I
The elf investigator Ireniana Falfaren walked along the dirt trail, while behind her, her half-sister Jane stared at the map they had taken with them when they had Falfaren’s office in Mauertain, two miles away.
“Are you sure the abbey is up this way?” Falfaren asked her sister as she removed her plum colored fedora and the sweat trickled from the base of her black hair and down her forehead.
Jane, who inherited her sharp eyesight from their father, stared into the distance and spotted the large stone castle-like structure that was Charbanough Abbey. She could even see the priest, Maxwell pacing around the front gates, waiting impatiently for the sisters to arrive, ignoring the dirt that was building up on his dark blue priestly vestments.
“The abbey is indeed this way,” Jane said as a soft breeze flew through her black hair, which went just past her ears. “Do you think it was necessary to bring your sword?”
Falfaren tapped the pommel of her blade. “It’s like what father always says Jane. You never know when it could come in handy.”
Jane shook her head. Although she knew her elder sister was not someone who liked to get involved with religious matters, she had requested her presence because she thought the problem the priests of the abbey were facing could use a set of fresh eyes.
The two sisters continued down the road until they were met by Maxwell Vanderholt, who greeted Jane with a soft embrace. Falfaren looked over the young priest, noting his ash colored skin and bushy mustache.
“Thank you both for coming,” Maxwell said in a soft voice as he looked at Falfaren. “As Jane must have told you, strange things have been happening around the abbey.”
“Yes, she informed me of strange noises in the dead of night,” Falfaren said in a quick voice, glancing at her sister.
“I also told her about the screaming and that people have been missing,” Jane added.
Maxwell shrugged her shoulders as a man dressed in white and red vestments approached them. “This is Father Paul McKenzie,” Maxwell said before doing a quick bow. “He is the headmaster of the abbey.”
Falfaren hesitated for a moment, then McKenzie’s hand. The headmaster straightened his monocles and said. “Miss Falfaren, Jane has told us that you were quite a figure in law enforcement back in your own city in Delnair.”
“Yes, but I have moved away from home recently,“ Falfaren said as she noted the man’s stature. She pointed to her sister and added. “Jane has quite a knack for mystery, something we both get from our father.”
Jane shook her head and looked at the two priests. “Headmaster McKenzie does not believe that there are strange things going around the abbey.”
Headmaster McKenzie turned to Maxwell and Jane, before looking back at Falfaren and Jane. “I have told you both, and the others that the noises you are hearing are coming from the forest, thieves running around in the middle of the night, and others who are hoping to find refuge in the abbey.” He straightened his monocles once more before continuing,” I did however say that your sister could come and look around the abbey.”
“I assure you that I will not take much time looking through the abbey,” Falfaren assured.
Headmaster McKenzie nodded at the elf’s words. “Yes, Jane has told me of your animosity towards the divine.”
Before Falfaren could react to the priest’s words, Jane stepped forward and said,” Her lack of religious background has nothing to do it headmaster. In fact, Ireniana has told me that she has cases back home that we must look at. The Mauertain watch looks to her as a consultant.”
Headmaster McKenzie bowed and walked away,” Then I will not heed your progress. Good luck Miss Falfaren.”
“I wonder what he meant by thieves coming and going through the abbey,” Jane questioned as she watched Father McKenzie walk towards the abbey’s steps.
“He means all of the refuges who come to the abbey to seek shelter or sanctuary,“ Maxwell answered as walked ahead of the sisters and passed through the front gate. “Some of them come from villages attacked from war bands, others are travelers from cities and are just passing through. And there are some who come from who knows where.”
“Father McKenzie is a wise man, but he holds himself higher than the average priest or person who comes through these doors,” added Maxwell.
“That sounds like a lot of priests,” Falfaren said quickly. “No offense.”
Both Maxwell and Jane let out a laugh. “No offense taken,“ Jane said to her sister. “Although I do hope you will behave yourself while you are here, and please do not try to ruffle the robes of the priests.”
“As long as they do not try and convert me Jane,” Falfaren said as they approached the door. “So if thieves and refuges are not the cause of the noises, what do you think is going on around the abbey?”
