Chapter 3: Sleep

Ohglis
The Haunting

A yell sounded from the northeast part of the village, sending Eligor ramrod straight. Eyes flaring, he marched in the direction of the sound, wanting end this quickly so as to spend the remaining hours of the night in bed. Houses passed by as he swept through the streets, a bolt of light in his hands as he drew closer to the cause of the disturbance.

Chapter 3: Sleep

Ohglis
The Haunting

Soon the others came and saw what had happened. First it was the decapitated head of the guards and then the family who were slaughtered in their home. Strangely none of them had their blood sucked out like the previous victims. This was noticed by one of the bounty hunters, a previous scholar from Ade'leon. He also noted that the killings were far more bloody and brutal compared to the others before it. Also the bodies appeared to have been dead for nearly an hour. There was also something troubling about how it happened at the edge of the village in a secluded area. It was almost as if they were being led here so that the village would be less guarded.

While everyone was busy searching for the culprit, the scholar deduced that this killing was merely a diversion or a trap. He left the house and noticed that most of the lights in the village were out. Even the mayor's mansion was completely covered in darkness.

"It seems we've been mislead." he said to the others.

Chapter 3: Sleep

Ohglis
The Haunting

Eligor did not return to the village alone. Some of the men who were brave enough to go back also went with the Alfeir. The village was quiet before, but it was dead silent now. There were no lights, no people not even the guards, no sound not even from the wind. None of the men were courageous enough to check the houses nor venture alone in the dark.

A closer inspection reveals that there was a single light coming from the third floor window of the mayor's mansion. There were no guards at the gates, the village was completely empty, even the livestock that were in the farms are gone.

The scholar notions the men to come with him to investigate the Mayor's Mansion. They agreed and went in there with him. The place was so lively and full of bright lights just a few hours ago. Now it was like a ghost mansion. Slowly they walked up the spiral staircase to make their way to the third floor.

Chapter 3: Sleep

Ohglis
The Haunting

Finally they reached the room of the Mayor. The door was strangely unlocked, but at this point anything was suspicious. The scholar opened the door and there they found the source of the light, a single candle placed on a table by the window. There was someone sitting in a chair by the candle. He was facing the window so it was hard to identify him, but his features represent the Mayor.

The scholar called out to him, "Sir... Are you all right? The village... is.."

But there was no response. The man sitting in the chair did not answer nor move. None of the men were brave enough to go approach him, not even the scholar.

Ohglis
The Haunting

Naturally, the Alfeiran conjurer wasn't too enthused with the situation. This situation screamed trouble and his gut was yelling at him to get the hell out of dodge while there was still a dodge to get out of.


"There are three options for this situation," Eligor said slowly." One, he's in league with the monster and lured us up here. Two, he's a recent victim and the monster used it as bait to likewise lure us up here. And three," his eyes narrowed suspiciously, "He IS the monster and this is a trap."

He had the sunbolt in his hand flare, illuminating the room.

Chapter 3: Sleep

Ohglis
The Haunting

Eligor's light illuminated the room, but it revealed nothing out of the ordinary. The room was clean and there were no signs of a break-in or violence. But the air was filled with an ominous feeling, the type that's send chills up a man's spine. Though it remains unseen, something was in there with them. The man in the chair, still, didn't move. The men in the room were terrified, they were used to fighting monsters and wild beasts but nothing could've prepared them for what happened next.

"tee-hee-hee-hee...." the sound of a child laughing echoed inside the room. The voice was coming from all around with no real point of origin. The room's temperature was also dropping rapidly. A thick white fog was seeping out from within the floor and the walls. A sudden gust of wind blows only lit candle in the room. Only Eligor's magic acted as their light source, but even the light can sometimes be overshadowed by darkness.

The doors suddenly closed shut. Some of the men tried to force it open, but there was a strange magic keeping it from opening. The men were starting to panic, their fear and restlessness fed the dark creature's power.

Ohglis
The Haunting

Eligor scowled. This was getting ridiculous, and he was now sorely wishing he had left as soon as he left the mayor's mansion. All the Gil in the world wasn't worth the trouble he was now getting stuck with. His sun spark was getting overwhelmed by the mist, but he would keep it going as long as it served a purpose. 


