Curse of Strahdanya | Ep. 2 | Death House: Part 1
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So, you've found the courage to return to Barovia and begin the real story of Curse of Strudania, a Legends of Aventris podcast. Last time, five lost souls joined together in a doomed expedition.

Their journey led them through the mist and into the dark domains of dread and death, leaving the world of Aventris behind. Now our protagonists stand on the edge of Barovia village, staring up at the rickety old building that locals call the Death House. And more alarmingly, two small children warn of a monster waiting inside.

Let us see if they can survive the horrors lurking within. As always, the audio quality reflects our humble beginnings, but does improve over time. With that out of the way, let us venture into Chapter One, Death House. Through the thicket of trees and brush, you find yourself walking up to a strange row house, flanked on either side by

dilapidated houses covered in boarding. This house is quiet and eerie. And as you look up at the rotting, moss-covered porch, you hear the whimpering of childlike voices. Stepping out of the shadow of the portico entrance to this house, you see a small girl, no more than maybe 10, dark hair,

purple embroidered dress goes down to about her knees, black stockings laced up black boots, her hair in a strange updo the likes of which none of you have ever seen, and clutching, shivering against her hand is an even smaller child, a little boy in a purple cloak, a cloth doll held firmly in one of his arms, a single button

on his face to represent the eyes, the other one having fallen off, and a lopsided grin. You can tell this doll is well-loved. As he shivers and whimpers, she holds him a little bit closer, and she looks out at all of you, and she says,

There is a monster in our house. I'll call out to them. Do you live in this house here? Yes, we do live in this house, but we can't go inside because there is a monster in there. Little Thor won't go in. He's so scared. What kind of monster are you talking about? I don't know. My mommy and my daddy said that this is a monster and we cannot go in. Okay.

Where is your mother and your father, child? They're inside. Our little baby Walter. My little baby brother. He's inside there, too. What if the monster gets him? What manner of monster plagues this household, child? I literally just said I don't know. Well, don't worry. First, I have a few questions, if you don't mind. Where are we right now? We are in the land of Barovia, in the village of Barovia.

I thought so. So Brovia is both a land and a village, of course, of course. And I'll start writing stuff down. Well, the monster inside, Mr. Shepard here, it's a specialty, so... What if it gets my little baby brother? He is so small, he can't even walk on his own. Oh.

Are you concerned about the safety of your parents as well? My parents are very strong. They protect us. They let us come outside so we do not have to be hurt by the monster. Can I insight check the kid to see if this is a trap? 23. She seems to be completely honest. Okay. I'll step forward and I'm going to get as closest to the children as I can.

and I'll be holding my lantern, and it'll be revealing anything invisible within 30 feet of me. I will then kind of shan my lantern and illuminate both their faces as I look. And I'll kneel down, and I'll extend my hand, and I'll say, do you believe in the cleansing power of fire?

I'm not sure what you mean, but I don't want my house to be burned down. I have a dollhouse. I don't want to lose my dollies. And as you look around, you see that you hold your lantern up, and though you are communicating directly with these children, you're scanning the ground around them, looking for anything that might be hidden in the distance behind, and you don't see anything. It looks like it is a house and a child. I'm sorry. Don't scare the children.

"Oh no, Storm, you're so scared." Then she holds her little brother tighter and you can see as small teardrops begin to streak down his face, he's shaking violently as he clutches this doll and holds onto her hand. Beneath the blazing dragon fire of Garrix, there is nothing to be afraid of, children.

The cleansing power of fire will burn this nest into ash. Sarnax, that'll be enough. I will step forward. It's quite not the time for that, I don't believe. Children, and I'll kneel down and just take the girl's hand. What he means to say is that things in the shadow can be quite frightful, but perhaps a bit of light shed on them will make you see that there's nothing to be afraid of. She kind of looks between you and Sarnax and says,

He looks like one of our toys that Thorne plays with. It is a little dinosaur. Yes, that's right. A little dinosaur. That's all he is. It is one of Thorne's favorite toys. And you see that Thorne for a second kind of smiles up at Sarnix and then shrinks away. You are very pretty. Oh, thank you, child. Are you going to save my brother from the monster?

Professor, I think if we've got time, we've got to check this out. We can't leave these poor children here alone. We do have the invitation, but young children, if we go inside and defeat this monster, may we investigate and take a look around as we do so? Beat the house? Yes, of course. Are you going to save my little brother? Yes, yes, very much so.

That is all that I want. I want my mommy and my daddy and my little brother, Volker. All right, well, yes, my good man, Shepard here, he will, um, he specializes in defeating monsters, so you have nothing to worry about. Now, don't you worry. I've seen plenty of monsters in my day, and I'm sure that this will just be another one on the old belt nudge. Are you a monster?

Your skin is so red and your horns are so large. Well, I've gotten that once or twice, but no, I assure you, I'm here to help. If you are a monster, you look like a kind monster. And if you save my brother, Walter, then you will be my favorite monster. I promise you, we'll bring you back safe and sound. I want to walk up next to Victoria and kneel down as well and hold out my hand and say, what is your name, child? I'm Connor.

And you see as she reluctantly lets go Victoria's hand and she reaches over and grabs yours. My name is Rose and this is my brother Thorn. Rose and Thorn. Rose Falda. But I prefer Rose because it is much more pretty. It's like a flower. It's a very beautiful name, a strong name. Thank you, my mommy gave it to me. Do you have-- And what about that little one? And I'll point to the doll.

He does not have a name. Not that I know. You could ask Thor. I'll just kind of nod at him. Roll a persuasion check. Children, we are the monsters that the monsters are afraid of. Fear not. Garrix watches over this house now.

He looks at you and he holds his doll tightly and for a second you see him open his mouth as if he's about to speak and he ducks his head back down against Rose and he says something. All ready? Yes, yes indeed. Do you have any other family nearby that you could stay with? Is it safe for you to be out here by yourself? It is much more safe than if we were inside.

And we do have family, but not in the village of Borovian. I would not want to risk walking to one of the other villages alone. We will wait for my parents. Stay outside. Stay safe. And we'll be back very quickly. Thank you. Please make sure that Walter is okay. Let him know that I love him very much. And let my mom know that I am protecting Thorne, just like she said. I'm sure she'll be quite proud.

I'm going to move my cloak aside and ready judgment in a drawing motion as I step towards the door to try to handle it. You see that both of the children's eyes kind of go wide as they see you unholster one of these weapons at your side. And for a second, they step back a little bit, but you see as Rose kind of looks up at you and he's a good monster.

I'll stand behind Shepard and I'm going to adjust my lantern to a conal business. The bullseye. I'll remain standing protectively in front of the children in the back until I feel like it's safe. I think if we are to proceed, we should proceed together. I agree completely and this place...

We haven't seen it in action, but I've... Based on all my research, it's very dangerous. So we should proceed with caution. And perhaps the three of you might go first. And, Victoria, you and I, let's leave no stone unturned and take as many notes as we can. I'd be happy to, Professor. Well, thank you. All right.

You begin to approach the house. There is a portico at the front. It's an enclosure, a gated enclosure before you get to the actual insides of the house. As you approach the entranceway to this dilapidated old house, you're met with a looming shadow of a large arched Rodrian gate. Rusted hinges on one side and a lock on the other as it fills the archway of the stone portico that is the only visible entrance to this strange house.

The gate seems to be unlocked, and as you swing it open, the rusty hinges shriek and echo across the still night air. Stepping into the portico, you are now faced with a set of weathered oaken doors. Flanking these doors and hanging from the ceiling by rusted metal chains are two oil lamps. As you reach for the oaken doors, the lamps above your head ignite and begin to cast a faint yellow glow all around the portico.

The children make no move to follow you inside. They do not seem to be startled by the appearance of the light. I close the door behind us, making eye contact with the children, and I bow and give them a shirt nod and close the door. And then I'll step forward behind Shepard, illuminating his way. Be careful not to get eaten by the monster! She says to you as you close the portico behind you.

Leaves a way. Of course, Sonics. I gotta say, though, that thing about us being the monsters that make the monsters scare... I might steal that. You should. It is true. And I can see forward. You and I are the monsters that they would be afraid of. Makes me feel a bit better about all the...

I've received in my life, so. Ooh, I like that. That's very intimidating. Perhaps we should keep that handy in case we meet any other villagers along the way. Concur.

Carry on. I guess I'll move forward. You're going to open the front door? Yeah. I'll try to handle, seeing if it's locked or not. It doesn't seem to be unlocked. Or it doesn't seem to be locked. Oh. As you enter the foyer of this decrepit but grand house, you are met with faintly worn wooden floors leading to a mahogany-framed set of double doors inlaid with panes of stained glass depicting a large windmill and sprawling fields.

Along the northern wall are two unlit oil lamps ensconced on the wall. Adorning the middle of the south wall is a shield emblazoned with a coat of arms featuring a stylized windmill on a red field. Flanked by the coat of arms are framed portraits of stony-faced aristocrats. The portraits, covered in a thick layer of dust and age, seem to be long-dead members of the family that own this house. Their resemblance to the children is faint, but it is there nonetheless.

If the door's unlocked, I'm going to turn the handle and open the door. You're going to head even further in? Yes. Okay. So you guys would be right there at the edge of the map. So, okay. So that's the portico. Yep. And then what I just described is that long area right there. So you can kind of see the things. I'll be there for you. Faintly printed. Did you say, like, what the condition, like, is it...

Does it look like it's been lived in and it's clean? Yeah, I mean, it's like faintly worn floors, but everything seems to be clean. So it's not like Alphonse Manor style, like totally decrepit? No, there's people that have been... Taking care of it. Yep. Cool. And so you are, you're heading towards these arched oaken doors with a stained glass inlaid into them. You reach out.

You turn the knob and you find yourself spilling out into a wide hall that seems to run the width of the house. Along the north wall sits a black marble fireplace that roars to life the moment you enter the room. As the fire begins to take in heavy gulps of air to fuel its flames, you watch as the thick layer of dust that was once covering the entirety of this room begins to dance and undulate around you as it slowly settles into new places.

Your eyes are quickly drawn to the mantelpiece above the fire. Mounted on the wall is a longsword, shimmering in the newfound light. As you look closely at it, you can barely make out the cameo of a windmill worked into the hilt.

The wood-paneled walls are innately sculpted with images of vines, flowers, nymphs, and satyrs. Your eyes follow the decorative paneling to the south wall where a red marble staircase circles upward to the second floor. A few closed wooden doors dot the landscape of this room. One in particular, smaller than the others, the middle door to the east sits ajar.

So I'm going to step over to the fireplace, and I'm going to crouch down as I peer into it. And I'm going to shift my lantern to hooding, so 30 feet all around. And I'm going to observe, like, this fire was generated unnaturally. And I'm going to try to investigate it, see if I get any sense of, like, devilishness or anything unnatural, I guess. Roll an arcana check.

And I would like to listen while he's doing that and see if we hear anything around us. Okay, roll a perception check. Our tonic shack will be a hot four. Looking at the fire, you see that there are dried bits of wood kindling as well in this fire. And though it seemed to appear out of nowhere, the flames are the familiar flames of a normally lit fire. And if you didn't know any better, you would imagine that someone had lit it.

Do I recognize the windmill coat of arms? No, you would not. I got a 22 on perception. You listen and you hear the creaking of wood and above your head and under your feet. But aside from...

just the normal sounds of an old house moving about in what was a fairly windy evening. You don't hear any noises that would cause you alarm. - I'm gonna kneel down and swipe my hand on the ground and pick up some of the dust and investigate it and see if any of the stirrings on the floor or up the stairs appear to have unusual footsteps. - Roll an investigation check for me. 17.

Looking around, you take special notice to the dust as it's slowly settling in new areas, and you look for what would have looked like unusual footprints, et cetera, and you don't see anything. The floor itself seems to have not been disturbed for a while. Though the house is not in disrepair, it does look like it is not well used, at least this area.

Now, this is really a search and rescue mission. We need to do this quickly. We need to get in and out, and we need to be careful of whatever potential monster those poor children are talking about. I think we clear the first floor first before we move up to the second floor. I see no sign of movement on this floor. If the monster is here, I don't think it's necessarily in this room.

Perhaps the children's imagination has just carried away with them. I'd like to make a... Use my favored enemy monstrosities to try to make a survival check to track a monster. Go ahead and roll a survival check, then. Roll it at advantage, because you're looking for monstrosities. 20 total. You watch as Shepard...

His eyes go a little squinted as he begins to focus heavily. And he's looking around. You see as he's inspecting and listening, honing his hunter's nature. And you realize that though you can't tell the location, there does appear to be some sort of monstrosity that abounds in this house. All right. That's what I was concerned about it.

- Concerned about what? What have you found? - That was not those children's imaginations. There is something monstrous in this house. - There's a monster in this house? - How do you know, Mr. Shepherd? - I've been in this line of business for a while, miss, and we just need to proceed with caution. - Oh, I knew you were good. Money was spent.

Um, but if we may, I mean, remember we have a purpose here. This is an expedition, so I agree going floor to floor, making sure we clear every room, and I'd like to at least take the time to investigate. Um... Just don't let your guard down. Of course, no. That's why, uh, if you don't mind, he'll go first.

Point the direction, sir. I'll go with you. Yes, feel free. As long as we investigate every room, it's a dealer's choice. You said there was a door open to the east. Yes, there is a door to the east. So you'll see that the little white lines that I tried to keep showing, even when the things are down, those are doors. Okay. So you can see that there's like one small square. That door is ajar. This one back here? That's the one. Oh, not that. Okay. It's covered currently. So if you look, there's like a small square of...

Covering. That's fine. So seeing that, I'll start to proceed towards the open door carefully. So go ahead and pull off that piece of... So this one right here. Nope, it's that one. That little one right there. Oh, okay. As you swing the door open, the hinges groan and the wood creaks, but the settling dust seems to consume most of the sound. The door opens to a small coat closet. Several black cloaks hang from hooks in the wall. A lonely top hat sits on the highest shelf.

I take my hat off and I take the top hat and I put it on and I turn to the professor and I say, "How do I look?"

You know, it's presentable. It doesn't quite fit the rest of you, Gav. It's fine. I'm just pulling your leg, Professor. I put the hat back and I put the hat back on. We certainly shouldn't steal from these kind of people. It's just a coat closet. Let's see if we can find another entrance to another room, J. I'll casually just guide my lantern into the closet, take a look, and then follow Shepard and, uh...

You do that. You see exactly the same thing as you use your lantern to look for things that may be hidden. You peer it into the recesses of the closet and you see that it is a simple coat closet. Roll in... No, no, simple coat closet.

I'm going to just move to the right and I guess take a look at one of these two rooms. Just let me know which one. And I'll randomly pick this one to try the handle and see if I can open the door. You reach your hand out and you slowly turn the knob and it does not give you any resistance.

As you enter the small room, it appears to be a quaint... You can pull the piece off. As you enter the small room, it appears to be a quaint and tidy kitchen area. Dishware, cookware, and utensils are neatly placed on shelves. A work table sits against a southern wall.

A cutting board and rolling pins sit perfectly placed to top it. Towards the back of the room, a stone dome-shaped oven stands near the eastern wall, its bent iron stovepipe connecting to a hole in the ceiling. Behind the stove, to the left, is a thin door propped open on its rusted hinges. The shadows flitting around the room make it hard to fully ascertain, but it appears to be a fairly well-stocked pantry. I'll just, uh... Do you do everything safe in there?

Professor, it just seems to be a kitchen. Let me just take a quick look around. The pantry seems to be nearly free of dust. The large wooden shelving house all manner of dried foods from raw grains to breads and pastas and to salted or dried meats. It appears to be fresh and the thick layer of dust that you've become accustomed to does not seem to linger in this room.