Maxwell stepped by, allowing Falfaren and Jane to enter the abbey. “Honestly big sister, I think this place is being haunted by a ghosts of someone who was murdered on these grounds.”
II
Moments after she entered the abbey, Falfaren proceeded to spend the next hour talking with priests and acolytes who tended to the refuges. She then spoke with caretakers and housekeepers, learning of what she could about the other priests who worked within the abbey’s walls.
After she was finished, she found Jane in the abbey’s library, looking through a thick stack of books about dwarves religion.
Jane lifted her gaze to her sister and smiled. “Did you find what you were looking for?“
“More or less,“ Falfaren answered as she grazed her finger along the spines of several books as she made her way towards her sister. “Most of the staff have heard these noises, but they seem surprised by the decreasing amount of refuges and travelers.”
“Headmaster McKenzie,” Jane corrected as she shut the book and escorted her sister to the wall where they passed a mother walking with her two children. “We are noticing that there is a less amount of travelers coming to the abbey. Part of the funding for the abbey comes from travelers who would rather pay less to spend a night here than at an inn from the town down the street.”
“I noticed that Father McKenzie has felt the need to not even make contact with these refuges,” Falfaren said with a snort as she and Jane walked towards the abbey‘s mess hall. “He probably feels that watching the Abbey’s finances are more important.”
Jane raised an eyebrow smirked as they entered the hall and sat at a small table. “Headmaster McKenzie has a habit of sitting in his room for most of the day, writing sermon after sermon. Sometimes he spend hours mending his clothes.”
“Maybe he is the one making noises,” Falfaren said as the mess hall began to fill with more people.
Jane shook her head. “He lives on the other side of the abbey, away from the priests and away from the refuges.”
Falfaren stood up to get some food. “Interesting, perhaps we’ll speak to Headmaster McKenzie later this evening.” She looked over the mess hall, watching the priests serve the refuges. Among the crowd, she saw the headmaster sitting in a circle with three soldiers. “In fact, I may go talk to him now.”
In less than five seconds, Falfaren was able to gracefully walk across the hall to where McKenzie was sitting. “Good evening Miss Falfaren,” the headmaster greeted with a smile.”
“Good evening Father McKenzie,” Falfaren replied before looking over the steel armor and weapons the soldiers were wearing. She felt her nose twitch as it picked up the faint smell of rotten flesh.
Father McKenzie pointed to the three men and said,” I am just having a conversation with these fine young men. I was once a soldier for several years before I heard the call to don the robes.”
“And how long have you worn the robes father?” Falfaren asked.
Father McKenzie spread his arms. “I have been a servant to the war goddess for over seven years. I have spent a great deal of time with this abbey. I hope to make it one of the grandest churches on the continent.”
Before Falfaren could walk away, she felt the headmaster touch her shoulder. “Jane told me about your mother Nancilia. I am sorry for your loss, and I am sorry that such an event has made you not believe in the gods.”
Falfaren pulled away and looked McKenzie in the eyes. “It is not that I believe in the gods, but I believe that we mortals can make our own destiny. Now if you excuse me, I must join my sister.”
As Falfaren walked towards the back of the room, she saw Maxwell sitting with Jane. In front of them were two large steins, filled with what she hoped was alcohol.
Jane gently pushed a glass towards her sister. “I thought you might want a drink. As I promised, the finest ale the abbey has to offer.”
Falfaren grabbed a glass and took a large drink. “So both of you failed to mention that McKenzie being a soldier.”
Maxwell shrugged as he ate some potatoes and sipped some of his ale.
Seeing the look in their eyes, Falfaren stared into her glass,” Is this made with any special kind of holy water
“It is with the Earthmother’s blessing that I made this,” Maxwell answered. “However, Headmaster McKenzie has not had us brew beer or make wine in the cellar for quite several months. We currently brew it in two small sheds behind the abbey. He said that the cellar has gotten so crowded and polluted that it would be dangerous for us to be down there.”
