The party approached the Vintner's estate, a quiet mansion tucked in a small wood near Sonnhalde. A path covered in a light tree canopy cut through the rolling hills.
This private road approaching the residence was eerily quiet as if every living creature avoided the estate. Once they had made it to the old, yet extravagant mansion, they all quickly noticed a butler standing next to the door, waiting to usher the party inside.
"I assume you are an adventuring party, as per our request, yes?" The butler asked.
"Of course, good sir," Cael flamboyantly bowed to the man before extending his hand to reveal the pamphlet.
"Ah, yes, that is the pamphlet. Come right this way," The butler smoothly pulled the handle of the door open and gestured for the party to come inside.
The inside of the mansion was beautifully furnished, and an ornate chandelier was placed in the large front atrium. A red carpet was draped from the front entrance all the way up the large, marble stairs and up to the second floor. Briar and Cael were awe-struck; they had never been in a building this size before. Ash had a few times when her father was in his diplomatic days, but only when she was young.
The butler ushered them towards a small room underneath the staircase. In contrast to the rest of the house, this corridor was tightly packed, and instead, the ornate marble and wood walls of the mansion were replaced with natural rock, which made the room smell damp and cave-like. A cold draft of air made its way through the staircase, which wound its way down a couple of flights. Candles lit up the stairwell, but a couple went out with the sudden draft of air.
When they made it down the stairwell, it opened up into a large open room. Carved rock made the walls and floors, and large casks filled most of the open space.
"Here we are. Stay down here until you find evidence of the ghost. Only then, ring this bell." He gestured to a rope that chimed when pulled. "Ring it too early, and the job is failed. Good luck." The butler returned upstairs. Briar's gut twisted. Something about this house felt indescribably wrong.
"How long are we gonna be here…" Cael whined out of intense boredom, "Is this money worth it?"
"You got us into this mess, why don't you ask yourself?" Ash questioned; she was starting to get fed up with Cael's antics.
"Why can't you just be nice like you are sometimes? One second you're messing around and screwing everything up, and the next you act all kind, just pick something…" She stomped on the ground and then started walking to the other corner of the large room, as far away from Cael as she could be.
Cael tried to walk up behind her, "I'm sorry As-"
"That's not going to cut it this time, Cael. Leave me alone," She walked further into the corner before finding a spot to sit and sharpen her blade.
Cael looked dejected and sat next to Briar. Briar, witnessing the whole event, didn't know what side to pick. On one hand, everything Ash had said was true; Cael was extremely annoying, but at the same time, he was Briar's best friend and an integral party member who had a lot of strong points along with his weaknesses. Briar came up with a plan.
"Let me talk this out with Ash," Briar said, the sounds of the various creaking floorboards and large casks masking the sound from reaching Ash. Briar walked over to where Ash was sharpening her blade, "You all good over here?" Briar asked.
"That idiot Cael… I stand him!" She pounded the rock in her hand onto the floor. "Why can't he just realize all of the mistakes he's making? I keep telling him, but he just never listens. How else do I get it into that thick head of his? I'm just so done with putting up with his antics."
On the outside, she gave a frown, but the more Briar looked at her, the more he saw through it. Anger, hate, love, sadness, she truly cared for Cael more than anything else, and Briar was the only one who knew.
"I know you care about him, can't you just give him some leniency? You know how much better he's been getting recently, right?" Briar continued, "He got us this job when he really didn't have to; it was really our fault for not bringing enough money anyway."
"I know that, but I can't just…" She paused, staring hard at one of the casks. "Wait, Briar, do you hear that?" She whispered.
The cask in front of them started to shake slightly and made odd clicking and whining noises. Briar slowly walked up to the barrel before putting a hand on it. It was oddly empty; whatever was inside of it was light, oddly light…
"Ash, come over here," Briar said quietly, "I think there's something inside this cask."
As soon as Briar started speaking, the cask stopped shaking.
Ash came over with her blade, pausing a moment to find the best spot to slash. In one clean motion, the front wooden panel of the cask popped off its round body. Ash peered into the cask before letting out a shriek and falling backward in fear.
"Ash, was that you?!" Cael exclaimed, running over to the barrel to investigate.
"D… Dra…" Ash stuttered, unable to get the words to come out of her mouth in fear.
Cael peered into the cask and sighed.
"Wait, Briar, this is one of those… Drakes? You found it earlier, right?" Cael asked, now aware of the true identity of the 'ghost' they were trying to find this whole time.
Briar peered into the cask to find a small, snake-like creature with four feet on the front and back of its long body. "A river-drake hatchling!" Briar exclaimed, "I've seen these before on my pasture!" Briar excitedly took out their journal to find their notes on the creature.
Cael looked behind him to see Ash scared on the ground. He extended his hand for her, as she begrudgingly let him help her up.
"Look, Ash, I'm really sorry about earlier, you see--" Before he could finish, Ash hugged him loosely.
"Shut up, idiot." She held on to Cael, switched their positions so he was closer to the drake, and walked slowly away from the cask in fear.
Briar gave a small chuckle and walked over to the rope, ringing the bell. Its clear chime echoed through the cavern.
The cask settled, and the small river-drake hatchling peered up at them, blinking innocently. The tension in the room eased.
"Well," Briar said, looking at the others, "I guess that's that."
Cael slumped into a nearby spot, exhaling, while Ash gave him one last glare before letting it go. Once the butler confirmed the situation, the party collected the 5 gold rewards and was sent on their way back to the inn Briar had found earlier.