Zapdos

The Adventures of Caleb Crowsnest

Luke gave Sara a thumbs-up sign with his left hand, adding “if you go out the front door and take a right, you’ll see a pump by the side of the house.” As he described the directions, he moved his thumb and hand to point the two to where they needed to be. “Take as much as you want.”

Caleb thanked the man, then he and Sara left the house. Rainbow, on the other hand, decided to stay with Luke so he could make sure he and Alan weren’t planning anything bad. Once the door shut behind them, Luke walked over to the kitchen where Alan was stirring a pot of vegetable soup.

“Caleb and the old lady he was with showed up. They’re getting water for their horse.”

The farmer smiled. “Thank you, son. But you really shouldn’t be drinking before we serve our guests.”

Slightly annoyed, Luke countered that “first, I started before they got here. Second, how likely was it that a kid who came from your hometown across the ocean would happen to show up in our town and that the kid would show up to the house invited by a guy who never met him, but somehow knew his father?”

Alan smirked, then gave his retort. “I keep telling you son, only take bets you know you’ll win.” Saying this, he held out his hand, where Luke placed a silver piece while rolling his eyes. “And I knew Caleb would show up.”

“But how?”

More seriously now, the scarred man put the metal in his pocket and responded. “We’re both orphans. Caleb and I, we never knew our parents. I know what it’s like to wonder about them; it’s something I’ve thought about constantly. I’m sure Caleb’s the same way. Red Twig was great, but orphans like us, we always wanted to have parents who loved us. When I was a kid, I would’ve done anything to learn about my parents...” Alan’s voice trailed off at the end as he seemed to lose focus, but then he snapped back to the present and finished talking. “Does that make sense?”

“Yeah, it does. Everyone wants to be loved. I guess it’s kinda like how I felt before my parents went to jail. I don’t feel that way now, though.”

“I know, son.” Alan said with a smile. Luke returned the sentiment, the two hugged, and then they heard the door open. “Looks like they’re back. Could you set the table while I get the food ready?”

Search of the Abandoned Mansion - Creative Thinking Fantasy RP

“He takes the dead and makes them alive. Well, not like us, like...puppets? He’s been taking bodies from the crypt here and the town’s graves. I think the full moon boosts his power or something and he’ll use it to make an army.” After Claribel finished whispering the plan as she knew it, she walked inside the library, waving at Sohn to follow her.

She went to one of the shelves and pulled out some books. Hidden behind them was a sword, which Claribel pulled out and showed the shepherd.

“I took this from my uncle when he got killed,” she sadly said, using a familial term for the city guardsman. “He found me, but the old guy got us before we could get out. I’d like to stop him with this before he can cast, but I don’t know how to get past his dead guys. Er, the puppets. He’s made three of them move so far, but maybe there’s more now?”

Search of the Abandoned Mansion - Creative Thinking Fantasy RP

Claribel looked like she was in deep thought for a few seconds. Finally, she responded to his question, sadly shaking her head. “I can’t, sorry. The old guy’s doing this thing in a few hours. If I don’t stop him-”

She stopped talking when she heard a quiet thud, looking alarmed and checking around her to be sure something dangerous wasn’t nearby. Claribel looked relieved when she realized that it was just a book that had fallen out of one of the bookshelves. After taking a breath, she continued what she was saying, this time in a whisper.

“Dad and everyone else will die.”

Search of the Abandoned Mansion - Creative Thinking Fantasy RP

Upon hearing the shepherd speak, the thing in the shadows ran towards him faster. A few moments later, Sohn saw what it was; a little girl with brown hair, black eyes, and a worn and dirty pink dress. This was obviously Claribel.

Despite being the one who ran up to him earlier, the girl seemed hesitant, yet curious. “You’re not with the old guy...right?” Claribel looked like she was ready to run back to where she had started if the shepherd gave her the wrong answer.

Search of the Abandoned Mansion - Creative Thinking Fantasy RP

The dog did not make a fuss, so Sohn moved towards the archway. Using the knob and his staff, the shepherd opened the grand door. What was revealed was a grand library, filled with books and shelves arranged in rows. It looked like there were 12 or so rows of shelves, all parallel with each other, and all in a straight line. This didn’t even include the shelves on the walls, which wrapped around three of the four walls. It was slight, but thanks to the moonlight, Sohn could see that the wall that was furthest away was actually made up of more windows. But the third row from the right somehow seemed a little darker than the others, and then the man realized that someone or something was moving toward him.

