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Chapter Text

“Ah, Nevermore!” Wednesday’s father, Gomez Addams, exclaimed excitedly as the imposing academy came into view.

“Oh, it is good to be back after all this time dear.” Wednesday’s mother placed one of her hands over Gomez’s, a wistful look in her eye. The two were a study in contrast. Gomez was an heavyset Latino man in a suit, he had a genial, if also mischievous expression. Wednesday’s mother Morticia was as pale as death, with long dark hair and a long dark dress, full of elegance and grace.

Wednesday sat across from her parents in the family limousine, a neutral expression on her face, and a bitter resentment burning in her black heart. She had been forced to transfer to the Nevermore Academy after releasing two bags of piranhas into a school pool, where they bit off the testicle of a boy who had bullied her younger brother, Pugsley. It wasn’t like she was concerned for Pugsley or anything, but because he was soft and weak, it was up to Wednesday to uphold the family honor. Wednesday had to race home to get the piranhas in time for swim practice; she couldn’t manage electric eels on such short notice, but the school had failed to appreciate her... restraint.

“I know you’re upset darling.” Morticia pulled herself away from Gomez for long enough to address Wednesday. “But our choices were either to send you to Nevermore Academy or to St Gertrude's Secure Center for Incurably Criminal Girls. Saint Gertrude's was closer to home, in New Jersey, and we did want to keep you close, but Nevermore truly is the superior school.”

Wednesday frowned. Saint Gertrude’s was located, naturally, in New Jersey, where so many incurable criminals resided, and as such that school had the “benefit” of being closer to home. But her parents had ultimately elected to send her to their old school instead, which told Wednesday all she needed to know about where her mother's priorities lay. 

“St Gertrude's Secure Center for Incurably Criminal Girls sounded like a suitably prestigious school to me.” Wednesday retorted. “You are only sending me to Nevermore because you intend to turn me into a younger version of yourself. If that’s what you wanted, you should have just let Uncle Fester clone you. I am, and will continue to be, my own person.”

“That’s exactly what I want for you, my child of woe, for you to grow and blossom into the dreadful lady I know you will be. You simply refuse to see that I only have your worst interests at heart.” Morticia sighed.

Before Wednesday could make a remark about how heartless her mother truly was, the school finally came into view. As much as Wednesday resented her parents for carting her off to this new prison, she couldn’t help but feel a little relieved to see the school. She stomped down on that feeling of relief immediately, because relief was an emotion and as such not something to be tolerated. But Wednesday had been stuck in the car, across from her parents, as they flirted and caressed each other, for six hours. Anyone would be ready to be done with this nauseating car ride.

“Lurch, park us just outside of the gates.” Gomez instructed the family butler, Lurch, who was chauffeuring the family. Lurch was maybe still alive or maybe a member of the undead; the Addams family weren’t telling either way. Wednesday’s brother Pugsley, sitting next to Lurch, was staring in awe at the massive academy. Wednesday internally admitted it was an impressive structure, though she would never admit as much to her parents, and would still be escaping at the first opportunity. An impressive structure didn’t count for much if it was filled with insipid idiots, and designed only to cage her dark genius.

Lurch began turning the car parallel with the gates to park there, but before he could do so, there was an incredible flash of white, and a deafening hiss of air, both of which came from everywhere, all at once. As the flash faded, it transitioned first into an eerie pale green glow, and then the color drained entirely from the world, leaving it washed out and grey. A hail of dead birds and frogs fell from the sky. Then the rain of small animals ended, and color returned to the world which had briefly been black and white. Lurch groaned in apparent exasperation, hitting the wipers to knock a few massacred frogs off the window.

“Ok.” Wednesday admitted angrily through gritted teeth “I will admit that Nevermore knows how to make new arrivals feel properly welcomed.” It physically pained Wednesday to admit even that much to her parents, but she had to give credit where it was due. For a moment, she had thought the apocalypse had begun. A girl could dream.  

Wednesday’s mother clapped in delight, “C'est magnifique!” but then she frowned. “Though they never warped the fabric of reality to greet new arrivals when I attended school.”

Before she could continue that train of thought, Gomez wrecked that particular train by grabbing her hand. “Tish, when you speak French, it drives me wild!” He began kissing his way up her arm, begging her to speak again in French.

Wednesday snapped her fingers, twice even for emphasis. “Focus. If it wasn’t the school that warped the fabric of reality, then what happened?”

Wednesday’s parents stared at her and shrugged in unison. Lurch, unphased, parked the car at the gates.

“Well, we can ask my dear old friend, your new principal, while we’re getting you settled in.” Morticia declared, and the family climbed out of the limousine and made their way into Nevermore.

“Morticia, so good to see you again after all these years!”

“Oh, dear Larissa. How dreadful that us old friends have been apart for so long!”

Wednesday’s expression soured further. Emotional reunions were awful to behold. A nice, tragic parting would be far easier to stomach. This “Larissa” towered above Wednesday’s mother, and her father too, causing Wednesday to wonder if she had some giant blood in her ancestry. But even a full-blown giant wouldn’t have intimidated Wednesday, and she wasn’t going to let this woman keep her locked away here.

“I noticed you brought some interesting weather with you from New Jersey.” Principal Larissa Weems stated, looking a little concerned. Wednesday thought it was pathetic that she was so desperate to make small talk that she had resorted to discussing the weather.

“We thought maybe the school was putting on a display to greet us upon our arrival.” Morticia replied, not looking particularly concerned, but maybe a little confused.

“Whatever happened, it knocked the power right out. It hasn’t turned back on either, we’re actually running off of our backup generators right now. The phones are down too… perhaps I ought to run into town and make sure everything is in order.” Weems mused.

“Great, we’ll come with you!” Gomez offered. He was civic-minded like that, though his brand of help often created more chaos than anything else.

“Splendid. First, we shall get your daughter settled in.” Weems decided, turning to Wednesday. “So, Wednesday is certainly a unique name.”

Wednesday’s new principal resumed her effort to make pointless small talk, to which Wednesday responded by insulting her parents again for sending her here, and publicly vowing to escape the school. Weems proceeded to heap insult onto injury by promising to set her up with a therapist in the nearby town of Jericho, and by assigning Wednesday her mother’s old dorm room in Ophelia Hall, proving Weems was in on her mother’s sinister plot to turn Wednesday into a copy of Morticia.

Wednesday rubbed colorful spots out of her eyes as her first look into her new dorm room nearly blinded her. It was clearly a torture room, and not even the fun kind like the Play Room back at home. Even her cruel mother gave out a shocked gasp.

“Howdy, roomie!” greeted her new cellmate, a cheerful looking blonde girl; her hair had blue and pink highlights at the ends. Her room was all bright colors and fluffy stuffed animals. It was depraved. Clearly, Weems was making every possible effort to crush Wednesday’s black spirit. Wednesday was almost impressed, and in her mind she furiously vowed to return the favor. 

“Are you feeling okay? You look a little pale.” Asked the girl. “Oh, was it the weather outside? That was super freaky, I almost passed out when I saw all those poor animals falling from the sky.”

“If we’re lucky, that was a sign of the apocalypse, and I am about to be put out of my misery.” Wednesday answered. 

“Huh. Okay.” Said the girl. “Principal Weems, I’m going to lock the door to the balcony for a while. I don’t want anyone, erm, falling off.” She said, giving Wednesday a worried look. 

“Locks are totally useless against me.” Wednesday assured her. “But regardless, that is not how I am planning to escape this school.”

“Wednesday, this is Enid Sinclair.” Weems introduced the two, giving Wednesday an exasperated look.

“Welcome to Ophelia Hall!” Enid moved in for a hug, and Wednesday recoiled in horror.

“Not a hugger, got it”. Enid backed off a little. 

“Please excuse Wednesday. She's allergic to color.” Morticia explained.

“Oh, wow. What happens to you?” Enid asked.

Wednesday liked to award morbid curiosity when she encountered it (why else would you ask someone what happened to them in the event of an allergic reaction?) so she decided to exaggerate a little for Enid’s benefit.

“My throat swells up on the inside and tears apart at the seams, and I begin to choke to death on my own blood and viscera.”

Enid backed up and grabbed a bedpost, looking about ready to faint. Wednesday theorized that no one had ever indulged her morbid curiosity before, so she was unprepared for Wednesday’s answer. Maybe she hadn’t grown up with a loving, nurturing family like Wednesday had? Wednesday realized what she had just thought, and angrily reminded herself that her family had now betrayed her. 

Still, perhaps in the brief period of time before Wednesday made her great escape, she could generously treat the girl to a few more graphic descriptions of bloodshed and death.

“Luckily, we've special ordered you a uniform.” Weems chuckled. The normal academy uniform was patterned in blue and black stripes, whereas Wednesday had been promised a black and dark grey striped uniform instead due to her strong aversion to color.

“Enid, please take Wednesday to the registrar's office so she can pick up her uniform along with her schedule, and give her a tour along the way.” Weems instructed. 

“Happy to Principal Weems! One thing though, do you know when we can expect the electricity to come back on? I know we have the backup generators and all, but ever since it went out, I’ve also had no signal on my phone.” Enid held up her cellphone, a look of despair flashing in her blue eyes.

“I can’t say Enid, but I intend to look into the matter presently. Speaking of which, Morticia, Gomez, I do believe it is time for us to check in on Jericho after that unusual weather event.”

The Addams Family limo rolled through the dark streets of Jericho. Though it was daytime, a dark cloud covered the sky, and fog had rolled in to cover the landscape as well. Furthermore, much of the town had no power; what buildings and lights did have power must have also been running on backup generators.

Gomez smiled, enjoying the lovely weather. Larissa Weems had chosen to travel into town with the Addams Family, and was sitting across from Morticia as the former roommates used this opportunity to catch up. Larissa had insisted on going straight to the mayor, which made sense to Gomez, and Lurch was currently driving the family, minus Wednesday (and Thing, who had been secretly left with Wednesday to watch over her) straight to the mayor’s office at the town hall.

It was rather nostalgic being back in town again, even if Gomez’s feelings about Jericho were rather mixed. Generally, he preferred the school to the town, and even the school had some less than pleasant memories associated with it. But it was where he had met the love of his life, and so even his worst memories from back then had an incredible silver lining. Gomez smiled lovingly at his dear wife, and while she was still conversing with Larissa, she glanced over at him and squeezed his hand, that lovely Mona Lisa smile gracing her pale face.

“Here we are Lurch, the town hall!” Gomez exclaimed. Lurch gave an affirmative groan and found parking near the building. Gomez exited the limousine and opened the door for his wife, while Lurch opened Larissa’s door. Lurch and Larissa were of comparable height, and Gomez wondered idly if Larissa was seeing anyone, glancing speculatively between the two towering figures.

“Oh look darling, the sheriff is already here.” Morticia pointed out, seeing the sheriff’s car parked next to the town hall.

“The sheriff’s office is located in the town hall not far from the mayor's office. Hopefully Mayor Walker and Sheriff Galpin already have a handle on what’s happening.” Weems said.

“And how are they? What should we expect?” Gomez asked, referring to Mayor Walker, who had been sheriff before Galpin, and who was a familiar name to Gomez.  

“I have a working relationship with the mayor, he knows how important Nevermore is to the town, and we understand each other. The new sheriff on the other hand isn’t a fan of Nevermore, and the recent bear attacks have put him on edge. Two women were killed just last week. I’m not convinced he believes it’s actually a bear that’s been killing people, but at least he hasn’t accused Nevermore students of anything yet.”

“Is it a bear that’s been attacking people?” Gomez’s son, Pugsley, asked curiously.

“I wouldn’t know, but I know it certainly isn’t one of my students.” Larissa replied firmly.

Just as the group began stepping away from the limousine and began heading to the entrance of the town hall, the damndest thing happened. The townsfolk started screaming in terror, running around in a panic. Gomez smiled in appreciation of the chaotic sight.

“Father, has the town come under attack?” asked Gomez’s precocious son.

“Hmm, difficult to say my boy.” Gomez replied, not yet sure what was alarming everyone so much.

Then a group of child-sized, thorny looking fellows that appeared to be made entirely of wood ran into the street, smashing up buildings, cars, and everything within reach. They were short, spiky, and didn’t appear to be at all human. One attacked a car driving down the road, which burst into flames as its engine was destroyed, and the driver bailed out and ran for his life. The creature shoved the still coasting car into a townhouse, which proceeded to catch fire itself.

“Now it’s less difficult to say. Yes, son, the town has indeed come under attack!”

“Oh dear, what do you think we should do Gomez?” Morticia asked, supporting a frightened Larissa who was wide-eyed in shock.

“That’s easy dear! An Addams never hides when danger is afoot! Instead, we run for the hills! Lurch, get the car running please.”

“But wait darling. If Jericho is destroyed, that means we’ll have to find Wednesday a new school.” Morticia pointed out.

Gomez paled. After only one day! He loved his little scorpion dearly, but the thought of how smug she would be... it was too much for even him to bear. Besides, it was a lot of work to keep finding new schools for her!

“I will save this town single-handedly!” Gomez declared. “Lurch, pop the trunk please.”

Lurch did so, and Gomez grabbed his rapier out of the trunk. Morticia grabbed her own as well and moved to join him, but Gomez held up his hand.

“I’m sorry dear, I know you’ll hate to miss out on the fun, but someone needs to watch Pugsley… and Larissa.” he said, glancing at the other woman, who wasn't holding up so well. 

“Good luck dear.” Morticia kissed him on the cheek, and Gomez barely resisted the urge to kiss her then and there. His wife’s confidence and affection made him feel inspired, like he could take on an entire army for her sake.

“If you die” she continued “I will fall on my own sword, and our children will be orphans.” Addamses normally did not go on living long after the death of their true love. 

“Not to worry my love, I’ve become accustomed to more dangerous plants than these in your garden! Lurch, with me!” Gomez declared, striding into battle for the first time in years.

Gomez raced out onto the street; for a man of his weight he moved with surprising speed. Rusty though he was, an Addams was always dangerous; when Gomez reached one of the wooden monsters, he made short work of it.

“En garde!” He shouted, taking the creature completely by surprise and slicing it in two. Gomez was a little disappointed it hadn’t put up more of a fight, but mostly relieved to learn that he still had it. And like he told his beloved, he dealt with more dangerous plants than these on a regular basis.

That said, he didn’t like the unfriendly looks the rest of the nearby twig demons were giving him, so he continued his swift progress across the street and hid behind a parked car. Despite what he had said earlier, Addamses did occasionally hide in the face of danger. 

Fortunately, his loyal butler was close behind him. With a groan that could generously be called a battle cry, Lurch reached out with one massive hand, batting aside a bark fiend with contemptuous ease. It got up afterwards though, looking rather splintered but also as angry as a hunk of wood could make itself look. Which was actually pretty angry, because these things were covered in rather impressive thorns. Very nasty looking indeed.

“What the hell!” yelled someone up the street. Granted, many people were screaming, but this voice stood out from the crowd as it sounded more frustrated than scared. Gomez glanced over, and saw the Sheriff step out of the town hall. The sheriff was apparently on the clock and putting in work today as well, as Gomez saw him open fire at one of the creatures. The bullet missed its intended target, but Sheriff Galpin fired again, this time striking one of the walking log devils in its head, blowing the head to bits and dropping the creature.

The rest of the invaders realized they no longer had the run of the town, but rather than retreating, they then went on the attack. Needle-like thorns were flung out of one nearby creature and launched at Lurch, while another monster attacked Lurch with its spiky claws. Lurch looked annoyed as his suit was damaged, but these things didn’t seem to be able to hurt Lurch himself. The lad was nearly invincible, which was part of what made him such a great butler to the Addams family.

Another set of two creatures tried the same tactic against the sheriff, one attacking from range with its thorns while another tried to get in close. The sheriff may not have been as thick skinned as Lurch, but he was a little more agile, throwing himself over the hood of a parked car and avoiding the attacks unleashed against him.

“Enough hiding for the moment” Gomez psyched himself up. He charged out at the branch beast that had thrown spikes at Lurch, taking it by surprise and slicing into it with his rapier. He sadly didn’t manage to chop this one in two though. Expertly, he took advantage of its stunned state to run and hide again.

“Well, I said enough hiding for the moment, and I made a good account of myself. Now it’s time to hide again.” He muttered, darting back behind a car.

Gomez took stock of the situation. He saw Lurch stepping on one of their enemies, crushing it underfoot. The sheriff managed another headshot, felling another terrible tree.

Unfortunately, the sheriff’s other attacker was able to get in close and swiped at the sheriff, who tried to dodge aside but took a glancing blow, which was enough to cause him to stumble backwards bleeding from terrible cuts carved by its deadly claws. Furthermore, the one Gomez hadn’t quite managed to finish off threw more spiny needles at Lurch, albeit while backing away from the imposing butler. It perhaps moved too far away though, as most of the needles missed, while the remainder once again failed to bother Lurch.

Seeing what had happened to the sheriff, Gomez knew he needed to act fast. He dashed out even faster than before, pushing himself to his limits. He wasn’t exactly the young, fit man he used to be, and just as he reached the plant person that was menacing the sheriff, he felt himself pull a muscle. 

But an Addams didn’t balk at a little pain. Gomez followed through on the attack, striking at the needly ne'er-do-well from behind and thrusting his rapier straight into its head. The creature collapsed, as did Gomez who tried to support himself on a parked car as he panted for breath. Sheriff Galpin was staring at him in wide-eyed shock, holding his bleeding cuts and also trying to catch his breath.

“Good afternoon!” Gomez greeted cheerfully. Before the gaping sheriff could say a word, two sheriff’s deputies stepped out of the mayor’s office, wide-eyed in surprise. They arrived just in time to see the last surviving thorny thug race past Lurch, who extended his arms to catch it but grasped only air. The creature bore down on Gomez and the sheriff, claws extended for a murderous assault, when a glass bottle containing some manner of liquid flew through the air, striking the monster directly, which then burst into flames.

“Good toss Pugsley!” Gomez praised. Pugsley beamed and gave him a thumbs up. Gomez was glad Pugsley still remembered how to make Molotov cocktails on the fly. He had gotten bored with them when he was about six, and now usually preferred to play with dynamite and hand grenades. But today showed that a boy was never too old for Molotov cocktails.

Apparently, Pugsley and Morticia had gotten bored watching the fight, and joined in the battle themselves, with his darling wife having dispatched a couple of the creatures herself. Gomez grinned maniacally, he loved her so much it felt like his heart would burst.

“Thank the abyss” Gomez sighed in relief. “I don’t have to find Wednesday a new school.”

One of the deputies helped Sheriff Galpin to his feet. “I’m fine, get every LEO we have and comb and the town, we need to restore order now!” the sheriff barked.

A firetruck screamed down the street to put out a nearby fire. But at least there were less people panicking in the streets, as most people had found a place to hide by now.

He turned to stare at Gomez, a conflicted look on his face. “Gomez Addams… first of all, thank you for stopping that thing.” The Sheriff glanced down at the still corpse of the wooden monster.

“Secondly, we need to talk about the murder of Garrett Gates. But that case has waited thirty years, I suppose it can wait a little longer.” The sheriff admitted begrudgingly. He nodded to Larissa. “We need to report to the mayor right now.”

“First the world went all wonky, the power went out, and now little wooden people are attacking the town. People are going to blame that on the outcasts and Nevermore.” The sheriff warned. “And I’m hard pressed myself to imagine who else might be responsible, if not the outcasts.” He finished accusingly, staring at Weems and the Addamses.

Gomez and Morticia, along with Weems and the sheriff, were in a meeting with Mayor Walker. No one else was present, if only because the whole town was in chaos, and the rest of the local law enforcement officers had their hands full. Pugsley was seated in a waiting room outside of the mayor’s office, guarded by Lurch.

“We came into town to make sure you were all ok. We know nothing more than you do about this situation. I’ve never even seen those sorts of creatures before.” Weems defended.

“Now’s not really the time to be pointing fingers. We can figure out who’s to blame for this mess later.” Mayor Walker spoke up. “Right now, I need to know what’s going on. Sheriff, your deputies should be reporting back to you soon, and I need to know what they’ve seen around town. If the town’s secure, we can start thinking about doing a sweep of the woods.”

He turned to Weems. “I know I’m not officially your boss Larissa, but at the moment, I’m everyone’s boss. I’m putting this town under martial law for the moment. And I’ll need you to get your staff together. See if any of them know anything about the monsters, the “weather” that knocked the power out, or if they have any clue at all as to what’s going on. Put your school on lockdown.”

“That’s fair enough under the circumstances, Noble.” Weems nodded, referring to the mayor by his first name.

“I don’t feel comfortable with him running around.” The sheriff gestured at Gomez. “He’s wanted by my office for the murder of Garrett Gates. Who, by the way, was killed with a sword.” He finished, pointing at the sword Gomez was openly carrying.

“You have to believe me, friend, I didn’t kill…” Gomez stopped himself. “I killed Garrett in self-defense. What do you think he was doing at Nevermore when he was killed? He was certainly no student there. He was stalking my Morticia, and he attacked us.”

“You weren’t the sheriff then, but I had reported to your office that that man was stalking me, and no action was taken. No one believed me.” Morticia weighed in, a sad expression on her face.

Despite himself, and his own long-held belief that Gomez was a murderer who needed to be brought to justice, the sheriff now looked conflicted. He wasn’t sure what to believe, but Gomez had just saved his life.

“We don’t have time for this.” The mayor said firmly. “Donovan, charges against Gomez were dropped a long time ago. I never told you this, because the case was closed as far as I was concerned, but an autopsy later determined that Garrett was killed by poison he had been carrying on his person, not the sword wound he had taken.”

The sheriff was startled, taken aback. “Case closed or no, why was I never informed of this!”

“My predecessor in the mayor’s office wanted to keep everything quiet, in order to avoid a scandal. A member of the Gates family dying under mysterious circumstances is one thing. But if a member of such a prominent local family died while trying to sneak poison into Nevermore during a school dance? He decided the details of the autopsy report were need-to-know.” the mayor shrugged.

“And you were alright with that?” Weems asked, giving the mayor a disappointed look. “As I recall, you yourself were the sheriff at the time.”

“I didn’t like it, but I respected the mayor’s decision.” He said, giving Galpin, his sheriff, a pointed look. Galpin scoffed openly.

“Besides, you and I both know how important it is to protect the reputation of both my town and your school.” Noble nodded at Weems, who looked conflicted.

“But now, we have to protect a lot more than just the town’s reputation, so let’s get to work people.” The mayor dismissed the group.

“Sounds good.” Galpin said bitterly. “But there’s one more thing that needs to be said, and if you won’t say it” he gestured at the mayor, “then I will.”

Galpin turned to Gomez. “I’m sorry about all of this.” he said simply. 

Gomez smiled and nodded. “It’s alright. I don't hold grudges, only the occasional blood debt.” 

That evening, Enid’s rollercoaster ride of a day went downhill again.

In summary, first, she had gotten a new roommate, which was wonderful. It was true that Wednesday was kind of spooky and maybe a little intimidating, and sure, it was kind of weird that Enid had never seen her blink, but Enid was sure they would be great friends eventually! Unfortunately, the joy of meeting a new friend was dampened by the fact that for most of the day, she had no cellphone service, no internet, nothing. She wanted to tell the whole school about her fascinating new roommate on her vlog, the number one source of Nevermore gossip. But that couldn’t happen yet. It was torture, and she had no idea how people lived before the invention of the internet.

Now, she had made it back to her room after classes, only to find that Wednesday had apparently messed up her room. Or at least, she had removed half of the color from the large, circular window that Enid had painstakingly decorated beautifully.

Evidently, Wednesday wasn’t kidding when she said a lock wouldn't stop her, as the girl had managed to pick the lock Enid had put on the window and was out on the balcony. But at least she wasn't jumping off the balcony to "put herself out of her misery" as Enid had feared. 

Enid strode out onto the balcony angrily. “What the hell did you do to my room!”

“I divided our room evenly.” Wednesday replied distractedly, staring up at the night sky.

“Did you really have to…” Enid paused, following Wednesday’s gaze up into the sky, and what she saw disturbed her. The night sky was totally bizarre. The stars seemed to swirl through the sky, curling around each other in twisting formations that Enid had never seen among the stars. It was like looking at a whole galaxy in chaos and disarray.

Enid trailed off, staring up into the darkness in silence beside Wednesday. Enid was struck with fear, but her new roommate was another story. Insofar as Wednesday allowed herself to love anything, she loved the darkness, loved the silence, and loved mystery. Very slightly, Wednesday Addams smiled. 

Chapter Text

The next morning, Wednesday was awoken by a knock at her door. Wednesday’s eyes opened instantly as she shot up from her resting position, which was as always her lying stiffly on her back with her arms crossed over her chest, in what could be called the classic vampire sleeping position. She slowly unfolded her arms and turned her head, staring at the door.

Enid, on the other hand, buried her head in her vast array of fluffy pillows as she unconsciously tried to remain sleeping. Enid had had an awful night’s sleep, having been deeply unnerved by the events of the previous day.

“Good morning girls!” chirped an inhumanely cheerful voice. A woman with wavy auburn hair, black cat-eye glasses, and a wide smile stepped in and waved to the girls.

Enid vaguely muttered something that could have perhaps been ‘good morning.’ Wednesday palmed a knife hidden under her pillow.

“Hello Wednesday, I’m Ms. Thornhill, your new dorm mom! I wanted to meet you yesterday, but I never got the chance with all of yesterday’s craziness.” Ms. Thornhill waved her hands in an exaggerated motion as she said ‘craziness’, as if she believed the warping of the fabric of reality was some strange, wacky, but not terribly concerning phenomenon.  

“I hope you two are getting along alright.” She continued, glancing between Wednesday and Enid.

Wednesday looked over at Enid, who had fallen all the way back to sleep and was dead to the world. “Like a house on fire.” Wednesday deadpanned. 

“Well, I brought along a little present from my conservatory. I’m the Botanical Sciences teacher here at Nevermore, you see. I try to greet each girl with a flower that suits them, and based on your personal statement in your application, I think this flower is perfect for you.” She said, handing Wednesday a black flower.

“The black dahlia. Not bad, but I’d trade it for Aconitum.”

“Now Wednesday, it would be rather irresponsible for me to grow Wolfs-Bane in a school full of werewolves.” Thornhill shook her head with an amused smile.

“Does that mean you aren’t growing any?” Wednesday asked.

“Anyway, aside from greeting you, I had another reason for stopping by this morning. Rise and shine Enid! There’s a school assembly in the auditorium, and attendance is mandatory.”

“Of course it is.” Wednesday didn’t emote on the outside, but she scoffed internally. “Obviously a pep rally is step two of Principal Weems' scheme to crush my spirit.”

Ms. Thornhill gave her an odd look.

Enid and Wednesday made their way down to the auditorium. Enid went to sit with her friends, a vampire named Yoko and a set of siren twins, Divina and Kent. Wednesday found a nice quiet corner to sit in. Students met her dark glare and gave her plenty of space.

Before they had come down, Ms. Thornhill had insisted this was not meant to be a pep rally, but Wednesday wasn’t yet sure whether she could trust Ms. Thornhill. So Wednesday, not one to take a pep rally lying down, had brought along a special capsule filled with a noxious, slightly poisonous gas, just in case Ms. Thornhill had been lying. If things got too disgustingly cheerful, Wednesday would launch the fragile capsule into the densest section of the crowd. She was ready to take action if necessary, and any indication of a pep rally would trigger said action. True, a capsule of only slightly toxic gas was a bit pedestrian for her, but it was the best she could manage on two-minutes notice.

Staring into the crowd, Wednesday saw a tall, lanky boy with long hair giving her an odd look she couldn’t place. She gave him a death glare, but to her deep annoyance, he only gave her a smile before looking away. She decided that if she needed to toss the capsule, she would ignore the densest part of the crowd and toss it his way.

Principal Weems stepped behind the podium on the stage, with other members of the staff, including Ms. Thornhill, moving to take seats on the stage behind her.

“Good morning students” she began, as the auditorium began to quiet down. It got quiet surprisingly fast too, because for once the students genuinely wanted to hear what their principal had to say.

“I’m afraid I have very serious news to share with you all, but first, I want to instruct you not to panic. All of you are aware of certain difficulties we experienced yesterday, and many of you have noticed certain other oddities. What I have to say may be difficult to believe, but I ask you all to hear me out and above all, not to panic. Remember, you are werewolves, vampires, sirens, gorgons, and more. You are outcasts, and you can adapt and survive in any situation.”

Weems took a deep breath and continued. “Last night, it became clear that Nevermore, along with the surrounding landscape, including Lake Jericho and the town of Jericho, have somehow been magically transported to an entirely new world.”

Wednesday was completely unsurprised when the faceless masses froze briefly in shock, and then erupted into a panicked clamor.

“Quiet, quiet, please listen!” Weems shouted until the students quieted down again, settling into an uneasy silence.

“I realize this is alarming news for multiple reasons. Even though we are Outcasts, most of us have families that we have now left behind.” Wednesday felt a pang of loss as she thought of Grandmama, Cousin Itt, and above all, Uncle Fester. She squashed that useless emotion as soon as she was able to, though it proved surprisingly difficult.  

“Obviously, our cell phones will no longer function, nor do students have permission to charge their phones or any other unnecessary electronic devices.” The students, being hapless slaves to technology that Wednesday held in open contempt, erupted again into a panicked clamor, and this time it took Weems a few minutes to calm them down. Wednesday thought she could hear Enid crying in the distance. 

“We have a large enough reserve of gas to keep our backup generators running for a little while longer, but electricity is now a commodity to be strictly rationed. Food will be rationed as well, and for now we ask you to trust the staff to procure new food as needed; we have no intention of letting any of our students go hungry.” Weems assured the crowd. The boys in particular were looking increasingly alarmed as soon as food rationing was mentioned.

“I realize that this may be controversial, but we’ve decided that classes will continue as normal for the time being. I’ll be frank with you, it’s our intention to keep you busy and out of trouble. The last thing we want is for any of you to go wandering off in a strange world. Classes will continue as usual, although the school is on temporary lockdown. I know many of you were looking forward to the October Harvest Festival in Jericho, which was supposed to take place this coming weekend. But I assure you, that has been cancelled.”

“Please do not give up hope. If we were taken from our world by magic, that means magic can also return us to our world. I’m proud to inform you that Nevermore possesses the most extensive collection of magical texts in the state of Vermont.” Weems tactfully avoided mentioning that Nevermore possessed the only significant archive of magical tomes in Vermont.

“Students, trust your teachers. I won’t sugarcoat matters; this may take a few months. But I fully expect we will all be home by Christmas!” Weems announced enthusiastically, and many in the crowd rallied and erupted into cheers at the promise of their salvation, and renewed access to the internet.

The cheers assaulted Wednesday’s ears brutally, and she instinctually tossed the capsule at her pre-selected target.  

After the students had escaped the cloud of gas, Principal Weems gave a brief but stern warning against students playing pranks at such inappropriate times, and then dismissed the students to go to their first period class. A few students had been poisoned sufficiently that they had to be taken to the nurse’s office. The werewolves, having an especially strong sense of smell even by magical monster standards, fared the worst out of all the Outcasts.

The rest of the school day was unbearably dull as far as Wednesday was concerned. Although students were expected to attend classes, few could actually focus during classes given the circumstances, and that was true even of the teachers. As such, very little got done, and classes that already would have been boring on a normal day became a complete waste of time. Time that Wednesday thought could be better used writing, or exploring a new world.

That said, the day had a few interesting highlights. At one point when Wednesday went back to her dorm room in between classes, she detected the scent of Thing’s favored hand lotion, and managed to snatch up the cowering hand.

Wednesday had given Thing an ultimatum. Remain locked up in her desk drawer for the remainder of the semester, slowly going insane, or he could pledge his undying loyalty to Wednesday.

Unsurprisingly, Thing chose to bend the metaphorical knee.

After such a dull day, Wednesday was not content with such a minor victory, and she strode with purpose into the fencing room. What was her goal? To vent some of her endless well of annoyance however she could. To that end, she was outfitted in her personal, all-black fencing gear.

Storming into the room, she saw the school’s queen bee, Bianca, trashing some student who was geeky looking in a way that reminded her of a boy she had once kissed, at a summer camp she had once burned down.

Wednesday had always loved chopping off the heads of queens. Her doll collection could attest to that.

Bianca finished the fight, though her opponent had complaints.

“Coach, coach, she tripped me!” Not-Joel whined.

The coach disagreed, and so did Bianca, who rebuked Rowan. “Maybe if you whined less and practiced more, you wouldn't suck. Seriously, Coach, when am I gonna get some real competition?”

“Be careful what you wish for.” Wednesday said, squaring off against Bianca. 

“Oh, you must be the psychopath they let in.” Bianca sneered. “There’s a rumor going around that you’re the one who transported our school into another world. Considering it happened literally the moment you arrived…”

“I was only trying to send you here. I suppose I do not know my own strength.” Wednesday deadpanned.

“Hilarious. Rowan doesn't need you to come to his defense. He's not helpless, he's lazy.”

“Who?” Wednesday asked. Possibly Bianca had misunderstood her intentions here.

“En Garde” shouted the couch.

Bianca darted forward swiftly, but Wednesday managed to deflect her first blow and get a strike in on Bianca.

“Point to Wednesday.”

Bianca began taking Wednesday seriously, and the two fought back and forth across the room, seemingly equally matched. But eventually, Wednesday scored another point. One more, and victory was hers.

“Disappointing. Is this the best Nevermore has to offer?” she insulted.

Bianca frowned in anger, but then relaxed. “Hey, take it easy Wednesday.”

Wednesday felt an odd feeling come over her. She did indeed “take it easy”, and was totally unprepared when Bianca came at her again and struck her, dealing quite a heavy blow at that.

“Point to Bianca.”

Wednesday glared in fury. She knew enough about sirens to realize what the now smug Bianca had just done. But that blow had snapped her out of it, and Wednesday wasn’t giving her another chance to try that again.

“For the final point, I would like to invoke a military challenge. No masks. No tips. Winner draws first blood.” She declared.

“Oohh” chimed the idiots in the peanut gallery.

“It’s your call Bianca.” Said the coach. Bianca agreed to the military challenge.

“I wonder if you bleed in black and white?” Bianca smirked.

The two darted forward. Blades flashed. The peanut gallery gasped.

“I guess you will never know.” Wednesday said, and walked off, leaving a bleeding Bianca staring in shock and dismay. And on that day, a Nevermore legend was born. Wednesday, on the other hand, had become convinced that Nevermore was a boring place that could not challenge her.  

After that, Wednesday was summoned to the principal’s office, where she found her family waiting for her in ambush. Weems excused herself, giving the family their privacy.

Wednesday’s mother and father greeted her enthusiastically; the enthusiasm was one-sided. 

“Lurch, it is good to see you.” Wednesday greeted with a slight nod, which was both true and a pointed insult towards the rest of the family, who she had greeted with an icy glare.

“Good to see you too” Lurch groaned out.

“My dark storm cloud, how was your first day of classes at Nevermore?”

“Today was an exercise in tedium, that stretched my already meager will to live to its very limits.” Wednesday reported without feeling or inflection.

Morticia smiled, “It’s good to hear that Nevermore is as gloomy as ever.”

“Wednesday, we fought little wooden monsters yesterday!” Pugsley chimed in. “I burned one up with a Molotov cocktail!”

Wednesday frowned. “So while I was stuck in this vapid teenage cesspit, you all were fighting for your lives?”

The family nodded. 

“You lock me away here, and then immediately go out and enjoy yourselves. What a pack of vindictive sadists you all are.”

“Thank you my little viper.” Gomez nodded. “But you won’t be the only Addams here any longer. Your mother and I have found lodging in town, but since Pugsley won’t be attending his usual school, we’ve arranged for Pugsley to begin attending classes here as well.”

“Congratulations.” Wednesday nodded at her brother. “You would not have lasted two months without me, so your chances of survival just improved markedly.”

“And the best part is, not only do you both get to attend Nevermore, but we won’t be so far apart, since we’ll be living just down the road from your school!” Morticia clapped her hands in delight.

“That's nice. Maybe I will drop by on my way out of town when I escape this prison.” Wednesday threatened. She could escape Nevermore and take her revenge all at once.

Wednesday clacked away at her typewriter, working on her latest Viper de la Muerte novel.  

“So.” Enid began, sounding annoyed. “It turns out that typewriters aren’t electronic devices, and you’re the only one in school who is totally unaffected by the absence of modern technology. Good for you. You must be feeling pretty superior right now, right?”

“Not at all.” Wednesday replied. Did an adult feel superior because she could read better than a toddler? Comparing herself to her fellow students would be a petty and pointless affair.

Enid was visibly irritated. She was tense, depressed, and restless. In other words, her personality had improved dramatically. She didn't deserve too much credit though, considering that many of the students at Nevermore were behaving the same way. They were addicts in withdrawal. They had allowed themselves to become enslaved by technology, and didn’t know how to live without the whip of their masters.

“Do you know how annoying that noise gets? Sweet Moon, I can’t even play my music to drown it out.” Enid griped.

Wednesday clacked harder.

“What are you even writing anyway? Enid eventually asked, clearly bored.

The clacking paused. “I suppose it didn’t come up in conversation before. I write novels, murder mystery novels to be exact.”

“What are you writing about at the moment?”

Time to reward the girl’s morbid curiosity again. “Viper, the protagonist, is currently making her initial inspection of a fresh murder scene. It is proving challenging for her to discover clues, because the murderer killed the victim by driving a stolen car into him, smashing him against the brick wall of a building. The scene is covered in severed body parts and viscera which Viper must be careful not to disturb. Because the victim’s head cracked like an egg, he cannot be easily identified. But she will discover a unique, custom made wedding band which can be used to trace his identity, when the ring is found inside his collapsed chest cavity. It got in there because he held his hands out in front of him before he was crushed, and they were pressed backwards into him when the car ran into him. Look, I sketched a picture of the scene." 

“Excuse me.” Enid ran into the bathroom and closed the door, wrenching. Wednesday wasn’t surprised; nausea and vomiting were common symptoms of an addict in withdrawal.

After picking up his class schedule and uniform for tomorrow, Pugsley had made his way to his own room. Sadly, unlike his sister, his room didn’t rest atop the tallest tower in the school. It was just kind of another dorm room. He knocked on the door and was bid to enter.

“Good evening. You’re my new roommate I take it?” asked a pale boy with sandy hair and an easy smile.

“That’s me. Pugsley Addams” Pugsley extended his hand, trying to put his best foot forward, though he was a little nervous. Kids who looked this athletic had bullied Pugsley often enough in the past.

But this boy reached out and shook his hand. The boy’s hand was cold to the touch, like his sister’s, but even more so. A vampire, Pugsley guessed.

“Pleasure. I’m Samuel Le Blank.”

Pugsley began settling in and the boy spoke up again. “So, an Addams huh? My family and yours actually have a little bit of history, a few intermarriages here and there. We’ve always known the Addamses are a good sort of family.”

Pugsley nodded. “Ya, now that you mention it, Aunt Drip was originally a Le Blank.”

“Well, welcome to Nevermore. Transported to a new world, and we’re stuck in school of all things.”

“You’d rather be out exploring?” Pugsley asked.

“Of course. Have you ever read The Chronicles of Narnia, Pugsley?” Pugsley shook his head no.

“Well, spoilers, in the first book chronologically, a beautiful witch gets transported to another world. And what does she do when she gets there? Does she decide to pursue a Master’s degree? Does she learn how to grow flowers, or do calculus? No. Instead she plunges the new world into an eternal winter. That’s the kind of thing one does when they’re transported to a new world! And I’m starting to wonder if maybe the teachers don’t have the ability to keep me here against my will.”

“Do you think you could break out?” Pugsley asked.

“Well, the teachers are keeping a close eye on us, and only one of them is a normie. The rest aren’t to be trifled with.” Samuel admitted. “They’ve been keeping a very careful watch on the grounds at night to prevent anyone from sneaking in or out of the Academy. Escaping may not be so easy.”

“You know…” Pugsley mused, eager to make friends with his new roommate “I bet if they are keeping watch on all directions around the academy, that means they’re stretched too thin to patrol the halls much. Also, I’m really good at digging tunnels. I can build them a lot faster than most people could.”

Le Blank smiled, and so did Pugsley. It might have been heartwarming to see the two new acquaintances getting along, but both of their smiles were vaguely sinister. And on that night, a new conspiracy was born.

The next night saw the beginning of the construction of a secret tunnel in the lower levels of the academy.

In their room at a bed and breakfast, Morticia was strumming her shamisen. She kept one in the trunk of the family limousine for when the Addamses were travelling to visit relatives. Gomez was practicing his swordplay after finishing his Zen Yogi. 

“Lovely weather we’re having Tish” he smiled.

Morticia paused and smiled back. “Yes, it’s so gloomy and overcast. The weather’s been wonderful ever since we arrived in this new world.”

“What a charming place. Shame the sheriff isn’t letting anyone but the police leave town yet.”

“Yes, apparently it’s quite dangerous out there.” Morticia hummed.

“I was talking to him this morning, and the old boy discovered that the river that flows out of Lake Jericho now runs off into a new river south of town.” Gomez shared. “Moreover, he’s seen a mountain range south of town, and there seems to be a lovely bog around the base of it.”

“How delightful! We should take the children out on a picnic there one weekend.”

“As long as the weather holds, I don’t see why not!” Gomez agreed, glancing out at the dark sky and noticing the icy winds outside. 

A loud knocking sounded from the door. “I wasn’t expecting visitors” Morticia said.

“Me neither, maybe it’s our landlady” Gomez frowned. He wished he had carried enough gold in the trunk to buy the bed and breakfast outright, but even if he maybe had enough on him, people weren’t really selling property right now.

Lurch went and opened the door. Gomez and Morticia could hear an aggravated (and one-sided) conversation, but not what was being said.

Soon, Lurch dropped a man into the room across from the couple. 

“Mr. Otis Warren” Lurch moaned out, introducing their frazzled guest whom he had dumped on the floor. He grabbed the man’s baseball cap off his head, the man was too slow to stop him from doing so, and backed away.

“Good afternoon sir! I’m Gomez Addams, and this is my lovely bride, Morticia!” Gomez introduced himself.

“How do you do” Morticia nodded.

“Look, I didn’t come here for tea and pleasantries.” Otis spat angrily. It was very believable that he hadn’t come by to exchange pleasantries, given that he was off to such an unpleasant start. 

And the unpleasant rudeness continued. “I know you folks aren’t from around here, and this town isn’t taking in strangers now. We need all the food we have just to feed ourselves, we’ve got nothing for you!” He growled.

Morticia and Gomez exchanged looks. “Dear man, your mayor and sheriff invited us to stay here! Under whose authority are you trying to revoke that invitation?” Gomez questioned.

“Under the authority of the people of Jericho. And I got several of those people waiting outside if you kooks don’t clear out. We heard you was dropping your kids off at Nevermore. It’s obviously you Outcast freaks that got us into this mess in the first place. We don’t want any of your kind here spying on us for that witch Weems.” Otis ranted, now red in the face with anger.

“Larissa did say they didn’t have any available bedrooms at the school, but maybe we could work something out. Still, I don’t appreciate the way you’re talking about our friend, or the Outcasts in general, and by extension, our children.” Gomez stared the man down, and leveled the sword he had been practicing with directly at Otis. 

“We’ll speak to the mayor” Morticia informed him, also standing up. “But we’re done speaking with you.” Smoke began to billow ominously from Morticia’s body.

She nodded at Lurch through the haze of smoke. “Give the man his hat and escort him off the premises.”

Otis snarled. “That’s not good enough! You folk are clearing out now, or…” the rest of the man’s sentence was lost as Lurch sat his cap on his head, then picked him up and chucked him out the door.

“What a rude man” Morticia huffed, ceasing to smoke and sitting back down, strumming her shamisen again.

“Some people just don’t know how to behave in polite society.” Gomez shook his head, and he began to smoke in the more conventional manner by lighting a Cuban cigar.

Just then, a rock was flung through the window.

“Look Tish, it’s an angry mob!” Gomez pointed out.

“How nostalgic” Morticia sighed.

Just when it looked like the mob was going to attempt to storm the bed and breakfast, the sheriff’s vehicle raced onto the scene, lights flashing and sirens blaring.

Sheriff Galpin and one his female deputies exited the vehicle, and an angry argument ensued outside. Ultimately, the sheriff convinced the mob to disperse, under threat of being placed under arrest. The malcontents slunk off reluctantly, willing to hassle the Addamses but not their own sheriff’s department.

Sheriff Galpin knocked a minute later, and Lurch let him in, taking his sheriff’s hat and earning an annoyed look from the sheriff. Morticia and Gomez stood and greeted him.

“Sheriff, nice of you drop by!” Gomez greeted.

“Yes, you have marvelous timing.” Morticia nodded.

“I was tipped off about that actually. Turns out the Mayor overheard his fool son talking with his friend Jonah Warren, the son of Otis Warren. You just had the pleasure of making Otis’s acquaintance. Apparently a lot of people are talking about you, and not in a very neighborly fashion.” Galpin explained.

“Yes, we were just wondering if maybe Larissa could make some room for us up at Nevermore. That might be for the best.” Gomez sighed.

“It’s not such a bad option. I don’t mean to sound elitist, but this bed and breakfast is rather an eyesore.” Morticia gestured around.

“Um, sure.” Galpin said, glancing around at the cozy, fancy building painted in shades of white and baby blue.

A knock sounded at the door. “Another visitor?” Gomez asked.

“We’re quite popular today is seems.” Morticia observed.

“If that’s Otis again, he better be back to apologize.” The sheriff grumbled.

Lurch opened the door, and a strangely dressed individual in brightly colored robes swept in past Lurch before he could react.

“Mr. and Mrs. Addams, yes?” the man queried.

“That’s us, but I’m afraid you have us as a disadvantage sir.” Gomez nodded.

“Yes, you do.” Galpin said with narrowed eyes. “Who the hell are you?”

“Peace friends. I am Django of the Vistani, here as a humble messenger. Mr. Addams, this invitation is for you.” Django handed a scroll over to Gomez.

Gomez broke the red wax seal and opened the letter to read.

"Unto Gomez and Morticia Addams,
Count Strahd von Zarovich, Lord of Barovia, sends greetings.

Good people, I pray you accept my humble offer of hospitality and dine with me tomorrow night in Castle Ravenloft. No doubt you are curious about the Land, and I am curious about my new visitors. We surely have much to discuss.

The Carriage shall bear you to my castle safely. I urge you to accept my invitation, and please feel free to invite your family along. Rest assured, I would not violate the Law of Hospitality, and those that visit the Castle with my permission are perfectly safe with me. I await your arrival with great anticipation.

Count Strahd von Zarovich."

“Interesting, we’ve been invited to dinner tomorrow night Tish. The kids as well.” Gomez informed her.

“Well, tomorrow is Saturday, and they’ll have no classes. I’m sure Larissa wouldn’t mind them coming along.”

“Are you sure that’s smart?” Galpin interjected. “Although actually, I would be very interested in meeting this “Count” Strahd myself.” He said, somewhat rudely reading the letter over Gomez’s shoulder.

“No one enters Castle Ravenloft without the Count’s express permission.” Django spoke up quietly. “And I am thinking that you were not mentioned in that letter, which was after all addressed to the Addams family.”

“I’m sure this vaunted Count has room for one more.” Galpin pressed.

“Oh, I’m sure he does.” Django smiled. “Nevertheless, showing up uninvited would be most unwise.”

Galpin seemed to find something sinister in Django’s expression, and turned to Gomez. “I don’t think it’s safe at all for you to accept this invitation. Why were you invited, and not, for example, the mayor? How does this man even know who you are, or where you’re staying?”

Galpin paused to glare again at Django, but continued “Still, we do need to learn more about this place we’ve landed ourselves in, and it sounds like this man knows plenty. He clearly already knows a thing or two about us, which is deeply suspicious. If you go, I would strongly advise not bringing your children.”

“Nonsense, we’ve been guaranteed hospitality on his word as a noble! And besides, the Addams Family can take care of themselves.” Gomez smiled.

“Excellent” Django smiled amiably. “I shall inform his Lordship of your acceptance. I bid you all a good day.” He nodded and swept out as swiftly as he had arrived.

Galpin frowned. “Maybe I’m not invited inside the castle, but unless there’s a “no loitering” sign outside the gate, I’ll be waiting right up in this Count’s driveway. I’ll also be giving you a Walkie Talkie. If his Lordship gets any funny ideas, you’ll have backup in a moment’s notice. I wouldn’t be inclined to allow this at all, but we really need the information this man can provide, if you’re sure you're willing.”

“Of course we are! We had no other dinner plans for tomorrow, and the Count sounds like a polite enough fellow so far!” Gomez replied.

“Fine, but you’re taking that Walkie Talkie. I don’t know what this guy’s game is, but this isn’t going to be your last supper because I let you waltz off to your doom.”

And with that, the Addamses dinner plans for Saturday night were finalized.

Chapter Text

“Here we are Dylan, help me light the candles.” Alexus said, handing half of her candles to her cousin. The two began to set up the candles in the shape of a pentagram.

“Alexus, I cannot believe I let you drag me out here. Let alone to do one of your creepy wiccan rituals.” Dylan glanced around the woods nervously.

“There’s nothing creepy at all about Wicca. It’s harmless and very much life-affirming. Besides, you weren’t going to let me come out here alone. And this divination is important; I might be able to figure out how to get us home.” Alexus said, working on the set-up.

“If anyone else knew we were doing this, we would be lynched.” Dylan warned her as he began lighting candles. “The others in town aren’t a fan of outcasts right now, or magic, or anything even a little bit unusual.”

“Sure, which is why we’re way out here in the middle of the woods.” She explained to him slowly, encircling the candles in a ring of salt. She opened up her personal, individualized Book of Shadows to begin the ritual.

They were quite a way off into the woods where they were unlikely to be disturbed. Towering trees watched them impassively; the forest sat still and silent, as quiet as it had been ever since it had been ripped from its world.

“I doubt we’re any safer here than we are in town. Only out here, we have to worry about that bear that’s been attacking people, and little wood monsters.” Dylan argued.

“Na, that bear was probably left behind in our world, and even if it is here, it’ll probably be asleep during the middle of the day. And no one has seen those monsters again since they attacked several days ago. The police have been searching these woods for days and haven't found anything strange.”

“Let’s hope the police don’t stumble upon us.” Dylan sighed.

“This will be quick. Now shush.” Alexus said, as she began burning incense and chanting a prayer to the Goddess and the God. When she was finished praying, she pulled out a deck of cards.

“Now, these cards will tell us our future. If there’s a way back home, the cards will give us instructions, essentially, on how we can get there.” Alexus explained.

Dylan still thought this was pretty weird, but he was more open-minded than a lot of the other boys in Jericho, which is why Alexus had felt comfortable coming to him for assistance, on top of the fact that they were family. Alexus gave him an affectionate pat on the shoulder, glad that he had her back. Then she got on with the card reading.

She shuffled the cards and laid down the first card. “Death.” She said.

Dylan gulped. “Great, thank you so much for bringing us out here.”

“Don’t worry, the first card represents one's past. And besides, this card symbolizes change more than it does actual death, and things have certainly changed recently.”

She flipped down the second card. Death. Alexus and Dylan felt a chill run down their backs. “I guess change is a constant in life, huh?” Dylan joked weakly.

“I should have only had one of those cards in this deck. I must have mixed in another from a different deck.”

She laid out a third card. Death. A fourth card. Death. Trembling a little, she laid out another couple cards. Death. Death.

“I don’t understand” she mumbled, her face paling.

“Alexus, let’s get out of here.” Dylan said, grabbing her by the hand.

“Just let me get the candles…” the quiet of the forest was broken by a scratching, shuffling sound, and the two froze and glanced around.

The still forest seemed to explode into motion all at once as a massive creature leapt out of the undergrowth. Dylan pushed Alexus behind him, and the creature snatched him up in the next moment. The cousins screamed in fear and surprise.

The monster held Dylan up into the air; he kicked futilely and stared in terror at its hideous snarling face. Its eyes were massive, too wide on its ugly face, and bloodshot. Everything about its expression was hateful and vicious.

“Dylan!” Alexus screamed, grabbing a branch and smashing the creature on its leg. The monster didn’t react, pulling back a set of massive claws and gutting Dylan with them. Then, before she even had time to scream, it spun around and lashed out at Alexus too.

A vulture sat perched high upon a looming tree, staring down at the grisly scene below. Even when the monster left with several blood trophies in hand, the vulture ignored the veritable feast down below. Instead, it gazed calculatingly at the departing monster, and flew off to parts unknown.

The carriage that had picked up the Addams Family trotted down the road through the fog. Earlier in the ride, the family had felt where the road suddenly transitioned from pavement to dirt. They had left the part of Earth that had been transported to this new world behind.

That had been some time ago, and since then, the family had been driven by a town that wasn’t Jericho. They had assumed the carriage would take them into the town, but the carriage had continued on the road, passing it by.

Wednesday gazed out with concealed interest at the passing town. Since it was Saturday, or at least it was Saturday back in their own world, Wednesday and Pugsley weren’t missing any classes to go to dinner with their parents, thus Weems had allowed them to go since it had been their parents request.

“Since when does our ancient and ignoble house of Addams require a police escort to attend a dinner?” Wednesday asked, giving her parents a neutral, if judgmental, stare.

“I’m afraid the sheriff insisted on following along darling. He’s suspicious of this whole affair and wants to be nearby in case anything goes wrong.” Morticia explained.

“It is indeed suspicious that we have been invited to dinner, by name, when we have met none of the locals beforehand except for a few monsters you killed.” Wednesday offered her opinion; she was not renowned for being a trusting person.

“The poor man is overworked, especially today.” Gomez frowned. “Earlier he was investigating a bear attack in the woods. Two teenagers were killed. He was busy with that all day, and now I suppose we’ve made more work for him.”

“Being a civil servant is a thankless job.” Morticia nodded. “We’ll have to do something nice for him. Maybe I could knit him a sweater? It does get cold around here, especially during the nights.”

“Tish, you’re always so thoughtful.” Gomez smiled, cupping her face as the two became obnoxiously affectionate again.

“A bear attack?” Wednesday asked, simply because she was desperate to distract them from each other.

“Between you and me dear, I’m under the impression that the killer isn’t a bear at all.” Morticia informed her. “The sheriff didn’t say so, but he hardly seemed convinced this was the doing of a bear.”

“So, there is a monster in the woods outside of town. How interesting.” Wednesday said, palming the silver dagger concealed on her person. She had brought it to Nevermore when she realized her school would be filled with werewolves, and she had brought along a number of other interesting tools and trinkets as well. Even if the monster in the woods wasn’t a werewolf, silver weapons were a useful protection against many monsters.

The road divided after a time, and the carriage turned towards massive gates which towered in the distance. As the carriage got a little bit closer through the fog, the family could see large stone statues flanking the iron gates. Both statues were missing their heads, and Wednesday was reminded briefly of the dolls she had played with as a child.

Soon the carriage arrived at the gates of Castle Ravenloft. A precarious looking wooden drawbridge had been lowered for the family, hung from rusted chains. The bridge was laid over a thousand-foot sheer drop down into the misty canyon below. Gargoyles grinned maliciously downwards from up atop the ramparts.

The sheriff and his men parked nearby, and Galpin gave the family a nod before they crossed over the drawbridge. The family entered a large, shadowy courtyard, and after the carriage came to a halt, they approached the castle itself. It was an impressive sight. The roofs of the various towers were a dark shade of purple. More gargoyles littered the tops of the walls. The main doors were decorated with bloody battle scenes, and on them were brass knockers shaped like raven’s heads.

“It’s so nice and gloomy.” Wednesday muttered quietly to herself, deliberately echoing the way she had commonly described things she liked back when she was a small child. To her embarrassment, her mother apparently heard her and gave her a fond, nostalgic look, which Wednesday ignored.

Gomez seized one of brass knockers and slammed it against the door a couple of times. A low boom echoed down the halls, and the door creaked open on its own accord with a tortured groan.

“Cool, it’s like our front gate.” Pugsley noted, which also opened of its own accord.

A single figure was visible far down inside the darkness of the hallway on the other side of the door. A beautiful, deadly voice echoed across the vast hall.

“Welcome, Addams family. I am Count Strahd von Zarovich, and I bid you welcome.”

Count Strahd von Zarovich was a tall man, with a lithe and powerful figure. He was of course dressed formally, in black pants and a black coat, with a white vest and shirt beneath his coat. He wore a crimson cravat on his neck. His eyes were sharp and dark, and his hair was dark as well, while his skin was a pale, stark white.

Wednesday strongly suspected their host was a vampire. Not only because his skin was so pale, but because when he had greeted the family and the group had made their introductions, he had kissed Wednesday’s hand, and he had proved  to be cold to the touch.

Also, he was speaking in a very distinct Romanian-Transylvanian accent. Although that didn’t prove one was a vampire, it was certainly considered something of a red flag.

The group had made their way over to a winding staircase, which took them up to a short hallway which itself led into the dining hall. The Count sat at the head of the table, while the Addams family took seats near to him.

“It is a true pleasure to meet you all. I thank you once more for accepting my humble offer of hospitality.” Strahd smiled. “Though there are other residents of my castle, tonight we will be dining alone.”

A maid served the first course, along with a strange bestial man who Strahd introduced as his chef. The first course was a bowl of lobster bisque, served with fresh bread and caviar. Strahd watched the group with folded hands. His silent maid did not set food before him, but only a goblet of red liquid. Even Wednesday couldn’t smell it from her seat, but she strongly suspected it was blood. A red liquid was also poured for Wednesday and each member of her family, but their drinks were clearly a fine wine.

“Thank you for having us here in your lovely home.” Morticia thanked him. “We were, however, a little surprised to receive your invitation.”

“Yes, we’re new around these parts after all, so it’s a bit of a mystery how you knew to ask after us.” Gomez said.

“It’s no great mystery at all.” Strahd grinned sharply. “I have arcane means of observing any location within my domain. And the arrival of a whole new town certainly attracted my undivided attention.” Strahd smiled thinly.

“Yes, I suppose that would be hard to miss.” Morticia agreed.

“Indeed. Now, I have invited your family specifically to my abode because I recognize noble blood when I see it. I first noticed you, Gomez and Morticia, during your heroic defense of the town.” Something like an amused sneer flashed in Strahd’s eyes at that.

“Well, I couldn’t let the town be destroyed after all. It would have disrupted my little scorpion’s education.” Gomez chuckled.

“My parents would do anything to keep me locked away inside my newest prison. Even if that means murdering hapless monsters who were only acting instinctively in response to a foreign intrusion onto their territory.” Wednesday said glaring.

“A reasonable guess child, but the Needle Blights your family encountered were likely acting on orders, not instincts. There are a number of primitive people who call the Svalich Woods home, and your town and school appeared inside the middle of their forest. They command the blights, and yes, they are indeed the territorial type.” Strahd swirled the liquid in his glass.

“That makes sense.” Wednesday nodded. “The ancestors of the residents of Jericho were colonists who slaughtered the indigenous people who originally lived on the land, and I assume their descendants will happily repeat history and commit the sins of their fathers once more.”

“We shall see.” Strahd replied, setting down his glass and steepling his fingers together. “Though their ancestors may have been great conquerors, the citizens of Jericho seem to have grown fat and weak from what I have observed.”

“Your excellency, we were hoping you could tell us a little about where we’ve found ourselves, and how we may return to our own home?” Morticia asked as the second course was served. The servants brought out smoked salmon with cream cheese and capers, and lamb chops with lingonberry compote.

Gomez nodded. “You have a lovely place here, but we have a family back home we really must return to. Dear old Grandmama, Uncle Fester, and a whole slew of Addamses and Frumps!”

“I understand well the importance of family. But I fear the nature of your arrival is a mystery to me. Suffice it to say, the Dark Powers of this place often bring new peoples and places into their cursed domain for reasons that are often difficult to discern. As for how you may leave, that is also beyond my knowledge. The mists around my domain are toxic, yet I can assist others in traversing them. Still, travelling through them will only take you to other strange lands; I know not how to reach the foreign world that you have arrived from.”

Wednesday exchanged a subtle look with her father, who shrugged slightly. Neither of them could tell if Strahd was being honest or not, he was a difficult character to read.

“Sir, I was wondering, are you a vampire, if you don’t mind me asking?” Pugsley questioned.

“Indeed child.” Strahd grinned, showing fangs this time. “A gift from the Dark Powers of this place; I reign here eternally.”

“Neat” Pugsley smiled. “My new roommate at Nevermore is a vampire.”

A look of contempt crossed Strahd’s face. “Yes, I have observed your school briefly. Personally, I would be reluctant to call the bloodsuckers at your institution true vampires; they lack the powers possessed by both myself, and the only other true vampire I have met. I think I shall call them “fangs.” That insipid term is used freely at your school after all, and it suits those lesser creatures well enough. Yet I shall be interested to see how they fare in these lands.”

At this Pugsley frowned, already feeling defensive of his new roommate apparently.

“That seems like a rather elitist perspective.” Wednesday stated.

“Yes, as behooves the principal member of this world’s elite.” Strahd nodded in agreement.  

 “So, you’re the lord of the town of Barovia?” Gomez asked.

“Yes, I am the Lord of the wider lands of Barovia, which includes a few other towns aside from Barovia itself, now including Jericho.”

Gomez and Morticia exchanged looks.

“Although the town has appeared in your lands, I’m not sure the townsfolk are aware that you are claiming dominionship over them.” Morticia informed him.

“As you’ve said, their town has appeared in my land. And I am the Land!” Strahd glared, eyes flashing red with possessive rage.

He calmed himself in an instant. “Power such as mine needs not be flaunted or even declared. Jericho is now subject to my every whim and desire, and its people will come to learn that I am their master in due time.”  

By now several more courses had been served, and the servants brought out dessert, chocolate cake and creme brulé. The Addamses were also poured coffee after trying different wines and champagne throughout the evening.

“Now, speaking of the people of Jericho, I cannot stomach the thought of a good and high family such as yours living among such base plebeians. Tonight, you may all stay with me, and I shall have a carriage return you children to your school on the morrow. Gomez and Morticia, you may stay with me until my servants have finished renovating an estate for you just outside of the town of Barovia. The nobles who once lived in that estate had… departed some time ago. The estate has been empty ever since; though it has been in disuse I felt that none of the commoners of Barovia were worthy to settle in it. My servants will work tirelessly, and it shall be made ready for you in a few short days.”

Strahd stood, and the family followed suit. “Come, I shall show you to your rooms and bid you a good night.”

Strahd paused and smiled dangerously. “Your friends outside the gates shall not be invited inside. They will have to make camp in their unusual vehicles, or brave the roads at night without the protection afforded to them by the passage of my carriage. Shortly, I shall send a servant to inform them you will not be rejoining them tonight.”

After dinner, Wednesday retired to the guest room provided to her by Strahd. Her father, she knew, would be contacting the sheriff by Walkie Talkie in order to inform them that the family was indeed safe, but, as Strahd’s servant should have told them by now, would not be leaving tonight.

Carefully she slipped out of the room provided to her, glancing at Pugsley’s door. She decided not to wake him though; she wanted to have a look around while she was here, and Pugsley was not famed for his stealth. Blowing up everything tended to attract attention.

She peaked into a nearby lounge area, but found nothing of interest and headed down the spiral staircase that had led up to the tower she was staying in. She came down into a short, dark hallway. A door of delicately engraved steel stood at the end of the hall. Unlike much of the weathered castle, this door seemed to shine with a light of its own, untouched by the ravages of time. Flanking the door, Wednesday saw two alcoves cast in shadow. Dark, vaguely man-shaped figures were standing in each alcove. Though used to seeing in the dark, even Wednesday could not tell if they were statues or not, but she did notice they were not smooth like a statue normally was, but seemed to be crudely made of many smaller objects.

Silent as a ghost, she nevertheless felt like there were eyes watching her from the alcoves. But Strahd had never said she couldn’t take a midnight stroll, so she decided to continue on for now, undaunted. Passing by the alcoves, she continued unhindered through the steel door and into the dining hall she had been in before. It was a standard castle’s dining hall, with a harp in one corner and, strangely, a table in another corner where she had spied a rotted wedding cake earlier.

Striding across the hall, Wednesday opened a doorway and stepped into what appeared to be a bath chamber. Inside was a bathtub that was filled with blood. Wednesday’s eyes widened slightly in mild surprise as suddenly, a blood-soaked creature exploded out of the tub and clung to the ceiling, cackling madly. Blood dripped off its pale flesh, its bony limbs, and its stringy hair as it scuttled away. It disappeared through a set of scarlet curtains, which Wednesday threw open, only to find a long closet empty of anything except for sets of fancy clothing. She turned around, and saw the tub was empty of blood, or any trace that it had ever been filled with blood.

Spotting a different door, Wednesday opened it, finding it also to be unlocked. Inside, Wednesday was assaulted with the sweet smell of perfume. Prominent in the room was a large bed, canopied by silk curtains. Lying amid the velvet and satin sheets, Wednesday saw a sleeping young woman in a dark nightgown. Opening the canopy to take a closer look, Wednesday estimated the girl was about her age, or maybe a year or so older than her. This must be one of the castle's other residents that the count had mentioned at dinner.

Wednesday debated waking the girl up to interrogate her about Strahd, but decided it probably wouldn’t be worthwhile to do so, and it was rude even by her standards. She was a guest here after all. She did take a closer look at the girl though. She was clearly breathing, and as such, was not a vampire. In the dark Wednesday could barely make out the rest of her features, noting only that she had dark hair like Wednesday herself but a paler skin tone.

Wednesday climbed out the girl’s window onto the parapets, and walked along the castle walls. The moon, not yet full, nonetheless loomed large enough in the night sky to illuminate the grounds. Glancing down, she noticed the road that they had been driven up earlier. The sheriff and a few of his deputies were still down there outside the gates. Although Wednesday would not have guessed they were prepared to spend the night, they did in fact have tents, which they set up surrounding a campfire.

They also evidently were smart enough to leave someone on watch, because when a long procession of ghosts emerged from down the road and marched on the castle, a panicked deputy raced into the tents and woke the others. The group hastily made their way off the road and found places to hide themselves, and Wednesday wondered if they were perhaps about to be slaughtered.

But the ghostly procession ignored them, continuing straight towards the castle gates. The ghosts were a motley crew of all different shapes and sizes, and they were too many to be counted. Count Strahd von Zarovich stepped forward and stood beside Wednesday, who struggled not to react outwardly. She hadn’t heard him arrive, which was an unusual  and disturbing oversight on her part.

“Enjoying the view my dear?” Strahd smiled.

“I have not seen so many ghosts in one place since the last Addams family reunion.” Wednesday nodded.

“The March of the Dead.” Strahd explained. “The ghosts of all the so-called heroes who have tried to destroy me in the past, only to meet their timely ends. They march upon my castle every night, but it is as futile as their initial attempts upon my life were. These pitiful spirits can harm no one.”

Wednesday tilted her head in thought. “It reminds me of the woods outside the family manor. Filled with the ghosts of all the vengeful spirits of our enemies, who once tried to subdue us, only to be destroyed themselves. They would love to take revenge upon us, but they also can no longer harm anyone. They only add to the charm of our grounds now.”

Strahd chuckled merrily. “There are but only a few pleasures in life that can compare to the delight of seeing the tormented spirits of your vanquished enemies, unable to let go of their obsessive hatred of you, and unable to move on and find some semblance of peace in death. Defeated over and over again, for all eternity.”

Wednesday shrugged. “They are pathetic, but I think if someone crossed me in a way that I could never forgive, I wouldn’t mind seeing them end up in such a sorry state.”

Strahd’s smile darkened further. “I find they also provide an excellent warning against those that would attempt such foolishness themselves.” He said, glancing down at the cowering police.

“Though fools being fools, they are rarely wise enough to observe a clear warning. That’s why the procession is so long.” Strahd added.  

The two then lapsed into silence as they watched the ghostly march play itself out. Wednesday appreciated the comfortable silence and the scenery, but she had one more question she wanted answered.

“Who is the girl?” She asked, nodding her head back to the room. Something in Strahd’s demeanor shifted, though he didn’t seem to be offended or defensive.

“Just a child who wandered in off the street. Apparently she had a contentious relationship with her mother, and ran away from home.”

There was an amused glint in Strahd’s eyes as the atmosphere turned tense. Wednesday wondered if his answer was truth, or just a mockery of Wednesday herself. But as before, Strahd was impossible to read. He seemed to be waiting to see how Wednesday would react, but she wouldn’t give him the satisfaction. Wednesday turned heel without another word, returned to her room, and retired for the night.

The next morning, Strahd’s carriage drove Wednesday and Pugsley back to the school. The sheriff, as assured as he could be that the Addams would be alright, was following the carriage back to town. Although Gomez and Morticia were still with Strahd, he was unable to justify staying away from Jericho any longer, where he had much work to do.

“Pugsley” Wednesday turned to her brother “I am considering departing from this carriage somewhere around the town we are going to pass, Barovia, and thereby free myself from Nevermore for good. Would you like to come along, or are you planning on returning to Nevermore?”

Pugsley bit his lip. “I can’t leave Nevermore yet. I promised my roommate Samuel I would help him tunnel out of the school. The tunnel is under construction, but I still have to finish it.”

“I commend your initiative brother. I thought this might be my best chance to escape, but if you are building a tunnel, that changes things.” Wednesday mused.

“You can help with the tunnel if you want. Should we all make a run for it as soon as it's complete?”

“No.” She decided after a moment’s thought. “As long as the tunnel remains a secret, we can come and go as we please, so there’s no hurry. Before we leave Nevermore for good, we can scout out the area and perhaps collect additional supplies. Once we have a clear plan of action and everything we need, then we can depart from Nevermore for the final time. Explain all of this to your roommate upon our return.”

Wednesday thought some more. “Can your roommate be trusted? Will he slow us down when we make it outside?”

“He’s a vampire who does kendo, and he’s really good at it. Practices every day.” Pugsley assured her.

Though these lands were always heavily overcast, in the daytime they could better see the town of Barovia as they passed it by. It was a dreary, misty town, with many of its buildings seemingly abandoned or outright in ruins.

Pugsley gave her a reassuring nod. “We’ll be back to explore the town soon.”

Wednesday said nothing, but she could feel herself relax slightly as her path forward became clear.

During another mandatory assembly at the start of the new week, Principal Weems had told the student body a little bit about the situation in Jericho. For a few hours a day, the town hall had power, and the supermarket always had power to certain refrigerated sections. But that was the best they could do with their remaining gas; the rest of the town was without power, and as such, without modern plumbing.

The Nevermore students would have to learn what that was like as well, as they officially had no more gas to spare for anything other than keeping the refrigerated blood banks, which were absolutely necessary for the vampires, powered.

Both the town and Nevermore had enough food for now, but efforts were being made to fish the lake and river, to hunt the surrounding woods, and to begin clearing fields for agriculture. There were vague plans to trade luxury goods to nearby towns in exchange for food, but contact had not been established with the native towns as of yet.

Although the town council and law enforcement officers were trying to keep a lid on it, there was increasing anti-Outcast sentiment rising in town. Students were still forbidden from visiting Jericho, Wednesday was pleased that at least she couldn’t be sent to see some new therapist in the town.

The teachers were making a valiant effort to go about business as usual, but Wednesday couldn’t care less about her classes. She was more interested in her new extracurricular activity. Being an old hand at digging graves, she was of great use in the construction of the tunnel. Samuel had, at first, not appreciated Pugsley bringing in another person. However, since she was Pugsley’s sister, there wasn’t much he could say about it.

On their own world, it would have been the full moon towards the end of the previous week. In this world, the moon became full in the middle of Wednesday’s second week at the school.

That night was a beautiful night to play the cello, and Wednesday did so out on her dorm room’s balcony. As she finished her first piece, the window-door opened and Enid stepped out into the night.

“How the hell did you get that oversized violin out the window?” she asked.

“I had an extra hand. And not in the way my Cousin Imar does.” Wednesday gestured to Thing, who waved at Enid.

“Whoa” Enid gasped. “Where’s the rest of him? Did he get splinched when we apparated to a new world?”

“I do not know what those words mean, but I do like the word “splinched.” Wednesday admitted. “But no, Thing has been this way ever since I was born at least.”

Werewolves howled and bayed in the near distance.

“Why are you not wolfing out?” Wednesday asked. Was it too much to have the room all to herself for one night out of the month?

“Because I can’t. This is all I got.” Enid replied, extending her claws which grew longer and sharper. “My mom says some wolves are late bloomers, but I've been to the best Lycanologist. I had to fly to Milwaukee, would you believe it?”

“Ah, Milwaukee. You cannot drink the water, but you can eat the people.”

Enid gave Wednesday a strange look. This was the real reason Wednesday rarely told jokes; nobody ever understood her references.

“Apparently there’s a chance I may never…” Enid shrugged uncomfortably.

“What happens then?” Wednesday asked, now morbidly curious herself.

“I guess that would make me a lone wolf.”

Oh. And here Wednesday had thought it would be a bad thing if Enid could never wolf out.

“That sounds nice.” Wednesday offered.

“Are you kidding me? My life would be officially over. I'd be kicked out of my family pack with no prospect of finding a mate.” Enid’s teeth clenched as she became increasingly distressed. Wednesday was surprised a family would disown their own child so readily.

“Enid, your life is only officially over when you are dead. And your family pack is in another world; you may never see them again.”

“God, you suck at cheering people up.” Enid began to cry.

It was true, no one had ever said, implied, or even privately thought that Wednesday was good at cheering people up. But she could always try asking questions, and hope for useful answers.

“Why are you crying?” Wednesday probed.

“Because I'm upset!” Enid explained through her tears. “Haven't you ever cried, or are you above that like you’re above using cellphones?”

“Those are two different things. I do not to waste my time with trivial distractions as a matter of personal preference. I choose not to cry because I cannot afford to show weakness.”

Wednesday then explained the tragic (not in a good way) tale of the murder of her pet scorpion, Nero, killed by a gaggle of bullies back when Wednesday was a small child. To satisfy Enid’s persistent morbid curiosity, Wednesday had slightly exaggerated the bloody demise of Nero.

“And that’s when I vowed to never cry again.” She finished. “And I try not to feel things, since that can potentially lead to crying.”  

Enid was wiping away the last of her tears, seeming not as upset as before. Wednesday couldn’t imagine how her story would have cheered Enid up, so she decided the phrase “misery loves company” must actually be accurate. Either that, or Enid just really loved hearing about Nero’s gory death. Wednesday decided it was safe to expose Enid to bloodier tales in the future.

“Well, your secret is safe with me. I still think you’re weird as shit though.” Enid smiled shakily.

Wednesday glanced back at the chromatic tsunami that made up one-half of the dorm room. “The feeling is incredibly mutual.” She replied, somehow conveying both an insult and a compliment at the same time. 

Chapter Text

The Addams family limousine drove along a dirt road in the woods outside of the town of Barovia. Under martial law, the town council had confiscated all vehicles, and the gasoline in them, for official use only. Nevertheless, the Addams family limousine had shown up one day at Castle Ravenloft, parked outside the gate. Morticia patted the seats fondly. It was such a loyal machine.

The limousine pulled up to the manor, and Morticia smiled as she stared at the dark and decrepit structure. Her husband opened her door for her, and she gave him a kiss on the cheek as she stepped out of the vehicle, taking in the scene before her.

“To think, the Count kept such a lovely piece of property off the market for so many years.” She shook her head.

“And to give it to us now, he certainly is a generous man.” Gomez smiled.

“We certainly owe him for kindness and his hospitality.” Morticia replied as the two walked towards the door, Lurch carrying what little luggage they had.

“Oh, how this place reminds me of home.” Gomez said with nostalgia in his voice, as he glanced around at the desolate, blackened landscape surrounding the manor.

“Yes, it is much nicer and gloomier than that hideous bed and breakfast.” Morticia agreed.  “Granted, it may not be as grand as the family manor, but it’s certainly more than we had any right to expect.”

Gomez picked Morticia up and carried her across the threshold, and she ran a loving hand across his cheek.

“How nice, this place surely looks lived in.” Morticia glanced at the chaotic décor inside. Even under all the dust, the old house had character.

“Better yet, it looks like it’s been died in.” Gomez grinned, admiring the massive blood stains on the walls.

“From what Count Strahd said, it sounds like his servants finally finished clearing everything dangerous out of the manor.” Morticia kissed her husband as he set her down.

“That’s too bad, I hope they didn’t get rid of everything dangerous.”

Morticia patted Gomez on the arm. “I’m sure they didn't, darling. Count Strahd is a reasonable and generous man after all.”

Gomez and Morticia picked up their rapiers from where Lurch had set them down. “Let’s see if we can’t find any entertainment for the evening, Bubeleh.”

Gomez dropped his sword. “Cara Mia, when you call me that, it sets my blood boiling.” Gomez couldn’t contain himself, and began kissing his way up her arm.

“Not now darling.” Morticia patted him. “We’ll explore the house now, and break it in later.”

Though construction on the tunnel had been halted on the night of the full moon due to the werewolves' enhanced senses and the fact that the teachers had been on high(er) alert, the digging of the tunnel had swiftly resumed. It was Friday night, and Wednesday was sneaking down to the tunnel to put in another evening’s work on a tunnel she thought was coming along nicely.

Wednesday felt better (by her own unusual standards) than she had in a long time. She had a clear plan of action, a means to reach her goal of exploring a new and fascinating world. Not to mention, she simply enjoyed her nightly walks to and back from the tunnel. There was something pleasant about creeping through the school’s dark, silent halls by herself.

As she descended to the lower levels of the school and made her way to the tunnel, Wednesday suddenly felt her body lift into the air, and she was flung through the hallway by a violent force. Before she could process what was happening, she impacted suddenly against a wall, and Wednesday’s head rang as she tried to regain her bearings. Blinking (for the first time in a few hours) she found herself pinned up against one of the hallway walls by an unseen force, suspended mid-air with her feet not quite touching the ground. Even for an Addams, this was a rather surprising turn of events.

“Whomever has done this, you have my attention.” She stated.

Wednesday thought she heard footsteps coming down the stairs, but the sound was soft and her head was still ringing, so she wasn’t positive. Rather than replying, her unseen attacker tried to throw her into the wall across from her. Falling back on sheer force of will, she managed to fight against the force just enough to thrust her hands outward, pushing off against the wall she was flung into and falling to the ground.

Landing like a cat, Wednesday’s head snapped towards the stairwell, where she saw… Rowan? The hallway was dark, but Wednesday could see easily enough in the dark, and even in the shadow of the hall she was pretty sure that it was Rowan.

Why would Rowan want to kill her? Since first catching a glimpse of him in fencing class, Rowan had spoken to her briefly a couple times in math class before class had started. Racking her brain, she couldn’t think of anything she had said that would make Rowan want to kill her. Maybe she had said a thing or two that would cause him to want to lightly maim her, but sneaking around and trying to assassinate her in the dark? Doubtful.

Wednesday took only a split-second to stare at him in surprise before she tossed a dagger at him. Rowan, either apparently too surprised or too incompetent to deflect the knife with his telekinesis, took the dagger in the chest and let out a gurgling choking noise as he grasped at the dagger, while Wednesday broke into a sprint, rushing him.

Just before Wednesday could get her hands on him, Rowan came to his senses enough to register the imminent danger, and he raised his hand as if to ward Wednesday off. He instinctively shoved Wednesday further down the hall away from him with his telekinesis, and then held her in the air.

“I have to kill you.” He gasped out, eyes wild and panicked. “You’re going to the destroy the school.”

Pulling one of his bloodied hands away from the dagger and reaching into a pocket, Rowan pulled out a piece of parchment with a drawing on it. Whatever dramatic revelation he was attempting to impart was lost on Wednesday. Even she couldn’t see well enough in the dark to see what was on the still half-crumpled piece of paper at this distance.

“I cannot read that from here.” She said dryly.

“There’s nothing to read! It’s a picture of you!” Rowan stumbled forward closer, still holding up the picture and trying with one hand to straighten it out.

“I still cannot see it.” Wednesday lied; she actually could see it now, though parts of the picture were blotted out by Rowan’s blood, and she was just trying to draw Rowan in closer. But she could see the drawing; she could see herself and one other figure standing across from each other in the burning courtyard of the academy.

Sadly, Rowan wasn’t coming any closer. “It doesn’t matter.” He retorted, his words starting to sound slurred. “My mother drew it… she was a seer… told me I have to stop you.” He mumbled, thrusting his hand to the right and slamming her into the wall again, hard. Wednesday couldn’t help but let out a pained grunt; this time she hadn’t been able to push through the telekinetic force or halt her impact against the wall in any way.

“My mother is a seer, and she told me I was destined to save Nevermore.” Wednesday lied again, trying to get Rowan to let her go. She could taste the coppery flavor of blood in her mouth.

Rowan paused, blinking. “That can’t be right, just look at the picture!” he groaned out.

“I still cannot see it. For all I know, you are holding my history report.”

“No, no, I have to stop you.” Rowan mumbled blearily, throwing her again against the opposing wall.

Wednesday grunted as she was slammed into the wall. It appeared Rowan wasn’t very creative, or at least he wasn’t when he was bleeding out, and was falling back on brute force as a means of killing her. Wednesday had never wanted to die a quick death, so that suited her just fine, but she wished she wasn’t being killed by someone who was such a moron. If only she hadn’t left Thing back in her room, but the vain hand had claimed that tunneling was bad for his nails.

She felt her vision spinning, and although the Addams family were a particularly hardy bunch, she wasn’t sure if she could withstand another blow like that. Not willing to find out, Wednesday feigned falling unconscious.

There was a pause, and Wednesday fell to the floor with a thud. That hurt a little too, but Wednesday just barely managed to avoid falling unconscious for real.

Rowan stood bleeding over his fallen foe. Dead or unconscious, Rowan couldn’t actually tell, but he knew he would be dead soon himself if he didn’t do something about the bleeding. Rowan took off his jacket, telekinetically ripping it apart. He would turn it into a binding he could use to put pressure on his wound after he pulled out the dagger.

The thought of pulling out the dagger made him sick with fright, but he knew he had no choice. And if Wednesday was still alive, he could plunge the dagger into her heart. Although it wasn’t a clean way of killing someone, it somehow seemed much kinder than bashing them into walls until they were dead. He hated having to do this, but it was for the sake of Nevermore. Rowan would be a hero.

Just as he made to pull the dagger out, he felt another flying dagger sink into his side. Rowan fell to the ground, his vision going dark around the edges. As he fell onto his back, his head slumped over causing him to stare at Wednesday. She was still laying on the ground, but her dark eyes were wide open, staring into his soul. Rowan went cold and gasped, and the rest of his vision darkened entirely. Then he knew no more.

Wednesday gasped on the ground and crawled over to the nearest wall. A little bit of her blood was dripping off it. Wednesday felt the back of her head and, sure enough, found her hair matted with blood. She also was able to tell that she was moderately concussed.

Footsteps echoed down the hall, and Wednesday could hear her brother shouting. Glancing around with blurred vision, Wednesday saw Pugsley and Samuel crouched before her, obviously concerned.

“My daggers” she croaked out. Although she had a few other knives in her room, she only had two really deadly daggers, one of which was a silver dagger, and both of them were sunk into Rowan’s body. She didn’t want to lose those.

Pugsley held her (she was too weak now to brush him off) while Samuel darted over to Rowan. “He’s still alive!” Samuel called over moments later. “I’m going to put some pressure on the wound.” Samuel put a hand against the wound and began gathering Rowan’s torn up jacket to bandage him up with it.

Pugsley let her go and went over to take a look himself.

“Nope, that guy is dead.” Pugsley noted.

Samuel dropped the jacket. “Well, he was alive a few seconds ago.” He grumbled, annoyed. “Do you mind?” he asked Pugsley.

“I don’t see why not.” Pugsley nodded. Samuel’s fangs extended and he began drinking Rowan’s blood while it was still fresh. Waste not, want not.  

“That’s an interesting sight.” Wednesday almost smiled. “But we have to decide what we are going to do about this.”

Samuel stopped drinking. “We can’t tell the staff. They’ll find the tunnel.”

“Agreed” Wednesday nodded after a moment’s thought. “Though that still leaves the problem of the dead body. And the fact that we are in a school filled with vampires and werewolves that can track a person by their scent.”

“Rowan’s scent is all over this school. They’ll never be able to trace him anywhere in particular, not after the body’s been moved. But they will smell the blood if it isn’t cleaned up. We’re lucky we’re not close to any dorm rooms down here, or some vampire may have smelled all of this already.” Samuel explained.

“I know how to clean a crime scene. I’ll get some supplies from a janitor’s closet and take care of it. You two, take care of the body.”

“He might be sniffed out if we bury him, but I think that between potions class and science class, I have everything I need to dissolve the body.” Pugsley nodded.

“Tell Samuel what you need, I have to take care of the blood, and he’s better at sneaking around than you are. In the meantime, you can dig out a pit in the tunnel where we can dissolve the body.” Wednesday ordered.

“I can do that, but I have to ask, why did he want to kill you?” Samuel asked, eyes narrowed.

Wednesday glanced over at the picture. Rowan’s blood had completely ruined it.

“I don’t know. I think maybe I insulted him.” Wednesday replied neutrally.

Samuel stared at her in suspicion, but turned to Pugsley to ask what he needed to fetch.

An hour later, Wednesday was finished cleaning the hallway where Rowan had died. That done, she made her way down the dark tunnel. She crouched down, and crawled over to Pugsley and Samuel. They sat in silence for a minute, watching Rowan’s exsanguinated body slowly dissolve by the light of the candles they held. It was a fantastically gruesome sight. 

“By the end of next week, the tunnel will be complete.” Pugsley observed.

“My friend, you were not joking when you said you were an expert at tunneling” Samuel nodded.

Samuel turned to Wednesday. “I do not know why Rowan tried to kill you, but if we have to worry about more assassins because of you, or if you are keeping secrets that endanger me, I will not be willing to work with you in the future.”

“We all have our secrets.” Wednesday said. “And I certainly hope that it is not the case that no one will ever try to kill me again. That would be a shame, and it would make life quite boring. However, I’m sure that Rowan was acting alone, of his own violation.”

Samuel nodded. “That’s good enough for me… for now.” The group lapsed back into silence as they watched the body finish melting away into the dirt and mud.  

The weekend came and went, the school becoming even more tense after the mysterious disappearance of a student. It was a dull weekend, with the school still on lockdown and Wednesday having little to do. Not that classes made the school much more interesting, in Wednesday’s opinion.

Monday morning arrived, and yet another boy chose to ambush Wednesday, although this time not by way of telekinetic attack. Instead, a tall, thin boy with long brown hair sat beside her in her Botany class. No one sat beside her in Botany class, and Wednesday gave him a death glare to let him know just how welcome he wasn’t.

The boy’s smile died on his lips, and he almost seemed ready to run before he hunkered down. Wednesday frowned. It would have been amusing if he had actually gotten up and ran as soon as he sat down.

The boy gathered his courage and turned to Wednesday. “Hi there, you probably don’t remember me, but um, I’m Xavier Thorpe.” He nodded.

“I do remember you.” Wednesday informed him.

“You… you do?” he seemed taken aback.

“We have been in the same class for two weeks, and I know the names of most of my classmates by now, even if it is unimportant trivia. Additionally, I remember you staring at me during the school assembly.” The boy hadn’t shown up to class during the following two days. No wonder; the gas she had launched towards him was slightly poisonous.

