"Deal!"
"That easily? I was prepared for at least some opposition."
"Since this mansion is really haunted and I've never heard of anyone capable of taking care of this, I think some concessions are to be expected. And 20'000 gold coins is a pretty high sum."
I had forgotten how dirt poor this kingdom was. Should I have tried to push the price lower?
"How much is the former merchant guild building we were going to visit next?"
"It doesn't belong to the kingdom so I only have an estimate they gave me but it should be around 35'000 gold coins."
"That price is quite high. Who's the current owner?"
"A noble. He bought it right after the merchant guild was closed and held on to it ever since."
"That's fine then. I'll buy both buildings and leave the decision which to use up to Aurelia. Now it's time to exorcise some spirits."
"May I join you?"
"You realize that this mansion is filled with vengeful spirits that will not be very enthusiastic about our presence. They will become violent and if you get hit you might very well be crippled both physically and mentally."
"You wouldn't let a lady become hurt, would you?"
"If you enter despite knowing the dangers you relinquish any right to be saved by me. I will naturally try to save you if the opportunity presents itself but you shouldn't count on it."
"I'll go anyway. What's life without some adventure."
"You are just using me to satisfy your desire for fun outside, aren't you? As the queen, you can't do anything without being observed but by accompanying me you are simply strengthening the kingdom's relationship with the grey merchant guild."
"True but that's no reason to refuse my company."
We entered through the mansion's front gate. The inside was standard if not slightly luxuriously furnished but the gloomy atmosphere ruined it. Something in this place was giving off enough vengeful and malicious energy that it could be noticed just by entering.
I cast a spell that would allow both of us to see spirits and would last for a couple of hours. Instantly a blackish vapor becomes visible in the air flowing through the hallways of the mansion. Using the flowing vapor like a current the vengeful spirits were flying along it.
"What is that?"
"That is what happens when someone holds a very deep grudge. Wherever that black vapor comes from is where the grudge was placed. Dealing with that should make the vengeful spirits disappear by themselves."
"So all you have to do is destroy the source? Vengeful spirits aren't as dangerous as I thought."
"It isn't that easy. These vengeful spirits only came into existence due to the source. That makes them a fake of sorts. A real vengeful spirit is born from its own grudge and has to be purged individually."
"That sounds complicated."
"It is. Also, don't touch the black vapor, it'll mess with your head."
"You don't need to tell me. I'd rather die than touch that creepy black stuff."
We continued along the walls of the hallways making sure not to come in contact with the black vapor. The spirits that got close were unceremoniously severed out of existence by my killing intent.
From my observation, every human that had died in or around that mansion must have been turned into a vengeful spirit. In my mind, I was going through all the things I knew that could produce such a potent effect without easily giving away its position.
There weren't many things that fit the description but I held back on coming to a conclusion yet. The source of all this could very well be something I had never encountered before. After all, the universe was already infinite and I had been to multiple multiverses. Thinking I'd already seen everything at this point would be naive.
We continued following the stream of black vapor until we reached a slightly cracked open door where the vapor was furiously pouring out.
"Stand back a moment."
"Why?"
"I'm going to cast a spell to clear the door so we can pass through. Since you have very little resistance you should step back."
Nodding in understanding Eleanor created some distance between us. Once she had backed off enough I began to gather some magic in my right hand.
"First break of dawn, blazing radiance that clears all resentment!"
Magic converged in my right hand and a blinding light was released as the image of a sun ascending beyond the horizon. The light seemed to be the bane of all grudges and negative emotions. Like a small animal that had just met its arch-nemesis, the black vapor made a screeching sound as it was exposed to the light.
The vapor quickly dissipated and a very malicious intent was emitted from beyond the door. Whatever the source was, it didn't like my interference.
Before the black vapor could reform I kicked open the door and entered the room beyond. The room inside was hardly visible due to the mass of black vapor that coalesced towards the back.
As I entered the vapor formed tendrils and threatening waved them at me in a bid to make me go away. Undeterred I recast the spell from before and forced all the vapor to dissipate.
Where the epicenter of the grudge had been was a large bed and on the nightstand beside it stood a flower pot. The moment I caught sight of the flower pot I knew what the source of this entire situation was.
Planted in the flower pot was a delicate black spider lily. A former owner of the mansion must have found it and brought it home. Only a fool would do this knowing what it was but to the blissfully ignorant it would only be a rare but beautiful flower.
However, the implication behind the existence of this particular spider lily was very scary. Its beauty and grace represented the death of one with a grudge that couldn't be solved both in death and in live.