[Second House: Basement]

[allthekeys]

Catacombs:

The stairs leading down are carved out of sandstone, though water and other fluids have made them rather slick and treacherous to the unwarily placed foot.

The caverns themselves are full of old copses tucked into rough hewn shelves of stone. Some have been carelessly left on the stone floor, as though someone meant to do something more and forgot about them. Others are carefully left to their rest in the stone. Many of the corpses are half rotted by the damp environment, others almost mummified, so well preserved that the guests might almost imagine them rising from their rest to speak to them. The smell of water, age and stale air filling the scenes of anyone who enters. Two smaller rooms, one to the east and one due north, hold more elaborate arrangements. Carved stone, candles, gold and offerings decorate the small tombs. Alters have been left, clearing waiting for anyone to leave offerings for the more important dead. Any identifying markers have been sanded away from the shrines, leaving the guests with a disquieting feeling of loss.

The area feels unnervingly oppressive, surrounded by the dead and thousands of pounds of dirt and stone above. The tomb feels restless, despite the care that seems to have been taken to assure that these dead, at least, rest in peace. A gate to the west seems like it might lead deeper into the tomb. It is currently solidly locked. Beyond the metal bars, there is little more than seething darkness to be seen. No light penetrates the darkness, any attempt at looking deeper into the hall will gain nothing but the impression that the shadows are moving.

Torches dot the area, unevenly placed throughout the catacombs, casting their flickering light throughout. Surely that is the only reason the shadows seem to move the moment the guests turn away, the reason their shadows seems to cavort across the ground. Surely that alone is the reason for the thought that they are not alone.