Finding themselves trapped inside of the Durst House, the victims of some sort of ghost ruse, the group decided to explore their surroundings and find a way out. They climbed the red, marble staircase back to the third floor to begin their search from the top down.
The group entered the master bedroom Bramo had only briefly explored when exiting the dumbwaiter. As she passed through the threshold, Bronwyn laid eyes on a rotting, tiger skin rug. A shiver ran up her spine. She felt dizzy and nauseous and began shaking, unable to enter the room. Elora steadied her and walked her back out to the hall to make sure she was all right. There Bronwyn was able to collect herself and calm down. Elora remained with her while the rest of the group explored the room.
The group found a neglected bedroom curiously absent of any clothing whatsoever. The size of the room and the prominent portrait over the mantle implied that the room belong to the Durst parents. A small balcony overlooked the rear of the house. McCoy and Bramo investigated it. All around the house was a thick, impenetrable mist, much like the mist which had brought them to Barovia. Bramo experimentally tossed a pebble into the mist. It disappeared, and he could draw no conclusions.
Inside, Johan investigated a woman’s vanity and discovered a jewelry box. He brought this out for Elora and Bronwyn to examine. The box was fine silver inlayed with gold. It contained 3 gold rings and a thin platinum necklace set with a topaz pendant. They did not think the items were magic, but were unsure whether to take the items or leave them behind. Johan was concerned they might “manifest spirits” or some other evil. Johan elected to carry the box with him, but they would return it before exiting the home.
Moving on, the group discovered a bathroom with a dripping spigot completely overgrown with fungus and mold, but the spigot appeared to be dry. They also discovered a broom closet with some cleaning supplies. Entering the closet, they explored its depths, turned their back on the broom, and departed.
They returned to the front bedroom where they’d encountered and fought the ghost of Margaret. They searched through the room finding her clothes in the wardrobe and making note of the front balcony. While searching through the wardrobe, Elora noticed something odd about the mirror on the wall. Looking closer, she discovered a secret passage behind the mirror which led to a hidden staircase. The group entered and headed up to the attic.
There they found a cobwebbed strewn landing with multiple doors leading off from it. One door ahead of them had a padlock on the outside of it. They determined to enter the door. Not having the key, McCoy burst through the door with his prodigious strength!
Inside, they discovered a stomach dropping sight, two small beds, sized for children, a small toy box, a dollhouse resembling the Durst House, and in the center of the room, two small skeletons in tattered clothes curled up together. The smaller skeleton clutched a familiar stuffed bear. The group was overcome by sadness at the sight, but McCoy and Johan continued to investigate with Riley while the others remained in the hall. Bronwyn consoled Elora who felt nothing but sympathy for the poor children.
As the others touched the bones, suddenly two spectral children appeared looking like ghostly versions of the children Rose and Thorn they’d met outside. The children seemed not to know them and asked if they had come to play with them. They were both lonely, having been trapped in the room for a long time and very hungry. The group concluded that the Rose and Thorn they’d met outside were not the real spirits of the children and had merely been used to lure them inside.
McCoy sat down to play with the children to make them happy. His giant, mechanical hands were ill-suited to the delicate toys and he broke one of them, upsetting Thorn. Calling on Elora for assistance, she was able to mend the toy with some needle and thread and appease the children.
They questioned the children’s ghosts and received a story similar to the on they’d heard earlier: they had been locked in this room and left to starve by their parents, there was a monster in the basement they were locked away from, they did have a brother, Walter, but they had not seen him in a long time. It was also hinted to them that Walter was in fact Margaret’s child, their mother never caring for the baby and being angry with Margaret after she “got fat.”
They learned from the children that the only way into the basement was through a secret staircase in the attic. The children pointed this out to them in the dollhouse which was a perfect replica of the house including a number of secret rooms and passages. The group took note of these, particularly a secret room off of the library.
As the group tried to leave, the children became panicked. They did not want to be abandoned again and begged the group to take them with them. They agreed to take their bones and lay them to rest, but the children wanted more. Thorn embraced Elora and she allowed him to enter her body; possessing her. Elora began to exhibit Thorn’s personality traits, acting fearfully and overly emotional. Rose attempted to possess Johan, but he repelled her. After their urgent pleading that it was their only way to leave the room, and sensing no ill intent, Johan relented and allowed Rose to possess him. He too acted strangely, not wanting to be told what to do and wanting to prove how mature and capable he was.
The group explored the rest of the attic level finding two spare bedrooms. The children told them no one else had lived in the house, but Johan was suspicious there might be other siblings or unknown persons the children had no knowledge of. He was also formulating a theory about this unusual family, a theory about a curse in this family…the curse of lycanthropy!
