The party used the day and a half of travel ahead of them to plan and talk. Ghalwin and Izek discussed Ireena’s reincarnations, making Izek question mortality's nature in Barovia. Delban contacted Ajuni, urging her to embrace her hatred when confronting the likely more-powerful Zandros. As she disassociated, Izek noticed a change in the group's atmosphere but misattributed the gloominess to Tobias, giving the gnome a violent pep talk instead.
That night, he dreamed through Strahd’s eyes; Baba Lysaga cared for "him" as an infant before being banished by the Countess Ravenovia. Though he initially rejected the vision due to his own traumatic relations with dreaming, the party eventually convinced him that the Tome of Strahd would be a vital tool, and that they all needed to trust each other to survive.
Approaching the Vistani camp, Ghalwin explained its divided loyalties: some Vistani served Strahd willingly, but others only tolerated him to survive. Worried about Zandros' reaction, Tobias, and Ajuni remained invisible on the hillside while Ghalwin, Izek, and Ezmerelda headed past the wagon circle. The trio immediately encountered a Vistana telling them to leave as they had "visitors"; they pressed on to the main tent, where Izek intimidated a guard and then threw his blood spear into multiple horses.
This caused immediate chaos: the horses whinnied and pulled against their ropes, Strahd-loyal Vistani poured out from their wagons, and a familiar visitor emerged from the tent: a blood-soaked Anastrasya Karelova. Ghalwin slashed at the vampire as she backed into the tent and revealed that her fellow spouse Ludmilla had accompanied her. The former courtesan charmed Ghalwin into protecting the two of them, and an enraged Izek tore through the wall to kill her, but Anastrasya immediately turned the giant into a worm.
Tobias and Ajuni crept closer as the Vistani surrounded Ezmerelda. A vampiric Zandros emerged to respond to the threat, barking orders with a Vistani accent, and Ajuni did not think before revealing herself and blasting him with sunlight. He switched gears to confront "Junebug" in his familiar voice, but this blatant manipulation infuriated Tobias, who was watching in a nearby wagon. He superheated Zandros' Mithral armor, and the Vistana jumped inside to attack back. Tobias easily deflected the pain-addled slashes, buying time for Ajuni to blast Zandros straight back out the wagon again.
Ezmerelda had turned invisible to evade pursuit as Anastrasya attacked with black tentacles and ordered the Vistani to hunt her down. At Zandros's command, however, the loyalists went to assist him, giving time for Ez to stab the worm in Anastrasya’s grasp. Izek was restored from his polymorph and struck at Ludmilla, but Strahd's newest spouse managed to charm him as well. Under her control, Izek and Ghalwin restrained Ezmerelda and handed her over to be fed upon. As Ludmilla leaned in, Ezmerelda blasted her with lightning, reducing her to dust and freeing the others from her thrall.
Meanwhile, the Vistani mob surged forward, and Ajuni, overwhelmed by curses, was left blind, deaf, and vulnerable. Tobias abandoned attacking Zandros and rushed to her aid, cleverly giving her a Potion of Mind Reading so she could sense her enemies. With their forces dwindling, Zandros, accompanied by the hidden Arrigal and Floriana, attempted to rein in the panicked horses while Tobias, Ajuni, and Geronimo blasted apart the remaining loyalists. Despite their efforts, Zandros and three of his followers managed to escape into the night. Anastrasya screamed at Zandros in rage, but was left silently behind. Her resulting spell to muddle the heroes' minds did little, and she turned to run, but was mercilessly cut down by Ghalwin, Izek, and Ezmerelda.
As the battlefield quieted, the anti-Strahd Vistani emerged, cautious but resigned. Ghalwin and Ezmerelda worked to remove Ajuni’s curses while Izek, still seething, accused Luvash of cowardice. Though the Vistani understood the necessity of the battle, the slaughter of their kin and the looming threat of Strahd's retribution meant the party was not welcome to stay. Amidst the tension, Arabelle reunited with Ghalwin, "knighting" him in gratitude, while Luvash’s raw honesty about the burden of fighting for others brought Izek to unexpected tears.
Arabelle then revealed Zandros’ desperate attempts to prove his worth to Strahd, conducting obsessive Tarokka readings through the inexperienced seer. His findings suggested that the Ladies Three still walked the land in powerless avatars, the Desecrated nature of their fanes known only to them. Believing that Jeny Greenteeth was one of these forms, he had traveled north of Lake Zarovich to destroy her and ensure that Strahd's grip over the realm remained absolute.
The party left the broken camp with a singular goal: before Zandros killed their chances, they had to kill him first.