Haunted Bandit Halls

Posted on 09 Nov 2022 @ 2:15am by Mage Kalian Winter & Warrior Rhiannon Cadash & Warrior Katya Charbonnet (Shar-bon-ay) & Warrior Skeld & Rogue Elinowy Ursulas & Rogue Nazri Arisant

2,349 words; about a 12 minute read

Mission: Hall of the Phantom Shadow
Location: Raven's Roost Tavern
Timeline: Bloomingtide 6th, after post 'Who You Gonna Call?'

"Ok gang, now that we have eaten, I have news. I have talked to Lady Seryl and she has appointed me as one of her advisors. I will be consulting about the city guard. Especially the appointment of a new guard captain!" Katya said.

"Congratulations," replied Kalian, raising his tankard in toast. She had the ear of the most respected noble in Jader, quite an advantage, but also a significant responsibility. "It won't be easy to replace Landry. Even if she was corrupt, she kept it well hidden, and many of the guardsmen respected her. I know Martin did."

"Yes, I admit I never liked the woman but she did a good job keeping the underworld in line. I was disappointed when she was exposed as an accomplice in a murder attempt on Mother Giselle. It will be a hard job but we will find the right person for the job! Oh, and by the way, there is a bandit problem she'd like us to take care of. I told her I couldn't guarantee anything but I would certainly ask." Katya said

Rhi had done her best to keep the Qunari and the Tevinter occupied by asking about their homes. She had been to Tevinter when she was very young. She had only seen the port but had never left the ship. As for the name of the city she thought it was Karats or Carastes. She was not sure.
After dinner, Katya spoke up and said that she had been appointed as an advisor to this Lady Seryl. She had heard of this noble, her mother has had dealings with her a few years ago. She will have to talk to her mother about her. "Very well done Katya. Very well done."

"Thank you Rhiannon!" Katya said and smiled at her friend.

Kithris had sat next to Katya for dinner. She liked this woman. Blunt, which Kit found refreshing. She would occasionally glance at Kalian and then see the dwarf woman Rhiannon looking her way. Not in a jealous way, well not that she could tell. The woman had a great Wicked Grace face. Cards with her was a definite no. She let the woman know that she was not interested in Kalian by giving her a slight nod of stepping back. The woman gave a flash of a wicked mischievous grin before returning the nod.

After dinner, she gave Kalian a nod about more drink. Though when Katya spoke up about becoming an advisor to some noblewoman. "Well, that is wonderful." As she reached out to take Katya's hand in hers. When Katya continued and said that there might be some work taking out some bandits. Kit looked away briefly as her eyes flashed green as a streak of anger ran through her. When she stuffed the feelings down she looked back to Katya, "Count me in."

Katya smiled at Kithris "I didn't want to speak for you but I would very much enjoy having you along Kithris." Katya said with a smile.

"Anyone need another drink?" asked Kalian, playing his part as host.

"Yes please Kalian!" Katya said.

"Mead!" Skeld cried with enthusiasm, holding out his tankard, looking over to Katya. "Count me in for the bandits, too; you know I'm always up for a fight, and someone has to make you look good to the boss!" he laughed, catching her glare. "Congratulations, Katya! You'll do a good job as Seryl's new advisor - just don't lose your sword arm to the pen; you're too good to not be in the fight!" he added, clapping her shoulder.

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Begonia Baudelaire, dressed well but appropriately for the rustic venue, entered the tavern with a kind of hopeful skepticism. It had been a long, exhausting, and even horrifying day. She had taken a room at the Thistle of Jader Inn, but everyone she'd spoken with had urged her to come to the Raven's Roost tavern to find help, so here she was.

Kalian turned toward the door at the new guest's arrival and grimaced at her fancy attire. For a slow Monday, they sure were busy. "Good day, Mademoiselle! How may I help you? I could prepare a pot of tea…"

"Antivan Brandy, if you have it. Top shelf," said Begonia. Whether because her appearance was unusual, or because of a serendipitous lull in conversation, her next words carried across the common room with clear articulation. "I need to hire some brave souls. The mansion I purchased seems to be haunted." Begonia took a seat at a table near the fire and stared at the other patrons. It was an unusually diverse group.

Nazri had just finished his fourth whiskey or was it his fifth, he couldn't remember exactly. He wasn't drunk, not by a long shot, but he wasn't sober either. He'd been getting along okay. but his reserves were starting to dip below what he considered to be an acceptable level of risk. The prospect of money caused his head to turn.

~Haunted,~ he thought to himself,~Not sure how I feel about spirits and things that supposedly go bump in the night, but I'm a qunari, I can deal with those things, especially with my particular brand of magic.

Standing to his feet, perhaps a bit too quickly, reminded him his current whiskey should probably be his last. After gathering himself, Nazri moved toward the well dressed woman, "Haunted you say? In what way?"

Well now! "That's interesting Mademoiselle. I think I speak for my friends in saying we would like to hear more!" Katya said.

Kalian returned with a bottle he'd had to dust off, set a glass on the table in front of the woman, and poured.

Begonia tossed the whole glass back in one go, relishing the fiery goodness. It was just what she needed. She motioned for the young man to refill it, but sipped this time, her eyes straying to the qunari's horns. "My name is Begonia Baudelaire, I'm from Val Royeaux. I purchased a mansion, a great house, outside Jader. It was disclosed to me in advance that the mansion was in quite poor condition, so I hired workmen and a wagon, and we drove out there early this morning to visit the property and assess the needed repairs."

