“I’ve got a bad feeling about this,” Leonidas said as he adjusted his collar as Jeanne looked around the street before the house Edmund had told them all about. The building was old, the supports all ready beginning to wrap from the weight of the roof and age. Whatever colors had graced this place had long worn away to dulled to brown and greys. The windows were dark, almost devoid of light and warmth from inside. Cracks stretching throughout the plaster, some of it had fallen off the walls, resting on the ground nearby. The door at the front of the house was hanging from its top hinge, the bottom already detached and swaying back and forth.,

Kveldulf came up and as he looked at the house jerked his back and snarled. “Well this was a death trap if I ever saw one.”

“That’s putting it lightly,” said Hypatia as she rested her hands on her blades. “The place looks like it’s been plagued with an illness longer than time itself.”

“This place looks haunted,” said Leonidas. “And in need of immediate holy cleansing.”

“Cleansing,” said Kveldulf, “why?”

“You deal with enough darker energies, you can tell when such things are near.

“Huh,” said Hypatia, “a little odd for a group of religious persons to be giving off such an aura.”

“You’d be surprised who’s willing to deal with devils themselves in order to achieve their goals in life.”

“I want to say I’m surprised, but I’m not,” said Kveldulf.

“Well come on,” Jeanne said making her way over to the house. “I don’t want to lose the entire day waiting to enjoy myself.”

Leaning against the wall Jeanne slowly peered her head up to the window and looked inside. Much of the interior of the house was dark. Waiting for her eyes to adjust to the ambient light, she saw several pieces of furniture. Some which had fallen into disrepair and collapsed under their own weight. Without turning to the others, she waved the to her.

“So what’s the plan here?” asked Leonidas once they reached Jeanne.

“I’m thinking we have Jeanne do what she does best,” said Kveldulf.

“Oh this is just making my day that much better,” Jeanne said, conjuring up a fireball in her hand.

“Uh Jeanne?” Kveldulf said to her, pointing to the fireball.

“What?” she demanded. “If this is a trap why can’t I blow it up?”

“You’re wanting to blow up a wooden house, where it’s surrounded by wooden houses.”

“If you’re just going to be logic into this relationship I don’t think we can be friends anymore, Kel.”

“Oh for Rett’s justice will you stop.”

“I could but someone might get pippy.”

“The hell does pippy mean?” Leonidas asked.

“I think even Jeanne doesn’t know,” Kveldulf replied.

Hypatia and Leonidas turned to Jeanne who playfully shrugged. “He’s not wrong.”

Jeanne shook the fireball away and summoned a bright light as she gripped her fingers around the ball. Leonidas looked at the light and said, “Is that what I think it is?”

Jeanne nodded, with a devilish grin. “Now let’s have ourselves some fun.”

“That smile has me a little concerned,” Leonidas said.

Kveldulf put his hand on Doc’s shoulder and gently pulled him back. “You may want to stand back a bit,” he said to the doctor.

Leonidas tucked his chin into his neck. “Oh that’s never a good si—”

Before he could finish, Jeanne kicked down the door and yelled, “Eat this, mother fuckers!” Throwing the light orb into the first room, she ducked away as a thunderous explosion shook the house and sent a large bloom of dust flying out of the entryway.

Hypatia grimaced at the dust. “Obviously cleanliness isn’t always next to godliness with these people.”

“Add that to the list,” said Kveldulf, taking out his shortened halberd.

“Oh,” Jeanne said with excitement, “it’s the spear axe.”

“I keep telling you, it’s not called that.”

“And I keep telling you I don’t care.”

Kveldulf shook his head. “Fuck it, I don’t have time for this,” he said as he moved into the house. Jeanne followed him, with Hypatia and Leonidas closely behind. Inside, they saw nothing moving but specks of dirt floating in the air. Jeanne and Leonidas both conjured robs of light in their hands to illuminate the room and reveal the grotesque measure of dirtiness within the abode.

Mold formed in the corners with a red liquid soaking the interior wood. The smell of rot made all four wince as they grabbed something to throw around their noses. “This is just disgusting!" Kveldulf exclaimed.

This tale has been pilfered from Royal Road. If found on Amazon, kindly file a report.

“Smells like my Uncle Ordo,” Jeanne said, dry heaving before regaining her composure.

“I’m not even going to ask,” Leonidas said.

“He wasn’t a man who appreciated soap or water.”

“Oh joyous day.”

“Hypatia,” Jeanne said, gesturing the sword singer to follow her into the kitchen. Kveldulf and Leonidas moved towards the storage room. Jeanne kicked the door down, her stone scales fully summoned and surveying the place as Hypatia used the tips of her blades to move items around. “Be careful in case something is rigged,” Jeanne said to her.

“I don’t suppose you can just blow them up?”

“Oh, that is always the temptation. But I think Cid wouldn’t like having potential evidence destroyed, regardless of how wonderful of an explosion does the deed. See anything?”

“Not really,” Hypatia said. “Mostly faded parchments, a few used quills and inkbottles older than my sister.”

“Actual or metaphorical?”

“Actual in this case.”

“Huh, I don’t remember you bringing her up.”

“She and I aren’t on good terms,” Hypatia said, “so I don’t talk about her often.”

“That’s fair,” Jeanne said, slowly opening a cabinet door to find a rat knowing on a piece of indistinguishable food, have lost all traits of uniqueness long ago. After clearing the room the two women moved to the storage area to find Kveldulf and Leonidas.

“Find anything?” Jeanne asked.

Leonidas shook head. “Not a thing. This place is more of a breeding ground for dust bunnies than anything we need.”

“Let’s check out the last room and report back to Cid,” Kveldulf said.