What would the shepherd do?

Search of the Abandoned Mansion - Creative Thinking Fantasy RP

Sohn noticed a few things as he did his work in the piano room. First was that the window ledge and frame had no rot. Whatever it was that had broken the window, it had been done recently. Second was that it was not far from the window to the ground level. Maybe a little girl would be clumsy if she left that way, but it was nothing that would break any bones. Cleaning the glass and positioning the chairs were still common sense moves, though.

On his way to the stairs, the shepherd noticed something much more alarming; the bodies of Eliel and Magolor were gone. Aside from minor blood stains that had been left on the ground when they were killed, there was no evidence that either man was ever there.

Surprisingly for this place, the stairs revealed no traps or other impediments. Now the shepherd was on the mezzanine balcony which wrapped around the walls of the lobby and had a nice view of it. There were three doors that Sohn could choose from; one to the right, which was right next to the staircase. Attempting to open it would reveal it was locked. There was also a door to the left which was shut, but unlocked. Finally, there was an archway in the center, similar to the one downstairs in the lobby. However, unlike the one downstairs, this one had a big wooden double door inside it that was closed and unlocked. Carved on the door was an ornate script of some kind that looked like none Sohn had ever seen.

Search of the Abandoned Mansion - Creative Thinking Fantasy RP

While the shepherd’s paranoia was sensible given the losses he had endured, right now it was merely cautionary. Sohn heard nothing but the wind, so he went into the room, where he saw nothing that would put his life in immediate danger.

However, something had happened in this room in the past; there were big picture windows straight ahead of him all along the wall, revealing an expansive yard ahead. Most of them were intact, but there was one that was broken. Whatever or whoever did this had created a way outside of the mansion. There was a chair laid on the floor next to the window with glass shards scattered on it as well. In fact, there were at least 20 chairs in the left side the big room. Some were lined up as if they had people in them watching a performance, but others were laid on the floor or otherwise disordered from that arrangement.

Near the east of the big room was a grand piano. If Sohn chose to play it, he would know that it still played perfectly. Based on the way the chairs were arranged, someone had played this instrument before an audience at some point.

Finally, on the left and right sides of the room (near the chairs and pianos respectively) were two more doors. The man could also see where the dining room was in relation to this big room, as the straight path he had seen before going into the kitchen led to this room.

Search of the Abandoned Mansion - Creative Thinking Fantasy RP

Sohn’s guess was correct; the room he entered was a kitchen. Faded wooden shelves could be seen ahead and around him. There was also some woodwork with a ceramic dishpan in it. Nearby was some kind of pump that could be used to get water. Charles Cornwall (or whoever built the mansion for him) had thought to drill a well next to the dishpan so the house’s occupants wouldn’t have to carry water in to drink or wash their dishes with. Most of the shelves were closed, but one was open; investigation of it would reveal it to contain a silverware divider with sections containing forks, spoons and knives used for eating. One section was empty though and it was the biggest one there.

Looking to the left and right, the shepherd could see two closed doors. The one to the right was a double-acting door, while the one to the left was not. There were no windows or other means of escape, at least not in the kitchen. Thankfully, there were no more imps or other murderous creatures in the kitchen either.

Search of the Abandoned Mansion - Creative Thinking Fantasy RP

Sohn’s search of his departed companions yielded concrete results; the half-elf had a small dagger and a copper piece, likely a loose piece of change he found on the ground at some point. The Halfling had three gem apples and a journal of some kind. While the knife was designed more for skinning animals than for combat, it could come in handy at some point. Depending on how long it took to be safe, the food could be helpful as well. Whatever insights could be gleamed from Magolor’s journal would have to wait though, as the notes were written in some kind of Halfling language. Except for the clothes on their backs, Sohn would find nothing else of value with his formerly living companions.

As he finished his search, the shepherd heard a loud THUNK from above. Looking upward revealed nothing but the ceiling and chandelier, so this was likely caused by something on the second floor.

Search of the Abandoned Mansion - Creative Thinking Fantasy RP

The dog and shepherd’s instincts were right on the money, in this case. The seamless cooperation born of labor on the fields allowed the pair to assault the demonic creature quite successfully, try as it might to free itself. And it did try, but all it did was able to do was lightly scratch Fortuna before the imp disappeared in a cloud of purple dust.

Now the pair would have to decide just what to do from here. Their companions were all dead and they were seemingly no closer to finding Claribel or anything else worth their time in this building. How would they continue their search of the abandoned mansion?