Mittens lets out a sight of relief as the armor simply rusts and falls apart instead of attacking them. It was good to know that not everything in this mansion was going to try to kill them.
Mittens cracks his knuckles as the looks warily at the rest of the suits of armor. "Sorry guys, but this might take a bit," he says with a grin as he conjures another hand to launch at the other armor suits.
After a few minutes of systematically reducing the suits of armor to nothing more than rusted scraps with strands of oily black smoke curling from them, Mittens rises up to his full height and says, "Well, I think that's all of them." He grimaces as he catches a whiff the heavy odor of rust and decay that hung in the air from the destruction of the armor. Even though the suits weren't alive, using necrotic energy to destroy something always left behind a distinctive smell.
"Well done, Mittens" the last of the Dusk Elf maidens congratulates, soberly but sincerely. Now that the potential threat of the armor has been neutralized, she proceeds to lit the unlit oil lamps mounted on the walls.
Svetlana also admires the wood-framed portrait of a family: "Look, look... This is Rose... and this Thorn, definitely. But who is this little one?" she, however, carefully observes the features of her parents in the portrait - so as to be able to recognize them, if she were to meet them.
After that, the savage wanderer is ready to begin the real exploration of this floor too. She approaches the nearest door and, cautiously, tries to lower the handle and open it, to examine the room.
🕯️🖤Hazel Harkness🖤🕯️ As Hazel observed the portrait, she couldn't help but note the mother's scornful gaze at the infant—a stark contrast to the typical warmth expected in such depictions. "There's a story in every brushstroke,"Hazel mused quietly to herself, her eyes tracing the odd dynamics portrayed in the artwork. The carvings on the doors, with youths battling swarms of bats, suggested a perennial struggle hidden beneath a veneer of nobility, perhaps symbolic of the family's own battles.
When Mittens unleashed his spell, effectively withering the armor, Hazel watched intently, a mix of relief and fascination on her face. The magic was awe-inspiring and a stark reminder of their dangers. As the armors crumbled, Hazel nodded in approval, feeling a momentary ease from one less threat lurking in the shadows. "Well done indeed, Mittens,"she echoed Svetlana's praise, her voice carrying a sincere note of gratitude for the wizard's effective handling of the potential danger.
As Svetlana moved to explore further, Hazel followed closely behind, her curiosity piqued by what other secrets this eerie mansion might hold. She was ready to step into the unknown, her senses heightened, and her mind alerted to any new clues that might unfold as they ventured deeper into the darkened corridors of the Durst household.
As he waited for Mittens to deal with the armors his mind wandered towards the portrait of what one could only assume was the Durst family. Much like Svetlana he recognized the two kids by the entrance of the mansion. It was not hard to assume the adults behind them were their parents. As the Barovian asked about the third child his attention went towards what it wasn’t. It wasn’t with Rose and Thorn, or in their history, with their parents. It wasn’t crying by the entrance or anywhere else.
“****.” He said closing his eyes and lowering his head towards the left. The images of wolves, bats, skulls and snakes turned into a punch in the gut. “The little one’s dead. Either the reason the parents turned to the murder cult or…”
A victim. A sacrifice, maybe. The mother’s expression made it terribly likely and that sickened Lorin to the core. The shadar-kai would have been paler if it were possible. Could that be what happened to Rose and Thorn? Svetlana did say they felt less than alive to the touch. It would fit with Hazel theory too, that they were spirits bound by unsolved matters.
“Let’s just finish checking these rooms and check the third floor. I don’t like the could coming from there.”
"Yes, I don't like the cold of this house..." the last of the Dusk Elf maidens agrees with Lorin "And I'm not talking about the cold you feel on your skin, but about the cold you feel in your soul" she shivers for a moment. "If we can make Rose and Thorn find peace, I think this house must burn down after we leave. Barovia already has plenty of horrors already; there's no need for this one too".
Svetlana gets lost for a moment imagining herself and the unlikely group of adventurers, who move away, after giving peace to the two children, while the mists clear and the house behind them burns, burns, burns... So 'Is that feeling Svetlana is imagining? Relief? Satisfaction? 'Revenge!' the Voices in her head come to her aid 'The flavor you are imagining is just that of revenge, Svetlana!' 'The flavor to destroy what is imbued with evil, so that it suffers the consequences...' '...Or at least so that it stops bringing any more pain, harm, corruption...' '...Like the Devil Stradh does!' 'Oh, if one day you could burn him, Svetlana!' 'That fire would give us more satisfaction than the burning of a hundred houses like this one!'
