"Oh...that. Yes, we are aware." Kessintra remarks, relieved that his 'secret' isn't a new horror at least. "Is being dead not a consequence in itself?"

Striker, seeing Kess being shaken, attempts a shove to forcefully separate the two. (8 str roll)

Razz steps forward once the tension in the air shifts—just a little—as the magic (Calm Emotions, not hostile to the group) settles over the resurrected man. His tone is quiet, but clear, no joke this time.

"You saw it. The truth. The way death works here... or doesn’t."

He tilts his head slightly, studying the man—not unkindly, but with that strange blend of empathy and sharpness Razz wears when something matters.

"Most people die without understanding what Barovia really is. But you came back with your eyes open. That makes you a witness—and that makes you dangerous, in the best way."

He gestures lightly toward the children. "They still need you. And now you’ve seen exactly what they’ll face if we don’t change this place. If your life didn’t matter before, it does now."

"Use it. Or I swear, I’ll start dragging you along in a wheelbarrow just so you don’t waste the second chance."

Persuasion Check: 23 (19+4)

Ada frowns as the resurrected man, Nikolai, begins to rave like a madman, seemingly quite unstable. Razz attempts to soothe the crazed man, make him see reason. The paladin wonders how jarring it must be to wake up from being dead. Going from wandering the Fugue Plane to suddenly being pulled back to the waking world, especially a place as dreary as Barovia, was no doubt disconcerting and worsened the man's already fragile mental state.

"Listen to my friend," she says, her voice quiet but authoritative. "You've been given a second chance, a chance to change this place. Do it for your children, if not for yourself."

Persuasion - Nat 1 :( 

While Striker's shove want that powerful, Nikolai still backs off. At the mention of his children, he immediately darts to them. "Of course, my children! They can be our little theives!" The twins seem uncomfortable at the idea, while Stella seems confused at best. One of the boys tries to speak up. "Dad-" "You boys were always little rascals, what's a little more trouble?" The other twin also tries, a with bit more force. "Dad!-" Nikolai ignores them and turns back to you. "We can be serial killers! Arsonists! It will be so fun! And- and you said you needed me to rule? That means there's no authorities to stop us! We'll be able to do whatever we want!"

"Thieves and killers...?" Kessintra is genuinely shocked by Nikolai's rambling, but tries to think of a way to turn it to their advantage. "It won't be fun. Only Strahd is allowed to have fun. Hm...but if you are looking for a thrill that could change that," she gives a conspiratorial smirk, lowering her voice slightly, "Help us. Remove Strahd loyalists, quietly. Keep the town running as normal while gathering resources and information under the surface. And once we're ready..." She gives a similar mad laugh, hoping to appeal to the man's dark impulses.

Persuasion: 18

Not fully grasping the situation, the fallen angel stays grimly silent, looming ominously behind the others, trying to determine if the ressurrected man was completely and utterly lost to madness.

Insight: 21

Razz folds his arms, watching Nikolai’s spiraling joy with an expression that's somewhere between entertained and horrified.

"Well... you’re not wrong. There’s no authority here. But there’s something worse than laws: consequences."

He steps in a little closer, wings flicking once behind him. "You want freedom? Then use that wild streak to outwit Strahd, not become a knockoff version of him. Quiet sabotage, whispered rebellion, secrets in shadows—that’s how we win. Real mischief."

"And let’s be honest..." He gestures lazily toward the altar, then the door. "Strahd didn’t even bother to come get you the first time. Dead, discarded, forgotten. That’s what you were to him."

"So why help him stay in power? You want to be feared? Prove you’re clever enough to survive the game, not just be another name on a forgotten grave."

Persuasion Check: Nat 20 for 24

Nikolai's laughs and giggles become angrier, more frustrated. "Fine. I'll play along, but just until that corpse is out of the way. Or I become too bored to wait. Then I may just start burning houses.... It'll be so fun....."

He still has some control over himself, but he clearly doesn't like showing restraint.

