Before the disaster, Atlas Atruvian was spending his first morning in Vallaki. Haunted by a mysterious past, the twilight cleric had come to Barovia deliberately, traveling the Old Svalich Road toward Castle Ravenloft. He knew little of the land, only that his goddess Umori had tasked him with righting its evils. He sought out Father Lucian at Saint Andral's, who told him that other travelers had recently come to Vallaki and that he believed them to be scions of the Morninglord.
The following day, screams from outside his borrowed stableroom pulled Atlas into the street. A vampire spawn was loose, cutting down innocents in plain sight. It spotted him; recognizing the fight would be poor odds alone, he turned invisible. A nearby raven instructed him in Common to lure the spawn into an unlocked house, so Atlas reappeared and did as he was told. Inside, aided by a thoroughly naked Laszlo Lazarescu, he called down Umori's radiance and blasted the spawn while the wereraven wrestled it into submission. As the thrall broke to run, Lazlo put a dagger through it, then relayed to Atlas what was unfolding across the town.
Meanwhile, despite Ireena's kidnapping and Jarmo standing petrified, the remaining members of the Pack had no time to grieve. Ghalwin sent Shakti to gather Jarmo's effects and ran north with Lancelot to find Izek Strazni, who was thankfully still breathing. Ghalwin restored some of his vitality; the devilish henchman was confused but grateful, and the two set off after the last remaining spawn. At the same time, Atlas and Lazlo arrived at the square, though the wereraven hung back at the sight of Izek. Ghalwin let Izek run ahead and pulled the two aside; they told him the final spawn was dead. He told them what had happened in the square, then went to collect Shakti.
The group made for the Inn, finding only Brom and Bray inside, and settled in with a drink and a reheated abandoned stew. Over the meal, Shakti and Ghalwin got to know Atlas, who laid out his mission and produced his Planar Compass. With van Richten missing, they had no other guide, and decided to trust him. When Urwin and Danika returned, a brief word reminded Ghalwin that the church remained unconsecrated. The Pack doubled back to Father Lucian, who opened the altar's hidden door. Ghalwin said a short prayer and consecrated the space, laying Jarmo's maul to rest alongside Saint Andral's bones. Unwilling to stay idle, Shakti began preparing extra graves with earth magic while Ghalwin helped Atlas make holy water; the old cleric commiserated with him quietly, no stranger to loss himself.
Having dug enough graves and prepared enough holy water, they returned to the Inn and looked over van Richten's room. It was empty apart from a note: if they found an artifact, they could meet the Doctor at "Khazan's Tower". Realizing that he had left his wagon behind, the Pack went to Arasek Stockyard and found it still there, along with the plated saber-tooth tiger. Ghalwin leaned on Gunther Arasek, implying he might report him to the Burgomaster, and walked away with Brokk's plate mail. Gunther could not meet their asking price for the necklace, however, and suggested taking it to a wealthy noble.
With no clean path forward, the party resolved to pay a visit to Baron Vargas Vallakovich. The Feast of Saint Andral's had ended, but the fallout had only just begun.