The party pushed on to the final level of the manor, first finding a room of bizarre relics collected by the cult, though these were ultimately left alone. A prison area was also briefly visited, revealing only a skeleton and a small amount of treasure in a golden ring on one bony finger.

The source of the chanting (He is the Ancient. He is the Land.) was finally revealed in the last room, much of it flooded by two feet of murky water, with a raised ledge around the room and a dais in the center featuring a bloody altar. An eroded cave contained a pile of plant matter and refuse.

After some careful exploration, Tannyll decided to leap onto the dais. At this time, the apparitions of chanting cultists appeared, beginning a new chant “One must die.” over and over again. This continued while the party discussed their options.

Finally, Tannyll merely stepped off of the dais and everything changed. The cultists called upon Lorghoth the Decayer, and the pile of refuse stirred itself to attack. The mound of plant matter shambled over, nearly laying Roger out early in the fight. Roger retaliated with a handful of vicious smites in turn, weakening the mighty entity, but not before it managed to nearly incapacitate him once again. Eventually the creature turned its attention to Olaf the barbarian, connecting with both viny appendages and enveloping his then-unconscious form. It was a small miracle that the monstrosity was disabled before managed to crush the warrior to death.

Then it turned out that the house above had turned against the adventurers. What was once a clean and well maintained first floor became decrepit and full of choking smoke, horrible traps, and swarms of rats. It took the party a while to find a reasonable escape path from the building, but with some close calls, they eventually made it back outside into the overcast morning.

Strahd himself was there to greet the party, congratulating them on surviving the domicile and dungeon, and sharing polite greetings with all as he exchanged introductions. He also made it clear to them as ruler of Barovia that their holding the deed to the Durst estate would be honored, and if they wished, they could use it as a residence during their stay in Barovia.

At questions, he mentioned that he could not send them back to their homes, though he did not elaborate much upon this. Finally, the count departed peacefully, and the remaining mist finally lifted, revealing the dreary village and the tall castle looming overhead.

Before he left, Strahd invited Ileyna to be his guest at Castle Ravenloft, and the half-elf accepted, the two departing together.

OOC NOTES:

Overall I think things went reasonably well. The shambling mound was dicey, but with six players it was reasonably manageable. I’m not sure I like the final challenge section of leaving the house after the traps and smoke take over. It’s interesting in a way, but it’s all so passive that I think it needs some way to insert more intensity to the overall event. It might be more fun if the group is being persued by a shambling mound, perhaps?

Strahd was ok. I hoped for a little more menace, but I decided to dial back some plans to keep this first visit chiefly to introductions and some light manipulation.

It was a man clad in oddly designed armor, and calling himself Roger De Verre. We were obviously apprehensive due to the events surrounding our arrival and investigation, but after introductions and explanations we surmised that Roger seemed to be from the same place Jaym was from. After determining that the new arrival was, at the very least, neutral to our presence we decided it be best that we proceed together. In the crypt we investigated rooms that seemed to be quarters for someone. One room seemed for prisoners, or possibly sacrifices, and the other with beds and quarters complete with personal chests. We were set upon by ghouls due to the noise we made breaking the locks on the chests to find out more, unfortunately we found only items of monetary value.

Roger, at this point, began to show amazement at Kildrak’s ability to light his shield, the undead, amongst other things. We kept moving and appeared to have reached a fork. This decision was further complicated by the fact that traps had been set that we had discovered. I revealed to my companions my ability to change my shape into animals. This was mostly met with derision and apprehension, as usual. I took the form of a rat to discover our options. One direction led me into a room filled with skeletons chained to the walls and centered with a statue holding a misty orb. Continuing on, I found a door, but could not discern anything beyond the bottom of the door except for a couple pieces of furniture. I believe this room beyond the door connects to the other hallway we had to choose between.

