DM Shade's The Misty Manor [Solo] (Inactive)

Game Master Arrius

Thaddeus maintains his patience, courteously answering the old librarian's questions to the best of his ability, but also recommending that she see a doctor for an actual examination. Once presented with the documents, he produces his journal and starts jotting down notes. He takes special care in reproducing the map, fearing that he would have to brave the grounds sooner or later.

Once he is done, he thanks the librarian and returns the documents. "Thank you kindly. One more thing: do you have the current contact information for Socva Gress-Khadrev, or this Brevic fellow? As you can see, the documentation is somewhat lacking. They might have kept some additional records..."

"That's all we got, doc," said the librarian/de-facto archivist, pointing at a yellowed letter from Mister Socva declaring that ownership has returned to him after the house fell back to him. There is a mail address in Brevoy.

Flashback: Days before Arline's outburst and the final visit
"Green orange juice and blue jello! Nothing is normal here," said one.
Arline looked up and said coldly, "This is why we always come, isn't it?"
The children agreed.

Starday, 15th of Gozran, Evening

The air was festive in Arline's house. Thaddeus may have seen the cruel weight of time push people away and change how people looked, but his relatives and childhood friends still beat with the same heart (hearts that are decades old, but still the same).
Maddox is now an administrator; Edric a tutor and educator; Agatha a housewife and a gardener. The twins were both as round as their sister Agatha was thin. Maddox seemed to lose little of his energy or flair, while Edric observed the gathering with a small smile that curiously appeared both forced and genuine. Agatha herself seemed to be the most joyous over the meeting, and shared news of people Thaddeus either forgot about or never knew about in the first place. Apparently, 'Josef got promoted to a marshal!' (whoever he was).
Entering the house, Thaddeus noticed the door leading to his room. A rug sat before his door, over the scratches in the floorboards.
Clearly, Arline was not able to remove the scratches yet.

In the living room (and after another excessively large dinner), the old friends and relatives sat, with Maddox laughing uproariously at any reference of the Doctor Occult article. After a while, Arline began talking, and Thaddeus noticed that she looked incredibly tired (despite her clear attempts to pretty up for the occasion).

She spoke rather bluntly.
"Does anyone remember the Khedrev house?"

The party was quiet, and Arline (with her husband looking quietly from his armchair) began recalling the 'situation' years ago. The story of the house, Shiraz, the strange things about the house, and her burning jealousy that ended their memories with the house.
"I...saw her," she finished. "And I think she's come back to haunt us."

Silence fell.
[Does Thaddeus say anything or wait for his cousins' reactions?]

Having had time to prepare for the occasion, Thaddeus tries to be on his best behaviour during the festivities—especially knowing that they would doubtlessly end in some degree of consternation. Thankfully, the genuine joy of seeing his dear cousins soon replaces his forced politeness. He laughs at Maddox's jokes, discusses academia with Edric, and listens patiently as Agatha reports on the current marital status and occupation of at least half of Ardis' remaining population. For a moment, the years melt away and he feels right at home. He feels young...

As the discussion abruptly turns to the Khadrev House, Thaddeus almost finds himself taken by surprise. The doctor quickly busies himself with inspecting a bust next to the fireplace, glancing to his cousins in the hopes of catching some genuine reactions before they can compose themselves—or learn of his role in the current scheme.

Sense Motive: 1d20 + 6 ⇒ (13) + 6 = 19

Agatha was the first to talk, with a disgusted expression, "Yah, Arline, please! I managed to forget this whole thing."

Maddox's smile remained plastered on his face, and he turned his eyes to Thaddeus, "So that's why you came back. Here I thought it was serious."

Edric didn't respond, standing up and resting his arm on the mantelpiece over to the fireplace. He adjusted his glasses and muttered, "So...I'm not alone."

At this, the rest turned to him, and he wet his lips as his twin Maddox asked, "What are you talking about?"

"Shiraz...my daughter saw her last week," muttered Edric in response. This fell like a lightning bolt on the gathered adults.

Thaddeus looks wide-eyed at Edric, shocked and surprised at the development. For some reason, he was deeply disturbed by the thought that another generation might be pulled into... what? Whatever they had experienced had clearly left its marks in all of them, even if it was not as malicious as the Iwans had made it out to be. Still, he could not quite bring himself to believe that this was anything more than delusion, or mass delusion, if it had indeed caught Edric in its clutches as well as Arline. Yet it could not be mere coincidence, could it? Might the two have spoken about this between themselves? Unlikely, as Edric seemed to be ashamed to admit it even to Agatha or Maddox—neither of which seemed to be entirely comfortable with the subject either.

"She might have seen someone who looked like Shiraz," he says in the way of correction, finally breaking his silence. "Describe this encounter, if you will. And please, stick to the facts."

"She might have seen someone who looked like Shiraz," he says in the way of correction, finally breaking his silence. "Describe this encounter, if you will. And please, stick to the facts."

Arline asked, "Did she ask her to come play with her?"

Edric shook his head, and muttered, "It would have been difficult. My daughter said that the girl had the fangs and the forked tongue of a snake."
To the silence, he reached to his pocket and drew out a cigar and lighting it. "She said it was around morning. She was too afraid to tell more. I chalked it up then to scary stories told by Maddox's kids."

Arline was taken aback. Malakai nudged his wife, who said, "B--but I saw her normally. She was smiling at me."

Maddox's eyes rose to meet Thaddeus's, and it seemed he was processing something.

"Maybe you were delusional," said Edric coolly, breathing out the smoke. Arline frowned at this and stood up.

"Don't insult me in my own house!" she demanded. "I know what I saw!"

Thaddeus stands up and clears his throat loudly, signalling for Arline to sit back down. He shoots a look at Edric, the same he had used to quiet on misbehaving students at the university.

"Everyone," he says sternly. "Please, calm down. We are all friends here. I know all of this seems incredulous, but the fact that there are two separate eye witnesses to the phenomenon requires further consideration. Edric, have you ever spoken to your children about what happened in the Khadrev House? What about you, Maddox? Could they have learned of this from anyone else? Unless the answer to any of these questions is a definitive 'no,' I must implore that you take this seriously."

Edric shook his head, saying, "Like I said: I thought Maddox told his kids, who then planted the idea in my daughter Sarah's head."