None of the doors turn out to be locked. The door to the immediate right of the staircase opens to the servants' quarters Mittens was able to scout with the aid of his familiar. Peeking through the door you can see there is an open closet with servants' uniforms hanging inside. There doesn't seem to be anything else of interest in the room though.
To the left of the servants' room, the door opens onto a study. Red velvet drapes cover the windows of this room. An exquisite mahogany desk and a matching high-back chair face the entrance and the fireplace, above which hangs a framed picture of a windmill perched atop a rocky crag. Situated in corners 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.
Still grimacing at the odor of destruction hanging in the air, Mittens pushes open the door to the study, and his eyes go wide as he gasps when he sees the richly decorated room before him. He looks excitedly to the others and gestures wildly towards the study, his emerald green eyes gleaming with enthusiasm as he exclaims, "It's a study! There's always something cool in the study!"
Momentarily forgetting the potential dangers of the house, he eagerly scurries into the room and begins scouring the lavish chamber for clues and other interesting anomalies, Pooky struggling to keep up with the energetic wizard. He hops into the high-back chair, and you can barely see the top of his head peeking over the polished mahogany desk. The effect it created was strikingly similar to that of a child sitting in his father's office, and Mittens had the energy to match.
Eagerly, he pulls open and drawers and starts rifling around within them. "There's gotta be tons of cool stuff in here!" he exclaims, his voice somewhat muffled by the desk blocking your view of him. "If these Dursts are like any of the villains I've read about, there's gotta be a secret passage or compartment around here somewhere. A classic villain move would be to stick it behind that bookcase over there." One of his hands pops up over the desk and points at the bookcase lining the wall as he continues his snooping in the drawers.
The last of the Dusk Elf maidens, since Mittens seems to 'take care' of the study, try examining the servants' quarters. There doesn't seem to be anything of interest in the room, but she takes the trouble to check the servants' uniforms, hypothesizing that she might find, for example in the pockets, some note that might be of interest - even just to understand better what could have been the daily life of this Durst family... Did they really follow some dark cult? Did they actually sacrifice the youngest of their children? And the servants? Did they know about these activities? Were they accomplices? Or were they unaware?
While the mental chatter of the Voices in her head evaluates one hypothesis after another, Svetlana continues to look for any clues that a servant may have left...
🕯️🖤Hazel Harkness🖤🕯️ As the exploration continued, Hazel lingered a moment by the portrait, her thoughts weaving through the twisted visages of the Durst family. "The shadows of the past linger heavily here,"she noted quietly, her eyes tracing the scorn in the mother's expression. The dancing youths on the doors, fighting off swarms of bats, seemed to whisper tales of hidden fears and battles against the encroaching darkness. "There's a story here that's more than just painted smiles and familial embraces," she murmured, her voice barely above a whisper, as she pondered the scornful look of the mother toward the infant. "Perhaps this baby was the pivot upon which tragedy turned for this household."
As the group made their way into the study, Hazel's attention was caught by Mittens' eager investigation. She couldn't help but smile at his childlike wonder, juxtaposed starkly against the backdrop of their grim surroundings. "There's always a layer beneath the surface, isn't there?"she commented softly, more to herself than to others, as she watched him delve into the depths of the desk.
With Svetlana checking the servants' quarters, Hazel felt curious. "Servants often see more than they let on,"she thought aloud, considering following Svetlana’s example. However, she decided to stay near the study, watching Mittens and the others and looking for hidden or approaching danger, ready to assist if the playful search unearthed something darker than expected.
Svetlana doesn't find any hidden notes or items in the uniforms. The room feels empty and forgotten. Meanwhile, in the study, Mittens notices several items on top of the desk: an oil lamp, a jar of ink, a quill pen, a tinderbox, and a letter kit containing a red wax candle, four blank sheets of parchment, and a wooden seal bearing the Durst family’s insignia (a windmill). The desk also has a drawer, which is closed.