"Good enough," Kess accepts with a shrug, reaching into her pack to fish out the Strahd-like portrait and letter from Vasili to Fiona's relative that they found in Nikolai and Fiona's house, "Just a little longer and we'll let you go about your business. What can you tell us about these?" She holds the items out.

Gairynzynl can tell that he probably shouldn't be relied on, but he can wait be used in his crazed state. Any alliance, however, probably wouldn't last forever. 

Nikolai takes a look then tilts his head. "You.... stole those, didn't you?" He giggles a bit more before continuing. "Those were in the house..... I remember them.... but I don't know much. The letter.... I believe was passed down through the family....... The portrait.... had been there for many generations.... or so I've been told."

The fallen angel frowns and takes a further step back. He was not inclined to work alongside those who were unreliable, which was probably a kind assessment of the ressurrected man's state of mind.

"Stole? Call it the price for your late wife's crimes," Kessintra waves off the accusation, giving a faint sigh at his answers. She studies his crazed face carefully, looking for any hint that he might be holding back information.

Insight: 6 -.-;;

As far as you can tell, he's telling you everything he knows.

Razz watches the exchange with narrowed eyes and a slightly tilted head, then steps in with that usual lightness in his voice—though the words carry a little more weight than usual.

"Alright, Nikolai. Since you're back among the breathers, mind telling us what exactly killed you the first time? Fiona get bored of you, or did Barovia just finally cash a check in your name?"

He turns to the twins, dropping his voice just a bit and raising an eyebrow. "Hey. You two. Keep your dad from turning the town into a bonfire, yeah? He starts cackling too loud, maybe distract him with something shiny or non-flammable."

He stretches slightly, glancing around the room with a dramatic little sigh. "Still need to figure out where we can sell those creepy books Garrick’s been lugging around—make space before the next batch of cursed loot finds us."

"After that? Wine, wizards, and... well, something hopefully less on fire. Anyone know who buys weird books in Vallaki?"

Nikolai's giggling gets a bit faster. "Oh, I remember.... I was sick.... bedridden for days.... And then finally....." He breaks out into a laugh. 

The twins are shaking. "Y-yeah. We'll... We'll keep him under control...."

Kessintra returns the items to her bag, trying to think of anything else to ask the noble about. "Hm...Other than the inability to reach an afterlife, did you see or overhear anything else interesting while you were...indisposed?"

Ada continues to frown at Nikolai and his unstable behavior. "Leaving him in charge of this place...Lathander save us," she mutters. 

Turning to Father Lucian, she asks, "Do you think some form of healing could help in this situation? Perhaps a greater restoration of some sort? I'm afraid I don't know how to cast that just yet, but maybe it could restore his mind."

Razz raises a brow at Nikolai’s laughter, then glances toward Ada as she mentions Greater Restoration. He turns slightly toward Father Lucian, hands out to his sides in mock protest.

"Wait, wait—*Greater* Restoration? Come on, I’m still over here working with 'Lesser Undo.' What does a guy have to do to get the deluxe divine package?"

He floats a little closer to Nikolai, tone curious now, not mocking. "When you were stuck—wherever it was you ended up—did you see anything on the other side of that... bubble? Anything beyond the fog, or was it all just empty sky and echoey regret?"

He lets that linger for just a breath before adding, "Oh, and speaking of mysterious and regrettable things—ever hear of any other wizards in the area? Besides the Wizard of Wine, obviously. Anyone tower-dwelling or robe-flapping that might’ve come through in your noble circles?"

Father Lucian seems surprised that you'd even mention Greater Restoration. "Theoretically..... but I don't think there's any priest that powerful in all of Barovia. Not to mention the diamond....."

Nikolai suddenly bursts with more laughter, though it sounds mocking this time. "The Wizard of Wine isn't a wizard, idiot. It's a winery. And I wouldn't know about any others mages..... nor did I hear anything while I was dead.... All I saw and heard was my wife each night, up until a couple days ago...."