Behind a small door in the southwest corner of the kitchen is a dumbwaiter, about two foot wide stone shaft containing a wooden elevator box attached to the simple rope and pulley mechanism that must be operated manually. Hanging on the wall next to the dumbwaiter is a tiny brass bell attached to the wall by wires. Looking at it, you begin to move your hands around it. You feel into it and you imagine that

It could hold a person that was of a small size and not weighing more than 200 pounds. But other than that, it seems like its ability to lift a person of your stature or anybody in your party's stature, it wouldn't be able to hold you. You play with the pulley a little bit and you see that it does seem to be working. Seems to be a simple kitchen. There's a dumbwaiter back here, but it seems to be functioning. These people are certainly well-off.

Very satisfied, Professor. I'm very satisfied. Continue, please, Mr. Shepard. I'll just step back out. What are the rest of you guys doing while he's investigating the kitchen? I'm basically keeping an eye on behind us, see if anything crawls up. I'm trying to, because I don't have dark vision, so I'm kind of seeing what I can within the light of Sardak. The, um...

The fireplace had illuminated the entire room. It's filled with light. Okay, cool. So you can see just fine. While he's doing that, I would just like to step to the marble or the ruby. It's like a red. It's a red marble staircase. A red marble staircase. Kind of run my claws along it to investigate a little bit and then look up at the stairway. Can you roll a perception check for me? I will do that.

- Wow, not a lot tonight. - And then I wanted to just step back into the kind of vestibule and look at, those are the portraits there, right? - Yes. - Perception is a hot eight. - I'll just kind of get a closer look at the portrait. - Okay, you look around at the staircase and it seems to be in near pristine condition. Having been so close to the fireplace and inspecting the marble there, it seems like it's a very similar type of marble, maybe even potentially from the same quarry, but the difference in color is vast. This is a stark crimson red versus the deep inky black of the fireplace.

And then you are taking a look at the portraits. The portraits themselves look to be definitely hand painted. There are two on either side. And you can tell by the dress and just the wear on these paintings. It's not unusually worn, but these paintings are definitely old. There is the faint look to these people.

that they are related to those children. They have similar face shapes on some of them, a similar nose or similar set eyes. But there are no names or placards beneath them to give you any idea of who they were. All right, well, shall we proceed? Yeah, I would have just stepped out of the kitchen area with the professor and gone to the next available door, which is right... This big room here. Yeah. Okay, go ahead and remove the...

As you enter through the large oak double doors, you find yourselves in a dark dining room. The masterpiece of this wood-paneled room is a carved mahogany table placed in the very center. The table is surrounded by eight high-backed chairs with sculpted armrests and cushioned seats. A crystal chandelier hangs above the table and reflects dancing light around the perimeter of the room. The table is laden with resplendent silverware and crystalware polished to a dazzling shine.

Along the northern wall is another black marble fireplace. Mounted above it is a mahogany-framed painting of an alpine vale. The wall paneling is carved with elegant images of deer frolicking among the trees, and red silk drapes cover the windows along the eastern wall. At first glance, they appear in immaculate condition, but as you run your hands over them, puffs of dust billow from them, and the dry fibers of the cloth split where your fingers put too much pressure.

As your eyes scan the entirety of the room, your attention is drawn to the south wall, where a large embroidered tapestry stretches across the entirety of the wall, held in place by an iron hanging rod. It depicts horse-mounted aristocrats and their hunting dogs as they make chase after a wolf. Professor, something doesn't feel right here. I've noticed different levels of use amongst these rooms, and something doesn't seem quite right to me.

Yes, it seems that the kitchen was well used without dust and yet here we are, the fabric splitting beneath our fingers. Can I investigate the table to see if it's been used recently? Go ahead and roll a perception check. You begin to investigate this room. The table itself, looking at the silverware and the glassware, it looks like it was recently placed on this table.

Very little dust hangs in the air except for that which was stirred up as you were moving around and messing with the heavy curtains against the wall. It looks like the table was set for dinner, at least recently. You begin to run your hands along the paneling in this room and

you've noticed a trend, the beautiful paneling in each room that you've moved to. And as you actually begin to take a look at it, you see that this doesn't just depict the deer frolicking among trees, but interspersed throughout it are twisted faces carved into the tree trunks and wolves lurking amongst the foliage. Is this on the tapestry or just the painting? The wood paneling. The wood paneling, okay.

I want to walk up to the tapestry area and just, with my glaive, try to peel it back and see if there's anything behind it. You say you're easily able to do that, and you see that it is just the wall of the house behind it. Sonax? Yes, Professor? Do you see the twisted faces in the trees? It looks an awful lot like that horrific thing on your left arm.

And it does. I'll look down at my shield and seeing the faces within, I'll look down at the wood table. Do I get any kind of sense of any similarity here? They look very similar, but you don't believe them to be the same things. There seems to be more at work here, Professor, than a simple family beset by ill fortune. And you're sure you've never been here before, Sarnax?

I have never been here despite my land's connection to this. There could be similar use of lost and wayward souls beyond the plains and in our home plane. I find that old places often hold many secrets.

And I'll clasp my hands around my beads and pray for the guiding light of Illimator to reveal secrets within 30 feet of me. Perfect. You see that around this room, it seems that the strange faces and the wolves begin to glow. You can tell that they were hidden there in secret, and you feel pulled back into the main entryway.

And as you do so, your attention is drawn to the wood paneling here, where what you had originally thought were just the images of vines, flowers, nymphs, and satyrs, you actually see serpents and skulls inconspicuously woven into the designs as well. You feel that you're almost pulled in many directions, but in the areas that you have been in so far, those are the things that you are drawn to.

I can feel secrets all around us. This is a darker place than it might seem at first glance. So now looking at it, you almost feel like it should have been hard to miss. Now that you know it's here, it's so obvious the way that this depiction was carved in along with the beauty of the scene that you had originally been met with. Oh, oh.

Miss Isaacs, I'm embarrassed to admit I didn't see it before. Got a keen eye on it. Good eye, Victoria. My god sheds light on many things for me. Oh. I'm going to reach out and just... As does mine. We shall see whose light shines the brightest. I suppose we shall, Mr. Zonks. Mm-hmm.

I'm going to just tap on one of the paneling and just see, does it sound solid or does it have... It does. It does. Okay. I'll say with your item, if there was more, like if it were a trapdoor or something like that, you would be able to see the outline or something like that. Oh, interesting. Because that is your vestige, so it is more powerful than just normal things. I'm getting the feeling, whatever might have...

I'll walk up to the remaining door.

and try the handle. You pull open this large oaken door, heavier than the others so far, and it leads you into an oak-paneled room that resembles a hunter's den. Along the southern wall sits another black marble fireplace. Mounted above the mantle is a stag's head, and positioned around the outskirts of the room are three large stuffed wolves. Two padded chairs draped in animal furs face the hearth.

An oak table nestled between them, supporting a cask of wine, two carved wooden goblets, a pipe rack, and a candelabra. In the back corner of the room, a chandelier hangs above a cloth-covered table, surrounded by four elegantly carved wooden chairs. Two cabinets stand against the walls. The cabinet to the east is a large mahogany cabinet, with what appears to be a lone wolf howling at the moon carved into its towering double doors. A lock, rusted and old, is firmly attached to the handles.

The cabinet to the north is significantly smaller and less ornate. It does not seem to have or be locked. The only adornments to the front are two small silver handles. And does my, does anything glow in here for me? In here, no. It doesn't look like the children or the parents might be in here. I suggest we don't linger. We got to try to find them as quickly as possible. I won't hold you up. I know you have notes to take and things to research, but I don't think we spend too much time down here.

I take a quick look, like a... I just want to kind of like glance around to see if anything strikes me as strange. There's a significance to the wolf iconography. You should not trust anything in the effigy of a wolf. And I'm going to step forward and try to investigate all that business.

Okay, roll a... I have an 18 in my perception check, also. Perfect. You look around the room, and this is very similar to the dining room, the same way that it seems that this head appears to have been recently used. The decanter that is on the small oaken table between the chairs is nearly full, but you can see where some had been spilled when a glass had been poured recently. You...

walk around the edges of the room, the wolves themselves are definitely taxidermied. And they seem old, but they seem like they're in fairly good condition. The main things that draw your eye are the locked cabinet with the rusty latch and then the other single cabinet against the side of the walls. Those seem to be the only other things in this room. Sarnax, you've said some very pertinent things. I understand wolves, but I've never quite had a liking for them.

Neither have I. Neither have I. I'm gonna... The cabinet is locked. Yes. I'm going to step over to it and just kind of take a look and just gently kind of touch it just to see if it opens. The... The cabinet. Which one? The one between two walls.

- The one between... - This bad boy. - The one between two wolves. - Between two wolves is my new podcast. - You attempt to pull on it and the lock seems to be old. It looks like it would definitely be fairly easy to pick, but it is locked. - No, no, sorry. This isn't our home. I don't think we should be rooting around in other people's things. - This is not our home, but there are many secrets in the strange area we find ourselves in. We are in grave danger, I presume.

And if there is a significance to the wolves, perhaps we should get the most information we can. That's fair, and why would there be something locked in this cabinet? Do you think there could be something inside? Valuables, most likely. I mean, let's be realistic here. Do you mind if I take a look? My father had a hunting room just like this, and it was often that he hid his weapons for safety. There could be untold knowledge in there.

If you may, if you may, I'm gonna... Curio, my case is gonna lift up and open, and I'm going to take out a set of thieves' tools.

- Roll a dex check. - And cast Mage Hand, and I'm gonna hand one piece to my Mage Hand, and I'm gonna go in with my Mage Hand and the other. I'm going to... - You technically can't do that, 'cause you're not an Arcane Trickster, but... - Arcane Trickster, you can have their Mage Hand literally do it. - Yeah, that's what I'm saying. - I play with my Mage Hand. - Rule of cool, I'll allow it. You just can't do it like a wave trick. You gotta be there to get yourself. - I can't act like this!

Am I making a thieves' tool check? You are making a dex check. I don't have proficiency or anything. Nope. It just says you just make a dex check. Okay. You...

You take your thieves' tools, and with the help of this strange, illusory hand, you are able to get the tines exactly where you need to. The rust on this lock has worn away the tumbler on the inside, and you pop it in just the right spot. As it pops open, you are able to open the cabinet here, and inside you find a heavy crossbow, a light crossbow, a hand crossbow, and 20 bolts for each.

It seems to be nothing more than a weapon rack. Is the weapon safe? Just as I said. They seem that they were... Your mind is brought back to the tapestry you saw of the aristocrat hunting wolves in the dining room. Perhaps you should lock it and we should move along. Just do not keep evidence that we have been rifling through their things in their home. Well, nothing is taken. We must just be thorough, that is all. I'll close it and...

i don't know where to lock it again do i no you close the lock oh it's not like that no because he's he broke it with the thing because it's a rustic okay nothing taken we have simply not thieves let's continue we have to head upstairs agreed agreed um either way now i need everybody to be extra careful

and extra on guard because we do not know what awaits us. Yes, of course. Please do lead the way. I'll stay close behind. I'll be right behind you. Yeah, I'll help the stairs. As you ascend the spiraling red marble staircase, your footfalls echo off of the cold stone and every labored breath sounds as if they are booming in your ears. As you crest over the final step and find yourself in the landing, you are met with a sight of unlit oil lamps mounted on the walls of this elegant hall.

The red marble staircase continues to spiral upward and a cold draft descends the staircase from the floor above and causes the hair on your arms to stand on end. Directly in front of you, on the north wall, is yet another black marble fireplace. Hanging above the mantelpiece is a wood-framed family portrait. Beneath the painting, a small silver placard reads, Gustav and Elisabeth Durst, with family.

As you glance back to the painting, your eyes are met with the lifelike eyes of Gustav and Elizabeth and their two smiling children, Rose and Thorn. Cradled in the father's arms is a swaddled baby, which the mother seems to guard with a hint of scorn. Pulling your eyes from the painting, they dart over standing suits of armor that flank two wooden doors, one on the east wall and one on the west. The suits of armor stand guard as if protecting the contents of the rooms, each suit clutching a spear and wearing a visored helm in the shape of a wolf's head.

The doors that they stand guard beside are expertly carved to depict scenes of dancing youths. How old does this look? Roll a perception check. Can I as well? Looking on the left, his opposite side. Yeah, go for it. One, five. Fourteen? Rich? Looking around, you...

Begin to look at the fading colors of the wallpaper above the wood paneling, and you see that though it's not a drastic difference, it looks like it's older than what you'd experience downstairs and a little bit less kept up or kemped. Did we notice standing outside how many floors the house was? Give or take. Yes, roughly about four. Okay.

I want to kneel down and do what I did earlier, inspect for footprints and see if there are any, what direction they're going in and what kind of shape they might be. Okay, roll a perception check. I'll cast my light over the statues. I would recommend not touching the suits of armor. Ten. Agreed.

Looking around, the dust here is thicker on the floor. It'd be a lot easier for you to see footprints if someone had made their way through this hallway, and you can't see a single footprint. It doesn't look like anyone's walked this hallway for a while. Based on the appearance of this family portrait, it seems to be quite old. And given that the children that we met outside couldn't have been older than 10, 12? 10. 10.

This is very curious. Something's not right here, Professor. I do not like this at all. Not one bit. Very curious. And I'll just start taking notes. And I'll just kind of be sketching sort of just very roughly the things I find interesting. I'm going to just walk up and I won't touch it based on certain things. I'm going to look at a suit of armor and just see if I notice kind of

Does it feel like Strigan armor, like from Striga? Or is it like it's totally separate? - Roll a perception check for me. - 22. - You walk up, but you make sure not to touch these suits of armor. And you're looking for anything that might signal to you that this was Strigan-made, and there is nothing about it that looks like it would have come from Striga. There is an elegance to it.

But it's not the same type of elegance that you would be used to in something that would be this high quality in Striga. And the wolf's head itself doesn't look like the common Strigan wolf. It's fun, Strigan. There's a ferocity to it that is unlike anything that you've seen in life.

I will say with that role, however, that your eyes glance down to the wood paneling along this hall. And what looks to be the depiction of dancing youths is actually, in some cases, youths that are fighting off swarms of bats as they chase them through alleyways, or not alleyways, through hallways.

More depictions of violence. You see here, there are children fighting horrible swarms of flying beasts. Seems like... Of bad creatures. ...unusual choice for wallpaper. Yes, yes, my thoughts exactly. I've never seen such things. This entire house is rather unusual. And very old. Perhaps the individuals in this town have it as a fact of life that they are eternally beset

by horrible creatures of the night. Wolves, bats. Perhaps we will find more. Well, either way, this is a violent place and we've seen evidence of this all around us. Mr. Morgan, if you could, or Shepard, excuse me, if you could just...

Please leave the way and stand in front of me. I take a coin out of my pocket and I slip it in the air. That was an excellent clap. Alright, ladies and gentlemen, we're going right. So we're going east. We're going east.

And the mantle is, is it a blaze on this level too? Or is it not a blaze? It is not. So the only light that swirls around you now is that which is illuminating from Sarnax's lantern. But it does give you enough light that for the sake of how small these areas are, you are not going to be dealing with the repercussions of darkness. Then, uh, yeah, I'll set a handle and, uh, step through if I can. You turn the handle and you make your way into this room.

Red velvet drapes cover the windows of this room. An exquisite mahogany desk and a matching high-backed chair face the entrance and the fireplace, above which hangs a framed painting of a windmill perched atop a rocky crag.

Situated in the corner of the room are two overstuffed chairs. Floor to ceiling bookshelves line the south wall. A rolling wooden ladder allows one to more easily reach the high shelves. These bookshelves seem to hold hundreds of tomes covering a range of topics, including history, warfare, and alchemy. There also appears to be several shelves containing a first edition collected works of poetry and fiction. Though also covered in dust, everything in this room seems to be in near perfect condition.