Hazel doesn't notice anything that stands out to her in the room.
Having found nothing of interest, the last of the Dusk Elf maidens rejoins her fellow adventurers in the study: "Found anything interesting?"
"The choice of color for the wax candle, red, seems to me" comments Svetlana "perfectly in line with the family's subtly lugubrious taste... Yes, of course, it's just wax, but seeing it drip must sinisterly remind of blood... "
The Voices in her mind agree with her. All of them have blood memories... Memories of their end and that of many of their loved ones, at the hands of the Devil Stradh and his henchmen... The savage wanderer shudders, wishing she could soon leave that disturbing house. 'Rose and Thorn, though, deserve peace...' she reminds herself 'They don't deserve an eternity of fear. We'll find out what happened. And how to make them rest. We'll find out... then we'll leave this place forever'.
“Anywhere else I would disagree.” He comments in regard to Svetlana’s observation. “Nobles do love using wax with the color of their insignias.”At least in cities of artisans.“But in this house? Can’t avoid thinking about blood too. Hells, I wouldn’t be surprised if there was actual blood on it.”
He turned his eyes to Mittens then Hazel, the voice of his mind turning the question in an affirmation - there is a layer beneath the surface. A layer that maybe they could see better opening the drawer. Either that or he took a liking to stealing the mansion. If they were right about half of the meaning of the hidden imagery, then he would have reason a plenty.
“The closed drawer is locked?” Lorin asked with a suggestion hidden between his words. He could try lockpicking again. “And the books? Maybe there are diaries amongst them.”
It was far from uncommon to find nobleman keeping journals. Maybe Durst father did same. Hopefully with any indication of what happened. The other possibility was a secret message hidden in the titles of the library. That would take time to find it, if it existed at all.
“We still need a way to the basement.” He was starting to feel inclined to suggest making one.
This post has potentially manipulated dice roll results.
With Lorin seeming content to look around in the drawer, Mittens hops off the ornate chair he was sitting in and makes his way over to the bookshelf. He eyes the books with critical expression; the kind of books you kept told a lot about you, and he was more than curious as to what clues he could glean from the tomes about their owners.
The last of the Dusk Elf maidens must admit that Lorin is right... There is still no sign of access to the basement.
'Perhaps the basement has a separate access, outside the house, which does not communicate with the interior...' Svetlana hypothesizes 'Or there is a trap door hidden in the ground floor, if the Dursts really wanted to keep the this basement hidden...' But Voices in her head had a different idea: 'Oh, Svetlana, how silly you are sometimes!' 'Didn't you notice that on the ground floor you left a small area unexplored?' 'But not for lack of good will... There were no doors on the ground floor that led there...' 'Wake up, Svetlana! There will be a secret passage!' 'Probably right on the ground floor... but maybe even on one of the upper floors, if the Dursts really wanted to muddy the waters' 'But always in a position corresponding to the unexplored area, of course...'
“There might be a secret passage” the Savage Wanderer agrees, passing, almost without realizing it, to speak aloud. "In correspondence with that small area that, on the ground floor, we were unable to explore... If when we have finished looking for clues in the house we have not yet found an access to the basement, we will be better off looking near that area".
[[ OOC: this is the area Svetlana is talking about... ]]
If Lorin checks the drawer, he will find that it is unlocked and empty save for a single, iron key.
The bookshelves hold hundreds of tomes covering a range of topics including history, warfare, and alchemy. There are also several shelves containing first-edition collected works of poetry and fiction. There don't appear to be any diaries.
As Mittens investigates the bookshelves, he spots a red-covered book with a blank spine that looks out of place. When he reaches for it, he realizes that the book is a fake. Pulling on the book causes the bookshelf to swing open, revealing an iron door.
He was somewhat surprised when Mittens found amongst the books a disguised lever that revealed a hidden door. It was, as the wizard said, like in the books. Mystery, horror. Fitting for this place, he had to admit. And a lesson to be remembered – think about all possibilities, even the most absurd ones. In Barovia, they might just be right answer.
“Say, any chance the iron door is locked and has a keyhole?” Lorin interjected holding his finding by the drawer. He had expected it to be locked, maybe even trapped, and was happy to find it was neither. “I think we may just have found our way into the basement.”
