[Cherry Heart] Haunted House

[Kyng]

There was nothing that could withstand the wrath of Gaia, and this was very well demonstarted by Kayasee simply obliterating the iron doors that once held the mausoleum shut. Exposure to the dim light outside had the visage disappear, however her gratitude had been expressed to the druid as she barged her way out into the gardens once again. A sense of just purpose would be around her in this regard, as it seemed nature was thoroughly on her side.

Meanwhile the left frog croaked content hearing that they’d be fed. “Mm, delightful. Yummy yummy yummy!” He hopped a little, causing a slight tremor in doing so out of joy - however the sheer force of the tremor alone gave a measure in the brute strength behind the power of these toads. Goodness forbid what would happen if Izula had taken that stone tongue to the face!

The one on the right chuckled. “Ha, the crow bringing us carrion, how fitting.” He spat with glee as he relaxed his fat, stone figure on his podium paying Izula no heed. He was thoroughly arrogant in that regard, he didn’t really care what the little kitten could do.

With the team united once again, Izula had cut herself and bloodied her hand. Resting it upon the doorknob she would feel the sting of the cold, rusty iron against her cut flesh. The door and its handle were simply unwelcoming to the new guests and it showed in their ghastly visage. The door had rivets of menacing faces bolted into it, which while intended to scare away evil spirits seemed to just scare away everything. Of course, the three wouldn’t be afraid of them, nor would they be put off by the faces’ eyes following their movement, right?

With this, the three boldly moved on into the depths of the manor. Before them was what would be anticipated, an old manor’s foyer - a large hall with a split staircase heading to the upper levels in only the most refined of means. The manor itself was split up into an assortment of rooms in the upper levels, followed by the bedrooms on the upper floors as well as other more private chambers. The entire abode was as silent as the grave; the magic of the seal Izula broke had kept the summoned spirits at bay, however Kayasee could briefly sense the spiritual energy pressed into the walls, the ceilings, the floorboards. It is as if they were suffocated into surfaces as opposed to being dispelled.

While most would have to embark upon a wild goose chase, the benefit of Izula’s nose allowed them to trace the fairly fresh scent of blood to find the basement’s location. Remaining, obviously, on the ground floor the blood trail would lead the three girls around the back of the stairway and, naturally, down deeper into the ground. It was pitch black in the basement, however, and light would be necessary for any progress to be made.

[LordCowCowCowCowCowCowCowCow]

Kasayee only vaguely registered the bird’s greeting, focusing instead on the door. Kasayee shuddered as she looked upon its hideous visage...She’s always hated metal.
She wondered briefly why the Kettir had cut herself, but assumed it was some sort of odd ritual. Whatever the case, the doorway opened up before them.

She only realized as she walked in that this was her first time inside of a mansion of any sort. Thus she had no idea what to expect as she looked around. It was...large. Unnecessarily large. “If people wanted to live in such a large area, why not just stay in the outdoors? There doesn’t seem to be much point to these walls.” Speaking of the walls, looking at them made her sad. She could feel something wrong with the spirits. This entire place was like a prison of sorts. Hopefully destroying the master of the house would release them.

Ah. That’s right. “I suppose I should tell you, the lord here drains people’s blood to live. Make of that what you will.” Kasayee said, still speaking somewhat emotionless. The walk from the mausoleum to the door had let her calm somewhat, though inside there was still a feeling of anger bubbling, enhanced by the unable to be understood but clearly agitated noises of the spirits.

As they reached the basement, Kasayee encountered a simple, but important, problem. Darkness. She couldn’t see in the dark. She tilted her head from side to side, observing the darkness silently, waiting for something to come up that would light their way.

[Yui]

---

“If people wanted to live in such a large area, why not just stay in the outdoors? There doesn’t seem to be much point to these walls. I suppose I should tell you, the lord here drains people’s blood to live. Make of that what you will.”

 

"Mainlanders," Izula sighed in agreement to the question the druid posed. There was so much about them that she just didn't get. Why live in such a large dwelling if you can get by with something considerably smaller? For that matter, why only kill in one designated area? Some people. But, only killing inside the mansion made this job easier. Izula could smell the blood. Fresher than she'd have expected, too. The trail along the floor probably helped for those not as inclined to the sense of smell as Izula. Following the path and the scent brought the girls deeper into the manor. Until...

