The Secret of Three Graves (Chp. 1)
Author - Oerath Windsoul
Written on - Monday 19th December 2011 (09:33pm)
Good evening, my friends. Besides the story I write, I decided to start writing another horror story, which I will post as journals. It's my christmas special for all of you here on PT.
Enjoy.
Foreword
'Here I am.. Standing on the burial ground.. I see three tombstones, but the third of them is empty.. And I know why.. The Order of Black Serpent's.. That is their name.. Their name.. Darkness is their disguise.. They do not know the joys of life.. They roam the woods.. Searching for innocent souls.. Hidden from the sight of our eyes.. Even their footsteps are so silent that we cannot hear them.. And let it be known.. The third grave is empty for a reason.. I know.. Because..
I died in that forest, when I was buried alive.. Thirty years ago..'
The Secret of Three Graves
Chapter I : A letter from the past
15th of May, 1905, House of Goldwine
It was a beautiful sunday morning. The sun awoke her from a pleasant dream, and as she awoke, one of her maids, Anna, walked in through the doors of her room, and as she noticed the expression on the lady's face, she only smiled and said in a good tone: 'Good morning, Mi'lady. Can I get you anything, a cup of coffee and some breakfast, perhaps?' The lady first looked at her maid with confusion, but then she cleared her thoughts and said: 'Thank you, Anna, I shall come to the main hall in ten minutes. I think I'll go out for a walk before that.'
'As you wish, Mi'lady.' and with saying that, she walked out of the room to prepare her lady's breakfast.
(Background Story: Part I)
At this point, you all may wonder who is this lady we're speaking about, and it shall all be revealed. Her name is Eleanor Goldwine, and just like her father, she was raised and taught by academic ways. She attended many schools and passed them all with very notable degrees, and when her father, Nicholas Goldwine died of old age, she took the reins of their family business and sales, and raised Goldwine family's fortune to unseen heights. Now she resides in an old house, designed by one of the most respected and renowed architects ever to live, Sir Anders Thornell.
She lives there with her husband, Marcus and their two cats, Sunrose and Stardust, and of course, with the seven maids of the house: Anna, Gabriel, Alexandra, Wendy, Joanna, Hannah and Bethina.
Now, we all know her name and the names of those who live in the same house with her, so, let us continue the story.
Before she left her room, she carefully combed her hair and dressed up, and then she walked across those long and familiar hallways. She always stared at the paintings and statues they had collected together with her husband, Marcus, and always when she walked past the kitchen, she could see Anna making breakfast to her, wearing an apron with both hands tied in work. It always made her to smile a bit, and at times she thought that she should double Anna's wage. She was so kind and warm to her and all of the others who lived in the house.
And just like every other morning, she walked to the end of the hallway, and opened a door that led her to the garden. And before she even had a chance to fully open the doors, mother earth decided to change the course of her morning once more, and in a swift moment, a strong gust of wind blew those doors open and wide, and the sun returned from beyond the white clouds, and it smiled at her from high above. What a good way to start a day, she thought.
And so she began to tend the garden, since she wanted to do it by herself, due to various reasons. One being the fact that most of the flowers that grow in her garden are quite rare, and she couldn't even bear a thought of letting someone uncapable to take care of her beautiful flowers. Least of all, her beloved husband, who had never understood anything about flowers or nature.
And as she moved to far side of her house, she began to dig, so she could get rid off all those nasty weeds, and only then, she made a horrifying discovery. Her shovel suddenly hit to something solid, and as she kept digging, she found skeleton of a bird, and she thought it to be a pidgeon, and strange enough, it carried a sealed letter with it, and Eleanor quickly dispatched it from the corpse and slipped it to one of the pockets of her dress.
Shortly afterwards, she headed back inside to notice that her breakfast was already in table. And Anna walked towards her, saying: 'Lady Eleanor, may I've your jacket and tools, so you can sit down and eat something.'
Eleanor didn't say anything that she didn't mean, and with a short reply, she said: 'Fine, Anna, there you go. I'll eat now and then I shall leave for study chambers, and I do not wish to be disturbed.'
'As you wish, Mi'lady.' and with that she disappeared into one of the rooms.
Eleanor thought to eat her breakfast in kitchen, but the content of that letter caused her too much interest, so she decided to take the food with her and head to the study chambers.
Once she was there, she locked the doors, lit many candles and carefully opened the letter, and to her horror, there was dry blood on it, and as she began to read through the text, unknowingly, she began something that would haunt her for the rest of her remaining life. The letter contained a rusty key, short notes and following piece of old paper:
15th of May, 1875, The Blemberg Manor
'My name is Edward Blemberg, and that is all I can tell about myself.. I cannot reveal where I live and what is my part in this all, but I can tell you one thing.. I was the one who found her body, and without knowing, I started something that wouldn't never come to an end. How many more must die.. I do not know, but as I write this letter, I've only one single thought upon my mind..
Who just opened to door of my cellar?
I do not have much time, someone is trying to break through the doors of my chamber. I must send this letter as quickly as possible.. Farly is my last pidgeon alive. It will deliver this letter.. It should contain some of the details about a case called: 'Three Graves'.
Sadly I cannot tell you more, but know that I didn't send this letter to you by chance. We know each other, but I believe that you do not recall the events of your shadowed past.
I must end this now, I wish you good luck and..'
*Stains of blood marks the seal of the letter, signature is missing from the end*
After she finished reading the letter, she carelessly spoke his name aloud: 'Edward Blemberg..'
And at that very moment, flames faltered from all of the candless in her room, and she dropped the letter to the floor, and for a moment, it looked like it was covered in fresh blood, and with shaking her head, she lifted the letter from the stony floor and placed it in one of the lockers of an old cabin.
She couldn't believe it.. How a thirty year old letter could've stayed intact during all these years. It felt so strange and unnatural, and the content of the letter, it gave her chills down to the spine.
With the notes in right, and a key in left hand, she spoke to herself: 'Who is Edward Blemberg, and this letter.. I wonder who should've originally received it.'
So many questions arose, but none of them could be answered. She knew that it wouldn't be wise to venture any further, but instead of that, she sat on a chair and opened some of the notes, only to notice that the text was written in old english, and the writer had used some kind of mysterious code in order to hide the keywords.
'Where are my glasses when I need them the most..' she thought, and without hesitating, she went back to her own room to get her glasses, some research books and a bottle of red wine, and then she returned to the study chambers and locked the door once more.
'It's going to be a long night.' she said, and with opening the bottle and sighing loudly.. The first investigation of her life began.
To be continued.
Story and plot created by: Otto 'Oerath Windsoul' Timonen.