When the eyes turned to Maddox, he shook his head as well. "It's ancient history, Thaddeus. I still tell my kids to stay away from the house (as does every parent in Ardis), but I sure as Hell didn't tell them of any demon girls."

Agatha's expression of disgust now turned into horror, as she gasped, "Is that what she was? I thought it was all some dream!"

"How else would she not grow up all these years?" returned Maddox thoughtfully. "A ghost? Some kind of outsider? A halfling disguised as a girl?"

Edric put up a hand to silence his siblings and turned to Thaddeus. "Go on."

Thaddeus starts pacing, looking at each of his friends and family in turn. "As you might have deduced, I was called here by Arline to investigate the property known as the Khadrev House. As you might also be aware, this is something I happen to have some experience doing. So far, I have not been unable to conlusively rule out the possibility of supernatural phenomenon, but I have also not been able to confirm the presence of any such occurance. There is something peculiar about the property, whether it be of a paranormal nature or not. I intend to find out the truth of the matter. Regardless of what you believe, I hope we can all agree to work together on this, so we can finally put it behind us. Are we in agreaance on this, at least?"

The rest nodded. Outside, the southern spring winds howled the windows, as the scents of coffee, tobacco, and the small fire at the hearth mixed into a slightly dizzying amalgamation. The warmth within and the dangers and cold without gave everyone the feeling that they were (once more) children huddled together, listening at a ghost story. Shiraz did so love to tell ghost stories.

Though as the spectre of memory appeared to everyone, the once-children realized (as they turned their eyes to one another) that one young girl was missing from their gathering--and one middle-aged man named Malakai replaced her.
Said Malakai was upending the contents of his pipe as he listened on. Shiraz and the house had no meaning to him--he did not make oaths or live the haunting mystery.

"How do you intend to find out the truth about Shiraz?" asked Arline quietly. It seems the incompleteness of the reunion was not lost on her.

"By using advanced anti-occult skills," said Maddox with a small smile as he looked over his shoulder to Arline's dark corridor.

The doctor pauses, quietly struggling with himself over what to tell the others. Of course, he knew what had to be said. Though he could scarcely bear the thought of it, it was inevitable—the next logical step in his meticulously honed investigative process. His mouth felt dry, and he felt a sudden terror swell up in the pit of his stomach. It takes all of his willpower to force himself into a strained state of calm.

"Nothing quite so fanciful," he says with feigned confidence. "Logic. Observation. Reason. After I have all the facts I can gather, I will embark on an investigation of the property itself—taking all of the necessary precautions, of course. Whatever presence has taken root there will be forced to reveal itself, and shown for what it truly is. Most likely, said expedition will reveal a group of young squatters playing at tricks, or a gang of never-do-wells attempting some sort of a caper. If it does prove out to be something of a more unnatural persuasion, I will take the necessary steps to eradicate it."

Thaddeus stops his pacing and turns to face everyone. "What I require of you is access to resources. Whatever connections you have in the city that might aid me in my investigation should be made available to me. Equipment, information, hired help... all of these will be duly appreciated."

He stops to wait for their answer, inconspicuously wiping the sweat off his brow while fixing his spectacles.

Malakai nodded, as the rest seemed to be too uncomfortable to provide anything but a troubled sigh.

"I sure didn't expect the old gang to gather again for Shiraz," said Agatha quietly. "Not after all these years."

"Glad to see you're thinking straight," said Edric, standing up. He got his coat. "Tad, where are you sleeping?"

Arline raised her hand, and said, "In our guest room."
Arline's face darkened as she remembered the scribbles before the door.

"Why don't you sleep over at my place?" asked Edric, putting on his coat. Agatha began standing up, and Maddox also retrieved his coat. "In the morning, you can ask Sarah about what she saw."

Thaddeus studies Edric's expression, wondering if this is just an excuse to have a private word with him. Edric had always been the more timid than Maddox, but he had seemed especially reserved during most of the evening, even before Shiraz was brought up. Whatever the case, the prospect of spending another night in the guest room did not fill him with excitement. As such, the choice seemed clear.

"Certainly," he says to Edric before turning apologetically to Arline. "I hope you do not mind. I will still come by here in the morning to pick up my equipment, but this is worth exploring. Another separate eye-witness is, perhaps, the most convincing evidence we have thus far..."

Exiting to the cool night outside, Edric pulled out another cigar, but noticed that he ran out of matches. Shaking his head and slipping it back to a fancy metal container, he turned to Thaddeus as he headed down the road to his house (which was a block or two away.
"It's been some time, Tad," said Edric, sighing. He looked to the dark sky, and added, "Arline looks terrible. The board game broke something in her."

"If Shiraz wants to scare the sh*t out of us, I can't say she's failing," he added, shaking his head, nervously tapping his cigar case.

Edric's house was smaller than the Iwans and less fancy (being an educator in mathematics pays less, and Maddox seemed to inherit his father's house). Sarah (Edric's young daughter) and Falline (his wife) were sleeping in the master bedroom, and Thaddeus in Sarah's room. Falline herself had a reserved reaction to seeing Dr. Dusek, greeting him with a neutral nod.

The room was white and violet, furnished in regular style--a small dresser and desk for the girl to do her study-work, a large window with heavy violet curtains.
As Edric entered once Thaddeus settled in, he came with a white sheet, and, observing the dressing-mirror briefly, reluctantly covered it.
"If we don't know what we're dealing with, might as well take all stories seriously," he said defensively before Thaddeus could berate him. He then added sardonically, "If it doesn't work, we'll find out demon-ghost-halfling-girls' weaknesses by deduction."

He then waited for a moment to see if his cousin would mock or verify his action.

As Edric entered once Thaddeus settled in, he came with a white sheet, and, observing the dressing-mirror briefly, reluctantly covered it.

"If we don't know what we're dealing with, might as well take all stories seriously," he said defensively before Thaddeus could berate him. He then added sardonically, "If it doesn't work, we'll find out demon-ghost-halfling-girls' weaknesses by deduction."

He then waited for a moment to see if his cousin would mock or verify his action.

While he does shake his head incredulously, Thaddeus cannot bring himself to rebuke Edric for his show of superstition—not too harshly, anyway.

