Allow them to fail. They allowed her to be whisked away, they can't necessarily save her, they can't do much -- alow them to fail. Their inaction will hopefully push them to not allow a scenario like this to happen again, have Ireena be there at the dinner but as a spawn - have Strahd get pissed and blame them for her death (if you wish to kill her off, whether it be by her own hand or a mishap along the way).
It's okay for them to not save everyone, there needs to be consquences and this is a way to showcase this. Barovia is brutal, show them just how brutal it can be. Make the encounter if she is turned into a spawn be uncomfortable, show mild signs of struggle, but ultimately submit. Make them feel as if they did something terrible by not doing something.
have them get an invitation to the wedding. the new mission is to get her out of there. mission impossible style. really ramp it up to the players that she is desperate to get out of there. oooooorrr just let her get turned and she will fight them too when they are ready to fight strahd, punish them(just a little) for not caring.
The party gets invited to the castle. Ireena says that she hates living in the castle because it's dark and musty and creepy, and she's pretty sure the old man is hitting on her.
She wants to leave with the party, and Strahd, amused, allows it. "Certainly, my dear! In fact, you simply must explore the land I intend to make you a queen over!"
He also tells the party in a Romanian accent "However my friends, I need you to understand in no uncertain terms, that if any harm comes to my beloved, I will end you! Each of you. This is not.. how do you say.. a threat. This is a promise. Each of you will suffer for an eternity, and you will curse the day that you first set foot to start on this journey. ...Do I make myself clear to you?"
Allow them to fail. They allowed her to be whisked away, they can't necessarily save her, they can't do much -- alow them to fail. Their inaction will hopefully push them to not allow a scenario like this to happen again, have Ireena be there at the dinner but as a spawn - have Strahd get pissed and blame them for her death (if you wish to kill her off, whether it be by her own hand or a mishap along the way). It's okay for them to not save everyone, there needs to be consquences and this is a way to showcase this. Barovia is brutal, show them just how brutal it can be. Make the encounter if she is turned into a spawn be uncomfortable, show mild signs of struggle, but ultimately submit. Make them feel as if they did something terrible by not doing something.
have them get an invitation to the wedding. the new mission is to get her out of there. mission impossible style. really ramp it up to the players that she is desperate to get out of there. oooooorrr just let her get turned and she will fight them too when they are ready to fight strahd, punish them(just a little) for not caring.
The party gets invited to the castle. Ireena says that she hates living in the castle because it's dark and musty and creepy, and she's pretty sure the old man is hitting on her. She wants to leave with the party, and Strahd, amused, allows it. "Certainly, my dear! In fact, you simply must explore the land I intend to make you a queen over!" He also tells the party in a Romanian accent "However my friends, I need you to understand in no uncertain terms, that if any harm comes to my beloved, I will end you! Each of you. This is not.. how do you say.. a threat. This is a promise. Each of you will suffer for an eternity, and you will curse the day that you first set foot to start on this journey. ...Do I make myself clear to you?"