“I can’t believe you’ve never been out to the old Woodrest Manor!  Teegs!   You have to go check it out.”  Lucy’s voice dropped a bit lower.  “Some people say it’s haunted.  Or maybe even there’s some creepy recluse living there.  Or,” Lucy paused, her hazel eyes growing wide as she leaned closer, “maybe a local cult who like to sacrifice people under the light of the full moon.”  She leaned back, her tone becoming more conversational.  “Don’t you remember that guy who was a few years younger than us back in high school?  I heard from Aiden who heard from Luke that John said that kid went out there to explore and just straight up disappeared.”  Lucy nodded knowingly.  “Anyway, it’s really cool and right up your alley.  You should go check it out.”<br/><br/>Tegan laughed and shook her head.  “Lucy, I can’t believe you actually believe all those old tales.  They’re just stories told to scare kids.  It’s like when you were little and believed there were monsters under your bed.  There aren’t any cults around here sacrificing virgins under the full moon.”  She glanced around the coffee shop to see if anyone had overheard what Lucy was going on and on about before sipping her coffee.  “And even if there were, don’t you think the cops would have investigated any weird disappearances by now?  Where would they stash all the bodies?”<br/><br/>“I bet they eat them.”<br/><br/>“Lucy!”  Tegan couldn’t hold back the shocked exclamation.  Lucy was just being ridiculous now but Tegan’s curiosity was piqued.<br/><br/>The conversation replayed over and over in her head as she walked down the road that led to Woodrest Manor.  It was a well-maintained private road that would barely be wide enough for two cars.  The trees on either side of the road arched into the sky, their branches meeting overhead to form a green tunnel high over her head.  Tegan adjusted her backpack on her shoulders as she made her way toward the large house she assumed was somewhere at the end of the road.  The backpack was part of her cover story.  She figured if anyone did live there and caught her snooping around, she could simply claim to be a lost hiker.<br/><br/>She hummed to herself as she continued on her journey down the road, her thumbs hooked in the straps of her backpack.  It didn’t take too much longer for the road to end in a large iron fence held in place on either side by a large stone wall.  She took hold of the bars and peered through up at the house.  It was a large stone edifice.  A mansion, really  She’d never seen such a large home.  Maybe Lucy was right and it did belong to a cult.  The grounds weren’t well maintained but nor were they completely abandoned and overgrown.  A faint crease appeared between her eyebrows as she stared up at the house.<br/><br/>What kind of person lived like this?  Did anyone actually live here?  Was she about to let herself into someone’s house uninvited?  Well yeah, she was definitely about to do that.<br/><br/>Tegan leaned in, almost pushing her face between two of the bars.  Then without letting go, she leaned back.  To her surprise, the gate creaked open.  Her tiny yelp of surprise sounded so loud in her ears.  Surely someone had heard her.  But clearly, the open gate was a sign that she should continue exploring.  Tegan wasn’t one to ignore blatant signs.<br/><br/>Up the driveway she went, not making any real effort to conceal herself.  The front door was quickly discarded as a viable point of entry.  What was she going to do?  Waltz right in and announce her presence as if she was some long lost friend or family member?  Even Lucy would not have recommended such a foolish plan of attack.<br/><br/>There had to be another way in.<br/><br/>Placing her booted feet carefully, Tegan crept around the house.  She tried to peek into the windows but most of the curtains were closed.  Except for one room - a library, the walls lined with floor to ceiling shelves.  A low delighted exclamation slipped from her lips.  She very badly wanted to find that room.  The smell of old books and leather bindings filled her nose in the most perfect olfactory hallucination.<br/><br/>Continuing her circle of the house, she was quite surprised to find a door hidden behind some carelessly trimmed shrubs.  It seemed like no one had used it in decades.  With nothing to lose, she reached out and took hold of the knob.  After one deep breath, she tried to twist it.<br/><br/>The latch gave way.  One sharp tug opened the door with the creak of rusty hinges.  Tegan glanced over her shoulder before slipping inside and closing the door most of the way behind her.<br/><br/>It was dark inside the house.  The air was cooler and carried a slightly stale smell.  She blinked a few times to allow her eyes to adjust to the dim light.  Then, without moving, she tried to figure out where she was.  It seemed to be some sort of room a servant would use.  A pantry or storage maybe?  It was empty and dusty with cabinets and shelves lining the walls.  Later she might explore but for now, that library was calling her name.<br/><br/>Still doing her best to be quiet, Tegan began to creep through the house in search of that library she’d seen.  After one failed guess and peek through a door only to find a sitting room of some sort, she found the treasure she’d been looking for.  The young woman couldn’t stop her jaw from dropping in awe at all the books one room held.  The room smelled exactly like she’d imagined it would - leather, old paper, rich.  It was a heady mixture.<br/><br/>She crossed the room, glancing up at the high shelves as she headed for a desk tucked under a balcony of sorts.  The chair tucked under it was high-backed and made of leather that shone with use.  Someone<i>used</i>this room but Tegan was too swept away by the sheer amount of words contained within its walls that she ignored what was staring her in the face.<br/><br/>Discarding her backpack carelessly on the floor near the desk, she settled into the leather chair and ran her hands over the gleaming wooden surface of the desk.  Lucy was so wrong.  A place like this couldn’t belong to a cannibal virgin-sacrificing cult.  This place was beautiful.<br/><br/>She ran her hands across the desktop once more before she got the brilliant idea to open the drawers.  The smaller center drawer held a scattering of office supplies, nothing special.  It was the deep drawer to her right that had far more interesting contents.  A book, perhaps a journal by the look of it.  It was old.  She wanted to read it.<br/><br/>Fingers wrapped around the tome and pulled it from its hiding place.  Reverently, she caressed the cover, wondering to herself who could possibly have written the secrets it contained.  Tegan thumbed to a random place in the back half of the journal, wanting to read a sample before she fully committed herself to start at the beginning.<br/><br/>With a contented sigh, she settled into the chair to read.  Lucy had been so right to tell her about this place.  It really was right up her alley.<br/><br/><a class="username" data-user-id="3528" data-username="@Torack" data-xf-init="member-tooltip" href="https://blackdahliaroleplaying.com/members/3528/">@Torack</a>