"As you wish," he says. "Your house, your rules. However, I doubt a sheet would be able to fend off a fiend or a vengeful apparition... or a sufficiently determined halfling, for that matter"

The doctor fingers the Sarkorian ankh, which has not left his pocket since his arrival. Whatever comfort it might have brought him was muddled by disbelief over his continued possession of such a fanciful trinket. "How are you really holding up, Edric? I can see that you are not immune to the anxiety that has overtaken Arline. As much as she likes to overdramatise, there is more to this than meets the eye. Believe me, if I could dismiss this as mere hysteria, I would..."

Edric nodded wearily, and said, "It's the confusion. It's the wait, really, Tad. I feel I would leap ten feet if something peered over the corner."

He then scratched his head, brushing over his receding hairline, and lied down on the bed, sighing. "Go to sleep. We shouldn't think about these things before sleep."

Thaddeus then remembered two things: there were only two beds in the house, and that Edric used to snore...

Music: Play Suspicious Snare

The snores (coupled with the ticks of the grandfather clock outside) worked in clockwork synergy. The white-and-violet shades of the room were very aesthetically relaxing--the dim moonlight and hues of the room were as a theater stage where Thaddeus could see his memories of today projected upon.

The door to Sarah's room softly opened, and the silhouette of Edric's daughter appeared at the door.
In the haze between sleep and wakefulness, Doctor Dusek couldn't help wonder hazily on why she came; it was her room at any rate. Perhaps she forgot a notebook or wanted one of the teddy bears on the shelf. Here she moves quietly to the bedside.

The rustle of her long gown, the footsteps of her bare feet were most not in sync with her father's snores or the clock's ticking...

Thaddeus realized that this was not Edric's daughter. She was doubtlessly taller (around Thaddeus's own height when he was twelve), and her long hair was in contrast with Sarah's own at ear length.
This girl or thing was quietly approaching the bedside, from the side Thaddeus was.
It was Shiraz.

Adrenaline surged at the encounter, though there was nary a peep from the good doctor. She was there, looking at him with her impossibly clear blue eyes. Eyes Thaddeus once knew...
"Thaddeus. You still remember me," She said. She paused, and then whispered, "You must save me. Can't you see I am becoming a monster?"
In her eyes, Thaddeus saw the suffering and heard the screams of the sinful in the Abyss, the foolish in the Hells, and the lost in Abaddon. Her breath as she exhaled was harrowing and echoing, passing by Thaddeus's very soul, and terrible fangs stretched where her teeth were. "You have to do something--please!"

Whether it was the terrible touch of a horrible afterlife or the past returning again in full force, Thaddeus found his voice--

And so did Edric. He woke up, saw the girl, and grabbed Thaddeus, before screaming hysterically. In the moment, it was not clear if Edric was the only one screaming in the room.

Soon a lamplight appeared at the door, held by Falline (with Sarah standing by), looking upon the two in horror and surprise. There was no girl in the room.

Were it not for Falline and Sarah's sudden appearance, Thaddeus would likely have had more trouble regaining his composure. Due to their presence, however, he is able to steel himself for at least as long as it takes to calm them, and send them back to their rooms with talk of bad dreams, and some vaguely medical-sounding jargon about the risks of late-night eating. After Edric's family has been ushered out of the room, Thaddeus slumps back on the bed and stares wide-eyed at his cousin. There is a long pause before he can vocalise his thoughts, busy as he is trying to rationalise what had just happened.

"Did you see that?" he finally asks with shaky voice. "Did you... could you hear what it said?"

As if asking the question was not enough, the doctor stands back up and starts moving about the room, looking for signs of forced entry, or anything—anything at all—to validate the existence of whatever it was that they had just witnessed. There was no longer any way of rationalising the occurrence, but there had to be some method of quantifying it, at least. Some clue he could latch on to, to fight back the crushing weight of utter helplessness in the face of the inexplicable. He pauses his search only to pull out a vial of clear liquid from his bag, using a pipette to administer the solution straight into his eyes...

Ooh-kay. Right then. Definitely supernatural. That is fine. Totally fine. I can deal with that...

The equivalent of taking 20 on Perception and mixing an extract of identify for immediate use (scanning for any lingering magical auras).

There was one thing the good doctor learned about Falline; her look of disapproval turned quickly into a look of utter pity.
Edric was not entirely in sync with his cousin, and blurted out something about ghosts. Falline looked to the covered mirror, and pursed her lips, "What a great example. Two grown men screaming like sirens because they're afraid of the dark..."
"It's not like what you think, Falline," retorted Edric. "We both saw her at the same time!"
She shook her head, held her daughter's hand and led her out--not before asking if they wanted to keep the lamp.
With an embarrassed silence from Edric's end, Falline wordlessly put it on her daughter's dresser and left the room, muttering under her breath.

"Did you see that?" he finally asks with shaky voice. "Did you... could you hear what it said?"

"Oh, gods. Oh, Pharasma," he began muttering, rocking in his place.

In his thorough search, Thaddeus began upending areas in the room that might hold clues; lifting the rug that it walked over, or checking under (or at) the door. There was nothing of use: no aura of illusion to denote a spell, no 'ectoplasm' as claimed by ghost-hunters, and--no halfling girls hiding under the bed.
Edric was still rocking in place.

Heal: 1d20 + 12 ⇒ (9) + 12 = 21

Thaddeus will also offer Edric an extract of polypurpose panacea, which will allow for pleasant and restful sleep for at least 1 hour (and more, assuming nothing wakes him up).

The lack of evidence pointing to magical meddling gnaws at Thaddeus, as he finally finds himself without a logical recourse. There were ways of masking arcane auras, he knew, but such methods were far too elaborate for a prank or even any conceivable criminal conspiracy—indeed, one might think such magicks excessive for a crime against a prince, not to mention his admittedly insignificant circle of friends and relatives. There was no means, motive, or opportunity. No sign of any supernatural being—be it a ghost, a fiend or something else entirely—had presented itself either, much to his chagrin.

Once he has managed to calm down his cousin and dissuaded him from turning his house upside down in the middle of the night, Thaddeus escorts Edric back to bed. His frustration had reached its peak—a point at which he had no choice but to surrender to the inevitable. When he speaks, it is with the evenness of a man who has reached a decision: it was time for action, for better or worse.