This creature was getting on his nerves as he heard laughter coming from everywhere and nowhere. He hadn't heard such a thing in an age, or at least not something that had his hair standing on end when it sounded. He took a breath to center himself. The wraith at Witch's Hill was more terrifying than this presence he was sensing on the periphery.

Chapter 3: Sleep

Ohglis
The Haunting

All of a sudden a swift slashing sound was heard, then it was followed by the sound of two objects falling on the ground. The first sound was of a small, watermelon sized object falling on the wooden floor. Followed by the louder and larger sound that sounded like a man with armor had fallen down. True enough as the men turned around to investigate, there laid the body of a decapitated party member. No one saw who did it or how it happened, it happened a few moments after the child's laughter was heard.


Another noticeable fact was that the beheaded man's weapon was missing, a large axe. It was probably the same weapon used to cleave his head off. Whatever it was, it was fast enough to take the man's weapon and use it against him without raising alarm.

The mysterious voice laughs again. "Hee hee hee hee". The voice came from the direction of the man sitting in the chair. But as their group turned back around to face that way, the man in the chair was already gone. He vanished without a trace, no one heard him get up and leave. There were no audible footsteps nor were there any set of eyes watching what happened.

The men's fear was starting to show and this made whatever it was that was haunting this town, even stronger

Ohglis
The Haunting

That laugh was getting annoying, and that missing person concerned him. Eligor had a sneaking suspicion that he was never there to begin with. The fear the others were exhibiting was also irksome because it served no purpose. Now, another person in his position might call out to them, offering words of encouragement, perhaps even make a show of bravery to bring them to their senses. But that wasn't what Eligor did. Honestly he felt if they were going to act like children, then they could pay for the mistakes that would result from it. It wasn't like he was one for inspiring speeches so why even bother?

He considered looking through his tome to see if he'd ever encountered something like this before, or if perhaps the tome's previous owner had, but felt after the long days he's put in reading it, that he'd remember such a detail as this, so wrote it off as a lost cause.


This is going nowhere fast, he thought while rolling his eyes. It wants something from us, otherwise it would have killed us all instead of just one. But why? Is it not capable of taking us all on and so wants to sow fear to weaken or perhaps its a show of intimidation so that it could kill us one by one with little-to-no resistance?

Questions swirled in his head as his eyes darted about, trying to find the source of the voice and failing.

Chapter 3: Sleep

Ohglis
The Haunting

There were a total of 5 of them left, including Eligor. One of the hunters was frightened beyond reason, he ran towards the door and tried to open it. But there was something barring the door from the other side. He tried hacking it open with his blade. The others beckoned him to stay close but he didn't listen. He kept hacking away until he was able to make a hole in the door, big enough to fit his arm in. He made a few adjustments to the size of the hole and then slipped his arm through, searching for the handle on the other side.

He was able to touch something round, it was larger than the handle he was looking for and it had hair. The moment he realized that he was holding someone's head, he knew he was in trouble. Whatever it was that he had held started biting his arm. Several others joined and bit into the man's arm. But they weren't satisfied. They began pulling on the man from the other side, until finally they managed to pull his entire arm off.

The man sat beside the door and screamed. He didn't realize that his head was right behind the hole. An arm, suddenly grabs his head and pulled it through the hole in the door. The man continued to scream until finally his screams died out. They pull his head off and leaves his body on the other side of the door.

The others were panicking. Some of them thought about taking their own lives, to spare them from such a gruesome death. Another noticeable thing was the darkness. It seemed like no matter how bright their torches and Eligor's light were, the darkness was slowly swallowing it. The shadow around them was getting bigger as the light was getting smaller. Instead of spreading out, they each cramped up in one space.

One of them was waving his torch left and right, trying to shine light in the space in front of him. At first there was nothing, but during one pass of his torch he saw a silhouette of someone standing in front of him. But as he swung the torch back, there was no one. He swung it again another time and again and again... Until finally he saw the face again but this time it was smiling at him and suddenly it pulled him into the darkness. He dropped his torch on the spot where he was taken.

The others tried shinning a light over at the place where they could hear his screams but the darkness was preventing it. Now there were only 3 of them left the Scholar, Eligor, and another hunter.

Ohglis
The Haunting

The fog was thickening, and while he wasn't overly afraid, he did feel a pinprick of concern in the back of his mind. Not of the creature, mind, but of his fellows. With how they were going on, he couldn't help but wonder if they'd try to kill each other before moving on to killing themselves. He could probably kill them easily, but they were proving to be quite the distraction for the beast at the moment, and if that was the last position they filled, so be it. 

