The TSD Kids:

The Adventurer’s Agency

Lv. 26

The Manor and the Mausoleum

Last time, after finally getting back home, we were so worn out that we just crashed in the middle of the living room! Later on, we brought the others up to speed on where we were, as well as our current findings. Then three jobs came up; good thing there’s so many of us! I assigned two to each task, and had the rest hang back so we could talk more about Xylos. Then Gale called, saying to come to Cornet Valley quickly. We found the town to be infested with ghosts! The Ghostums that were running amok didn’t come from the area, but the next one over. To top it off, we receive a letter from mysterious someone who was apparently the owner of the mausoleum Nadia and I first entered. With nothing else to go on, we decided to head to the place where I looked for the Genbu Medallion; GreyStone Village.

T: “I never thought I’d be back here again…”

T-na: “This must be kinda like a nostalgia trip for you, then.”

T: “Yeah, kinda.”

We were on our way to GreyStone Village.

Ellis: “Um, when you say the village was overrun with the… living dead… were any of those… the people?”

T: “Nah… as far as I can tell, we managed to see to it that no one was harmed.”

Nadia: “It was a rather frightening experience, but since T was there, I had nothing to fear…”

Eiji: “I’ve never fought against undead creatures before…”

Kayin: “Unless if you count that pirate king guy we met before…”

Harold: “Looks like we’re here.”

We saw multiple houses and buildings that seemed to be made with round stone bricks cemented together.

Harold: “How… classical-looking…”

T-na: “That clock tower there makes the place look so old-timey…”

Eiji: “The sun’s just at the horizon right now.”

Ellis: “It feels like it’s set already. It’s getting late, isn’t it?”

Nadia: “We can worry about the time of day later.”

T: “Let’s check out that pointy-looking manor!”

T-na: “Uh, where is it?”

T/Nadia: “No clue.”

The others fell over from shock at how calmly Nadia and I answered that question! Then they got back up.

Kayin: “How can you not know?!”

T: “Don’t hold it against us! We were only eight…”

Nadia: “…And seven…”

T: “…At the time; so sue us!”

Ellis: “Ugh… then let’s just ask around…”

We went to the nearest building to ask around. That building was a store.

Harold: “Hmm… I guess I should see what stuff they have here…”

Eiji: “Good idea, man.”

While the others looked around the store for items and junk food, Nadia and I went to the proprietor. She was busy sweeping.

“How can I help you children?”

T: “Uh, we’re looking for a large pointy manor in this village; where can we find it?”

“(Gasp) Well, I’ll be… I remember you two! Hey!”

“What is it?”

“Come out and take a look!”

A man, most likely her husband, came from behind a door.

Man: “What’s this…? Well, if it isn’t the little squirts who saved us from the living dead! You’ve grown a bit!”

T: “Yeah, I guess we have…”

Woman: “What brings you two here again?”

T: “Like I said, we’re headed to that manor that was here.”

Woman: “You don’t mean Limestone Manor, do you?”

Nadia: “Oh, so that’s its name…”

T: “We do. We got a letter from someone who lives there. They… invited us.”

Man: “You sure? As far as I can tell, nobody’s been living there for years on end!”

Nadia: “Strange… and yet we just got this letter today…”

T: “Regardless of how old it is, I still wanna check it out.”

Ellis: “Same here!”

Ellis and the others stood behind us, each holding more than a fair share of junk food.

T-na: “But first, we gotta buy this stuff…”

T: “Do what you will, then let’s go.”

Woman: “Oh, you’re still going? If you must… its down the way, past the clock tower; you can’t miss it.”

Man: “Especially with that graveyard next to it! (Shudders)”

T: “Thanks.”

We left the cozy store and walked past the clock tower. Night had already fallen.

Eiji: “This place is starting to look kinda shady now…”

T-na: “Not even Full Moon Village looked like this…”

Ellis: “Looks like this is it…”

We then saw the large manor. It seemed to loom over us in the night sky.

T-na: “You were right… it definitely looks… pointy…”

T: “Come on, let’s go.”

Nadia, Harold, and I took a few steps forward, then looked back at the others.

T: “No seriously; let’s go!”

