Friday, February 6th<\/strong><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\nConstanza and MacTavish left Lawrence and headed back to meet with the others. Bolan had already left the library and rejoined Singh in the dining room. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Both men had been talking to Lord Vale who had started to perk up a bit with some food inside him and his hangover clearing. He was enthusiastic about having work done to the building to repair the crumbling stonework and spoke at length to MacTavish about the task. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Taking an address for MacTavish so he could write to him, he began to suggest they may want to leave and go back to their lodgings to clean up. Taking the hint, they collected their things and headed back towards Lesser Edale.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The walk to the village was chilly with a cold wind whipping around them. Heavy clouds could be seen closing in, making the day seem dark and oppressive. As they approached the edge of the village, two figures could be seen in the graveyard as they passed by. It was the vicar and the graveyard keeper, Wainwright who seemed to be quite agitated about something. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Wainwright spotted them as they marched along the road and turned to point at them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cI bet it was them vicar. They wus poking around here last night when I wus locking up.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The vicar tried to calm him and walked over towards the road, calling out as they passed. Greeting him casually, Bolan asked what the matter was. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cGood morning gentlemen. There was a disturbance in the grounds last night, it looks like we had some vandals who smashed up part of the graveyard and started to dig up some of the graves.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cIt wus them vicar, I\u2019m sure of it.\u201d Wainwright stomped over angrily and waved his finger at them. \u201cThey came round here last night as I wus locking up. They\u2019re up to something.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The vicar laid a hand on Wainwright\u2019s shoulder to calm him. \u201cNow, now. I\u2019m sure these fine men didn\u2019t do such a horrible thing.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Turning back to the group the vicar smiled \u201cI\u2019m sure you can put Jed\u2019s mind at rest and tell him where you were last night.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
After explaining they had been invited to dinner at the castle with the Vanes and had then stayed over, the vicar visibly relaxed. \u201cThere you go Jed. They have an excellent alibi and I\u2019m sure Lord Vane was most hospitable to his guests.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Wainwright stomped off grumbling under his breath. Giving one last backwards glance before grabbing his tools he started the job of tidying up the graveyard.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Taking a few minutes to look around at the damage, they could see that some of the newer graves had been disturbed with the soil dug down to about three or four feet in some places. Several of the markers had been scratched, long sharp gouges had been carved into them, while others had been knocked over.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The vicar was hovering behind them, tutting over the damage and muttering about who would perform such a sacrilegious thing. He also mentioned that someone had broken one of his windows yesterday during the day causing Bolan and Constanza to exchange glances guiltily.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Trying to change the subject Bolan mentioned that Lawrence had told them about the curse, at which the vicar went white. He glanced over towards where Wainwright was working to check he was out of earshot.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cI think you\u2019d better come inside to discuss this further. I don\u2019t want to upset Jed even further.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Over the next hour, they discussed the curse with the vicar who admitted he was looking into the background of the Vane family at Lawrences request. He had discovered mentions of a witch trial in 1608 where Lady Evangeline Vane was a key witness in the trial of two local women. Annie Stafford and Jenny Greene had been found guilty and then hung shortly afterwards. As she was hanging from the noose, it was said that Annie Stafford had looked directly at Lady Vane and pointed at her. She cursed Lady Vane with the \u201cmark of the beast\u201d before her head dropped back down. When asked about the two women, the vicar said he had no idea where they had been buried as it wouldn\u2019t have been on consecrated ground. There was a reference to them being hung from a tree overlooking the village but that was the only information he had.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
They didn\u2019t manage to get anything further of interest from the vicar so, knowing it was the full moon that night, they planned to stake out the castle and keep watch for anything that happened. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Going back to the pub in Edale, collecting weapons and then coming back to Lesser Edale, took most of the afternoon. Bolan wanted to try and find where the two witches had been buried and suggested heading up the hill behind Castle Plum to Brown Knoll which was the only hill that was close to the village. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
It took about half an hour in the closing darkness to reach the top of the hill. The path was winding and rain was starting to come down quite heavily at this point. At the top of Brown Knoll was a huge gnarled tree that looked as if it had been there for centuries. Bolan hugged the tree and tried to read something from the ancient wood. He got flashes of images with time flowing around the tree, there was a sense of death and life fading but it was hard to read due to the utterly alien nature of the tree.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
MacTavish, Singh and Constanza prowled around watching the surrounding area when Constanza heard a noise off in the distance which made his blood freeze. A long drawn out howling was coming from down in the valley in the direction of the village. The howl was quickly followed by another\u2026 and then another\u2026 and several more\u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u2026 then another howl, closer than the others replied.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
