Chapter 2: Noble House Rosefield
Merlin awoke to rays of morning light streaming through the timber-framed window of his room at the Spinning Compass Inn. After a hearty breakfast downstairs, he returned to find a messenger bird perched on the windowsill, a small scroll tied to its leg.
Unfurling the note, Merlin saw it was from Hal at Peculiar Investigations:
Merlin,
Time for your first mission. Meet us at the headquarters this morning and prepare to travel. Pack lightly but bring essential spell components.
- Hal
Eager at the prospect of a real adventure, Merlin gathered his belongings, making sure to bring pouches of spell reagents along with basic traveling necessities. At the Peculiar Investigations office, he found Hal along with Seraphina, Josephine, and Quill preparing packs and gear.
"Good, you're here," Hal said gruffly. He unrolled a map across the cluttered table.
"We've been hired to investigate an abandoned mansion outside the city. Used to be the grand estate of the noble Rosefield family until they all died under mysterious circumstances twenty years back."
Hal jabbed a finger at the map. "It's here, on a hillside northeast of the city. Been left to rot since the family's demise. Over the years there have been reports of hauntings and strange occurrences that have kept it vacant."
Merlin shivered, equal parts unnerved and excited. His first investigation, and already it involved ghosts and intrigue!
"The local real estate guild wants that property," Hal continued. "Problem is, they can't sell or develop it with all the unnatural happenings. So they hired us to purge the place of its otherworldly occupants."
Josephine frowned slightly. "I hope we can help this spirit find peace, not just drive it away."
Hal nodded. "Aye, sending it to the beyond is ideal if we can manage it. But the guild mainly wants the haunting to cease, one way or another."
The team gathered supplies and soon set off on foot through the rolling countryside. Quill consulted his maps and strange instruments to guide them, while Seraphina scouted the path ahead. Josephine and Merlin trailed behind, the young mage peppering her with excited questions.
"Do you think it's really haunted by the Rosefield's daughter?" Merlin asked. "Oh! What if their ghosts reenact how they died? Or if they left some artifact behind that we can find, imbued with their essence?"
Josephine smiled patiently. "Perhaps, but don't get carried away dear. We must proceed carefully in case of danger."
After miles of walking, they crested a wooded hill and spotted the mansion in the valley below. Even from a distance, its decrepit state was apparent. Rotted timbers, overgrown vines and cracked windows decorated the once-grand facade. The grounds were choked with weeds through which errant ghosts of cultivated gardens could be glimpsed.
As the team drew cautiously nearer, Merlin felt a chill in the air. The hairs on his neck prickled as gooseflesh broke out down his arms. This place radiated wrongness.
He reached instinctively for his spell pouches before catching Seraphina's warning look. "Steady now," she cautioned. "Don't act rashly. We don't yet know what we're dealing with."
They ascended the broad stone steps to the imposing front doors. Merlin reached for the tarnished handle, but Quill stopped him. "Allow me."
The scholar traced arcane symbols on the lockplate while murmuring an incantation. The heavy door creaked open.
Beyond lay a vast foyer thick with dust and draped in shadow. Their footsteps echoed as they crept inside, accompanied by the sound of Merlin's hammering heart. This was it...his first true adventure!
A spectral wail pierced the air, raising the hairs on Merlin's neck once more. A pale, glowing figure materialized at the top of the grand staircase. It was a young girl in a tattered gown, her face a mask of anguish.
"Leave this place!" she cried mournfully before vanishing.
"The daughter's spirit," breathed Josephine. "She seems bound here, unable to move on."
They ventured further into the decaying manor. Merlin's excitement overcame his nerves; here was a real haunting to decipher! The living quarters sat frozen in time, coated in dust that blanketed ornate but faded furniture. In what was once a lavish study, the shelves now lay barren, save for a few books so rotten that their pages crumbled at a touch.
"This place looks ransacked," noted Seraphina. "Looters, no doubt."
Quill nodded grimly. "Graverobbers seeking anything valuable buried with the family."
Merlin's face fell. "So much lost history..."
Their exploration was frequently interrupted by the daughter's mournful warnings as she appeared and vanished throughout the halls. Each time, Josephine tried communicating, but the specter kept wailing for them to leave.