We all walked to the front door. I pressed the doorbell, which had an ominous-sounding ring…

Kayin: “Okay, that’s the icing on the cake; I’ll see you all at home…”

Kayin tried to leave, but without turning around, Ellis grabbed him by the collar.

Ellis: “Where are you going??”

Kayin: “N-nowhere…”

Suddenly the doors slowly opened, revealing a somewhat thin, well-dressed man.

“Ah, visitors! It’s been so long! Welcome to Limestone Manor!”

He then eyed our entire group, in a way that seemed a little unnerving...

“So, what business do you have here?”

T: “It’s about this letter, sir. You wrote it, didn’t you?”

He read the letter from top to bottom.

“Yes… yes, I did write this… then that would mean…!”

Nadia: “…What?”

“You are the ones named T and Nadia, correct?”

T: “That’s us.”

“Then you have accepted my invitation! But I have sent this so long ago…”

T: “I’m afraid we’ve just received it yesterday.”

“And you both grown since then… Please, come in, come in!”

We all proceeded in, as the doors closed shut behind us.

We followed the man as he led us down a hallway.

T: “So, just who are you, sir?”

“I am the last heir to the Limestone family. My family is well renowned for their sculptures, did you know?”

Eiji: “We’ve heard.”

Bernard: “Ah, you others must be friends of these two. My name is Bernard.”

T-na: “Nice to meet you then.”

T: “So, when we went into your family mausoleum, were we really… trespassing?”

Bernard: “Yes, I’m afraid… but there’s no reason why we can’t overlook that. Please, you must all join me for dinner.”

Kayin: “Well, we were going to scarf down some candy we just bought, but okay!”

Bernard: “Ah, here… look! These are but a few of the statues I’ve recently done.”

The section of hallway we were standing in was lined with several exquisite statues.

T: “Wowee… what detail…”

Eiji: “They look almost real…”

Nadia: “Too real…”

Bernard: “Thank you, thank you… some say the way I created these… it’s almost as if it were magic.”

Ellis: “Really now?”

Bernard: “Yes… they must think that I’m that good! Well then, I shouldn’t keep you all waiting! (Claps twice)”

We were all looking at the statues, then when we looked forward, we saw several butlers standing there! We didn’t even hear anyone walk near us!

Bernard: “Okay then, please prepare the special dinner for our guests!”

They silently followed orders and headed through a door. We looked at the statues for a while longer, then…

Bernard: “Shall we proceed to the dining room?”

Harold: “I gotta say, this guy seems all right!”

We entered the dining room, which had a super-long table! There were plates on it, one for each of us, stacked with delicious-looking food!

Bernard: “Please… have a seat!”

After Bernard sat down, we took our seats.

T-na: “It all looks so good!”

Everyone else started eating already. Nadia and I however did not. We were sitting furthest away from everyone else.

T: “Well, it does look good enough to eat…”

I picked up the fork, but then…

Nadia: “(Quietly) T…”

T: “Hmm?”

Nadia shook her head slightly, possibly indicating that she didn’t want me to eat just yet. Her eyes and left hand were glowing slightly with Dark energy.

T: “?”

Nadia: “(I’m trying to speak to you through my mind… can you hear me?)”

T: “(Uh… I-I think so… why so quiet?)”

Nadia: “(This food… it seems peculiar…)”

T: “(How so?)”

Nadia: “(I’m not sure… not only that…)”

By this time the others were already done eating. Soon, the butlers then came in and cleared the table. They even took our plates of uneaten food.

Nadia: “(…Did you feel that?)”

T: “(Feel what?)”

Nadia: “(Those butlers… their life force felt different… unnatural for a human…)”

T: “(I dunno… but you might be onto something… I also noticed something…)”

Nadia: “(What is it?)”

T: “(Those statues in the hall seemed so real… it almost felt like they were alive… but they’re just statues, right?)”

Nadia: “(So it would seem…)”

Harold: “Hey, what’re you two thinking about over there?”

T: “Oh! N-nothing…”

Harold: “Okay. Man… I feel so tired all of a sudden!”

Ellis: “(Yawn) Me too…”

Bernard: “What’s this? Tired are we? If you must, please stay the night here!”

