Lovewood

My dear boy, I hope this letter finds you in good health. I know that it has been far too long, but I’m afraid my duties offer me little time to visit, I hope you can pardon my rude form.

Sadly, I am not writing strictly for friendship, you see there is a grave matter I wish for you to attend to on my behalf. To the north of the capital is a town overseen by Lord Lovewood. I wish for you to go there and look into the Lord, his household, and the manor they reside in.

Allow me to explain. You see at the start of the war, Lord Lovewood sent what he was legally required for the war effort before gathering his family and traveling east, as far from the frontlines as he could I’m sure. He had recently finished construction of a manor in one of his owned lands.

While making their way there, the family was struck with a great misfortune. Their youngest son, a boy named Nickolas, became gravely ill. They made it to the manor and called for healers. Sadly most of any real worth was to the west, helping with the war effort. Few were able to answer his summons, those that did all agreed, that the boy would not survive the winter.

A sad truth to be sure. When news reached my order, we knew we must travel there and give the young Lord a proper burial, and so I was sent. When I reached the town, to my utter surprise I was not allowed entry to the estate. Instead, a runner left and informed Lord Lovewood of my presence.

I expected that when he arrived he would ask my pardon for the rude behavior and invite me inside, as is fitting for a man of my station, however, this was not the case. The Lord thanked me for traveling but told me it was unnecessary, the boy lived and did not need a man of my order.

I was astounded, to say the least, and inquired about seeing the lad, to make sure he was indeed cured and not in any danger of the illness returning. To my ever-growing shock, I was again denied entry. I was told that the boy was well, and the Lovewoods felt confident he was in no danger. Afterward, the Lord turned and walked away, ignoring my continued attempts to clarify the subject.

Baffled and a little sour at the apparent waste of my time, I headed into the town to grab a room for the evening, since it was clear I would not be given one by the Lord. In the inn, I learned of the plague that seemed to grip the town.

It was described to me as a sudden nightmarish disease that was leaving a great many dead in its wake. Concerned, I pressed for more and discovered that the disease came suddenly and with little signs, and while many had indeed died, they had done so throughout the war.

Asking to see one of the bodies proved to be of no use, as Lord Lovewood had taken to collecting them to be disposed of to keep the disease from spreading. This made it very difficult to gain any information on the disease. I of course tried again to speak with the Lord but on that day he would not even come to the gate to speak with me. The more I asked the more I felt a… presence. As though somebody was watching me. When I returned home, I found a letter had been delivered promising answers should I desire them.

I was instructed to go to the graveyard at night, make sure no one saw me, and be sure I was not followed. I admit, a strong sense of dread had taken over me by now, as this was only my third day in the small town. A paid an older gentleman I found at one of the taverns to go in my stead and write everything down for me.

My thought was that should I need to worry about being followed, it would do to send someone who did not look like me, so they would not be followed. I hardly slept that night.

The next day I waited, but the man did not show. Around midday, I grew tired of waiting and made my way to the graveyard. Once I reached it, I saw a gathering of the common folk. I asked what held their attention, and a young lad told me that the plague had claimed another.

I made my way through the flock and saw the man I had paid. Before I could gather my wits enough to think of inspecting the body, the manor guard arrived and took it away. I was sure to hide my face as they walked past.

When I returned to the inn I immediately began to pack my things, I made my way to the coach and told him I was ready to leave. The man however took one look at the darkening sky and shook his head. He would not travel at night. I tried my best to convince the man otherwise but he would not see reason.

Eventually, I had to make my way back to the inn. I entered my room and locked it before lying down to wait for the morning. I had drifted off to sleep, for how long I am unsure, but I woke to the slightest sound of footsteps. They were so light that at first, I imagined I must have dreamt of them, but then a slight knock on my door. A voice, quiet and gentle, whether a man or woman’s I couldn’t tell, called out to me. “Doctor, are you awake? Might I have a word?” I got to my feet and slowly made my way to the door, before I answered it though, a coldness gripped me, a fear too strong for me to move with.

Again the voice spoke, “Come now doctor, won’t you let me in?” The voice was sweet and kind, but it filled me with a fear I have never known before. I slowly stepped away from the door and could feel my entire body shaking. I sat back on my bed and wrapped my arms around myself in a tight embrace. I could feel my heart beating, could hear it so loud I was sure the voice from the other side could as well.

At this point I noticed that I was shaking as much from the cold as the fear, the heat seemed to have left the room altogether, I watched my breath rise in front of me. I am sure that the room was colder than the snow-covered land outside.

The voice spoke again, “Let me in doctor. If you’re too tired to get up, that’s all right. Just ask me in, and I’ll enter.” I gripped my mouth with one hand, irrationally terrified that any noise I made would convince this person… no… this devil, to enter my room and rip the soul from my body. I could feel tears streaming down my cheeks as I wept softly, knowing that I was to meet the same fate as the man from the night before.

The voice continued to speak to me throughout the night, trying to get me to let it enter. I was sure at any moment it would grow bored of this game and enter anyways. It never did though, and eventually, the voice stopped. Not long after, I felt the first rays of the morning’s light shine through my window.

It took me some time to find the courage to open my door. Of course, nothing was there, and I quickly made my way to the coach. He said not a word as we rode away from the town, though I do believe he did not expect to see me that morning.

Once I returned to the Order I gave my report and suggested that we send a unit to investigate. The Order, however, dismissed my concern. They claimed that the Lord’s son was our original purpose, and he was alive, surely a cause for celebration? The disease while concerning did not seem to be spreading and therefore was not an issue for the Order. Lastly, a voice in the night was hardly worthy of note, let alone a unit.

