- The group rests overnight to recover from the encounter with the wraiths - During the night, four Intellect Devourers attack the party - with one latching onto Graxen as he sleeps - The Intellect Devourer attached to Graxen incapacitates him, attempting to consume his brain - A second Devourer scrambles towards Graxen, attacking and killing him - After the Devourers are defeated, a woman's voice echoes in all of our heads - it speaks to someone it refers to as "my boy", demanding he bring us to her. The towering form of flesh and stone turns to face us - The creature begins to lumber towards us. Graxen suggests taking shelter in a nearby forest but Ellette recalls being warned against entering the woods during her last visit to Barovia - The towering hulk approaches, forcing us to seek shelter in the town of Barovia. The music begins to die out as the creature shambles passed - The town appears to have been completely decimated and is covered in scaling growths and pustulating barnacles - Graxen recognises a number of Shorestalkers clambering over the roofs of Barovia - A nearby church harbours the sound of hushed voices. The sound of a failing bell feebly attempts to ring overhead - Graxen uses Disguise Self to wear the visage of Derrick, wishing to blend in as human - We approach the church, noticing that a number of lanterns begin to extinguish. A hastily made blockade surrounds the building - Steve approaches the barricade, calling out for anyone inside - A magic ring appears around Steve's feet, engulfing her in an escalating blast of flame - As the flames writhe around Steve, humans emerge along the barricade - training bows upon us - The people are disorganised, appearing scared - certainly lacking in any form of training - Ellette attempts to reason with the panicking villagers - Graxen recognises a Barovian dialect being spoken amongst the people - They speak of fetching someone known as "The Father" - Ellette identifies us as Sordia Vignti - and herself by name. This brings an end to the panic, but is met by silence - The walls are magically pulled apart - with a priest, an elderly human, emerging from within - He grasps a blood-coloured gem, asking for Graxen to touch it. This dispels Graxen's Disguise Self, with the man addressing him as the Siren's Voice and thanking him for his honesty - The others each touch the gem, with nothing happening - The priest enquires about Ellette's claims to be Sordia Vignti - The priest becomes wary when Ellette mentions Graxen having a son - The priest asks if Graxen feels capable of making the right choice if it came down to choosing between two lives - Inside a young woman strikes Graxen - He recognises her as being a child, her parents having previously been slaughtered by the Shorestalkers for refusing to welcome the Siren as their new dark lord - The priest ushers us further inside, offering rations. We notice a horizontal embedded in the ground. A long haired man appears to be attempting to figure out how to open it - Orlan recognises a statue of Lathander - Ellette approaches the man tinkering at the door - Ellette and Graxen recognise him as appearing exactly like Strahd - although far less pale - Ellette grasps at her chest, where Strahd previously impaled her - while Graxen instinctively reaches for his sword - The man becomes nervous, asking if we've met before. He identifies himself as The Alchemist - He has vague memories of a brighter pasture, but woke up one day on the edge of the woods at least five to ten years previously - The alchemist indicates four eyes on the door, which are shut and he cannot open. There are four bells engraved beside each eye - The Alchemist describes seeing a man who resembled a dragon - This happened two years ago, the dragon teravelling north far passed Barovia - The dragonborn was red with a gold with a red sheen - The Alchemist is confused by Orlan and Steve's species and mistakes Ellette as being a Dusk Elf - The Alchemist identifiies the old ruins of the Silver Dragon (The Argynvostholt) as being the fortress of the Blood Siren - She has called forth entities - including a dragon to fight for her. The Alchemist also claims she has replaced her Voice - The Alchemist saw Skaull prowl through the village of Barovia a few days previously, holding a small bundle. He sprinted towards the tower of flesh and stone - with the lumbering creature appearing to bend low to accept Skaull's approach - The Alchemist asks for our aid in opening the horizontal door - He believes it may harbour a secret that may aid in the fight against the Siren - There is a large central eye in the door, surrounded by four smaller eyes and engravings of bells - A script in Elvish reads L, H and M on three of the bells. The last one is illegible - Orlan seeks the priest, who identifies himself as Father Davor - Fr Davor speaks of the Tritons destroying a number of the churches around Barovia - deeming them unworthy - At Steve and Graxen's behest, Orlan offers the Alchemist a slice of his rationed bread - attempting to test if he'll eat them - While he hands most of it out amongst the survivors, the alchemist does eat a small amount - As we attempt to open the door, Graxen is overcome by visions of his mother. She whispers, taunting that he will always be hers. Graxen lunges at the Alchemist, with Orlan using Hold Person to restrain him - Fr Davor emerges, slapping Graxen and returning him to his senses - Orlan senses a small amount of magic emitting from the door. He detects Divination Magic