The Keepers of Chaos: A Vault of Hell

Riu Astrial: XIX

TrollSkull Manor: XIX

It was so much worse than a train wreck. Riu stood before the massive house, labeled TrollSkull Manor. It looked fine at a first glance, dark hardwood, simple grey stone pavement outside, a massive spire to its left. But upon further inspection she found herself noticing random pieces of wood hanging by a thread, the windows being filthy among the utter piles of garbage sitting at the side of the house.

"It's.." Riu started.

"Shit." Herod finished. "Very, very shit." She turned to the party,

"I mean it's more of a.. Project?" Riu suggested. Riu watched Markos's purple eyes meet her.

"Do we even have the money for a project like this?" Markos said cautiously.

"Well. I wouldn't say it's that bad, friends!" Volo began. "More of a.. Long term investment.." Riu watched Volo look desperately at Renaer who had come with them. "Right..?" Volo grinned.

"Yeah uh.. Investment.." Renaer quickly took over the conversation. "Look, you all saved me from that hell hole so honestly with this place." Renaer gestured to the whole of the house. "I'd be happy to help finance and.. Fix it up."

"Oh. That's not that bad." Asher muttered.

"Are we all satisfied now?" Alekzandr asked tiredly clearly he was impatient to get in, regardless of the state of the place. "Honestly, try living in the snow and you'll learn to appreciate.. Such a marvelous... taver- Manor of luxury." Riu gave Alekzandr a dead panned look. All he cared about was Alcohol.

"Yeah, yeah. Just what the hell do we need to do." Asher asked as he stepped to the front of the manor's doors. Riu didn't have the highest standards, but her view of the manor was.. Low to put it lightly. The house was three stories tall, made of a dark murky hardwood with visible distress in every corner of its planks. The front entrance held two glossy stained doors under a bannister. From the entrance you could look upward viewing the spired tower to the left and the four chimneys throughout the house. The roof was slanted forward with missing tiles and variously dark cloudy windows lined along the building. Riu could've sword she saw something move in the upper most window.

"Shall we go in?" She tried to ask politely. She smiled kindly at Asher who was bouncing in place angrily. She couldn't see his expression but she sensed it was a harsh one.

"Yeah.. sure everyone is ready to get the worst looking house ever?" Asher commented as he walked over to the enormous dark oken doors. She wished he didn't put it like that, she had seen worse. She'd experienced worse.. Her body shivered at the thought.

"Well yeah.. If we're going to get paid in any way wait you don't have a key-" Herod tried to say before Asher slammed his foot against the doors swinging them in.

"I'll check the bar, Alekzandr you help me." Asher told the group as he walked into the dusty and dirty cobweb ridden tavern.

Riu saw flipped tables with garbage littering the floor, each surface covered in a fine layer of dust. The bar was straight ahead, as Riu watched Asher vault over it as he started looking behind the bar for drinks. She wanted to laugh, stories she'd heard in taverns and even from her parents handt prepared her for this, she didn't know what she expected in a party but this was.. Not exactly it. She took a deep breath, she was willing to work with it! Alekzandr tossed an empty bottle at the doorway making her narrowly duck.

"Freaking savage.." Riu muttered as she led Volo and Renaer to a dusty table.

"I got this." Herod announced, She watched as he unsheathed his sword and pointed it at the surface of the table leveling the blade with its top. "Vulity, ceriorem ventus." Herod said aloud as a small gust of wind spawned from his blade clearing the dust off the table in dramatic fashion. A small blue sprite wisped from the blade in the shape of a fox. Riu blinked before staring at Herod's face, studying his green eyes. "Anyway, on to the payment." He shot Volo.