After five months in captivity, Ireena had not yet been turned by Strahd, though she was pale and weakened. The vampire lord had chained her at the top of the north tower but largely ignored her since the arrival of Vasilka; Strahd despised the golem, but remained seemingly obsessed with it. In his absence, Escher tormented Ireena out of jealousy, driving her deeper into despair. Izek seethed at this, though tried to hide the fact that he was Ireena's brother as they came up with a plan of escape. After Ismark was brought up, however, Ghalwin would end up spoiling the secret nonchalantly. The exhausted Ireena could not immediately reconcile her "true" brother along with her adopted one, nor his apparent resemblance to Jarmo, who she truly still loved.
The Heralds took a long time to come up with an escape plan, and were interrupted by an Unseen Servant offering moldy scones, then by the sound of armored patrols below. Scrambling to hide, Tobias and Ez turned invisible, Lancelot slid beneath the bed, and Ireena feigned imprisonment while Geronimo, Ajuni, Izek, and Ghalwin climbed through the trapdoor to the roof. Their movement, however, stirred the castle’s defenses. A massive stormhead shaped like Strahd’s face swelled over the tower, unleashing a flood of bats that darkened the sky.
When the patrol of five Wights sniffed out Lancelot's hiding place, Tobias used his new Helm of Brilliance to shape a wall of fire through the undead warriors. Ezmerelda and Lance fought with swordplay, and despite her exhaustion, Ireena waited until the right moment to pick up a blade herself and fight. Meanwhile, Izek and Ajuni fought their way through the massive Swarm of Bats as Ghalwin burned through the flood with moonlight. The Heralds prevailed, but the battle was tougher than expected, and they realized they could not afford to stay in the tower much longer. They destroyed a locked chest at Ireena's feet and found a jeweled crown hidden inside, then descended to the bridge where the Heart of Sorrow once hung.
They crossed the wind-whipped bridge to an empty cauldron room, which was now inhabited only by Anastrasya Karelova's three familiars. The cats quite cattily told Tobias to leave; instead, the gnome threw the pussies outside and the group attempted to rest. In response, the cats slinked downstairs and summoned Rahadin, who warned through the door that the Heralds were not welcome in the castle, as tomorrow was the late Countess Ravenovia's birthday. When Tobias opened the door, the chamberlain vanished backward, fleeing along the castle rooftop to alert his master. Ghalwin acted on impulse, producing Tasha’s mirror and commanding the assassin spirit to strike Rahadin down. Tasha obeyed, stabbing the elf through the back as he leapt from the roof, then slayed him in front of Ravenloft's entryway. However, when the deed was done, Strahd’s reflection appeared in the mirror's glass, mocking them.
Panic followed. The Heralds rushed down the familiar path, through a trapdoor into the guest room's closet. They found Escher resting in the lounge; without hesitation, Izek attacked, wounding him as the vampire spawn turned into mist. Strahd had given his spouse the power to transform, and rather than be slowed down by attacking the fleeign mist, the Heralds bounded past the reinstated Rug of Smothering by the stairway. Luckily encountering no further reinforcements, they stormed through the larders and into Rahadin's office. As they opened his secret door, a shadow demon continually clawed at Tobias until Ghalwin waited for the gnome to catch up, then struck it down with a single radiant smite.
The Heralds reached the brazier room, hurled the violet stone into the fire, and vanished from Ravenloft in a swirl of light; they emerged thirty feet above the ruined remains of the coffin maker’s house in Vallaki. Realizing Strahd would follow, they worked quickly, gathering the Keepers of the Feather and splitting into groups. Urwin and the other town leaders began rousing the people as Tobias, gleaming with light from his helm, led abled-bodied Vallakians north to Lake Zarovich on a flying Geronimo. Ajuni and Ez secured the orphanage and guided its children to safety, while Ghalwin and Father Lucian managed the flood of weaker townsfolk who pressed towards the churchyard. Izek reorganized the guards, barking orders and hardening the city’s defenders into better shape.
In little time, the church's grounds were packed with bodies, all trying to fit within the circumference of its consecration. Uneasy hours passed as heavy rain tapered to a drizzle. Then, lightning struck. Strahd appeared at the edge of the hallowed line, silhouetted in the storm. His fury was quiet but deeply visible; the Heralds had taken his bride, killed his chamberlain, and robbed his treasury. He found it difficult to monologue, however, as each member of the party stepped from the church to confront him.
In response, Strahd raised his hands and called down a massive bolt of lightning that tore through the roof of Saint Andral’s Church, collapsing it and setting the timbers aflame. The crowd panicked, and packed tight, many stumbled beyond its blessed ground as the fires spread. Watching from the storm’s edge, Strahd smiled. A terrible night had only just begun.
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