Xavier winced at the accusation of staring, and seemed to struggle to find something to say. “I wasn’t… we’ve met before actually. You probably don’t recognize me from back then, I was two feet shorter and forty pounds heavier.” 

“What happened?”

“Puberty I guess.” Xavier shrugged.

Wednesday spoke slower, for the benefit of someone with limited mental capacity. “What happened back then?”

“Oh, um…” Xavier blushed, apparently still struggling to speak. Wednesday didn’t understand him. She hated small talk, and couldn’t understand why someone who was so clearly bad at small talk was nonetheless insisting on attempting it. 

Xavier rallied again and began telling the story of how Wednesday had saved his life after he accidently sealed himself inside his godmother's coffin at her funeral. Class began before he actually finished the story, and he was cut off awkwardly mid sentence, but it didn’t matter; he had told Wednesday enough that she now recalled the event.

As Ms. Thornhill began her lecture Wednesday made a mental note that Xavier owed her a pretty big favor.

“Good morning class!” Ms. Thornhill called the class to attention.

“I hope everyone has done their assigned reading.” Ms. Thornhill gave the class a compassionate smile. “I suppose under the circumstances no one had anything better to do.”

A few of the students laughed uncomfortably at the truth of that statement. Without the benefits of modern technology, and with the school still being on lockdown, everyone was bored, and the outcasts were becoming dangerously restless. Wednesday had unfortunately caught a couple of vampires “fanging” in an alcove; many of the students were turning to the pursuit of sensual pleasures if only because they had nothing else to do.

“Now, who can tell me how invasive plant species can change the functions of ecosystems?” Ms. Thornhill asked.

Wednesday’s hand shot up, and so did Bianca’s, but Wednesday’s hand was raised first and Ms. Thornhill called on her.

“They can alter the hydrology, nutrient cycling, and sometimes even the fire regime of natural ecosystems.” Wednesday answered. Wednesday, an alleged arsonist, was rather more interested in fire regimes than she was in nutrient cycling.

Bianca spoke up. “The presence of an invasive species can change the ecosystem in ways that cause the established plants to reject it.” She answered, glaring at Wednesday.

What an idiotic answer, Wednesday thought. “I’m sure the invasive species' feelings are hurt terribly over the rejection.” She deadpanned, getting a giggle from Enid and Yoko behind her. “But somehow it always seems to be the invasive species that take over the ecosystem.” She finished.

Bianca’s glare did not abate. “Ruin the ecosystem, you mean.”

“Plants that can adapt thrive, and plants that cannot compete die off. I believe that is called natural selection.”

“Are we still talking about plants?” Xavier interjected. Clearly, Wednesday had been correct to assume he was more than a little slow. Wednesday and Bianca ignored him.

“There’s nothing natural about invasive species.” Bianca shot back.

Wednesday gave Bianca her best dismissive look. “Many of the so-called “normies” consider the students in this school to be unnatural.”  She turned back to Ms. Thornhill, no longer interested in a back-and-forth with Bianca.

As soon as Wednesday’s writing time was done that night, Enid, who had barely contained herself during the past hour, spoke up happily from her bed, where she was painting Thing’s nails.

“I cannot believe Xavier just sat down with you during Botany class like that! And right in front of Bianca too! It’s no wonder she was so pissed off… did you see the way she was looking at you?!?”

“I did not. Despite her attempts to undermine me during class, Bianca does not concern me, so I never pay her any attention.” Wednesday replied.

“Bianca and Xavier totally used to be a thing!” Enid continued unprompted. “First she took a major L when she tried fencing with you, and now this? Look out, because Bianca may actually try to kill you for realsies.”

“She would not be the first of my classmates to try.” The reference to Rowan’s ambush and death flew over Enid’s blissfully ignorant head.

“So what’s going on between you and Xavier?” Enid asked excitedly.

“Nothing.” Wednesday said truthfully.

“Oh come on, I’m Nevermore’s gossip queen, remember? You have to give me deets!” Thing waved at her with two fingers. “Oh, sorry Thing” Enid said sheepishly, getting back to work on his nails.

“Aside from the fact that there are no details, that is not as compelling an argument as you seem to think it is.” Wednesday replied drily. 

“Ok, I actually know what’s going on, I was right behind you and I heard every word. Werewolves hear better than normies.” She pointed redundantly towards her ear.

Enid and Yoko did sit behind Wednesday in Botany, and the vampire girl had also presumably overheard the conversation. Not that it mattered, as nothing of importance was discussed.

“You totally saved his life when you were kids, and now you’re reunited years later, that’s kind of romantic.” Enid continued.

“It was an accident. I thought his godmother was trying to claw herself out of her coffin, and I was trying to give her a hand.” Wednesday explained. “I was sorely disappointed with what I found instead.”

“Still, he owes you his life.” Enid grinned.

“He does, and that is a blood debt I intend to call in one day if necessary.”

“Do you think you two might become… friends?” Enid asked. “He’s a tortured artist, and I dunno, it seems like you have a few things in common.”

“He does not look like he has been recently tortured to me, but I can certainly fix that for him.” Wednesday hoped that reply didn’t encourage Enid further. Contrary to what some people believed, it was possible to torture a boy platonically, with no romantic or sexual intent at all.

“Well for me, I have a crush on Ajax.” Enid admitted, smiling.

Wednesday thought back. That was the gorgon boy who Enid had described as “cute but clueless.”

“I would also say you two have a few things in common.” Wednesday threw Enid’s words about Xavier and herself back in her face, but Enid giggled, not realizing that that wasn’t exactly a compliment.

Wednesday donned her black hoodie, and made her way out onto the balcony to play her cello. Enid and Thing followed her outside.

Wednesday glanced back at Enid, who shrugged. “Ever since my phone died, there’s not enough music in my life anymore.” Enid sighed sadly and added: “There’s also not enough working plumbing.”

Wednesday actually agreed with her on that point. She supposed there was a first time for everything.

The rest of the week went by, and there were only a couple more items of note throughout the week. One was that Wednesday had heard through the school grapevine (Enid) that the “bear” had struck again. A Jericho resident who had been fishing the river to provide food for the town had wandered off from his group, and been torn apart. Apparently, no one actually believed that it was a bear anymore, and it was instead being referred to as “the Beast” in the town, for lack of any idea of what kind of beast it might be.

Additionally, Weems forced Wednesday and Pugsley to pick electives, in yet another transparent attempt to keep the students' minds occupied and to keep them out of trouble. Wednesday shopped around for a few electives, ultimately settling on beekeeping.

Wednesday strode across the ground towards a haphazard looking wooden shack with a giant bee painted across the front. She asked Thing to observe secretly from nearby, just in case another random student decided to try and kill her. The boy in a beekeeping suit who stepped out to greet her hardly looked threatening, but then again, neither had Rowan.

“Are you interested in the ancient art of beekeeping?” The boy chuckled. “Eugene. Eugene Ottinger. Founder and president of the Nevermore Hummers.” He introduced himself.

“Wednesday. Wednesday Addams.” She greeted likewise. “Am I late or is it only you?” Wednesday glanced around.

As it turned out, Eugene was not only the founder and president of the Nevermore Hummers, but had also been its sole member. Hence he technically should have introduced himself as the Nevermore Hummer, rather than a member of the Hummers. Nevertheless, the Nevermore Hummers were now a club of two.

That Friday night, Wednesday snuck down to the tunnel, alongside Pugsley and Samuel. They both had insisted that the three of them snuck around together from now on, just in case anyone decided to try to assassinate one of them again. Wednesday didn’t feel it was necessary; she had fared just fine against Rowan.

They moved aside their false wall that was covering their secret tunnel, and crawled down inside it, passing by their equipment; it wouldn’t be needed today. The tunnel had been completed last night, and tonight, the three would make their move.

The only minor problem was Wednesday’s roommate, but it would be fine as long as they got back before Enid woke up. And if they didn’t, that was fine too; Wednesday would just claim she had gotten up early and left. It was the weekend again, so no one would likely notice she was gone except Enid. Wednesday would simply have to make a reappearance before Saturday night. After some deliberation, she had eventually decided to leave Thing behind this time in order to distract Enid and make excuses for Wednesday if necessary. Since Pugsley and Samuel were roommates, they should be completely in the clear.

As the group reached the end of the tunnel, they came upon a special package that Samuel had left there for himself. Wednesday didn’t recognize it, and looked at him curiously.

“Pugsley joined me last night for a second trip down the tunnel after we completed it. I wanted to move my armor down here.”

“I know you do kendo, but I didn’t know you had a suit of armor.” Wednesday replied.

“I can’t really sneak around in it, so we had to lug it down here together rather than me wearing it down. But I wanted the armor for when we venture outside.” Samuel explained as he began unwrapping the armor. “This armor belonged to my father. He was perhaps the first and only westerner to become a Samurai in Japan. He fought hard to preserve the legacy of the Samurai, but in the end, modernity was the ruination of their ancient way of life.”

Wednesday nodded. “Modernity has much to answer for.” She agreed. Although, again, it was worth noting that she did miss modern plumbing.

Samuel finished unwrapping the Le Blank family armor. It was indeed a classic Samurai suit, except it was jet black, and with a somewhat demonic looking facemask. Samuel had also unwrapped a katana. Wednesday raised one eyebrow slightly, but generally approved of the design.

Samuel noted her raised brow and smiled. “What, did you think your family was the only interesting and unusual family around?”

“I also left this down here.” Pugsley chimed in as he put on a hiker’s backpack filled with various gadgets he had built himself. And with such limited resources as well.  Pugsley moved the stone away from the tunnel’s exit, revealing the woods that bordered the school. 

It took several minutes, but Samuel soon finished donning his armor. The group was now as prepared as they could be. Wednesday pointed to the north. “It’s that way to Barovia.”

Eagerly, the three stepped out into a dark forest.  

Chapter Text

The secret tunnel the trio had dug came out in the woods near Nevermore, safely hidden away from the observing eyes of the teachers who guarded the school at night.

A small river that originated in Lake Jericho flowed between the academy and the town of Jericho. Unfortunately, the bridge itself was guarded at night. But the river, having only just begun in the lake, was not so deep that the group couldn’t find a place to safely cross it. Even Samuel in his heavy armor managed it easily enough, though it helped that he had vampiric strength.

After that, the group moved around Jericho and began making their way north-west towards Barovia. Wednesday knew approximately which way they needed to head after her visit to Castle Ravenloft, and knew that if she headed north long enough she would eventually have to come out on the road somewhere.

“We can get the lay of land, but I doubt many people will be up this late at night. This may not be the most interesting visit.” Samuel opined.

Wednesday pursed her lips. “We shall have to stay overnight and risk being gone that long, I will simply tell Enid tomorrow that I woke up before her. It would be a waste to return tonight when we can also explore tomorrow as well.”

“Let’s see how tonight goes before we commit to anything.” Pugsley said nervously, glancing around the dark woods. The group had made their way up to the Old Slavich Road, but were walking near it rather than on it, just because that felt safer, even if walking in the woods was slightly more difficult than walking on the road would have been.

The walk took about three hours, but eventually they began passing the ruins of a few abandoned buildings and realized they were closing in on Barovia. Skirting alongside on the ruined buildings, they heard a whisper calling out in the darkness.

“Well, I didn’t just hear anything, so let’s keep walking.” Pugsley whispered. For someone who had heard nothing, he looked rather unsettled. Wednesday ignored him and began walking towards where she had heard the voice.

Samuel shrugged at a dismayed Pugsley. “I confess I am curious myself.” He said, following after Wednesday.

Pugsley sighed. Whatever it was, it was probably nothing worse than the things that regularly prowled the Addams Family grounds. Probably.

The three came upon a well, and as they approached, a voice called out louder this time, echoing up from inside the well.

“One of you, lower the rope down here immediately.” The monotone voice of Wednesday Addams called up to them.

Pugsley, who had just been catching up, glanced at his sister. “Did you just throw your voice down that well?” he asked hopefully.

“I did not.” Wednesday replied.

“I’m down here. Stop wasting time and throw me a rope.” Wednesday instructed from inside the well.

Samuel glared at Wednesday in suspicion. “What crap have you gotten us into now? What the hell is going on?”

Wednesday ignored him. “Whoever you are, I do not appreciate you borrowing my voice without asking. It is not polite.”

“Wednesday” ignored her and spoke up again “Pugsley, you would not leave your sister trapped down a well, would you?”

“I don’t know how you know my name” Pugsley replied. “But you clearly don’t know me that well, if you think I wouldn’t leave Wednesday trapped down a well.”

Wednesday gave him an annoyed look. “Just for a night or two.” He assured her with a whisper.

“She is an imposter.” Wednesday called up. “Help me up, and we can sort this out.”

Samuel poked Wednesday. She snatched the finger and broke it. “Well, she feels solid, and she acts like the real Wednesday.” He decided, working his finger back into place.

“Ya, I know my sister, and this is her.” Pugsley agreed.

“Enough of this.” Wednesday's voice echoed up from the well with something menacing creeping into her tone. “Help me out of here right now, or I will kill you all.”

“If you could do that” Samuel reckoned “You wouldn’t be asking us for a rope.”

“But it seems likely that you will try to kill us if you get out of that well. The operative word being “try”.” Wednesday added.

“Let me out, or I shall slice open your bellies and pull out your intestines. I will eat them slowly as you lie dying in front of me. I will season them with your mashed, plucked out eyeballs, and I will suck the marrow from your bones.” Wednesday-in-the-well threatened with no more emotion than Wednesday ever had in her voice.

“Tempting, but I still decline.” Wednesday rejected the offer.

“You’d be disappointed anyway. Vampires don’t taste all that good.” Samuel shrugged.

Pugsley took an extra-strength flare from his pack, lit it, and dropped it down the water. The three listened with disappointment as it splashed into the water and was instantly put it out without injuring anyone or anything.

“I would like a rope, not a flare.” Wednesday-in-the-well responded.  

Wednesday took out some rope, cut a piece of it off, and tossed it down the well.

“Thank you.” Wednesday called up. “Later I will wrap this piece of rope around your neck, and I will eat your face off as I choke you to death with it.”

 “We are wasting our time here. It’s time to move on.” Wednesday decided, and the group set off again.

“I will see you soon.” Wednesday called out. “You will get down on your flayed knees and beg me earnestly for death.”

“Maybe I should have pulled it up so we could kill it. It annoys me that it was using my voice like that.” Wednesday mused. She paused in thought. “Then again, I suppose being trapped down a well forever is a worse fate than the sweet release of death.”

“It’s decided; we leave her down the well.” Pugsley agreed readily enough.

“There it is, the town of Barovia.” Samuel pointed ahead of the group. The town was indeed asleep, not a soul wandered its cobbled streets.

The group took a look around, but decided there was no real use in visiting the town tonight. Instead, they made camp in one of the ruined buildings near the edge of town, and took turns taking watch as everyone got some sleep during the night.

Come morning, Samuel put his armor back on as the group packed up camp, and then ventured towards the town.

“You know; this world seems like a very good place for vampires.” Samuel said happily.

“How so?” Pugsley asked. Unlike Wednesday, he was one for small talk.

“The whole time we’ve been here, the sun has been blocked out by those dark clouds.” Samuel gestured up at the overcast sky. “Normally, us vampires have to wear shades outside, and sunscreen helps too. Even then, we’re less strong in the sun than we are at night. But here, it makes almost no difference whether it’s day or night. The sun hardly affects us in the slightest behind those clouds.”

“The weather is pretty great here.” Pugsley nodded, and Wednesday had to admit they were right about that. It was quite dark here, even during the day. If she had to be magically exiled from planet Earth, she was glad at least to have landed in such a pleasingly gloomy world, and not some awful place that was all sunshine and rainbows.

The town was covered in fog now during the morning, but as the group reached the village, they could make it out better. The tall shapes a many buildings loomed out of the dense fog. The muddy ground they were walking on transitioned to slick cobblestones.

The trio walked into the village, passing rotting wooden buildings, and the windows of each house were pools of blackness. No morning bustle could be heard in the silent village. Only the occasional sound of mournful sobbing echoed through the streets.

Wednesday felt herself relaxing as she strolled down the charmingly terrible village. She saw a few peasants in moth-eaten rags walking the streets here and there. Some locals gave the group suspicious, unfriendly glares, but hurried on, while others kept their heads down and pretended they hadn’t seen the trio. The open hostility only made Wednesday like this village more and more, not that she would admit it.

Having attended the public school system for years, Wednesday was used to crowds parting away from her in fear. Annoyingly, she couldn’t shake the idea that these people were steering clear of Samuel, in his exotic and blatantly menacing black samurai armor, more so than they were steering clear of her.

“Where are you parents staying?” Samuel asked, glancing about.

“There manor is a little bit south-west of town.” Pugsley answered. The group had come in from a road leading east away from the town, so there had been no chance of accidently stumbling upon their parents’ house.

After entering the town, the group quickly hit an intersection, and came up with a plan: they would turn right and follow the road circling around the inside of the town, and once they completed a loop, they would explore the center of the town by cutting through the main thoroughfare.

Soon after they turned right, a door to one of the nearby houses opened up, and a little girl, about ten years old, slipped out the door, with a younger boy trialing after her. Her home was particularly large, towering above the neighboring houses, but also especially decayed looking.

To Wednesday’s annoyance, the girl didn’t ignore them unlike the other locals. “Oh, I haven’t seen you around before. You must be new to town!” cried the girl.

“We are visitors from another planet.” Samuel greeted the girl courteously. 

“Oh, more foreigners. It’s been a while since anyone’s visited town though. Won’t you come in? Somebody has to welcome you to town, only, I don’t think anyone else will bother.” She said sadly.

“We would like to take a look around town actually.” Wednesday responded.

“But you can learn all about Barovia here, and no one else will want to talk with you!” the girl cried. “Pretty please?” she tried.

“We are trying to learn about Barovia.” Pugsley whispered to Wednesday.

“Very well” Wednesday conceded. Truth be told, Wednesday could be blunt, she could be mean, and some people thought that meant she was rude; but she wasn’t the type of rude to refuse hospitality when it was offered unless she had a good reason to decline.

“Good!” the girl cheered. “I’m Rose, and this is my little brother, Thorn.” She introduced herself, opening the door for the visitors and skipping inside.

The group passed through the oaken doors of the house and into the house’s main foyer area. Hanging on the wall, they saw a coat of arms flanked by framed portraits of grim aristocrats. As decayed as the house looked from the outside, it was clean and orderly on the inside, if not well-lit, there didn’t seem to be any candles lit that Wednesday could see.

Moments after they passed through the doorway, the doors slammed shut behind them. Wednesday wasn’t surprised, the gate of the Addams Family manor tended to do the same thing when visitors entered the property. Wednesday heard locks clicking into place on the door.

What was a little more surprising was that Rose and Thorn had suddenly vanished without a trace.

“Maybe we’re not as smart as I thought we were.” Pugsley mused and Samuel’s eyes darted around the house.

“Nonsense” Wednesday replied. “We have been graciously invited in, so we will stay and enjoy ourselves.” Her lips twitched upwards, as though she were about to smile. It was an alarming sight.

The three stepped out of the entryway and into a large hall. Passing by the coat room as they did so, they saw several black cloaks hung up, and a top hat sitting on the shelf. As they stepped out into the larger hall, they could see a black marble fireplace at one end of the hall and a sweeping, red marble staircase at the other end. A longsword was mounted above the fireplace, and the wood-paneled walls were ornately sculpted with images of vines, flowers, nymphs, and satyrs.

“How very Greek” Samuel noted. “I know some gorgons who would appreciate the décor.” Looking more closely at the designs on the wall, he also noticed serpents and skulls inconspicuously woven into the wall designs. “Yes, the gorgons would like this room indeed.” He decided.

“The werewolves would not.” Wednesday mentioned, nodding towards three stuffed wolves over by a sitting area. There was also a few other taxidermized animals over in that area, making it look like a hunter’s lounge. They did find a bow, along with a quiver full of arrows, which Wednesday took for herself. She would return the bow she had borrowed if their hosts didn’t force her to use it against them.

The group made their way across the room, opening a door that led into a kitchen. It was tidy, and there was a dumbwaiter on the west wall.

Not seeing anything of interest, the group moved into the next room, which was apparently the dining room. A long mahogany dining table took up the center of the room, and a crystal chandelier hung above the table. The table itself was covered with shining silverware and dazzling crystalware polished to a to a sparkling shine. Red silk drapes covered the windows, and a tapestry depicting hunting dogs and horse-mounted aristocrats chasing after a wolf hung from the south wall.

“Definitely not a werewolf-friendly house.” Pugsley agreed.

“No one is down here. We should try upstairs.” Wednesday decided.

“I guess we don’t have much choice.” Samuel agreed, and the three backtracked and made their way up the staircase, getting off at the second floor, though they could see there were more floors above.

They came out into another sizable hallway, and opened a broad wooden door to their left. Inside, they observed an elegant hall, which had a brass-plated chandelier hanging from the ceiling. Upholstered chairs lined the walls, and in one corner rested a harpsichord, which left Wednesday and Pugsley feeling rather nostalgic for their own home. Near the fireplace stood a large harp. Alabaster figurines of well-dressed dancers adorned the mantelpiece.

“Take a look at that.” Samuel pointed to the dancers on the mantelpiece. Closer inspection revealed that several were carvings of well-dressed skeletons.

“Very nice.” Wednesday nodded.

The group left the room and opened the doors on the opposite side of the hall. Inside they found a library, which Wednesday in particular was very much interested in. She perused the shelves, finding books about history, warfare, alchemy, not to mention works of fiction and poetry. She grabbed a book of poems and a local history book and put them in her own pack, having earlier decided not to leave the academy without a small pack to carry a few essentials and anything interesting she happened to find.

Pugsley and Samuel had gotten bored and wondered off briefly, finding a nearby servants quarters but once again finding nothing of note inside. They wondered back into the library, while Wednesday turned to the alchemy section to see if she could find anything that might interest her.

“I’m sure they have a library in town.” Pugsley tried, ready to move on. She ignored him for the moment, and she did in fact find something interesting, but it wasn’t a book on alchemy that she found. Instead she found was a switch disguised to look like a red-covered book with a blank spine. She pulled the book, and sure enough, a secret door opened.

“The library in town will not be this interesting.” Wednesday replied, the barest hint of a smile crossing her face once more.

“That looks promising.” Samuel nodded, and the group moved into the secret room.

“Oh look, more books” Pugsley noted flatly as they entered the room. Wednesday however grabbed a couple and took a look at them.

“It seems like a bunch of summoning rituals to bring forth fiends from the Nine Hells.” Wednesday informed them.

As Wednesday grabbed another of the dark tomes in the secret room, her head suddenly snapped upwards, and she felt as though she was being transported to another time, long ago in the past.

Her vision came to her in flashes. She saw a wealthy married couple, seemingly normal to their new neighbors, developing a fascination with the dark arts, and they began seeking out lost knowledge.

The couple had two children, a girl and then a boy. Wednesday recognized the children who had invited her inside. The married couple allowed their maidservants to care for the children, they believed they had more important matters to attend to.

She saw the couple seduce and indoctrinate a few of their neighbors, and the creation of a sinister circle of friends. Visitors were sacrificed in strange rituals, and banquets were held to feast on their corpses.

She saw the cults attempts to summon dark powers amount to nothing, as their practices and rituals grew more and more debauched.

And then Count Strahd von Zarovich arrived. They begged Strahd for immortality, offered him their eternal devotion, but Strahd turned them away, deeming the cult unworthy of his attention. The cultists locked themselves away in their Death House in a state of despair.

Wednesday came out of her vision and scoffed internally. Of course the unimaginative fools desired immortality. They were happy to kill other people, even those they had invited into their home as guests, but they were unwilling to face death themselves. How pathetic.

Her brother gave her a concerned look, but Samuel hadn’t noticed, mainly because he was less interested in the books and more interested in a chest he had seen in the corner of the room. It was a large wooden chest with its lid half-closed. Although Wednesday was more interested in the books, she couldn’t fault Samuel for being interested in the chest, because sticking out of it was a skeleton in leather armor. Three darts were stuck in the dead man’s armor and ribcage, and clutched in the skeleton's left hand was a letter.

“Although reading people’s mail is a federal offense, I think I can be forgiven under the circumstances.” Samuel said as he broke the seal on the scroll and began to read aloud the letter that had been addressed to the children’s father.

“My most pathetic servant, I am not a messiah sent to you by the Dark Powers of this land. I have not come to lead you on a path to immortality. However many souls you have bled on your hidden altar, however many visitors you have tortured in your dungeon, know that you are not the ones who brought me to this beautiful land. You are but worms writhing in my earth. You say that you are cursed, your fortunes spent. You abandoned love for madness, took solace in the bosom of another woman, and sired a stillborn son. Cursed by darkness? Of that I have no doubt. Save you from your wretchedness? I think not. I much prefer you as you are.

Your dread lord and master, Strahd van Zarovich”

Interesting, Wednesday thought, there was some new information in that letter that hadn’t come up in her vision.

“Hey, did you have dinner at that Strahd guy’s house?” Samuel asked as he finished reading the letter.

“Indeed” Wednesday nodded. “Perhaps he will invite us over again sometime. I grow tired of the sad rations we are given at Nevermore.”

“You’re telling me.” Pugsley couldn’t have agreed more.

Samuel rooted around through the rest of the chest. It may have counted as rude, but since their hosts had ungraciously locked them inside the house and then disappeared, Wednesday felt that turnabout was fair play.

Inside he found three blank books with black leather covers; Wednesday took those because she knew she could continue writing her novels in them if she had to eventually leave her typewriter behind at Nevermore. Samuel also found three scrolls that claimed to trigger magic spells; everyone took one each of those.

Samuel even found the deed to the house, the deed to a windmill, and a signed will. The will was signed by Gustav and Elisabeth Durst and bequeathed the house, the windmill, and all other family property to Rosavalda and Thornboldt Durst in the event of their parents' deaths. Those were obviously the two children the group had met earlier, and the trio graciously decided not to steal the deed to their house.

“Look” Wednesday gestured to a narrow spiral staircase inside a small shaft of mortared stone.

“I didn’t see that before.” Samuel noted with narrowed eyes. “In fact, I’m sure that staircase wasn’t there before.”

“I have other things to do today, so it’s time to stop playing games.” Wednesday declared firmly, and she and the others went down the narrow, creaky wooden staircase, brushing aside cobwebs and descending down beneath the second and then the first floors of the house.

The trio made it to the bottom of the staircase, entering a cool and damp subterranean lair. Eerie, incessant chanting echoed throughout the halls, though it sounded distant.

As soon as they descended the stairs, they were forced to choose whether they wanted to turn right or left down the hallway. It was impossible to tell which way the chanting was coming from, even for Samuel.

Wednesday thought for a moment. “We came down a staircase on the north edge of the building. If we turn left, we will be turning north, and if this underground dungeon is mostly under the house, there will not be much up that way. Most of the dungeon will be south of us, to our right.” Wednesday decided, so the group turned right. 

The trio passed by some family crypts, and into another dining hall. This hall was clearly used for a special sort of occasion though, as human bones littered the room. The chanting seemed to be closer now, and the group passed through the dining hall and into another damp hallway.

As the group came upon an intersection in the halls, without warning, ghouls dressed in the remains tattered black robes clawed their way out of the earthy ground. Pugsley gasped as the hideous, pale corpses finishing clawing their way out of the earth, and turned as one to stare at the three students.

In the narrow hallways, the group could see the ghouls shuffling forward, lining up to attack them, but there was not room in the narrow halls for them all to attack at once. The one in the hallway to the left of Samuel screeched out an undead cry of hunger, and tried to take a bite out of him, but only got a mouthful of black armor instead.

“Watch and learn” Samuel smirked, ignoring the creature biting uselessly on his armor and bringing his katana out in a slash against the ghoul in the hall in front of him. He carved a heavy gash into the ghoul’s chest, but the undead thing did not fall so easily. It lashed out with its claws, and either do to luck or the force behind the blow, it’s claws were able to sink in between the plates of Samuel’s armor and carved into him. He let out a hiss of pain.

“Very nice. I think I will step in myself though.” Wednesday took a dagger and tried to stab the ghoul that was biting Samuel, but they were jostling around too much as they fought and she only got a glancing swipe in against the ghoul, which didn’t seem bothered it much either. “Maybe my other dagger then.” Wednesday muttered, drawing her silver dagger instead.

“Incoming!” Pugsley shouted, tossing another extra-strength flare over Samuel. Unfortunately, he couldn’t really see anything past Wednesday and Samuel, and the flare landed on the ground without setting anything on fire. The hall was well-lit now though at least.

Samuel kept ignoring the ghoul ineffectually trying to bite through his armor. Wrathful, he took another swipe at the ghoul in front of him. It stumbled, clearly battered, but didn’t fall yet. “Damn it, these things just won’t go down.” He grumbled hypocritically, as a vampire who also was difficult to put down.

The ghoul lashed out with its long claws again, but this time it had no luck penetrating Samuel’s armor. Samuel swiped and cut its outstretched limb off and then chopped of its head. The ghoul behind it ran up to attack, stumbling slightly over the corpse of its stinking predecessor.

The battle raged in the hallway, with the ghouls being largely unable to penetrate Samuel’s armor, and Samuel witling away at the ghouls. At one point, when Wednesday was trying to stab a ghoul off Samuel’s armor, her silver dagger actually slipped through a gap in the armor and sliced Samuel a little. She decided to stop helping unless she could fine some room to maneuver, but currently Samuel was taking up the whole of the intersection in the tiny narrow halls and had the ghouls all to himself. As for Pugsley, he had missed again with his second flare, but he eventually managed to strike the ghoul in front of Samuel with one, lighting in on fire and finishing it off.

The ghoul on Samuel’s left jumped him then, and the two fought in a confused tangle of claws and blades, flailing around until Samuel managed to shove the ghoul off him and carve it in two. The final ghoul, which had been stuck in the hall behind the one Samuel had been fighting, rushed forward, but after a brief exchange of blows Samuel had cut it apart as well.

“Like I said, watch and learn.” Samuel bragged while groaning in pain.

Wednesday sighed, disappointed. All that bloody violence, and she hadn’t been able to participate at all. She was starting to hate these too-narrow halls. She pushed Samuel forward, but down the hallway they didn’t find anyone chanting, just more living quarters.

“Should we loot the place?” Pugsley asked.

“For an idiot cult’s ancient garbage?” Wednesday asked. She shook her head. “No, it is time to move on. We have a lot to do today, and we cannot waste all day in this house, charming though it may be.”

The group backtracked slightly and picked another hall, finding a staircase that descended down to another level.

The group came out down in a reliquary, filled with various “relics”, just more of the cult’s useless trash really. The chanting was loud here, and the three could make out voices chanting “He is the Ancient. He is the Land."

“He is the land.” Wednesday muttered, eyes narrowed.

In front of them was a tunnel that descended into murky water. The tunnel was blocked off by a rusty iron portcullis which Samuel and Pugsley tried to lift. They failed to so much as budge it.

“We will have to try over there.” Wednesday gestured to another, drier tunnel. It led into an old prison area. The chanting was still loud here, but the room seemed to be a dead-end with nothing of interest in it.

“Remember the library. Look for secret doors, or anything that could be of use to us.” Wednesday instructed.

The three searched the room, and a minute later Samuel called out to the others. As Wednesday predicted, he had managed to find a secret door in one of the walls. The group pushed through into large, waterlogged chamber on the other side.

The chanting, which had been so loud before, stopped suddenly as the group entered the room. Wide stone pillars supported the ceiling, and a dark cave on the wall opposite of the group appeared to be heaped with refuse. Murky water covered most of the floor. A wooden wheel sat in front of the portcullis, it was obviously used to raise the gate and allow it to allow access to the tunnel. In the middle of the room, stone stairs rose up to form an octagonal dais, and rusty chains with shackles dangled from the ceiling directly above a stone altar mounted on the dais.

The group stepped up the dais, and saw the altar was carved with hideous depictions of grasping ghouls, and that it was stained with dry blood.

As the trio reached the top of the dais, the chanting suddenly resumed once more with violent intensity, as thirteen dark apparitions appeared on the ledges overlooking the room. Each one resembled a black-robed figure holding a torch, but the torch's fire was black and seems to draw light into it. Even Samuel, being a vampire, and the Addamses who could see well in the dark, saw only voids under there hoods rather than faces. "One must die!" they began chanting, over and over.

"One must die! One must die!"

Samuel drew his sword and held it out in a defensive posture, then turned to face off against the Addams siblings. “I guess this is the part where you kill me so you can get out of here.” He snarled.

“One must die! One must die!”

“You are being a fool Samuel. We will not just kill you because the pathetic spirits of cultists we do not even know asked us to.” Wednesday shook her head.

“I wish I could believe that, but how can I trust you? I know you were lying about why Rowan attacked you.” Samuel responded, sword leveled at Wednesday.

Wednesday exhaled very slightly, which was as close as the girl who preferred not to express emotions would come to sighing.

“Rowan’s mother was a seer, and she drew a drawing of myself and some man standing in the burning courtyard of Nevermore Academy. She believed that I would destroy the academy, and apparently instructed her son to stop me if he ever encountered me.” Wednesday admitted.

Samuel stared at her in surprise; Pugsley did not, she had already confessed all of this to him some time ago.

Samuel shook off his surprise soon enough. “Well, it’s too bad his seer of a mother failed to See she was sending her son to his death.”

“One must die! One must die!”

Wednesday nodded. “If we are done sharing, Pugsley, can you do something about this incessant chanting?”

“Sure thing. One must die, right?” Pugsley pulled out a slingshot and tried to shoot one of the spirits, but the stone passed through where its head would have been without any effect. “Bummer” Pugsley muttered.

“Let me try something.” Samuel sheathed his sword, walked over the altar, and smashed it up with his armored fists.

The chanting paused, and then changed, so maybe Samuel was on to something. “Lorghoth the Decayer, we awaken thee!" the spirits chanted.

Over in the cave, on the far wall, the heap of refuse stood up, revealing a massive, stinking monster. Though plant-like, this thing was not like creatures Pugsley had seen in Jericho. Lorghoth the Decayer was not made of solid wood, but was green and viny. It was also much larger than the creatures that attacked the town.

“The end comes! Death, be praised!" the spirits chanted.

“I do believe that in this case, discretion is the better part of valor.” Samuel suggested.

Wednesday raced across the room towards the wheel in front of the gate, Pugsley following after her, and the two began turning the wheel and raising the iron bars.

Even though vampires were somewhat stronger than normal humans, Samuel was still slower than them in his heavy armor, and the massive monster, moving faster than one would think it could, caught up with him and lashed out with its viny limbs. The first blow glanced off of the fleeing vampire, but the next smashed him into the ground, and Samuel let out a pained scream. It grasped him, dragging him into its own body, which seemed to be made up of the vines and leaves of some foul, noxious plant. Samuel thrashed and fought, but couldn’t quite escape the thick vines that surrounded him.

Wednesday and Pugsley had opened the gate and moved out into the hallway, but seeing Samuel’s plight, Pugsley chucked a flare at the creature while Wednesday took a shot with her newly acquired bow. The flare unfortunately didn’t manage to light the creature on fire, and the arrow sunk into it without bothering the thing much. It shambled after Wednesday and Pugsley out into the hall, where it filled the entire hallway, but it wasn’t able to catch up with the fleeing siblings.

Samuel let out another pained scream from inside the creature that was squeezing and smothering him, but with his katana and enhanced strength, he managed to carve and shove his way out. With a sudden burst of strength and speed born of desperation, he dashed away from the thing and began quickly gaining ground on Wednesday and Pugsley. 

The three raced up to the upper level of the dungeon, the monster still following them. Although it wasn’t especially slow moving, it was still not fast enough to catch the three fleeing students, and began gradually falling behind. As they passed the family crypt, skeletal hands and dark shadows reached out desperately to snag the three, but they darted through the horde of deathly limbs and made it to the staircase, bounding up it and bursting out into the secret room next to the library.  

They stepped back out into the library, noticing that the windows were now bricked up. Furthermore, the fireplace was billowing a noxious, toxic smoke. Fortunately, Samuel didn’t actually need to breathe, and the Addams family had a high-tolerance for poisons and toxins, regularly adding cyanide and hemlock to their own drinks.  

Even through the smoke, they saw the library was not in the same state as it was when they first arrived. The books were crumbling on now dusty shelves, the walls were rotted and brittle, the furniture was torn and moth-eaten.

The group made for the door of the room, but saw that the door had been replaced by slashing scythe blades that were swinging back and forth, making crossing through the doorway a somewhat daunting task.

“Oh hell no.” Samuel grumbled, and took off running toward one of the rotted walls rather than the doorway. He bounced embarrassingly off the wall, but with a roar, he ran back and smashed through it. Dozens of rats poured out of the crumbling wall, biting and scratching at Samuel, but his armor protected him from the swarm. Samuel ran for the stairs, Wednesday and Pugsley diving over the rats and running after him, paws scratching angrily at their heels.

The group ran, half-stumbling down the stairs, into the main hall where another fireplace was again billowing toxic fumes, and the windows here were bricked up as well.

“The entry was that way.” Samuel pointed, but before the group could move again the massive, viny tendrils of a plant monster burst through the floor nearby. The group darted away into the hunter’s lounge area, and Samuel tried to ram through the wall that separated that room from the front door. The wall withstood the first blow, and Lorghoth the Decayer pulled itself up through the floor, shuffling across the smoky room.

Samuel slammed into the wall again, and it gave way, unleashing more rats. The group sprinted through the biting, clawing masses and made straight for the front door. The door which had slammed shut behind them when they first arrived had also been replaced by swinging blades, and the harried group timed their jumps as best they could, and attempted to jump through the swinging blades one by one.

Wednesday, and surprisingly even Pugsley, managed to dive through the blades without being slashed. Samuel dived through the blades as well, but one cut him deeply through a gap in his armor. He tumbled out of the house and lay still.

Wednesday and Pugsley heard a door slam behind them as they dragged Samuel away from the doorway. Far from being a smoking ruin swarming with rats, the house sat dormant, suddenly looking just the same as it had when they first arrived.  

The two attempted to get some of Samuel’s armor off and observe his wounds. Vampires were difficult to kill, but the siblings weren’t sure Samuel was going to make it; under the armor it was impossible to tell if he was even still alive, or undead at least. Upon examination though, it appeared he was still undead rather than just plain-old dead, and he appeared to be stable, if unconscious. Wednesday glanced up at the house, and saw two children waving at her from a window on the third floor.

Wednesday and Pugsley waved back.

“I know we only just got here.” Wednesday smirked. “But I think I’m going to love it here in Barovia.”

Chapter Text

Samuel finally came back to consciousness several hours later. He sat up slowly with a groan.

“Where are we?” he asked, glancing around the ramshackle building he found himself in.

Pugsley hurried over to his side. “Samuel, I’m really glad you survived.” He beamed. He went on to explain “Wednesday found a house that wasn’t occupied by villagers, or anything else, and we dragged you in here so you could recover.”

Wednesday appeared out of nowhere, startling Samuel. He didn’t think it was fair that someone could pull a Batman on a vampire, but he rarely saw her coming.

“We’ve been here for hours, and no longer have time to explore the rest of the village today. We shall have to head back to the school.” Wednesday instructed, a little disappointed. She pointed to a pile of dust on the floor. “Unfortunately, that’s all that is left of the books I borrowed from the cults library. They aged rapidly when we left the mansion. But although they also aged, the spell scrolls and blank books you found in the chest are still intact.”

With no more time to waste, the group set off back for Nevermore. They traveled along the road for a time, passing by a group of ten rough-looking Barovians who seemed to be farmhands. The villagers seemed sullen and suspicious as they passed the odd group of foreign students; Samuel was fully armored, and Wednesday had a bow and quiver full of arrows on her back. Having removed the bow from the haunted house, it too had visibly aged, but was still functional. Aside from a few glares, the Barovians didn’t react to the trio’s presence; they may have been a little tense, but it didn’t seem to be the case that Barovia was as dangerous during the day as it was at night.

Eventually the group split off from the road and made a beeline back to the entrance of their secret tunnel. The sun was starting to go down by the time they got back to the Academy, but it was still a few hours shy of curfew. Wednesday left her bow, and Samuel left his armor, hidden away in the tunnel before they entered the school itself. After that Samuel and Pugsley headed back to their own dorm room while Wednesday made for Ophelia Hall.

As Wednesday entered the room, Enid sat up in her bed and gave Wednesday a suspicious glare. Thing, who had been leafing through her fashion magazines, seemed to twitch nervously before burying himself back in the magazine.

“So, what have you been getting up to, roomie?” Enid asked.

“None of your business.” Wednesday replied easily, heading over to her typewriter.

“Is it also none of my business that you didn’t come back to our room last night?” Enid fired back.

“What makes you say that?” Wednesday asked, glaring at Thing, who now fully hid behind his magazine.

Enid scoffed. “Leave Thing alone. He tried to cover for you, even made it look like someone was asleep in your bed. But I have better-than-human senses, remember? I woke up at some point in the middle of the night, and I could tell no one was actually in your bed. You may seem like you're nearly dead when you're asleep, but you’re still actually alive you know.”

Wednesday turned around and crossed her arms. “I still don’t see how this is any of your concern.”

Enid threw her hands up in the air; she was expressive like that. “Look, is this going to be a problem for me? I can cover for you if need be, but not if this is going to blow up in my face somehow. Are you sneaking out to see a boy? Or a girl?”

“Actually, I’ve been sneaking out and meeting with two boys.” Wednesday explained.

Enid gaped at her in blank shock. Wednesday could tell she seemed confused and decided she could afford to elaborate.

“I have, along with my brother Pugsley and his roommate, constructed a secret tunnel under the academy, which I now use to escape this dismal place and explore a new world which is forbidden to the rest of you.”

Enid shook her head. “You’re going to get in so much trouble if they catch you.”

Now it was Wednesday’s turn to scoff. “And what will they do? Give me detention? Kick me out of the Nevermore Hummers, which they forced me to join? Expel me?” Wednesday shook her head in contempt.

“Enid, when I first arrived here, I referred to this school as a new prison for myself, but even I did not know how correct my assessment was. For three weeks we’ve been here in perpetual lockdown, because apparently it isn’t safe out there in the world. Not safe for vampires, werewolves, and other assorted outcasts; all creatures who can take care of themselves.”

Enid paused, thoughtfully. She was dreadfully bored, and she couldn’t stand being cooped up like this. Not when she didn’t have access to the internet.

“What’s it like out there?” she asked curiously.

“So far, I like everything I’ve seen of this world.” Wednesday said honestly, and Enid looked reassured. Thing began signing to Wednesday.

“Yes Thing, next time you will be joining us.”

Enid bit her lip, trying to find the courage to ask Wednesday if she could come along too. She wanted to think that Wednesday was her friend, but the two didn’t know each other very well yet, and Enid wasn’t sure if it was ok to try and invite herself along.

It turned out to be a moot point anyway.

Saturday night was not exactly a lively night in the town of Jericho. The population was struggling to adapt to their changing circumstances, and everyone was under immense strain. The most activity the town saw at night was a few solemn house parties, friends coming together to drink their worries away for one night out of the week.

Those who had stayed up late drinking around fireplaces were the first ones who heard the screams.

Armed men raced down the pitch-black streets of Jericho, frightened and alarmed. They were unable to find the source of the crying and screaming before the screams died out, but a couple men saw a large monster with bulging, bloodshot eyes burst out a house and disappear into the darkness.

As horrible as the creature was, what they found in the house was far worse. The house was positively dripping with blood and gore. “The Beast”, as the residents of Jericho had taken to calling their mysterious serial killer, had slaughtered an entire family.

This time, the Beast had gone too far, some declared. It had to be stopped.

Sunday morning, Pugsley took Wednesday aside in the halls, clearly excited.

“Let me see your daggers.” He asked, and Wednesday produced both her steel dagger and her silver dagger.

Pugsley took them, and later caught up with her after lunch, returning her daggers.

“I’ve made bit of an adjustment to them.” He said, proud. “Take these too” he said, giving her a pair of black gloves with a strange metal mesh overlaying them.

Pugsley had her put on the gloves, then throw her daggers into the wooden door of one of the classrooms.

“Now, snap your fingers” he instructed. When she did, the gloves seemed to hum with energy, and the daggers pulled back from the door, flying into Wednesday’s waiting hands hilt-first.

“Uncle Fester has taught you well.” Wednesday offered rare praise. “I shall have to get you something nice sometime soon.”

“You don’t owe me anything” Pugsley waved her off. “Consider this a belated thank you gift for the piranhas in the pool incident.”

“Go fetch Samuel. Now that Enid knows about the tunnel, I don’t have to be back by any particular hour. It’s still too late to go back to town, but we can explore the forests for a while today.” Pugsley left to get Samuel, and Wednesday headed back to her own room, remembering her promise to bring Thing next time she went out.

Wednesday packed away everything she would need to venture outside of Nevermore. She knew that once she had the lay of the land, she would not return to this school, but for now she intended to return at least once more, later this night.

“Come Thing. It’s time to stretch your digits.” She ordered, and Thing scurried over and tucked himself away in her pack.

Enid was (badly) pretending to look busy over on her half of the room, but kept glancing over at Wednesday.

“Hey Wednesday” she began, but then paused.

“Yes?” Wednesday asked impatiently.

“I was wondering…” her voice became hushed “can I come with?” she asked, eyes wide like she couldn’t believe what she was asking.

Wednesday was, if not impressed, then at least not disapproving. Maybe there was hope for this werewolf yet. She considered Enid’s request for a moment.

“I don’t see why not. We’re exploring the woods today. Just don’t slow me down.” She decided.

“Great!” Enid beamed. “It just, it really sucks being stuck inside all the time. I’m a werewolf, dammit. They can’t just lock me up in here!”

At about the time Enid finished speaking, the hair on the back of Wednesday’s neck raised up, and she saw Enid start to glance around as well, unnerved. Wednesday trusted her intuition, and dogs had good senses, so something was obviously wrong.

“What’s going on?” Wednesday heard Enid mutter to herself, as she strode to the balcony window and opened it up, stepping outside.

The dark sky of Barovia was even darker than normal, and the clouds seemed to slowly writhe with unnatural life. The land itself was reacting to the presence of some great darkness, some approaching danger. The darkness was so great that the day was only just a little brighter than nighttime.

Enid followed her out onto the balcony. “Look!” Enid cried, distracting Wednesday from her examination of the sky.

Wednesday looked out to where Enid was pointing, at the road leading up to Nevermore. A large crowd was coming up the road, carrying torches to light their path. As they came closer, Wednesday could vaguely make out the forms of weapons in their hands, and could hear chanting that sounded like “kill the beast!” She also got an estimate of the mob’s size; put simply, it was large.

“An angry mob” Wednesday muttered. “How nostalgic.”

“They’re going to kill us!” Enid gasped.

Wednesday opened up her pack, giving Thing a glance at the approaching mob. “Thing, I believe it’s time to leave. Come Enid.”  On her way out, she grabbed the blank books she had taken from the haunted house, because she couldn’t carry her typewriter but wanted to continue writing. She paused, hesitating for a moment, and then snagged the crystal ball that allowed her to contact her parents. She took one last glance at their room, and then departed.

Enid stared in shock for a moment, before running after Wednesday.

“What are we going to do?” she pleaded, eyes watery.

“An Addams never hides when danger is afoot. Instead, we escape underground.” Wednesday informed her. She walked away from the room, and Enid trailed after her like a lost puppy.

“In other words, we’re going to flee using the secret tunnel.” Wednesday clarified.

“We have… we have to tell everyone” Enid suggested, still panicking.

“The mob will catch up to a long line at the tunnel. Besides, it’s too late.” Wednesday pointed out, as shots echoed in the near distance and the student body descended into a panic.

“Hurry” Wednesday ordered, as the two raced down the stairs and through the halls, Wednesday shoving past other fleeing students. She did briefly stop in the fencing room to grab a sabre, which she sheathed at her side before running off again.

They reached the ground floor, and came to an entryway to the courtyard. “We’ll have to cross the courtyard to reach the tunnel” Wednesday warned Enid. Enid nodded fearfully.

The two ran into the courtyard, which had descended into madness. From out in the courtyard, they could see that a few fires had broken out in different parts of the school as the mob tried to set fire to the building with their torches. Enid screamed as a shot echoed out nearby, and two waded into the chaos of the courtyard.

Many students were fleeing through the yard, but some of the invaders had made it here as well. A couple had guns, but one was swiftly bitten by a vampire who hadn’t appreciated being shot. Another turned and opened fire on his fellows, enchanted by a siren. Though most of the students were panicked, a few clearly had the guts and the presence of mind to fight back. But more invaders were swarming into the courtyard, and things were looking grim.

Enid and Wednesday were mostly through the courtyard when a man confronted Wednesday with a pitchfork. But rather than being a standard pitchfork, this one had points that ended in wooden stakes.

“Die vampire!” The man screamed at Wednesday, and she dodged backwards before he could stake her through the heart.

Wednesday examined him carefully. Pitchfork, beer belly, baseball cap. Yes, this was him. This was the man that she had seen herself standing across from in Rowan’s mother’s drawing. And here she was, standing across from him in a burning courtyard. Despite what Rowan had believed though, she was not the cause of this destruction.  

Wednesday drew the sabre and darted forward, but the man warded her off with his pitchfork, which had a slightly longer reach than her sword. He thrust forward at her, but was too slow, and she dodged backwards again, barely avoiding getting punctured this time.

Thing sprung out of Wednesday’s pack, flying towards the man as a fist and punching him in the eye. Thing scurried back behind Wednesday as the man stumbled but recovered. Enid stared in shock and fear at the violence that had broken out in front of her.

Wednesday took another stab that was warded off before the man dove for her. This time he overdid it though, and faceplanted onto the ground.

“Come on Enid” Wednesday called, running into the hallway she had been heading for and back into the halls of the academy. She wanted to get out the courtyard before someone took a shot at her.

Thing sprung up and slapped Enid, and the girl snapped out of it and belatedly darted after Wednesday. The man on the ground tried to grab her, but Thing gave him another punch, this time breaking his nose, before scurrying after Enid and Wednesday.

As Wednesday and Enid ran down the halls, Enid called out “Yoko, we have to find Yoko! And Ajax, and…”

Wednesday interrupted her “We’re not finding anyone in this chaos, except by chance. Keep moving” Wednesday was almost yelling, not out of emotion but because it was hard to communicate with Enid over this chaos.

More attackers stormed out a nearby hallway and ran towards Wednesday; she and Enid kept running, the men following after them. A shot echoed out, and a bullet struck a wall, but didn’t hit particularly close to Wednesday or Enid.

“Give me that you idiot. You couldn’t hit the broadside of a barn.” A voice snarled.

“Sorry Otis” said the idiot, giving Otis the gun. The girls rounded the next corner just as Otis got a shot off, this shot only missing them by a hairsbreadth. They continued dashing down the halls and lost the men through the twisting hallways of the academy.

Although the two stood little chance of finding anyone except by chance, Wednesday chanced into Eugene, her fellow Nevermore Hummer, who was fleeing panicked through the halls alongside many other students. Wednesday grabbed Eugene, pulling him against the tide of the crowd and pushing through the other fleeing students. Eugene had immediately reminded Wednesday of her brother Pugsley, which essentially meant that Eugene was someone who needed to be protected.

The group broke free of the crowd and continued on, nearing the staircase that Wednesday knew would lead down to the lowest levels of the academy where the tunnel was found. Just then, two more invaders ran out in front of them from another hallway, both men carrying baseball bats. One of the baseball bats was visibly bloody. Wednesday pushed Eugene behind her and drew her steel dagger.

This time Wednesday decided not to try and close in on two enemies, and instead threw a dagger at one. It landed into his chest, and she snapped her fingers, bringing the dagger back into her hand as the man fell to the floor, dead.

His companion ran forward and took a vicious swing at Wednesday’s head, which she barely managed to dodge away from.

Wednesday was surprised when Enid suddenly screamed in rage, pouncing forward with her colorfully painted wolf claws extended out, slashing into the man. He stumbled back bleeding; then Thing grabbed his ankle and pulled, causing him to fall back and hit his head against the hard floor, knocking him unconscious.

“Keep moving” Wednesday reminded the panting girl beside her. For the first time, Wednesday was actually impressed with Enid.

“What’s happening Wednesday?” Eugene asked in shock.

“Nevermore is about to fall.” Wednesday answered him grimly.

Wednesday, Enid, Eugene, and Thing darted down the hall, pushing through another crowd of students and trying not to be trampled. Wednesday thought she heard someone calling out to her. Either that, or someone was excitedly making plans for next Wednesday. Glancing back, she wasn’t sure who in the crowd had called out to her.

The four finally made it to the staircase down to the lower levels, and ran down the stairs in a hurry. Sprinting through the hall where Rowan had met his end, the four came up upon the tunnel, and found Pugsley and Samuel were just ahead of them. Both of them had their packs just like Wednesday did.

Pugsley sighed in relief. “I’m glad to see you made it, sis.”

“How dare you doubt me.” Wednesday glared, fighting hard to keep her own relief at seeing Pugsley off her face.

“Who are these people?” Samuel asked as the group moved into the tunnel, staring at the newcomers as though not sure what to make of them. Wednesday glanced back at her colorful roommate with blood on her nails and… Eugene. Wednesday supposed Samuel’s surprise was justified.

“Introductions later. Survival now.” Wednesday ordered.

“Wednesday, Wednesday wait up!” called out a voice behind her. It was Xavier, and he was staring in surprise at the tunnel.

Wednesday, who had just entered the tunnel herself, glanced back. “The tunnel leads out of the school and into the woods. You can come along or stay and die fighting the mob. I know both choices are tempting, but personally I have decided to flee so I can live to explore Barovia.” Then she continued on.

“Xavier, wait!” cried Bianca, huffing loudly. She had been holding her necklace which restrained her siren powers, preparing to remove it so she could blast Xavier with the full effect of her siren song, because she thought he was going to get himself killed chasing after Wednesday. When she saw the tunnel though, she gaped briefly in confusion before huffing and then following the group into the tunnel.

The group made it to the end of the tunnel, and Wednesday grabbed the bow and arrows she left there, while Samuel began donning his armor. Enid was staring at her bloody claws in shock, and Thing left Wednesday to pat Enid on the shoulder.

“You have your bow.” Wednesday observed, seeing that Xavier also had a bow and arrows.

“I was in archery club when the mob was making their approach. Why am I not surprised the normies would attack a school?” Xavier scoffed angrily.

“Where the hell did that tunnel come from?” Bianca demanded.

“I built it along with Pugsley and Samuel. My brother Pugsley was the chief architect of the tunnel.” Wednesday glanced at Bianca. “Not all of us are fish content to swim in a bowl.”

“I have to go get my bees.” Eugene spoke up. The tunnel had emerged in the woods outside the academy grounds, and it wasn’t far from the beehives.

“How?” Wednesday asked, wondering how he intended to transport them.

“I have Apikinesis, I can control them.” Eugene explained.

Then why do you need the beekeeping suit, Wednesday refrained from asking.

“Let’s go, Pugsley, watch over the others while Samuel is getting into his armor.”

“Wait, you’re going to get bees?” Xavier asked in disbelief.

“It’s hive code.” Wednesday answered for Eugene, then took off after him towards the hives.

Luckily, the beehives and the Hummer’s little hut were not considered a priority target by the mob, and Eugene and Wednesday made it to the hives and back again, bees in tow, just as Samuel was finishing putting on his samurai armor. Enid, Xavier, and Bianca were staring at Samuel in surprise. Even for outcasts, samurai armor was a little unusual, and his black armor was particularly fierce looking.

“What do we do now?” Enid asked, in a tone of voice that conveyed she would likely be traumatized for life.

“We’ll have to make for the town of Barovia.” Wednesday stated simply. “The three of us know the way.” She added, and set off into the forest.

As Wednesday had before, the group skirted around the Academy in the woods, crossed the river, and made their way through the woods in the direction of the Old Slavich Road. The group was largely silent as they went, processing everything that had just transpired.

“Who goes there?” A deep voice called out to the group while they were still traveling through the woods, just over an hour after they set out. Everyone froze.

From out of the misty woods, emerged a man in a tattered cloak. He had thick black hair and was carrying a spear, with animal pelts draped over his broad shoulders.

“Wednesday Addams” Wednesday replied, since giving her name was an honest answer that told the man nothing of importance. “And who are you?”

“A trapper from Barovia. What are a bunch of kids like you doing out in the woods? Don’t you know it’s not safe out here?”

“We can take care of ourselves. You seem to be doing fine out here all alone.” Wednesday retorted, while glancing into the woods suspiciously. Through the fog she couldn’t see anyone else.

“I know these woods like the back of my hand. But you kids shouldn’t be out here. Monsters roam these woods. Lycanthropes, chiefly werewolves, like to stalk their prey out here.” The man warned them.

Bianca spoke up, giving the man a skeptical look. “The full moon has passed. I would say we’re in little danger from werewolves.”

The trapper gave her a critical look for a moment. “If you don’t know, I should warn you that some werewolves who are especially in touch with their inner-wolves can turn even without the aid of the moon. Werewolves like that are especially common in Barovia. I don’t suppose you're carrying any silver weapons on you?”  he asked.

Wednesday briefly unsheathed her silver dagger.

“Smart kid. Do you folk need any help finding town?” he asked.

Though the man seemed to be trying to hide it, Wednesday noticed a certain predatory look in his expression, and she saw him shoot a couple curious glances at Enid in particular.

“Thank you, but no, I know the way. And we will be on our way now.” Wednesday informed him coldly, and no one in the group objected.

“Best hurry then before the sun sets.” The man said, stepping back and disappearing into the mists.

The group made it into town without further incident. Along the way, Wednesday had them grab some firewood, and they set up for the night in the abandoned house that she had stayed in before when Samuel was resting after his injuries. They started a fire in the fireplace to keep the group warm as they camped out for the night.

While the group was huddled around the fire, Wednesday, Pugsley, and Samuel went off to talk alone, far enough away that even Enid couldn’t hear them.

“Ok” Samuel started “I know your parents live nearby in a manor  that some rich lord gave them, so why are we staying in this dump again instead of with them.”

Pugsley shrugged. “I was wondering the same thing, coming here was Wednesday’s idea.”

Wednesday frowned. “My parents tried to lock me away in Nevermore. I told them I would escape, and now I have. I have no intention of submitting myself to their authority once again. Not when there is a whole new world to explore.”

Samuel nodded, accepting that logic.

“Sure” Pugsley agreed “But we have to let them know we’re alright somehow. When they hear about the destruction of the school, they’ll be frantic. I’ll explore with you for now, but only if we let them know we’re alright.”

Wednesday stared Pugsley down, but for once he wasn’t backing down. She reached into her pack and handed him the crystal ball. “Fine, go ahead. But don’t let them know where we are. If I come back to them, it will be on my own terms.”

Pugsley nodded, and went upstairs to contact their parents while Wednesday and Samuel rejoined the group around the fire. Neither Wednesday nor Samuel needed the warmth, so the closest spots around the fire were occupied by the other four, and Eugene’s bees.

Eugene had been forced to utilize his own body as a temporary hive, which wasn’t an issue for him as he could control the bees, but he was getting some weird and grossed out looks from some of the others.

Bianca glanced over at Wednesday. “You’ve obviously been here before. I suppose you have a plan?” she asked.

“I’ve been here once, but the plan is obvious. Pugsley and myself will acquire funds and lodging, and explore this world. Samuel I assume is joining us, Eugene, you may stay with us well.”

Wednesday paused, giving a thoughtful look at Enid. She had been unusually quiet, and was giving Wednesday wide, puppy dog eyes, and seemingly not as an act. Wednesday recalled that she had managed to claw one of the attackers at the school. “Enid, you may join us as well. Bianca, Xavier, do whatever you want.”

Xavier gave her an emotional look that Wednesday couldn’t decipher, and spoke up “I think we should all stick together. It gives us the best chance at survival.”

“Xavier” Bianca started, but trailed off, not sure if she should disagree. She didn’t like or trust Wednesday, but didn’t think it was smart to go off alone.

“You can join us as long as you pull your weight.” Wednesday offered, only because she knew she could always drive them off later if they turned out to be a burden.

Wednesday left Thing out of her pack again, and he ran over to Enid who hugged him gratefully. Bianca, Xavier, and Eugene were less comforted and reacted with shocked surprise.

“What the hell is that thing?” Bianca demanded.

“That is Thing. He’s a hand. I know you’ve seen hands before Bianca, you fence with them.” Wednesday deadpanned.

“Ok, so you have a dismembered hand running around with you. Why not?” Xavier muttered, looking as unnerved as Bianca. Wednesday was already regretting allowing them to join her.

Pugsley came down the stairs and gave Wednesday a nod. The group decided to sleep in shifts to keep the fire going and to keep an eye out for danger, and settled down for the night.

Wednesday herself took the second shift so that they could spend some time in thought during her favorite time of day: the middle of the night. Although she hadn’t been a fan of Nevermore, she still found herself somewhat perturbed at the destruction of a school for outcasts. Nevertheless, she was pleased to be set loose on this new world, and looking forward to discovering what tomorrow would bring.

“Wednesday” a voice whispered in the darkness. Wednesday’s head slowly craned backwards, and she saw Enid’s blue eyes staring at her.

“Yes Enid?”

Enid gulped, but scooted over to Wednesday. “They really tried to kill us. I can’t believe they actually attacked a school. Our school.” Her eyes glittered again with tears.

“The mob was filled with idiots who destroyed their own best chance at someday returning home. It’s not like they are able to perform the magic needed to traverse different dimensions.”

Enid cried quietly. “I don’t know if Yoko is ok. Or Ajax.”

Wednesday wasn’t sure what she could say to that. After a few moments, she settled on “I won’t offer you false hope. Death comes for all of us eventually, but I can understand how the uncertainty of not knowing whether the people you know are dead or alive must be frustrating.”

“You still suck at cheering people up.” Enid sniffled.

“Whenever Pugsley needed cheering up, I would take him outside during a storm and have him hold a lightning rod.” Wednesday reminisced. 

Enid stared at her, tears stopping as her face contorted into disbelief. “Um, I don’t think that will work for me.”

“Of course not” Wednesday agreed. “I could improvise a lightning rod, but it’s not storming.”

Chapter Text

It was a cold and miserable group of outcasts that woke up in the ruins of an abandoned Barovian home the next morning. They say misery loves company; Wednesday didn’t, but she found the group to be at least tolerable in their current joyless state. Thing meanwhile was back in Wednesday’s pack, both because she figured the villagers might react poorly to him (it was too soon to deal with another angry mob) and also because she preferred to keep him secret so she could surprise her enemies with him or employ him as a spy.

“So, princess, what’s our first move?”  Bianca asked Wednesday sarcastically.

An unoriginal insult, nevertheless a dagger appeared suddenly in the wall next to Bianca’s head.

“Consider that your first and last warning.” Wednesday promised darkly.

Bianca scowled. Wednesday snapped her fingers, and the dagger flew again past a startled Bianca and into Wednesday’s waiting hand, thanks to the gloves Pugsley had made for her.  

“You said we were going to look for… money?” Eugene asked nervously, trying to break the tense atmosphere and prevent any more knives from being thrown.

“I have no intention of working a nine to five job in this backwater town for money. But we can do things that your standard villager cannot. There must be opportunity to be found someone here.” Wednesday said. The other option was to show up hat in hand at her parent’s doorstep. Wednesday would rather drown in a public pool.

“Well then, we might as well head out. Explore the village, see what’s going on around here.” Samuel spoke up. When the group looked over at him, they saw he was finishing putting on his armor.

The group packed up and headed out for the day, and set off down the village streets. The seven outcasts were cold, hungry, and bedraggled, and in that sense they actually fit in well with the villagers. Even during the morning, Barovia was a hopeless place, quiet and lifeless. People scurried about nervously, hiding away in their homes unless they had good reason to be out and about. The villagers averted their eyes from the outcasts and steered well clear of them. Wednesday was perfectly used to that sort of treatment.

Wednesday and the others passed by many houses but nothing of interest until they reached a church. Although the graveyard behind it was nice, none of them had any interest in walking into a church right now, so they moved on. They passed little else of note, including a lumberyard at the edge of town, before making their way into the center of town where they spotted a bar on one side of the street, and a shop on the other.

“Hey, I have an idea, let’s head into the bar!” Eugene suggested.

“Fancy a drink kid?” Bianca asked, smirking a little. Wednesday palmed her dagger.

“Bars are a great place to uncover gossip and rumors, we might overhear something of use there.” Eugene explained.

Xavier and Bianca glanced at each other. Xavier spoke up, more kindly than Bianca had. “I’ve been out to a few bars, and that hasn’t been my experience. People just go out to have a good time.”

“In our world, sure.” Eugene argued. “But this world is different. People don’t have the internet here…” Enid whimpered quietly at that.  “they have to meet up in person to talk, and bars are the social center of a town like this.”

“Even if that’s true, how many people do you think will be day drinking at this hour?” Bianca argued.

The group looked around at the sullen villagers shuffling down the streets. A few of them were sobbing silently into their hands, others staring blankly at nothing as they walked by.

“I think we can expect quite a few people to be day drinking actually.” Samuel hazarded.

“Good idea Eugene.” Wednesday decided, and the group headed into the bar. The sign hanging askew above the door read “The Blood of the Vine Tavern.” Wednesday saw two ravens watching the group from atop the roof; one cawed at the other and flew off.

As predicted, many of the miserable denizens of this town had congregated inside the tavern, generally having a beer or two (or three) with their breakfast as they attempted to fortify themselves before suffering through another day in Barovia. As the group entered, many unfriendly eyes turned to stare at the intruders. No one spoke up against the outcasts though, they only stared at them creepily. Wednesday got the impression they didn’t like her much, which filled her with a secret little thrill. She quietly preferred it when people actively disliked her. She took it as a sign that she must be doing something right.

The outcasts took a seat at an unoccupied table, and a waitress came to take their order. She, and the other employees behind the bar, were unlike the rest of the townsfolk here. They appeared to members of an altogether different ethnic group, and wore bright robes and sashes, very different from the drab grey rags of the villagers. Unlike the villagers, the staff seemed somewhat friendly.

Everyone ordered breakfast, which Wednesday paid for upfront with a silver doubloon she had been carrying. Both she and Pugsley had small stashes of silver and golden doubloons in their packs.

“Ok Eugene, this was your idea, what now?” Enid asked.

Eugene blushed and choked on his scrambled eggs. Back at Nevermore, it had once come up in conservation that Enid was Wednesday’s roommate, and Eugene had revealed to Wednesday that he had a crush on Enid. Wednesday had warned Eugene that Enid was highly unlikely to be interested in a boy two years her junior, but Eugene had not been deterred.

Wednesday thumped the choking boy’s back, hard. The eggs came out, splattering Enid and several others, while Eugene was knocked face first into his plate of eggs. His glasses survived but needed cleaning, while a grossed out Enid desperately cleaned off her face.

“Um” Eugene eventually managed, humiliated “Usually how it goes, is one examines the room, and finds a mysterious hooded stranger sitting in a corner. And they should have work for us.”

“Oh my god of the deep” Bianca facepalmed. “Is this all based off some video game shit?”

“You mean like that mysterious hooded stranger?” Pugsley asked, pointing at just such a man sitting in a dim corner of the bar. Because pointing was rude, and the Addams family was above such base rudeness, Wednesday took a knife and chopped it at his pointing finger, but Pugsley withdrew his hand just in the nick of time.

“He doesn’t seem to be in a hurry. Let’s finish our food, then go speak with him.” Xavier suggested.

The waitress came by a few minutes later. “Would anyone like anything for dessert?” she asked.

“Thank you, no.” Wednesday replied.

“Wait a minute” Eugene spoke up quickly “What do you have?”

Wednesday gave him a glare; Eugene wasn’t the one paying.

“We have cake and pie, but if you’re new in town, you must try our famous Barovian-crème donuts.”

Eugene did order the donuts, while Wednesday, Bianca, and Samuel left the others to their dessert and went and joined the stranger in the corner.

“Greeting travelers, please, join me. Can I get you anything?” The man offered. His accent sounded eastern European, and from what Wednesday had heard that seemed to be the standard accent in these lands. He appeared to be in his early to mid-twenties, and was a tall man with long blond hair and a serious face.

Bianca spoke up. “Actually, and I know we have no rational reason for assuming you need anything from us, but we were wondering if you needed any help yourself?” She tried reluctantly.

The man rubbed a hand on his chin, and glanced at Samuel. “You all seem young, but you at least are well-armored, and you appear to be well-armed.” He turned to Wednesday, who had a bow on her back and a sword at her side, and other weapons the man couldn’t see.

“Perhaps you can help me.” He mused, seemingly desperate.

“Oh good” Bianca was relieved she hadn’t embarrassed herself. Maybe there was something to Eugene’s video game logic. “What’s the problem?”

The man snarled. “The problem, as you say, is the devil Strahd, who lords over this town. My father, the Burgomaster, governs this town, but must obey the devil Strahd in all things. As such, he cannot protect the people from Strahd or his minions, who prey upon us regularly.”

The man paused to take a gulp of his ale before continuing.

“But more specifically, the problem is Strahd’s interest in my sister. I am Ismark Kolyanovich, son of the Burgomaster of Barovia, and my half-sister Ireena has recently become the object of that devil’s latest obsession. She isn’t safe here in Barovia, but it’s also dangerous to move her out of the town where Strahd could easily attempt to seize her. I need a capable group to escort her out of town and to the better defended town of Vallaki, which I hope to be free of the corrupting influence of Stahd.”

Wednesday thought about that for a moment. Strahd had been good to her family, which made Wednesday reluctant to turn around and spit in his face. When Ismark had started speaking negatively about Strahd, she had been ready to turn down whatever offer he would make. But on the other hand, if Strahd really was a sexual predator rather than just a regular blood-sucking predator, then she had no qualms about stuffing his skull full of garlic and holy water. She would have to speak to this Ireena and determine if she was the victim of an unwanted suitor, or else the victim of an overprotective brother.

“We were not planning on leaving town so soon after arriving” Wednesday spoke carefully and deliberately. “But we could perhaps take her with us on our way out of town, for the right price.”

“Of course” Ismark nodded. “I wouldn’t expect anyone to cross the devil for a thank you and a pat on the back.”

“Where can we find you and Ireena?” Samuel asked.

The man gave them directions to the Burgomaster’s house, and they decided to stop by the day they were leaving town.

After the man left, Bianca turned to Wednesday. “That’s all well and good, but if we’re going to stay in town much longer we’ll be relying on you to pay for food and lodging.”

“I can manage that for a while, but in some way, shape, or form, you will be paying me back.” Wednesday gave Bianca a piercing stare.

“Right, that’s not creepy or ominous at all.” Bianca muttered under her breath as the three returned to their table, just in time to find Eugene choking again. Wednesday barely resisted the urge to sigh; even Pugsley wasn’t this helpless.

Eugene pulled a piece of paper out of his mouth, apparently it had been what he was choking on. “There was a piece of paper in my donut!” he exclaimed. Pugsley and Xavier tried to shush him as some of the other patrons glanced over.

“Yes Eugene, we all saw that.” Wednesday said. She snatched the drool-covered paper out of his hand, and Bianca wrinkled her nose at the sight.

“What does it say?” Xavier asked curiously.

“Not now. Later.” Wednesday replied. As the outcasts finished eating, she went to the counter and paid for rooms for the group for the next couple of days, and gestured for the group to join her upstairs.

“Why are we heading to our rooms now? Do you really trust this place enough to leave our packs here if we’re going to be heading out today?” Samuel asked.

Wednesday said nothing, and the group filed into a room on the second floor, where one of the owners of the bar was waiting for them.

“We found your message.” Wednesday said simply, as the rest of the group stared in surprise.

“I hoped you would. This conversation is best held away from prying ears.” Said the woman seated on the opposite end of the room.

“My name is Mirabel, and I am one of the owners of this fine establishment, and as you can see, I am one of the Vistani people.”

“We haven’t met any Vastani before coming here.” Samuel mentioned. “I’m Samuel, and this is Pugsley, Wednesday, Eugene, Bianca, Enid, and, um…” he glanced at Xavier.

“Xavier” Xavier introduced himself with a sour look at Samuel.

“You’ve not been traveling together for long I suppose. No matter, the important thing is that you aren’t Barovians, and I find myself in need of outside assistance.”

“What’s your problem with the Barovians? I’ve found them to be perfectly unpleasant.” Wednesday spoke up.

Mirabel sneered. “Oh, they are that. There’s been a murder in town. Not an unusual occurrence, but the feeble-minded fools have decided that one of the Vistani are responsible, and the boy they’ve accused has been driven out of town. Seeing as the townsfolk won’t listen to reason, I need someone to clear the boy’s name, most likely by uncovering the real culprit. I am of course offering to pay for your assistance.”

“Is that so?” Samuel asked. “There doesn’t seem to be many Vistani in town, so I suppose there are more of you elsewhere. Is there some reason the boy can’t rejoin the rest of your people, wherever they reside?”

Mirabel gave a slight shrug. “There’s no reason why he couldn’t do so, but the little idiot is in love with some peasant girl in this blighted town. He refuses to leave. Instead, he hides out in the woods, where many dangers lurk, especially as of late.”

“That’s so sweet.” Enid smiled weakly. No one else seemed to agree.

“That’s so stupid. Youth is wasted on the young.” Mirabel roundly insulted the Vistani boy and the entire group of youths sitting in front of her. Wednesday could appreciate that. If you were going to insult someone, it was good if you could catch as many people as possible in the crossfire.

“Why are the townsfolk blaming the boy? There must be some reason besides the fact that he is Vistani, or you all would be under suspicion as well.” Wednesday pointed out.

“The dead man, Darzin Tyminski, was a frequent guest here at our inn. Not a pleasant man, he and the boy, Iza, had gotten into a fight not long ago. A simple bar fight, but the villagers didn’t forget. Then, the night Darzin was shoved off the second-floor balcony of his house, Iza was seen sneaking away. He was just sneaking around to see that silly girl of course, but the Barovians have decided he must be the murderer.”  Mirabel explained.

Wednesday thought this was much more up her alley than escorting some helpless damsel out of town. It may even give her some ideas for the book she was writing.

“We’ll take care of this. Did Iza see anything that night?” Wednesday asked.

“Maybe, I haven’t been able to speak with him in person since then. Maybe you can get something out of him. I’ll bring you a map of the town, and mark the location of his hideout in the woods outside of town on the map for you, if you’d like to speak with him.”

“That would be helpful. Also mark down the location of Darzin Tyminski’s home.” Wednesday requested.

“Do you have any idea who might have done this?” Xavier asked.

“If I did, I wouldn’t be hiring you lot. I rarely pay much attention to the Barovians, they’re such an uninteresting people. I suppose my inattention has come back to haunt me.”  Mirabel stood up and made to leave, but Pugsley stopped her with another question.

“One more thing, why do you say the woods are even more dangerous now than usual?” Pugsley asked.

“There’s some beast out there that's been eating people, mostly working lumberjacks. A foreign beast, not native to these lands.” She said, staring hard at the group. Wednesday wondered if it could be the same beast that had attacked the residents of Jericho.

Mirabel paused at the door. “That young man you were speaking to earlier, Ismark the Lesser. He’ll never live up to his father’s reputation. He may be the Burgomasters’s son, but I fear he’s become something of a troublemaker. I would be careful about associating yourself to closely with him, or his family.” Mirabel gave them a piercing stare, and swept out of the room.

“Where should we go first Wednesday?” Pugsley asked as the group made their way out onto the streets.

“It would be better if we didn’t let the townsfolk see us entering the victim’s house, so we’ll have to come back at night. And it would be a poor idea to seek Iza out at night, that is a task better accomplished during the day. We’ll track down Iza and press him for details.” Wednesday decided.

The outcasts followed Wednesday out of town as she led them through the woods with the map Mirabel had given her. After a little, they came upon a steep hillside with a cavernous alcove along the side of the hill. Inside the cliff, they saw a boy of about seventeen cooking a rabbit over a fire. He startled when he saw them, drew a dagger, and tried to dart out of the enclosure.

The group of seven fanned out, blocking his escape. “Iza, we’re just here to talk.” Bianca held a hand up calmingly.

“Like I’ll believe that. Get out of my way, or else I’ll cut you!” Iza waved his knife around erratically.

“Maribel sent us.” Wednesday informed him, trying to cut through the bullshit as quickly as possible.

Iza lowered his knife. “Maribel sent you?” he asked with a mixture of suspicion and hope in his voice.

Wednesday threw a dagger into his right arm, and he dropped the knife he had been holding, bleeding heavily where Wednesday’s knife had sunk into his arm.

“Wednesday, what the hell!?!” Bianca screamed, as most of the others let out screams and gasps themselves.

“Just a little lesson for Iza.” Wednesday said, snapping her fingers and summoning her dagger out of his arm. “Never let your guard down just because somebody knows the name of someone you know.”

“Help me” Iza gasped on the ground, clutching his bleeding arm.

“I know first aid!” Eugene said, and Pugsley pulled out some bandage wrappings and disinfectant from his pack and turned them over to Eugene, who went to patch the boy up. Enid ran over too and began fretting over the boy, though she was too shaken to be of much use.

“You threw a knife at him because he let his guard down around us?” Xavier asked incredulously.

“Like I said, it was a lesson. You know what they say, you learn something new every day. At least, when you have the right teacher.” Wednesday smirked almost imperceptibly.

“And you’re the right teacher?” Xavier pressed skeptically.

“The right teacher is pain.” Wednesday said, walking over to Iza who flinched away from her.

“Keep that crazy girl away from me!” he clutched Eugene, who was still bandaging him up.

“I’ll leave when you tell me what I want to know. You were sneaking around the night you were accused Darzin’s murder. Convince me it wasn’t you who killed him, and tell me what you saw that night.” Wednesday demanded, while cleaning his blood off her knife.

“Why should I tell you anything?” he asked angrily.

“Because you don’t want to live out here in the woods forever. And you won’t. Either you’ll tell me what I want to know and I’ll clear your name, or you won’t tell me what I want to know, and you still won’t have to worry about living out here much longer.” Wednesday explained his situation.

“Fine, fine.” Iza snarled. “I couldn’t have killed Darzin, I was with Kathleen. Ask her, she’ll tell you herself. Darzin was already dead by the time I passed by his house. Besides, why would I kill him? So we had a fight once in a bar, so what? I’ve lost count of the number of bar fights I’ve been in.”

Wednesday was examining him closely now for the common tells of a liar, but he seemed honest to her. Angry maybe, but also willing to spill his metaphorical guts, so she wouldn’t have to spill his literal ones.

“And what did you see that night?” Samuel asked.

“I saw a man storming away from the house. Hans Belasco, Darzin’s business partner. They own the local lumberyard. Hans seemed pissed off. Of course the townsfolk didn’t give me a chance to explain that, or anything else. Even if they had, it would have done me no good. Those rich assholes are some of the local elite. I know Darzin owns one of the nicer homes still surviving in Barovia, and a decent plot of land too. There’s not many of them left, but his family, the Tyminskis, are old money in this town.” Iza answered.

“Interesting. Now, what provoked the bar fight you got in with Darzin?”

“I saw Darzin insulting a lady. Never could stand that, but I wouldn’t mind seeing someone put you in your place.” Iza glared at Wednesday. Wednesday punched him in the face, getting a couple more gasps out of the group. She didn’t know why they were still surprised.

Iza spat blood onto the ground. “Continue” Wednesday ordered.

“It was his ex-fiancé, Zondra, who he had been insulting. He romanced her, then he left her cold. When she confronted him, he was far from apologetic. I decided he needed a proper thrashing.” Iza continued while glaring furiously at Wednesday.

“You’ve been very helpful. Goodbye Iza” Wednesday nodded.

“Go fu…” Iza was interrupted as the ground around them began to rumble. “Oh no” he gasped “the monster, it smells blood.”

Oh. Oops, Wednesday thought dryly, as a monstrous creature dove at the group from above. Iza, Eugene, and Wednesday barely dodged away as a large winged cat pounced at them from atop the cliff that Iza’s hidey hole was in.

The monster was quite the beauty. It reminded Wednesday of Kitty, one of her family’s pets, if Kitty had wings, spikes, and a human(ish) looking face but with a gaping, hungry maw filled with shark-like teeth.

“Run!” Eugene screamed as a group of bees flew from Eugene’s hair and stung at the creature’s face. It batted the bees away with an annoyed look as Eugene scrambled back to the others. Iza attempted to flee as well, but the monster, which Wednesday realized was a manticore, swiped at him with a huge, meaty claw. Its claws raked across Iza’s back; he fell to the ground and lay still, bleeding profusely.

While the manticore was distracted with the others, Wednesday had backed away as well, and attempted to throw a silver dagger through its wing. Its wings flapped, knocking the dagger aside, and she summoned it back to her hand with a snap.

“I don’t want to have to kill such a magnificent monster. So I’ll give you one chance, leave now, or never leave.” Wednesday offered. The manticore let out a booming, malicious chuckle in response.

Bianca yelled out “Wednesday, toss me your sword!” But Wednesday was a little busy at the moment, and anyway, it wasn’t Wednesday’s fault Bianca hadn’t thought to grab a sabre on the way out.

Xavier, while also retreating, drew his bow and an arrow and fired at the manticore. It let out a pained snarl as the arrow sunk into its hide as Xavier continued backing off.

Before it could take its revenge on Xavier, Bianca stepped forward, ripping off the necklace which restrained her siren powers. “Back off!” she snarled at the beast, infusing her command with her siren song powers, but the manticore only snarled back, undeterred.

The manticore became distracted, swiping away some of Eugene’s bees, and Bianca stepped back towards a frozen Enid. “Sinclair, get your head in the game!” The manticore was warding Samuel and Pugsley off by shooting spikes out of its tail. “That thing is a monster, but so are we. It’s gotta die.” Bianca encouraged Enid, using her siren song a little to help.

It worked. With a scream of rage that was surprisingly threatening, Enid’s claws extended out of her fingers, and she darted forward, slashing at the manticore. She wasn’t quite able to penetrate the manticore’s thick hide though. It chuckled again.

“Little snack, beg for mercy and I’ll make your death quick!” The manticore roared, lashing out with teeth and claws. Enid danced around the blows, slashing back with her own claws until the manticore snarled and jumped up, flapping its wings and taking to the sky. Just before it could fly away, Enid jumped up and slashed her nails into one of its ankles, tearing tendons and causing the manticore to let out another pained snarl.

Now flying, it spun around and launched more spikes out of its tail; one of them clipped Xavier in the side, who stumbled, but managed to stay upright. Pugsley, who was packing more than flares this time, retaliated with a Molotov cocktail, an old fallback of his. It struck one of the manticore’s legs, and the creature roared in annoyance as flames lit up one of its huge paws.

The manticore dove at Pugsley, one flaming paw extended, but pulled away at the last moment when Samuel stepped in front of Pugsley, katana extended. Wednesday tracked it, preparing to strike, as it flew around the clearing next to Iza’s hiding spot.

Wednesday briefly glanced at Eugene, who had run back over to Iza and was once again bandaging the boy up. Then she turned her attention back to the manticore, and tossed another dagger at it. But hitting a moving target at that distance with a thrown dagger was difficult even for Wednesday, and she barely grazed the creature who didn’t even seem to notice the dagger. After summoning the dagger back, she sheathed it and drew her bow. While she was still summoning back her dagger, she had seen Xavier take another shot and land another blow against the beast, and she realized she would have better luck with a bow herself. Xavier ducked behind a tree after taking his shot.

“Go to sleep!” Bianca called out to the beast, siren song activated, but it once again ignored her; it was starting to seem like her siren song wasn’t going to work for her.

Enid and Samuel were trying to stay between the rest of the group and the manticore, but they couldn’t do anything as it flew by, shooting its tail spikes at Pugsley. They struck the boy, but Pugsley had taken worse blows playing with Wednesday as a kid, and although Wednesday often called him soft and weak, she knew he would barely be phased by such a blow. Proving her point, Pugsley immediately retaliated by tossing a bottle filled with liquid nitrogen at the manticore, sadly missing this time.

Eugene drew a slingshot Pugsley had given him, and launched a stone at the manticore. It bounced off the monster uselessly, but Eugene shouted “Go sting that cat!” as his bees followed the rock upwards, stinging the manticore which roared in aggravation as it tried to fly away from the swarm.

“I may have underestimated you two.” Wednesday muttered, deliberately too low for them to hear. It wouldn’t do for her to be outdone by Eugene and her little brother, so she fired off an arrow. Xavier apparently had the same idea, and both of their arrows struck the manticore at the same time.

The beast roared in agony. “Your deaths will not be quick! I will scrape your flesh from your bones, and suck the marrow from your ribs as you yet live!”

The angered manticore dove to the ground, landing right behind Xavier, the one who had annoyed him the most with his arrows. Enid and Bianca were close by and raced forward, but were too slow to stop the manticore. The manticore bit into Xavier’s side, seemingly trying to suck the marrow from his ribs right in the moment. It let go quickly as the others approached, but swiped at Xavier as he fell to the ground, slashing into him. Like Iza before him, Xavier collapsed to the ground and laid still, bleeding badly.

Enid nearly caught it, but the manticore jumped into the sky again, flying over her head and shooting a spike from its tail at Wednesday. It struck her shoulder, and she let out a pained grunt and then pulled out the spike, tossing it aside.

“Bad kitty!” Pugsley yelled, angered, and tossed another Molotov cocktail at it. This time, he struck it straight on its torso, lighting it aflame.

“NO!” the manticore cried out, writhing chaotically in the air as the flames licked at its body. Eugene, Enid, Bianca and Samuel all ran over to Xavier, hoping the others would cover them as they tried to wrap Xavier in the last of the bandages that Pugsley had given Eugene. Enid crouched over the boys defensively, a snarl and her face and claws bared and at the ready.

Rather than swooping down upon the gathering group, the burning manticore shot another tail spike at Pugsley, striking him again. Wednesday ran over, arrow notched.

“Wednesday, I need Thing!” Pugsley called, so Wednesday was forced to put her arrow back in its quiver and grab Thing, tossing him towards Pugsley. The manticore dove at her, and she rolled out of the way.

Seriously injured, the manticore decided to retreat then, but going after Wednesday before trying to flee was its last mistake. In that time, Pugsley had torn the manticore’s spike out of himself, dipped it in a bottle of cyanide, and as the manticore flew overhead, he had Thing hold the poisoned spike, and then launched Thing at the belly of the beast. With a jerk, Thing stabbed the manticore’s own spike into its belly. The manticore yowled, and its flight became erratic as the poison sank in. It crashed into nearby trees, before falling to the ground, dead.

Nearby Iza let out a pained groan as he slowly sat up.

“Good, you’re alive.” Wednesday appeared before him suddenly, standing over him. He stared up at her fearfully.

“If you die, we will likely not be rewarded for clearing your name. Try to be more careful in the future.” Wednesday demanded. Iza spluttered angrily, but seemed to be at a loss for words.

Wednesday and the others gathered up the fired arrows, and Xavier’s unconscious body, and headed back to town.

The outcasts made it back to the Blood of the Vine Inn, and tossed Xavier onto one of their beds. Leaving him to rest, they gathered in one of the other rooms they rented to discuss their next move. Or really, to receive their marching orders from Wednesday.

