Cassius was jolted awake by a rough shake from the carriage. Flailing a bit, he grappled for the book he'd been holding, closing it neatly and placing it beside him. Rubbing his eyes he let them adjust to the darkness that had overcome the carriage. He decided to pull back the heavy curtains covering the window, dim light making the cabin a bit brighter. The sky was gray and overcast. Heavy with the promise of rain in the midafternoon. They were on the outskirts of the little city, turning down a less cobbled path and leading themselves into the forest.<br/><br/>Cassius has recently come into a very large inheritance. He never knew him much, but his grandfather had left his money and estate to the oldest surviving heir of the Alabaster family, which was unfortunately Cassius. It probably would have gone to his father, had he not fallen so ill and sickness had taken him. Or perhaps his brother, had he not gone to fight in the war that had come to pass these last couple of years. Lost in thought he almost didn't notice when they passed the threshold of the large iron gates. He looked up to the large manor, blinking owlishly. His initial thought was what was he to do with all if that<i> space?</i><br/><br/>Exiting the carriage he stuffed his book in his bag, closing the leather flap and staring at the grand steps. Sure, he wasn't unaccustomed to displays of wealth; he'd been to many parties were it seemed the only purpose was to show off how many material items you could gain, but he'd never quite owned something so large and grand. Dozens of windows stared back at him and the large white door serving as the main entrance seemed like it could fit an entire circus through it!<br/><br/>said doors opened, a few people filing out in a neat order to carry things from the carriage. Cassius hadn't brought much. He didn't own much, but he was surprised when people just started taking in his things.<br/><br/>"E-Erm...You don't have to..." He began, the servants not hearing him. He was approached by a middle aged woman, who bowed shallowly.<br/><br/>"Hello Mr. Alabaster- we've been awaiting your arrival as dictated by the late master. Would you like to come in? I've just started the process of making some tea for you." The maid said, already attempting the lead Cassius in.<br/><br/>"Oh, uh, well- That's all good and well then!" He stuttered, looking back at the servants carrying his trunks. "I appreciate the help miss, although I suppose it's your job. Although I'm sure I don't need quite this much help." He stated, following the woman into the house. He paused at the foyer, taking in the interior for the first time.<br/><br/>His grandfather seemed to have the flair for the dramatic. The ceiling was high, the floor a shiny marble, and the décor was...well entirely too gaudy for Cassius's taste. Was that pure<i> gold</i>? He jolted as he was bumped into, hearing a woman say, "Sorry young master!"<br/><br/>"No, no, you're fine." Cassius said, continuing to follow the maid.<br/><br/>"My name is Jane- I'm the head of maids. We're your help now so if you feel this is too much just simply say the word and you can let some people go. Your grandfather quite needed the extra help." She stated. Cassius continued to follow her, all the while taking in the house. He was finally seated and served, the hot cup warming his hands. He hadn't realized how cold he'd been! He listened idly while Jane the talkative maid continued to try and entertain him, even serving him some pastries much to his pleasant surprise.<br/><br/>"Oh! I almost forgot! Here." She exclaimed, handing the man a letter. It was heavy, and something bulged the envelope out a little. "Your grandfather wanted you to have this."<br/><br/>Opening the letter he read the note explaining what he'd earned and how that even if his grandfather didn't know him that well he was still proud to have a scholar to inherit his home. There was also a ring of keys in the envelope.<br/><br/>When he finally was able to get comfortable the maid was carting him off again, giving him a small tour of the house and letting him decide on what room he'd use as his quarters. Not used to being doted on he had to convince the servants to let him dress himself for evening wear. Did his grandfather really have such young women dress him? He thought it was a bit shameless...<br/><br/>As the Servants and maid retreated to their own side of the house Cassius took it as an opportunity to explore his surroundings unhindered. Taking a candelabra and absently taking the ring of keys he wandered the halls of the house, the interior far more menacing then it had been in the daylight. Pictures looked like phantoms and small statues and table pieces casted ominous shadows, making them dance on the walls. It was fascinating. He opened a couple of locked doors, finding they were merely storage closets and always disappointed it hadn't been something more exciting.<br/><br/>Cassius didn't have much of an idea of what time it was but by the time he wanted to go back to his room he found himself entirely turned around. He kept thinking to himself, "Which way did this hall go again? Was that the table piece I passed earlier?" Opening doors left and right he would peek into the darkness before determining that it wasn't his room. He'd go up and down stairs, forgetting which floor he was on. He pulled on one door, finding it firmly locked. Cassius made a humming sound. It wouldn't hurt to open more doors along the way, would it?<br/><br/>trying keys randomly he finally found success on the last one, pushing the door open with a creek and wondering inside. This time it wasn't a storage closet. Closing the door behind him he took a couple of steps forward, shivering as cold air wrapped it's self around him. That was a little odd...none of the other rooms seemed quite so drafty. Drifting around Cassius gathered that this was a study of some kind, and upon further inspection it seemed to be a study of the occult.<br/><br/>"Grandfather studied witchcraft!" He exclaimed under his breath, looking at the old leather spine of books and mixture of crystals and odd jars. He didn't know what they were full of and he figured he better leave them alone at least until daylight. Everything had a small, fine layer of dust on it, some more then others.<br/><br/>Scouring book shelves his attention was draw to a medium sized wooden box hidden in a corner. It was incredibly dusty, two large books leaning against it to half cover it. Immediately drawn to it he pulled it closer, wiping the dust off the top to better see the display. It was ornately decorated with gold embellishments, old writing on the surface that was unreadable to Cassius. After inspection he popped open the latch, revealing a foggy glass orb. It swirled with a mesmerizing movement and glowed softly. Letting out a sound of intrigue and surprise he made a movement towards the desk to closer inspect it. He found himself distracted as a plop of hot wax hit his hand from tilting the burning candle, and he found himself tumbling over a loose floorboard. His heart leapt to his throat as he realized he was falling. There was a flash of light and the sound of shattering glass. The candle tumbled through the air before hitting the ground and extinguishing the flame, plunging Cassius into darkness. A curse left his lips as he scrambled to get up, hissing as a shard sunk itself into his hand during his effort.<br/><br/><a class="username" data-user-id="2728" data-username="@RavenPrinx" data-xf-init="member-tooltip" href="https://blackdahliaroleplaying.com/members/2728/">@RavenPrinx</a>