Surviving danger is no easy feat. While tales of adventurers and their deeds can be found in every tavern and pub, very few realize how frightening it is to be in danger. The feeling of Death breathing down one’s neck could break most people. Adventurers must fight back against this fear if they hope to last long. But to the average person, such a feeling is soul-crushing. It is the reason why some people cry when they are no longer in danger. At the very least, this is how Donitelo saw it.

After escaping the manor, the Countess broke down in the carriage. She sobbed while she leaned onto her orc maid, Matilda, for support. The two thaumaturges didn’t stop her, feeling it was best to let her work it out of her systems instead of interfering. As such, the carriage ride was quiet once the Countess stopped sobbing.

Donitelo watched the scenery change around him, his thoughts towards the stone he picked up. There was no doubt in his mind that the stone was the same one the Count was looking for and why the Count came back as a phantom. What the stone is was a mystery. The only thing the ratfolk could gather was that it was magical and connected with the Infernal realms. If only we had found the room sooner. The ratfolk sighed. The Count definitely was doing magic in that room, possibly dealing with the Infernals as well. If only I had a better look at the summoning circle, I could learn who he was in contact with. 

The carriage came to a complete stop. Outside, the ratfolk saw a large cathedral, the symbol of the sun on the walls and windows. 

The gang left the carriage. Donitelo turned to the carriage driver, “Hey, do you know who the church worships?”

“Helios, god of light,” the driver said, “it's the biggest church in the city, almost everyone here worships him. Even the late Count worshiped Helios”

Donitelo paused at that last bit but said nothing. The ratfolk pulled some gold coins and tossed them to the halfling, “good, now I want you as far away as possible.”

The driver gave a confused look, “Huh, but the Countess-”

“She will be staying at the church tonight, Matilda too for that matter. Take the rest of the night off. Also, if you have any symbols of the gods you believe in, hang them by a door or window, just a precaution.”

“A precaution for what?”

“Trust me. You do not want to know. I am doing you a favor by not telling you what you need protection from. Odds are they won’t go after you but I would rather be overly cautious and nothing happen than the alternative.”

The driver turned to the Countess, who said nothing and had a look of exhaustion on her. The halfling just nodded at the ratfolk and urged his horse to move.

Donitelo pulled his hood over his head, hiding his demonic horns from the world. “Alright, let's see if we can get in.” The ratfolk went to the massive doors and knocked on them. “Hello, anyone inside,” he shouted, “we need to get inside your holy grounds.”

No response. 

The ratfolk knocked again. Again, no answer. Is nobody near the door? Donitelo pounds on the door as hard as he could. “Someone answer me!”

No response.

“No one is hearing me,” the ratfolk said, “I was hoping someone would have heard something.” the ratfolk tried the door knob. “Yep, locked. They might be done for the day and close down the church.” The ratfolk eye the stained glass window, mentally doing the costs of breaking into a church for protection.

Matilda walked up to the door and slammed her fist onto it repeatedly. It made more noise than then Donitelo's attempt. The orc maid slammed it with enough force that it was hard to tell if she was just knocking or trying to break it down.

After a minute, the door opened and a head of a Gnoll stuck out, “do you mind?” he shouted, “The church is closed and-” he paused as he saw the Countess and Matilda. His eyes turned wide and his ears folded back, “My ladies.” he opened the door and stepped outside, “Please, excuse me for yelling at you.”

“It is fine,” the Countess said, “I am sorry for disturbing you so late. Excuse us for being rude.”

“Not at all. The church will always welcome you in its hallow halls. Come in. come in.”

The group moved into the church. Rows of pews lead the way to the altar. Above them, stained glass in the picture of the radiant sun. Despite being a church of light, the inside was dark enough that one might struggle to see what was before them.

The gnoll turned to the Countess, “May I ask what your business is for coming here tonight?”

The Countess turned to Donitelo, “I was wondering that as well. Why did you want us at a church?”

“Simple,” the ratfolk said, “we are pretty much being chased by ghosts and we need all the protection we need.” 

“But aren’t they back at the manor?”

“Unless something binds a ghost to a certain location, they are free to leave whenever. Add in the fact one of them is a phantom and I can say that he’s leading a possible army of ghosts through the streets right now.” Donitelo looked around the hall they are in, “right now, this is probably the safest place to discuss some things.”

The Countess gasped, “What? We have to alert the guards and-”

“No need to worry. When ghosts move around, they are invisible to the naked eye. You can only really interact with them with either religious symbols, arcana energy, or a thaumaturges relic. Unless they happen to come across a cleric or spellcaster of some kind, they will pretty much just pass through the city with no one the wiser. Once they are closer to the church, they will be visible again.” Donitelo pulled out a compass, “Speaking of holy symbols, you Gnoll, can you gather me some symbols of your church? Anything wearable is ideal.”

“Right away, sir,” the gnoll turned to walk into the back.

Donitelo put away the compass and pulled out a crayon and held his chalice up. “Okay, so when making symbols for the sun, you must follow the sun's path.” the ratfolk eyes the large stained glass in the back, “that's east of the morning sun so the door is a good place.” Donitelo drew the sigil of protection on the door. His chalice gave off a faint glow.

