The Dread House
OR
Spooky Times
OR
That Time We Agreed to Clear Out a Haunted Mansion After Too Many Drinks.
Cecelia
Day of dying
10/31
As we travel the old overgrown road, I wonder what this area used to be like. I can see the edges of wide roads that surely used to be traveled, its old worn stones now overgrown with years of neglect and disuse. Scarecrows with their pumpkin heads speckle the fields that straddle the road for miles, each one an odd, yet endearing sight.
An ocarina plays in the distance, an unusual and haunting ballad of glory, loss and death. When the song is over, I do not hear it again.
The wind picks up, a hint of coming rains touches my nose and I look up to the skies and around. Behind us, and moving quickly in our direction, a thick churning storm is brewing. The sight is both beautiful and frightening. My love of storms is overshadowed by an unusual feeling. Maybe it was that ballad from the ocarina that has me a little on edge.
Whatever the case may be, the town of Sorenton is close. And we will find ourselves shelter from this storm there. With any luck we might find ourselves with full stomachs and I might find a few loose purses lying around.
The edge of my lip curls in excitement at the thought before I can stop myself. Kavanath catches my eye and I quickly try to prevent him from seeing my thoughts, as if they could actually be written on my face.
I still don't understand why the paladin thinks he can "help me to a better path," as he put it. But for now, his good graces give me a giant meat-shield, and that is something I can utilize.
As is custom for this region we head to the center of town,ring the bell and wait to be greeted. As we wait for someone to come out I look around and notice that despite it not even being dinner time, the streets are empty and with the clouds moving in its a bit darker than it should be, these create the illusion of it being much later than it really is.
After a short wait a cute little old lady comes rushing out of her home to greet us. She pleasantly rushes through her introduction and greeting, pointing to different parts of the run-down and half-deserted village as she points out the different businesses: Inn, Trading Post, Temple of Lathander,and the Bar.
After a short pause to catch her breath she continues less rehearsed, warning us with weight in her voice, "The Dread Storm is coming."
Dread Storm. That wasn't a reference to it just being a rough storm, she was using a name for it. A small chill runs down my neck and my skin prickles a little.
"You do not want to be caught outside when it gets here," it was definitely a warning, "whatever you chose to do, you should decide before the storm arrives. And when it hits, you need to stay there until the storm passes."
I'm more than pleased when it isn't me who is the first to suggest the bar, though I cannot remember which of the others had spoken up first. I suspect it was the Thonom and his bottomless stomach speaking, but it matters little.
As we enter we're greeted with kind smiles from a couple behind the bar, the same is not true of the rest of the room. Stillness fills the air then, after a moment talking resumes softly. Our group settles into the only empty table large enough for us in the room. I briefly wonder if the silence was brought on for my non-human friends or simply by our foreign origin.
A peel of thunder rips through the air making everyone jump.
The only people interested in talking to us are the bartenders, Camille and Franco. Camille introduces herself to us and brings out several mugs of ale. I watch the room, trying to take the room in. I can see many of them are trying to get a good look at us without being noticed. I suppress a laugh when I turn to stare at one and he turns quickly back to stare intently into his mug.
Most of these folk have brought with them tools, pitch forks, hoes and farming implements of the like. Improvised weapons I assume, these folks are really worried about something. They aren't fighters, but here they are with their make-shift weapons.
Camille tells us that she and Franco are working on a lovely delicacy for dinner, White Stew. The description sounds delicious and though its ingredients are gone from my mind before she is done speaking, my mouth still waters at the thought.
Camille gives us a soft smile and tells us in a kind voice that we cannot leave tonight, we must stay for our own safety. It wasn't an order and she would have no way of enforcing it, but it is clear that she is doing her best and means well. My friends understand as well, but it does spark some questions on our part. Questions that barely leave our mouths when the stew started to boiling over and she had to rush over to help Franco with the stew.
I can see Jemmalie's little form slyly making her way across the room. The gnome would be easily mistaken for a child if not for her saunter and hips. She hops on a bench between two of the younger men within a group, "What's this Dread Storm coming?" she pipes with a friendly endearing smile.
One of the young men shifted uncomfortably, and mumbled "Demon storm."
"Comes from Hell itself," another adds with extra drama
"Comes every year at this time," an old farmer takes a slow gulp of his ale, "for over 30 years."
"What happened 30 years ago?" Jemmalie asks straightening her back and leaning forward so that the old man wouldn't miss her inquiry.
"It's because of the wedding of Persephone Tashmere," he said mournfully putting his empty mug back on the table.
Thonom makes his way over, and the grace of a drunk rhino, "who's getting married?"
There was some uncomfortable shifting among the farmers for a few moments while they waited for someone to volunteer to tell what was clearly a tale no one wanted to speak of.