Falfaren shrugged her shoulders as she toasted her glass with Jane and Maxwell
Maxwell sipped some more ale, then watched as Falfaren drown her drink in several seconds,” Perhaps you should slow down, as the alcohol will hinder your ability to investigate.
Falfaren had just finished her drink as the priest had finished his words. “I assure you that it will take a lot of alcohol before my abilities are hindered. For instance, I could not help but notice your headmaster smelled a little bit like rotten flesh.”
“He does sleep near a graveyard,” Jane said. “Perhaps that smell lingered into his room
“He sleeps in a room, separated from the graveyard,” Falfaren retorted. “Maybe instead of going to McKenzie, we should pay a visit to his quarters, or at least to the graveyard.”
Maxwell had almost choked on her drink. “But that is hallowed ground, and visitors can not go there unattended. You would have to get a priest, or at least a groundskeeper to go with you.”
Falfaren patted her sister’s shoulders. “Then it is good that I have two priests who can go with me.”
III
Falfaren, Maxwell, and Jane walked through the graveyard, passing several gravestones until they came across what appeared to be a fresh pile of dirt.
Falfaren bent down and smelled the dirt. “This is rich soil. It would almost make great farmland.”
“According to some of the priests, the ground the abbey was built on was used for farming strawberries,” Maxwell said as he pointed to an unmarked grave. “I wonder who this grave belongs to.”
Falfaren continued to examine the dirt “This was not dug that long ago,“ she said as she found several sets of fingerprints embedded in the dirt. “This must have belonged to the person who you think died recently, but someone was just here only hours ago. Do either of you know who these graves belong to?”
Maxwell looked at the gravestones and shook his head. “I would assume they belong to the priests who worked at the abbey.”
Falfaren stood back up and walked around a set of four graves. “But these ones have no markers. The others have names, and some of them are listed with the gods they served.
Just as she walked back to her sister, the air began to fill with moaning sounds. Maxwell and the Falfaren sisters watched as four ghouls walked towards them. “It seems we found what has been making the noise,” Falfaren commented before drawing her sword.
Maxwell bit his lip as the creatures began to charge. Closing her eyes, he channeled the divine power of the Earth goddess and unleashed a blast of white light from hisfingertips, engulfing all four ghouls. When the light dimmed, all four creatures crumbled to the ground.
Falfaren let out a sigh before putting her sword away. “At least you saved me a night of cleaning my sword. I’m sure McKenzie knows about the ghouls roaming the ground.”
“They attacked us probably because we were disturbing their graves,” Maxwell said as he walked over to the piles of dust and traced a rune that would keep the corpses from rising.
“Maybe, but these ghouls came from somewhere,” Falfaren said, staring back at the abbey. “If they were indeed after us, they would have burst from the ground.”
“Someone was here digging up the graves before,” Jane added, looking between Maxwell and her sister.
Maxwell stared up at the night sky. “If we have time, we can look for the source of the ghouls tomorrow. For now, we should get back to the abbey and get some sleep.”
IV
The next morning, Falfaren woke early to speak with Headmaster McKenzie. She found him inside of the graveyard, bent down where Maxwell had disposed of the ghouls the night before. She also noticed that some of the dirt she and Jane had examined looked to have been cleaned up.
“Good morning Miss Falfaren,” Headmaster McKenzie said as she approached him. “I trust you slept well.”
Falfaren nodded. “I shared a room with Jane.” She stopped and noticed the area she had examined the night before, was now cleaned up.
“Jane has only been here a few months, but she has been great help to us all,” the headmaster said as he stood over the area where Maxwell and Jane had destroyed the ghouls the night before. “It looks like there was a scuffle.”
“Maxwell and Jane brought me out here last night,” Falfaren said, watching McKenzie circle the dust. “Some ghouls came towards us and before I had to force my hand, Jane and Maxwell were able to destroy them.”
Headmaster McKenzie paused before a smile crossed his lips. “Marvelous, it looks like you found your sister’s culprits. They must have attacked because the living was trotting along their sacred ground.