I returned to my companions and informed them of our options. We decided to investigate the room with the statue. Nothing of note was discovered by Ileyna, but Roger had the unfortunate fate of discovering the door being a mimic. I admit, I made a mistake during the ensuing struggle, but I had hoped by that time that Roger had escaped. Upon defeating the mimic I hastily apologized to Roger who had already shown a large amount of apprehension for my shapeshifting. We proceeded to the next room without hesitation and Kildrak seemed to set off some sort of trap that presented two ghouls, abnormally strong ones too. The fight proved to be rough-going, but we had gotten the best of them. We took a short rest and after talking it over we decided to inspect the statue once more, specifically the orb, before moving further. Ileyna had decided to use a magical hand to move the orb, but when she moved it, we were surrounded by dark shades that seemed to drain the strength from your very being. We had beaten them, surely, but this place seems to be getting more and more dangerous as we move on…

So this place is officially a nightmare…

My companions and I, after resting, moved to the third floor and began to investigate the room to the West when an apparition began to attack us. Jaym appeared to be under the influence of this spirit that presented itself in a bout of fear and ran into the broomcloset. During a valiant struggle in tight conditions we finally felled the spirit, but at a cost. Jaym had appeared to had fallen to an enchanted broom, and as humorous as it may have seemed in a book or in a joke I assure you it is not. In the short amount of time I had spent with Jaym I had come to like the Rogue.

In the room that was guarded by the apparition we began investigating several things. While Tannyll and Ileyna went their own way I began to realize the mirror in the room not only had a false wall behind it, but the eyes inlaid in the carving were moving, and watching. My companions did not seem as rattled by this as I, and we moved into the attic by way of the staircase behind the mirror.

We found a door with a padlock on it, which Ileyna had handed me a key to unlock it with. Upon entering the room VERY slowly(I have been on my guard for awhile by now), we realized that this had been a room for two children. This had been even more evident of the two child sized skeletons in the room wearing clothing. Oddly familiar clothing at that.

Me, Tannyll, and Ileyna had barely moved into the room when two figures appeared in front of us. Rose and Thorn. THIS is where things had begun to turn oddly. Upon questioning the children, who had apparently forgotten us entirely, and a couple of tests of my own, we had determined that they were ghosts. They did have a great deal of information, however, like the presence of a staircase starting at the attic and moving down below the first floor. They offered to lead the way for us, an oddly generous offer for children who do not know they had been locked in their room by their parents and starved to death.

Ileyna, for all of your intelligence presented to this point you have proven yourself wreckless in that you allowed Rose to possess you. Thorn TRIED to possess me, but I will not allow such a thing without any sort of explanation. Thorn seemed to feel this and turned immediately to Tannyll and seemed to force himself onto him. At this point I began to study all of their movements and behaviors. At times they seemed to act like themselves, but would mostly resort to speaking elvish to each other and have Ileyna lead the way while Tannyll would become teary-eyed and never stray more than a foot from Ileyna’s side. I believe this is Rose and Thorn presenting themselves as dominant over their host’s personalities. I believe they speak in elvish to keep something from us. At this point I have to assume that they do not mean well for Ileyna and Tannyll, but I hope that I am wrong.

Olaf regrouped with us after searching and looting the third floor. He did not seem to either understand or believe me when I tried to explain the situation to him. We descended the stairs with Ileyna and Tannyll in the lead. They seemed to be looking intently for something, well Rose and Thorn were. They came upon a set of crypts, two to each side, and this seemed to be where we were being led. Ileyna(as Ileyna) turned to Olaf and requested he go and get the bones of the children.

