Old houses like this always had a basement, right? After navigating the house and opening a few doors, you discover a shadowy staircase. The sound of skittering echoes and reaches your ears as you start following the staircase downward.
It was much colder down here than you thought it would be. With one hand to the wall, you descend, and your eyes are slow to adjust to the comfortable - yet eerie - darkness. You realize that, by the time you think to look back towards the door, it's already closed, leaving you lightless on your little foray into the basement.
Fifteen or so minutes had passed since you had started going down the staircase, travel time taking up half of that and sitting at the bottom of the stairs in a cold sweat taking up the other half. You want to go back up, but something about this room has you curious. Your eyes have fully adjusted to the darkness, so you decide to stand and walk about, making a mental note of where the staircase is so that you could return to it later.
After a quick investigation, you realize this room was probably used for storage in the past. Boxes fill the room, some labeled, some unlabeled. However, one particular box catches your eye - a nicely engraved oak chest. Whatever lock had been here prior to now had disintegrated or fallen off. The most notable engravings on the container illustrate various animals - some mythical, some normal. You spy an image of a unicorn and wolf running side by side, and another of a dragon with a snake binding its muzzle.
The only thing keeping you from opening it is your fear that it might be cursed. But then, do curses really exist?
The lid lets out a creak as you open it, as if it were a thing capable of complaining, and you peek inside. Within the box is a number of different trinkets. A handful of them catch your eye, and you decide that it wouldn't be a bad idea to just take one. A souvenir. Not like whoever owned the house was going to care, right?