Chapter 48: The Haunted Manor
POV: Adam
The Thornwick Manor rose from manicured grounds like grief carved into architecture, its Gothic spires reaching toward gray sky while perfectly maintained gardens provided deliberate contrast to the despair that had settled over the estate like morning fog that refused to lift. Adam studied the building's facade while Blood Sensing revealed the living inhabitants clustered in the main hall—their circulatory patterns speaking of stress and fear that had become chronic rather than acute.
Tragedy. Something terrible happened here.
Three days of travel from their last village had brought them to this contract through Geralt's professional network, reports of violent supernatural manifestations that prevented normal habitation despite the family's wealth and social standing. The specifics remained vague—objects moving without cause, temperature fluctuations that defied explanation, witnesses claiming to see young woman where no living person should exist.
Five years ago. The daughter died five years ago, manifestations began recently.
Lord Thornwick received them in his study with dignity that couldn't quite conceal desperation, his weathered hands trembling slightly as he described phenomena that had transformed comfortable home into source of constant terror.
"Lyanna," he said, his voice breaking on his daughter's name. "She was nineteen. Riding accident, they said. But the manifestations... they only started three months ago."
Riding accident. Official cause, but something doesn't feel right about the timing.
The investigation that followed revealed inconsistencies that professional experience had taught Geralt to recognize—details that didn't align properly, emotional responses that suggested information being concealed rather than simply forgotten.
Hidden truth. There's truth being hidden here.
Adam's Blood Sensing provided information that conventional investigation couldn't access—detecting spectral presence that registered as absence rather than presence, cold spots where warmth should exist naturally.
Impressions. Dead don't have blood, but they leave impressions on reality.
But Ciri's reaction proved most revealing—her Elder Blood responding to whatever haunted the manor with recognition that spoke of forces operating on frequencies that normal human perception couldn't detect.
"She's trapped," Ciri whispered, her voice carrying certainty that came from source beyond conscious reasoning. "Something is keeping her here against her will."
Suffering. The spirit is suffering rather than simply existing.
The midnight confrontation came with temperature drop that made breath visible in air that had been comfortably warm moments before, supernatural cold announcing presence that defied natural law while making ancient timbers groan under stress they weren't designed to endure.
Manifestation. The wraith is manifesting.
She appeared gradually—pale figure in riding dress that spoke of nobility and youth cut short, her face bearing expression of fury mixed with desperate sorrow that made Adam's chest ache with sympathetic pain.
Level 25 specter. Dangerous but tortured rather than evil.
The wraith's attack came with violence that spoke of rage refined through years of imprisonment, spectral claws reaching for life force that might provide temporary relief from whatever bound her to this realm. But underneath the hostility lay communication attempt—trying to convey information through the only means available to someone whose voice had been silenced by death.
Subdue, don't destroy. Family wants daughter freed, not annihilated.
Adam's waterbending created barriers that disrupted the wraith's ability to maintain coherent form while his airbending provided mobility that kept him beyond reach of spectral attacks. But conventional tactics felt inadequate against opponent whose motivations remained mysterious.
Resonance. Ciri's Elder Blood is creating unexpected resonance.
The connection that formed between Ciri and the wraith transcended normal communication, Elder Blood power serving as bridge between worlds that allowed exchange of information that spoken language couldn't convey.
Murder. She was murdered, not killed in accident.
The truth that emerged through supernatural communion painted picture of jealous suitor whose romantic advances had been rejected, violence followed by concealment that prevented proper burial rites from releasing the spirit as natural law intended.
Unhallowed ground. Buried in unhallowed ground to hide the crime.
The revelation horrified Lord Thornwick but provided closure that years of uncertainty hadn't allowed, truth that made grief processable rather than endless torment caused by questions that couldn't be answered through conventional investigation.
Justice. She wanted justice, or at least acknowledgment of what really happened.
The burial rites that followed required Geralt's knowledge of supernatural protocol, ceremonies that most people never needed to understand but which witcher profession made necessary education. Proper blessing of remains that had been denied appropriate treatment through criminal concealment.
Release. She's ready for release now that truth has been acknowledged.
The wraith's final manifestation carried gratitude rather than rage, spectral form becoming luminous rather than threatening as whatever forces had bound her to physical realm finally allowed departure to whatever realm awaited souls whose earthly business had been completed.
Thank you. Her last communication before fading.
Ciri collapsed from exhaustion that spoke of someone who'd channeled forces beyond normal human capacity, but her expression carried satisfaction that came from using terrifying power for healing rather than destruction.
Constructive application. First time she's used Elder Blood constructively.
[Experience Gained: 350 XP - Peaceful resolution bonus]
[LEVEL UP! 23 → 24]
[Free Stat Points: +5]
[Allocation: +1 STR, +2 STA, +2 AGI]
[New Stats: STR 40, STA 54, AGI 53, HP 400, MP 540]
[Gold Earned: 200 crowns]
[Relationship: Ciri +5, Geralt +5 (now 90/100)]
Dawn brought departure from manor that had been restored to sanctuary through acknowledgment of truth that concealment had made toxic, family finally able to grieve properly instead of living in fear of supernatural manifestations that spoke of unfinished business.
Bridge between worlds. Her power isn't just weapon—it's bridge between worlds.
Adam walked beside Ciri as morning light painted the countryside in colors that spoke of new beginnings, both processing revelation that forces which seemed designed for destruction could serve purposes that healed rather than harmed.
Healing. Sometimes the most dangerous forces can become the most beautiful.
The road stretched ahead through landscape that promised both opportunity and challenge, leading toward whatever contracts would test their growing understanding of how power could serve purposes beyond simple violence.
Together. We face everything together, learning that strength comes in forms we hadn't expected.
Some victories were measured in lives saved rather than enemies defeated.
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