Chapter One: Rhapsody in Blood

Thad has been quiet during the whole conversation due to the dream she showed him. He listened to Henshaw, and quickly snapped back to reality. Thad dismissed himself quietly from the conversation and headed to an isolated table. He continues to have a feeling that something bad will happen, so Thad discreetly under the table checks the bullets in his revolver and reholsters it.

After dinner Helena gets up and walks to Thad. "You're obviously very shaken. What did she do to you, Thad?"

Helena leaves Thad before he can answer "holy shit" she says and she runs into the mansion. She stars upward at Ledona as she sways. And immediately starts to look around. A note from Ladona, an occult sign or object, etc

There is chaos in the mansion. Some of the guests are screaming and having fits of hysterics. Several men and women have fainted and collapsed to the ground. A few people are huddled in the corner in the fetal position, rocking back and forth and shaking their heads. One man is frozen in the middle of the hall, staring up at Ladona's body. A small group of guests refuses to enter the house and are standing in the rain getting drenched. Two men are running at a full sprint into the woods, screaming at the top of their lungs.

Henshaw looks pale, but he is still in command of his sanity. He barks orders at the servants to move the guests into other rooms of the mansion and call the police. The servants are equally terrified, but Henshaw's orders snap them into action.

Helena: You clearly see that Ladona is stone dead. You also realize that she is hanging at least 20 feet of the ground from the chandelier, but there are no signs of a ladder or furniture being moved to get her up there. You glance at the floor. There are no scuff marks to indicate something tall enough to reach the chandelier being moved. You also see that Ladona is not hanging from a rope, but from a window drape that was ripped down from the library.

Lenny: Your words echo Henshaw's and as you leap to action, a few of the larger male servants move to assist you. You run up the main stairs, then scramble over the railing. After shuffling around the railing to get at the right angle, you lean back and reach out towards the chandelier. It's a stretch, and you end up hanging almost completely off the rail in order to reach. But you can reach the chandelier. Without even making a close inspection of the body, you can tell Ladona is dead. Her face is swollen and purple. Her eyes are open, staring up at the ceiling. You see that a window drape from the library was ripped down and knotted cruelly around her neck. Luckily, the drape is long enough that after you unwind it from the chandelier, you can lower Ladona's body down to the servants waiting on the ground. They look sick as they stand there waiting to catch her body, and in fact, one turns away and vomits. After she is on the ground, you can haul yourself back to the stairs and make your way down safely.

Henshaw comes over to the body and covers it with a clean table cloth that he retrieved from the kitchen. He stands there, shaking his head.

The shock of the situation snapped Thad out of his trance. He goes rushing in to the house with pistol in hand.

"What happened to her? Someone at this party did this to her and i am going to get to the bottom of it!"

Thad motions to the monster of a man near him. He points to Lenny.

"You help me gather everyone in to the house. Find a way to bar the doors and windows. We need to start questioning everyone."

Helena: Henshaw stares at you for a moment before he responds. He is clearly fighting off his emotions about the current situation. He swallows and takes a few deep breaths. "I remember that she excused herself to use the facilities about halfway through supper. A bit later, I saw lights in the library. I assumed she was meditating. To my understanding, her psychic gift is a weighty burden." He looks around the room and gives a few instructions to the heartier servants to start assisting the guests. "Oh, something did strike me as odd. When Ladona left the table, I heard her say, under her breath, 'these worms. These worms between my toes from under my feet.' That's rather strange, right? I mean, she was barefoot, but my lawn is immaculately kept." A servant then walks up and says something quietly to him. "Excuse me, Helena. I need to check on a few of my guests." He walks off.

Thad: oppose Lenny's intimidate check with either a diplomacy or intimidate, your call. Reflect/role play the result in your text.

Most people around you react to you yelling commands and brandishing your revolver with shrieks of worry and fear. They shrink away from you and cling to the walls or rush into another room. Some, of course, are still suffering from seeing the dead body of Ladona and do not react to you. You start looking around the room and see people cowering away from you or acting strangely while lost in their insanity. Most are leaving the hall as soon as they are able. You do not see anyone acting outwardly suspicious, but you do see movement from behind all the heating vents in the room. You also see a flash of something reflective...maybe eyes.

Lenny: you are catching your breath from the climb. You should've stretched first. You see Henshaw and Helena speak and him leave. The area around the body is empty. You hear moans and screams from the guests in other rooms of the mansion. You see Thad rush in, brandish his revolver, and start barking orders to you. His eyes dart around the room. You look around as well, but can't see much for all the people still clustered about. But you do notice that even though people are standing in groups all over the hall, none of them are in front of any of the heating vents. It's almost as if they are avoiding those areas.

Helena: You pause for a moment, thinking about what Henshaw told you that Ladona had said. Something about this is familiar to you, but you can't place it. Right before Henshaw drapes the table cloth over the body, your eyes lock onto her Ladona's hand. You see a tiny worm, maybe a maggot, wriggle its way off the body. A servant steps on it while passing and crushes it to pulp. Suddenly, it hits you. You remember reading an old text in your collection that told tales of ancient magicians that were able to cast their essence, their soul, their power, into vermin such as worms. This usually happened after the magician in question had died...or been executed.

Your remember one specific story that was a collection of various first-person accounts and notes from a town hall meeting of a small village in Eastern Europe. These villagers had been plagued by what they claimed were spells and black magic. The constable had arrested an old man after countless witnesses accused him of practicing magic. The man had not denied the claims, but had defied every piece of evidence that had been thrown against him. The town elders unanimously decided his guilt and sentenced him to being burned at the stake. In the moment before the man's death, he had spat out a curse of vengeance against the inhabitants of the town. The man's ashes were scattered in the cemetery. Months later, people started reporting the same problems as before the man had been killed. They also reported seeing a strange hooded figure lurking in the cemetery at night. The constable confronted this figure, but returned to town absolutely out of his mind with terror. All he could do was repeat the phrase "The worms. The worms had become the man." Before any further action could be taken, the church and cemetery burned to the ground after being struck by lightening during a thunder storm.

It seems like a stretch, something in your heart tells you that you're on the right track. Your gut instinct tells you that if your theory is correct, whatever you're looking for would probably be holed up somewhere dark and dank...like the basement.