The Black Grimoire; Ban and Averavic

[banthefoxsin]

"Man..." Jacob sighed deeply, as he leaned back in his chair... Sitting in his brothers office felt weird, reading what may be his last testament? Even weirder... He must have gazed upon this letter a million times since the explorer went missing, this house but a stranger to the more modest man. Jesse was his twin brother, but at a certain point they split to lead very different lives. Jacob went no where, working as as a custodian and living in their parents old house. But Jesse? He traveled, explored, got himself this mansion that Jacob barely had seen till now. As his twin, Jacob was the mans direct kin. Gaining the estate in his brothers assumed fate. But, all one had to do was read this letter and... You just knew, he wouldn't be coming back.... But Jacob had a small hope. It's why he was so drawn to reading the mad ravings, again and again and again. Was there a clew? Or was this just a warning? But what was he warning us about? "The Book cant be destroyed, so it must be hidden. Within it is the key to untold horrors. I have seen what evil it can wrought. I have seen the other side and within it, madness." Choking up a bit, Jacob simply folded the paper, placing it back in his Jacket pocket... Soon, the door opens, lightning striking just in time to give the man a fright. "Jessus.." He said, turning to see his brothers maid, from before he ... Left. "Marry you almost gave me a heart attack... What are you still doing here anyway? Not that I hate your company, I appreciate it. It's just... Id thought you would have packed and left by now?" The slightly older women smiled, a very forced one at that. She was sad, but he did not blame her. " Well, I already am packed. I hate to leave here, I actually enjoyed being his house keeper...As ecentric as he was. Do you have to sell?" She asked. Jacob lowering his head a bit sad in response. "I dont really have the kind of income to take care of this place, he left quite a bit dont get me wrong but... Theres also how it reminds me of him. I cant really do it, selling is the way to go." Nodding in understanding, she spoke once more. "Well, I thought you might be hungry. So I left you a meal down stairs, in the dining room. I hope you wont let it go cold?" Jacob gave a slight chuckle, nodding yes. "Well, I wish you well Jacob. My taxi is waiting outside." She said, as she began to walk out the door. "I wish you the same."

Ten minutes later, Jacob began standing from the chair. Marry was long gone, but the storm picked up for the worse. He looked down and out the window. Rain was pouring hard this night. There was no way for him to get back to his hotel room... And more so, he hoped Marry got to her own safely. He loathed the idea of staying there, in that house. But it seemed he had no choice. With a sigh, he turned to grab his glass of brandy, the young man almost spilling it out onto the carpet as a most peculiar sound rang throughout the house. 'Knock, knock kncok.' Taking a second to recuperate, he pondered if it was a knock down on the mansions door or if he was hearing more noises again? There was more then the morbid thoughts of his brothers demise keeping him from staying at his new manor. He has heard things... Scratching in the wall's. Mice perhaps? Thud's in the attic.. Possum's? Well, so soon after a death in the family, the mind plays tricks. And his annoyingly imagined his brothers ghost from beyond the grave. Gulping down the rest of the brandy, he haphazardly fixed his tie, though it was still quite lose and crooked. The man walking from the office and down the mansions step's not to far to his right. Making way to the front door, he opened one side, looking to see if he actually did hear a knock. Or if the house was bamboozling his wild imaginations once more. And...... Nothing. "Tch." He clicked his tongue from behind his teeth, "Yep a whole lot of nothing." He said, before feeling a warm breeze from the rain. Closing the door, his pant's had become wet. Dampening around his crotch as if he were to have wetted himself. "Great..." He groaned, barely realizing the feeling of something walking through him. What was with old houses and the feeling of them being haunted? It was something he never could quite shake. Turning to walk back up the stairs, Murphy's law went into full effect. The electricity burning out, the chandelier flickering into pure darkness. "Well, great." Jacob groaned even louder then before. Shuffling in the dark and nearly falling into the nearby desk. Reaching through the drawers, he hoped to find a flashlight. But, alas, he can only find a match box. "Three matches?" He did a lot of complaining, but working with what he got, he soon went through two duds before the final one luckilly lit. Dim light burned into the air, as he turned to face a gargoyle statue. "Dammit!" He called out, almost loosing his only source of light to the darkness. "Ugh... Oh man. I hate old houses, so much." Looking back onto the desk, he found a few candles which he promptly began lighting. Five in total. "Well, I guess I should set these up in the dinning room, im to hungry to let a bit of darkness keep me from eating... To afraid to search through that labyrinthine cellar for the fuse though."

With a lit candle in one hand, and the rest bundled into his other arm, Jacob made his way slowly to the dinning room. Not being able to shake the feeling of being watched...

 

[Averavic]

RE: The Black Grimoire

Jacob's intuition was correct. There was a knock on the door, and he was indeed being watched. By a beautiful, tall blonde woman. Cynthia stood cloaked in the shadows, watching the poor man stumble through the darkness towards the dining hall. Despite the pouring rain outside, she was bone dry. All of her years of searching had brought her here, to this elaborate mansion. But for all the effort she had put into tracking down the whereabouts of the Black Grimoire, she had arrived too late. She had hoped to sneak in and retrieve the book in silence, but she arrived only to discover that the book - and its discoverer, this explorer Jesse - had vanished into thin air. After giving it some thought, she realized that this bumbling man, this Jacob fellow, may be her best chance at locating Jesse and the book.

Having reached a decision she returned outside, as quietly as she had arrived. This time she stood out in the rain for a moment, thoroughly drenching her long, curly blonde hair and her purple dress. She thought appearing in the rain perfectly dry might be a little odd. Once she was satisfied that she was soaked through enough to be convincing, she hammered on the outside of the door. "Hello!" She yelled above the roar of the wind and the rain. "Hello? Is anyone in there?" A helpless young woman alone in the rain? There was no way he would turn her away. It was the perfect opportunity to open up the conversation and get some information from him.