My curiosity got the best of me, A room at the end of the hallway I was in drew my interest. I could see a table and many bones littering the floor, and an alcove. I began to inspect the alcove when I came under attack from a Grick, damn abominations. The beast almost got the best of me, but I managed to escape its tentacles and get behind Olaf and best the creature. Afterwards, I discovered that Ileyna and Tannyll were back to their normal selves, apparently Rose and Thorn’s ulterior motive was to bury their bones so they can finally rest. We decided it would be best to rest for a couple hours on the first floor after burying Jaym’s body in one of the crypts. After the rest, though, we heard someone coming into the front door…

After a long rest, and meeting with a newcomer that had been forced into Durst Manor by the encroaching mists, the party proceeded back into the basement to explore the shadowy recesses of the locale. They examined the quarters for cultists of the ancient past, making a lot of racket in the process of bashing open a series of locked footlockers. The noise attracted a number of ghouls, who worked to flank the party, but were ultimately defeated with little fuss.

The next chamber explored contained ancient skeletons shackled to the wall, and a shrine of sorts. A painted wooden statue of a gaunt man, one hand resting on a wolf, the other holding out a crystal orb. There was a brief encounter with creatures of manifest shadow as they rose up in defense of the shrine, but such creatures proved highly vulnerable to holy radiance called against them.

The door out of the chamber proved to be dangerous indeed, as the newcomer, the paladin Roger, had his door adhered to the fixture before it formed a giant acidic maw and began to attack, but it was quickly put down, if at some cost to Roger’s peace of mind.

The last stop of note was the bedroom of the cultist parents, Elizabeth and Gustav Durst. Both of them attack the group there (now a pair of ghasts), and while they were threatening, they were soon dispatched. This room contained a scattering of personal possessions that likely belonged to a long dead adventurer, including a magic cloak and a spellbook.

The chanting grows louder and clearer as the party prepares to descend down the stairs to see what awaits in the dungeon below.

OOC Notes:

My rolls were much more reasonable this time around, and having both clerics, and the druid preparing healing spells kept everyone quite safe this session. I had hoped to finish the house this session, but I think the progress made was solid enough, and things should be wrapped up fairly quickly next session.

There was a little tension between characters and players, but I believe that has been resolved.

Jaym is dead.

It happened so fast. We were exploring the attic when suddenly a spectral young woman materialized and let out a blood curdling scream. I felt dread down to the core of my being and my companions seemed affected as well. Normally sturdy Olaf could barely move while the mysterious Jaym was gripped by a sudden fear and fled into a nearby broom closet.

The spirit seemed little affected by weapons, though I noted with some satisfaction that whatever eldritch energies I inherited along with my new body seemed very effective at dispelling the spirit. Banishing it back to the afterlife, we turned our attention to the closet, where, to our horror, we saw one of the brooms had been animated by some fell enchantment. It had beaten Jaym to a bloody pulp and was sweeping the corpse aside. We destroyed it but were too late to save the poor wanderer. Olaf covered the body with a sheet and we moved on, sobered by the loss. It served as a grim reminder that all of our lives could be snuffed out in an instant in this dark domain.

A black shrouded crib was in the nursery. I dreaded finding the stillborn son of the depraved lord of this manor still wrapped in swaddling within it, but found it empty. Meanwhile, one of the dwarves discovered a secret staircase leading up to the attic. From there we met the ghosts of the children who we met in the streets. They had no memory of meeting us there and seemed bound to the room where they had been locked away to starve by their monstrous parents. I do not know what it is we met outside. Perhaps some memory of the house itself or an illusion created by the faux cultists who met here.

The sight of their remains strewn so pitifully on the floor behind the padlocked door wrenched my heart. When the spirits manifested, little Rose seemed desperate to come with us. She showed us a secret staircase to the basement, or where it was located on her dollhouse which turned out to be a miniature replica of the cursed house where we stood.

She pleaded with us not to leave them alone in the attic and I invited them along. She said she could not come, and then, struck by an idea, moved towards me. I could feel her spirit trying to lodge itself in my body. At first, I was repulsed, but then, moved by pity, I allowed her refuge.

