Ghosts of Gauntcliff: Chapter Two

[steveflam]

Juergin swallows. "Sweets from Hazlan? I haff only tasted them once before." His eyes lower and he remembers his father and the crew of his ship. The first mate had bought him some at a port. His hand grips her hand as tight as she does his, but probably not for the same reason. "Very well. De light is low unt sweets sound nice after that nice meal I ate, Miss Eliana. I hope you haff another candle I can borrow to return to my room." His eyes are a bit watery after thinking of his crewmates and his deceased father.

[ewancummins]

Juergin in the hall

She leads Juergin into her chamber, and then turns to lock the door. He gets a glimpse of the dishevelled bedclothes and the haphazardly stacked luggage, before the candle blinks out, leaving the room in perfect darkness.
* * *

[Brock Marsh Runoff]

The Dining Hall

Seeing his comrades begin to excuse themselves, Dorgio stands, fumbling through his pockets for one last cigarillo and frowning when he finds them empty. "For the best, I am supposing. I must be up early for my devotions at any rate. In the morning, we should be discussing the temple more, preferably while on our way to strike at whatever evil dwells there."

He stands then, feeling relatively sober thanks to the watered down wine, and starts toward his room.

[ewancummins]

Dorgio's room, a short while later...

Dorgio lies in bed, blanketed by the thick darkness, but sleep will not come.

Soft scratching sounds come from the direction of the window, which was closed when Dorgio put out the light.

[Ail]

Eustace replies to Dorgio

"It's interesting you consider a god to be the servant of the devil Strahd. I would never consider any good to be servant of a man on this earth. Even if the tales they tell about that particular man might be true.


But indeed, let's discuss this during the day. Sunlight clarifies the mind."

As the others turn to bed, Eustace follows also. He enters his room and methodically shutters the windows. He prepares his gear for the following day, and quickly readies his portable lab for an eventual use in the following days.

When his preparations are done, he goes to sleep.

[Ken of Ghastria]

Primeiro's room

Abigail slips into the room quietly, carrying a tall bottle of dark-tinged wine and a silver chalice.

The shapely maidservant drops a graceful curtsey towards Primeiro.

"My lord."

Primeiro smiles pleasantly. "Thank you, Abigail. You look lovely this evening. Quite delectable, in fact. Please pour me a glass, then join me here. I wish to speak with you." He sits down at the edge of his bed and indicates a spot next to him.

[Adam]

"I apologize, Berenice, for upsetting you." He deftly plucks a handkerchief form his front pocket handing it to her to help dry her tears. "I am an investigator, of sorts. I've worked with Herr Sancerre in the past. It is how we came to be acquainted in the first place, as it turns out, and I'm interested in what may have happened to your friend, and making sure it doesn't happen to anyone else. Any details you can provide me will be most helpful in seeing that this is done." He flips open his leather bound journal and picks up a writing-charcoal.

[ewancummins]

Benn's room

"I apologize, Berenice, for upsetting you." He deftly plucks a handkerchief form his front pocket handing it to her to help dry her tears. "I am an investigator, of sorts. I've worked with Herr Sancerre in the past. It is how we came to be acquainted in the first place, as it turns out, and I'm interested in what may have happened to your friend, and making sure it doesn't happen to anyone else. Any details you can provide me will be most helpful in seeing that this is done." He flips open his leather bound journal and picks up a writing-charcoal.

Berenice talks haltingly at first, but reassured by Charlotte, she soon opens up with details.

Benn learns that:


Maggie is the only one among all the servants who has died since coming to the island.

Maggie was twelve years old, the youngest of the servants.

Everyone liked Maggie.

Maggie was a very healthy, active girl.

Maggie and Berenice both had bad dreams from the time they arrived, over a month ago, till the night Maggie died. The dreams are hard for Berenice to remember- she does recall being chased by a shadowy figure with hateful red eyes like hot coals. She can't add more.


Sancerre built the chateau with help from 'the bird-men'- that's what the older servants say. She doesn't know what that means. Tha chateau was built before most of the servants arrived.



...

Berenice is stiffling yawns and struggling to sit upright by the time she relates all that.

"I'm sorry, monsiuer. I'm very tired. It's been a long day for me. I want to help you. If there is anything else, please tell me."

[ewancummins]

Primeiro's bedchamber

Primeiro smiles pleasantly. "Thank you, Abigail. You look lovely this evening. Quite delectable, in fact. Please pour me a glass, then join me here. I wish to speak with you." He sits down at the edge of his bed and indicates a spot next to him.

The pretty blonde does as directed.

