I cast mage hand to pick up the letter and bring it closer to me to read.
Mukk, suddenly interested, pushes past Trailyn to steal the armor off the skeleton
Mukk, you big donk! There could be a trap in here!
Me think skeleton boy already trapped it
Chuckles vilely and continues to try and strip the leather off the skeleton
Ted begins lighting the bookshelves on fire. He seems oddly fascinated by the flames which are foreign to his home on the ocean floor.
āIf you do not stop setting everything on fire, I will be forced to make you stopā¦We are in this house, do not catch it ablaze.ā
Trailyn pulls out his waterskin and begins attempting to put out the fire.
fade follows after trailyn and begins going through the tomes with great interest.
Iām claiming one of those wolf helms after we finish this. And STOP LIGHTING THINGS ON FIRE. she says sternly, glaring at the two fools
Put out the painting. And light the oil lamps if you would, please.
Brendan attempts to cast shape water, extinguishing all the fires in the room, including light sources, but instead casts Create Bonfire, setting the entire room ablaze.
Aaaauuaigh! Itās on fire!
@Mukk comes barreling past @Trailyn after hearing the bookcase move. Expecting an enemy he is only greeted with a dead skeleton. @Brendan grabs the letter from the skeleton while Mukk strips him of his armor, not interested in the chest.
Meanwhile @Ted is channeling his inner pyromanic. He begins to set the small library ablaze. He is thwarted due to the combined efforts of Trailyn and Brendan. Crisis averted.
The letter reads
My most pathetic servant,
I am not a messiah sent to you by the Dark Powers of this land. I have not come to lead you on a path to immortality. However many souls you have bled on your hidden altar, however many visitors you have tortured in your dungeon, know that you are not the ones who brought me to this beautiful land. You are but worms writhing in my earth.
You say that you are cursed, your fortunes spent. You abandoned love for madness, took solace in the bosom of another woman, and sired a bastard son. Cursed by darkness? Of that I have no doubt. Save you from your wretchedness? I think not. I much prefer you as you are.
Your dread lord and master,Strahd von Zarovich
@Fade
The tomes discuss fiend-summoning rituals and the necromantic rituals of a cult called the Priests of Osybus
Trailyn kicks open the chest.
Mukk spends time equipping the leather armor and then proceeds to the staircase waiting to go upwards once more
@Trailyn
The chest flies open, you see a no longer firing dart mechanism. Presumably this is the cause of death of the skeleton. Inside you find
The chest contains three blank books with black leather covers (worth 25 gp each), three spell scrolls (bless, protection from posion, and spirtitual weapon), the deed to the house, the deed to a windmill, and a signed will. The will is signed by Gustav and Elisabeth Durst and bequeathes the house, the windmill, and all other family property to Rosavalda and Thornboldt Durst in the event of their parentsā deaths.
āLooks like we have found some spell scrolls and empty books.ā
Trailyn stores the books in his bag then turns towards @Fade ā¦
āYou seem like youāve got your head on straight, would you like to hold on to these spell scrolls? We would not want someone to set them on fire.ā
Gladly. Those spells will come in handy, here, I think. accepts the three scrolls and stashes them in her gear bag Sounds like this Gustav was faithful in other ways than to his wife, but that explains the motherās face in the portrait, perhaps.
fade quickly makes some notes about the tomes and summary of events on this mission as well as what seems to have unfolded at the compound, to discuss with her old professor. She copies the houseās emblem down as well and then puts the paper back in her gear stash.
Iām guessing this damn basement is where they practiced these ritualsā¦ I vote we go up further, first.
āI agree @Fade, we should continue to work our way up and learn as much as we can before entering this basement. These other papers may come in handy.ā
Trailyn stashes the deeds and will into his bag as well.
He then heads back into the previous room, checking underneath the chairs and rummaging through the desk for any additional information.
I cast mage hand, pick up and read each of the books, and stash them deep within Mukkās kangaroo-pouch man-purse where they cannot be reached except by me. While reading, I examine each and apply my knowledge of ancient, dark, and arcane texts.
When Fade is not looking, I cast mage hand and remove each of the spell scrolls which were so carelessly hanging out of her bag, read and memorize each, and then place them back in the bag.
Ted seems engrosses in watching the flame at the tip of his torch.
AAās Keen eye notices that the leather covers are pristine and of good quality and quickly grabs them from the chest