The idea was equal parts pleasant and terrible. Pleasant because they were a step closer to doing whatever they needed to do in order to get away from the house. Terrible because a secret passage with an iron door in a house filled to the brim with death motives screamed torture chamber into his mind. One that might house the disdain a mother had for a child. One that certainly would have nothing they would like to see.
“I got two haling potions in my gear, if it’s ever necessary.” Lorin mentioned handing the key, waiting if anyone with keen senses would mention sign of the monster.
Mittens gasps when he pulls on the book to reveal the secret door. "I was right!" he exclaims excitedly. He takes a few steps to the side to let Lorin inspect the imposing iron door, and in a much less excited and more wary tone, he asks Lorin, "You really think that could take us to the basement?" His emerald eyes drift back to the door uneasily, suddenly not to fond of the prospect of potentially meeting the monster in the basement the kids-that-probably-weren't-really-kids said would be there.
It has caused the armor to wither and rust with the necrotic damage.
Extended Signature
Characters: Bryony Alderleaf (Phandelver and Below) ♦ Vesta Trevelyan (Vecna: Eve of Ruin) ♦ Ada Kendrick (Curse of Strahd) ♦ Gareth Blackwood (Dragon of Icespire Peak) ♦ Karys Velthune (Out of the Abyss) ♦ Surina Xarith (Simple, Heroic Adventure)
DM: Baldur's Gate: Descent Into Avernus
[[ OOC: Great! Then, as posted, Svetlana suggests continuing the work until the threatening armors are all destroyed... ]]
Mittens lets out a sight of relief as the armor simply rusts and falls apart instead of attacking them. It was good to know that not everything in this mansion was going to try to kill them.
Mittens cracks his knuckles as the looks warily at the rest of the suits of armor. "Sorry guys, but this might take a bit," he says with a grin as he conjures another hand to launch at the other armor suits.
After a few minutes of systematically reducing the suits of armor to nothing more than rusted scraps with strands of oily black smoke curling from them, Mittens rises up to his full height and says, "Well, I think that's all of them." He grimaces as he catches a whiff the heavy odor of rust and decay that hung in the air from the destruction of the armor. Even though the suits weren't alive, using necrotic energy to destroy something always left behind a distinctive smell.
DM- Azalin's Doom
DM- Surviving the Unsurvivable
"Well done, Mittens" the last of the Dusk Elf maidens congratulates, soberly but sincerely. Now that the potential threat of the armor has been neutralized, she proceeds to lit the unlit oil lamps mounted on the walls.
Svetlana also admires the wood-framed portrait of a family: "Look, look... This is Rose... and this Thorn, definitely. But who is this little one?" she, however, carefully observes the features of her parents in the portrait - so as to be able to recognize them, if she were to meet them.
After that, the savage wanderer is ready to begin the real exploration of this floor too. She approaches the nearest door and, cautiously, tries to lower the handle and open it, to examine the room.
🕯️🖤Hazel Harkness🖤🕯️
As Hazel observed the portrait, she couldn't help but note the mother's scornful gaze at the infant—a stark contrast to the typical warmth expected in such depictions. "There's a story in every brushstroke," Hazel mused quietly to herself, her eyes tracing the odd dynamics portrayed in the artwork. The carvings on the doors, with youths battling swarms of bats, suggested a perennial struggle hidden beneath a veneer of nobility, perhaps symbolic of the family's own battles.
When Mittens unleashed his spell, effectively withering the armor, Hazel watched intently, a mix of relief and fascination on her face. The magic was awe-inspiring and a stark reminder of their dangers. As the armors crumbled, Hazel nodded in approval, feeling a momentary ease from one less threat lurking in the shadows. "Well done indeed, Mittens," she echoed Svetlana's praise, her voice carrying a sincere note of gratitude for the wizard's effective handling of the potential danger.
As Svetlana moved to explore further, Hazel followed closely behind, her curiosity piqued by what other secrets this eerie mansion might hold. She was ready to step into the unknown, her senses heightened, and her mind alerted to any new clues that might unfold as they ventured deeper into the darkened corridors of the Durst household.
