Session Two

***As you climb the stairs to the floor above, music fills the air. Reaching the next landing, you realize it is coming from the western room. The stairs continue upwards, a cold draft sweeping down from the next floor.***

## The Party

* Alyssandra, the Human Paladin/Warlock.
* Dakira, the Dragonborn Bard.
* Kalil, the Half-Elf Sea Sorcerer.
* Mirarook, the Half-Orc Monk.
* Tansy, the Tiefling Light Cleric.

## Music and Mysteries

Harpsichord music heralded the party's arrival to the second floor, bringing them to a balcony flanked with suits of armor, doors decorated with carvings of dancing children leading into other rooms, and a pleasant family portrait that hung above the fireplace just in front of the stairs. A closer look, however, revealed the children were actually fighting off swarms of bats, and the family in the portrait was not nearly as happy as they had appeared.

## Exploration

### The Conservatory

Upon entering this room, the music abruptly ended. Inside, the only things of note were the harpsichord, the harp, the painted ceiling, and the figurines of dancers that adorned the fireplace. Inspecting the harpsichord, Tansy found a sheet of music, which she then shared with the others. After some further exploration, Dakira and Tansy returned here to play the music, which triggered the opening of a secret door in the library.

### The Servant's Quarters

Listening at the door, Kalil heard the sound of footsteps approaching and stopping just on the other side of the door. He warned the others, and they readied themselves for a fight, only to find the room empty when they went inside.

Tansy searched some of the room, finding a strange silver coin against the wall under one of the two beds, which she left where she found it.

### The Library

Kalil led the way into the large library, where the party found a strange woman who claimed she had no idea how she got there. While the rest of the party questioned the woman, Kalil explored the library, finding the secret door that had been opened Dakira earlier.

### The Secret Library

Kalil, and later the rest of the party, found numerous books on demonology, necromancy, human sacrifices, poisons, and similarly unsettling topics. Kalil took one to examine later as Dakira moved further into the room,

where she found a skeleton slumped next to an old chest, one arm still inside the chest, and the other arm holding an ancient-looking missive. The letter was from someone named Strahd von Zarovich, a name that Dakira and Alyssandra recognized, though they did not know who the name belonged to.

Looking inside the chest, she found three spell scrolls, three blank books, the deeds to this house and to a windmill somewhere to the east, and a will signed by Greta and Elisabeth Durst bequeathing all of the family wealth and land to their children, Rosevalda and Thornboldt Durst.

After these discoveries, and finding nothing else of interest on this floor, the party prepared to go upstairs.

## Living Quarters, Living Armor

The party followed the stairs to where they ended at the third floor balcony. Unlike the first and second floors, this one did nothing to hide the abandoned state of the house, with every corner and crevice filled with dust and cobwebs. As the party inspected the walls, revealing that the small woodland creatures in the wood carvings were injured in various ways, the mysterious woman prodded the solitary suit of armor with her rapier, causing the armor to lurch into motion and attack.

After a challenging battle, where the mysterious woman ended up downed twice, the party managed to take down the armor. The woman suggested that she should stay behind in the hall to rest while the party explored the other rooms, and the party agreed, leaving her propped up against the wall beside the stairs.

### The Master Suite

Entering through the double doors, the party found themselves in a large room full of ruined furniture that still bore some traces of the wealth the family must have had in life. There was nothing in the room not touched by neglect and decay, from the rotting tiger rug on the floor to the broken ceramic bowl on the table.

The party searched through the room. Kalil found a rotten wooden jewelry box and took the diamond ring from inside it. Tansy and Dakira found a door that led outside, but also found that it was fused into the frame, and they were unable to open it. Alyssandra found a closet with a mirror inside, and after receiving a vision while she looked into it, she used her scythe to smash the mirror.

The party agreed it was time to move on to the other rooms.

### The Bathroom

Tansy went to explore the room directly across from the master bedroom, with Dakira following after her. They found a dilapidated bathroom full of cobwebs, dust, and mildew. Finding nothing of interest, they left the room.

## Things Gained

* A small book that is a report by an anonymous person vivisecting a demon.
* Three spell scrolls: Bless, Spiritual Weapon, and Protection from Poison.
* Two black leather books, blank.
* One black leather book, blank, that appears identical to the other two books. When attuned to a person capable of sleep and dreaming, the book will transcribe that person's dreams. It will never run out of pages.
* One diamond ring with a silver band. Neither the diamond nor the ring itself reflect light, nor anything in the surrounding area.

## Developments

The party solved their first puzzle.

The party found their first secret room.

The party obtained their first magic item.

The party had their first combat.

Tansy Goodcooper got the first killing blow.