"Try to get some sleep," he says. "I will require your help on the morrow, as there are various things I need to purchase, and I am quite unaware where to procure them. The city has changed too much in my absence. Trust me, Ed. I will put an end to this, in one way or another..."

Quite awake himself, the doctor pulls up a chair and starts drawing up his plans for the inspection of the Khadrev House, starting with... what? Even when presented with something so incontrovertibly substantial, he still had nothing to work with. How could he prepare for something that remained wholly unknown to him? There was no way of adressing every eventuality, not to mention the costs associated with such paranoiac hoarding.

As the minutes stretch on to the small hours of the morning, Thaddeus turns the ankh around in his fingers, staring blankly at the empty page in his journal.

Edric's daughter was his last hope he had of truly forearming himself with something more tangible than superstition.

As the night of terrors unfolded into a cold, misty morning, Edric brought his young girl to meet Uncle Thaddeus.
After the Sarah overcame her shyness to meeting a new person and stopped hiding behind her father's legs, she was ready for questioning.

This is basic questioning. You can of course add your own.

Edric sighed, repeating, "How could I protect her--or us?"

He then shook his head and invited the good doctor to breakfast (which was a thoroughly uncomfortable affair). Falline looked at the two as if their conduct was most disgraceful, muttering, "Two grown men..."

After breakfast, Edric and his daughter headed out for work (to the former) and school (for the latter). On the way, he passed by Arline's house to ask for another meeting this evening.
After her anemic servant answered the door, Arline appeared. She looked like she was dragged through Hell and back on a devil's back.
"Didn't have a good night's sleep?" asked Edric tiredly.
"Not with a damn ghost skipping down my halls all night," she said curtly. "I couldn't leave my room. When I shook the cabinet that is my husband to wake up, he saw and heard nothing."

With Maddox
"Disaster night," said he.
"Why so?" asked his twin.
"Shiraz was at my bathroom door, giggling all night. I had to piss out the window."
Edric made a face, but then turned to Thaddeus.
"She's haunting us," said Edric. "It's as if she knows we met again after all these years."

"Well, ghosts don't appear in the day." he said with regisnation (and little conviction). "And I don't think the school appreciates taking a rain check for ghost haunts."

Any interaction or timeskip to the evening?

Thaddeus spends most of his day in a contemplative haze, still trying to come to terms with the factuality of the previous night's incident. Conversations race by in a blur, mixing with the doctor's harried internal monologue, as his tired mind buzzes with half-formed theories about the nature of what he was facing. The situation felt increasingly insurmountable, not due to the usual conflicts of funding, principle, or reputation that he had to wrestle with as a part of his daily routine, but because of the sudden resurgence of familial obligation: the instantaneous realisation that he has people depending him not only as an emotionally detached professional, but on a personal level. Yet all he can do is wring his hands. Perhaps he had started to believe in his own legend, that perhaps he was Dr. Occult, that mysterious solver of paranormal occurences, but in reality he finds himself ill prepared to deal with an actual supernatural phenomenon—least of all one that seems to go against everything he knows of magical theory.

After having spent a majority of the night coming up with different inventories for his investigation, he still finds himself falling short of feeling truly prepared. The different tools of holding higher forces at bay were well documented, both in folklore and academic circles concerned with such oral tradition. However, Edric's secret collection of wards had done little to encourage the hoarding of such superstitious bric-a-brac. There was simply no way of preparing for every eventuality, and the reliability of any such method was suspect, no matter its widespreadness. He thinks of seeking hired help in the form of independent contractors—more commonly known as adventurers, mercenaries, and others of their ilk—but even if such resources were available to him in desolate Ardis, could he, with a clear conscience, put them against such an unknown threat? A threat that he had no way of quantifying? As much as the thought grates on him, he even considers contacting the Pharasmins—but to what end? What would he tell them? That there is a ghost which is not a ghost, or a demon that is not a demon?

At the end of the day, he ends up with more questions than answers.

Int Check to Investigate: 1d20 + 3 ⇒ (9) + 3 = 12

The second meeting of what Arline sardonically called 'The Ghost-Buster's Club' took place on the evening of the 16th of Gozran in Arline's house. Initially, Malakai looked bewildered at the sullen and crestfallen faces of the club members. The sweet evening spring air bore flowery fragrances and sounds of crickets outside.
It should have been a nice evening.

"I'll start," said Maddox after everyone was seated and a modest fire was stoked (more for light and heating coffee than warmth). "Let's put everything in perspective, all right?"
He turned to Agatha, and she apparently spent most of her time as a housewife reading detective novels.

Agatha nodded, and she began.
"Question one: why did Shiraz return?"

"The answer is obvious," said Edric, standing up and standing by the fire (as he usually did). "She wants something from us."

Maddox nodded, and then said, "My turn: What does she want?"

"We don't know. I wish ghosts are more articulate in their grudges," Edric replied. "But she asked to be saved before she turns into a monster, so that's something to work from."

Arline looked and asked the duo (although her eyes looked at Thaddeus directly). "She asked that?"

Edric nodded (though it looked more like a shaken, nervous shrug). Screaming like a 10-year old girl last night must have done wonders for his mental stability.

"Next question: Why did she ask Edric and Tad to save her and not Arline and Maddox?" asked Agatha.

Maddox shrugged (Make a Sense Motive check), but Arline leaned back in her chair, and had a look of cold steel in her eyes as she answered, "Because I'm the object for her hate, clearly. Remember? I was the rat."

"Fair enough," Agatha said quietly, before turning to Thaddeus, and then asked him, "Why is she turning into a monster?"

Edric's daughter was in the room, having repeated her testimony (as it were), to the adults. The girl then sat on the floor and looked into the fire, toeing the rug. Agatha's husband was abroad, and the spouses of Thaddeus's two cousins were in the second room (talking about their insane husbands and their insane doctor occult cousin and drinking coffee). There was a heavy feeling of discomfort and confusion that set upon the present party, interrupted by the cheerful crackle of the hearth-flame and crickets in the night.

As Thaddeus was deep in thought, Agatha asked about the ownership of the house.
"I've sent a letter to the owner in Caliphas," said Maddox. "Asking about the incident that slew the family and other things, but it'll take a while to respond. Otherwise, I think we're on our own."

