Main Hall

Stepping into the expansive Main Hall, your footsteps echo across the dusty hardwood floors. At the north looms a carved marble fireplace, cold and dark. Above it hangs a longsword bearing a windmill motif, glinting in the dim light.

At the far south end, a grand staircase with red marble steps spirals up to the second floor. Its ornate wooden railing is carved with images of nymphs, satyrs, vines and flowers.

Glancing about, you spot a small cloakroom off to one side, its hooks laden with moth-eaten black cloaks. Atop a shelf sits a solitary top hat, faded and covered in cobwebs.

Along the south wall, a plain door leads to the Kitchen. The smells of old food and smoke waft from within.

On the east side, a set of ornamented wooden doors opens into an elegant Dining Room.

Closed doors to the west likely enter into a Drawing Room.

Inverna pauses, senses keenly tuned to any whisper beyond. Silence alone greets her, unnatural in its completeness. No stir of life stirs the stale air. Her sharp eyes scour the ornate walls, drawn to carved images of vines and creatures. Yet on closer inspection, she discerns skulls and serpents cunningly worked into the paneling, so subtle only a watchful gaze marks them.

Inverna narrows her eyes as she takes in the macabre details amidst the elegance. She gestures to the others, whispering, “Dark omens worked into the decor. Evil dwells here.”

Galandro nods, a hand hovering over his rapier hilt. “Aye, keep wary…”

Donnabella shivers slightly, but lifts her chin bravely. “We cannot be deterred by some cobwebs and skulls. Onward, friends!”

Nib whimpers softly, clutching her holy symbol like a talisman against the oppressive silence around them.

Inverna glances over each possible path ahead, considering their options. “The cellar likely lies off the kitchens. We’ll start our search there.”

With weapons and magic at the ready, the group proceeds toward the plain door leading to the kitchens. Inverna grips the handle tightly and gives it a slow, soft turn before nudging it open, blades poised to confront whatever horror may await within…