“We now have one or two suspects to investigate, but first I want to investigate the scene of the crime. That will have to wait until nightfall. In the meantime, we’ll head downstairs and buy dinner. Samuel, you can’t sneak anywhere in that noisy suit of armor, and Enid is too colorful to be stealthy. You may stay, rest, and guard Xavier if you like. Anyone else is free to join me in investigating the scene of the crime.”

The six of them went downstairs for dinner, and Wednesday discreetly informed Maribel that Iza was alive and doing well. After that, everyone headed back to their rooms, though as night fell, Wednesday, Pugsley, and Bianca snuck out into town. Eugene had elected to stay behind with the others, as he had multiple bees that required delicate first aid, and in some extreme cases, surgery. Hence, he was simply too busy to join them.

While Eugene was busy and Xavier was still unconscious, that left Enid and Samuel to watch over them as the others left for the evening.

Samuel began taking off his armor. “You know, in all this chaos, I don’t think all of us have had a chance to be properly introduced. I know you’ve at least heard my first name by now, but I think introductions are in order. I’m Samuel Le Blank.”

“Enid Sinclair” Enid shook his hand with a smile, putting her best foot forward.

“I’ve heard of you around school. You run a gossip blog, right?” Samuel asked as he continued removing his armor.

“That’s me. I am… I was Nevermore’s gossip queen.” Enid’s smile wobbled. “You ever read it?”

“I’m not really one for social media. My family is a bit old fashioned, and I followed suit I guess.” Samuel shrugged.

Enid chuckled. “Great, another one of you weirdos. My roomie’s the same way.” According to Wednesday, social media was a soul-sucking void. But contrary to what Wednesday had said, Enid had so far found herself feeling empty without it.

“I don’t know her especially well, but I got that impression.” Samuel replied. “Her brother’s much bigger on technology, though I don’t think he used any social media either.”

Enid walked over to a window and stared up at the night sky. “That’s right, you were rooming with an Addams too. How’d that go for you?”

“Well, we dug a tunnel out of the school together, so pretty well, I’d say. Pugsley’s kind of shy, but he’s basically a boy genius. He’s been a good friend to me.”

Enid smiled, because this was the closest she had come to actually gossiping all day. “They’re an interesting family aren’t they? I think his sister might be a genius too, in her own way. She’s quiet, but she’s not shy. She’s confident as hell… I kind of wish I was more like that.”

Samuel sighed. Though he wouldn’t say something so grim out loud at the moment, he privately thought she may get her wish. His family taught him that adversity breeds suffering, and suffering builds character.

Instead of getting all serious, he replied “About a week ago Pugsley turned the body of a rat he found into a robot. Set it up to keep an eye on our tunnel.”

Enid smiled. “She doesn’t know I noticed, but Wednesday sleeps with a shrunken head under her pillow. No idea why, the thing is totally gross.”

Samuel chuckled. “They’re an interesting family, and we’re in an interesting group. Hopefully we’re also a group that can work well together, if we want to survive out here on our own.”

“Well, there’s no choice now but to try I guess.” Enid sighed, still unaware that they did have another choice since the group could have just gone to the house Wednesday’s parents were living in. Samuel chose not to mention that though.  

Chapter Text

Wednesday, Pugsley, and Bianca made their way through the silent streets of Barovia after sundown, heading towards the house of the murder victim, Darzin. There appeared to be no one out this late, so the group strolled brazenly through the streets, unconcerned about being seen.

Or so they thought. Out of nowhere, a voice called out to them through the fog.  

“Would you like to buy some pastries, dearies? Granny has the most delectable pastries in all of Barovia.” An old woman smiled, wheeling around a cart of fragrant pastries.

“What the actual fuck?” Bianca muttered under her breath, staring warily at the old woman.

Pugsley grinned. “Can we Wednesday?” He asked, stomach rumbling.

Wednesday’s nose wrinkled with disgust. She wasn’t a fan of most sweets, but she supposed there could be something actually worth eating in “granny’s” pastries, like yak or mongoose. Or girl scouts.

“What do you put in your pastries?” Wednesday queried.

“Oh, our dream pastries are made from flour, churned butter, protein, and love.” Granny smiled kindly.

Love? Wednesday nearly wretched.

“Go peddle your poison in the Nine Hells, you decrepit crone.” Wednesday grabbed a disappointed Pugsley by the wrist and marched away. Bianca followed after, looking over her shoulder frequently at the old woman, who was now knocking on the front door of one of the Barovian’s houses. 

The group still had a few minutes travel to Darzin’s house, during which Wednesday noted that almost half of the houses she passed were boarded up and apparently deserted. They encountered no one else until they reached their destination, but they did hear a woman sobbing inconsolably in one of the houses. Finally, they reached the murder victim’s home.

“Bianca, stay outside and keep watch. Let us know if anyone approaches the house, or use your siren song to deter them.” Wednesday ordered as she cased the murder victim’s house. It was, as had been mentioned to her before, a larger and more impressive house compared to most of the Barovians' bleak old cottages.

“Why should I stay out here? Maybe I can find something you’ll miss inside.” Bianca scowled. She didn’t like taking orders from Wednesday, and wasn’t sure why the others had seemed to decide Wednesday was their de facto leader.

“Don’t oversell yourself. You certainly won’t find anything I miss.” Wednesday retorted while picking her entrance, a door on a second floor balcony around back.

Seeing Bianca glaring, Pugsley offered “I can stay outside and keep watch, if you want?”

“Fine, do as you please.” Wednesday was out of patience. “I’m going in.”

Wednesday and Bianca went around the backyard. “How do you plan to get us in?” Bianca asked, and Wednesday pointed to the balcony she had spotted.

“Ok, and how do you plan to get up there?” Bianca questioned. Wednesday walked off without a word, and Bianca scoffed, examining the balcony. Breaking and entering wasn’t her strong suit, but maybe with a length of rope, she could toss the end between the railing on the balcony, and then…

Wednesday walked by her then with a ladder, having apparently broken into Darzin’s shed. She placed it against the balcony and climbed up.

“That works too.” Bianca muttered sourly.

The two made their way up the balcony, and found the door to Darzin Tyminski’s bedroom, though it was locked. That lock was a little more difficult to pick than the one on the shed had been, but Wednesday nonetheless got it open after a minute. The two walked into the dead man’s bedroom, and Wednesday began examining the room for clues. Bianca, feeling competitive, followed suit.

Unfortunately for Bianca, she had chosen the wrong arena to challenge Wednesday in. To Bianca, the opulent if messy bedroom held nothing that caught her interest. Wednesday however soon found a piece of jewelry that seemed out of place considering the man was not married, and it didn’t seem common for Barovian men to wear necklaces. She supposed it likely belonged to his ex-lover, Zondra.

After finding the necklace lying about, she swiftly made for his desk, deciding that was her best bet for finding actual information. After opening the drawers, she found little that seemed relevant aside from one note. It read:

“I will be brief and to the point. Anyone who implies that a Tyminski doesn’t pay his debts is guilty of base slander. I have given you everything you are owed, and how dare you demand more money from me? I will not tolerate your harassment of my person any longer, and if you do not desist, you will surely regret”

That was it. The note had obviously not been finished, nor had Darzin bothered to clarify who he was writing to.

“Find anything?” Bianca asked as she gave up on searching beneath the bed for clues.

“A necklace, and an unfinished letter.” Wednesday began leafing through the other documents in the desk. They were only accounting ledgers for the lumberyard that Darzin owned along with his business partner Hans, and although she had initially dismissed them as irrelevant, she noticed the reports for the last two months were missing from the stack.

“Come, let’s search the rest of the house.” Wednesday instructed, as the two headed downstairs. 

Unfortunately, a search of the rest of the house had revealed nothing of importance, or even anything of particular value that could be pilfered aside from a bit of silverware. There was no sign of any robbery having occurred, and the fact that a seemingly valuable necklace had been left lying around implied that the killer had fled in a hurry. They made their way back to the inn, and met up with the others, sans Xavier who was still unconscious.

“Tomorrow we’ll have to speak with the ex-lover, Zondra.” Wednesday said after she finished explaining what she had found. “Along with Darzin’s business partner, Hans.”

Eugene looked thoughtful. “I suppose Hans will be at the lumberyard, but how are we going to find Zondra?”

“We’ll ask the innkeeper and see if she knows. She wants us to clear Iza’s name, while the rest of the Barovians are unlikely to cooperate with our investigation.” Wednesday answered. Truthfully, even though the rest of the Barovians didn’t know what they were up to, they didn’t seem the type to answer even simple requests for information. Sure, Wednesday wasn’t the kind of person to freely answer other people’s questions either, but she was like that with everyone. The Barovians however just had a xenophobic dislike of outsiders that made them completely uncooperative, which was just annoying to say the least when one was conducting an investigation.

By now, it was so late that the March of the Dead had begun, and everyone but the Addamses were startled to see the procession of ghosts passing by outside for the first time; Wednesday curtly explained the nature of the army of ghosts that she had first seen from the balcony of Castle Ravenloft.

The group then separated for the night, with Wednesday rooming with her brother, Enid rooming with Bianca, and the other three boys sharing a room, with Samuel, being a vampire, apparently deciding to sleep on the floor. Enid had been disappointed; she and Bianca didn’t get along. But Wednesday had explained that the only other option was for all three girls to room together, in which case, Bianca and Enid would be sharing not only a bedroom but also a bed. Wednesday was still the one paying for the rooms after all, so it’s not like she would be sharing a bed. Enid had quickly agreed that wasn’t what she wanted.

As much as Wednesday was loath to share a room with her brother, it was still far better than sharing a room with both Enid and Bianca. Enid ground her teeth and growled in her sleep, and Bianca was Bianca.

With Pugsley, Wednesday, and Thing now sharing a room, Pugsley had a chance to pull out the crystal ball and get back in touch with their parents. He waved his hand, and the mists in the ball parted to reveal the faces of Gomez and Morticia.

“My boy, you’re still alive!” Gomez sounded pleased and a little surprised.

“Father, Mother, I killed a manticore today! Thing helped!” Thing scuttled over and waved at Gomez and Morticia.

“And I’m solving a murder mystery. I hope it will provide inspiration for my writings.” Wednesday walked over to the crystal ball.

“My little viper, I can see by the maniacal look in your eyes that you’re enjoying yourself in Barovia.” Morticia smiled.

“Now that Nevermore has fallen, I suppose you’re loose on this poor world.” Gomez chuckled.

“Oh, I do hope Larissa is ok.” Morticia sighed.

“What’s been going on back in town since the mob attacked the school?” Pugsley asked curiously.

“Well, we don’t live in town anymore, but the Sheriff still gets news to us about what is happening in Jericho.” Morticia explained. “Apparently, all of the citizens of Jericho who hated outcasts the most were part of the mob. The rest of the citizens didn’t really want to live amongst a crowd of people who had murdered a school full of children, and the police seized control of the bridge between Jericho and Nevermore, and posted men along the river at areas where the river could be easily crossed. They won’t let the surviving members of the mob back into town. They’ve identified a man named Otis Warren as the leader of the mob; we’ve met and he’s remarkably rude and unpleasant. Anyway, after taking so many losses at Nevermore, the mob doesn’t have the strength to force a crossing with the police opposing them, so they’re stuck in the ruins of Nevermore.” 

Wednesday thought about that for a moment. “I suppose it’s a fitting fate for them, for the time being. They hated outcasts, and now they’ve become outcasts to the people of Jericho, trapped in the school they hated. Still, they did try to kill me and my brother, so someday I’ll have to return to school to teach them one last lesson.” Wednesday’s eyes shined with bloodlust.

Pugsley nodded in agreement. “I’m thinking about bringing a bomb to school.” He mused thoughtfully.

“I’m sure your next visit to Nevermore will be truly unforgettable.” Gomez predicted with a look of pride.

“I do hope the other outcasts who escaped the attack are doing alright. We did have a secret society once that protected the outcasts, the Nightshades, but it was officially disbanded some time ago, and now look what happened.” Morticia sighed.

“I hope they’re ok, but it seems like most of them had never been in another world before.” Pugsley shrugged.

“This is sort of a first for us too, we’ve never gone to another world without meaning to.” Gomez mused.

It was true that the family had previously made a couple visits to the Shadowfell, a dark mirror dimension of the material world, as well as several visits to the Feywild, the weird mirror dimension of the material world. The Shadowfell was a nice place to go on vacation, and the Addamses had allies in the Unseelie Court, who they occasionally met with in the Feywild. Ever since ancient times, scholars who were subject matter experts on the Addams Family had long suspected that the families’ close ties with the Unseelie Court explained at least some of their dark weirdness.

“In the meantime, have you two considered stopping by and visiting your loving parents?” Gomez tried.

“I am far too busy to pay a social call to you jackals.” Wednesday dismissed the possibility.

“If you do drop by, we’d love to meet your new friends. I’m sure they’re absolute terrors.” Morticia offered.

“My colleagues at best have some minor potential to one-day rise to a tolerable level of mediocrity.” Wednesday stressed that they were not her friends.

“Samuel did real good in the haunted house.” Pugsley defended the boy who he definitely considered to be a friend.

“Stay into trouble you two, and let us know if you kill any more interesting people or creatures!” Gomez grinned.

The next day, the group interviewed Darzin’s ex-lover and his former business partner. Sadly, Wednesday was convinced after speaking to them that neither was involved in Darzin’s death, and the interviews themselves were so boring Wednesday felt no desire to adapt them in her writings. The only thing she learned that was of any potential importance was that the necklace she found in Darzin’s house did not belong to Zondra. On a hunch, Wednesday began wearing the necklace openly around town, hoping to provoke a reaction.

She had worn the necklace to the lumberyard to visit Hans Belasco, Darzin’s business partner, but he didn’t react to the necklace. He was just as greedy and unpleasant as Darzin purportedly was, but he was relieved to hear that the group had killed the monster who had been eating his employees, if only because he was contractually obligated to give their widows discounts on fire wood.

“Well, this has been a great use of our time.” Bianca complained sarcastically after they left the lumberyard.

Wednesday was tired of Bianca’s attitude and didn’t want to have to deal with her just now, but more importantly, she realized that walking around with such a large group was now becoming a hindrance to her investigation. She needed to get rid of them for a while, but there wasn’t a lot for them to do in this small town.

“Pugsley, Samuel, do you remember that house we visited when we first arrived in town? I think it would be good if you took the others and went and visited the kids. The others seem tired of travelling around town. I’ll continue investigating in the meantime.”

Pugsley and Samuel traded secretive looks. “Sure Wednesday, sounds like fun.” Pugsley nodded. 

“You all do look like you could use a break.” Samuel agreed, biting back a malicious smile.

“Kids? I’m good with children” Enid smiled as the group was led away.

“Sure you don’t want me to stick around?” Xavier asked Wednesday, glancing back at her.

“Quite sure.” Wednesday walked off.

Still wearing the necklace, she meandered around town before heading back to the tavern. There, she slowly nursed a glass of wine in a seat where she was very visible to the rest of the afternoon crowd.

Wednesday was waiting for someone to confront her about the necklace, or at least notice it and react in some way or wait to confront her in a less public setting. But it was Ismark, the Burgomaster’s son, who sat down with her. She assumed he had wanted to speak to her again about his sister’s problems, but that wasn’t the case.

“Wednesday, good afternoon. I have to ask, where did you get that necklace?” he asked, staring at it with an odd look.

“Why do you want to know?” she asked bluntly, and Ismark grimaced.

“Frankly, it belongs to my family, but it was stolen some time ago, along with a ring. They both belonged to my late mother. I’d like it back if you don’t mind.” Though Ismark sounded like he expected it back even if she did mind.

“I found your mother’s necklace in Darzin’s house, the man who was recently murdered. Now what would a reasonably wealthy man like Darzin be doing stealing jewelry?” She pressed.

“Darzin was a scoundrel, but I never took him for the sort that would break into people’s houses. Still, this is troubling.” Ismark admitted.

Just then, the sound of a beer glass breaking on the floor echoed throughout the tavern. Wednesday and Ismark turned to see a man staring in shock at Wednesday, glancing between the necklace she was wearing and Ismark. Wednesday gave him an accusing look. The man paled further and made a break for it.

“Stop him!” Ismark commanded. No one intervened, but Wednesday and Ismark chased after the man. Wednesday tackled him just outside the tavern and twisted his arms painfully behind his back, controlling him with the leverage she had over him. Ismark loomed over the man.

“Did something frighten you sir?” Ismark asked angrily. “Seeing my mother’s necklace, perhaps?”

“I… I don’t know what you’re talking about.” The man lied badly.

“We know for a fact it was you.” Wednesday lied much better than he had, whispering menacingly into his ear. “The next lie you tell will be your last.” She continued, more honestly.

The man sobbed. “I was in debt to Darzin. He was one of the bosses at the lumberyard, and I lost a few games of cards to him. We needed something to pay him back with, so we took what valuables we could. We had no choice. Then I learned he’d been cheating at cards the whole time.”

“So you killed him.” Ismark frowned down at the man.

“It was an accident, I swear. I just wanted to talk to him, and we argued, and he slapped me. Next thing I knew, he was over the balcony.” The man continued to cry. Wednesday renewed her resolve not to feel any emotions that could lead to tears, as this was quite the pathetic display.

“Where is my mother’s ring?” Ismark questioned, at the same time Wednesday asked “What do you mean “We needed something to pay him back with”, who else are you talking about?”

The man clammed up, so Wednesday twisted the man’s arms, and he yelped in pain. “You had better talk.” she demanded, deeply annoyed. “Because you were far too easy to catch, your motive is entirely boring, and so I should kill you right now. You can save yourself by telling me what I want to know.”

Before the killer could talk or Wednesday could kill him for not talking, reality seemed to warp and break nearby, and a slimy tentacle seemed to come out of thin air. It wrapped around the man, crushed him with a squeeze, and disappeared back into a hole in the fabric of reality, which then disappeared itself.

Wednesday stared down at the broken body of the murderer. “I was possibly about to kill him.” She told Ismark. “But at least something interesting has finally happened.”

Ismark glanced around frantically. “That was my mother’s ring. It has certain… unusual properties.” He said, looking for the killer but seeing no one.

“Unusual properties” was perhaps an understatement. “And what does the necklace do?” Wednesday asked about the other piece of stolen jewelry.

“Nothing, it’s just a necklace.” He shrugged, failing to spot the killer.

Wednesday tossed the necklace to him. Today was not her day. She bent down and examined the corpse, giving it a sniff.

“This man smells of… lumber.” She noted. “And he looks like a man worn down after years of difficult physical labor. Darzin was his boss then.”

“Ah, that makes sense.” Ismark nodded. “I’ll ask around the lumberyard, and see if I can figure out who he was and who he may have been working with. No offense friend, but they’ll speak to me much more readily than to you. Gather your allies, and I’ll meet you tomorrow morning at the Blood of the Vine Inn.”

“One more thing.” Wednesday stopped him. “As the Burgomaster’s son, I assume you can make it clear to the town that this man murdered Darzin. I need you to do so, because an innocent boy has been accused of the crime.” Ismark nodded his agreement and the two parted ways.

Wednesday headed back into the inn to share the news with the Maribel and collect her reward.  

Wednesday sat alone inside the Blood of the Vine Tavern, enjoying gopher stew and her own Henbane tea. The other patrons of the bar no longer glared at her as they used to. They appreciated that she kept to herself, and she appreciated that they didn’t bother her. It would be exaggeration to say that either Wednesday or the Barovians were happy, but the atmosphere in the tavern was as content as it could be in Barovia.

A much less content group trudged into the tavern then. Wednesday’s temporary allies of convenience marched inside, and of them, only Pugsley and Samuel looked unbothered. The rest of the group looked battered and bedraggled; Enid, Bianca, Xavier, and even Eugene were all glaring daggers at Wednesday as they stomped over to her table.

“What the hells Wednesday!” Enid practically screeched. “Why would you send us to a place like that?”

“She’s a psychopath, that’s why!” Bianca snarled.

Wednesday allowed a hint of confusion to show in her expression. “Oh, you didn’t enjoy yourselves?” she asked. She was a little confused, since she had such a good time in the haunted house herself.

“No Wednesday, we didn’t enjoy the traps, and the swarms of rodents, or the plant monster that almost ate me whole.” Xavier fumed.

“Well, there’s no accounting for taste.” Wednesday shook her head.

“A little warning, next time.” Eugene insisted. “That goes for you two as well.” He gave Pugsley and Samuel an annoyed look. They attempted to affect innocent expressions, but weren’t very good at it.

“While you all were off playing around in a haunted house, I was busy solving our murder mystery.” Wednesday set a sack of gold that Maribel had given her for proving Iza’s innocence down on the table. Admittedly, it hadn’t been a very difficult mystery to solve, but she didn’t need to tell them that. The group gaped at the sack of gold coins before Wednesday put it away.

“We should divide that evenly between us.” Bianca proposed.

“Why, what did you all do to earn it?” Wednesday asked.

“Not much, we only fought a manticore for that!” Xavier insisted with some sarcasm.

“Fine.” Wednesday agreed “We’ll divvy it up later. For now, I have more news.” She explained what happened to the murderer.

“Ismark will want to catch the killer and recover his mother’s ring, and I assume he wants it enough to pay for our help. Tomorrow, we’ll meet him here, and then we finish this.” Wednesday finished explaining.

The group agreed and started heading up their rooms, looking exhausted. Enid though stayed behind, and when the others had gone, she extended her claws and slammed them into the table.

“Next time, explain yourself before you send us to “have fun” in a death trap.” Enid growled. “Think about our feelings for a change.”

“I don’t understand your feelings.” Wednesday replied, refusing to back down as Enid glared at her.

“You think you could have taken down that manticore with just you, Pugsley, and Samuel? Xavier turned it into a pincushion with all the arrows he shot it with, and I helped too! If we’re going to keep working together, we have to be able to trust you.”

Wednesday didn’t respond at first, still not convinced she even wanted to travel with them. On the other hand, she didn’t entirely dislike Enid and Eugene at least. She wasn’t sure how they would fare without her, especially Eugene.

Wednesday nodded slowly. “Your concerns are noted, and I will make an effort to explain myself more clearly in the future.”

“I suppose that’s the best I’m going to get.” Enid sighed, realizing an apology was never going to happen. “Goodnight Wednesday.”

That night, Wednesday was awoken by the patter of rain on the roof. Hearing the wind howling, she could tell it was storming tonight. A tiny smile crossed Wednesday’s face as she enjoyed the weather, but then she heard the creaking of the inn’s floorboards and shot up, alert.

An old woman, the same old woman she had seen out on the streets last night, was standing over Pugsley. She had a plate with a single pastry on it in one hand, and a spoonful of the dessert in her other hand.

“Open up, dearie. Enjoy a delicious dream pastry.” The old woman whispered, trying to stick the spoon in Pugsley’s mouth as he snored.

Wednesday’s hand shot under her pillow and she pulled out a knife, tossing it into the woman. A clap of thunder shook the room. The knife sank into the woman's robes with a thud.

The old woman tutted. “Why are these naughty children so rude to poor old granny? Fine, no pastries for you children. It would have been the best dessert you ever tasted.” She turned away and walked through one of the walls. Wednesday stared blearily at the empty wooden wall for a moment, and before she could help it, she was asleep once more.

“So” Ismark explained as the group finished breakfast the next morning. “The killer, Oleg, was good friends with a man named Lazlo, until last night I suppose. If anyone was Oleg’s partner in crime, it was likely Lazlo. Indeed, I took the guards around to his house this morning, but he has vanished without a trace.”

“We don’t know these lands. There’s nothing we can do if he’s fled.” Wednesday replied, hands folded in front of her.

“Not so fast though. We asked around, and apparently Lazlo’s family owns a small hunting cabin out in the woods. I believe Lazlo would have fled there until he can determine if anyone has connected him with the crimes. He won’t want to leave town if he doesn’t have to; it’s not easy to survive on your own in these lands.”

“So what do you want from us?” Pugsley asked, mouth full of cake he was eating for dessert. Wednesday stomped on his foot, hard, causing him to choke. ‘Manners’ the dark look she gave him conveyed. 

Ismark looked too tired and worn to care about Pugsley’s lack of manners, though he was soldiering on regardless of what he was feeling. “I want you to accompany me to his cabin, and we’ll see if I can’t retrieve my mother’s ring. It’s a magical weapon that can’t be left in the hands of a murderer. I will pay you for your assistance of course, and then we can see about my sister’s protection.”

Most of the group looked to Wednesday for a decision. “We’ll do it.” She nodded, turning to the rest of the group, and her dark eyes darkened still further with a hint of bloodlust. “Take whatever armor and weapons you have in your rooms. We’re going hunting.”

Everyone did so, Samuel taking the longest to prepare himself as he had a set of full samurai-style armor to put on. But within fifteen minutes, the group was ready and set off for Lazlo’s cabin. Wednesday and Ismark led from the front, with Thing perched on Wednesday’s shoulder and Samuel right behind them, and the rest of the group following after. It had taken some explaining to get Ismark to calm down around Thing, and he still was giving Thing dubious looks.

It was a good thing Wednesday was at the front alongside Ismark, as she spotted a couple inexpertly hidden bear traps as they got closer to where the cabin was supposed to be located, and she led the group around the traps.

Soon the cabin came into view. Everyone drew whatever weapons they had, with both Ismark and Bianca drawing swords. Ismark had been training with weapons all his life, and when Bianca had explained she was skilled at swordplay but currently had no sword, he had lent one out to her.

As they approached, Wednesday and Ismark spotted a lurking figure who could only be Lazlo, staring at them maliciously from behind a tree, as inexpertly hidden as his bear traps were. Wednesday nearly grinned. It was time to end this.

Before they could react, Lazlo waved his hand, and another tentacle burst out from an impossible hole in reality. Enid and Eugene screamed, and Samuel cursed in shock behind her.

Wednesday dived to the side, avoiding the writhing tentacle as it flew towards the group, sending Thing tumbling to the ground as she dove. The tentacle struck Ismark and Samuel both, knocking them roughly to the side and onto the ground.

“The Burgomaster’s own son, and a collection of outsider freaks. I’m honored.” Lazlo snarled.

Wednesday rolled back up after diving and dodging, narrowing her eyes in concentration and tossing a dagger right at Lazlo. It sank into his side, but he pulled it out while barely even flinching. He was at least startled though when she summoned the dagger right back into her hand. From his position on the ground, Ismark crawled for cover.

Behind her, Xavier also dove to find cover in the foliage and then fired off an arrow. The arrow hit, but again Lazlo simply pulled it off and tossed it away, only getting angrier.

Xavier wasn’t the only one though who had reacted quickly. Just after Xavier let loose his arrow, Pugsley tossed a poisoned dart at Lazlo, who opened his mouth and caught it in his teeth. Rather than having some of his teeth knocked out by the metallic dart, he crunched down on it and broke the tip off, spitting it out and grinning savagely.

“Well damn.” Pugsley muttered, eyes wide. Eugene wasn’t deterred though and fired his slingshot off, and this time the projectile hit Lazlo in the eye. Eugene’s bees followed shortly after, stinging into Lazlo. He snarled with annoyance, trying to bat the bees away. When that didn’t work, he waved his ring and the eldritch tentacle began batting them away; and that proved much more effective.

Enid, Samuel, and Bianca charged Lazlo together, but Bianca and Enid had been far back and Samuel had been knocked down, and they weren’t quite able to reach him before the tentacle sprawled out in front of Lazlo, guarding him and blocking their charge.

“Calm down.” Bianca tried siren songing him. The man’s eyes seemed to glaze over for a second, but he shrugged it off with a snarl.

“Those freaks made me into a monster when they caught me out here alone. But it’s not all bad. I don’t have to take shit from fools like Darzin, or you, Ismark.” Lazlo bared his teeth, and then raced away, the tentacle disappearing as he did, and he darted behind his cabin. The group soon heard strange cracking noises and pained screams.

Wednesday crept swiftly around the cabin only to see that Lazlo had turned himself into a werewolf. Pained screams turned into howls and growling. Now Wednesday was interested. She remembered what the stranger they had encountered in the woods said about many of the werewolves in Barovia being able to transform at will even outside of the full moon.

The moment she came into view, Lazlo’s head snapped towards her with a snarl, and she tossed her silver dagger right into him. The werewolf howled in agony as the silver seemed to burn its flesh; this was much more effective than her steel dagger had been before.

The others were running forward, but some were further away from the action than others. Pugsley came around quickly, tossing a Molotov cocktail at the werewolf which dodged agilely out of the way, even as the silver dagger sunk into it still burned its flesh.

Ismark and Enid came around the cabin next. Ismark wearily sheathed his sword and drew his own silver dagger. Enid looked shocked and terrified, but flanked the wolf with Ismark. She extended her claws, much smaller than Lazlo’s, and held them out defensively. Thing scuttled up right beside her, holding out his fingers in a manner that mimicked Enid’s own defensive posture. Samuel came around the other side of the cabin and helped flank the wolf, and Lazlo growled as he became surrounded.  

Samuel struck first, but the werewolf twisted on its heels rapidly and batted him aside easily, even despite his armor. Eugene came around and set his swarm upon the werewolf, but they seemingly could do nothing to it, and as the werewolf batted at the swarm of bees, Eugene drew them back before they could all be killed. Wednesday summoned back her silver dagger, preparing to attack again with it.

Then Bianca tried her hand again. “I said calm down.” She ordered forcefully. The werewolf paused for a tense moment, and its eyes slowly seemed to glaze over. This time Lazlo wasn’t able to shrug off her siren song. He was under Bianca’s spell.

Wednesday and the others stared in surprise, with Bianca’s own eyes widening in surprise too. She had so little confidence in herself lately after suffering a string of failures and setbacks, that she hadn’t fully expected that to work.

“Detransform.” She ordered, and Lazlo turned back into a now naked human man.

“No one attack.” Bianca held out her hands, begging everyone to stop. “He’ll snap out of it if you attack, but I can keep him under for a while now.”

The group paused, and Wednesday and Ismark exchanged glances.

“If we don’t kill him now, can you really hold him?” Wednesday asked Ismark skeptically.

To her surprise, Ismark nodded. “This isn’t the first time our town has dealt with a werewolf. They’re incredible beasts, but they have one glaring weakness: silver. We’ll put him in the town’s set of silver manacles until he stands trial for crimes.”

Ismark didn’t notice Enid shuddering a little at the thought of that. “Bianca, please order him to give me my mother’s ring.” Ismark asked, and Bianca did so, then ordered Lazlo to follow them back to town, and ultimately to jail.

Fortunately, Lazlo’s cabin was pretty close to town, given that it was dangerous to build anything too far away from the relative safety of the town. They got back and had Lazlo put in silver chains before Bianca’s siren song could wear off. The man gnashed his teeth in rage and pain as he was chained up into his cell. Then he yelped as Eugene had one of his bees sting him; Eugene was pissed that so many of his bees had been killed by the Eldritch tentacle and then by Lazlo in his werewolf form.

“I hope you hang.” Eugene spat on his way out.

“Thank you friends.” Ismark smiled. “Not only have two killers been brought down, and my mother’s ring returned, but I now know that I can entrust you with the safety of my sister. I had my doubts, if only because you’re all so young, but you’ve proven yourselves to me. Come by my home this evening, and I’ll pay for your services and introduce you to Ireena. About my father… tragedy has struck my family, and I suppose you’ll all be the first to know of it. Just know that Ireena may be in a delicate state right now.”

Wednesday generously ignored Ismark erroneously referring to them as friends. After fighting two monsters with this group, and one with Ismark, she felt they had all least been upgraded to “acquaintances on good terms” in her eyes, which was as high as she was willing to upgrade them to.

“Until tonight then.” Wednesday nodded in agreement. It was nearly time for the group to start exploring the world outside of the town of Barovia. 

Chapter Text

The outcasts had gone back to the inn for lunch, and then had to decide what to do until their meeting later with Ismark and his sister Ireena.

“We’re going to be leaving town, right?” Eugene asked, to which Wednesday nodded in the affirmative.

“Then, since we have money now, we should buy some supplies for the road ahead.” Eugene suggested.

“Yay!” Enid cheered. “I love shopping.”

But then Enid’s enthusiasm disappeared. “The thing is though, nothing I’ve seen in this town makes me think I’ll find anything I want here.”

“We’ll just get some necessities for travel, we’re not shopping for sparkly sweaters.” Bianca gave Enid a condescending smile and an equally condescending pat on the head, and Enid flinched away a little. Enid normally was a touchy person, but she didn’t enjoy touch when it was being weaponized against her. 

“You can buy whatever you want, Enid.” Eugene smiled, sucking up to the girl he had a crush on. Eugene was still sad that a bunch of his bees were killed fighting Lazlo. But unlike Wednesday, Enid was quite good at cheering people up, and sometimes she could do so just by being around them.

“I’m sure we’ll find a fine selection of gray, drab rags and burlap sacks to wear.” Bianca retorted sarcastically. Nonetheless, the group did leave and crossed the street to visit Bildrath’s Mercantile, the only general store that did business in the town of Barovia.

Inside, a man who appeared to be in his fifties stood behind the counter, writing down figures in a notebook. His dark attire was much fancier than anything most of the other villagers wore.

“Greetings travelers. I am Bildrath Cantemir, welcome to my shop. What can I help you with?” Bildrath put down his quill and looked up as the group entered his establishment.

“We’re looking primarily for travelling supplies.” Bianca told him, glancing around the shop skeptically.

“Not planning on sticking around town eh? Well, I can’t say I blame you. Feel free to have a look around. I have plenty of travelling supplies here in my store. I also have food that will keep well enough on the road, such as venison, and drinks that will keep even better, namely Barovian moonshine.” The man held up a flask that apparently contained said moonshine and downed a gulp.

The group shopped around for what they needed, most importantly they needed tents and bedrolls, but there were other items of interest as well. Xavier and Wednesday for instance were looking to buy some arrows.

The group collected everything they needed, but when they went to purchase their goods, they found everything was more expensive than they had anticipated.

“This is highway robbery.” Wednesday replied after Bildrath had finished listing his prices, giving him an unimpressed, deadpan look.

“If you don’t like my prices, feel free to shop elsewhere.” Bildrath chuckled. To his great fortune, there was no “elsewhere” for people to shop at in this town, a fact that he took full advantage of.

Bianca frowned and considered siren songing him. But if it didn’t work, they would be kicked out of the shop for sure. She thought her song would work just fine on him, but if they ever needed to shop here again, they wouldn’t be able to do so. Reluctantly, she and the rest of the group paid his full asking price.

In the end, they bought four two-person tents, bedrolls for everyone, Wednesday and Xavier bought arrows, and those who hadn’t brought their backpacks out of Nevermore bought packs for themselves, with Eugene buying an extra one with a blanket inside for his hive. The group also bought some rations, travelling clothes so they could finally change out of their school uniforms (which were starting to stink after being worn for a few days straight) and a few other cheaper necessities, such as soap and a few torches. Ultimately, they could only afford those basic necessities and not anything extra, and despite all the money they’d been paid recently, these purchases ate up the majority of their funds since Bildrath had set such high prices for them.

“Worst shopping trip ever.” Enid grumbled as they left.

“Don’t expect any repeat customers, sir.” Samuel shot back as they left. Bildrath gave him a sardonic wave as the doors slammed shut behind them.

The outcasts followed Ismark’s directions to the Burgomaster’s manor that evening. They found it at the southern end of the town, a tired-looking mansion behind a rusted iron fence. The iron gates were twisted and torn, and heavy claw marks were carved into the walls. Great black marks proved that a fire had once burned the mansion. Every window was boarded up. Clearly, this was a mansion that had been besieged by hostile forces.

Stepping past the broken gate, they knocked on the front door. Ismark opened the doors and greeted them genially.

“Greetings friends, I’m relieved to see you here. Please excuse the state of my home, we’ve been assailed by dangerous creatures as of late.”

Ismark ushered them inside, and they filed through the entrance hall and into a living room area. The interior of the mansion was well furnished and much better looking than the building’s exterior, yet even inside the fixtures showed signs of age and wear. Holy symbols were carved into every wall, in every room.

As she stepped further into the living room towards the fireplace, Wednesday smelled a scent that she was quite fond of, the faint smell of decay. Her eyes quickly found a coffin propped up on an old table at the far side of the room, which she knew must contain Ismark’s father based on what he had shared with the group earlier.

“Ireena, these are the travelers I was telling you about. Friends, this is my sister, Ireena Kolyanovich.”

A beautiful young woman stood up and turned to greet the outcasts. She looked to be a few years younger than her brother, perhaps in her late teens or early twenties. She had long, scarlet-colored hair and hazel eyes that widened as she took in the sight of the odd group of young travelers before her.

“My brother has told me all about your exploits. You’ve done a great service for this troubled town.” Ireena spoke with the same eastern European sounding accent that her half-brother spoke with.

“It’s a pleasure to meet you.” Bianca stepped forward, taking it upon herself to be the spokesperson for the group. It made sense to her, since she was the popular one after all, and it’s not like she would ever leave such a task to Wednesday; that would be a disaster. Bianca introduced herself and each of her travelling companions to Ireena. As she spoke to Ireena, she could see two faded but still visible puncture marks on Ireena’s neck.

“Ireena, you must go with these people to Vallaki. I fear you will not survive another visit from the devil Strahd.” Ismark pleaded with her.

“So, Count Strahd is coming after you?” Wednesday asked Ireena, speaking up for the first time.

Ireena sighed. “He’s bitten me twice now. I’ve been locked up inside since his last visit. I cannot bring myself to resist him when he visits… I mean that literally. I fear some dark magic is being employed against me. I will never become one of his evil creatures, but I cannot leave now.” She turned to Ismark. “I cannot leave father like this! We must bury him on consecrated ground.”

Wednesday could tell Ireena seemed to be just as transparently honest as her brother. It seemed that Ireena was not the victim of an overprotective brother who wanted to scare off some roguish vampire paramour, but she was actually being harassed by an entirely unwanted suitor. Wednesday didn’t react outwardly, but inside she felt a cold, quiet rage filling her dark heart. She had almost liked Strahd when she met him, and her parents were living in a mansion he had provided them with. She hadn’t known he preyed upon women in this way, and that was the one line she wasn’t willing to stand by and let people cross.

“Then we’ll bury your father.” Wednesday said, but she also turned to Ismark, giving him a critical look. “You won’t be coming with your sister to Vallaki?” she asked, judging him.

Ismark’s face fell. “I cannot. I have a responsibility to this town, especially now that my father is dead. But moreover, I cannot risk alerting Strahd to Ireena’s escape. She has been locked up in this house for some time, so no one will know that she's gone if they don’t see her leaving. But my presence will be missed if I suddenly depart. Ireena’s safety, and yours, depends upon the absolute secrecy of this mission. Strahd has spies everywhere; we must be cautious.”

Wednesday nodded in acceptance of that. “Fine. Shall we bury your father now? We still have a little time before sunset, and I do enjoy a good funeral.” Bianca buried her face into her hands in dismay. Enid and Xavier also cringed a little as Ireena and Ismark raised their eyebrows in surprise.

“Wednesday and I actually met at a funeral. I think she means that funerals can be more than just tragic affairs.” Xavier spoke up hastily to prevent offense. Wednesday gave him a black glare.

“I’m sorry about your father. If you don’t mind me asking, what happened to him?” Samuel asked.

Ireena sighed. “No doubt you noticed the damage to our home. Our house has been assaulted by unnaturally aggressive wolves for weeks. They never got inside, but three nights ago our father couldn’t take the fright any longer, and his heart failed him. The house hasn’t been attacked since then, but the villagers have been too afraid to help Ismark bury our father. Ismark can’t carry the coffin alone, and he’s had many other matters to attend to recently, you yourselves were involved in some of that.”

“It’s decided. We leave for the church now, Ireena stays hidden here, and we set out for Vallaki tomorrow.” Wednesday summed things up neatly. Everyone agreed, and the group helped Ismark carry his father’s coffin out the door and towards the church, with Ismark first paying them for their earlier assistance in capturing Lazlo and retrieving his mother’s magical ring.

The Barovians gave them a wide path as the group carried the former Burgomaster’s coffin across town, up to the church. Ireena was right, they were afraid, presumably of incurring the attention of the very wolves that had driven the Burgomaster to his death. No doubt they could easily imagine themselves carried off in just such a coffin.

As they proceeded through the gates around the church and came closer to the building, they got a better look at it through the foggy evening. Resting beneath the cliff that supported Castle Ravenloft, the church was a gray, sagging structure of stone and wood. The church had weathered the assaults of evil for centuries on end and was worn and weary, having been fighting a losing battle for so long. A bell tower rose toward the back of the church, and flickering light shone through holes in the shingled roof.

But the sight of the old church was less interesting than the sounds emerging from it. As the group came closer, they could hear howling screams echoing out from inside the church. Enid’s eyes widened as she whimpered in fear, a “what now?!?” expression crossing her face, and many of the others looked equally unnerved. Still, they carried on, and set the coffin down outside the doors of the church.

“Come, we must find the priest.” Ismark muttered, carefully opening the doors and peering inside. The doors open to reveal a narrow hall leading into a brightly lit chapel. Four doors, two on each side of the hall, lead into adjacent chambers, and the doors to those rooms were closed. The group could see that the chapel was strewn with debris, and could hear a soft voice down in the chapel reciting a prayer. Suddenly, the sound of the prayer was overwhelmed by a scream that rose up from beneath the wooden floor.

“Father! Father! Father I’m hungry!!!” The voice shrieked madly, and it continued wailing incoherently.

“Father Donavich, what is happening here?” Ismark asked, as the group approached the man kneeling before the altar. The priest startled, his quiet but frantic prayer interrupted, and looked up to see the group gathered behind him.

“Oh, hello Ismark my boy! So good to see you.” The elderly priest stood up and clasped Ismark’s shoulders, sweat pouring down his face, his eyes looking vaguely glazed over. His voice was hoarse and weak. “How can I help you my boy?”

“Father, I’m starving!” the voice raged beneath the floors.

“Ooh, I don’t like this.” Eugene muttered, as his bees buzzed agitatedly in his pack.

“We’re here to bury my father.” Ismark bowed his head. “But tell me, who is screaming?”

“It’s my poor son, Doru.” The priest shook. “Don’t worry, he’s not actually starving. But he has gone violently insane I’m afraid. I had intended to pray to the Morninglord all through the night, that his health may be restored.”

“Are you keeping your son locked up because you don’t consider him to be normal?” Wednesday asked, staring down the priest in suspicion. He did seem to be genuinely distressed, but his good intentions didn’t mean he was doing right by his son. Enid tensed beside Wednesday, also staring at the priest in suspicion.

“I have to keep Doru confined to the lower level of the building because he’s dangerous. He’ll attack anyone on sight when he’s in this state.” Donavich explained.

“I’m sorry for what’s happened to your family, but please, I need to bury my father tonight.” Ismark pleaded with the priest.

“Oh, of course I’ll help my boy. Come, let’s lay your father to rest. Is little Ireena not here?” he asked.

“Ireena could not come. It was a bitter blow to her, to not be able to attend her own father’s funeral, but it’s not safe for her to be out right now.” Ismark shook his head, and the priest seemed to understand even without knowing the details.

The group headed out to the graveyard, and Ismark and Donavich began digging a grave. The priest seemed to be struggling, and without being asked, Wednesday and Pugsley picked up the only other shovels in the graveyard, and in silence they helped the two men dig the grave.

When they were done, the others, who had brought the coffin over, lowered it carefully into the grave. Donavich began giving the Burgomaster his last rites, making the occasional reference to his god, Lathander the Morninglord.

As Donavich continued, a slow-rolling mist collected in the woods beyond the far fence of the graveyard. Wednesday spotted the dark silhouette of a tall man standing in the mist, his head bowed as if in respect. Even through the mists, she quickly recognized the figure as that of Count Strahd von Zarovich.

Strahd looked up and gave her a solemn nod, but came no closer to the funeral and did not speak up, and Wednesday turned her attention back to the funeral. Though she saw that Samuel, Enid, Eugene, and Xavier looked a little tense, they all had apparently also noticed the man lurking nearby, but unlike Wednesday they didn’t know who he was. She doubted they would be any less tense if they knew.

By the time the priest had finished giving the last rites, and the group had shoveled dirt over the coffin, night had fallen on Barovia. Looking back, Strahd was nowhere to be seen.

With the funeral complete, Wednesday found herself with a choice to make. She could say something about the priest’s son, Doru, or leave things alone. Wednesday hadn’t set out to meddle in everyone’s business, and certainly not to right every wrong in this world, but it bothered her greatly to see a father lock up his own child.

“It’s wrong of you to lock up your son like this, just because he’s a bit homicidally violent. If you really love him, you’ll set him free.” Wednesday told Donavich as the group came up to the front of the church, Doru’s screams echoing from down below. The rest of the group turned to watch the exchange.

“You don’t understand.” Donavich protested hoarsely. “He’s not merely mad. He and others joined a foolish foreign wizard in a hopeless attempt to destroy our dread lord, Strahd. The others were killed, but Doru was returned to me as a monster. His punishment for defying the master of Barovia. He wanted to be locked up in the undercroft when he returned to me. But he’s not himself anymore. He’ll attack anyone who comes near to him, save, I hope, for me.”

Wednesday exchanged a glance with Pugsley, both of them knowing Strahd’s true nature, and thus what had happened to Doru.

“If Count Strahd turned him into a monster, that must make him a vampire.” Pugsley half-stated, half-asked.

“I feed him the blood of animals, but it seems to sate him only briefly. Yet he cannot be let loose from the undercroft. He will attempt to feed without restraint!”

Indeed, everyone could hear that Doru was screaming “Father, I’m so hungry!” at that very moment. It seemed that the priest was right about that much.

“If he has turned into a vampire, he should not be set free.” Ismark nodded.

“I don’t think he should be judged and confined forever just because he was turned into a vampire.” Samuel was the first to protest; Ismark had no idea he had hired a vampire to protect his sister from another vampire, not to mention he had hired a werewolf and a siren too.

“Where’s the door to the undercroft? We will let Doru speak for himself.” Wednesday demanded.

The priest sagged. “It’s in my bedroom, I will show you to it. But be prepared, and you must promise me that, no matter what happens, you will not hurt my son.”

Wednesday thought about that. “I will protect myself if need be, but I won’t kill him. Deal?”

“Agreed.” Donavich nodded.

“I will wait outside.” Ismark spoke up. “This is a bad business, and I have no interest in dealing with any more vampires.” Samuel gave Ismark a fanged snarl that Ismark couldn’t see, since Samuel was travelling in his full set of armor including his elaborate helmet.

Wednesday followed Donavich to his quarters, the rest of the group sans Ismark trailing just after them.  His room contained little besides a wooden bed with a straw filled mattress, next to which rested a small table with an oil lamp burning brightly on it. Mounted above the bed's headboard was a wooden sun-shaped holy symbol, the symbol of Donavich’s god. There was also a trapdoor in the room with a heavy iron padlock.

Donavich pulled out a set of keys and unlocked the trapdoor. “Please be careful with him. I don’t want anyone to be hurt.” The priest had to speak up louder than he usually did to be heard over the sound of Doru’s screaming.

“Is he restrained in any way down there?” Xavier asked hopefully, looking a little nervous as a frantic scream for blood called out from beneath the floor.

“Of course not.” Donavich threw open the trapdoor, and several members of the group tensed. Nothing happened, but the screaming suddenly stopped.

Wednesday looked down and saw a narrow set of rickety wooden stairs. “We don’t need to crowd him. Samuel, Bianca, and Enid, come with me. Eugene, Pugsley, and Xavier, you wait here unless we call for you.” She ordered, quickly deciding who might be the most useful in this situation. No one disagreed.

Wednesday followed Donavich down the stairs, and the others she asked for followed behind them. The undercroft was a damp, earthen pit of a room. The lights from above shone through the old wooden floors, illuminating the room a little bit. As she descended the stairs, Wednesday immediately spotted the gaunt form of an emaciated young man crouched next the stairs, ignoring his father as he stared up at her hungrily.

“Don’t try it.” Wednesday threatened, drawing her silver dagger and pointing it at him. Donavich startled in surprise as he realized his son was crouched right next to him.

Doru glared at her for a tense moment, and then lashed out at her. Wednesday was faster than the weakened vampire, diving away from his grasping claws and straight down at Doru, dagger stabbing out towards him. The silver dagger sunk into his flesh. As Wednesday expected, it didn’t hurt him to the same extent it had hurt the werewolf earlier that day, but it did seem to do some damage, and Doru reared away from her, hissing in pain. Donavich cried out in shock as his son was stabbed.

Samuel came down next, katana drawn. “We’re here to talk, stop this now!” he pointed his sword at Doru. Doru scampered back, huddling against one of the walls of the undercroft.

Bianca and Enid came down the stairs next, Enid looking a little frightened but with claws extended, Bianca looking determined and prepared to siren song Doru if need be.

“I smell your blood…” Doru glanced at Wednesday. “But not yours… you’re like me.” He said, turning his attention to Samuel. Donavich gasped, turning to face the vampiric outcast.

Wednesday spoke up before Samuel could. “I take my personal space seriously; you won’t be drinking my blood. But maybe you don’t have to stay down here. Your father said you once asked to be kept down in this pit. Do you still want to be here, or do you want to be free?”

“Yesss, I cannot stay here any longer.” Doru nodded eagerly.

“My boy, it’s too dangerous” Donavich protested weakly.

“What would you do if you were free?” Samuel questioned.  

“I must go to Castle Ravenloft, it is the only place for me now.”

“You would go to that monster Strahd?” Donavich asked, pained. “He’s the one who did this to you!”

“Count Strahd is my master now. I must go to him, and I must feed.” Doru glared at his father.

Wednesday thought about that for a moment. She did believe Doru should be free, but if she let Doru go now, she may end up facing off against Doru later, if she had to confront Strahd. So all in all, there were no real downsides to just letting him leave, at least from Wednesday’s own unique perspective.

“Very well, you may go. But you will not attack any of the people upstairs, or the man waiting outside the church. We will see you out, and if you attack them, we will destroy you.”

Doru paused in thought and then nodded. Bianca just looked exasperated. It was a feeling she was becoming very familiar with after travelling with Wednesday. “Just don’t kill anyone on your way out of town.” Bianca added, letting a hint of siren song creep into her voice to give her words some added weight.

The six of them headed back upstairs, Doru looking almost unable to believe his sudden good fortune. The three boys waiting upstairs joined them, and they left the church. Though still painfully hungry, Doru gasped in joy as he beheld the light of the half-moon in the night sky for the first time in a year.

Ismark gave the thin vampire a wary look and palmed the handle of his sword, but said nothing.

“Doru, are you really leaving?” Donavich asked, beginning to cry as his emotions completely overcame him.

Doru gave his father a sad look, the earlier glare gone from his face. Doru had gone more than a little insane, locked up in the undercroft, but even so, he could tell that his father had also been losing his sanity as well. “I have to leave now, dad. I never wanted this, but this is my life now.”

“I’m sorry my son!” Donavich sobbed as he pulled Doru into a hug. Doru haltingly returned the hug.

“So am I.” Doru said, pulling away and giving his father one last tragic look. Then he turned and ran off into the graveyard.

Donvich fell to his knees, sobbing. Ismark turned to the group. “I do not think releasing that creature was wise, but it’s none of my business I suppose, and what’s done is done. If he returns to town to feed though, he will be shown no quarter.”

“Well, I’m glad he’s free.” Surprisingly, it was Enid who spoke up then. “No one deserves to be locked away like that. And also, I don’t think Donavich and this church could have survived having to deal with Doru screaming for blood at all hours for much longer.”

“It’s true, the townsfolk have been avoiding this church as of late. Now I know why.” Ismark patted Donavich on the shoulder. “I’ll be by to check on you later, Father Donavich. But it’s late, and we must be off.” 

The group set off down the streets. “Will you stay with me and Ireena tonight, or return to your rooms in the Blood of the Vine tavern?” Ismark asked Wednesday.

“We will return to our rooms. If Strahd does have spies everywhere, it will cause less suspicion.” Wednesday had already been thinking about that.

“That makes sense, but be careful what you say there. The Vistani owners are spies for Strahd themselves.” Ismark warned with a dark look on his face.

Wednesday frowned a little, thinking about Mirabel, who had attempted to warn her away from Ismark. Not surprising if she was working for Strahd.

“Strahd attended your father’s funeral tonight from a distance.” She informed Ismark, feeling he had a right to know. Ismark turned to her, alarmed, as Enid let out a gasp.

“So that’s who that guy was?!?” Enid looked positively creeped out, and the others were looking anxious too.

“I did not notice him… this does not bode well for the secrecy of our mission.” Ismark fretted.

“It’s fine.” Wednesday assured him. “It’s not surprising he noticed a late-night funeral directly beneath his castle, I would have been disappointed if he didn’t. He has no reason to suspect we’re about to flee town with Ireena.”

Ismark relaxed at that. “Sorry, it’s easy to become paranoid around here, doubly so when the devil is watching you from the shadows. But you’re right, I don’t believe we’ve done anything to give away our plans to him. Still, best not to linger. Tomorrow, all of you and Ireena will have to leave the town.”

Wednesday nodded, and Samuel pulled her aside as the group continued down Church Street. “Wednesday, I’m not starving like Doru was, but I am starting to get hungry. I’ll need to drink blood soon.”

“Human, or animal?” Wednesday asked.

“A good amount of animal blood can hold me over for a while, though I will eventually need to drink human blood again.” Samuel explained quietly.

“I leave managing your diet up to you, but that shouldn’t be a problem. You can hunt for animals as we travel, and we’ll soon reach another town which will be filled with humans, who will be filled with blood.”

The outcasts made their way back to the inn for one last night and headed up to their respective rooms.

“By the way” Wednesday warned them. “Lock your doors and sleep with one eye open. An old crone tried to force feed Pugsley a pastry last night in his sleep.” She headed over to her room, leaving an alarmed group behind her without elaborating.

“What!?!” Pugsley yelped, this being news to him.

“An old lady with pastries?” Bianca muttered unnerved, remembering the old lady who had tried to sell them her pastries in the middle of the night.   

Tired after a very long day, everyone soon got to sleep. During the night though, there was a knock on Wednesday’s door that woke her and Pugsley up.

“Go away, we don’t want any pastries.” Wednesday called out, annoyed.

“Wednesday, it’s me!” Eugene whispered just loud enough to be heard through the door. “You’ve got to see this, it’s a miracle!”

Wednesday grabbed a knife. “For your sake, you better be the real Eugene and not something borrowing his voice, or you’re dead.” Wednesday got up and disabled her traps; Pugsley put a pillow over his head and tried to go back to sleep.

Wednesday stepped out into the hall. “This had better be important.” She warned Eugene.

“So you know how a bunch of my bees died fighting that werewolf guy with a magic ring, and it was real sad and stuff?” Eugene asked.

“Yes, I do recall our fight with Lazlo from earlier today.” Wednesday responded dryly.

“Well guess what? They’re all back!” Eugene grinned happily as dozens of ghost bees swarmed up behind him.

“Good for you Eugene. Even death cannot keep you and the hive apart.” Wednesday gave a small smile. It was maybe the first time in her life she had felt such a sincere happiness for another person’s good fortune, but it was a little bittersweet too. She wished her scorpion Nero could have come back for her like this. If only he had died in Ravenloft, instead of her own miserable world.

“Wednesday, it seems like things are sort of dangerous around here. If something happens to me, you’ll care for and protect my bees, right?” Eugene asked of her.

“I will do my utmost to keep you safe.” Wednesday promised. “But yes, if something happens to you, I, as the only other member of the Nevermore Hummers, will take care of your bees, both the living and the dead. That’s Hive Code.”

Wednesday heard a muffled yelp as a ghost bee stung one of Mirabel’s sisters, who had been spying on their conversation from behind the closed doors of an unoccupied room. Her small smile twisted into a sharp smirk; she could get used to immaterial bees who could pass through walls. 

Chapter Text

Xavier awoke suddenly as a disembodied hand poked his cheek. Barely lucid and alarmed, he began to scream, only for Thing to cover his mouth before he could be heard. Oh, Xavier realized, the undead hand poking him was just Thing. He probably wasn’t about to be killed… probably.

Thing pointed to a rope he had been carrying, then pointed to the window. Xavier groaned. “You have got to be kidding me, can’t we just leave like normal people?”

Thing sliced his hand horizontally in a “no way” sort of gesture. Xavier grumbled but decided to go along with it and wake the others.

“Hey Eugene, wake up.” Xavier half-whispered, shaking the younger boy. A translucent bee flew up and stung him, and Thing suddenly pounced upwards and covered Xavier’s mouth again as he let out a pained cry.

“Quiet” Thing seemed to gesture as Eugene woke up.

“Eugene, was that bee a ghost?!? What the hell… come on, we’re climbing down a rope out our window and leaving.” Xavier glanced out the window, and saw it was still pitch black outside.

Xavier walked over to where Samuel was asleep on the floor, and warier now, he gently shoved him with his foot. His caution did Xavier no good, as Samuel awoke with a start and grabbed Xavier’s leg, pulling him to the ground and baring his fangs. Thing, determined not to let Xavier scream and give away the game, was once again suddenly covering Xavier’s mouth as he yelped.

Xavier grabbed Thing off him and tossed him away. “Enough already!” Xavier whisper-yelled. “Come on, we’re climbing out the damn window!” he huffed.

“Drama queen.” Samuel muttered to Eugene, who could only nod in agreement.

Samuel packed his armor in a couple of thick burlap bags and gently lowered them to the ground one at a time, and the group carefully climbed out the window. Eugene fell off the rope halfway down, but Samuel caught him as easily as if he weighed nothing. Pugsley and the girls were already waiting for them.

“Let’s move, there’s no time to waste.” Wednesday led the group down the streets towards Ismark’s and Ireena’s home.

“Why the cloak and dagger? Couldn’t we have just left out the front door, same as we did every other morning?” Xavier complained, he was not a morning person and this morning had been especially rough.

After a long pause, it became clear Wednesday wasn’t going to bother to explain herself, so Pugsley did so for her. “The innkeepers are apparently spies for the Count. We didn’t want them to realize we were leaving before dawn, since we’ve never done so before and they’d get suspicious. And we gotta get Ireena out of Barovia before the town wakes up.”  

“We need to find some coffee if you’re going to be getting us up at these ungodly hours.” Bianca moaned as she shuffled tiredly down the streets. Enid patted her on the shoulder, for once in full agreement with Bianca.

The outcasts reached the Burgomaster’s manor and knocked on the door. Moments later, Ismark opened the door and stepped out with Ireena, who was already packed, and equipped with a sword too.

“Thank you for doing this. I can’t tell you what a relief it is, that Ireena will escape before Strahd comes for her. Here, take this.” Ismark gave Wednesday a sack of gold coins, having long since correctly deduced that she was the leader of the group of outcasts.

“That’s a thousand gold coins, and I’ll send you another two thousand when Ireena is safely in Vallaki.” Ismark explained. As the new Burgomaster, he could afford to pay much better wages to adventurers than almost anyone else in the impoverished town. Enid had an awkward look on her face, feeling uncomfortable taking so much money to escort someone to safety. Wednesday simply placed the gold in her pack with a curt nod.

Bianca shook Ismark’s hand. “It’s been a pleasure, Ismark. I hope we’ll meet again someday.”

“I would like that.” Ismark nodded, and turned to his sister, pulling her into a hug.

“Be safe Ireena. I shall pray to the Morninglord for your health and safety.” Ismark hugged her tightly, his voice overcome with emotion.

“We shall meet again brother. Stay strong for me, and do what you can for this poor village.” Ireena pulled back and kissed his cheek.

“Well, I suppose we had best be off then.” Ireena forced a smile, and Wednesday nodded in agreement.

The outcasts and Ireena made it out of town shortly before dawn. Fortunately, no villagers had awoken yet and spotted them, and no crazy old bats had tried to sell them pastries. Wednesday gave the village one last look as they exited out the west side of the town.

“I will miss that town.” Wednesday admitted, and Enid gave her a look like she was crazy.

The group set off down the Old Slavich Road, and soon the sun had risen, providing some dim light behind the screen of dark clouds that forever covered the skies of Barovia. As they moved further away from town, the Barovian’s farmland stretched on along the left side of the road, while a dark forest stood on the right side of the road. Soon though they crossed a bridge over the Ilvis River, and from then on the woods surrounded both sides of the road, though on the right side of the road only a thin layer of trees stood between the road and the river, which the road was following alongside of for now.

The outcasts walked for only a little longer after they crossed the bridge, before they felt like they were far enough away from town to sit down and dig into their rations, having not eaten yet this morning. Breakfast was a fairly quiet affair. The outcasts hadn’t adjusted yet to travelling with a new person, and Ireena didn’t know how to interact with them either. The walk had been quiet and uneventful, but still a little unnerving. The towering trees of the Slavich woods which lined the roads were so tall that the tops of them were lost in the heavy gray mist that hung over the land, giving the group the eerie sensation that anything could be lurking above them. The woods were as silent as a forgotten grave, and a faint stench of death hung in the air.

As the group was finishing with their rations, Ireena spoke up. “It occurs to me that although you know much about me, I know very little about you all. What’s your story? How did you come to be in these lands?” she asked.

Xavier was the first to answer her. “We were students at a school called Nevermore Academy, and our school and the local town were somehow taken by magic to this place. We’d still be in school, but a mob from the town destroyed the academy, so now we’re travelling together.”

Xavier, being something of a sucker for a pretty face, had just revealed entirely too much information, because the group had never revealed their status as outcasts and supernatural creatures to Ireena or Ismark, and Ireena’s next question was “That’s terrible, but why would a mob attack a school?”

Bianca spoke up before Xavier could. “They thought a monster which had been killing them was attending our school. It was total nonsense. If that monster was at our school, it probably would have killed them all when they attacked, and us too.”  

Ireena seemed to accept that, and Bianca gave Xavier a glare when Ireena turned away.

The group set off down the road again, and only a few minutes later, they came in sight of an old set of gallows, which had a frayed length of rope that hung from a beam and was swaying in the breeze. The rotted gallows looked like it had been in disuse for some time, which was a shame, Wednesday thought. The road also split here, and a signpost opposite the gallows pointed off in three directions: ‘Barovia Village’ back to the east, ‘Tser Pool’ to the northwest, and ‘Castle Ravenloft/Vallaki’ to the southwest. The northwest fork slanted down and disappeared into the trees, while the southwest fork clung to an upward slope.

Across from the gallows, a low wall, crumbling in places, partially enclosed a small plot of graves that was shrouded in fog. Eleven simple graves, bearing no names or dates, sat behind the small, broken-down wall next to the tree line.

The group passed by without comment, heading in the direction of Vallaki. But as they walked away, they heard a creaking sound echo out ominously from behind them. The outcasts looked behind them towards the gallows, and where there was nothing before, there now hung a lifeless, gray body. It wasn’t the body of a human either. Someone gasped, as the group stood frozen in surprise.

The breeze turned the swaying, hanged figure slowly, and the dead eyes of Bianca Barclay stared back at the group. She was fully transformed into her natural siren form.

Bianca covered her mouth, a look of horror upon her face. Enid and Eugene looked like they were about to throw up… then Eugene turned aside and actually did throw up. Xavier backed away, shaking his head and looking terrified.

“What, what is this?” Ireena asked. “That… you… it has a fish’s tail instead of legs.”

“You’ve learned Bianca’s terrible secret.” Wednesday informed her in her usual unemotional monotone. “Bianca is half fish.”

“What is this?” Xavier asked, stepping closer to the body but stopping short of it, closing his eyes as though pained.

“That’s me. How could that be me?” Bianca mumbled, as Enid held her protectively, unable to look at the body any longer without fainting.

Wednesday strode up the body, which did in fact smell like dead fish, and put a hand against its fish-scales. They were cold and stiff, which was pretty much exactly what Wednesday would expect of fish scales whether Bianca was dead or alive. So she then reached up and touched the Bianca-corpse’s hand. Her hand was also stiff and cold, as though she had been dead for quite some time.

Wednesday remembered her own voice echoing up from a well during her first journey out of the academy and into the lands of Barovia. “This land plays tricks on travelers like us. This is just another such trick.” She told the rest of the group.

“We should… we should still cut her down.” Xavier proposed, looking like he was holding back tears.

The outcasts did cut the Bianca-corpse down, but when they lowered it to the ground, it melted away. Enid yelped in disgust at the strange sight.

“This is not a good omen.” Ireena muttered lowly to Wednesday.

“As I said, it was a mere trick. And I grow tired of childish tricks.” Wednesday responded, then pulled out a match and set fire to the gallows.

As Pugsley threw kindling onto the gallows and as the fire began to spread, a few Vistani rode up along the road. “Good riddance to that old eyesore.” One of the Vistani men declared from atop his horse.

Another spoke up and addressed the outcasts. “Greetings fellow travelers. You should come with us up to the Tser pool, we’ve set up camp there and it’s only a mile up the road from here. You can join us for lunch if you’d like.”

That would save them a meal’s worth of rations, but the outcasts had bought plenty of rations, and the trip to Vallaki wasn’t supposed to take long enough for them to go through their entire supply. “Thank you, but no, we just ate.” Wednesday declined on behalf of the group.

“Not the friendly types, are you?” The Vistani man frowned, and they trotted away up the road. The outcasts took the other road at the crossroads towards Castle Ravenloft and Vallaki.

The Old Slavich Road travelled up hills, across fields and through woods, and after a few hours it crossed a bridge taking them north again over the river. Everyone had at least one empty canteen now, so they refilled them in the river by the bridge, though they would need to boil that water before drinking it. After that, the road continued north, and it left the river behind.

The land leveled out into a plain, and the group didn’t pass by much of interest except for a small series of graves. Wednesday recognized the terrain; she knew that soon the road would split again, with one of the roads turning northeast towards Castle Ravenloft. Now may have been a good time to get off the road, just to be safe, but on this plain there was nowhere to hide.

Still, it was prudent to warn the group. “We’re not far from Castle Ravenloft, and thus not far from Count Strahd. If anyone hears someone coming down the road, warn the others so we get off the road and hide in the high grass.”

“I’ll keep an ear out.” Enid, who had enhanced hearing, promised. Ireena nodded as well, unsurprisingly starting to look a little nervous. Clouds that were dark even by Barovia’s usual standards expanded out from the direction of Castle Ravenloft, drifting slowly but surely towards the outcasts, who hurried along more quickly now.

But at least no one else was travelling down the road, which was quiet and empty save for the outcasts and Ireena. After another hour the group reached the fork in the road and began to travel straight west, away from Castle Ravenloft. Just moments later down the road, they came upon a huge iron gate between high stone buttresses that loomed in the gray mists of the fog. Two headless statues of armed guardians flanked the gate, their heads lying among the weeds at their feet. The gate clearly marked the entrance to the road leading back towards Castle Ravenloft, which the outcasts were travelling away from as quickly as possible.

The gates were closed, but as the group approached, they swung open. Many of the outcasts exchanged nervous looks, but they passed through the gates regardless, which, in true Barovian fashion, swung shut behind them. Wednesday wasn’t surprised; this was far the first time a door or gate had opened or closed of its own accord since she came to Barovia, and the gate of the Addams Family manor did the same.

The outcasts kept on down the road, and Xavier fell into step beside Bianca. “Hey, are you doing alright?” he asked gently, keeping his voice low.

“How do you think I’m doing? And what’s it to you anyways?” Bianca spoke sourly, but also kept her voice quiet to keep the conversation relatively private.

“Hey, I know things didn’t end well between us, but I still care about you. It was awful seeing you hanging from a rope back there.” Xavier shuddered.

“You broke up with me.” Bianca scowled at him. It still stung her pride a little that she had been the dumpee rather than the one doing the dumping. “Whatever, now’s not the time to relive old drama anyway.” she dismissed.

“Hey, I was really proud of you when you used your powers to take down that werewolf.” Xavier tried with a smile.

“You broke up with me because you were afraid my siren song was affecting you or whatever.” Bianca scoffed, palming the necklace she used to suppress her song when she didn’t need it.

Xavier tried to speak up again, but Bianca cut him off. “I’m not in the mood for this right now.” She walked ahead swiftly, leaving a melancholy Xavier trailing behind her.

Samuel and Enid glanced off the side of the road and up at the clouds awkwardly, having overheard everything due to their enhanced hearing. They briefly caught each other’s eyes and looked away uncomfortably.

The outcasts stopped for lunch, having bought enough rations to have three meals a day during this trip. Samuel sighed forlornly, he was getting hungry himself.

“Hey buddy, do you need to eat too?” Pugsley sat beside him and offered up a vein on his arms. Luckily Ireena wasn’t paying the two of them any attention.

“Thanks Pugsley, but the next person or animal I sink my fangs into is going to lose a lot of blood, I won’t be able to control myself.” Pugsley, who had been alright with the concept before, quickly retracted his arm.

Samuel patted him on the shoulder. “I’m planning to go out hunting tonight. But maybe when I have my self-control back, I’ll take you up on the offer. After all, I do need at least a little human blood in my diet.”

“Cool, sounds good.” Pugsley agreed, and then the outcasts were back on their way again.

A few hours later, the outcasts finally did pass by someone travelling down the road. It was their first time seeing anyone out here since the morning when they had crossed paths with the Vistani. These travelers were no Vistani though, but a cart full of tired looking Barovians who seemed to be heading back towards their village. They gave the outcasts nervous, suspicious looks as they passed by them, but said nothing. Wednesday suspected they had probably been trading at the village of Vallaki.

The road began winding up across a mountain range, called the Balinok Mountains, Ireena informed the group. Traveling up such mountains, the group soon began to slow down. Truthfully, many of the outcasts were doing all right even going up so far into the mountains, but Eugene and Pugsley were struggling. Xavier and Ireena were faring better than those two, but were still moving slower now, not being used to the rigors of travel.  

Eventually, the dim light in the sky began to fade, and the outcasts began looking for a place to set up camp. Eventually, they found a nice, spacious area near the side of the road and stopped for the night. The group ate dinner, started a fire, and boiled water they had collected earlier. Those who knew how to set up the tents, and those who didn’t stayed out of their way.

At one point, Enid sat down next to Bianca. “Hey, seriously, are you ok after earlier?” she felt someone had to ask and that Xavier had screwed it up earlier.

“I’m fine.” Bianca sighed. “A little nervous maybe, but like Wednesday said, it’s just this place playing tricks. It’s not like that was my future or something.” She did look unsettled though as she said that.

“That’s right, this place seriously sucks, but we’re gonna survive!” Enid responded optimistically.

“I’m getting out of here alive, and I’m going to give my mom a peace of my mind.” Bianca nodded.

That Bianca had problems with her mother was news to Enid, but she nodded in solidarity with her. “Yeah, me too!” Enid agreed, though even as she said it, she wasn’t sure she could stand up to her highly judgmental, disapproving mother.

“I’ll tell her what I think about her and Gideon’s stupid cult.” Bianca muttered, getting up to go set up her tent.

“Yeah, me to… wait what?” Enid asked, confused. “Did you say cult?”

Now instead of having three rooms at an inn for seven people, the group had four tents for eight people. As such, Enid was back to rooming with Wednesday. They had decided without really saying so that the girls and boys would sleep in separate tents, and Wednesday decided she would rather share a tent with Enid instead of Bianca, who she didn’t like, or Ireena, who she didn’t yet trust. That left the other two girls to share a tent together, though Ireena was a little wary of the girl who was apparently half-fish. Samuel and Pugsley shared a tent, leaving Xavier and Eugene to share the other.

They had decided it would be wise taking shifts at the campfire keeping an eye on things during the night. So as not to disturb their roommates who were sharing a tent, both members of one tent would take watch at the same time. Tonight, Wednesday and Enid were taking the first watch. The outcasts had dragged a long log over by the fire earlier, so Wednesday and Enid were sitting on that. Thing also joined them, warming himself by the fire.

“So, I think today went pretty well, for the most part.” Enid smiled at Wednesday, who was staring intently into the fire.

“It would have been pretty perfect if we hadn’t seen Bianca’s dead body hanging from the gallows.” Enid shuddered. “Honestly, I think I would have fainted if I’d seen that less than a week ago, but… I’ve seen so much since then.”

“I take it your morbid curiosity is satisfied after seeing so much bloodshed and death.” Wednesday had tried to satisfy Enid’s morbid curiosity back at Nevermore, but there was very little even she could manage in that restrictive school.

“Um, what morbid curiosity?” Enid was the picture of confusion. Wednesday turned and looked at her blankly. Wednesday theorized that the interest in pain and death that Enid had occasionally exhibited was a purely subconscious phenomenon.  

When Wednesday didn’t reply, Enid went fishing for a new topic of conversation. “So, we get to Vallaki, and then what do we do? It kind of seems like we’re just flying by the seats of our pants”

“The plan is simple enough. We’ll send word to Ismark that Ireena is safe, and stick around at least long enough to collect our money and explore the town. We’ll find more work for money if we can, preferably by doing violence for gold, and if there is no work for us we move on.” Wednesday threw some more kindling onto fire, and watched as it roared back to life.

“That’s it?” Enid sounded… afraid? Disappointed? Wednesday wasn’t an expert. “We just keep wandering around this strange, dangerous world, solving murders and picking fights with dark lords for money?”

“No, that’s not all. I’ll also continue writing my novel. What else you get up to is your own business.” She turned to look more directly at Enid. “Do you dislike this course of action? Did you want something else out of life?”

Enid looked a little defiant, and a little dejected. “More than being a homeless mercenary? Kind of. I guess I never thought much about what I would do after school. School was kind of my entire life. Funnily enough, I never imagined what I would do if I was transported to a medieval world and my school was destroyed by an angry mob.”

“You should try running different worst-case scenarios through your head, so you’ll be prepared for when they come to pass. I’ve imagined what I would do in the event of a nation-wide witch hunt, a zombie apocalypse, an alien invasion, a demonic incursion, an angelic incursion, and more.” Wednesday was elaborating more than usual, if only because she was for once genuinely interested in the topic of conversation.

“That totes does sound like you. What would you have done in the event of a zombie apocalypse?”

An almost wistful look crossed Wednesday’s face. “There’s a long stretch of Canada that’s very much underpopulated, while still being reasonably temperate. It can get quite cold there at times, but that wouldn’t bother me. I would have gone directly there, and built a cabin in the woods with its own garden. There would be plenty of game to hunt, and I could have lived there alone in blissful solitude.”

“Liar” Enid chuckled. Wednesday turned back to her and glared. “Blissful solitude my ass. You would have taken your brother with you at the very least.”

“Careful Enid” Wednesday warned darkly. “Playing with metaphorical fire is especially dangerous when you’re within pushing distance of a literal fire.”

Enid mimed zipping up her lips and throwing away the key, and the two lapsed into silence for a while, listening to the distant baying of wolves.

Enid woke Pugsley and Samuel up for their shift. She assumed that if it was left to Wednesday to wake them, she would do so by tossing an ax into their tent or something, so she had volunteered to wake them herself to avoid any violence. She shook the boys awake, and then went back to her and Wednesday’s tent, and fell asleep roughly forty second later. It had been another very long day for her.

Samuel and Pugsley went over to the fire themselves, but it wasn’t long before Samuel’s stomach let out a hungry growl.

“Pugsley, it’s time for me to go out hunting. You keep an eye on the camp while I’m out, and be careful not to fall asleep.”

“You’re not going to bring your armor or anything?” Pugsley asked.

“It would only get in the way while hunting. I’m not planning to fight any big battles, if I see something nasty out there, I’ll retreat.” Samuel stood up and began to disappear into the deep darkness outside of the light of the campfire.

“Alright, watch your back out there.” Pugsley had to trust that a vampire would know what he was doing.

Samuel nodded and deftly made his way up further into the mountain, sometimes using his claws to climb straight up steep cliffs. Wandering around the top of the mountains, Samuel saw a bear travelling down beneath him at one point, but decided he wasn’t hungry enough to try attacking a bear by himself. Fortunately, Samuel was quite stealthy when he wasn’t running around in heavy armor, and he stayed still as the bear passed by without incident.

After the better part of an hour of searching, he came across some mountain goats. Samuel creeped up onto a cliff above them, then dropped down onto one. The other goats bayed and scattered, easily bounding away even on the steep cliff. The goat Samuel had caught could not escape him, and he drank all the goat's blood, satisfying his hunger.

By the time he made it back, his scheduled watch had almost ended, and Pugsley was sound asleep by the fire. Samuel shook his head, amused, and shoved a started Pugsley off the log he’d been sitting on.

The two woke up Bianca and Ireena for the next shift, and Bianca looked like she hadn’t been getting much sleep anyway.

Bianca had gotten to sleep for a bit, only to be plagued by nightmares about herself dying, her friends at Nevermore being killed, and her companions dying or leaving her all alone. If anything, she was more tired now than she was before she fell asleep.

Ireena noticed the other girl’s look of exhaustion when they sat down by the fire. “Did you sleep alright? It must have been difficult after what we saw earlier?”

“I’m just fine.” Bianca busied herself with putting kindling onto the fire, unwilling to talk about it.

“I have nightmares too sometimes. About Strahd coming back. When he comes for me, I lose myself in his dark eyes. He puts some kind of spell on me I believe. I’m not myself when he does that, and then eventually he bites me and leaves. I’ve relived those moments in my nightmares time and time again.”

Bianca faltered. “I’m... I’m sorry to hear that. We’ll get you to Vallaki and you’ll never have to see that bastard again. But like I said, I’m doing fine.” Bianca was unwilling to show any weakness; she was more like Wednesday than she would have liked to admit in that regard.

Bianca still looked troubled though, so Ireena decided to change the topic. “So, Wednesday says you are half fish?”

Bianca snorted. “Something like that. Does that bother you?”

Ireena shrugged. “We’ve had all sorts come through Barovia at different times. A girl with a fish tail is a first, but still seems pretty tame, all things considered.”

“I’m actually a siren.” Bianca admitted, and went on to explain to Ireena about what a siren was. It was just the distraction she needed to get her mind off things, at least for a while. Bianca went on to tell Ireena, who knew full well the outcasts weren’t from Ravenloft, a bit about her own world. The otherwise silent night was sometimes pierced by an occasional howl or strange shriek, and the girls were glad they had camped high up in the mountains, far above the terror and danger of the dark forests down below. 

Chapter Text

It got light in Barovia slowly, because the thick layer of dark clouds in the sky effectively masked the dawn. In the gloom of the morning, the outcasts kept their campfire going to have some light to eat breakfast by. Soon, they were back on the road. The less fit members of the group were sore after the previous day’s travel, but fortunately for them they had already travelled as high up into the mountain as the road would take them, and soon they were travelling back downhill again.

The morning passed without event, as the group travelled on and then down the mountain nearly until noon. Before the outcasts made it all the way down the mountain, a town became visible to them in the distance. It stood in the heart of the valley, a walled town near the shores of a great mountain lake, the waters of which appeared dark and still. Though they could see the town from up on the mountain, it still looked to be hours away.

“Vallaki. I’ve always wanted to visit, but I’ve never been there myself.” Despite a long-standing desire to see more of the world, Ireena had never left the area around the town of Barovia before. “Who would have thought I would one day come here as a refugee?”

Xavier tried to nudge Wednesday, though she slid away before he could actually make contact. Undeterred, Xavier whispered to her “This is turning out to be a pretty easy job.”

Wednesday shook her head slightly. “Don’t you know not to count your snakes before they’ve hatched?”

Soon the trail took them down to the bottom of the mountainside as it descended into a fog-filled valley. Continuing on, the outcasts soon came upon a dilapidated windmill, its warped wooden vanes stripped bare. The windmill sagged haphazardly to one side.

“I suppose this is as good a place as any to stop and take lunch.” Enid suggested, though her tone was skeptical as she gave the leaning old structure a dubious look.

"Yes please!" Eugene begged, hungry and out of breath. Suddenly the caw of a bird pierced the air. Perched on a wooden beam above the door of the mill was a raven. It hopped about and squawked at the outcasts, seeming agitated. With one last loud caw, it took off, flying towards Vallaki.

“Actually, maybe we can find a better place.” Pugsley, though he was as eager to stop for lunch as Enid and Eugene, sounded a little nervous. “I think that raven was trying to warn us off.”

Samuel patted him on the back. “It was just a bird Pugsley. We might as well take a break. Though I’m not hungry at all right now, so whether you all want to stop for lunch here is up to you.”

Wednesday wasn’t as dismissive towards ravens as Samuel, but she agreed with him about stopping here… for her own reasons. “If the raven was warning us not to go in, I’d like to know what it was warning us about.” Being more observant than most, Wednesday noticed the shadows around the mill were strangely gaunt, and sometimes seemed to subtly writhe like eels in water.  

Enid was torn between her paranoid fear of suspicious buildings in Barovia, and the love of food that all werewolves shared in common. “Well, on second thought, maybe we should keep going on for a little longer.” She bit her lip, still undecided.

Bianca took the opportunity to oppose one of Wednesday’s decisions. “We have someone we’re being paid to safely escort to Vallaki. Do you really think it’s smart to go looking for trouble?”

“That’s a fair point.” Wednesday conceded, to Bianca’s shock. “Usually, trouble finds me, so I have no need to go looking for it.” Bianca rubbed her forehead as though she had a sudden headache.

“Don’t worry about me.” Ireena spoke up, staring at the structure as she laid one hand over her sheathed sword. “If you want to check out the building, that’s fine with me.”

“Ow!” A tiny, childish voice screamed out in pain, followed by an older voice’s cackling laughter.

“In fact, I insist we check it out after all.” Ireena demanded, drawing her sword and marching towards the windmill.

Wednesday gave Ireena a confused look. “We know someone’s staying there, so at least knock.” Wednesday suggested, having been raised with good, if deeply unusual, manners.

Instead of knocking, Ireena kicked in the front door and stalked inside. Wednesday shrugged, she supposed good manners weren’t everything. She drew a silver dagger and followed after Ireena, the rest of outcasts trailing behind her.

The outcasts and Ireena entered the windmill and observed the room they had stepped into. The ground floor looked like it had been converted into a makeshift kitchen, but for a kitchen, the room was absolutely filthy. Baskets and old dishware were piled everywhere. Adding to the clutter was a peddler's cart, a chicken coop, a heavy wooden trunk, and, looking out of place, a pretty wooden cabinet with flowers painted on its doors.

In addition to the clucking of the chickens in their coop, the outcasts could hear toads croaking. The sweet smell of pastries filled the room and blended horridly with another stench that burned their nostrils. The awful odor came out of an open, upright barrel in the center of the room. Heat blasted out of a brick oven against one wall, and a crumbling staircase ascended the wall across from it. More shrieks and cackles echoed from somewhere higher up in the windmill.

Wednesday stared at the peddler’s cart, feeling that it looked familiar. On a hunch, she went over to the oven and, not being immune to extreme heat, began putting on a pair of filthy oven mitts.

“Um, guys?” Enid pointed to a pile of small, but suspiciously human-looking bones on the ground.

Samuel looked into the stinking barrel, and observed a greenish-black liquid inside. He quickly found the lid and put it back on the barrel. “Ugh, somedays I hate having an enhanced sense of smell.”

Mitts on, Wednesday opened the oven and found a familiar looking batch of pastries baking inside.

“Granny’s dream pastries.” Wednesday realized, eyes narrowing. “It is fortunate that we stopped by after all. There’s someone here I want to kill.” She declared.

“Kill?” Ireena questioned warily, and just then more childish screams echoed from upstairs. “Well, lead the way.” She decided. Wednesday ascended the stairs, followed by the others.

Coming up to the second floor, Wednesday entered a poorly lit room. The center of the room was taken up by a large, circular bed stone which rested on the floor, and a large runner stone was hanging over it, connected to a wooden gear shaft that rose through the ceiling in the center of the room. The room was covered in white bone dust, especially the bed stone. A stone staircase continued upwards, towards the sound of loud cackling laughter. But Wednesday was more interested in the figure she had spotted in this room.

A haggard, heavyset old woman with a face as wrinkled as a boiled apple was sweeping the floor, pushing around a few old bones and stirring up a cloud of white dust with her broom. She wore a bloodstained, flour-caked apron, and a long, sharp bodkin impaled her bundled-up mound of gray hair.

“Hello Granny.” Wednesday greeted.

The old crone slowly turned to face her. “Oh, hello there dearie. I wasn’t expecting company today. Did you change your mind about the dream pastries? Only one gold coin each, a fair price you must agree.”

“No Granny. I’m here to bury your old carcass in the ground where it belongs.” Wednesday responded as the rest of her group began filing into the room.

“Young people today.” Granny shook her head. “What did dear old Granny Morgantha ever do to you?”

“You broke into my room at the inn and tried to feed my brother your vile, no doubt enchanted pastries while he slept.” Wednesday deadpanned.

“Not cool!” Pugsley chimed in.

“That sounds a little strange to me, I’m not sure I recall that. Are you sure you weren’t just dreaming?” Granny Morgantha smiled.

“Positive.” Wednesday was unimpressed. “Your memory is obviously going. And you’re about to follow after it.”

More screams echoed from upstairs, followed by delighted, cackling laughter. “What are you doing up there? Those sound like children!” Ireena burst out, leveling her sword at Granny.

“And those kind of looked like the bones of little kids on the floor downstairs.” Eugene pointed out.

“I’m sorry for the mess, I haven’t quite gotten around to sweeping downstairs yet.” Granny shook her head at her own sloppiness. “But you do remember what I said I made my pastries out, don’t you girlie?”

Granny stared Wednesday in the eye, with a small grin pulling at the corners of lips. “Love” Wednesday spat. “Along with flour, churned butter, and… protein.” Wednesday realized, glancing upwards.

Granny’s face broke into a wicked, evil smile, and she threw back her head, bursting into peals of hideous laughter. The rest of the group soon realized the same thing Wednesday had just deduced.

Without another word, Ireena raced forward and slashed her sword at Granny. Still smiling, Granny swept her broom and kicked bone dust up into Ireena’s face. Blinded, a spluttering Ireena careened to the side and fell onto the floor, and began trying to rub the bone dust out of her eyes and off her face.

“Oh well, I’ll suppose I’ll have to teach you naughty children some manners. Girls, come down here and help your mother!” Granny called up the stairs. Then she flung out one gnarled hand, and a wave of invisible force sent Pugsley, Eugene, and Enid flying back into the wall behind them, as Bianca just barely dogged Pugsley’s flying body. Pugsley and Eugene landed roughly in a heap, but Enid landed easily on all fours, crouching up and extending out her claws with an angry snarl on her face.

The room exploded into motion, with Enid acting first. Though she had never yet changed into her werewolf form, Enid was still faster and more durable than your average human, and she darted up to Granny, slashing at her with her claws. But Granny casually and skillfully deflected each swipe with the broom she was still holding.

Wednesday was the next to act. Though Enid was in melee with Granny, Wednesday carefully drew back her silver dagger, timing her strike. She waited until the right moment, then threw the dagger just past Enid and past Granny’s swinging broom. The silver dagger sunk into the old woman, and she let out a screech of pain as it burned her flesh. With the gloves Pugsley had made for her, Wednesday summoned the dagger back into her waiting hand.

The rest of the outcasts were also looking for a chance to strike Granny without hitting Enid. Pugsley picked himself up and charged at Granny, circling around the bed stone in the middle of the room. He had a unique new glove on one hand that he had made himself, though it was different than the gloves he had made for Wednesday. He grabbed Granny with his gloved hand, and sparks flew from his palm as Granny let out another pained screech before forcing him away with her broom.

