Horror Adventure The Vampiress and the Magi Archivist

[PlagueDoctor]

A lone figure walked though a valley that swept up to jagged ridges on either side, the fields to the south were home to farmers who had been complaining about cattle mutilations for almost two decades. No this man was here to see if he could find the truth hidden in what was now a thoroughly woven tapestry of rumors and old superstitions.
His name was Banafrit Erebus, most people called him Ben for short,and he was an Investigative Archivist for the Magi Council. They'd given him a long leash in the hopes that he would hang himself- so far he had been successful in avoiding their ire. Stopping by the side of the lazy river that had carved its way to survey the valley. He saw what he was looking for. He was close now.
This mission was to find the resting place of a Magi who had turned against the Council, he'd been assassinated but his work was unrecovered. Running his fingers through his short, blonde hair he took a drink from his canteen before refilling it from the river, the magics within the canteen purified the water as it hung on his belt.
Ben estimated he'd make it to the entrance of the cave just before dark, that was acceptable.
The trek was easy enough until he had to climb to the crumbling entrance, if he had to guess he'd say that the assassins destroyed the path and hill in front of the cave to hide what it used to be. Stepping inside he saw the carved stone of a doorway, the shattered remnants of said door layer further inside. Using a flashlight he studied every inch as he made his way further inside.
"The Council is going to be so pissed off that I found you." He said quietly to himself, patiently weaving magics into his eyes to give himself an advantage in seeing traps before they had been sprung.

 

[SillySpyder]

The Faversham Pass was often overlooked by the locals and unlucky travelers. Its bending river were the only source of direction within the whole valley that had been carved thousands of years ago by glaciers that no longer existed. It was a visual scar in the earth from above, if one managed to fly over top. A mark within the soil that only meant to be travelled on. It wasn't a destination. It was merely a journey for those travelling to the nearest town for supplies or company, albeit the travel was anything but short. Could you make it from one side of the pass to town in under a day? Yes. You could. Though the valley was lush and green with the vibrance of spring, there were no trees to shelter you. What nature you spied were the lush greenery that sprouted here and the tracks of wild animals. Marmots were popular here. They stared at you wherever you went. No fear. None. It was if they had been expecting you.

Deer came here more often than their natural predators. To drink the water and to eat grass along the shoreline. There was not a soul. No company. Alone. Ben would be alone for his entire travel and that was more likely a good thing for him. An old monastery laid abandoned. The monks were gone, disappeared to the new one built years ago. The only inhabitants were what vermin and avian creatures that found their way inside, however most of the inhabitants were rats.

Almost as soon as he entered, their squeaks sounded as they scurried away from the shine of his flashlight into what cracks had been formed in the walls and passages. However, the rats weren't the only inhabitants. From a room near the back of the building, something stirred. Something on two legs and barefoot. Thessalia Godfrey had once been a Magi in training under the Council who had disappeared with the traitorous Magi, Viktor Phimaris. However, upon being found, he had been executed for his crimes. However, his research and supplies had never been found.

Instead, he had been told off to the current Council members as someone to be forgotten about. However, Thessalia would remember him. Turned into a vampire by the late Viktor, she had been forced to learn about her new self all alone in this crumpling building. However, she wasn't alone now. Scampering to the darkness room in the back of the building, the old chapel, she hid herself behind the old organ, holding onto a broken bottle. Her only protection.

She sensed it. Magic in the air. Faint, but undeniable. Great, she was up against a magic-user.

 

[PlagueDoctor]

The scattered sounds of rats squeaking running deeper into into the structure, he proceeded with caution, studying the architecture. This led him to the realization that this was an ancient cathedral or something very similar. Interesting, the pholios that mentioned Viktor's laboratory only mentioned the cave entrance sparingly and left most everything else up to the readers imagination. They'd been edited and it wasn't subtle in most cases.
Ben used small magics to enhance his flashlight as he kept going deeper, he made note of the one direction the rats did not go. Ben explored the structure slowly and methodically, there were no books as everything had been either confiscated or burned.
"This place is huge... what is that?" Ben knelt down to examine the rusted end of several bolts sticking out of the stone brick in one of the more bare rooms. "They removed equipment of some kind. Uncharacteristic of assassins." Either this wasn't just assassins or a second group was sent in. That raised concerning questions. Pondering this he stepped into another room to find a large burn mark on the floor, the flame had been incredibly hot. Did they cremate his body? That put a few rather disturbing possibilities on the list for why they'd sentenced him to death.
They had torched his body and taken almost everything from his castle, which was notable underground. At least a large portion of it was. This did not bode well. While he paced in the hallway something caught his eye- a small cross carved over the door frame at the very edge of the hall.
"I thought they said he hated religions, maybe it came with the property." Ben chuckled at the thought of a realtor showing off this property. He had a few rooms to go through before that one but he had a strange feeling that what he was looking for was in that chapel.