After spending a few days recuperating from the events surrounding the Harvest Festival at Dimsdale, Darelle decides to furnish her new house and heads to Goldfoot's Mercantile. Mormuk Goldfoot greets her to his humble establishment, and after much haggling she purchases enough furniture and stores to comfortably set up her new little house. He tells her that her new goods will be delivered to her within the week.
Now that both Gerald and Darelle own their own residence, Daryle decides to do the same. She begins her search for a small farm or other space she can use to open a tannery. Given that there already is a tannery in town, she decides to make a few discreet inquiries around town. Eventually, she discovers that about an hour southwest of town stands an ancient manor now abandoned on the outskirts of town. The owner, Vitar Shadowborn, is a destitute man who lives in a hovel on the outskirts of Fort Inevitable and would probably be willing to part with it for a few coins to alleviate his suffering and buy him a few pints at the Juliver Arms. The Cooper girls decide to go and tour this mysterious property.
They trek out at a leisurely path and reach the manor in about an hour. From a distance the manor looks idyllic. The land is fertile, the buildings appear well maintained, and the seclusion makes it an ideal area to set up a tannery. As they come closer, however, they notice that the building is worn and old, with chipped paint and cracked window panes. On the outside doors is a bronze plaque identifying it as the Shadowborn Manor.
As Daryle touches the door, an apparition emerges from the door. A ghostly elderly yet graceful women appears, and begins to whisper that they must save her, when her face changes and becomes grotesquely deformed, while her eyes glow red. The ghost threatens them with a painful death before vanishing. Daryle and Darelle look at each other, shrug, and enter the house.
The interior of the house is as rundown as the exterior. There is clear evidence that no one has lived here for ages, and the smashed furniture and damage inflicted to walls and floors indicate that a mighty battle took place here. Fortunately, the structural integrity of the building is not in question, as all windows remain and there is no evidence of water damage.
Daryle discovers a few copper coins in a torn couch in what would have surely been the reception room. These coins dates from about 400 years ago and comes from the Duchy of Melcat, which was conquered by Razmir fifty years ago. Once part of the River Kindgoms, the Duchy of Melcat is now the center of the new Razmiran, the land from which the Coopers escaped.
As they continue to explore, Daryle discovers an old crystal bottle still sporting a stopper and containing a mysterious liquid. The bottle itself is a rare antique, so she carefully wraps it and places it in her pack.
The Coopers are eventually attacked by cobweb creatures, and after defeating them they fix a small altar that would have been used in private rituals. The room then begins pouring blood from the walls, and the altar breaks again. The Coopers quickly flee the room, only to enter a glass gallery that borders the inside garden. Many portraits are hung on the wall, and as they begin looking at them the Cooper girls notice a vague resemblance to Roscoe. Could they be related to Lady Eleanore Shadowborn?
This passage leads them to Lady Shadowborn's temple, which, unlike the rest of the house, has suffered neither battle damage nor the ravage of time. There they are instructed by the ghost of the Lady Shadowborn to collect some of the holy water, which Daryle does.
They next visit the manor's library. Unlike most of the other rooms this one appears to have aged well. There are hundreds of books on the shelves about history, politics, geography, religion, and military tactics. On a large table is an opened tome, a crystal bottle and a crystal glass. Darelle looks at the book, but it disintegrates into fine dust, and this dust drifts towards the suits of armor, animating them. Suddenly, the Coopers find themselves faced by six machine soldiers, but quickly manage to dispatch them.
Entering the dining room, the Coopers spot a large oak table set for two with appetizing meats and drinks ready to be partaken. Unfortunately, at the same time they notice there is no smell and they choose to disbelieve, the window shatters, showering the sisters with glass. At the same time, a large ball of lightning enters the room and attacks them. The combat is brutal and punishing, but in the end Daryle and Darelle defeat the electricity elemental.
Exiting the dining room, they visit the kitchen and pantry where they are confronted by yet more horrors, but they emerge victorious. They decide to visit the mausoleum they can barely see in the yard. There they discover another key to defeat the evil being that haunts the manor, the breath of the dead. In the yard they come across the gift of the land, and armed with three out of four elements they light up all of the fireplaces, providing fire and the fourth key.
The confrontation with Ebonbane, the evil intelligent sword which had killed Lady Shadowborn centuries ago is a brutal one, and more than once the Coopers come close to perishing. Fortunately, they manage to defeat and banish Ebonbane's spirit, and at the same time release the holy spirit of Lady Shadowborn.
Returning to town, Daryle contacts Vitar Shadowborn, and after much haggling he sells her the property for 600 crowns. With the taxes it comes to 675. Property taxes yearly are 40 crowns, which Daryle pays immediately. Now all three Coopers own a residence in Fort Inevitable.
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