The others also took their chance to attack. Eugene swarmed her with his bees, both his living ones and his ghost ones, though neither seemed to bother Granny much. Samuel struck with his katana, but Granny deflected even that with her broom. As the melee continued, Samuel made a grab for Granny, but she fought back with surprising strength as the two tried to grapple each other. Samuel fought desperately, and Granny muttered a guttural sounding word, releasing a sickly light out from one of her withered fingers. The light struck Samuel point blank, but seemed to pass over his armor with no effect.

Granny tutted, annoyed, as the two continued to struggle. “Little vampire, can’t you even pin down an old lady? Maybe I’ll allow you to pin me down later, after all your friends are baking in the oven!” Granny grinned lecherously.

Bianca interrupted by stabbing her sword at Granny, careful to avoid Samuel. Even so, Granny saw her coming and forced Samuel between herself and Bianca’s blade, the blade deflected uselessly off Samuel’s armor.  Samuel and Granny were moving towards the center of the room, and Bianca continued to jab at Granny if only to force her back, not wanting Samuel to trip back onto the bed stone as he wrestled with the old crone.

Just then, a terribly ugly creature lumbered down the staircase. It was an abnormally tall, inhumanely lanky creature, with wrinkled, deep purple skin, and a grotesquely hideous face. It had jet black hair that was braided at the ends, wicked claws on its fingers, and ratty robes decorated with human skulls and bones that were tied around the belt.

With a toothy grin, the hag bounded down the stairs and slashed Eugene with her long, hard claws. Eugene screamed as his blood splattered across the walls, and he was thrown backwards onto the floor. Eugene barely caught himself, and his bees went wild as he crawled away in pain.

Granny burst out into laughter. “Now you see, now you understand!” Granny’s human form vanished suddenly, and she was also revealed to be an inhuman hag, one even more wrinkled and gnarled than her daughter.

With a flick of Granny’s wrist, Samuel suddenly vanished. One moment he was in the mill, and the next moment he was suddenly in a pale blue void. Dark shadows danced chaotically throughout the mists, though what created the shadows, it was impossible to tell. Samuel began walking and looking around, trying to figure out what had happened to him. He saw waxy corpses in random places, some were sitting down as though relaxing, others were frozen in frightened, defensive postures, but the expressions on the faces of all the corpses were terribly neutral and blank. A familiar cackling laughter echoed throughout the void.

“What the hell is this?” Samuel grumbled, searching for a way out but finding nothing but shadows and corpses.

To the others, it seemed as though Samuel had simply vanished. Enid quickly took Samuel’s place in the melee, trying to claw Granny, but the hag now fought back with her own claws, and neither could gain the upper hand against each other. Ireena meanwhile had grabbed the wounded Eugene, pulling him to the side and protecting him, while trying to put pressure on his wound as best she could.

With Granny distracted by Enid, Pugsley managed to sneak up and grab her again, giving the hag another shock with his electric glove. Xavier was trying to aim an arrow at Granny, but he was finding it difficult to get a clear shot off with Pugsley and Enid fighting her.

Bianca saw Xavier trying to aim an arrow at Granny. “Don’t hit the others!” Bianca paused, knowing Xavier in particular might not appreciate this, but then added with her siren song. “Only hit the hag.”

Under the effect of the siren song, Xavier became calmer and more focused. He fired his arrow, and it struck Granny directly. Unfortunately, Granny didn’t seem to be much bothered by the arrow. Seeing that silver was working better than steel, Wednesday tried to throw her silver dagger at Granny again, but the hag was more cautious now, and managed to dodge nimbly to the side away from the dagger.

As suddenly as he had vanished, Samuel popped back into existence. The other outcasts needed to know what to do if Granny did the same to them, but he knew he didn’t have time to explain what had happened, so he had to be brief. “You can get out by willing yourself free if you’re focused enough!” Samuel yelled, knowing that anyone else that Granny vanished would understand what he meant when it happened, and he slashed his katana at Granny again.

Granny dodged away from Samuel’s blade too, skirting around the bed stone on the floor to put some distance between herself and Samuel. Drawing a flask from her robes, she drank from it and seemed to stand up straighter, seeming not as bothered by the wound from Wednesday’s silver dagger.

Bianca saw this and cursed. “Fuck, stay still.” She commanded with siren song, then tried to stab Granny again with her sword. The hag completely ignored her siren song as though it was ordinary speech, and deflected Bianca’s sword away with only her long, hard claws.

“What’s all this then?” Another cackling hag came bounding down the stairs. Her sister was in her way at the bottom of the staircase, but the new hag jumped nimbly through the air over her sister, flying towards Enid with her claws bared in front of her. Enid, who had been focused on Granny, glanced over just in time to see the hag leaping at her, but too late to do much about it. She tried to twist out of the way, but the hag’s claws still grazed her. Enid let out a pained yelp and stumbled back a little, baring her own claws as she and the third hag circled each other, Enid with an angry glare on her face, the hag with a leering grin.

Meanwhile, Granny’s other daughter had charged at Xavier. Xavier was practically helpless against her, and tried to dodge away, but the hag was still able to rake her claws into Xavier. He stumbled back and caught himself against the wall, wounded and bleeding but faring better than Eugene was at least. Xavier darted nimbly away from the hag, then notched an arrow and aimed at Granny again.

Xavier was hurting and his arms were trembling, but as he focused in the moment, a certainty overcame him unrelated to Bianca’s earlier siren song. Like Wednesday, Xavier had psychic abilities that he had inherited from his family, though his powers manifested differently than hers did. Now, a new aspect of his powers he had never experienced before flooded his mind, and he knew just where to shoot to hit Granny. He fired his arrow, at the same time Granny stepped into its path. It struck her in the shoulder, and the hag let out an angry snarl. She didn’t look especially hurt, but she seemed to have trouble moving her right arm with an arrow lodged in her shoulder.

Wounded and fending off multiple foes, Granny extended her left arm and with a wave of her hand, she unleashed an invisible force against Samuel, Pugsley, and Enid. It seemed weaker this time though, and Samuel and Pugsley withstood the force. Enid, the lightest of the three, went flying back, but she again landed easily on her feet.

Unfortunately, the hag that Enid had been circling followed after her. Still, Enid reacted swiftly, slashing her claws at the hag. Enid was still a little dizzy from her unexpected flight though, and she overextended; the hag dodged away and Enid tripped onto the stone stairs behind her.

With no one paying attention to them, Ireena had managed to bandage up Eugene in a quick and haphazard fashion, and Eugene got his bees back under control, and tried to swarm Granny with them, though she only batted them away.

Wednesday, Pugsley, and Samuel all attacked Granny at once with their respective weapons. For an old lady, Granny fought like a demon, dodging and weaving and batting aside weapons with her claws, and the three couldn’t seem to land a solid blow against her. Granny fired off another spell from her fingers, this time against Pugsley, but Wednesday pulled Pugsley away before it could strike him, and the three outcasts continued their deadly dance with Granny.

Then, one of Granny's daughters cast a spell of her own. “Sleep” the hag hisses maliciously. With a wave of her hand, a dark wind seemed to pass over the room. A wounded Eugene slumped unconscious next to Ireena, while Xavier caught himself against a wall but then slid down it, also falling asleep.

“Sleep” The hag’s sister laughed, releasing the same spell again into the room. Slowly, unwillingly, Wednesday sunk to the floor, as sleep forcibly overcame her despite her best efforts to stay awake. Ireena slumped next to Eugene, but was just barely able to keep herself awake.

“You, begone!” Granny gestured to Pugsley, and he vanished, sent to the same shadowy void that his roommate had previously been banished to.

Seeing her fellow outcasts were in dire straits, Enid bounded over to Xavier, dodging around hags sometimes on all fours, moving across the room like a wolf. She tried to slap Xavier awake, and to her relief, that was all it took to wake him back up. The spell apparently could force someone to fall asleep, but it couldn’t keep them trapped in an enchanted sleep, which was a huge relief. Overcoming the spell herself, Ireena saw what Enid did and slapped Eugene awake.

Granny grinned evilly. “Once more ought to do it. Slee…” she almost finished her spell, when Pugsley, having overheard Samuel’s earlier instructions, willed his way out of the void, appearing right next to Granny. He flung his gloved hand over her mouth before she could complete her spell, and zapped her right in the face. Granny let out a muffled scream of pain and rage.

As Pugsley did that, a frantic Thing scuttled out of Wednesday’s pack, and slapped her in the face. Wednesday woke up with an annoyed glare, but grabbed her dagger and stood back up, readying herself to take another stab at Granny.

“The bed stone, get her on the bed stone!” Eugene called. With one electrified hand still on Granny’s face, Pugsley threw her towards the center of the room, and Eugene’s bees swarmed her in force, pushing the harried hag backwards onto the bed stone. She tripped over it and fell flat onto the stone.

Wednesday understood Eugene’s plan and raced towards a lever that the hags used to raise and lower the runner stone, since the old windmill no longer functioned and the millstone didn’t raise and lower itself with the turning of the windmill’s blades.

As she ran, Wednesday ducked away from the swinging claws of one of the hags. “Dodge!” Bianca screamed, and Wednesday just barely dodged a spell fired off by the other hag. She grabbed the lever and pulled it down, dropping the runner stone directly onto Granny.

The room froze as the stone fell onto Granny with a dull but resounding thud. Only the hag’s lower legs and feet remained visible, sticking out from between the bed stone and runner stone.

“Ding dong.” Bianca muttered, grinning. Then one of the hag’s daughters let out an enraged shriek.

“You fucking miserable little brats! I’m going to skin you alive with my own claws and laugh as you die!”

Ireena gulped, then pulled out a silver dagger her brother had given her. “Samuel, catch!” she tossed it to Samuel, who snatched it out of the air, realized what it was, and grinned.

Samuel struck at the advancing hag with his katana. The steel blade failed to hurt her much, but then he followed that up by sticking her with the silver dagger. The hag let out a pained scream as her skin blistered and smoked. “Stings, doesn’t it?” Samuel mocked, twisting in the dagger before the hag pulled back and stumbled away. She fired off a spell as she went, and although this one struck Samuel directly, it apparently was a spell that was more effective against the living, since it seemed to have no effect on the vampire.  

Enid meanwhile attacked the other remaining hag. She managed to slice into the hag with her colorful claws, but the hag kept fighting and the two swiped angrily at each other, circling and trying to avoid being struck by each other’s claws. One of hag’s blows nearly caught Enid on the head, but Bianca stepped in and skillfully deflected the claws with her sword, just above Enid’s head.

The rest of the outcasts began flanking the remaining hags, when a cackling laugh that came from neither of the daughters echoed throughout the room. Granny seemed to phase out from under the rock, and stood behind the group. She looked battered and broken, but glared at the outcasts with a snarling grin on her grotesque face.

Granny spoke in a quiet, hateful whisper that carried across the room. “Oh, the things I’m going to do to you children…”

Wednesday assessed the situation quickly. “Everyone, focus on Granny, finish her off.” She ordered in an icy cold tone.

Enid obeyed immediately, rushing towards Granny. The hag that Enid had been fighting swiped at her back as she twisted around, and Enid stumbled under the force of the blow but kept on running, charging recklessly at Granny. Granny dodged away from Enid’s blows, but with all her attention on Enid, she didn’t notice Pugsley sneaking up behind her in true Addams fashion, and Pugsley grabbed Granny and shocked her yet again.

Eugene landed a blow against Granny with a rock fired from his slingshot, which seemed to do fuck all, but then his bees swarmed and stung her again, which was considerably more painful and annoying to Granny.

Wednesday joined the fray, slashing at Granny with her silver dagger. Granny tried frantically to dodge away from it, but Wednesday still managed to cut her and the hag let out a pained hiss.

Samuel charged at Granny too, and although the hag he had been fighting tried to stop him, Bianca stepped in and blocked the hag with her sword. Samuel reached Granny and thrust the silver dagger that Ireena had given him into the screaming hag.

Eyes darting around in panic, Granny, badly wounded, was clearly looking for a way to save herself. Glancing down, Granny then began to phase through the floor, in the same fashion as she had phased through the mill stone. Samuel wasn’t done though, and just before Granny could disappear under the floor, he slashed the silver dagger downwards brutally into her neck. Granny gurgled wetly and passed through the floor, landing on the first floor with an audible thud.

Not taking any chances, Bianca rushed down the stairs, and saw Granny laying on the floor, bleeding out through her neck. She seemed to be dead, and Bianca stepped forward and nudged her with her foot. Clawed hands extended out, swiping, at Bianca’s ankles.

“Fuck, just die already!” Bianca stepped away from the claws and stabbed her sword down into Granny’s neck. Though her blade was steel, it sunk easily into her already wounded neck, and it was enough. Granny let out one last raspy gurgle and went still, dead.

The other two hags raced down the stairs then, gasping in shock and glaring venomously at Bianca. But as Granny died, the other two hags seemed strangely diminished. It was hard to explain, but although Bianca was sure they were still dangerous creatures, they somehow didn’t seem as powerful or menacing as they had before.

The other outcasts had chased the hags down the stairs, and with one last angry look at Bianca, the hags began running again, this time for the front door. Diminished or not, Bianca knew she couldn’t block the two hags by herself.

“Baba Lysaga will know what to do!” One of the hags screeched, and two ran out of the mill and kept running straight for the woods. The outcasts all made it down to the first floor but were not able to stop the fleeing hags. Still, Granny was dead, and the battle was over.

With the hags dead or having fled, the group ascended to the third floor to search the rest of the mill. The room was mostly unremarkable, containing a few beds and also a couple of crates. The only remarkable feature of the room was that there was a child locked up inside each of the crates.

Enid gasped and stormed over the crates, extending her claws again and slashing the rusty old locks to pieces. Both of the kids were both quite young, the boy was easily under ten years old and the girl was even younger than him.

“It’s ok, the bad women are gone.” Enid assured them gently, coaxing each of them out of the cages. The boy came warily out of his cage with a cautious look upon his face, and the girl, initially frightened, soon flung herself at Enid and began crying and thanking her.

Wednesday stepped well away from all of that. She didn’t have any fondness for little kids, and crying, snotty kids were the worst. She instead searched the hag’s beds, none of which looked slept in, but a couple of which contained some cheap looking jewelry, which she pocketed to sell later.

“I’m Enid Sinclair. What are your names? And how old are you?” Enid asked the two kids as she held the sobbing girl.

“I’m Myrtle, I just turned five.” The girl hiccupped. She had red hair in a lighter shade than Ireena’s and a freckled face.

“Freek. I’m seven.” The boy introduced himself, stepping closer to Enid and looking nervously at the other outcasts. He had dark hair and a harried expression on his face.

“Those are lovely names.” Enid lied. “Myrtle, Freek, how did the hags get you?”  

“My parents really like the hag’s pastries.” Freek explained. “Granny gave them pastries for free at first, and mom and dad would eat them and then just stare at nothing, but they’d look really happy, and they’d be like that for hours. Then Granny started making them pay for the pastries, and they ran out of money, but they wanted more desserts really badly. So they… they gave me to Granny for a bunch more pastries.” Freek’s face crumbled into shocked grief and anger.

Enid gasped, barely reigning in her own anger for the sake of the kids. Ireena came over and gently put a hand on Freek’s shoulder.

“Did the same thing happen to you?” Ireena asked Myrtle, who only nodded.

“Don’t make me go back to my parents! I don’t want to go back!” Freek was suddenly angrier, and Myrtle nodded again in agreement.

“Don’t worry, I won’t make you go back to those people. But I’ll get word of this to my brother Ismark, and he’ll make sure they face justice for what they have done.” Ireena looked pretty angry herself.

“Ismark?” Freek gasped. “But that means… you’re Ireena!” he realized, and Myrtle perked up too and looked towards Ireena.

“Yes, that’s me.” Ireena smiled.

“Everyone knows how nice you and Ismark are!” Freek smiled.

“Don’t worry, we’ll protect you. You’ll have to come with us to Vallaki for now, and after that we’ll decide what to do then. Whatever happens, you are not going back to your parents.”

Enid glanced sadly around the room, seeing discarded children’s clothing that didn’t belong to either child. The children also had pinprick wounds on them, and two needles were lying nearby outside their cages. Enid remembered the screams and the cackling laughter the group had heard as they approached the mill, and she cringed, vowing inwardly to kill the remaining two hags someday.

While they were talking, Wednesday and Pugsley had gone up to the next floor, into the building’s attic. Unfortunately for Wednesday, she found yet another child upstairs, though this one at least was a little older than the others, and not locked in a cage. The girl was sitting on a tiny, rundown bed, was wearing tattered old robes, and looked to be about eleven or twelve years old. She had long dark hair and scars from a claw scratch that ran down one of her cheeks.

Wednesday sighed. “And who are you?” she asked, looking around, though there wasn’t much else in the room.

“Me? I’m Maddie” the girl whispered, staring at Wednesday and Pugsley in shock.

“Hello Maddie. I’m Wednesday Addams, and this is my brother, Pugsley.”

Pugsley smiled reassuringly at the girl. “Pleased to meet you.”

The girl huddled on her bed, looking confused. “How are you here? What happened to Granny and the others?”

“I can explain.” Wednesday nodded. “Granny was stabbed repeatedly in the neck and killed, and her cowardly daughters fled into the woods.” Wednesday didn’t mince words, even with children.

“They’re gone?” Maddie gasped, looking like she could hardly believe what she was hearing. “They’re really gone…”

“Come Pugsley.” Wednesday headed towards the stairs seeing as there was nothing else up here.

Pugsley waved towards Maddie. “Come on, we’re getting out of here.”

Maddie looked at him with wide eyes, then nodded. “Just let me grab my dolly.” She grabbed a doll that looked perfectly respectable to Pugsley, though most non-Addams would have probably been horrified. Even by creepy doll standards, this was one messed up doll. It was a cobbled together thing of wooden sticks, dirty bandages, red ribbons, and, in contrast with the rest of its haphazard body, it wore a polished, porcelain mask that seemed to peer into the soul of anyone who looked into its empty eyes.

“When did the hags take you?” Pugsley asked as they descended the stairs.

“I don’t remember, a long time ago I guess. They said they wanted to teach me to be like them.” Maddie shivered in horror. “The other kids… they don’t keep them around so long.” She whispered with a traumatized look on her face.

Pugsley patted the top of her head, and the group rejoined the other outcasts down on the first floor. Someone had thrown a blanket over Granny’s corpse, hiding the grisly sight of her from the children. Of course, the hag had been a grisly sight even before she’d been crushed by a large rock and butchered with a dagger and a sword.

Ireena was still tending to Eugene’s wounds. Wednesday gave the Barovian woman an annoyed look. She wanted to say something caustic, since Ireena had forced the outcasts into a fight with those hags. But she couldn’t really say anything, since Wednesday had been about to attack Granny herself, albeit for her own reasons. Besides, it just wasn’t like Wednesday to condemn someone for starting a fight.

“I found these in the cabinet. They look like magic potions or something.” Xavier held up three bottles of mysterious liquids. “They’ve got labels, one says ‘Youth’, and the others are ‘Laughter’ and ‘Mother’s Milk’.”

Wednesday snatched up the potions, examined them, and opened the corks to sniff them. “This one is a potent poison.” She pointed to Mother’s Milk. Wednesday would have readily added the poison into her tea later, except the name of the liquid was extremely off-putting to Wednesday, and she wanted nothing more to do with it. She couldn’t discern anything about the other two potions, so she handed them back to Xavier.

“You sure you don’t want to try some Laughter” Xavier teased.

“I would certainly consider drinking Laughter, if you drank Mother’s Milk yourself.” She glared. It was an interesting thought, Wednesday being forced to laugh as Xavier choked and died.

Pugsley on the other hand was less interested in drinking potions, and more into eating pastries. He reached for one on a counter, until Bianca strode up and slapped his hand away.

“Goddess of the Depths, are all you Addams totally insane? Don’t eat the damned pastries!” Bianca was deeply exasperated yet again, which was nearly her default state of being these days. Xavier looked over at Bianca, not sure if he should yell at her for using her siren song on him, or thank her for using it to help him aim at Granny.

“Fine, but can we please eat lunch now?” Pugsley begged, getting back to the outcast’s original reason for stopping at the mill.

“Be my guest.” Bianca waved him away. But her troubles weren’t over yet.

“I have an idea.” Wednesday announced. “Arson.”

“…” Bianca stared, waiting for Wednesday to elaborate. Instead, Wednesday began raking burning coals out of the oven.

“Wait a second, at least get everyone out first!” Bianca began ushering everyone out the doors.

“Is this just for your sick pleasure, or what?” Bianca asked Wednesday as everyone fled.

“Those two hags could easily return after we leave. I don’t see why we should leave them a home to return to.” Wednesday explained as she arsoned.

“Oh, yeah, that makes sense.” Bianca agreed, and the two girls fled themselves as the mill went up in flames. All in all, it had been a productive lunch break.

Chapter Text

The outcasts and their tagalongs were sitting around a fire, eating lunch. The fire they were sitting by was the fire of an old burning mill, the funeral pyre of Granny Morgantha, killed and cremated in her own home. Wednesday glanced upwards as the raven that had been hanging around earlier passed by once more, then flew away to the west.

Pugsley had taken Samuel aside during the group’s break and let him drink some of his blood from out of his arm. Samuel has declared it had been the most unique blood he ever tasted, which was interesting if not necessarily a compliment; the vampire could swear he detected the flavor of odd alchemical components in Pugsley’s blood. Still, between the goat he had drank and having had a bit of Pugley’s blood, Samuel was satiated for the time being.

The outcasts and Ireena were also feeding Myrtle, Freek, and Maddie, the children they had rescued from the hags, all of whom were very hungry. The hags had been trying to fatten Freek and Myrtle up before baking them into pastries, but as they had been feeding the children crumbs, their efforts hadn’t been very successful, thwarted by their own stinginess and cruelty.

“Why aren’t you in Barovia with your dad and your brother, Miss Ireena?” Freek asked, he and Myrtle were familiar with the Burgomaster’s family by reputation. He also didn’t seem to know better than to talk with food in his mouth.

“My father recently passed away, and I… must travel to Vallaki on business now.” Ireena didn’t want to tell the children, or anyone really, that she was fleeing from Strahd, but she realized she would have to come up with a more specific lie than that. She became lost in thought thinking about what she would say when they reached Vallaki.

“You have blue and pink in your hair.” Maddie pointed out, staring in confusion at Enid.

“Ya, I guess that’s going to fade eventually. I didn’t exactly have time to grab my hair dye.” Enid sighed.

“Do you want to play with my doll?” Maddie offered, holding up her abomination of a doll which gazed blankly at Enid.

“No… no thanks” Enid muttered weakly. She had fought a manticore, survived an angry mob, and had recently faced down three night hags, but that doll scared her.

Xavier pulled out a small notepad and pen, which he had fortunately had in his pockets when Nevermore was attacked, and tried to entertain the children. “Hey kids, take a look at this.” Xavier gave them a small smile and drew a spider, which rose up off the paper and came to life as a jet-black ink spider.

Freek and Myrtle let out high-pitched screams and hid behind Ireena, cowering in fear.

“Genius idea, Xavier. Did you forget these were traumatized Normie kids?” Bianca rolled her eyes.

But Maddie took her doll over and began having the doll and the spider play together. “Hi little spider, I’m Mr. Grustug, and this is my friend Maddie! What’s your name?”

“Jesus Christ” Bianca muttered.

“We must leave now if we want to make it to Vallaki before nightfall.” Wednesday spoke up, so everyone repacked their bags and began heading west down the road again.

Wednesday discovered, to her annoyance, that children were not built for long marches, and various members of the group, usually the physically stronger ones like Samuel and Enid, ended up carrying Freek and Myrtle on their backs. It went without saying that Wednesday would not share in this responsibly. Maddie, being about eleven or twelve and thus years older than the other children, was fortunately able to travel without needing any help.  

The journey was uneventful for a couple hours, which perhaps lulled the group into a false sense of security. Most of them were caught completely off-guard when a screeching zombie suddenly raced out of the woods towards them, and more groans and screeches echoed out from the darkness of the woods.

The decaying zombie sprinted at the group, letting out its hungry, inhuman screech as it bore down on them, and specifically towards Maddie, faster than most of the surprised outcasts could react. But not faster than Wednesday, who had never let her guard down in the first place. The zombie and Wednesday raced towards Maddie from opposite angles, but Wednesday reached her first.

Wednesday pushed Maddie behind herself and flung a dagger straight into the zombie’s eye. The zombie collapsed onto the ground, now well and truly dead, but Wednesday had locked up and was also falling to the ground, because as soon as she had touched Maddie, she had a vision. Wednesday lost control of her body as her mind was completely overwhelmed by her own psychic powers.

Wednesday lay bleeding on the ground as Vallaki burned around her. Bodies littered the streets, Wednesday couldn’t tell through the smoke if any of them were the bodies of her fellow outcasts.

Count Strahd appeared out of the smoke and crouched down beside her, frowning down at her bleeding body.

“To bad my dear, I truly thought you might have been the one. Perhaps you weren’t worthy after all.”

Strahd transformed into a mist which vanished into the smoke, and another figure came into view. It was an old man with white hair and a goatee, and his ears were somewhat pointed. He was wearing steampunk-style garb and wielding a cane with a blade extended out of it. The blade was dripping with blood.

“It’s a shame.” The man shook his head. “You are a human, and still just a girl. But you’ve thrown your lot in with monsters, and you’ve clearly chosen evil over good. Perhaps some part of you wants to be redeemed? No? I can tell by the glare on your face that isn’t the case. Oh well. Goodbye, Wednesday Addams.”

The man lifted his cane in the air, and began to bring the blade down on Wednesday, when he suddenly exploded into flames, turning to ash in nearly an instant. A girl stood behind him, one hand extended towards where the man had stood.

It was Maddie.   

“Laeti vescimur nos subacturis"” Maddie recited, a Latin phrase that any Addams would recognize instantly, and the world vanished in dark smoke.

And then Wednesday was awake again, staring up at Maddie who was looking down at her with concern.

Enid ran over and kneeled down by Wednesday’s side. “Oh god, Wednesday are you ok?”

“I’m fine, I’ve merely experienced a psychic vision.”

“Merely? Does this happen often?” Enid asked.

“Not really, no.” Wednesday shook her head and stood back up. This had been the first vision she had since the one she experienced in the haunted house in the town of Barovia.

“I’ve seen this once before, at school” Pugsley began explaining the bully-vision-piranhas incident to Enid, while Wednesday reoriented herself. She could see that several other zombies had emerged from the woods, only to be cut down by the other outcasts while she was having her vision. She summoned her dagger back into hand, which flew out of the zombie’s skull with a wet squelch.

Eugene had run over to Wednesday too, and sighed in relief when he saw that she was fine. “So, what was your vision about Wednesday?”

Wednesday paused in thought, careful not to look at Maddie or reveal any emotion. “Death and destruction. It was an entertaining vision, though also a frustratingly vague one.”

Wednesday wished she had gotten a little more useful information out of the experience, though she would certainly keep an eye out for the old man who had nearly killed her in her vision.

“You should be careful about those psychic visions Wednesday.” Xavier warned. “They only show you one part of a bigger picture, and sometimes they only show you what you want to see.”

“My visions are none of your business.” Wednesday responded coldly as she began walking west down the road again.

Wednesday felt a small hand tug at the hem of cloak as she walked, and glanced back to find Maddie’s wicker doll staring up at her.

“Mr. Grustug says thank you for saving his friend from the bad dead man. And from the bad old lady who’s also dead now.”

Wednesday was uncomfortable and didn’t know how to respond to that. She gave Mr. Grustug a single, awkward pat on his head, gave them a business-like nod, and continued hiking down the road. But from then on, Maddie didn’t stray far from Wednesday.

The group travelled for a few more hours without incident, as the Old Svalich Road meandered into a valley watched over by dark, brooding mountains to both the north and south. The woods receded from the road, revealing a sullen mountain town surrounded by a wooden palisade. Thick fog pressed up against the wall, as though looking for a way inside, hoping to catch the town unawares.

The dirt road ended at a set of sturdy iron gates with a pair of shadowy figures standing behind them. Planted in the ground and flanking the road outside the gates were a half-dozen pikes with wolves' heads impaled on them. Enid gulped audibly, now looking a bit nervous.

Unlike Barovia, Vallaki was clearly a well-fortified town, just as promised. The outcasts reached the closed gates and were stopped by the guards manning them.

“Halt, state your business travelers!”

Bianca stepped forward while Ireena stayed in the back; although Ireena could probably get them into the town easily enough, they had decided it would be best not to announce her whereabouts unless they had to.

“I am Bianca Barclay. My travelling companions and I are strangers in this land, save for the children we recently rescued, and we’ve been on the road hoping to find civilization for some time now.”

“Foreigners huh?” One of the guards, a woman who looked to be in thirties, asked suspiciously. “You wouldn’t happen to be in the employ of Count Strahd, would you?”

“Not at all.” Bianca assured them. “We’ll take work where we can find it, but we’ve never done business with this Strahd person.”

“You really are new around here, huh?” The guard seemed convinced of that much, at least. “We don’t permit strangers to enter town after dark, so you’re lucky there’s still a bit of daylight left.”

Another guard spoke up then. “You say you saved some children? Saved them from what?”

“Hags.” Bianca shrugged, trying to give the impression that saving children from hags was just a regular day's work for her.

“Well, good on you. There’s an orphanage in town that may have room for them.”

The guard paused as he noticed Enid, and a couple of the kids, staring at the wolf heads on the pikes. “Ya, you all just missed the Wolf's Head Jamboree. We had a parade and everything. But hey, we have the Festival of the Blazing Sun coming up in a little under a week from now.”

Samuel winced under his helmet. “Charming.” He replied, not sounding all that charmed.

“Ya, great, another festival.” The female guard muttered, getting a nudge from the guard beside her.

“It’ll be great, everything’s just fine. You all are welcome here in Vallaki, but know that the guards will be watching you. If you commit any crimes, if we learn you are working for the devil Strahd, or if you disturb the peace in any way, you’ll be exiled from Vallaki, at the very least.”

“Understood.” Bianca nodded. “We’re not here to cause any trouble. I expect our stay in your town to be quiet and uneventful.”

“Good, it had better be.” The guards began to open the gate. “Hurry in, there are wolves about. We killed enough of the damned things, but lately they still get after anyone foolish enough to hang out outside of town.”

Bianca had a question of her own for the guards. “One more thing, it’s getting pretty late. Do you know of a decent inn where we can rent rooms for the night, and buy a good supper?”

“You’ll want the Blue Water Inn. It’s a bit of a walk from here, but just keep travelling down the main thoroughfare and you’ll eventually come across it on your right.”

Bianca thanked the guards the group headed down the main street as instructed. On their way there, they passed a tavern, which was still open and looked lively, and a few shops, which were all closed by now and were mostly found not far away from the Blue Water Inn.

The inn looked comfortable enough from the outside at least. Gray smoke issued from the chimney of the large, two-story wooden building with a stone foundation and a sagging tile roof, upon which several ravens were perched. A painted wooden sign hanging above the main entrance depicted a blue waterfall.

Inside, the inn was bustling with Vallaki natives who were drinking and socializing. The outcasts certainly attracted some attention, though it was less hostile than what they’d experienced in Barovia. A couple of gruff looking men in the attire of hunters or trappers did give them suspicious glances, and a couple of rowdy looking young men seemed to be leering at the women in the group, but no one bothered the outcasts as they headed to the bar to speak with the man behind the counter.

“Excuse me.” Wednesday caught the man’s attention. “We’re new to town, and would like rooms for the night, along with dinner.”

“Straight and to the point, huh? I can respect that.” The innkeeper was a tall man with a full head of dark hair and big beard streaked with grey, and his dark eyes scanned each of the outcasts in turn.

The man nodded. “I’m Urwin Martikov, my wife Danika and I run this establishment. Dinner is free for those renting a room, and those kids sure look like they could use a meal, so pull up some seats and your supper will be out shortly.”

The man stepped away, and Bianca was the first to speak up, turning to Ireena. “Well, we’re here in Vallaki. But from what we discussed with Ismark, he was expecting us to help get you set up somewhere in town, not simply drop you off at the gate. Any ideas?”

“Not yet.” Ireena shook her head. “This is my first time in Vallaki, I’m not yet sure where I can find accommodation here.”

“We’ll all have a look around tomorrow.” Samuel nodded. “I assume once you’ve settled in, you’ll have some means of contacting Ismark back in Barovia?”

“Yes, the general store here in town employs a courier service which transports letters and packages between here and Barovia. I’ll let Ismark know that I’m safe, tell him about how the children’s parents sold them to hags, and he’ll send the rest of your pay back then too.”

Eugene, who was happily adapting to life as an adventurer, had a question for the innkeeper when he came by then with supper. “Sir, me and my friends are new around here and were wondering if there was any work for travelling adventurers around here?

The grown man gave the young boy who was claiming to be an adventurer a skeptical look, but only briefly before he shrugged. “As a matter of fact, I have a job for a group brave enough to take it. My inn is starting to run low on wine, because the latest shipments from the Wizard of Wines winery are overdue. The winery is a way outside of town, but few are willing to travel past the walls lately with the wolves attacking anyone they can find. If you think you can handle it, I would appreciate it if you would be so kind as to find out what’s holding up our shipment. We don’t make much of a profit here and I can’t pay you much, but I can offer free room and board, which will surely save you a good deal of money if you’ll be staying with us for a while.”

“We do plan to darken your doorstep for some time.” Wednesday nodded. “We’ll check up on your wine when we get the chance.”

“I appreciate it.” Urwin smiled slightly. “Have a look, the bard Quentin is beginning his tale. He’s a stranger in these lands like you all are. Doesn’t seem to play any actual music, but his stories always draw in the crowds.”

The bard, dressed in a colorful, and rather garish and pompous attire, had already started his story, but the outcasts quickly caught the gist of it “… so I said, why should we travel so far by foot across orc-infested lands, when we could simply fly on the backs of giant eagles all the way to Mount Evil? So the druids in my party transformed into giant eagles, and we flew straight towards the heart of the dark lord’s domain. I easily ignored the enchantment on the ring the whole time because of how strong my will is. Now the transformed druid I was riding, Malinda, was quite the beautiful elven woman when she wasn’t transformed into a bird, and she had gotten very used to me riding her, so on one especially romantic night...”

“I’m not so sure this is the kind of story I want little kids to hear.” Enid declared, putting her hands over Myrtle’s ears and heading upstairs to their rooms.

“It isn’t the kind of story I want to hear either.” Wednesday agreed, and the group went to settle down for the night.

Since they had more money now and knew they would likely be staying in the inn for a while, they rented four rooms instead of three like they had back in Barovia. So the pairs that shared tents together also shared rooms: Wednesday and Enid, Pugsley and Samuel, Bianca and Ireena, and Xavier and Eugene.

But for tonight, three of the pairs would also have to room with one of the children. Myrtle wanted to be with Ireena, and Freek ended up staying with Samuel and Pugsley. He had been afraid of Samuel when he was wearing his menacing black armor, but he was also afraid of Xavier, who made ink spiders come to life out of drawings, and Eugene, who was often seen surrounded by ghost bees, so he eventually decided to stay with Samuel and Pugsley.

Maddie meanwhile wanted to stay with Wednesday, and was still trailing behind her.

“Fine, you can stay with us.” Wednesday grudgingly had to admit the arrangement made sense, even if it was inconvenient. “But you’re sharing a bed with Enid. I need my personal space, but Enid would be lying outrageously if she claimed that she had any concept of personal space at all.”

“That’s cool, just… keep your doll on the opposite side of the bed from me.” Enid agreed with a caveat.

The next morning, the first order of business was to drop off the children at the orphanage. Ireena had taken the children aside after breakfast and quietly explained to them that the group wasn’t in any state to adopt children, but they would be taken care of at the orphanage and have new lives here in Vallaki.

The outcasts got directions to St. Andral’s Orphanage from Danika, the wife and business partner of the man they had spoken to last night. As it happened, the orphanage was not particularly far from the Blue Water Inn, the group took a street to the north of the inn’s location and soon found the orphanage.

St. Andral’s Orphanage was a large, well-kept wooden structure, though weeds were growing around the outside of the building, which made it seem as though the grounds had been recently neglected. The outcasts entered through the main doors into the front hallway, which had wood-paneled walls and floors, and was dimly lit. The wooden floors were old and worn and the steps of the main staircase sagged with age. The group heard the clamor of children from a larger room off to the side, but they also saw another room with “Headmistress Claudia Belasco” inscribed on the door. Ireena knocked, and after a moment a sharp voice bid them to enter.

The outcasts and children entered the modest office and saw a woman in her forties or young fifties seated behind a desk. She was a stern-looking woman who wore her grey streaked brown hair up in a tight bun and seemed to have developed fine wrinkles around her mouth from years of disapproving frowns.

Enid and Pugsley shuffled nervously, feeling unpleasantly like they had just entered the principal’s office.

“Good morning, you are Headmistress Belasco, yes?” Ireena asked, taking the lead this time.

“I am yes, and who would you be?”

“My name is… Anna” Ireena invented on the fly. “And these are my travelling companions, along with some children we recently rescued along the road.”

“I see.” Ms. Belasco pursed her lips and looked over the too-thin children. “And what are your names, children?”

The children introduced themselves bashfully, and Ms. Belasco nodded and turned back to the rest of the group. “Bringing three children here at once is asking for quite a bit, but I suppose it couldn’t be helped. Unfortunately, times are tough here, especially as our caretaker has recently fallen ill, and is now bedridden. I could take in one child or perhaps two if I had sufficient support or resources, but all three? That’s more than we can handle right now.”

Ireena thought about that for a moment. “Perhaps I could help. I don’t have much money to spare at the moment, but I could volunteer to assist you here. I’ll be staying in town for a while, and will need to fill my days somehow.”

Ms. Belasco seemed to relax a little. “Yes, that would certainly be appreciated. We’ll discuss the details later if we both decide you would be a good fit for the orphanage. For now, you and the children will be given a tour of the grounds.”

Wednesday examined both the Headmistress and the orphanage closely. Although the Headmistress seemed to be a stern woman, Wednesday could detect a hint of warmth in her expression when she laid eyes on the children. Which was odd to Wednesday, but it seemed clear that the Headmistress would take good care of the children if it was within her power to do so.

That belief was sorely tested moments later when the group made their way into the common room. True, there was nothing wrong with the orphanage's main living area in and of itself. It was furnished with an old couch, a few mismatched stuffed chairs, and two small dining tables. There were also chests crammed with worn toys. Three young girls crowded around a dollhouse, and an older boy paced the room with a toddler on each hip as he tried to sooth them. Another boy and girl were playing a game of tag and chased each other around the furniture. An older girl sat on the couch and read aloud to four more gathered toddlers. The room was a den of chaos and noise; Wednesday loathed it. Maddie, overwhelmed, hid behind Wednesday.

Still, the room itself seemed suitable for the children that were living here. What tested Wednesday’s theory that the Headmistress truly cared for the children here, aside from the looks of dislike the children gave their Headmistress, which didn’t matter to Wednesday, were the cuts, bruises, and other wounds that she spotted on many of the children. The other outcasts, overwhelmed with the clamor and bustle of the room, hadn’t seemed to notice, but Wednesday was observant enough to notice that, even by the usual standards of children, these kids were sporting many different wounds.

Wednesday ignored Ms. Belasco’s speech about the orphanage for a bit as she observed further. She read “Ms. Witch” on the lips of some of the children. Although many of them were busy playing, the children seemed worried, even scared, though they didn’t seem particularly scared of the Headmistress herself even if they didn’t like her much.

The children gave the group curious glances, but otherwise continued playing, as Ms. Belasco was explaining the layout of the orphanage “… the staff quarters and the kitchen are found here on the ground floor, while the nursery and the various dormitories are located on the second floor.”

Wednesday became involved in the conversation for the first time. “Do your charges here often enjoy enacting violence upon each other?”

Ms. Belasco looked both offended and disapproving. “Of course not. Violence is not tolerated in this orphanage.”

“How unreasonable. But if that’s truly the case, then how is it that so many of these orphans have come to be injured?”

The other outcasts looked around and noticed the bruises and wounds on many of the children. Ireena raised her brows, now giving the matron a stern look of her own.

Ms. Belasco faltered. “Children often injure themselves in small ways while playing, it’s perfectly normal. That said, if there ever is any violence or bullying occurring in the orphanage, rest assured that it always comes to my attention soon enough.”

“That’s good, and I get what you’re saying” Bianca interjected, “but we’re planning to drop off three children here. We need to know this orphanage is safe. Is everything really alright here?”

The older woman looked conflicted, but with a little more coaxing from Ireena and Bianca, she eventually revealed she had no idea what was causing the children’s injuries, and the group went back to her office to discuss matters away from the children, leaving Myrtle, Freek, and Maddie behind in the common room. Thing crawled out of Wednesday’s pack to discreetly watch over the kids for the time being.

“The orphanage has suffered from a recent string of bad luck that I cannot explain”. Ms. Belasco looked weary and saddened. “Our caretaker Milivoj has fallen gravely ill, he used to support the orphanage with his volunteer work and even his own money, but he is in no state to help anyone anymore. Children have been injured without knowing how they were hurt, and three boys have recently fled the orphanage, apparently terrified. One of the young boy’s here, Cedrik, has recently passed away, and despite what the guards decided, I fear his death was no accident. I found this locket on his body, it didn’t belong to him, and I suspect there is something off about the thing.”

Ms. Belasco pulled a locket out of one of her desk drawers and set it on the desk. The old tin locket hung from a rusted chain, and the circular locket was plain and undecorated aside from an “X” scratched into the lid.

“Do you mind if I take a look at that?” Xavier asked. “I’m actually a psychic, and occasionally I can sense an item’s magical aura, if it has one.”

Ms. Belasco nodded, and Xavier picked up the locket and focused his senses on it. His face creased as he began to frown. “I’ve rarely felt magic like this before. I feel a slight aura of… I think necromancy maybe.”

Wednesday touched the locket herself, but no vision came to her as she laid her hand over it. Annoyed, she set it aside. “I would like to see your caretaker, Milivoj.” She demanded.

“We will have to be quick about it, I hate to disturb him.” Ms. Belasco led the outcasts down the hall to one of the staff bedrooms.

The caretaker’s bedroom was sparsely furnished, the floors covered with dirt, and an old shovel lay on the ground at the foot of the bed. A sickly young man slept fitfully, covered in sweat from fever, and he had blood mixed bile on his lips. His pallor was yellow tinged and deathly pale.

Wednesday took a look around the room but didn’t find anything of note, aside from on the shovel, which she picked up and sniffed. “I would recognize this scent anywhere. This shovel has been used to dig graves.”

“Yes.” Ms. Belasco nodded. “Milivoj works as a grave digger at the local cemetery. But now that he can’t work, he can no longer donate to the orphanage as he used to.”

Bianca, Eugene, and Xavier were all examining Milivoj himself. After consulting each other, they determined that his illness was not natural or contagious, but appeared to be magical in nature.

“Magic?” Samuel pursed his lips. “I don’t like this. The locket was obviously cursed and so is this dude. There’s some nasty mojo at work in your orphanage, Headmistress.”

“Magic… I knew there was something off about that locket, but somehow I didn’t believe that dark magic was at work here. Who would do something like this?”

“Who indeed? You have at least one suspect?” Wednesday asked. If it were only Milivoj that was cursed, she would guess that perhaps he had made an enemy somewhere, unrelated to the orphanage. But given the mysterious injuries on the children, and the cursed locket found on the dead child, it was clear that the orphanage itself was the target.

“I’m not certain.” Ms. Belasco shook her head.

Wednesday narrowed her eyes. But Enid actually spoke up before she could. “You’re not certain, but you do have some thoughts, don’t you?” Enid asked gently.

“Please tell us, we only want to help.” Ireena added.

Ms. Belasco looked torn, but shook her head again. “I’m sorry, I really couldn’t say.”

“Let’s be real here Ms. Belasco, please, tell us who you suspect.” Bianca ordered utilizing her siren song. Xavier frowned in disdain as Bianca used her powers on the woman.

Ms. Belasco impressively almost seemed to resist the siren song, but then she finally succumbed to it.

“We had a new arrival a while back, a young boy named Felix. All of this started shortly after he arrived. He was orphaned after the brutal murder of his parents, and I fear that what happened may have left him traumatized and not quite sane. He doesn’t act right.” Ms. Belasco admitted under the influence of the siren song.

Wednesday resisted the urge to sigh. This was starting to feel like a lot of work to drop off three children they had just met. Nevertheless…

“Take us to this Felix.” Wednesday ordered, and Ms. Belasco led them upstairs into the attic, where Felix was known to lurk.

Bianca instructed Ms. Belasco to wait at the bottom of the staircase with Ireena, and the seven outcasts climbed up to the attic by themselves. The attic was a rather barren room, devoid of almost any furnishings and choked with dust and cobwebs. There were a few random piles of clutter and some storage crates lying about, but nothing of much value.

At the far end of the room, by the attic’s only window, the outcasts saw a small boy sitting in a lone chair silhouetted by the incoming light. Felix was busily carving a hunk of wood into a little wooden doll with a kitchen knife.

“I wonder” Wednesday mused. “Is that going to be a voodoo doll? I am curious as to how such a young boy could have put such an impressive curse on the caretaker here.”

The boy slowly looked over at the group, putting on a forced smile. “I’m just making a toy for myself. Do you want to play with me, miss?”

Pugsley shook his head in dismay. “Play with dolls? Don’t they give you any dynamite caps around here? At least tell me you have a guillotine to chop off the doll’s head?”

Felix gave him an odd look. “You are strangers. Does Ms. Witch know you’re here?”

“If you mean the Headmistress, she gave us permission to come speak to you.” Bianca nodded. “She’s concerned because the kids around here are getting hurt.”

“Oh, she gave us permission did she?” Xavier muttered sourly, not being a fan of siren song.

“Now’s not the time.” Bianca hissed.

“I don’t know anything about that.” Felix said with a wide-eyed expression of innocence.

“I suppose you don’t know anything about Cedrick either, or the locket that was found on his dead body.” Samuel spoke without concern for the possible innocence of what appeared to be an eight or nine-year-old boy.

“I don’t see why everyone is so upset about Cedrick.” Felix shrugged, attempting to affect a casual smile. “He barely bled when he died. My parents bled so much more than that, and I’m fine.”

Enid looked a little ill. “Have you… spoken with a therapist?”

“A what?” Felix asked, smiling dropping. “That’s not a word.”

“That explains so much about this place.” Enid muttered.

“One of this world’s many advantages.” Wednesday nodded agreeably.

“Can you all go away now?” Felix asked, blank faced. It was an odd look on a nine-year old. “I don’t like you people.”

“The feeling is mutual.” Wednesday affirmed. “Just tell us what we want to know, and we’ll leave you alone.

“I don’t have to tell you filth anything.” Felix looked away from the outcasts with a disinterested look and began carving into his wooden doll more aggressively than before, shaving larger chunks off of it. “I didn’t do anything, and they all got what was coming to them.”

Eugene whispered to one of his ghost bees, which flew silently over to Felix and began tasting the scent of the air around him.

Bianca was considering using her siren song again, but hesitated to use her siren song on a small child, even one as suspicious as Felix.

“Answer our questions or I’ll string you up from the ceiling by your little toes.” Wednesday threatened, have many fewer moral hang-ups than Bianca.

“Wednesday!” Xavier and Enid both gasped.

Felix chuckled slowly, and cut the feet off his doll in one fell swipe, then pointed the knife at Wednesday. “You know what? I would love to see you try.”

Eugene’s bee returned to him and began buzzing by his ear. “What’s that, you smelled sulfur?” Eugene asked. “Uh oh.”

“Guys, I think that kid is possessed by a demon.” Eugene warned the group.

“Are you certain of that?” Samuel questioned.

Pugsley however was willing to take Eugene at his word, and tried speaking to the child in Abyssal. That Pugsley had learned Abyssal at all was a testament to his genius, as it was unrelated to any human language, and was an especially difficult language to learn. Abyssal was a cobbled together language of sounds strung together in haphazard and inconsistent ways, and was unpredictable given that it had little in the way of any sort of grammatical rules.

Pugsley’s demonic accent was a refined one, sounding like softly droning ocean waves mingled with the violence of a swarm of angry hornets. When Pugsley finished speaking and “Felix” responded, Felix spoke in a much less refined accent, sounding a bit like the barking of a dog. Pugsley didn’t bother translating what the demon had said, because it was deeply inappropriate and because there was no English equivalent to many of the demon’s more descriptive insults.

Wednesday didn’t speak Abyssal herself but saw that negotiations were starting to break down. “So you’re a demon. I have no problem with demons in general or you in particular. However, no one wants you at this orphanage. Depart now, and leave on good terms with us. I’m sure you can find another attic to carve dolls in somewhere else.” Even finding out that Felix was possessed by a demon, Wednesday’s tone hadn’t changed, and she was willing to part ways with the demon without any further incident.

Felix rubbed his chin thoughtfully. “Let me think about that. How about instead of me leaving, you go fuck yourself, you dumb whore.”

Wednesday’s silver knife was out in a flash. She didn’t say anything further.

Felix gave the outcasts an insane, bloodthirsty grin as black smoke began to rise out of his body. “Your timing is obnoxious. The grave digger isn’t dead yet and the ritual isn’t complete, but oh well. I’m happy to begin the massacre a little early.”

The demon seeped out of Felix, a mass made of black smoke that took on a vague, elongated form with arms that ended in clawed hands, and a monstrous head with a pointed beak. Felix collapsed, but although the demon mostly appeared to be separated from the boy, there was still a thin, almost imperceptible tendril of smoke which connected him to Felix.

Xavier notched an arrow and tried to hide behind some piled boxes before opening fire. His attempt to hide failed badly when he stumbled into the boxes and the black smoke demon stared straight at him with burning red eyes. Xavier released his arrow anyway, straight into the smoke demon. It let out a hiss but didn’t seem all that bothered.

“Damn it.” Xavier cursed. He was getting tired of monsters that were resistant to regular weapons. At least he seemed to have hurt it a little bit.

Samuel raced forward with his unnatural vampiric speed in spite of his heavy armor, and drew the silver dagger he had been given, slicing into the demon before it could escape from his blow. The demon let out a louder hiss this time as black acid dripped from its form. It still didn’t seem too bothered, but it clearly hadn’t liked that.

The demon retreated, Samuel trying but failing to slash it as it fled, and it buried its claws into the wall. Then it half-climbed, half-floated up the wall, out of Samuel’s reach. “Mortal ants; I have seen the shadows of the Great Powers moving through the Dark Seas in this sphere. Your primitive weapons are nothing." It hissed in rage. Black tendrils extended down from its form and shot at Samuel, but glanced off his body without harming him. The demon realized then what Samuel was and that it wouldn’t be able to suck the life out of him as it had intended.  

Bianca wanted to siren song the demon to get it to leave the kid and the orphanage alone, but she managed to vaguely recall learning that siren song was ineffectual against demons and other fiends. Instead she crept forward, drawing her sword and waiting for her chance to strike.

Pugsley raced forward and threw a good old fashioned Molotov cocktail at it for lack of other options, but it just missed, instead flying out the open window that the demon was still perched near.

“Oops” Pugsley smiled sheepishly, kind of wanting to go see if he had managed to light anything else on fire.

Eugene meanwhile swarmed the demon with his bees, but even the ghost bees were unable to bother the demon, and after it swatted and killed many bees in his swarm, a tearful Eugene withdrew the swarm back before there were any further losses. Still, he had managed to keep the demon distracted briefly.

Taking advantage of the demon’s distraction, Wednesday and Enid also ran forward, and Wednesday analyzed the creature, detecting the sliver of smoke connecting it to the boy. She threw her silver dagger at the connecting tendril, and the demon screeched out in awful pain. Wednesday’s lips tugged upward into a slight smirk, feeling understandably vengeful after its earlier remark.

Samuel tried to follow her lead and chucked his silver dagger at it, but Samuel wasn’t as experienced with throwing daggers, and he simply missed. Xavier however did manage to shoot it with another arrow, catching it unawares.

“I hunger.” The demon hissed as black tendrils shot downwards… straight into Wednesday. The life seemed to drain alarmingly from the girl who already perpetually appeared to be half-dead, while the demon seemed to recover a little from its various wounds which were bleeding black acid.

“Wednesday!” Pugsley screamed. But the demon ceased its attack, realizing it was in a bad situation. It snarled and retreated, fleeing from Wednesday and swooping back into Felix.

Felix stood up like the marionette he was, picking up the knife he had been carving with, and he held it to his own throat. “Fucking back off insects, or I’ll cut this thing’s throat.”

The room paused as everyone froze, unwilling to make a move with a knife to a child’s throat.

“There’s nothing you can do! It’s been fun, but you might as well leave, unless you actually want to watch little Felix here bite the big one.” The demon grinned mockingly at the outcasts.

Wednesday picked herself back up, hurt but still standing strong. “You are a lying demon. You won’t kill Felix no matter what, you still need him.”

Wednesday and the demon stared at each other in tense silence for a moment, as the rest of the outcasts waited for something to give.

The demon’s bluff was called. “Fuck you.” The demon got in one last parting shot and, seeing the outcasts arrayed in front of him, dove for the window. The outcasts cried out and ran to grab him but were too slow as the demon grabbed onto the edge of the roof and tried to pull himself up onto it.

Tragically, the demon had just written a check that Felix’s young body couldn’t cash. Felix’s hands slipped from the edge of the roof, and he fell three stories down onto the unforgiving ground below. Most of the outcasts couldn’t see what happened, but had clearly seen the boy fall past the window.

“No!” More than one outcast screamed, as the group began racing down the stairs towards Felix, and towards the demon.

Wednesday wasn’t so reactive. Instead of running downstairs, she stepped over to the window, glanced down at the boy she knew must be dead, and watched as a screaming demon emerged from his body. Enid also stayed in the attic, seemingly dazed, and made to climb out the window herself in her rush to try and help Felix. But when she saw Felix’s body, blood pooling beneath it, she gasped in horror, clapping her hands over her mouth as her eyes filled with tears.

Wednesday simply took her silver dagger and threw it down at the demon. It would have hit, but the smoky demon writhed out of the way, flying upwards towards the window and floating directly in front of Wednesday, a look of wild hatred burning in its red eyes.

Once again the demon lashed out at Wednesday with dark energy, trying to drain the life from her and restore itself. Wednesday just barely managed to dodge out of the way.

Then Wednesday snapped her fingers, and her silver dagger flew back upwards. On its way to Wednesday, it stabbed straight through the demon, which screamed in agony. The silver dagger flew triumphantly into Wednesday’s raised hand, and the moment the hilt landed in her magnetic glove, she clasped it and lunged forward, stabbing the dagger straight into the demon’s head.

“No” Wednesday answered in a tone of icy, quiet rage. “Fuck you.” Echoing his earlier sentiment and taking her vengeance, she twisted the silver knife in for good measure.

The demon let out one last horrific scream, and then its smoky form seemed to explode and evaporate, as the demon was destroyed utterly.

Wednesday made her way downstairs to the backyard, Enid trailing behind her in a daze. All throughout the orphanage and across the grounds, children were staring horrified at the scene in the backyard, or else they were screaming and crying as they hid from the sight. Wednesday walked through the chaos without a word. She could see Ms. Belasco, so stern and strong earlier, crying over Felix’s body.

Even being an Addams, Pugsley looked ready to collapse where he stood. Ireena and the rest of the outcasts were equally horrified, although Ireena, despite being visibly saddened, was maintaining her composure remarkably well. Barovians were used to tragedy.

Enid, who had been trailing after Wednesday, saw the body, and then spun around and puked. Thing climbed up her and began patting her on the back as she cried. Wednesday walked over and joined the rest of the outcasts.

“You, you all did this!” Ms. Belasco accused, sobbing.

“The boy was possessed by a demon.” Wednesday defended their actions. “He couldn’t have been saved, not by us or anyone else here.”

“And you!” Ms. Belasco ignored Wednesday and pointed at Bianca. “You used some magic on me with naught but a word… convinced me to give up Felix to you, and now see what you’ve done!”

Bianca froze, tears in her eyes. Her mouth opened and closed (like a fish, Wednesday thought), but she didn’t or couldn’t say anything to defend herself.

“Leave the children and leave this orphanage! Never return here again!” The headmistress howled in sorrow and rage.

Wednesday frowned, but the group stepped away and began to leave the orphanage without another word. As they left, Wednesday spotted Myrtle and Freek, who seemed to be watching the outcasts as best they could while also hiding.

Maddie stared at Wednesday with dark eyes and without hiding, Mr. Grustug clutched in her arms. Wednesday gestured for her, in a way that said “You, come here.” Maddie’s eyes widened as she scrambled over to the group.

“Wednesday, what are you doing?” Samuel hissed.

‘I saw her in my vision.’ Wednesday thought. ‘She recited the Addams Family Motto. Our creed.

A mystery she would never solve if she left Maddie at an orphanage that she couldn’t return to.

“The orphanage can’t handle all three children, and Maddie is the oldest of them and the most tolerable.” Wednesday responded neutrally.

No one argued, as the others were all either incapable of speech right now, or felt that they had caused enough trouble here without adding to the orphanage’s burdens.

“It’ll be okay, Mr. Grustuf.” Maddie whispered, getting only silence back from the masked wicker doll. 

Chapter Text

The rest of the day after the trip to the orphanage was a miserable affair, the mood downcast after what had happened there. The outcasts had taken Ireena over to the general store so she could send a letter to her brother Ismark, informing him she had safely arrived in Vallaki so that he could be at ease, and also so he could send money to Ireena and payment to the outcasts. However, a permanent solution to her living arrangements here had yet to be determined.

After that, the group went back to the inn. Most of the outcasts weren’t hungry, they either went to their rooms or lingered by the bar, coming down from their rooms only if they couldn’t ignore their hunger. Pugsley had bought a few odds and ends from the general store and was tinkering with something up in his room, although Wednesday suspected he was only doing so to distract himself.

Unlike most of the others, Wednesday had quickly gone downstairs to eat, bringing Maddie with her. Even so, Wednesday was even quieter than normal, at least until one of the innkeepers managed to annoy her.

“… for the last time, I will not serve wine to a child that young!” Danika argued.

Wednesday tried again to explain why Danika was wrong, but Maddie tugged at her sleeve.

“It’s fine Ms. Wednesday.” Maddie looked awkward as the two adults argued. “I’ll just have tea.”

“Fine. One glass of wine and one tea then.” Wednesday ordered, and Danika stormed back into the kitchen with a tired huff. “And it’s just Wednesday.” Wednesday told Maddie.

“Ok. Everyone else seems really sad Wednesday. Is it because of that boy?” Maddie asked with wide eyes.

“Indeed. The child was possessed by a demon. We fought, and he died. First the demon got the boy he was possessing killed, and then I stabbed the demon through its head.” Wednesday explained.

Danika returned with their drinks. She glanced between Wednesday and Maddie as Wednesday matter-of-factly explained the deadly fight to a young girl, but rolled her eyes and walked off, choosing to pick her battles.

“Why aren’t you sad like the others?” Maddie asked. Wednesday paused, now wondering how much to say.

“It’s not that I don’t feel emotions.” Wednesday began in a measured, deliberate tone. “I do have, in my own way, similar feelings compared to what the others are plagued by. I choose to keep those feelings under control. The alternative, as you’ve seen, is to let those emotions control you. The others are as consumed by their grief and regret as that demon was consumed by its hatred. Demons can’t help it; they’re beings of passion and desire, and as such deeply flawed. People can choose to rise above such weakness.”

“Weakness? So demons are weak?” Maddie blew on her steaming tea to cool it down a little.  

“In a sense, yes.” Wednesday nodded. “Though of course, demons aren’t the only breed of fiends that exist. Devils for example are an entirely different story.”

Wednesday’s and Maddie’s talk was interrupted as Quentin the bard’s tale grew louder and more obnoxious.

“I knew that whatever the werewolf had claimed while he still looked like a person, he could never control himself in the light of the full moon. Quentin never lets a bounty walk away!” Quentin, who looked like he couldn’t have taken on a wererabbit, boasted loudly. “One of my legs was already broken, but with only a chamber pot, a bushel of carrots, and a tiny silver thimble, I was able to…”

Then Quentin was interrupted as Wednesday slammed her wine glass down onto the edge of his table. Wine splattered everywhere, and she raised the broken glass stem of the wine glass to Quentin’s throat. The bard froze, and began to sweat profusely.

“I say! Not a fan of werewolf stories? I admit, they’re not the most original, but you should hear how I slew the beast! Perhaps you’d prefer a song?” Quentin pulled out a lute, and Wednesday did nothing, standing stock still with broken glass to the bard’s throat as he began to play his instrument… very badly. The crowd winced away.

Finally, Wednesday spoke. “I always hated it in school, hearing tales about “brave” knights slaying dragons who were only minding their own business. Hearing tales about uneducated peasant heroes slaying innocent giants and witches in their own homes.”

Of course, Wednesday herself had recently killed any number of so-called monsters. But it was different when she did it. Monsters and outcasts sometimes fought each other for power, for territory, or for the sheer love of violence. That was the natural order of things, sometimes apex predators found themselves at each other’s throats. Wednesday did not enjoy hearing about “heroes” hunting down freaks and outcasts for their own self-important glory, misguided religious zeal, for “true love” or because of their own backwards prejudices.

“Surely there’s no such thing as an innocent giant! Or werewolf!” Quentin pleaded. “I mean, have you seen a werewolf?” The bard held his hands up like claws and badly mimed a wolfish snarl.

“Have you?” Wednesday asked, suspecting that in addition to telling intolerable stories, he was also a lying fraud. The ridiculous story from last night had been a dead giveaway.

“Regardless, there are children in this bar. I’ve had to suffer enough of such nonsense at school, I won’t have Maddie hearing this. There are other inns and taverns in town. Go to one of them.” Wednesday demanded, stabbing her broken glass into the bard’s huge, puffy hat, and walking back to her table.

Wednesday and Maddie soon headed back up to their room, where Enid was crying softly in her bed.

“She’s feeling emotions.” Maddie whispered, biting her lip. Wednesday nodded but said nothing.

“Ireena sometimes put her arms around me and the other kids and squeezed us. It felt nice. She calls it a… hug?” Maddie looked at Enid, still whispering to Wednesday. “Maybe Ms. Enid would like a hug.”

Maddie had good intuition.

“She would like that.” Wednesday was forced to admit. The two of them looked at each other, and Wednesday realized that perhaps Maddie expected Wednesday herself to give Enid a hug.

“Have at it.” Wednesday said quickly before Maddie could actually suggest such an unthinkable thing. She pushed Maddie lightly towards Enid, and Maddie crawled into Enid’s bed. She and Thing comforted Enid as Maddie cuddled with someone for the first time in her life.

The next morning promised to be a dark day for Wednesday. The group, knowing they had more money incoming, had decided to take what money they had and go… shopping. Including, horror of horrors (but in a bad way) for clothing.

Everyone decided they could use at least one more set of clothing, including more clothes for Maddie, and some of the outcasts were looking for light leather armor given all the combat they had already seen. Enid was looking for brighter clothing, feeling uncomfortable wearing the drab clothes she had bought in Barovia. After everything, Enid was determined to feel more like herself again.

The outcasts headed outside to the town square, where not only the Blue Water Inn but most of the town’s shops were found. The town square was a lively place in the morning, and a banner reading “All is Well” hung over the central crossroads.

Down the street, the outcasts could see the town’s stockades, and could see that two people were currently in the stocks for one crime or another. What was a little odd was the hallowed out donkey heads that were placed over each of their own heads. A smirking child was tossing stones at one of the figures in the stocks.

Hanging from some of the buildings, Wednesday noticed flyers for the upcoming Festival of the Blazing Sun. According to the flyers, attendance was mandatory. Wednesday also noticed flyers for Quentin’s Incredible Carnival: The Greatest Show on the Demiplane!

That the pompous bard ran his own carnival was obnoxious but not surprising to Wednesday.

The first stop they visited was The Dusklight Supply Shop, the town’s general store where Ireena had hired a courier the day before to deliver a message to her brother. The shop was run by a polite but very absent-minded older woman named Bethel. The supply shop sold not only general goods, but also other interesting wares such as sets of basic leather armor. Eugene and Xavier found leather armor that fit them well enough that they each decided to buy a set.

“Wow, I’m kind of surprised you had leather armor in his size.” Bianca was leaning against the counter chatting with Bethel. “He’s kind of young after all, and frankly, not really in shape.”

“Oh, that old armor was sold off to us by a dwarf.” Bethel recalled, and Bianca incorrectly assumed she was referring to a human with dwarfism, as she had never met the kind of dwarf that Bethel was referring to. Such dwarves sometimes came to Ravenloft from other worlds, but the race of dwarves had gone extinct in prehistoric times in Bianca’s own world.  

“Since it’s so old, how about cutting a bit off that asking price?” Bianca haggled, and the woman agreed easily enough. No siren song was involved, and Bianca found a set of leather armor for herself as well.

Next the outcasts headed to a tailor shop named “The Beast's Rose”. The name proved to be a little on the nose, as the shopkeepers were a husband and wife duo; the husband, Gili, was indeed a massive beast of a man, but he had a content smile as the group entered. His wife Lottie was a tiny and graceful woman, and stunningly beautiful. The outcasts found all manner of high quality clothing in their shop.

“Wow, this is amazing.” Enid danced around the shop, selecting all manner of colorful garments for herself. Wednesday was less impressed.

“Do you have anything in black? Anything at all?” Wednesday asked the couple.

Gili and Lottie winced. “I’m so sorry.” Lottie shook her head. “Black definitely suits you, but we could get in trouble for selling black clothing in this town. Black is considered an unhappy color by the town’s Burgomaster, Baron Vargas. He considers it to be suitable only for minions of the Great Enemy, Strahd himself. We’re encouraged to wear happy, colorful clothing here.”

“I’m allergic to color.” Wednesday said, voice a little strained. “This clothing I bought in Barovia is drab, but still barely tolerable, and I could make use of an additional set or two of clothing. Surely there must be something?”

Gili and Lottie exchanged furtive looks, and came to an agreement without speaking. They leaned in to whisper to Wednesday.

“I can tell you are new to this town and not an informant for Baron Vargas.” Gili spoke in a soft tone. “There is a shop, a secret shop here in Vallaki, that sells various goods the Burgomaster would not approve of. You can find it under the Blackwater Tavern. Please be discreet, and don’t mention us by name where others might overhear you. The password this month is “Love bites.”

Wednesday frowned in mild distaste. “And they’ll sell black clothing that I would be interested in?” Wednesday was skeptical, if only because of the shop’s choice of password.

The couple exchanged amused looks. “I think you’ll appreciate them very much.” Lottie smiled kindly.

The rest of the group paid for their purchases, with Enid being out the most gold. Wednesday decided to shop for Maddie under the Blackwater Inn instead of here. While Enid and some of the others returned to their rooms at the Blue Water Inn to get changed, and Pugsley had gone back to do some more tinkering, Wednesday, Xavier, and Eugene, along with Maddie, went to a hunting shop called “The Trapped Paw” looking for weapons.

As they approached, Wednesday asked Xavier “I understand why Eugene is looking for weapons. A slingshot is not enough anymore. Why are you looking for additional weaponry?”

“I’m just getting tired of fighting things that are hard to kill with anything other than silver. I’m hoping to find some silver arrow tips or a silver dagger in here. Bianca even gave me money to buy her a silver sword if a suitable one is available at the right price.”

Wednesday had thought that Bianca and Xavier weren’t speaking after Bianca’s use of siren song on the Headmistress of the orphanage yesterday, though Wednesday thought her use of siren song was completely reasonable. Wednesday has observed that Xavier and Bianca’s relationship was complex and had its ups and downs, but she didn’t give a damn about it so she never tried to figure it out.

The group entered The Trapped Paw, and Wednesday realized she had seen the two gruff, dangerous looking men who ran the shop at the Blue Water Inn a couple nights ago.

“Good morning. We’re looking for silver weaponry. You wouldn’t happen to have anything like that?” Xavier asked tentatively.

The two men grinned unpleasantly. “Boy, who do you think you’re talking to? I’m Szoldar and this is Yevgeni. Most folks around here know us by our reputation, believe me, we have silver weaponry. Question is if you can afford it?”

It certainly ate deeply into some of the outcast's finances, but they did manage to buy arrows with silver tips, a silver rapier for Bianca, which left her with only a few gold coins to spare. In fact, Bianca hadn't had enough gold to buy the silver rapier on top of her other purchases, but she wasn't in the shop, so Xavier chipped in some of his own gold and later lied to Bianca about the price, pretending that her own gold had been enough to buy the weapon.

The group also bought a few silver daggers, one of which Wednesday gave to Maddie. Eugene bought a crossbow, which Wednesday and Xavier promised to teach him how to use.

“We’re about to head out of town, we’ve been hired by a caretaker over at the orphanage to track down some runaway orphans. We were just about to close up shop, so you’re lucky you came by when you did.” Yevgeni told Xavier and Wednesday.

His business partner, Szoldar tasted their gold and weighed it in his hands, ensuring it was real. “We’re lucky we were still here to make a sale like this. We’ll be back in a few days, stop by if you need any more silver weaponry. Or for any of your hunting related needs.”

It was deeply ironic, but Wednesday was the outcast that ended up shopping the longest that day, even though she was the one who most strongly disliked shopping. It was only herself and Maddie left as the two entered the Blackwater Tavern to find the secret shop beneath. Even before they entered the establishment, they could smell fresh baked bread through one of the tavern’s open windows.

The Blackwater Tavern was a quaint establishment, offering the locals a warm and rustic atmosphere. With only four tables, it clearly served as a cozy gathering place for villagers to enjoy local food and ale. The place appeared to be frequented mainly by the village’s working class. A large and friendly-looking woman waved to Wednesday and Maddie from behind the counter.

“Hello dears, I haven’t seen you around before. Welcome to the Blackwater Tavern! Can I get you anything for lunch?” The woman smiled warmly at Maddie, who shrunk away from her shyly.

“No, we’re unfortunately here for more shopping.” Wednesday informed the bartender.

“Oh, we don’t really sell anything here but good food and… good-enough ale.” The woman answered, though something in her expression flickered.

“Gili and Lottie sent us.” Wednesday tried, speaking quietly so she wouldn’t be overheard. The woman gave her an assessing look.

“Oh, did they happen to tell you the…” The woman’s voice dropped to a hushed whisper, “the secret password?”

Though the bartender was whispering, Wednesday thought she was doing a terrible job of not appearing to be suspicious. The whole exchange was starting to feel amateurish and melodramatic.

Wednesday exhaled through her nose in frustration. “Love… bites” she bit out.

“Aye, that’s the password!” the woman whispered excitedly. “Have a couple of rolls here, then leave and go out around back. There’s a cellar door, and the key is in a loose brick three feet above the door. Oh, Morgana will be so happy to have new customers!”

Maddie startled as her heart suddenly began to race faster, before she calmed down. She had thought that the woman had said “Morgantha” for a moment, but realized that she had actually said “Morgana”, which was very slightly different, though too close for comfort. Maddie reminded herself that Granny Morgantha was dead and incinerated.

Wednesday and Maddie walked out and unlocked the basement, and then they stepped down the stairs through a set of heavy black curtains. It was dark at the bottom of the stairs, with the only light inside coming from the flickering red lanterns that lined the walls. The crimson flames cast dancing shadows over shelves filled with strangely colored wigs, dark makeup, and plenty of tight-fitting clothing.

“Greetings.” A tall, pale man in black clothing with way too many belts stepped out silently from behind a rack of fingerless gloves. Pinned to his suit was a name badge that read “Hello, my name is Marek”.  The badge also labeled him as a sales associate, which Wednesday wouldn’t have guessed this shop would need to employ.

“Can I help you find anything?” Marek groaned out, sounding a bit like Lurch.

“We’re here searching for clothing for ourselves, we don’t require any help.” Wednesday shook her head, and the man stepped backwards, disappearing between racks of clothing.

Wednesday and Maddie walked on, and as they approached the center of the store they came to an ebony desk with a young woman seated behind it. Her white hair was cropped into a spiky pixie cut, she had sharp cheekbones and, unsurprisingly, winged eyeliner. The black leather corset and platform combat boots she wore would have made her look out of place up in Vallaki, but here in her own shop she fit right in.

"Welcome my dears!" The woman, who Wednesday knew must be Morgana, stood up with a grin. She was about the same size and build as Wednesday herself, and her combat boots were obviously meant to give her a little bit of height. "We have a special flash sale on fishnet tights today, and leather belts are buy two get one free!"

Wednesday frowned slightly. “I’m looking for something that’s actually respectable for myself and this small child.” She gestured towards Maddie.

“Why, she looks to be nearly a teenager, but fine, have it your way! Mark my words though, you’ll have your hands full in another year or two, and what will happen then? My oppressive parents stifled me, and see how that turned out for them?” Morgana gestured to herself.

Wednesday glared at Morgana. “This isn’t my daughter, and she can buy what she wants when she actually has money. For now, we’re looking for tasteful black attire, which is apparently not sold elsewhere in this sorry town.”

Morgana stepped around her desk and guided Wednesday and Maddie through the store. They passed a rack of baggy hoodies bearing vague, ironic quotes and song lyrics, and then a full three-piece suit made entirely of leather, with metal clasps instead of buttons.

“Yes, the Baron, our Burgomaster, doesn’t like black clothing. He says it’s too depressing, and has banned the sale of it in town. You can still wear black clothing; you just can’t sell it.” Morgana explained as they walked. “But even just wearing black clothing can be used against you in court if you’re arrested for whatever reason, especially if you are being charged with “Malicious unhappiness.””

“I’m not worried about the Baron.” Wednesday said, though she had perhaps more reason to be worried than most, being the very picture of “malicious unhappiness.”  She looked around the shop, and spotted a parasol made from intricate, sheer black lace; she figured that being made of lace it would do nothing to actually block rain or sun. 

“Here we are! The clothing over here is perfect for a prim and proper young lady such as yourself, who nevertheless doesn’t want to dress like one of the Baron’s pathetic clowns.”

Wednesday and Maddie found some fine, dark clothing, as Wednesday tried to strike a balance between elegant and practical, knowing that they would often have to travel and kill things in the clothing they bought. They went back to the desk to pay, and Wednesday noted flasks of “blood wine” behind the counter.

“Blood wine?” she asked, one eyebrow slightly raised.

“Ha ha, that’s just a local favorite, some red wine.” Morgana shrugged. Wednesday gazed at her intensely, not convinced, but Morgana’s gaze was just as intense as Wednesday’s own, and she didn’t back down. Wednesday forked over a bit of gold for the clothing; she honestly didn’t care what blood wine was or why the goth woman was selling it.

“Actually, our shipment from the Wizard of Wines winery is overdue, and some of our customers are getting… antsy, because I have to ration the remaining stock out carefully. So I can’t sell the stuff to anyone but my regulars for the moment, and even then I can only sell to them in limited quantities.” Morgana gave Wednesday a “what can you do” shrug.

Wednesday mulled that over. The innkeeper at the Blue Water Inn had already hired her to look into why shipments from the winery were being delayed. Apparently, a possible shortage of alcohol was a great cause for alarm in this town.

“I am part of a group of very capable travelers, and I could look into what’s happening to your deliveries, for a price.” Wednesday didn’t mind being paid for the same job twice.

“Oh, that would be lovely! I do hope you won’t bring that child with you outside of town though, it’s dangerous out there as of late. If you can do this, I’ll pay you what I can, a couple hundred gold pieces, and I’ll also give you a discount at my store. If you try but fail, I’ll pay for a nice burial plot for you if your bodies can be recovered, and I’ll deliver a very poetic and depressing eulogy too.” Morgana offered.

“That sounds very reasonable.” Wednesday agreed, a deal struck and her purchases made.

A little bit later, the outcasts, changed into fresh clothing and better armed than they were before, were sitting at a remote corner table down in the Blue Water Inn. Wednesday noted with satisfaction that the colorful and annoying bard was nowhere to be seen.

“So we have two tasks before us.” Samuel mused. “Investigate what’s holding up the wine shipments, and find Ireena a place to stay here in town.”

“Actually, I think we only ultimately have one task.” Ireena explained her thoughts. “You aren’t getting paid anything for this job by the innkeeper except for free room and board. I could stay here for quite a while without paying anything if we complete this job. I can consider more permanent solutions later down the line, but I would consider your obligations fulfilled if we could secure free room and board for all of us, since I’ll be remaining here in Vallaki for the foreseeable future.”

Eugene nodded. “The winery is only a day’s travel from town based on what I’ve heard. We should be able to make it there without an issue if we set out early in the morning tomorrow.”

“We might as well give it a go.” Enid agreed. “But it’s apparently kind of dangerous out there, so Maddie should stay here, and someone should stay with her.” Enid didn’t say it, but she really, really didn’t want to see anymore dead kids anytime soon, so she was particularly eager not to put Maddie in danger.

“I could stay.” Ireena offered. “I have some training with a sword, but I’m not as skilled as all of you. Of course, we’re doing this partly so I can have a place to stay here, so I’d understand if you want me to come and help.”

“No need.” Wednesday said. “We’re being paid to help you, so we can handle this ourselves.”

The next morning, the seven outcasts set out for the Wizard of the Wines winery, with Ireena and also Thing staying behind to watch Maddie.

The outcasts began travelling west once more, this time leaving out the other side of the town. Shortly after leaving they crossed over the Luna River, and then the road was surrounded again on both sides by dark forest. Sometimes the woods came so close to the road that the outcasts seemed to be walking through perfect territory for an ambush, yet they never did encounter the vicious wolves they had heard so much about.  Though at one point, Enid, with her enhanced senses, noticed two unfamiliar men lurking in the woods, watching the outcasts as they passed. Enid peered into the woods trying to get a better look at them, but the two men slipped silently deeper into the woods. Enid’s hackles were up after that suspicious encounter. She noticed Wednesday was also staring into the woods with suspicion.

Travelling to the winery took most of the day. During breaks for meals, Wednesday and Xavier instructed Eugene on how to use his crossbow. He learned the basics, though he still needed plenty of practice to get better.

“Hey Wednesday” Pugsley approached Wednesday as Xavier took over instructing Eugene. “Can I talk to you for a minute?”

“If you must.”

“Ya, we should talk. So, it kind of seems like you adopted a kid? What’s up with that?” Pugsley didn’t bother to hide his confusion.

“I wouldn’t put it that way.” Wednesday gave him a stern look. “Maddie is probably only five years younger than myself, and barely a couple of years younger than you.”

“Well, ok, so maybe you’ve adopted a younger sister and not a daughter. But still… why? I mean, this is pretty out of character for you.”

“Are you questioning me Pugsley?” Wednesday frowned. “I have my reasons, but I’ll be keeping them to myself. If you want to pick my brain, you’ll have to do so more literally.”

A look of realization flashed over Pugsley’s face. “You had a vision when you touched her back before we got to Vallaki.”

Wednesday nodded. Pugsley seemed to realize she wasn’t going to reveal anything else, and the group’s break came to end as they set off down the road again.

As they came closer to their destination, the group came upon a fork in the road. They headed south-west towards the winery, but noticed that going the other direction would have taken them to a village called Krezk according to a sign in the road.

After that, the road became more of a muddy trail than a full-fledged road as it meandered through the woods, descending gradually until the trees parted, revealing a pleasant mist-shrouded meadow. A wooden signpost at the intersection pointed west and read "Vineyard."

As the group approached the vineyard, a light drizzle began to fall. Unpainted fences followed the trail, which skirted north of a sprawling vineyard before bending south towards a stately building. The fog took on ghostly forms as it swirled between the neatly tended rows of grapevines. Here and there, the outcasts observed rope-handled half-barrels used for hauling grapes.

North of the trail was a large stand of trees. The outcasts spotted a man wearing a dark cloak and cowl as he stepped out from the edge of the trees, and beckoned to the group.

“That’s a little suspicious, and I’m not sure we should approach that guy.” Bianca pointed out reasonably.

“Maybe we should gesture for him to come to us?” Eugene proposed.

“We’re here to investigate what’s going on at this winery, so let’s start with him.” Wednesday decided, and the group walked cautiously over to the stranger by the tree line.

Though feeling a bit confident because they outnumbered the stranger seven to one, that confidence soon evaporated, because as the group came closer to the cloaked man, several other figures stepped out of the woods, all wearing dark leather rain cloaks and cowls. But the outcasts relaxed a little as they noticed that some of the figures were quite small, being only children, and one woman was even holding an infant.

“That’s close enough.” Came the gruff command of the figure who had beckoned to them. He was a grizzled older man with white hair and a short white beard. “State your business travelers.”

Wednesday stepped forward. “You were the one who wanted to speak with us, so speak. Who are you and what do you want.”

“My name is Davian Martikov, and I just saved you from walking to your deaths.”

“Is the wine that bad? And would you happen to be a relative of Urwin Martikov?” Wednesday questioned, referring to the innkeeper at the Blue Water Inn.

Davian scowled. “Our wine was perfectly fine, back when we still controlled the winery. A few days back we were driven from our home by a group of dark druids. They’d have killed you if you stumbled into the winery. And yes, Urwin is my…. is a relative of mine, but that’s not important right now.”

Wednesday brushed some wet hair out of her face as the light rain continued. The mystery of the delayed wine shipments was solved, even if “the winery was attacked by druids” would not have been her first guess. But what to do about it?

The obvious solution was to murder all of the druids.

“Why did these druids attack your winery?” Wednesday asked.

Davian’s scowl would not let up. “These druids are as twisted and cruel as the cursed land they worship. They are opportunists who eventually realized that my family could not stop them from taking what they wanted.”

“That sounds like your own fault for showing weakness, but we’ve been hired to see the wine shipments resume, so we’ll deal with your pest problem.”

“I would be grateful if you could. Wine is the last pleasure left to many in these bleak lands, and because we know how important it is to so many people, we provide it for free to the taverns and inns in the villages around here. This winery isn’t run for profit; it’s run for the good of the people. But the druids are dangerous, and they control a small army of blights.” Davian warned.

Wednesday asked him to describe the blights to her, and he described them as small to medium sized bipedal creatures made entirely of wood.

“Hey Wednesday, those sound like the things that attacked Jericho when we first arrived!” Pugsley pointed out, having participated in that battle himself.

“Intriguing. Someone did tell us that primitive peoples living in the woods controlled those creatures, and that they wouldn’t like a new town intruding on their domain.” Wednesday gave Pugsley a meaningful look, because the person who had told them that was Strahd.

“Retreat if matters turn against you.” Davian advised. “This wine is important to the people of these lands, but I would hate to see you die for it.”

“I don’t intend to die over something as trivial as wine.” Wednesday responded. “But I won’t mind making the druids die for it.”

The outcasts parted ways with the Martikov family and continued down towards the winery.

“So what’s the plan?” Enid sounded a little nervous. “Because I didn’t love the words “small army”. You all heard that guy say small army, right?”

“Unfortunately, burning down the winery would be a pyrrhic victory, since we need the wine shipments to resume.” Wednesday thought out loud. Bianca sighed, but was at least glad Wednesday was going to restrain herself from more arson.

“Speaking of fire, I made a couple things in Vallaki that I think could be useful here.” Pugsley offered. Wednesday gestured for Pugsley to elaborate. “Ok, so here’s what I’m thinking…”

Chapter Text

The battle for the winery was about to commence, and the outcasts were waiting to hear Pugsley’s plan. Reaching into his pack, Pugsley pulled out one of his new gadgets, which appeared to be a small cube. The mechanical cube proved to be more than it seemed, because when Pugsley pressed a red button on the cube, it began to unfold and expand, systemically building itself into a small battle bot.

“Holy shit, you made a robot?” Samuel gaped in surprise.

Pugsley sat down and began typing instructions into his creation. “Sure, you never know when you’ll need a killer robot, but right now, we just need something to draw the blights out of the winery.”

Out of all the outcasts, Wednesday was the only one who wasn’t surprised. Her brother had been building robots, and more advanced creations too, ever since he was about five. Pugsley finished typing commands into the robot, and it waddled quickly down the path towards the winery.

“Everyone, let’s hide in the trees. I made something else that I think can help with the blights when they come this way.” Pugsley jogged over into the trees and began to pull his other new creation from his pack. The rest of the group decided to go along with it and hid in the trees themselves.

The group hid for a short while, occasionally hearing the sounds of Pugsley’s robot demolishing stuff out in the vineyard. Soon enough, Pugsley’s little robot came waddling back at full speed, with a group of about thirty human-sized wood monsters, each covered in nasty looking spikes, running after it. It was a surprisingly comical sight, seeing so many blank-faced monsters running hard after what appeared to be a tiny children’s toy.

Pugsley’s robot continued running up the road past the outcasts hiding spot, and the blights reached them shortly afterwards, about to run past the hidden outcasts. Pugsley let the front of the group get a little ahead of their hiding place, and then he unleashed his latest creation upon them.

Pugsley’s brand new flamethrower bellowed flames straight into the pack of blights. The wooden monsters went up like so much kindling, with Pugsley managing to light a third of them on fire with one spray of his flamethrower. Seeing that Pugsley had made his move, the rest of the outcasts leapt out of the trees and attacked.

Bianca and Samuel raced towards the blights and began hacking into them with their swords, while Xavier and Eugene fired arrows into their midst. Wednesday, who had often been fighting with her daggers lately, still had both a sword and bow on her, and she chose to begin this fight by joining the other archers and firing carefully aimed arrows into the blight’s heads. Enid extended her claws and pounced onto one of the blights, jamming her nails through its skull and swiftly killing it. Almost before the blights realized what was happening, eight more of them had been slain.

Enid leapt from one blight to the next and severed its head from its neck with her claws. An arrow whizzed through the air right next to her, and glanced back at Eugene, the least experienced archer in the group, who had just barely missed her with a crossbow bolt. Enid gave him a feral glare, and Eugene waved sheepishly at her.

As the now headless blight that Enid had pounced onto began to fall over, she tried to pounce again onto another blight, but this one caught her out of the air with both wooden hands as she leapt towards it. The blight glared at her with its creepy blank wooden face, grasping her tightly.

“Oh damn.” Enid muttered, but then her eyes widened in surprise as a sword pierced straight through the blight’s head, the tip of the sword nearly poking Enid’s nose. Bianca withdrew her sword and seemed to almost dance between the blights, carving into them with skillful flourish. Enid grabbed another blight, tossed it bodily into the fire that was burning up its companions, and rejoined the fray.

Up in the winery, four druids were conducting a sacred religious ritual. They stood in a circle, holding hands around a makeshift altar, singing about bears, wildflowers, and the passing of the seasons.

The song came to a bittersweet close, and the head druidess began to address the group with passion in her voice.

“The agricultural revolution and its consequences have been a disaster for the human race! It is our collective and individual responsibility to preserve and tend to the Demiplane of Dread in which we all live. If we cannot protect our land, everything else is for naught. Brothers, sisters, take heart! Know that our every action has made these lands a little better than they were before!”

And with that, the druidess unlinked her hands from the circle and stabbed her sacred dagger down into the heart of the man who had been tied down and gagged on the altar.

“Once these fields were tamed, controlled, it’s fruit harvested to brew poisons the civilized masses love to imbibe. Now we shall return these fields to their natural state! We shall… does anybody else smell smoke?”

