[IC] The Clutches of Darkness

[Kuroakuma]

The car's engine shut off, leaving the area in complete silence as they dark clouds covered the sky overhead. A flock of birds too far away to see shot through the sky, completely silent as they passed over the road the car sat on. The large, worn iron gates that acted as the entryway of the manor grounds stood tall and imposing in the middle of the overgrown road, apparently unused for the entire time between the manor's abandonment and now.
Perhaps there was an alternate entrance that the criminals were using..?
The entire area was covered in a dead silence, the abandoned manor itself was exuding a sort of uncomfortable feeling like the majority of abandoned things always did. But..

The gate itself was covered and overgrown with moss, ancient and rusted. There didn't seem to be a lock keeping the two halves together, but the rust probably did a perfectly good job of that by itself. To the sides of the gate was high stone walls, as overgrown with moss as the gate if not moreso. Even further to the sides, the road was surrounded by thick trees that made it nearly impossible for light to get onto the road. On the other side of the gate, however, it seemed to be clear. One of the walls to the side of the gate was broken in several places, possibly making a makeshift ladder to scale the gate if it didn't open?
That would mean the car had to be left behind, however..

Aside from that, there wasn't really much to do in the entryway, it seemed..

Something watched from the bushes to the right side, concealing itself in the foliage that the thick treeline provided.

[EchoicChamber]

The rain would fall soon. The clouds were fat with the weight of it, the darkness only interrupted by the occasional flash of light from above. It was helpful. Most passerby would be hurrying inside, more concerned with staying dry than looking too closely at anyone who was lingering around the gates of forsaken property. Killing the lights of her car, Dawn took a moment to assess the mansion. It sat amongst its grounds like some shadowy behemoth, windows cracked and yawning in invitation. There was no visible light from within, but that didn’t mark the place as wholly abandoned. Anyone was capable of hiding themselves- criminals were simply better at it than most respectable folk.

Dawn’s hand slipped into her purse, brushed against the cool steel concealed within, then opened the car door. Stepping into the quiet of the evening, she quickly locked her vehicle before striding towards the gate, coat fluttering lightly behind her. A cursory inspection told her that the lock had almost been entirely sealed shut by the rust that coated it. It would be easy enough to break, most likely, but Dawn found herself turning away, instead focusing her attention on the crumbled wall merely a few feet away.

“Leave no trace”. That was the golden rule.

She hiked her skirt up- just enough to free her ankles- and clambered over the wall, landing in the overgrown garden with a soft “thud”. Nodding to herself, Dawn adjusted her hat, then paused.

Something was wrong.

The detective glanced about, wary, idly feeling for her gun before pushing onwards towards the front entrance.

The car would be fine. Nothing inside aside from a few napkins in the glovebox, anyway.

[Kuroakuma]

Loud thunder cracked through the sky above, startling yet another poor group of birds. The group before her shot up into the sky, a murder of ravens taking flight from the ground in the garden before the detective. They shot through the air, crowing loudly as they quickly vanished.
Once more the area was blanketed in a quiet stillness.
The the detective's left was the rest of the road, surprisingly clear for the road on the inside of an abandoned property. Following it, the road eventually ended in a loop that turned back in on itself, a fairly typical road that allowed people to come and go as they pleased.
There were tire marks criss-crossing the road, however it seemed more like someone had done a burnout and ended up crashing off to the side than any person really driving properly.
Or perhaps they were fleeing and crashed their car?
Either way, the dark tire marks skidded off to the side over to the left of the mansion from where Dawn stood, and there was no sight of the actual vehicle itself. Perhaps it was somewhere out of sight?
Large rows of hedges lined the sides of the area, concealing the stone walls behind them from sight. The hedges were massive, almost walls in their own right, but there wasn't anything particularly curious about them.
Well-kept, though.
Except for one area just to her left where it seemed the hedges had been damaged, but..

If Dawn were to move down the road a little to the end of the hedge walls, she'd notice a small path going off to to the right of the massive mansion. Down the path, slightly obscured by trees, was a second smaller building. It sat alone, as quiet as the manor itself. To the left of the giant mansion, past the skid marks on the road, was a third building. A small shed that sat by itself in a fairly empty area. In the middle of the circle road sat a fountain, drained of water and covered in cobwebs.

There was complete and utter silence. Even the noises of the road just a little way ago had vanished. The massive forest that surrounded the mansion was dark and foreboding, secluding the mansion for miles around.
Almost like a horror movie.