"Yes, you can.<span class="bbc_size" style="font-size: 8pt;">And so can I.</span>"<br/><br/>Snow checked the signatures, and put the clipboard away with barely concealed haste. By now, the light was almost gone, and the fog seemed to have thickened, with even the headlights of the solicitor's car not seeming to get very far.<br/><br/>"I'll leave you too it, then. The housekeeper is expecting you."<br/><br/>(https://i.imgur.com/UKAlL0k.jpg)<br/><br/>The sound of spinning tires and clattering gravel was behind the three women as they approached the house. Close up, the building didn't look any less intimidating, a dead hulk of a house. The windows had netting put over them to protect against weather damage or vandalism, but a lot of it was ragged and torn. Behind them, the windows probably wouldn't have been clear even if it had been light, given how much dust and grime had accumulated. The corners of bricks were crumbled and weathered, moss and weeds poked from gaps in the mortar, and the entire general impression was one of semi-controlled decay.<br/><br/>But the light in the front porch was on. And as whoever was bravest approached, there was the sound of bolts being drawn back, and the door opened unprompted. For a moment, the hallway looked empty, due to how short the person opening it was.<br/><br/><div class="spoiler_container"><div class="spoiler_header" onclick="hideSecond (this);" role="button">Rebecca Only</div><div class="spoiler_body">Person? The shape that shuffles out of the half-light looks like an exaggerated caricature of a human, with brownish-green skin tinted with grey, and stringy white hair coming out of its head that drags to the floor and several feet further along the floor. Large, rheumy eyes peer up at you, and an unnaturally wide mouth is open in a wide smile, revealing yellowed stumps of teeth. Already short, her frog-legged stance makes her look even shorter.<br/><br/>And then it's gone, and you're seeing what's really there. The light is poor, and this place is pretty spooky, after all.<br/><br/>You probably just imagined it.</div></div><br/>She was...well, she was<em>old</em>, hunched over and favouring one leg in a way that didn't look entirely comfortable. White hair hung in a stormcloud around her head, with only the very occasional trace of brown still there. Her face was deeply wrinkled, and dotted with liver spots and moles. The only part of her that didn't look ancient was the eyes, both a vivid blue and with a sharp gaze that took in her guests quickly--and then she turned around as if the meeting was the most normal and obvious thing in the world.<br/><br/>"Oh, you're the young ladies I was expecting, are you? Come on, come on in, don't be letting all the heat get out! My name is Lisle, and I'm the housekeeper for the Manor."<br/><br/>Behind her, the entrance hall stretched away. There were electric lights on, but it didn't look like the bulbs had been replaced for a long time, sputtering away fitfully and not illuminating much. It was possible to see that the place seemed to have been mothballed, with dust sheets covering the decorations and pictures on the walls. A grandfather clock faced the door, ticking somberly away.<br/><br/><div class="spoiler_container"><div class="spoiler_header" onclick="hideSecond (this);" role="button">Aiden Only</div><div class="spoiler_body">Also, you're sure you can hear very faint music coming from deeper within the house.</div></div><div class="spoiler_container"><div class="spoiler_header" onclick="hideSecond (this);" role="button">Karina Only</div><div class="spoiler_body">One of the sheets has partially slid away from one of the portraits, and you can see the top half of a woman's head. It's hard to be certain, but the eyes and hairstyle look kind of like your own. </div></div>