After Bolan had recovered from his psychometry, they quickly headed down the hill towards the castle. Approaching from above, figures could be seen carrying lights and moving around outside the grounds. They seemed to be searching for something on the hillside.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
As they drew closer it became obvious that the figures moving around were the staff from the castle. One of them saw the group coming down from the hillside and ran off towards the castle calling for Lawrence. Just as they reached the castle entrance Lawrence appeared to greet them, slightly out of breath as he trotted over hurriedly.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cEloise has gone!\u201d He blurted. \u201cWhen we left her she was asleep, but then the howling started and we heard a terrible sound from the dungeon. There was an almighty crash and when father and I went to look, she had ripped the bars out of one wall then escaped up a ventilation shaft. We need to find her quickly!\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Reasoning she may be heading towards the village, they set off with Lawrence joining them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
As they reached the graveyard they stopped, dark figures could be seen moving around among the stones, several even perched atop one or two. Lawrence shone his flashlight towards the nearest and let out a gasp. The figure was crouched over with its fingers nearly touching the ground but it was still easily four feet tall bent over. Its iron grey skin was bare except for a few rags and tufts of matted fur here and there over its body. The face was a horrible cross between bat and wolf with a snout that snuffled and twitched as it turned to face them, its eye gleamed red in the torch light. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Lawrence was frozen to the spot while Bolan and Constanza also seemed rattled. Singh raised his rifle and carefully took aim at the beast while watching the other shapes in the background.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Rallying his senses, Bolan stepped forward and greeted the creature with a cautious hail, his hands raised and palms open. The figure watched him step forward with a mix of curiosity and wariness but there wasn\u2019t any feeling of hostility that Bolan could see.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Bolan, closing the distance slowly asked who they were but there was no reply, \u201cWhy are you here?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cWe came to find the lonely one.\u201d The reply was a deep growl mixed with words uttered through sharp teeth.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Bolan was surprised at the answer and the fact it had spoken \u201cWhich lonely one?\u201d he asked.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThe one that called us here.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cDo you mean Eloise? Did she call you? Where is she? Did you change her?\u201d Bolan began to ask more questions, trying to understand what was happening.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cWe do not know Eloise, we came to find the one who is alone here.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cHow did you get here then?\u201d Bolan was desperate for information, he had never heard of anything like these creatures before and he was fascinated.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cWe came through the caves. Sometimes we live in the caves, sometimes we live under the ground, Sometimes we live in the old buildings. We travel in the dark.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Bolan struggled to get much sense from the figure that slouched in front of him, sniffing the air and eyeing him as a bird might watch a worm. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Lawrence was slowly starting to fall apart mentally. Turning to Singh, who still had his rifle raised, Lawrence cried \u201cSHOOT IT! Kill it before it kills us!\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Singh, finger on the trigger didn\u2019t fire but kept watching the figures in the darkness behind the lead one. He guessed there were seven or eight of them back there and he didn\u2019t like the odds if it turned into a fight.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cIs this what Eloise looked like when she changed?\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cNo, she doesn\u2019t look like these. She\u2026 she still\u2026 she looks more human than these.\u201d He sobbed and he spun between the group, trying to get them to fight.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cBut why did you come here?\u201d Bolan was imploring, still trying to get something out of the beast.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
It looked at him sideways, sharp eyes burning into his. \u201cHere? This place? We came for food.\u201d Bolan saw one of the other figures had come closer and seemed to be gnawing on a dried arm. With a shudder he realised it was probably from one of the bodies in the graveyard.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Lawrence was going round each of the group, begging them to kill these abominations. He took Constanza\u2019s gun from him and turned towards the hunched figure.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cLEAVE US ALONE!\u201d he shouted, his mind bending at the horror of what was happening. Singh began to squeeze the trigger on his rifle, his revulsion at these monstrosities was too much.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
At that moment a noise behind them distracted Singh and a figure came out of the undergrowth around the roadside. Smaller but obviously similar to these creatures this one had tufts of blonde hair and wore the shredded remains of a woman’s dress. In the dim light it was possible to make out a face that bore a semblance to Eloise, only with a longer snout and a row of razor sharp teeth in her mouth.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Lawrence hadn\u2019t seen her approach, he waved the pistol towards the crouched figure in front of him. Tears, or rain, streamed down his face as his trembling hand tried to aim the weapon. Unafraid it just looked back at him with mocking eyes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cIs that Eloise?\u201d Someone called out and Lawrence span to see her beastial form shuffle towards the graveyard.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cOh my god!\u201d he cried, stepping towards her. \u201cEloise, you have to come back to the castle.\u201d He tried to pull her away but she pushed him back.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cNO! What have you done to her?\u201d he cried, grabbing her and trying to stop her getting closer to the graveyard.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Without looking at him, she swiped a huge hand at him. His face exploded in jagged scratches of red as blood exploded from his face.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