Kayin: “We’ve imposed on you enough…”

Bernard: “Oh it’s quite alright! It’s the least I can do for responding to my humble invitation, regardless of how long it took to get to you!”

Bernard had the butlers show us to our rooms.

“Excuse me, sir…”

Bernard: “Yes?”

“I believe two of your guests never touched their food. Not a trace of it was eaten…”

Bernard: “…I see. I guess those two will be missing out… a shame.”

Later that night, I was in a bed, thinking about everything that’s happened so far.

Nadia: “…T?”

Nadia was at the door.

T: “Oh, come in. What’s up?”

Nadia: “I’m still wondering about this place. Things just don’t seem right.”

She walked to the window.

Nadia: “Look out here, at the window across the way…”

T: “Huh…”

I looked. At a house across the street, light in a window was on. A person seemed to be standing in the window, unmoving.

T: “It looks like they’re standing there. What of it?”

Nadia: “That’s the thing; it seems that person has been standing there for quite some time. I saw them there an hour ago, then an hour before that.”

T: “Man, it’s that late?”

Nadia: “I didn’t really want to trouble you about it, but… can we go look?”

T: “Sure. The others are probably sleeping now…”

We quietly exited the castle and walked by a fence facing the Limestone family graveyard.

T: “Man… it’s all too calm out here…”

Nadia: “You’re right… I wonder why we haven’t seen any of those ghosts…”

T: “The Ghostums? Yeah, I thought they’d be here, but we didn’t see any, nor did we see any people, except for that storeowner couple.”

Nadia: “Here’s the house…”

We were a few steps away from the house. As we walked to it, Nadia said,

Nadia: “I wonder why the person was just standing there for hours on end?”

T: “Who knows? Maybe they were looking for… (Gasp!)”

We then looked at the person in the window. It was…!

Nadia: “A statue!”

T: “Whoa! Just like what we saw in the manor!”

Nadia: “Could it be more of the Limestone family’s artwork?”

T: “Didn’t know they were selling them to the common public; being so famous and all…”

Nadia: “Perhaps Bernard did this one too.”

T: “Man, all these statues? I guess he never suffered from writer’s block… or should I say sculptor’s block…”

Nadia: “You said you felt life force emanating from those statues, yes?”

T: “I don’t if it was life force, but I had a feelin’…”

Nadia: “I can feel it. Right now.”

T: “You serious?!”

Nadia: “Yes.”

T: “I’ll scan.”

I held A.N.A.L.Y.Z.E.R. up to the ‘statue’ for a few seconds, then…

A.N.A.L.Y.Z.E.R.: Oh dear… this doesn’t look good…

T: “What’s the matter?”

A.N.A.L.Y.Z.E.R.: This is no statue. This poor girl is actually Petrified!

T: “Petrified?!”

Nadia: “She was turned to stone?”

A.N.A.L.Y.Z.E.R.: Affirmative. I wonder… does this confirm why this town has felt so empty?

T: “Whoa… Nadia, you don’t think…?”

We searched all around GreyStone Village, checking the homes and buildings… all the residents were turned to stone! We even checked the small store we visited!

Nadia: “Oh… that poor married couple…”

T: “This isn’t good… wait!”

Nadia: “What is it?”

T: “I have a remedy for Paralysis and Petrify! Tanooki!”

I changed to a raccoon dog, then…

T: “Aroma Therapy!”

The pink mist I exhaled floated around the stone pair, but…

T: “Dang! It didn’t work!”

I reverted back.

A.N.A.L.Y.Z.E.R.: It’s to be expected, T. This type of Petrification wasn’t through normal means… it was done by an unidentifiable form of magic.

Nadia: “Magic caused this?”

T: “Magic…”

I then thought back to what Bernard said…

T: “Bernard said that the way people described his talent for sculpting was as if it were magic…”

Nadia: “Then that means… is it possible??”

T: “Only one way to find out!”

When we left the store, it was raining. Thunder pealed across the midnight sky as we ran through the puddle-filled streets back into Limestone Manor.

We stood before the statues we saw earlier. I scanned these too.

T: “Just as we thought… these are more people Petrified!”

Nadia: “Is this the Limestone family’s way of statue making?”

“Young man, young lady, what’re you doing?”

We turned to see one of the butlers standing there.

