Chapter 17

Skeletons in the Closet

Ireena bid the party farewell and retired to her chambers in the church, feeling heavy of heart following Izek's revelations and suggesting they reconvene the following day. The party discussed the new information that had come to light and it was agreed that Ireena can not stay in Vallaki, but their attentions turned to the evening's book club with Lady Wachter and how they could best prepare with the rest of the day. Fabian remarked that Rictavio's mysterious nature and similar timeframe for entering the city made him a prime suspect to be the missing Sebastian Horvath whom Izek believes to be in connection with Lady Wachter and the Dominionists and the group agreed. They devised a plan for Fabian to spend the day with Rictavio to learn more about him, while Erros would disguise himself as Rictavio and visit Lady Wachter to determine if the two knew each other. Fabian made contact with Rictavio in the Inn, offering to help him carry his chest of puppets to the town square which he readily accepted. But he seemed to have a surprisingly hard time carrying the chest for someone of his stature, a fact Fabian realized when she felt the weight of the thing. As the two set off for their day in the square and Pieron and Dyson opted tohang back on this one, Erros Athrin and Eliza made their way to the Wachter house down the road. On route it was renegotiated that pretending to be Rictavio would leave them without an option were the two not to know each other and that it would be better for Erros to enter as himself and question Fiona regarding the undead in her basement. Eliza and Athrin would wait outside and enter at the signal, a flash of light though the window.

Erros knocked on the door and was led to the den to await the end of Fiona's current meeting. He tried his best to listen in while he waited, hearing a great deal of accounts, business dealings, and other inconsequential topics. For what little information he actually gleaned he was nearly caught when Ernst Larnak entered the room, but through a quick sob story and a bit too much touching, he seemed to dissuade the lawyer from further inquisition. Ernst left the house post haste. Outside, as Ernst walked past the hiding Eliza and Athrin, Eliza somehow managed to drop her holstered pistol with a thud into the dirt, drawing Ernst's attention. The two had seconds before being discovered, and as Ernst rounded the corner to investigate, Athrin grabbed Eliza and kissed her. She kissed him back. Ernst mumbled an apology and walked quickly away, but not without getting a full view of the gun, though it's design was foreign to him. When the seemingly eternal moment had passed Athrin and Eliza dropped each other's shoulders and resumed their post, neither saying another word.

Back inside Fiona's meeting concluded, and her guest met Erros on the way out. He introduced himself cordially as Vasili von Holtz, accountant to Fioana Wachter and many other nobles in the city, and an incredibly handsome young man whom Erros had seen before leaving the Wachter estate. Vasili bowed and took his leave as Fiona's smile faded and the two sat down to talk. Immediately Erros threw himself across the couch, hand draped over his forehead, and told a convincing story of his fatal attraction to one Izek Strazni, the man they'd be hired to kill. How in their tailings and midnight stake-outs he had, against his own judgement, fallen for the man's haunting eyes and strong standoffish good-looks, demon-lizard arm included. Wachter was perturbed to say the least and more than a bit confused, but all the while Erros spoke he wove arcane words of a sinister nature. When the spell had been fully cast he dropped the guise and demanded Wachter answer his questions about the Dominionists. She clutched the couch in sudden fear and stuttered out few answers, claiming to only know of Rictavio in passing, but letting slip a single name in connection with the cult: Abbas. Apparently she and Abbas shared the leadership and that while she used the cult to gain political power, Abbas had his own reasons unknown to her. Erros made Fiona vow not to mention this at the bookclub that evening and then made to leave. But as he reached the door, Fiona cried out for help and her son Nikolai barreled down from the upper level.

Nikolai recognized Erros from their short scuffle in the tavern two days prior and seeing his mother in distress he lunged in for the attack, Erros just dodging out of the way. The two grappled with each other and Erros let off a light spell, provoking Eliza and Athrin to run to his aid. The two joined the fray and as Erros transfigured into a demonic face to scare Nikolai, Eliza fired a warning shot that ended the confrontation. Nikolai retreated into the house, hands in the air, and the three ordered he have a seat as Athrin went to retrieve Fiona who had run into the next room. There he interegated her further and learned that the undead beneath the house were animated corpses that she used for home defense, a trick she'd set up after a man broke into her home whom she claimed was spying on the Baron's behalf. While Athrin questioned Fiona, Eliza kept Nikolai subdued and Erros searched the upper floors of the house. In his hasty search he found bedrooms, a library, a locked room that had the sounds of light pacing and gentle meowing on the other side, and a master bedroom where lied in the bed the preserved corpse of Nikolai Wachter Senior. Erros returned to question Fiona about this discovery but not wanting to scare her by his appearance he first disguised himself as the well known Lady Fiona Wachter. It was weird. Fiona began to explain to herself that it is difficult to loose a loved one so suddenly, to a disease so quick, and that had they only had the time to make their way to Krezk he most assuredly would have been saved. But she was cut short by the sound of the back door opening then closing shut. Eliza and Erros took positions by the door and waited for an intruder that after several minutes never came. On top of that, Nikolai was becoming unruly, and a dash to the door that gave him a bleeding gash in his neck courtesy of Erros's blade seemed to have left a desperate look in his eye. Things were getting out of control, and the group decided they needed to see the basement for themselves before it was too late.

Fiona led them to the servants closet towards the back of her house and parted the coats to press down on a small latch that opened a hidden panel in the wall. The opening led down drafty wooden steps beneath the house and the group followed her and Nikolai down inside. At the bottom of the steps Fiona paused and turned to the group, taking one last look at her bleeding son before turning to her likeness in Erros. He commanded her to keep going but she instead smiled and said "Majesto, I need you" and took the last step down onto the dirt floor. At this a small devilish imp apparated on Fiona's shoulder like a parrot and lunged for Athrin as eight pairs of hands burst through the earth to pull cackling skeletal forms from their place of slumber. With a single hack Athrin cleaved the imp in two, his silvered blade making easy work of the beast's magical hide and it's curled lipped face rolling lifeless to the stunned Fiona's feet. With a wave of her hand Fiona dispelled Erros's disguised form as Eliza went for Nikolai. He made to run and she bashed him across the head with the butt of her revolver. Unfortunately it did little to stop the hulking man shoving her aside and making it to the false wall above where he slid it closed and made his escape. Eliza, Erros, and Athrin readied for battle as the skeletal forms pulled themselves fully from the dirt all around them and the doom of their predicament fell upon them, when a voice sounded through the slats in the cellar door along the side wall saying simply to "circle around back." It was the voice of Izek.