"When we got there, all seemed much as I expected. The gardens were overgrown and taken over by weeds, windows boarded up, but the stone structure appeared solid. It all went wrong when I opened the front door and the foreman and I went inside." Begonia took a gulp of the brandy. "It was dark, and then we saw a… a corpse. Walking! Down the hallway right towards us!" She shuddered and emptied the glass, starting to feel better now that the alcohol was taking effect and she was telling the story to people who seemed to believe her. "We ran. Got back in the wagon and hurried back to Jader as fast as we could go."

"Fascinating. It may be haunted or someone is tricking you. What do all of you think? Kalian? Rhiannon? Elinowy?" asked Katya.

"Don't forget Skeld," the big man laughed, draining his cup. He looked the woman up and down quickly, appraisingly. There'd be coin in sorting such a problem; and while he wasn't desperate for it at the moment, Skeld was not one to pass up good coin when it came along.

Kit had never dealt with undead but the thought did not bother her. For her, it came down to putting them back in the ground so that they will rest in peace. She will keep her opinion to herself for now. She looked to Katya to see where she stood on this.

Rhi listened to this Baudelaire woman. She shook her head slightly at the thought of a walking corpse. "Walking corpse." Her voice low, she took out her flask and took a swallow. She then looked up and around the table. "I for one am not a fan of the walking dead. I have never personally dealt with one though there are plenty of sea stories about them. Our quartermaster has told me a few. One of which he says he was a part of. Says that is why he has that strip of white hair on his head and his one eye is white. He's not blind it just turned white. The stories though, they never end well." She paused for a moment and for those around her, they may not notice but Kalian probably would. She took another swallow from her flask and as she was putting it away her hand had a small shake to it.

Kalian heard the trepidation in Rhiannon's voice and moved to stand behind her. He rested a hand on her shoulder in a way he hoped was comforting.

Rhi looked up at Kalian when he rested his hand on her shoulder. Her crimson eyes lighting up as she calmed down. Giving Kalian a warm smile as she placed her hand on his.

Nazri furrowed his brow as he heard the report about the walking dead. He couldn't rule out the supernatural, he wouldn't rule out the supernatural. After all, he did not only believe in magic, he practiced it, or at least he used it when the need arose. So, it was a rather small logical leap to believe there was unexplained phenomenon that was truly unexplained. Still, he was a bit skeptical about the mansion being haunted by something from the supernatural realm. He suspected that the source might be natural.

Still, he wasn't ruling out any possibilities. "Did you get a good look at it?" he asked, "can you describe it?"

Begonia shuddered. "It was a dead person. A human woman, with gaping holes in the leather armor, and the stench..." She shuddered again. "Definitely dead."

Kalian rubbed his chin distractedly. "That corpse could have been possessed by a demon, if the proper rites and cremation were not performed." Possession of dead bodies was, after all, the practical reason Andrastrians burned their dead. He hesitated, looking from Elinowy to Atria, then added, "It's also possible that blood magic is involved, though I wouldn't want to jump to conclusions."

Skeld had listened, nursing his drink slightly as he did so. He shrugged, suddenly. "I've fought undead many times. Hit them hard enough and all that's left is on the walls."

The conversation for the evening had taken a decidedly dark turn. The scarlet sister looked thoughtfully at the noble woman. "Were any of you harmed? Or even touched? You should have been examined by the clergy upon your return. It would be unlike a demonspawn or the truly dark creatures to have let you escape so easily. This merits investigation. I can summon the Templars."

"I agree Elinowy. Let the templars look at it and see what is going on. I did promise Lady Seryl I would take care of the bandits as soon as I could so I would like to deal with that first. Then if the house still merits investigation, we can certainly do that!" Katya said.

"Blood Magic," said Begonia in a hushed tone. "I suppose we were lucky to escape. No one among my group of workers attempted to engage it, we all just ran away."

Kalian had cringed at Elinowy's recommendation to summon Templars, but… "My status as an apostate has recently been made public. However, contrary to popular belief, apostates and blood mages are not the same thing. I don't know any blood magic spells, nor would I want to. So, I agree with Elinowy that we should notify the templars. But I think we should investigate as well. There are a good number of us, perhaps we can look into both the bandits and the haunted house."

Rhi gave Elinowy a look when the sister mentioned the Templars. When Kalian agreed with Elinowy, she looked up at Kalian with that, are you sure look.

Kalian caught Rhiannon's look, and shrugged. He wasn't sure about associating with Templars, but he just might have to anyway.

"I'm willing to offer a substantial reward for clearing the undead from my mansion," said Begonia hastily. This group was unconventional, but certainly looked like they could get the job done. She took a piece of parchment from her pocket. "The location is marked on this map. Can you go in the morning?"

Katya looked at the map and immediately the wheels began to turn on her head. "Well, now that is interesting. M'selle, it appears your mansion is where the bandits we are hunting are reported. We think their base of operations is right in that area. Maybe a coincidence but maybe not. Alright my friends, it seems that we can do both. Elinowy, go ahead and inform the templars. We might need their help. However, if my suspicions are correct, we just might kill two birds with one stone. So what say we leave tomorrow morning and investigate this mansion?"

Kit moved to the map, stood next to Katya, as she looked it over. When Katya got done, Kit gave the women a smile. She liked this woman. "You can count me in. Though I would prefer to stay away from the Templars."

Kalian understood Kithris' Templar-avoidance sentiment, Kit was a Dalish Keeper's first. Or was she a Keeper now? He'd have to ask. "We can all meet here first thing in the morning, eat breakfast, then set off."

Rhi had looked up at Kalian when he mentioned meeting here in the morning. She shifted to stand in front of him, looked up at him and grinned. Speaking softly but loud enough for him to hear. "Thought I could stay here.....with you."

Kalian took both of Rhiannon's hands, and smiled at her. "I'd really like that. Is there anything you need from the Night's Kiss for tomorrow? You look amazing in that outfit, but I'll worry about you a little less if you're wearing your armor, and weapons."

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