Prologue - Death House

"My Master and Mistress were Gustav and Elizabeth Durst, wealthy beyond compare around these lands," Vasha says, then nods to say that Abraham has the right idea—Walter is her baby. Before she can say more, she seizes on Abe's mention of the children.

"You've spoken to them? They're alive?" She swoops up to Abraham, eyes wild with fear and hope. "Where are they? Safe? I knew their wicked mother would leave them alone, poor things.

She floats back, calming down. "So many people like you have come along, too many to count. That means it's been longer than days, maybe even—I don't want to believe that, but maybe years. We heard that a wealthy count had won our lands from the war, but one of the visitors said that was hundreds of years ago.

"But if you saw the children, then he must have misspoke. I can never go to them; that is part of my curse. Please make sure they're alright for me. They don't deserve any of this."

Abraham shakes his head, not wanting to voice what he is almost certain of at this point.

Fortune tellers did not wear the vestments or perform the sacraments of a priest but they did hear more than their fair share of confessions. Thus, the ghost's tale of an employer having eyes for the help was all too familiar. It was telling that Vasha didn't claim a great love to justify the illicit affair which meant more than likely the lord of the manner had used her employment as leverage to seek his pleasures.

The wife surely wasn't kind to Vasha when confronted with the evidence of her husband's infidelity. Even the excitement of her own children at having a new siblings must have felt like a betrayal. Had the bitterness of the situation poisoned the very root of the family tree until it decayed from the inside out? Because facts were facts: Vasha was a ghost so she was dead. Who had killed her?And what did she mean when the family was alive?

Pointing toward the knight as the name clicked, 'Yes, Walter! Walter is the baby we came in to save. Your baby. And the other children aren't dead, they are waiting outside for us. Help us save all the children. Surely there is a way to rescue Walter and still exit the house. You worked here, you must know its secrets. Maybe you will find peace once your child is safe."

Conversation with the dead, he had heard of it but never witnessed it. He thought of his own mother and how they had been ripped apart by the lust and envy of others, how her ghost still screamed for him to run. Had she found peace or did she still haunt the temple remains waiting for his return.

Caught up in his own thoughts he moved aside instinctively as the spirit swooped towards the Knight. He listened to the conversation compiling the information given, letting the other two guide the flow of information. As he did so his eyes crossed the hall to the secret door across the way . . . "That is right, surely you will know of passages not seen. Like that across the hall."

Amalthea keeps her mouth shut, but shakes her head at the sad tale. Humans were no different than dwarves.

Placing a few fingers against her temple, Drina's head throbbed with the swirling amount of information being revealed. "So those assembled had not been the only party that had visited the house. If as you say, the cursed house."

Hearing it again from her own lips didn't make it any easier to accept. If what was being hinted was even true then it made the pieces of this very confusing puzzle make sense. That is if the impossible could make sense."Years? Perhaps hundreds have passed? Then those were not Rose and Thorn that we met. And Walter....well we can not save him tonight but I do know some people that might help everyone find peace. We just need to retreat."

Green eyes bore into Taniwha, "When did you have time to find a secret passage?"

Shocked out of his funk by Drina’s comment, Taniwha shrinks back from the intense stare of those green eyes. He goes to answer but the words get clogged in his rapidly drying mouth, as if the drying air of his mouth was suffocating them. His own flame red eyes attempting to make contact with the accusing forest green as he merely shrugs, raising a clawed finger and pointed to the crease in the wall.

Vasha watches the tense standoff with mild interest, but she clearly has more pressing things on her mind. "I do not want to believe it's been that long, but I have no way of knowing. My last day alive was in the 335th year. Can any of you tell me what year it is now?"

Speaking mainly to Drina, she says, "That secret passage will reveal a staircase that leads up to the attic. There you will find the children's room, but Master Durst often kept it locked. I know not where he kept the key, perhaps in his study or den. There is a secret passage up there, in the storage room, one that leads all the way down to the basement. It is a dreary place where—" Vasha stops, seeming to choke on old memories. "—where the Mistress killed me. And where my Walter is. I can show you where to look; that room is the other to which I am bound. I can go nowhere else in the house. Just enter that room and I will appear with you."

Vasha floats to where all of you can see her face, which becomes grave. "Hear me well, now. You may find that there's nothing you can do to help Walter. And if it has been hundreds of years, there will be nothing you can do to help Rose and Thorn. If that happens, you must lay them to rest. It may be the best thing we can give them."

Abraham nods. "We will do what we can to right this wrong."

Amalthea looks about the room they are in as the group talks. "Aye, my dear, I am not sure we know the year either. This house and land does not feel familiar to me at least. We will take care of the children, in whatever way we can help them now. We appreciate your honesty and the way to where Walter should be is very helpful. Do you know if there's anything in the house that will help us to protect the innocent or avoid those who would harm us?"

Vasha thinks for a moment. "Master Durst kept spells in the library, I am sure of it. I know not where he hid them, but he told me they would be part of the children's inheritance one day. Adventurers like you probably know what to do with things like that. Other than that, there are a few weapons in the house, but I see you are all well-armed.