With a snarl several of the creatures leapt forward to take protective positions around Eloise who seemed almost hypnotised by the sight of the graveyard.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
This was too much for Singh who finally squeezed the trigger further and let off a shot.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In the next few moments there was a frenzy of violence that seemed to shake the whole village. Furious snarls and howls ripped through the stormy night as the dark figures launched towards their attackers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Singh fired several more times but his bullets just seemed to hit hard muscle and didn\u2019t seem to cause any damage. He dropped the rifle and pulled his sword, slicing meat and bone before felling one. He found himself outnumbered but stood his ground. Despite taking some nasty wounds, he managed to almost gut one with a savage backhand swing of his sabre. The creature, realising it was heavily wounded attempted to flee. Turning to running it got only a few dozen yards before a chakram, expertly thrown by Singh, sliced its way into the back of its skull and it skidded to the floor without realising it was dead.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Constanza swung his club as hard as he could, the first few blows only seemed to enrage his opponents more but he finally managed to bring one down. He spotted two of them leading Eloise away and he set off in pursuit.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
MacTavish meanwhile was fighting for his life. He had unloaded his new shotgun at point blank range into an onrushing figure but it seemed to just shrug off the blast. The next thing he knew he had the beast\u2019s jaws locked around his arm and he dropped the shotgun on surprise. Somehow he managed to find the strength to pull it away and, realising his wound was serious, he made for the lights of the nearby pub for help.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Bolan, closest to the creatures, seemed frozen to the spot, moving at a snail’s pace as huge muscular bodies burst out of the graveyard and spilled over the road. He fired the pistol he had but each shot went wide. One shot finally hit something but the creature seemed to not notice. Rather it saw that several of its pack had been killed and it turned and set off after Eloise and her two guardians. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Bolan headed for the rectory to try and find the vicar and get help there.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Constanza managed to keep them in sight for a while but there was too much of a gap to try and keep up. Their long legs seemed to move over the rough ground easily with a casual lolloping. He saw them heading toward the area of the Blue John caves and turned back to the others. Singh caught up to him as he was returning and the both went to find MacTavish and Bolan.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Bolan banged on the door of the rectory and was finally greeted by a quiet voice from the other side.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cWho’s there?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Bolan explained what had happened and that there was a few injured people out here. The door opened and the vicar appeared, dressed in a long flannel nightshirt with a nightcap on his head.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cBring them in then. Quickly, we must help them.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Bolan turned and realised that there was nobody there behind him. Muttering an apology he walked back towards the road where he found Lawrence coming around from where he had fallen. The scratches across his face looked terrible but not fatal. Helping Lawrence up, Bolan spotted Singh and Constanza approaching and then headed to the pub after MacTavish.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
They found MacTavish, drinking and pouring scotch over his wound in an attempt to clean it. He had burst in to find the landlord cowering behind the bar.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cWhat in God’s name is going on out there?\u201d The barman asked, peering over the top of his bar when MacTavish had burst in.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cJust a wee spot of trouble. Mind if I have a drink?\u201d MacTavish replied pointing at one of the bottles behind the bar with his uninjured arm. The barman pushed the bottle over toward him before slinking back down behind the bar.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
There he had sat, drinking and trying to forget the last few minutes before the others rejoined him and they took Lawrence up to Castle Plum to break the news to Lord Vane that his daughter had gone.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Saturday, February 7th<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\nAfter he had raged and screamed at anyone near him, Lord Vane had organised a search party led by the group and made up of staff and villagers. They combed the hills and the caves but there was no sign of Eloise or the grey skinned creatures.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
As the evening drew in, realisation began to dawn on Lord Vane that he may never see Eloise again. He thanked the group for their efforts to try and save her and if there was anything he could do to help them, they had but to ask.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The rain had settled to a light mist by the time they headed back to the pub in Edale and to try and get some sleep before heading to Derby to investigate the factory that they knew had some connection to Gavigan.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
This post is a combination of two sessions. We had our sessions lined up then…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":1,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","template":"","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-12993","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t