Does everyone join it? Yeah, I'd like to walk in and if I spot the warfare book, I'd like to walk up and open it and see if I can gather anything. There are many books about warfare, so it's just kind of a rough idea of the types of books that you would see in here. But you're welcome to start pulling books off and look through them. I am not Derek, so I don't have a list of all the books that would be in here. You do that, and if you want a pocket of warfare book, go for it. Oh, you said some natural-made love books.

- Would we notice this little jut out from the wall? - What little jut out from the wall? - The little jut out. - Your little jut out. - I can't see where you're pointing. - So the place that has no doors. - No. - We wouldn't see that. - No, that's all wall.

I'm just saying, because it comes out at an angle. We think to say, hey, should there be something behind there? And it's okay if it's not. Probably not. Yeah. Because that's the type of place where pipes and stuff would be. Oh, okay. So it's a front pillar or... Yeah, things like that. Wait, so I didn't see that down there. My knowledge of architecture...

I didn't see a dumbwaiter there. I saw the dumbwaiter over in this corner. Yes, the dumbwaiter was in the opposite corner. So, Anne, if you want to look, that's why you guys keep the maps there. If you guys want to take a look kind of at the other layer and see what was there, just to kind of help yourselves, you can do that as well.

Would I gain any information just like flipping through the warfare book about like Barovia or any other militia or anything like that? Like, is it about the land? It's more about just the art of warfare. So the idea of how you would want to utilize troops and things like that. It's not a history on Barovia itself, but if someone were interested in tactical warfare, the kind of thing that they'd read up.

to kind of be able to talk about with your aristocracy friends. Got it, okay. So nothing specific to Moira. Yeah. Can I look around for any books that might be about the history of Barovia in any capacity or anything about Magicka? Yes. I need you to roll a perception check. Okay, what? A one, a two, three, a four. Looking around, you...

You don't see anything specifically related to Barovia or magic aside from the alchemy books, et cetera, but it's more of an overview of alchemy. Most of these books, as you look through them, you can tell that it's...

more something that the lord of the house would have read up on to be able to have um intellectual conversations with his friends maybe while out hunting or at a dinner party etc they're not um they're not really books that kind of hone in on specifics or topics but overviews of things i want to go back out in the hallway and just kind of perch stand guard sort of to see if anything comes through the other door or if like okay roll a perception check and i will keep that rolling

Uh, 23. I'll be outside. And I will... With a 23, I will stand watch. Our own personal guard. This was quite fortuitous. Pretty sure that's why you hired me. Well, well, of course. But she's... She can look very godly with, like, a big pointy stick thing. I'm just kidding, Professor. It's all right. Where you can stand in the back and blow people's heads off. She'll stand in the way while you do your rooty-tooty point and shooty thing.

Is that what those contraptions are called? I believe that's what he told me they were called. We had a very long stagecoach ride. Was that your attempt at humor? I can't remember. I know you could spend all day in this study here, Professor. Let's find what you need. We need to keep moving. I'm going to take one more look at the wooden...

Now I'm going to look around and see if the paneling, if there's wolves, bats, spooky things. Please roll a perception check for me. Wow, I'm not rolling hot tonight, ladies and gentlemen. I'm not either. Eleven. Do I have to roll hot? Not really. Looking at the room, you begin to take in some of the smaller details. The desk, though caked in a layer of dust, appears not to be empty.

There are several items resting atop it. An oil lamp, a jar of ink, a quill, a tinderbox and a letter kit containing a red wax candle, four blank sheets of parchment and a wooden seal bearing the Durst family insignia, the windmill.

As you look deeper into the desk, you find that all but one of the drawers are completely empty. As you open the final drawer, you disturb a thick layer of dust as it billows up in your face, causing you to cough and squirm. As the dust settles, you see a lonely iron key at the base of this drawer. - I'll reach in and I'll grab the key and I'll say, "Which one of you would like to take this?"

Not in Sarnax. We're not going dating through people's personal belongings here, alright? I don't know how many times I gotta say this. There could be a monster behind a door with a key. Perhaps it is locked away. Perhaps they are keeping a monster as a prize, as a guardian. We must leave no stone unturned, and when we leave this house, we shall return what we have taken. I find that a no. I rather disagree. Perhaps the locked away monster should stay locked away.

I have to go with Sarmanx on this one. There's... there really is a monstrosity here, some sort of monster that I'm pretty sure there is and will have to slay. We will not allow it to harm Innocence and those children's parents and their baby brother. Of course, I do not mean to insinuate that I would let harm come to the family, but we haven't even found them. They might be perfectly fine. We're gonna keep searching.

And this is my good man's profession, slaying monsters. I think that we should, uh, see if he can test his mettle and hopefully hunt some children. I'll take the key. And I'll snatch it. Thank you, Mr. Shepherd. I would like to propose taking something else. If we will be here in Barovia for some time, would it be wise to perhaps take the seal and the candle wax? In case we miss houses of good standing.

Now that may save our lives. It's resourceful, I'll give you that. I guess I can turn a blind eye to it. I shall too. I'm gonna take the seal and the candle. Okay. And if there's any like blank paper, I'll just... There's parchment. I'll take some blank parchment and I'll... There is an oil lamp, which you don't need, a jar of ink, a quill pen, a tinderbox, a letter kit,

which is what you would be taking. It's four blank sheets of parchment and the red wax candle, and then the wooden seal. I'll just take that. Perfect, you take that. Can you roll an investigation check for me, please? Who? Clayton. Because he's over there with all the lights. Better. I think I'm good. I don't like using perception. It doesn't make sense to me. Scanning the many spines of book after book, your eyesight begins to blur with the sheer measure of it.

As you scan the spines, you almost miss it at first, but a second glance brings your attention back to the single book on the shelf towards the very back of the library.

the single blood-red spine that lacks any print at all. Hundreds of books on these shelves, and this book is the only one with no markings as to its contents. As you lean closer, you begin to notice strange details that you hadn't picked up at first. Pages do not seem to be pages at all, but a beautiful wood painted to look like pages. As you look closer at the layer of dust on the shelf, you can see clearly that the thickness in front of this book doesn't match that of the other books. This book appears to slide in and out of its spot, as if on a hinge.

You grab this book and you attempt to pull it back and just as you expected, it slides on a hinge. You hear...

as it slides back and the bookshelf in front of you begins to shake. As it slides forward, looking down at your feet now, you see where there are slide marks where the bookshelf has been moved before. As it slides out and over, revealing an entranceway that you had not seen before. You may remove that piece on the very corner closest to Kelsey. - Oh. - Yes. - Oh, shoot. - Sorry, I apologize.

- Professor, what's the matter? - There seems to be a hidden passage here. There was a book on a hinge and it was almost as if it was a key to enter this room.

Will you join me? Don't step any closer. Let the rest of us catch up. Please, please. I don't think the monster's in here, and I'm going to stick my head in the same room without the DM here. It's a smaller room. There's probably not a monster in here. You raise your hand. Uh...

- I use my magic to change my lantern to once again the bullseye and cast light blazing into it. - Sarnax moves in behind you, holding his lantern aloft as he faces it towards this room. The pungent smell of aging parchment decay quickly assails your nostrils even before your eyes are able to adjust

to the dim light of this small room. Rows of neglected bookshelves line the walls and are packed with musty old tomes. As you look from aging spine to aging spine, you're able to discern the context of these books. Many appear to be descriptions of fiend-summoning rituals, but the majority describe the necromantic rituals of a cult called the Priests of Ossibus. The towering bookcases cast imposing shadows all around this lone room, but as your eyes adjust to the dim light, you're able to make out the form of a man leaning up against one of the bookshelves.

As you move closer and the light from the open door strikes his form, you're greeted with a stare of socketless eyes. Moth-eating cloth draped over his body so easily concealed his fate in the shadows, but with the prying fingers of the light, it is unmistakably a withered and aged skeleton.

His form propped up against a heavy wooden chest with clawed iron feet, its lid half closed. Upon closer inspection, you're able to make out the cause of his early demise. Three darts stuck deep into its exposed rib cage. The trap that was meant to protect this chest, having done its job, it sits open in front of you. In the man's hand, clenched tightly, is a crumpled and faded journal, a discolored piece of parchment peeking from behind the cover. Oh, my!

Mr. Morgan, please, if you may, there seems to be a deceased person here. I'll kind of... I guess we're all squeezing in here. I'll kind of squeeze past our next professor and take a closer look and...

Very careful. I mean, it's very clear that it was a trap, right? Yes. So you, looking at it, you're easily able to see, no role necessary, that there is a place where darts were lodged in this. Three of them. And whenever this man opened this, the dart shot out into his chest cavity, and that is what killed him. All right, I'll just move in to get a closer look. Nobody touched anything here. This place is clearly a movie trap. That's right.

And I'll just try to be really quick, sir, and take a look and maybe look at the-- without touching it, looking at the journal that you described. It seems to be a weathered leather journal. It's hard to really get any information from it without actually touching it, but it has a worn dark brown leather cover, and the parchment that is hanging out of it doesn't seem to be of the same paper type. It was almost as if it was something that was shoved into the journal.

- In, or quickly. - Is it clasping his hand? - He's holding onto it as if he would probably been holding onto it when he was poisoned. - I'll take judgment out of its holster and using the barrel, try to like poke the journal out of his grasp. - You take the barrel of your weapon of judgment and you place it up against his arm.

up against his wrist. And as the moment your weapon meets the skeletal form, you see as the bones begin to crack and crumble, the hand itself falls off of the wrist and shatters on the floor around you, the journal lying now on the floor in front of you. Seeing that happen with my, just with my right hand, I'll scoop the journal up with my left hand and stand up and head back to the professor. You do that. This might be of interest to you.

I'll take a look. I'll just briefly kind of just try to get a sense of what it is, what it's all about. As you open the journal, you find this. Give me a moment, because, you know, D&D. Ooh. Ooh.

You find that the strange piece of paper that was lodged into this journal seems to be a letter. "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 fortune spent, you abandoned love for madness, took solace in the bosom of another woman and sired a stillborn son. Cursed by the 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, Rodania Von Zarovich.

to report an altar in the dungeon, a dark and evil cult. So this person must have been a cult to the Countess Sardania. Is that right? That seems to be the situation, Professor. May I please know... This place should be purged. What was he looking for in that chest? I must know. Please stand back. Manum, I'm going to grab my...

my mage hand, I'm going to take out my Thieves' Tools, and I'm going to inspect and look to see if the trap is still active. The trap... It's easy to tell the trap is not active. Oh. Oh, well. That's...

The chest is open in front of you. That's how you know that, yeah, it's open and you can see the contents inside of it. You just have to go over to it and look. You have a journal in your hand, however. That was just the letter that was poking. The journal was in the dead guy's hand. Yes, and you just read the letter that was poking out of it. There's still a journal there in your hands, which I will hand this to you. I will say the journal, someone else can go look at the... So, what you see in this journal...

That's a hefty term. Thirteenth, the harrowing, 697. It has been little less than a week since I arrived in this strange land, and already the town's folk have warmed up to me. While having a glass at the tavern last night, I overheard a strange conversation to one of the locals and one of those peculiar minstrels that frequent the woods around town. They spoke of that old house on Wolf's Way.

I purchased them a tall glass of wine, and they spent the night divulging what they knew. I was told as such. Death House was the name given to an old row house in the village of Barovia.

The house has been burned to the ground many times, only to rise from the ashes time and again. By its own will, that of a fraud. Locals give the building a wide berth for fear of antagonizing the evil spirits believed to haunt it. A bunch of poppycock, I say. The wealthy family that built the house practiced the dark arts. Through seduction and indoctrination, they expanded their cult to include small yet nefarious circle of friends.

When word got out, the rest of the village turned a blind eye to the house and the nightly debaucheries happening within it. The cult tried to summon malevolent extraplanar entities with no success. The cultists preyed on visitors, sacrificing them in bizarre rituals and hosting morbid banquets to feast on their corpses. When nothing came of these ritualized murders, the cult's activities became thinly disguised excuses to indulge in their lurid fantasies. The reigns of the cult thinned as members began to lose interest in the debacle.

Then, Stradonia von Zorovich arrived in Barovia. The cultists regarded Stradonia as a messiah sent to them by the dark powers. Drawn to Strahd like moths to a flame, they pledged their devotion for a promise of immortality. But Strahd turned them away, deeming the cult and its leaders unworthy of her attention. The cultists withdrew to the aptly named Death House in despair.

The cult's habit of trapping and devouring wayward visitors proved to be its downfall, however. On one occasion, the cult snared a band of adventurers whom Strahd had invited to her domain. A black carriage arrived at Death House soon thereafter, and from out of its black heart stepped the Countess herself. The cultist tried to impress Strahd. In response, she slaughtered them for slaying her guests.

Centuries later, the cultist spirits haunt the dungeons under the house. The building itself, it seems, is unwilling to let the cult be forgotten. A quaint story, but far from the truth, I'm sure. I do believe I'll get to the bottom of it. I think I should make a jaunt that way and investigate this house myself. There must be something of interest there outside of these ghost stories. It's just a house, after all. Would the professor have read that to all of us? Yes. Okay.

Um... It seems to be far darker than I anticipated.

Absolutely heretical. Those children, there's no way that part of this team would want us in here. They might be. No, I won't believe this. We are, this is not good. We need to reconvene and rethink our course of action because if this is a lie, we are in deep trouble. I'm done being respectful, ladies and gentlemen. I think we need to... As am I. We need to tear this place inside out and make sure that...

We defeat the seven evils living inside. Listen, I've been doing this for a long time, Professor. And if these notes are anything after it, it sounds like we might be in a little over our heads. Because it says right there, the place has been burned down and it re-erects itself.

Um, we need to get to the bottom of this. I must learn more. How does a house rebuild itself from pure magic? I mean, I've studied magic in my years, but never anything like that. Keep your weapon out. Keep it drawn. This is... We are in trouble here.

I hear you. And I will take out my weapon. And you do that. And you stand guard outside of this room while the other party members are speaking loud enough for you to hear, but quiet enough that you can discern with the perception that you've been extending through the rest of this house. It doesn't seem to be traveling from the library now. You feel like you're talking in private as you guard over the rest of them. Clayton, you make your way, journal clutched in hand of this

Strange man, the rest of the pages faded and worn. You're unable to discern a name of whoever this was. But you look down into this chest and you find that there are some parchments in there. The first thing you find seems to be some kind of a deed.

Know those present and future that I, Hortensia Verzi of Wallachia, have sold and fiefed, and by this our present charter, confirmed to Lucian Durst of Brovia the grain mill located one and a half miles southeast of the town of Wallachia, and such land surrounding that is not held in common, to have and to hold the aforesaid property and all its appurtenances to the aforesaid Lucian Durst, his heirs and assigns, in testimony of which matter to this our present charter we have affixed our marks.

Two signatures adorn this point here, Potentia Verzi, Lucian Durst of Barovia. With these witnesses, Petru de Zaru, Daniel Aros, and Burgomaster Cosmin Miklos, dated at Church of St. Andral on 17th, the Rotting, 435.

The next one, you see, appears to be another deed. Know those present and future that I, Alexander Dragomir of Barovia, sold and fiefed, and by this our present charter confirmed to Euphemia Durst of Barovia, the residence located on the east side of Wolf's Way, three lots north of Svalik Road in the village of Barovia, to have and to hold the aforesaid residence and all its appurtenances to the aforesaid Euphemia Durst, her heirs and sons, in

in testimony of which matter to this our present charter we have affixed our marks, and two additional signatures, Alexander Dragomir and Euphemia Durst. With these witnesses, Drakoste Geislinger, Dimitri Milosevili, and Burgomeister Askasha Indirovich, dated at Church of the Morning Lord on 17th, the Time of Flowers, 389.

And lastly, a crumpled up piece of paper that looks to be a will of sorts. Six, the melting, 517.

"Be it known that I, Gustav Durst, do hereby bequeath, following the occasion of my death, all of my worldly possessions, including, but not limited to, the residence on Wolfe's Way in the village of Borovia and the family grain mill southeast of Volochi, to my wife, Elizabeth, or, in the case of her death, to my eldest surviving heir, Gustav Durst."