 

Darkness. Normally, she'd have been able to see just fine down here, but the complete lack of light left even her without vision. She hadn't even brought any form of lighting. What a shame. "This lord is really starting to get on my nerves," Izula said, drawing forth her knife in its usual reverse grip. Just in case. "I'm looking forward to killing him."

[Alaina]

As the group entered the manor, even the non-spiritually attuned Strio could tell that there was something foul in the air. The place gave off a vibe that would unsettle any lesser creature, and the atmosphere alone would normally be enough to cause anyone to turn back and walk the other way. However, Strio was no lesser creature! And as such, she would not be deterred by such trifling things. And as it would turn out, neither would her comrades, which was good to see. Though, despite all of her resolve to find the lord of the manor, she had absolutely no idea where to start. He was, apparently, in the basement. How to get there, though, was anyone's guess. While she most definitely could have just wandered around aimlessly, that would most likely prove fruitless.

 

In her ruminations, she couldn't help but nod at what the nudist had to say about houses. She didn't mind using them for shelter or storage, but something as large as this was needlessly so. Besides, such large buildings only served to clutter the sky, and too much clutter would make it far harder to fly around. Thinking more about it, there was probably a much easier way to get through this house and to the basement. Perhaps if she just broke through the floor instead...yes. That seemed to be a correct course of action to take. While she was getting ready to use Rokkur as a mighty floor destroyer, it seemed the cat had managed to find her own way of tracking things. Oh...well that was slightly disappointing. 

 

Following the feline, the group had eventually managed to make their way into the basement. While she was sure that the others were just as excited to bring down the blood draining lord of this manor as she was, there was a slight problem. It was fairly dark. Well, actually, it was so dark that Strio couldn't even really make out anything in this room. Well, that was troubling. Or rather, it would be, were she not able to channel the power of the glorious, late sun goddess."Fear not my comrades," she proudly declared, "this darkness is nothing in the presence of one such as myself." With that, she stuck Rokkur out proudly, having the blade ignite with a blazing fire to shed light into the room.

[Kyng]

But for Strio, the quest might've ended right there and then. But for the blade igniting they would not have seen shadowed claws from the darkness prepare to gashed their legs, strangle their throats and certainly worse. Indeed as the blade ignited a ghastly scream reverberated around the basement, the claws notably spasming in agony from the light and soon dissipating as did the darkness of the room. With a poof of black smoke, the...at least 20 claws, all positioned around the three mages had vanished. It did go to show two things - firstly, the ferocity in which the new master of the manor would defend his abode. Secondly, it conveyed his power of magic was adept enough to summon such spectres. Finally, it guaranteed the underhanded nature of their enemy. He thoroughly intended to end them all right there and then, lost forever in the trap of the threats looming within the unending shadows.

The enlightened basement exposed what might be anticipated. A corridor, plain and simple leading to many store rooms for foods, wines and others. Though it didn’t take a genius to follow the proven nose of Izula that the blood lead them to the far end of the corridor. Of course it would. Why on earth wouldn’t the master be as elusive as possible? Though it was, seemingly lazily hidden behind cases and crates of an assortment of luxuries, that were evidently rustled through with haste by, likely, the lord who held his abode here. While the path was long and dark, the blade of light ammended this and exposed the far door for what it was.

At the far end of the corridor however, they could hear something. A menacing voice echoed in their heads, it came from behind the door. It was whom they might expect indeed. Yet all heard something different to each other.

“...Come find me…!”

“...I’m over here…!”

“...I'm coming for you...!”

With that ominous message booming and clouding their thought there would be no obstacles between them and the door and, should they dare venture forth, they would see what might be anticipated. A dais, holding a coffin upon it. A pile of bones lazily thrown aside. A pair of candles with a fell, purple light filling the room. Within the coffin, the latest victim, a fair maiden no younger than 12, pale as death, a weeping face frozen upon her visage. And beside her, holding her hand staring at the fang marks sank into her neck. He stood quite tall over her, his slits of crimson eyes smirking as they darted to the entrance. His dark attire was fairly grim, a shawl covering his black coat fixed to his waist by a belt, his hair a simple brown and fairly unkempt. Like the girl, his skin was pale too.