Agatha then turned back to Thaddeus, looking to see if he had an answer.

Thaddeus remains standing, looking intently at the chandelier hanging from the ceiling above. He repeatedly counts the candles, doing his best to stop himself from pacing as he worked through all the clues. The doctor barely seems to notice that he is being questioned, only coming out of his reverie as the group quiets down to await an answer.

"No. Something is missing," he says, more to himself than the others. There is a pattern here, but no apparent cause."

He turns to face Maddox. "What happened at Grimol Hall?"

"Well," Maddox said, looking up and trying to remember. "A week or so ago, we had a convention of sorts of people from high society in Alison's house. The Countess was there...so was a stage actress, a doctor of some sorts, and some reporter."

Maddox felt the eyes of everyone on him, and his twin gesturing at him to continue on.

"Well? What did you do?" asked Arline impatiently.

"I..." began Maddox. "Well, Lady Kindler had this theme for the party. It was about horror stories..."

"How silly," said Edric, as he began to subconsciously shake his hand--a nervous tic. "Grown people trading ghost stories, that's it?"

"Pretty much," said Maddox, reddening in embarrassment at his twin's derision. "Lady Kindler said that horror is an omnipresent feeling in all creatures, and we were all stuck in the bad weather long enough to begin trading stories of scary experiences."

Agatha sighed, and Arline looked at Thaddeus (apparently remembering his fascination with the old author's book series), before saying, "Did she share anything she published before?"

"I don't know if she published her story. Probably not, since the others seemed to be well-versed in her work," said Maddox. "But I remember their stories being very...frightening."

Thaddeus glares daggers at Edric, already frustrated with Maddox's unwillingness to talk without further obstruction. Turning back to Maddox, he makes a circling motion with his hand, urging him to continue. "Please, elaborate. Who were these people, exactly? I need names, if you will. What kind of stories did they tell? Did anyone say anything having to do with the Khadrev House?"

"I can't remember many names, yet," said Maddox, before pausing. The event seemed foggy in his mind. "Bad weather, see? We worried that the roads might be dangerous to take, so we stayed in until the weather lifted. Each of the party-goers had a horrible story to share that happened to them, see? Ah, wait. I think I remember the man from the Sovia Arcana. It was the chief editor. I think his name was Keldarov?"

Keldoff Undain Thaddeus knew. His arch-enemy of sorts.

"Keldoff Undain," Arline said, confirming what possible suspicions Thaddeus might have. After all, she sent for him after reading the zombie article in the Arcana.

Maddox snapped his finger in recognition, "Yes, that was him. He was mostly asking questions on other people's stories--sometimes interrupting. Quite rude, but he had a great story about a coffin in Caliphas and how it almost contained a vampire, but we might never know--the characters in the story destroyed it before going mad. Lady Kindler had an expression of extreme disbelief throughout the story, but she accepted it in the end."

He paused, and then continued. "This actress had a story about how this evil spirit in a theater. I'm sorry if I don't remember the details."

By the already-frightened expression on his sister Agatha's face and Arline's tired, "We don't exactly need more horror. Just general information, please," he nodded.

"I think her name was Ingrid Lyria. A rising star, I suppose," said Maddox.
Edric smirked, and said, "I've seen her once. Unbelievable beauty--in a good way, and unbelievable acting--in the not-so-good way."

Maddox smirked at his twin, and continued, "Well, my turn came up, yeah? Lady Kindler asked if I had anything to share. I didn't really experience horror besides the occasional night fright or weird-looking benign tumor, and I told her that--but then Kindler said 'Weird is enough'."

"Alison Kindler frequently brings people to her home to tell scary and wierd stories?" asked Agatha. "Was this just spontaneous?"

Maddox shook his head at his sister.
"No. She did say the weather was good for horror, but that wasn't just it. A passing traveler a fortnight ago came by and told her 'horror is a black sun. Under it awaken forgotten dreams and sleeping memories'. It was poetic enough for her to carve it into her drinking-glass and toast him before we started. She called him the 'traveling mortician.'"

Arline looked confused.
"I didn't understand it either," said Maddox, as his twin lit a pipe. "But I toasted the poor bastard. His children had died in the Lychfield Plague, and he seemed to be unhinged ever since. Anyway..."

He then turned to Thaddeus, and said, "Once Kindler asked me for my weird story, I told the people about the strange things in the Khadrev Estate. Most of the people were new to Ardis, and were fascinated. Kindler herself was amused throughout the whole affair. There were a few others, but most had stories that were just weird, like a child who his aunt suspected he tortured animals, and another who was an old lord of Lapidstadt who had a story about a peasant and his liege-lord who went mad, but at that point, I was heavy in my cups."

"A passing traveler a fortnight ago came by and told her 'horror is a black sun. Under it awaken forgotten dreams and sleeping memories'. It was poetic enough for her to carve it into her drinking-glass and toast him before we started. She called him the 'traveling mortician.'"

Arline looked confused.
"I didn't understand it either," said Maddox, as his twin lit a pipe. "But I toasted the poor bastard. His children had died in the Lychfield Plague, and he seemed to be unhinged ever since. Anyway..."

Thaddeus narrows his eyes.

Could it be... Konrad Tarkowski?

Keldoff Undain he could understand. That pretentious swindler would not pass up an opportunity to ingratiate himself to such a gathering of influental persons, not to mention a chance to leech off more talented minds to fill his rag with more trivial tripe. No doubt his little story had been penned by some promising young writer, more-or-less literally chained to a desk in the Arcana's editing offices. But what did Tarkowski have to do with all of this? Was there some sort of a connection between the two? Certainly, both of them had been in his thoughts of late, but the doctor was starting to feel increasingly wary of coincidences...

"When did Kindler say this was?" he asks. "The mortician's visit, I mean. How long before you attended the gathering? Did Keldoff show any signs of being familiar with this mysterious visitor? For that matter, did anyone else seem to know of him?"

Just trying to narrow down the possibilities of active involvement from anyone in the meeting, Undain and/or Tarkowski in particular. The purpose of asking for the time of the visit is to see how it matches up with Thaddeus meeting Conrad on the way to Ardis. Would he have had time to travel back and forth as much as he had without planning it all out beforehand, for example?

