I gingerly rose from the ground, reaching for my staff, eyes scanning our new surroundings. It looked like a living room of sorts, with a large fancy couch and two similarly styled armchairs, and a marble table in between. Behind that were two glass double doors that seemed to lead into what looked like an office or study, but the glass was obscured. Next to it was a hallway, and to our right was a staircase leading up.

“Penthouses aren’t usually on lower floors, right?” Hildr asked, slowly moving closer into the living room, keeping me behind her. “Did we jump up or...something else?”

“I...don’t know.” I wondered if I could send Cornelius deeper, which was when I looked up and noticed that my familiar was not present. “Uhm...where’s Cornelius?”

“What? Isn’t he always on your staff?” Hildr asked, turning, to which I just pointed to the empty perch. “Uuuuh....he was with us in the hotel, right?”

“I think so...” For some reason I got the sense that Cornelius had been sitting cozily by the fire this entire time. “Well...we should be more worried about ourselves I guess. And uhm...finding Ghoultrude.”

“Right.” Hildr nodded, turning back around, and pointed with two fingers towards the office. “I’ll hit up the study, while you see what’s down the hallway?”

“Got it.” I told her, walking past her as she eyed the door handles suspiciously. The hallway had a bathroom sink on the right, and led into a strangely open area before going into a closet that led into a bathroom.

I had to stand there for a second to process. I thought the DeWinter Manors ever shifting rooms and floors were created. That had to be why this was so strangely set up right? This couldn’t be natural. 

“I am like eighty percent sure none of these books are real!” Hildr called out from the other room. “Also the scrying glass isn’t connecting to the weave.”

“Well this is the weirdest bathroom set up I’ve ever seen so I wouldn’t be surprised.” I shouted back, moving towards her voice.

“Wow. And your bathroom was in the botanical garden once.” Hildr laughed, I knew her tone well enough to know that she didn’t believe me. That’s fine, I wouldn’t have either. Also it was kinda cool to shower in the gardens, I missed it when the gardens shifted. 

When we met back up, we both heard an ear piercing shriek that made me cry out, and Hildr wince, momentarily pulling out her hearing aids. 

“That...was a wail.” I spoke and signed, since Hildr was placing the magical shells back into her ears, once the cries had subsided. “Of the ghostly persuasion. But this isn’t normal ghost stuff.”

“Ghoultrude?” she asked, after adjusting the aids back. “Guess we should check either way.”

“Yeah.” I answered, and we both moved at once to go up the stairs, to which Hildr frowned at me, expectantly. “Well but this is necromancer stuff.” I argued. She put her hands on her hips. “You wouldn’t be able to do anything if it’s spectral.” Her eyes narrowed. Yep, that was the wrong way of wording that.

“I’ll take that as a challenge.”

“It really wasn’t.” But she was already well on her way up the stairs. I sighed. 

Stellar.

Entering the second floor, to our immediate right was the master bedroom, which I assumed would have been the source of the sound. However, after almost running into Hildr who had stopped stunned, I stared down the hallway, to see the sliding glass door that should open to the terrace.

There was nothing out there but empty space.

“Isaac?”

“Not normal.” I muttered.

What was normal, at least, was the deep sense of dread and agony I could sense radiating from the door. The sort of gut retching horror deep within your bones that prevents you from stepping towards it. Anguish left unspoken that was loud enough to deafen all thoughts of joy and happiness, where all hope goes to die.

So naturally I went towards that, because it made more sense to me than the weird black void outside. I wanted none of whatever that had going on.

Moving past Hildr was when I first noticed the cold, as her naturally hot body temperature was radiating air off the cold. My breath showed as well, as I approached the door, it became almost unbearably cold the closer I was.

I drew a sigil in the air, bringing the temperature back down to something bearable, before reaching for the doorknob to turn, feeling resistance as I did. Grunting, I shoved my shoulder into the doorframe, causing the ice that had started to jam it shut to break, almost falling into the room with the motion of the swing.

In the corner, crouched in the fetal position, and somewhat floating, was the source of the wave of negative emotions. The spectral maid they had been searching for, Ghoultrude.

At least that was my guess. I’m like half decent at guessing.

She was shaking, which was pretty common for most ghosts, and not paying any attention to me, looking towards the closets with abject horror, which was very unusual. From the corner of my eye I could see Hildr move into the room, and we both slowly made our way towards the ghost. 

Once we truly entered her sphere of influence, of which I was able to safely breach for both Hildr and I with a wave from my staff, her eyes snapped towards us. Her mouth hyper extended to let out another wail, though I quickly drew two sigils, before pushing them out with my hands, sending them bolting towards her.

When they hit, her eyes went somewhat glossy, or glossier, and her muscles...uhm appearance of muscles, relaxed as her open mouth that was once ready to screech, slackened into a blissful, small smile. “That won’t last long.” I grunted. “She is an oddly powerful ghost.”

Hildr’s head snapped towards the closet at my words. “In that case, we should see what had her freaking out before the spell breaks.”

We slowly approached the door and, as I got ready to cast a spell on another frightened ghost, Hildr opened it, revealing the strangest being I had ever seen. It was large, larger than Hildr was itself an achievement, had one large multi colored eye, a thick looking torso with some sort of orange and yellow leotard, and their big tree trunk arms were some sort of orangeish, purplish gelatin that seemed to radiate a soft glow.

“Hello!” It said in a gruff voice.

I screamed in surprise and Hildr, noticing my fear for the first time on this mission, immediately decked the whatever, and it fell to the floor with a loud thunk.