Once seated on the bed, she asks,

''My lord, you have some other task for me?"

[Ken of Ghastria]

Primeiro's bedchamber

''My lord, you have some other task for me?"

"Indeed, I do, Abigail," says Primeiro. He pulls a gold coin from a pocket and places it in her lap. "As I mentioned, I believe in rewarding good service ... and discretion." He takes a sip of the wine, then he holds the silver chalice out to Abigail. "Please have a sip, my dear -- I hate to drink alone. Oh, don't worry, I won't tell!" His tone is teasing, and his eyes are bright ... yet steely. It's clear from his posture that he won't be satisfied until she has a sip as well.

Once she does, Primeiro says, "This afternoon, we had a little difficulty in those damnable abbey ruins and..." He winces and rubs his shoulder. "I had a bit of a fall, you see," he continues, unbuttoning his shirt halfway and examining his very bruised left shoulder. "Looks painful, doesn't it? Have you heard about any whispers about, oh, dangers on the island? Say, people getting badly injured, or falling mysteriously ill, or ... even dying? I'm concerned... not just about myself, but about the other guests... about you. If there is a problem, I vow to protect you as best I can."

He reaches out and gently moves a curl of her hair away from her face. "You really do have the loveliest eyes, Abigail..."

[ewancummins]

He reaches out and gently moves a curl of her hair away from her face. "You really do have the loveliest eyes, Abigail..."

Abigail daintily wipes the stain of port from her lips.

"Ah...thank you."

She turns her head away, while at the same time sliding a little closer on the bed. This angle gives Primeiro a good view of her 'attributes.'


"Well, there was a kitchen girl who died. Poor child. That happened before I arrived, but not too long ago, I think. I don't know of anything else like that, not here."

[Ken of Ghastria]

"Ah yes," says Primeiro, "I did hear something about that poor girl. Pity. Well then, promise me, Abigail, that should you hear of anything troubling -- anything at all -- you will tell me about it as soon as you are safely able to do so, yes?" He reaches out to gently turn her face back toward him. "After all, as a gentleman, I am sworn to reward information and to protect beauty... in all its forms." He leans in and kisses her on the lips.

[ewancummins]

"Ah yes," says Primeiro, "I did hear something about that poor girl. Pity. Well then, promise me, Abigail, that should you hear of anything troubling -- anything at all -- you will tell me about it as soon as you are safely able to do so, yes?" He reaches out to gently turn her face back toward him. "After all, as a gentleman, I am sworn to reward information and to protect beauty... in all its forms." He leans in and kisses her on the lips.

...fade to black...

[Adam]

"You've done very well," he reassures her. "Who is staying in the girl's chambers now, if I might ask? Have they mentioned any of the same dreams?"

He also asks if any sort of effort was made to determine what happened to the kitchen maid, where she was interred, what she meant by the face, and anything else she can relate regarding the "bird-men." If necessary to fortify the girl, he pours her a quick drink from what they have available at the table.

[ewancummins]

"You've done very well," he reassures her. "Who is staying in the girl's chambers now, if I might ask? Have they mentioned any of the same dreams?"

He also asks if any sort of effort was made to determine what happened to the kitchen maid, where she was interred, what she meant by the face, and anything else she can relate regarding the "bird-men." If necessary to fortify the girl, he pours her a quick drink from what they have available at the table.

Berenice sips the wine, but it doesn't seem to help her memory much.
The maid claims to know nothing more about the 'bird-men.' She answers Benn's follow-up questions about the scullery maid, Maggie-

"It was a fever, I guess. That's what everyone said. Her face was sort of twisted, like she was scared or in pain when she died. "

She gulps down a little more wine.

"Monsieur Sancerre had Maggie buried in the hills, in a lovely spot under an oak tree. No one sleeps in our old room. It's just a closet now, for brooms and such. There's been no trouble since then, no one sick, nothing wrong."


The servant girl holds a hand to her mouth to quell a yawn.

"Excuse me. I'm sleepy."

Any further questioning by Benn yields no new information. The maid is obviously worn-out from her day's work. Benn notices no signs of fear or prevarication- just fatigue and a little confusion.
After a while, Charlotte gently reminds Benn of the late hour.

''She to to work in the morning, dear, let her go for now.''

Charlotte tells Berenice- ''Thanks for speaking with Benn. If you recall anything that you think he'd need to know, or something strange happens, come back and tell one of us. Now you really ought to go and get some sleep. ''

After Berenice has left, Charlotte puts Jonas to bed.

''Still up for a talk on the patio?"


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