1-3-11

By following the light in the distance, the crewmen of the Chenodia and the townspeople who came with them eventually found Belford Mansion.

It towered well over the seekers, looming like some dark giant watching pesky children. The light came from a high window from a tower at the center of the great building. It glowed It was like a castle and it reminded Gaius of Cunningham Palace, his own family’s home in Delmaron. To Beryl, it was very reminiscent of her husband’s old family home, the same place where he and his family took their own lives all those years ago.

The gates were once again closed and forbidding. Mist obscured their surroundings and distorted voices murmured all around them. The undead were coming and, by the sound of it, there was going to be a lot of them.

“Light the Candles of Protection!” Medina the water buffalo shouted. “Light them now!”

And hurriedly, matches were struck to light the Candles of Protection they had brought along with them along with torches which crewmen and townsfolk held high to ward off the oncoming unquiet dead.

The murmurs grew quiet, as if they were surprised or confused. It took a while but the mists soon parted from those who held Candles of Protection. It fled the way a swarm of voracious night vermin might retreat from light or fire.

“Now, this is what we need to do to end the curse,” Medina said. “Gather around me now as I need to be as clear as possible to all of you.”

And that they did. Both the crewmen of the Chenodia and the townspeople who came along gathered around the water buffalo woman. Even as wraiths and zombies moaned and groaned in the distance, Medina spoke to them as loudly and clearly as possible. It was likely she wouldn’t be repeating herself considering the delicate situation they were in.

“Listen now,” Medina the water buffalo said. “Somewhere in that house is a power-source for all that’s happening here.”

“A focus, you mean?” Sienna the owl asked. “Necromancy needs a source after all, unlike wizardry that usually comes from the self.”

“Aye,” Medina nodded. “That’s what I’m talking about. Somewhere inside Belford Mansion is the source of all this evil. If we destroy it, we will set Karlaca free from Count Belford’s curse.”

“So what do you think it is?” asked Sienna. “What kind of focus is Count Belford using?”

“Something of this magnitude must be truly powerful indeed,” Medina said. “It may either be an animal or more likely a person with a strong attachment to the world of the living. I’m not sure what it’ll look like though. I have little knowledge of black magic after all.”

“It’ll probably look like a coffin or something,” Sienna said, volunteering her own knowledge. “If I understand black magic correctly, it will likely be a dead animal or person placed inside a glass coffin or cage.”

“What do we need to destroy it?” Beryl asked. “What do we do to make sure it goes for good?”

“There are many ways, young captain,” said the water buffalo. “Prayer is one way; magic is another and simply destroying their physical body is sometimes enough to kill any undead. Let me warn you though that it probably wouldn’t be giving up without a fight. And as it stands, unless we destroy the source of necromantic energy in this place, we will not be able to put down any of the undead for good. Even if you destroy them, they will rise again and again until their source of power is put out. Do you understand, all of you?”

Those that gathered around her either nodded or murmured their understanding.

“The only way to repel them is by using the Candles of Protection,” Medina went on. “Only the divine power stored within them can keep the undead abominations at bay. But all of you need to conserve them as I only have so many of them. As much as possible, we should light only one candle for every five people with two more ready to be lit.”

“But what if we run out?” Gaius asked. “I mean, three candles can only last for so long.”

“Then pray we do what we need to in that short time,” Medina said. “Pray we finish what we came here to do before it’s too late.”

Then a quiet voice emanated from Belford Mansion, chilling those gathered at the gates even as they snuffed out some candles to save them for later. Everyone froze where they stood, a little too scared to move. Zane, Sienna, Khayyam, Yvonne and Biggs remembered it as the same voice that led them out of the house just over a day ago. Medina recalled that it belonged to none other than the kind Nadia Belford, the count’s sweet wife who was a counter to his own cruel personality.

“You have come,” said the voice in a whispery but not unkindly tone. “Finally...”

They all heard the voice of the woman but they didn’t hear it in their ears exactly. Instead, it seemed to come from inside their own heads. As if it echoed around their own psyches.

“Nadia?” Medina asked. “Nadia, is that you?”

“Medina, you are here too?” asked the voice. “This is probably one of the better nights I’ve had. But hopefully, it will also be the last. Have you come to end the curse?”

“Yes, my friend,” Medina answered. “We have. It has to end Nadia. And tonight, we will end it.”

“Praise the Redeemer,” Nadia’s voice said. “Then I will help you. But be warned, the forces in the house are strong. Much stronger than I am. My husband has done much in infusing this house with evil. The evil here is very powerful, Medina, your Candles of Protection might not be enough to hold back the undead here. You may need to attack them with weapons or magic to repel them. Be careful because they will not allow themselves to be destroyed so easily.”

Then, with a loud shriek, the gates to Belford Mansion creaked open slowly, like the jaws of a great beast.

“Come,” said the waning voice of Nadia Belford. “I will do all that I can to help you destroy this place. I will see to it that you end the curse. But you must hurry, I can only fight the spirits of the house for so long.”

Medina looked on and into the house with Beryl and Gaius right beside her.

Gaius looked back at the crewmen and townspeople behind him.

“C’mon everyone,” he said. “Let’s get this over with!”

And thus they all entered Belford Mansion to end the curse of Karlaca for good.