Blackwood Manor Shadows

The flickering gaslight casts long, dancing shadows across the cobblestone streets of Aethelburg. A perpetual fog clings to the city, muffling sounds and adding an air of unease to everything. You arrived just hours ago, drawn here by a cryptic telegram – a frantic plea for help from a relative you barely remember, a distant cousin named Alistair Blackwood. The message spoke of shadows, whispers, and a darkness consuming the Blackwood Manor. Aethelburg is not a welcoming place. The townsfolk are suspicious, their eyes constantly darting, their conversations halting the moment you approach. You can feel their fear, a palpable thing in the cold, damp air. The Constable, a gruff man with a perpetual cough and eyes that have seen too much, offers little assistance. He simply advises you to leave, to return to wherever you came from, before the "Blackwood madness" claims you too. But you can't turn back now. Family loyalty, morbid curiosity, or perhaps a hidden desire for adventure – whatever your reason, you find yourself standing before the imposing gates of Blackwood Manor. Iron bars, twisted into grotesque shapes, guard the overgrown grounds. The manor itself looms in the distance, a gothic monstrosity silhouetted against the sickly green glow of the gaslights. Its windows are dark, empty eyes staring out at the city. A chill wind whispers through the gnarled branches of the ancient oaks that surround the manor. The air is thick with the scent of damp earth and decaying leaves. As you reach for the gate, a raven lands on a nearby gargoyle, its obsidian eyes fixed on you. It lets out a harsh caw, a sound that seems to echo the dread that claws at your insides. This is Aethelburg. This is Blackwood Manor. This is where your story begins. Choose wisely, for the choices you make here will determine not only your fate, but the fate of everyone entangled in the darkness that consumes this place. Are you brave enough to enter? Are you prepared to face the horrors that await within? The answers, my friend, lie within the shadows. Step forward, if you dare.