Everyone turned to look in the direction of the loud slam as the Entrance Hall doors were thrown open.
Sergei turned to see Strahd walk in, and stalk down the aisle toward him.
"Strahd!" he called happily.
But as his brother got closer, Sergei could see something was wrong. Strahd's face was cold and gaunt, and he looked harsher… crueler.
The smile slid off Sergei's face as Strahd reached him and raised one hand to strike.
Throughout the valley of Barovia, strong wind howled. Fog creeped along the floor, covering the ground. Bats, wolves, and rats were seen everywhere in the darkness. Mothers hid their children in their homes to protect them.
Mist began to creep up around the mountains, surrounding and enclosing the valley. The impenetrable wall of mist crept higher and higher, slowly but surely forming a dome that enclosed all of Barovia.
All the guests screamed in terror as Strahd tore open Sergei's throat and drank the blood of his dead brother. Tatyana's eyes were wide with terror. She clutched the altar for support, a soundless wail coming from her open mouth.
Strahd straightened, feeling power course through him. He could feel his body changing. Suddenly, he was taller, and stronger. He was youthful, and handsome. He turned to face Tatyana, grinning. He'd expected her to be impressed by his new form, by his beauty. How could she not love him now?
But her expression was filled with horror.
"Strahd," she whispered, "What have you done?"
"Tatyana-"
She turned and fled out of the Hall, into the castle.
"Tatyana!"
Strahd chased after her, determined.
Tatyana had been running blindly through the castle, blinded by tears. Sergei was dead…
He shouldn't have died!
She halted as she realized she'd run straight onto one of the castle's balconies. The long drop loomed below. Mist had collected at the base of Castle Ravenloft, making a rolling ocean of fog over the ground that was creeping up the stone walls.
"Tatyana!" the monster Strahd roared. He'd caught up to her. He stood at the other end of the balcony, blocking her only path of escape.
No.
It couldn't be.
It was her dream.
It was coming true.
"Look at me!" Strahd shouted. "Don't you see me?"
"I see you, Strahd," Tatyana sobbed, "But I don't think you do."
"Come with me!" he bellowed. "We could be great together."
"I don't know you anymore, Strahd," she whispered.
There was only one way out.
Tatyana leaped over the balcony railing, hurling herself to the ground below. With a scream, she vanished into the Mist.
The Vistani had been traveling quickly in the direction of Barovia's borders. In the forest at night, the gales of wind were rocking their caravans and blowing away their things. But they kept moving, as quickly as they could, until they were stopped by an odd sight on the ground.
"It's a body!" someone cried.
Madam Eva, who sat on a horse at the front of the group, leaped off and headed over to it. She felt it.
"Whoever this is, they're still alive, but barely. Quick! Any healing spells you have left, use them!"
The old woman stepped back to let her magic users do their work.
"Honestly," she muttered. "This is the third time we've saved someone's life. How many more times will we be needed?"
In a few minutes, they helped the nearly-deceased man up onto his feet. Since they had fewer healing spells, it wasn't a perfect cure. He was missing skin and hair in lots of places, he had a strong limp, and seemed to have trouble staying fully conscious, like he'd hurt his head or lost a lot of blood… or both.
"Who are you?" Eva asked.
"My name is Ulmed," the hurt man answered. "Thank you for saving me. I was on the brink of death."
"You're most welcome," Madam Eva answered. "Would you like to join us on our voyage? We're-"
"No, I'm sorry," Ulmed interrupted. "I can't. I have to stay as far away from people as possible."
"Why?" someone asked.
"I'm dangerous," he responded. "I've been investigating some evil force known as the Dark Powers."
A shiver passed through the group of Vistani.
"And I have reason to believe I'm the vessel for their plots," Ulmed continued.
"Oh," Madam Eva shook her head. "No, no. I'm sorry. But you're not the vessel."
"Then who is?" Ulmed asked incredulously.
The guests had begun to panic from the moment Strahd and Tatyana were gone. They ran amok, screaming. Many huddled together, petrified in the stampede-like scene. Many were trying to escape. Some were bolting away through Ravenloft's passages. Others were trying to open the doors and windows to leave the castle.
Outside of the Entrance Hall, Amir stood. With a casual snap of her fingers, she magically locked every window and door leading out of the castle. Then, the Priest teleported away to the Amber Temple.
Many people tried to force open the exits, but no one could. They wouldn't so much as budge under the force. As the realization that they were locked inside sank in, the pandemonium tripled. The only escape from the Hall was to go deeper into the castle, and many took it. Others remained where they were, not daring to venture further into Strahd von Zarovich's domain.