It was a strange sensation, having two souls in one body. I could hear her voice within me, and some of her personality seemed to be seeping into my own. I felt more….Thorn would call it ‘bossy’. I despised being told what to do and immediately took charge. Thorn possessed the elven cleric and together we explored the rest of the attic. I quickly found a corpse that Rose informed me belonged to Sylvia, the nursemaid whose spirit attacked us in the childrens’ room. We then descended to the basement, where we were greeted by an omnipresent chanting that informed me that the cultists were not far.

We quickly found the family crypts and I knew exactly what had to be done. I do not know if it was my idea, or an idea of Rose’s that seeped into my mind, but I had Olaf bring the bodies of the children down to be properly enterred in their final resting places. Once they had been laid to rest in their crypts, I felt a sense of peace and knew that Rose’s spirit was at rest and my body was fully my own again. As fey and alien as it still felt, at least it was mine.

But that was not the end of our horrors, for we were soon attacked by some strange aberration. It had the body of a giant worm but a beaked, tentacled face like an octopus. I learned today that the, call it a blessing if you like, of Verenestra can be extended as a protective light to my allies, and together, we defeated the disgusting creature. Heavily wounded and exhausted, they decided to rest before we explored further.

While they rest, I am resolved to move the bodies of Jaym and the nursemaid Sylvia into the unused crypts, though my new body is hardly strong enough to carry them. Perhaps one of the dwarves or Olaf will assist me. Leaving them unburied only risks more hauntings in a house already plagued by them. When this task is finished and my allies are ready, we will move on and perhaps find the monsters who created this nightmare.

After a respite and a chance to sample some of the cuisine stored in the ancient pantry, found to be bland, but quite edible. More exploration revealed servant’s quarters and a conservatory on the second floor, complete with harpsichord and standing harp. More disturbing details were found in the decor, skulls among carved vines in the alabaster mantel.

The third floor was where the house began to show its age, with dusty floors and cobwebs decorating the corners and the suit of black platemail standing watch over the staircase. This suit soon animated and attacked the party in the first sign of serious danger presented to the explorers so far. This was bested, but at some cost to the well being of the party.

There was another brief rest, after which the group felt quite empowered by their recent experiences, and ready to continue the exploration.

A dusty storage closet was opened, containing soap, linens, and an unsuspecting broom resting against the back wall of the room. After this, a nursery and bedchamber was exposed, which was enough to cause the shade of a long-deceased nursemaid to manifest and attack with a blood-curdling scream. Jaym had the misfortune of backing away into the nearby closet for a semblance of safety, which was promptly denied when the broom animated and lashed out at the monster-hunter. From there it was a desperate fight for life against the spectre and… broom.

In the end, both were defeated, but it turned out that the broom had bested Jaym with one too many blows to the head. She never awoke.

The rooms of the third floor were then explored without further challenge, revealing the master bedroom, nursery, and bathroom. Of note, a baby-sized bundle of cloth was found in the black-draped crib of the nursery, lending credence to the mention of a stillborn bastard child in the house’s past. No corpse was discovered, however. The master bedroom suite contained significant wealth in a noblewoman’s jewelry box.

A secret staircase offered passage to the attic, which really showed the house’s age, with little to no sign of cleaning or upkeep being employed. A locked room was soon opened with the iron key found in the library. This room revealed a pair of children’s beds, along with a toy chest and doll house modeled after the manor itself. There were also a pair of small skeletons dressed in the clothing of the children who first beckoned the adventurers inside to slay the monster…

Upon disturbing the dollhouse, the ghosts of the two children revealed themselves, looking confused and a little scared, having no memory of ever meeting the party. The facts revealed were much the same, the children being locked in the attic room by their parents to protect them from the monster in the basement. Rose showed the party where the secret passage down to the basement was, revealing a spiral stair that began in the attic and descended below. It was also learned that the children starved to death in the room at some point past. Neither ghost wanted to be left alone, and both children made effort to possess the party once it appeared that they might be so abandoned. Ileyna allowed Rosavalda in, but Thorrick rebuffed Thornboldt, after which the boy successfull forced a possession upon Tannyll.