As he waited for Mittens to deal with the armors his mind wandered towards the portrait of what one could only assume was the Durst family. Much like Svetlana he recognized the two kids by the entrance of the mansion. It was not hard to assume the adults behind them were their parents. As the Barovian asked about the third child his attention went towards what it wasn’t. It wasn’t with Rose and Thorn, or in their history, with their parents. It wasn’t crying by the entrance or anywhere else.
“****.” He said closing his eyes and lowering his head towards the left. The images of wolves, bats, skulls and snakes turned into a punch in the gut. “The little one’s dead. Either the reason the parents turned to the murder cult or…”
A victim. A sacrifice, maybe. The mother’s expression made it terribly likely and that sickened Lorin to the core. The shadar-kai would have been paler if it were possible. Could that be what happened to Rose and Thorn? Svetlana did say they felt less than alive to the touch. It would fit with Hazel theory too, that they were spirits bound by unsolved matters.
“Let’s just finish checking these rooms and check the third floor. I don’t like the could coming from there.”
"Yes, I don't like the cold of this house..." the last of the Dusk Elf maidens agrees with Lorin "And I'm not talking about the cold you feel on your skin, but about the cold you feel in your soul" she shivers for a moment. "If we can make Rose and Thorn find peace, I think this house must burn down after we leave. Barovia already has plenty of horrors already; there's no need for this one too".
Svetlana gets lost for a moment imagining herself and the unlikely group of adventurers, who move away, after giving peace to the two children, while the mists clear and the house behind them burns, burns, burns... So 'Is that feeling Svetlana is imagining? Relief? Satisfaction?
'Revenge!' the Voices in her head come to her aid 'The flavor you are imagining is just that of revenge, Svetlana!'
'The flavor to destroy what is imbued with evil, so that it suffers the consequences...'
'...Or at least so that it stops bringing any more pain, harm, corruption...'
'...Like the Devil Stradh does!'
'Oh, if one day you could burn him, Svetlana!'
'That fire would give us more satisfaction than the burning of a hundred houses like this one!'
None of the doors turn out to be locked. The door to the immediate right of the staircase opens to the servants' quarters Mittens was able to scout with the aid of his familiar. Peeking through the door you can see there is an open closet with servants' uniforms hanging inside. There doesn't seem to be anything else of interest in the room though.
To the left of the servants' room, the door opens onto a study. Red velvet drapes cover the windows of this room. An exquisite mahogany desk and a matching high-back chair face the entrance and the fireplace, above which hangs a framed picture of a windmill perched atop a rocky crag. Situated in corners 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.
Extended Signature
Characters: Bryony Alderleaf (Phandelver and Below) ♦ Vesta Trevelyan (Vecna: Eve of Ruin) ♦ Ada Kendrick (Curse of Strahd) ♦ Gareth Blackwood (Dragon of Icespire Peak) ♦ Karys Velthune (Out of the Abyss) ♦ Surina Xarith (Simple, Heroic Adventure)
DM: Baldur's Gate: Descent Into Avernus
Still grimacing at the odor of destruction hanging in the air, Mittens pushes open the door to the study, and his eyes go wide as he gasps when he sees the richly decorated room before him. He looks excitedly to the others and gestures wildly towards the study, his emerald green eyes gleaming with enthusiasm as he exclaims, "It's a study! There's always something cool in the study!"
Momentarily forgetting the potential dangers of the house, he eagerly scurries into the room and begins scouring the lavish chamber for clues and other interesting anomalies, Pooky struggling to keep up with the energetic wizard. He hops into the high-back chair, and you can barely see the top of his head peeking over the polished mahogany desk. The effect it created was strikingly similar to that of a child sitting in his father's office, and Mittens had the energy to match.
Eagerly, he pulls open and drawers and starts rifling around within them. "There's gotta be tons of cool stuff in here!" he exclaims, his voice somewhat muffled by the desk blocking your view of him. "If these Dursts are like any of the villains I've read about, there's gotta be a secret passage or compartment around here somewhere. A classic villain move would be to stick it behind that bookcase over there." One of his hands pops up over the desk and points at the bookcase lining the wall as he continues his snooping in the drawers.