He then turned to Thaddeus, and said, "Once Kindler asked me for my weird story, I told the people about the strange things in the Khadrev Estate. Most of the people were new to Ardis, and were fascinated. Kindler herself was amused throughout the whole affair. There were a few others, but most had stories that were just weird, like a child who his aunt suspected he tortured animals, and another who was an old lord of Lapidstadt who had a story about a peasant and his liege-lord who went mad, but at that point, I was heavy in my cups."

Thaddeus nods, pursing his lips in distaste. "Delightful. And what then? Were there any unusual occurances at the gathering, or thereafter? Anything at all, leading up to the most recent occurances?"

DM Shade wrote:

"A passing traveler a fortnight ago came by and told her 'horror is a black sun. Under it awaken forgotten dreams and sleeping memories'. It was poetic enough for her to carve it into her drinking-glass and toast him before we started. She called him the 'traveling mortician.'"

Arline looked confused.
"I didn't understand it either," said Maddox, as his twin lit a pipe. "But I toasted the poor bastard. His children had died in the Lychfield Plague, and he seemed to be unhinged ever since. Anyway..."

"When did Kindler say this was?" he asks. "The mortician's visit, I mean. How long before you attended the gathering? Did Keldoff show any signs of being familiar with this mysterious visitor? For that matter, did anyone else seem to know of him?"

"Two weeks ago, no, and no," said Maddox, shaking his head. With two weeks, Thaddeus calculated, Tarkowski would have a reasonable timeframe to come by Ardis and utilize the same traveling carriage service.

He then turned to Thaddeus, and said, "Once Kindler asked me for my weird

"Other than the terrible stories and unstable weather," said Maddox, thinking. "When we began to leave once the weather settled, Ailson suspected one of the storytellers to be a ghost."

He looked around to his siblings and Arline.

"Well, you know horror and atmosphere," he said, wiping his brow. "But that's all that happened in the the Kindler's estate."

"Let's focus on what we should do now," said Agatha shakily. "If Shiraz is haunting us, what do we do? What happens to people who are haunted?"

"Besides ending in an asylum or or jumping off cliffs?" asked Edric in quiet deadpan. "I suppose a career in writing romance. 'I Love Him So Much, It's Scary.'"

Thaddeus nods, not quite satisfied with Maddox's answers. There had to be some connection there, yet he could not find one.

"There remains one more avenue of investigation," he says in response to Agatha. "Outside of venturing into the house itself, that is. Based on our current knowledge, I deduce that you will be the next one to be visited. Fret not! I plan on waiting nearby, in the hopes of establishing a more meaningful contact with the entity as it makes itself known. All my encounters with it have so far seemed more or less incidental, and as such I have been caught off guard. With my wits about me, I hope to be able to secure its cooperation.

Agatha looked to her brothers (who were silent and observing the exchange), and then turned to Thaddeus, asking, "The 'Entity' being what, exactly?"

The 'Entity' being what, exactly?"

The other adults were quiet. The question effectively threw them back to square one.

"Well, at least we have a plan," said Arline after a pause. She looked to her husband, and then back to her childhood friends. "Agatha, your husband is still abroad, right?"
To which the woman nodded.
"Then you can sleep over with us," said Arline. "Thaddeus is in the guest room. With him here, he will help."
Edric turned to Thaddeus, his eyes clearly thinking on what help he could offer.
"It's a good idea," said Agatha, turning to Thaddeus, but freezing. Her face paled rapidly as she looked at a spot behind Thaddeus's chair and down the corridor.
Everyone turned to where Agatha's eyes were fixed. Sarah, Edric's daughter, jumped up, screaming.
Shiraz's outline was framed at the corridor to the guest room.
"Daddy, she's back!" wailed Sarah, as the adults took steps back, sunk into their chairs, or began drawing the holy symbol of Pharasma.
"You didn't come to my aid when I called to you," came her voice--a voice that seemed to echo from the Hells. She then whispered.
"Woe be unto you. Woe be unto you!"

A powerful wind blew over the house, and just as Shiraz's outline was once visible where it wasn't, it was then gone as it was never there.
It was as illusionist's say--"Now you see me, now you don't."

Chaos reigns
Agatha's eyes rolled up, and she slumped in her chair, fainting. Sarah's siren scream shattered the nerves of everyone present, and everyone was either yelling, shaking and speaking in gibberish, or closing their eyes and praying for the vision to go away.

Thaddeus feels momentarily numb, looking at the ensuing chaos as if he were standing outside a window gazing in. As all his pent up frustrations bubble to the surface, however, his detachment is quickly replaced by a mad rush of desperation. He runs to the hallway, calling out to the vanishing spectre. "What do you want, Shiraz?! We cannot help you if you do not tell us what you need! Please..."

The doctor's voice breaks at the last syllable, and he stumbles and falls to his knees at the mouth of the corridor. He breathes hard, clinging to the ankh in his pocket. Sweat drips on to the carpet—or were those tears?

It took a good measure of time for Sarah to stop screaming, Edric to form a coherent sentence, Maddox to extract his clenched fingers from the armchair and move once again, and Agatha to stir up with Arline's help.
Agatha screamed hysterically, "What does this damned creature want from us?! How do we save her!?"
Arline stopped wetting Agatha's face after she came to, and said nervously, "It's as Thaddeus hinted; the secrets are in the house. It started there, didn't it?"
"Then we go into the damn house!" said Maddox in a mix of paralyzing fear and confusion.
"No!" Edric jumped. Apparently, the idea didn't cross his mind. Noticing the sweat on his brow and nervousness, he wet his lips and said, "Hold up, there. We swore to Father (may Pharasma guide his soul) that we will stay away from the house. Breaking our word might make all this worse!"

Thaddeus gets up and looks around him, not much better off than the the rest of those gathered. He stands there for a long while, breathing heavily. Whatever preparations he might have thought of vanish from his mind, driven away by the certainty of uncertainty—assuredness of the fact that there was nothing that could truly prepare him for what was to come.

"I am going," he says finally, with a hollow tone to his voice. "Right now. While I am still sane."

He marches to his room to gather his things, and makes for the door without further explanation.

Thaddeus gets up and looks around him, not much better off than the the rest of those gathered. He stands there for a long while, breathing heavily. Whatever preparations he might have thought of vanish from his mind, driven away by the certainty of uncertainty—assuredness of the fact that there was nothing that could truly prepare him for what was to come.