“I’m not eager to see what they do in a private quarter,” Leonidas said.

“You want to do the honors?” Jeanne asked Kveldulf.

He nodded and with a swift kick, slammed the door with such force it flew off its hinges. Jeanne, her hammer out and moved into the room first. The whiz of a bolt flew past her face, almost hitting Leonidas in the shoulder as it struck the wall behind him. “Shit!” he called out as Kveldulf turned to where the bolt was loosed from.

He went over and spotted a rigging with a crossbow. “Well, that was a surprise. You all right Doc?”

“A bit startled, but I’ll live,” Leonidas said, calming his breathing.

Jeanne saw Leonidas and as Hypatia moved into the room, walked up to him. “You sure you’re all right?”

“Yeah, yeah, yeah,” Leonidas said, nodding quickly. “Just not used to having bolts heading towards me.”

“All right, just, well you know,” she said to him.

He smiled. “I know, I’ll try not to squeal too much until we get back.”

Returning to the room, Jeanne saw the four looked around, examining the bed made of a plain frame, with some hemp ropes suspending a meager mattress of straw above. A rickety chest rested near the bed and a chair and table were placed near a closed window which allowed little light inside. Jeanne moved to one corner of the room and felt the floor compress differently from the other boards. She looked down and with her radiating orb noticed a door way near the bed.

“Hey, look at this,” she said to the others.

Kveldulf moved over, pulling out a knife and slowly inserted the blade through the small slit between the doorway and the floorboards. “Be ready,” Kveldulf said to the rest before opening the door.

Everyone leaned back, slowly moving back towards the hole, seeing a few rungs of a wooden ladder before it disappeared. “Well, that’s just all kinds of uncomfortable.”

“If I wasn’t in agreement, I’d make a rather unsavory joke about that,” said Jeanne.

“I’ll go in first,” Kveldulf said, sheathing his knife and moving down the hole.

Leonidas looked up at Jeanne. “What?” she asked him.

“I just expected another dirty joke.”

Jeanne waved it off. “I tell you later when we get back.”

“Fair enough.”

Jeanne followed after Hypatia moved down the ladder and into an underground pathway. The walls were held up with a wooden columns and rafters stretching across the ceiling of the tunnel. “What is all this then?” Hypatia asked.

“I don’t know,” said Kveldulf, “But I do not like it.”

“You think this was a mine?” Kveldulf asked.

“No,” said Jeanne, “this region isn’t know for having mines at all.”

Leonidas moved to one of the wooden columns and looked closely at the wooden grain.

“You see anything there, Doc?” Kveldulf asked.

“It’s hard to make, sense the wood’s deteriorated pretty badly. But there’s definitely etchings down here.”

“And that makes me hate this place even more,” said Kveldulf.

“This reminds me of a few campfire tales in my youth,” Hypatia said, sheathing one of her blades.

“I’m going to assume none of the comfy ones,” Leonidas said to her.

“No, it usually wound up with everyone dying horribly,” Hypatia replied.

Everyone turned to her with unamused looks on their faces.

“Quiet time,” Jeanne said to her.

“Yeah, I was thinking that too,” Hypatia said.

Moving forward slowly, the four looked around the tunnel. Dust falling intermittently as they journeyed further into the corridors. A soft hush of the wind touched their ears, but no gust could be felt. “Oh that’s never a good sign,” Leonidas said to the others, as he looked up around the ceiling again.

“Mind clueing us in?” Kveldulf asked.

“Usually when you’re hearing a wind, but not feeling a wind, something unsavory is happening.”

“So just any given day in our lives, then.”

“Sadly.”

“I knew I should’ve become a dye maker,” Hypatia said, rolling her eyes.

“Oh you’d be dyeing from boredom,” said Leonidas.

“I swear to the Sheperd,” said Jeanne, “I will kill you.”

“That’s what they all say.”

“Shh,” Kveldulf said to the others before signaling, I see a light a little ways over there. They hugged the wall and continued towards the other end. Nearing the exit, Kveldulf stopped and turned to the others. Doc, do you feel anything? Kveldulf asked him.

Nothing major, there’s residual energy, definitely, but strong, Leonidas replied.

Should I do another light flash? Jeanne asked.

Get one ready just in case, Kveldulf gestured, grabbing his halberd and extending the handle half way.

Jeanne saw Kveldulf take a moment to slowly peer his head into the lit room. He jerked his head back slightly before turning back to the others. “Uh … Doc? I think you’ll want to see this.”

“Oh Ellia mercy, that’s never a good sign,” Leonidas said as he moved his way to the opening. “Oh,” he said, biting his lower lip, “oh … this is going to need more than a mother’s kiss to feel better.”

Jeanne and Hypatia moved to the opening and saw the bodies of several flagellants lying dead throughout the room. Jeanne tried to count the number of bodies, but it was impossible to determine where one body ended and another began. Arms, legs, heads, and organs littered the entire area. In the middle of the room was a dark orb pulsating regularly. Some of the blood and visceral from the bodies slowly gravitating towards the sphere.

“All right,” said Jeanne, “the fuck is that?”

“Not sure,” said Leonidas, “but I’d be a little careful in approaching it.”

The orb steadied itself, a part rising up, rounded with two smaller protrusions sticking out of both sides. The two overhangs twitched softly before turning to the group. All of them with their weapons ready to engage the creature. Moving onto its four feet, the being took on a form of a small dog. Short legs with rounded feet, a tiny tail wagging rapidly and as it turned, it spotted Leonidas with two crystalline black eyes and held out a tongue and smile widely.

“P-Puppý?” Leonidas said to the magical dog.