Five undead thralls spilled onto Vallaki's streets, and Ghalwin focused on chasing down the two fleeing the scene. He could not devote time to save the innocent, but did began banging his shield and shouting "VAMPIRES!" to alert guards from across the town square. Shakti quickly caught up to him in Dire Wolf form, then outpaced him; she noticed that both of the vampires carried brown sacks. They split up, and she chased down one as Lancelot went after the other. Shakti tore the sack away from her quarry, revealing only potatoes, but Lancelot was able to fully halt the spawn who carried Saint Andral's bones. This bought Ghalwin and Shakti time to catch up to the vampire, and they held him back as Lancelot snatched the bones.
Meanwhile, Jarmo, Ireena, and van Richten dealt with the enemies attacking the peasantry. van Richten rushed to the nearest spawn, standing over a dead washerwoman and banished the undead back to its native plane; he did so not without guilt, but that was a problem for a less-urgent time. Jarmo and Ireena rushed to an enemy further away, who killed multiple villagers and six soldiers before confronting the lovers. They paired with van Richten to take her down; she ran away to intercept Lancelot, but Jarmo beat her to death before she reached the dog.
No one called out to Izek Strazni, who followed a thrall from rooftop to rooftop through the houses of peasants, causing a fair bit of property damage and heavy arson along the way. Ghalwin later spotted him unconscious amidst the chaos, but found no sign of his target; one vampire spawn remained unaccounted for.
As Lancelot bounded away with the bones, guards finally arrived in number. Ghalwin pinned his enemy down with spectral vines, Shakti exposed the creature to radiant light, and twelve guards with pikes stuck the vampire in a scene reminiscent of a renaissance painting. The Pack felt triumphant as the rain began to beat down heavily; however, Lance spotted something strange cutting through the mists and dashed off the street to hide. When van Richten noticed what Lancelot saw, he also decided to run away, shouting "this is why I don't work with amateurs!" Bursting from the Coffin Maker's Shop was none other than Strahd von Zarovich, riding atop a Nightmare.
The remaining vampire spawn in the square was caught between Jarmo and a cadre of guards, and he begged for his master to save him. Strahd vanished from the sky and reappeared at the ground below, viewing his thrall's failure with contempt. He raised a hand and cast a small spell that instantly incinerated the group in a ball of fire; only Jarmo survived the blast. Ireena gripped Jarmo's arm, and he moved to protect her from the vampire lord.
As the blood hunter defended Ireena, Strahd realized the truth: his beloved "Tatyana" had fallen for another man. The vampire lord was incensed, as Jarmo had disobeyed the single most pivotal instruction he was given upon entering Barovia. In a fit of tears and rage, Strahd charmed them both as Shakti sent her moonbeam roaring towards him and Ghalwin mounted an assault with a full cache of guards. As if he was flicking debris from his collar, Strahd dispelled the moonbeam and immolated Ghalwin's entire squadron before they could touch him. The charmed Jarmo did nothing as the Count removed his Dreamweaver Circlet, citing that such headwear was not to be worn in Barovia. There were no kings or champions here. Only Strahd.
Atop his hellish mount, Strahd flew away with Ireena and the circlet. Ghalwin begged Yyrga for help, but the Eye of Shadows' power in this form was limited; all she could do was witness him. Jarmo knew better than anyone how wicked his clan's curse was, but fought against it long enough to grip the hands of his friends. He kneeled, and told them them he loved them as his body petrified. Shakti scrambled to do something; Ghalwin screamed as he could do nothing; Jarmo stayed silent, strong, then stone.
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