Quoted By:
<span class="mu-s"><span class="mu-b">Winner:</span></span> Gottfried the Wise Wolf
<span class="mu-s"><span class="mu-r">16 + 10 = 26 Will Save vs Glibness DC 20</span></span>
On the outskirts of Liliendorf sits a warehouse.
Snuggled up against the village walls--in part to avoid needing more than three of its own--all of the other buildings avoid it like a leper. Wide loading alleys separate it from the nearest buildings. The hard work of the Maintainer of Roads keeps the alley pavers clean and kempt and free of cracks from winter's chill and summer's thaw. This stands in contrast to the warehouse itself, which sat abandoned by every merchant and tradesman for so long that they began to believe it cursed. Ivy has overgrown the bricks and creeps into the shuttered windows, blooming with cheery pink flowers that give color to its dull and ruddy red-grey walls.
It stood empty when the Duke gave you Liliendorf as your fee, and for many long years before that. Curses are a serious thing, ill luck always struck whoever made their claim to the building. A merchant lost his mother. A butcher got bit by a tick and lost his stomach for meat. A blacksmith's house caught fire while he was away. These and many other stories bandied about the place. You performed an exorcism with the aid of Good Father Durandal, and you found no evil spirits living there to be cast out, the "curse" persisted all the same.
Coincidence? Collective madness? The will of the LORD? Until a few years ago, you would have attributed it all to a mysterious higher power, but now you cannot be so sure. Not when young Lothar has made the place his residence and appears more prosperous than ever.
You approach the door. Red like a rose, it looks much better than it used to. He must have replaced the rotten old thing that once stood in that frame. A knocker in the shape of a bronze wolf holding a ring in its mouth sits three fourths of the way to the top. You pull back its heavy ring, and give a few loud knocks to announce your presence.
"I'm not a home!" Lothar lies with such confidence that you have to wonder if he's managed to convince anyone that it's the truth before.
You knock again. The boy lies again, this time telling you that, "I just said I'm not a home! Try the church or something, you won't find me here. Maybe I'm down by the lake catching fish!"
"Lothar, does that ever work on anyone?" you ask. The silence that answers you is broken up by the pitter-patter of feet running down the stairs. When the door creaks open, you see a length of iron chain set to keep it from opening in its entirety. Blues eyes peak out from behind the door, veiled by a stray lock of blonde hair.
"You'd be surprised, madame. Most folk are thicker than the bricks this place is built from," he says. A hint of nervousness that wasn't there before tints his voice with apprehension. "Anywho... can I help ya with something, Lady Louise?"
You nod, saying that, "As a matter of fact, there is. Do you mind if I come in?"