“This has been holy ground for hundreds of years,” he continued. “I am sure that many have stumbled across undead who have attacked because the living has stumbled across their graves. The dead still like to think of this place as their residence, and I am sure that you would not want someone trespassing on your property. ”
“No I would not,” Falfaren replied, before crossing her arms. “However, these ghouls did not come from the ground, rather they came from somewhere, perhaps from an open tomb.” She stopped when she noticed he was wiping his hand.
My apologies Miss Falfaren, I burned myself making my bath water this morning,” the headmaster said before walking past the elf. “I must be going.”
Falfaren stole a glance at the high-priest’s fingertips, noticing no burn marks or swelling.
She then turned her attention to the piles of dust that had been the ghouls. It was then she realized that the headmaster must have wiped away the runes Maxwell had placed the night before.
V
Falfaren had just walked back into the abbey’s mess hall when Maxwell and Jane approached her with several papers.
“We have the name of someone who died recently,” Jane said before handing her the papers. “Her name was Sister Elanor R. Melvanoth.”
“She was a priestess of the Earth Mother and had died a few months before I arrived,” added Maxwell. “No one knows the cause of her death, but some say she was close with Headmaster McKenzie.”
“Did she brew her own alcohol?” Falfaren asked.
“Not that I know of,“ Maxwell said with a surprised look on his face. “From what I have read, she mostly did groundskeeper duties and guarded the gates.”
Falfaren decided to continue on the subject. “Then perhaps she saw something she was not supposed to. As I had mentioned to Father McKenzie, the ghouls we saw were not from the graveyard, or at least they did not sprout up from the graveyard when we were there.”
Jane nodded at her friend’s words. “They were summoned by a wizard, or even a necromancer.”
Maxwell glanced between the two sisters. “Are you saying that Father McKenzie is raising the dead. But why would he?”
“Perhaps we will find the reason when we take a trip down to the brewing cellars,” Falfaren answered as she drummed her fingertips on the table. “We could also find some ale left from the last time the priests brewed it.”
VI
Maxwell led her sister and Melissa into the brewing cellar that was several feet below the abbey’s main floor. It was here that Falfaren picked up the familiar scent of rotting flesh, only this time the odor was much stronger than when she first smelled it in the mess hall. The walls of the cellar were lined with large barrels and shelves full of bottles.
“No corpses so far,” Jane commented as she headed towards a barrel and pulled it open. A shriek escaped from her lips as she found two corpses piled on top of the other.
Falfaren and Maxwell ran over and peered inside of the barrel. “Good thinking Jane,” Falfaren said as she looked around the corpses. “It would seem that the headmaster does not want you and the other priests to brew alcohol because you would end up finding this experiments.”
Maxwell let out a shiver as she looked at the other barrels. “Miss Falfaren, do you think that all of these contain bodies?”
Falfaren paced around the room as she looked at her sister. “I do Jane, but more importantly, where did these bodies come from?”
Jane closed her eyes while Maxwell held his hands to his face. “I could not imagine that Headmaster McKenzie would murder refuges to feed his experiments.”
“Of course not,” Falfaren said before standing next to her sister. “However, he could not possibly use the abbey’s priests. After all, who else would take care of the abbey and those who came to the castle.”
Jane opened her eyes and said,” Except for Elanor Melvanoth, who unfortunately stumbled upon McKenzie’s work.”
Falfaren was about to add a comment when Headmaster McKenzie appeared at the door, dressed in black robes with a skulls embroidered on the sleeves and the front. “If you must know, this is exactly how Elanor found out about my work.”
Father McKenzie chanted a spell in the demonic tongue, causing the corpses to slowly rise from the barrels.
While Jane and Maxwell were preoccupied with the zombies, Falfaren glared at the headmaster and said,” So this is how you were able to create undead servants, by killing the refuges and travelers and bringing the bodies down here.”
“ I serve a god of undeath and disease,” the headmaster replied in a casual tone. “I saw this abbey as a way to grow in power. I masqueraded as a lowly acolyte and rose in the ranks, while killing on the side. I soon took over from my superiors, after they took a leave of absence.”
“And you’ve been making corpses ever since.,” Falfaren said. “Being the head of the abbey, you are not only able to keep track of the travelers and refuges, and also the rising power of the priests who work for you. In the graveyard, you had wiped the dirt from your hands after you erased the runes Maxwell drew in the dirt.”