“Mm, well I didn’t anticipate company.” The vampire spoke, his fangs with blood as he greeted the girls. “I suspect you would like some answers then, wouldn’t you?” With a wicked cackle followed by a cough he shrugged to the three mages, leaving himself open to an attack.

It was too good to be true...wasn’t it? He seemed fair too smug and confident.

[LordCowCowCowCowCowCowCowCow]

Kasayee stepped back from the fire, momentarily alarmed. Fire was a dangerous force so she would have to keep an eye on this one, just in case. However it proved to be useful in lighting their way. She had expected this trip to be quicker and she was starting to grow uneasy. Kasayee wanted this to be over with soon, she was already doing more work than she had told herself she would when she joined the guild.

 

But she couldn't exactly ignore when someone was directly tampering with the natural order. It would plague her for a long time if she let this pass.

 

The shrieking was off-putting, and Kasayee found herself wondering what this strange creature was. She leaned forward curiously. Was it spirit? Magic? Something else? It seemed that whatever it was, it was scared off by the light. "We almost died." She mentioned, matter-of-factually. Then stepped onto the stairway and down into the basement.

 

She didn't particularly like it here, she decided, as she strolled through the corridor. She wasn't made for living underground, and was already missing the open air. She glanced around at the storage about her. Storing food was smart, though it was easier for your food to be taken if it was stored and not eaten right away.

 

“...Come find me…!”

 

Kasayee tilted her head. Find him? Well, she knew where he was. What an...unusual request. She paid no heed to the two companions with her, they could plan if they wanted, she had a single destination. She threw open the door and entered.

A coffin, something people made to put bodies in, a very silly invention. However what was not silly was the young girl whose life was snuffed out by the creature that stood before them.

 

“Mm, well I didn’t anticipate company. I suspect you would like some answers then, wouldn’t you?”

 

"Not really. You're Cain Blackthorn. The one who killed everyone here with evil magic and caused their spirits unrest. You should have just followed the natural course of a predator. Instead you made yourself an enemy of nature. You are...very stupid."

Kasayee curled her fingers, ready to use her transformation magic to transform her hands to claws, and tear into the abominations flesh. But she didn't move. Not yet. Her instincts told her to wait. It was unwise to face a predator head-on. "The only thing I want is you to free these spirits, and tell me what happened to Emily's fiance."

[Alaina]

As the light shed in the room, it was already apparent that something foul was in the works. A shriek made by the ghastly spirits that had congregated to this area had more than been enough to tip her off to that. She saw that they had sharpened claws, all ready to bear down into them. Even for a glorious coronid, quite like herself, the sight of the claws made her shudder a bit and her blade started to burn brighter to try and keep off any spirits that would attempt to strike at them. Hoping that that would be enough to keep them at bay for now, the group continued onward, following their feline comrade as they did. 

 

As the group eventually made their way through corridors and storerooms and foods, they were greeted with echoing voices of, likely, the lord. Strio could hear him quite clearly in her head, stating he was right over "here", but she had no idea where "here" was supposed to be. Looking around, she saw nothing that resembled any kind of living figure, and decided to shake off the thoughts as the group finished their walking and were greeted with a door. As they opened it, they were greeted with a rather disturbing sight. 

 

A man, as pale as the moon, holding a lifeless woman in his arms, equally as pale. The sight was, of course, revolting and befitting of the eerie feeling that the entire manor had given off. As he asked if they wanted answers, Strio simply shook her head as she said, "no, I don't believe we were looking for any answers in particular. We just want you to lift the curse on the manor - oh, and if you could feed yourself to the statues outside that'd be good as well." Her expression became slightly more serious, gripping the blade with both hands after her statement, expecting the man to not comply so easily. 

[Yui]

---

The bird's sword lit up with flames, revealing the basement around the trio. Just in time too! By the looks of things, any later and the group would have been pretty badly assaulted by nasty shadow claws. The lord of this mansion was an underhanded baster, no questioning that one. What a cheap trick, and it wouldn't even let him see the victims up close as they died! Truly, this man was an affront to death and had to be dealt with.

 

“...I'm coming for you...!”