"I must warn you, the basement is a true danger to both body and soul. I didn't get a good look at it when . . . you know . . . but I know its tunnels are extensive. I think most of it was there long before we arrived, dedicated to some nameless and ancient evil. The Mistress awoke it by slaying me, for she did not just kill me but made a horrible ritual of me; I saw many wicked people drawn to the evil beneath the house as though worshippers to a shrine. A simple nursemaid should not know of such things, but I feel it in my heart now that I am one of the undead. There are terrible things down there that will test both your sword and your wits.

"I am sorry I cannot do more for you. This place is one of great evil, and its very foundations want to see you fail. You are the kindest souls I have met in a long time, and I wish you only the best."

Had the evil of this house misjudged? Surely there was a purity in the souls surrounding her as Drina watched each one vow to help those not even alive. Granted Tani was short on words but his actions bespoke the same sentiment. Perhaps the house hungered for those not yet tainted wanting to feast on undamned souls. But Drina intended for the evil to choke on her bones.

Looking about the room that had become a prison, Drina gazed at the ghost with compassion, "Your help has been invaluable, Vasha. Know we will do everything within our power to end this evil. May a righteous cause lead us to victory and you to peace."

But as the ranger was readying herself to charge forward, the reality of the state of her companions impressed itself on her as even now the blood on Abraham's bandage seemed to be growing. Fierce hearts would not win the battle ahead if bodies were not in fighting condition. "Now on a more practical side, the two of you look in dreadful condition. Perhaps we go back downstairs so you can catch your breath while we look for these spells. Hopefully, they are in the form of scrolls or potions as I have no magical abilities. Wouldn't it be ironic if the children's inheritance allowed us to save their very souls?"

Amalthea's dwarven instinct to seek treasure, some may call it greed, has her smile at Drina's suggestion. Wisdom would be to stay in this room on this floor where all enemies had been vanquished to rest, but she nods eagerly at Drina's words.

"Aye, capital idea my dear. We certainly need to rest and mind as well check for what Vasha has described afterwards."

She bows a little to the ghost.

"Aye, thank you and prepare to finally rest."

As the attention moved away from him, Taniwha allowed the mask drop as a wave of pain washed over him. After a couple of coughs the Tiefling looks down at the blood on his wraps, the armour’s blow had done its damage. He quickly drops the hand hoping the others are distracted.

"Our thanks Vasha. Though the gods may have abandoned you, we will not." he says nodding his thanks to the trap soul and moving to the hall.

Drina's descent did not mirror her earlier dive down the stairs. A natural grace flowed from her limbs as she lightly stepped on each riser. Pointing out the two suits of armor, the ranger didn't breathe easy until all had passed the potential threat.

Reaching the ground floor once again, the green eyed woman turned to Tani, "If you found that room upstairs in the dark, I trust that with a little light that you can see all. And this time we won't worry if the furniture gets scuffed. "

As you leave the bedroom, Vasha nods her head and disappears.

As Drina and company pass the second floor hall, they find that there are actually four suits of armor, two to the east and two to the west.

The ground floor is bitingly cold and the fireplaces are out, but there is enough light to see by even without Drina's lamp. The door to the den is shut. At this point, the party notices something strange about the decorative paneling—there are serpent and skulls lying in wait among the playing satyrs and nymphs.

Amalthea shivers a little and wrinkles her nose at the foreboding decorative paneling again before..."Ahchoo! Oy, wasn't there a fire earlier?"

She takes out the last of the moonshine she brewed last night and offers it to the rest of the party.

Now that Drina wasn't rushing past, details that had escaped her started to manifest. The mythical scene carved into the wood was tainted with symbols of death causing a shiver to work up her spine. Trying to play it off as a reaction to the chilly temperature, "One of the reasons I thought downstairs was a good idea was the comfort of that fire. I was just down here and the fire was blazing. Even if it burned out then that doesn't explain the chill. But look!" Drina pointed toward the doors that cut off the view of the den. "I don't think we are alone. Someone closed those doors. Perhaps we should wait out here as you recover before trying to confront any more threats."

Following Drina downstairs wincing at every step on the descent, he hadn’t been this bad since losing a back alley fight to a score of street thugs. Those green eyes catch him in the gaze again pulling him out of his memory. "I’ll have a glance over." It is about now he notices the shut door which was before open. "It could have been shut by the red headed one from out front, hopefully she wasn’t a trapped soul as well." He says in an attempt to calm himself as much as those with him.

He moves softly forward and examines the entrance as well as the surrounding area, avoiding to move or even touch anything unnecessarily.

Drina waved off the offer of firey spirits made by Almathea although she clapped her shoulder in thanks. The gypsy had shared her campfire with dwarves enough to know not to trust their wee drams. After a particularly murky night, the green eyed woman had woke to find herself short of a pair of her favorite boots while having one mad son of witch racoon tied up in her pillow case. Questions on what happened only lead to booms of laughter. No, dwarves and their drink were certainly suspect no matter how innocent they appeared.

Aa the possible danger presented itself, the ranger followed closely behind the tiefling as he crept toward the closed door readying to defend her resting companions.