Prologue - Death House

"Ah, here you all are," Abraham says with a smile. "About what you'd expect. Beautiful home, fancy foyer, quality craftsmanship, multiple floors. Nice, solid doors too." As he says that he raps his gauntleted knuckles on the door he was standing at.

"Taxidermy fans, I see." Abraham will move to inspect the wolves to satiate his curiosity.

Amalthea wedges the rock as far as she can in the corner of the windowsill. That will probably do the job.

Abraham inspects the wolves. Nothing is unusual about them other than how they are positioned.

And what about their positioning strikes Abraham as unusual?

Just the fact that they're circling the room as if hungry and waiting to strike. One would expect a taxidermy in a sitting room to be a little more pleasant.

Taniwha shakes off the rain from his cloak but keeps himself well within the shadows of his hood. As the others talk he moves over to the cabinet on the southern wall and searches it.

Dimensions of the window being what they were, Drina was able to lift her feet over the sill as she landed into the room instead of having to utilize a more undignified wiggle before tumbling into the floor. Looking competent inspired confidence which would lead to less hesitancy which the ranger had found a successful strategy. Turning back a hand would be offered to any outside until the party was assembled in the room. A quick intake of breath accompanied the appearance of the knight. "Fate has been kind! I had my doubts that we would be so quickly reunited. It had almost seemed as if the house itself was working to separate us. So you have noted nothing unusual?"

"Mm, I mean I've only been inside a few moments longer than the rest of you. I saw the foyer and hall, then met you all in here. Neither the foyer or hall seemed odd, possibly outside of being completely empty," Abraham replies as he kneels to inspect one of the wolves. "This is my first proper room. It seems the owner had a bit of personality though, eh? Taxidermy stalking the room!" With that, he laughs as he stands and faces the group.

Amalthea looks suspiciously at the taxidermied wolves. She edges around them to be close to the door out.

"Personality's a nice way of putting it. I'm ready to get those kids in somewhere warm. Should we work our way down from the top or go to the basement straight away?"

Rubbing his chin, Abraham glanced around. "I am... wary of the basement. Well... this entire situation truthfully but the basement in particular. Do you remember what the child said?"

He pauses for emphasis before continuing.

"They needed help because of a monster in the basement, yes? But Rose also said her mother took their baby brother into that same basement. It doesn't add up."

"Nothing has made much sense from the moment that mist came rolling in. No one here knows this about me but if I have been somewhere once then it's like I have an internal map of the area. Whether inside or out, cloudy or clear, I know what direction I am headed in relationship to other features around me. I had inspected that campsite yet, I became lost while circling the wagon thus ending up here," green eyes burned fiercely.

Tilting her head to the side as if weighing options, "Now nothing is completely wrong but it's not right either. Is the home in disrepair or not? Why would the door not open? Look at the fire, the flame fills the fireplace without a bunch of ash but the children were chilled so exactly how long had they been out there? And that is another curiosity, this should be a family dwelling but there is no mending in a basket by the fire, no sign of children's books or toys and so what the young ones reported being confusing seems normal for this night. I would put to you that based upon such observations that if we were told to go down then we should go up.

I would suggest starting at the top of the stairs keeping at least two of us by the banister so we can't be surprised as the others search the floor until every room is clear. If I'm wrong then I know that it is a tremendous waste of time that this family might not have but I'm uneasy. Uneasy in my soul if you know what I mean. If we have a consensus then I think we should not dawdle."

There is no cabinet on the southern wall. Refer to the map here. Taniwha will find that the north cabinet is almost empty save for a box of playing cards and a rack of wine glasses. The east cabinet is shut with a heavy padlock.

Taniwha picks up the playing cards from the northern cabinet, flipping them over in his hand a few times to examine them before putting them into his pocket. He turns moving towards the other cabinet, "Uneasy describes it well, Drina." He says in a quiet voice as the walks over the other cabinet and squaring down before it. He reaches out wrapped hands carefully holding the padlock so he can examine it closely, figuring out if he can open it without smashing the cabinet. "Should have grabbed a set of tools, stupid." he mutters under his breath.

Shaking his head in disappointment at himself for not grabbing a set in his rush to leave his past behind, Taniwha pulls one of his daggers out. Disappointment building more as he has to resort to brute force, rather then finesse, he jams the blade in between the lock and cabinet door, takes a firm grip upon the handle and with a sudden jerk he yanks down.

The lock is fastened through the door handles of the cabinet. Taniwha tries to yank the lock, but all he does is rattle it.

Not every accusation made was true. Travelers were easy patsies as they were perpetual strangers but, on the other hand, if one had such an abundance that they acted careless and a few items went missing then where did the fault truly lie? However, the man in the cloak was bold as their companions were unknown. That blonde, Avalon, looked like someone that could put up a fuss and not a small one.

Without looking like it was her destination, Drina slowly passed by the one that seemed to prefer shadows, in a lowered voice she counseled, "There are eyes. Who knows who watches? You might have better luck with the fireplace stoker."

And with that the ranger approached the steps that lead upward gripping a hand on the banister. "I'm going upstairs unless someone has another plan."

Amalthea is a bit shocked as the cloaked man tries to break open the lock on the cabinet.

"Oy, is there really something so important that you need in there? It's still someone's house, right?"

Then she sees Drina drift past and start her way up the stairs. She shakes her head. Should they already start getting separated yet? She looks back at the others.

"I can break open that cabinet before we go if you really need me to, but let's try and stay together."

She points her warhammer in Drina's direction, indicating she is ready to go when the others are.

Taniwha’s shoulders shake a just a little as if one was holding a laugh as Drina moves past and whispers. A couple of seconds later he slips away his dagger and shrugs. Wrapped hands pull the hood forward as the lean figure smoothly stands, shaking his hood at Amalthea’s offer and pausing for a brief moment as if about to say something . . .

Without a word he follows Drina up the stairs.

The stairs were like the keys to a piano. No matter how lightly the green eyed woman stepped each new rung seemed to creak out a new note. Convient for naughty children out of bed listening for the warning sounds announcing their parents approach so they could dive under covers to pretend sleep had been the only activity the children had been involved but less so for Drina. Well let whoever was above if any know she was coming! She wasn't alone!

The second floor, Drina assumed were the family sleeping chambers. Standing on the landing, Drina's eyes scanned the part of the floor visible looking for the next set of stairs to continue upward to the third floor that would likely hold the staff or possibly a ballroom. The ranger nodded back in confidence to those who had followed as she raised a finger pointing upward indicating their continued climb

When he gets to the door to leave the study, Abraham watches as the others head up the staircase and asks, "Are you sure about heading up? Shouldn't we at least check the basement first since the mother reportedly took the baby down there with a monster?" Regardless, he will move to stay with the others after glancing back to check that nothing was amiss in the study.