"Hold up, there. We swore to Father (may Pharasma guide his soul) that we will stay away from the house. Breaking our word might make all this worse!"

"We promised father that we will stay away so long as he is alive," said Agatha quietly. "We are free from our oath."

"I am going," he says finally, with a hollow tone to his voice. "Right now. While I am still sane."

Agatha, Arline, and Maddox stood up. Edric swore softly, and turned to the rest.

"No. All of you should stay with your families. I have no one relying on me. If I do not return, all of you must do everything in your power to have that place razed to the ground."

"Shiraz wants all of us, Thad," said Arline.
"For better or worse, we're all coming with you," said Maddox. Edric nodded, wiping a handkerchief on his brow.
Malakai stood up, and moved his eyes between everyone.
"Mister Iwan, have you ever been to the house?" asked Maddox. The man shook his head, and said, "I wasn't raised in Ardis."
"Honey, wait for me," said Arline. Malakai turned his eyes between his wife and the group.
"We know who Shiraz wants," said Arline. "If Malakai (or anyone who hasn't known the place) comes with us, it could cause unexpected developments."
She then gave a nervous laugh, and said, "And besides, what's the worst that could happen?"
Edric sent a glare that could set Arline on fire, as he said through gritted teeth, "Don't test fate."

"When do we leave?" asked Edric, turning back to the group, and wetting his dry lips.
Agatha turned to Thaddeus and then back to the rest.

Agatha: When to enter the haunted house?
Edric: "I say in the morning. I'll have a heart attack before I head into that place in the middle of the night."
Maddox: "It will be terrifying, but at the night is the best time. We will have no curious onlookers if we enter, and the place is surrounded by trees; any lights we make inside won't be seen."
Arline: "At dawn is best. We will avoid onlookers due to morning fog, and it was near the time we first met Shiraz. It also has the mysticism of the night and clarity of day."

Thaddeus pauses for a moment, looking at his cousins with a mix of annoyance and appreciation. "Jumping at shadows seems a bit absurd at this point, does it not? Whatever we are dealing with has either chosen to appear at night, or incapable of manifesting during the day. Either way, there is a chance that it has just now expended itself, and that is as good an advantage as I am likely to get..."

Or it is a trap...

Trying to keep his momentum before he is once again overcome by doubt, the doctor steps to open the door. "As I said, I am going now. Follow me if you must—and arm yourselves, if you would."

"Either way, there is a chance that it has just now expended itself, and that is as good an advantage as I am likely to get..."

Edric blew out a line of smoke, and said with a raised eyebrow, "That's not desperate..."

"Edric is right, Thaddeus," said Arline. "Shiraz (or whatever it is) manifested to me early morning."

Maddox looked meaningfully at them both, and then to Thaddeus, asking, "Continue."

"As I said, I am going now. Follow me if you must—and arm yourselves, if you would."

Maddox nodded, taking a deep breath.

Edric swore, and said, "Perfect. Ghost-hunting at the Witching Hour. Just my luck..."

Everyone soon scattered, and then returned not long after with (what they presumed would be) useful equipment.

"I don't know what we might meet inside, but it's safe to say we will need knives and rope, so I got some," said Maddox.
"Why rope?" asked Arline.
"Because the heroes always carry rope in fiction," said Agatha tiredly.
She herself carried several candles, a hooded lantern, and a hand mirror.
"Perfect," said Edric once he saw the mirror. "I can't imagine anything bad coming from mirrors."
"Maybe this can offset it," suggested Agatha, as she pulled out the old holy book of Erastil the adults once swore on as children. Edric shook his head, but didn't comment.
He himself carried a crowbar and four hip flasks that contained nothing other than...
"Lantern oil?" asked Arline, as Edric carefully moved the flasks from his lighter.
"Mixture of lantern oils and alchemist's fire," he replied, shaking his lighter. "Burns as hot and as long as either. I have more at the alchemy department at school."
Arline had a bag of salt, three whistles, and some food and flasks of water.
Edric seemed impressed, saying, "Salt because it's holy to the Lady of the Graves, and whistles because it's better than yelling. Wise."
"And if anyone is hungry, I could get--" Arline offered, but Agatha shook her head.
"We're going ghost-hunting, not to the park, Arline. It's all right."
The rest turned to Thaddeus.

The moment of truth: What does Thaddeus prepare himself with, and did he take note of everything he found so far?

Thaddeus looks impassively at his cousins and their hassling, offering nothing in the way of guidance. What could he say? He knew no more than they did about what they were about to face. As the group has prepared themselves to whatever extent they are able, he lifts his doctor's bag and steps wordlessly out into the cool night air.

The sound of Arline locking her door was the only sound to echo in the emptiness of the cool Ardis night. The wind was a nearly-still breeze from the northeast.
Play: Nocturne

"Right in the midnight hour," said Agatha in an undertone.

All the children of Ardis knew this was the hour of black magic. Reanimating the dead, demon-summonings, dark rituals, and the gathering of wicked folk all happened in the witching hour.
With what knowledge the good doctor Thaddeus had, he knew that truth is sometimes stranger and more terrible than fiction. Ignorant occultism in universities, hidden secrets in forgotten attics, and unknown relics in ancient basements are all usually doorways to madness.
These things surfaced where Thaddeus was raised--in now-weak, forgotten Ardis.

It was a cloudy night, as the half-moon above shed rays of light between slow-moving clouds high above.
As the adults walked the road to the manor, Thaddeus saw that the lit houses in the former capital were few compared to how he remembered them--and mostly clumped together. The familiar streets were empty and silent.

The silence was deafening.
Edric said suddenly, "I forgot to bring garlic."
"What for?" asked Maddox, turning to his twin.
"Vampires, clearly," said Edric.

Finally, the adults arrived.
It was as if the house never changed. A low mist rolled on the yellowish grass, and autumnal leaves arrayed the ground in the still air. The trees of old that once bore blue flowers were now dead, and its bare branches seemed as claws.

The iron-wire fence still stood. It was open.