As you remove these and look at them, you also find, beneath them, three spell scrolls. - Oh, these are magical scrolls. I may be able to transcribe some of these. This is incredible. So hold on, let's stop and talk about what we just learned. - Before we go any farther. - Yes.

I will not think less of anyone. They want to turn back now. My goal here is to make sure that all of us survive and get out of here alive. But I will find and hunt down the evil that is within this house. Heifer, I see within your fiery soul a passion to destroy evil. It is upon us in this very moment to do just that.

This is absolute heresy. These are true, real monsters. And Garrix will see this evil purged by holy fire. Perhaps we can make this all right. Victoria, would you like to see these documents? Thank you, Professor. Take whatever notes you will. It looks as if... Smell that one. If I'm understanding correctly...

that one is the deed to this very house that we stand in, and the other is the deed to a windmill located not that far away.

Sounds about right. The god of the world, does that sound right? Am I understanding that correctly? I would say you wouldn't know how far away it is, but it sounds like it's a windmill in another town or outside of another town. But basically it's a windmill and then death. Yes, there is a windmill. And I would say that you would definitely be smart enough to realize that it is a grain mill and it fits the description of the windmill that you've seen depicted around this house.

that it seems like this seal and who they were, the aristocracy, their money came from owning and running this grain mill, and you now have the deeds for this house and that grain mill. Professor, you are the leader of this exposition. Exposition. But I hope you now realize what we are amidst. This is no longer simply just a search for knowledge, although that will be along the way.

purging the evil within this land has now been added to the table. Yes, yes. The sacrificial altar, so to speak. Quite right. I could have said better myself. If we take these deeds, we are now homeowners. We can take these for ourselves. These people are clearly being subjugated. Imagine freeing this land from the Baroness, the Countess, excuse me. We could claim Barovia for ourselves from the University.

My name will go down in history as the man that discovered and saved Barovia. Yes, that's what we must do. I light the fire in your eye, Professor. We must continue.

You also find, I forgot to mention this, there are three blank books with black leather covers. Roughly each one is around 25 gold pieces in value, which I would say you would know that as a scholar, these are in very good condition. They look like nice blank books. But I would say you should consider you can either add three blank books or add 25 gold pieces.

However you guys want to call it. I'll take my case, I'll close it, and I'll open it to the Bag of Holding portal. And I'll roll up everything and store it in there. You do that. We must keep these safe. These books have some value. Perhaps we can trade them in the town if these people even care about gold. Perhaps they're all living in some kind of purgatory like those children. I'll close it and grab the case.

Let us proceed. You begin to make your way out of the strange library, which you now know housed horrors that you could not have anticipated. As you make your way across the hallway, the shifting shadows from the light emanating from Garrix, from Sarnax's lantern, for a split second makes you feel like the heads of these standing...

suits of armor almost turn and look at you, but you realize quickly that it is just a trick of the light.

As you make your way through these double doors, gossamer drapes cover the windows. You can remove the piece. Gossamer drapes cover the windows of this elegantly appointed hall, which has a brass-plated chandelier hanging from the ceiling. Upholstered chairs line the walls, and stained glass wall hangings depict beautiful men, women, and children singing and playing instruments. A harpsichord with a bench rests in the northwest corner. Near the fireplace is a large standing harp.

Alabaster figurines of well-dressed dancers adorn the mantelpiece. Close inspection of them reveals that several are carvings of well-dressed skeletons. With the knowledge you have gained, is it safe to assume these children's parents have long since been deceased? It seems as if those that resided here were slain by the one known as Strahd, the one that was their master.

I would say you would remember from the letter that Strahd renounced being their master. That they were trying to... They were claiming that Strahd was their lord and master and was sent to them. Because there... It's in the journal that you read. It basically said they'd been doing this for years before Strahd arrived to Barovia. When Strahd arrived, they tried to claim Strahd as their lord and master. And Strahd essentially said, no, you have nothing to do with me. They then killed...

because they would take in people. They killed people that Strahd had invited in a similar fashion to Strahd inviting you up to the castle for dinner. They killed visitors to Barovia that were guests of Strahd, so she came in and killed them as a repercussion for them interfering with her guests. It seems as if the Countess has done good here. Perhaps she could be an ally.

in our quest to purge this land from evil. This person that you referenced clearly knew that we were here and had some way of contacting us as we saw. So I wouldn't rule it out. Sounds like a very powerful individual.

I believe my master fell to the hands of this person. I wouldn't be so quick to call them an ally yet. So I would say for you, that is what the traveling Vistani told you, but you have no proof of that yet. So it would be up to you whether you think your character would just immediately believe traveling fortune tellers or whether your character might be like that.

I do believe that my master came here, but they might have been fucking with me, essentially. So I'll kind of leave that up to you to decide, but I wanted to make sure to point that out. Are you sure? I'm not sure, but that is the only lead that I have. And considering that there was a partially burnt note in my master's quarters with the seal on it that led me here, to you, that is all the pieces are slowly starting to line up. It seems as if the theme running through all...

of the carvings is the same, an inviting sense of pleasantness and debauchery with a darkness hidden within. That is how they lured their guests, turned on them, and devoured their corpses. There is darkness here that we must snuff out, shadow that we must banish with, the holy fire of Gereks, the Fire Lord.

I would investigate the harpsichord. You make your way across the room, just puffing up around you with every footfall, disturbing that which had fallen and laid to rest on the floor around you. And you play one of the somber notes on the harpsichord. It seems to be in tune. Oh my, very strange.

No, I wasn't. Soon, is there a bench? There is. A thin layer of dust covers the bench. Do you mind?

- And I sit down and I'm gonna do a few chord. - You sit down and you begin to play a couple of chords and it reverberates around this room. The wooden walls here, the heavy oak walls seem to be thicker. This is a room for jubilance, for parties, for dancing. And you know that the music is well contained in here.

But with there not being a throng of people here dancing and enjoying the music, it echoes almost harshly back at you as you play, but it seems to be in tune. And it plays beautifully. What's on the other side of the room? This little... Is that I listening to this part? That is a harp.

Oh, that's a harp. Yes. So there are chairs that line the walls. There's the mantelpiece at one end, that small rectangular-ish long thing is a harp. And then the harp's accord in the corner. I walk over to the harp and pluck one of the strings to see if it's also in tune. It is also in tune. As you pluck one of the strings, the dust that was caked onto each of them, the vibration disturbs it as it billows into the air and almost dances down in the light emanating from Sarnax's lantern.

While they're doing this, seeing that the room is basically secure, I'm just going to step back outside the doors and keep my eye on the staircase. Guardian. Roll an investigation check for me. Or a perception. Your choice. So from now on, if I say roll investigation, you can choose perception or investigation. Cool. Okay. You...

You head out and you have dark vision. So without the light illuminating this area, it is definitely a lot drearier than it had been with Sarnax by your side. The dark vision causing you to see in strange shades of gray. And as you look around, it looks harsher without the light shining on it. And you notice something that you hadn't noticed before.

as you see that just off, as you're facing the stairs, just off to the left, there is, what appears to be a small door leading off in that direction. Off in... Yep, so if you look from where the stairs are, where the red staircase goes up, there's a small door right there. Ooh. Um, knowing... Oh, boy. Uh, knowing that, uh, uh,

Sarnax has the whole lantern thing. I'm gonna poke my head back in the door and say, "Miss Ice." - Yes. - I'll be right back. Do not, don't go far. I'll be right back. I'm gonna be across the hall, and I'll approach the door very slowly.

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You can also go to thecrookedmoon.com to pick up your own copy of our first published supplement, The Crooked Moon, a folk horror tome for Dungeons & Dragons 5th Edition. And don't forget to snag all the extra goodies like dice, miniatures, plushies, a tarot deck, and more. Thank you. You play instruments, don't you? Yes, I have the flute, pan flute on here, but it's a reflavored Japanese flute.

For the sake of this, you also play the harp. You sit down on this plush, small, a plush stool, red velvet stool.

And listening to the sound of Clayton's fingers as they quickly move from key to key, a nice haunting melody begins to echo out over this room. And you place your fingers along the harp and you channel your ability to play music. And it's almost as if you register into a meditative state as you begin to lean your head down and you start to follow along, strumming the notes

the right chords, the right strings, as your melodic minor chord melody or harmony begins to mesh with Clayton's, and you begin to fill the room with this soft, sorrowful song. Very good color. You might have...

A now, okay, now G minor, here we go. You can't even, you're not even listening to him. This is almost second nature to you, the way that you focus in on what you're doing. She didn't either. And you begin to play this instrument. I just thought it was beautiful, so I'm gonna do this. And that is what is happening while, as you shut the door, Shepard, behind you to the conservatory,

and you begin to walk across the hall, your footsteps echoing around the... - Does he hear the door? - Yes, he does. So as he shuts the door, you hear the sounds of the music slowly stop quickly as you begin to walk through the hallway towards the strange door off to the left.

your footsteps echoing up the shaft of the winding red marble staircase, but no noises meet your ears. The ever-present watching metal helmets of the statues, the four statues, or the four suits of armor that line these walls, you feel their presence behind you, but they don't move. - I just want to inspect the door and memorize where it is. Meh.

Is there a handle on it? Yes. It's a knob. You turn the knob and for a second you get some resistance. And then as it slowly... The rust on the inside of these metal pieces rubbing together. You jump almost as the sound kind of billows out from the door, but nothing is disturbed as everything remains quiet. You slowly push the door in.

You enter into an undecorated bedroom containing a pair of beds topped with straw-stuffed mattresses. The walls are plain and lack the adornment of the other rooms that you've entered in this house. At the foot of each bed is an old rusty footlocker and a small writing desk with a lone wooden chair sitting against the wall. A dumbwaiter is built into the corner of the west wall. A button, identical to the one in the kitchen downstairs, is mounted next to it. In the corner, a small closet sits open.

A set of tidy servant's uniforms hang from the hooks inside. Not servant unicorns, servant uniforms. I know. That would be so cool. - Okay, so this seems like servant's quarters. - Yes. - Okay. And you said there are two foot lockers at the ends of the beds. - There are. - I'm just going to head back to the rest of the group. - Okay.

You quickly shut the door behind you, and even though the hinges are rusty, they don't make much of a sound. As you slowly close the door and you quickly make haste back in, you open the door to the conservatory and you slide in quickly, hoping that no one noticed. And it seems that no one does. Victoria, you see as he slinks back into the room, leaning, arms crossed against the wall as if he'd been there the entire time.

as the music begins, continues to play around you. - Am I in an alchemy? - I'm just gonna wait for them to finish playing. - I close my eyes, only for, uh...

- Are you gonna dip into bard? - I never expected to-- - You don't, I will. - I've never played a harpsichord before. - And for the heck of it, you don't have harp proficiency. - I looked and there's like-- - Professor, I don't mean to interrupt this. - That works. - You can pick an instrument that you like. - Perhaps we could continue looking around. This doesn't seem the time or place. - Yes, it's just that I've never heard quite

There's a hauntingly beautiful instrument. Now, Sarnax, don't take this the wrong way, but while I was standing guard, I found a door that didn't seem visible. I didn't notice it while your brilliant light had been shining in the hallway. I took the liberty of checking some things out, and it looked like it might be servants' quarters. Nothing fancy except for a couple lockboxes at the foot of some beds, and that's about it. So I'll leave it up to the professor to decide whether or not you all want to go check that out.

Well, we should at least take a quick look around and make sure that we're not missing anything. Is that a trunk? Is there any kind of... Just a couple of foot lockers, but again, we can go take a look, but maybe Sarnax, be a little bit more careful where you point that thing. I shall have it in front, and you can check as I pass, and I'll magically change it to be the bullseye, so basically you can follow behind me as I pass in the darkness to check anything that would be not revealed.

I'll lead the way. So then I'll just lead them back to where I believe the door was. I'm just being careful in case it's like a magically, you know, hidden door from the light and see if I can find the door. You make your way back out into the hall and you're nearly convinced that as the light shines its way that there will be nothing but just wooden paneling and the faint wallpaper that you'd seen before. But as Sarnax turns his bullseye lantern that way, you see the door plain as day.

I'm worried this house might be playing tricks on us. There is an evil here, yes. We shall not let it intimidate any of us, and we shall put an end to it tonight. Agreed. I've already done the honors, Professor. If you'd like to head on in. There wasn't anything in there before.

I suppose I could take a look. I'll start opening foot lockers. You're going in by yourself? We'll all go in, but I was going to let him lead the way this time. You head in, Sarnax's light shining behind you, and as you scan the room, you don't see anything invisible, but the mattresses that you remember seeing, the straw-stuffed mattresses, now...

In this light, you see pools of dried blood on both of them. It begins to spill up out of the mattress where it hadn't been. And as all of your eyes look and you see the blood begin to pool and spill over the floor, you blink, and just as quickly, where blood was spilling over the sides of this bed, there is nothing. What in the nine hells is this? Wait, you saw that as well? It was not here the first time I came in this room.

We should not linger here. This doesn't seem safe. Did we all see the blood? It was blood, right? It was indeed. I couldn't mistake that anywhere. Someone has suffered here. Perhaps there was murder? Perhaps they murdered their own servants in cold blood while they slept. And their remnants linger.

Perhaps it is warning us that if we proceed, the same fate will befall us. I regret to inform them that they are wrong. Let us see what is in these lockers and let us move on. All right, just be careful. You flip the foot lockers open. They do not have a lock on them. It's more of just a small...

metal box at the foot of these beds, and you see folded inside of them tattered linen bedding, pillows and sheets. That looks like this was where they kept the changes of bedding for these mattresses. There's nothing more? I'm not sure where that vision came from, but I wouldn't be surprised if those children were an illusion, too. Let's keep moving. No, I'll move. Yes. I heard them. I heard them. I heard them.

Surely that could not have been an illusion. Any evil that is going to shoot so low and use innocent children to lure unsuspecting people into danger? I will not abide by it. Yes, you might have overcome. As he should be. This is the fire we all need in our hearts. The fire to purge the wicked and foster the regrowth out of the ashes of

that we sow upon this entire land.

Speaking of fires, Sarnax, would you mind accompanying me to the mantle? It does not seem to be lit as the one is downstairs. I find that a bit unusual. Lead the way, warrior. And I'll lead him to the mantle with the painting. Or was that the one downstairs? No, that's the one in here. There's the painting of the family, Elizabeth and Gustav Durst. And there are three children. The fireplace there is not lit, but above it you do see a worn...

old chipped painting of the family. You can see Rose and Thorn right there at the very front, their parents standing behind them. The father holding the form of an infant. And the mother has like a weird look on her face. She's scowling at the baby. At the infant itself. Didn't the letters mention Gustav seiring and stillborn?

I do recall that, yes. They did indeed. Yes, they did. Should I light the fire and see if it reveals more secrets? Would that bring you joy? It would bring me satisfaction. I have not experienced joy in many years. But it's something we should aim to remedy, Mr. Salmonix.

I do not seek it, I do not desire it. I'm gonna cast Sacred Flame into the fireplace, the hearth. - You see as he extends his arm out-- - Oh no, I guess it'd be from the lantern. - Oh no, he extends his lantern out and you see as the small door on the front opens as

holy fire begins to roil within it and shoot forward, igniting the wood and the kindling inside of the hearth. And it roars into life, shedding a beautiful golden glow over this hallway. Significantly more light than you were able to attain with the lantern itself, and it makes it feel a little less imposing, a little more warm, though it's still old and it's still eerie. Shall we proceed, Professor?

Yes, yes, indeed. As you ascend the spiraling red marble staircase, your footfalls echo off of the cold stone. In every labored breath-- I read that already. Wrong one, sorry.