Avon Dilisnya stood on a chair, trying to make himself be seen and heard by the crowd.
"We have to stop this!" he shouted at the top of his lungs. "Strahd is a murderer. He must be executed, before he does any more harm!"
Very few heard him over the din, but a few did, as well as some of Strahd's soldiers that had been near Avon. They hurried down the hall Strahd and Tatyana had disappeared through, weapons in hand.
"NO!" Strahd wailed, one hand outstretched hopelessly to the place where Tatyana had disappeared into the mist below. He sobbed, tears spilling down. How could she?
He heard a twang from behind him, and then suddenly his back was being peppered with arrows, shredding his cape and tearing his skin. The von Zarovich fell to his knees under the assault.
But he was alive.
Slowly, he stood, ripping the arrows out of his back one by one. As he turned to his attackers, they fled. It was his own guards! How could they be so disloyal to their own Lord?
Well, Tatyana was dead. All he'd wanted was gone. Now everyone else would pay for their betrayal.
"You won't like this any better," Madam Eva warned, "But Strahd von Zarovich is the vessel."
Ulmed gaped. Strahd? His old friend?
"He's already been transformed," the old woman continued. "He's lost to us now."
"How is he lost?"
"He's become a vampire," she shivered at her own words. "A horrible monster that will bring ruin upon the world. He's played right into the Dark Power's hands, and he still is. It would be best to just kill him."
"Then it must be done."
"Be careful," Madam Eva cautioned. "The Mists are closing in around Barovia. Soon, it'll be gone from this world, separated from everything forever. Come with us, we're leaving the valley. If you get out in time, you won't be trapped."
"If Strahd is the vessel," Ulmed decided. "I can't leave. I have to stop him. Where is he?"
"He's at Castle Ravenloft," Eva sighed. She passed him the reins of her horse. "Be careful. This is a battle you may not win."
With a nod of thanks, Ulmed leaped on the horse and rode away.
Strahd stalked back into the Entrance Hall, claws at the ready. Upon sighting him, all the guests screamed and ran, trying to get as far away from him as possible. The von Zarovich ran towards them, and with one cut, the bloodbath began. He chased after and hunted each person in the Entrance Hall, slashing open their necks, ripping their throats with his teeth, or stabbing them through the chest. No one stood a chance.
Many took a chance while he was distracted to flee through the passageways deeper into the castle. He'd deal with them later; they had nowhere to run where he couldn't find them.
Avon Dilisnya ran toward him, dagger in hand.
"You'll pay for your crimes, Zarovich," he snarled, bringing the dagger towards him.
Strahd lazily batted it aside and dug his teeth into Avon's neck. With a choked scream, the man fell to the ground, dead.
Delighted, Strahd turned to find new victims.
In the Amber Temple, the Priests of Osybus were celebrating.
"We did it!" Amir cried. "Strahd is ours now!"
As they all cheered, Exethanter walked up the altar steps to the mist column that was the Dark Powers.
"We\ve done as you asked," the lich bowed. "Strahd's next step will be to conquer the world, and we will help him with that."
Ah, yes, the Dark Powers whispered. And then, once Zarovich rules the whole world, you all will be granted immortality?
"Yes, that was the deal," Exethanter confirmed.
It's too bad, then, the Powers garbled, That he'll never rule.
The swirling Mists took on a new form. Every one of the Priests of Osybus screamed as their old master, Osybus, was formed from the fog.
You thought you could kill me? The lich-god roared. My own Priests? I had achieved immortality! I did not die, that day you turned on me. I became one of the Dark Powers!
At this very moment, he bellowed, his voice making the ground shake, The Mists are closing in around Barovia. Strahd will be eternally trapped in a prison of his own making. He will never conquer the world. You will never achieve immortality!
The Priest's wail of grief echoed from the Amber Temple around the valley's mountains.
Strahd crept along a hallway lined with bodies of his victims. He'd already hunted along there, ripping apart the flesh of a group that had fled that way. But he could still smell living flesh; clearly, someone had tried to hide there, thinking he wouldn't come back. Well, they were wrong.
Strahd's ears picked up a quiet whimper, barely audible. Grinning devilishly, he turned slowly towards a door along the corridor's side, where the sound was coming from.
"I know you're there," he crooned. "Come out, I won't hurt you."
Another whimper.
"You'll be safe," Strahd murmured, pouring endless honey into his voice. "Come to me."
Hesitantly, as though compelled, a young man emerged from behind the door, covered in blood. He approached Strahd cautiously, looking up at him as though confused.
