The House Might Be Haunted

***Event Quest:** Part 1 of the Torschel's Twilight 2022*

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## Quest Data

* Hard, from level 20

* FULL HEAL
* Hoard of Rats - Level 18
* FULL HEAL
* Vampire Bat - Level 18
2.00 GUILD
Pumpkin Pail

* Candy
* Smil Mask
* Spiritstalker Orb
* Vampire Fangs
* Alley Cat Cape
* Blade of Limbo
* Twilight Mantle

## Story

### ***Location: Guildtown***

*"And just when they thought they were safe... BOO!"* The children shriek and laugh as the older boy continues telling the story. It's still rather early in the afternoon for ghost stories, but the kids have already done their chores, helping to tidy up around Guildtown's residential areas and running errands for their parents. The story continues. *"Bursting out of the darkness came a creature so horrible, so terrifying that none who see it live to tell the tale. Growing before their very eyes was-"*

*"Karl, it's going to be your fault if your sister has nightmares."* Looking up, you see the local baker, Douglas has returned for the last of the flour you're delivering to him.

### ***Location: Guildtown***

Things have been pretty quiet lately so you've been helping with the preparations for the Festival. Tonight is the first night of the week-long event, so it was a busy morning, delivering supplies all over the town. *"Thanks for that [Adventurer], it's greatly appreciated."* As you go to leave the area, your gaze falls upon the group of children again. As Douglas reenters the shop Karl's twin brother, Sesh, immediately continues telling story "The Monster of Torschel's Twilight".

*Torschel's Twilight*. There's many stories and legends about the final eve of Torschel's month. Many adventurers swear that monsters become more restless around that time, but others just call it superstition.

### ***Location: Guildtown***

According to legend, the eve of Torschel's Twilight is when the boundaries between the physical realm and Limbo are at their weakest, allowing vengeful spirits and the like to pass into the world.

You know most of the stories, but as long as you can remember, you've never seen anything that'd suggest the legend is true. Although, the legend also says that it is the goddess Torschel herself that patrols throughout that night with her helpers, hunting down those that would cause harm and escorting them to the afterlife.

### ***Location: Guildtown***

*"Mrow?"* You're shaken from your thoughts as a fluffy white cat begins rubbing up against your leg and as you crouch down, you're permitted to scratch beneath its chin.

*"Meeeemeeeeee!"* Looking up from your task, you spot Kassia running in your direction and the girl quickly scoops up her cat into a hug. After a brief moment, she finally notices you standing there and smiles brightly. *"Hiya [Adventurer]! Was Meemee playing with you?"* You're about to reply when someone calls your name - Kassia's brothers are waving you over to the group of children.

*"Hey [Adventurer], seeing that you're here, wanna help us with something?"* Both boys break into matching grins.

### ***Location: Guildtown***

Shortly afterward, you find yourself standing outside the familiar abandoned house. Dark paint is peeling from the dilapidated wooden structure, exposing rotting wood beneath, and a good portion of the house is covered in creeping vines.

*"So explain this one more time?"* You ask with a sigh.

*"We used the place as our hideout, but Kassia dobbed us in to mum."* Sesh explains as he glares at his younger sister, who has tagged along. Karl picks up the explanation.

*"Mum said if she heard anything about us going inside again, we'd be grounded. She has this way of finding things out, so we don't want to risk going in to get our stuff. But she never said anything about getting someone else to go in for us."*

### ***Location: Guildtown***

*"Oh [Adventurer],"* Sesh stops you as, deciding to get the job done as quickly as possible, you push open the rusted gate, wincing at the screeching hinges. *"Be careful in there. We haven't been back in since that time with Kassia and the bat..."* He trails off. You get the feeling that their mother isn't the only reason the twins are reluctant to enter the rundown house.

You making your way to the front door and consider the items the pair have sent you to retrieve. There's a pair of wooden swords, a small pouch of Guilders, and a box of sweets, all three hidden separately of course...

**What do you want to look for first?**

The Swords

### ***The Swords - Location: Guildtown***

According to the twins, they'd stashed their wooden swords under the staircase around the back of the house. Moving around the exterior of the building, you spot the stairs, if they can still be called that. Most of the steps themselves are missing, and the ones that remain have rotted away to the point you doubt they'd hold you're weight. As you push through a thick tangle of vines, your eyes fall upon a few small crates and a large barrel, protruding from which you see two wooden handles.

You manage to avoid tripping as you navigate what you realise is an overgrown pumpkin patch and reach the barrel, but as you grab the two swords, you notice movement from one of the crates next to you.

**Make a Speed check! (DC50/70)**

Failed check

#### ***Passed Speed check - The Swords - Location: Guildtown***

You just barely manage to leap backwards as one of the wooden crates shifts to reveal a fanged maw! It's a mimic!

Fight a Mimic!

### ***The Swords - Location: Guildtown***

The Mimic melts into a pile of goo, leaving behind a pile of broken wooden boards. You cautiously poke the remaining crates with your weapon, but it looks like it's clear. Grabbing the two training swords, you head back to the front gate and hand them over.

*"A Mimic? Really? That's wicked-Ow!"* Karl sheepishly grins at you as Sesh no-so-subtly kicks him. *"I mean, that's not good. We've never seen anything there before. I'm glad you took care of it."* Unbothered by everything going on, Kassia is happily singing a song to Meemee.

### ***The Swords - Location: Guildtown***

You describe the mimic to the boys, and after your break, you get back to your feet. Leaving the twins and Kassia behind, you step back through the gate and decide what to retrieve next.