From there, more was revealed by the dead children metaphysically looming over Ileyna and Tannyll’s psyches, giving small insights into the fate of Sylvia the nursemaid, and their stillborn little brother, Walter.

The last thing of note was the discovery of Sylvia’s corpse, wrapped in a bloody sheet and stuffed into a chest in one of the attic storage rooms, another victim of whatever came to pass in the proud home.

At the bottom of the stairs the group began hearing a low incessant chanting ringing throughout the space. The basement proved to be a series of low narrow halls cut into damp clay, with the family crypts the first sight found. Six crypts have been seen, the doors carved with the names of Rosavalda, Thornboldt, Elisabeth, Gustav, and Walter Durst. The six crypt was unnamed, while Walter’s tomb was empty. Gustav and Elisabeth’s tombs have yet to be opened. Rose and Thorn’s remains were placed in their waiting crypts, and the ghosts of the children vanished, leaving a brief-lived, but profound, sense of peace across the party.

The last chamber explored was what appeared to be a modest dining room, with old human bones scattered across the floor. Thorrick approached a small darkened alcove of the room, and was promptly ambushed by a grick, nearly laying him low, but eventually the group overcame the monstrosity.

After this last battle, the group decided to withdraw to safer regions of the house for another rest, away from the incessant chanting.

OOC NOTES:

I thought this went pretty well overall, though the theme of the session was probably DICE. My dice were on fire. It wasn’t until near the end that I started missing what were largely 50/50 rolls to hit. by the same token, player dice weren’t great, though I don’t think they were too much below odds if they were at all. It’s really just a problem with 1st and 2nd level, when there’s not enough longevity and HP to help mitigate the worst of these sort of streaks.

Anyway, Jaym died, which is unfortunate, but I think things will work out fine. There should be space to introduce a new character being ushered to the doorstep of Durst Manor while the party is recuperating.

I did like handling the ghosts and the possessions, with PCs still in control, but gaining new flaws and some insight into just what was going on with the children from the past. It was almost a shame that the ghosts were given peace so early, since I liked how things were going with the possessed players and how the non-possessed players reacted to them. Kudos to all on that!

Half-elven female, approximately 5 and a half feet in height and hair of a light brown, appears to be a caster. (I would kill for a blood sample)

Dwarven/Cleric male Just shy of 5 feet, red hair.

Human female (Judging by voice) 5 and a half feet in height, strange dress and an inefficient club.

Dwarf, male, about as tall as the other, hair of black (Claims to be clanless etc. Dwarven clan problems)

Will observe.

It’s as if I’ve awoken in a new plane, Mist is ta bee found edrywear. When I opened ma eyes this morning I found but not A drop O snow about the ground. Then I was hearings someone and as I went to the noise I found a road, but tiss not the one to be found a leaven Mirabar. I came upon a two Elphs, two humans, N later a would not be dwarf. Initially I thot it was da weird human that might be the cause O all the trickery, but now I’m a certain tis not em, as a 10 year old dwarf babe got more smarts than that one! The elphs have sly tongues and be a needin ta be watched.. Da other human is a massive man, looks to be a dwarf only human sized. All O us lost we deceden to be findin da end o the road. Asen one foot led the other wolves attacked us on da road, we fended them off, and a second wave appeared. Then came a sight of what I thout was good. I was a thinkn it was a brother, another dwarf. After the fighten was done the other stout folk showed ta me he was no dwarf, said he turned his back to da clan that born him. No Dwarf would eber do such a thing… I got me Ideas this stout folk is probable a criminal, banished from his clan for Honor break’n or worse. We continued the leading one foot with the other and came o’bout a set o statues at da openen of a gate. Stone work was hundreds O years old, humans but they was desecrated, heads had been thrown from dar shoulders years past as da vines coveren da heads told us. On we wents N da gate be closen it self as we past.. we founds us a horrible smell and led us to a dead one, which be given us a note. From what I gots o it their be vampires abouts and we should be keeping carefull watch. As we arrived with in da town some creep human kids asken for help but seemed a bit to calm ifn ya be asken O me. Wes went to be help dem any ways just to find der stories a lie.