The lower floor revealed signs of a past struggle—scorched walls, slashes that could only be sword marks, and macabre old bloodstains.
Seraphina ran a finger over one of the gashes. "Seems they didn't go quietly. A fight happened here."
"But who did they fight?" asked Merlin uneasily.
At the end of an extensive records room, they came across a collapsed section of shelves and scrolls. Merlin sifted through the crumbling pages until one margin caught his eye.
"Look here! This ledger lists a monthly payment to someone named...Riven. For 'protection services.'"
Quill's eyes lit up. "Riven the warlock! I've heard of him—a powerful spellcaster, suspected of dabbling in fiendish magics. Perhaps the family crossed him somehow."
"He must have sent supernatural forces against them," said Josephine.
Merlin shuddered. "That would explain the signs of battle..."
Progressing upstairs, they came to what was once the daughter's room. Surprisingly, it seemed largely untouched by time. Paintings still hung in place, and her ornate bed remained made, if dusty. A decorated vanity sat against one wall, upon which rested a silver hairbrush and a faded blue ribbon.
Josephine gently picked up the ribbon. Instantly, the ghostly daughter materialized with a forlorn look.
"Please, I just want this nightmare to end," she sobbed. Before vanishing, she gazed longingly at the hair ribbon.
"These artifacts are keeping her bound here," Josephine said. "We must free her."
She took the ribbon and brush and placed them gingerly in her pack. "I'll see that these are consecrated and put to rest properly."
With growing insight into the tragedy that had befallen this family, Merlin felt emboldened. "We should summon her spirit again, now that we understand what happened. If we can learn more details from her, we may be able to provide true closure."
The others nodded in agreement. Together, they prepared a ritual to summon the daughter's essence in a more stable, communicative form. Merlin carefully drew out the binding circles and runic symbols on the floor as Quill lit candles and incense around the room. The air hung heavy with anticipation.
At last, Josephine uttered an incantation to call the spirit forth. The ghostly form of the girl coalesced before them, clearer than ever. They now made out details blurred in earlier glimpses—the glimmer of a pendant around her neck, soot smudging her gown, pallid skin with a crimson gash across her forehead. Merlin shuddered.
Seraphina knelt so as not to tower over the waifish specter. "Dear child, we only want to help you find peace. Can you tell us what happened here?"
The ghost looked around with large, mournful eyes brimming with tears. When she spoke, her voice echoed as if traveling through years.
"It was the eve of my sixteenth birthday," she began faintly. "We had a grand party with all our friends. Afterwards, I went up to my room but could not sleep."
Her gaze became distant. "I heard noises outside...cries and shouts from the grounds. I looked out to see strange dark creatures attacking everyone!"
She paused, recovering her composure before continuing. "Father told me to bar my door and stay inside. I could hear fighting throughout the night. At last, all went silent."
Tears rolled down her ghostly cheeks. "In the morning, I ventured out and...found them all dead! Mother, Father, my brothers..."
The specter choked with sorrow. "I do not know what happened after that. When I regained my senses, I was...like this. Trapped! Please, I just want to be free of this place."
The adventurers exchanged solemn looks. The tale matched their deductions - a warlock's foul magic sent shadowy forces to massacre the household.
"We understand now, child," said Josephine gently. "We will make sure you and your family receive a proper burial. Your souls can finally rest."
As she spoke, the pendant around the ghost's neck began glowing. She grasped it tightly, and seemed to regain a touch of color.
"Thank you for laying us to rest," she whispered. With a peaceful smile, her form slowly faded away.
After a moment of somber silence, Seraphina clapped Merlin on the back. "You did well. Handled yourself like a pro in there."
The journey back was filled with talk of avenging spirits and magical mysteries. Merlin's mind swirled with thoughts of their next adventure. For now, he was satisfied they had brought some justice and closure.
Back at the Peculiar Investigations office, Hal congratulated them on a job well done.
"Here's to solving the case of the Rosefield's haunting!" He poured each a mug of ale from the keg by his desk.
Turning to Merlin, he said "Keep using that imagination and curiosity of yours. But remember to stay vigilant and prudent - a careless adventurer is a dead one."
Merlin nodded, contemplating Hal's advice. He couldn't wait to unravel more supernatural secrets. But he knew future missions would require both an inquisitive mind and a watchful eye.
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