The Guilders

### ***The Guilders - Location: Guildtown***

The floor creaks as you step inside, and following the twins' directions, you quickly find the kitchen. Apparently the boys have been stashing their pocket money in one of the old cupboards. Two of the four doors are missing and you can't see the pouch of Guilders, so you open the next door, but again, nothing except a few empty jars of clouded glass.

You make your way across the small room to the final cupboard and are about to open it when you hear an odd scratching behind it. Suspiciously, you slowly reach forward and then yank the door open!

Fight a Horde of Rats!

### ***The Guilders - Location: Guildtown***

The rats scatter and you finally get a chance to examine the contents of the cupboard. Sitting amidst the tattered remains of what probably was the pouch is a small pile of Guilders. Wishing you'd attended that free class at the Guild Hall about cleaning magic, you do your best to avoid the rat droppings and gingerly move the coins into one of the empty jars.

You head back outside and, after extracting a promise from the twins that they *\*will* wash the coins before spending them, you hand them the money.

### ***The Guilders - Location: Guildtown***

After a quick breather, and hoping to avoid more rats, you head back to the front door of the building to continue fetching things for the twins. Where to next?

The Sweets

### ***The Sweets - Location: Guildtown***

Stairs groan in protest as you climb up into the attic, and not for the first time since entering the dilapidated house, you wonder why it hasn't been demolished by the city's council. Nevertheless, you quickly locate the box the twins' described, but unfortunately it's on the other side of the attic. You warily look down at the worn wooden planks, and begin to carefully step your way across.

You manage only a few steps before something drops down from the sloped ceiling!

**Make a Speed check! (DC50)**

Failed check

#### ***Passed Speed check - The Sweets - Location: Guildtown***

You not only manage to avoid the swooping bat, but even swat it as it flies past.

It rights itself in the air, and you notice its a different colour to normal, with two very sharp fangs.

Fight a Vampire Bat!

### ***The Sweets - Location: Guildtown***

The vampiric bat falls motionless to the ground, and you quickly navigate your way over to the small crate. Peering inside, you see some stones and a slingshot, an assortment of brightly wrapped candies, and a pumpkin pail, a carved wooden bucket traditionally used by children to beg candy from their neighbours during the festival. You also spot a what looks some handwritten notes for the standard Sweep technique used by fighters.

You pick up the box and carefully make your way back down from the attic and back out to the boys. They gleefully take the box from you and start rumaging through it.

All 3 Completed

### ***All 3 completed - Location: Guildtown***

All items returned, you sigh with relief as you watch the boys start trying to pick up all their things.

*"Thanks [Adventurer], you're awesome!"* Karl smiles happily at you. *"Hey Kassia, if you promise not to tell Mum about this, you can pick any sweet you want."* His sister's eyes sparkle as she hears the bribe and gently placing Meemee down, she starts to inspect the contents of the crate.

*"Oooh, I want... this one!"* She exclaims as she pulls out a piece of confectionery. *"Oh! MEEEMEEEEEEE!"* Her sudden cry startles you as Meemee darts through the gate and, in a surprisingly agile motion for such a fluffy cat, cleanly leaps through one of the broken windows. Sesh grabs his sister to stop her chasing after the cat.

### ***All 3 completed - Location: Guildtown***

*"I'll go get her."* You try to calm down the frantic Kassia before making your way through the front door for the third time today. You can't see Meemee's strikingly white fur anywhere, and with a groan you realise just how many places there are she could be hiding.

*"Meemee?"* You make few noises to try to call the cat to you.

*pspspsps*

There's no response and you're resigning yourself to what could possible be the longest search yet when you hear a hiss coming from upstairs. You hurry to the second floor and you track the angry noises to the second room down the hall.

### ***All 3 completed - Location: Guildtown***

The door is ajar, and you suddenly recall that this is the same room that Kassia found Meemee in last time you were here. You slowly push the door open to avoid scaring the cat. It's a plain room only lit by a dirty, clouded window. Meemee spits and hisses again - her hackles are raised and her spine arches as she stares intensely at the opposite side of the room, attention locked on a wooden rocking chair.

Curiously, you follow her gaze and inspect the piece of furniture, but it's just an ordinary, and very dusty, chair. You're confused, but decide to just assume Meemee is just being a cat.

### ***All 3 completed - Location: Guildtown***

It takes a while but eventually Meemee settles and allows you to pick her up. You glance back at the chair again, before shaking your head and leaving the room, pulling the door closed as you go. Descending the stairs, you emerge from the house and Kassia gratefully accepts Meemee from you, squishing the cat into a hug.

The twins have finished organising their belongings and offer you a piece of candy as well as the Pumpkin Pail from the crate. When you ask why, they explain that they hadn't expected to be able to retrieve it, so they'd made a new one to collect sweets with during the celebration.

### ***All 3 completed - Location: Guildtown***

Assuring you that their new Pumpkin Pail has an "awesome Paint Job", you eventually agree and accept the wooden bucket from the pair. The twins make sure their sister has a good grip on Meemee, and bribe her with another piece of candy before setting off back home to prepare for the first night of the celebration. You're almost certain that they'll get up to more mischief but decide they'll probably ignore any cautions you give them.

Tossing the piece of candy into the Pumpkin Pail, you trail along to make sure they get home safely, before leaving to report the Mimic to the Guild.

In the abandoned house, the second room on the second floor is empty, except for an old wooden rocking chair.

Although the last light of the day still filtering through the clouded window, the room grows unnaturally dark.

With a groan, the chair slowly begins to rock. Back and forth.

Back and forth.