More arrows fired down at the blights, but several of the surviving monsters had nearly surrounded both Enid and Bianca, who were struck by the blight’s spiky claws. Samuel, who had also rushed into the melee, began fighting his ways towards them to help.

Carefully, Pugsley aimed his flamethrower towards the side of the fight, so he wouldn’t strike the other outcasts who were in the middle of it, and he unleashed another torrent of fire that destroyed three more blights. At the same time, Pugsley’s robot turned around and punched out towards one of the blights that was still chasing it. Small as Pugsley’s robot was, it couldn’t seriously hurt the blight, but the booming shockwave it unleashed from its arm cannon did send the blight hurtling backwards into the dust.

Bianca and Enid were still fighting hard but were in a tough spot, and a damaged but still determined blight snuck up behind them and lifted a spiny claw, preparing to take Bianca’s head off. In the nick of time an arrow shot into its skull, and Bianca heard it collapse behind her. She looked over to the trees and actually gave Wednesday, who had fired off the arrow, a nod of respect, before continuing to hold off the remaining blights.

The melee continued, with one of the blights taking Samuel to the ground as the two wrestled in the dirt, and Enid and Bianca suffered more scratches and hits from the blight’s clawed fists. Some of the blights turned and fired wooden needles out of themselves, shooting spiked projectiles towards the archers, with one spike striking Pugsley and two striking Eugene.

The archers were forced to duck back into the woods, but Enid was successfully slicing up another blight with her claws, and Bianca destroyed two more with her sword. One of the remaining three blights lashed out at her, but Bianca dodged nimbly out of the way. Samuel was able to kill the blight he had been wrestling, leaving only two left.

The remaining two blights began advancing side by side towards Enid and Bianca, who were now barely standing. Then, suddenly, both blights were killed by Wednesday, an increasingly common cause of death in Ravenloft, as a single arrow shot forth and pierced straight through both blight’s heads.

Enid and Bianca turned wide-eyed to Wednesday. In a rare moment, Wednesday was actually sort of expressing emotion, as a smug smirk tugged at her lips.

“Show off.” Bianca muttered, as she limped down the road towards the winery.

“How’s everyone doing?” Xavier checked on the group with a look of worry.

“Ouch” Eugene whimpered in response as he pulled a large thorn out of his arm. Bianca went and supported herself against one of the trees.

“Excellent, then we continue the slaughter.” Wednesday nodded, deciding that the others would be fine.

Enid sniffed the air and turned to peer down the road with her enhanced senses. “Um, guys? I think one of those druid people is coming up the road, and they have a couple dozen more blights with them. These ones look  a lot smaller though… they’re kinda cute….”

“Come on, back into the trees.” Pugsley waved the group back into the woods, and they crept further down the road, so that they could ambush the next group before the blights reached the site of the previous ambush.  

“Rinse and repeat.” Samuel muttered, as Pugsley readied his flamethrower.

This time, Pugsley not only burned up wooden monsters with his flamethrower, but was able to light one of the druids on fire too. With the druid that had been leading them taken out right away, the fight was easier than it might have been. The group of smaller blights that the druid had been leading were weaker than the taller ones from before, but they proved difficult to actually hit because of their short stature. The outcasts were able to destroy them all, but they took a few more hits in the process and were definitely a bit banged up as they proceeded towards the entrance of the winery.

As they approached the building, three more druids stepped out of the doorway, led by a woman wielding what appeared to be a magic staff. Several blights of different shapes and sizes followed after them, but there were at least not that many compared to the number of blights that the outcasts had already destroyed. Two of the blights that stood beside the druids seemed to be a different kind of blight than any the outcasts had seen before; they were covered entirely in vines. Five other thorny blights moved to stand protectively in front of the druids.

Wednesday addressed the three druids in her usual monotone. “You should run.”

“You’ve just lit one of our own on fire. But we’ll leave… if you let us burn one of you in return.” The lead druidess sneered at Wednesday.

Enid winced as she remembered the screaming druid, but wasn’t about to agree to be burned herself. “You guys probably shouldn’t have sent him out on his own.” She protested.

The druidess snarled in frustration. “On his own?!? We sent him out with over twenty twig blights!”

“Well, now you have only seven of those things left.” Eugene pointed out reasonably. “So maybe you should just buzz off.”

Coming from Eugene, “buzz off” sounded like a bee-related pun, and several of the outcasts winced.

“The weak have been culled from the pack!” The druidess ranted and raved.  “Only the strong survive!”

At that, the five needle blights opened fire, flinging spikes at the outcasts. Wednesday and Enid each managed to dodge a spike, but Pugsley took one in the leg and Samuel took two through his armor, and let out a pained cry.

Grimacing, Pugsley stepped forward and returned fire with his flamethrower, unleashing flames into almost half of the enemy group. Three needle blights were lit on fire, one of which crumbled straight away, and the lead druidess’s robes were lit on fire as well. A druid next to her and a vine blight were also burned, but only a bit, and the fire didn’t seem to be as effective against the vine blight as it was against the wooden ones.

Wednesday threw a dagger at the burning druidess, who screamed in pain as the blade cut her, but managed to mutter out an incantation. Water was summoned directly above the druidess, which doused her and put out the flames on her burning robes. With an angry wave of the druidess’s hands, the water lifted up again and slashed out at Wednesday, freezing in the air as it went. Wednesday grunted as the ice sliced into her side.

Hissing in pain, Samuel pulled a spike out of his armor and charged at one of the needle blights, but it dodged around his katana strike. One of the burning needle blights moved to attack Samuel, which alarmed the vampire, but the fire finished consuming the blight just before it could reach Samuel. "Fire and monsters with wooden spikes, this battle is no good for a vampire." Samuel muttered. 

Enid sprinted at a needle blight and tried to attack it with her claws, and the blight struggled to fend her off with its own claws. Then one of the druids muttered a spell under his breath. Vines rose out of the ground to entangle Enid, but she dodged out of the way with incredible agility, slashing the vines apart with her claws as she moved.  

The needle blight Enid had been fighting tried to swipe at her as she was escaping from the vines, but Xavier shot an arrow into its head, destroying it. Eugene also took a shot at the blights, but missed, still being new at using a crossbow. Wanting to help, he sent his swarm of bees into the fray as he reloaded his crossbow.

Bianca yelled over to the one still uninjured druid, the other female in the group, with her siren song. “We’re your friends, attack our enemies!”

That druidess turned towards her leader and the other druid, and towards one of the vine blights, and spoke an incantation. A crack of thunder boomed in the air as a wave of force shoved her three targets to the ground. The lead druidess took the worst of it, knocking her head against the ground and falling unconscious. Her staff was also hit directly, and as it tumbled away, the blights seemed to falter, freezing and unfreezing erratically as though they were glitching.

But the blights soon resumed their attack. The vine blight that had been shoved back came forward again and struck Enid, and as it hit her, it also entangled her in its vines. Enid yelled frantically as she fought to get free of it. Two needle blights and a vine blight also attacked Samuel, and although he was able to fend off some of their blows, others struck him roughly.

Pugsley ran over to the druid who was picking himself up, and grabbed the druid with his gloved hand. Electricity flowed out of his glove and into the druid, who was knocked out by the high voltage. But Pugsley wasn’t done yet, because he had seen what had happened to the blights when the staff was damaged. Pugsley’s little robot picked up the staff and tossed it to him, and he snapped it in half. 

The moment the staff was destroyed, the vines holding Enid withered, and soon all of the remaining blights decayed and collapsed. The only still conscious druid was under Bianca’s spell, and the battle was finished.  

Davian and his family gratefully returned to their home, somewhat damaged though it was, and found that the outcasts had three druids bound and gagged at their doorstep.

“Thank you so much. It is truly impressive, what you young men and women have accomplished here today.” Davian bowed his head in gratitude.

Stefania, Davian’s adult daughter, shook Bianca’s hand with tears in her eyes. “We can’t thank you enough. My baby… I’m not sure she would have been alright if we had to spend one more night out in the woods.”

“HHMMM!” The druidess who Bianca had siren songed had by now gotten free of Bianca’s powers, though too late to do her any good. She was the only one of the druids that was still conscious for the moment.

Bianca nodded to Davian. “These three happened to survive the fight, and most of us don’t approve of killing unconscious foes.” Here Bianca shot a glare at Wednesday, who ignored her. “So we thought we’d turn them over to you.”

Davian’s family spread out to inspect the grounds as he tried to decide how to handle the prisoners. “Oh, well, I’m not sure what we’ll do with them, but I suppose one of the local towns might be willing to hold them in custody. My family has a good reputation; people will take us at our word when we tell them what these druids did.”

Just then, the leading druidess regained consciousness.

“MMFFHHKRR!” she raged into her gag. Then she suddenly transformed into a vulture and flew off.

The group stared in surprise, especially the other druidess. The still tied-up druidess exploded in anger, cursing up a storm beneath her gag as her leader swiftly abandoned her.

“A vulture huh? I suppose she realizes on some level what a pack of scavengers she and her people have become.” Davian muttered sourly. He turned back to the outcasts, dismissing the incident with a wave of his hand. “Well, we’ll lock these two druids in the cellar and consider them a problem for another day. For now, it’s getting late, and as I’m sure you know it’s not safe to be outside anymore. Please, stay with us for the night at least, and we will tend to your injuries. I see a few of you are bleeding; the scent of that will attract unwanted attention out here in the open.”

The outcasts headed inside the winery, and although it was too late to cook anything, both their group and the Martikov family all found simple rations to eat around the table. Soon the exhausted children were taken up to bed, and it was just the outcasts and Davian again.

“So,” Bianca began “I realize things have been a bit crazy around here, but we were hired to ensure the wine shipments would resume to Vallaki. Can we expect that to happen now?”

Davian frowned and bowed his head a little. “We do have a number of barrels of wine left, we can run some of it to Vallaki tomorrow if you’d like to join us. But I’m afraid we cannot produce any more wine after that.”

Wednesday narrowed her eyes. “Why not? The vineyard is still in good condition. What aren’t you telling us?”

Davian sighed but explained everything to the outcasts. “The land those druids worship, all of these lands, they are cursed. Healthy grapevines do not grow in this strange demiplane we are trapped in. But my family possessed three magic seeds that allowed grapevines to flourish even here. They are not literal seeds, but they do allow for all sorts of plants to grow near them. Many years ago, one of those magic seeds was stolen. This didn’t prevent us from making more wine, though we were unable to make our best wine after that. Then, more recently, our winery came under attack from the forces of the Witch, Baba Lysaga. She managed to make off with another one of the seeds, and our defenses were weakened. Finally, the druids attacked and stole the last seed.”

“Apparently they did more than that.” Wednesday pointed out.

Davian nodded. “Not at first. We could not make any more wine without the magic seeds. We counterattacked the druids at Yester Hill, but we failed. My sons sustained serious injuries, and although they are recovering well enough, we haven’t been prepared to try to fight them again.”

The group lapsed into silence, but Davian had one more request to make. “You’ve already done enough for us, but if you ever have the opportunity, my family and all the people of these lands would be grateful beyond words if you could recover the magical seed the druids took to Yester Hill, or the seed that Baba Lysaga stole from us. Her lair is the ruins of Berez.”

“The ruins of Berez?” Pugsley asked, clearly interested. He often enjoyed playing in ruins as a child, especially haunted ones.

“Berez was a town south of Vallaki, but it was destroyed long ago by the devil Strahd. I’m not sure what happened, but somehow, the town incurred his wrath, and was shown no mercy.”

Bianca raised her hand as though she were still in class. “I heard the hags we fought, Granny’s daughters, mention something about a "Baba Lysaga" as they fled.”

Pugsley looked to Wednesday to see what she thought about hunting the missing seeds, but she appeared to be totally disinterested, not having any real desire to hunt down magical artifacts so that people could have their wine. Maybe if it had been coffee or tea, but this was too much trouble for wine in her opinion.

A scream resounded from upstairs. Needless to say, the family had found an unpleasant surprise on the altar the druids had cobbled together.

At dawn the group was back on the road; they and two of Davian’s adult sons were riding a wagon that was bringing wine to Vallaki. The wagon was moving faster than the group could on foot, though it would still take a good portion of the day to get back to Vallaki.

“What’s this?” Samuel asked, sniffing the air. Reaching into a crate, he pulled out a flask of what Wednesday recognized as blood wine, the drink that Morgana had been selling in her shop.

Elvir, one of Davian’s son (the other son was at the reigns) glanced back. “Oh, you wouldn’t want that. You’re are free to help yourselves to the wine of course, but I couldn’t recommend that wine. Why don’t you try one of our other vintages?”

Samuel ignored him and opened the bottle, drinking deeply from it. The rest of the outcasts looked a little surprised. Samuel licked his lips. “Man, that hit the spot.” Samuel was suddenly looking more alive than dead after drinking the blood wine.

Elvir raised an eyebrow. “You’re friend has most unusual tastes.” He said cautiously.

Wednesday stared at him in return. “And you sell most unusual wares.” She retorted, now suspecting that “blood wine” was not just a silly name for a red wine, but that its name was very literal.

Elvir shrugged. “Well, there are all sorts in Vallaki. And in this wagon, apparently.”

“You have no idea.” Wednesday responded.

Enid scooted over to where Wednesday was sitting. “All that violence over wine. I suppose the druids had it coming, and we did maybe save a baby? But still. I’m just glad we managed to capture most of them alive, although your brother did light one of them on fire…”

“And one of them escaped.” Wednesday retorted, though she didn’t sound bothered about it. “If she tries to fight against us again, I’ll take no prisoners.”

“Fair enough, but we happened to knock them all out in that fight, and it’s not like we could have executed them while they were unconscious, right?” Enid asked nervously.

“We could have, but it would have been my preference to wait until they were awake, and then have them executed. It would be a shame for someone to not be awake to experience their own death.” Wednesday certainly wouldn’t want to miss her own death. She noticed that Enid was looking a little pale. “For a werewolf, you’re surprisingly averse to violence.”

“To cold-blooded murder? Yup, super averse to that. But I wouldn’t say I’m averse to all violence, not anymore.” Enid gave Wednesday a hesitant look, as though she wasn’t sure if she wanted to continue.

“Oh?” Wednesday was curious now. “What sort of violence do you find acceptable now?”

“Well” Enid began “Some of the things we’ve fought have definitely had it coming, but that wasn’t what I was talking about right now. I was thinking…” Enid bit her lip. “The others weren’t around to see it, but I saw how you killed that demon, and although there was some bad stuff happening at the time… I dunno, it was kind of awesome. You’re a real badass.” Enid grinned.

Wednesday blinked. Although Wednesday didn’t lack confidence, she also wasn’t the sort of person who really knew how to take a compliment. After a pause, not knowing what else she could say, she settled on making a light boast. “Stick around Sinclair, and you’ll see more people and creatures die in remarkable ways.”

Enid looked like she didn’t know if she should be amused or deeply disturbed.

By the late afternoon the outcasts were back in Vallki. The group split up to help deliver the wine to different taverns and inns, and at the same time were able to report their success to Urwin at the Blue Water Inn and Morgana in her secret shop. Wednesday got her discount at the shop and collected the pay Morgana had offered, and Morgana, impressed, offered Wednesday another job.

“Now that I know you can handle yourself, I have another job for you if you’re interested? It’s very dangerous, but I’ve noticed the early warning signs that a rogue vampire spawn has arrived in town. If it’s not dealt with before it kills a bunch of people, everything odd or unusual in this town will be hunted down. As you can probably imagine, that includes me, and probably even you too.”

“A vampire spawn? How is that different from a normal vampire?” Wednesday questioned.

Morgana went on to explain how vampires worked in this world, and she confirmed what Wednesday had already suspected, that they were quite different from the vampires of her own world. In Ravenloft, a newly turned vampire, like Doru back in Barovia, was effectively a slave to the will of its master, the vampire who had turned it, and it didn’t have all of the abilities or raw strength of a “true vampire”. Only by rebelling against and killing its sire could a vampire spawn become a true vampire. A vampire spawn could instead flee from its master, but it would gradually become a pale shadow of its former self, and only the assistance of very rare magical artifacts could potentially allow for a vampire spawn to retain its intelligence and will after deserting its sire.  All interesting information, and Wednesday told Morgana she would consider hunting this vampire.

Back at the Blue Water Inn, Elvir and Davian’s other son Adrian exchanged warm hugs with Ulwin and his wife. Reading their lips from where she and the outcasts sat at one of the tables in the inn, Wednesday realized that Ulwin was their brother, and it seemed that he had a difficult relationship with their father Davian. Wednesday could somewhat relate.

“The flamethrower was a complete success!” Pugsley bragged to Thing, who had helped a bit in the flamethrower’s construction. “I incinerated dozens of wooden blight guys with it, it was incredible!”

Thing leapt up into the air and gave Pugsley a high five.

Ireena came downstairs then and walked over the outcast’s table. “Good news!” Ireena sat down with a bright smile. “A letter came back today from my brother Ismark, along with the rest of your pay for escorting me safely to Vallaki. Now that Ulwin will be putting me up for the foreseeable future, your work is complete. Thank you friends, I’m afraid I would have been doomed had you not come along when you did.”

“Here’s to you Ireena!” Bianca toasted her friend. “I hope you find happiness here in Vallaki.”

“If I never have to worry about that man again, I’ll be happy enough. It’s a shame I had to leave my hometown behind, but life goes on.” 

“Here Maddie” Wednesday passed a bowl to the younger girl. “The food at this place is intolerable, nonsense such as ham sandwiches seem to be all they serve. I cooked us some bat broth, with eye of newt.”

“Um, what?” Enid asked weakly, but she was too late to stop Maddie from digging into the bat broth. To Enid’s shock, the girl actually seemed to enjoy it. Wednesday and Pugsley occasionally made bizarre foods and drinks for themselves, but this was the first time Enid had seen Wednesday share her culinary concoctions with someone else.

As they ate, a man in black formal wear strode confidently up to the outcast’s table. He had almost shoulder length blond hair and square face, with piercing blue eyes.

“Pardon me, I hope I’m not disturbing you, but would it be alright if I had a word?” The man asked, looking at Wednesday in particular.

“Bianca, you handle this.” Wednesday instructed.

“Um… okay then. Hi, what can we do for you?” Bianca was caught off guard but quickly rallied. 

The man was unphased by Wednesday’s dismissal and turned to face Bianca. “Hector Whitehall, attorney at law.” He introduced himself, passing Bianca a business card.

“I’m with Wolfram & Hart, and this evening I’m here to speak with you all on behalf of one of our clients, the Lady Fiona Wachter.”

“Wait.” Wednesday turned back to the lawyer. “Did you say Wolfram & Hart? I believe my father, Gomez Addams, had occasionally consulted with a firm by that name.”

“That must be a coincidence, right?” Xavier’s brows furrowed in confusion. “That was a world away.”

“That’s likely not a coincidence.” Hector smiled. “I’m not familiar with a Gomez Addams, but I’ve only ever lived and worked here in this demiplane known as Ravenloft. And I can tell you folks aren’t from around here. But Wolfram & Hart is a multidimensional law firm, your father may well have consulted with one of our other branches.”

Enid leaned forward eagerly. “Then can you tell us how to get out of here, how to go back where we came from?”

Hector held up his hands. “That’s a little above my paygrade I’m afraid, but if you can pay enough, anything is possible when the Senior Partners take your case. At any rate, it’s getting late, and Lady Wachter would like to speak with you as soon as possible, if you’re agreeable.”

The outcasts turned to Wednesday to see what she thought. “Maddie is finishing her bat broth, then we’ll come with you.”

“Excellent. I’ll meet you outside in a few minutes, and escort you to the Lady’s estate.”

Hector Whitehall led the group down the streets until they reached an impressively large, yet sullen and decrepit mansion. Ireena had not come with the group, because although she and Bianca had still been hanging out together at the inn as friends, her business with the outcasts was effectively concluded. Wednesday had however brought Maddie for this. As the group approached the mansion, a raven that was perched nearby let out an ominous caw and flew off.

Without stopping to knock, Hector led the group inside to the parlor room, where three elegant couches surround a beautiful oval table made of black glass. This all was set in front of a blazing hearth, above which hung the portrait of a smirking nobleman sporting a broken nose and a tangle of hair graying at the temples. Everything about him, from his facial features to the mischievous smirk on his face, reminded Wednesday of two young ruffians that often hung out in the Blue Water Inn, and she deduced that they were likely the sons or grandsons of this man. 

A stern looking older woman with her hair done up in a bun rose from one of the couches to face the outcasts, and Hector stepped forward to make introductions. “Everyone, I would like you to meet Lady Fiona Wachter, the heiress of this ancient house and the most influential noblewoman in Vallaki. My Lady, these are the travelers you requested.” Hector nodded politely to Lady Wachter and stepped back discreetly, excusing himself from the conversation for the time being.

“Thank you Mr. Whitehall. Yes, I am Lady Wachter. I already know much about you children, but please, introduce yourselves.”

Bianca stepped forward to do the talking, and introduced the group to Lady Watcher, who asked them to be seated on the couches. The group exchanged looks and silently agreed to play along and see what the lady wanted.

“Now, I’m curious as to what you, as a group, have come to think about the state of Vallaki. We see travelers come and go here, but it’s been a bit since we’ve had true foreigners such as yourselves arrive. So, what do you think of Vallaki?”

Lady Wachter posed the question with a detached countenance, but Wednesday could tell she was trying to suss out the group’s opinion of Vallaki for more than mere idle curiosity. The Lady was likely planning to steer the conversation in some specific direction.  

Still, Wednesday answered without holding back. “I preferred Barovia. The people there were grim and the town was bleak and drab. Vallaki is filled with mismatched colorful clothing and banners reading “All is Well.” I sometimes want to gauge my eyes out.”

Lady Wachter smiled slightly, though the expression sat unnaturally upon her hard, gaunt face. “Ah, that all can be blamed largely on the awful tastes of Baron Vargas Vallakovich, the Burgomaster of this town. He is a madman. I’m relieved to hear you haven’t bought into his inane drivel.”

“Well, I like that this town is more colorful than Barovia.” Enid disagreed. “But Wednesday’s kind of right, this town has little in the way of color coordination, and it’s so bad I feel like I need to teach everyone here how to dress themselves in matching clothes.”

“People don’t have time to waste on that.” Lady Wachter waved a hand dismissively. “They wear bright colors only to avoid incurring the Baron’s disfavor. Few believe in his vision of a more cheerful Vallaki, especially when the Baron does nothing to actually improve the town. All he has to offer are his foolish festivals, which he subjects the town to every week. They are the most insipid affairs, cobbled together quickly and based on nothing more profound than the Baron’s unimaginative whims. The town could easily afford a few grand festivals once a year, but he wastes the town’s time and treasure throwing the lowest quality festivals imaginable every week instead. The town only puts up with them because attendance is mandatory.”

“Okay” Enid admitted. “That doesn’t sound great.”

“Do you need further convincing? If you aren’t convinced the Baron is a tyrant, you should pay a visit to the Vallakovich Reformation Center. It’s where the Baron sends civilians to be “reeducated”, a dismal prison where poor fools are taught how to be mindlessly happy, according to the Baron’s wishes.”

Bianca raised an eyebrow. “And why are you trying to convince us that the Baron sucks? Even if we agree, so what?”

“We come to the point of the matter.” Lady Wachter took a sip of her tea, and set the cup back down, staring at the outcasts with grim intensity. “You are a group of armed killers who will do violence for money. I respect the nature of your business, and wish to employ your services.”

“You want us to put an end to the Baron.” Wednesday stated.

“Actually no, I can handle that myself.” Lady Wachter shook her head. “Or rather, I can do so if his henchman Izek Strazni is out of the picture. He’s a mean brute, and moreover he has a rather peculiar, inhuman arm, which he can use to summon fire on command. I’m afraid he’s wasted what potential he had by allying himself to the Baron. Kill Izek, and I shall handle the rest.”

“I’m going to stop you right there.” Xavier spoke up firmly. “We solve problems for money, yes, but not like this. We don’t kill people for gold.”

Wednesday raised a brow at him. When had the group decided that?

“You don’t kill tyrants for money, but you’ll kill small children for free?” Lady Wachter’s voice was caustic and amused. A couple of the outcasts gasped.

“Yes, I know all about how you tried your hand at an exorcism. Well done.” Lady Wachter smirked. 

Samuel retorted angrily "If we hadn’t intervened, a demon might be running loose in Vallaki right now, if it hadn’t finished off this town already.” 

“Yes, I’m sorry to say I hadn’t noticed a demon growing in strength in our midst. Awful creatures, demons, and you did the town a service by disposing of it, regardless of what happened to the child. Frankly, I much prefer devils over demons. Devils are creatures of law and contracts; I can respect that.”

“How reassuring!” Enid’s retort was thick with teenage sarcasm.

“You love the law, and you’re asking us to assassinate someone so you can kill off your Burgomaster?” Bianca pointed out.

“I did try to gain power over this town legally. My plan was to wed my young daughter, Stella, to the Baron's son, Victor, with my end goal being that my family would ultimately inherit this town. But Stella couldn’t tolerate the Baron’s brute of a son, who is as mad as his father. Indeed, he spoke such unkind words to Stella that she went mad herself.”

Lady Wachter paused to take a sip of tea, giving herself a moment to find her composure again, before continuing. “So now, it’s to be conquest. I’ll conquer this town in the name of this realm’s true master, Count Strahd von Zarovich.”

“This just keeps getting better and better.” Enid muttered. “But you know what, Xavier’s right. We don’t do assassinations.”

Eugene on the other hand was once again immersed in video game logic. “Oh man, this is getting interesting. We could be like the Dark Brotherhood! And if any of our targets had an allergy to bees, wow, I’d be our guy on that job.”

“Eugene!” Enid gasped.

Eugene looked over at her and blushed. “I mean, they’re right, murder is bad.”

“I’m confused.” Maddie looked to Wednesday for advice. “Is murder bad or not?”

“It’s reductive to try to speak in absolutes in this case.” Wednesday advised. Maddie stared at her blankly. Wednesday forced herself not to sigh. “It depends.” She amended.

“Wednesday!” Xavier gasped as Wednesday gave a child dubious ethical instruction. Unlike Eugene, Wednesday didn’t blush or backtrack. She glared at Xavier in a “keep out of it” sort of way.

“I didn’t like it when Granny and the aunties murdered the other kids.” Maddie muttered quietly. Wednesday actually reached out and awkwardly patted her on the shoulder, partly because she hoped that by touching Maddie, she might trigger another vision, but she had no luck there.

“You seem like an intelligent young woman.” Lady Wachter nodded to Wednesday, pleased by her nuanced attitude towards murder. “Perhaps you would like to join me and my book club sometime?”

“I’ll consider it.” Wednesday replied noncommittally, idly wondering what Lady Wachter would make of her Viper de la Muerte murder mystery novels. “You say you would conquer this town in the name of Count Strahd. Has he instructed you to do so?”

“Not as such no, but he could hardly have any objection to me removing a Burgomaster who hates him. Once I’ve done so, then I will be able to contact our Dread Lord. Until I’ve accomplished that much, I doubt he would be interested in anything I had to say.”

Lady Wachter saw that many of the outcasts were still far from having come around to her point of view, so she continued her sales pitch.

“If you’re undecided, I recommend you seriously consider my earlier advice, and pay a visit to the Vallakovich Reformation Center. Those of you with a strong sense of justice” here Lady Wachter sneered at Enid and Xavier in particular “might find you’ve changed your minds about deposing the Baron after a visit to that wretched place. But be quick about it. I was hoping to overthrow the Baron tomorrow during the Festival of the Blazing Sun. You could sneak into the Reformation Center tonight, then meet back here with me, or contact my lawyer, and we shall sign a contract. Tomorrow at the festival, we can deal with the Baron once and for all.”

“You want us to sign a contract stating that we’ll murder someone for you?” Samuel asked skeptically. “That seems like something I wouldn’t want in writing.”

“Nonsense. Contracts are the basis of a civilized society.” Lady Wachter disagreed.

Hector Whitehall stepped forward out of the shadows. “I can assure you, there’s no need to worry about any unflattering documents becoming known to the public. Wolfram & Hart guarantees our clients complete privacy and discretion.”

Wednesday looked over to him. “That is admirable. I’m looking to get a series of books published, can Wolfram & Hart assist me in this?”

“The actual publishing of books is outside of our area of expertise, but some of our other branches certainly have useful connections in publishing companies.” 

“Ok, this has been… informative.” Bianca spoke carefully. “You’ve given us a lot to think about, we’re going to go now. We’ll sleep on it.”

Hector stepped forward and gave Wednesday a map. “It’s directions to the Reformation Center, and importantly, to a secret tunnel that a prisoner recently used to escape from the Center. Only a handful of people know about the escape, the guards never even noticed. The escapee who dug his way out is in hiding, taking refuge at St. Andral’s Church, so you can find him there if you’d like to speak with him, though I should warn you it will probably be fruitless. He went mad in the Reformation Center, and the reformers gave up on fixing him and locked him up in the one of the isolation cells in the sublevel. Still, we were at least able to determine how he escaped after speaking with him, and then it was a simple matter to determine the location of the tunnel.” Wednesday nodded and pocketed the paper.

The outcasts stood to leave, and Lady Wachter had one last thing to say to them. “Very well, a good evening to you all. I can tell you are not impressed with the Baron, but know that should you try to betray me to him for whatever reason, no one will believe you. I will have the best legal defense possible, I shall sue you all for slander, and I shall have to take measures to ensure you cannot threaten me further. Good night.”

The outcasts left on that happy note, and Hector gave Lady Wachter a slightly chiding look. “I did tell you, you should have just had them all sign NDA’s before speaking to them.”

Chapter Text

After their meeting with Lady Wachter, the outcasts walked back to the inn in silence, deep in thought.

“We can’t seriously be considering this!” Xavier burst out, and so the silence didn’t last long, nor did the deep thought. “This would be murder, it’s not right!”

“We wouldn’t have to kill the guy ourselves. I could arrange for a little accident to happen.” Pugsley offered.

“How is that not still murder?!?” Xavier ran a hand through his hair.

“Come on Wednesday!” Enid begged. “Weren’t we just talking on our way back to town about how not okay I am with cold-blooded murder?”

“You did mention something to that effect.” Wednesday admitted. “I will admit we can afford to pick and choose our work at the moment. We’ve been successful so far, and I was made another offer today about hunting a rogue vampire that’s apparently entered Vallaki.”

“So kill a vampire or kill a human?” Samuel asked. “It seems like we have the same dilemma either way, though I will say, killing a human would at least be easier." Samuel paused and frowned, remembering what Lady Wachter had told them about the Baron’s minion. “Maybe not if he can conjure fire though.” He shuddered.

Eugene weighed in. “Just think about it guys. Freedom for Vallaki! Viva la resistance!”

“Seriously Eugene.” Bianca facepalmed. These people tested her.

Wednesday came up with a plan of action. “We could go back to the inn, gather what weapons or armor we need, and then sneak into the detention center. Depending on what we find, that could determine what we do next. And by that I mean, who we kill next.”

Enid and Xavier, two of the biggest skeptics of engaging in murder-for-hire, considered Wednesday’s plan and caved to her suggestion surprisingly quickly.

“Fine.” Xavier nodded. “It couldn’t hurt to check it out.”

The outcasts reentered the inn, and froze in their tracks. There, seated at one of the tables, hungrily scarfing down a late dinner, were two gorgons in filthy, tattered Nevermore uniforms. Sitting with them, downing blood wine with equal fervor, were two vampires, also in ratty Nevermore uniforms. Both of the vampires and one of the gorgons were boys, with the other gorgon being a girl.

The Nevermore students were eating and drinking so intently, they hadn’t noticed Wednesday and the others entering the inn.

“Holy shit.” Enid muttered. Her expression quickly became conflicted, torn between happiness and disappointment; they had found more outcasts, but none of the students were people she really knew. The odds of running into one of her few closest friends out of the entire student body were statistically negligible, but even so, the disappointment and sudden, unexpected grief were nearly overwhelming to Enid.

“Seth?” Bianca spoke, apparently recognizing at least one of the students. Though he was drinking deeply from a bottle of blood wine, the vampire instantly heard his name and looked to Bianca.

“Bianca Barclay?” He asked in surprise, getting the attention of the rest of his group who also reacted in surprise at seeing other Nevermore students again; Wednesday’s group was out of uniform, but the other outcasts at least recognized Bianca.

Bianca led everyone over to the other student’s table, and the outcasts all sat down together and introduced themselves. The vampires were Seth and Barnabas, and the gorgons were Dimos and Agapi.

“Man, this is so crazy!” Dimos enthused. “We haven’t seen any other outcasts since we escaped from Nevermore. What about you dudes? I’m looking for my sis, Chrysanthi.”

“You’re the first Nevermore students we’ve seen too.” Bianca shook her head. “I guess the survivors were scattered in all directions. Hopefully the others have been ok out here.”

“Don’t worry, outcasts can take care of themselves. We’ve killed a few nasties ourselves since we escaped Nevermore.” Seth bragged.

Agapi had something to say about that. “Dude, that was mostly me and Dimos stoning them, and us all running before they could depetrify. You and Barnabas have been so hungry you couldn’t have hurt a fly lately.”

Samuel eyed the blood wine eagerly. “Thank G… thank the Dark Powers, that apparently are like the gods of this dimension, for blood wine.”

“Amen” Barnabas agreed solemnly. He appeared to be dead serious too; Barnabas was a weirdo like that.

“And who are you, little dudette?” Dimos asked Maddie. “Did you like, skip three grades to be at Nevermore?”

Agapi threw an arm over Dimos. “Super impressive. We were both held back a grade.”

 “Maddie is a more recent addition to our troupe.” Xavier admitted.

“Agapi, weren’t you one of the biggest dealers of…” Enid glanced at Maddie, being overly careful about what she said around children, “well, the stoners at school were often stoned because of you, right?” Nevermore’s former gossip queen, asked.

“Yup, I’m a giver. And a businesswoman. And a free spirit.” Agapi boasted.

“Speaking of which…” Dimos pleaded.

“Nope” Enid shrugged. The outcasts had not come across any weed, and in fact marijuana did not grow on the cursed soil of this land.

“Damn, I hate this stupid dimension.” Dimos sagged.

“So what now?” Seth asked. “We’re staying here for the night, the innkeepers let us in for free, but they did say we’ll have to pay if we want to keep eating and sleeping here. You guys have new clothing and all sorts of stuff, how are you getting money?”

The group traded glances, remembering that they had just been discussing the possibility of doing a hit job.

“This and that.” Wednesday replied.

“Well, could you maybe cut us in on this and that?” Seth asked, pretty clearly expecting a yes.

Some of the outcasts exchanged awkward looks, and Enid and Eugene seemed to be on the verge of saying yes, but not Wednesday. “Neither this nor that is a charity.” She responded coldly. “The money we make is already stretched thin being split so many ways.”

“What Wednesday means” Bianca sighed, engaged in the now familiar practice of soothing tensions created by Wednesday “Is that we’re happy to pay to put you up here for a few nights, but ideally you’ll find your own way to make money.”

Before Wednesday could correct Bianca about what she really meant, Samuel spoke up with a bit of sarcasm. “That should be easy enough for you, right, businesswoman?” He mocked Agapi a little.

The sarcasm flew straight over her snake-covered head. “I mean, there’s no pot around here, but ya, maybe I could find something to sell here in town. Hey, do any of you know anything about botany? Cause that could help.”

Wednesday refused to admit she knew everything about botany, due to her mother’s instruction.

“We all took botany class Agapi, you should know enough about the subject to get started, if you even find anything worth growing.” Bianca chided.

“We did?” Agapi asked, then she snapped her fingers. “Oh ya, we were taught by that one normie. Ms. Hornbill.”

“Ms. Thornhill” Enid corrected. “Damn, I kinda miss her.” She muttered, and Bianca nodded in agreement.

Maddie cocked her head. “Why are you wearing hats inside?” she asked the gorgons.

“To cover the snakes on our head little sis.” Dimos answered her. “They, like, turn you to stone if you look at them.”

“That’s cool!” Maddie beamed, having picked up some lingo from planet Earth.

“It’s late, we’ll leave you to your meal.” Wednesday could appreciate monstrous outcasts on some level, but she had other things to do tonight. “We can talk more tomorrow. Maddie, it’s time for bed.” She ordered, and Maddie pouted but followed Wednesday and the rest of the group upstairs.

Later that night, after Maddie had been put to bed, the group snuck back out of the inn.

“It was good to see that Seth and his friends are alright.” Bianca whispered as the outcasts snuck through the dark streets of Vallaki, away from the inn and along the edges of the town square. “But I kind of wish it had been Divina and Kent we ran into. I really hope the twins are doing alright and are together somewhere.”

“I would have loved to have found Yoko here.” Enid sighed.

“I know what you mean.” Xavier agreed. “My ex-roommate Rowan disappeared even before the school was attacked. We’d had a falling out beforehand, but I hope he’s okay somewhere.”

Wednesday, Pugsley, and Samuel exchanged looks, knowing that Rowan was emphatically not okay, and that when Xavier had fled Nevermore in the tunnel they had constructed, he had stepped over the spot where they had dissolved Rowan’s body.

The outcasts came upon the Vallaki Reformation Center, a fortress-like complex that seemed to brim with authority. In addition to the main two story building, there was also a tall, stone lookout tower, atop which the outcasts could catch the faintest silhouettes of guards peering out over Vallaki.

The outcasts stayed quiet as they crept through the back alleys of the town, sneaking behind the building over to where the map, which they had been provided with by Lady Wachter, claimed they could find a secret tunnel. They followed along the back walls of the building, until they came to an area surrounded by underbrush. Even knowing they were in the right spot, the tunnel wasn’t easy to find, though eventually Samuel found a patch of disturbed ground in the bushes and realized it was an entrance to the tunnel.

“This isn’t an expertly made tunnel. We’re going to have to crawl through and try not to get stuck.” Samuel whispered.

Bianca looked like she was changing her mind about all of this. “Crawling through the muck to sneak into a dungeon isn’t my idea of a good time. Why don’t we just tell Lady Wachter to screw off and be done with it?”

“After everything we’ve done, you’re still worried about getting your hands dirty?” Wednesday prodded. Bianca huffed and crawled into the tunnel, the rest of the outcasts following after her. After a couple minutes of crawling, they came out into a small, dark cell piled high with dirt and displaced stones from the excavated tunnel.

Xavier pushed on the door to the cell. “Locked.” He told the rest of the group.

“I’ve got it.” Pugsley stepped forward and stuck a vial of acid out of the bars on the cell to the door, and poured it down onto the deadbolt, which melted off.

The outcasts stepped out into the pitch black halls and walked through a dirty hallway filled with prison cells. The long, dark hallway was filled with the foul stench of human waste and decomposition.

“So this is the sublevel, where they put people they can’t “reform”. Bianca scoffed. Peering into cells, the outcasts saw that some of them contained filthy, sleeping prisoners. One contained a stinking, newly dead body.

The group tensed as the figure of man stepped down the halls, dirty dishes in hand. The man looked straight at the outcasts and stared blankly at them, then leaned down to a slot at the bottom of one of the cell doors, opening it and pulling a dirty dish out. He added the plate to his pile, and then continued the process down the hall, paying no mind to the outcasts.

If these servile husks were the only staff down here in the lowest dungeons, Wednesday supposed it made sense that no one had noticed the obvious escape tunnel in the cell they had come in through.

“Kinda creepy” Eugene muttered.

“I hate this, I hate this, I hate this.” Enid whispered, trying not to breathe through her nose, though nothing helped the werewolf cope with the smell. “You know what, I’m just going to guard the tunnel for us. I’m not real good at sneaking around away.” Enid whispered to the group.

“Ya, I’ll help guard the tunnel too, we don’t need all seven of us sneaking around down here.” Samuel agreed. Wednesday nodded and the two stepped back towards the cell with the tunnel.

The rest of the group kept moving, as the worker continued to pay them no mind, and they stepped up a small, wide set of five stairs. Though still in the sublevel, the group had moved up to a somewhat different area, and as soon as they went a few more steps into the upper hallway, they all suddenly went deaf.

The outcasts could no longer hear their own footsteps or anything else at all. In the center of the dark, soundless hallway, a pale blue orb emitting only the faintest light hung suspended in the air. It emitted such a faint light that it did nothing to illuminate the rest of the pitch black hallway, an even darker place than the lower area had been.

“What’s going on?” Xavier whispered. “I can’t see anything down here at all.”

No one could hear him.

The outcasts felt their way blindly along the walls, moving forward along with the wall, passing sometimes along heavy iron doors to different cells. They too were locked only with deadbolts, and Wednesday considered opening one to interrogate a prisoner, but since no one could hear anything in this area, it seemed impractical. Still, she supposed it could be worthwhile. She turned around to Pugsley, and, using sign language, she tapped out her plan against him, since he couldn’t see her hands in this darkness. Pugsley turned and prevented the other three outcasts from moving along any further, as Wednesday unlocked a deadbolt and opened one of the cells.

The cell was both pitch black and deafened in the same way the hallway was, and Wednesday deduced that the point of this isolation cell was sensory deprivation. She reached around until she found a sleeping prisoner, then began pulling the prisoner out of the room. The woman woke and resisted feebly, but Wednesday easily dragged her out of the room, and then she and the outcasts began walking back along the wall, down the small flight of stairs. As soon as they began stepping down the stairs and out of range of the floating magical orb, they could hear again, and the first thing they heard was the muffled yells of the woman Wednesday was dragging along.

The blank-faced man from earlier passed by the group again, going up the stairs holding a stack of dirty dishes. Once again, he had no reaction to the group, even with their new addition.

Wednesday deposited the woman onto the ground and began questioning her. “I’m looking for information about this Reformation Center, and it appears you know a thing or two about this place. Who are you and why are you here?”

“I should be asking you that?” the woman protested in a raspy voice. “How are you here right now?”

Bianca stepped forward, trying a less blunt approach than the woman would get from Wednesday. “Like she said, we’re investigating this prison. Probably not a good idea for us to go around introducing ourselves right now. But you might as well tell us who you are and why you ended up down here.”

“What do I have to lose? I am Mrs. Ivana Mironova, and as for why I was sent here, it’s because I oppose the rule of Baron Vargas. My poor son, Chadvar, was only a fourteen-year-old boy when he was sent to this terrible place for nothing more than some youthful mischief, and he came back to me a shell of himself. I can understand why he is so broken now, they’re trying to break me too, and I’m not sure if they won’t eventually manage it. Only my hatred for the Baron has kept me sane so far.”

Xavier crouched down next to Ivana. “I’m sorry this all happened to you. It has to suck to be unjustly imprisoned like this. Can you tell us anything more about this place?”

Ivana nodded. “I was unapologetic at my trial, which the Baron himself presided over, so I was taken straight down to the sensory deprivation level. From what I understand, those sent to sensory deprivation are either released after their will has been broken, or if they won’t break then they are taken down here to where we are now, the Hall of the Forgotten, where they are imprisoned for the rest of their short lives.”

Ivana paused, giving the hall a morbid look, before continuing. “However, I was kept upstairs long enough while awaiting my trial to know something of what goes on up there. The Baron has three creatures in black and crimson hooded robes, and they work foul magic on the minds of the prisoners they wish to brainwash. My own son believed they “enlightened” him, but I could tell he was scared of the reformers.”

“Do you have somewhere safe to go if we get you out of here?” Xavier asked.

“Oh yes, I’m part of Lady Wachter’s cu… book club. I’m sure she’ll shelter me and my son.”

“Let’s go back and talk about this with Samuel and Enid.” Pugsley suggested. The group and Ivana headed back towards the cell with the tunnel, and the outcasts asked Ivana to wait outside the cell while they discussed matters.

Bianca explained what they had found to Samuel and Enid.

“So, what do you think so far?” Pugsley asked. 

“I could have appreciated good old-fashioned torture.” Wednesday replied. “But brainwashing people to force them to be happy isn’t something I can approve of.”

“No, me neither.” Bianca said firmly. “Any decent siren feels the weight of their powers, and knows how important it is to avoid brainwashing people.”

“I just really don’t like it when people are unfairly imprisoned. And yeah, the brainwashing isn’t good either.” Xavier weighed in.

“Ya, I’d say this place is pretty bad.” Eugene agreed.

“Ok, so, do we free all of these prisoners?” Pugsley asked.

“And also, devil’s advocate here, but is this really our problem?” Samuel put in.

Wednesday considered what they had learned. “Although I don’t care for this place, it would be a mistake to free the prisoners now. We have nowhere to put so many people; they would simply be recaptured, and us along with them. If we decide to become involved, the most practical solution would be to depose the Baron, and then free the prisoners after.”

“This place is bad, but is it so bad we want to become involved in a coup?” Xavier asked.

“I think that it is.” Bianca put in.

Enid seemed to agree. “Now that I’ve seen and, ugh, smelled this place, I don’t know if I can just forget about it and ignore it.”

“Regardless, I have my own reasons for wanting to remove the Baron.” Wednesday responded, as a hint of bloodthirst began to creep into her otherwise neutral expression. “His draconian laws against the sale of black clothing are absolutely intolerable. I would enjoy spending a day “reeducating” him in his own prison.”

“Counterpoint” Eugene began “We went all through some trouble to bring Ireena here to where Count Strahd can’t get to her. Do we really want to help Lady Wachter take over, knowing that she’ll pretty much turn the place over to Strahd?”

Bianca looked suddenly torn. She was closer to Ireena than any of the other outcasts, and still roomed with her even after their contract had been completed, but she also hated this place more than perhaps any of the outcasts. Brainwashing people really struck a nerve with her. “That is a good point. I don’t want to put Ireena in danger.” She admitted.

The outcasts fell into silence as they pondered that dilemma.

“Hey, here’s a thought.” Pugsley spoke up. “Maybe, instead of putting Lady Wachter in charge, we take over the town ourselves.”  Pugsley had been growing more confident recently, and it was showing.

“It’s a win-win” Samuel agreed. “We can overthrow a tyrant, and Strahd will still be persona-non-grata around here with us in charge.”

Wednesday was surprised by her brother’s initiative. “I have no desire at all to rule over others. But I respect your sudden ambition, brother.”

“Wait, am I the only one who thinks that what Pugsley just said is crazy?” Enid asked.

“No, you’re not alone. I’m just used to this by now.” Bianca deadpanned.

“Yeah, how would that work, even just on a practical level?” Xavier argued. “We have no right to rule this town, but also, how could we conquer it? Vallaki is much larger and wealthier than Barovia, all these people don’t know us and have no reason to let us take over. Lady Wachter has connections and influence, even the woman we just rescued is loyal to her. She might have the ability to take over this town, but we don’t. Though it’s true that I also don’t want to put Ireena in danger.”

Eugene nodded along with Xavier. “A hive needs a queen, but not any insect can just come along and become queen. The other bees wouldn’t accept it. Maybe we could move Ireena to that other town we saw a sign for, if Lady Wachter takes over here? It’s even further away from Strahd than this town, though I don’t know anything about the place.”

The group went quiet again, having failed to come to a consensus. “Can we please continue this somewhere that doesn’t smell like shit?” Enid begged.

Everyone easily agreed with that at least, and the group brought Ivana into the cell and left the Reformation Center out through the tunnel.

Emerging out of the tunnel, the outcasts were relieved to be away from the stench of the Center’s sublevel and back out into the crisp, cool night air. The group, along with Ivana Mironova, were unable to relax yet, as they still had to sneak away from the prison.

As the group slunk off into the dark, they were not so lucky as they had been before, and one of the guards in the tower spotted a large group creeping around behind the prison, and began to ring a large bell in the guard tower.

The outcasts bolted across the yard towards a row of houses, with Samuel practically dragging a weakened Ivana along with him. The guards began yelling, and arrows fired down at the group from the guard tower, but in the dark the guards were basically taking crapshots at the group from so high up.

Even so, one of the guards got lucky. Enid yelped and let out a cry of pain as an arrow struck her in the arm. Wednesday stopped running and turned to glare darkly at the guard tower. Arrows pinged around the ground next to her, coming closer and closer as she stood still, and Wednesday fought the urge to storm over to the tower and enact bloody violence on the idiot thugs inside.  

“Wednesday, come on!’ Enid yelled. That hadn’t been the first injury she’d suffered in recent weeks, and she tore the arrow out and continued running. Wednesday spun around and followed the others, darting quickly across the rest of the yard and over to the houses, just as guards began to run out of the Reformation Center.

The outcasts ran back towards the Blue Water Inn, knowing their only chance at avoiding capture was to return to their rooms before the guards could catch up with them. They made it a little over halfway back to the inn before they ran across a pair of two patrolling guards, who had not come out of the Reformation Center but had been alerted that something was wrong by the tolling of the bell.

“You there! Halt!” The guards screamed, drawing their spears, blocking the outcasts frantic flight.

“Help, criminals are attacking the Reformation Center!” Bianca screamed with her siren song going full force.

“Let’s go!” One of the guards shouted, taking off for the Reformation Center. His partner wasn’t so sure, and managed to shake off Bianca’s siren song.

“Wait, no, stop all of you.” The guard managed to murmur as he struggled to fight off the siren song, though he couldn’t stop his partner from disappearing down the streets.

“Sorry!” Enid yelled, and, not willing to be shot again, she jumped up and slashed at the guard with her extended claws. But the claws scratched uselessly off the guard’s armor, and in the darkness and confusion the guard assumed she had just tried to scratch him with regular fingernails, rather than werewolf claws.

“Got you!” The guard yelled, grabbing out towards Enid. Enid let out a pained scream as he grabbed her arm with an arrow wound on it, and she threw him off with a burst of sudden strength.

Wednesday, already displeased, was now out of patience. She drew her steel dagger, ran over, and stabbed it straight through a gap in the guard’s armor. The guard let out a bloody gurgle and collapsed on the ground.

“Wednesday!” Enid gasped in some blend of shock, relief, and horror, but there was no time for anyone to stop. Wednesday grabbed Enid’s shoulder briefly to drag her along, and the group kept on running before the guard’s behind them could catch up.

The outcasts made it back to the inn before any more guards could spot them, and darted up to their rooms. The guards in the street had no idea who they had been chasing in the darkness, nor any idea where they had gone. The guards only knew one thing: it was after midnight now, and the day of the Festival of the Blazing Sun was not off to an auspicious start.

Later, only a couple of hours before dawn, Wednesday awoke and stepped outside on one of the Blue Water Inn’s balconies, crystal ball in hand. As far as she could tell, the guards seemed to have given up the search for the night, at least in this part of town.

Wednesday waved a hand over the crystal ball, and the mists parted to reveal a dark room. She couldn’t see her parents yet, but she heard the sound of her father snoring.

“Mother, father.” Wednesday called to them.

“Wednesday?” Morticia’s sleepy voice answered after a moment. Gomez continued snoring.

Morticia picked up the crystal ball, bringing it around to look at Wednesday. “Darling, this is a surprise. Your brother calls in often, but you haven’t joined in for some time.”

“I’m not calling because I miss you, or even because I particularly want to. But I confess, I’m in need of a consultation, and have no other options available to me.” Wednesday replied coolly.

“A consultation? About what?” Morticia smiled, bemused.

“I’ve been having visions.” Wednesday reluctantly admitted. “I know you’re a psychic who’s had visions before, and I must discuss mine with you.”

“Wednesday, that’s wonderful! I’m glad you feel you could talk to me… even if I was your last resort.” Morticia teased.

“I’m in charge of my own life now, mother. The therapy, the schools, they’re all in the past. Perhaps that makes it easier to speak candidly with you. Now, about my visions. I’ve had a few so far, the first two were visions of the past. But the latest was clearly a vision of the future. A young girl I’ve met said something in this vision that… surprised me. The town I’m currently staying in was on fire. A man I don’t know yet tried to kill me. Count Strahd appeared briefly; he seemed disappointed in me when it appeared that I would die, though I don’t understand why he would care.”

Wednesday paused to gather her thoughts. “My visions of the past seemed literal enough. But my vision of the future had an element of unrealness to it. Like a dream.”

“Visions aren’t always like watching a recording my dear. Sometimes they’re more symbolic than anything else. Do you want to hear my interpretation of the vision? If so, I’ll need you to describe the specifics.”

Wednesday thought about that. “There are only a few aspects of the vision that are really a mystery to me. The Count made a cryptic remark, and I still don’t know the identity of my enemy who appeared in the vision, but you can’t answer those questions. I may have to talk to you about the girl later. For now, what matters is that this town may burn down, and soon. Even if I could avoid that trouble, I’m not sure that I would want to, but it could prove to be inconvenient to the group I’m with.”

“How considerate of you.” Morticia smiled. “Well, considerate to your fellow outcasts, though perhaps not to the town you are in.”

Wednesday glared.

“Relax my dear, being cautious isn’t a crime, it’s understandable that you might be concerned. I will say this: take your vision seriously, despite what others may tell you. Based on my disposition, I see positive visions of the future, I’m what’s called a Dove among psychics. Based on your personality, you’ll see darker visions, you’re what one would call a Raven.” Wednesday nodded slightly, that seemed accurate enough so far.

Morticia continued “As a Raven, your visions will be more potent and powerful than mine ever were, but they’ll only ever be negative, in some way. If you tell others about your visions, they may refuse to believe you, as Cassandra was ignored in Troy. They may mock you, call you a prophet of doom. A psychic pessimist. Never believe them. Trust your gifts, and they’ll be your greatest strength.”

Wednesday reflected on that for a moment. “Thank you mother; I’ll consider what you’ve said.” Wednesday paused, listening to her father’s snoring from beside her mother. After a moment of hesitation, she continued “Tell Father I said hello.”

“Would you like me to wake him?” Morticia asked. “He’ll be sorry he missed you.”

“No, let him sleep.” Wednesday shook her head. “Fire or no fire, I will call again soon.”

Crouched inside a crate in a toy shop, a pale figure set out a deck of cards, and began another game of solitaire.

“Ah, solitaire, a fitting game for a solitary creature of the night such as myself.” The man, Vorigan, sighed dramatically, with a Transylvanian-Romanian accent that was dramatically more pronounced than most of the local’s accents.

Bored, the vampire spawn, who had spent the majority of the last week hiding in this crate, ran through his game of solitaire, using his innate night vision to see the cards even in the deep darkness. He had already played with all of the decent toys in the toyshop, and was once again amusing himself with card games.

Vorigan ran out of moves to make, and began quietly ranting to himself, because he believed he needed to practice his villainous monologue.  “Curses, you win again Fate! But I think tomorrow, I shall throw a wrench into the workings of destiny! At my command the bones of St. Andral have been stolen away from his church, and it’s been long enough now that the protective blessing over the church is fading entirely. The greatest bastion of defiance against my master shall be destroyed very soon! And Lord Strahd will favor me above all others, for I will have done as he asked of me flawlessly.”

Vorigan practiced his evil laugh then, but quietly, so as not to wake the shopkeeper sleeping on the second floor.

A carriage rolled along the roads in the middle of night. Though the night was dark and full of horrors, no horrors dared to attack the greater evils cackling in the carriage. Unlike Vorigan, their evil laughter had long since been perfected.

“I told you Baba Lysaga would know what to do.” One of the hags smirked to her sister.

“I never doubted it. Soon revenge will be ours sister, and our full powers will be restored!” The two hags, enchanted to appear to be humans, were still particularly ugly, with evil, leering faces that each bore several warts.

“Do you think we’ll have any problems gaining entry into Vallaki?” Behind the hags, two rows of cloaked figures sat stock still in the carriage. Never moving, not even to breathe.

“Of course not. It’s the Festival of the Blazing Sun. Of course visitors will show up, right?” The hags cackled in evil glee as they imagined in bloody detail all of the dark deeds they would do in Vallaki.

Several miles away from the hags, an especially unhappy vulture landed inside of a crumbling, vine covered tower.

The vulture transformed back into a bedraggled druidess, who stormed through the ancient halls of the tower with a scowl on her face.

“Damn the do-gooder Martikov family! And damn those miserable brats! I’d settle the score with them, but why bother? I have people for that.” She grinned.

The druidess stepped down into the basement laboratory of her guests. Inside, she found a redheaded woman wearing glasses who was burning the midnight oil. The woman was deep into her research, trying to make a vine blight into something… more. The druidess had relied heavily on the mindless wooden foot soldiers in the past, but she didn’t understand what this foreigner was hoping to accomplish. She had never considered improving on the blight’s design.

The woman turned to the druidess with a bright smile. “Ah, Jagoda, I wasn’t expecting a visit at this hour. If this is about that ritual of yours, don’t worry, the flowers you need should be blossoming shortly!”

“That’s wonderful news, but no, I didn’t come by this late to talk about the Ritual. I believe you and your little flunky wanted to know if I came across any of those so-called outcasts. Vampires, werewolves, and other foreigner freaks from the world you come from.” Jagoda observed the experimentation Laurel was performing on the blights, but the details were beyond her.

“Oh yes, we’re very interested in the outcasts. Did you know most of the surviving sirens fled into the lake and rivers? So difficult to hunt and kill them without a boat and scuba diving gear!” Laurel complained with an unconcerned smile.

Jagoda had no clue what scuba diving gear was, and didn’t care either. “As it happens, there have been some outcasts that have caused considerable trouble for my people lately. And our scrying has revealed they are based out of the town of Vallaki. There will be some big festival there tomorrow, if you wanted to use the distraction to sneak in and murder them all.”

Laurel Gates, formerly known under the alias of “Ms. Thornhill”, smiled broadly.

“Well, I missed out on the Harvest Festival this year, so why not? I’ll wake Tyler.”

Back in Vallaki, a man disguised as a pompous but harmless bard threw raw meat into his carnival wagon. A snarling beast soon devoured all of it.

“Eat up my girl, you’ll need your strength for tomorrow. The wicked, thieving Vistani have set up camp near town, and tomorrow, I shall unleash you upon them.” The man reached in and petted his murderous pet sabre-tooth tiger.

Yes, “Quentin” had trained his tiger to commit a hate crime.

Chapter Text

On the morning of the Festival of the Blazing Sun, the outcasts were eating breakfast in the Blue Water Inn when Hector Whitehall, Lady Wachter’s attorney, approached the group. They had a decision to make. The group exchanged glances, not willing to talk about the hit job they had been offered in front of Ireena, who was sitting with them.

“Bianca, come with me.” Wednesday demanded, and Wednesday and Bianca stepped away from the table to meet Hector Whitehall in an empty corner of the dining hall.

“Good morning girls, big day today!” Hector greeted them in a tone of polite cheerfulness. “There’s the whole festival, my horoscope says I can save money by cutting corners, and we’re going to overthrow the Baron and usher in a new age of saner, better-ordered darkness and tyranny in Vallaki. So, are you in or out?” Hector held out a contract for the girls to sign.

Bianca began negotiations. “If we do this, and I mean “if”, because we haven’t decided yet, the Reformation Center has to be shut down.”

“Sure” Hector shrugged. “Many of the members of Lady Wachter’s book club hate that place, as you well know, having met one of them down in the dungeons. Besides, why bother trying to reform people? It can’t be done, and there’s no point in trying in the first place.”

Wednesday turned to Bianca. “I know you consider Ireena to be a friend, and don’t want to endanger her.” Wednesday avoided discussing any specifics about Ireena’s situation in front of Hector, a man who was occasionally employed by a woman who in turn imagined she served Strahd.  

“But our job with her is done” Wednesday continued “and we can’t spend the rest of our lives catering to her. If it becomes dangerous for her here as a result of our choices, we’ll move her to a secondary location for free.”

“Ok, so be it.” Bianca sighed reluctantly.

Wednesday took the contract and read it quickly but carefully. It contained no hidden clauses, so she signed it and handed it back to Hector, thereby agreeing to subtract the Baron’s chief enforcer, Izek, from the census.

“One more thing, you’re signing this contract as a group, so for the sake of clarity, it would help if your group had some name which all seven of you fell under. That way we can say it wasn’t just whoever signed the contract who agreed to this deal, but all seven of you.” Hector explained.

“We don’t have a name.” Wednesday retorted flatly. “This is not a sports team.”

Bianca shrugged. “It’s an easy enough problem to solve though. I say we work in a Poe reference, in honor of Nevermore. He was our most infamous student; we were even supposed to have a Poe cup.”

Wednesday mulled over what she knew about Edgar Allen Poe. Including some reference to him didn’t leave her with many options, but…

“Fine. Call us Corazón Errante.” Wednesday decided. Spanish for “errant heart”, it was at once a way for Wednesday to honor her Hispanic heritage, and, while not being a direct translation of Poe’s work “A Tell-Tale Heart”, Wednesday thought it could serve as a nod to that story, and also to the fact that the outcasts were ultimately a group of errant wanderers now.  

Hector smiled charmingly. “A pleasure doing business with you, Ms. Addams, Ms. Barclay. You’ll know Izek when you see him; he has a deformed, demonic left arm. Remember, if you ever allegedly commit an act so depraved, so unforgivable, so beyond the pale that all of society turns it back on you, contact us at Wolfram & Hart, and we’ll be happy to take your case.”

Wednesday, who had stabbed a guard last night and was plotting murder today, considered that it may not be long before she needed Wolfram & Hart’s services.

Bianca leaned over and muttered to Wednesday. “I get strong “Did you know you have rights?” vibes with that one.” The pop-culture reference was wasted on Wednesday.

The four outcasts who were newly arrived in town came down the stairs; it had taken a while for the gorgons to drag themselves out of bed. Happily, they took a seat with Wednesday’s group.

“What are we going to do about them? I don’t really trust them enough to tell them about the, you know, the assassination.” Bianca whispered to Wednesday.

Wednesday frowned. “We’ll just have to find an excuse to separate from them at the festival. It should be easy enough to manage, they collectively have the intelligence of Eugene’s beehive. Siren song the idiots if you have to. We have a pig to a kill, and I’m not going to allow them to get in our way.”

The festival had begun, and droves of bored Vallakians mingled in the town square, watched carefully by the town guards, as the festivities kicked off.

Bianca looked up at the banner hanging over the town square. ““All is well” my ass.” Bianca muttered sourly.

“Hey, look!” Xavier patted Bianca’s arm. “They have darts at that stand.” He smiled and pointed at the carnival game in question.

“Sure, let’s go.” Bianca sighed, going along with it because she knew Xavier liked darts. 

A few days back, Bianca had given her money to Xavier so that he could use it to buy her a silver sword while everyone was shopping. Her funds had not been enough to pay for the sword, so Xavier had chipped in with his own gold, and lied about the price after, claiming Bianca’s money had been enough. Xavier had been an absolutely terrible liar, and Bianca had realized what Xavier had done for her, though she hadn’t told him she knew he was lying. She had more money now that the outcasts had been paid for a few jobs, but still, she had warmed up to Xavier considerably in the past couple days.

Xavier and Bianca paid the bored old man in the stall a couple bronze coins and began throwing darts at the targets.

“It’s nice to kick back and have some fun, after all the violence and hardship.” Xavier grinned.

“Sure, and darts is good practice for later, when we’ll be doing more violence.” Bianca retorted sarcastically, though because they were in public she didn’t mention they would be doing violence again very soon.

Xavier’s grin fell, and the dart he threw missed by a country mile.

“Sorry” Bianca muttered quietly. “I’m just a little tense. I’m still trying to come up with a plan. Obviously, we’ll have to find that guy when he’s out of the public eye, if we want to avoid fighting every guard in this town.”

“I’m still not sure we made the right call here.” Xavier frowned, also lowering his voice to a whisper. “Even aside from how messed up it is in the first place; will this place really be better off under you-know-who?” Xavier was also smart enough to keep the conversation deliberately vague.

“Well, we can always go with Pugsley’s idea.” Bianca half-joked about Pugsley’s suggestion of taking over the town, then got more serious. “Or, we could also remove our employer from the running pool. That would solve two problems at once, even if we didn’t step up ourselves. Wednesday would probably approve of the resulting anarchy.”

“Is doing twice as much murder really the solution here?” Xavier protested.  

“Maybe not.” Bianca shrugged. “Maybe Wednesday is rubbing off on me.” She shuddered in horror at the idea. “I guess we’ll have to play it by ear. It’s not ideal, but we’re out of time.”

Bianca reached over and placed a hand on Xavier’s arm. The dart he was throwing once again missed by a wide margin. “I know we’ve had our rough patches before Xavier, but I hope we can trust each other a little more by now. No matter what happens, we’ll get through this together.”

Xavier froze up for a moment, then cautiously smiled a little, and laid a hand on her shoulder. “You’re right. We can do this together.”

The stall owner coughed. “Can you throw your last couple darts? You’re holding up the line.”

There wasn’t really a line, but the man wanted the two teens to bugger off.

Vorigan, a vampire spawn turned by Count Strahd, huddled under a blanket to avoid the harsh light of day. The sun was perpetually blotted out in the domains of Count Strahd, but even so, the daytime was unpleasant for vampires such as he.

Vorigan kicked open the doors of Saint Andral’s Church. With the bones of the saint having been stolen away, the blessings on the church had faded, and Vorgian could finally enter the building freely. With everyone at the festival, the church was abandoned.  The vampire ransacked the church, searching every corner of the building.

“Ah, of course, here you are.” Vorigan grinned, tearing the altar of the Morninglord apart, and reaching inside its ruins. Vorigan pulled out a dusty, ancient book from the wreckage.

“The Tome of Stahd…. Oh, what secrets this old book hides. We wouldn’t want you falling into the wrong hands, would we?”

With the book in his possession, the vampire spawn had no more use for the church. Careful to avoid the flames, Vorigan lit a torch and tossed it into the center of the church, watching briefly to make sure the building would catch fire. He then went back into the living quarters, grabbed one of the priest’s garments, and sniffed it thoroughly.

“I have your scent, Father Lucian. One last loose end to wrap up.” Vorigan chuckled and threw his blanket back over himself, leaving the burning church behind.

The group of newly arrived vampires and gorgons were happily complaining about how much this festival sucked.

“I could throw a better party than this, maybe they should put me in charge around here!” Seth already disliked Ravenloft, and legitimately pathetic festivals like this one only reinforced those views.

“Maybe we should put him in charge.” Pugsley mused. “That would solve one of our problems.”

Xavier’s eyes widened as though he were afraid that Pugsley was about to confess to the other outcasts that their group was about to participate in a coup.

Seth’s friend Barnabas shook his head. “Trust me, you’d have a dozen new problems by the day’s end.”

“Hey!” Seth shoved Barnabas in mock outrage.

“This place really does suck though.” Dimos groaned. “I’m about a minute away from stoning myself, by the time I get out at least this will be over.”

Wednesday took out a couple gold pieces and handed it to Agapi. “There are some mildly amusing games over there. Go enjoy yourselves, we’ll catch up with you in a bit.”

Agapi shrugged, happy enough to take the money, and the four wandered off.

“Are there actually decent games over there?” Eugene asked hopefully.  

“Of course not.” Wednesday shrugged. “But they’re out of the way, so let’s go find the target.”

As the group now collectively known as Corazón Errante moved through the town square, getting a lay of the land, a woman’s voice called out to the youngest member of their group.

“Oh, what an adorable little girl! Come, why don’t you try bobbing for apples dearie!” A shrouded, hooded owner of one of the festival’s stalls called out, inviting Maddie to play an amusing if unsanitary game.

“What’s bobbing for apples?” Maddie asked Wednesday.

“A waste of time.” Wednesday urged Maddie along. “My family does a much more interesting version of that game, bobbing for crabs.”

Another stall owner, also wearing a hood that concealed her face, immediately called out to the group. “Such mysterious strangers. I can tell you all have great destinies! Come, have your fortunes read.”

“At carnivals and festivals, you’re free to ignore stall owners and the like when they call out to you.” Wednesday advised Maddie. “Of course, you’re always free to ignore anyone you want to regardless of where you are.”

The outcasts passed by the stalls, and the two stall owners threw back their hoods, revealing hideous, wart-covered faces.

“Sister, we’ve been thwarted by that annoying girl’s rude manners and disinterest in fun!” One of the hags, disguised as a human woman, complained.

“What do you expect from the bitch who dropped a millstone on Mother?” The other hag sneered as she reached out a foot to trip a passing child.

“Time for plan B then?”

“Yes, in a moment I think. The old blowhard is about to begin his speech. At the right moment, we’ll sow some chaos and nab the girl.”

Her sister began to cackle evilly, and the hag put a sweaty hand over her sister’s mouth before she could draw unwanted attention. “Not yet, sister! Save the celebrations for after our victory!”

The hags were correct on at least one point; the Baron was about to kick off the main event. A parade of unhappy children dressed as flowers trudged through the muddy streets, leading the way for a group of sorry-looking men and women carrying a ten-foot-diameter wicker ball. The Baron and his smiling wife, who held a sad bouquet of wilting flowers, followed the procession on horseback. The wooden sun was hoisted and hung from a fifteen-foot-high wooden scaffold, and the Baron’s guards splashed it with oil.

The rope had been removed from the town gallows, which now served a stage for Baron Vargas. The outcasts saw Baron Vargas for the first time, and he was exactly like how some of them had pictured him to be. A portly man in purple robes, the Baron had long, greasy grey hair and was balding a little bit too. He had a weak chin and a naturally glaring, sullen face that was contorted into an ugly attempt at a happy smile, and his beady eyes glared suspiciously at his oppressed subjects. 

The Baron’s wife, a thin, harried woman with a strained smile stood supportively behind her husband. The Baron’s reclusive son, who only ever ventured out of his family’s mansion to visit the reformers at the Reformation Center, was nowhere to be seen. Apparently the festival was mandatory for everyone except for the Baron’s son.

Izek wasn’t hard to spot either. Alongside a handful of guards, Izek was flanking the Baron up on the gallows, glaring miserably into the crowd as though he were staring at a nest of hideous maggots. He did indeed have a misshapen, monstrous left arm and a clawed, burnt-looking hand.  

Wednesday ignored the Baron’s trite speech about cheerfulness, unity, and (because he hated Strahd) the cleansing power of the sun.

“This festival is the most pathetic attempt I’ve ever seen at someone striving to induce merriment, which is already a deplorable endeavor in the first place.” Wednesday told Pugsley. “Most people are so eager to succumb to mindless joy, that it is truly remarkable to watch someone butcher the simple practice of getting people to have fun. Baron Vargas is surely too dumb to live, and Darwin is about to have his say.”

“Do you always get so philosophical before a political assassination sis?” Pugsley dared to ask.

“How should I know?” Wednesday retorted. “This is my first one, though I assume it won’t be my last.” Wednesday’s assumption would probably prove to be correct in time.

Wednesday explained her plan to Pugsley and the others, who had gathered around Wednesday. “Like the rest of these poor souls, we shall have to suffer through this so-called festival for the time being. We will keep an eye on the target, and follow him when he moves out of the sight of the public.”

“I can’t believe he’s still going on…” Enid exclaimed, referring to Baron Vargas, who was now talking about how only sinners were unhappy. “Is he going to make us suffer through this dumb speech forever? This guy really is evil.” 

“What if Izek stays in public all day?” Samuel asked.

“Everyone has to go to the bathroom eventually.” Eugene pointed out.

Wednesday ignored that. “Then we may need to find a way to draw him away ourselves.”

“Can I get some juice?” Maddie tugged at the hem of Wednesday’s clothing.

“If the man I’m going to murder doesn’t leave anytime soon, then yes, we can go get you some juice.” Wednesday told her. “I’ll find a worm or two to add to it.”

Baron Vargas concluded his speech with a lecture on civic responsibility, and about how the outside world was the enemy of Vallaki.

“So remember, don’t worry, be happy!” The Baron began to wrap up his speech. “Yes, last night, one of our brave guards was cruelly murdered in the line of duty…” Several of the outcasts glanced at Wednesday, who gave them an annoyed glare.

“But the blazing sun will eventually destroy all evil, it is inevitable!” The Baron shook his fist. “So be of good cheer, and smile! Smile, especially you women, who look much prettier when you smile. You can always trust your loving, benevolent, generous Baron, who ensures that all is well!”

The crowd clapped half-heartedly, though the people standing next to the scowling guards clapped rather more enthusiastically, almost as if their lives depended on it. 

“Now, let’s light up the sun!” The Baron roared, and Izek obliged, stepping forward on the stage. Without a word, or any indication he was casting a spell, fire shot forth from Izek’s hand, lighting up the wooden sun that the Baron had conscripted the townsfolk to create for him.

The wooden sun was very large, standing tall above the gallows. Nevertheless, the climatic event of the festival proved to be poorly planned, for although the Baron had imagined a glorious burning sun aweing the whole town for several minutes, the sun, despite its size, did not survive long while on fire, perhaps because it had been covered in oil. Very quickly, too quickly, the complex wooden structure blackened and fell to pieces. It was a deeply pathetic and anticlimactic display, and as such the perfect analogy for the whole festival.

The Baron’s smile froze awkwardly on his face, as Izek stepped back with a bored, uncaring look. But before he had moved back behind the Baron, Izek’s eyes fell on Ireena, who was standing near to the outcasts.

“That’s Ireena Kolyanovich!” Izek spoke in a strangled tone, staring at Ireena with sudden obsession and lust in his eyes. “Guards, with me!” Izek ordered, suddenly prepared to abandon the Baron and also to abandon all reason.

Before he could get the chance, the burning wooden sun fell apart entirely, and various bad actors with a fine sense for dramatic timing launched into action.

Laurel Gates stepped out of the shadows of an alley, and took careful aim with her gun, whispering under her breath. “Sorry about this, but Tyler can hardly kill the freaks in the middle of this town. Not unless it’s been thrown into chaos. You know how it is, means to an end.”  

A shot rang out across the town square, and the Baron crumpled to the ground, screaming and clutching a bleeding wound. At the same time, at a command from the night hag sisters, various cloaked figures in the crowd threw off their disguises, revealing eight monstrous-looking scarecrows. The scarecrows suddenly began attacking the townspeople, and the town square descended into screaming chaos.

“Huh.” Laurel Gates watched the sudden violence breaking out around her. She had no idea about what the night hags or scarecrows were up to. “I guess I didn’t need to shoot that guy up on the stage to create a panic after all. Oops.”

One moment you’re minding your own business at a festival, plotting an assassination, and then the next moment a cadre of living scarecrows are slaughtering the townsfolk around you. At least Ravenloft wasn't boring, Wednesday mused, drawing her daggers and readying herself for anything. A manic grin began to pull at her lips. Finally, this was becoming her kind of party.

It was Xavier who drew first blood, or first straw as it were, when he fired an arrow into a scarecrow that had been coming too close for comfort. The scarecrow paused and screeched, tugging at the arrow that was lodged firmly in its straw stuffing. It looked up and gave Xavier a hateful glare.

Pugsley also attacked the scarecrows at range, pulling out his flamethrower and unleashing hell on two scarecrows. One of them went up in smoke, and the other danced around wildly trying to put itself out. In the dense crowd, Pugsley had also winged a civilian with his stream of fire, who ran away screaming and smoldering. “Sorry, please get out of the way!” Pugsley yelled, turning the nozzle of the handle so the flamethrower would shoot out a thinner burst of flame.

The crowd was running every which way, pushing roughly against several of the outcasts. Bianca found herself pushed straight towards one of the scarecrows, who turned to face her with a snarl on its face. Both she and the scarecrow lashed out at the same time, and Bianca slashed through its swinging arm, sending the creature stumbling back in surprise. Bianca fell back into a defensive position, centering herself and staying on her guard. “Fucking scarecrows… it’s always something isn’t it?” she muttered.

The dancing, burning scarecrow that Pugsley had lit on fire ran screaming straight towards the outcasts, and Ireena was forced to dodge away to avoid being caught in its flames. Enid yelled and leapt at the creature, slashing into it with her claws and sending it tumbling away, but screamed again as she burnt her hand a bit in the process.  

Wednesday was trying to tune out the chaos of the battle and locate the shooter, but after looking around she found no one. Giving up on that for the moment, she refocused on the battle going on around her, and pushed Maddie behind her. Seeing Bianca going toe to toe with a scarecrow, she tossed her silver dagger at it, then summoned the dagger straight back into her hand after it slashed into the scarecrow.

Having been sliced up twice, the scarecrow Bianca was facing seemed to be nearly falling apart, but was still standing and still seemingly furious. Thing crawled rapidly across the ground, dodging between running feet, and jumped up at the wounded scarecrow. Thing punched through the scarecrow’s torn chest and clawed his way out of its back, and with one last scream, the scarecrow finally collapsed to the ground and moved no more.

Thing hurried back towards Wednesday, who was briefly distracted as her senses picked up something odd. Someone in the panicked crowd was not behaving like the others, but glancing around, she couldn’t spot the person she had felt watching her.  But she knew that someone nearby was watching her closely rather than fleeing like everyone else. “Come out, come out, wherever you are.” Wednesday whispered.

Guards were yelling and wading into the crowd, but they seemed overwhelmed and out of their depth. Then, rather unexpectedly, two black, large bird creatures flew into the air over the battle. The outcasts could hardly miss them, and they saw that they were two giant ravens, only strangely humanoid, like they were human/raven hybrid creatures.

The outcasts watched the circling raven-creatures warily, waiting for them to attack. And attack they did, swooping down and launching themselves… at the scarecrows. Eugene gasped in surprise as an approaching scarecrow was suddenly shoved away by a raven-monster’s sharp talons. “Hold on guys, did I miss something?” Eugene yelled. “Since when were there bird-people?” Everyone else was too busy to answer that.

Though some were distracted by the new arrivals, more of the scarecrows had noticed the outcasts fighting back, and began closing in on them. One slashed its clawed hands at Enid, who jumped away, only for a second scarecrow to slash into her arm with its claws once, and then a second time with its other hand.

Enid stumbled back, scared and hurt, but a distinctly inhuman rage began filling her mind, overwhelming her senses, as the wolf inside of her began to show its rage in the wrathful expression on her face. “Piece of shit!” Enid screamed, launching herself back at the scarecrow who had hurt her, and the two began exchanging blows, attempting to cut into each other.

One of the approaching scarecrows took a swipe at Bianca, who was able to block its claws with her blade. Forcing the scarecrow back a little with her sword, Bianca noticed the four outcasts they had reunited with at the inn were making a run for it. She both did and didn’t blame them for that.

Two more scarecrows slashed at the ravens, and after being struck, the raven-people squawked and were forced to fly upwards out of their reach, pulling back and looking for openings.  Then four guards reached the fighting, two of them attacking the scarecrows with spears. One of the scarecrows was able to dodge away from the guards, but the other ended up with a spear in its chest, and it and the guard both began tugging desperately at the spear.

But if any of the outcasts had felt any relief when guards showed up, that relief was short-lived. One of the guards threw a spear at one of the ravens, though fortunately the spear bounced off the creature without seeming to bother it much. “Stop, I think they’re on our side!” Samuel yelled over at the guards.

Even worse, one of the guards, apparently an especially panicked and stupid one, saw Bianca with her sword drawn and her foreign features, and ran at her with a frightened scream. He thrust his spear at her, but even though she was surprised when a guard suddenly attacked her, she managed to deflect his strike with her sword. “Idiot, she’s definitely on our side!” Samuel screamed out again.

As if that weren’t enough, a tall, hideous monster appeared out of nowhere in the middle of the screaming crowd. It was tall and lanky, with gray skin and black claws. Its face was horrible to behold, with massive, blood-shot, bulging eyes, sharp teeth in a massive maw, and a flat nose. The patches of hair on its head did nothing to make the raging monster more attractive.

Xavier, who had been drawing another arrow, paused in shock as he noticed the monster. “That thing… I’ve seen that monster in a dream once before.” He muttered in surprise and terror.

Civilians who had been running towards where the monster emerged in the crowd suddenly began running in different directions, and those who didn’t get out of its way fast enough were batted casually aside as it waded through the crowd, glancing around all over and sniffing the air. Fortunately, it had appeared well away from where the outcasts were. But the town square was only so big, and the monster was on the prowl.

A few more of the raven-people began to appear in the sky, and began swooping down and stabbing beaks and talons into the scarecrows, who tried to ward the birds off with swinging claws. The ravens were able to slash and peck into a couple of the scarecrows, but they hadn’t taken any more out of the fight yet.

Pugsley yelled up to the raven-people “Who are you guys?!?” One of ravens flying low near him squawked, but although Pugsley knew several languages, even Abyssal, he sadly didn’t speak bird.

Up on the stage, guards had swarmed around the Baron as a couple of them tried to stop his bleeding. Izek, who was making sure the Baron was okay, was struck suddenly by a stone thrown at his head. He turned around cursing, and saw a large mob rushing the stage. Wednesday noticed this too, and realized the attacking mob rushing the Baron must have been revolutionaries in the service of Lady Wachter; she had after all been planning to overthrow the Baron today. They began pelting Izek, and the whole stage, with rocks, and one of the attackers launched a flaming torch onto the wooden stage, which slowly began to catch fire.

Samuel meanwhile had been facing off against a scarecrow as well. Its lanky arms and sharp claws had kept him briefly at bay, but spotting an opening, he struck it once, twice, then a third time with his katana, and after the third strike it collapsed to the ground in pieces. Another scarecrow swung wildly at him, but with his enhanced vampiric senses, Samuel sensed the blow coming and dodged away, striking the scarecrow with his sword and forcing it back. 

There was more happening than the outcasts could have known. Unbeknownst to them, Father Lucian, the town priest, had waded into the fray, using divine healing magic to heal the wounded civilians, even as a vampire who was hunting the priest was making his way towards the town square. Even more unbeknownst to the outcasts, the man from the vision that Wednesday experienced when she first approached Vallaki was quickly making his way back into town, after unleashing a sabre-tooth tiger on a nearby camp of Vistani nomads.  

Two of the guards began to carry the bleeding Baron Vargas, and to escort his wife, off of the stage and away from the chaos. Other guards tried desperately to hold off the attacking mob, but although they were able to kill a few of the attackers, more just kept coming. Izek saw the Baron escaping and wanted to help protect him, but he was also glancing into the chaos, trying to spot Ireena. Not seeing her past the attacking mob that had pelted him with rocks, Izek grew furious, and even afraid, and held up his deformed arm, and began flinging fire out of his hand wildly into the approaching mob.

The mob kept pushing forward, but elsewhere most of the civilians were fleeing, though few here and there had joined in the battle. A small group began throwing rocks at the group of monsters before them, tossing stones at a scarecrow, at a raven-person, at the strange monster that had been coming closer and closer to the outcasts, and even at poor Pugsley. Most of the thrown stones missed, but the tall, bug-eyed monster was a larger target and was pelted by the rocks. In a rage, the monster reached out and grabbed a man, lifted him up, and bit his head off. The rest of the attacking group dropped their rocks, pissed their pants, and fled screaming.

Wednesday was growing more certain that a couple of figures in the crowd were not reacting like the rest of the civilians, but they were difficult to pin down in the chaos; she caught only glimpses of swirling robes and knew that something was wrong. A figure raced forward towards her… but it was just another scarecrow, which was intercepted by Ireena, who slashed into it with her sword. The scarecrow grabbed its loose stuffing and backed away, waiting for another opening. Wednesday locked eyes with Ireena and gave her a quick nod of respect.

Wednesday’s back was towards the new, approaching monster, so she didn’t see it as it began to run towards the group with an eager, bloodthirsty look on its face. Eugene, however, was facing the monster, and quickly realized that it was not running towards him to give him a hug.

“Shit, shit, shit!” Eugene muttered, desperately loading his crossbow; he finally managed it and lifted it up, shooting an arrow into the monster. Eugene’s swarm flew after his crossbow bolt and swarmed the beast; their stings didn’t seem to bother the creature much, but they were at least distracting it, and the crossbow bolt sticking out of its chest definitely annoyed the monster.

Smoke began to rise into the sky south of the battle. The fire that the vampire spawn had started in St. Andral’s church had consumed the building, and it had also spread to a few of the neighboring homes as well. The panicked crowd didn’t seem to know which way to run, but people were definitely getting out of the town square as fast as they were able to.

Notching another arrow, Xavier felt his psychic powers taking over his mind for the second time in his life. Acting in the moment, he fired a perfect shot through the fleeing crowd, straight into the head of a scarecrow, which toppled over lifelessly.

Bianca meanwhile, was fending off the guard who had recklessly attacked her. “Cut it out, we’re on your side!” Bianca yelled at the guard with her siren song, and to further hammer in the point she turned and slashed a nearby scarecrow, sending it sprawling away. But nothing seemed to get through to the panicked, raging guard, who thrust his spear at Bianca again. This time, she wasn’t in position to deflect his blow, and the strike left a painful gash on the side of her hip where the guard had dealt her a glancing blow. “Stop!” Bianca screamed on instinct and without even using her siren song, trying to back away from the guard.

Pugsley had not found another opening for his flamethrower but was able to toss a Molotov cocktail towards a couple of scarecrows. One was hit directly and was destroyed by the fire, the other was only licked by the flames. “Somewhere along the way, I lost my childhood love of setting things on fire.” Pugsley sighed. “No wonder Wednesday always said I went soft back when we were still on Earth.” Seeing that the stage was also starting to light on fire, he tossed another Molotov cocktail that way just for the hell of it; the outcasts didn’t like anyone up there anyway he figured.

The fight was quickly dissolving into confused chaos. Scarecrows, raven-people, civilian mobs, and guards all fought each other with mad, reckless abandon. Izek and the guards with him continued to do battle with the revolutionary mob, and only Izek’s fire magic saved his group from being torn apart, but they were heavily outnumbered, and the mob was throwing a brutal storm of stones at Baron’s minions. Fire had begun to rage in two places throughout the town, and the usual fire brigades weren’t really available to put out the fires. One of the fires had been partially caused by Izek; that was apparently the unforeseen downside of the Baron employing a minion who relied primarily on fire magic in a town filled with wooden buildings.

Thing, still trying to protect Wednesday, Pugsley, and Enid, pounced on one of the scarecrows and began trying to scratch it apart. The scarecrow tried frantically to grab at Thing with its clawed hands, and eventually managed to grab the undead hand. It held a struggling Thing up to its face, glaring at Thing with hate on its terrifying visage, when suddenly a raven-monster dove down and cut the scarecrow’s head off with its beak. Thing fell to ground, steadied himself, and tossed the raven a salute.

Samuel and Enid had been fighting against a scarecrow when it managed to strike Enid, sending her tumbling back towards Eugene. Enid saw a huge, angry monster charging at Eugene, so she darted forward, slashing into the monster’s legs twice with her claws before it could react.

The monster roared and reached down to grab at Enid. It nearly had her when a thrown dagger, courtesy of Wednesday, sank into its torso. The monster screamed and stumbled away from Enid, who jumped back away from the monster, putting space between them. “Thanks Wednesday!” Enid yelled over to her. Seeing that Enid was saved, Wednesday took another quick glance around, but was still unable to find the shooter, and realized that by this point she probably wouldn’t manage it.

Enid had saved Eugene from the monster, and had in turn been saved by Wednesday, but Samuel had been left to fight against one of the scarecrows alone. This one must have been stuffed full of extra evil straw, because it was giving Samuel a hard time. It began beating the vampire down with a flurry of rapid blows, and it was all Samuel could do to try and hold it off, his armor protected him the worst of the blows, but he was too much on the defensive to be able to really strike back.

Another scarecrow began approaching Samuel as well, but it was intercepted by a guard. The fight was brief and brutal, as the scarecrow cut the guard to pieces. Samuel meanwhile was still being overwhelmed, when three of the raven-people swooped down and tore to shreds the scarecrow that had been attacking him. He gave them a nod of respect, but backed away with his guard still up, not trusting them or anyone but the other outcasts at this point. “What even is this day…” he muttered.