Strahd lunged forward and bit down on his neck, tearing apart flesh and bone. He crouched over the body, drinking up the blood. He relished in it, in its delicacy, in the power it brought him.
As Ulmed entered the Entrance Hall of Castle Ravenloft, he was hit by a horrible smell; the smell of blood, rot, flesh and flies. Gagging, he stepped into the hall to find it set up for a wedding, with chairs lined up facing the end of the hall, with an aisle in the middle. Many of the chairs were knocked over or thrown around.
And there were so many bodies. Slumped against the walls, sprawled on the ground, slumped over the chairs. Each one of them was marred by deep claw-like wounds, covered in blood, with their faces frozen in a scream.
Ulmed whispered to the gods to treat the souls well as he walked through the room, hand tight around his sword. At the end of the hall was Sergei's body There was a gaping hole in his throat, with no blood in it. Ulmed sighed softly. He closed the von Zarovich's sightless eyes with one hand. Then, clearing his throat, he took his sword and strode away to find Strahd.
Ulmed found the vampire in a hallway, hunched over a corpse, making gulping and swallowing noises. Ulmed felt bile in his throat.
"Strahd!" he shouted. The von Zarovich whipped around and smiled at him, mouth stained red. It was the kind of smile a shark would make.
"How could you do this, Strahd?" Ulmed demanded. "What have you become?"
"I've become greater than any human could be," Strahd snarled. "I can make everyone pay for taking Tatyana from me."
"You're a vampire; an atrocity!" Ulmed shook his head. "You go against everything I stand for. I have no choice but to kill you."
Drawing a knife from his belt, Ulmed threw it, aiming directly for Zarovich's head. Strahd vanished. Where he'd stood, there was a bat that easily flew around the dagger and soared up above Ulmed. Then, the bat became Strahd again. The vampire crashed down directly on Ulmed, using his arms and legs to pin Ulmed's to the ground. The sword skittered out of Ulmed's hands and disappeared down the hallway.
Strahd was snapping at Ulmed's neck, hot breath and sharp incisors mere inches from his throat. Sharp claws raked down his sides. Breaking his legs free from the vampire's grip, Ulmed pressed them against Strahd's stomach, using them to keep the fangs away from his neck. Mustering his energy, Ulmed drew his legs beneath him and kicked Strahd away. The vampire slammed into a wall, dazed.
There was no time to retrieve his sword. Ulmed took another knife and hurled it right as Strahd ran towards him.
The dagger buried itself deep into Strahd's chest. The von Zarovich gave a soft gasp as he slumped against the wall and fell to the ground. His soulless eyes stared up at Ulmed. Then, with a small groan, his eyes closed and his muscles relaxed.
Ulmed checked the pulse everywhere he could; there was no heartbeat. Strahd von Zarovich was dead.
Ulmed gave a small choke. Turning, he fled the castle, leaving his old friend's body behind.
Strahd's body lay immobile while Ulmed left. When he was gone, the vampire's body disintegrated into mist, leaving no evidence he'd ever lain there.
The mist floated up to the highest tower of Castle Ravenloft, where the empty coffin of his mother lay. Inside that crypt, the mist reformed Strahd's unconscious body. Slowly, he regrew in strength.
Ulmed managed to escape Barovia before the Mists closed in. He rejoined his friends Cosima, Ansel, and Tristian. They eventually formed the Ulmist Inquisition, a force dedicated to fighting evil in all its forms, but especially the evil that lurks within.
When the Mists did eventually enclose the valley, they removed it from the rest of the world. Barovia became a valley that only existed in memory. While it still lived on, in a pocket dimension surrounded by fog, it was forever separated from the rest of the world. Its people were forced to live, isolated, in fear. Every so often, when trying to break free or plan a revolution, they would gather in the Blood of the Vine tavern.
Sergei, he was never seen again, whether in spirit form or in the afterlife. His soul was always trapped in Barovia, in some form or other.
Strahd was trapped in the Mists too. Every day was torment. The Dark Powers delighted in making him miserable. That was why he was there; to suffer.
The Priests of Osybus would be trapped in Barovia as well. They would try, for decades to come, to break Strahd out of his prison so he could conquer the world and they could become immortal. But they never would.
And Tatyana, poor Tatyana. She never died; she vanished into the Mists. Her soul would forever be reincarnated in Barovia in some form for one reason: to torture Strahd.
"And I'm sorry to say that is your fate," said the hooded stranger. "You are Tatyana reincarnated. But what will you do with that knowledge? That is up to you."
Having finished his tale, the stranger gazed around at the trees of Barovia as a bat flew overhead.