 

I could say the same. I'll make sure to kill you quickly, monster.

 

The corridors down here weren't the most comfortable of places. Izula was far more suited for living above the ground, she concluded, following her team through the place with her knife ready in her hand. Eventually they came to a single door, that led to a single room. Izula had seen places like this only back in Zyzymt, when she and her fellow Xol'Kettir were setting up sacrifices. This was her first time seeing such a place on the mainland, but the connection remained in her mind. This man was making sacrifices for...something. Except not quite because he was keeping the spirits of his kills in this world, denying them death. What a terrible form of sacrifice!

 

“Mm, well I didn’t anticipate company. I suspect you would like some answers then, wouldn’t you?”

 

"Not really. You're Cain Blackthorn. The one who killed everyone here with evil magic and caused their spirits unrest. You should have just followed the natural course of a predator. Instead you made yourself an enemy of nature. You are...very stupid. The only thing I want is you to free these spirits, and tell me what happened to Emily's fiance."

 

"No, I don't believe we were looking for any answers in particular. We just want you to lift the curse on the manor - oh, and if you could feed yourself to the statues outside that'd be good as well."

 

"You've been tampering with death for far too long, Cain Blackthorn," Izula hissed, simply using the name the lizard had said and getting down on all fours in a combat stance, very much identical to the one she'd taken against the frogs earlier. "I'll enjoy sending you and all these souls you're denying the death god straight to his doorstep." In all reality, she had no idea how long he'd actually been doing this. However, any amount of time would qualify for "far too long" for matters this important.

[Kyng]

It was evident the three had absolutely no desire to talk. They all had seen more than enough to seal their case about Cain Blackthorn. He certainly hadn’t been a welcoming host, that much was for certain. Well, then again, the nude druidess seemed to want to know the fate of the actual lord of the manor, as well as the freedom of the spirits - as did the other two, to their credit. Of course, why on earth would this lord of shadow willingly part with such?

Cain smirked as he stroked the hair of the girl as he cackled softly to himself, before his dead and dreary gaze turned to the three as he softly spoke. “Come, be reasonable. Let’s just talk this out…”

“...while I slit your throat!”

With this the lord turned to shadow and vanished from sight. The door behind them shut itself tight sealing the three within the room, which filled with his wicked and cruel cackling. Otherwise it was deathly quiet, though the shadows in the room only seemed to darken as if disregarding the eerie candles faintly lighting the room. Though, did one with good ear hear footsteps?

Footsteps leading behind Izula...leaping out!

A shadowy visage leaped out and lunged to stab out at Izula, following the lord’s promise as it tried to get behind her to slit open her neck. A quick response to dispatch the creature would be urgent - but if fate was kind and the creature was attacked, they would notice Cain’s apparition perished with but the simplest of strikes.

“Such a pity, it seemed the druidess was the only one with some good sense. Then again what can one expect from a couple of beasts.”

The lord continued to berate the three, his voice seemingly leaving the basement with them locked inside. Though soon they would hear what could only be described as the sound of screeching metal, bending and contorting before rupturing, followed by the sound of rushing water. Indeed, as water slowly began to fill the floor at the foot of the door it was obvious what was going on - with them locked inside, Cain fully intended to drown them. Does this vampire know any bounds of honour?

Should the three make their way out, Cain Blackthorn would await them at the main hall of the manor standing atop the stairway, of course - only fitting for such a superior being - but this is assuming they had any way to break through the door! What becomes the fate of the heroes?

[LordCowCowCowCowCowCowCowCow]

It became clear that the vampire would not give them any information. At least not so easily. As soon as the man vanished and the door shut, Kasayee's instincts flared up. She transformed into her lizard form, hoping it would give herself a chance to avoid being attacked. A smaller target would be unintelligent to go after.

 

And she seemed to be correct because the Kettir was attacked a moment later. Kasayee couldn't do anything in her current position so she left it to the other one to help her out. There was another issue to be taken care of. Soon after Cain spoke, seemingly praising Kasayee. Did he think she would react well to this? She couldn't be sure since other races seemed to have a strange idea of what words are for.

Whatever the case, the enemy was escaping. For once she was urged to action by her own instinct.