In the end, they would not lift a finger, though they informed me I was free to do so on my own. It is with no small amount of shame that I write this, but I can not go back, my fear is too strong. Perhaps the Order is right, and my old age is affecting my thoughts, or perhaps the devil himself came to me that night. Whichever the case I had to do something, so my dear boy I ask this of you. Discover the truth, and if evil has come into the land, help us be rid of it.

...

Sincerely yours, Dr. Torbii-ean Jorvish

...

I re-read the letter once more as the carriage shook a little from the road. My eyes glanced briefly at the surrounding land. It was cold, and frost covered the nearby plains and trees. Oddly, I noted a lack of wildlife, though as I thought about it a moment longer, no doubt, the cold was to blame.

I received the letter, a little over two weeks ago. Interesting to say the least, as the events described were highly unlikely to have unfurled in the manner they were written, however, Dr. Jorvish was rarely one to embellish or lie. Although it is certainly possible that the older man was simply reaching his years and starting to show it.

Nevertheless, I had been searching for a break from the mundane life back in the capital, and a trip to this small town could be just what I need. If something is going on, I will be able to learn and study it to the best of my abilities, and if the town is as boring as I suspect, at least I will have a quiet place to work, away from the busy bustle of the city.

My inner thoughts were interrupted by the gruff voice of my driver, as we entered the small settlement.

“Uh.. sir? We’ve arrived we have.” The driver said once he caught my attention. I looked out and saw the town for the first time. Dark and gloomy was my first impression, an aura of despair and fear that seemed to hug the bleak stone walls that made up the majority of the structures.

A heavy blanket of mist seemed to grasp the town tightly in a cold embrace and hid the light and warmth that came from the sun, up in the sky. The snow that lightly covered the landscape seemed to send chills through me, even through the warmth of my attire.

I shook my head slightly, I was letting Dr. Jorvish’s words get to me, altering my perception to fit the haunting tale he had woven.

I took a better look around, the cold weather and fog that had drifted in were all that seemed to make the town dark, and it was rather common and to be expected in this part of the country, at this time of the year. Other than that people seemed to be going about their day as one would expect. Men were working, women going to and from places of interest to their respective purposes, and children could be seen playing now and again, or being scolded for wandering where they shouldn’t. The stonework, while dreary, was certainly not uncommon, especially for a town of this wealth.

It was, in every sense I could see at this current point, a completely normal town. I let out a chuckle at my ridiculous behavior and fear for a moment, before making my way to the inn. After purchasing a room from the woman behind the counter, she sent a lad to retrieve my belongings from the coach while she showed me to my room.

“Here you go uh… mister uh…?” She spoke asking the unspoken question I had grown accustomed to in my travels.

“Doctor. Dr. Ranell Corben.” I responded absently as I walked into my room, inspecting it to make sure it was adequate for my purposes and the time I would be using it.

“Doctor eh? Ain’t you a little young to be a doctor?” She asked irritatingly. I had to keep from making a sharp remark and was glad my back was to her, as I was unable to refrain from rolling my eyes. The simpler folk seemed to struggle with the reality that those of higher status did not function in the same way.

“I’m from the capitol,” I said. I could feel her eyes on me waiting for more to be said, but I remained silent. I felt no need to help her understand, as it would likely be a waste of both our time.

“Oh, uh. Yes, I see.” I somewhat doubted that. She continued, oblivious to my ever-growing frustration at her obvious lack of intelligence or knowledge. “Well, I’m sure you’ll like this room then Dr.”

“Why is that?” I asked a little curious as to the way she phrased her remark, as though the room would meet my approval because I was a doctor.

“Well, there was another Dr. not so long ago. He seemed to like this room during his stay.” Ah, so this was his room. I felt an uneasiness rise at the unique coincidence. How strange that I should end up in the exact room Dr. Jorvish spent a night awake with terror before he fled this town. I couldn’t help but glance at the door, the door he had been too wracked with fear to even open and see who called from the other side.

Once again I shook my head at the silliness of my behavior. It was not such a coincidence when one thought about it. The inn was by no means impressive and likely didn’t have many rooms or visitors. Most would stay in the same rooms as each other unless they were traveling together.

Soon enough the lad returned to us and brought with him all of my things before he quickly left to his next task. As I looked out my room’s window I saw not far from the town a large hill with a single road that connected it to the town.

Up the hill, overlooking the town stood alone, an impressive dark stone building. Its style was modern and its build was surely recent from its appearance, and yet it seemed almost ancient. It was the strangest thing, as when I focused I could see it was a relatively new structure, yet it seemed as though it had always been, standing alone watching over the town, like a wolf looking down on a herd of sheep in the valley below.

It was protected with an encompassing spiked iron fence, that surrounded it. With tips that reminded one of the spears. The fence, like the building itself, while physically looking new, it felt older.

There appeared to be a thick layer of snow around and on the building. It was hard to tell, but it seemed like the snow was in far more quantity near the building than in the rest of town. Though due to its elevation perhaps that wasn’t so strange. I once more tried to shake the unease I felt but unlike the other two times, this one would not leave.

“That building…” I asked as the woman was leaving. She took a quick look at where I was pointing, before turning away.

“That would be the Lord Lovewood’s home Dr. You’d do well to steer clear of it. They aren’t too fond of visitors far as I can tell.” With that, she exited my room and left downstairs. I took a long look at the dark ominous building before I shook my head. I was raising my fears for no real reason. The doctor’s letter, which I’m still not entirely convinced isn’t just some extravagant jest at my expense, seemed to have shaken me somewhat. I have always been fond of a frightful tale, and it seemed that my mind was determined to turn this into one. I smiled at my childish whimsy and closed the door to start my work. As I let go of the handle, I felt the hairs on the back of my neck stand, as though I was being watched. I looked to the source of my sudden unease and my eyes immediately rested on the dark manor on the hill. A bit shaken, I made sure to lock my door.