The girl was the first down into the darkness, but the party hesitantly followed. Going down into the dark.

  “What’s down here?” Jiit asked. Still holding onto Shaynen to guide him through the dark.

  “Crates, barrels, shelves.” Shaynen said, looking around the basement. “Storage it looks like.”

  “It’s a normal basement.” Thunder said, Kilek resting a hand on her shoulder. The mayor’s ghost daughter led them to the other side of the basement and pointed to a spot on the floor. Together they clustered around the spot, the girl disappeared and left them alone. Mayhem knelt down and knocked around the floor. With one spot making a different sound from the others. She smiled triumphantly and felt around until she found the ring. Pulling up the trapdoor and looking down the trap door to the larder.

  “More darkness. Lovely.” Jiit sighed with annoyance.

  “I might be able to do something about that.” Kilek said. He cupped his hands together and whispered into them. With a light blow into the space, an orb of light lit up. Kilek released it and it floated up to hover right over his shoulder.

  “Much better, thank you.” Jiit said. The orb of light lit up not only the basement but the floor of the larder below.

  “Well, we’ve already come this far.” Mayhem said and jumped down into the larder.

  “There’s a ladder.” Jiit said and climbed down into the larder. Shaynen jumped down as well, as did Thunder. Kilek was the last to climb down. Once the light came down into the larder, a thousand bright red eyes turned to them. The party held perfectly still but it didn’t matter. Hundreds of rats swarmed.

  The sound of the scurrying was quieted by the sound of the party’s curses and cries of surprise. Jiit unleashed a fiery roar. Throwing flames on as many of the swarm as he could. It was a mad scramble of a fight that left the party more uncomfortable then actually hurt.

  “Oh that was nasty.” Mayhem gagged.

  “I think I can still feel my skin crawling.” Shaynen said. Feeling every muscle where he still felt the crawling.

  “Is anything on fire?” Jiit asked, his voice slightly hoarse. He looked over the smoking and smashed bodies.

  “No.” Thunder said. Her own fur was standing on end, her tail was bushy.

  “That’s a good indication no one’s been down here in a long time.” Jiit said. “Okay. Split up and see if we can’t find that darkness the girl told us about.”The party all went in different directions and began looking for some kind of entrance.

  Thunder caught a whiff of something truly foul. She followed the smell to a plank of wood left seemingly haphazardly on the ground. The ground was dirt and a plank of wood in the middle of the floor seemed both totally reasonable and very suspicious. She knelt down and lifted the plank. Unleashing more of the foul smell, strong enough that everyone else could smell it now too.

  “Whew, what is that?” Mayhem said, gagging. “It smells like death.”

  “It is death.” Shaynen said, feeling an alarm in the back of his head. “Whatever you’re touching, stop touching it.”

  “It’s fine, there’s a hole here. Looks like the way the people were taken.” Thunder said. She tossed the plank aside, revealing the hole that went into the darkness. The party circled the hole down. Covering their noses against the smell.

  “Well?” Jiit said, unsurely. “Who wants to go first?” Shaynen looked into the darkness, seeing the ground but nothing else. He jumped down to the ground.

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  “It’s okay,” He called up, moving forward and looking around. The tunnel went on and on and the walls were made of dirt and, disturbingly, gore. The dirt walls were painted with coagulating blood and bits of indiscernible meat.

  “Don’t look at the walls, or the floor.” Shaynen said as the party dropped down behind him.

  “Why no- oh, gods!” Mayhem gasped and covered her mouth.

  “What is it?” Jiit asked, blindly reaching for someone.

  “It’s death and rot. That’s all you need to know.” Thunder said. Grabbing onto Jiit’s arm. Shaynen took Kilek’s and the party began their walk down the tunnel.

  “Is it better to be blind to the vileness around us or to see the horror and know for certain?” Kilek pondered.

  “I can’t say.” Thunder shook her head. “I don’t think there’s any winning here.”

  “I’ll agree with that.” Shaynen said.

  “Let’s just get to the end as fast as we can, okay?” Mayhem said.

  “I also agree to that,” Shaynen said. He and Kilek stayed in front though it quickly occurred to him that the last place he wanted to be was in front. All of a sudden a man appeared before them, jumping straight into Shaynen and Kilek in hysterics. The surprise caused Kilek and Shaynen both to jump and cry out.

  “Help me! Please!” The stranger begged. Clawing at Kilek, who was left blindly fumbling around after Shaynen was knocked over.

  “Help you with what? What’s wrong?” Kilek asked. Holding the stranger steady.

  “We- we were investigating the manor and the ghosts, then they came and then.” The stranger gasped for air. “You have to help me!”

  “Slow down, !!” Jiit said, taking a step forward and colliding with Shaynen still kneeling on the ground.

  “Ow!” Shaynen said before catching the dragonborn before he fell.

  “Why are you on the ground?” Jiit asked as he helped Shaynen to his feet.

  “I got knocked over.” Shaynen said, brushing himself off.

  “Will you help me? Please?” The stranger begged.

  “Of course we will.” Thunder said, “Lead the way.” Shaynen slid his arm back into Kilek’s to lead him after Thunder and Jiit who took point, following the stranger.

  “So, what happened exactly?” Mayhem asked.

  “We were resting for the night and a stranger came to us and said he needed help and we followed him right into a trap.” The stranger said.

  “We were found by the mayor’s ghost kid.” Shaynen said. “She led us to the larder where there were a thousand rats waiting to ambush us.”

  “What? We didn’t see any rats.” The stranger said.

  “Did you have a light source?” Kilek asked.

  “No, we have dark sight.” The stranger said.

  “That’s probably why. As soon as we cast light, the rats descended.” Kilek said, “Hence why we’re wandering in the dark. Led by those of us who can see.”

  “You are human.” Thunder said.

  “Yes?” The stranger said, Thunder’s glowing eyes narrowed, the pupil turning to just a slit.

  “And you have dark vision?” She asked.

  “That’s a very presumptuous tone, Tabaxi.” The stranger said. “Not that it’s any of your business, but I happen to be a warlock.” Thunder made a noise from deep in her throat. The stranger led them to a wooden hastily created wall with a flimsy doorway. The cracks let glimpses of firelight through. Kilek and Jiit walked a bit more confidently as they approached the doorway. They each crept up to the wall and peeked through a crack in the wood.

  On the other side of the door was a cavern with several more wooden plank walls around the cavern. Very rough made sconces had fires that offered the light to see by. In the center of the room was a small group of robed figures, drawing in the dirt floor and piling firewood in the middle.

  “They’re making a bonfire.” Jiit said, "Possibly necromancy or cultic patterns in the dirt. Must be a ritual.”

  “Sacrificial?” Kilek asked.

  “Most likely.” Jitt said.

  “Now we know where all the people have been going.” Mayhem said.

  “Speaking of people….” Thunder said, turning around to look at the stranger. He grinned wickedly before springing a net over the group. The weights on the net surprised the party and knocked them to the ground into a tangled heap. The net and fall of the people hit the flimsy wall and knocked it down, shattering it into pieces.

  The noise and subsequent yelling from the party attracted the attention of the hooded figures in the cavern.

  “Well, well, well, looks like the latest band of adventures.” One of the figures said as they came to surround the party.

  “We were getting worried the troublesome ghosts would scare off any others and we’d have to cut our losses.” Another chuckled.