In many ways, it felt like some strange, far-off place, rather than the city he had grown up in. Not much remained of his Ardis, other than memories. He recalled a bookstore he had used to frequent, now a boarded-up husk. He remembered the smell of fresh bread from the bakery a block over from there, replaced by the stench of urban decay. There had lived the old woman with her dozen cats, with the orchard in her backyard. Now the trees were bare, and the garden overgrown with yellowing weeds. He and the others had been caught stealing apples there more than once, driven away by screamed curses and the threat of being clobbered by a broom. The crone had to be years in her grave by now, but surely there were still children, and old women, and even apples in Ardis? There was life here, waiting to bloom again.

Even though their surroundings were hardly inspiring, something about walking those streets with his cousins made Thaddeus feel years younger. Like the crumbling cobbles beneath their feet, they too were on a path that had but one end. Yet, they were walking it together, as they should have done from the beginning. Where had he veered off? This is where he was needed. Though he had been reluctant to have them with him initially, the thought having to brave those dark edifices alone was more terrifying than he had anticipated. Fear of the unknown was one thing, that remained. But seeing his dear Ardis in its current state, bared by the dark of night, was something else. The good he could do here—no, all of them together—if only they could rid themselves of the past and look to the future, was the sole pinprick of light he had in that darkness. He had to follow it.

~

Sense Motive: 1d20 + 6 ⇒ (12) + 6 = 18
Heal: 1d20 + 12 ⇒ (3) + 12 = 15

Oh, Edric...

Noting his cousin's distress, Thaddeus places a firm hand on Edric's shoulder and forces himself to smile encouragingly. He does not, however, mention the string of garlic in his bag.

~

As they arrive at the manor, Thaddeus stops and stares blankly at the gate.

"That was not open before," he says to others. "In fact, it was chained shut."

The doctor sets down his bag and crouches down, in order to inspect the gate itself, as well as the ground near it.

Perception: 1d20 + 6 ⇒ (20) + 6 = 26

Any sign of what happened to the chains, or who removed them? Has anyone passed through here recently?

Noting his cousin's distress, Thaddeus places a firm hand on Edric's shoulder and forces himself to smile encouragingly. He does not, however, mention the string of garlic in his bag....

Edric nodded half-aware, and rubbed his hands together in the cool air.

"That was not open before. In fact, it was chained shut."

The adults looked at one another for a long time as Thaddeus examined the iron gate. It was still rusty, but there seemed to be no chains on it for a while--in the misty location where the house stood, chains would have left a mark of rust.

Thaddeus's examination
Hidden roll: 1d20 ⇒ 14
As Thaddeus examined the floor, he could not find footprints in the soil, hardened by the cold and shrouded in light mist.

Then again, barefoot kids are too light to leave tracks.

"The meaning is clear," said Maddox. "The house remembers."

Arline was as pale as a sheet, and said, "Um...I'm not sure this is a good idea anymore...let's go back.

"Stop being so frightened, Arline," said Agatha. "We have to do this."

"No, we don't," said Arline shakily. "We can all go home. This was Thaddeus's idea!"

"What, you want him to go in alone?" asked Maddox testily, standing by his sister. Arline did not look at Thaddeus.

"Where are you going back to? You want to find Shiraz in your bedroom?" asked Edric shakily, and Arline bit her thumbnail, conflicted.

Thaddeus takes a step towards the gate, as if to move through regardless of whether or not the others would decide to follow. He hesitates, however, looking back to Arline. Whatever distorted, stuck-in-time image he had had of her for the past decades had been irrevocably shattered in the previous days, and what remained was the mere memory of a friendship, strained by their erstwhile distance. They were different people now—all of them—yet something in them had stayed the same. Especially here, now, at the gates of that house that had been the source of that lamentable sundering. They could not part now.

So he steps towards Arline and touches her arm, turning her to face him.

"Arline," he says hoarsely. "You were the one who stood against Shiraz in the first place. I always sensed there was something amiss with her and the house, but I could never act on it. I was not brave enough. Whatever your reasons were, you were the one who got us out of there. Knowing what we know now, it was for the best. I am asking you to be brave once more. We have to finish this."

"I..." Arline began, but she slowly nodded, face reddening in shame. "You're right, Tad. This place...it's like a nightmare."

The gates still stood open, as if bidding entry to the once-friends of Shiraz.

As the adults stepped in one after the other, the nightmare came true. A wailing rusted, grating, creaking sound echoed behind Thaddeus as he and his cousins and childhood friend passed the gate, before it slammed shut.
In the deafening silence that followed as the adults turned, the gate's latch fell into place, locking the path from the inside.

"Someone in the heavens is laughing at us now..." said Edric quietly.

"Woe be unto you. Woe be unto you!"

Paths

The gate: Spending more time at the gate or walls might reveal a way out before going too deep into the investigation.

Thaddeus turns back to the gate, looking over the latch to see whether it is locked or simply stuck in place. As more of an old habit than anything else, the doctor also inspects the gate for hidden mechanisms.

Take 20 on Perception: 20 + 6 = 26

Thaddeus didn't find any hidden mechanisms. The gate towered about six to seven feet above the ground, and cruel-looking vine branches jut out.
As Thaddeus's examination was over, he saw Agatha draw out from her purse a golden-tipped iron rod--a Sunrod, as Arline drew candles.
"I have a few tindertwigs," said Arline, distributing them.
Edric was still looking at the house, and said, "Well...first things first. How do we go in?"
"What do you mean?" asked Maddox.
"Well...we don't want to be locked in the house as we were locked in the estate," said Edric.
"I have rope," suggested Maddox. "We tie the door's handle to this beam here, and it won't close."
"But if we go in all together, nobody can call for help from outside," said Agatha.

Thaddeus stares at the gate for a while, trying to come up with a plan. He had to stay in control, lest the others lose their nerve. They could not tarry, but he did not relish the thought of staggering into the viper's nest without some recoinnaisance.

"Here is the plan," he says after a moment. "Arline and I will go around the left side of the house. The rest of you will circle around the right side, and we will meet up in the garden. Keep your eyes open for any holes in the wall, or anything that we could use to climb over, as well as any side entrances into the house itself. Also, let me know if you see any movement inside. Understood?"

Thaddeus's cousins (Agatha, Edric, and Maddox) nodded. Maddox took up his sister's sunrod and moved to the right side of the house, leading his siblings.
Arline waited nervously to follow Thaddeus.