Nixus and Baelar meet each other in the taproom, which has more people in attendance. Mostly human commoners that are drowning their sorrows in alcohol. In the center of the taproom is an half-orc priest wearing a piece of chain mail over his sky blue robes and has a white cloak draped around him. The priest has a warhammer and shield resting on his back. 

Thademar has been confronted by one of the commoners whom of which is wafting a piece of paper at him. "Greetings sir. Might I interest you in signing this petition?" He says in a politeful tone. Thademar can glance at the paper to see that it reads:

'Storm Castle Ravenloft - Strahd Can't Stop All Of Us'

The rest of the paper is filled with lines designed to hold signatures. Surprisingly to this man, not a single soul has signed the petition. He hopes Thademar is his first signee.

Urgog chuckles at Baelar's comment and looks about the room. He watches the commotion with the half orc for a moment before looking around some more. He nods to himself a moment. "Which way to the store? And where can one get some work to make some money?"

Nixus grunts and raises his head up slightly, squinting his eyes to avoid the light.

He looks around for a moment before sighing and laying his head back down and responding to Urgog in a muffled voice.

"Don't know. Ask Ari. Need nap."

"Hmm, is this Strahd person strong? Or better yet evil? If so you have yourself a warrior of Kraid...uh..I mean Kord on your side! Bahahaha!" the half-orc boasts cheerfully. "The name is Thademar Brogg".

Urgog glances around looking for Ari. "Where is the merchants shop, and who is Strahd?"

The villager nods as Thademar mentions that he's a cleric of Kord, pretending to know who Kord is. He graciously writes down Thademar's name as he overhears Urgog ask "Who is Strahd?" He waves off to Thademar and approaches Urgog from the side.

"Excuse me... Uh, sir?" He gulps as he hasn't quite grasped the concept of the Bugbear race. "That Cleric of Korg over there signed this petition." He says as he jerks a thumb to Thademar. "Perhaps you and your pal here would be interested in signing this petition?" he says as he hands over the piece of paper that reads: 'Storm Castle Ravenloft - Strahd Can't Stop All Of Us'.

Nixus raises his head upwards towards the man and turns to Urgog. "Best not go along with that one. He'll be dead by the end of the week."

Kestrell's Shadow looks down on his former body with sadness, and then anger.  He sees the ghasts and realizes that they were eating him.  In a fit of anger he attacks the closest ghast:

Attack: 14
Damage: 7
Strength Reduction: 4

The villager smiles nervously. "We won't die if we all band together! See that Priest of Korg over there? He signed. If you two signed, there's no way Strahd can stop us!" he says enthusiastically. He pivots on his heel, and gestures Thademar to walk over. "Please come, Thademar. Help me convince these two to sign the petition!"

The Shadow of Kestrell emerges, and seeks vengeance on Elisabeth & Gustav Durst whom is feasting on his corpse. The Shadow seeks to leech the vitality from Gustav, and drains him to a weaker state.

In retaliation, Elisabeth and Gustav will strike the shadow with their claws.

Gustav's Attack
Attack: 13
Damage: 11

Elisabeth's Attack
Attack: 8
Damage: 7

The Shadow is struck by Gustav (and will only take half damage due to resistance, which will be 5.) and is now at 11 HP. Elisabeth's claws phase through The Shadow upon anticipation of her attack.

K: Kestrell
G: Gustav Durst
E: Elisabeth Durst

It now goes to the Shadow of Kestrell.

The Shadow of Kestrell roars with anger (if he could roar) and attacks Gustav again!

Attack: 16
Damage: 8
Strenth Reduction: 3

Gustav gets his vitality drained once more, his muscularity is visibly shrinking.

It now goes to Elisabeth and Gustav. They both will attempt to claw the Shadow once more.

Gustav's Attack
Attack: 11
Damage: 8

Elisabeth's Attack
Attack: 24
Damage: 11

The Shadow of Kestrell avoids Gustav's attack, but was unable to avoid Elisabeth's attack. The Shadow is now at 6 HP.

It's now the Shadow's turn.

In his feeble, but raging mind, Kestrell's Shadow attacks Gustav once again, hoping that the other Ghast will miss him.

Attack: 8
Damage: 9
Strenth Reduction: 4

Urgog looks down at the stammering man then at Baelar. "I say 2 days, but no one has told me who this Strahd character is. Does he have alot of money?" He looks around the room to see if anyone will offer up information.

"I don't know what is going on, but I'd be more than happy to assist you!"

