Mystery Manor

Posted on 06 May 2023 @ 1:29am by Mage Kalian Winter & Warrior Rhiannon Cadash & Warrior Skeld & Rogue Elinowy Ursulas

2,208 words; about a 11 minute read

Mission: Hall of the Phantom Shadow
Location: Begonia Baudelaire's Mansion near the Imperial Highway
Timeline: Bloomingtide 7th, after 'Split Up And Search For Clues'

OOC: Haunted Mansion Group: Kalian, Rhiannon, Skeld, Elinowy

Rhiannon, Skeld, Elinowy, and Kalian did not walk far down the Imperial Highway before they found the side road to the mansion just past the next bend. The road leading to the mansion was overgrown with disuse, although the tracks of Begonia Baudelaire's wagon were clearly visible. All appeared quiet as they approached.

The area in front of the two-story building was once a flower garden but is now overgrown with weeds and brambles. Closer to the front entrance, the adventurers could see fresh lumber and tools, recently abandoned as Begonia described. The windows were boarded up, but the front door stood ajar.

Kalian turned to his companions. "Shall we knock, or just go in?"

Rhi looked at the three for a brief moment then moved up to the door. She looked back, "Knock or open?"

Skeld barely paused for thought before the axe was swung, slamming into the wood of the door and rending it apart like it was made of cloth, the blade coming to a stop as it embedded into the floor at the threshold. He pulled the axe back, and the remains of the door splintered away on either side of him as Skeld relaxed and rested the haft of the axe against his shoulder. "Knock knock," Skeld said, with a chuckle.

Elinowy was about to voice her opinion on entering the Mansion when she was passed by Skeld who promptly rent the doors apart. She shook her head slightly at his display of masculine prowess.

Rhi had to step back quickly as the big man stepped forward and took down the door with his axe. "Looks at you with the manners of a gentleman. Knocking first and all." The sarcasm was plain though switched to a hint of anger. "Next time, let me know before you decide to knock, so I can get out of the way."

With the mansion's front door out of the way, sunlight illuminated an entry hall, with stairs on both sides, although the stairs on the right were broken. At the end of the hall gloom to the left and right suggested passage to the rest of the house. Any additional observations were cut short by movement from behind the broken stairway debris on the right and a corpse dressed in the tattered peasant garb shambled toward them.

Kalian, still standing just outside the door, hastily raised his staff and cast a barrier spell on himself and his three friends.

Rhi could barely see the corpse in front of Skeld. From what she could see, it looked like it had been a servant. "Maybe he is answering our knocking."

The scarlet sister looked at the shambling husk of a person, her heart saddened by the unnatural nature of his reanimation. She prayed the Maker would take his departed soul into his embrace as they dealt with the evil that disturbed his rest. She raised her hand in blessing for the forlorn corpse.

Skeld gripped his axe and hefted it forward, so the blade was held ahead of him like a wide polearm. Doorways were awful places to swing a great axe, but the weapon could serve as a ram or a pike in a pinch. His tattoos itched as he launched himself forward with a warcry, slamming the blunt head of the axe against the undead's chest, the weight of the barbarian buckling the ribcage as the wall met the dead man's back, the grimly satisfying crunch of broken brittle bones reporting loudly in the stagnant room.

"This is why I don't like knocking!" Skeld shouted, pinning the corpse against the wall, out of reach of the grasping arms and biting teeth. Skeld took a moment to look to his sides now that his eyes were not adjusting for the brightness outside, to ensure he wasn't being flanked.

Kalian stepped into the gloom of the mansion's entryway and caused the crystal at the end of his staff to glow, then scanned the hallway past Skeld and the corpse. "I don't see any more about to attack." He commented to Rhiannon, "Either Skeld has taken up decorating with wall-mounted trophies, or he needs a hand finishing that one off."

As the big man charged forward, Rhiannon shook her head slightly. It is not like anyone who was here did not know that they were here now. Still.

Stepping into the entryway with Kalian she pulled out her short sword and gave Kalian a nod. Walking forward she moved just to the side of Skeld, taking her sword she laid it against the stomach of the corpse. With all the strength of her Dwarven heritage, she cut the corpse in half, letting its lower half fall.

"That could be the corpse Lady Baudelaire encountered." Kalian wrinkled his nose. "Why is it that the adventure stories about walking corpses never mention how bad they stink? So, where shall we search first? Left? Right? Upstairs?"

Kalian was right about the stench. "Then no one would go out adventuring." Rhi grinned. "As for our three options, it makes no mind to me. Just remember though, never split the party."

At least, never split the party more than it already was, thought Kalian. "I'm thinking we try to make sure we can't be surrounded." Cautiously, Kalian walked past the stairs on both sides leading to the second floor and shined the light from his staff at the far end of the entryway area. To the left was a closed doorway. To the right was a hallway with two doors, one closed and one open that seemed to add a little light to the gloom of the hall, as though the windows were not as thoroughly boarded-up as they appeared from the outside. "Shall we check those two rooms first?"

Elinowy walked behind Kalian as he made his way into the manor. "The building doesn't feel as foul as it aught were this an incursion from the Fade. But still, it would be best to be wary of what lies ahead."

