Book II - Chapter IX: The Haunting of Trollskull Manor

[Ancelas]

For a moment, the chill in the air intensified, but the sobbing... grew more quiet. The air grew still. The fire in the fireplace dimmed. Then, slowly, a hand of black shadow reached out from under the bed, followed by a head, within which were two pale white eyes. The creeping darkness took on a shape - a small shape, with hair that drifted as though stirred by an unfelt breeze, features softened not just by age, but by the hazy edges that was the suggestion of a body more than a body itself.

It was a child.

She crouched on the floor, shrinking back from the Lucky Hand - no, from the light Vincent had produced - and watched them with wide, colorless eyes. The chill in the air grew cold enough that the party could see their breathe. Jinn exhaled, and for the briefest of moments, a face appeared in the mist, a man with jaw clenched in challenge - and then it was gone. The temperature grew warmer.

The child remained.

Mama's home, whispers a terrified voice from the corners of the room, as the shadow child shivers.

[CautionCat]

Well, this was a predicament. Vincent turned at the doorway to Rey, lowering his mace that glowed brightly. "There's a sprit child in here, along with another man, but I think he vanished. The cold stopped. That other spirit still has the other two."

He looked back to the shadowy child, frowning. "Do you know where the other children are?" He asked, unsure if the spirit could speak.

[Ancelas]

The spirit wordlessly pointed upwards.

[redcoat]

Cerys bounced up- not too fast to scare the poor child, she hoped-
and moved back out to the center of the main room on the floor, waiting for the others before she charged up the stairs.

[uberwulfx]

Things didn't happen yet, so Crystal was willing to allow the others to talk.

"Another man? Let's make sure we give him the proper Lucky Hand welcome, then."

As soon as they got the direction that their quarry was upstairs, she was moving again-- a bit slower than the large wolf leading the way, but with no less purpose. If the others wanted to continue soothing the spirit, she'd leave it to them; Vincent seemed to be doing really well at that. She figured Vincent may get flustered at people leaving, but time really was of essence here, and Crystal didn't want Cerys jumping into anything by herself.

[Kyt]

Rey grumbled, unnerved about spooks and crying, but they still needed to find the kids, so she just followed.

[opius]

Jinn watched the face in the mist, and his gut told him to meet the clenched jaw in kind - his own antagonistic nature itching to start a fight. But in the presence of the spectral child and it's clear terror it was hard to drum up that combative bravado. The face dispersed and he turned to look at the ghost.

"Up- thank you. We're gonna find them, then we're gonna find mama and clean her clock." He went to stand, then paused while he went to turn away.

"Eh... Kid, do you wanna- y'know, if you're scared- you don't gotta be alone." He paused again, half raising a hand in offering, unsure how to really communicate with the entity. "I ain't sure if I can carry ya around but we're here to protect, an I got this big ol shield that oughta be worth somethin'."

(Jinn will move and action dash, but he's going to give ghost kid a few seconds to respond)

[Ancelas]

The childlike shadow seemed to blur, and was suddenly standing at Jinn's heel, staring up at him. There had been no movement between positions, they had simply been in one place... and then another. Their wide, white eyes watched Jinn, their outline slightly indistinct, and when the Farondian man moved, the shade would follow.

[opius]

Jinn blinked and the kid was gone. And then when his eyes adjusted, they were right there. He squinted, nodded, and jutt his jaw. "Right on."

And promptly bolted after the dire wolf, rejoining the bulk of the party.

[CautionCat]

Vincent watched Jinn speak to the child spirit, and... they seemed to be willing to follow them. That was interesting, a bit spooky as well. He wondered if people were trapped here, from whatever that mad angry ghost "mama" was.

"Right, up, let's go." And Vincent was off, making sure he didn't cast too much light on the shadowy child, seeing that they shied away from it before. His spiritual blade had faded, a minute having gone by already, but he would be prepared to summon it again.

[Ancelas]

The Lucky Hand gathered themselves and charged up onto the third floor of the manor. There were no firelights to illuminate the oppressive gloom on this floor, and even the windows were... bricked up? They hadn't been the last time the Lucky Hand had come through. The sweltering heat that suffused the house seemed to exert itself once more, whatever minor reprieve the bedroom smothered anew.

While vision was limited, Vincent would be able to provide his own illumination to the area. All the doors remained closed - except for the door leading into the main common room. That door was ajar, a whispering, sing-song voice echoing faintly within.

"Winter's quite long, and money's tight, but Mama made dinner for to-night... So hush little orphan, the stew is hot..."

[redcoat]

With everyone together and decided on a plan, Cerys would bound up the stairs and around the corner- leading the charge onto the third floor.

((Dash action))

[uberwulfx]

And Crystal was right behind her. She took note of the ambient heat reasserting itself, and steeled herself.

<<You said the presence was different... any more of those "different" presences, or is it just the same old terrifying one up here?">>

((Dash action))

[opius]

Jinn could move, but he wasn't about to compete with Cherry while in her current form. It was no contest- the wolf had him beat. He was eager to give chase none the less.

When cherry came to a stoop on the second floor, he stumbled to a stop beside her some moments later. There were several options to move but the place was dark. "I ain't like the looks of this. Too dark." He reached to his pack and fumbled one of the hanging unlit torches, taking a second to get it sparked up and glowing bright.

(object interaction, using a torch)

With that done, he looked around. Tense and sweating, he knew his eyes and ears weren't nearly sharp enough to find kids, let alone ghosts. So instead he did what felt right and listened to his gut.
(Action: Divine Sense. Jinn detects any fiends, celestials, or undead within 60 feet so long as they aren't behind total cover. This lasts until the end of his next turn.)

[Ancelas]

The Lucky Hand raced up to the next floor. As Jinn ran, the shadowy orphan followed - not by moving after him, but by simply being behind him whenever anyone happened to look.

Raziel's presence rippled in Crystal's mind, as though the sword were thinking. Feeling? Focusing. <<Mm... The presence of the poltergeist is present... faint. It was strong in that bedroom, for a moment, when the child ghost appeared. But now it has been... smothered. The other presence, the hag shadow... it has sunk itself into the bones of this place. Or rather, it is trying to...>>

Jinn drew out his torch and lit it, but the darkness seemed to smother the torch, its light half as strong as it ought to be. Despite its flickering presence, the child beside and behind him remained a figure of darkness, unnatural in her stillness, but harmless in her presence. Focusing on the gut instinct that helped him pick out dangers around him, he could feel her unnatural presence beside him, as well as the smothering evil of the shadow they had brushed against below.

Most alarmingly, he felt the source of that evil in the dark room ahead of him - just beyond the table.

"Hush little orphan," the whisper continued, echoing through the halls of Trollskull Manor, "get in the pot..."