Nixus stands up and glares directly into the mans eyes.

"Feel free to kill yourself, but don't drag us into it."

He then walks over to half-orc. "He will destroy you. He is immensely powerful. I've crossed paths with him once already... He only let me live so that he could torture my spirit." Nixus shakes his head. "Nevertheless, Baelar pushes forward. We need to find a way out of this place. "

"Hmm. Sounds like a true menace over these people. We should definitely do something about it. Plus, it would be a great chance to prove my strength in Kord's eyes!" 

The villager looks appalled as Urgog seems to be unaware of who Strahd is. "How could you not know who he is? He's the evil tyrant that rules & haunts this land. He's..." As he's talking, someone approaches the man from behind and places a hand on his shoulder. "Best to leave these folks alone. Nobody wants to sign your idiotic petition. It's a suicide mission." The gentleman says, as he ushers the commoner to walk away. The gentleman then looks between the three adventurers with a blank expression. "Apologies, my friends. He can be quite a nuisance. I was sitting over there..." He gestures to the table in the far corner. "...and I overheard the conversation. You three don't appear as if you're from these parts. I actually do require assistance that the likes of you may be interested in, and it doesn't entail confronting Strahd."

The gentleman pulls up a chair, and offers Thademar a seat, and gestures for Nixus to sit back down in order to continue the conversation. "My name is Ismark Kolyanovich. I'm the son of the Burgomaster. My sister, Ireena Kolyana, needs protection. My Father, passed away and needs to be buried. Ireena and I have been afraid to take our Father's body to the church as we may be attacked by Strahd's minions. I ask of you, please help us escort his body to the cemetery. I also ask that you escort my sister out of this village, and take her to the town far from here, Vallaki. It's much more grand and prosperous than this village, and she'll be safer there." Ismark pleads as he waves for the barmaid to come to the table and he places an order of wine for the four of them.

At this time, Thademar recalls receiving a letter from a weary traveler before he was brought to Barovia, which mentioned Ireena and the Burgomaster. Thademar has the following letter:

Ismark orders the wine, and the barmaid places the flagons onto the table for the adventurers to enjoy. "So what say you?" Ismark asks, as he takes a sip of the wine.

Meanwhile, within the Darklord's Shrine of the Durst Manor, The Shadow of Kestrell is still contending the ghasts, Gustav and Elisabeth Durst. The Shadow is struggling to fend off the two ghasts, and the five shadows that are hiding in the statue of Strahd, which had slain Kestrell, emerge to assist him. The Shadows surround Gustav and Elisabeth, and make their attacks accordingly.

Shadow 1's Attack on Elisabeth
Attack: 23
Damage: 9
Strength Drain: 4

Shadow 2's Attack on Gustav
Attack: 9
Damage: 5
Strength Drain: 1

Shadow 3's Attack on Gustav
Attack: 22
Damage: 10
Strength Drain: 3

Shadow 4's Attack on Elisabeth
Attack: 23
Damage: 11
Strength Drain: 1

Shadow 5's Attack on Gustav
Attack: 20
Damage: 13
Strength Drain: 1

The assault from the Shadows is sufficient to drain the vitality from Gustav Durst, as his body falls to the floor upon having the Strength completely leeched from him. Elisabeth still stands, and she strikes in retaliation against Shadow 4.

Elisabeth's Attack on Shadow 4
Attack: 16
Damage: 7

Elisabeth fails to strike the shadow with her claws, as it's amorphous nature allows it to maneuver out of its path.

It now goes to Kestrell's Shadow.

Unsure of why the other Shadows are helping, but not spending too much time thinking about it, Kestrell's Shadow goes for the killing blow on Elisabeth:

Attack: 7
Damage: 9
Strength drain: 4

Urgog looks at the man, "Lets talk compensation. What are we talking about for completing these?" He leans a little forward on the table listening to it creak under his weight.

Ismark chugs the flagon of wine, and frowns wistfully as Urgog asks about compensation. "If you're asking if I can pay you, I'm afraid I cannot. At least I cannot pay you what you deserve to be paid. The village, as you may have noticed, is quite impoverished. Castle Ravenloft looms over the village and Strahd torments the villagers. Vallaki's a town that's more suited for adventurers like you. They have more services and jobs to offer. Foreigners are typically not permitted entry, but if Ireena accompanies you, they'll grant you an audience. My beloved sister can finally be free of this village, and you folks will have an opportunity to flourish as well."