DM- Azalin's Doom
DM- Surviving the Unsurvivable
The last of the Dusk Elf maidens, since Mittens seems to 'take care' of the study, try examining the servants' quarters. There doesn't seem to be anything of interest in the room, but she takes the trouble to check the servants' uniforms, hypothesizing that she might find, for example in the pockets, some note that might be of interest - even just to understand better what could have been the daily life of this Durst family... Did they really follow some dark cult? Did they actually sacrifice the youngest of their children? And the servants? Did they know about these activities? Were they accomplices? Or were they unaware?
While the mental chatter of the Voices in her head evaluates one hypothesis after another, Svetlana continues to look for any clues that a servant may have left...
If a Perception or Investigation roll is needed:
d20 Roll: 16
If Perception => +3 = 19
If Investigation => +1 = 17
🕯️🖤Hazel Harkness🖤🕯️
As the exploration continued, Hazel lingered a moment by the portrait, her thoughts weaving through the twisted visages of the Durst family. "The shadows of the past linger heavily here," she noted quietly, her eyes tracing the scorn in the mother's expression. The dancing youths on the doors, fighting off swarms of bats, seemed to whisper tales of hidden fears and battles against the encroaching darkness. "There's a story here that's more than just painted smiles and familial embraces," she murmured, her voice barely above a whisper, as she pondered the scornful look of the mother toward the infant. "Perhaps this baby was the pivot upon which tragedy turned for this household."
As the group made their way into the study, Hazel's attention was caught by Mittens' eager investigation. She couldn't help but smile at his childlike wonder, juxtaposed starkly against the backdrop of their grim surroundings. "There's always a layer beneath the surface, isn't there?" she commented softly, more to herself than to others, as she watched him delve into the depths of the desk.
With Svetlana checking the servants' quarters, Hazel felt curious. "Servants often see more than they let on," she thought aloud, considering following Svetlana’s example. However, she decided to stay near the study, watching Mittens and the others and looking for hidden or approaching danger, ready to assist if the playful search unearthed something darker than expected.
OOC:
Perception Roll: 4
Svetlana doesn't find any hidden notes or items in the uniforms. The room feels empty and forgotten. Meanwhile, in the study, Mittens notices several items on top of the desk: an oil lamp, a jar of ink, a quill pen, a tinderbox, and a letter kit containing a red wax candle, four blank sheets of parchment, and a wooden seal bearing the Durst family’s insignia (a windmill). The desk also has a drawer, which is closed.
Hazel doesn't notice anything that stands out to her in the room.
Extended Signature
Characters: Bryony Alderleaf (Phandelver and Below) ♦ Vesta Trevelyan (Vecna: Eve of Ruin) ♦ Ada Kendrick (Curse of Strahd) ♦ Gareth Blackwood (Dragon of Icespire Peak) ♦ Karys Velthune (Out of the Abyss) ♦ Surina Xarith (Simple, Heroic Adventure)
DM: Baldur's Gate: Descent Into Avernus
Having found nothing of interest, the last of the Dusk Elf maidens rejoins her fellow adventurers in the study: "Found anything interesting?"
"The choice of color for the wax candle, red, seems to me" comments Svetlana "perfectly in line with the family's subtly lugubrious taste... Yes, of course, it's just wax, but seeing it drip must sinisterly remind of blood... "
The Voices in her mind agree with her. All of them have blood memories... Memories of their end and that of many of their loved ones, at the hands of the Devil Stradh and his henchmen... The savage wanderer shudders, wishing she could soon leave that disturbing house. 'Rose and Thorn, though, deserve peace...' she reminds herself 'They don't deserve an eternity of fear. We'll find out what happened. And how to make them rest. We'll find out... then we'll leave this place forever'.
“Anywhere else I would disagree.” He comments in regard to Svetlana’s observation. “Nobles do love using wax with the color of their insignias.” At least in cities of artisans. “But in this house? Can’t avoid thinking about blood too. Hells, I wouldn’t be surprised if there was actual blood on it.”
He turned his eyes to Mittens then Hazel, the voice of his mind turning the question in an affirmation - there is a layer beneath the surface. A layer that maybe they could see better opening the drawer. Either that or he took a liking to stealing the mansion. If they were right about half of the meaning of the hidden imagery, then he would have reason a plenty.
“The closed drawer is locked?” Lorin asked with a suggestion hidden between his words. He could try lockpicking again. “And the books? Maybe there are diaries amongst them.”