The headmaster looked at Jane and Maxwell. “My apologies to you both, you were always good helpers.”
Jane spat an elvish curse she had learned in her youth just as Headmaster McKenzie turned away. As the corpses walked closer towards them, Falfaren looked at Jane and Maxwell, and asked,” I don’t suppose you have enough spells to destroy them all.”
While the priests hesitated, Falfaren sprang forward and drove her sword through the sternum of one of the zombies, then sidestepped one of the walking corpses and took its head off with a swipe of her blade.
Watching her sister, Jane looked at the shelves and the bottles. “Maxwell, do you think we could burn the cellar?”
Maxwell shrugged his shoulders. “We may be able to burn the floor, yet the wine and ale is not flamable.”
Falfaren stepped to the left and drove her sword through another zombie. She smiled as she heard her sister’s suggestion, until she realized what her plan actually meant. “Jane you are not serious? The ale can not be that flammable.”
“We don’t have time to argue about this Ireniana,” Jane snapped as she ran over to the shelf and began throwing down bottle after bottle. Maxwell had quickly grabbed several full bottles and threw its contents at the walking corpses.
Falfaren, despite her objections, walked past the zombies and up the stairs. She watched as Jane lit a torch and drew a scroll and lit it on fire. Behind her, Maxwell cast another light spell that destroyed two of the zombies.
Falfaren breathed a sigh as Jane and Maxwell walked up the stairs. “We must not waste time,” Maxwell said as the remaining three zombies walked towards them.
The Falfaren sisters wasted no time and followed him.
VII
Falfaren was the first to find the headmaster, locating him in a small altar room above the mess hall.
As she walked in, Headmaster McKenzie turned to her, his lips spreading in a grin. “It seems the worst mistake I made was letting you explore the castle.”
“Actually your mistake was letting Jane into the abbey, thereby having her call me to come and investigate,” Falfaren said as she drew her sword and approached the necromancer.
Headmaster McKenzie watched Maxwell and Jane enter the room. Just as Falfaren was about to reach him, the necromancer snapped his fingers and shouted a trigger word that caused a ball of darkness to fly from his hands and strike her in the chest.
Falfaren hit the ground, clutching her stomach as she gasped for more air. Behind her, Maxwell channeled the divine energy of his god and summoned a large glowing silver hammer that flew across the room and flew into the headmaster’s face.
Just as McKenzie fell to the ground, Jane cast a spell against the headmaster, only to have him deflect it. She moved her hands for another spell, but her sister had already sprang to her feet and drove her sword into McKenzie’s chest.
Maxwell ran over just as Falfaren dropped his body to the floor. “Jane, please get some of the other priests.”
Jane stared at her sister for a moment, then ran away. Maxwell stood over the headmaster’s body. “We will have to alert the staff, and anyone who is missing a loved one. Thankfully, the undead should be gone with McKenzie dead.”
Falfaren gently kicked McKenzie’s body and asked,” So what happens to the abbey? Who gets to run it.”
“That will be up to the staff,” answered Maxwell with a sad look on his face. “This should not take too long, since it is not even lunch time.”
VIII
Falfaren, Jane, and Maxwell walked along the grounds, watching the priests and travelers in the graveyard, putting flowers on the graves. Maxwell looked the sisters and said,” I do not know how to thank you both.”
“As soon as you priests get that alcohol ready, you could send it to my office in Mauertain,” Falfaren answered with a smile
“Consider the alcohol sent big sister,” Jane said while a group of children handed her flowers. “So Maxwell, how do you feel about being the head of the abbey?”
“I admit that it will take a little while to get used to“ Maxwell said with a smile. “But as long as we work together, we can make sure this place is taken care of. We can see that these bodies get a proper burial. Miss Falfaren, perhaps you could help us see that all of McKenzie’s necromancy creations are gone.”
“I would like to, but I have to get home,” Falfaren said with a shake of her head. “As Jane said when I arrived, I have a caseload to look at back home.”
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