02 - Into the mists...

Alfonse steeled himself. Everyone he knew who had taken these next steps never came back. The mist hung in the air, swirling menacingly with a darkness at its center that sent chills to his bones. Alfonse took another look around Faerun, possibly his last, and stepped into the cold and dark. What else could he do? Who knew how long it would be before the mists crept further along, to encroach on the fledgling settlement he called home.
 
His clothes were soon dripping with condensation, and he felt the chill continue to somehow make him feel even colder, the coldest he'd ever imagined. He looked up at the sky, catching a faint glimpse of some light shed by the moon, shining feebly down through the dark fog. Whispering a short prayer to Selune, he walked as straight as he could manage through the thick tangle of woods. After what seemed like too long a time slogging through the heavy underbrush, Alfonse stumbled across a cart path, very overgrown and disused. Figuring any direction is better than none, he followed the path deeper into the woods.
 
After a while, he started hearing a child's voice calling out from somewhere off the trail, way off in the mists. "Help us! Please help us!" Alfonse struck out in the direction he could best figure the sound was coming from, but quickly lost his sense of direction again in the heavy fog. He came across a long-dead fire pit, with nothing around to belie any recent presence here. Venturing further into the forest, he pulled his dagger and started marking trees as he past, carving a crescent moon in the dark bark and revealing he stark white flesh of the tree below, which gathered and reflected back the scant rays of moonlight that penetrated this far down into the fog.
 
Eventually, he came across a much larger path than the first, though still rough and unpaved. Alfonse headed down this larger path, eventually finding himself in a cul de sac of sorts, the wide lane ending at a large (but abandoned looking) estate. The great house in the center looked sturdy enough for shelter, but possibly uninhabited. The outbuildings, servants quarters and stables, all looked a little more dilapidated, though they might also serve as basic shelter in a pinch. Alfonse drew his rapier as well as he approached the house, expecting to knock on the door. He didn't get far when he was stopped by the appearance of two small children. There was a girl, about ten, and a small boy about 6 or 7, human and very obviously scared. The boy cowered behind the older girl, clutching a teddy bear. Again Alfonse heard the children's plea: "Please help us!"
 
While Alfonse was trying to figure out the situation, suddenly a half-elf appeared out of the mists behind him, followed shortly by a small goblin and a tall.... something, all tentacles and purple skin under a dark coat and hat. He took a more defensive position, keeping the kids in sight and moving so that he can keep an eye on these newcomers as well. He wished he'd drawn his guns instead, but at least he's proficient enough with these blades to hopefully fend off whatever threat might be posed by these strangers. As he's thinking this, another figure, a human, approaches out of the mists. All parties look confused, and Alfonse drops his posture slightly.
 
The newcomers are just as startled to find this adventure awaiting them at the abandoned house. The kids relay that their little brother is still in the nursery on the 3rd floor, and their parents went to the basement to fight off the monster. They claimed to have not seen the monster, though the little boy did describe it as scary. The human newcomer lit a torch and hurried towards the door, with the pale yellow looking half-elf following. Alfonse put away his blades and drew a pistol, dropping into a crouch and steadying his aim as he prepared to breach the house and face the monster inside. The tall goblin and tentacle thing followed along, the goblin asking why they should help and complaining that this wasn't the plan, this wasn't where they (he and the squid guy?) were supposed to be.
 
As they moved through the ornate halls of the ruined house, Alfonse noticed the paintings, the fine furnishings, and the suit of armor marked "Durst". Further exploration revealed a painting of the Durst family, the two kids Rose and Thorne spitting images of the kids who beckoned them in to rescue their parents. The mom in the portrait is looking side-eyed at the baby swaddled in dad's arms. This was an odd detail to include in a portrait, and he started to think the mom was the monster.
 
Upon reaching the third floor, there was the definite sound of an infant crying. Before they could investigate further, the suit of armor that dominated the landing came to life and attacked the human stranger. Alfonse managed to hit it with a dazing shot, but otherwise missed all his shots. In the end, the tentacled creature dispatched the foe with some well placed stabs with its dagger. The group caught their breath, not quite sure yet what to make of this place, or each other.