Skeld swept the axe in the direction of the body, flicking off bits of grime and viscera back to their previous owner, before turning to the doors Kalian had suggested. "We'll need a lock pick," Skeld said, turning to face the doors. "Hmm... I pick.... that lock!" he said, as he stepped forward to the door to his left and smashed the head of his axe into the lock of the door, splitting the wood apart into splinters. The remains of the door blew apart, the hinges being yanked off of the door frame. The lock, for its purpose, survived fairly well but was rendered mostly moot by the destruction of the door around it. "There we are! Lock "picked"!" Skeld said, proudly. The door opened to a bedroom, though the bed had taken a bit of a beating. There was an axe on the floor - someone had done something awful here, then left the axe behind. And locked the door behind.

Kalian could not help but grin at the way Skeld 'picked' the lock. "I must admit, that is an effective lock-picking technique." He must remember not to ask Skeld to pick the locks of any doors they wanted to keep intact. A cursory glance in the opposite room with an open door revealed a full bookcase, a ragged chair, and a moth-eaten bear skin rug. But no corpse.

"Any of that... magic sense, Kalian?" Skeld asked, stepping out of the doorway. The bed's covers were covering what looked like a body, but for the moment it was still.

"Do you think we should break the leg bones of that corpse in the bed? To slow it down in case it gets up?" Was it Kalian's imagination, or did that corpse just move...

"Can do!" Skeld replied, volunteering his axe.

Rhi looked to the skeleton in the bed, tilted her head slightly as she approached. She stood waiting for it to move. When it didn't, she gently separated the head from the body, placing it on the table near the bed. Turning back to the others, "If it decides to get up, it will have trouble finding us."

Sister Elinowy looked very serious at the events unfolding. "There is clearly evil afoot here, but it genuinely does not feel as foul as what experience with demons I have had. This feels more... simple." she stated.

"Blood magic doesn't rely on a connection to the fade, so I'm not sure I could detect that. I'll try…" Kalian closed his eyes and concentrated. Very faintly, he got the sensation that someone else might be reaching for the fade nearby. "I think someone might be touching the veil, someone in the house." He turned thoughtfully, then regarded his three companions and shook his head uncertainly. "Upstairs, maybe?"

Rhi moved to stand near Kalian as he started to concentrate on the veil. For Rhiannon, magic was to be looked at as a tool. Though a tool that if not used correctly could destroy everything.

She positioned herself as to protect Kalian as he searched the veil. When he finished and let them know that there was someone touching the fade and that they may be upstairs, Rhi gave a nod. "Upstairs is as good a place as any." She made her way to the door of the room.

Elinowy followed the dwarf in part to provide her what protection her faith in the Maker provided, but also because it felt safer in numbers.

Skeld opened the strap on his battleaxe and strapped it onto his back, opting to instead fight with his two bearded hand axe; a doorway was an awful place for a heavy battleaxe, but could be worked around with the right adjustments – ram through, head of the axe first and take them by surprise; once in the larger room, swing away and redecorate as required. Stairways and battleaxes were a recipe for murder, and not the kind he got to go to the bar and drink afterwards; low ceiling to embed the blade in, fighting on elevation, stairs were awful for footwork even if you did have room to manoeuvre (which you didn’t), and to top it off going up meant and to top it off going up meant you were at a severe disadvantage to any move you could make. Smaller, quicker one handed axes would serve him better, and if all else failed they were a lot easier to throw than the rune axe.

“Lots of books in this house,” Skeld commented, though it was hard to tell if this was a comment of admiration or of derision.

Kalian gave the bookshelves a quick look, but didn't take the time to search them. "Looks like whoever owned this house before Begonia Baudelaire was a mage, or interested in magic. Nothing obvious about blood magic, though."

Waiting for one of the two warriors to take point, Kalian then followed behind as they passed the closed door on the west side of the hall under the stairs, and made their way up the stairs. At the top of the stairs is a door on the left (west) that is barred from the outside. To the right (east) is a hallway with two closed doors, one on each side.

Elinowy prayed for the Maker's protection. It was not her place to be in doubts of his providence, or to test it, but a place shrouded in darkness such as this certainly made prayer an attractive option. She sang out the verses, her voice starting softly but growing in confidence as she sang.

"You who stand before the gates,
You who have followed me into the heart of evil,
The fear of death is in your eyes; its hand is upon your throat.
Raise your voices to the heavens! Remember:
Not alone do we stand on the field of battle.

"The Maker is with us! His Light shall be our banner,
And we shall bear it through the gates of that city and deliver it
To our brothers and sisters awaiting their freedom within those walls,
At last, the Light shall shine upon all of creation,
If we are only strong enough to carry it."

Rhi had moved up the stairs as quietly as she could. Not really sure what to expect. When Elinowy started to sing, Rhi wanted to ask her to stop but refrained as the woman's voice washed over her. The beauty in that voice put her it ease and helped her focus.

As they topped the stairs Rhi looked at the door and seeing that was barred, she figured that what or whoever was in there, was not meant to leave.

“Prisoners or nasties?” Skeld asked, reaching for a pocket for a coin. “Who wants to wager on it?” he asked, quietly, though he suspected the singing might have given the game away. Or the wholesale destruction he had wrought downstairs on the doors. Skeld was one who lived by the rule "Stealthing Optional".

From behind the barred door at the top of the stairs, a woman's voice called out, "Hello? Who's there?"

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