Once again ascending the red marble stairs, the echo of your heavy footfalls can be heard echoing through the floors below, but nothing seems disturbed. When you reach the full height of the stairwell, you come to a dusty balcony. A once-plush crimson rug runs the length of the floor. Against the wall opposite you is another standing suit of armor, this one made out of a strange black metal but still wearing similar regalia, though draped in a thicket of cobwebs.

Oil lamps are mounted on the oak paneled walls which are carved with woodland scenes of trees, falling leaves, and tiny critters. As you run your hand along the carved wooden paneling, you begin to notice that it's not just trees and falling leaves and tiny critters, but there are tiny corpses hanging from the trees and worms bursting up from the ground. - It's just me or are the portraits and paintings getting

I would say yes. You are able to see now that it seems almost as if you're rising higher and higher in this house.

that it's getting older and more unkempt. The first level though, there was a little bit of dust here and there and you stirred it up and the, you know, where the sun would have been the strongest on the curtains, that was brittle and old. But for the most part, there was a pantry stock full of food. The table had just been set. The fire was going in the hearth. It all felt very much like a lived in home, but as you rise higher, it's feeling less and less.

like a home that people are living in. This area here is thickly covered in dust and the cobwebs are present in all the corners of the room. - I just, I would like to try to track this monster again, just to see if I can find any evidence. - Roll survival check for initiative. Or initiative for survival check with advantage. - 12.

I would say that you still feel the presence of some sort of monstrosity in this place. Okay. Which way, Professor? You get to pick. Perhaps your coin trick will lead us in the proper direction. I look. One door, two door, at least three door. I might have to flip a few times, Arnie. Do as you wish.

we will experience all ruins eventually. So we're gonna head west, which is my character's right. As you step in front of the strange black suit of armor, you hear a clinking sound as the... Oh! The wolfen helmet begins to... And it looks directly at you, and you do all the roll for initiative. Ah!

The suit of armor itself, its arms clank up as it holds its spear in one hand and is staring directly at you, Shepard. The evil manifests itself. And then if you can put this little... You are familiar with these. This is the same thing that you guys fought before you came in here. It is an animated suit of armor. You see as this suit of armor begins to move the moment that Shepard

moves in front of it. It rears its weapon up and it looks directly at you. You are so close that you can see into the visored helmet of this suit of armor that wolf in face, orbs of red light undulate and pierce through it. But as you look in, you see that it is socketless. There is nothing inside of this armor and it is going to go in and make an attack on you.

- Oh. - It is going to make two attacks on you, actually. And it's gonna be a 23 to hit for the first one.

and a natural one to hit for the second hit. Thank goodness. So it is going to take its... Technically has a spear per thing, but that's not what suit of armor uses. So it's going to take its slam attack, and it's going to slam down its meddled form against you, doing a total of five points of damage. Oh, no problem. No, Shepard!

Right. Kana, you see as this suit of armor animates and immediately goes in to attack your new friend who's made his way in front of it. What would you like to do?

Kill it. I will attack it. I will swing out my naginata and I will make an attack. That'll be a 17. That misses. Yeah, these things, I mean, this is from the last time. It's 18 from the last time. Man, this is too hard. Do you mind if I do this?

Okay, that's my turn. You swing in and you attempt to find purchase on this creature, but you are unable to make contact with it as it swings in quickly. It misses on the second hit on Shepard as it reels backwards. It is in that moment that you didn't expect it to miss, so you missed your shot as well. Victoria, what would you like to do?

I'm gonna reach up my hand and make like a choking motion and make a chill touch attack. Okay. Ooh! And it's gonna miss. Ooh, that's a miss! You see this skeletal hand form out of the ether around you, and it's a frosty form. You can see the...

the shimmer of frost building up around the joints as it goes in to try and reach and grab onto it, but it misses and evaporates into a strange shadow. Clayton. Oh my god.

Thank you.

Girl. Okay. You shoot out from your finger and, um, flames erupt and slam into its form, knocking it back with the clinking of the armor. Um, as it rears back, it seems to be, uh, scorched by this, but it's still holding strong. Um,

Shepard, it is your turn. All right, so I'm going to make... After being hit, my back is going to slam into the door behind me, and I already have Judgment in hand. I'm going to loose Redemption and fire two shots at point-blank range into the suit of armor. That's going to be a... They're plus seven each, so... Yeah, they're both in, like, 23 plus. 21 and 23. Perfect, yeah, those hit.

- You see as having just taken this hit, Shepard reels back and he takes out, judgment is firmly in his hand, but this time you see he unsheathes redemption and he goes in and he aims both of his strange magical blasts at this creature they both hit. - 16 total points of damage.

Fuck yeah. And you see as both of them sail directly into his chest, point-blank range, as the chest itself shatters and cracks open, it's still hanging there on him. It hasn't completely fallen away, but you see his form slump over a little bit. It seems to be significantly wounded. I was spent!

- A siren. - Hit him with the lantern! - You are made of evil shadow, and I will shine the light into your soul and purge you from existence. And then I'm going to cast Sacred Flame. Need to make a saving throw. - Okay. - Deck saving throw. - 14. - 18. - 18, pass it. He dodges the flame. - He does.

It is his turn. He is now going to go in and he's going to attempt to hit you again, Shepard. I'm right next to him. I'm all right. I'm all right. I'm going to use my reaction as my sentinel feat, where if they attack anybody within five feet of me that's not me, I can make an attack against them. Okay. So you want to attack first. Yes. There we go.

- So he slides, he takes his arm and he tries to slam it down on you, but he is unable. His chest cavity ripped open by the blast that you shot at him recently. He does not understand his new proportions and he doesn't find purchase on you. And just as this happens, you whip your glaive around and attempt to damage him for.

- It's a shepherd duck, damn it! - And as the thing misses, I too miss. - Oh. - With a nine. - That's very good. - He is then going to turn his attention to you and make a second attack on you. - Perfect. - And that one will hit, doing three points of bludgeoning damage. - Death house, death house! - Kana, it is your turn. You've just taken this amount of damage from him. What would you like to do? - I will swing my glaive around and try to attack him again.

Damn it, I rolled another fucking four! Okay, that's my turn. - Use the other die, use the other die. - I just do, the other die. - Feeling wounded from the bludgeoning damage that you sustained from this creature, you can't seem to land your attacks. Victoria, you watch as all of this unfolds. What would you like to do? - I'm again just going to refocus myself and reach up two hands and again try to chill touch. - Okay.

Come on, bitch! No! It's a suit of armor. It's hard to hit. We can't all be shepherds. It is.

Rest in peace. I choked myself. You see the spectral hand form again out of the shadows, and just as quickly as it appears, you see that it goes into attack, but it unforms just before it can find purchase on it. And it is Clayton's turn. Ignatus. Ignatus.

Yeah, baby. Three damage. Every little bit helps. Every little bit helps. You hurl the fire at him and singe away. You see as one of the sides of his chest armor clatters to the ground, singed in black.

from where the fire burned it at. It is looking very wounded. - Finish the job, my good man. - Shepard. - Unable to really move being backed in. I'm just like fanning the hammer on this guy. I got a 19 and that's a one, so one hit. - So the 19 hits. You fire in redemption and it misses the fire.

Splintering off to the side the judgment however lands and it does points of damage. He had five health You see as you take judgment you see this this entity this this construct is on its last legs as you fire it up into the underside of the wolf helmet that it's wearing and it spins around flies off clattering to the ground the rest of the armor crumbles to the ground and

the sound of metal clanging on wood, echoing, almost shaking this house as it falls, and you are no longer in combat. I'm wielding my thing around like, "Is there anything else?" Is everybody all right? You're the only one that got struck. Are you all right, Shepard? It's fine. It's a scratch. I'm all right. I know you were hurt as well.

Oh, I will be fine. I think you are in more pain and we should administer some... No, no, it's fine. I'm all right. I'm all right. Let's regroup ourselves first and worry about this minor wound in a minute. Just secure the area. Make sure there aren't any more of these fuckers around. I'm tired of what we have done without you. It's fine. It's what I'm here for. Those are impressive devices. I failed the group. Truly, I'm so sorry.

Man, it's just fine that these things are... These things are made in order to blow things' heads off. I want to kick the weapon that it was holding away from its heap. It didn't move real fast, but that was pretty thick armor. If it wasn't for the good doc, I think we'd all have been in a little bit more trouble.

Very well. Proceed. I believe you are opening the door. I think you should stay towards the middle or the back, Shepard. It's fine. I've done this before, Connor. I appreciate it. But as long as I can count on you to have my back, we'll be all right. As you wish. I'll put my hand on the door and say, uh, the coin hasn't let me down yet. And I'll turn the handle.

Dust and cobwebs shroud an elegantly appointed bedroom and an adjoining nursery. A small black marble fireplace roars to life on the south wall as you enter the room and casts an eerie glow around you.

The shadows created by the fire draw your attention to a large and elegantly dressed bed flanked on either side by two end tables. Across from the bed is a large wooden armoire, and standing next to it, reflecting the dance of flames cast by the now roaring fire, is a full-length mirror with an ornate wooden frame carved to look like ivy and berries. You look a little bit closer into it and you notice that not all are berries. Eyeballs are hidden among the berries.

Double doors set with panes of stained glass pull open to reveal a balcony overlooking the front of the house. The adjoining nursery is neatly bare, all but for one small cradle that sits in the very center of the room, covered by a translucent black shroud.

Shroud being like a... It's like a black piece of organza. Organza. Can we see anything through? Are you going to approach it and look? I'd like to approach it and just... I don't want to touch it, but just look through the shrub. As you approach the cradle, dust begins to swirl up around you. As a thick layer adorning the rough wooden floor is disturbed by your movement and it clouds your vision. But you are still able to make out the small bundle of blankets nestled in the cradle in front of you.

the layer of dust not seeming to cling to the fabric draped over it. As you stare down at this small form wrapped safely in cloth, you see movement from within, and a faint gurgling sound. This can't be. This is a trick of the evil within this house. Are you saying there's movement inside the cradle? A child? We can't let it suffer here.

Miss Isaacs, there's absolutely no way that this is going to work. I'm going to just brush the shroud away. As you reach down to touch the shroud, the fabric deflates in your hands and you are met with emptiness. I need you to roll for initiative. Oh my god, no!

As the shroud begins to fade away and the small black bundle of fabric within flattens at the bottom of this cradle, you see there had been nothing there, but rising from behind it, a strange spectral shape. A woman rising up into the air, nearly translucent greens, blues, and silvers illuminate inside of

what once looked like it might have been skin, her hair flying this way and that. She screams as you get close to the cradle and you are faced with the horrifying image of what looks like a woman in a tattered nursemaid's outfit, blood stained down around the front of her, her face wild, her fingernails long and sharp.

You see as she rears up her hair flying this way and that, a ghostly illumination emanating out from the inside of her. And she is quick. You were not expecting this. As she is going to move into you and she is going to attempt to drain the life from you. She is going to make that attack and it is going to be a 15.

- Oh yeah, you're 12. - To hit on Victoria. - Yeah, I'm 12. - That'll do. - Do you wish you had a major ever now? - No.

Fuck yeah. Seven points of necrotic damage. Oh, fuck me. And I need you to make a constitution saving throw, please. Pokemon Red Zone. She reaches out her skeletal hand and she grabs you around the neck and she pulls you up into the air, sucking the life out of your body. Come on, babe. Yeah! I'm so quiet!

You feel as it begins to suck the life out of your body and you feel this strange necrotic energy overtake you and at first it begins to overcome you, but you channel the faith that you have in Illnator and you

concentrate and focus and you push it out and whatever it was attempting to do to you doesn't seem to take hold. Sarnax, it is your turn. I'm in code mode, so I'm going to spin around and move over here and I'm going to say, Professor, get behind us. Miss Isaacs, please.

Leave that room immediately, and I'm going to blast Sacred Flame from my lantern. You do that. It fails. Okay. Let it rip, baby. Two points of range there. Yes!

- Nice. - Give it a sun tan. - Love it, love it. Okay, yeah, no, it does that. So you turn and you tell everyone to get behind the blinding light of the lantern that you hold high as you once again allow it to swing open.

a hurling mote of holy fire shoots from it, and this time you do see as it finds purchase in the heart of this creature, the strange luminescence that billows out of it, masked by the fiery light of Garrix, as it does a bit of damage to it. - This is the fire that will end you, woman.

I'm assuming that I don't have a clear shot, but am I able to push past friendly units to get to the creature? - It's just difficult terrain. - Yeah. - It is difficult terrain? - Yes. - So what, like half movement speed? - What kind of cover would you-- - I just want to get next stop. Victoria, I'm like five short. If it's five, 10, 15. - So hold on, so one and a half.

I have 30 speed, so I can move three squares by moving through one, two, three. You know what I'm saying? - Yeah. - I was hoping to like duck and roll into the room and just get within. - You might. So you could probably still hit it. He'll have cover. Or she'll have cover, right? So. - It's two double doors. The room is wide open.

- So does this Banshee creature have cover with the three people inside? - Yeah. - I would say no. You're good enough with your weapons that you would easily be able to aim between them and take a shot. - All right, then I'll just take a shot and scream, "Miss Isaac, get down!" And I'll take two shots.

at the i'm praying that the good doc thought about uh banshee woman uh 20 and 15. oh sorry 17 and 22. both of those hits as you see uh as you see a shepherd move between two of your forms you're not expecting him to be there um on either side of you victoria one arm with redemption the other arm with judgment resting on your shoulders as he shoots both of his arcane blasts

directly into this specter and they blast into her chest and into her torso. How much damage? - 20 points. - Wow. - No way. - Exactly, 20 points. - Good job! - And you see as judgment lands the last hit and with a wail, she disperses into a blast of energy. She begins to sparkle and rain down around you.

The shroud that had been hanging over the cradle slowly shifts in the wind of her disappearing form. Continue to prove supreme utility, my good man. I just want to say

We all owe the dapper round of drinks if we ever make it back to the Omen. Yes, yes, of course. I'll have to instruct them later. I'd love to see how they work. Since you shrugged it off, you want to hear what would have happened to Kelsey? Yes. If she had failed, her hit point maximum is reduced by an amount equal to the damage taken. This reduction lasts until the creature finishes a long rest.

the target dies if this effect reduces its hit point to zero. So if it had one-shot you, you would have just been dead.

If you failed that. She had one hit point. Do you know who the kill? She had one hit point. That twist of fate literally saved your life. Oh my god. I gotta pee. I gotta pee. I got the nervous pee. In the words of Shepard, what a target. What a target. I told you, it's a house of death for a reason. Oh my god. I'm scared. Are you alright? Alright.

I'm quite ill. I'm so sorry. Professor, did you administer the medicines? Not directly to her, I gave them to her. Out of my way, this will hurt. My lantern will flare and my hand will go hot with fire and I'll just immediately, like, brain you wherever I can grab you. And it's gonna hurt like a bitch, but you'll heal. Uh...

This is already like... Is this exactly what happened in the first second? Because Kelsey made the exact same noise herself. You overhealed 12 points of healing, Max. Wow! That's good. Ah! Thanks. Oh. Sonax, that is... That is savage, but effective, I suppose. There is no growth without pain and loss first.

I suppose you keep saying things that really hit me deep, Sarnax, and you're a very wise individual. That is not my wisdom. It is the wisdom of Garrix, the Fire Lord. Perhaps you may join us beneath the tall trees of Erios.

in my cult to Garrix. - I'm certainly open to hearing a bit more, but I'm certainly not gonna live amongst the trees in Striga. I eventually gotta get back to Yhom. - It matters not where you are as long as your heart and soul are for Garrix, the Fire Lord. His fire will be with you in your soul. - Let's save this for another time, but you got a lot of pertinent things to say. - You have a lot of pertinent things to shoot to destroy the monster that faced us. I have impressed continually.

- Just thank the duck. That's all I can say is just thank the duck. - I feel like they should give you a cash bonus. - Mr. Shepherd, Mr. Sarnax, I can't thank you enough.