They found a storage room in the attic with furniture and mannequins covered in sheets. Near an iron stove, they found a sheet-covered chest, partially open, with dark, red stains beneath it. McCoy approached the chest and opened it. Inside was a woman’s body wrapped in bloody sheets. Johan examined the body and determined it had died of multiple stab wounds. The body type also matched that of the ghost Margaret, and they concluded this was her body. McCoy decided to carry the bundle with him so that they could also put her to rest. The group searched the wall indicated in the dollhouse and discovered a secret passage leading to a stone staircase spiraling ominously downwards. They descended.
At the bottom of the stairs they discovered tunnels carved out of earth, clay, and rock. The tunnels were tight and dark, twisting through the earth supported by wooden timbers. McCoy lit a torch and placed in a sconce mounted to the church door he wields as a shield. Riley also carried a torch with her towards the center of the group.
The flickering torchlight led them through dark, oppressive tunnels. All around them they heard faint, indecipherable chanting from many voices. Sometimes the chanting became louder and sometimes quieter. The group determined to stay on their guard.
They wrapped around a corner and descended into a larger room set with a small table and four chairs. Set in alcoves around the room were straw sleeping pallets. Johan determined that someone was house here, some dark rites were being performed here. Traveling onwards they found another large room with a well at the center of it. Five rooms branched off of this one. Riley went to investigate the nearest. It was a bedroom, and it contained a terrible, flesh-eating monster!
The creature was man-shaped in a degenerate form, barely clothed and with vicious, black claws on hands and feet. Its dull eyes stared at Riley, glowing faintly in the darkness, and it slavered on a piece a human flesh it quickly discarded and lunged towards her! Riley tried to cut it down with her sword and landed a heavy blow on it! The creature retaliated with is vicious claws cutting her down!
McCoy rushed into the room to support her as more of the ghoulish creatures appeared from the other rooms and crawling up from the well! Johan rushed into the battle against the foes eagerly! He swung his greatsword with reckless abandon at the creatures landing a hit as often as he missed. Riley recovered in the bedroom and finished off the ghoul with help from McCoy. Bramo and Elora unleashed bolts of magical fire at the monster while Bronwyn let loose crackling, eldritch energy.
Working together, they defeated the monsters and were able to search through the five bedrooms. Each contained a bed and a locked chest. Bramo was able to pick the lock on the first chest, but McCoy was forced to smash open the others. The group found some odd treasures within these chests, some coins, gems, and jewelry including a jeweled eyepatch claimed by Johan to replace his own plain one, and a silvered shortsword claimed by Riley.
The group explored onwards discovering a macabre dining room littered with human bones. Heading back in a loop, they discovered the Durst family crypts. Offshoots of the hallway split into three pairs of crypt sealed by heavy, stone slabs. The first pair were inscribed with names of Rose and Thorn. Johan entered Rose’s crypt and laid her bones into an empty coffin there. He spoke a prayer over her remains and swore vengeance against those who had harmed her. Rose passed out of Johan’s body, smiled and waved goodbye and she lay in her coffin and disappeared at rest.
Elora and Johan entered Thorn’s tomb to do the same. Thorn was scared to move on unsure of what would happen, where he would go, or if he would be alone. Elora reassured the boy that he was going to a safe place and that his sister would be waiting for him. He passed out of her, turning back nervously, but she urged him forward. He leapt into his coffin and disappeared. Johan said a prayer over his body and again swore vengeance for the boy.
Having set the children’s spirits to rest, the group felt inspired and invigorated to go on. They located another pair of tombs inscribed with the names Gustav and Elisabeth Durst. Cursing the man’s name, they entered Gustav’s tomb to find it empty. Departing, Johan entered Elisabeth’s tomb. When he opened it, a deadly swarm of centipedes burst out of it! The creatures wriggled over him in a mass on squirming legs, but his companions closed in to kill them with sword and spell before they could harm him.
Heading to the last pair of tombs, they found one inscribed with Walter’s name, but containing no coffin. They found the other tomb blank and empty and decided to lay Margaret’s remains to rest here. Johan said a prayer over her and swore an oath of vengeance for her. Bronwyn insisted that they somehow mark her resting place and not leave her here buried with no name. Elora used her magic quill to write Margaret’s name on the stone slab and McCoy and Johan placed the slab in place.
They returned to the dining room and investigated a pantry that led off of it. Bramo rushed in to check the pantry for secret passages and was ambushed by an undulating, fleshy creature! An oozing grave worm emerged from the walls and wrapped it’s tentacles around him. It drew him in close to its maw and sunk and needle teeth into him! Bramo was overcome by the creature and was nearly killed by its attack. His companions quickly closed in to kill the creature allowing him to flee to safety. Johan used a prayer and summoned his healing magic to mend Bramo’s wounds and allow him to continue.
Back in the tunnels, they made their way into a large room containing a wooden statue of a pale, gaunt-faced man in a dark cloak. One hand rested on a wolf statue, and the other gripped a crystal orb of some kind. All around the room skeletons hung from the walls by rusty chains. The sounds of chanting grew louder beyond the room.