It was far from uncommon to find nobleman keeping journals. Maybe Durst father did same. Hopefully with any indication of what happened. The other possibility was a secret message hidden in the titles of the library. That would take time to find it, if it existed at all.
“We still need a way to the basement.” He was starting to feel inclined to suggest making one.
With Lorin seeming content to look around in the drawer, Mittens hops off the ornate chair he was sitting in and makes his way over to the bookshelf. He eyes the books with critical expression; the kind of books you kept told a lot about you, and he was more than curious as to what clues he could glean from the tomes about their owners.
Investigation: 18
DM- Azalin's Doom
DM- Surviving the Unsurvivable
The last of the Dusk Elf maidens must admit that Lorin is right... There is still no sign of access to the basement.
'Perhaps the basement has a separate access, outside the house, which does not communicate with the interior...' Svetlana hypothesizes 'Or there is a trap door hidden in the ground floor, if the Dursts really wanted to keep the this basement hidden...'
But Voices in her head had a different idea:
'Oh, Svetlana, how silly you are sometimes!'
'Didn't you notice that on the ground floor you left a small area unexplored?'
'But not for lack of good will... There were no doors on the ground floor that led there...'
'Wake up, Svetlana! There will be a secret passage!'
'Probably right on the ground floor... but maybe even on one of the upper floors, if the Dursts really wanted to muddy the waters'
'But always in a position corresponding to the unexplored area, of course...'
“There might be a secret passage” the Savage Wanderer agrees, passing, almost without realizing it, to speak aloud. "In correspondence with that small area that, on the ground floor, we were unable to explore... If when we have finished looking for clues in the house we have not yet found an access to the basement, we will be better off looking near that area".
[[ OOC: this is the area Svetlana is talking about... ]]
If Lorin checks the drawer, he will find that it is unlocked and empty save for a single, iron key.
The bookshelves hold hundreds of tomes covering a range of topics including history, warfare, and alchemy. There are also several shelves containing first-edition collected works of poetry and fiction. There don't appear to be any diaries.
As Mittens investigates the bookshelves, he spots a red-covered book with a blank spine that looks out of place. When he reaches for it, he realizes that the book is a fake. Pulling on the book causes the bookshelf to swing open, revealing an iron door.
Extended Signature
Characters: Bryony Alderleaf (Phandelver and Below) ♦ Vesta Trevelyan (Vecna: Eve of Ruin) ♦ Ada Kendrick (Curse of Strahd) ♦ Gareth Blackwood (Dragon of Icespire Peak) ♦ Karys Velthune (Out of the Abyss) ♦ Surina Xarith (Simple, Heroic Adventure)
DM: Baldur's Gate: Descent Into Avernus
He was somewhat surprised when Mittens found amongst the books a disguised lever that revealed a hidden door. It was, as the wizard said, like in the books. Mystery, horror. Fitting for this place, he had to admit. And a lesson to be remembered – think about all possibilities, even the most absurd ones. In Barovia, they might just be right answer.
“Say, any chance the iron door is locked and has a keyhole?” Lorin interjected holding his finding by the drawer. He had expected it to be locked, maybe even trapped, and was happy to find it was neither. “I think we may just have found our way into the basement.”
The idea was equal parts pleasant and terrible. Pleasant because they were a step closer to doing whatever they needed to do in order to get away from the house. Terrible because a secret passage with an iron door in a house filled to the brim with death motives screamed torture chamber into his mind. One that might house the disdain a mother had for a child. One that certainly would have nothing they would like to see.
“I got two haling potions in my gear, if it’s ever necessary.” Lorin mentioned handing the key, waiting if anyone with keen senses would mention sign of the monster.
Mittens gasps when he pulls on the book to reveal the secret door. "I was right!" he exclaims excitedly. He takes a few steps to the side to let Lorin inspect the imposing iron door, and in a much less excited and more wary tone, he asks Lorin, "You really think that could take us to the basement?" His emerald eyes drift back to the door uneasily, suddenly not to fond of the prospect of potentially meeting the monster in the basement the kids-that-probably-weren't-really-kids said would be there.
DM- Azalin's Doom
DM- Surviving the Unsurvivable