The Haunted Mansion

Led through the mist of the milk light of moon, all that is lost is revealed...


Monotony was the enemy of the young adult, and this proved true with the pair of young ladies strolling through a place where they certainly shouldn’t be. A few nights prior to this one, the news channel was covering a story about the individuals who once roamed this island- pirates. Some came here to retire, and lavish in the wealth and partners they’ve come to accumulate. One of the cases focused on was the tale of a young captain and his aristocratic bride, who had fled their homeland to pursue both love and gold. They’d built an old mansion upon the muggy swamps located in now what’s known as the forbidden forest. But two decades later, after a grand ball inviting many other wealthy inhabitants in, the couple as well as the rest of the party had vanished without a trace. Some have rumored that this couple too had held powers that would come commonplace to the island, but that could just be a tall tale. All that is known it that the mansion, intact yet dilapidated, still stands in the middle of the dark swamp, waiting to be rediscovered…

So of course, that inspired people like Loralei and Pollyanna to wander around the forbidden forest in hunt for such a place.

"Goddamit, it feels like we’ve been walking around in circles. We better find this place before this swamp gives me trench foot." Loralei muttered a bit impatiently, the sentiment impossible given that her combat boots were resistant to the elements. Still, the wandering had begun to strike a nerve, unlike Pollyanna, who was just along for the ride.
"It’s not all that bad! I found a frog!" Polly chirped, smiling down at the chubby amphibian before it leaped into the greenish water. Her mood was possibly lightened by it being about 10 at night, with the full moon and stars above to guide them. "Besides.. Can’t you use magic? You could probably poof us up to-"

"What do I look like? A quitter?" Lori cut her off with a wave of her hand. "There’s no fun in cutting corners unless it’s vital. I want to find this place fair and square. That’s what we agreed to, remember?"

"Oh. Right." Polly recalled as the flame in the lantern in her hand wavered in the wind. She would have shifted already if that were the case. "If anything this should be a fun little exploration! You could use a girl’s night out. And besides… Wait a minute. I smell something." Polly took splashing strides to stand ahead of Lori. Her keen sense of smell causing her nose to tip upwards as she sensed the air. "I smell... Old paint. And rotting wood. We must be close!" She grabbed the genie’s hand and proceeded to sprint ahead, despite the protests of her magical friend. Minutes of splish sploshing later, the girls found themselves in front of an elaborate, rusted gate.

"This must be it!" Lori whispered with an excited edge to her tone. But while She was jingling the rusted padlock and chain, Polly was hunched over looking in the distance. "Hey, help me up and I’ll help you. Bend over."

Polly just whimpered. "S-something big is coming..."

Lori rolled her eyes. "Probably just another swamp rat. Whack it with a stick if it comes too close or something."

But what was really coming was much bigger. While the girls assumed they were alone in this expedition, that was son to be proved untrue…
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Despite the hold up, Loralei convinced Pollyanna to hoist her over the fence, sitting on the top to pull up her companion. Being small and nimble, that wasn't a problem. Polly on the other hand struggled, but mostly m from an increasing unnerving feeling. Being part animal, she was sensitive to that sort of thing, and knew trouble was brewing. "Alright, grab my hands. I'll pull you-"

Suddenly, an ear piercing scream broke the night. Loralei looked up in confusion, while Polly looked in fear. "L-Lori, what was that?" She backed away from the fence a bit. "I'm beginning to think that maybe this isn't a good idea..." As much as she wanted to explore, would it be worth coming face to face to whatever caused that awful noise?

"Well if you want to stay out here and wait for me you can. But..." Her voice was cut off as Polly grasped her hands and quickly hoisted herself up. Causing the girls to tumble behind the fence on solid ground. Dazed a bit, Lori shook her head, before standing to remove leaves from her hair.

"Yeah, that's what I thought." She chuckled, before giving Polly a reassuring pat on her back. "Now let's go. This is gonna get interesting." With that, the pair made themselves through the overgrown courtyard to the front door. Almost immediately, Lori raised her leg to send a powerful kick to knock down the old entrance. Ready to go on, into the unknown...​

The air was still.

The lantern illuminated the rotten foyer of the decrepit mansion. Lori lifted it up higher to make a mental note where everything was. There were two grand staircases, and rococo-era artwork lined the walls in all their chipped oil painted glory. Shame, this place must have been beautiful in its glory days. This was just further proof that when humankind was gone, nature would eventually claim what was rightfully hers.
’Fancy..." Lori muttered to herself, as she looked around. "Looks like they spared no expenses when the owners lived here. Too bad all that money would end up making this place be no more than water-logged firewood."

While Loralei was casually looking around, Pollyanna was growing more uncomfortable by the minute. The normally happy young woman was cautiously frightened, as she sensed evil lurking about from every corner. "Um… Lor…? Not to be a Debbie Downer or anything but um… I’m getting super bad vibes from this place." She stuttered out. "I don’t think we’re alone. And whoever is here reeeeeally doesn’t want us to be..."

Instead of replying snappily like she normally would with buzzkills, Lori took what she said with a bit of seriousness. "I’m getting a bit of a hunch too. But we should be okay. It’s probably just-" Plink! Something hit the floor. Then the sound turned into a roll. "What the..." Something touched her foot. She looked down. Oh shit.

"Polly look out-!"

Smoke filled the room. The girls quickly clung together, and Lori on instinct created a magic aqua-tinted bubble around them. But since the magic was reactive and not thought out, it had only lasted for a few seconds while the bulk of the smoke settled. Leaving it to pop and have the girls go into a coughing fit.

This lasted for a few seconds, while the fog partially settled. Both girls moved to cover their nose and mouth with their shirts, while each of them planned a different follow-up. Pollyanna crawled under the smoke to safety, while Lori went to the nearest bannister. Only to kick it in, and grab a splintered-off, sharp piece to wield as a weapon.
"Who the hell was that? Come on out you lil shit!" Loralei roared into the darkness, her lantern now on the floor with the light extinguished. She was ready to fight off the rude entity that tried to suffocate the duo. No one would mess with her or her friend like that.

Meanwhile, Pollyanna had crawled to what she assumed was safety, and was doing fine without the aid of light. While she tried to regather herself, she heard a soft plea, a whine for someone’s parents. Instantly, Pollyanna felt blind remorse. Was this another trap? Who cares. Someone needed help!

"Hello? W-who’s there? I won’t hurt you, whoever you are! Please come out!"
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