Headmistress Klavdiya Bolachko joined the Pack in cooking their feast, and shared the many recent troubles of Saint Andral's Orphanage. A boy named Zaharia Lucivich had died two weeks prior, having fallen from a second-story window, leading to a handful of orphans running away. Three days ago, the gravedigger Milivoj had fallen too ill to work, costing the orphanage his extra income. On top of this, a newcomer named Felix Zsoldos had struggled to fit in since arriving months ago.

Father Lucian spoke to the group about the paladin Lugdana Andral and her Holy Symbol of Ravenkind, a Saint who had driven vampires out of Barovia before Strahd's rule. Few knew that she was interred in the church's crypt, her bones giving Consecration to its lands. Knowing they would be safe under Saint Andral's protection, the party opted to spend the night in the church's spare bedroom. Shakti and Ghalwin headed to the Blue Water Inn, leaving Jarmo and Ireena some time alone. At the entrance, the siblings found the inn watched by ravens; Shakti addressed them in bird-speech and learned the ravens did not consider the Pack to be friends.

Inside, the atmosphere was the friendliest the party had encountered in Barovia, despite Shakti announcing their entrance with a loud "CAW". Two brothers, Karl Wachter and Nikolai Wachter II, approached them. The boys bought the "good" wine, Red Dragon Crush, flirted, and spoke of the Wachter family's noble standing in Vallaki. Ghalwin and Shakti reciprocated their flirting before slipping away to meet their hunting partners. In the meantime, Shakti attempted to probe the secret of the inn's inner circle, trying to catch out its bartender and proprietor, Danika Dorakova. Danika made it clear that Shakti needed to drop it. This tension escalated to a near-physical confrontation with one Laszlo Lazarescu, who Ghalwin was delighted to discover was "Birdtram", before the siblings finally relented.

Meanwhile, Jarmo and Ireena continued to fumble around their feelings for each other before eventually deciding to find the tavern. They rejoined their friends by the hearth, where a Crossborn human-Elf Bard named Rictavio was holding court with tales of great adventure. He introduced himself as a traveler from Commona, caught in the mists of Barovia. He had arrived with his carnival wagon and pet Piccolo, though he had since given the Capuchin Monkey to the toymaker Gadof Blinsky. Rictavio was staying at the inn semi-permanently, he said, thanks to the generosity of its owners, the Martikov family.

After parting with Rictavio, the group returned to the Wachter boys. With fire and wine warming the room, the half-siblings both fared remarkably well: Karl led Ghalwin behind the tavern, and Nikolai took Shakti on a "walk". The warmth of the evening worked on Jarmo and Ireena too, as the two abandoned the safety of the church and rented a room in the inn. Against all odds, every member of the Pack had their V-cards revoked on the very same night that they leveled up.

These good times would not last. The next morning, Yeska sought out Ghalwin on the church steps. Clearly nervous, the altar boy admitted he had told Milivoj about Saint Andral's bones during the gravedigger's illness. Ghalwin confirmed with his divine sense that the land was not consecrated, and that fiendish energy permeated the Orphanage, concentrated on the main floor and in the attic. The party regrouped, armored up, and entered, doing their best not to scare the children. Inside, they recovered Lancelot, who bore a mysterious bruise around his paw, and discovered that a magical Infernal rune translating to "dark dreams" had been inscribed on the post of every bed.

Shakti spoke with several children, including the red-haired Tessa Nicoleva whom Zaharia had reportedly fancied. She and many of the other orphans bore unexplained bruising. Tessa said she did not like Felix, who was now the only child remaining in the younger boys' dormitory. The Pack went downstairs and found the Headmistress at work in her office, and Shakti sensed Conjuration and necromantic magic emanating from her drawer. They deflected Klavdiya's questions and examined Milivoj's body, finding it ravaged by a curse.

The Headmistress followed them and described Milivoj's condition; she had spent the orphanage's last funds on three healing potions, but the first had done nothing. When the Pack explained the nature of the curse, she led them into her office and produced a tin locket confiscated from Felix. Ghalwin read the inscription inside, a message in Celestial: "Let Darkness Hide From The Gaze Of Light."