Ghosts of Gauntcliff Chapter Four

[ewancummins]

At the Chateau-
In the side parlor
Denys Sancerre, Everline, and Primiero

‘’The devil you say! Shadow demons, or ghosts of some kind, in the Old Abbey? Hmm…well, I’ll steer any visitors clear of that place until Ben and his team can investigate further. They are experts on these things, as I’m sure you two must have noticed by now. Thank you for bringing this matter to my attention. If there is anything else I can do, anything else you need, please let me know. “

Denys fidgets with his half-eaten scone, and then drops it onto the saucer in his lap.

“Truth be told, I’m worried about more mundane problems at the moment…Ben’s little boy has wandered off, and poor Charlotte is understandably quite alarmed…”


Juergin’s room, Benn and Juergin

Benn, following the directions given by one of the maids, finds Juergin in the boy’s quarters. Juergin is busy lacing his shoes as Benn enters the room. The older man spots his prayer book on the bed next to the boy.
Before either Lamordian gets a chance to speak, Charlotte comes flying down the hall, screaming-

‘’Benn! Benn! Help, please! Jonas!”


Eustace’s room
Dorgio and Eustace-

The two men have just arrived, and are now busy looking over the scroll their team had recovered from the ruins.
They hear some commotion from the other side of the closed door- rapid footfalls and a shrill voice.

[ewancummins]

along the shore of Gauntcliff

Petrie, Thom, and the dog reach the rockier northern coast in the mid-afternoon, after a lesuirely stroll among the dunes. They discover a small cove not marked on the map.

[Ail]

Eustace and Dorgio look over the scroll, trying to make sense of it. Eustace ends up losing concentration, as his mind wanders off for a little while. Taking his eyes off the scroll, and looking at the sun outside, he feels a small amout of comfort as he imagines the dangers the night seems to have in store for them.


"I'm worried with Everline, you know? That thing that attacked her may come back tonight, and we should be ready. I have some prayers prepared, just in case, but some of them are against undead, and now it seems they won't be much useful.


He looks straight to Dorgio now


"But I'm more worried with other prospects. This is much bigger than a single attack on a single person. What if that shadow does not come after Everline tonight? What if it can choose another victim? What if we fall asleep?! I was planning to spend the night keeping watch over Everline, but I'm not sure it will be good for anything or I will be up to the task.


He waits and listens to any eventual answer by Dorgio. When he hears the voice from the corridor, he says.


"Hey, what's that? Isn't that Charlotte's voice?"

[Rock of the Fraternity]

"The child? Jonas?" Everline says, her voice sharp in a completely non-aristocratic way. "Hell's bells! It's already started!"

Shockingly, the young woman brings her fist down on the table between her and Sancerre, her blue eyes blazing.

"Aye, there's someaught you can do! For one thing, the shades more'n likely ain't confined ta the old abby! Something found me in my dreams last night, and it wasn't pretty. What you can do, monsieur Sancerre, is get whoever's got yer signal flags out of bed and on the docks. Soon as that ship full o' kiddies comes waddling up, you have to make 'em turn around as soon as they can see the flags a-waving.

Please don't argue this with me, man! If the shades are loose, as I suspect, and that dreaming demon can reach out to whoever 'e pleases, then that bargeful of kids would be like a free lunch to a politician!"

Everline seems lost in thought for a moment, then hisses a sigh. "We'd best think about escape, too. But there was some creature near the docks afore, weren't there? We'd need to be cautious and check whatever vessel ye've got.

An' with that done..." Everline leans over the table, staring the nobleman in the eye. "Ye're a collector, Sancerre, and ye've been on this isle for a bit, now. What've ye found that's of interest? There'd have to be something, ye're a learned man. Learned men go poking about and find stuff."

[Adam]

Benn turns, an instant look of concern on his face. Perhaps it is the unspoken, mental connection between two parents that lets him suspect, almost immediately, that something is wrong with their son. "Jonas?" he says, not entirely surprised but still with the feeling of his stomach sinking into his boots.

That said, his hand still drops protectively onto his prayerbook, picking it up and tucking it into his jacket pocket.

[steveflam]

Juergin merely says "Oh I forgot I even had your book, sorry Herr Benn." However, when he hears about Jonas, his eyes narrow. "Dark One, go see if you can find anything starting at Herr Benn and Frau Charlotte's room, please."

[Brock Marsh Runoff]

Dorgio pours over the scroll, nervous fingers tugging at the ends of his mustaches. "I am worried for her sake too. She's long been on the edge, ever since the conclave...perhaps that is why thing thing sought her out to begin with?" He shakes his head. "I am not knowing. I know more than a few prayers for laying low The Morninglord's enemies. Some work better on undead than others, but if it can be attacked, we can be driving it off." He almost sounds like he believes himself.

"It could well be coming for one of us next, and if we do not sleep, what good are we to the group? So much of our strength comes from the spells that you, Benn, and I can muster, if we are left without those, we are little better than targets I am thinking. Primeiro and Petrie, they may be handy with blades, but they are untested, at least to us. I can only be hoping we find something of use here," he says, pointing to the scroll.

His head snaps up when he hears the commotion. "Black skies, what was that?" he asks, sticking his head out of the door and peering down the hallway.

[ewancummins]

The hall, Benn & Charlotte-

Charlotte's long black hair hangs in her face, a tangled mess. Tears flow freely down her reddened cheeks.
''I never left him alone! We were in the room, sleeping..."
She sobs hysterically for a moment, before regaining some composure.
''He just vanished, Benn! The door was locked, the shutters were latched from the inside- how did he get out? M'sieur Sancerre has the servants looking, but no one has found anything. "

[ewancummins]

The side parlor-

Primeiro, Everline, and Denys Sancerre-


''Turn back the ship? Impossible! My venture here depends on...''
His face sours.
''Damn it, of course you are right. I have to think of the children. "
He lets out a long sigh.
"I'll have my men wave off the ship, never fear. "

After finishing his tea, he adds-

"I didn't find anything much man-made that was worth collecting when I came here; of course, I've been very busy with building and setting up my chateau and the bath. There is a stone table in the abbey ruins with some strange old writing carved on it, but that's about it. Gauntcliff was uninhabited for a very long time. The island's history is pretty murky. Nature's charms, Mademoiselle- 'twas Nature's charms brought me here."

[ewancummins]

His head snaps up when he hears the commotion. "Black skies, what was that?" he asks, sticking his head out of the door and peering down the hallway.

He sees Charlotte in a long gown, facing her husband in the hall outside Juergin's room. The woman's back is turned so Dorgio cannot see her expression, but her frantic motions suggest a mood of alarm. Ben's face, visible over her shoulder, is as pale as old candlewax.

[ewancummins]

"Dark One, go see if you can find anything starting at Herr Benn and Frau Charlotte's room, please."

''Yes..."

[Adam]

Benn wraps his arms around Charlotte, letting her cry into his shoulder. "It's alright. We will find him. I promise you that."

When she composes herself, he will turn and join the search with the rest of the staff.

[ewancummins]

Charlotte calms down enough to help with the search.

[steveflam]

Juergin spies Dorgio. "Maybe we can begin by Benn and Charlotte's room?"

[Ail]

Eustace comes to the corridor after Dorgio and spies the scene.


"It won't do much to search in the same places they are searching. I guess this must be what I feared, the things have attacked someone else, and they've began already. Yes, Juergin, I think we could begin there. We should keep together, safety in numbers and all that.