Who: Rosavalda (“Rose”) and Thornboldt (“Thorn”) Durst — the two smiling children from the family portrait in Death House.
Status: At rest. We buried their bones outside the mists of the house, as promised.
First met: Session 2, in the attic. Last seen: Session 3, saying thank you.
Their story, as they told it
- “I know what we are. We were locked in here. It got very hungry. And then we were no longer hungry.” Rose said it plainly, standing over the two small beds that held their bones.
- The monster in the basement was their family’s doing — their mother brought “bad sorts” into the house who “did magics.”
- The baby in the portrait was their half-brother. Their mother spoke of using him — something about innocence, and sacrifice — and took him down to the basement. They screamed. It didn’t matter.
- Rose’s request was simple: “Bury our bones. Set us free.” (And on the subject of her little brother’s bones: “If you hurt him, I will haunt you till your dying days.” Fair.)
- It was their dollhouse — a perfect replica, secret doors and all — that gave us the map of the house.
The debt runs the other way
We kept the promise. When the mists parted and the house was gone, we buried Rose, Thorn, and the maid, and the three appeared one final time:
“Thank you. You have defeated a great evil — though a greater evil still stays here. May the Morning Lord protect you, and may you stay out of the sight of the devil, Strahd.”
It was the first time anyone said his name to us out loud.