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.
"Right the payment." Volo cleared his throat.
"Do you have the deed on you? Can we sign now Volo or?" Volo looked a little taken aback in Riu's eyes but she decided they had delayed long enough, as he pulled out a small rolled up yellow, water stained piece of parchment and unfurled it before her prying spectacles.
"You seem to know how this works already.." Volo conceded happily.
"I am nobility." Riu scoffed. "I would expect myself to understand how a simple transaction would work." She pulled a pen from her bag and laid her family signature upon the deed, reading its heading; Title Deed: TrollSkull Manor. It was simple, missing most of the paperwork she suspected would already be filed away. "Hey, guys, you may want to sign this." Riu announced loudly as she turned to the party Herod sat on a table next to her, while Alekzandr and Asher were raiding the bar holding various bottles of liquor. Adleth was studying the house intently why Riu could not understand. All the while Markos kneeled in a corner praying, at least that's what she suspected he was doing. "Or you don't own it?" She tried again.
"Oh." Asher set one of the bottles down. One by one each member of the party signed the deed placing it under their joint ownership. Riu saw Asher's signature, it was long and sophisticated, written in a perfectly educated cursive. Alekzandr was next, his signature was slightly messy but still held a great deal of elegance in it like he didn't care for neatness, rather than not have it. Adleth was straight forward ditching the entire curve and style of her party members. Herod's signature was flat as Adleth's, yet he added a middle name; Herod Cervos Westwood. Markos was last, his signature was shaky and disorganized with little method to his madness.
"Ah, fantastic!" Volo declared. "Now the manor belongs to all of you. I'm sure with.. Time you could always fix up the tavern and run it for considerable profit! I.. have to go now, check on my friend you all recently saved. I hope to see all of you soon." Volo signed his name releasing the deed before leaving the manor in a rush. She wondered why before she remembered the ghosts.
"Well, Lovely, we own a run down house." Asher said solemnly. "Any ideas how we pay for the damn thing?" Riu looked around drinking in the new home, despite it being such a far cry from luxury and an element further from her home she.. Liked it, the halls of her house were.. Big and empty but now.. Maybe that could change.
"I mean, we could always head to the yawning portal to find some other big work from some desperate patrons." Herod said smiling.
"We could collect a church tithe." Markos suggested. "Works wonders when you need cash." Riu only shook her head to the cultists' ramblings.
"Um, actually I'm going to need to ask you guys to lay a little low for a few days." Renaer said as he cleared his throat. "You see that mind flayer you fought, he was part of a bigger syndicate. I imagine you all announcing how you fought him at the Yawning Portal, probably ticked off some people to what you did, but not everyone. If you were all to be so kind to lay low for a.. Maybe tenday? I could get some of my associates to try and divert the faction's attention." Herod went to open his mouth but Renaer quickly continued. "I of course am so grateful you all rescued me, and aided in my escape I would be happy to finance the repairs and whatever else you need to fix up this tavern as repayment." Renaer gestured to the place around him. "All you would have to do is lay low for a couple days, it wouldn't be any trouble to fix it up afterall, you saved my life." The group were silent at first to his speech before they nodded lightly.
"Yeah, but we do kinda need money for pretty standard things." Asher mentioned.
"And I assure you, you could all get that money, just a tenday is all I need. you could all get small jobs in the city, something that would not attract attention." Renaer suggested.
"Yes, That sounds like a good idea." She replied stiffly. "Everyone.. he is trying to help us. Perhaps it's better if we.. listen to him?" Riu added, coming to Renaer's aid. "Though if I may ask, why should we trust these.. Associates of yours, who are they?" She asked the man. Renaer for the first time since the encounter leveled his shoulders looking genuinely confident rather than slightly timid, he was recovering quickly.
"I'm going to have to ask you all to trust me on that basis, you saved my life. After all were both nobility Lady Astrial, I wouldn't betray your trust." Riu pursed her lips. She hadn't known the Neverember family to be schemers or rotten individuals. Then again.. She had heard rumours of his fathers embezzlement of Waterdeep coins when he was the open lord.. Riu only smiled and nodded. Keeping her beliefs to herself. "Fantastic, well when you all decide what changes you need to make to this place you can find me at the yawning portal and I'll be happy to finance it all." Renaer stood up and walked towards the door, dust flying in every direction as he walked. Riu quickly stood up to follow him, aiming to project her actions as escorting him out of the place. "I do have to depart for now, but if you need me simply ask for three strings at the yawning portal he can find me." Renaer bid everyone a farewell from the door frame as Riu silently cast a spell towards him.
