The cold grip of unease shivers our bones as we stare down the pale and eerie ghosts. I keep my hands stretched toward my companions. We’re in a good position to avoid a fight so long as none of them reach for their weapons. “You’re Elizabeth and Gustov. You owned this house. This is your family crypt.”
The ghosts each turn their heads toward me. The look in their sunken eyes makes my hand stand on end. “This house belongs to Strahd.”
Vayne glances at me. I can tell she’s uneasy about this, but I’m thankful she’s offering words instead of claws. “What happened here?”
The spirit of Elizabeth moans. “The will of Strahd.”
Gustov twists his head in an unnatural angle. He aims his gaze at each of us like a loaded crossbow. “Trespassers perish.”
Vyke raises his hands. “Now, hold on a second. What about the people who’s been living here? We’ve seen signs of a cult.”
“Hired help,” Elizabeth emphasizes her words. “To remove the unwanted. We are tasked to receive and remove.”
I glance at my companions. Blue Onesie is poking at an object around the room, but the look I gained from Vayne tells me she shares my concern that we may not be able to talk these ghosts down. My thoughts drift to Rose and Thorn. Perhaps–
“But you’re dead,” Bree’s comment grips my stomach in ice. “How can you be tasked to do anything. You need to move on to the other side.”
Elizabeth and Gustov each stare at the little halfling. I bite my lip. From the looks of their faces, they can’t comprehend what Bree just said. I’m starting to think they don’t know they’re dead.”
“There was a massacre in this house, we figure,” Bree continues like its a casual conversation. “The maid, your children op–” She shuts up when Vayne clamps a claw over her mouth.
I growl through gritted teeth. “What she’s trying to say is that your children are looking for you. Rose and Thorn, right? They’re up in the attic. They’ve been waiting for you all this time.”
I didn’t think a chilly ghost face could soften, but a bit of warmth did grace Elizabeth’s hollow skin. “The children,” she whispered.
Vyke cleared his throat. “Right, we could tell you exactly where, but we need your help too. We’re trying to find the ‘hired help.’ They are a cult, right?”
Elizabeth slothfully motions to a different passage. “The crypt is where they inhabit. Their rituals. That way.”
Vyke glances at the rest of us. “We could get rid of them for you. Then, you and children can haunt this house all to yourselves.”
Gustov hovers over to Vyke. I swear he grew larger as he moved that three feet. He bears over my companion. “The children.”
“In the playroom in the attic,” Vayne points off the way we came from. “They need you.”
We all flinch as Elizabeth lets out an ear-piercing shriek. She dashes past us, disappearing through the wall and Gustov follows not far behind.
I look at the others. “That worked out.”
“Thankfully,” Vayne sighs in relief.
Vyke perks up. “Well, what are we waiting for? Let’s go kill a cult.”
I roll my eyes, but I follow the others to the passage Elizabeth pointed to. It’s another staircase, leading downward. Thankfully, this one has light at the end. Deep chanting catches our ears the deeper we descend. It’s too far away for me to recognize the words. The staircase leads us to a reliquary. Blue Onesie immediately eyes the golden relics, but Vayne stops him with a single grip of her claw. “Touch nothing,” she growls. “Or you’ll be wearing your intestines as a scarf.”
“The chanting is coming from that way.” I point off to one passageway. I still can’t make out the words.
“Then we should start by going that way.” Vyke points off to the only other passage. “Get an air for what’s around before we charge into anything.”
I nod in agreement and the two of us head down the second passage while Vayne babysits Blue Onesie. Our passage leads to a prison with ten cells and skeletons rotting inside them. “What type of family has this in their crypt?” Vyke looks at me, but I only shrug in reply.
Halfway down the prison, there’s a window. Vyke and I take a peek and we tense at the cult in the next room. There’s at least a dozen of them. Tall men dressed in black robes. They stay in a circle, each one holding their hands up as they chant and chant and chant. My blood grows cold when I finally make out what their saying.
“One must die. One must die. One must die.”
Vyke nudges me and points off in the corner of the cult room. Some poor sap is chained to the wall. I bet he’ll be the one to die.
We head back to the others to warn them, but just as we reach Vayne and Blue Onesie, the chanting stops. “What happened?”
Vyke shakes his head at me. “We weren’t seen. Whatever it was, it wasn’t us.”
“Uh, guys,” Vayne’s looking around frantically. “Where’s Bree?”
A scream comes from the cult room.
“Ugh, that halfwit halfling!” Vyke draws his blades. “She went in there alone!” He and Vayne run after her.
I take a deep breath and close my eyes. All those cultists in there, we’ll need all the strength we can get. With a smirk, I welcome my wolf blood. The transformation always ignites an exhilarating fire within my veins. My hands extend to claws and thick brown fur coats my body. I howl through canine teeth. The hunt is on.
nikki diekemper 