- No thanks is necessary. - I would have cared. Sure. - We're here to help each other, all right? That's why I'm here. That's why the professor took me on. - Perhaps you should consider all of the things that Illmater has done for you, or all of the things she has not. And I'll turn away. Is it Aiden? Oh. He has not. - The mater is confusing. - Yes, that's his word. I thought it was like Illmother. That's what I thought.

Yes. Well...

Is there any corpse left, or is it just sort of like a ghost town central? It's just a ghost town central. Oh, yes. From the DM's mouth. It appears to be ghost town central. I need like two bites of a sub, because I'm really upset. So there's no baby or anything? It was all Trey? Nope.

This house is more evil than I thought. I'm very concerned that the two children we left outside this house may just have been part of the ploy, and I am very, very unsettled by it. I agree, and now that we have the deed, this house belongs to the university.

I think we need to clear it out and burn it. Don't you think that's awfully presumptuous? If this house is magical beyond recognition, do you honestly think it's wise to turn this over? To claim this in the name of some entity? Well, why not? I mean, this house is trying to kill us, and it clearly means ill to anyone that steps inside. It was the home to a vile cult.

There's no reason why we wouldn't cleanse this house. Sonnex, you would like to cleanse it, wouldn't you? I would like to cleanse it by burning it to the ground. I would like to cleanse it by taking ownership of it for the university. I... That's what we'll cleanse it.

- I'm not-- - Professor. - I'm with Sarnax on this one. I'm not telling you how to do your job. It just seems like all we did is pilfer some deed, and I'm with Sarnax on this one. - I would say that you are smart enough that you would remember that the diary that you found indicated that the townsfolk say that the house has been burnt to the ground many times, but it always arises from the ashes. - Right. - I think it is in our best interest to purify it to the best of our ability.

exercise it in whatever manner possible, but I don't think handing it over to your university would be safe for your fellow professors. Sure, we could investigate this further, but the longer we walk these desecrated halls, the more we are posing ourselves in danger. She's making a very good point here. I don't intend to just hand it to the university. Our purpose here now is...

Now that's why I've proven that Brovie exists. My goal now is to free it and claim it. To release these people from their imprisonment, if they truly are imprisoned. And it's hard to say with the trickery at foot how many of these journal pages and if these deeds are even real, but I think that we could do a good amount in the world and we could gain quite a bit of renown, all of us, not just me, but all five of us.

We could be saviors. We could be legends. I have no interest in being a legend, Professor. I seek to plant my seeds in the soil here. For the soil treats the seeds well. And one day, long after I am gone, a great forest of Edelwood trees, that is my only purpose.

I keep saying this, but I gotta agree with Sarmax. Minus the whole seed thing, I'm not really about renown. You know, I'm here to protect you based on, you know, a man's gotta eat, but this is evil, and I'm gonna slay it. I, too, have no interest, as we say back home, pulling water to one's own rice paddy. Well, here's the thing. I'm...

I think that we all have our own goals and we all need well and I think that no matter what we need to find a way out of here eventually and we must meet this Shraddha and see if she means us anyhow at all. But we must scour this place and learn everything we can.

So I'm gonna turn and just look throughout the room. I would like to make an investigation check. Roll an investigation check. Clear the room here. That's gonna be a hot...

Uh, sorry, who's the agent? Six, so Haas, 17. You begin to scour the room. The rest of the group stands back, still a little put off by the situation that you've just experienced. You look from bed to side tables to arm long, and your attention is pulled towards the mirror, reflecting the dancing flames.

There's something about the shadows here that doesn't look the way you would expect it to.

And as you run your hand along the carved wooden paneling behind this mirror, you notice a strange indentation that was not discernible to the naked eye. As you press firmly with your palm, the wall sinks in about an inch before springing open, revealing a secret doorway. Glancing inside, the space is tiny, but it appears to house a rickety wooden staircase covered by cobwebs and dust that seems to be leading upward. - More secrets from this evil place.

Another room. Seems to be a stairway up. I think it not wise to ascend just yet. I agree. I say we clear this floor first. You're the boss, Professor. I feel foolish that I led us into danger just now. And I'd like to suggest that we all move more cautiously, more stealthily. No one's blaming you either, Miss Ashes. I appreciate your forgiveness. My guilt will weigh heavily upon me.

But perhaps I can redeem myself and I'll grasp my hands together and channel the shadows of wickedness. And so anyone within 30 feet of me that I choose, which I choose all of you, gains plus five to stealth checks. Damn! So we are stealthy. Go ahead and roll for stealth. As I'm doing this, I turn to Victoria and say, even monkeys fall from trees. Oh, man.

Why is Tasha so wise? I have a whole bunch written down. You have a list? I do. Out of character, out of character. You guys go ahead and talk about this for a second. I just have to... I suppose that's true. She's a walking book of parables. Let us proceed.

- Sarnax, would you like to do the honors? - I would like to do the honors very much, and I'll open the door. - The door itself seems to open quite easily. Dusty shelves line the wall of this room. A few of the shelves is full of sheets, blankets, and old bars of soap on them. A cobweb-covered broom leans against the far wall. - That's it, that's the whole room. - It's a small storage closet. - Let us proceed, and I'm gonna go to the next one and open the door.

The double doors in this room have dusty panes of stained glass set into them, depicting the same stylized windmill you've noticed in the other areas of this house. The door barely makes any noise as you swing it open to reveal a cobweb-filled master bedroom. Along the east wall are large bay windows covered in moth-eaten burgundy drapes.

Looking around the room, your focus is immediately pulled towards the immense four-poster bed, shrouded with embroidered curtains and tattered gossamer veils. A matching pair of wardrobes line the wall to the south, along with an elaborate vanity and a wood-framed mirror, a delicately padded wooden chair sitting in front of it. A silver jewelry box sits quietly atop the vanity surface.

In the northern corner of the room, a rotting tiger rug lies on the floor in front of a grand black marble fireplace, which has a dust-covered portrait of the lord and lady of the house hanging above it. A web-filled parlor in the southwest corner contains a table and two chairs. Resting on the tablecloth is a beautiful blue porcelain bowl and matching jug. A dumbwaiter is built into the corner of the parlor, and a similar button is mounted on the wall next to it. A door facing the foot of the bed has a full-length mirror mounted on it.

It seems to be where the lord and lady of the house once slept. Indeed. I'm gonna look at the bed to see if any kind of blood shit happens. I'm not gonna actually touch it. The bed? The bed, yeah. I'm gonna go. I'm gonna... to raise my lantern. You're like a full-length blood pool. Yeah, I'm looking to see if there's any more secrets, tricks this house will play on us.

You hold your lantern up in an attempt to reveal any hidden or invisible objects or creatures, and you scan the length of the room, and you find nothing. I walk up to the balcony, and I want to look. You're going onto the balcony? Yes, I'm going onto the balcony. The latch of this door hesitates as you attempt to force it open. It groans beneath your hand as the rust gives way, and you're met with a loud grinding sound as the latch turns and the door is pushed outward.

You find yourself standing on a dilapidated balcony. Rot-iron spikes skirt the edges of the platform as you look over the sprawling village of Grovia. You can see movement off in the distance as the sun is almost finished, or in this case, the sun is fully finished its descent behind the mountain peaks. Small flickers of light begin to pop up into view as the townsfolk light their lanterns and continue about their business. Professor, do you see the children outside? Um...

You are looking out over the front of the house and you look down and at first you believe that there's nobody at the front. But

Out here, you can hear the sounds, as you hear. It will be all okay, Thorin. They are going to kill the monster, and they will make sure that our baby brother is okay. Just hush now. Hold your toy. I will come in through the door. Yes, they appear to still be out there. What? You hear it? Yeah, they're right down there. Exactly where we left them. No, we should not let them know what we know. Exactly.

Perhaps they will warn what is lurking beneath this house, and send them rushing all at once to us. It is an awfully dark town to take the children. I trust none of these beings now. Anyone of this house must be presumed as evil and to be dealt with with holy fire. I disagree wholly, Mr. Sonix.

If for the children's sake I agree that we should not alert them, we should not tell them what we have seen, but we should not presume them to be evil, as so many things are presumed evil which are not. We have almost died, you yourself almost died, Miss Isaacs, and it who was it but those children that guided you, welcomed you, led you into this place of evil and death?

I have led myself, Mr. Saunus, in the guidance and protection of this group, and of none other but then my God. I will maintain my presumption. I will not seek to destroy them yet, but we must not assume that they can be trustworthy simply because they appear to be children.

We got one room left. Just kidding. There's a closet in here too. We got one room left after the closet. Professor, has this been satisfactory? Go on and look in the closet. Just go ahead and roll an investigation check for this room at advantage. I'm assuming you're helping each other? So whichever one wants to do it. Your investigation has to be better than mine. Two 16s. So, 22.

You make your way towards the small closet at the other end. Yes, that small room. You open the door and it is a small closet that reveals a dust choked shelf. It is completely empty. Scanning around even further, however, your attention is drawn back towards the vanity where the silver jewelry box sits.

in nearly perfect condition. The rest of this room dilapidated, covered in dust and cobwebs. This jewelry box shining as if it had recently been polished. - And where is that in here? - It is... - Oh. - It's against the wall.

next to the bed. And we all noticed this. Oh no, I'm sorry, it's um, I believe it's actually against the wall by the uh, by the rug. Oh. And we all noticed this. So it's over there. It's a gleaming rug. Okay. By the rug, so it's gonna be by the tiger? By the tiger rug, yes. How extraordinary. What did you make of this, Professor? Why don't you take a look? No! No!

Please stand back. No, Professor. At the very least, let me knock some sense into you. We have been proceeding from floor one to whatever floor in the nine hells that we may be on now, and things have only gotten more and more decrepit. And you're going to tell me that this beautiful, shining, glistening case is just there for you to open without any kind of consequence after we almost saw Miss Isaacs die?

Professor. Yes?

There could be clues, there could be knowledge. We could find a second key. I fear I've piqued your interest out of turn, and perhaps Mr. Shepherd is correct, that he should proceed. Or I should. I mean you no offense, sir, but that you're stronger and seem to be more worthy. I'm sending my main hand over to open the jewelry box. You open the jewelry box, and nestled inside are three gold rings.

Worth roughly about 25 gold pieces each. A thin platinum necklace with a topaz pendant worth... You would look at it, I would say Victoria, you see these and you're familiar enough with jewelry. Worth about 750 gold pieces. The box itself is of impressive make as the mage hand holds it up and shines it around in the light. It is a silver box with gold filigree worth roughly around 75 gold pieces. It seems to be jewelry. Is it cursed?

Well, that is a fantastic question, Con. You being a monster slayer, can you tell? Oh, yeah, sure. Give me one second. I rummage my pack and I just pull out a middle finger. What do you think I am, Professor? This isn't a beast. This isn't a monster. It's a box of goddamn jewels. Give me some time, good man. Please, please. I am going to...

- Cake, do we think it's cooked? I mean, it's simply jewelry, I don't believe. - Roll an arcana check. - Do I have any reason to believe this? It's not covered in dust like the rest of the moment. - Am I the only one to have walked all the way through this house and seen the things that we saw?

- Uh, 17. - We've walked past many a thing. We've walked past... - Your familiarity with magic, you're easily able to see that there is no magical nature to this. It's just simply a jewelry box. - It's precisely as I said. It's normal jewelry. This is a home. We're in someone's home. - Miss Isaacs? Professor? - Yes? - I apologize. I have spoken out of turn. I understand that I am here to do a job. I only want the best for everyone.

I apologize. And your apology is, uh, of course accepted. You've done, uh, more than enough already, and I'll make sure to increase your pay. So then we aren't going to have this alive. This isn't about the pay. I know, but I believe you deserve it. Fine. Let us continue. Please. All right. I propose we just leave that jewelry as it is. It's not ours, and keep it a mess. I don't want to plunder this place. Um, I'm going to take it in hand.

I am. Of course. That's my vote. I can't see that there's any other option for us. All right. Agreed. Is your head cool enough to proceed? Of course. I apologize. Like I said, I've said that a lot. That's quite all right. I'm happy to continue. I'm here in your employ. You're the boss. I can only advise. Such a fiery soul, Shepard, would serve Garrus quite well.

Sorry, we've talked about this. There's plenty of time for that later. I'm still sewing the seams. That is my whole thing. Touche, as they say. Or touche. I'm sorry. Or touche. Touche. I guess. I ain't one of them city folks. I know. I apologize. I apologize. We got one door left. Is it all right if I...

- Please, please, please. - I tried to. - This dark room contains a wooden tub with clawed feet, a small iron stove with a kettle resting atop it, and a barrel under the spigot along the east wall. It appears the piping leads to a cistern on the roof that would have been used to collect rainwater, which was borne down the pipe and into the spigot, allowing for running water in this house. Turning the handle, it appears the plumbing no longer works. - We've all seen the shabby, we're moving on to the next store.

I peek in the bathtub just to see if there's anything in there. There's a thin layer of dirt and grime that's kind of collected, fallen from the ceiling, etc. But other than that, there's nothing in it. Should we continue upwards? Of course, but, uh, Kana, please don't, uh, uh, make me out to be presumptuous, but why check the faucets and all the, uh, water supplies?

Where I'm from, water is considered a source of purification. I'm constantly on the lookout for it. It helps guide my opinion of places, of whether or not they have been desecrated, like this one. And I, as part of, normally, my daily ritual is I perform a purification that involves water, not fire. A foolish presumption. So you may think, not where I am from. Yeah, you learn something new every day.

May we all seek that which purifies us in our own way. Thank you for your very neutral opinion, Alex. When the dead rise and raise their clawed arms against us, we shall see whether it is water or fire which stops them. I look forward to fighting next to you when that day comes, Sarnax. I do as well. That shall we pursue. Enough talk about gods, Brings.

Sure. Professor, I'm on it. And I'm going to head back towards the Crimson Marble Staircase. You head towards the staircase, and it is now, having turned and faced it, you see that this is where the staircase ends. It does not rise any higher. Well, this is, I guess, Professor and Sarnax and Glady's. It's time to take that staircase that we found earlier.

So that might be the attic access. I agree. And if there's any kind of potential threat where all of this tracking that I've felt is gone, it's leading up here. I mean, we're running out of room. There's a very good chance that we come across something that we corner. And when monsters are cornered, they usually don't have any other option other than to lash out.

so we may have a fight on our hands, and I believe that Kana and I will be able to protect all of you with Sauron Axe's help to the best of our ability. And I'm ever grateful to both of you, and I suggest again that we both, all of us, move cautiously as we go upon. Agreed. Given that we are entering the final floor and hitting the staircase, I feel like there's

potentially more danger ahead, if you wouldn't mind giving me ten minutes, I might be able to detect if there's anything nefarious with this remaining part of our journey through the house. We've already spent a good amount of time here. I don't think I'll see a problem with ten more minutes, especially if it's a precaution that might help us. Okay. I will be quick. Just because I'm able. So I'm going to just kind of start casting and waving my hand sort of

over the ground and I'll send some Arcanus and then after 11 minutes, er, 10 minutes, I will cast Detect Magic as a ritual. You cast your magic and then you walk throughout this floor and nothing is called to your attention until you open the door of the small storage closet. The broom in the corner radiates with a magical energy.

Hold on a second. You look closer at it, and you see that this is not a magical item, but a foe. A broom of animated attack. Should you touch it, it would fight back. This has transmutation magic upon it. Looks like we avoided some combat here. The broom? Yes, my good man, the broom.

I agree.

Let us continue. Just stay out of the disposits and I will close the door. I will lead the way. The Light of Garak will protect me and I have a shield of 18 AC. Well, then I advise thee. By all means, Sarnax. Staircase is yours. You pass me, good man. I have this here. You make your way back into the nursery.

into the nursemaid's room and you head into the stairwell where you had uncovered the wooden stairs leading up. You begin your ascent. The rickety wooden stairs groan in protest at having to bear your weight, but you're able to ascend them safely as you find yourselves spilling into a darkened chamber.

