"What manner of creature keeps his money in a pouch made of human skin?  Growing up, we encountered  a goblin tribe who had vile things like that, I have never seen the gnomes exhibit such fury before or since.  Hopefully these things are long gone.  If not, they will be.

Caine smiles at the pouch of coins but he quickly realizes it's made of human skin. His lip curling in distaste, Caine quickly pours out the coins and tosses the pouch back in the chest.

"I hadn't thought much about good and evil before this," Caine says. Though even as he says it, his hand goes to the back of his neck and he looks at the shadows in the corner of the room. "But this place is pure nasty."

Caine then hops up and moves to the next alcove and the next chest.

He sets to work, hoping for something less unpleasant inside.

Thieves Tools: 10  

@ All:

Jim thinks for a moment, "Well, we know the former master of this house performed sacrifices on a hidden alter. I'm guessing that alter is hidden away down here. This place isn't just nasty, it's evil."

After watching Caine fail to open the chest, Jim steps up next to him.

"I think I did read on a couple of spells that might help with opening a chest. However, I think it might more useful if I try the old fashioned way. I would rather not risk a spell going wrong down here."

(Thieves' tools: 17)

Caine claps Jim on the shoulder when the lock pops open.

"Well done. That's one lock to you and one to me," Caine says. "I'll go next."

Caine moves to the next alcove and tackles the chest at foot of the moldy bed.

Thieves Tools: 11  

While the rogues make a game of locking picking, Razi will inch closer to the exit, not leaving the room but listening to see if there is any hint of movement or danger ahead.  Perception: 10  He looks down at the scrappy little dog.  "What do you think, buddy?  Is it safe to proceed?"

Razi also continues to cast detect magic as they work through the catacombs.

Nelyna kneels down to pet the dog a few times. Having such a sweet companion follow them around makes her feel a bit better in such a scary place. As the rogues focus on opening the chests, she walks over to Razi. She can sense the magic emanating from him and recognizes the spell.

"You know that spell too?" she asks. Realizing she doesn't know too much about Razi yet or the others either, she decides to ask another question. "Where did you learn magic?"

Pleased to see the poor dog getting some affection, Razi smiles... though it falters a bit when Nelyna asks him about his magical education.  "Well... I was a soldier, once.  Until I grew weary of carnage, of seeing the endless parade of battles and wounded, of scarred bodies and burned villages.  When I reached my limit, a... a spirit came to me.  She offered to teach me how to be tool of the light, instead of a weapon of war.  I accepted her offer and she taught me a bit of her magic."

"She's a being from the upper planes.  Like an angel... kind of.  She tasked me with traveling the land and doing what I can to help people.  So I became a carpenter and helped the common folk rebuild some of the same places my armies had destroyed.  She taught me about redemption... about hope.  She showed me that by helping others find the path to the light, even those who may have strayed into darkness, we can push back against the webs of wickedness that have ensnared these realms.  She also...".  His smile is completely vanished now.  "... She also taught me about true evil.  About how to recognize when something cannot be redeemed... cannot be reasoned with... how to recognize things that can only be dealt with by dragging them out to burn in the light of righteousness...".  His breath had been quickening and his eyes had been staring off, but he comes back to self-awareness and blushes a bit, having gone on more of a rant than he had intended.

A nervous smile returns.  "So yes, she taught me this spell.  I can cast it as many times as I like, unlike some of my other powers which are sorely limited."

"It looks like you're struggling there," Jim says to Caine smirking. "Let me see if I can get a crack at this. Move aside."

(Thieve's Tools: 5)

 "Ha! There you see, that's how you pick a lock," Jim says turning his head to Caine. Then he starts searching through the chest pulling everything out.

“How long ago did all of this happen?  Whoever stayed in these rooms, what became of them?  The children, the nurse, that body in the study… all were just skeletons.  It’s like we are wandering through some old tomb…”.

“A suit of armor… an old ghost… and some slug monster in the basement.  Where is the real power behind all this?”

"That's the thing," Jim replies now standing up and turning to Razi. "I don't think there was a real power behind all this. Don't you remember the letter that we found? The master of this house saught power from this Strahd. So decided to try and get Strahd's attention. I think what we're seeing is the remains of his attempts to gain that attention. But he didn't know what he was doing.

I think he was messing around with powers that he did not fully understand. The spell scrolls that we found unused. The sacrifices that were apparently made. All of this indicates that was the case.

Believe me, I have had experience with that.

Clearly, though, the lust for power caused him to neglect his children. Though I am not sure what happened to the mother. Did she also lust for power? Or did something else happen to her? The youngest of the children did belong to another woman.

Perhaps we should have asked the children what they could remember after the possessed you two."

Jim gestures at Caine and Nelyna.

"Alas, it seems we're too late to do that. I don't know if we will find out any more about what happened here. All we can do is get as much as we can from this house for our troubles, then make an escape.

Caine shakes his head as Jim pops open the third chest, pursing his lips together.

"I'm not sure Thorn knew much," Caine says. "He just left me with an overwhelming sense of fear. I think he was too young to really know what was going on here."

He looks around the room and at the moldy beds. 

"This place should be burned to the ground."

Finally he hops up and heads to the fourth aclove.

"Two to one," Caine says. "Just getting warmed up."

Thieves Tools: 18  

@ all

Caine kneels in front of the fourth chest and gives the lock a try.