The group examined the orb and statue fearing they were magic, but also suspecting they might be a clue to their escape. The orb appeared to be ordinary to them, but Elora determined some sort of ward lay on this object which would alert…something of their presence. While the group was engaged, Bronwyn looked around the room; her demonic sight allowing her to see things ordinary mortals could not perceive. She located a concealed door along one wall and notified the group.
Passing through the door, they located stairs leading up to a ladder. McCoy climbed the ladder to a trapdoor which led him back to the first floor of the house. He discovered a den of some kind filled with stuffed wolves and a mounted stag’s head on the wall. Tables inside held goblets, wine, and a pip rack. Noting it as a potential exit, he descended back to the group to carry on their search.
Exiting through the large room, they found a room with a small table and chairs. A chandelier was set above the table and two, iron candlesticks stood in the corners. They passed through the room into more narrow tunnels. As they made their way down the tunnel, the ground suddenly split open all around them and they were surrounded by ghoulish undead clawing their up to the surface!
McCoy and Johan held the front rank while Riley dropped back to defend the rear. Bramo and Bronwyn huddled at the center of the group firing off spells behind the melee fighters. Elora was stuck in the rear with Riley employing frost magic to freeze the ghouls! Keeping calm and protecting each other, they repelled the ghouls suffering only minor injuries.
Exhausted by their battles, the group decided they needed to rest and recuperate. They searched for a safe place to rest with Johan suggesting they rest their in the tunnel as a defensible position. The rest of the group was uncomfortable with that suggestion and the group instead choice to ascend the ladder and return to the first floor. They were nervous about resting in the wolf den and instead lay wearily in the foyer of the house planning their next move.
After resting and patching their wounds, the group decided to finish exploring the house rather than return to the tunnels below. They searched through a closet on the first floor locating black cloaks within. They recalled the children telling them about their parents black robes with strange symbols on them, but there cloaks were plain.
On the second floor they discovered the library. They claimed a few mundane supplies from a writing desk there and then recalled the secret room hidden nearby. Riley located the secret door behind a bookcase. One of the books had no title on its spine and when pulled allowed the bookcase to rotate revealing a secret room. Inside the cramped room was another small bookcase filled with esoteric texts depicting the demonic and necromantic rituals of the Priests of Osybius. Elora examined these books and quickly determined they were hokum and discarded them in disgust.
Also contained within the room was a skeleton hunched over a chest. Bramo used his wand of secrets to determine that the chest was trapped and examined it carefully. He discovered the chest was armed with poisonous darts all of which had emptied themselves into what appeared to be a hapless adventurer. Pushing his corpse to the side, they discovered three blank leather books, three scrolls, and several important papers.
The papers included the deed to the house, the deed to a windmill somewhere outside a place called Vallaki, the Durst will, and a strange letter from a Lord Strahd von Zarovich. The letter seemed to denounce the Dursts for their vile acts including sacrifices at a hidden altar and infidelity which resulted in a bastard child.
Deciding to store these papers in the jewelry box, Elora discovered a secret compartment in the box which contained another letter! This letter was written by Mrs. Durst and apparently never sent. it detailed a ceremony and the sacrifice of an “unwanted innocent.” The group grimly deduced that Mrs. Durst may have sacrificed the bastard child Walter.
Exploring the rest of the second floor, they found servants quarters with no sign of who they might of been or when they had departed the
Exploring the rest of the second floor, they found servants quarters with no sign of who they might of been or when they had departed the Dursts’ service. Clean uniforms hung neatly in a closet there. They also discovered a conservatory which held comfortable chairs for an audience, a harp, and a harpsichord.
Bronwyn noticed something golden beneath the harpsichord with a black ball at the end of it. She crouched beneath the harpsichord and was promptly attacked! A soft, pink tongue licked at her face nose! Wriggling out from beneath the harpsichord was a golden dog with floppy ears and a black nose. The friendly pup gratefully received head scratches and pats from Bronwyn as he sniffed curiously at her. The dog appeared hungry and Riley gave him some of her rations, earning his undying love. Bronwyn noticed he had a collar around his neck with a metal medallion on it. Inscribed on the medallion was the name Lancelot.
The group was somewhat nervous to trust the dog after all they had seen, but he appeared to be a living creature and friendly. They recalled the children mentioning something else was alive in the house and that this might of been what they meant. The children never mentioned having a dog, so the group was left to wonder where this dog came from. The dog was very hungry, but didn’t seem malnourished, so they concluded he may have been trapped in the house as they were.
Testing a theory, Bramo asked Bronwyn to play the chant they’d heard in the tunnels below on the harpsichord while he gave a vocal accompaniment. They performed the chant expertly, much to the chagrin of Lancelot and Riley, but yielded no other effect. Debating where to leave Lancelot, he stayed devoutly at Riley’s side. Riley looked helplessly to McCoy who shook his head and told her gravelly, “Oh, no, you have a dog now.”
Curse of Ravenloft 