(The wandering mind of Jaym seems to dart about the events of the day as he tries to reconcile events.)

My hunt for the man-wolf has taken an unexpected direction. Camping overnight on the edge of the moor seems to have transported me to some strange location, I’m not entirely sure I’m still in England, or even Europe…

I have encountered others like myself, transported from their homeland, however only one appears normal (or as normal as can be, as even he dresses strangely and speaks with a thick accent). Two of the others seem to resemble the unseelie creature I hunted earlier this year (one more so than the other), which caused the deaths of so many of our order. There is quite a brooding beauty to them, especially the girl, sooo much more appealing than the other…

The last two are much shorter and stockier than I have ever seen before. Oh and so much facial hair, urghhhh!

The male unseelie likes to speak in many tongues but my own, I shall have to be careful around him I believe. A conversation with the two short ones seem to get quite heated.

Evil sorcereries seem to be thrown around as only John Dee would wish, but there seems to be no indication of the corruption it causes. Even I have been on the receiving end, with my wounds healed as if a week or more had passed.

The land is heavy with thick mist and until we reached the village we saw no others on the road or working the fields. Wolves seem to be in abundance, their howls accompany us always. A pack was even bold enough to attack, with one causing me to near lose my life. I shall have to be more careful.

The normal one, Olaf I think his name, carries my chest. He is quite the musclebound hulk, I’m sure he’ll be fun to be around… These people appear to have no gunpowder weapons, and they do not even recognise my pistol. I wonder if I should warn them before I first use it?

My sixth sense that has helped me hunt the foul creatures of England appears to have transformed. It now appears to be a constant background buzz. Another thing inside me that I must make effort to tune out…

With the initial indication given by the house contents and letters and diaries we have found both there on the corpse, I believe I might have found reason for my transportation to this forsaken realm. For it appears to have its fair share of monsters and demons that prey on the weak. But what of the others, what skills do they have that would bring them here?

The letters speak of “holy men”, however I’m not sure what good they would do. God allows monsters to slaughter his children, so how can He be worthy of worship. But I do not want to repeat those thoughts again…

The massive gate before the village and castle was impressive indeed and definitely another indication (should it be needed) that I’m no longer in England. It was obviously old and starting to fall to ruin, but I’m not sure that was the reason for the heads on the massive statues to have “fallen” to the ground.

Waking up I immediately realized something was wrong. Not only had it been later than my usual time that I roused from sleep, but also that I had awoken in a different place than when I closed my eyes to sleep. Inspection of the surrounding area confirmed that I was, in fact, in a different location, as well as a group of individuals who were engaged in combat with a small pack of wolves.

They seemed to have the situation well in hand, but I still endeavored to help any way I could. After the fight I realized I was standing amongst an amalgam of people: A Half-Elf, an Elf, two Humans, and another Dwarf. After defeating the wolves I was first approached by a Half-Elf who introduced herself as Ileyna, and then proceeded to introduce me to the two humans she knew the names of: Jaym and Olaf. I came to find that the names of the the Elf and Dwarf were Tannyll and Kildrak, respectively. We began to discover that we all were in the same situation: In a strange land and an unnatural and nearly impenetrable mist looming toward us. The group and I came to the decision to travel together, at least for a time, so that if similar dangers presented themselves, as I was sure they would, we would be better off.

Several hours later we came upon a gigantic stoneworked gate. Two gargantuan decapitated human statues towered over us while the gates, unassisted I might add, opened for us. Kildrak pointed out that the stonework walls and gate themselves were not of Dwarven origin, but seemed to be several hundred years old, at least. Resolving ourselves to entering the gate, we received a suprise when, upon entering the gate, the gate closed itself. If there were any chance to turn back, I feel that we had just lost it.