Recovering from the surprise of having a dagger thrown into its chest, the newly arrived monster glared down at Enid. It ran towards her, and although Enid tried to fight back, she was no match against the monster in a straight fight. The beast slashed into Enid with a strike of its clawed hands, sending the girl tumbling back with blood running down her body. Her battle rage began to momentarily subside as fear competed with primal fury in Enid’s mind.

The monster stalked towards Enid with an evil grin, when Samuel, now freed up from fighting the scarecrows, ran forward with a yell. He slashed into the monster twice with his katana, forcing it to back away. Eugene struck it again with a crossbow bolt, though this time the bolt seemed to bounce off its hide without injuring it.

Maddie, terrified and confused, had been trying to stay close to Wednesday during the fight, but it hadn’t been easy, and she was a bit separated from the older girl now. A hooded figure in long robes emerged out of the chaos, stalking towards Maddie, and spoke to her in a muffled voice. “Come here girlie, we’ll take you out of this place.”

Something about the voice, muffled though it was, was familiar to Maddie. She darted out of the way as the figure began trying to grab at her, and barely managed to dodge away from its grasping hands. “Wednesday!” Maddie called as she drew the silver dagger that Wednesday had given her, slashing out at the cloaked figure who jumped back to avoid the strike with a hiss of alarm. Another hooded figure came forth, reached out and slapped Maddie, which sent her tumbling back onto the ground with a cry of pain.

Ireena was nearest to Maddie now, but even she was too distracted by the rest of the chaos to notice what had happened. She thought she may have heard Izek, a man she had never even met, calling her name over the din of the battle. Looking towards the stage, she saw flames spewing forth from Izek, lighting things (mostly revolutionaries) on fire with his seemingly endless reserves of fire magic. Momentarily distracted, Ireena almost had her throat cut open by the swinging claws of a scarecrow. She barely managed to dodge away, and felt thin slices on her neck begin to bleed slightly from where she had almost been cut open. She lashed out with her sword, sliced into the scarecrow and forced it away from her before it could strike again.

Although no one had noticed Maddie’s plight initially, Wednesday had been waiting for the unknown enemies circling the fight to make their move, and when Maddie went down with a scream, Wednesday turned around and spotted the hooded figures. She threw a dagger at one of the new foes, who managed to dodge away, but that gave Wednesday the chance she needed to jump forward and grab Maddie, pulling the girl behind her.

“I don’t know who you two are, but you’re clearly clumsy amateurs.” Wednesday spoke scornfully. “It's amateurs like you who give kidnapping a bad name.”

The two figures laughed and tossed back their hoods, revealing two wart-covered women who then transformed into two even uglier hags, wrinkled purple women with pointy noses and malicious looks in their eyes.

“Surprised to see us?” One of the hags called out mockingly to Wednesday and Maddie.

“A little.” Wednesday replied. “I’m surprised you came all of this way to die.”

Thing and Pugsley ran over to help Wednesday and Maddie. Thing grabbed at one of the hag’s legs and tried to trip her up, but with a snarl the hag shook Thing off of her, kicking the undead appendage away. Pugsley set down a cube and unleashed the miniature robot he had made, then kept running forward and tried to grab one of the hags with the hand that he was wearing a shock glove on.

The hag dodged away from Pugsley, but the other hag was blasted backwards by a wave of concussive force unleashed from his robot. With a snarling grin, the hag Pugsley tried to electrocute went on the offensive, and punched him in the face, sending the boy reeling backwards with a broken nose. For an old lady, the hag could really throw a punch.  

Bianca unfortunately was still being kept busy by the crazed guard that was trying to kill her. “Cut it out!” she cried out with her siren song, but failed once again to get through to him; the fear and aggression was too strong in him. She batted his spear aside with her sword, then stepped forward, about to shove her sword into him. At the last moment, she pulled back, and instead grabbed the guard’s face with one hand.

“Last chance. Fight the monsters, not me.” She demanded, staring him dead in the eyes. Reason finally began to creep back into the guard’s panicked expression, and he seemed to get a hold of himself. He backed off, looking confused and shamed, then spotted the rebel mob attacking the stage, and ran quickly to reinforce the other guards, leaving the outcasts to face the attacking monsters. Bianca scoffed but turned back towards the rest of the fight.

It didn’t take her long to spot the new monster that was attacking the others. “What fresh hell is this?” she muttered.

Following Eugene’s lead, Xavier had also taken a shot at the horrifying monster that was now menacing the outcasts. His arrow sunk into one of the creature’s arms, and it let out a pained shriek. It was an awful, piercing scream that forced Samuel, a sound-sensitive vampire, to try and cover his ears. But Xavier wasn’t bothered, in fact he felt pretty pleased. “Damn that felt good.” He smiled; shooting the monster had felt cathartic for some reason he couldn’t put a finger on.

Enid had been almost too afraid to attack again, but her inner wolf finally won out, and she picked herself up off the ground and darted up the beast’s side. It didn’t notice her until it was too late, and she clawed into it with a series of swift strikes.

Annoyed, the monster kicked Enid away, sending her flying through the air, but the blonde managed to land easily on all fours, being remarkably wolf-life in the moment even in her still-human form. Unfortunately, the monster also managed to knock Samuel aside too.

With them out of the way, the monster turned its attention to Xavier, and pulled the arrow from its arm with a snarl. The already hateful expression on the creature's face seemed to turn even more vicious as it laid eyes on Xavier, and it jumped towards him with a screaming roar.

The monster jumped nearly fifteen feet through the air and landed on top of Xavier, clawed into the stunned artist, and then it bent down and bit into him as well. Xavier screamed in sheer agony.

“Xavier!” Bianca screamed, running frantically towards the monster. But before Bianca could reach Xavier, a gunshot rang out once again. “Oof” Bianca let out a surprised huff, as she tumbled to the ground, landing on her hands and knees. Wide-eyed and stunned, Bianca reached up and clutched a hand to the bleeding wound on the side of her torso, where she had just been shot.

The guards actually managed to destroy the last of the scarecrows that had been attacking the public, and with them dealt with, three of the raven-people turned and flew to where the monster had Xavier pinned. The first one was easily backhanded out of the sky by the monster, but the other two ripped into the beast with beaks and talons. The monster stayed over Xavier as it tried to swipe at the ravens, but was at least distracted from causing Xavier any more harm.

Samuel ran over next and slashed into the monster yet again with his katana. The monster howled in agony but grabbed Samuel, lifted him up, and tossed him away.

“Ow…” Samuel groaned from where he landed face-down in the dirt.

Meanwhile, having taken a stunned Pugsley temporarily out of the fight, both hags rushed Wednesday at once, and they sliced at the girl with their long claws. Wednesday fought back with her silver dagger; it didn’t have much reach, but she knew her steel sword wouldn’t be effective against the night hags, only silver would suffice. So instead of using her sword, Wednesday dual-wielded her daggers, and used her steel dagger defensively to block the hag’s claws, while using her silver dagger to take stabs at them.

Wednesday was mostly able to dodge the hag’s claws, or deflect them with her dagger, but she was still cut up a little during the fight. With a single sweep, Wednesday managed to slice her silver dagger across both hags at once. They weren’t seriously injured, but the silver burned them and forced them to back off briefly. Wednesday used the single moment of respite to assess the situation, and she didn’t like what she saw. Not that Wednesday normally liked much of anything, but this fight seemed to be going especially poorly.

The scarecrows seemed to be destroyed, but the two hags, Wednesday knew, were very dangerous foes, and were barely injured. Her group, meanwhile, had sustained significant injuries. Xavier was in a tough spot, being pinned down by some new, very deadly-looking beast, and an unknown shooter was still active. Some of Izek’s guards had been killed by the rebel mob, but it looked like Izek and the rest of the guards would soon scatter the mob thanks mostly to Izek’s fire magic, and then he would presumably be coming for Ireena, for what reason Wednesday didn’t know. A couple different fires seemed to be raging around the town.

To top it all off, there was no longer any real reason to stay and fight. Begrudgingly, Wednesday made a call she didn’t love to make. “Everyone, retreat!” Wednesday called out to her outcasts. She didn’t like having to retreat, and she absolutely hated having to actually yell, but she had no choice but to call out a command to retreat at this point.

Hearing Wednesday give the order, all of the other outcasts were prepared to run for it, but Xavier was still pinned down. Carefully, Eugene aimed his crossbow and fired a bolt into the monster. This one did manage to sink through the creature’s hide, into one of its back legs, and Eugene sent his whole swarm against it, stinging at the monster’s face and its various wounds. “Fuck him up!” Eugene cheered on his swarm.

Whimpering in pain, the creature was driven off of Xavier by the swarm, and one of the ravens slashed the monster with a talon as it stumbled away.  

Xavier shakily stood up, bleeding horribly, but his psychic powers had once again taken over, and his mind was in a haze. He picked up his bow, notched an arrow, and aimed at the whimpering, crawling monster with a detached look on his bloody face.

Xavier loosed the arrow, and it struck true, piercing into the monster’s back. The monster screamed and contorted and shifted, and it transformed before Xavier’s eyes from a hideous monster into a handsome, if bloodied young man. The arrows fell from his body as he transformed, and an unconscious boy lay still on the ground.

The psychic haze faded from Xavier’s mind, and Xavier realized with growing shock that the boy before him was Tyler Galpin, a normie bully from Jericho who, along with his idiot friends, had once given Xavier a nasty beating. Shock transformed into rage. “YOU BASTARD!!!” Xavier screamed, and he reached for another arrow, desperate to finish off the boy before him. But Xavier was seriously injured, and his strength failed him. He collapsed to the ground, gasping in pain.

Samuel had gotten back up, and ran over to Xavier. “We’ve gotta go!” he yelled, hooking Xavier’s bow back on his leather armor, and then he lifted Xavier up, and began running away while carrying Xavier.

“No” Xavier croaked. “Tyler…” but Samuel kept on running.

Wednesday had done something similar to what Samuel had done, picking up Maddie and making a run for it. One of the hag’s clawed hands grazed Wednesday’s back as she retreated, but Wednesday was mostly able to dodge the blow without even glancing back, and Pugsley’s robot stepped forward, unleashing a concussive blast again that this time sent both hags tumbling back.

Bianca picked herself off the ground, feeling her bloody side and gasping in pain and disbelief. The bullet had left a bloody wound, but it had ultimately only grazed her. She could still get out of here, she realized, and began running frantically along with the others.

In addition to the raven-people who were still aiding the outcasts, a whole unkindness of regular ravens also now swarmed the battlefield, masking everything in darkness and covering the outcast’s retreat. “IREENA!!!!” the voice of the Izek screamed out, but the man was still burning his way through the last of the rebels who hadn’t yet retreated, and could do nothing to stop the outcasts.

Two of the raven-people began attacking the hags, seemingly trying to delay them, while another flew up to the roof of a nearby building and began struggling with someone up there. Another gunshot echoed out from atop the roof, but it didn’t seem to put down the raven-person, and the sounds of fighting continued up on the roof as the outcasts ran out of the town square and into the back alleys of Vallaki.

As the group fled through the alleys of Vallaki, they passed by a line of clothing with dresses, shirts, and pants all hanging out to dry. Eugene grabbed a few and ran alongside Samuel, who was still carrying Xavier, and began binding the fabric around Xavier’s bleeding wounds. Bianca joined him, using her siren song to soothe and calm Xavier, and try to instill strength into his mind. First aid on the run wasn’t ideal, but it was the best the outcasts could manage as they ran for their lives.

Vorigan the vampire spawn had finally located Father Lucian, who had exhausted himself trying to save as many lives as he could, and was in no state to defend himself from a vampire.

Drinking the blood out of Lucian’s neck, Vorigan glanced up at the chaos in the town square just in time to see the outcasts retreating.

The vampire withdrew his fangs from Father Lucian momentarily. The priest was too out of it for that to matter, already half-dead.

“Oh hey, look, it’s the Addams heirs and company. Wow, Lucian, I have to say, that was exactly who we didn’t want you talking to! I wonder if they’ll make it out of town alive?” Vorigan spoke amiably to his lunch, watching the fleeing outcasts with interest.

“Wait just a second.” Vorigan paused. “Is that Ireena Kolyanovich with them? Huh, I think it is. My master will definitely want to hear about this!”

Vorigan looked back down at Lucian. “Speaking of my master, we’d best hurry this along. I don’t mean to dine and dash, but Count Strahd asked me to open up the gates and let his pack of wolves and dire wolves come into the town. Maybe as revenge for that whole “Wolf's Head Jamboree” ordeal, who knows? The Dark Lord’s genius is well beyond my understanding.”

With that, Vorigan’s fangs extended out again to their full length, and with a snarl, he sunk them back into the priest’s neck. 

Chapter Text

The Festival of the Blazing Sun had become the Festival of the Blazing Town, and had degenerated into a bloody free-for-all. Wednesday and the other outcasts ran down the streets of Vallaki, heading for the west gate of the town. Wednesday was bleeding from a few minor wounds, but was still better off than many of the other outcasts. The whole event had been quite exciting, but that excitement was tempered by a feeling of disappointment, and worse, it was disappointment in herself. Wednesday had been blindsided by the multiple attacks on the festival, which caused her to question her own judgement. She felt she should have been better informed and prepared than this. Now she was being forced to run away from the violence in a town that had fallen into chaos.

The streets the outcasts ran through were nearly deserted; most of the town had been at the festival because attendance had been mandatory, and the fleeing citizens were largely taking cover in their own homes, which seemed to be the safer option than fleeing into the dangerous wilderness.

Continuing their flight, the outcasts were surprised as the sound of a fiddle reached them. A figure casually strolled down the street towards them, playing a jaunty tune.

The outcasts might have run right past the strange man, but some instinct warned Wednesday that something wasn’t right, and she held out her arms and came to a stop. The rest of the outcasts paused next to her.  

“Quentin the bard. Step out of our path. And while you are at it, step into the fire back over there.” Wednesday glared in disdain at the bard.  

Quentin played a few more notes on his fiddle, then paused to smile at the outcasts. “Well, well, well, if it isn’t the girl who scared poor old Quentin out of the Blue Water Inn. I have just as much right to walk here as you do. It’s a free village.” Quentin chuckled. “Ok, that’s a lie.”

Wednesday held up a dagger. “This is your last chance, and that isn’t a lie. Move.”

“We have wounded.” Bianca gestured to Xavier, and Enid too, who wasn’t that much better off than Xavier was, though she was at least standing without support. “Get the hell outta the way, or I’ll make you.”

“What’s the matter, scared of a silly bard? Or maybe you’re just feeling cautious. Very wise of you.” Quentin shrugged, and suddenly, he was another person. There was no spoken spell, no gesture, no visible transformation. One moment he was Quentin the goofy, colorful bard, and then suddenly he was a serious looking old man with white hair and a goatee, whose ears came out at a slight point. Even his attire changed, he was now wearing steampunk looking clothing.

“Ah, it’s you.” Wednesday realized. “I’ve been expecting you.” The enemy from her vision had been due to show up on this day.

“Wait, we were expecting this old dude?” Enid gasped out, resting her hands on her knees.

“Were you really? Hmm, you have quite the poker-face young lady, so it’s hard to say whether or not you’re bluffing. But that is surprising, I had believed that no one knew I was in Vallaki.” The man rubbed his goatee in thought.

“I didn’t know you were in Vallaki.” Eugene raised his hand. “I don’t even know who you are.”

The man bowed slightly. “I am Van Richten, professional monster slayer. I noticed several unusual features in a few members of your group while we were all staying at the Blue Water Inn. Today I left town briefly, and came back to find the town burning down, and you all fleeing the scene. I’ll admit it may be difficult for even me to stop so many of you, but you appear to be already injured, so I’m willing to take my chances. Of course, you could all simply surrender. I could take you in chains to my base of operations, where I could separate the mortals from the monsters.”

“Van Richten… I’ve heard of you. You are supposedly a great hero.” Ireena spoke up. “My friends and I are innocent of any wrongdoing. Please step aside.”

“I’m sorry my dear, but I feel I shall have to determine your innocence or guilt myself. And anyone who chooses to fight alongside monsters already warrants intense suspicion in my view.” Van Richten tossed aside the fiddle and drew his cane, and a long silver blade flicked out from the bottom of it.

“Ok, now this is really your last chance.” Bianca demanded. “We can sort this out later, or we can kill you now.”

Van Richten looked back at the fires that were consuming the other end of town. “I think this has already gone on long enough.”

“Here it is!” Pugsley suddenly exclaimed as he finished searching through his pack. “I knew I still had a bottle of liquid nitrogen left.”

Van Richten had no idea what that was, but Pugsley intended for him to find out; he tossed the bottle straight at the monster hunter. But as he went to throw the bottle, a strange haze clouded his mind, and without conscious thought, he tossed the bottle way to the side of the street, missing Van Richten by a mile.

The outcasts looked at Pugsley in surprise. “Note to self, Pugsley needs some time in the electric chair.” Wednesday frowned.

“Bad aim on that toss. Did your father never play ball with you?” Van Richten asked. His tone was as serious as it had been ever since he dropped his disguise, but there was a hint of smug satisfaction in his expression.

“Back down.” Bianca ordered Van Richten as firmly as she could while using her siren song.

“No.” Van Richten shrugged. Without even a struggle, the siren song was resisted, flowing off Van Richten like water off a duck’s back.

Wednesday tried to get a read on Van Richten as she prepared to strike, since it was always better to know your enemy. But compared to other enemies she had fought, Van Richten was strangely difficult to read. Still, nothing ventured, nothing gained. Without a word of warning, Wednesday threw her dagger straight at the man’s torso. As Wednesday did so, she felt some sort of haze trying to overcome her mind, but she was able to shake it off, and her dagger flew true and struck true. It stabbed into Van Richten, and before he could grab the dagger himself, Wednesday summoned it back to her hand with a snap.

“You have better aim than your brother at least.” Van Richten admitted ruefully. “Such potential, wasted on a monster-loving child.”

“God, shut up.” Enid snarled, extending her claws and running forward at Van Richten. But as she lashed out at Van Richten, her mind was clouded too, and her first swing missed the monster hunter wildly. She tried to follow up with her other hand, which came closer, but was still off by a little and missed Van Richten.

“Feeling off your game today? Would anyone else like to try?” Van Richten mocked the group.

Though she was confused, Enid would have loved to try again, but Samuel got there first; leaving the wounded Xavier with Bianca, he darted forth and slashed at Van Ricten with his katana. His strikes also missed Van Richten terribly.

“What’s going on?” Puglsey asked, as confused as everyone else.

“Just a little divine protection.” Van Richten answered. “Unfortunately, it only protects the peaceful, so it will end when I do this.” Van Richten slashed out with his sword cane, and Enid screamed and fell backwards as the silver blade sliced into her.

Enid was sort of the darling of the group of outcasts, and several of them let out exclamations of rage as she went down. Wednesday did not, but her eyes narrowed in a cold expression of hatred. Rage brought Eugene’s mind into sharp focus, and he fired his crossbow, shooting straight into Van Richten’s chest.

Van Richten let out a grunt of pain, and Ireena ran forward, swinging her sword at Van Richten. Though injured, the seasoned monster hunter managed to block the sword with his cane, but was caught off guard when Ireena followed that up immediately by kicking him in the balls. Sadly, Van Richten was wearing a codpiece, but even then the kick still managed to cause him some pain. 

Though badly injured, Xavier was conscious enough to tap Bianca on the shoulder, and silently gestured for her to set him on the ground, so she could go fight. Reluctantly, Bianca nodded, setting Xavier down and drawing her sword. As Xavier huddled on the ground, he weakly reached into his pack and pulled out a pen and paper, and began drawing.

With Samuel and Enid being too close to Van Richten for Pugsley to use his flamethrower, and with his robot having been left behind in the town square helping to hold off the hags, Pugsley instead chose to run forward and tried to grab Van Richten with his shock glove. But Van Richten was faster and much more skilled than Pugsley, and dodged away from the boy, forcing Pugsley back with his sword cane. 

Bianca reached Van Richten next, and her skill and speed proved to be a match for the monster hunter. The two exchanged blows with their swords before Bianca got past his guard, and slashed a nasty gash into Van Richten.

“Get up Enid, be strong!” Bianca encouraged with siren song as she continued to duel Van Richten. And it worked; Enid jumped back up with a look of anger and determination on her face, and joined in the duel with her claws. With Van Richten overwhelmed by multiple opponents, Enid was also able to get through his defenses and slashed her claws into the man, dealing him bloody new wounds.

Van Richten was soon contending with Enid, Bianca, and Samuel all at once; Ireena had stepped back knowing she would only get in the other three’s way. Nearly surrounded, Van Richten was forced to fight with a more defensive posture, and only his long years of monster hunting and great skill allowed him to go toe to toe with all three of them at once. Even then it was all he could do to defend himself from further blows.

Appearing out of nowhere, an inky, jet black spider wearing a top hat danced onto the battlefield. It waved a cane of its own at Van Richten, who held his defensive stance against the three outcasts he had been fighting, but nonetheless the man was momentarily distracted. Xavier smirked as he watched Van Richten’s eyes flick to his animated spider-drawing in wary confusion, and his smirk widened as he saw Wednesday taking the opportunity to appear behind Van Richten, sneaking forward and stabbing at the monster slayer’s back with her dagger.

Wednesday grunted in surprise as her knife pierced through Van Richten’s leather jacket, only to bounce off a sheet of metal.

“I of course have taken precautions against being stabbed in the back.” Van Richten stated, shifting to put Wednesday in his view. He took a stab at her with his sword cane, and she jumped backwards to escape its reach, then sheathed her dagger and drew her sword instead, as Samuel managed to stab into Van Richten’s side with his katana, further wounding the already injured monster hunter.

Wednesday prowled forward, and Van Richten was totally surrounded by deadly foes. Wednesday, Pugsley, Bianca Samuel, and Enid all prepared to strike together and overwhelm Van Richten in a flurry of blows.

“Good” Van Richten smirked. “I have you right where I want you.”

With a sudden violent movement, Van Richten tore a glass bottle off his belt and threw it onto the ground. A noxious gas spread into the air, wafting over Van Richten and the outcasts. The mixture was one of the monster hunter’s own making. It contained a deliberating poison that he had made himself immune to, but which was dangerous to Bianca. The gas also contained garlic and wolfsbane, which sent Enid and Samuel reeling. It even included essence of rose, only to make the scent more tolerable to Van Richten, since he relied on this chemical weapon often. The Addams children however, who were unharmed by the poison or the other ingredients, fell choking on the ground as the intolerably sweet scent of roses filled their nostrils.

“Well, that worked out alright.” Van Richten waved his hand, casted a spell on himself, and then raised his cane sword.

“No!” Eugene yelled, firing his crossbow at Van Richten. But a haze filled his mind once more, and his arrow missed badly.

“I reapplied the sanctuary spell for the moment.” Van Richten explained. “Wait your turn.”

Ireena ran at Van Richten alongside Eugene’s swarm of bees, but the lingering poison drove her back coughing and spluttering. Eugene’s living bees couldn’t get through the gas either, and Van Richten seemed to be warded against spirits in some way, so the ghost bees also were unable to sting him. Thing ran forward and jumped at Van Richten, but the man reacted rapidly and batted Thing away.

Van Richten kicked Wednesday in the gut, then rolled her over with his boot, holding his sword cane above her. “It’s a shame, you don’t seem to be a literal monster, but like the Vistani I’ve just had to deal with, you’ve chosen your side.”

Wednesday coughed weakly. “I was expecting you...” She whispered.

“That’s right, you did say that. Care to explain how you knew I was coming?” Van Richen asked.

Wednesday smiled a vicious smile. “I was expecting you…. to die.”

Just out of the reach of the toxic cloud of fumes, Maddie held up one hand, imitating Granny Morgantha, and uttered a spell she had heard the night hag cast before.  Small bolts of sickly green energy raced through the air and struck Van Richten, and where the green lightning sparked across his body, flesh decayed, and horrible cuts and wounds opened up. Van Richten screamed and collapsed to the ground, his legs sprawling over Wednesday as he fell over the other side of her.

“Are you okay Wednesday?!?” Maddie called out desperately.

“I am still alive.” Wednesday stared up at the smoke-filled sky, pushing Van Richten’s legs off her and slowly rising to her feet. The scent of rose was awful, but it would hardly keep her down for long.

A flash of the light shone from Van Richten, and some of his wounds seemed to close slightly as he groaned and regained consciousness.

“I won’t fall so eas…” Van Richten’s words were cut off with a gurgle as Wednesday stabbed her sword down into the back of his neck. And with that, the famous monster hunter had finally met his match.

Slowly, the battered outcasts picked themselves up. Almost all of them were in rough shape, and everyone was exhausted. Wednesday pulled Enid to her feet and walked over to Maddie.

“Nicely done.” She nodded, and Maddie beamed at the rare praise from the older girl.

The howls of wolves began to echo out across the town, along with a renewed chorus of terrified screams.

“Um, time to go right?” Pugsley asked, not waiting for an answer as he broke into a run. Samuel and Bianca pulled up Xavier between them, and gathering their strength once more, the outcasts used whatever adrenaline they had left to run after Pugsley as fast as they could.

After fleeing from Vallaki, the outcasts realized they wouldn’t be able to reach the winery by nightfall, meaning they would be stuck outside in the lands of Barovia at night. Deciding that camping in the woods would not be wise, the outcasts instead turned north around the walls of the town and made for Lake Zarovich, which was just north of Vallaki.

At the foot of a mountain, nestled in the misty forest, the outcasts reached a large lake. The water was perfectly still and dark, reflecting the black clouds overhead like a monstrous mirror. Docked along the south shore were three small row-boats.

“No one else is here yet, but we shouldn’t stay long.” Wednesday was forced to keep the group moving. “We’re exposed on this beach, and we don’t know what else will turn up here.”

No one could argue with that, so the group piled into two of the row boats. The most heavily injured outcasts, specifically Xavier and Enid, naturally weren’t expected to row. Bianca didn’t get in the boats at all. After being in human form for so long, she took the opportunity to turn into her natural siren self, and swam alongside the boats as the group paddled across the lake, making for the northern shore.

The outcasts eventually reached the northern shore of the lake, and docked the boats near the foot of a large, rocky mountain. They walked off the beach and began climbing up the mountain, getting only some short ways up before they were too exhausted to continue. Tiredly, they set up camp.

Those who were the most skilled at first aid, namely Eugene and Ireena, set to work cleaning and bandaging everyone’s wounds. Wednesday insisted on stitching up her own worst cuts, and also stitched up Enid while Eugene did the same for Xavier.

“I suppose we need to come up with shifts to keep watch tonight.” Bianca sighed.

“No need, I got it.” Samuel offered.

“Really, are you sure?”

“I’m a vampire, I don’t need to sleep every day. Sure, I’ll be tired tomorrow, but I doubt I’ll be much worse off than the rest of you. I wasn’t hurt too badly in that fight, and I heal pretty quickly.” Samuel explained.

“If you’re sure, I don’t think anybody’s going to argue with you.” Bianca shrugged. “Wake us up if someone shows up to kill us.”

Wednesday was one the first outcasts to rise the next morning, and she used the quiet of the morning to move away from the group a bit. She sat on the edge of a mountain cliff, and looked down at the dark lake down below. The water was as still and calm as ever, a stark contrast to her mind, which was filled with turmoil.

Wednesday wondered where she had gone wrong. She had believed her actions were rational given her circumstances. It had been Eugene’s idea originally to do mercenary work for a profit, and although that wouldn’t have been her own preference given better options, it had seemed to her like a valid way to make money in a world where she had very little. It was surely much better than seeking work on a farm, or moving back in with her parents. Right?

Then why had it all gone to the nine hells? Wednesday frowned as she tried to determine what she could have done better. Sure, the Festival had turned out to be more fun than she expected, but from a tactical perspective, it had been a disaster. Only the interference of previously unknown raven-people had saved the outcasts from being overwhelmed and destroyed. That suggested to Wednesday that the route she had gone down was no longer tenable, and perhaps had been a mistake in the first place. But what else could she have done? What could she do differently now?  

“Hey sis, you look like you have murder on your mind.” Pugsley sat down beside her.

“If only. But no, I’ve been forced to reassess my life choices instead.” Wednesday scoffed.

“How do you mean?” Her brother asked, confused.

“We were ambushed and nearly killed in Vallaki, brother. I feel like I’m slipping. And I think I know why.” Wednesday turned to Pugsley with dark eyes.

“Um, ok, I’ll bite. Why?” Pugsley asked nervously.

“It’s because I’ve settled. I’ve settled on a course of action that seemed rational at the time, but it just isn’t me. Travelling with a group. Fighting monsters, doing mercenary work, getting into glorified fistfights on a regular basis… this is not what I had planned. If Nevermore hadn’t been destroyed, I could have established myself in this world on my own terms. But that event forced my hand, and ever since then, I’ve only been… reacting.” Wednesday mused aloud.

Pugsley gulped. “So what are you saying? You want to leave the group?”

“Eventually, yes.” Wednesday glanced back at the camp, seeing that some of the other outcasts were waking up now. “There’s some mystery about Maddie I must figure out. We can drop her off with Mother and Father, but not while those hags are still after her. It’s time to stop merely reacting. We need the others to kill the hags. Then I go my own way.”

“Are you going to tell the others that’s what you’re planning to do?” Pugsley asked.

Wednesday didn’t answer and walked back to the other outcasts, Pugsley following behind her.

Maddie burst out of the tent she shared with Wednesday and Enid, and calmed down once she spotted Wednesday. She was carrying her grotesque wicker doll with her, Mr. Grustug.

Wednesday wasn’t slipping so much that she didn’t notice this obvious oddity. “Maddie, how is it that you have Mr. Grustug now? You did not bring him to the festival yesterday, and we obviously didn’t stop back at the inn on our way out of town.”

Madde beamed and waved one of Mr. Grustug’s hands at Wednesday. “Mr. Grustug loves me! He came and found me after.” Mr. Grustug stared emptily at Wednesday.

Wednesday dismissed that, because odder things had happened. “Maddie, I need you to tell me what you know about the night hags that are after you.”

Maddie shrunk in on herself but answered meekly. “Aunty Bella Sunbane and Aunty Offalia Wormwiggle. They were always mean to me and never liked me. They laughed when Granny…” Maddie ran a hand down the scarred claw marks on the side of her face.

“I don’t know why they would come for me now. I wish they would leave me alone.” Maddie shrugged. Thing jumped up and patted Maddie on the shoulder.

There was a commotion nearby; Xavier had apparently woken up, and he was angrier than Wednesday had ever seen him.

“We’ve got to find him! You should have killed him!” Xavier yelled.

Eugene stumbled out of the tent he shared with Xavier. “Wait, who are we killing?”

“Talk to us Xavier, what’s going on?” Bianca asked.

“The monster that attacked us… it was Tyler Galpin.” Xavier spluttered angrily. “He and his thug friends beat the hell out of me back in Jericho. He always hated outcasts… and he was like us the whole time!”

“What is an outcast-hating normie doing transforming into a monster and trying to kill us in Vallaki?” Samuel asked, confused.

Wednesday rapidly connected several dots. “There was a monster killing the residents of Jericho before and after the town was transported to this world. My parents found out about that from the locals and told me what they knew. This “Tyler” must have been that monster.”

“But why…” Enid started asking.

“I don’t know why he started killing other normies, but Xavier claims he hates outcasts, and that’s been proven by the fact that he hunted us down specifically in Vallaki. The mob that attacked and destroyed Nevermore was trying to kill “The Beast”. After we were transported to Ravenloft, the residents of Jericho were panicked, angry, and blamed the outcasts. Do you understand? Tyler attacked more people in rapid succession to provoke an attack on Nevermore, because he hates outcasts. It worked out exactly as he planned.”

The group fell into silence as they processed that. It made a lot of sense when Wednesday laid it out plainly, too much sense to deny. Ireena and Maddie meanwhile stayed quiet because they had no idea what the outcasts were talking about.

“That son of a bitch.” Xavier whispered. “I’m going to kill him.”

“There’s more.” Wednesday told them. The others turned to with blank looks, so she held back a sigh and explained herself. “Someone shot at the Burgomaster, and then at Bianca, with a gun. This world doesn’t appear to have invented guns yet. Someone else from our world was at the festival; it stands to reason that they were working with Tyler.”

“But who?” Bianca asked. “Could it have been his father, Sheriff Galpin? He obviously has a gun.”

“I doubt it.” Wednesday shook her head. “The Sheriff apparently isn’t a fan of outcasts, but nothing I’ve learned so far suggests that he is out to kill us.” Wednesday knew that the sheriff had refused to let the mob that had destroyed Nevermore return to Jericho, effectively exiling Otis and his bigoted goons. That was hardly the behavior of a man who wanted to kill all outcasts.

“Ok General, what do we do next?” Enid joked very weakly.

“What do you all think would be our obvious next move?” Wednesday queried, and the group stared at her in surprise; it wasn’t often Wednesday asked for their input.

“Well, there’s a village further west of here called Krezk. We could maybe find shelter there, and find Ireena a new place to stay.” Bianca answered, and most of the others nodded in agreement.

“Yes, that would be the obvious next step, would it not?” Wednesday shook her head. “Then that is exactly what we will not do.”

Bianca blinked once, then twice. “Ok, explain please?”

“We’re being hunted by various foes, and although I’m very much looking forward to round two, I think it should be on our terms next time. Being predictable would be a foolish mistake, and it’s a normie move. We’re all outcasts, dangerous, strange, and unique in our own ways; we should at least be able to think outside the box. It’s time for us to go off script.” Everyone was drawn in as Wednesday’s dark eyes bored into their souls, and they could tell she meant every word.

“What do we do?” Eugene asked eagerly.

“We’ll start by going to the one place they won’t expect us to go. Back to Vallaki.”

Cue the gasps, as the outcasts tried to peer back at Vallaki, which was buried under a curtain of smoke.

“We are not returning to play hero, I’ve had enough of that. There may be something still worth looting in the corpse of Vallaki, and if we can find the ravens, all the better. We should track them down if at all possible. After that, we arrange for Tyler and his mystery partner to meet their ends. The hags we know work for a witch who lives in the ruins of a town called Berez, south of Vallaki. We killed their last master and burned their last home, and I would enjoy doing both of those things again one more time.”

“And what about Ireena and Strahd?” Bianca pressed.

“Ireena, you said it yourself, our work for you is complete.” Wednesday turned to look at the group’s tagalong. “You can move on to Krezk yourself, or continue on with us for now, but our plans cannot revolve around you anymore.”

“Harshly put, but fair enough.” Ireena responded wryly. “You escorted me safely to Vallaki as I asked, and it’s probably not your fault that the town was destroyed. Still, I think I shall stick with you all for a while longer if that’s alright, as I fear I wouldn’t survive for long out here alone.”

The conversation paused as an elk trotted down the mountain, stood still and stared at the group from about fifty feet away. Suddenly, it transformed into a man in tattered black robes. His hair and beard were long, black, and streaked with gray, and his eyes crackled with eldritch power.

“Assassins, you won’t get me! I cannot be killed!” The man screamed, and a massive fireball burst out of the man’s hand and flew straight towards the outcasts. 

Chapter Text

The Story So Far:

As the Addams Family approached the gates of Nevermore, reality went wonky, and the school, and the town of Jericho, found themselves transported to a different plane of existence, a place known as Ravenloft. In Ravenloft, everything is terrible. But Wednesday couldn't have been transported to a more perfect world. Almost immediately, because everything is terrible, vaguely humanoid tree monsters known as blights attacked Jericho, only to be bravely driven off by the sheriff and some of the Addams family. Old feuds were put aside as everyone focused on trying to figure out what exactly had happened. Now on a different world, most technology naturally immediately or soon after ceased to function, causing a host of problems for the town and the school.

Wednesday began her education much as she did in canon. But insult was added to injury as her brother was enrolled in the school as well. He was roomed with a freshman vampire known as Samuel Le Blank, and together, the two hatched a scheme to tunnel out of Nevermore and explore the new world they found themselves in. Morticia and Gomez found themselves beset by an angry mob that didn’t much care for outcasts, but Sheriff Galpin intervened, and a complete stranger mysteriously invited them to dinner, one Count Strahd von Zerovich.

The whole Addams family went to dinner at Castle Ravenloft, and were treated to a luxurious meal, though their host, the Count, did not partake. Something about his pale countenance, deep Transylvanian accent, and the fact that was either drinking red wine or blood, clued the Addams Family into the fact that the Count was a vampire. Wednesday and Strahd had a civil conversation and seemed to get along, and when Wednesday returned to Nevermore, she unexpectedly had a bonding moment with her roomie Enid. It was a rare day for Wednesday, who was rolling high her social checks. She also joined Pugsley and Samuel’s scheme to burrow out of school. Wednesday also learned that some unknown creature had been murdering the citizens of Jericho.

On her way to the tunnel one night, Wednesday was ambushed by a student so forgettable that she now longer remembers his name as of Chapter 18. But he did have psychic powers, and was rambling about a prophecy that Wednesday would destroy the school. Wednesday killed him and dissolved his body, and went about continuing her education as though nothing major had happened, because for her, because she honestly wasn’t that bothered by it. She met an old acquaintance, Xavier, and developed a deepening rivalry with Bianca, and eventually, forced to join a club, she started doing bee-keeping stuff with Eugene.

Soon though, the tunnel was complete. Wednesday, Pugsley, and Samuel made their first exploratory journey out into the lands of Barovia, Stradh’s kingdom on the plane of Ravenloft. They made their way to a run-down village which sat beneath a cliff, atop of which stood Castle Ravenloft. The trio was lured into a house haunted by the ghosts of long-dead cultists, but managed to narrowly escape.

Unknown to Wednesday, a monster known only as “the Beast”, in reality a Hyde, had butchered a family in their home in Jericho. This drove some of the Jerichoians wild, and they formed a mob which attacked Nevermore Academy. Wednesday, Thing, Pugsley, Enid, Euegene, Bianaca, Xavier, and Samuel fought their way out of the doomed school, and escaped through the tunnel they had created. Sheriff Galpin and his deputies barred the mob of murderers who attacked a school full of children from ever returning to Jericho, and the exiles now live in the remains of Nevermore Academy, in a sort of cold war with the Sheriff's forces. Meanwhile our merry band of adventurers made their way back to the village of Barovia, and resolved to survive in this world on their own, whatever it took. Wednesday's parents, meanwhile, were put up in a house generously provided to them by Count Strahd, though the source of his interest in the Addams Family remains unknown. 

After that, the outcasts began doing odd jobs for money around town. Slaying monsters, solving mysteries, and generally doing side quests, until they agreed to an escort mission. A man named Ismark asked the group to escort his sister Ireena out of town in secret. She was suffering from unwanted advances from Strahd himself, and it was too dangerous for her to stay in town. The outcasts were by now ready to explore the rest of Ravenloft, and Ismark could afford to pay better than anyone else in town, so the group equipped themselves for travel and set out on a journey.

During the trip, they ran afoul of a hag called Granny and her two wicked daughters. Granny was crushed to death, and the other hags fled, allowing the outcasts to save three children who had been captured by the hag. Two of the young children had been tormented and had been doomed to be baked into pies. The oldest of the children, Maddie, was around 11 years old and had been kept by the hags for much longer, to the point where she no longer remembered where she came from. When Maddie and Wednesday first came into contact, Wednesday experienced the first vision she had in some time.

The outcasts made it to the town of Vallaki, and found an orphanage to drop the kids off in. This was all good in well, except that the orphanage appeared to be cursed. Upon investigating, they found that one of the orphans was possessed by a demon. A fight broke out, and although the demon was defeated, the boy he had been possessing was killed in the process. The dejected outcasts left the orphanage, but intrigued by her vision, Wednesday took Maddie with her.

After that, the Outcasts established themselves in the town of Vallaki, continuing to do essentially mercenary work. They bought some cool new gear, including silver weapons good for fighting many kinds of monsters, and having been hired by a kind innkeeper, Urwin Markitov, they liberated a local winery owned by his relatives from a group of evil druids and their army of blights. As the groups’ infamy grew, a lawyer from a law firm known as Wolfram & Hart contacted the outcasts on the behalf of a wealthy noblewoman, the Lady Wachter. Lady Wachter got the outcasts somewhat involved in the local politics, denouncing the baron who ruled Vallaki and enforced a policy of mandatory cheerfulness from all citizens. The outcasts investigated the Baron’s prison, where dissidents were brainwashed to be happy, or else locked away and left to rot forever. They rescued a compatriot of the Lady Wachter, and considered accepting her job offer, that they assassinate the Baron of Vallaki.

While in Vallaki, the group also met up with a few other outcasts who had escaped Nevermore and found their way into Vallaki. This reunion was somewhat short lived though. The outcasts had decided to kill the Baron at the Festival of the Blazing Sun, however it was not to be. The Baron’s thuggish enforcer, a man with a strange, monstrous arm, seemed to notice Ireena, who had been safely set up in Vallaki but who had met up with the outcasts at the festival. He grew frantically excited, but before he could act, living scarecrows attacked the festival. They had come with the hags, who after the death of Granny, had fallen in with an ancient witch named Baba Lysaga. The scarecrows wreaked havoc, while the hags prepared to kidnap Maddie. On top of that, a riot broke out, as the Baron was shot seemingly by a gun, and his minions began battling the rioting civilians and the scarecrows alike. The outcasts don't know it, but was Thornhill/ Laurel Gates that was doing the shooting.

The Hyde also made its appearance then. Its master had formed an alliance with the dark druids, and the Hyde was determined to kill the outcasts during the battle. The outcasts were saved by the intervention of a flock of wereravens, and the Hyde was defeated but survived, as he transformed back into a human, Xavier recognized the Hyde as a citizen of Jericho who had once bullied him, Tyler Galpin. The shooter who had killed the Baron also attempted to take out the outcasts, but they narrowly escaped their various enemies, including the hags. In the background, a vampire named Vorigan, in the service of Strahd, was up to no good; he killed a local priest in an apparent attempt to recover a book that he did not want to fall into the hands of the outcasts. He also noticed that Ireena was with the outcasts, and left to report back to Strahd.

As they fled the burning town, the outcasts came face to face with a legendary monster hunter known as Rudolph van Richten, who they had previously met, albeit he had been disguised as an oafish bard. He had been in town to sic a tiger on the Vistani, a group of travelling nomads to van Richten hated, and who sometimes served as spies to Count Strahd. van Richten identified the outcasts as monsters, and matched them blow for blow all on his own. Eventually though, their sheer numbers brought him down, and the outcasts fled town with Ireena and Maddie fleeing along with them.  

The outcasts found a few canoes and paddled across a lake to the bottom of a nearby mountain, which they then partially ascended and then camped out on. It seemed they had escaped the chaos, but the next day, out of the blue, they were confronted with a bedraggled, deranged looking wizard. And that leads us to our current moment; there’s been a fireball hurled at the outcasts, and it is once again time to roll for initiative. 

Except! There are a few important plot points that I wanted to leave for the end here. It's worth noting that Wednesday is now considering leaving the group. Also, for the purposes of a legal contract, the outcasts recently collectively named their party "Corazón Errante", it hasn't really come up yet again outside of the signing of that one contract.

And because it gets confusing: Ravenloft is the name of this demiplane; Strahd also lives in a castle called Castle Ravenloft. Barovia is the name of the town by his castle, but his realm inside of Ravenloft is also called Barovia, though there are other, sometimes bigger towns in the realm. Don't blame me, blame WoTC. 

Oh, and most of Eugene's bees were killed in battle, but it's okay' this is Barovia and they came back as ghost bees. Puglsey made various inventions for battle, including a set of gloves for Wednesday which she can use to summon her daggers back into her hands, she only needs to snap her fingers to do so. Xavier and Bianca have gradually patched up their friendship, and Enid can now honestly call Wednesday her bestie... yeah, I think that covers it! 

Chapter Text

The outcasts and Ireena flung themselves on the ground, with Wednesday grabbing Maddie as she dove, just as the fireball flew over the outcast’s heads. Searing heat washed over the group, but everyone was able to duck away in time to avoid being incinerated.

“Got you!” The mage screamed, as the ground the outcasts had dove onto became covered in spider webs, sticking them fast to the rocky mountain, aside from Wednesday and Pugsley, who manages to jump back up and dodge away from the webs just in time to avoid being caught like the others.

A dog’s barking echoed across the mountain, though the outcasts couldn’t spot any dog. “Woof, woof!” The mage barked along with his unseen dog.

Wednesday could see by the look in his eyes that the wizard was quite mad, it was after all a look she observed often enough around her relatives. She ran forward until she was close enough to throw a dagger at him, but her dagger deflected off an arcane shield of purple magic.

The mage yelled in triumph. “Ha ha! I am invincible! And my faithful hound is invisible! Huzzah!”

Pugsley interrupted him, having also ran forward, and blasted the mage with a sonic cannon he had made, effectively a stronger version of the cannon he had equipped to his robot, which was still back in Vallaki. The wave of force was not stopped by the mage’s arcane shield, and he was pushed back a little with a cry, but stayed on his feet.

“You think my magic has grown weak? Think again!" The mage frothed at the mouth as he began to swear and scream abuse at the outcasts.

The other outcasts were stuck in the webs, but Samuel and Enid were having luck fighting their way out of the webbing with their sword and claws respectively. Bianca wasn’t having much luck getting herself unstuck, so she called out to the mage with her siren song active. “Stand down! We’re not here to kill you, you nut!”

But, like with van Richten yesterday, the siren song had no effect, washing over the wizard without bothering him at all, which was unusual, because it at least normally took some effort to resist her song. “Then you’ve come for my kidneys!” The mage screamed back.

Unlike Xavier and Ireena who had tried but failed to escape the webs, Eugene didn’t even bother, he knew he couldn’t manage it. Instead, he drew his crossbow and fired. His first shot was deflected by the magic shield, but his swarm went forth and began stinging the mad mage. Eugene fired a second shot which struck true.

“Ow ow ow!” The mage howled. “Using bugs is fighting dirty!”

Pugsley heard the sound of a dog’s panting and snarling, and saw footprints begin to form in the ground, more and more of them coming straight at him, though he couldn’t see the apparently invisible dog. Still, he readied his sonic cannon, watching the footprints carefully, and when they came close to him, he fired the cannon, and the dog was seemingly blasted backwards with a whimper.

“And now you’re beating dogs? You monsters! Wicked servants of the vampire!” The mage howled in a crazed rage, and screamed out an incantation. A cone of icy, cold magic erupted from his hands, and blasted out against all of the outcasts.

Wednesday tried to dodge to the side, but only partially succeeded, and was still struck somewhat by the freezing magic. Most of the others had it worse than her. Everyone was hit, but of the seven outcasts, Enid, Eugene, and especially Bianca took the worst of it, and were coated in ice and snow.

Yet it wasn’t the outcasts who took the worst of the blast, but Ireena. Standing frozen in place, Ireena appeared to have become a solid statue of ice.

Wednesday saw this, and her expression became alarmed as she scanned the frozen battlefield for Maddie. To her dismay, Wednesday spotted a small frozen statue holding its arms out… and then couldn’t hold back a relieved saw as she realized the statue was Mr. Grustug, holding his doll arms out protectively in front of Maddie, who had been more or less shielded from the blast.

Darting forward, Wednesday took a stab at the mage, but even at close range her knife was deflected again off the purple shield. Thing pounced out of her pack and tried to grab the wizard, but he likewise bounced off the shield. Pugsley had better luck though, once again his sonic cannon was able to blast the mage backwards.

“Ireena!” Xavier called out in dismay. But he had no time to waste, and following Eugene’s lead, he gave up on escaping the webs and fired an arrow at the mage. The arrow slipped past the mage’s shield and lodged itself in one of their enemy’s legs, and the wizard let out a cry of pain.

“Damn it!” Bianca cursed, but she could tell now her siren song wouldn't affect the mage. So she tried something different. “Dog, attack the wizard!”

“Ha, that will never work!” The mage called back. “I made my hound to be completely faithful to OUCH!” The wizard screamed as his invisible dog sunk his teeth into his already wounded leg.

Samuel and Enid broke free of the webbing then and ran for the mage. Samuel got there first and sliced into him twice with his katana, slicing bloody gashes into the mage’s chest. Eugene meanwhile was able to shoot another crossbow bolt into the mage, as his bees continued to sting the outcast’s foe.

“Nitwit! Blubber! ESCAPE!” The wizard screamed, turning into mist and reappearing a short way away from the outcasts. He then turned into a falcon and flew off, and just like that, the battle ended as abruptly and randomly as it had begun.

“Ireena!” Bianca cried out, running as best she could across the frozen, collapsing webbing that covered the ground. When she reached her friend, she saw that she was indeed frozen solid. “Help me thaw her out!” She cried out to the others.

Samuel stepped over and pressed an ear against Ireena’s icy chest. “I’m sorry Bianca, it’s no use.” Samuel shook his head sadly. “She isn’t alive in there.”

“Oh no.” Bianca sagged, hugging Ireena to herself as tears began to run down her cheeks.

Wednesday gave Ireena one last look, one that seemed to say “Rest in peace, Ireena Kolyanovich.” Wednesday trudged across the snow and began gathering her stuff. “Hurry, we have to go.” She ordered the others.

“Go? But what about…” Xavier gestured towards Bianca and Ireena.

Wednesday paused. “Xavier, pack her things for her. When we’re ready, we have to go. There’s nothing more we can do for Ireena now.

The group packed all of their gear, and Wednesday left Thing outside her pack. “You’re walking Thing, you need the exercise.” She ordered, putting Maddie’s frozen doll in her pack instead.

The outcasts had no choice but leave Ireena frozen where she was, and moved quickly down the mountain, getting back to the boats and setting off on the lake again. The outcasts were mostly quiet as they went. Yesterday had been difficult, today was even worse.

Instead of swimming alongside the boat this time in her natural siren form, Bianca sat listlessly inside of one. She was grieving and a little frostbitten. The others hadn’t been hit quite as badly as her by the cold magic and had pretty much recovered by the time they reached shore, though they were more tired and weary now than ever. 

The group paused for a short rest on the southern shore of the dark lake, before deciding to follow through with Wednesday’s plan and go back to Vallaki, though they paused to melt Maddie’s doll out of the ice it was encased in, since a block of ice was too heavy to keep carrying around. Then they travelled for a little while before reaching the town, and the smoke grew heavier and more oppressive the closer they came to Vallaki.

Once they were near enough to Vallaki, the outcasts could see that that fire had torn through most of the largely wooden town, and wooden palisades surrounding the town were also in ruins. The fires were mostly out, though here and there small fires still ate the last remains of various buildings. The outcasts stepped quietly into the smoldering town, looking about for signs of life, but they saw no one.

They did, however, hear a certain amount of snarls, growls, and howls, and realized that there must still be wolves wandering about the town.

“So, are we super sure about this?” Eugene asked nervously.

“I think by now we can handle a few wolves.” Samuel replied, and the outcasts crept further past the burned walls of the town and down into Vallaki.

Sneaking down the streets, the first place the outcasts recognized was the orphanage, or what little remained of it. Even the most cold-hearted of the outcasts hoped that the children had made it out alright. Fortunately, the fires hadn’t started anywhere near the orphanage, so they had cause to be optimistic. 

“Hold” Wednesday whispered, spotting two wolves, and a much larger third wolf, sniffing around further down the road. She gestured to the group, and the outcasts got off the street and began slowly creeping around and away from the wolves, through tight rows of charred, smoldering homes.

As they continued on, they came across another place they recognized, the home of Lady Wachter.

“Should we see if anybody is home?” Enid whispered.

Wednesday nodded, and the group pushed their way easily through the burnt doors, and began searching the manor. The house had partially collapsed, and the misty sky was clearly visible through what would have been the roof. The outcasts found no one inside, and at first no one found anything of value that survived, until Wednesday found a set of stairs leading downstairs.

When the group reached the cellar, eight skeletons rose out of the ground and attacked them. The outcasts drew their weapons and demolished the skeletons pretty easily, but they were a bit surprised by the unexpected encounter.

“Why would Lady Watcher have skeletons that attack anyone who enters her basement?” Xavier gasped out when the fight was finished.

“To protect her valuables, obviously.” Wednesday retorted dismissively. Lady Wachter clearly had kept a number of valuables in her basement, mostly books it seemed, which sadly had not survived the fire. The outcasts did find a leather pouch containing over a hundred gold pieces, and Wednesday did find one manuscript that was intact; interestingly was one that had been written by Lady Wachter herself.

“The Devil We Know” Wednesday read, and skimming quickly through the manifesto, Wednesday realized that Lady Wachter was writing about devil worship, and attesting to how it could be a path to wealth, longevity, happiness and success. She tossed the manifesto away, having no real interest in worshiping anything, including devils.

The group came back up the stairs and left the house out the front door. “Where to next…” Xavier started, only to pause in surprise. Three wolves were staring at the group.

If the group hadn’t been so exhausted from everything they’d been through lately, they probably would have been alert enough not to walk into a street filled with hostile wolves. As it was, the wolves growled as their hackles raised, and there was no way to sneak off now. Worse, one of the wolves was monstrously huge.

“Ahhh!” Eugene screamed as one of the wolves pounced him. It knocked him to the ground, and Eugene raised an arm to defend himself as the wolf tried to bite down on his neck. It worked in the sense that Eugene didn’t have his throat bitten into, but the wolf bit down on his arm instead.

“Get off of him!” Enid growled, extending her claws. She lunged and slashed into the wolf, which whimpered in pain and went sprawling off of Eugene.

A second wolf came forward and bit at Enid. Like Eugene, she naturally held an arm out which the second wolf also bit down onto, but even as she yelled in pain, Enid clawed the wolf with her other hand, and it retreated with cuts over its face from where she had scratched it.

Bianca didn’t give the wolf time to recover. She drew her sword and stabbed into the wolf, killing it. Wednesday threw a dagger into the other wolf that Enid had clawed, finishing off that one too.

Xavier meanwhile notched an arrow and fired at the dire wolf as it charged the outcasts. The arrow stuck into the dire wolf, which paused and used its teeth to pull the arrow out of its body. It growled at the outcasts and began approaching them more cautiously.

Samuel charged the dire wolf, but it was faster than he was, bounding around him and continuing towards the other outcasts. Eugene shot an arrow at it with his crossbow, which missed. The wolf paused as it neared the outcasts and howled loudly, calling for reinforcements.

The outcasts knew that more wolves would arrive soon, and fled back into the house. Before fleeing, Eugene shot another arrow at the dire wolf, which hit and slowed the beast down. His swarm also descended onto the wolf, stinging and distracting it.

Once the outcasts were through the door, Pugsley reached into his back and pulled out a metallic wolf trap, throwing it down in the doorway. The dire wolf bounded through the entryway a moment later, only to pause and yelp as one of its front paws was caught in the trap.

Wednesday threw a dagger into one of the dire wolf’s eyes, which sunk into its head and killed it. With a snap, she summoned her dagger back, and the group fled out the back of the house.

“More will be on us any minute.” Bianca panted tiredly. Wednesday picked up Maddie, as the exhausted younger girl struggled to keep up with the fleeing outcasts.

“Don’t worry, I got this.” Eugene assured her, also out of breath. His swarm gathered before him. “Fan out, and report any wolf sightings back to me.” He told his bees, both the live ones and the ghosts, and they spread out over the surrounding area.

With the help of Eugene’s bees, the outcasts were able to avoid the prowling wolves as they travelled down throughout the burnt town.

After a while of carefully creeping through the town, the outcasts came upon the ruins of the shopping district.

“Thing, go with Pugsley.” Wednesday ordered as Thing crawled out of her pack. “I want the two of you and Samuel to loot the shop where we bought silver weaponry.”

“We’ll steal everything that isn’t nailed down.” Pugsley promised her.

“Eugene, Xavier, and Bianca, you go loot the general goods store.” Wednesday continued. “Enid, Maddie and I will go down to the secret store below the Blackwater Tavern. We’ll all meet up in what’s left of the Blue Water Inn when we’re done.”

The other outcasts agreed, and the group split up.

“This place is a disaster.” Pugsley noted as he shifted through the ashes of the hunter’s shop. “Everything’s been destroyed. Fire is pretty fun when it’s still burning, but after it’s done…”

“Chin up dude, there’s got to be some weapons that survived if only we can dig them up.” Samuel said as he shifted through the rubble. “What do we have here?” Samuel lifted up a section of collapsed shelves and found much of the store's merchandise had survived beneath the rubble. “Jackpot.” He grinned with his fangs bared.

“Be nice if they had shopping carts here in Ravenloft.” Pugsley grunted as he and Samuel took as much as they could carry back to the burnt husk of the Blue Water Inn. They had found plenty of hunting and camping gear, some dried rations, and silver-tipped arrows and crossbow bolts.

Eugene, Xavier, and Bianca had not had so much luck. The general store had been thoroughly burnt, and if anything of value had survived the fire initially, it had evidently been looted before they got there.

To their annoyance, what they did find were several zombies, which they had to kill in pitched combat.

“I think that’s the last of them.” Xavier sighed as the last zombie collapsed with an arrow in its head.

“This would be so cool if it wasn’t so terrifying.” Eugene patted himself down, looking for wounds. “Anyone get bitten?”

“I don’t think these are those kind of zombies, the infectious sorts I mean” Bianca put in. Xavier and Eugene gave her deeply suspicious looks. “No, I didn’t get bitten! Just knocked around a bit. Damn things are zombies, they should be a little slower.” she grumbled. 

“You better make sure she’s being honest Xavier.” Eugene said as he went to pick through the remains of the store. 

Xavier stepped over to Bianca. “Can I, uh, inspect you for zombie bites?” he asked haltingly.

Bianca laughed but held up her arms and twirled around slowly. “See, no bites. What are you blushing for?”

“It’s nothing.” Xavier muttered awkwardly, pretending to search the shop again.

Bianca sighed. “Whatever, I’m too tired, too dirty, and I’m in too much pain for this old song and dance right now. There’s nothing left here, so we should get going.”

“Hey” Xavier spoke up. “About Ireena, I really am sorry. I’m always here if you want to talk about it.”

Bianca sighed again. “Thanks Xavier. Now c’mon, let’s go.”

So the outcasts hurried back to the Blue Water Inn before they could encounter any more problems. Eugene stopped as he spotted something in the road “Hey look, it’s that guy who tried to slaughter us all.” He pointed out.

Xavier squinted at the corpse. “Looks like he’s been as thoroughly looted as that store was. Too bad, I bet he had some valuable stuff on him.”

Bianca shrugged. “It’s not like we exactly had time to stop after we killed him. But come on, let’s not loiter out here in the streets. I’m sick of fighting wolves and zombies and shit.”

Xavier, Bianca, and Eugene continued sneaking back to the Blue Water Inn while Wednesday, Enid, and Maddie raided the secret shop beneath a different pub, the Blackwater Inn. The inn was partially burned down, but the shop beneath luckily seemed to be mostly intact, though seemingly abandoned.

Enid chuckled as they stepped down into the hidden shop. “Roomie, why am I not surprised you bought your clothing in a creepy hidden basement?”

“Whereas you purchased the most colorful clothing you could find in a sunny shop run by a sickeningly sweet couple in love.” Wednesday responded dryly. “You do realize your colorful clothing isn’t ideal for sneaking around in?”

“C’mon, that’s why I wear this brown cloak over it when I have to.” Enid gestured to the cloak she was wearing. “Besides, solid, pitch black isn’t actually that stealthy either. I don’t see you rocking camo.” She pointed out.

“And you never will. After all, some fates are worse than death.” Wednesday shuddered. She took three backpacks off the shelf. “We will take some blood wine for Samuel, then take anything else that seems interesting or magical.”

As the group looted the shop, Wednesday found a lantern labeled on the shelf as a “Spectral Lantern.” Apparently, it could reveal the unseen, Wednesday looted it, and also something called the “Masquerade Mask of Shadows” which could be used to disguise oneself.

Enid meanwhile found a set of ornate fingerless gauntlets that contained retractable blades, and something called a “Soulkeeper Amulet”, a jet black amulet that claimed to protect one’s soul from dark magic. Enid put the amulet on straight away because she really liked not having her soul being devoured by darkness, and also tried on the gauntlets while she was at it.

“Look Wednesday, there are toys over there!” Maddie pointed out.

Wednesday’s eyes widened in alarm, suspecting that the kind of toys this shop kept would not be suitable for children. But no, she realized, looking at where Maddie was pointing, the shop really did stock children’s toys, of a suitably macabre quality.

“Go, you can pick out a toy or two, whatever is reasonable to carry.” Maddie ran off when Wednesday allowed it.

“What do you think?” Enid showed off the dark necklace to Wednesday.

“I almost cannot believe my eyes, but it seems you are finally acquiring some actual taste.” Wednesday blinked in surprise. “That is not your usual style. Could it be that you are possessed?”

Enid smiled. “Funny you should say, but that’s kind of why I picked out this necklace. It’s supposed to protect the wearer from dark magic.”

Wednesday considered that, running through her arcane knowledge in her head. “I do not know if protection against dark magic will necessarily prevent possession, but in this world it could be very useful. And it looks good on you.”

Enid turned to one of the store’s mirrors to look at herself. “Black doesn’t normally go with my wardrobe, or my whole entire vibe, but I guess it’s alright. Now I just need to figure out how to work these fingerless gauntlets; supposedly blades come out of them.”

“Very nice.” Wednesday nodded in appreciation. “It’s always smart to fit as many blades into your attire as possible. Let me have a look.”

Wednesday walked over to the mirror and grabbed one of Enid’s hands, examining the gauntlets. She held them up to her eyes and searched them carefully. “Ah, here it is. You simply take your pointer finger” Wednesday held Enid’s finger to demonstrate. “And you run it up this mechanism here.” Wednesday dragged Enid’s finger across a subtle mechanism, which caused a steel blade to stab out of the top of the gauntlet.

Looking at the deadly blade in satisfaction, Wednesday glanced up at Enid in the mirror, who was frozen in place with what seemed to be a blush on her face. Yes, blades could be very attractive, but Wednesday thought that was a rather extreme reaction. Still, she wasn’t one to judge.

Both Wednesday and Enid suddenly felt a hand rest on one of their shoulders, which was rather surprising since they were the only ones visible in the mirror they were facing.

The girls looked back, Wednesday drawing her two daggers in the process, and she wheeled around to find Count Strahd von Zarovich facing them with a fanged grin.

“Wednesday Addams… it really has been far too long.” Strahd smiled.

Wednesday nodded her head slightly. “Enid, this is Count Strahd, Count Strahd, Enid.”

Enid’s eyes widened as her claws extended. “This is that guy that… you know?” she glanced at Wednesday in fear.

“That’s been stalking Ireena, yes.” Wednesday stated boldly, not beating around the bush.

Strahd frowned. “I am aware that you have been travelling with Ireena, and I never did seek to harass or waylay you.”

“Until now it seems.” Wednesday retorted.

“I’m afraid you misunderstand the relationship between Ireena and myself.” Strahd prowled around the shop, idly examining what was on the shelves and racks as he spoke. “I believed that she had feelings for me, she even allowed me to bite her twice before. I’m sure she cared for me, but her brother and her father poisoned her against me. The men in her family were obsessed with protecting her “virtue”.

Wednesday examined him carefully, but he was even harder to read than he had been back when they had first met. It was clear the Count wouldn’t reveal anything he didn’t want to show in his expression. “You understand that I won’t believe you over the girl who says you’re stalking her?” Wednesday glared at him stonily.

“Why would I “understand” that? I have been nothing but good to your family, I house your parents in a fine manor for free.” Strahd retorted, and Enid looked at Wednesday in surprise as this new information was revealed to her.

“It isn’t for free if the price is Ireena.” Wednesday answered firmly. Not that she could deliver a living Ireena to Strahd anyway…

“And I would not ask you to do so. Although Ireena loved me once, it is clear that she doesn’t feel for me any longer. I merely wish to apologize to her for the hardship she has so needlessly endured, and then I will be on my way.” Strahd turned back to face Wednesday and Enid as he declared his intentions.

“What a shockingly reasonable sentiment coming from an all-powerful tyrant.” Wednesday said with a hint of sarcasm. She briefly considered going to “fetch Ireena”, disappearing into the racks, donning her new Masquerade Mask of Shadows, and turning into Ireena, since the mask could supposedly be used to magically disguise oneself. But she wasn’t sure what the mask, or Strahd, was capable of yet, and she didn’t like attempting tricks if she wasn’t reasonably sure that they would work. Besides, it seemed like a poor way to repay Strahd for what he had done for her family. She owed him the truth at least.

“She’s on the side of the mountain above Lake Zarovich. An insane wizard froze her with ice magic, and she’s still frozen there, dead.” Wednesday paused. “I am sorry.” She added, because somehow Bianca had taught her to be marginally more tactful, in rare instances.

Strahd froze, his face contorting into grief and shock. “Dead! No, no no, NO! Not again! A wizard… but I killed him….”

The shadows deepened around Strahd as his eyes began to burn red. “You…” he glared at Wednesday. “YOU LET TATYANA DIE!”

Tatyana? Wednesday didn’t have time to be confused though, as Strahd raised clawed hands, darkness swirling around him, and moved at Wednesday so quickly even she didn’t have time to react. He slashed at her with a clawed hand, and she managed to partially dodge the blow, but his claws still grazed her side. But she wasn’t able to dodge his second swipe with his other hand, and his claws tore gashes into her body. She felt a dark, deathly energy attacking her from where his claws cut her, but something about her heritage as an Addams allowed her to partially resist the damaging effects of the necrotic black magic.

Wednesday had been prepared for this to go south, and tried to splash the bottle of holy water she had been carrying in his face. Strahd dodged backwards with a snarl to avoid the water, and Wednesday grabbed Enid’s hand and ran.

Strahd was hot on the girl’s heels, and as she ran, Wednesday spotted a mirror with a curtain over it, with a sign that read “Do not unveil.” Low on options, Wednesday tore the black veil off of the tarnished silver mirror, which bore cracks that revealed confusing, otherworldly reflections. In a split second, the cracks began to extend off of the mirror and into the air around the shop.

Enid suddenly let go of Wednesday’s hand. No, not Enid… Wednesday looked over and saw, Cousin Itt? “Cousin Itt, what are you doing here?” Wednesday asked, confused. Cousin Itt babbled back.

“Mother?” Enid answered Wednesday, seeing her own mother. Enid stepped back in alarm.

“Oh Enid, trapped in a world full of monsters, and you still haven’t transformed. I believe we’ll have to send you to camp again this summer, maybe they can straighten you out.” Enid’s mother, Esther sighed.

“No, this isn’t real.” Enid shook her head.

“Brother?” Count Strahd asked. “My own precious brother!” He joyfully ran over to Wednesday, cupping her face. “But what are you doing with Tatyana!” He glanced over at Enid.

Strahd’s eyes flared red once again. “Tatyana is mine! My love! My Darling!” Strahd gripped Wednesday’s head tighter and tighter, and she struggled futilely to get the powerful vampire to release her.

“Let her go!” Maddie shouted, and with a muttered incantation, the same dark magic she had struck Van Richten with the day before was cast on Strahd. He snarled as the magic washed over him, but soon recovered.

“Sergei… Brother” He hissed, and then Wednesday shoved garlic into his face, suspecting that the person who, to her, appeared to be her last therapist, was really Count Strahd.

Strahd coughed and choked, and Wednesday grabbed Enid again, who still looked like Cousin Itt, and Maddie too. Looking at Maddie, she now appeared to be a small, deranged looking hag. They ran through the shop, circling around for the entrance, and as she moved away from the mirror, the illusions faded. 

A patch of mist swirled before the girls, and reformed into Strahd before their eyes. He picked up Enid and Maddie, and tossed them roughly away. Maddie landed in a rack of clothing, and Enid hit one of the store’s walls hard. Then he turned to Wednesday.

Wednesday stabbed her silver dagger into Strahd’s gut, then jumped back and held the dagger out in front of her defensively.

It made no difference. Even being stabbed with a silver dagger didn’t seem to bother the dark lord. Strahd grabbed for Wednesday, who tried to dodge away, but the vampire was quicker. He seized Wednesday, and lifted her slightly up into the air. “You should have protected my love.” He hissed, and bit his fangs into Wednesday’s neck. She stabbed her dagger at Strahd, but couldn’t generate enough force to sink her dagger into the vampire again. She wracked her mind, trying to think of a way out of this, but there seemed to be no escape as the blood drained from her body. 

A dazed, disoriented Enid began to pull herself up. A glowing, multicolored orb rested a pedestal before. “Ooh, pretty.” The concussed girl muttered, as she reached up and touched the glowing orb.

Flashing, neon colored lights lit up the room. The rainbow of light was absolutely blinding, Wednesday and even Enid winced at the sudden bright light. Strahd’s reaction was even more dramatic, he dropped Wednesday and stumbled backwards clutching his face.

He was still blocking the entrance they had been running towards, so Wednesday wheeled around, grabbed Maddie, and ran deeper into the shop, with Enid darting after her. Strahd ran after them, then stopped and spoke an incantation. A ray of sickly green energy flew from his hand and struck Enid. Enid screamed in pain, but her black Soulkeeper Amulet flared with a burst of purple arcane energy, and she was protected from the worst of Strahd’s spell.

Enid stumbled from the impact of the dark spell, but kept running alongside Wednesday, who spotted another interesting item resting on a pedestal. It was a crystal ball, but with lightning arcing throughout the inside of it. Willing to try anything at this point, she grabbed the ball and tossed it back at Strahd, who was rapidly gaining on the girls. Then she threw her steel dagger into the ball as it neared the vampire.

The orb shattered as Wednesday dagger impacted it. Lightning exploded from the orb, engulfing Strahd, who cried out in rage and pain. Wednesday led Enid and Maddie into an especially large rack of especially dark clothing, and they hid away in the darkness, trying to stay absolutely still.

The girls heard an angry snarl, another incantation, and then a fireball flew through the air. Fortunately, it didn’t strike near to the girls, but it did light some of the room on fire.

“I have no time for games, I must go to Ireena!” Strahd bellowed. “But don’t think you will escape me so easily. I’ve commanded every wolf in this town to hunt you down.” And with that, Strahd turned into a bat and flew off. 

Wednesday waited for a moment to be sure, then pulled Enid and Maddie up. “Come, we dropped our packs right over here. We’ll grab them and then escape, quickly.”

The shell-shocked girls followed Wednesday, grabbed their packs, with Wednesday also snapping her fingers to summon her steel dagger back into her hand, and they ran up the stairs and out of the burning shop.

“Wolves are coming here, and quickly. I can sense them.” Enid whispered.

“We must stay out of the streets, and pass through burnt buildings and back alleys.”  Wednesday decided.  They stepped quietly into the burnt out husk of a neighboring building, moving silently through the ashes.

The trio snuck through the burnt remains of town, careful to avoid the wolves they could hear in the distance prowling throughout the town. They did alright at first as they crept carefully in the direction of the Blue Water Inn, but a tired Maddie soon began breathing heavily, and what little skill she had at sneaking around seemed to fail her. Wolves began sniffing around closer to the group, and then, through the burnt remains of a building, one spotted Enid’s colorful self.

The wolf howled and ran at the girls, who gave up on stealth and instead broke into a full sprint.

The three girls managed to keep ahead of the wolf for a moment, but Maddie soon began to lag behind, and the wolf caught up with her quickly. Wednesday turned and threw a dagger back at the wolf, which sunk into its skull. She summoned it back and grabbed Maddie, and the three of them kept running as answering wolf howls echoed from nearby. The rest of the wolves were closing in.

The Blue Water Inn came into view, and the girls saw the rest of their group disappearing into its entrance. They had no choice but to race out onto open ground, running across the street as fast as they could for the inn. Wolves emerged from nearby streets, and began running towards the sprinting outcasts. It was a race to finish, and the wolves were closing in from all sides.

The other outcasts noticed the commotion and stepped out towards the trio, preparing to do battle. The wolves got closer and closer still… and then the girls had reached the other outcasts. Wednesday and Enid spun around to do battle with the couple dozen wolves and dire wolves that were nearly upon them now.

The cawing of birds echoed throughout the streets, and ravens filled the sky. Among the swarm of seemingly regular ravens, were larger raven hybrid creatures, the same beings that had helped the outcasts back at the town square during the festival. The wolves snarled up at the ravens, and tooth, talons, and claws clashed as the two forces met in battle, and began tearing into each other.

The outcasts prepared to join the battle themselves, but the wolves were quickly driven back, and retreated hastily into different side streets, soon disappearing from view.

The smaller ravens dispersed, while the raven-people began to circle the outcasts. Two of them flew down, and transformed before the outcast's eyes. They were Urwin and Danika, the married couple that ran the Blue Water Inn. “I’m guessing they have a few questions, dear.” Danika grinned at her husband.

“I suspect so.” Urwin nodded. “Let’s get inside, if you can call the burned out shell of my business “inside”. We have much to discuss." 

Chapter Text

The outcasts found themselves back in the Blue Water Inn, though before the inn had been a cozy and warm place, it was now a destroyed ruin of a building. They gathered around the still intact bar to speak with Urwin, whereas the rest of the raven-people had flown off to continue doing whatever they had been up to before they had fought off Strahd’s army of wolves and direwolves.

Urwin pulled up a stool and sat down heavily in it, a tired look on his face. “So, now you know our great secret, and everything is out in the open. Me and my family are wereravens, similar to werewolves, but with greater levels of self-control, less innate savagery. We felt we could trust you with this knowledge, because we’ve seen the good you’ve done in Vallaki, and especially because you saved my family’s winery for little reward.”

Bianca nodded with an interested look. “I’ve never heard of wereravens before, but I’m glad we ran into you. Thank you for helping us back during the festival, and again today.”

“We do what we can to protect the innocent in these lands. Especially from the devil Strahd.” Urwin nodded.

“So, what will you all do now?” Xavier asked. “We owe you our lives, and we’ll help if we can.” He volunteered on behalf of the whole group.

“Right now, we’re busy tracking down the survivors of the destruction of Vallaki, and bringing them to the Wizard of Wines winery. We can’t support even the reduced population of the town there, but our hope is to build new homes, and new farms, in the lands around the winery. To build a new town for the survivors. The other towns are too small, too poor, and too carefully controlled to accept any significant number of refugees, so we have no choice but to start over. We’ve named the town Usherwood, though so far it's just a collection of tents outside of the winery.”

Building a new town wasn’t interesting to Wednesday, but the wereravens did have local knowledge she needed. “Urwin, your family mentioned that they had been attacked by a witch, Baba Lysaga. We learned during the battle that a couple of night hags that we’ve fought twice now are in league with her. What can you tell us about them?”

Urwin’s expression, never cheery, turned even grimmer still. “Baba Lysaga is a powerful witch, and ancient too. Not much is known about her, she lives in the isolated ruins south of here. The hovel she lives in is no mere shack, but is in truth a dangerous, living, magical creature.  Animated, monstrous scarecrows do her bidding. And ever since my family began trying to oppose the rule of Strahd, Baba Lysaga and her scarecrows have been targeting us.”

“So you want to overthrow Count Strahd?” Pugsley asked. “He seemed alright when we met him, though we did try to save a woman he was stalking.”

“He didn’t seem so great when he tried to murder me and Wednesday five minutes ago.” Enid disagreed strongly.

“Wait, what?” Bianca asked flatly. 

“Strahd just attacked Enid and myself, after finding out that Ireena had been killed. He was the one who sent all those wolves after us.” Wednesday explained.

The group stared in shock at Wednesday and Enid. Enid nodded and elaborated “We didn’t have time to explain with the wolves and the wereravens and stuff. Damn this has been a shitty couple of days…”

“That monster tried to kill you, and you survived?” Urwin asked incredulously.

Wednesday gave him an annoyed, deadpan look. “Clearly.” She recalled Strahd biting into her neck and lifted her hand to touch the bite marks. “Admittedly, it was looking grim for a moment.” She also flashbacked to Strahd striking her with his vampiric claws. Oh, those wounds were still bleeding? Huh.

“I must stitch myself up again.” Wednesday excused herself, with a quiet Maddie trailing after her.

“It was kinda rough.” Enid stood up also. “We only survived because Strahd was so thirsty he flew off to stalk a girl who’s been frozen solid.” She left to go see if she could help Wednesday.

Urwin knocked back a glass of wine. “This is most unsettling news. You have all made a deadly enemy on this day. Still, perhaps we can help each other. Baba Lysaga is our enemy and yours, once we have saved all the survivors we can find, perhaps we can defeat her together.” He proposed.

“We’ll talk it over as a group.” Bianca decided. “But that sounds like a deal to me.”

The outcasts did end up agreeing to the deal that the wereravens proposed, Wednesday only doing so reluctantly. But the surviving hags that had kidnapped Maddie seemed determined to reclaim her, so Wednesday would take what allies she could get. That same night, Wednesday and Pugsley contacted their parents via crystal ball to warn them that Strahd may be dangerous to the entire Addams Family. But even though they were staying in a small manor provided to them by the Dark Lord, Strahd never did come after Gomez and Morticia in the ensuing weeks. 

The outcasts spent most of a week tracking down survivors of the destruction of Vallaki, and although they helped the wereravens find many people, they didn't come across anyone that they had known well from Vallaki, including the other outcasts that had been staying in town. 

To Wednesday, it was pure drudgery spending days tracking down frightened villagers, herding them like sheep to the wereravens home while protecting them from Strahd’s wolves, Baba Lysaga's scarecrows, and other random horrors. And it was especially tiresome helping to build rudimentary homes for them to live in. The new town, Usherwood, was still less a town and more a primitive refugee camp, but it was a start.

Wednesday considered the alliance with the wereravens a necessity, but it only cemented her recent decision to leave her new career as a travelling mercenary behind. Usually, instead of helping to build farms and homes during the day, she preferred to volunteer to keep watch over the new town at night. Ravenloft was a dangerous enough place that it was always necessary to have the new town patrolled from all sides during the night.

About a week after the outcasts were saved by the wereravens, the moon was nearly full, and Wednesday and Enid were patrolling around the village.

“I was surprised you offered to join me tonight, Enid. You never struck me as much of a night owl.” Even Wednesday got bored enough to make small talk on rare occasion, though she still made sure to keep a careful eye on their surroundings for any sign of danger.

“Well, it was either this or helping to build a town, or plant crops. I guess I never realized how much I hated manual labor until I tried it.” Enid rubbed the back of her head sheepishly and glanced up at the moon. “This is much better.”

“As it happens, I agree.” Wednesday nodded. “I believe we have fulfilled our side of the deal with the wereravens so far. Tomorrow, I will speak with them about our attack on Baba Lysaga and the hags.”

“Yay, more violence.” Enid muttered. “Guess I’m used to it by now. At least Maddie will be safe when the hags are dealt with. I wonder why they’re coming after her like that?”

“Hags are famously spiteful, night hags even more so. Night Hags aren’t dark fey like normal hags, but are in truth fiends, like devils or demons.” Wednesday explained.

Enid glanced up again at the moon. “In a few more days it will be full now… maybe this time…” she whispered.

Wednesday paused and turned to Enid. “Enid, I have my thoughts on that. Back in our world, people are raised with unrealistic views of themselves and society. They are told they are special, capable of anything, and they should accept themselves for the way they are.”

“Ya, that sounds about right.” Enid nodded. “This is going to be a serious talk isn’t it? You know most of our classmates prefer to communicate in memes, right?”

Wednesday ignored that. “It’s important that us outcasts accept ourselves for who we are, yes, but being born different does not mean much on its own. What matters is what you do with it. If you intend to get what you want, you have to strive for it.”

“You don’t think I’ve tried to transform!” Enid yelled, suddenly angry and offended. “Were you always this condescending? Of course I tried, I wanted so badly to fit in with the rest of my family! My parents sent me to damn doctors!” Enid finished with tears in her eyes.

“No Enid, I don’t blame you for not transforming before now. Our world is a tamed one. No doctor, or summer camp, or whatever nonsense your parents tried could have ever helped you.” Wednesday remained calm. “This world is different. Here you’ve fought, you’ve bled, and you’ve survived. I expect that you will transform soon.”

Enid was taken aback, and held her arms around herself. “Do you really think I can do it?”

“We are survivors, Enid. I have full faith in your ability to turn into a violent, monstrous beast.” Wednesday assured her.

Enid laughed. “Thanks Wednesday, I think that’s the nicest thing you’ve ever said to me, you weirdo.”

Wednesday thought back. Way, way back. “That may have been the nicest thing I’ve ever said to anyone.” Being in a group really was having a dubious effect on her. All the more reason to go independent soon, before she became as sentimental as her parents.

Enid was blissfully unaware of Wednesday's inner conflict. “For what it’s worth, I have faith in you too. You’ve led our group through some tough times. I don’t know how you did it, but you were always a stone-cold little badass through it all.”

“Little?” Wednesday narrowed her eyes.

“That’s what you took away from that? I mean, ya. You are so tiny. Were you hoping people wouldn’t notice?” Enid teased.

 Wednesday paused. “Silence” she ordered.

“Whoa, I was just kidd… hmmff” Enid was cut off as Wednesday put a hand over her mouth.

Wednesday peered carefully into the dark woods nearby. She let go of Enid and drew her silver dagger, which gleamed in the moonlight.

With screeching war cries, Baba Lysaga’s scarecrows ran out of the woods, claws extended as they charged Wednesday and Enid.

As the scarecrows approached, Enid sank into a defensive crouch, then sprang forward, and lashed out against the leading scarecrow. Instead of attacking with her claws, Enid activated the gauntlets she had looted in Vallaki, and deadly hidden blades sprang out of them. The scarecrow reeled backwards as Enid nearly slashed it in two with the blades; then Wednesday threw a dagger through it, finishing it off.

Then the rest of the scarecrows were upon Enid. She dodged one strike, and blocked another, but the force of the blow sent the girl tumbling to the ground. Frantically, she crawled and dodged away from blows that two of the remaining three scarecrows attempted to rain down upon her.

The third scarecrow ran for Wednesday, and tried to slash her with its claws. Wednesday had already been an expert in multiple martial arts, and her skill in combat had only grown since she arrived in Ravenloft. She dodged the scarecrow's strikes easily while stabbing into it with her silver dagger.

Unfortunately, the two scarecrows that had been trying to kill Enid eventually pinned her down. One grabbed her and held her, while the other stabbed her side and her shoulder with its clawed hands.

Alerted by Enid’s pained scream, Wednesday tripped the scarecrow she was fighting with a sweeping kick and jumped away from it, and threw her dagger into the scarecrow that was hurting Enid. She was relieved when it stumbled away from Enid with a snarling hissing noise.

Enid was still in the grasp of one of the scarecrows, and was kicking and fighting hard to free herself. With an angry yell, Enid’s claws extended further as the back of her hands became covered in fur. Her jaw contorted and extended, becoming inhuman in appearance as it elongated. Her teeth grew and sharpened in her now misshapen jaw. She didn't transform further than that, but Enid looked a lot more menacing now than she ever had before.

With an inhuman snarl of rage, Enid broke free of the scarecrow that was grappling her, then spun around rapidly and sank her teeth into it. Enid shook the scarecrow in the air, and straw flew everywhere as the screaming scarecrow was torn apart. The other nearby scarecrow attempted to save its wrecked ally, but Enid drove it back by swiping one of her paws at it as she finished off the enemy in her teeth.

Wednesday was distracted from the awe-inspiring sight as her opponent got back on its feet and tried to attack her, forcing her to dodge to the side. She drove her dagger into it and ran it upwards through the scarecrow’s torso, neck, and head, tearing it in half.

Enid’s remaining enemy had managed to slash her again with its claws, but that only made the partially transformed Enid angrier. She tore into its chest with her claws, shoved it to the ground, and then pounced on it, and tore the scarecrow apart.

Retaining a bit of caution, Wednesday was enraptured as she approached her feral roommate. Enid spat straw and buttons out of her mouth as she glanced up at Wednesday with wild, rage-filled eyes.

A manic smile pulled at Wednesday’s lips. “Now do you understand my meaning, Enid?”

Enid seemed to calm as she stood up, and slowly began reverting back into her usual self with a look of wide-eyed wonder. She had been able to extend her claws for ages now, and her canine teeth for a while, but she had never partially transformed like that before.

It was a momentous occasion, and it didn’t go unobserved. In the nearby woods, a crouching werewolf observed what it saw with interest, then creeped away further into the dark forest.

In a dimly lit dining hall after dark, the group of outcasts sat together around a large table. The flickering candlelight cast eerie shadows on the walls, giving the place an otherworldly feel. Plates of food, glasses of mysterious liquids, and a sense of camaraderie filled the air.

The Vallakians that the outcasts and wereravens had rescued were living in a hastily constructed shanty town around the winery; but the outcasts were in the winery having a late dinner. Wednesday Addams, her face as emotionless as ever, pushed around the food on her plate. She glanced at Maddie, the strange and honestly creepy kid she had taken under her wing. "You're getting better at chopping jellied eels," Wednesday said, a rare hint of warmth in her voice. Maddie beamed, feeling proud of herself. For Wednesday’s part, she was eating fermented fish heads. The group in general was eating whatever had been drawn out of the nearby river, though most of them preferred more traditional fare than the Addams and Maddie. 

“As fun as this has been, I think we’ve done about enough manual labor and do-gooding.” Samuel pointed out. “The wereravens promised to help us kill the hags and their master, I say tomorrow we hold them to that.”

Maddie tensed, pushing her jellied eels around on her plate with a distracted look.

Wednesday nodded slowly. “That is my intention. I do not get excited, but I am most… eager to settle matters with those two.”

“What will we do after that?” Eugene spoke with his mouth full. “Some cool new adventure?”

Wednesday's stoic demeanor seemed to grow heavier. With a deep breath, she spoke up. "It will then be safe to leave Maddie with my parents. After that, I’m going my own way." Her words hung in the air, like a sudden chill.

Enid, who had been laughing with Bianca just moments ago, slammed her palms on the table and stood up abruptly. "What? You can't just leave us like that!" The look in her eyes held a mix of anger and hurt.

Bianca, always one to seize the opportunity, chimed in. "I guess we should have seen this coming. After everything we’ve been through, you still think you’re better off playing the badass loner?”

Pugsley grabbed Eugene’s shoulder and dragged him down beneath the table, preparing for knives to start flying.

Wednesday's expression remained unchanged, but her voice carried a certain determination. "I never said we would be allies forever. And I’m not playing at anything." Her words cut through the tension like a blade.

Enid's frustration boiled over. “Allies?!? Are you fucking serious right now!" and she stormed out of the winery in a rage.

Xavier gave Wednesday a disappointed look, which was much more likely to provoke Wednesday into drawing her knives than Bianca’s sarcastic commentary. “You should go after her Wednesday. We have so many enemies lately, we’ve agreed to the buddy system, remember?” 

“I would much rather die than agree to participate in anything called a “buddy system.”” she bit out. But she did push back her chair which screeched violently across the floor and stood up, her braided hair swaying slightly as she stalked out of the dining hall. Wednesday flung open the front door, calling out to Enid's retreating figure.

"Enid, stop this.” Wednesday called out to Enid with a huff. ‘Teenagers’ she thought sourly, and rather hypocritically, as a goth teenager who was in rebellion against her mother.  

Enid began to turn, but before she could fully face Wednesday, chaos erupted. A sudden frenzy of movement, growls, and snarls filled the night. Werewolves, their eyes gleaming with primal hunger, burst out from the shadows and attacked without warning.