“Should you be vandalizing the church right now?” The Countess asked.

“The crayon is made of the wax of church candles used in ceremonies and rituals involving ghosts. A church might be a holy place, but it's not ghost-proof. Besides, It's completely washable.” Donitello drew a few more sigils as a precaution. Once he was done, the ratfolk admired his work, “If Helios notices us, he will make sure this works.”

Gonzolas stepped forward, “Master, there has been something I have been meaning to show you.” the elf held out a book to the ratfolk. “I think it's the late Count’s journal.”

Hearing that, the Countess snatched it from the elf’s hands and opened it up. She scanned the page, “This is my father's handwriting, but, what is this?”

Donitelo looked onto the page, his eyes immediately noticing the symbols used in magic involving the Infernal Realm. The Ratfolk grabbed the top of the journal and tried to pry it from her hands, “Hey hey, don’t read that. There is no telling what dark secrets are in there.”

The Countess tightened her grip on the journal, “but it might have clues as to why Father is a ghost. I must know!”

“Maybe, but you can’t just read something that might have forbidden knowledge. Just close the book now before you get any ideas.”

“I won’t get ideas,” the Countess shouted, “I just want to know-”

“What your father was doing, I know. But you have to understand that the kind of knowledge in this journal is corruptive. If this journal holds any secret forbidden knowledge, it will make you more susceptible to those in the Infernal Realm. It will feed you in a way that you might be curious about more. That curiosity will turn into an obsession and lead you down the same path as the late Count. I have seen it happen time and time again. You might think you can put it out of your mind, but others thought the same thing and I will tell you, very few do. So trust me on this and dropped the book.”

The Countess stared at Donitelo, thinking about what the ratfolk said. Without a word, she reluctantly let go of the journal.

 The ratfolk closed the journal and turned to Gonzolas, “Why didn’t you bring this up earlier?”

Gonzolas fell quiet, “well, I had planned to show you in the carriage, but I didn’t know how to bring it up. I was reading it on the way here.”

“For fucks sake,” Donitelo cursed, “so what was in it?”

“The late count was making something called a Curse Stone in that room. The last few entries in the book mentioned that he succeeded in doing so.”

“Fuck.”  Donitelo reached for the stone he picked up, “You are telling me this little pebble is a Curse Stone?”

The group huddled around the ratfolk, their eyes glued to the little pebble in his hand.

The Countess spoke, “Is this the stone father was talking about?” as she got closer, she felt something. Something radiated from the stone that both felt like her skin was on fire and chilled her to the bone. She pulled herself away from the stone, finding relief in the distance between her and it. “What was that?”

Donitelo frowned, “Not good. The infernal energy is getting stronger.” he put the stone in the pocket with multiple small charms, hoping that the charms would dampen whatever foul energy it was omitting. “I recommend not standing too close to me at the moment. Whatever curse that might be on it could activate without my knowing.”

“But what is a Curse Stone?” 

Donitelo paused to weigh the options before him. While it is forbidden to talk about objects like the Curse Stone to the general public, not answering her would probably do more harm down the line, “As the name suggests, it's a stone with a curse attached to it. I have no clue whatever curse is attached to it, but it's dangerous and possibly even lethal in the right conditions.”

“Then why are you holding onto it? Shouldn’t we get rid of it?”

“No, it's too dangerous to just toss it somewhere and I don’t have the tools to destroy it safely. I am a bit resistant to Infernal magic, so I am the safest option to hold onto it.”

“But why would Father make such a thing?”

Donitelo turned to the elf, “Gonzolas, did the journal mention why?”

“The Count wrote he was making to stone for someone, though,” the elf paused, “the name he did say sounded like one a fiend would have.”

“I see. Then It's possible the Count was doing it to get a pact with them. Give them a magical item and they will be more than willing to make a pact with someone.”

The door in the back opened and the gnoll stepped through it, his hands filled with various objects. “I have done what you asked,” the gnoll said, holding out rings, pendants, and medallions, each with a picture of the sun on them.

“Excellent,” Donitelo picked up a ring and put it on his finger. It was slightly larger than the ratfolk’s finger, but should be enough for what was going to happen, “Gon, you take something as well.”

Gonzolas picked up a medallion, “so do I wear it or-”

“Just have it on out when it's time. Rather you wear it or put it on your gear is fine.” Donitelo turned to the gnoll, “Does any of the clerics here know how to fight?

“Some of the more experienced clerics are away at the moment. Of all those who remain, I probably have the most experience, but only with combat training.”

The ratfolk sighed, “I suppose that will have to do. Get your combat gear ready and met us outside as soon as you are able.”

“Oh, at once sir.” the gnoll handed off the goods to Matilda and ran into the back.

The ratfolk turned to Gonzolas, “Gon, we are going to wait outside for the Count.”

Gonzolas nodded his head.

“Wait,” the Countess yelled, “what do you plan on doing?”

“What you paid us to do. Getting rid of your father’s ghost.”