 

There was water beginning to fill the room, through the door. Kasayee needed to get out as soon as possible. The others likely would have their own way out. And if not, she was not about to die for them. There was a time and place to help others, but if these two could not help themselves, she could do nothing for them.

She skittered across the floor, to the door, and, fighting the rushing water, struggled through the crack at the bottom.

 

She found herself in the water. To her currently small body the water was an ocean. Luckily the form she took were regarded as good swimmers. Fighting the current was difficult so she didn't push forward too much, only enough to not be trapped against the door. The little lizard made her way up to the surface, standing on top of the rushing water for a moment.

 

Then she transformed once more, into the beautiful and exotic bird form, before taking flight. The water would be around waist-high on her normal form so there was enough space to fly across the hallway. She could see Cain once she reached the stairway, standing at the top. It was starting to get difficult, so many transformations in so many times, so she made sure this one would last.

She turned to her regular form, except with the feet and hands being clawed and lizard-like. She let out an instinctive snarl as she pounced on Cain, claw dripping with a numbing poison, trying to tear into the man's throat. Her inner beast had been unleashed.

[Alaina]

As trio was prepared for whatever the lord was about to throw at them, Strio got her blade ready to deal with him as he went invisible. She had no idea where the deplorable form of a man that he was had gone to, but she kept her wits about her and her grip tight as she tried to spot anything. Soon enough, the feline had seemed to be under attack by the shadowed lord of the manor, to which Strio swung her blade directly at the apparition. However, as the blade went straight into it, there seemed to be absolutely no resistance behind it whatsoever. The attack just effortlessly passed through the being, as the figure of the lord simply faded away. She was slightly confused by the outcome and could only wonder about what had happened. What manner of magic did the manor man man? 

 

However, as she continued to wonder about this, the lord berated the group only to laugh in some kind weird way. It didn't really sound like an ordinary cackle, in fact it didn't really sound human at all. More so like something was being broken or ripped apart. As she wondered on this, water started to flood from underneath underneath the door. Slamming on the door for a bit, it was quite obvious that the door was locked and there was pretty much no way that she was going to open it through just pushing. Thankfully, if memory served, they had a door breaker amidst them - "where did the lizard girl go?"

 

Strio looked back and was confused by their comrades sudden disappearance...again. Hm. Strio was a bit curious as to how she was able to keep doing this, but simply returned her thoughts to more pressing matters. Like the door. That was closed. Looking at Rokkur, she looked back to her companion as she said,"you may wish to stand back. I'm about to preform a very delicate operation." Igniting Rokkur brighter than it was before she then started to...hack away at the door completely until there was not much but burning wood and a giant hole where the door used to be. Wiping her brow clean of the sweat she had just accumulated from her antics, she turned back to her compatriot and said, "let us make haste, my feline companion."

 

With that, Strio had ran her way to the upstairs area, only to see that their lizard friend had already beat them to the main hall already. Well, she was quite the speedy individual. Looking to the lord of the manor, who stood atop the stairwell, Strio had gone in with her own simple attack. Igniting her wings, for an extra burst in speed, she flew to the ceiling, only to then kick off of it and hurtle straight towards Cain, slashing her blade at him once in range.  

[Yui]

---

“Come, be reasonable. Let’s just talk this out…”

“...while I slit your throat!”

 

Suddenly, Cain Blackthorn was missing. That wasn't all. Izula could hear footsteps, approaching from behind. The Kettir quickly spun around, cutting through the shadowy attacker with her knife, but not before it was able to nick her chest. But wait, there was still more! The sounds of water and the water pooling in from beneath the door...this lord was really an affront to death, wasn't he? Not even willing to watch his prey die. Disgusting.

 

"Let us make haste, my feline companion."

 

Right, there was a lord to kill. Izula was all too happy to oblige. But first...

 

Izula pressed the blade of her knife up against the cut she'd made to first enter the mansion, letting the shamaness's blood coat the knife. The keen observer would spot a faint red glow emanating from the bloodied knife. Izula's weapon was primed and ready for the hunt, and Izula herself quickly followed the bird back up the hall, then up the stairs, where not only Cain Blackthorn could be found, but the lizard was already here too! She had quite a way of getting around, didn't she? Izula followed up from the bird's sword slash, with a swing of her own poisoned dagger.

