Mistamere Castle

At the top of the stairs lies another hallway, not too different then the one on the first floor. The stone walls are rough and cold, and the soft, barely inaudible whispers, continue to accompany you. The dim torchlight reveals more faded tapestries hanging against the walls. Like the one on the first floor, the color from from the fabric has long since faded, and the once vibrant scenes of hunts and battles seem ghostly and fragmented, their intricate details lost to decay. The fabric of the worn fur rug that lies upon the floor is stiff and brittle, and the threadbare surface is so uneven and jagged it is hard to make out its origin. A fallen candleholder lies near the base on the stairs, matching another one which hangs near the large mirror on the wall opposite to the staircase.

You find yourself in the lord and lady’s private suite. The room is split into two parts; a small waiting room, which leads into the main bedchamber, and the intimate space beyond.

The waiting room is dim and airless, with a few torn chairs around a dust-covered table. The main bedchamber itself has the same marks of decay; the four-poster bed is stripped of the rich fabrics that once adorned it, and the mattress lies sunken and shredded. Tall wardrobes, filled with musty faded fabrics brittle to the touch, stand in either side of the bed. Beyond a screen in the corner of the room is a small table with a single drawer, sitting beneath a tarnished mirror, and two large chests, each carved with intricate but fading designs, stand against the far wall.

The only thing that still gleams with faint luster, untouched by rust or corrosion, is the bronze* sword hanging above the bed, and the piece of chainmail (also bronze) draped across the chair.

Both of the chests are locked, but the rusted keys you picked up earlier fit perfectly.

The first chest contains exactly what you’ve been hoping for: a small fortune in gold and silver pieces, a pouch of precious gems, and several intricately engraved (tarnished) silver goblets. Nestled among them is a large sapphire ring, and a stack of crumbled letters, whose ink faded beyond recognition.

The second chest, however, is far more sinister. Inside, you find an assortment of black candles, a collection of animal skulls, a curved, blackened blade, and a bone amulet. There are also three flasks, filled with a yellowish-brown liquid that seems to shimmer unnaturally.

Meanwhile, Boudica opens the drawer of the dresser. At first, the contents seem mundane: a hairbrush, a silver brooch, and tattered handkerchiefs. But as she pulls the drawer all the way out, her fingers brush against something unexpected: a hidden compartment. Inside, lies is a book that appears to be remarkably intact despite the years. The black cover of the diary is ice cold, almost painful, as if the book draws the heat from her fingers

What do you do?

The diary begins with a tale of a young woman living deep in the woods with her mother. The first entries are short descriptions of their life in the wilderness, but everything changes one day when a handsome young warrior rides through the woods during the hunt. The girl describes how she is struck by love at first sight when she sees the warrior for the first time. She is sure destiny itself has woven their lives together, and she can't imagine life without him.

As Boudica flips through the pages, it becomes apparent that the girl becomes consumed with thoughts of the warrior. Each entry grows more intense, more desperate, as the young woman’s infatuation deepens. The words hint at a creeping sense of obsession. Finally, the young woman decides to leave her mother, and go search for the young man.

The story in the diary grows darker with every page Boudica flips.

The infatuated young woman follows the noble back to his castle, desperate to be near him. She learns that he is married, but it does nothing to deter her. Her conviction that they are meant to be together only strengths, and she takes a job as kitchen help, hoping that somehow, he will notice her. She grows desperate when the man remains devoted to his wife, and becomes certain that he simply needs to ‘see the truth’ that they are destined to be together. She resolves to do whatever it takes to make him hers.

She concocts a potion that will make him fall desperately in love with her for ‘a year and a day.’ She slips it into his food, and it works.
The man abandons his wife and marries the young woman, much to the dismay of some of his retainers who leave him in disgust. Thing settle over time, and they marry, eventually having children. Each year, the woman ensures that the noble drinks the potion on the anniversary of the day she first saw him in the woods, to keep him bound to her.

As the years go by, the noble becomes consumed with passion for his wife, while his lands and ‘ungrateful’ people begin to suffer from his increasing detachment.

One harsh winter, he grows ill. While he does recover, the young woman grows terrified at the thought of losing him. She cannot imagine a life without him, and this fear drives her to darker magic. Convinced that she can find a way to save him, and their children, from death, she delves deeper into forbidden practices.

The diary ends with a chilling description of her plan; to sacrifice her family and bring them back as undead, and to cut her own beating heart from her chest to sustain the ritual, with the final sentence promising that 'they will all be together, forever'