Wednesday's reflexes kicked in, and she tried to fend them off. Her silver dagger lashed out rapidly as she danced between raging wolves, and streaks of blood splattered throughout the air. But one swift blow sent her crashing to the floor. As her vision blurred and darkness closed in, she caught one last glimpse of Enid, overwhelmed by the ferocious onslaught of the werewolves, limp and bleeding, being dragged away into the night.

The rest of the outcasts stormed out of the winery, weapons drawn; but it was too late. The werewolves had fled out into the woods, and Enid was gone.

“Ouch, what the shit?” Enid groaned as she woke up in darkness. Two beady yellow eyes stared down at her, and Enid yelped and backed up against the stone wall.

A hairy, mean looking man sneered down at her. “Show some spine pup. You’re one of the Barovian Pack now, a fearsome killer, slayer of heroes and devourer of the innocent!”

“Um, did I miss an episode?” Enid asked, scooting away further, clutching her head.

“I am Kiril Stoyanovich, the alpha of this pack and Count Strahd’s most loyal killer.” Kiril grinned as he followed her across the cave floor.

“Ugh, “alpha”, are you one of those werewolves?” Enid groaned. “You know that alpha stuff is mostly bullshit right? Real wolf packs in the wild…”

“Silence!” Kiril roared. “I am the alpha, and my pack grows by the day!” he grinned evilly, gesturing across the cave. Two young werewolves wearing rags, a boy and a girl, glared in muted anger at Kiril.

“Cody, Jo?” Enid asked, gasping in surprise as she noticed the other Outcasts. “How did you two get here?”

“Same way you did, I reckon.” Jo shrugged as she kept a wary gaze fixed on Kiril. “We got transported for no reason to this sunless hellscape, an army of racists destroyed our school, and we wandered around trying not to starve until our dear alpha here violently recruited us into his pack.”

“We’re so grateful.” Cody sourly assured Kiril.

Kiril noticed the fine, if abnormally colorful, leather attire that Enid was wearing, and the rags that Cody and Jo had on. “It looks like one of you has done better for yourself than the others. How is it you have come to do so much better than your friends, little girl?”

Enid glared up at him defiantly. “It’s because I’ve been killing monsters.” she threatened.

Kiril chuckled. “Very impressive, you are surely my most promising recruit yet. But a pup will not become a wolf until they’ve killed and eaten their first hero. Luckily for you, our Lord and Master Count Strahd enjoys luring heroes from other worlds into Barovia to toy with them. And many outsiders have appeared in Barovia in recent times. I’m sure you’ll have your opportunity soon enough, to kill, or to be killed.”

Kiril pointed to Jo and Cody. “Dogs, show your new packmate here around the den, and introduce her to her betters. And girl, know that you are free to wonder throughout the den, but the moment you step outside of it, you’ll be mauled and dragged back inside, perhaps in one piece, perhaps not.”

Cody and Jo helped Enid to her feet and took her away from the hairy bastard. Things looked grim, but Enid didn’t give up hope. Her friends would be here soon enough.

Pain, my dear old friend, Wednesday smiled slightly as she gradually came back to consciousness, sore and battered. She quickly assessed herself and realized she had been bandaged up, with a medical balm applied to her various cuts and gashes. She was lying in a bed in the winery.

Then Wednesday remembered why she was in pain, and her small smile was replaced with an angry frown. She had a whole bunch of werewolves that she needed to skin.

Pugsley cleared his throat from across the room. “Er, that was exciting, right?” he asked as he sprinkled some silver dust into a cauldron. Sitting on a shelf next to the cauldron were a series of vials, empty for the moment, but which were helpfully labeled “Wolf Repellent.”

“More like infuriating.” Wednesday scowled. “One would think that werewolves would not be so cowardly as to plan an ambush. How disappointing.”

Pugsley stirred the cauldron and gave her an encouraging look “If I were going up against you, I wouldn’t want to face you in a straight fight either.”

“How surprisingly wise of you, little brother.” Wednesday tried to smirk, but she couldn’t seem to stop frowning. Her hands were clenched into fists, and thoughts of bloody violence raged in her mind.

Urwin walked in then, and gave the cauldron Pugsley was brewing an assessing look. “That’s very clever, but it won’t be enough. Strahd’s werewolf pack is one of the most lethal forces in Barovia, with much experience in battle. I’m afraid as you are, you won’t stand a chance against Kiril Stoyanovich and his pack in open combat." 

“Stoyanovich serves Strahd... you’re saying the Count is behind this?” Wednesday grit her teeth.

She supposed the vampire was still upset about the dead girl who he had been stalking. And instead of taking it out on the insane wizard who had frozen Ireena solid, he was deciding to take it out on Wednesday and Enid. Love made people so irrational, Wednesday thought, as she daydreamed about plunging a stake through his heart and rescuing Enid from his Castle of Evil.

“Hmm, perhaps.” Urwin mused. “Much of the evil that occurs in Barovia can be traced back to that devil, but even he cannot be responsible for everything that goes wrong. The truth is, it has not escaped my notice that Enid is a werewolf. As a wereraven, I recognized her lycanthropic curse right away, unrealized though it may be. It’s possible that old Stoyanovich recognized a young werewolf, and decided she belonged in his pack.”

Wednesday thought about that and nodded. “I am going to murder Kiril Stoyanovich.” she promised in a flat, cold voice.

“Yet the pack cannot be challenged lightly. And as you know, our enemy the Witch has been sending her scarecrows constantly to harass us. We cannot leave the civilian refugees that have settled on our lands undefended.”

“So after everything we did for you, you will not assist us in extracting Enid?” Wednesday glared.

“Actually, there is something we can do. To begin with, I know where the werewolves' den is, and can draw you a map to that place. We can offer you a couple of magical healing potions. But as I said, you cannot defeat them as you are in a fair fight. Yet you have proven yourselves to be allies to our flock. I would not normally make this offer to an outsider, but you have our trust and our gratitude. Wednesday Addams, what would you do to save your comrade?”

“I would kill for her. I would....” Wednesday trailed off, regaining some control over her emotions. “I’ll do what I must.”

Urwin nodded, and Pugsley grinned as he tossed anthrax into his cauldron of wolf repellent.

The next morning, things went from bad to worse in the werewolf den. Yet another outcast had been captured, a senior werewolf from Nevermore named Roman.

“You know, I’ve been thinking.” Kiril leered down at the outcasts. “I have so many new members of my pack, but they are untested. And if I suddenly had only one new pack member instead of four, well, there are plenty more werewolf pups lost in the woods, just waiting for me to bring them into the fold.”

More of Strahd’s wolves joined Kiril, and they grabbed the outcasts and marched them outside of the cave. Enid realized she was high up on a mountain, the cave entrance had led out onto a wide, rocky ledge on the side of the mountain. A twenty-foot-diameter ring of stones dominated the ledge, and within the ring, she saw spattered blood and small, gnawed bones. Lying on the ground outside the circle were several spears stained with dry blood.

The whole pack seemed to gather as Kiril and his minions shoved the outcasts into the ring. “Now, I know you pups haven’t yet learned to transform during the day yet, not to worry, the darkness of Barovia will provide.” Kiril monologued. “But for now, you’ll be wanting these.”

Kiril and his goons tossed four spears into the ring, one for each outcast.

“The last wolf standing will receive the honor of serving the mighty Count Strahd for the rest of your life, and forever after too. The losers will serve as sustenance to the strong.”

The outcasts stared at each other in horror. “Fuck” Roman muttered “It’s the werewolf Hunger Games.”

“Not to worry, we won’t be hungry for long.” Kiril licked his lips. “Fight. Kill. Survive.”

Enid raised her hand. “Um, maybe it’s stupid to admit this, but I’m fully against joining your mangy pack in your dirty den. Can I sit this one out?”

Kiril ignored her.

“Pack leader, please reconsider.” One of the werewolves tried to reason with the self-proclaimed alpha wolf. “Our pack will grow large, grow strong, if we do not needlessly waste the lives of these pups.”

“We’ve been over this Emil.” Kiril sighed. “Only the strong deserve to live. I won’t have our pack weighed down by weaklings.”

“Please” Emil tried “They are kin to us in a way. They could be valued pack members if you give them all a chance.”

“Spoken like a true weakling.” Kiril snarled. He and two of his goons grabbed Emil, dragged him over to the side of the cliff, and without ceremony, threw him off the mountain.

“No, Emil!” cried a dark-skinned, female werewolf. 

“Do you want to join your mate, Zuleika?” Kiril asked. “Then shut up and watch these brats kill each other.”

The four outcasts stared at each other in hopeless indecision, before Roman bent down and picked up his spear. Cody and Jo looked at each other and nodded, also picking up their spears and standing back to back.

“Not going to fight Enid?” Roman asked quietly. “That’s fine, you were never a real wolf anyway, so why try now? Or do you still believe we can avoid this fight?”

Enid sighed. “I’d like to, but I’ve been in Barovia long enough to know that we can’t.” she snatched up her spear and faced down her fellow outcasts.

Chapter Text

It was a fight to the death, and Roman wasted worryingly little time in trying to kill his classmates. Seeing that Jo and Cody were obviously teaming up, and dismissing Enid as being no threat, he immediately charged the two of them.

Roman charged them and stabbed his spear into the nearest target, which was Jo. She was saved from being speared through the torso when the spear went through her arm she blocked it with instead, and she let out a pained scream.

Enid ran forward and tried to spear Roman in the back, figuring that he had picked up his spear first, so he had started this fight in a sense. She knew the smart move would be to help Roman face Jo and Cody, but Roman had pissed her off, and she didn’t like seeing poor Jo get stabbed through the arm.

Roman seemed to see her out of the corner of his eye and tried to sidestep her thrust, but the spear still cut a bloody gash through his side.

Cody snarled and stabbed into Roman's leg, and the senior student let out a pained howl. Tears in her eyes, Jo managed to stay on her feet and tried to stab into Roman, but he managed to dodge that blow.

Roman knew things were looking bad, Enid had unexpectedly grown a spine, but had lost her wit in the bargain and wasn’t helping him face down the two allied werewolves. But Roman couldn’t retreat, so he decided to finish off the wounded target. He stabbed his spear into Jo again, and she collapsed to the ground with a cry, but was still alive.

Enid remembered transforming her hands and teeth just recently when she and Wednesday had fought Baba Lysaga’s scarecrows, and tried desperately to transform again, but it wasn’t coming to her. With a cry of rage, she stabbed Roman again, who fell into his knees but held up his spear to guard himself.

Cody was beyond angry now, and tried to spear Roman through the heart, but Roman deflected Cody’s spear away with his own weapon, maintaining a guarded position against Cody and Enid. However, he failed to realize that Jo was not out of the fight. Jo crawled forward, pulled back her arm, and tossed her spear straight through Roman’s body.

Roman gasped and collapsed to the ground, and died on the rocky mountain top as werewolves hollered and howled in the audience, aside from a few who kept quiet in displeasure.

“Jo, you’re badly hurt, play dead now.” Enid whispered to her. “And you play dead too Cody, after I stab you.”

“Sorry Enid.” Cody apologized as he readied his spear. “No can do.”

Enid struck first and managed to graze Cody with the tip of her spear. Enid dodged away from Cody’s strike, as Jo pulled her blood-soaked spear out of Roman’s body.

Enid struck Cody again, who fell to his knees, bloodied. As she lifted her spear over Cody, Jo stuck her spear into Enid’s right leg, and Cody thrust his into her left leg.

“Fuck!” Enid screamed, as she grabbed both spears and held them in place as she pulled herself off of them and stumbled back, barely able to stay on her feet. She sank to a crouch as a badly wounded Jo and Cody gradually rose to stand, leaning on their bloodied spears for support.

“I don’t want to do this.” Enid admitted as she aimed her spear at the two. Her heart was beating rapidly in her chest, and her aim was steady and firm even as her eyes filled with tears.

“None of us did.” Jo whispered. “But what can we do? No one can save us now.”

A whole host of emotions played out on Enid's face. "And what will the two of you do if you do beat me? This isn't going to have a happy ending for you."

As the two werewolves began to quietly argue about which one of them would sacrifice themselves for the other, Enid had a moment to catch her breath. Then, silently, without any prior warning, a massive, dark, humanoid raven swooped down out of the sky and grabbed Enid by her arms. Shocked, Enid let herself be carried further up the mountain as the wereraven set her down on a ledge.

Enid overcame her shock, and patted the wereraven on the side. “Thanks for getting me out of that death battle.” she said relieved, as the wereraven tilted its head and stared at her through black eyes.

The werewolves down below had stopped cheering. “Urwin, is that you, you bloody bird!” Kiril raged. “Wolves against birds? How do you think this is going to end for your precious Martikov family?” he raged.

Enid stared into the pitch black eyes of the wereraven, and knew in her bones she was not looking at a Martikov. “Wednesday!” Enid realized, staring up at her in shock and wonder.

A glimmer of satisfaction shone in Wednesday's dark eyes, and she looked down at the werewolves assembled beneath her in anticipation.  

Pugsley stepped slightly out of the mouth of the cave, the other outcasts armed and ready behind him. “It’s not the Martikov family you need to worry about.” he said as he rolled a series of baseball-sized metal devices out onto the side of the cliff. “It’s the Addams family!” he called back as he raced into the cave, just before the grenades detonated.

Puglsey had been warned how dangerous the pack was in a fair fight, fortunately he had found a way to avoid that. With an explosive boom, the werewolf pack was flung in all directions, and the ledge of the cliff began to crack and groan, as piece by piece, it began to fall away. “Jo and Cody!” Enid yelled, pointing at the two staggering outcasts.

Wednesday flew down towards the two outcasts, but with a roar, Kiril leapt into the air, transforming into his full werewolf form as he leapt. He pounced on Wednesday and latched onto her as they fell towards the crumbling cliff, snarling as beak and teeth clashed in animalistic violence. 

“No!” Enid screamed as she did something incredibly reckless. From her perch above the battle, Enid simply jumped down towards Kiril and Wednesday just as the cliff gave way beneath them. 

As Enid fell, she was overcome by adrenaline and a desire to save Wednesday. She felt her paws transforming, then her teeth grew, her vision sharpened, and claws burst out of her shoes. Enid felt her bones crack and reform into something different. Fur covered her violently growing body, and the last of her rational thoughts were replaced by rage and aggression. By the time she reached the brawling lycanthropes, Enid was, for the first time ever, a fully transformed werewolf.

Enid snarled as she bit into Kiril, and the battle became a chaotic flurry of teeth, claws, and talons as Enid and Wednesday fought frantically against the pack leader. It was a vicious, rapid fight between merciless monsters, fought in mid-air, but it was two against one, and Kiril began to falter. The battle was brutal but quick, and the three fighters were rapidly approaching the ground.  

Wednesday grabbed onto Enid, pressed her talons against Kiril, and shoved away from the frantic werewolf. But there was another problem; in her werewolf form Enid was simply too heavy to lift. 

Even in her wolf form, Enid seemed to know it was futile for Wednesday to try and lift her, or maybe she was just out of control, because she began to try to bat Wednesday away. Wednesday clung the snarling wolf nonetheless, and stared her in the eyes. The two lycanthropes paused, locked in a bloody embrace as they rapidly approached rock bottom. Then Enid seemed to relax. The wolf slowly disappeared, revealing a battered Enid.  

Wednesday soared through the air, getting the wind beneath her wings just in time to avoid crashing in the ground. Nearby, a yowling Kiril, along with many other werewolves too, slammed hard into the dirt, kicking up a storm of dust. There were no signs of life beneath them as Wednesday flew Enid further away along the mountain. Exhausted, Wednesday released Enid in a safe spot and collapsed to the ground, reverting back into her human form.

Enid let out a relieved, tearful laugh and immediately pulled Wednesday into a hug.

Wednesday froze on the spot, stiff as a corpse as stared at a random point on the horizon.

“Oh sorry, I forgot, hugging isn’t really our thing.” Enid sniffled, pulling back.

“It’s not… that is to say…” Wednesday trailed off, turning away. “It’s not so much that, so much as it is the fact that you are not wearing any clothing.” She admitted.

Wednesday had turned into a werebeast and back again herself, but the wereravens… her fellow wereravens now, had lent her a baggy black hooded robe that a wereraven could transform in. Her wings came out of two holes in the back of the robe, and the robe remained on her as she transformed and as she turned human again. It helped that wereravens didn’t grow quite as large as werewolves.

“eep” Enid blushed and scurried away, but there were no conveniently large rocks to hide behind on the side of the cliff. “Um, do you have any spare clothing? And by the way… ouch” Enid whimpered as she clutched the bloody wounds on her legs from where she’d been stabbed. The wounds had seemed to close somewhat when she transformed into a werewolf, but they were still spear wounds.

“Here, Urwin thought it wise to send us out with a few of what he called “healing potions” They are magic, and should be able to close those wounds. We did not, however, think of bringing extra clothing.” Wednesday passed Enid the healing potion as she stared at the area just above Enid's head. “Stay here, I will find you something to wear.” Before Enid could protest, Wednesday transformed into her wereraven form and frantically flew away.

Kiril Stoyanovich groaned as he clawed his way out of a roughly wolf-shaped crater. He was only a man again, and had not the strength to transform into his superior form. Even though it was his wolf-form that had hit the ground, the damage was so great that his human body was nearly shattered, his bones broken in many places. It didn’t matter. Half of his pack lied dead around him, yet he had survived. He was a living legend, and he would return to his master, raise an army, and slaughter all wereravens and outcasts. Barovia would literally run red with the blood of his enemies!

“Argh!” Kiril yelled as a talon suddenly landed on his head with crushing force, pushing his face into the rocky ground. The wereraven transformed into a small girl dressed in a baggy black robe, who gazed at him with inky black eyes. 

“The Alpha Wolf, naked and afraid." she sneered.

Kiril spat out gravel and looked up to give her an evil glare. 

"Enid needs something to wear.” The girl explained tonelessly. “So this will be quicker than I might like.” She drew her silver dagger, and Kiril did feel a terrible fear at the sight of it. 

Kiril growled up at her. “Count Strahd will avenge me. You caught us by surprise, but the master cannot be killed. Strahd is the lord of this land, the god of this world!”  

Wednesday raised one eyebrow, and then raised her dagger. “Where is your god now?”

“Does anyone else hear that high-pitched screaming?” Xavier asked nervously, twirling a silver-tipped arrow through his fingers.

Pugsley shrugged. “Sounds like Wednesday’s work to me.” he opined as worked on picking the lock of a large wooden chest in the werewolf den.

Eugene and Bianca were shoveling piles of gold coins and gems into their packs. “Are you sure Wednesday’s okay out there?” Eugene asked as he collected the werewolves treasure. He was kneeling beneath a crude wooden statue that bore the rough likeness of a wolf-headed woman draped in garlands of vines and night flowers. Piled around the statue's base was an incredible amount of treasure. Behind the statue, two maggot-ridden corpses hung from iron shackles bolted to the wall, but Eugene and Bianca were doing their best to ignore that.

“It’s Wednesday, and she’s a wereraven now.” Pugsley assured them. “Mother and Father will get a kick out of that.”

Pugsley finished picking the lock then, and a bright glow emitted from the open container. Pugsley reached in and pulled out a sword. It had a dark hilt, but a glowing blade that seemed to be made of pure sunlight. Samuel hissed and drew away from the sword.

“Wow, neat.” Pugsley smiled, taking a few clumsy swings with the blade. He was no great fencer like his sister or parents. As he swung the blade around, he felt an alien sense of disapproval in his mind that didn't seem to come from his own thoughts or feelings.

Bianca also seemed to disapprove. “How about you give me that before you hurt yourself?” she said, swiping the blade from his hands.

“Sure, I don’t think it’s my biggest fan.” Pugsley shrugged, the other outcasts giving him looks of confusion. Bianca went ahead and practiced swinging with the blade, and it felt right in her hands. She had the weirdest feeling that the sword was purring in approval, but dismissed the sensation, after all, they had travelled here as fast as they could, and she was exhausted and not thinking straight. She reached down into the chest where she saw a gold-plated scabbard to sheath the blade in.

Then Wednesday, in wereraven form, flew into the cave with Enid in her talons. Enid was for some reason wearing the drab clothing most Barovians wore, which also seemed to be too big for her. Wednesday transformed back into her human self, noticed the other outcasts finishing their looting, and nodded in approval.

“Oh good, you got Enid.” Bianca grinned. “Not bad for a first time flyer, mighty Keeper of the Feather.”

Wednesday scowled, and Enid had to ask “Keeper of the Feather?”

“I’m not one of the Keepers of the Feather… just an honorary member.” Wednesday insisted. That was what the wereravens called their order, but Wednesday wasn’t one to join lame clubs. “It was a necessary formality to my becoming a wereraven.”

“Good thing you did.” Samuel pointed out. “If you hadn’t lifted Enid out of there, we would have had to fight those werewolves head on. And there were a lot of werewolves out there.”

“Including two outcasts.” Enid explained sadly. “It’s too bad we couldn’t save them.”

Xavier winced. “We didn’t know.” He pointed out gently, and Enid nodded in resignation.

Though still sad, Enid brightened somewhat. "Guess what guys, you'll never believe it! I finally transformed!" Enid cheered, and the other outcasts congratulated her, Bianca even pulling her into a hug.  

Finished here, the outcasts headed out the tunnels, leaving the den. But just as they were exiting, four werewolves in human form raced down the tunnels to confront the outcasts. 

“Where do you brats think you’re going? You just murdered our whole damn pack.” One of the men snarled. Pugsley discreetly grabbed a bottle of his Wolf Repellant.

“Clearly not your whole pack.” Wednesday drew her silver dagger. “But that is a mistake we can correct.” In reality though, Wednesday was annoyed. She and Enid were wounded, and as much as she might like to kill them, even Wednesday wasn't sure that getting into another fight was a good idea just now. 

One of the men stepped forward aggressively. “We barely survived on the sides of the cliff. But wolves don’t fall that easily.” The man boasted. 

Just before violence could break out, a few more wolves ran over from further inside the den. The lead wolf, a young, dark-skinned woman, glared at the werewolves who were threatening the outcasts.

“Enough, are you trying to get us all killed?” The woman asked, gesturing to the silver weapons on display. Enid recognized the woman as the mate of Emil, the werewolf who Kiril had thrown off the cliff when he protested the blood sport.

“So what Zuleika? So they have a few silver daggers and arrows. Am I supposed to be afraid of these children?” The man scoffed.

Zuleika didn’t back down. “Emil warned Kiril of the foolishness of forcing these children to fight each other. Now he’s paid the price, and I won't tolerate any more stupidity. Heel, or die.”

The man looked between the outcasts and Zuleika and her allies, and realized he couldn’t win. “Fine, I never liked Kiril anyway.” He huffed and stormed away.

Zuleika relaxed slightly as the rival werewolf departed. As soon as she began to let her guard down even just a little, the grief on her face became apparent.

“Strange children from another land” she nodded to the outcasts. “I owe you a debt for avenging my beloved mate, Emil. I intend to lead this pack in a better direction. No more will children suffer at our hands, and no more will we serve Count Strahd. We will have no quarrel with you and yours, if you seek no further quarrel with us.”

With Kiril and many of the other werewolves dead, Wednesday was satisfied. “I consider us to be even.” She nodded to Zuleika. “You owe us no debt.” Because we looted your treasure, Wednesday thought but didn’t bother to say aloud.

Without any further ado, the outcasts headed out again across the lands of Barovia to make their way back to their temporary residence at the wereraven’s winery, and the budding new village they were building. However, soon after setting out, Enid and Wednesday had to stop and rest to treat their wounds and gather their strength. Their first transformations into full lycanthropes had exhausted them.

By the time the group was moving again, it was clear that, although the winery wasn’t that far away from the werewolf den, they still weren’t going to make it back before nightfall, a time when even the outcasts didn’t want to be out in the open in the wilds of Barovia.

Eugene pointed excitedly at a sign in front of them. “Look, there’s a village just west of us called Krezk. We can stay there tonight, and not get murdered horribly by monsters out here!”

“Remember what happened in Vallaki.” Xavier pointed out, his tone grim. “The towns in this place can be even more dangerous than the roads, and we know nothing about Krezk.”

“I’m fine either way.” Samuel shrugged. “Monsters aren’t usually interested in eating vampires, and I can run faster than the slowest of you, so it doesn’t matter to me what we do.”

Eugene glanced out nervously into the growing darkness of the nearby woods. “That’s really great for you, but I’m just a tasty human. I really don’t want to get mauled by some hideous monster.”

“Then we’ll go and darken the doorsteps of Krezk.” Wednesday decided. “We wanted to explore this world; now is a chance to see more of it.” And maybe something horrible would happen there that could serve as inspiration for her Viper de la Muerte novels, Wednesday dared to hope.

The outcasts headed towards Krezk, and soon the town came into view. They approached a gatehouse built into a twenty-foot-high wall of stone reinforced with buttresses every fifty feet or so. The wall enclosed a settlement on the side of a snow-dusted mountain spur. Beyond the wall they could see the tops of snow-covered pines and thin, white wisps of smoke.

As they neared the gates, the somber toll of a bell echoed out, seemingly coming from a stone abbey that clung to the mountainside high above the settlement. The steady chime sounded inviting, a welcome change from the deathly silence and oppressive fog to which the outcasts had become used to while travelling across Barovia.

The air grew colder as they approached the walled settlement. Two square towers with peaked roofs flanked a stone archway into which was set a pair of twelve-foot-tall, iron bound wooden doors. Atop the parapet the group could see four figures wearing fur hats and clutching spears. They watched nervously as the outcasts approached.

“Halt! That’s close enough strangers.” Called one of the guards. They had drawn their bows but were not yet aiming at the outcasts.

“No need for alarm.” Bianca assured them. “We’re merely travelers seeking to get off the road before nightfall, which is nearly upon us. We simply need a place to stay for the night.”

The guards exchanged looks. “Stay right there outsiders. We’re going to fetch the burgomaster.”

The outcasts waited impatiently for several minutes before the guard came back with a middle-aged man in fine robes. “Introducing his Lordship, Burgomaster Dmitri Krezkov.” She announced.

The man nodded down to the outcasts. “I’ve been told you need a place to stay for the night, but I’m afraid we cannot help you. To be frank, you appear to be adventurers, and as such I suspect you are either the devil Strahd’s allies or enemies. My ancestors built this town near the holy abbey to escape the reach of Strahd centuries ago. I cannot afford to harbor his enemies, nor to allow his allies inside these gates."

“Please my lord, we have nothing to do with Count Strahd.” Bianca tried diplomacy. “We’re just nomads, look at us, we’re practically kids. Look how cute he is.” Bianca shoved Pugsley forward and pinched his cheeks. Pugsley groaned in dismay.

The burgomaster looked torn. To be honest, they did appear to be quite young. He felt his hard heart soften slightly, but there were children in his village too, and he had to look out for them first and foremost. “I’m sorry, but Kretz hasn’t survived this long by being led by foolish leaders who take unnecessary risks.”

“One night.” Bianca insisted. “Are you so afraid of Strahd you won’t even let us stay the night? We’ll be in and out, and Strahd will never know or care.”

Krezekov hesitated, but Bianca had won him over, and without even using her siren song. “You may stay for one night only. Open the gates.” He nodded to his guards.

Inside, the outcasts discovered Krezk was the Platonic ideal of a small town; even the town of Barovia was a major urban center by comparison. The mist-shrouded village was nothing more than a scattering of humble wooden cottages along dirt roads that stretched between strands of snow-dusted pine trees. To the northeast, gray cliffs rose sharply, and the road winding up to the abbey was easy to see from inside the town.

“We have no inns or rooms for rent in our village.” Krezekov explained. Wednesday noticed that something in his expression spoke of a deep-seated grief. “My family’s estate however has guest rooms, you’re more than welcome to stay with us if you’re willing to pull your weight and assist us with the evening chores.”

Wednesday glanced up at the abbey. “Thank you for your hospitality. I’m surprised there are no rooms up there though, it seems a large building.”

Krezekov shifted uneasily. “I’ve never known the abbey to room guests. The Abbey of Saint Markovia is an important religious site after all, and not an inn. Anyway, the Abbot mostly keeps to himself.”

A strange chittering shriek echoed from the abbey, which Krezekov seemed not to notice. The outcasts exchanged looks, but they always expected the strange in Barovia.

Whatever was going on at the abbey, the outcasts initially had a quiet night at the Burgomaster’s manor. They were staying with the Burgomaster and his wife, a dark-skinned older couple with graying hair. The outcasts helped with a few chores and tasks, and then during dinner they learned the village had recently run out of wine. The outcasts assured the burgomaster and his wife that the winery was up and running again, and they were happy to learn that deliveries would likely resume shortly. Still, the outcasts couldn’t help but notice that both of the Krezekov’s seemed quiet and melancholic.

As they were still eating, a steady knock sounded from the door. Krezekov looked surprised, and went to see who was calling at such a late hour. Wednesday palmed her knife, just in case.

“Abbot!?!” The Burgomaster exclaimed in shock. “Ah, good evening Abbot. This is a surprise. Would you… would you like to come in?”

“Yes, if you would not mind, I would be pleased to join you this evening.” The brown-robed figure in the door nodded. He had a light and airy voice, which sounded pleasant yet distracted as he smiled warmly at Krezekov. He stepped in and pulled down his hood, revealing the handsome figure of a young man in his prime, with intelligent bright eyes.

Krezekov pulled out a seat for the Abbott at the now full dining table, and the Abbot turned to greet the lady of the household. “Anna, it is good to see you again. The last time I laid eyes upon you, you were only a small child. You have grown into a remarkable woman.” He smiled graciously.

“Thank you Abbot, it’s good to see you as well.” The woman nodded stiffly as the Abbott took a plate of food.

“I bless this food in the name of Lathander, the Morninglord. His light shines always upon his children, even in dark places.” The Abbot prayed. “And I am not your only guest tonight. How curious.” His gaze scanned each of the outcasts.

Bianca once again took the lead in speaking for the group. “Hello, I’m Bianca, and these are my friends. We’re just staying the night.” Bianca frowned, feeling a little put upon. She wasn’t at heart a person who always spoke respectfully and diplomatically, as Wednesday knew full well, but somehow she had become the “face” of the group

The Abbot turned to her, his eyes friendly but strangely vacant, seeming to see through Bianca. “You are a long way from the sea, beautiful singer.”

“What the…” Bianca murmured.

The Abbot turned to Samuel then. A strange expression crossed his face, and Samuel felt sure the man knew he was a vampire. The tension was slowly increasing in the room.

Then the Abbot turned back to the Burgomaster. “Though I would love to become acquainted with these dear children, I’m afraid I’ve come here on urgent business.”

“What is it that you need, Abbot?” The Burgomaster asked.

The Abbot smiled mournfully. “Hans, Anna, I've heard the tale of the tragic death of your son, Ilya.”

Both of the Krezekovs stiffened. “Yes, it’s a difficult time for us. Have you come to offer your condolences?”

“Oh, I do not believe there will be any need for that. If you wouldn’t mind, I would like to bring young Ilya back to life.” The Abbot smiled.

The room froze in shock. Anna Krezekov seemed close to tears. “Is that… is that something you can do?” she asked, hardly daring to hope.

The Abbot simply nodded. “Nothing is impossible for Lathander and Gods of Light.”

Wednesday pushed away her food. Her appetite was ruined by the thought of the clergy interfering with death in such a way. But this wasn’t her family, and wasn’t her call to make.

The Krezekovs began a hushed conversation. Wednesday, who could read lips, could tell that the wife was pleading with her husband to allow the Abbot to try to raise her son, but her husband was deeply suspicious of the Abbot. Finally though, the man relented.

“We’ve decided to allow you to attempt this miracle.” The Burgomaster said through clenched teeth.

The Abbot’s voice remained unbothered and gentle. “Praise Lathander. I shall return just before the break of dawn, and you will escort me to your son’s temporary resting place. At dawn, when the Morninglord’s power is at its zenith, your son shall be returned to you.”

The Abbot nodded absently towards the outcasts and glided out of the house. Dinner was quiet from then on, and soon the outcasts were escorted to the guest rooms.

As usual, Enid and Wednesday were rooming together, and neither girl knew quite where to begin.

“So” Enid tried to start on a noncontroversial topic “that Abbot was weird AF, am I right? I can’t be the only one who was getting odd vibes.”

Wednesday shrugged. “I never did have an abundance of fondness towards the church. I suppose he is exactly what I was expecting. Except for his offer to raise the dead. That was… unusual.” Wednesday grimaced.

“Thanks for saving me out there earlier.” Enid offered, and Wednesday simply nodded.

“And you, you’re a wereraven now! Awesomesauce. And you could transform, just like that?” Enid asked, her voice strained. 

“I was able to get some practice in before we found you. Flying did not come naturally. Yes, I was able to transform straight away, it’s a simple task for wereravens to transform in Barovia.” Wednesday pulled Thing out of her pack and gave him a moment to stretch his digits, before she tossed him over Enid.

“Hey Thing” Enid whispered, giving the hand a squeeze. “They say it’s easy for werewolves to transform here too, but it took me until today to manage it. Guess everything mom said about me was true.”

Wednesday gave her a dark look. “I seriously doubt that. The fact is that you did transform, and you were an admirably ferocious beast. Don’t let your mother of all people tarnish that victory.”

Enid changed the topic, picking up Thing who curled up on her lap like a cat. “We were interrupted by me getting kidnapped. Are you really leaving the group after we take care of those hags that are after Maddie?”

Wednesday stood up and looked out the window. “No one else was this bothered.” She observed.

“Well, you know, I kind of thought we were besties.” Enid murmured.

Wednesday sighed, and resigned herself to touching on the subject of her feelings. Which, she reminded herself, she wasn’t supposed to have anymore. Not after the world took Nero from her.

“We are friends Enid.” She managed to admit. “I’m simply not satisfied with the almost heroic turn my life has taken, or being perpetually a member of such a large group."

Enid visibly brightened at the rare admission from Wednesday that they were friends. “Ya, I never imagined I would be involved in so much violence and mayhem either. You kind of get used to it though.” She shuddered.

Wednesday laid down in bed and crossed her arms in an x over her body. “Goodnight, Enid.”

“Goodnight Wednesday.”

Chapter Text

The outcasts slept safely in the Krezkov estate, and the next morning they joined the Abbot and the Krezkov’s as they went out to the family burial plot. It was a typical morning in Barovia, the sun dimmed by a thick mist. An oppressive silence and cold chill hung over the land. Soon, the Burgomaster had dug up his son’s corpse. He had been dead for three days now; it was a gruesome sight and a worse smell.

The Abbot walked quietly up to the grave, unbothered by any of this. He stared down at Ilya's body with a gentle smile, and then he bowed his head in prayer. “Oh Lathander, Lord of Birth and Renewal, Bringer of the Dawn, hear my prayer. This young man has passed before his appointed hour. Heal our grief, and restore the boy to life.”

Without any further ado, Ilya Krezkov sat up in his grave, unblemished as though he had never been dead. The smell of decomposition seemed to disappear in less than a second.

Anna ran to her son sobbing and threw her arms around Ilya. Hans Krezkov’s eyes filled with tears, and he turned to the Abbot with an emotional look. “We thank you, good sir. We will honor you from this day forth, and you will be known as a dear friend to my family. You are a great miracle worker, and I know now that I have misjudged you. Some of the villagers even feared you were the devil Strahd in disguise, and although I never believed that, I’m ashamed to say their paranoid superstition affected even my judgement. I know the truth; you are simply a good and kind man who prefers his solitude. And you have my eternal gratitude!" 

Back with the outcasts, Samuel looked disturbed. “That’s it? He didn’t even do anything… except pray.” He looked nervously up at the sky, as though Lathander might smite him with a bolt of lightning at any moment. 

Pugsley agreed. “Normally magic that brings one back from the dead is more complicated than that.” Pugsley stared curiously at Ilya, as though he was itching to dissect him for science.

Wednesday was also watching Ilya, who stared back at her from over his mother’s shoulder. “Curious” she muttered to the other outcasts. “I wonder if he was insane before he died, or if that’s a new feature?”

“Insane?” Eugene inched behind Wednesday, then paused. “Actually, I don’t know why I expected anything different.”

“This is Barovia.” Bianca muttered. “They’re all mad here.”

Ilya stared with a startling intensity at Wednesday for a moment longer, then he seemed to grow faint, and his mother caught him and yelled for her husband to come help her. The two lifted Ilya up and began to walk back towards their home, tears of joy running down their faces.

“There’s just one more matter.” The Abbot called, and the couple froze in their tracks.

The Abbot stared at the family with a solemn expression. “I have worked a great miracle in Lathander’s holy name today. You must do me a small favor in return.”

“Oh shit, here it comes.” Enid muttered, watching the scene with trepidation and morbid fascination.

The Burgomaster trembled briefly. “Of course Abbot, we owe you more than we could repay. What do you require of us?”

The Abbot smiled. “I require a fine white wedding dress. The need is not urgent at the moment, but it is most important, and I require the dress in a reasonable timeframe.”

The group froze. “That’s all?” Enid whispered, deeply confused.

Wednesday spoke up then for the whole group to hear. “Thank you for your hospitality, I will not forget this. We will see to it that the Martikov family resumes wine shipments to your town.” And Wednesday led the group of outcasts away before they could somehow become entangled with a wedding.

As they left though, the Abbot locked eyes with Wednesday. His expression was only vaguely curious, and his lips didn’t move, but Wednesday heard his voice reverberate clearly throughout her head. “I see something of the devil in you, child. Perhaps you do have a role to play in what’s to come.”

Wednesday knew then that she would meet the Abbot again someday.

From Krezk it was a relatively short trip back to the winery, and the outcasts finished their journey without incident. Maddie was relieved to see Wednesday and the others were back, and the Martikov family were glad to see that everyone had made it back alive.

Urwin gave the group a rare smile as they finished explaining what had happened. “I’m proud of you Wednesday. A new wereraven, taking on Stahd’s pack and living to tell the tale. I believe now we are ready to turn the tables on Baba Lysaga.”

“We’re glad you’ve been doing alright while we were gone.” Xavier peered out the village. “Everything looks okay, did Baba Lysaga send anymore of her scarecrows to bother you while we were away?”

Urwin nodded. “There was a small incursion, thankfully driven off by a force led by my niece, Muriel. I don’t believe you’ve met, but she’s a firebrand, ever wanting to take the fight to Strahd. She’ll be leading the wereravens we sent with you to defeat Baba Lysaga, while I’ll be holding down the fort here.”

“Are you sure?” Wednesday asked. “You’ll be missing out on all the fun.”

“Interesting definition of fun you have, but I can’t forget that the Witch isn’t our only enemy. A few of us must remain to guard the villagers just in case the dark druids attempt to take back the winery while we’re distracted.” Urwin explained.

He pulled out a wrinkled old map. “Baba Lysaga’s lair is here, in the ruins of Berez.” He pointed to a town nestled up against the mountains east of the winery. “The town was flooded and destroyed by Strahd many years ago after they defied him in some way, we’re not entirely sure what happened. You’ll have to go around the mountains that lay between us and the ruins, going northeast and then south. It will be a couple days’ march.”

“They’ll see us coming if we walk down the road straight to their front door.” Samuel pointed out. “Is there no way we could climb the mountains and sneak down into the back of the ruins?”

Urwin shrugged. “Wednesday and the other wereravens could certainly manage it, but I imagine it would be a difficult climb for the rest of you. It would increase the length of the journey across dangerous, unmapped mountains. And on top of everything else, we learned that there are angry spirits haunting those mountains.”

Wednesday’s curiosity was peaked. “Angry spirits in the mountains? That’s an unusual place for a haunting.”

“There’s a place named Argynvosholt tucked up against the mountains, and ghosts from there haunt the surrounding lands. The ghosts used to belong to a knightly order in the service of a silver dragon. Legend has it that, back when he was still a mortal, Strahd overcame the order when he was conquering the valley, slaying the dragon and taking its remains as a trophy back to his castle. Since then, vengeful revenants of the order haunt the land, or so the tale goes. If you cross the mountains, you'll have to be careful not to come too close to Argynvosholt, and hope there are paths that steer clear of it.”

Maddie tugged at the hem of Wednesday’s wereraven robe. “I want to go with you Wednesday.”

Most of the non-Addams began to protest, and Urwin agreed. “Bad idea kid. Baba Lysaga is as dangerous as it gets. Only Strahd is a more terrifying foe to face.”

Wednesday leaned down to look Maddie in the eyes. “Are you certain?” she asked neutrally.

Maddie nodded frantically. “The hags were real mean to me. Mr. Grustug wants their heads.” She held up her wicker doll, who’s porcelain mask stared darkly at Wednesday.

“Even you can’t seriously be considering bringing a kid into a war zone.” Bianca half-argued, half-pleaded.

Wednesday ignored her. “When I first met you, Maddie, I had a vision. In it, you recited the Addams Family motto. If you’re going to be one of us, I won’t deny you your vengeance. It behooves an Addams to be beyond any fear of death.”

Maddie grinned sharply.

“So be it. We’ll leave tomorrow.” Wednesday decided. Enid perked up next to her, hearing noise from outside with her finely tuned senses.

“Hey, is that music?” she asked happily. Music was a rare luxury these days, and she’d been missing it dearly.

“Ah yes, the Festival of St. Markovia.” Urwin nodded. “I would have thought the Vallakians would be sick of festivals after all the nonsense festivities their Baron put them through in a misguided effort to force them to be happy. But apparently it’s easier for them to have a good time now that they don’t have an axe hanging above their heads. And the Festival of St. Markovia is the foremost religious holiday in these lands.”

Enid practically skipped out to join the festival. The rest of the outcasts followed her with varying degrees of enthusiasm or resignation. The only reason Wednesday went out to join them at all was because the last festival she had attended in Barovia had ended in an orgy of bloody violence.

Though the villagers were dirt poor, having escaped from Vallaki with little more than the clothes on their backs, they now seemed happier than the outcasts had ever seen them before, grateful to be alive and relishing in a sense of shared community. A group of children soon surrounded the outcasts, without their parent’s strict supervision, they were free to finally interrogate the strange outsiders. They were especially enamored with Bianca’s strange siren eyes, and Maddie seemed happy to have other children to play with.

Xavier joined a group of young men and women who were playing a Barovian card game he had never seen before, and he joined the games. Xavier had a surprisingly good poker face and did quite well.

Bianca meanwhile got roped into singing after drinking a few glasses of wine, but was fortunately sober enough to keep her siren song out of her performance, mostly, and her siren-song-suppressing amulet restrained the effects of any siren song that slipped into her singing. She was nervous at first, but soon got really into it, and she took the locals by surprise with her rendition of ‘Cold War’ by Janelle Monáe.

Eugene and Pugsley were at least smart enough to avoid getting drunk and singing in public, instead deciding to enter a pie eating contest. The idea was that pie eating contests were the best game to play because pie was delicious, so there was really no downside to competing. This misconception lasted until Eugene ate too much and puked his pie out, not standing a chance against Pugsley or the three adults in the contest. Pugsley however kept going for a while, until he too lost the contest and the contents of his stomach, coming in a respectable second place. 

Samuel, preferring blood over food, cheered his friends on and then went off to mingle with the locals, learning about the history of the festival and the local culture. He learned that the local history mostly consisted of a series of unfortunate events dating back generations, yet the people of Barovia had survived one disaster after another and were still standing.

Maddie and the kids were playing in the vineyards looking for sweets that had been hidden for them, while Enid and Wednesday strolled through the vineyard keeping an eye on Maddie and the others.

Enid smiled as she watched the kids running around and playing. “This is so cool, seeing the kids have such a good time after everything these people have been through. You love to see it.”

Wednesday picked a grape off a vine. “It’s not much like how I played with Pugsley when we were younger, but at least they’re having a good time, even if no one is getting waterboarded.”

“Listen, they’ve got a band playing again.” Enid looked back into Usherwood as the kids finished up in the vineyard. “It’s a dance! Let’s go!”

“They’ll probably be square dancing.” Wednesday warned Enid, not optimistic about the quality of dance in this Podunk town.

The villagers were dancing in a yard lit up by a series of hanging lanterns. Fortunately, there was no square dance going on, but Wednesday found the local’s dancing to be every bit as dull and uninspired as she had predicted.

Enid twirled a strand of her hair through her finger. “So, do you maybe want to, you know, dance?” she asked.

Wednesday was briefly conflicted, but nodded stiffly. “I suppose someone has to show these people how it’s done.”

Wednesday and Enid joined the dance, and Enid’s initial expectations were blown away. Wednesday’s dancing was like nothing Enid had seen before; her movements were severe yet wild, and her dance seemed to often involve moves that looked like they could be dated back to the sixties. It was a bold performance in every way, and it was all Enid could do to keep up with Wednesday however she could, letting Wednesday take the lead as the smaller girl darted across the lawn.

Enid was utterly captivated by the strange dance, but what was most entrancing was the look in Wednesday’s eyes. Wednesday’s expression had hardly changed, yet her dark eyes seemed to burn with a wild, dangerous passion, the likes of which Enid had never seen before. The closest comparison she had was the excited look in Wednesday’s eyes that Enid had noticed a few times when the outcasts were in a battle, but this was still different from that, even more intense. There was nothing bloodthirsty in Wednesday’s eyes right now, only a raw passion for the dance.

It was odd and unique and even kooky, and Enid was absolutely over the moon.

Nearby, Xavier felt conflicted. When he had escaped the destruction of Nevermore with Wednesday, he thought he might be able to reconnect with the girl he remembered from his childhood, his first childhood crush. Maybe in a way he had, but it didn’t turn out to be the romantic connection he had been hoping for. Meanwhile, he and Bianca were getting along much better than they had in a long time. Maybe it was time to give things another chance, if she was still interested. 

Xavier made his way over to Bianca and tapped her shoulder. “Hi Bianca, would you like to dance? Even Wednesday’s out there having fun.”

“Which I would have never believed if I hadn’t seen it with my own two eyes.” Bianca seemed like she was about to smile, but then scowled.

“Xavier, what are we doing here? You don’t just ask your ex to dance out of the blue and act all casual about it, like it’s no big deal.”

Xavier tried not to look as awkward as he felt. “Meet me halfway here Bianca. Things have been good between us lately, almost like old times. Can’t we dance tonight and worry about the future later?”

Bianca shook her head with a frown. “I shouldn’t have to meet you halfway to anywhere Xavier. You broke up with me, remember? Because you didn’t trust that I wasn’t using my siren song to manipulate you. And you know what? It hurts to be distrusted by someone you care about.”

Despite his broody, introspective demeanor, Xavier was surprisingly quick to anger and grow defensive when conflict arose. Which probably had something to do with why the two of them broke up in the first place.

“Can you blame me Bianca?” Xavier argued. “You know what you were like at Nevermore. Bianca the Queen Bee. Some of your friends weren’t so bad, like Divina and her brother. But a lot of the mean girls were also wrapped around your finger. How do you think I liked their quiet sneers and insults back when we were dating?”

“And it could have been a lot worse.” Bianca rolled her eyes as she grabbed Xavier by the hands and led him over to where the others were dancing. “I kept those mean girls on a damn short leash. There would have been much more bullying at Nevermore without someone like me to keep the other kids in line.”

Xavier seemed surprised, either because he had never considered things from Bianca’s perspective before, or because they were suddenly dancing. “That may be how you justified your behavior, but was it really worth it? You never hesitated to manipulate people, to play politics, to sometimes put people down. Can’t you get how hard it is to trust someone like that?”

“Maybe.” Bianca admitted quietly as she narrowly avoided Xavier stepping on her toes. “But didn’t you ever realize that, with or without my siren song, I never manipulated you?”

The two outcasts danced in silence after that.

Eugene blinked in surprise as he watched Wednesday dance. “Pugsley, I never thought your sister would, well, dance. Ever.”

“She can definitely dance, but I'm kind of surprised to see her dancing here.” Pugsley narrowed his eyes in thought.

A somewhat older boy walked up to the two of them then. “How’s it going guys?” he smiled. “If you’re feeling like wallflowers over here on the sidelines, I get it. Me and some of the other kids are playing board games if you’re interested.” He offered. 

“I’m Eugene, and I like board games.” Eugene introduced himself, glad to find something to do other than dance.

“We’re set up right over there in one of the larger cabins.” The boy grinned. He had a nice smile, curly brown hair and wide green eyes.

The two followed him over to the cabin. “And I’m Pugsley Addams. Nice to meet you. So, what are we playing?”

The boy laughed a little as they stepped into the building. “That is the question. It’s so good to meet you, Eugene and Pugsley. I’m Tyler.”

Tyler closed the door and locked it behind them. Two young children, a boy and a girl, were bound and gagged in a corner of the cabin.

“And there are other players.” Tyler smiled coldly. “I know how dangerous you freaks are, so here’s the deal. You let me tie you up without putting up a fight, and I’ll untie the kids. They’ll be free to leave. But if I see any bees, Eugene, I’ll kill them before you can blink.”

Eugene grimaced, but Pugsley tried to keep his cool. “I think Xavier mentioned something about a Tyler a while back, after the Festival of the Blazing Sun. What makes you think we’d trade our lives for theirs?”

“What can I say, I just love attending these festivals. Don’t even get me started on that wimp Xavier. And don’t try to play tough, Pugsley Addams.” Tyler stepped up to Pugsley and shoved him to the ground. 

Pugsley hit the ground with a thud, and Tyler casually walked towards the captive children, twirling a knife in his hand. “Your family has a reputation Pugsley, but you and Eugene Ottinger here are as soft as dough. Why do you think I targeted you two losers?”

Eugene pulled Pugsley up and glared at Tyler. “You’re crazy. You couldn’t take us in Vallaki even when we had bigger problems than you. What makes you think you can take all seven of us and the whole village by yourself?”

Tyler glanced out a window and sneered at the shanty town. “I’m not worried about these peasants, not even the ones that can turn into big birds.” Tyler turned around and leered at the two outcasts. “Besides, who said I came here alone?”

Outside, a pompous voice echoed out across the village. “Stand clear, good citizens, there are monsters in your midst. Flee! We shall thwart these fiends and free you from evil!”

Eugene and Pugsley paled, realizing the situation was worse than they thought. Tyler laughed. “My Master has been working with some druids lately, but they’re busy preparing for their big ritual. It’s fine, these heroes are a much more natural ally to me in my quest to rid the world of monsters like you.”

Eugene frowned in thought. “Your master… are you working for Count Strahd?” The yelling outside was growing louder now. A booming voice that sounded enhanced by magic screamed at the outcasts to surrender.

Tyler’s grin vanished, and he glared angrily at Eugene. “Fuck off. Like I would ever work for a stinking, walking corpse! Vampires are just more monsters to be destroyed!” Tyler calmed himself and pointed his knife at the outcasts. “Those heroes, by the way, they’re trying to avenge a very famous monster hunter you pests murdered in Vallaki. I had hoped to get his apprentice to join in, but alas, she wasn’t buying my act, and she’s focused entirely on slaying Strahd.”

“That monster hunter attacked us!” Pugsley protested.

“He had the right idea, but he underestimated you. I won’t make that mistake again.” Tyler smirked. “Now tie yourselves up, or those poor little kid’s deaths will be on you. My valiant allies outside wouldn’t approve, so this will be our little secret.” Tyler winked at them.

Eugene and Pugsley began to tie themselves up, when Eugene’s ghost bees floated up from beneath the floorboards behind a smug Tyler Galpin. They instantly swarmed him and began stinging him, and Tyler dropped his knife as he yelled out in pain.

“Ha, take that you bastard!” Eugene yelled. He punched Pugsley in the shoulder. “We got him now!”

Tyler’s screams of pain became howls of insane rage as he turned into a giant, ugly monster with bulging, blood-shot eyes.

“Oh ya… that.” Eugene groaned.

Despite his fear, Eugene didn’t waste a second. He backpedaled towards the door, took a quick shot at the monster, moved towards the door again and got out while his entire swarm bore down on Tyler. Even then, he may not have been able to get the locked door open in time, but the door swung open from the outside. Thing dropped to the ground with a lock pick in hand, and gave Eugene a thumbs up. He scurried out of the way as Eugene stepped back outside.

Pugsley was quick to join him, tossing a bottle of his Wolf Repellant at the Hyde. The beast was taking up a large portion of the building, so he could hardly miss, and fortunately the bottle struck the Hyde’s center mass. True, the potion was designed for werewolves, and some of the ingredients would be harmless to the Hyde. But much of what Pugsley had ended up throwing into the brew was harmful to many monsters, or in some cases to virtually all living things. The Hyde screamed in pain as the caustic substance coated his body.

The Hyde wasn’t deterred though, and quickly burst through the entryway of the cabin, annihilating the doorframe and much of the front wall. It lashed out at Pugsley, and Pugsley yelled in pain as he was raked by the monster’s claws.

“Pugsley!” Eugene screamed in alarm as he frantically loaded his crossbow with another bolt.

“It’s okay” Pugsley gasped as he dodged and away from the creature that was distracted by the burning wolf repellant and Eugene’s bees. “We beat him once, we can beat him again!”

The Hyde gnashed its teeth in rage, and Pugsley knew he was staking his life on that claim. 

Unfortunately, the rest of the outcasts had their own problems. The knight that had confronted them while yelling about thwarting evil charged at them when they refused to surrender, and was now clashing blades with Samuel in a deadly dance. Samuel manages to get in a strong blow against the knight, but his armor mostly protected him. The knight tricked Samuel with a feint and managed to slice into him, but the vampire kept fighting and the duel raged on.  

A man with long blonde hair in white linen robes stepped forward towards Xavier, who had just drawn his bow. “Drop your weapons and surrender!” The Priest called. His words were laced with magic power, and Xavier nearly complied as his eyes began to glaze over, but he managed to shake off the effect at the last second.

Xavier aimed an arrow at the priest. “Don’t try to control me! Give up or I’ll shoot!”

But before Xavier could do anything else, an arrow whizzed through the air straight towards him. He tried to twist away, and his quick reaction meant the arrow grazed his head instead of sinking into it. Another arrow followed, less carefully aimed but it nonetheless struck Xavier in the torso. He stumbled back with a pained scream, and frantically dove down for cover.

Enid began to growl in anger. “For the first time in forever, I was actually having fun.”

Wednesday watched Enid as she transformed into a werewolf, sadly losing another set of clothing. “This interruption was incredibly rude.” She agreed as she shifted into her wereraven form.

Enid charged the knight who was fighting Samuel, but the knight dodged out of the way, and Enid had to twist through the air to narrowly avoid his parrying strike. She slammed into a small hut, causing it to collapse all over her.

Enid picked herself up, but then howled in pain for no discernable reason. The others couldn’t tell, but Enid had been stabbed by a dagger, and unfortunately, it was a silver dagger. She looked around frantically, but was unable to tell where the attack came from.

Wednesday couldn’t tell where the attacker was either, so she took the sky and focused on the knight who seemed to be leading the enemy adventurers.

Wereravens weren’t nearly as tough as werewolves, but there were benefits to being a wereraven. They had more self-control, could fly, and they retained hands that, while transforming to become more avian, could still wield weapons. Wednesday’s wereraven robes were not lost when she transformed, but she was forced to ditch the gloves Pugsley made for her when she changed into a wereraven, and as such couldn’t summon her daggers back into her hands if she wanted to throw them. But Wednesday was still willing to throw one of her daggers, and she tossed one at the knight, catching him by surprise as it slipped between the plates of his armor and sunk into his side.

Bianca also focused on the knight, taking off her siren-song suppressing necklace. She yelled at him with her siren song to fight the people behind him, in other words, his allies. But it was difficult to use siren song so effectively that you could convince someone you were fighting to turn on their own friends, and the knight shook off the suggestion. Bianca sighed in frustration but drew her new sword from her sheath. The light of the sword shone through the darkness of Barovia, and several of the attackers paused briefly to stare at it in surprise.

The closest wereravens had also transformed and were moving to protect the villagers and defeat the attackers. One woman was close enough to transform and attack the enemy priest, the blond man in white linen robes; she didn’t have a weapon to wield, but she attacked with beak and talon, driving the surprised priest back.

Suddenly, deep arcane words echoed across the battlefield, and a wizard began shooting scorching rays of fire at the outcasts. The wereraven and Bianca managed to dodge away from the attacks, but one bolt fired up at Wednesday managed to strike her, lighting some of her feathers on fire. Wednesday let out a trilling bird noise as she twisted around in mid-air, trying to smother the small flames with her wings.

Meanwhile, Pugsley and Eugene still had the Hyde to contend with. Eugene managed to shoot the monster with a crossbow bolt again, but neither his arrows nor his bees seemed to slow the beast down much. Pugsley and Eugene narrowly dodged away as the Hyde swung a long arm out at them, and Eugene tumbled back into the street.

Eugene fell over next to the priest. “Monster!” he yelled, pointing at the furious Hyde. “It’s got little children captured in there!”

The priest had no idea that the kind-hearted boy who had guided him and his companions to this town was actually the evil monster that was bearing down on these two boys.

“In the name of Lathander the Morninglord, I shall send you down to the Nine Hells, vile creature!” The priest yelled as twin bursts of light shot out from his hands. They impacted the Hyde and sent it rolling away as it yelped in shocked pain.

Pugsley followed the Hyde, and having no better options, grabbed at the Hyde with his shock-gloves turned on. It was a brave move, and it worked; Pugsley caught the Hyde off-guard with the direct attack and managed to zap him.

There was a drawback to fighting something like the Hyde at close range though. Seeing Pugsley, the Priest, and Eugene arrayed against him, the Hyde grabbed Pugsley and dragged him back into the cabin. He began to squeeze Pugsley, and bashed the boy against one of the walls of the building, then against the roof. The structure trembled against the blows as the beast attempted to finish off Pugsley. The Hyde though felt itself weakening, the so-called wolf repellant still burning into its skin, and as the Hyde attempted to beat Pugsley against the walls of the cabin, Thing was frantically throwing rocks at the beast.

Outside, Samuel and the knight continued to duel, and the knight managed to stick his sword in-between the plates of Samuel’s dark samurai armor. Against a human, it likely would have been a killing blow. Samuel pulled the sword out of his body and hissed at the knight in pain and bloodthirsty hunger. 

“It’s true, you really are unnatural monsters.” The knight sneered. He decided the best way to kill Samuel was to take off his head, but before he could slash out at the vampire’s neck, Samuel darted forward with superhuman speed and punched him in the gut.

The knight doubled over, and Samuel lashed out with his sword, sending the bleeding knight to the ground. The wizard gave the two a frantic look. “Sunlig…” he began to cast, before Samuel was suddenly in front of him and punched him too. The wizard was flung back, wheezing in pain.

The knight pulled himself to his feet and attempted to make another go at beheading Samuel while he was distracted by the wizard. Before he could make his move, hundreds of pounds of werewolf suddenly barreled into him. Enid grabbed him in her jaws and shook him in the air like a chew toy, quickly causing the knight to very literally fall apart.

An arrow sunk into Enid’s side, but she was having so much fun playing with her chew toy that she barely noticed. The huntress's arrow was only steel, unlike the silver blade which had cut her before, and the steel arrow seemed to do little damage to Enid.

The wizard ducked away from a chunk of the knight that had nearly fallen on him. “You shall all pay for what you have done here today!” he spun his hands around and golden shields shone around his hands. Samuel was forced to jump away from the wizard as he tried to slice into the vampire with the radiant energy weapons, and the wizard followed him, not letting up.

Unsteadily, Xavier got back onto his feet. He was badly wounded, but he wasn’t afraid, if only because the blood loss seemed to have put his mind into an altered state. His psychic powers were closer to the surface than ever, and he saw just when he needed to shoot to get an arrow past the wizard’s magical defenses. His arrow struck true, catching the wizard by surprise and saving Samuel from further attacks, and Xavier gasped, pausing to clutch at the arrow stuck into his side.

“That’s not enough!” The wizard swore as he prepared another spell to fire at Samuel, or maybe Xavier. Bianca wasn’t waiting to find out.

“Samuel, duck!” she yelled, and Samuel instantly crouched down, responding to the siren song. Bianca vaulted off Samuel’s crouching form and slashed at the wizard with her blazing sword of light. It cut through the wizard and all his magic in an instant, and the wizard collapsed to the ground unconscious.

As the wizard went down, the small form of a halfling in a dark cloak appeared next to Enid. The invisibility spell on the halfling that had attacked Enid was gone now that the wizard was down, but she still managed to stab Enid once again with her silver dagger before retreating slightly. Enid yelped out a wolfish cry of pain, now seriously injured from the two wounds dealt by a silver weapon.

Wednesday wasn’t having it. Dark eyes glinting, she swooped down at the halfling, nearly taking her by surprise. But the enemy adventurer was perceptive in battle, and partially managed to dodge away from Wednesday’s strike, though her rapier still dealt the halfling a glancing blow.

Two other wereravens were now moving against the huntress. One was still too far away to attack up close and so shot at her with a bow, but the arrow narrowly missed. The other had no weapons but attacked again with beak and talons, dealing the huntress a couple of shallow gashes.

Eugene had tried to rush forward to help Pugsley, but the Addams was in the grip of the Hyde in the small building, and Eugene couldn’t get a clean shot.

“Help us!” Eugene called out to the priest, but though the priest looked torn, he had even more pressing problems now.

“Lathander cure these wounds.” The priest prayed. A light emitted around the unconscious wizard, restoring him to somewhat better health.

“Thank you Evan.” The wizard dusted himself off. “The battle is lost, we must away!”

The cleric nodded and turned to flee, and the wizard began to emit a cloud of fog from his wand as he also prepared to run for it. But before he could escape, a katana sliced off the hand holding his wand, and then sliced off his head. The wizard had been healed for all of five seconds before Samuel finished him off.

No one else was coming to help Pugsley, but although the young Addams was dazed, he wasn’t out yet. The Hyde that was holding him leaned forward to bite his head off, and Pugsley shoved his gloved hand into the creature’s face. A burst of light shown as electricity once more arced out of Pugsley’s glove, and the Hyde dropped him with a choked snarl.

The Hyde tried to step on Pugsley, but Pugsley grabbed his foot and lit him up again, and shoved him away. It was a real David vs Goliath battle, and the Hyde was losing. The potion Pugsley had struck him with was still eating away at him, and the Hyde grew panicked as he leaped through the side of the cabin, smashing a hole in the wall. Pugsley and Eugene quickly gave chase to the fleeing monster, though Pugsley was limping and could barely see through the blood in his eyes. 

Outside, the huntress had a similar idea and began to flee alongside the priest, but the priest stumbled as Xavier managed to catch him in the arm with an arrow. Bianca was able to catch up to the stumbling priest, but her brightly glowing sword gave away her approach, and he dodged away from the blow. As he ran away he muttered another prayer which healed some of his wounds.

Enid meanwhile had chased after the halfling. It was a reckless move, targeting the only enemy who had a weapon that was certainly able to kill her, but the young werewolf was nearly out of her mind in pain and anger. She caught up to the halfling who nimbly dodged away from her biting jaws, but she managed to deal the cloaked woman a blow with her claws.

The wounded halfling scurried back and away into the alleys, and attempted to disappear into the shadows. The woman was good, but Wednesday, flying overhead, was better, and managed to spot the retreating rogue. She swooped down once more and caught the enemy adventurer off guard, slashing into her with her rapier. The badly injured woman barely remained standing.

That was when Enid pounced again. Brutally, the werewolf tore into the halfling, killing her as ruthlessly as she killed the enemy knight. Wednesday could do nothing but watch the carnage and wonder if Enid had gone entirely feral.

Samuel, Bianca, and a wereraven were able to corner the huntress, who surrendered. Another wereraven managed a swipe against the priest, but though injured, the priest warded the wereraven off with a divine shield and fled into the alleys of the shantytown.

Pugsley, Eugene, and Thing were the last outcasts in battle, chasing the Hyde through the back alleys. Eugene was unable to get off another shot while running through narrow alleys, but Pugsley grinned. He no longer had to worry about holding back, because he wasn’t in a small building with tied up kids anymore. Pugsley drew his sonic cannon, and blasted the Hyde. The monster went rolling away with a yell of pain, but managed to get back up on all fours.

The bloodied Hyde looked nearly ready to keel over, but it bolted away once more with one last surge of adrenaline. Pugsley on the other hand finally collapsed, he had been badly hurt by the Hyde and couldn't keep running any longer. Thing and Eugene kept up the chase, but the Hyde was able to turn a few corners, and they lost sight of him. They split up to try and find the monster, but it was no use. Tyler had escaped. 

Chapter Text

Enid growled low in her throat, and licked the blood from her lips. Screams and cries of panic filled the air, and the scent of death carried on the wind. Enid stalked through the alleyway, hunting for more prey to kill.

A large raven stood before her, head cocked to one side. Enid huffed and attempted to brush past the raven, but in a rapid motion the large bird pecked her head.

Enid snarled and bit at the bird, but slowly, as a warning. The raven cawed in her ear and hopped backwards, and Enid prowled towards the other lycanthrope. Enid chased the raven almost lazily through the alleys, the two biting and pecking at each other, but with little intent to harm.

Amused, the anger clouding Enid’s mind faded as she followed after Wednesday. ‘That’s right’ Enid remembered. ‘The wereraven is of my pack.’

Enid let out a playful ‘woof’ to let Wednesday know she was starting to feel like herself again, at least for the moment, and the two darted back towards the Martikov family winery.

The outcasts and many of the wereravens soon met back up at the winery, and Wednesday learned that the others had taken one of the attackers alive, a woman in light leather armor, with a bow and quiver full of arrows hung on her back. She was disarmed and kept locked up, to be interrogated later. Bianca had happily confiscated her arrows to give to Xavier.

All of the outcasts except for Eugene and Bianca were being treated by the wereravens for injuries they had sustained during the fight. Wednesday had gotten off lightly, she had only a couple of minor burns. 

“It’s almost impressive how we can hardly find a moment's respite in this cursed land”. Wednesday remarked to Danika Martikov, a middle-aged woman who was applying a healing balm to a burn on Wednesday’s back that she couldn’t reach herself. “Are any of the other outcasts in danger of dying?” Looking around the winery’s infirmary, it was clear some of the other outcasts were in a sorry state.

“Oh, don’t fret dear, none of your friends will die tonight.” Danika assured her. “Though I’m sorry to say your friend Enid has been stabbed and slashed with a silver dagger, and the cuts on her body are likely to scar. Keep in mind that as a wereraven, you have a similar weakness to silver now.”

“Yes, I have noticed an ill, almost painful feeling wash over me when I’ve unsheathed my silver dagger.” Wednesday nodded.

“It might not be worthwhile to keep that dagger on you dear. Keep in mind that as a wereraven, you don’t need silver to fight werewolves anymore. At any rate, Xavier is the worst off of your friends. He was badly injured, but he’ll live. Samuel’s injuries appear to be mild. But your little brother did take some bad injuries in a fight with a strange monster.” Danika informed her sympathetically.

Wednesday stood up as Danika finished applying the balm. “Yes, Eugene has informed me. The monster was this ‘Tyler’ that Xavier warned us about. He attacked us back in Vallaki in his monstrous form, and although he was downed in the fight, we didn’t get a chance to put him out of our misery at the time.”

Wednesday’s eyes narrowed. “But that is a mistake we will eventually rectify. No one torments my brother except for me.” Her voice was absolutely frigid as she mentally added Tyler to her “To kill” list.

Wednesday went down to see the prisoner with Danika following after her, and they were joined by Danika's father-in-law Davian Martikov, the elderly wereraven who ran the winery.

“If we were back at home, I would take you down to my family’s Play Room, and your interrogation would come after you were in no state to lie to us.” Wednesday stood uncomfortably close to the manacled huntress and stared her dead in the eyes. “But I am far from home, so I shall try, just once, to ask you politely. Why did you attack us?”

The huntress stared stonily back at Wednesday. “Why do you think? It’s because you killed Dr. Rudolph van Richten, the legendary monster hunter, and left him to rot in the streets.” She spat.

“The man who attacked us as we fled the destruction of Vallaki.” Wednesday nodded. “Regrettably, that was not a premeditated murder on our part, but strictly an act of self-defense.”

“If van Richten was hunting you, it’s because you are monsters and villains.”  The huntress glared stubbornly. “And that’s also what our friend Tyler told us about you.”

“You need better friends, or none at all, if you consider Tyler a friend.” Wednesday said wryly. “In any case, how did you learn it was us that killed van Richten?”

The huntress seemed to see no need to hide information from Wednesday. “The doctor's apprentice recovered his body, and investigated the scene. She wasn’t sure who the killers were, but Tyler assured us you had done it.”

Davian spoke up then. “And you thought it would be a good idea to attack them in the middle of our town?”

The woman flushed. “It wasn’t my idea. Sir Gregory likes… liked... dramatic confrontations, and assured us no civilians would be harmed.” Her expression crumbled with grief at the mention of the knight's death, and she struggled to hold back tears for her fallen friends.

“Fortunately for you, none were.” Davian nodded. “Still, you are too dangerous to immediately set free. We’ll have to think of some way to prevent you from attacking more children.”

The woman began to protest, but Wednesday nodded and left the room, having learned everything she needed to know. It also hadn’t escaped Wednesday’s notice that during the fight, the priest, who had apparently gotten away, had been calling out to his god Lathander, the same god that the Abbot back in Krezk worshipped. She resolved to investigate that god as soon as she found the time to do so.

In the meantime though, Wednesday headed back upstairs to the infirmary. She decided to check on Enid, to make sure she would recover well enough to travel soon of course, and not for any other reason in particular.

Wednesday pulled back the curtains surrounding Enid’s bed and stepped inside, shutting them again behind her. The werewolf was bandaged and awake, staring up at the ceiling. Wednesday also stared blankly, but at Enid rather than the ceiling. Now that she was here, she wasn’t sure what to say.

“Hi Wednesday.” Enid greeted her flatly. That was unusual. Her tone almost sounded similar to how Wednesday usually spoke. Wednesday briefly imagined returning the greeting with a cheerful ‘Howdy roomie!’ but quickly dismissed the random impulse with a disturbed shudder.

“Enid.” Wednesday simply nodded, crossing her arms.

The two remained in awkward silence for a little, before Enid spoke up. “I can remember everything I did as a werewolf, even if it didn’t feel like me. I killed two people today, and I can still remember the taste of their blood in my mouth.” 

Wednesday leaned forward with interest, but Enid’s expressionless mask broke as she retched and dry-heaved and the memory of the taste of her victims, looking disgusted and unsettled. 

Wednesday bit back her initial response and decided to attempt something akin to tact. “Not for nothing is lycanthropy called a curse. Do you feel guilty about what happened?”

“I don’t know.” Enid whispered. “I should feel guilty. I’ve never killed a person before, but I’m off to a hell of a start today. Mostly I feel like… this isn’t me. I like shopping and decorating and manis with Thing and blogging about silly gossip at school! I always disliked violence and scary things and I’ve kind of had to get used to that shit here, but I’m not a monster or a murderer!”

Wednesday struggled to come up with something to say to that. Enid had wanted to transform for so long. Now she had, and seemed unable to cope with the natural consequences of that. Wednesday was once again struck with another random, inane thought: Enid could probably benefit from therapy. Wednesday quickly dismissed that thought too, even if maybe there was some value in therapy, it was a useless observation here in Barovia.

“No one will judge you for acting in self-defense.” Wednesday finally settled on. She made sure to keep her voice low, so that no one else in the infirmary would overhear. “No one will judge you aside from yourself. You struggle with your self-image, and no one can define that for you.”

Enid nodded slightly but didn’t look comforted.

“You may feel poorly about yourself now...” Wednesday tried once more, breaking eye contact as she felt increasing discomfort. “but in my view, you’re still the same person you’ve always been, only now you’re coming into your own. You are loyal to your friends, brave in battle, and obnoxiously bright. You may feel changed in some terrible way, but I can tell that you’re still that same outcast who, for some truly unfathomable reason, wanted to be a friend to me the moment I stepped into our dorm room.”

Enid burst into tears. Wednesday sat down on the side of her bed and haltingly placed a hand on Enid’s shoulder, internally panicking as she was completely out of her depth. 

Tyler Galpin burst through the rotted wooden door of a crumbling, crooked tower. The tower was isolated in the wilds of Barovia, nestled in the shadows of many rough hills.

“FUCK!” Tyler screamed. “God fucking damn it!”

“Rough night sweetie?” Cooed the voice of his master, Laurel Gates, as she took off her goggles and gloves. A mutilated tree blight writhed on a table before her. The plant-like, almost humanoid monster didn’t feel pain in the way animals did, but the creature seemed to be feeling some sort of discomfort or fear under Laurel’s scalpel.

“Those freaks, they’ve grown more dangerous.” Tyler limped over to a chair and sat down heavily. “And those loser heroes weren’t worth a damn either, one of them even attacked me!”

Laurel grabbed a roll of bandages and a bottle of disinfectant, and stepped over to treat Tyler’s wounds. He grimaced but kept quiet as she sprayed him with the disinfectant, his wounds burning in pain.

“Poor Tyler. It must be so frustrating for you.” Laurel smiled at him sympathetically. As she treated the burns made by a corrosive substance, she squeezed one of the burns hard, and Tyler let out a gasp of pain. “Of course, it’s frustrating for me too, you know. That’s twice now you’ve failed to kill those abominations.”

Laurel scowled at him darkly. “And the Addams brats still live. After what their family did to mine, and to my brother especially…” Laurel wiped away a crocodile tear. “Well, I thought I could count on you to begin my vengeance against the Addams.”

“It was like Vallaki all over again.” Tyler protested. “The circumstances were too chaotic!”

“You didn’t need to kill all of them.” Laurel sighed as she finished treating her pet monster’s wounds. “Taking out one or two of them to soften up the group would have been enough.”

“Pugsley Addams was more durable than a human should have been.” Tyler muttered angrily. “And he had his little tricks and toys. I’ll kill him for what he did to me, and Xavier too. I can’t wait to rip both of them apart.”

“Sorry honey, but you are going to have to wait on that.” Laurel ordered. “It’s clear I can’t trust you to overpower the outcasts, so we’ll have to out-think them. Or…”

She turned back to the blight she had been experimenting on. “Or maybe I just need to build a better monster. Almost done now.” Laurel smirked.

Xavier and Pugsley needed a couple days of bedrest after the battle, but a few days later the outcasts, Maddie, and some of the wereravens were packing up and preparing to set out. They were finally ready to go after Baba Lysaga and the hags.

Urwin nodded gravely to the departing force. “It’s going to be a tough fight, and I fear you’ll likely be needing these.” He began passing out what few health potions he had to the group, bottles of glowing red liquid that Wednesday and Enid knew from experience could come in handy.

“We still have to decide how we’re getting to the ruins of Berez.” Bianca pointed out. “Are we taking the Old Slavich Road, or are we trying to sneak up on them through the mountains?”

“I do enjoy taking my enemies by surprise.” Wednesday mused. “But is trying to lead this group through haunted mountains a wise choice?”

Eugene cleared his throat loudly to get everyone’s attention. “I got this guys! My aunt and cousins took me hiking on the Appalachian Trail once, we even hiked in the Rocky Mountains before! I can get us through those mountains, and it will be totally fine.” He bragged. Some of his ghost bees flew by. “I may even be able to steer us clear of the ghosts with some help from my little pals here!”

One of the wereravens, Muriel, nodded in thought. “And us wereravens can fly ahead and scout for the group. Our wereraven forms would be quickly spotted by the Witch, but if we take the form of a normal raven, we could go undetected. Ravens are common enough in Barovia that we would blend in easily.”

Danika brought a bundle of clothing over to Enid. “Here love, I brought you a modified version of our wereraven robes.”

“So I’ll be a werewolf in a white robe?” Enid asked bemused.

“That would be a stretch. But these won’t tear apart when you transform. They’re a little complicated to put on, but they tie together in such a way that when you transform, they simply unravel. And look, tied to the waist is a normal white robe; when you detransform, you can slip into it quickly, and then change back into the werewolf robe when you have the chance.”

Enid gave her a big hug. “Thank you so much! You guys are great and this was really sweet of you!”

Wednesday gave Enid a careful look. There was no obvious sign of the werewolf’s earlier guilt and depression, but did that mean she was over it, or was she simply that good of an actor? Was her smile strained around the edges, or was that simply Wednesday’s imagination, or her difficulty in deciphering smiles?

Enid remembered something and pulled off her gauntlets with retractable blades that she had looted from the remains of Vallaki. “Here Samuel, I can’t wear these without destroying them now, but you can have them.”

Samuel waved her away. “I’m not sure that would really mesh with my style of fighting, and in any case, you guys should keep them.”

“What do you mean “you guys””? Enid asked with a confused look.

Samuel sighed, and explained himself to the group. “I won’t be going with the rest of you. With you and so many wereravens leaving, someone has to stay here to defend the town. The attack a couple days ago proved that. And we also know these people have other enemies, like the druids and their plant monsters.”

Samuel gave them a serious look and continued to explain himself. “It’s been great, but like you Wednesday, I never intended to travel around in a big group forever. I think I’ve found a place for myself here at Usherwood. I can defend these refugees, do good work keeping them safe, and maybe make a name for myself. I wouldn’t be leaving the group if I thought you needed me, but I know you can take care of yourselves.”

Pugsley’s face fell, and he sighed sadly. “Are you sure about this? You… you were the first friend I’ve made in a long while.” He admitted.

Samuel clapped him on the shoulder. “I’m sure. I’ll miss you too, but you can always come visit.”

Pugsley hugged him, and Eugene joined in after a moment too. The rest of the outcasts said their goodbyes, and the group began to set out to the east in the direction of the mountains.

“Here Pugsley, maybe you can get some use out of these.” Enid passed him the gauntlets.

Pugsley practiced releasing the blades inside the gauntlets, and nodded. “I already have my electric gloves, but I should be able to combine the two.” Pugsley’s sadness faded as he stared at the weapons with a dangerous gleam in his eyes.

“Wow” Enid laughed. “I think for the first time, I see the family resemblance.” She glanced between him and Wednesday, who was at the front of the group. 

Pugsley grinned proudly. “Thanks Enid, I haven’t heard that often, but I’ll take it as a compliment. Just don’t tell Wednesday I said so.”

“Don’t worry, I’m not trying to inflate her ego any bigger than it already is.” Enid snickered. Wednesday, from far enough away that she shouldn’t have been able to hear them, turned around and gave them a death glare, and the two immediately shut up, trying their best to look innocent.  Wednesday scoffed and looked away, and the two glanced at each other and bit back giggles.

The group travelled east for some time. The wereravens scouted ahead in raven form, aside from Wednesday who stuck with the other outcasts. Soon enough they came upon the mountains, and true to his word, Eugene took the lead and helped the group navigate safely and swiftly through the difficult mountain terrain.

As the outcasts ascended the mountain, they heard a bloodcurdling scream echo out from behind one of the rocky areas. The outcasts ran over, weapons drawn, but when they approached, they found no one.

Maddie hid a little behind Wednesday. “Diddn't you all say something about these mountains being haunted?” she whispered, eyes wide.

Wednesday patted her awkwardly on the head. “Ghosts are nothing to be afraid of. They commonly haunt the Addams family grounds.”

“Really?” Enid asked with an alarmed look. “I didn’t even know ghosts were actually real before we came here.”

Wednesday raised a brow. “That’s surprising. I can appreciate a healthy dose of skepticism, but I had thought the existence of ghosts was common knowledge.”

“The normies always said they weren’t real!” Enid protested. “And I grew up with a pack of werewolves in San Francisco. We had nothing to do with ghosts!” Enid shivered, but she had more or less gotten used to ghosts, since Eugene kept so many with him. 

Wednesday shrugged, the outcasts continued to climb the mountain as the ravens flew overhead. At one point, the ravens let out alarmed cries, and the outcasts had to divert their course to avoid some unknown danger.

Xavier walked up to Wednesday, a questioning look on his face. “Hey Wednesday, I’ve been meaning to ask this, but why didn’t you tell us that your parents were living here in Barovia back when we escaped Nevermore? Why did we only find out about them recently?”

Wednesday gave Xavier a quick glance but continued hiking. “Like I said, I had no desire to move back in with my parents. Even Pugsley became convinced it was worthwhile to explore this new world.”

“Ok sure.” Xavier huffed as he struggled to keep up. “But don’t you think the rest of us might have appreciated a safe place to stay, instead of having to travel all over, fighting for money and for our lives?”

“How should I know what you would appreciate?” she deflected as she picked up her pace, faster than Xavier could effectively keep up with. Truth be told, it had made more sense to keep him and the others as allies, rather than directing them to leech off of her parents. Xavier looked disgruntled but said nothing more about it. 

As they continued through the mountains, eventually they reached a point where even Eugene became stumped, not sure how to get the outcasts over a steep cliff. The outcasts were forced to pause as the cool wind whipped around them.

“Great, what do we do now?” Bianca glared at Eugene, clearly expecting him to have an answer.

Wednesday stepped between her and Eugene, but before the two could get into it, Eugene did find an answer. His bees buzzed back to him, and Eugene lit up with a relieved smile.

“It’s okay everyone, my bees found a way through! See that tunnel over there?” Eugene pointed towards a dark cavern. “My bees say it only goes a few hundred feet before it comes out on the other side. It will probably be easier to navigate if we can just get through this part of the cliff."

“Then let’s not delay.” Wednesday decided as the group headed for the tunnel. Just before they approached the dark entrance of the cave, a bloody gurgle echoed out from inside the cave, followed by a horrifying death rattle.

“And you’re sure this is the only way through?” Pugsley asked nervously.

Eugene gulped and nodded. “I’m not a huge fan of enclosed spaces, I’m claustrophobic. But my claustrophobia isn’t so severe that I can’t muddle through for a few hundred feet, and that’s the only way forward.”

Wednesday lit up a torch she had kept in her pack, and some of the other outcasts followed suit as they crouched down to move through the tunnel.

At first everything seemed to be okay, but the outcasts remained on guard, keeping an eye out for whatever they had heard dying, and especially for whatever may have killed it. But as they went further into the tunnel, the light of their torches seemed to grow dimmer, and increasingly they could see less and less even as the heat of the torches proved they continued to burn.  

“Prepare yourselves, this darkness is not natural.” Wednesday warned with a hint of anticipation in her voice, holding Maddie’s hand as they crept through the cavern.

Then the outcasts began to feel things squirming and touching them. They couldn’t see anything in the darkness, but felt the things, slimy and warm, trying to slip into their clothing and boots.

“Oh fuck no!” Bianca yelled, the outcasts dropped their torches and began to scramble quickly through the cave. The things began biting into them, and the tunnel echoed with screams of panic and pain.

Eugene’s bees swarmed through the air as they tried to hold back the tide of strange slimy creatures, and Enid partially transformed as she swatted her paws through the air frantically. Wednesday darted hurriedly from side to side, but she was slowed by Maddie who she was trying to protect. Maddie screamed in pain, and Wednesday knew they had to get her out of the cave soon.

Then Bianca remembered her new sword, and drew the blade of light from her scabbard. Whereas the light of the torches had been snuffed out by the darkness of the cavern, her sword lit up the cave with ease. The outcasts could see thin tendrils of wet flesh extending out of the slimy cavern walls, each tipped with what looked like a sharp tooth or piece of bone. The tendrils were growing everywhere throughout the cave.

Now that they could see them, the outcasts were better able to fight off the tendrils. Bianca practically danced through the group, cutting apart vast swathes of the fleshy things with wide arcs of her shining sword.

But the group was still fighting hard just to make it through. Maddie was struck with another sharp blow, and seemed nearly ready to pass out. Alarmed, Wednesday shifted into a wereraven, and covered Maddie with her wings.

The tendrils of flesh and bone lashed out at Wednesday as she became unable to defend herself in her attempt to cover Maddie, but after a moment Bianca was before her, slicing through every attack the tunnel tried to launch at Wednesday.

And then, without warning, the outcasts had stumbled out of the cavern. The unnatural darkness of the cave had prevented them from seeing the light at the end of the tunnel until the last second, and the group tumbled out of the cave in a heap.

“Can we please leave this world now?” Enid whined from somewhere in the middle of the pile of outcasts.

Eventually, the outcasts untangled themselves and were able to continue on. Hiking through the mountains was difficult even with Eugene taking them on the best possible paths. Soon the sun, always completely hidden behind the mists that hung above the lands of Barovia, went down, and the outcasts and wereravens set up camp for the night. They camped pressed against the side of a cliff so that no one could approach them from behind, and set up a rotating watch to keep an eye on things.

At one point, some of them were awoken as a scream echoed out; this one seemed to fade away as whoever was screaming fell down the side of one of the peaks of the mountain. Neither the outcasts nor the wereravens saw anyone though, and even after the wereravens took the skies again the next morning, they couldn’t see any travelers anywhere nearby.

As the outcasts made their way to the other side of the mountains, the interior of the mountain range became a twisted series of paths through rocky, sometimes unstable terrain. The mountains seemed almost designed to confuse and frustrate travelers, causing them to lose themselves among the cliff and peaks, or fall unexpectedly to their doom.

Eugene however didn’t fail, and continued to lead the outcasts safely through the winding mountains.

The group stopped to catch their breath, and Xavier turned to Eugene. “I’ve got to hand it to you, you’re really good at this. Your aunt taught you well.”

“Ya, I never felt cut out for hiking, but I guess I learned something from her.” Eugene shrugged. “I learned a lot from my family, but especially my moms who taught me beekeeping.”

“That must be nice.” Xavier said wistfully. “My dad’s always so busy, he never taught me much of anything.”

Bianca noticed Enid frowning, and she felt the same way; she didn’t really want to talk about her family either. “Yes, yes, Eugene’s very lucky, but can we not talk about our parents now? It’s not like we’ll be seeing them anytime soon anyway. Or at least, most of us won’t.” She said, giving the Addams a look.

“All my therapists ever wanted to do was talk about my relationship with my mother.” Wednesday glowered. “That, or the various acts of violence and arson that caused me to be forced to attend therapy.”

“Surprise surprise.” Bianca muttered. 

“My point is that if you must make small talk as travel, find another topic to blather on about.” Wednesday glared.

Enid had an idea. Or rather, she saw an opportunity to discuss something that had been constantly bothering her. “Okay, why don’t we talk about what our mysterious little goth is going to do with herself after we kill the witch and the hags? And what the rest of us are supposed to do after?”

“My plan is simple.” Wednesday explained. “I must drop Maddie off with my parents, determine if Count Strahd still wants to kill me after our last encounter, and find a place to stay here in Barovia, where I can work on my novels. Oh, and I'd like to kill Tyler when I have some time.”

"That thug came after us twice." Xavier kicked a rock down a cliff angrily. "He's going to try again." 

Pugsley spoke up next. “If that’s your plan Wednesday, I’ll probably go back with mother and father. I want to see their new house, maybe help them make it feel a little more like home.”

“I don’t know what the rest of us will do.” Bianca grumbled. “We’ve only survived so far because we stuck together, and found people who were willing to hire us and work with us. Samuel's already gone off on his own, so what are those of us without parents in this world supposed to do if the group shrinks further?”

Everybody thought about that for a while, but no one had an immediate answer, and they were interrupted when they heard a choking sound from nearby. Someone was being strangled to death, yet when the outcasts searched the area, they again found no one nearby. Likely it had been another ghost, but the trouble was they always felt like they had to check to make sure that there was nothing else going on. 