The old man with the empty ale mug took a deep, shaky breathe, "Thirty-three years ago, Lord Tashmere, lived here. He was a great paladin, vanquished many powerful foes in this area. He settled down and had children. A daughter, she was beautiful. And she fell in love with a farmer's son. A lot of us thought he wouldn't let her marry someone of low breeding, but that was not the case. They planned for the wedding to be on the Day of Dead.
"Lord Tashmere went to the temple for blessings and the High Priest consulted the gods who strongly warned him something bad was going to happen. He was indignant and even more insistent that it be done on this day. He invited everyone, even the common folk," there were nods from around the table, "we were all very excited. People came from all four corners of the map, important folk arrived at the mansion the night before, they came to stay at the mansion.
"The night before the wedding, the Day of Dying, this night thirty-three years ago, there was a horrible storm. Many people swore there was horrible screaming from the mansion. But the storm was so bad no one could go check on the folks up there.
Another of the older men picked the story up as the first stood to head over and refill his mug, "When the time of the wedding came, we all waited for the bells to ring to announce the start of the wedding, but the bells never rang. A couple groups of people were sent to check on the people at the mansion. The first had little to report, but the second group was more brave, some went inside and found the beheaded and mutilated corpses throughout the mansion, many had had their hearts ripped out. They found the bride and groom together, holding hands."
Someone whispers a kind word for the dead as the table grows especially quiet.
"The storm gets worse every year," one of the younger farmers says, finally breaking the silence, "Redig, he's the Captain of the guard, is trying to get anybody to go into the mansion and try to clear out the curse. But he's on a fools errand, no one has that much of a death wish."
Talk around the tables seem to continue in bits an pieces and a few more stragglers make their way in from the storm. Each of my travel companions strikes up a conversation with someone trying to understand what could be the real mystery behind the storm. Everyone except Kavanath and I.
I preferred not to draw attention to myself with large crowds and Kavanath prefers not to take his eyes off a thief in large crowds. Besides, I can hear more when I'm not actively participating in conversations. It seems that everyone agrees they hear demons and ghosts with each of these Demon storms. There are rumors that cows have disappeared, but some say that's all it is, rumors.
After their reconnaissance is somewhat complete, my friends begin to return to our table. We speak amongst ourselves some sharing information and thoughts.
Thonom uses his Druid craft to check the weather. Its a neat trick, we can see the storm with it's unusual and amazing red lightening. As I watch I can see something is swirling in the clouds, then it just disappears. A feeling of dread fills the pit of my stomach and even I know something is very wrong. Coming from me that should mean something.
More people arrive to stay, the wind whipping in behind them. One is a woman about my age. She sits sits in the corner alone and just drinks.
Penny, as we are quickly introduced to the next person coming into the bar, looks at us, smiles, and nods. She is the town's treasurer, we're told, and someone very important to the people here. Compared to the farmers she is much cleaner and better kept.
Another woman sits herself down at one of the tables and begins to lay out a fabric on the table, a crystal ball sits delicately on a padded pedestal and she draws a deck of tarot from her satchel.
The stew is served, it is very good.
Finally, I realize my particular charms may be useful. I head over to the lone woman drinking, I take my drink and another mug for her.
I place the extra mug in front of her and do not wait to be invited to sit down. I can recognize another outcast when I see one.
She eyes me, and growls at me. Her wild brown hair and Asian eyes clash in a charming way with her freckles.
"Hiding in here too, huh?" I taunt tilting my mug at the farmers, "just like the rest of them."
"Yeah," she says, "until they kick me out, which will happen."
"Why's that?"
"Because of who I am."
Kavanath, unable to keep me out of trouble from across the room, brings his enormous form over and sits in a chair, making it seem like a child's seat. The woman stares up at him for a minute.
"My, you're a big fella." She stares up at Kavanath's goliath frame in aw.
"What's your name?" he asked much more polite than I had been.
"If you must know, it's Ushi."
"Why are these people going to throw you out?" I press, "they seem like nice people, that isn't a very nice thing to do."
"Not when you're a half-breed," she huffs, "not when your father is who he was. You really want to hear this?" Her tone changed to disbelief.
"Yeah," I shrug, "We're new to the area, and we've got nowhere to be until tomorrow anyway."
"I'm a descendant of Li Akatayo, he was a noble who joined Tashmere on his holy crusade. He's the only one who survived the Dread Wedding. Lord Akatayo and his men were the last company to arrive for party. They found the mansion and the inn full, so they camped on the hillside. They would venture into town for food and comfort. For my father that was a woman with fiery red hair, my mother, Molly Cardell.
"On "he day of the wedding when the people found the bodies of the dead at the mansion, they went to Lord Akatayo's camp he and his men could not be found, but the camp had not been struck. Tracks showed they left in a rush, though most don't believe it, people still talk and a lot still see me as the spawn of evil.