Down the path a ways Jaym, a very odd human(Man? Woman? Hell I still have trouble figuring this one out!) prone to bouts of great joviality in regards to drinking and dark depressions, noticed the stench of death. My companions seemed apprehensive at first to approach the source of the stench, either that or they seemed entirely disinterested. We finally agreed by majority to approach the source, which turned out to be a dead human who seemed to have been mauled to death. Kildrak and I inspected the body and determined with relative certainty that a large wolf, possibly a Dire Wolf, had killed this man. Jaym, upon seeing a letter clutched in the man’s hands, snatched it up and read it aloud. It appears that this man was a messenger for a Burgonmaster of a place called “Barovia,” whose adopted daughter had recently been bitten by a vampire. The message goes on to request salvation and a massive incursion of good into an evil land, all of which seemed the ramblings of a desperate man.

Kildrak, who seemed to bristle and gawk at my Clanless status and attitude of said status upon meeting, settled still with the body to bless the young man’s soul. At this point I heard howling in the distance from many directions. I recognized this as a possible hunting tactic to confuse prey, usually employed by wolves. These howls were definitely from creatures larger than common wolves. I informed the group of the possibility of encroaching danger and Jaym, who I had considered would be the most unbearable member of my impromptu party, had agreed with my plan to keep moving as fast as possible to avoid the possible danger.

We came upon a town some hours later, and with the day descending into evening I found the town a welcome sight. Upon entering, however, we discovered that many of the buildings themselves were boarded up, including the tavern. This came as quite a distress to Jaym and Ileyna, who could talk of nothing else except drink, rest, and shelter for the majority of the trip. No sooner had we turned around, though, that we saw two children a young boy and an adolescent girl. She was distressed over the fact that, in her words, a monster inhabited her parent’s basement, and that it had been let loose. The children’s parents had apparently gone to wrangle the monster, and her and her brother had come out to get further assistance. While Jaym bothered the children with pointless requests of noise imitations and Ileyna tried to comfort the young boy, I listened intently toward the house for any noises, and found none.

We entered the home, which was lavish and adorned with many grandiose symbols of windmills. I never could see the point of being so lavish, but the rich have a way of trying to impress others with what they can buy rather than what they can provide, but I digress. I kept an ear to the ground for any noises to present themselves but still found none, which I found odd. As Ileyna inspected an artistic wall pattern, Jaym explored a kitchen and closet, and Tannyll a dining room, Kildrak found a room that was apparently a showcase of hunting trophies that also served the purpose of a den. Kildrak, reluctant to explore the room itself, left it undisturbed. I, however, wished to clear the first floor of any possible traces of an entrance into an apparently nonexistent basement. Jaym and I entered the room and we discovered several wolf trophies, two cabinets, a fireplace, and a table with some wine and a tablecloth set upon it. Jaym almost immediately set upon drinking the wine when I found a pair of wineglasses in a box in one of the cabinets. I did, however, gain a little bit of amusement when Jaym attempted to unlock the other cabinet, failing several times and gaining more and more frustration with each attempt. I assisted the Rogue with a full wineglass, which apparently improves his skills in every attempt made. We found a set of hunting weapons, crossbows and the like, in the cabinet along with ammunition. Satisfied that we had cleared the first floor properly, Jaym and I went up the stairs, and found our other 4 companions studying scrolls and books in a library that were apparently found next to a dead body behind a secret door. A very dark omen indeed, as the letter among the scrolls details the lord of the manor’s hobbies, which boil down to worshiping in a cult, siring a stillborn son, and spending his entire fortune.

The party agreed to have a short rest while I administered first aid to those who needed it. Anticipation and apprehension building as we continued to explore this manor residing in this cursed land…