“It’s very late. Come, let’s get you two to bed…”

Nadia: “We’re not sleepy.”

T: “Nah, not sleepy at all… in fact, while we’re up, we’d like to ask your employer a few questions about these here ‘statues’…”

“Oh? You’d like to know how?”

T: “Yes, we’d like to know how… How could he just take poor innocents and Petrify them so?!”

“Ugh… so, you know… I’m afraid that’s one family secret that cannot be revealed!”

Suddenly out of nowhere, the other butlers materialized!

“Take them!”

They then closed in and grabbed us!

T: “Hey! Release me!”

Nadia: “Let us… go!”

In a struggle, we hit out at them. Apparently, it was strong enough to shake them off us and reveal one of them for what it really was!

“D’oh! I’ve been rumbled!”

Nadia: “It’s… a Ghostum!”

But it was pale blue instead of pale pink!

T: “Why does this remind me of the Puffty species?”

Name: Spookum

Species: Undead

Habitat: Graveyards (mostly)

Info:

Spookums are a step up from Ghostums. Not much can be said about them, but unlike the Ghostum, they are a tiny bit more serious about what they do, if only more so…

“You jerk! Do you know how hard it took me to do that disguise?”

T: “That’s just too bad! Judgement!”

I tossed my hammer around, whacking the other ‘butlers’, which turned out to be Ghostums in disguise!

Spookum: “Crud! Retreat!”

The Spookum floated off frantically, dropping something, as the Ghostums flew off after it.

T: “The Spookum dropped something! It’s a bottle!”

Nadia: “It’s some sort of solution that induces sleeping.”

T: “You were right to be suspicious of the food; they must’ve tried to give us the goofballs!”

Nadia: “But the others… they practically inhaled that food as if they were Kirby…”

T: “That’s not good… Even if they’re sleeping, they’re in danger too!”

We went to their individual rooms.

T: “Neither Harold, Eiji nor Kayin were in there!”

Nadia: “Ellis and T-na are missing too…”

T: “But the Capture Capsules Harold was holding were left here…”

Nadia: “I guess we should hold onto them for him.”

T: “Ugh! They have to be somewhere! It can’t be that hard to find four sleeping people!”

We looked around, but came up with nothing.

T: “Where could they be??”

Nadia: “We haven’t searched here yet.”

Nadia pointed out a door.

T: “This must be Bernard’s study…”

We then tried searching the study. The rain was still falling fiercely.

Nadia: “It’s quite dim in here…”

T: “Sure is… hey… what’s that?”

Nadia: “It… looks like…”

Though it was dim, we could make out a silhouette bearing spiky hair…

T: “Eiji, it’s you!”

It was all of them, in fact.

Nadia: “They’re awake!”

T: “Phew… for a moment, I was worried…”

It looked like their backs were turned to us. I we went to face them.

T: “Heh, so why are you all standing there, all stiff-like? Come on, let’s go.”

I put my hand on his shoulder, but it didn’t feel like the fabric of his shirt!

T: “What the…?”

Then the lightning flashed outside, revealing for a split second a stone gray complexion! We almost couldn’t believe what we saw! Then through more flashes of light we saw one blue and several pink objects, and in another flash, they were all gone! The fireplace mysteriously lit up, and no one was there…

T: “Nadia… did you see that…?”

Nadia: “Yes… impossible…”

T: “I bet that’s why he wanted us to come in the first place!”

Nadia: “Had we received the invitation back then, everything since then might never have…”

T: “Let’s not think about that… where’d our friends go? There’s no way they could up and walk away, having been Petrified…”

We looked around the room, but came up with nothing so far. Then Nadia approached the window.

Nadia: “(Gasp) Look!”

From the window, we had a good view of the graveyard. Through the driving rain, we could see Bernard walking into a low stone building. The Spookum and his Ghostum buddies followed him, each pushing along the statues that were our friends!

T: “There they are!”

Nadia: “We must follow him.”

We ran out into the rain and stepped into the graveyard.

T: “I didn’t realize how big this boneyard was…”

Nadia: “I hope we can save them…”

Looks like we’ve gotten into a fine mess here… with the others Petrified, Nadia and I are the only ones able to fix this problem! But, we have been here before; how bad can it be?