thick foliage and killed the other. Though Shakti's quarry mauled her out of her wildshape, she bought enough time to allow Jarmo and Ghalwin, and the three managed to slay the giant beast.
Having narrowly avoided complete disaster, the group decided that they earned a longer rest, and were inspired to name their party: the four of them, plus Lancelot and Pip Squeak, were "the Pack." Ghalwin and Shakti bonded while skinning the wolves for their meat and pelts, and Jarmo spent the time constructing bolts for his two silvered arrowheads. At mid-day, they continued along the Old Svalich road, and Shakti noticed the scent of a dead man not far into the woods. His wounds indicated that he had been attacked by the wolves that the Pack had just fought off, and he carried coins, a heavy crossbow, and a silvered longsword. Ghalwin opted to put his body in their new Bag of Holding, intending to bury the man in Vallaki.
They later found a hidden bundle of human-sized clothing, which Ghalwin learned from Lancelot smelled of bird. Jarmo had noticed a Raven following them for many miles along the journey, and Ireena the birds to be symbols of good luck in Barovia; Ghalwin referred to it as "Birdtram", but the raven did not seem to care for the name. The path forked, and the sign pointing to the Durst Windmill had been scratched out with the words "Old Bonegrinder". They followed hesitantly, but Birdtram flew ahead of them and cawed above the windmill's front door. In beast-speech, the raven spoke with human-like intelligence, and seemed to understand the questions posed in Common by the group.
Birdtram claimed that Old Bonegrinder was operated by three Hags, who exchanged their Dream Pastries for the children of addicted customers. He pleaded with the Pack that the windmill was too dangerous to enter, then claimed that he "had said too much" and flew away. Ireena and Ghalwin wanted to save the children locked inside, but Jarmo had studied hags; he knew it would be suicide to cross them if they had formed a coven. Shakti called upon a Fey Familiar to scout the windmill in the form of a Fly. She found hundreds of raven bodies piled in the onion-domed edifice, a small girl locked in a cage, and three hags. One of these bore the visage of Granny Morgantha, and as her fly zoomed around, it was shot down by Granny with magical force.
Disheartened by their powerlessness, Ghalwin ragefully drove his axe into a tree. As he did so, he had an out-of-body experience, and realized that the quickest way to Vallaki would be through the dangerous forest. The Pack decided to take a risk, utilizing the Svalich Woods shortcut despite the potential deadliness of the forest. That evening, on their first watch in the woods, Jarmo and Ireena had another tender conversation. They each tried to make a move: however, as they tenderly held hands, the giantborn flashed back to Strahd's command to "stay away from Tatyana". He suddenly reeled away from his auburn-haired crush, and cursed himself for fumbling his chance.
Even worse, around this time, Ghalwin had another prophetic dream: surrounded by dark winds, his eyes blackened with the Yrrga's magic, and he slew Strahd with a sword of pure sunlight. On his watch, he gossiped about Jarmo with his sister, but could not keep the eeriness of this dream from his Shakti, and the two mused about the perfidious power of prophecy.
The next day, the Pack encountered two wolf-hunters from Vallaki, Szoldar Szoldarovich and Yevgeni Krushkin. The men were looking for their partner Franz Krykski, who had been searching for Myrtle Lansten. The party regretfully informed them that their partner had been killed by wolves, and the girl taken by hags; Ghalwin removed the hunter's torn-up body from his bag of holding, which initially shocked the men, but the paladin calmed them. The two hunters stoically promised to lead the Pack to Vallaki using a shortcut, masking their sadness with silence.
The Pack finally felt somewhat safe, traveling in great numbers and lead by men familiar with these lands. As they camped, Shaki tried to connect with Ireena, but the socially-awkward druid was not skilled in the art of the pep talk. She accidentally implied that Jarmo did not want the girl because she "belonged" to Strahd, and also spilled the secret that Jarmo had been bitten by the Count himself. Ireena did not know what to with this information, but thanked Shakti for the attempt anyway.
In the morning hours before light, Ghalwin awoke to Lancelot growling. Realizing that something approached, he woke the Pack just in time: six springing Scarecrows lunged at them from the mist!
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