'Invenio et noctis Gratia diei et noctis' Riu thought. As a swirl of magic encircled Renaer and her she felt a rush from the incantation, to detect good and evil. Riu watched as an image painted itself behind Renaer. They were rough blue waves crashing against his body, a storming ocean illustrating the unrest of Renaer's nature. She smiled at the celestial gold etching that surrounded the storming waves and told Riu he was of good nature. The crests of each baffle slightly stung with a static fizz that was indicative of a sporadic and chaotic character. The spell was called 'Inner sight' Riu tried her best to not show the smugness on her face. An incantation which was taught and passed down through the generations of her family, one her father had taught to her. When cast it would reveal the true nature of an individual or many if you wished. A celestial golden outline to their aura meant good, a glittering silver meant neutral, while a hard black iron signified evil. Of course it wasn't always perfect, and gave different images based on the alignment of a person; it always reflected their personality and their hardships. If they stood on a strong foundation? They were signified with a method to their ideologies. If they stood on no ground but instead with an object before them? It was on the spot on each basis of neutrality. If they had neither, and instead a static surrounded them? It was chaos. Riu pondered on what her comrades would reveal when she casted it on them..
She gave the Neverember bright white smile as she felt the lack of ill intent from his aura, knowing he probably meant only good. "Take care Renaer!" Riu snapped happily as he left through the door frame.
"So shall we divide up the room's?" Alekzandr asked curiously.
"That sounds fun." Markos remarked. "Though I'm pretty sure this house only has like.. Five room's based on the floor plan." the half-elf held up a painted piece of paper.
"Where did you get that?" Riu quizzed. Confused as she and the rest hadn't even been handed a floor plan.
"Behind the bar Non-believer." Markos answered as he pulled out a chair and sat down. "This manor contains five bedrooms, so one of us will have to bunk up."
"Oh I can room with Adleth." Riu declared happily. Looking over to the red-headed elf with beaming eyes. For once she got a good look at this new friend, she was pretty with a slender face and full lips she had thin angled eyebrows and slightly hooded emerald green eyes, a stronger jaw than most women but overly petite nature with elven pointy ears.
"Yeah, no. Not gonna happen." Adleth shot back. Her excitement died as quickly as it came. As the group huddled around Markos they pointed at various rooms.
"Oh I'll take the Master." Riu suggested, while she didnt care, she also didn't trust them.
"Nah, I'll room with Markos in the Master." Herod replied. Looking at a smiling Markos.
"Really? Heck yeah, we can pray to our lord Cthulhu!" Markos said happily. Riu only shook her head.
"I'll take this room then." Riu pointed to the smaller room with the balcony. Asher proceeded to lay claim to the room next to hers, and Adleth chose the room opposite to Herod and Markos's.
"I'll take the attic, good place to conduct my research." Alekzandr told them. The House was laid out in four total layers, the bottom was a cellar with layers of casks and storage for alcohol. The next was the bar which they were sitting in at the moment. To access the next floor one had to enter a stairwell located in the taproom near the bar, however the door was slightly covered from the side keeping it hidden from party guests who were not searching for it. As the party entered the second floor they studied the house's plans on the paper while going in and out of rooms. The second floor had a den with a circular room connected to a long rectangular one, where you could enter the manor's front yard balcony. It had a common room attached to that which led to the hall connecting Riu's and Asher's two rooms. Her room opened into the Manors backyard balcony. The third floor held a pathway in each direction from its landing, where going forward would lead you to the fourth floor, to the right was a dirty broken library with a few moldy books, Riu had to hold her nose to avoid the stench of the rotting books, though Alekzandr didn't seem to mind at all. To the left of the landing was a hallway to Adleth's room and then to Markos and Herod's master bedroom. The boy's room was just a large spacious landing with nothing of note besides the adjacent bathroom. Adleth's was much smaller with a bathroom attached but more importantly an entrance to the Manor's spire. The Final floor held only Alekzandr's new bedroom to the left and a twice as large storage room to the right which Riu couldn't really gleem any interest in from an initial viewing.
"That was fun." Riu exclaimed optimistically as the party descended the stairs back into the tavern below. She was excited to have this new party, an.. Adventure.. She reached slowly to her neck pulling free the small gorgeous locket she kept around her neck squeezing it. 'I did it mom.. Dad..' She whispered but only to herself.
"If you define fun by looking at rotting wood, rusted metal and very poorly kept drapes, then sure. It was fun." Asher replied. Riu grit her teeth, regardless of what she said, she always felt as if Asher disliked her which was a shame cause loved- er.. Liked.. Uh.. was pleasant to be around all of them! Though any read on Asher was near impossible because of that mask.
"Anyway.." Riu moved on quickly, having to try and squeeze between Herod and Asher.
"I think it would be in the best interest of us, to contact the various guilds on the work we need done." Aldeth told the group. "Once we get a price point, we tell Renaer."
"While we do that, we can introduce ourselves to the various groups around here. And maybe get some temporary employment." Riu added.
"Alright." Asher said, holding up his hand. "I'll go down and try to talk to uh.." Asher paused.
"Woodworking guild." Herod suggested. "I'll head out with Asher, Markos you can come with us." Markos smiled and strolled over to them.
"I will head down to Rishall's work on my book." Alekzandr concluded as he took a swig from his flask and left the room without a word.
"I'll go and see if I can get any favours from some friends." She responded. "Get some work in the meantime, afterall we have a tenday before we should do anything big." Riu just knew this was the start of something amazing.