[Kyng]

A venomous claw lunging for the throat, bathed in a green aura of nature’s rage against the abomination that would face her wrath.

A charging winged warrior with sword ablaze seeking justice and righteousness at the bane of the evildoer before her.

A wicked strike of an ritualistic assailant’s dagger whose fighting style was not too unlike her very target.

"Nana nana boo boo!"

"Yoo-hoo! Hohohoho!"

"Here I am!"

Each would fail. As would any blatant strike against Cain Blackthorn. His illusionary magic was simply too fast for a strike to catch him. His decoys too numerous, his taunting seemingly ceaseless and all the more irritating as they simply could not catch the elusive lord of darkness in his manor of madness. How could they fight that which they could not see? It was simply unfair.

However to their own credit, Cain was clearly a bad combatant himself. Using this sort of trickery to avoid the conflict at all, and underhanded tactics to attempt to assassinate his target as soon as he could with as little effort, he was evidently not on par with the three in terms of battle ability. You might say he’d need to be this underhanded.

Though, if only someone didn’t have feline hearing and was able to decipher, among the madness of the frantic brawling between mages and decoys, the footsteps of someone trying to sneak up behind Strio...

[Yui]

---

Izula's knife missed. This wretched lord moved fast, and even Izula couldn't keep up with him. He kept creating illusions, leaving decoys of himself everywhere for the trio to strike at, only to miss their intended target. And to make it worse, he kept mocking the trio, egging them on to try and make them intensify their attacks and wear themselves out no doubt. Well, if he thought he could get under Izula's skin and make her mad, he was right! He'd already done a great job of it so far, and to be so close to her kill only for it to still be so far away...it was pissing her off.

 

However, her ears picked up on something. Footsteps...approaching...the bird! "Behind you," Izula exclaimed, turning and leaping to the side to swing her knife at the air behind the bird. These games were getting old, and hopefully this would finally end them.

[Alaina]

As Strio's sword struck at the lord of the manor, she was suddenly struck with a familiar sense of absolutely zero resistance. As her blade cut through the body, the body soon dissipated and it was obvious that what she had struck was just another of Cain's illusions. Gritting her teeth in frustration, she was getting tired of the man's tricks quite quickly. As the illusions continued to appear and the constant mocking coming from the lord of the manor, Strio's temper was quickly becoming as hot as the blade she wielded.

 

Each time she saw another illusion, it was almost an immediate reaction to slice through it. Of course, each time she did, it would only give way and prove to be an absolutely worthless endeavor. And while she knew that just striking at air would get her nowhere, she could think of no better idea to pull off. And so she only got more frustrated and continued to swing at more of the illusions. With each one she felled, her the strength and speed behind her swings only grew, and the flames on her blade burned brighter and more intensely. It was quite obvious that if she kept going at this pace she was, she would end up fatigued in no time. However, as the situation didn't seem to get any better for them, Strio heard the voice of her feline friend, yelling at her about something behind her. Not bothering at all to check what was there, Strio immediately slashed at whatever along the movement of her turning to face it.

[LordCowCowCowCowCowCowCowCow]

The foul creature was employing some kind of trickery magic to deter them. It would have frustrated Kasayee under most circumstances. But the way the vampire taunted them afterwards had a weirdly calming effect on the druid.

She took a deep breath. And stopped moving entirely. She closed her eyes, taking long breaths, and just listening to the world. She had to push past the spirits that were all around them, and try and sense something that was very determined to not be sensed.
Kasayee heard the Kettir's voice warning someone, but she could tell it wasn't directed at her. Slowly the girl opened her eyes and looked, watching as the two others converged on what was evidently the attacker.

And still, Kasayee waited. And watched. She wouldn't move, not until she knew there was a point in moving. She broadened her senses. Instead of looking at the one spot, she was attempting to experience everything her senses could tell her, from every direction.

[Kyng]

What do you think would happen when, in clever ambush, one had a knife thrown at them and a flaming blade slicing at their form? Well logic would dictate you would avoid the attack at all times, but that’s not quite what happened. Indeed, there was a loud gasp of pain as the dagger disarmed his attack, followed by a blood-curdling gargle as the sword cut into the vampire’s frail body. Caught in his left ribcage, the invisibility naturally wore off as the vampire had been fatally struck, falling down the stairs in the process. Tumbling down in a bloody, scorched heap, the stairs did the rest of the work in sapping the life from the fiend - alas, not a word would be extracted from the vampiric being as he was lifeless by the time he had finished falling down.

