There are realms of light, where the elves, dwarves, and humans live in relative peace. Where dragons from time to time wreak havoc but they are defeated by gallant heroes. Where mages and alchemists do their work to help others.
And then there are the realms in the darkness. Places where people are murdered and where things go bump in the night. Places where your worst nightmares can come true. Actually where they will come true. These are the worlds of Ravenloft.
My name is Samuel Dwight and I am a private investigator. During my investigations, I find that the occult often crosses my path. What do you expect in a realm where magic is a common day place. Hell, even I can use some magic, though it is limited in its form. I am elven by the way, though you might not know it by looking at me, except for my pointed ears. I have short brown hair and grey eyes. I often wear a white shirt with black pants and boots. And I wear some leather and metal armor pieces for when I need them. But that is quite enough about myself. I want to tell you about the realm called Ravenloft.
This realm is not like any other but still so much like the realm I come from. It could have been part of it if it wasn't for that damnable mist. But let me start at the very beginning, cause, to be honest, how would I start otherwise.
It all started on a sunny summer day. I was in my office which was located in a small building in the town of Phandalin. Phandalin itself was quite a small frontier town, it was destroyed during an orc attack but settlers slowly returned and rebuilt the town. Why was I there? Well, I used to be part of a group that helped save the town at some point, and in return for my service they allowed me to set up shop in the town. Actually, build a house for me and everything. The townmaster was quite happy to have some of the members of the group settle in his town, thought we would give the town a sense of security. In a sense, it actually helped.
One of the members of the group was Channer Willows, a lovely female elf with a passion for everything that could kill someone from a distance. She was one of the first people to invent a new kind of weapon, a firearm, at least that's what she called it anyway. She worked on it most of the day and night, only taking a couple of hours to meditate as most elves do. She has lovely auburn hair that she always wears in a ponytail and is quite well exercised. She used to do a lot of archery but since she discovered the power of her firearms, she switched mostly, only carrying a hand crossbow as a backup weapon. She always carries two firearms with her. A small 4 bullet pistol she calls "Rose" and a larger rifle she has yet to find the perfect name for. She also made me a pistol called "Thorn" which I often use during my investigations. Oh and don't get any ideas, she is also my girlfriend.
So as I said, I was in my office when a lonely and older-looking man came into my office. He walked with a cane and looked to be around 80 years of age, human judging by the look of him. He wore very nice and noble-looking clothes in green tints.
I greeted him warmly and helped him to the chair where he could sit and then took place behind my own desk where I grabbed a writing pen and some paper.
"Listen, young man, I have traveled quite far to get to you and I will not leave this office without acquiring your help." The man started with quite a harsh tone in his voice. I was even caught off guard for a moment. He sounded almost desperate.
"Well, sir, If I am not able to help you, I will point you to someone who can. But first please tell me your name and tell me what I can do for you" I asked trying to smile a bit, but looking at the older man made my smile fade.
"My name is Vasili von Holtz and I am in need of an investigator. I need someone to investigate a property I own. It has been in my family for a long time but lately, something has been happening. We hear strange sounds at night and I am not sure what is happening. I want to leave it to my grandchildren but I can't do that until I know what is going on inside".
"And where is this house if I might ask?" still feigning a smile. This story concerned me a bit but I could not put my finger on it, there was something strange about the man. Something with the look in his eyes.
"It is located on the outskirts of Conyberry. I know many people say that the place is haunted but I don't believe a word of it. All it needs are new settlers and by gifting my grandchildren the house, they might start a new version of the town. You can't miss the house, it's quite large and has an older tower integrated into the design. It's called Halvhrest house" the man told me, not looking away for one second.
I wrote everything down the man told me, from the reason for his visit, to the name of the house. It started to sound familiar somehow as if I knew the name from somewhere, I had to try and find something in my books later but first I had to negotiate with mister von Holtz.
"Of course, I will look into it for you, it sounds like something I can handle for you. However, we have to talk about expenses of course. My normal fee is 1 gold per hour with a minimum of 5 gold upfront. The rest will come when the job is done, I will of course keep a notebook which my schedule on how much I work on your case. And I also charge some travel expenses, which would come down to 5 gold for this trip, which I would also like in advance".
Vasili nodded his head and took out a green purse from his coat, out of which he took 10 gold pieces and laid them down on the table.
"Here you are and thank you for taking up my case, I will be staying in the Stonehill Inn for the next couple of weeks so I will be reachable there in case you need me. Excuse me, I have to get to my room soon to settle in. Thank you so much in advance" the old man said and he stood up from the chair and walked out of the office with his cane.
My mind was racing, a new case, some mysterious house, and a nice paycheck when I complete it. I was in a merry mood as I began my research. The house itself was not quite as well-known as I had hoped. It only appeared in a local book of maps that showed the area around Phandalin and Conyberry. The tower of the house was described as once having belonged to a castle that was destroyed by a fire. Only the tower survived the fire and a new family build a house attached to it. There was also mention of a family moving out soon after having moved in. But that in and of itself was not quite that unusual. Around the frontier towns, there was little to do for people and Conyberry itself was deserted.
Soon it was already 12 in the afternoon. Time for lunch with Channer. She actually came to my office to pick me up. She already had a basket with her with some food for a picnic. We walked outside of town for a bit and took up a spot on a hill overlooking the small and quiet town.
"So, I saw that you had a visitor earlier, do you have a new case?" Channer asked me as she gave me a piece of freshly baked bread.
"Yes, I actually do, an older man came into my office today and wanted me to investigate his property for me. It has been in his family for ages and he wants me to take a look at it because some things have been happening. I have been researching the house for a bit and I think it might be nothing, but then again, a large number of things could be happening" I said, after swallowing a piece of the bread she gave me. I let out a soft sound of amazement at how good the bread tasted. I saw Channer's eyes light up for a second.
"Sounds like it might be haunted though" Channer joked as she bumped into my shoulder. I laughed with her, but something gave me concern.
"That is possible but unlikely, I could not find anything about the house or its former owners so I have no idea what it could be like. Still, there was something about that man, he was strange somehow. Like something was off".
"Are you certain this isn't just your investigative mind wandering off and looking for things that aren't there?" Channer asked me while also snacking on some bread.
"hmmm, it could be? You know what, why don't you come with me. You always complain about not going on adventures anymore, and while I can't promise you much excitement, I can always offer you to join me on one of my little adventures" I offered up the idea to her.
Her eyes went wide with excitement and she clapped in her hands. "I would love to! I want to see what you do for a living. See you in action so to speak".
"Well that is settled then, tomorrow, we will travel towards Conyberry and investigate the house".
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------The next day we started walking toward the ruins of Conyberry. It was quite misty in the morning, very unusual for the time of the year. It felt quite a bit colder and the sun was heavily clouded by what looked to be thunderclouds.
"Hmm, I hope we keep things dry until we are inside the house," I said aloud as I looked at the clouds above.
Channer walked next to me, also looking at the clouds and she smiled nervously, not fond of thunderstorms. She almost died during a thunderstorm when she was a child and had been anxious during thunderstorms since.
"It's gonna be okay, I'm with you remember," I said softly as I grabbed her hand, and held it softly.
We walked hand in hand as the mist around us became more dense, it enveloped most of what we could see. As we walked further to what we believe was the right direction, the house started to loom out of the mist. As we approached we felt the first drops of rain begin to fall and soon it was fully raining. We ran the last part of the way towards the house, finding two people standing in front of the house, under the porch.