Although it seemed they were alone in the area, about ten minutes of travel later they heard a warning cry from up above. The ravens had spotted a pack of wolves, and the wolves were running straight for the outcasts.

The outcasts quickly scrambled up to get a bit of high ground against the wolves. Just as the wolves approached, the ravens flew down, some circling the outcasts, others diving at the wolves and pulling away just before they could get bit. It was a tense standoff, and Wednesday noticed the conflicted look on Enid’s face.

Wednesday nodded to Enid. “You’ve waited so long to be able to transform into a wolf. It would seem a shame if you gave up on yourself now.”

Enid still looked nervous, but grew more determined, and with a nod to Wednesday, she shifted into her werewolf form, and let out an angry howl.

Enid’s howl was much louder and fiercer than the howls of the regular wolves, and they quickly scampered away in terror. The outcasts gave Enid privacy as she turned back and slipped back into the white robes the wereravens had provided for her.

The rest of the day’s travel was uneventful, and by the end of a hard day’s hike, they had reached the eastern edge of the mountains very near to the ruins of Berez. With the day over, they knew it was necessary to set up camp. They would get a night’s rest, and then infiltrate the ruins in the early morning.

That night when Wednesday and Pugsley were on watch, Maddie woke up and sat down between the two of them, hugging her doll Mr. Grustug to her chest.

Pugsley scooted over for her, looking a little concerned. “Maddie, shouldn't you be asleep? Big day ahead of us tomorrow.”

“I can’t sleep.” Maddie whispered. “I keep thinking about my aunties… the hags are down there somewhere.”

“Thinking about revenge?” Wednesday asked.

“Maybe yesterday.” The girl muttered. “Now I’m thinking what they’ll do if they take me again.”

“Hey” Pugsley bumped his shoulder against hers. “Don’t think like that. You’ve got all of us between them and you. And we already smooshed Granny.”

“Yes, turn your thoughts back to vengeance.” Wednesday agreed. “Better to be angry than afraid when you're going into a fight. Fear is the mind-killer. The little death that brings total obliteration. As enticing as that sounds, hate is a better motivator when you have to go into battle. The hags are bullies, and you'll never be free of your fear until you stand up to them." 

Maddie still looked worried for a moment; it wasn’t so easy to set aside fear, but after a moment her mood began to change. “I remember when they used to poke me with sticks and yank me around by my hair.” Maddie grinned darkly. “I wanna do the same to them, before I bury them both alive”

Wednesday and Pugsley looked at each other, then nodded.

Wednesday looked down at the ruins of Berez and smiled. “There's an idea. I make no promises, but we’ll see what we can do. Tomorrow, we will settle the score once and for all.” 

Chapter Text

From her perch atop the mountains, Wednesday observed the ruins of the town of Berez. The rocky cliffs of the mountain descended down into a marsh, a large region of spongy earth pockmarked with stands of tall reeds and pools of stagnant water. A thick shroud of fog covered all, obscuring the ruins from her view, but in her raven form, Wednesday could still make out the outlines of old, peasant-owned cottages scattered throughout the marsh, their roofs mostly caved in. The decrepit dwellings seemed to hunker down in the mire, seemingly slowly sinking into the mud.

Wednesday could also detect the buzz of insect life swarming down below. On the far side of the village there was a wide river, and she noticed the fog was thinner on the distant riverbank, where she could make out a dark ring of standing stones.

Wednesday remembered how Strahd had supposedly destroyed the village according to legend; that was the river he had apparently flooded to wipe out Berez, turning it into the wrecked swamp it had become.

As Wednesday was in raven form instead of wereraven form, Wednesday had flown out of her wereraven cloak, so she flew back into it and turned back into a human, then collected the rest of her belongings. She then made her way over to the outcasts to report what she had seen.

“The fog was thick enough that I couldn’t spot any movement down below.” She finished explaining the nature of the ruins. “I did find a path down the mountain, we can approach our enemies in secret.”

“What are we going to do about all the bugs you heard?” Enid asked nervously.  

“I wish I had known about the bugs.” Pugsley muttered. “I could have come up with something to keep them away.”

Wednesday's stoic expression became slightly exasperated. “You have all somehow survived battles with wizards, werewolves, and hags. I imagine you’ll muddle through having to put up with some insects.”

“Ha!” Eugene laughed, as some of his bees darted out of his pack. “Famous last words.” He smirked.

Wednesday resisted the urge to roll her eyes, and instead gave Eugene a smack on the back of his head. The wereravens flew down and joined the outcasts, and Wednesday revealed her plan.

“This group is too large to effectively sneak into the ruins.” She explained. “But we can manage if my group goes down the mountain, while the rest of you stay out of sight until you are needed." 

Muriel frowned. “Baba Lysaga is our enemy. We didn’t come all the way out here to watch from a distance.”

Bianca sighed. “I don’t think you have to worry about that. When shit inevitably hits the fan, we’ll call you then.”

“I can light up a flare when the time comes.” Pugsley offered. Usually he just used his stock of flares to light things or people on fire, but he supposed he could use them for their intended use for once.

“And if Pugsley fails, I will transform and alert you myself.” Wednesday nodded. “This is the best way for us to stack the odds in our favor.”

The other wereravens looked convinced, so Muriel reluctantly agreed to the plan. “Fine, just be sure to save some of them for us.” She grumbled.

The outcasts made their way down off the mountain, taking an hour to reach the marsh down below. Between Eugene and Wednesday, the group was able to navigate the steep mountain without issue, but as they reached the bottom, they began to smell the stinking winds blowing off the swamp, and other strange scents coming from the decaying village.

Creeping carefully and quietly through the fog, the outcasts were soon bothered by swarms of flies, gnats, and mosquitoes. Fortunately, they were only regular bugs, and not some sort of magical Barovian nightmare insects. They were annoying, but the outcasts pushed on.

After a few minutes’ walk, the group came upon the ruins of a church. Both the church and the cemetery behind it were in rough shape, with many of the gravestones sinking into the mire.

Wednesday whispered orders to the other outcasts and Maddie. “We should go around the graveyard and keep an eye out for undead. Beware of everything we come across here, for Baba Lysaga is a witch of considerable power, and anything could be cursed by dark magic.”

The outcasts skirted alongside the church, pausing only to peer in through holes that were once covered by stained glass windows. Inside the gutted church they could see only the rotten remains of a pulpit, and an old iron bell that had fallen from the bell tower and through the floor, now half immersed in the marsh, lying amid the rubble of the collapsed steeple.

Somewhere in the distance, the outcasts could faintly hear birds squawking in alarm. They tensed, worried that the wereravens were trying to warn them of something, but they could see no danger nearby.

“Look over there.” Xavier whispered, pointing towards the ruin of a large manor on the south side of town. “That looks worth checking out. The hags or Baba Lysaga could be inside.”

Wednesday nodded; the wereravens claimed Baba Lysaga stayed inside of a distinctive hut, but her first priority was killing the hags who were hunting Maddie, and the mansion was the largest structure in the village, so the hags could easily be inside.

The outcasts trudged over to the manor, but it wasn’t an easy walk. Wherever they stepped, they seemed to sink into mud or water, coming up to their ankles or sometimes even to their knees, which made traveling in the area a misery. Eventually though they reached the manor, and as they came closer they could see it had been reduced in many places to piles of stone and rotting timber. Empty, arched windows stared back at them as they observed the building.

As they came closer still to the mansion, they noticed an untamed garden that ran rampant behind the manor, surrounded by broken walls that were no longer able to contain it. East of the ruin, someone had erected a crude wooden fence, forming a circular yard in which several goats were penned.

The movement of the goats and their occasional braying were the only signs of life that the outcasts could detect aside from all of the bugs. Mounting the fence posts around the goats were several dozen human skulls.

“Maybe the hags eat the goats?” Eugene whispered.

“That’s… not what they preferred to eat.” Maddie shuddered.

“Let’s head inside.” Wednesday muttered, her dark eyes burning with interest. This entire place was very much to her liking. It was almost a shame that she wasn’t on better terms with the residents here, and had only come to kill them. Maybe this would be a good place for her to stay afterwards?

“Kick down the front door?” Pugsley asked, but Wednesday shook her ahead.

“I admire a bold entrance, but why abandon the element of surprise? We will not go through the front, or come near enough to the goats at the side of the building that they will bleat at us. We can go through the gardens out back and make our way in through the backdoor.”

Wednesday took the lead and led the group through broken gaps in the wall surrounding the overgrown garden. Inside, hidden behind tall weeds and thorny vines, the outcasts noticed nude sculptures of handsome men and beautiful women, as well as carved stone benches that rested all around the garden.

Enid paused amid the weeds, sniffing. “I smell something…” she whispered, glancing around nervously.

“What is it?” Wednesday paused.

“It smells like the gorgons at Nevermore…. snakes!” Enid realized, and sure enough, the outcasts heard a loud hissing noise. Then a snake, unnaturally large, struck out from the bushes, biting at Enid.

Enid was prepared though, and jumped back, extending her claws as leaped away. Wednesday grabbed the snake and held it, and as it reared around to bite her, she chopped its head off with her steel dagger.

“More in the bushes!” Eugene warned. He took two shots with his crossbow, one of which struck nothing but another landed into a snake, which gave an angry hiss in response. The snake struck out rapidly, biting Eugene on the arm, and he couldn’t help but let out a scream of pain.

Enid jumped at the snake latched onto Eugene and struck it repeatedly with her claws, cutting it in half. But another hiss sounded out, and another large snake struck, this time biting onto a surprised Pugsley.

“I hate having to kill snakes.” Pugsley groaned. "Such noble beasts." With a click, blades emerged from the gauntlets that Enid had given him. They had been combined with his own shock gloves, and as a blade stabbed into the snake, electricity lit up the blade, and the snake collapsed to the ground dead.

The outcasts prepared themselves for another attack. They heard rustling in the weeds and more hissing, as at least one remaining snake slithered away from them, apparently scared off. Eugene grabbed supplies from his pack and was able to disinfect and bandage his bite wound. Pugsley’s wound was disinfected too, but he assured Eugene that he had taken worse bites than this back home, including from Wednesday when the two of them had been terrible toddlers.

The outcasts snuck inside through the backdoor of the manor, hoping that no one inside had heard them from the gardens. Inside, the manor was littered with the rotted remains of furniture and decor, and they heard voices from further inside the structure.  

The outcasts snuck quietly through the ruins, and then they saw them; the night hags they were looking for. One of the hags, wrinkled, warty, with mottled purple skin, rocked in a chair facing away from the group, carving something wooden in her hands with a large, wicked knife.

The other hag was up to something more interesting, which caught the outcasts attention straight away. A circle was drawn in blood on the floorboards, and the hag was prowling around the circle with a gloating smirk on her face. Inside the circle was a ghost, the ghost of a giant of a man, his features mutilated and his entrails hanging out like frayed ropes. Despite its intimidating presence, the apparition had a cringing light in its eyes.

"Why do you invade my home? Begone, I beseech you!" The ghost howled at the hag.

“Our home now dearie.” The hag giggled horribly, hissing in delight. “But you don’t have to stay in this circle forever. We’re just after some juicy gossip. What scandals occurred in this wealthy home? Who was betrayed here? What horrible things happened behind closed doors and shuttered windows?”

“I can only tell you my own story.” The ghost rasped. “It was the vampire Strahd who did this to us. He first met a young woman, Marina, in our small village, which rested peacefully on the shore of the once bountiful Luna River. Marina was the daughter of the local blacksmith. The rumor at the time was that Marina bore a striking resemblance to Strahd's beloved Tatyana, who had long since departed from this life; yet Marina resembled Tatyana both in appearance and manner. The poor thing became Strahd's obsession. He seduced her in the dead of night and feasted on her blood.”

“Ooh, I like where this is going!” Cackled the hag on the rocking chair as she continued her carving.

“I could not let him turn such a pure soul into a fiendish vampire. So before she could be turned into a monster, I, as the burgomaster of Berez, with the aid of a local priest named Brother Grigor… we slew Marina to save her soul from damnation. We had no choice!”

“I wonder if Marina saw it that way?” Mocked the hag circling the trapped spirit. “Did she thank you for saving her soul as you destroyed her body?”

“Strahd’s wrath was terrible.” The ghost murmured. “He butchered the priest, who’s divine powers could not hold back such a powerful enemy. Then he came for me. Once I was dead, he used his power over the land to swell the river, flooding the village and forcing the survivors to flee. Soon the marsh formed, preventing the survivors from returning.”

“An excellent story, one that should be recorded for prosperity!” The hag nodded jovially. “But a wealthy bastard such as yourself must have more stories of suffering and woe. Why don’t you tell us all about the sins of your illustrious family? Some delicious secrets we can share with the Witch during teatime!”

Wednesday whispered to the group. “Eugene, aim and fire at the hag in the rocking chair, Xavier will shoot the other. Both of you, use your arrows and bolts with silver tips.”

The boys nodded, readied their weapons, and fired before the hags were aware they were in any danger.

Eugene’s bolt struck the sitting hag, and his bees instantly swarmed her as she screamed in alarm. Xavier’s target moved out the way just in time to dodge the arrow he fired.

“Oh lookie here.” The hag that Xavier missed whipped her head around at the outcasts. “These little pests, invading our home once again. Such rude little mortals.”

The hag in the rocking chair pulled the crossbow bolt out of her body with a wet squelch and chucked it away. “But look sister, they brought our dear Maddie back to us.” The hag smirked and held out clawed hands. “Come here girl and let your Auntie see you. Let me pinch those cute cheeks of yours.”

Wednesday drew her silver dagger. “Maddie, say goodbye to your aunties.”

The hags cackled. “Oh Maddie, you don’t need that nasty girl to protect you. You don’t need Wednesday Addams at all.” The night hag in the chair stood up, towering above the outcasts, and held up the doll she’d been carving. “Look, we have Wednesday Addams at home!” she laughed, holding up a crude doll that vaguely resembled Wednesday. 

Annoyed, Wednesday hurled her silver dagger at the hag, but hag had fast reflexes; she held up the Wednesday doll and the dagger sunk into it. Fortunately, it proved not to be a voodoo doll when Wednesday didn’t drop dead, so Wednesday summoned the dagger back into her hands and transformed into her wereraven form.

Realizing the battle was on, Xavier reached inside of his mind and felt his psychic powers washing through him. This time when he fired an arrow, it struck true, hitting the hag who had been by the rocking chair, who let out a hiss of annoyance.  

The other hag ran at Eugene, giving him a predatory grin. “It’s been so long since I could bake a proper pie, and now I can bake dozens!” Eugene’s swarm intercepted the hag and began stinging her, and she cursed, and began firing shots of purple magic out of her fingertips. Some she shot into the swarm, but she also fired at Eugene and Pugsley.

Eugene yelped as two bolts of purple energy struck him, but fortunately they weren’t very powerful. When a bolt of magic was flung at Pugsley, something on his belt lit up, and an electric shield formed and destroyed the bolt of magic before it could hit him.

The hag that Xavier shot loped towards the outcasts, her gangly limbs flailing as she ran towards them with mad glee. Maddie scrambled away, and the hag fired the same purple bolts of magic that her sister had cast, this time striking Bianca, Wednesday, and Eugene again. Eugene was knocked onto his ass; the bolts of magic weren’t powerful, but getting hit with a few in a row definitely hurt.

Bianca though seemed unfazed, and ran towards the hag that had charged the group while drawing her glowing sword of light, the Sunsword. The hag danced nimbly away from the blade, now giving Bianca a wary look.

“The fish bitch has a new toy. Oh, the thing I could do with such magic…” The hag hissed, then dodged away again as Enid attempted to strike her with her claws extended. "And look, it’s the brat with long fingernails, I tremble in dread.” The hag mocked.

Enid glowered angrily. She could transform into a werewolf now, but the transformation was difficult and took a lot out of her. Now that they were in such a dangerous situation, she didn’t want to transform until shit really hit the fan.

Pugsley couldn’t do anything about the hag that Bianca and Enid had surrounded, but he fired his sonic cannon at the other hag, and she was flung ass over teakettle back onto the floor, Eugene’s swarm following after her. Pugsley winced as he realized he had blasted some of Eugene’s swarm to death, but noticed that ghosts instantly flew out of the bodies of the dead bees, rejoining the swarm. Pugsley’s attack had also rattled around the ghost trapped in the circle of blood, which was banging at the invisible field around it, demanding to be released. 

Pugsley pulled Eugene back up to his feet, and the boy aimed his crossbow and took one shot and then another at the hag Pugsley had knocked aside. One arrow sank into one of the hag’s legs, and another stuck straight into her gut. The hag howled loudly in pain as Eugene’s swarm refused to relent.

Meanwhile Wednesday flew above the other hag, and attempted to slash into her with her dagger, beak and talons. That hag batted aside each attack with her own deceptively strong, clawed hands, but the hag was distracted at least, and didn’t notice Xavier lining up another shot on her. Xavier shot her again, and the hag stumbled back frantically.

The hag that Eugene and Pugsley were fighting charged them again, and cast a spell on Eugene. Eugene felt himself becoming enthralled by the monstrous crone, but, reacting to his internal alarm, one of his own bees stung him, and Eugene was himself again. He fired a crossbow bolt at the hag that had nearly reached him, and she swore in frustration as she was forced to dodge away before she could be shot again.

Then Maddie snuck up on the hag, having drawn the silver dagger that Wednesday had given her. The ancient floorboards creaked as she crept across them, and the hag swung around and grinned at her with mad glee. Panicked, she through her doll, Mr. Grustug at the hag.

As the doll hit the hag, a wave of black energy seemed to wash over the hag, who suddenly froze and stopped moving.

The other hag also noticed Maddie, but was surrounded by too many enemies to do anything about her yet. She slashed her long, filthy claws into Wednesday, and the wereraven flew back with a cry of shock as blood flowed freely from the deep gashes.

Bianca immediately stood between Wednesday and the hag, and slashed into the hag with her Sunsword, and then stabbed her again. The hag screamed in pain as her wounds glowed with a destructive radiance.

Seeing that Bianca had that hag on the ropes, Enid turned to the other hag and jumped at her. The hag was frozen, seemingly in confusion, after being struck by Mr. Grustug. She was still able to block Enid’s initial strike with her arm as though by reflex, but she seemed lazy and slow, and Enid slashed at her with her other hand, raking her claws across the hag’s twisted face.  

The other hag screamed in rage. “Defend yourself sister!” she screamed, grabbing the rubble of the fireplace and throwing it at Bianca. Bianca grunted as she tumbled backwards, and Pugsley ran over to intervene. Blades released from his gloves and lit up with electricity. He stabbed into the hag, but the steel blades, even electrified, didn’t seem to hurt her like silver or the Sunsword could.

The hag snarled and tried to grab for Pugsley, but Wednesday flew back into the fight, drawing her rapier and stabbing at the hag. The hag grabbed onto the blade and held it, so Wednesday lashed out and pecked the hag’s left eye with her beak. The hag screamed as she held up a hand to her bleeding eye.

The other hag remained frozen as though lost in thought. Eugene shot her again while stinging her with his bees, and Maddie ran forward at the hag. She looked scared but angry, and stabbed her silver dagger into the hag’s leg.

The hag fighting Wednesday and Pugsley saw that her sister was about to be killed, and with a burst of strength she shoved them away and ran towards her sister.

“Maddie, stop this at once.” The hag yelled. “Your little rebellion was amusing for a time, but it’s over now. We are your family; you must not work against us!”

“You’re not my family! You kidnapped me like you kidnapped all those other kids, you took me from my family when I was a baby!” Maddie raged, holding out her dagger in front of her. Wednesday flew over but paused, letting Maddie say her peace, and Eugene followed her lead, and his bees paused their attack.

“Stupid girl, is that what you think!” The hag cackled once more, but this time she didn’t stop, and her screaming laughter grew louder and louder.

Enid stepped over to the laughing hag, preparing to tear out her throat. “Well, um, if you’re just going to stand there laughing evilly, I guess I’ll just kill you?” Enid shrugged.

The hag suddenly stopped laughing, but otherwise ignored Enid. “Like the other children you say?” The hag peered down at Maddie. “Did we bake you into a pie like the others, Maddie? Clearly not. Don’t you get it girly?”

Maddie froze, her dagger trembling in her hands, but she stepped forward, preparing to stab her “auntie.”

The hag continued. “Steal you from your family? You don’t have any family that’s not in this room. We are your true family; you are hag-kin.”

“What? No…, I’m nothing like you.” Maddie held her hands to her face, as though it could suddenly become mottled and gnarled.

The hag grinned. “Oh yeesss, but you are. Hags never look like hags in their youth. They appear to be just like any mortal child, maybe just a little bit meaner. A little darker. Until their body begins to change. Warts will break out across your face. Your limbs will grow unnaturally long on your body. And your mind will change too. You will rage against everything and everyone!”

Wednesday shifted, changing back into her human form, her wereraven robes easily staying on her as she turned. Wednesday gave the hag an unimpressed look once she was back in human form. “In other words, she’ll go through puberty.”

The hag gave Wednesday a murderous glare, and then turned back to Maddie. “You belong with your family. These pieces of shit killed Granny Morgantha, and our power is diminished. That’s why we need you back Maddie! The hag coven is a sacred pact: always three, each member benefits from the bond but only so long as they stay close together and support each other.”

Pugsley rubbed his chin in thought. “So a hag coven is kind of like those witches from Hocus Pocus? I guess a coven of three is pretty traditional.”

The hag ignored him. “If Granny had survived, our power would be undiminished. We could have haunted these brat’s nightmares. Filled their minds with paranoia from afar. We could have followed them wherever they went, walking in and out of this world with ease, stepping between it and the astral plane. We won’t need to serve a human, even one as powerful as Baba Lysaga, once we are a coven once more. You’re old enough to change now; one teensy weensy ritual, and we can force the process!”

Wednesday turned to Maddie. “Maddie, I believe I’ve made my intentions clear. You are welcome to join the Addams family as one of us. I realize you have two very appealing options to choose from, but I hope you know by now that you can trust me.”

Bianca gave Wednesday an incredulous look. “Two appealing options…” she muttered, and she and other outcasts circled around the hags as best they could. 

Pugsley nodded at Maddie. “Ya, we’d be happy to have you. I think that you’re our sort of people, even if you are a hag.” He paused. “Maybe especially if you’re a hag.”

Maddie gave him a hesitant look. Pugsley had been nice to her, but they hadn’t become close like she and Wednesday had. And could they really accept a hag into their family? She had lived with hags for as long as she could remember, for all of her life she now realized. They were true monsters; could she really stay with Wednesday now? Or should she join the other monsters?

As doubt and fear plagued Maddie’s mind, she stood frozen in silence, and slowly, a purple wart started to grow on her chin.

“That’s right dearie.” The hag cooed. “You know that no one but a hag can stand to be near another hag. They’ll turn on you as soon as you change. You’ll be ugly, hideous! They’ll mock you! Kick you out. Perhaps they will even kill you.” She grinned, and Maddie stiffened in fear.

Enid cautiously approached the younger girl. “Maddie, we would never…” she tried to put a hand on Maddie’s shoulder, but the girl shrugged away in fear. Another wart broke out on her face, as her skin became tinged with a purplish hue.

The ghost trapped in the circle screamed at the outcasts. “Kill her! Kill her before she turns! You can save her from ever becoming a monster!”

“Shut up!” Xavier whisper-yelled at the ghost, trying to stop him from making things worse. But it was no use, Maddie was fully terrified now.

The hag held out a clawed hand to Maddie. “Join us girl. You are good for nothing else. Hags are good for nothing at all.” The hag nodded and then seemed to remember something. “Oh, and do have your doll release the curse he put on my idiot sister.” She gave a contemptuous glance at the other hag, who was still frozen where she stood.

But Maddie stayed frozen, staring at hand as though it was one of the vicious snakes from the garden.

“Maddie, remember what I said to you last night.” Wednesday reminded her. “It’s better at times like this to be angry than afraid.”

Thing scuttled over next to Maddie and the hag, holding out his palm in the same way the hag did, offering Maddie a different path.

Maddie, looking torn, began to reach out to Thing. Without warning, the hag slammed her foot into the floorboard Thing was on, sending him hurtling into the air.

Thing flailed as he flew across the room, and he collided with Pugsley, slapping Pugsley in the face. The two fell messily to the ground, and Maddie couldn’t help herself. She giggled with wicked delight as her features became more and more hag-like.

“There she is!” The hag grinned. “No choice now dear, they won’t suffer a hag to live. Remember how they attacked our coven the moment they were invited into our home?”

Maddie still looked conflicted, but Bianca had had enough. “Maddie sweetie, go to Wednesday now.” She ordered with her siren song.

Wednesday gave Bianca an affronted look, but that was nothing compared to Maddie’s reaction. She shook off the siren song and scowled deeply, her skin purpling with rage. Angrily, she reached out and took the hag’s hand.

“Mr. Grustug, drop the curse.” Her doll remained lying on the floor where she had thrown him, but somehow his porcelain mask almost seemed reluctant. However, in the next moment the other hag was unfrozen.

“Maddie no!” Eugene yelled, as the hag scooped Maddie up and ran for the front door. His swarm descended on the hag, stinging her but not Maddie. It slowed the hag down, but didn’t stop her.

Bianca ran forward, feeling ashamed, and ran to block the door. She got in front of the fleeing hag, but the hag punched her with startling force, sending her reeling.

Enid also ran for the fleeing hag, but the other hag suddenly darted in front of her, and Enid was forced to dodge the hag’s swipe. Pugsley ran over and stabbed at the hag with the blades that sprung from his gauntlets, but this time it was the hag’s turn to dodge an attack, and the hag was able to block Pugsley and Enid from going after her sister and Maddie.

Wednesday paused for a moment, and then decided not to let the hag take Maddie like this. She hadn’t been done arguing her case when Bianca had fucked things up, so she felt justified in intervening now. She threw her silver dagger at the fleeing hag's back, which sank into her, the hag kept stumbling away. Annoyed, Wednesday summoned the dagger back into her hands and ran off in pursuit. 

Eugene took a shot at the hag that was blocking Enid and Pugsley, but missed. Fortunately for the outcasts though, that hag was badly wounded and facing too many enemies, and wasn’t prepared for Xavier’s attack. She was unable to dodge as Xavier fired an arrow into her chest; the hag grasped the arrow with a gasp, and then collapsed to the ground, dead.

Bianca managed to block the hag that had Maddie before she could exit the front door of the ruins, and Maddie saw Bianca and glared. “Mr. Grustug, get rid of her!”

Suddenly, Bianca felt fear begin to overwhelm her. In her mind she saw her mother and Gideon standing before her. Gideon offered her and her mother a cup of wine, and the rest of Gideon's brainwashed cultists drank deep from their own cups, and slumped over, dead.

“Your turn, Brandy Jane.” Gideon smiled at her. “It will all be better soon.”

Bianca shook off her fear and stood her ground. Her mother and MorningSong were a world away, literally. She had a new name now, and a new life. It would take more than that to scare her off.

Bianca raised the Sunsword to strike, but the hag held Maddie out in front of her, using her as a human-shield. Or a hag-shield at any rate. Bianca hesitated, and the hag darted sideways, making for a glassless window along the front wall, Eugene’s bees stinging her all the way. Bianca ran out the front of the house and raced over towards the window just as the hag jumped out of it.

Wednesday ran forward too, and jumped up onto the windowsill the hag had fled through. She threw a dagger down at the hag, but the hag batted the dagger out of the air. Eugene also made it out the front door, but he couldn’t get a clear shot at the hag with Bianca running towards her and Maddie in her grasp.

As Bianca caught up to the hag, an angry Maddie, still being carried away, took a swipe at Bianca with her dagger, and Bianca danced backwards just before the blade could cut her face. The hag held up Maddie again, shielding her from her attackers and rather alarming Maddie in the process. The hag then bolted again, running along the wall of the ruins and heading for the side of the house.

Bianca and the others chased after the hag, and just as she reached the corner of the mansion, Wednesday threw her silver dagger again. The blade sank into the back of the hag, and she dropped to the ground. As she fell, she whispered something to Maddie, and then she collapsed, dead in the mud. The flies almost instantly began to swarm around her body.

Maddie gave the outcasts a panicked look, convinced they were coming to slay her, and she turned the corner of the building, running for the goat pen as her features slowly became even more hag-like.

The others chased after Maddie, some of them slipping and sliding in the mud and water, but Bianca, who was in the lead, stayed on her feet. She turned the corner of the building and continued running towards Maddie.

Maddie had just reached the goat pen, and stared fearfully up at the human skulls grinning down at her from the top of the fence. Then she reached up, preparing to knock a skull from its perch on the fence.

“Sleep!” Bianca yelled forcefully, and this time her siren sing had an effect. Maddie swayed on her feet, and just before she could shove the skull, she fell over. Slowly, her eyes shut, and Maddie fell asleep. 

The other outcasts caught up to Bianca and paused, staring in silence at a partially transformed hag girl as she slept in the muck. The hags were dead, but the way things had gone left the outcasts feeling less than triumphant, and no one seemed to know what to do or say now. 

"Nice one Bianca." Enid whispered angrily to the other girl. The tired siren rolled her eyes, and braced herself for a different sort of fight. 

Chapter Text

Wednesday scooped up Maddie from where she lay in the mud. Her usual neutral expression had mostly broken; she looked tired and disappointed, and was trying not to wince as the hag-claw marks on her side continued to bleed. As she glanced at Bianca, she also looked very angry.

Eugene peered out at the goat pen as the goats bleated at the outcasts. “Why do you guys think Maddie was trying to touch one of those skulls?” 

“Why do you think?” Bianca tried to sound condescending, but mostly sounded subdued. “The hag told her to do something, and then she went for the skulls. They must be enchanted in some way, probably to keep thieves out of the goat pen.”

“An astute observation Bianca.” Wednesday responded icily. “It is a shame that you were not so clever a minute ago, when you tried, and failed, to use your siren song to influence Maddie at a crucial juncture.”

Bianca reared back and narrowed her eyes. “You should have never given the hag a chance to talk. Honestly, were you seriously willing to let her run off with night hags of all things?”

Wednesday glared at Bianca with a dangerous look on her face. “Maddie is a night hag of all things. And it was her choice to make. Thanks to you, Maddie was pressured into making a hasty decision as a reaction against your attempt to brainwash her, and she did not have the chance to make a rational decision.”

Bianca sneered. “Well, considering you just killed her "auntie", I’m not sure you can talk to me about taking away Maddie’s choices.”

Wednesday handed the sleeping Maddie off to Pugsley, and tensed like a viper preparing to strike. “I was beginning to believe you were tolerable, but now I’m not so sure I should tolerate you at all.”

Xavier hastily interjected himself between the two of them. “Whoa, okay, you both need to calm down. Bianca, Wednesday’s right, you shouldn’t have used your siren song on Maddie back in the mansion.” He scolded disapprovingly, which only caused Bianca’s anger to grow. “But Wednesday, this isn’t the place for a fight. You can’t let yourself get so emotional right now.”

Bianca and Wednesday looked at each other, and reached an unspoken agreement. They would kill Xavier, and then try to kill each other after. 

Enid placed a hand on Wednesday’s arm. “Xavier’s an ass, but he’s not wrong.” Xavier, confused, tried to protest that, but Enid ignored him. “We can’t fight each other now, Baba Lysaga is still somewhere out here in these ruins. I'm not real happy either, but we can sort it out later, okay?”

Wednesday’s eyes bore into Xavier and Bianca. “Fine. You can consider this a stay of execution.”

Xavier turned to Bianca, but she ignored him, and the group headed back into the ruins of the manor. As soon as they reentered the mansion, the gutted ghost in the circle of blood called out to them.

“I thank you children for ridding my home of those nasty beasts.” The ghost seemed calmer now, and was regarding the outcasts with a serious expression. “If you would be so kind, could you please free me from this blasted circle?”

The outcasts hesitated, but Pugsley spoke up. “He’ll kick up a fuss if we don’t. And that would probably wake Maddie up too.”

Wednesday walked over to the circle. “If we agree to free you, you must allow us to rest in the fetid corpse of your home for the time being.”

“I will agree to that, as long as you do not loot what little is left of my worldly possessions. My poor home is already in such a sorry state. Though it may be difficult to find rest here; the flies are everywhere, and they bite. A serious annoyance to those of you who are still made of flesh and blood.”

“I do not believe the flies will bother us just yet.” Wednesday glanced at the corpse of the hag that was in the ruins; like the one outside, it was being feasted upon by flies. “They are otherwise engaged.”

Wednesday took out a dagger and cut an opening in the circle of blood, and the ghost drifted out. True to his word, he left the outcasts alone, and they took an hour to bandage their wounds and recover. Wednesday took Pugsley aside and asked him to light a flare out back, so they could link up with the wereravens.

“The manor is on the edge of town, so no one should notice the flare if we light it behind the building. No one except the wereravens up above.” She explained. Pugsley agreed and lit up a flare, and soon enough Muriel and some of the other wereravens touched down next to the gardens.

Wednesday nodded slightly in greeting. “The hags are dead and Maddie is safe now, but she’s… sleeping. Muriel, could you have one of your wereravens watch over her? She’s had a trying day.”

Muriel thought about it. “Ideally we’d have as many wereravens as possible to participate in the battle against the Witch, but Maddie is too young to be left alone. And the fight should be easier now that you’ve killed her two strongest minions. Yes, we’ll have someone watch over Maddie.”

Wednesday decided to level with her. “Maddie is hag-kin, and her appearance has somewhat changed. I do not know if her appearance will revert; she hasn’t become a full hag yet. Be prepared for her to be angry and confused if she awakes. She was put to sleep by siren song, so she should remain asleep for some time as long as she is not overly disturbed.”

“Wow, that’s a lot.” Muriel furrowed her brows. “But we’re not ones to judge people for what they are, only for what they do. We’ll keep an eye on Maddie. You should know about what we discovered while scouting out the town from above.”

Muriel led Wednesday and Pugsley over to the side of the manor, and pointed out a direction ahead of them. “You can’t see it through the mists, but Baba Lysaga’s hut is that way, in the middle of town. You can get from here to there without coming too close to any other structures, and I recommend you stay away from the rest of the ruins; who knows who or what might be skulking about in them now?”

Muriel continued “There are scarecrows scattered throughout the ruins, including some near Baba Lysaga’s hut, but they’re inanimate for now. We did a few test runs by flying in front of them, and there was no reaction. Still, I wouldn’t risk touching or attacking them. That could cause them to become animated very quickly.”

Wednesday thought on that for a moment. “A fair point, but when we move to attack Baba Lysaga, they may come to life anyway. It would be wise to deal with them beforehand.”

Muriel shook her head. “Some of them are too close to Baba Lysaga’s hut. There are ravens squawking at the hut; we think maybe she’s torturing the poor birds. She won’t hear much going on in the ruins over that noise, but if we start a fight right next to her home, she’ll definitely hear that.”

Wednesday nodded. “If you and the other wereravens can hold off the scarecrows while we deal with Baba Lysaga, we can destroy our mutual enemy here and now.”

Muriel agreed. “We'll surround as many of the scarecrows as we can before the fight starts, so that we can easily destroy them right off the bat. We may not be able to get all of them right away, but hopefully we can finish them off quickly enough that we can then help you battle against the Witch.”

With a plan agreed on, Wednesday and Pugsley went back into the manor and explained the situation to the other outcasts, and the group set out in the direction of Baba Lysaga’s hut.

The outcasts took their time navigating carefully through the ruined town. The mist was thick and the ground treacherous, but Eugene’s bees were able to scout ahead, and Enid’s senses were supernaturally keen, so the group was able to make their way through Berez without getting lost in the swamp.

Soon a ramshackle wooden hut became visible through the mists, resting on the massive stump of what was once an enormous tree. The rotting roots of the stump were thrusting up from the mire like the legs of a gigantic spider.

An open doorway was visible on one side of the hut, but what really caught the outcast's attention was that, floating beneath the doorway near the side of the massive tree stump, was the upside-down, hollowed-out skull of a giant. That it was floating mid-air was strange even by the outcasts standards, but it didn't seem to see them or react to their approach. 

Flanking the hut's doorway were two iron cages that dangled like hideous ornaments from the eaves. Scores of ravens were trapped in each one. They squawked and fluttered their wings excitedly as the outcasts came closer. 

The group snuck up to the witch's home, exchanged looks, and made their final preparations for battle. Xavier was trying something new. He pulled out a page of his notebook that he had earlier drawn a wereraven on. His powers seemed to bring the wereraven to life, and it stood in the marsh near the hut, silent and unmoving, but it was there. Xavier knew that Baba Lysaga, for some reason, had a grudge against the wereravens, so hopefully the fake creature would provide some distraction.

With Eugene’s permission, Bianca whispered her siren song into the boy’s ear, encouraging him to focus. Eugene’s mind became laser focused as he drew his crossbow, aiming for the entrance of the hut and sending his swarm of bees forward.

Pugsley set up his flamethrower on one of the more solid parts of the earth near the hut. The flamethrower had long, spindly legs, and could move on its own accord; Pugsley hoped it would be able to navigate the swamp alright.

Enid walked into the ruins of a broken cabin and left her robe hanging inside, and transformed into a werewolf. As she did so, she made sure that the magic amulet she normally wore around her neck was tied around one of her ears. The amulet had helped to protect her from Count Strahd’s magic back in the ruins of Vallaki, and she figured that it could be useful in a battle with a powerful witch.

Wednesday picked a vial out of her pack, and then downed the potion inside. It was a little something that her Grandmama had shown her how to make, imbuing her with some additional vitality, and then she also transformed, turning into a wereraven and drawing her rapier.

Baba Lysaga had sent her scarecrows and the hags to attack them at Vallaki, and her scarecrows had been attacking the outcasts and the wereravens ever since. There was no sense in trying to resolve this diplomatically, and the outcasts weren’t inclined to try.

Wednesday flew up to the hut, and pecked on the wall as the ravens locked in cages began crying out even louder. She then flew up to the roof and waited, as the other outcasts prepared to attack.

A tall, gaunt woman emerged from the open doorway of the hut. She appeared to be as ancient as a human could be, walking with the aid of a quarterstaff. Her severe face was all angles and harsh lines, pointed and crooked, almost goblin-like in appearance, except that her expression was not goblin-like at all. It was grim and stern, Baba Lysaga gave the impression of a powerful and ancient being who was not to be trifled with.

Baba Lysaga smiled thinly at the ravens, enjoying the cries of the trapped birds. “What has you vermin acting up?” She muttered, and glanced around out into the marsh, where she quickly spotted the outcasts. 

All of the outcasts, that is, except for Wednesday, who was perched directly above her on the roof of her hut, glaring down at the witch with black eyes. Wednesday grasped her steel dagger with her talons, and threw it down at Baba Lysaga.

As the dagger flew down at Baba Lysaga, Eugene and Xavier also took shots at her. To the outcast's shock, the dagger, and then the crossbow bolt and arrow, passed harmlessly through the witch, who laughed and disappeared.

Baba Lysaga stepped out of the hut again and peered up at Wednesday. “You struck a mere illusion my dear, sneaky, stupid girl. None of you understand what magic is capable of. I will show you the true nature of magic.”

Xavier interrupted the witch by taking another shot at her. This time the arrow struck true, but it didn’t seem to bother Baba Lysaga much. The arrow barely punctured her flesh, and Wednesday was close enough to see that the arrow had struck her skin as though it were stone. Eugene shot her too, but again the witch seemed to be only slightly annoyed.

Eugene’s swarm of bees flew towards Baba Lysaga, and a dark energy formed around her left hand. “I’m not one to underestimate insects, but two can play at that game.” The dark energy coalesced, forming into a swarm of black, buzzing insects.

Baba Lysaga then ran, and as she fled Wednesday jumped down from the roof of the hut to walkway by the door, striking Baba Lysaga with her rapier. The witch stumbled slightly but kept running, while the swarm of insects attacked Wednesday. Fortunately in her wereraven form the bites failed to cause her much harm.

Baba Lysaga hopped down into the upside down giant skull resting below the porch of her hut, and to the outcast's surprise the skull began to float up into the air with Baba Lysaga inside of it. Bianca drew the Sunsword and ran at the witch, trying to strike the skull that had suddenly become the witch’s vehicle, but the skull floated out of reach just before Bianca could slash into it.

"The Sunsword." The Witch muttered. "Another dangerous weapon to the Immortal Ones, I shall have to hide that away too." 

Wednesday flew through the sky, quickly outpacing the swarm of insects that were after her, and in werewolf form Enid ran for the skull with the intention of jumping up at it. The skull jerked chaotically through the air, dodging Wednesday’s attempted rapier strike and dodging Enid too, who had been slowed down by the wet and muddy ground.

Baba Lysaga laughed lightly at all three of the girls. “Oh my, perhaps you should leave the fighting to the men-folk. Stay at home and find yourselves nice husbands.” Her swarm caught up with Wednesday and began biting her again, and the wereraven tried her best to fight off the insects.

Enid and Wednesday couldn’t speak in their lycanthropic forms, so Bianca was the one to respond to that with many creative curses.

“The mouths on children these days.” The witch shook her head in faux sorrow, and failed to notice Pugsley sneaking up behind her.

“Here goes nothing.” Pugsley whispered, and took his shot. He threw a bottle of flouroantimagic acid up into the air, and to his delight, he managed to land it right inside the skull. The bottle shattered, dosing the witch and skull in a very corrosive acid that happened to be especially destructive to magic.

“AAHHH!” The witch screamed in pain, frantically trying to wipe the acid off herself. As she was distracted, Xavier and Eugene managed to shoot her again with their arrows, and Eugene’s bees swarmed the witch, stinging her as much as they could.

Baba Lysaga clearly had enough, and abandoned her flying skull, teleporting back up onto the wooden walkway that surrounded her elevated hut. Muttering a spell, water appeared above her and washed over her, cleansing her of the acid, though the acid continued to eat away at her floating skull.

The caged ravens squawked furiously at the witch, who slapped one of the cages and glared hatefully at the outcasts. “Enough playing around I think. You could become a threat to my boy, so it’s time to destroy you and then your raven friends as well.” Baba Lysaga glanced briefly out into the distance, where the wereravens were now battling with her animated scarecrows.

As the outcasts began to run toward her, slowed somewhat by the swamp, Baba Lysaga slapped the side of her hut. “Wake up.” She ordered simply, and the hut woke up.

Another surprise, with a wooden groan the hut stood up from its resting place. Baba Lysaga remained standing on the deck that circled the entire hut, and the deck was raised into the air along with the hut itself. Beneath the witch's home were two massive chicken legs. Gigantic roots hung beneath the hut and around the legs, swaying in a probing fashion like tentacles. It was a bizarre sight, and the outcasts froze in shock.

“But why chicken legs?” Xavier asked to himself, utterly flummoxed.

“Panic.” Bianca shouted in siren song up at the witch, who leaned against the railing around the hut and glared down at the outcasts.

“Nice try girl, but I’m afraid you are the ones who should be panicking now.” Baba Lysaga mocked as the hut found its footing and began to lumber towards the outcasts.

Wednesday flew up towards Baba Lysaga, chased and hounded by her summoned swarm of insects before she outpaced them again. She took a stab at Baba Lysaga with her rapier, but the witch blocked the blow with her staff. The two began dueling on the walkway surrounding Baba Lysaga’s hut, high above the ground, and Wednesday found that the witch was a difficult opponent to anticipate. Nonetheless, Baba Lysaga’s specialty didn’t seem to be fighting at melee range, and Wednesday did manage to get a blow in with her sword.

Enid followed after, reaching the base of the hut and tearing into the giant chicken legs. The frantic assault of a furious werewolf was no joke, however she was still dwarfed by the massive legs, and seemed to be struggling to do any serious damage to them.

Pugsley ran over too, his mechanical cannon in hand, and he set it on the ground and input his directions.

“Ok, keep clear of this Enid, things are about to heat up a bit.” The device fired a burst of flame up into the underside of the hut, and Pugsley took one of his flares, lit it, and threw it up into the hut too.

His plan worked; parts of the wooden hut caught fire, but the flames were too small to bother the living hut, and Pugsley had to scramble backwards as the building continued to stomp forward, even as Enid had bitten onto one of its legs like a dog with a bone.

It was a little difficult with Wednesday and the Witch dueling up above the ground, but Eugene, and then Xavier, both managed to shoot the witch again. Though her skin remained unnaturally hard, the various wounds seemed to slow her down, and the witch hissed in anger.

“Enough. Stun.” The witch pointed a single finger at Wednesday, and the young wereraven dropped down onto the wooden deck, instantly stunned. There had been no spellfire to dodge; she had simply been stunned at the witch's command. Baba Lysaga retreated back inside her hut before anyone had a chance to fire more arrows at her.

The swarm of insects she had summoned flew at Bianca then, who was much less resilient to the biting insects than a transformed wereraven. Bianca swore and swatted at the bugs with her Sunsword, who were burned away when they touched the blade; but Bianca was still in a lot of pain as the bugs kept slipping through her defenses and biting her.

If Bianca had it bad, Enid had found herself in much worse trouble. One of the roots hanging from beneath the hut lashed out, knocking Enid off the chicken leg, which then began kicking her around and stomping on her. Enid yelped and howled in pain, but was powerless to fend off the titanic blows. Only the fact that she was a fully transformed werewolf allowed her to survive the hut’s relentless assault, but she tumbled away on the ground shocked and bloodied.

Bianca managed to fend off the swarm with her Sunsword long enough to make a break for it, and grabbed one of the roots, climbing up it even as it swayed frantically in an attempt to shake her off. Bianca managed to cling on and climb up towards the deck, jumping up onto the ledge of the walkway and clinging on desperately to avoid falling back down. 

“Wake up!” Bianca commanded Wednesday with siren song. Wednesday’s obsidian eyes glared into her soul, and Bianca realized Wednesday was paralyzed or stunned, not put to sleep. “Um, get up. Shake it off. Unstun.” Bianca tried.

That more or less worked, and Wednesday slowly began to recover from being stunned, haltingly standing up again.

Enid managed to get up again too. Angry and with no other options, she flung herself once again at the hut’s legs, tearing into its chicken flesh. Pugsley meanwhile continued to try to light the hut on fire; the next flare he threw missed, but his flamethrower was able to burn the underside of the hut again, adding to the slowly but steadily growing flames.

Xavier lost sight of Baba Lysaga when she entered the hut, so he began to go into his mind, trying to connect with his psychic powers to enable his next shot.

Eugene though, for lack of better options, took a couple shots at the hut’s chicken legs. He did also send his bees flying towards the hut, hoping they would soon reach the witch.

The hut ignored the crossbow bolts fired at it, but focused on the attacking werewolf. The tentacle-like roots hanging from the hut swayed, and then lashed out violently. The sheer force of the impact of two of the tentacles battered Enid, who was so injured she shifted back into her human form.

And then another root struck her human body, sending a screaming Enid flying off into the swamp. Unlike Wednesday, Enid wasn’t wearing a robe that she could wear when she shifted back into human form, but she ended up so completely covered in swamp mud that one could hardly say she was naked. That was the least of Enid’s worries though; she was so battered and bruised, it was a struggle just to crawl out of a hole in the ground that was filled with mud before she could sink and drown in it.

“Enid!” Eugene cried out, but before he could act, Baba Lysaga’s swarm of insects flew towards him, with the swarm having split off into two groups. Eugene yelped, but fortunately he always kept some of his own swarm in reserve. His bees clashed with the witch’s bugs, waging a tiny war in the air and defending him as he reloaded his crossbow.

The rest of Eugene’s swarm had reached Baba Lysaga and was stinging her as Wednesday advanced on the witch with her rapier at the ready.

Baba Lysaga sneered at Wednesday, ignoring the swarm of bees that had beset her. “Back on your feet already…  very impressive, but don’t you see that you are hopelessly outmatched against my magic? You and your friends will rot forever at the bottom of the swamp.”

The Witch threw out her hand, and lightning burst out from all of her fingers. The electricity was a sickly blue color, lit with the fury of Baba Lysaga’s bottomless hatred. Wednesday couldn’t hold back a cry as the current arced through her, and she collapsed to the ground, having shifted back into her human form, now somewhat singed and burned.

Baba Lysaga turned from Wednesday, trying but mostly failing to stomp out some of the fires that were burning in her hut. She walked over to a gnarled wooden crib and cooed down at it.

“My poor baby boy. Mother will never let the fire take you, dearest Strahd.” The witch murmured with a loving smile.

“Strahd.” Wednesday gasped from where she lay shocked on the floor.

“Who do you think raised the boy? Protected him with her greatest magics?” The witch didn’t take her eyes off the crib. “Only a mother would do what I did for Strahd.”

If she was talking about Count Strahd, that didn’t explain why she was hovering over a crib as though Strahd were still a baby, but from her position on the floor Wednesday couldn’t see inside the crib.

Bianca had climbed up onto the deck of the hut, and using the Sunsword she had finished destroying the remaining insects that had been chasing her. From just outside the door of the hut, Bianca glanced  in at the crib, Baba Lysaga, and Wednesday who was laying before her just inside the hut.

“Finish her or I will.” She instructed Wednesday, who didn’t mind the siren song being used on her as it gave her an infusion of strength that she used to stand again.

Baba Lysaga gave Bianca a disdainful look, and with a wave of her hand the door slammed shut and locked just before Bianca could step into the hut. Annoyed, Bianca huffed and struck the door with the Sunsword, and began working to batter it open.

“Thing, get the baby.” Wednesday ordered as she advanced on the witch. Thing jumped out of the hood of Wednesday’s wereraven robes and pounced at the crib. Baba Lysaga let out a terrible scream as Thing fell straight through the illusionary crib and baby.

“I see.” Wednesday nodded. “You truly are impressively insane.” She stabbed the witch with her sword, sending Baba Lysaga reeling back while clutching her bleeding face. Wednesday attempted to follow up with another strike but began coughing violently; the smoke in the burning hut was starting to get bad.

Pugsley’s flamethrower was still shooting fire at the hut, while Pugsley tossed one of the group’s few healing potions over to Enid.

He reached in his pack for the last of his flares, when his hand closed on something else, small and metallic. “Nice. Heads up sister.” He muttered, and with careful aim, he threw the device through one of the hut’s windows.

Meanwhile a wicked green energy began to emit from one of Baba Lysaga’s fingers as she aimed at Wednesday. The witch was badly bloodied, but still standing, and was becoming desperate.

“I won’t let anyone threaten my baby boy.” She snarled, when one of the hut’s windows shattered loudly. The noise alerted the witch just in time, and she reached out and grabbed the metal ball that had been hurled at her through the window.

“What is…” The Witch began, as Wednesday dove away, and the grenade exploded in Baba Lysaga’s hand, covering the inside of the hut with a mist of blood and gore. The remains of the witch covered almost every part of her small home. 

Xavier noticed a muffled explosion detonate from inside the hut, and when the Witch didn’t emerge, he shrugged and fired an arrow at one of the hut’s legs. His psychic powers helped him to hit a critical point in one of the joints in the giant chicken leg, and the hut faltered but continued to limp forwards, forcing him and Eugene to retreat backwards, as Eugene also took shots at the hut’s legs.

Pugsley heard the cries of ravens nearby, and looked over his shoulder to see that at least some of the wereravens had finished their battle, and were now flying towards the hut. When he looked back, he realized too late that the hut had gotten too close to him, and two of the roots hanging from it lashed out and battered him.

As an Addams, Pugsley was unnaturally hardy, and in fact he was quite sturdy even by Addams family standards. Nonetheless, being lashed by the gigantic roots hurt. At the same time, the hut stepped on and destroyed Pugsley’s flamethrower, and then it began to lower itself to the ground, attempting to sink its floor into the swamp water and put out the fire that had become a raging inferno that was now destroying the wooden building.  

Inside the burning hut, Wednesday struggled to crawl away from the flames as she choked on the smoke around her. Her vision was blurring badly. She supposed literally going down in flames wasn’t the worst way for her to meet her end; her ancestors would probably be impressed.

Then a hand extended from the smoke, and Wednesday grasped it instantly. Bianca pulled Wednesday out of the burning hut, with Thing following after them.

Once they were out onto the deck, Wednesday could see that the other wereravens had swarmed the hut, and were trying to pry the ravens free from their cages before they were burned. Quickly, Wednesday pulled out a lockpick and expertly opened one of the cages for them, and she ducked as the birds frantically flew away.

Having failed to put itself out in the swamp water, the hut stood up once more. Wednesday saw Eugene firing on the witch’s hut, which was closing in on the outcasts down below. She kicked one of the burning walls of the hut and watched it cave in, while Bianca took her Sunsword and slashed one of the walls that hadn’t yet lit up, and the heat of the blade started a small fire to add to the rest.

The roots of the hut lashed out again, one knocked Pugsley away just before he could attempt another attack. Another struck the illusionary wereraven that Xavier had drawn, destroying the image but sparing the outcasts from that particular blow. But another root slammed into Xavier himself, who was not nearly as difficult to break as Pugsley. Xavier was knocked to the ground, badly hurt and unable to pick himself back up.

Then the burning hut died, and began to fall straight towards some of the outcasts, especially Eugene and Xavier, who were directly beneath where the hut would land. 

The wereravens flew off with the ravens they had freed just before the hut could fall. Having been knocked out of her wereraven form, Wednesday threw herself bodily off the hut, with Thing clinging to her back. The chicken legs were tall though, and held the hut high in the air. Wednesday cleared the falling hut and landed on the ground with a painful thud.

Bianca also tried to jump off the falling hut, but tripped over the collapsing rubble and tumbled haplessly to the ground along with the burning wreckage of the hut.

Enid and Pugsley weren’t directly under the hut, but they were too close for comfort and scrambled away before they could be struck by the burning ruins. Eugene was right under the hut, but he made a run for it, and managed to clear the hut just in time.

Xavier though had watched in helpless agony as the hut fell straight towards him. Finally, the hut landed with a mighty boom, black smoke billowing from the raging fire as the enormous chicken legs and the roots laid sprawled in the mud, still and dead. 

The outcasts had been flung everywhere, and were largely laying in the mud, wounded and stunned. Badly hurt, Wednesday began crawling towards the fire. She hadn’t asked Bianca to save her, but Bianca had done so anyway, and Wednesday couldn’t let Bianca die with that debt unpaid.

From amid the rubble, Wednesday was relieved to see a dark arm burst free of the smoldering lumber. Bianca cried in pain as she shrugged off bits of the building, and she stumbled towards where she thought Xavier would be. She could barely see parts of his body peeking up through the ruins of the hut.

“Come on Bianca.” She whispered to herself in siren song, as she stumbled, burning herself on the fire. “Ah! Keep fucking walking!” She demanded of herself.

Bianca reached Xavier and brushed the timber off him. He wasn’t conscious, and she couldn’t tell if he was even breathing.

“Don’t die on me Xavier, that’s an order!” She screamed as best she could through her smoke-filled throat. He would have to forgive her for using her siren song on him this time.

Bianca began to pull Xavier free, tears of pain and fear streaming down her face, but although he wasn’t especially heavy, Bianca also wasn’t at full strength, and she had begun to cough more heavily as the smoke filled her lungs. She and Xavier weren’t getting anywhere. 

But then suddenly, Wednesday was there.

Lifting Xavier up from his other side, Wednesday gave Bianca a nod, and together they struggled to walk Xavier out of the burning rubble. 

Wednesday stumbled a little and bit her lip to keep from screaming in pain as the flames licked her ankles. “Keep going.” Bianca rasped, but she couldn’t seem to find any more siren song within herself.

The girls coughed and fell to their knees, cradling Xavier. Bianca reached over and grabbed Wednesday by the shoulder; the two of them couldn’t go on any further, and their vision was darkening as the smoke overcame them.

Dark shadows covered the three outcasts, and a group of wereravens grabbed each of them and lifted them up into the air, flying away from the burning fire.

The one good thing that came out of the hut catching fire, aside from the fact that the fire had killed the damn thing, was that all of the smoke in the air was doing a decent job of driving off the bugs in the swamp. The bugs stayed far away from the smoke, and the outcasts and wereravens had a chance to recover and catch their breath, and most importantly, to begin treating their wounds, which were many and varied.

It was a minor miracle, but Xavier had survived and seemed stable, though he didn’t wake up. His wounds wouldn’t heal so easily, though the outcasts decided to save a healing potion or two for him for when he was awake and could drink them, and they took the rest of the potions themselves.

Wednesday had suffered from the witch’s lightning strike, smoke inhalation, and various burns, but she was mostly okay. Bianca, Enid, and Pugsley however had been brutally injured by some nasty blows. Enid had somewhat recovered after immediately drinking the healing potion that Pugsley had tossed her, and had gone off to put her robes back on as soon as she saw that the others were alive.

Once the fire had died down, Wednesday, Eugene, and some of the wereravens had searched through the rubble. They didn’t find much that had survived, but what they did find was notable. The wereravens had found a magical stone that Baba Lysaga had stolen from them a while back. It was one of the gems they used to grow grapes at their vineyard, since no plants that bore useful fruit could grow naturally in the cursed lands of Barovia without magical assistance.

Wednesday meanwhile found a platinum amulet shaped like a sun. There was a large ruby embedded in the center of the amulet, and it was clearly an expensive and ornate piece of jewelry.

Muriel noticed and walked up to Wednesday. “The Holy Symbol of Ravenkind. That artifact is sacred to the wereravens, and a potent weapon in the right hands. Just another precious thing that the witch stole from the world.”

“If it’s sacred to you, you should have it.” Wednesday attempted to offer Muriel the amulet, but Muriel shook her head.

“This is your victory, you should keep the spoils. After all, you’re a wereraven too now.” Muriel closed Wednesday’s palm around the amulet, and stepped back, leaving her with the holy relic. “Besides, you may need it soon enough.”

“What makes you say so?” Wednesday asked.

“According to legend, this amulet is a gift that was delivered to a paladin by a giant raven. It was gifted to him by two gods. The Amulet is a fusion of the powers of two deities, Lathander, God of birth and renewal, and the Raven Queen, the goddess of death.” Muriel explained.

“Two very different gods.” Wednesday observed. “And yet, the concepts they represent are eternally linked.”

“Exactly.” Muriel nodded. “And they made that amulet for one purpose. To destroy the undead. And vampires in particular. I suggest you keep it safe, and keep it secret.”

Wednesday nodded and tucked the holy symbol into her robes. And, as it happened, she did so not a moment too soon.

The galloping steps of hooves echoed down the road that ran up to the town, and one of Muriel’s men reported hastily to her and Wednesday.

“That’s the Devil Strahd's carriage, it will arrive in another minute! We must flee!” The wereraven pleaded.

Muriel paled. “Aside from Wednesday, none of the outcasts can fly!”

“And I’m too… weak to transform again just yet.” Wednesday grit out. “And we’re too injured to fight.”

Wednesday thought for a moment. “You go, but stay nearby in raven form, in case we need you. We shall have to speak with Strahd and hope he is reasonable. As long as this doesn't turn into a fight, do not interfere.”

Wednesday touched the bite wounds on the side of her neck, a constant reminder of her last encounter with Count Strahd almost a month ago, when the vampire had learned that Ireena had died in their care and reacted rather dramatically.

“Take Maddie back to my parents. They are located in a manor just south of the town of Barovia. You will know them when you see them; they are unmistakable.”

After some reluctance on their part, the wereravens had gone into raven form and settled off in the distance.

Wednesday limped back to the rest of the outcasts, and the group watched in grim anticipation as the black carriage emerged from the mists and came to a stop before them.

The buzzing noise of the insects in the swamp seemed to vanish all at once as the world went quiet, and the door of the carriage opened. 

Chapter Text

Count Strahd von Zarovich stepped out of his carriage and took in the sight of the outcasts with a neutral look on his face. His long black hair swayed slightly in the breeze. Giving the burned hut a brief look, he then approached the outcasts, who tensed in anticipation.

Xavier was still unconscious, and this was the first time that Bianca and Eugene had seen Strahd. Enid’s only other meeting with him had gone rather poorly, and she was especially frightened. Particularly because she was too injured and weakened, and had transformed too recently, to turn back into her werewolf form anytime soon.

Wednesday stepped forward and inclined her head slightly. “Count Strahd.”

The vampire stared at her, saying nothing for a moment, and Wednesday gazed back into the cold, dark eyes of the vampire, refusing to break eye contact.

“Wednesday Addams.” He nodded in greeting. “It is good to see you again. I’ve been meaning to clear the air between us, ever since our last unfortunate encounter.”

The vampire bite on Wednesday’s neck throbbed in phantom pain. “You were… emotional at the time. Your reaction was understandable.”

Wednesday fought to keep the judgement out of her voice, for the simple reason that her group was in no condition to fight the Dark Lord. Just because his actions were understandable, didn’t mean Wednesday was sympathetic. His rage was just one more example of emotions leading to bad decisions.

 “As would you have been I think, had the roles been reversed.” Strahd seemed to shrug very slightly.

Wednesday said nothing in response to that, but she wasn’t convinced Strahd was correct; she had never been in love and had vowed to her mother not to fall in love, and she also wasn’t a stalker like Strahd.

“But it is no matter, everything is resolved now, and the past is in the past.” Strahd continued. “Ireena did lose her life because of your negligence, but I believe we can still have a cordial relationship.”

“How eminently reasonable of you.” Wednesday responded tonelessly, keeping her expression neutral; an easy task for Wednesday. “However, have you nothing to say about this?” She gestured at the ruined hut, where Pugsley had exploded a witch who had claimed to be Strahd’s mother.

“Not at all.” Strahd shook his head and gave Wednesday a thin smile. “I had heard the witch who lived here was in some way obsessed with me, but as she never acted against me, I never paid her any heed. Whatever she may have told you, she was simply a sad old woman, and was nothing to me personally.”

“It is good to hear you say that, because she claimed to be your mother.” Wednesday informed him, wary of his reaction. 

Strahd let out a cold laugh, and gave the hut a contemptuous look. “My mother, Queen Ravenovia, was a noble and beautiful woman, who tragically passed away long ago. Perhaps you have already done me a favor by ridding the world of this lying trash, but it is not enough, not yet.”

Strahd turned away from the hut and looked back to Wednesday. “I am not famous for my forgiving nature, but I believe we can come to terms with each other. I have a small problem that needs to be rectified, in return, I would be willing to forgo my plans to have you all drawn and quartered.”

Several of the outcasts gulped in fear behind Wednesday. Xavier snored lightly in his sleep.

“An interesting proposal.” Wednesday conceded. “What would you have us do for you?”

“Why, I believe this task is well-suited to you, Wednesday Addams.” Count Strahd’s smile grew, as he gave her a fanged grin. “I need you to solve a mystery.”

In the end, the outcasts had accepted Count Stradh’s proposal, as the only alternative was to be tied up and then torn apart by Stradh’s horses; he had been quite literal when he mentioned having them drawn and quartered.

Strahd however had not elaborated on the mystery that needed to be solved, only saying that he would explain more once that outcasts reached Castle Ravenloft, and that he would meet them there. The carriage had been too small for six outcasts and the Dark Lord, so Strahd had disappeared in a cloud of mist and made his own way back to the castle, leaving the outcasts in their current state, riding down the road to Castle Ravenloft in a black carriage pulled by monstrous dark horses.

Enid tried to lean against Wednesday, who gently pushed her away, earning a pout from Enid. “Hearing you and Strahd talk was like watching some old-fashioned Shakespearean play or something. You're both so formal and behind the times. You’re a little old lady.” Enid accused.

“Have you ever been to one of Shakespeare’s plays?” Wednesday deadpanned. Enid pouted again, but she couldn’t say she had.

Eugene spoke up next, looking a little frightened. “Anyone think we should bail out of this carriage before it takes us to the castle of an evil, all-powerful vampire?”

“Easy for you to suggest.” Bianca scoffed. “You were the only one who wasn’t hurt at all in that last fight. Xavier still hasn’t woken up; it’s not going to be easy to bale from this carriage without hurting him, we’re going pretty damn fast.”

“I am in no state to fly him out.” Wednesday admitted. “If we flee we shall have to leave Xavier behind, though the Count may be surprised to find only him in the carriage when it arrives.”

Bianca gave her an incredulous glare, and Wednesday stared back at her neutrally, though Bianca saw a spark of mischief in the other girl’s eyes.

“Oh great, she’s got jokes now.” Bianca muttered. “Well, I’m not leaving Xavier here as delivery food for Strahd, so that’s out.”

“Let’s just go to the castle.” Pugsley shrugged. “It went alright the last time Strahd invited us over, and he had lots of good food for dinner.” Pugsley licked his lips at the memory of the multi-course meal; he hadn’t had a meal like that ever since.

“I agree, though for wildly different reasons.” Wednesday said. “Trying to flee is not the correct tactical decision. The only way out of this quagmire is to go through it. Now is the time to be decisive and bold.” 

“What are we actually planning to do though?” Enid asked sleepily.

“If we're going, then I think we should play along for now.” Bianca opined. “I don’t like that this creeper stalked Ireena, but if we can get him off our backs, great. If not, or if we decide we want to delete him, we can cross that bridge when we come to it.”

“I am in agreement with Bianca.” Wednesday nodded, to everyone’s shock. “I would like to see about this mystery before we decide whether or not the Count’s time is finally up. Though I do wonder how he knew I was interested in mysteries.” Wednesday frowned in suspicion.

“Ok, we’ll play it by ear.” Enid yawned. “Wake me up when we get to the castle of evil.”

For the second time, Wednesday and Pugsley were escorted into Castle Ravenloft by carriage, though this time with their friends from school instead of their parents. As they approached the castle, a cold fog swirled in the courtyard. Sporadic flashes of lightning lanced the weeping clouds overhead as thunder shook the ground. Through the drizzle, the outcasts could see torch flames fluttering on each side of the keep's open main doors. Warm light spilled out of the entrance, flooding the courtyard.

Xavier had recently come to; he had been in a lot of pain, but had downed a couple of healing potions which seemed to help. He was alarmed to learn that they were approaching Castle Ravenloft, but resigned himself to meeting the master vampire in person.

The carriage stopped before the doors to the castle, which swung open of their own accord to greet the outcasts. The group hurried through the rain and into the long, grand hallway that was the chief entryway into the castle. Gargoyles grinned down at the outcasts from their perch high up near the roof of the great hall. Overhead, in the vaulted entry foyer, four statues of dragons glared down, their eyes flickering in the torchlight.

The outcasts began walking down the hall, when a tall elven man with brown skin and long black hair descended the wide staircase on the opposite end of the hall, as quiet as a cat. He wore a gray cloak over black studded leather armor and had a polished scimitar hanging from his belt.

"My master is expecting you," the elf greeted them formally, and turned around to walk away, clearly expecting the outcasts to follow.

The group trailed after the elf,  and as they came close to him, something strange happened. In their heads, they could hear a chorus of voices, sounding like hundreds or thousands of screaming men and women. Enid quickly fell back a little, and the voices in her mind vanished as she moved further away from the elf. ‘Creepy’ she thought in mild terror.

Leading them through the castle, the elf stopped before a large set of doors and opened them, silently bidding the outcasts to enter. The outcasts could hear organ music echoing from inside the hall.

Three enormous crystal chandeliers brilliantly illuminated the magnificent chamber. Pillars of stone stood against dull white marble walls, supporting the ceiling. In the center of the room, a long, heavy table was covered with a fine white satin cloth. The table was laden with expensive place settings: porcelain plates, glass drinking vessels, gold utensils, and silk napkins were all placed with pin-perfect precision.

At each place was a crystal goblet filled with an amber liquid with a delicate, tantalizing fragrance. Table tents with each of the outcast’s names indicated their places at the table, with unnamed places between each of them.

At the center of the far west wall, between floor-to-ceiling mirrors, stood a massive organ. Its pipes blared out a thunderous melody that spoke in its tone of greatness and despair. Seated at the organ, facing away from them, a single caped figure pounded the keys in raptured ecstasy. It was Count Strahd, and he suddenly stopped playing, turning around to face the outcasts.  

"Good evening, I hope your ride was pleasant. Welcome to Castle Ravenloft, you were most wise to accept my invitation. Of course, if you wish, Rahadin will take your packs up to your rooms." he offered with a smile, gesturing to the elf that had brought them in.

The outcasts were not interested in parting with their belongings, but Strahd didn’t seem to care; he stood and walked to the fireplace where he gazed into the dancing flames.

“Tell me, young outcasts, how are you enjoying your stay in my lands thus far?” He asked, grabbing a fire poker and stoking the flames.

“Very well, thank you.” Wednesday replied as the outcasts filed into the hall.

“Oh? What is it that you appreciate about my domain?” Strahd asked the group.

“The atmosphere.” Wednesday responded honestly.

“Ya, I thought the swamps we just came from were pretty neat!” Pugsley chimed in. “There’s been a lot of cool places here in Barovia!”

“And the rest of you?” Strahd pressed.

The rest of the outcasts looked at each other and struggled to come up with something nice to say about Barovia.

“The lake outside of Vallaki was… nice.” Bianca tried. Although the memories associated with it were not; Ireena has been killed on the mountain above that lake.

“I’ve learned how to use a crossbow, and have gotten, ah, lots of practice.” Eugene admitted.

“The scenery is, um, unique. I have a lot of ideas for my art.” Xavier offered.

“I finally transformed into a werewolf, so I’m feeling pretty good about myself now. Real boost to my self-esteem. Mom will be thrilled, probably.” Enid bit her tongue to stop herself from babbling, this was a nerve wracking meeting for her. She couldn't stop thinking about how Strahd had bit and nearly killed Wednesday.  

“I am glad to hear you’ve enjoyed your time here. Mortals have so little time to savor during their brief lives, after all. But please, I am not averse to some constructive criticism. What have you disliked about Barovia?

This time it was Wednesday who wasn’t sure how to respond, as she struggled to come up with anything bad to say about Barovia. The others were a bit quicker on the draw.

“There was one time I saw a... an illusion I guess, of myself dead and hanging from a noose.” Bianca remembered. “That was right after we left the town of Barovia. Didn’t love that.”

“I didn’t enjoy getting almost killed by a manticore.” Xavier chimed in. “Or earlier when I was really almost killed by a falling, flaming witch's hut on chicken’s legs.”

Eugene sniffed as tears filled his eyes. “I hate that hut. The last of my bees that were still alive were killed in that stupid fight. They’re all ghosts now.”

“There’s no indoor plumbing or electricity.” Pugsley complained.

“Ya, that.” Enid pointed at Pugsley. “Also I didn’t like the hags or the zombies or demons that possess orphans or that I got kidnapped by your evil werewolves and a whole town was fucking violently destroyed!”

The hall went silent as everyone turned to look at Enid, who flushed red at the scrutiny.

“I cannot think of anything off the top of my head.” Wednesday spoke up into the ensuing silence. “I’ll have to get back to you on that one.”

Strahd smiled. “Then I should thank you all. After all, you cleared out most of those little pests you mentioned. But perhaps I shall look into this indoor plumbing you speak of.”

“As for Vallaki.” Strahd continued. “It’s a shame, but there were survivors in the end. Tell me, do you believe the people of Barovia are worth saving? And if so, what should be done for them?”

The outcasts didn’t immediately answer that one. Enid tentatively raised her hand as though she were back in class. “Um, I think they shouldn’t suffer at least. Maybe they should have, ah, homes and farms built for them?”

Eugene nodded. “A new city to live in, with a proper sewer system, and the surrounding farms would have to be thought out in advance to be irrigated and productive… yeah, there’s things that could be done for the people living here.”

“I’m curious as to what you’ve done for the people lately?” Wednesday questioned. Some of the other outcasts gave her nervous looks as she asked a question that could be construed as confrontational.

Strahd smiled benevolently. “Of course, I am their protector as always. There may be many dangers in Barovia, but they are nothing compared to what would befall these lands if they were ever invaded by an outside force.”

“An outside force?” Xavier asked as his brows furrowed in confusion.

“Of course, my realm is only one of many in the wider world of Ravenloft. And some of the other rulers here…” Strahd chuckled. “Let’s just say they are not as kind of a master as I.”

Pugsley looked confused “So, this world is called Ravenloft, and so is your castle?” he asked.

“Indeed.” Strahd nodded. “After all, Barovia is the greatest realm in Ravenloft, and this castle functions as its capital. I won’t claim to rule all of the world; I’m afraid the enchanted mists surrounding Barovia prevent me from marching out and conquering the rest of Ravenloft. But I do consider this castle to be the dark heart of this world.”

“Any idea how we ended up here?” Bianca asked. It was a question she was very invested in.

Strahd held out his hands, palms up, in the universal gesture for ‘beats me’.

“The mists take people from time to time, and deposit them here in Ravenloft.” He responded. “Though this is the first time they have taken an entire town and brought it here. There are Dark Powers that exist in this world, writhing in the cracks between reality, working their will here and there. Perhaps they are responsible for your arrival.”

Bianca figured that was possible, but it was also possible that was a lie or half-truth. Strahd had suddenly seemed a little too casual when answering that question, and Wednesday seemed to be a little suspicious too.

“What about you, Count?” Wednesday suddenly asked. “How do you enjoy your domain?”

The group stiffened as Wednesday asked another question that was borderline insolent. Strahd didn’t seem to mind though.

“Oh, I enjoy these lands and all they have to offer, as well as I can.” Strahd smiled faintly. “I was betrayed by those I was close to a long time ago, and some wounds never fully heal. I escaped death and now live on eternally as a creature of the night. Now I enjoy my peace and solitude here at Castle Ravenloft. Though of course, I am not completely isolated here.” He added.

“You’ve already met my loyal chamberlain Rahadin, and of course I have other servants and companions in the castle. You shall meet most of them shortly. In fact, they will be very relevant to the current problem at hand.”

“And what is this problem you’ve brought us here to solve?” Wednesday queried.

A sudden knocking at the door interrupted the conversation, to Wednesday’s endless frustration.

“All in due time my dear.” Strahd responded. “Come in!” he called out.

Turning to the outcasts, he added. “Finally! Dinner can now begin.”

Some of the outcasts had to resist the urge to draw their weapons, still worried that they may be on the menu tonight. 

Rahadin opened the door to reveal three women and a man. As they laid eyes on the outcasts, they exposed their fangs and prepared to charge, but a look from the Lord of Barovia froze them in place.

“As long as my guests behave like civilized people, they are under my protection. No one is to touch them in any way.” Strahd ordered. The vampires immediately altered their demeanors to that of socialites. They smiled and laughed in good cheer as they greeted Strahd. Seeing that their one-on-one conversation with Strahd was over, the outcasts took their assigned seats at the table, with the other dinner guests sitting between them.

The clicking of heels echoed into the hall followed by the appearance of a pale, teenage girl. She adjusted the corset of her satin dress in a most unladylike fashion, and then checked on the state of her black hair with a hand.

“Fashionably late aren’t we, dear? Come, come meet our guests.” Strahd said in a caring, paternal tone.

The girl blushed and curtsied. “My lord, it’s not every day I get invited to an official banquet. Thank you so much, you are so good to me.”  

Walking to the head of the table, Strahd took his seat. “Please, eat. Drink. Take all you want. Let us get to know each other.” Viol music echoed through the room in relaxing tunes as a maid entered, holding platters she placed in the center of the table. The meal consisted of lamb cutlets, quails, and potatoes, and the maid served the outcasts cool, clear water.

Wednesday and Pugsley weren’t concerned about poisoned food; as far as they were concerned, poisons were just added flavoring in a meal. At worst, Strahd might have slipped something like colored marshmallows into their food, but they didn’t see anything like that. Seeing the Addams begin to eat and that they weren’t choking and dying, the other outcasts soon began to eat as well; they hadn’t had a meal in over a day and were quite hungry by now.

Strahd and the other vampires did not eat, instead drinking blood from golden vessels. Strahd opened a bottle of wine, and gave it to the maid to serve to the outcasts.

“Champagne du le Stomp” Strahd explained. “An exquisite wine with a gentle richness, and one of the last bottles in Barovia. I do not drink myself, but I can still recall the flavor. Full-bodied, fleshy and layered, structured and dense with great concentration. An elegant wine for my guests; I know you Addams at least can appreciate the finer things in life. I am the same way myself.”

Wednesday raised her glass and took a deep sip. Strahd was correct, the wine was excellent even by the standards of her wealthy family. It was a shame her host could no longer enjoy the wine himself, but she supposed some pleasures were only for the living.

Xavier glanced nervously at the vampire sitting next to him, a woman who appeared to be in her young twenties, similar in that regard to the male vampire that Strahd had invited to dinner. Of course, appearances were typically deceiving when trying to determine how old a vampire really was. 

The woman next to Xavier was dressed in a red wedding gown, she had pale skin, violet eyes, dark hair, and a cheerful energy that set Xavier on edge. He was used to vampires from when he had attended Nevermore, not to mention travelling with Samuel, but there was something different about the vampires here. The most important difference was the fact that they were loyal to a tyrant with uncertain intentions towards the outcasts.

The women turned towards Xavier and gave him a flirtatious smile. “I think it’s time we all introduced ourselves. I am Anastraya Karelova, and who might you be?”

Xavier tried to keep his nerves from showing in his expression. “Xavier Thorpe, pleased to make your acquaintance.”

“Oh indeed. It’s been sometime since we had so many visitors arrive at the castle under the protection of Count Strand’s hospitality.” Anastraya eyed Xavier up and down. “I am pleased, it is a wonderful event to have a feast such as this, and this is only the beginning! I believe I should arrange for a ball. A nice party for our dear guests.”

“Oh, ah, if you say so.” Xavier mumbled, taking a sip of his wine.

“Tell me, have you been to many other parties lately?” Anastraya asked excitedly. “I spend most of my time here in the Castle, but I do enjoy news from the wider world.”

“Well, there was the Festival of the Blazing Sun, but it was kind of boring, until the festival was attacked and the town was destroyed.” Xavier admitted.

“Ah yes, one of the Baron of Vallaki’s little events. That man was such a bore.” Anastraya waved her hand dismissively. 

“He was injured in the fighting.” Xavier recalled. The fight had actually begun when an unknown shooter had shot the man with a firearm, which was odd, as Xavier had never seen another firearm here in Barovia. But he had seen other outcasts, and he knew the entire town of Jericho had been transported to this world. Could someone from back home have shot the Baron? There was at least one other native of Earth at the festival besides the outcasts... Tyler Galpin. 

Xavier continued. “But from what I saw, his men were able to get him out of Vallaki, so I guess he managed to survive.”

Anastraya grinned and licked her lips. “No, I am afraid he did not.”

Xavier gulped nervously, and quickly stuffed his face with food.

Wednesday was sitting on the other side of Anastraya, and intervened when Xavier chickened out of the conversation. “We attended another festival recently, but that event was attacked too. We have a recurring problem with a pest from back home that came along with us to Barovia. I have a feeling though that our next encounter with him will be our last.”

Anastraya shook her head. “Such a shame that you’ve had so many difficulties with party crashers, but I assure you, our parties here at Castle Ravenloft are well protected. It’s true that occasionally some of the villagers attempt to raid the castle, but they are nothing more than an amusing diversion. It’s so convenient when your meals deliver themselves directly to your doorstep.”

“I understand.” Wednesday nodded. “I was sometimes tempted to resort to something similar whenever girl scouts came knocking at my family’s home. After all, I have no use for their repulsive cookies.”

The smiling vampire sitting on Wednesday’s other side turned to her; aside from Strahd, he was the lone male vampire in the room. “My dear, you simply must tell us of the world you came from. Though I too spend most of my time in Castle Ravenloft, I am well familiar with the rest of Barovia. But I know little of this world you hail from.”

Wednesday gave the vampire an assessing look. He had already introduced himself to her as Escher von Preshlow; he was a somewhat short man with golden-blonde locks, and was the most impeccably dressed of Strahd’s vampires. Wednesday didn’t trust these smiling servants of the Dark Lord as far as she could throw them, but she could humor this harmless small talk.

“When I was a young child, I believed that my family was representative of how the general populace lived and behaved, and that the occasional visitors we received were the odd ones.” Wednesday thought back to some of the hapless visitors that had bumbled their way into the Addams Family manor when she was young, only to be horrified by what Wednesday had considered to be a fairly average, if well-to-do, household.

“But since then, I’ve realized how mad my world is.” Wednesday continued. “Most people desire nothing more than to conform to a culture of shallow materialism and faux-cheerfulness. In reality though, our world is no less cruel than Barovia, it is simply less honest. And less appealing overall.” She concluded.

“Ah, such a shame.” Escher shook his head sadly. “Left to their own devices, the mortal races live such meaningless lives. It sounds like your world could benefit from a strong leader to guide them, such as our dear dread lord, Count Strahd.”

Wednesday’s blank expression almost appeared skeptical. “I have seen what happened to the town of Berez. I doubt most residents of Earth would agree that Count Strahd would be their ideal leader.”

The girl a couple seats down from Wednesday, sitting to the right of Enid, quickly spoke up in Strahd’s defense. “Count Strahd is a noble prince! I’ve never heard of any place called Berez, but I’m sure that’s all a big misunderstanding!”

Wednesday turned to face the girl, who had introduced herself as Gertruda, and whose table manners had been subpar so far. She had been eating with her mouth open, and made a lot of noise enjoying her food. But at least she had swallowed her food before speaking. That she was eating at all was notable; it proved that she wasn’t a vampire like the others that Strahd had invited to the feast.

Back when Count Strahd had invited Wednesday and her family to visit Castle Ravenloft shortly after their arrival in Barovia, they had stayed the night in the guest rooms, and Wednesday had snuck out at night to explore the castle. Looking at Gertruda now, Wednesday realized that she was the slender, dark-haired teenage girl that she had seen sleeping in one of the castle’s bedrooms.

Gertruda continued “I’ve been living here for a while now, and it’s been just like a fairy tale! Count Strahd is always so good to me. Did you know that one day soon, we’ll be married?”

“Is that so?” Wednesday asked tonelessly. Gertruda looked perhaps a little young to be marrying an ancient vampire, perhaps no older than Wednesday herself. She gave Count Strahd a narrow-eyed look, and noted that Escher was looking upon Gertruda in dry amusement. 

Enid, who was sitting between Escher and Gertruda, gave the other girl a look of faint alarm. “Um, are you sure? Aren’t you a little young to be getting married?” She asked.

“Oh no, not at all” Gertruda waved her off. “Have you ever been in love? It’s a wonderful experience that makes the whole world bright!”

Enid glanced around the dining hall. The shadows were so deep that she could only just make out the distant walls of the room, and that was only because of her superhuman eyesight.

“Does it? That sounds nice.” She answered faintly. She gave a quick glance to Wednesday as though questioning whether Gertruda was entirely sane, which Gertruda didn’t seem to notice.

Pugsley was sitting on Gertruda’s right, but he wasn’t interested in the conversation about love, and was instead speaking to the vampire seated on his other side. The vampire wore a white wedding dress and gold tiara, had dark skin, calculating eyes, and appeared to be slightly older than Stradh’s other consorts, appearing to be a woman in her early thirties. She had introduced herself to Pugsley and Enid as Ludmilla Vilisevic.

“… and that’s how I built a mobile flamethrower out of scrap.” Pugsley finished explaining. “It got wrecked by Baba Lysaga’s hut though, so I can’t show it to you, and I don’t know when I’ll be able to build a new one.”

“Fascinating, I’ve never heard of such technology before here in Barovia.” Ludmilla praised before taking a sip from her goblet. “You have quite the mind, Pugsley Addams. If you would do me the honor, I would love to consult with you about the technology of your world, and your own inventions. My area of expertise lies more with the arcane arts, but who knows? Perhaps we could collaborate on some interesting project together.”

“That would be great!” Pugsley cheered. “I’m kind of low on gear and gadgets, which could be a problem since I’ve been using them to stay alive in Barovia.”

“No need to worry now. As long as you obey the Count’s rules, you are quite safe here in Castle Ravenloft. I would be happy to help you settle in, especially if you would be willing to share what you know with me.” Ludmilla offered.

“I don’t see why not!” Pugsley agreed. “Should be fun.”

Eugene, who was sitting on the other side of Ludmilla, leaned over to speak to Pugsley. “Maybe you could try for something less insanely destructive? I haven’t forgotten that it was your gadgets that killed some of my bees, and now they’re all ghosts. A Nevermore Hummer never forgets!” he yelled.

Wednesday heard Eugene from several seats away, and she nodded her head. “That’s true, we Hummers never do forget a slight.” She subtly threatened the vampires sitting next to her. She hadn’t been a Hummer for long at Nevermore, but Eugene claimed that Hummers were for life. She was willing to humor him, since the two of them were the only members of that particular club.

Eugene has also attracted the attention of one of the vampires seated around him, Volenta Popofsky. Volenta appeared to be in her late teens, and she seemed to be of East Asian descent, though of course Eugene realized she was probably not actually from China or Japan, or any place on Earth. She also somewhat stood out because of her platinum skull face mask, faded gold wedding dress, and the platinum rings she wore on each of her fingers, each of which bore a different type of gem.

Volenta turned to Eugene. “You have ghost bees?” She asked with obvious fascination. “You simply must let me have a look at them.”

Eugene allowed a couple of his bees to fly about, and Volenta observed them with great interest. “Incredible, you must have a great bond with your insects, for them to continue to follow you even in death. I can appreciate that level of loyalty in any creature.”

“Ya, I guess.” Eugene muttered shyly. “I just can’t help but feel like I let them down.”

Volenta shrugged. “This world is a dangerous place. And every living thing dies sooner or later. The only question is whether or not they allow that to be the end. I clearly have not let death slow me down, and neither have your loyal insects. Tell me, have you ever considered the ancient art of necromancy?”

Bianca, sitting to Volenta’s right, gave the two a worried look. “He hasn’t.” She interjected. “Even at Nevermore, necromancy wasn’t taught. We learn to respect the balance of life and death.”

Volenta sniffed in disdain. “That so-called respect is just how the weak resign themselves to death.”

As the outcasts finished their meals, dinner came to a close. Strahd stood from his seat at the head of the table and addressed the room.

“I am pleased to see that you are all enjoying my hospitality. But I can see you grow weary after a long day, and a hard fight as well. I would like to speak once more with my guests, and then you will be allowed to retire for the evening. The rest of you are dismissed.”

Gertruda and the four vampires said their goodbyes and left the room, along with the maid who had served dinner. Grabbing his cup, Strahd walked to the fireplace. His elven servant Rahadin entered the dining room again and whispered something to his master, who smiled and nodded.

“And now business. You met my consorts. I hope they made a favorable impression on you…”

Bianca nodded. “We had a good time, thanks again for your generous hospitality. But what sort of business did you want to discuss? You mentioned a mystery that needed to be solved?”  

“Yes, and you shall soon understand why I seated each of my consorts in between one of each of you. It is important that you get to know them.” Strahd explained. “Indeed, I met with the Vistani seer Madam Eva a few nights back. The old crone told me one of my beloved consorts betrays me. I know little more than that, but I want the traitor uncovered and brought to justice. That is where you come in. Find the traitor, why they turned against me, and get them to confess or find irrefutable evidence.”

The outcasts stared in surprise. “And if we do uncover the traitor?” Wednesday asked.

Strahd turned to Wednesday and gave her an intense, serious look. “You will leave the sentencing to me, I will deal with the culprit myself, so there should be no need for you to even draw a weapon. And in return, I will be extremely well-disposed towards you, you need only name your reward."

The outcasts exchanged looks. They couldn't deny that it was an interesting proposal.

Strahd clearly wanted them to decide now. "So, outcasts, is this something you can do for me?”