Looks like he shouldn’t have pissed Strio off.

Kasayee had given up dealing with Cain’s antics at that, resorting to a more contemplative approach of patience. Her spiritual connection would detect something - the lifelessness of the vampire meant an end to his necromantic magic, which in turn ceased binding the spirits to earthen traps. The haunting ghosts that were imprisoned in the walls, the ceilings, the floors of the manors returned to the netherly world from whence they came and belonged. Alas, the drastic attack on the vampire would have stopped Kasayee seeking any answers from him and the fate of the ghost in the mausoleum remained uncertain - should she investigate Emily’s whereabouts the ghost would continue to haunt the crypt wanting her answers. Would she remain in eternal unrest?

At least the frogs had something to eat now.

All that was left was for the girls to clean up the mission now. The false lord was claimed, the mystery of the disappearances unravelled - no doubt upon returning the townsfolk would reclaim their dead and bury them with respect as they should, assuming the frogs were well fed of course. Kasayee would be able to tell that their magic wasn’t even slightly tied to the vampire’s own. The frog golems were a natural magic in their own right.

[Alaina]

The moment Rokkur hit something behind her, she was able to tell that it was no mere illusion. The feeling of actual resistance between her blade and the air was one that she could only take pleasure in, as it had been completely indicative of her having successfully hit her mark. As the flaming blade finally cut across what was most likely flesh, the astonished face of the lord of the manor had revealed itself. The expression on her face, the last one that the vampire would see, was nothing more than an intense focus, a predatory glaze locked on her now slain pray. With the assault being completed, the body of Cain had collapsed, falling down the stairs and became little more than a broken, charred corpse. Looking down at the body from atop the stairs, Strio's expression shifted into one of realization, only to quickly change into one of triumph. Pumping her fist into the air, she let out a triumphant cry and then looked back to her two comrades."Well, it appears our mission here has been completed."A confident grin could be seen on her face as she said, "so let us go and report back to our employer. Shall we?"

 

Walking down the stairs, Strio could no longer feel any sort of eerie presence within the halls of this mansion. A sense of relief came across her as the lack of said feeling had vanished, and Strio had nonchalantly gone to pick up the body of the now deceased lord. Without much care for the body itself, she dragged it outside the door of the manor, only to be met with the hungry faces of the stone statues. Upon seeing them, Strio had a confident, almost cocky, expression on her face as she lifted up the corpse. "As I had promised, I deliver unto you your meal." With that, she tossed the corpse to the two statues, and seemed to be pondering something as she did so. She seemed to become more calm as she went on to inquire about her thoughts. "What exactly are the two of you? You don't appear to be a natural resident of this town, nor had you any allegiance with him. So what has brought you to this manor?"

[LordCowCowCowCowCowCowCowCow]

Kasayee sighed heavily. The creature was dead. The spirits were soothed. And the land should hopefully start to go back to how it should be. But she hadn't succeeded. She didn't know anything about Emily's fiance. She hadn't been able to get any information at all. He had died too fast, there was nothing for it, the only way she could have prevented it was to protect the vile man and attempt to interrogate him.

 

"Report if you want. I'll be around." Kasayee told Strio. She wasn't done here. She would search this mansion, look for any sort of clue she could to find out where the former lord had gone off to. After a brief visit to Emily, during which she told her the vampire was dead, and that she would continue her search for the truth, even after leaving this place, she returned to the mansion.

The frogs were...interesting. They seemed to be something natural, surprisingly enough. She would have to have a chat with them later as well, see if they had any idea what happened.

 

Kasayee stepped into the mansion once more, intent on looking through every room she could find. Perhaps there was some record, some hint, that could help in her search.

It frustrated her to no end to have to go to such lengths. She wanted to rest. But she knew that the girl's spirit would be in her mind constantly if she didn't try anything. She didn't really care about having completed the mission. If she couldn't find anything, she'd return, but until then she had a mission of her own to do.