"I grew up here, my mother died when I was younger, I even got married and was happy. But some saw me as part of the calamity. I wanted to know the truth of Sorenton so I left to find my father. My husband stayed behind, promised to wait for me, no matter how long it took.
"I then went on a long journey, finally finding my father the lord of a small took me in without pause, and he told me the truth of that night.
"The storm had come, he and his men weathered it as best as they could. Then a silence so profound that the men were roused from their tents to investigate it. A scream filled the air, the horses panicked and the men writhed in torment. The sound came from the mansion. They began to move to the mansion but another scream, this time from his men made him stop. A wall of flame around the house burned several men to death. Chaos ensued and Lord Akatayo blacked out. When he finally came to only when he arrived home."
Ushi's tale said more than I expected. I wish I could do something to lighten this pain of hers. "My father wanted me to stay, but I wanted to return to my husband. When I returned I found that he had left shortly after I did. I felt broken and destroyed. Since then all I've done is drink."
I know that words will not help her, and so I let the air between us sit empty.
"If you're willing I would like to take you to my house and show you something, I would like to give you something," she tells us before upending her mug.
"Why are you going to give something to us?" Kavanath asks.
"I like you, you look like good people," she tells us, "You two are the first people in a long time to talk to me.
I signal to Jemmalie that we'll be back shortly, she nods, and the three of us step out into the eerie night.
Her home is a bottle-strewn hovel and my pity for her grows, but I know pity would not be an invited emotion for her. I do not acknowledge the condition of the home. She hands me a thin necklace of red gold with a blazing sun. She tells me that her father gave it to her in case she ever went into Tashmere's mansion.
"The idea of taking a look around up there had crossed my mind," I admit.
"That's why I want you to have it. It's supposed to help against attacks from the spirit world," she says, "I hope it helps you somehow, that house has ruined my family's reputation. I hope you tear it to the ground." The last words held a little venom, and I hold back a small smile.
As we head back towards the inn Kavanath stops us. His towering height and bulk a welcoming shield from the wind, "Ushi," he says with all the gentle kindness a goliath can express, "I can see that you are suffering from alcoholism. I can help you be free of this, if it's something you would like."
She looks at him with something that either makes my heart ache or my stomach threaten to hurl, I'm not sure, "You-? You would do that for me?"
It was such a heart breaking moment, such a foreign feeling. I try to push it away. Someone so in need of help to have someone finally give it to her.
"May I lay my hands on you?"
She nods and almost in a comical visage his enormous hands rest on her tiny shoulders as if she were nothing more than a tiny doll. I can almost feel the warmth of his prayer and spell, though I will always deny it. As if refreshed and renewed Ushi smiles, she looks from Kavanath to me and back in near disbelief.
"Thank you!" she says with earnest gratefulness tears streaking down her freckled checks, "thank you for everything." She promises to pray for us as she rushes off to the temple to weather the storm there. I hope she eventually goes home to her father, and finds her peace there.
Back at the bar, Thonom sees the fortune teller. She's apparently blows his mind. Because he spends the next half hour telling everyone to be cautious in the next 48 hours.
Jemmalie greets Penny, a quiet-looking older woman, and learns that she was around when the house fell. She's the town secretary and treasurer. Her voice is sad when she says the town's dying.
She tells Jemmalie the Lord had Deities who were his enemies. And this is why he should not have had the wedding on this day.
Somehow the topic of the current cleric in the temple comes up and Penny tells her the Cleric in the temple has a crush on Redig.
Storm hits in the middle of dinner. Franko says "it's time." Several patrons shutter the windows and block the door. A young man and woman begin to play music to try and drown out the storm. Everyone tries to act normal.
Thorick attempts his own divination: What is our best action that we can take in the next seven days to prevent a recurrence of the Dread Storm.
The Answer: Attend the Dread wedding and kill the pumpkin man
My mind goes back to the last pumpkin I saw, the scarecrows in the fields.
Thorick reinforces the door with a magic warding.
Lingering flashes of lightening, and a boom of thunder make everyone stop. There's pounding at the door startling everyone. I sink into the shadows, Thonom stands.
Others stand and approach the door to see who it is. Someone says, "It's Redig! Let him in!"
I do not like this. This is not likely him. But we are likely able to take care of whatever comes through.
The door swings open and a man comes in.
He's kind of a dick. Calls everyone names and essentially says everyone is a sissy and cowards. Blight is spreading. Repeats the same rhetoric we've heard over and over. He speaks to his God asking where his heroes were.
When Skud mentions we had been discussing going, Redig runs with it and tells us we need to go at the break in the storm. He promises us all the riches within the mansion, and 500G each to go with him. Penny tells him that they don't have that kind of money.
He offers to take us there. He even offers to go in with us and help, but we decline. We work well as a team and having a wild card might throw us off.
A lull in the storm arrives, and it's time for us to depart.