The Curse of Taloncrest Manor

Chapter 3: Cult of the Songsworn

"Guys, what are we going to do?! They're going to bind her to Bart....that's horrible!" Ricardo exclaimed. "Okay, okay, let's just....let's just calm down here for a second...." James reasoned. "We should probably just do as Bart says for right now. You know, maybe gather some information about this place....? One of these ghosts has to know something." "I'd say so....hopefully we can obtain some leads." Elijah added. "I can only imagine how surreal this whole experience must be for Cooper right now."

"I don't know what you're talking about, I'm perfectly fine!" Cooper said defiantly. "These spirits don't scare me at all!" "Whatever. Ricardo, how 'bout we head into the ballroom first? That area is pretty big; maybe there's a lot of ghosts we can question. After all, Bart enabled us to see them; I'd assume that means the reverse holds true as well." James suggested. "Don't worry, bro....we'll find her. That's a promise."

When the four friends entered the ballroom, it was considerably more occupied than they had remembered it. Several ghost couples were spinning to and fro across the dance floor, doomed to forever relive the party they were cursed at. Others were standing along the walls, casually chatting with their fellow guests. It was as if they were unaware of anything that had occurred in the outside world since the beginning of their bondage. Eventually, the boys spotted a ghost who was happily conversing with another partygoer at a nearby table. James was the first to ask questions.

"Hello. You haven't seen the mansion owner or his butler anywhere, have you?" he asked cautiously. "Oh! Greetings, friend! Wasn't expecting to see anyone new here! Hasn't been that way for a long time, now that I think about it." the guest spoke, taking a sip from his drink. "You're talking about Bartholomew and Thomas, aren't you? It's really quite a miracle—if what he says is true, then we could all soon go free! Unfortunately, he's been keeping pretty quiet about most of the proceedings; he says it wants all of it to be a 'surprise'." he explained.

"So you don't know where they are, then...." Elijah mused. "Listen, there's been a huge case of mistaken identity. We need to find the owner as fast as possible. Do you know of anyone else who could have a potential lead on their location?" "I'm afraid not, good sir. Your best chance would be to find someone who has particularly close ties to either Bartholomew or his aide. Or both. But good luck on your search! If you do decide to attend the ascension ceremony later, tell them good ol' Johnny sent you!" the man said cheerfully. "All right. Thanks, Johnny." Cooper replied as the four walked away.

The next person they decided to interrogate was a younger-looking man sitting alone at a different table in the corner of the room, reading from some sort of large book. "Ummm....hello. Have you seen Bartholomew Taloncrest or his butler Thomas pass by here recently? The situation's urgent; we need to locate them quickly." Ricardo asked him. The young man turned around to look at him. Out of the corner of his eye, Elijah could spot something on the ghost's neck. It appeared to be a small symbol or brand of some kind; two eighth notes joined by a beam. The spirit gasped. "Living humans....? Here....? You must be very important figures for Bart to have granted you 'sight'," he remarked. "Indeed," James responded. "Bart seems to believe that the girl we had in our company, Rose, was his wife Jane, having possessed a different body, all because she bears a slight resemblance to her. If we don't stop them soon, things could become very complicated. Do you have any idea where they might be....?"

"I can give you a rough lead, but I'm afraid it's not much. We ghosts down here don't really know much about what goes on with Bart and Thomas. I'd propose checking in with the specters on the second floor for more advice." the mysterious ghost instructed. "All right, thanks for the lead," Ricardo told him. But just after they turned around and were about to leave, the spirit began talking again.

"You can't stop Her, you know."

"Ummm....what? Stop who, exactly?" Elijah asked warily. "Her. Our Grand Magistrix. The Mother of Music. The One True Voice. We, of course, are Her chosen ones," the ghost said, pointing to the beamed pair of eighth notes that were practically seared onto his neck. "She sees all, knows all, hears all. Her happiness is our reward; Her sorrow, our failure. She is the Light, and without Her, all would be lost to darkness. We unwaveringly carry out Her will, without hesitation! Do you fail to understand still? Already a large amount of the spirits have accepted Her way. You will all accept Her way! It's only a matter of time!" he continued, getting more hysterical with every line.