Where are those kids? I wonder if something got to them... We better start looking for them to, I hope the monster didn't get to them... Finlan thinks aloud.

Finlan will follow the nearest person with a light source.

Quote from Dramasailor >>

There is a door that opened, however, it doesn't lead downstairs. Additionally, no one investigated the room.

 

 OOC:Oh! Then that’s the door that I meant

Adric, when you open the remaining door upstairs, you can see that it is a cleaning closet, replete with dust, brooms, dusters, cloths and such. You also see some folded sheets, blankets, and desiccated bars of soap.

Creak, you head to the hidden door in the library and find that the hidden room contains all manner of bookshelves with tomes describing fiend-summoning rituals and necromantic rituals of a clt called the Priests of Osybus. There is a heavy wooden chest against one wall with clawed iron feet and a half-closed lid. You can see the legs of a skeleton covered in scraps of leather armor. You can also see the edge of some parchment sticking out of the chest.

Adric will head to the room immediately north of the one he is in and look to see if there is anything out of the ordinary.

Perception:16

If the chest is unlocked, Creak will open it.

Adric, you find nothing out of the ordinary in the bathroom.

Creak, the chest opens easily. Inside, you see the remnants of a human that must have triggered some kind of trap on the chest. There are three darts stuck in the armor over the skeleton's chest.  In his hand is a letter on crumpled parchment with a broken red wax seal.

Additionally, inside the chest are a number of documents. Three blank books with black leather covers, three scrolls with undecipherable language on them, a deed to a house, the deed to a windmill, and a signed will. The signatures, in crooked spiky letters, read Gustav Durst and Elisabeth Durst.

The Letter (If you choose to read it)

If Creak were human, he might be muttering as he reads. However, in his case, he’s just making hushed tweets. He moves the skeleton over a bit as he reads. Can he determine how old this letter is? Or how old the dead man is?

As best you can tell, looking at the state that they are in and such, they are probably no more than a few years old. The skeleton, on the other hand, is a different matter. The cut of the leather is old, very old. You've seen references to this kind of armor in books that were hundreds of years old. The bones also appear to be ancient, at least three centuries old.

And the book detailing a certain Mr. Von Zarovich said that he came to Barovia, how long ago exactly?

It didn't really say, but it was several hundred years ago judging by what you read in the scant minutes you spent reading.

Mhm, mhm. Alright, I see. So, Creak is going to calmly fold back up the letter, put the legal documents in his little map case, and pull the darts from the body to put in his pouch. He’ll then find Gralwynn and hand her the letter. “Why Creak, this is at least a few hundred years old! Good work!- Yep- it’s a trap- you’ll probably die here- let’s try to figure out how to get out of this hellhole.”

"Hmm... troubling." Gralwynn scowls as she walks back into the study. As she was heading towards the opened room her lost companion... who was that opened the bookshelf? She felt she should know, but couldn't...

Regardless, she had seen she was beaten here by Creak. Accepting the letter, she goes over it quickly. Then once again, just to be sure she had it right. "Strahd von Zarovitch, that name again...".

Going to the sub-room to see what else was in there, she moves the skeleton aside, removing it's head and smashing it, not wanting to take any more chances in here.

She grabs the volumes on necromancy (likely valuable, to the right people), and takes from the chest whatever Creak had left behind.

She then gives the sub room a more thorough look.

Investigation 19

“There be something fishy goin’ on here- Strahd von Zarovich- seems like a pretty important guy- don’t you think?” Creak points to the line that says ‘Dreadlord and Master,’ “That’s ominous- the fog is now unsafe to stand in- Hey, think they’re related?”

"Two things are clear here; one, this "Strahd" is powerful, able to contain monsters, probably control that horrible mist, most likely those 'children' weren't even real. And Rynna's mage hand... this is not good, no no."

Scowling, and looking around now, eyes darting too and fro she adds "And two, if he wanted us dead now, we'd be dead, could have just filled our lungs with that mist or never let us reach the town." 

"Keep this to yourself Creak. I don't trust this situation, and I don't trust these 'people'. Can't be sure one of them isn't Strahd, or that he's listening now." 

"And seeing as this 'house' is clearly a trap, it's not stealing now, it's more like... 'acquired loot of conquest'?" She added with a slight sneer, giving her avian companion a knowing look.

“Acquired loot of conquest.” Creak nods in agreement, “We should keep looking- something spooky this way comes...”

Rynna follows Adric and looks through the rooms, careful to keep the torch's light in his view.  It's a dour and dusty old place for all its finery.  Even if it hadn't proved filled with monsters, she doubted it would be a comfortable place to live.  Probably the kind of place kids would egg and dare each other to go into on the year's last harvest festival.

Investigation 19

Balmaris will search the library for any books that perhaps pertain to deities, particularly anything to do with the Raven Queen if there are any.

[Investigation: 18]

Otherwise he'll just continue to follow the group around - occasionally glancing out any windows he passes to see if he can determine where they might be now. 

Gralwynn, you don't notice anything additional to what was found earlier.

Rynna, as you look around and poke through the rooms that you've all explored, you do note that the mirror in the room where the weird ghastly woman came from has creepy eyeballs instead of berries in some of the carvings. Additionally, it seems that the mirror isn't hanging quite straight, as if someone knocked it askance.

Balmaris, you find no books related to deities, actually.  As you look out the windows, it's pure gray fog everywhere. You can't even see if there is a house next door.

Gralwynn heads back to the downstairs kitchen to retrieve the rest of the silverware, but not before taking the seal from the study's desk.

Creak will follow Gralwynn and would like to feel the room for any hollow/false walls: 17