The hallway in front of you is bare and choked with dust and cobwebs. No sconces line the walls, but even in the darkness, you can make out the faint outlines of doors along the walls. This web-filled room contains a slender bed, a nightstand, a rocking chair, and an empty wardrobe. A small iron stove sits against the wall.

Do you mind if I peek my head in while I have this effect active? Do, Professor. Stick my head in. You get no notes of magic. We'll see you.

Well, we got one more room on this side. It's easy enough. We should investigate at least. Shall we step foot inside? After you, Professor. All right. Judgment is drawn. I'm kind of... I will find the light to assist. As you approach this room, your attention is immediately captivated by the wrought iron lock hanging from the door. The lock, in the shape of a windmill, is elegantly carved and shining as if it were made yesterday. A lock.

Very interesting. This was far more well-kept than the rusty lock downstairs. Perhaps it's for the key that Mr. Morgan currently holds. I reach into my, uh... I don't know what the hell you call this thing. Pull out the key. And I, uh... I look to the professor and say, uh... You want me to just give it a try? It can't hurt, I mean...

Do I sense any magic on the key? No. Normal lock? No. Seems to be a normal lock, so I might as well try. All right, all right. I prefer not to have to use those tools all the time. Key in the right hand, scoop up the lock with the left hand. Try it. With a resounding click, the lock comes undone and the door slides open on its hinges, easily, with very little resistance. This room, darker than the others, contains a bricked-up window flanked by two dusty wood-framed beds, sized for children.

Closer to the door is a toy chest with windmills painted on its sides and a dollhouse that's a perfect replica of the dreary edifice in which you stand. These furnishings are draped in a thick layer of cobwebs. It is at this time that your attention is drawn to the small shapes at the center of the room: tattered clothes, moths eaten, faded with age adorned the bodies of two small skeletons. The clothing is familiar.

But it's the strange cloth doll that is still held tightly in the hand of the smaller of the two skeletons that affirms your fears. Its lopsided smile and a single button eye is the exact doll that Thorn, the little boy you had met outside, was clutching so tightly to his chest. No. I thought you said you touched her hand. I did. I felt nothing strange, but... Oh, no. This is clearly them.

- They're soul souls. - Oh my God. - Some horrible evil is somehow taking these poor children and is using them for its bidding. - Or perhaps their souls wish to be freed in some way. Perhaps it's not a trick at all. Perhaps it's their way to ask us to free their bonds from this evil land. - If the last thing I do today or for the rest of my life, we're gonna help those kids, we're gonna help this family,

We're gonna purge this place of evil for good. That's right, that's right. And some actually won't burn it, remember? Won't burn it, we'll cleanse it somehow. With cleansing fire comes purification. I know you're all about the fire thing, but as we've read in these notes here, we...

We can't put it down, it just- Whatever it was that killed these children, that have risen them as spirits, and uses them to do their bidding, will be purged in fire. Whether this house stands or not, that is not important to me. Saurans, this is it. We're the monsters. They will fear us, Shepard.

They all will fear us. Well... Sarnax, should you say a prayer or something? Or perhaps Victoria, your guard seems a little more amenable to average tastes. Perhaps you should say something. I pray always.

to the god of Maeta, the crying god. He weeps his tears upon those here that have suffered, and let us proceed on to free them from their suffering. - What is the floor made of? - What? - Dammit. - Oh, god, no! - Is it? It's wood. - What? Oh, of course it is. - I'm going to, I'm going to reach down and grab the doll. - As you do this,

You see as these skeletons on the ground begin to shift. They don't move, however, but two ghostly apparitions, familiar faces that you remember from outside, form and spill out from the skeletons. Rose and Thorn in their ghostly forms now hover in the air in front of you. Please don't take his doll. Mrs. Zahnix, you cannot take that from them. That is our toy.

You children are trapped here against your will. I seek to free you. We are dead, sir. Are you... are you... did we meet you before outside of this house? No, this is the first time we have met. Evil!

So it was a trip out of civil or unfounded evil, children. Surely not a trip by the children, though. Yeah, that was not... You can't put that on there, Sol. He would not play a trick on you. Just don't touch his doll. Thorin does not like that. What? How did he meet your aunt? Well, it was very cold.

You see, mommy and daddy, they locked us in here and they barred the windows because there is a monster in the basement, in the dungeon beneath the house. And they said we would be safe up here. But then our nursemaid never came and with it no food ever came. We got hungry and I tried to feed Thorn with what we could, but the rats were scarce and they did not last forever. We died hungry together.

But mommy and daddy were trying to protect us from the monster. Can you describe this monster anyway? I've never seen it. Mommy and daddy just said that it was horrible, that it would eat us. And so many do not see those. At nights after their parties, we would hear the screaming, the horrible wails and moans of the monster. So was it...

Was it in your home for some time before they fought it head on? It's been in our home for a long time. And after the baby Walter was born, it got angrier and it ate more and more things. And then mommy and daddy made us stay here and they kept Walter from us. Well, how can we help you? The baby Walter never cried. He was a good baby.

In her cry, "Is there someone we can help you? Can we free you from this place?" I don't know. Can you? She looks up at you, her orb-like eyes, though the colors are muted and changed from what you'd experienced outside. There is a look of silent plea to the look that she's giving you. We would love to be with baby Walker again, and mommy and daddy.

It truly is a terrible place. So you wish me to leave your doll where it is? Please don't touch our toys, sir. It makes Walter upset. Walter or Thorne? Thorne. I'm just... I miss baby Walter. So...

All right, well, do you know where your mommy and daddy are? They went to fight the monster downstairs. Downstairs? How do we get downstairs to save them? And as you ask that question, she looks and her attention turns to the dollhouse that's at the edge of the room. It is the exact replica of the house you stand in now, and she slowly points her fingers. There is a stairwell outside the room.

Outside which room? Look in the dollhouse. It will show you. I'm going to look and see where... Roll an investigation check at advantage. To see, Professor. Effort 20. Gotta give it up. Gotta give it up. Gotta give it up for an effort 20. Mm-hmm.

What does that sound like? As you look at the dollhouse, you see that every single room seems to be an exact replica of the room that you're in now. But the difference is that the library that you saw downstairs with the secret room behind it, that's depicted here. Same small, wooden, dusty tomes. The room in its full glory. You also see...

The stairwell to the attic that was hidden from you is depicted plainly in the dollhouse. And right outside of the room you were just in, the spare bedroom at the top, a door enters down to a spiral staircase. - Professor, I know that the rest of this floor hasn't been explored yet, but I think at this point, understanding what's going on here, we do not want to spend any extra time that we may have wandering about in this dangerous house.

And I think Sauronax will agree with me that we're gonna head right to the source. We're gonna slaughter whatever lays in that base. I do indeed plan to assist you in said slaughter, but children, do you know how long ago you died? It has been a long time, sir. I'm not quite sure how long.

I believe we have time and we should leave no stone unturned. There could be more clues, there could be more valuable information in the rest of this floor. Some kind of sense of what the monster is, some weakness. We should not, we should maintain level heads and fight the monster at full strength. At your wish, Professor. I agree. There may be more that we need to purge on this floor before we begin our descent.

Have you seen or spoken to any other people like us since you passed? Nobody comes to visit us here in the attic. Have you been trapped in this very room, or have you been able to move around the home in your current form? This is where we stay. Mommy and Daddy told us not to move, that the monster could get us. The door is right outside. They could come right in. Would you prefer when we leave that we close the door? You're not going to leave.

Why would you leave us? Well, we need to go fight the monster in the basement. But when mommy and daddy went to fight the monster, they never came back. And then we got so hungry. Please don't leave us. Can you join us? Would you like me to join you? Yes, please do accompany us if you can. And as you say this, I... Are you willing?

- I invited you, so yes, I am indeed willing. - You feel a strange power overcome you. - Oh shit. - As Rose squeezes Thorn's hand. - It is okay, little brother. He is willing. He will keep you safe. - As Thorn possesses you,

You feel as his tiny form lets go of her hand and floats towards you. The icy cold air around you as he zoops into your body and you can feel him there. Your chest feels like a frozen tundra and as you breathe out, it feels difficult to breathe. And...

As a professor, you've heard of ghostly possessions before and the ghosts overtaking the host, but you feel like you have full control over yourself. You are now possessed by Thorn and you gain this following flaw: "I'm scared of everything, including my own shadow, and weep with despair when things don't go my way." Professor, are you alright? Yes, yes, I'm alright. I don't think I'm possessed.

"Sonic, don't get any ideas, the professor's all right." "Thank you, sir. Thorn is safe with you and the monster will be killed and we will not be alone." "He's inside of me?" "Yes, he's safe in there." And she reaches forward. "Who will take me with them? Will you do it, pretty lady?" "I will do it." "Come on." "I don't know if that's the best course of action here."

For your safety, I will do that. Thank you, pretty one. And you see as she begins to float up,

off of the ground, and you too feel that same strange cold energy zoop into your body. Your skin feels icy to the touch, and as you breathe out, it's as if you're standing in a cold, wintry morning as your breath creates a sense of smoke in the air around you, and you feel Rhodes nestled

somewhere inside of your body and you gain the following flaw. I like being in charge and get angry when other people tell me what to do. She is safe within me. Humans are weakened by their sympathy. Sarnax, again, I keep saying this but I might have to agree with you. All the same, Kanna, you hold that dear child within you now.

And you must be cautious. I will, and I will lead us to victory. I say we all make haste to the basement immediately. No, no, we shouldn't make haste. We should take our time, and we should make sure that we check everything so that we're as prepared as possible. Connor's the only one who's agreeing with me about going right down to the basement. No, no, we don't know what's down there. You have no idea. We do know what's down there. No, we don't. It's a horrific monster, but we don't know any details.

We must be very cautious. Fear has overcome you, Professor. Think about what you are saying. Connor, rashness has overcome you. Think about what you are saying. Let us take a measured, quick approach. We will open the doors. I will open the doors. Garrus will protect me. I do not fear. I think I will open the doors. Very well. I will be beside you. Great. Please, I will stand in the back.

Fine, again, Professor, you're in charge, so tell us which direction you go. Just that way, and I point at that door. Very well. Which door do you point at? Not the one to go downstairs. No, no, no. This one. No, we must check every room just in case there might be some secret weapon to kill the monster, or who knows what. I walk past him and go open the door that's down the hallway. To the larger room?

- No, you mean to the spiral staircase or where? - I go, 'cause he wants to open that door, I wanna open this door. - Oh. - Kana, no, that's not what the professor was saying. - I don't take his orders anymore. - No, 'cause he wants you to protect her. - In your head you hear, "Yes, let's go in that room." Who do they think they are trying to tell you where to go? - This is my expedition. - You know this better than anybody else. - Don't forget, this is my expedition and I'm saying we should go in that door. - And in your head you hear,

- Well, you don't want to tell her where to go because she will get mad and she will hit you. - Oh, she will?

Please don't, please don't make her angry. Hold my dolly tight. Where is my body? Oh, I don't want to be hit. You see as he starts talking to himself, Ram. Very much. No, no. Connor, yes. That's fine. Are you going to leave my body in there with my doll? You need to get my dolly for me. Of course, of course. Professor, where are you going? I have the doll.

And I'm going to grab the doll and I'll put it in my jacket. Mr. Shepard, we have lost control of this expedition. I haven't really felt like I've been in control this whole time. Cling tightly to the professor. Do not let him out of your sight. Fine. Clayton, you feel a strange attraction to the skeletons that are on the ground before you. And you feel like you can't leave them behind. We can't leave these...

The remains of these poor children. What do I feel like I should do with it? Take it with you. Take it with me? Of course, of course. Curio! No, no, no! Professor, no! Case opens up. I'm going to start a contest. Please, please let me do this. No! What kind of contest?

Professor, please, don't just quit the bones! Strength contest to see, I guess. I don't see where I'm from. Four. Oh, well, I'm stronger than that. I rolled an eight, so... Oh, I'm plus zero. Yeah, eight. Eight to four. So you're able to wrench his arm back. He still has his case open. I'm trying to pull him away out of the room from the skeleton. No, he's not right. I mean, these poor children. The remains are...

are lying here. We should take them with us. - No, Professor, there's nothing we can do about the remains. We just need to save their souls, come on! - Well, no, no, I believe we need to save their souls and their remains. I believe, please, this is my expedition. If you want your bonus, please-- - I don't care about a bonus, I care about your safety! And I'm trying to pull this out of the room. - There's nothing safe about this. - I would say this, he would have had the bones on him, so you take the bones. - Oh, fuck. - But you're able to pull him out of the room. - No, I won't, no!

Dammit, Professor! I'll slam the cage. I'll tell the police. We will do good by their remains. We will make sure that they are respected and sent off as soon as we free their souls. Sorry, Max. This is real difficult. Shepard, let us continue to indulge them. The thing about weak minds, and I will teach you something.

You tell them what you want them to hear. You indulge them for a time. You observe. You learn. And when the time comes to get what you need, you will have all of the information you need. Let us follow. Let us observe. You keep an eye on the professor. I will keep an eye on the warrior. And we will destroy whatever is in the basement. And if, after that...

They are still not of sound mind. We will make the decision that we need to choose. Darn ass. I don't like where you're going with this. I do not either. Fire. Agreed. There are no paths before us that lead without shadow.

So I will walk beside Miss Kana, and we will proceed, all of us together. Oh, yes. I'm with the professor. I'll be in the back. You are splitting, and Kana is heading towards the other room. I'll be with Kana. And you guys are going towards the other. I'm going with her as well.

I will say, in the amount of time of you guys collecting the bones and having that argument, Victoria and Connor easily would have made it to the other room. Hold on, but I don't want to make her mad, right? Yes, so what he told you was don't tell her she can't go, you will make her mad. Oh, no, okay, so yes, yes, we should continue, this is my condition after all, and, uh, Shepard, please can you open the door that I told you to do? Fine.

So I'm here. So we're going to open Kana's door first. You open the door. The door screams on its hinges as you pull it open to reveal a quaint room. The quiet of this room disturbed only by the sound of the grinding of the door hinges as it swings open and the light sound of rocking. A slender bed sits off to the side, a nightstand to its left. A cursory glance shows you a writing desk with a stool, a moderately sized wardrobe, and an iron stove.

I attempt, well, I speak out loud to Rose.

What was that? It is just the house. It will play tricks on you. Can I hear? Could I, one, could I see what happened? And two, could I hear? You can't hear Rose, but you can hear Kana talking. I let you know. The rocking chair began to rock and there was a doll on it smiling at me. Now it is limp and no longer rocking. Rose is telling me that the house is playing tricks on me, which I think we've gathered now.

There are no other spirits that share this home with you, Rose? Not that I know of, Lady. Shall we proceed? I fear we have no choice.

You enter the next room. This dusty chamber is packed with old furniture, chairs, coat racks, standing mirrors, dress mannequins, and the like, all draped in dusty white sheets. A rusty iron stove's barely peeking out of one of the sheets, the stark black coloration of the iron, a harsh contrast to the sea of white. As your attention is drawn to the stove, you notice a large wooden chest wedged beneath it, a padlock visible on the front, but not latched.

You move forward towards it. As you lift the lid of this wooden chest, you're met with a strong putrescent odor. A lithe, feminine skeleton is curled into the bottom of this chest, wrapped in a tattered bedsheet stained with dried blood. The wooden boards at the base seem to be swollen with the remnants of her bodily fluid. As you look closer, the face is exposed, and you see, almost not at first, but as you look closer, you realize that this is the body of

of the specter that you fought in the bedroom. Hello, nanny. The nursemaid in her outfit, soaked in bloodstains, knife wounds littering her body, many knife wounds, too many to have been made by only one person. Mr. Morgan, there's been evidence of another murder. Who in their right mind would even think to do this to a body?