The light grew dimmer, being smothered by the dark fog and Eligor knew eventually he'd be the last one left. Such was the fate of the stronger. Idly, he wondered if the creature would prove to be too much for him. But if that thought proved true, he would meet his end happily, for at least his death would be interesting.

Chapter 3: Sleep

Ohglis
The Haunting

Now with only three of them remaining, their chances of getting out alive were lesser compared to a few minutes ago. How reliable were Eligor's senses? Did his many years of existence give him enough knowledge and skill to conquer this dark being?

Soon the walls started clattering, as if there were numerous hands rattling every corner of the room including the ceiling. There was no way of knowing what was truly happening for their light had no more than arms length reach against the overpowering darkness.

Finally the other hunter gives in to his fears. He takes his knife and stabs himself in the heart. It was quicker and less painful than the alternative. As soon as his body dropped on the floor, the shadow quickly pull in away. Soon after that, the sound of a bones cracking and hissing was heard.

Only Eligor and the Scholar was left. The scholar knew they had to get out of this room, but how is the problem. He signaled Eligor to try and escape through the window. It was three floors up but it's either that or be taken by the shadow.

Ohglis
The Haunting

Eligor agreed with the scholar, although he was doubtful at how successful it would be. This thing looked like it wouldn't take losing its prey well. He ran at the window, hoping this wouldn't end with a bruised ego and a much closer monster.


Action: Escape out window

The member 'Vangran' has done the following action : FFMSL Dice

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'Escape' :

Result :

Chapter 3: Sleep

Ohglis
The Haunting

Eligor was trying to escape through the window but the darkness prevented him from breaking it open. He met with the solid structure with some force and caused a negative result. The darkness had pinned Eligor and the Scholar in one corner. The scholar was starting to lose all hope that they would get out of this room alive. He begins to pray to the Godess, Maja for deliverance.

Suddenly there was some strange tapping sound that could be heard from the ceiling, which was 2 meters above their heads. The darkness was obscuring their vision but there was something monig up there and it was moving closer and closer towards the two. It stopped right above them and the light was able to shine mildly the crimson eyes of whatever it was.

"yOU will aLL dIE HERE!" the voice said. The tone of the voice was fluctuating between a little girl's and an old man. Meanwhile the Scholar continued to pray.

Ohglis
The Haunting

Rubbing his bruising shoulder, Eligor looked up from the corner he and the scholar were in at the sound of the creature's voice. "Will you shut up already?! This melodrama is getting annoying, you murderous beast! If you're going to do something, then do it already, don't waste our time playing, 'who can I scare more'." He knew taunting the thing wasn't the wisest course of action, but as he had said, it was getting tiresome listening to it play its mind games. He had better things to do if it was going to beat around the bush.

Chapter 3: Sleep

Ohglis
The Haunting

Someone hidden in the dark blew out the Scholar's torch. He was completely engulfed in darkness, but he didn't stop praying. Eligor could still hear the Scholar's voice moments after his torch went out. His tone was becoming more and more stressed. Fear had found it's way inside the scholar's heart. Until finally he stopped praying and began panting.

"Where's your God now?" the child's voice asked the scholar. Before she took him into the darkness. Now Eligor was left all alone. He was met with a deadly silence that lasted for a few minutes until the lights suddenly returned. The room was covered in blood, but the bodies of the dead were missing. The torches in the village re-lit and it felt like everything was back to normal. However there was no one left in the village of Ohglis, only Eligor. The doors unlocked, allowing Eligor to go out if he wishes.

Ohglis
The Haunting

"What a waste," Eligor muttered as he got up and dusted himself off. Walking out the door of the suddenly relit room, he made his way through silent hallways and past empty rooms, not caring to check to see if any still had people in it. He hadn't come across something like this before, so he was making a point to write some things about the event in his tome. Something to keep him busy for a little while at any rate.

That it disappeared after taking the scholar was puzzling, to be sure, and something he'd have to think about when he finally left this place. The entrance hall appeared before long, and still not a single soul in sight. If he cared more, he might have been concerned, but he had had his fill of people for the week so all he wanted to do was get away from here. Fear did not drive him, but the irritation this place brought drove him to get as far away as possible.