And as he says that, you hear in your head: That is the lady that gave birth to my brother. He was so beautiful, but he did not cry. Wait, so you're saying that this is the mother of your brother? Then who is your mother? And why didn't she- No, the mother of my brother is my mother. She is just the lady that gave birth to my brother. I don't know if I understand. Your mother is different than the woman that gave birth to your brother.

So, going back to the story that you heard, if you remember, the letter that Shredanya left mentioned a stillborn baby and an affair. Professor! Who are you talking to? I'm talking to...

- The child? - My name is Thorn. - My good friend Thorn. - Please clutch my dolly tight. I want to hold her. - Okay, okay, of course, of course. And I'll grab the dolly and my jacket. Oh, I see, so this makes sense now. Your brother Walter, this is who gave birth to him.

Is that right? Yes, she is the lady that gave birth to him and he didn't cry because he is a good boy. Oh, I see now. And so she was murdered. What do you mean she was murdered? She just stopped bringing us food. Oh, she... We were locked in the bedroom and we were told to do not leave because there is a monster in the basement. She was to bring us food every night.

But she did not come. And then we got hungry. And my dolly told me that it would be okay, that she would come and she would bring Walter and we would be able to play with Walter. And I would be able to share my dolly with Walter. But she didn't come. And then dolly stopped talking. And then Rose stopped talking. And then I stopped talking. I understand.

This was, you know, sort of out of character. I get the sense that this was the maid. Yes, that is the nursemaid. You fought her spectre in the nursemaid's suite with the nursery. I'll flush the doll out. I understand now. Don't you worry. Oh no, don't worry at all, even though this is very scary. We should get this together.

You are very warm. I like it a lot. Thank you for keeping me safe. Of course, of course. Of course, we will find a way to get downstairs, of course, and we will make sure that the monster is defeated. I will have everyone go first so that you're protected, of course. Of course, I can stand in the back and make sure that you're okay. Yes, we will not let the monster get each other. Shepard, may you please uncover all these things and make sure that there's nothing else in this room?

I'll stand at the door. All right. You feel all right? Yes, yes. I'm going to be fine. Are you sure? I'm going to stand at the doorway, and I will watch you, and I will use my main channel from afar and assist you. And let's just make sure that we take a look through this room, please. Fine. I'll begin to one by one, not systematically, just first things I come to, start taking the cloaks off of the things that are covered.

You do this. You find many things. Chairs, coat racks, standing mirrors, dress mannequins, and all the like. Different pieces of furniture. But outside of this strange box that looked like it was an attempt to hide the remains, doesn't seem to be much else but storage. Do we see the door at the other end of the...

You do. It is a stained glass door that leads out to a balcony as well that looks over the back of the house. All right, Professor. We've stared at the room. The only other thing out there is another balcony. I don't need to look, of course. What? What? I'll sit here. All right. And I'll head over to the balcony and I will attempt to open the door.

You open the door and you make your way out onto the balcony. Night has sufficiently fallen over the village of Barovia. And the twinkling lights, though not immediately in front of you, cast a strange eerie glow over the other side of the house. You peer around the side and you can see the way that they flicker to and fro in the few buildings that seem to be illuminated. But other than that, it's just a balcony.

Can you do that?

You all accumulate in the main hallway. I would say in that time, Khan and I and Victoria would have just done an investigation. I don't know if we need to roll for it. You do that, and I'll say you guys have found everything that you could have possibly found. I figured. Did you find anything? A corpse. Another corpse. Is everything all right? And I'm going to look at you, giving you a knowing look. Things are amenable. To the shepherds.

Very well. I'm honestly displeased. Professor, you seem quite shaken. I mean, look at what we've seen here. We just found evidence of another murder. There's so much death. There's so much trauma there. I will tell you later, but we must... Forgive my impertinence, Professor, but perhaps you should tell us now. We proceed into darkness we do not know. Well...

In the room that we investigated, we found the murdered corpse of the woman that gave birth to Walter, the young baby that's sibling to Rose and Thorin. Their mother, yes. No, not their mother. Their mother's a different woman, but the woman that gave birth, of course, was the nursemaid.

My god. I will not say more of it with children in our presence, but I think we need to go downstairs perhaps? Or maybe we should stay here. I mean, I don't know what more we can do. I think... There's torture, so... I don't know what awaits us, so perhaps... I mean, Thorne, what do you think?

I'll grab the dolly. I think that we need to make sure that the monster is finished so that I can spend time with my brother. Oh, I... Okay, okay. I want to rest now. What are you grabbing, Professor? I'm just grabbing Thor's little dolly, that's all. May I see the doll?

Please don't give him the doll. No, no, why would you see the Thorn's doll? Why would you not want to give me the doll, Professor? Because it is not yours, it is Thorn's doll. It would make me cry. Can we hear the Sursa just a little bit? You can just hear what Clayton says. You are unwell, Professor. I'm fine. Have a seat. Look, I'm fine. We must continue. We must get down. The children would like to meet them. Please, please, can we just go downstairs, please? Sorry, I...

I understand your concern. I think maybe going to the basement might be the best remedy for all of this. Perhaps so. Let us continue. We must move forward. Very well. Thank you, Miss Isaacs. Very well. I agree. I want to walk up to the rocking chair and the doll that like went limp and I just want to pick it up and inspect it. It's just a normal cloth doll with the house playing tricks on you yet again. I throw it back on the chair. Is everything all right?

The chair was moving earlier while you two were in the other room. On its own. Yes, it was rocking on its own. The house doesn't like you. I don't like it. You couldn't hear that. Oh. I say out loud I don't quite like the house. Is it I don't like it? Are you prepared to head to the basement? It's the only place left. We need to do what we need to do. Absolutely.

Is everyone all right with this? Yes. Yes, allow me to go first. Please allow me to go last. I will shine my light into the darkness. Normally, Sarnax, I'd be right behind you, but I'm gonna stay with the Professor, is that all right? Yes, no, no, please, please, please stay with me. I'll be up front with you. I'll leave it. And yes, you can go ahead. Thank you, thank you. Miss Isaacs, you want to take the middle? The middle. I will follow, Mr. Sarnax. My soul is not at ease here, but it is mine to put before you to prevent you suffering.

Should it come? Let's go down the stairway. All right. You open the door. A blast of fetid air hits your face as you open the door to a narrow spiral staircase made of creaky wood. The staircase is contained within a five foot wide shaft of mortared stone that descends deep into the bowels of the house. Thick cobwebs fill the shaft so densely that you're barely able to see more than five feet in front of your face. You continue moving forward.

It takes a while. You expect to see doors coming into focus, but none happen. This goes directly from the attic, deep into the earth, farther than you expected to go. Finally, the wooden spiral staircase comes from an abrupt end as you spill out into a narrow tunnel made of rough stone, slick with moisture and speckled with moss. The moment you arrive in this dark place, you can hear the faint sound of an eerie, incessant chanting begin to echo throughout this place.

It's impossible to gauge where the sound is coming from. It feels like it's reverberating around you. The tunnel stretches southward before branching east and west. As you get to the intersection, you begin to look about you. The dungeon level of this old house appears to be carved out of earth, clay, and rock. The tunnels are a mere four feet wide by about eight feet tall and are supported by thick wooden posts with crossbeams.

Peering at the ground, you're still able to see centuries-old human footprints on the earthen floor leading each way, and the chanting continues.

You are all now level two. I would like to again attempt to track this monstrosity now that we know where it is. Roll a survival check at advantage. Monstrosity. 12 again. Damn. You reach your senses out similar to what you had done upstairs and it is stronger here. It pulses a little more rapidly and you feel the pull.

The direction it's coming from, you're not sure, but you sense that you are following the right path. That thing, that beast,

It's definitely down here. 100%. Exactly right. And it shouldn't die in the fire of Garrix. Do you have any idea what kind of monster it could be? Unfortunately, Professor, I do not. This house is full of evil magic and trickery, and I haven't been able to get a good sense or even direction of where this thing is, but I can only confirm what we've been told, that it is residing down here in the basement.

Oh no, did he say that there is evil magic in here? Sir, please protect me. If the monster is creating some kind of evil magic, I don't want to fall to it. Well, if there's evil magic at foot, perhaps I'll let you deal with it. Yeah, yeah, of course, Professor, that's why I'm here. Well, uh...

Carry on. We should start investigating. I'll be back here. I'm going to ask... You should lead the pack, because you will probably know much better where to go in here. You hear inside of your head. Oh, I definitely will. Rose, do you have any indication of what the best way is to move forward? I would go both ways. But maybe two ways.

The... left? No, the right. I don't know you choose, you're smart. But you live here. I've never been down here before. Oh, she's never been down here before. Kala, we should stop asking the devil children for advice. I believe we'll go down to the right. Ah, he didn't mean it. To the left, to the right. So, Nax, I appreciate your decisiveness and I've got your back, as always.

Professor, I'm staying with you. I do not trust this. The longer that this goes on, the more I observe, the less and less I trust this. Agreed. Well, yes, let's make a decision, please. What did you say? Sarnax. Right. Done. Let's do it. Rounding the corner, you are met with several crypts hewn from the earth. As you scan the passageways, you see that each crypt has a large rough stone door that closes it off.

So you take quick note that some of the crypt doors are not sealed, but leaning against the inside walls haphazardly. So I will say that you explore essentially what's there, and you can see that each of those are crypts, and should you want to invest each crypt. Choose one? Yeah. Everything that's exposed, you have been able to gleam all of that currently, and so you know that those are crypts. You can just let me know if you choose to investigate any of those. So we should not peel them unless we choose to? Unless you choose to. Okay.

Professor, there are many rooms hiding secrets here. Do you choose to investigate any? Or should we... No, I mean, we should... We can take our time. We should probably investigate everything, make sure that we're not missing anything. I'd feel better if we killed whatever was down here first. I agree, but... There seems a sense of urgency. I can't place it, but I feel anxious like we must continue. Well, uh...

- And what would, Fulon, what do you think? - What do you mean, what do I think? - I just want to start an ass. - I mean, is it-- - Professor, I think of this. - Then go ahead. - We will lead the way. - He's too. - Not these children. - I don't like the one that is yelling at me. He makes me uncomfortable and I feel like I can't contain myself. - And you feel like a pulse in your chest as Snorren starts to get--

- Oh, thank you. My dolly is here with me. It makes me feel good. - I'm gonna just take the professor's arm in mine and just walk next to him. - Thank you. - Go ahead, go ahead, please. - I'm holding it off, don't worry. - Common behind, shepherd behind her. - Agreed. - Let us go. - Where are you going? - You're not investigating any of the tombs? - Not yet at least.

Okay. That's the agreed upon... No, no, we're not going to be asking anything. Anything. I mean, I'm sorry.

Again, I understand that this is your investigation, and I will do as you say, but Sarnax is leading the charge here, and I agree that we need to move forward. We are leading the charge. Not one single person is, but I think we should address... Why are they trying to take us away? I like it right here, in that one. And you feel as, against your will, your arm points up towards one of the crypts. Now, Tom...

Guys, she is pointing towards...

The one that is directly, the two that are directly in front of where you, yes, those two right there. She thinks we should go in here. I mean, not necessarily. If Rose thinks we should go, sir, we should probably go. She knows. No, I agree. I agree with Connor's suggestion. Of course, of course. Please, please do lead. Connor, it's not getting outvoted by invisible forces. Well, we will see where it leads and that will inform our future decisions.

Rose, you said you've never been down here, but you want me to go into this crypt? It is pulling me towards it. I won't go there. What is pulling you, child? I don't know.

I unsheathe the judgment and I follow behind wherever the group decides. Walk further ahead and we will see. Everyone-- Carol, what are you feeling? I am being fooled by Rose, who is being fooled by what I imagine is the-- She does not know what fools her? She does not, but it is some sort of sixth sense, and I imagine it is tied to this home, so I suggest we all be on alert. She's very wise and we don't want to upset her, so we must continue. Indeed.

I will go where she points and I'm gonna go in the direction she points. And then I'll pull the professor and Miss Isaacs in that direction as well, if you're not willingly already heading that way. I'll stay next to the professor, just kind of grasping him. Right. You walk forward. You feel supernaturally pulled towards this place, the two of you.

And as you step into the small alleyway in front of the-- the small entryway in front of the two doors, you see that the doors themselves are not sealed, but there are names etched into each one. "Roosevalda Durst" upon one and "Thornbolt Durst" upon the other. You feel as if you are moved against your will as you slowly make your way in. Two small coffins lying in the very back of this room. This is where

I think I need to go to sleep. I think so too, Rose. I think you need to pass on and be at rest and no longer trapped in that room in the attic. What did she say? I think this is where I want to go to bed. Does she hear you? And you hear in your head. This is where I want to sleep too. Do you have my body? Yes, yes, of course, carry on. Can you tuck me in?

- Yes. - Where's my doll? - Of course, of course. - I'll lift the case up and I will reach in and I will take out his remains and place them in the thorn, what's his name, thorn vault? - Thorn vault. - Thorn vault. - Thorn vault. - B-O-L-D-T, bolt, bold. - And I'll take my hat off and take the doll out and I'll place it. You can please rest now and let us take care of this foul monster, okay? - As you lay his skeletal remains into the small coffin, you feel a

From your body, as the spirit lifts itself out of you and slowly begins to descend into the coffin to its small skeletal form. Its earthly remains going back to where they were intended, no longer locked in the horrific room upstairs. And as he slowly sinks into his form, you see his spectral hand reach out and grab his doll. He looks up at you, his eyes bright. I am so tired. Thank you, sir.

Thank you, and please don't worry at all. Please rest. You find as he fully sinks down into the skeletal remains, you are no longer possessed by the spirit of Thornbolt. I walk up to Rose's crypt. Does it look like... Do you have my body with you?

Did you grab both? I guess what I- You did, yeah. Yes, I have the remains as well. May I have them please? I will. I'll just open my case to the, or to the holding portal that's in. Make sure you tuck me in tight, okay? Because the monster is scary, and if I'm tucked in tight, he cannot get me.

I'm so sleepy. I'm sure you I would be too, Rose. And I lay her body down and I try to arrange all the skeletons in kind of like a cozy fetal position. And as you lay the skeleton down upon the bottom of this tiny wooden coffin, you feel that same...

Exhalation from your body. Her spectral form slowly makes its way out of you. And she hovers for a second in front of you. Her tiny spectral hand glinting in the faint light from Sarnax's lantern. She slowly runs it along your cheek. You are so sweet. And she looks back at all of you. You are so kind to rid the house of this monster. Hopefully you will be able to protect Walter the way you protected us.

and to save my parents. But for now, I need to sleep. I am so tired. - Sleep well, Rose, and long. - Good night, new friends. - Good night, Sloane. - And she slowly sinks into the skeletal remains and disappears from view. You all have inspiration. - Oh! Fuck, yes! - I will step forward and I will pause a moment and cast a light on each of their tunes.

I was wrong. I apologize for my overly cautious presumptions. You children were nothing more than victims trying to sleep and rest. I'll reach into my cloak and I'll pull out a small branch of Edelwood, which has a small wailing face on it. I'll place it down in the middle portion here, and I'm going to cast Sacred Flame on it. And as it burns,

I'll stand over it, and I will hold my lantern up, and as I stare into the flame, say, "Both of you children know that the fire of vengeance burns as brightly as the fire of Garrix. What- whoever or whatever it was that brought you to your end will suffer a far worse fate than you did. We will avenge you. On Garrix's name, I swear it. Garrix, give me the power to destroy.

How tragic when even innocent children are snapped up into the all-consuming jaws of evil. At the very least, our heroes have been able to put them to rest. They even managed to survive the horrors of the Death House. For now. And yet, there is so much to explore in this haunted place. So much lurking in the darkness. Watching.

Waiting. We shall see if the expedition can make it out alive in part two of chapter one. Death House. In the meantime, if you wish to watch Legends of Aventress tell similar stories of Dungeons and Dragons every week, you can follow us on Twitch and join our community on Discord. All links are in the show notes. We welcome you to our Aventress family.