10th Aniversary Necromancy!

[[NPC] Jim]

Amy and Jim's party has just discovered a dead body in the basement of the mansion.

Okay, I need everybody to stay calm.

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!

No wonder he didn't answer his phone.

Jim?! Is everything alright out there?!

Everything's fine! You lot stay in the coat!

Alex examines the body. The arteries around the neck are severed and the chest has been completely torn open. Risky might have had less than a minute before collapsing from blood loss, and in that time could have fended off his attacker. That would explain the condition of the room, but it doesn't explain the locked door. If Risky came in from that door to investigate, why would he lock himself inside?

He's dead, Jim.

omg... He is, isn't he?

I'm afraid so, and based on the state of this room... whatever did this made sure of that. We're fortunate it was Risky and not some other poor soul.

H-How come?

It's because he's a Psychopomp like the both of you, isn't he? He's part of the undead, and you can't kill someone who's already died.

Precisely...

...but uh... Risky and I aren't Reapers. We're hired hands. Ryan's the only Psychopomp here.

Aw, semantics. But that means no one bit the big one. That's a relief.

That doesn't change how gruesome this is.

No... no it doesn't. We can't let whoever did this get away with it either.

[[NPC] Blue Spirit]

Before we do anything we should investigate the crime scene. Ryan?

Some of this blood is still wet. The estimated time of death couldn't have been more than a few minutes ago. His body hasn't broken down either, so his spirit is probably still close by.

Like the rest of Grim's spirits, Risky can function without a body in the physical world. If we can find his spirit, Ryan can create a new body for him with her scythe.

Oh, I didn't bring my scythe with me.

...Why didn't you bring your scythe with you?

I don't like her. She's a pry and won't stop asking about our relationship like "what kind of kinks is he into?" and "how often do you have sex?"

I want a new scythe.

And after all that trouble we went through to get her back...

Oh well, we'll think of something... but without a body Risky won't be able to time travel. That could be a problem.

Wouldn't Risky be incorporeal though? He could report back to Ai or Grim and let them know something dangerous is down here.

That's a very good point. He's probably on his way right now if he hasn't left his body yet. I suppose this was a blessing in disguise then?...

Um... Jim?... What on earth is your acquaintance doing?

[[NPC] Amy]

UGH! ACK! BLECH! WHY DOES THIS TASTE LIKE RUBBING ALCOHOL?!

Amy!!!

It's not what it looks like!!!

I-I thought it might not be too late, so I tried to... you know... bring him back.

That's even worse!

How is it worse?!

Trust me, I have enough experience to know that's not a line you ever want to cross.

Uuuuughhh....

Risky's body shuffles slightly. He props himself up only to immediately feel dizzy and fall over again.

Easy! You've lost a lot of blood, so don't try to stand up too quickly!

Risky has been brought back to life. Risky is now a Dhampir.

[[NPC] Yellow Spirit]

Wh-who is this?...

This is Amy Blair. She and Marvin came with Mr. Fadbury to the park earlier. We all met them when we arrived at the mansion a couple of hours ago.

She sort of brought you back to life, I suppose.

I died?... Yes, of course. There was a... was a...

...ugh my head...

...and this feeling... Why does my chest feel so tight?

You lost a lot of blood. Your body can generate more, but it's at a slower pace than a human's. I had to turn you into a half-vampire to revive you. You're alive, but there are some drawbacks now.

And now I have to figure out how to reverse the effects for the both of you.

It's better than leaving him to die, Jim!

He was already dead, Amy. Weren't you listening to what we were talking about?

Y-Yeah! So what?! Even if it doesn't matter in the end, it doesn't feel right to just let him die!

UGH! Sometimes I feel like I'm the only one who cares around here!...

...

Are you sure you're not using that as an excuse to justify drinking his blood?

SH-SHUT UP!

I didn't JUST drink his blood! I gave him some of mine so he'd come back to life! His blood tasted bad anyway! It doesn't even smell good anymore either! The scent was thick with iron a moment ago, but now it just smells like gasoline!

No, Amy's right. She didn't need to bring me back to life, but did anyway because she saw value in an expendable life such as mine, and for that I am eternally grateful. If there is anything I can do to repay your for your kindness...

All I did was share some of my Dhampir blood with you.

No, you don't understand. I've never truly been apart of the living world. This body of mine can only imitate life. I may walk and breath like the living do, but in truth I've only ever been a phantom. And because I'm still considered dead, I could die over and over without consequence. Even my own parents considered my life expendable.
No one has ever shown me such kindness before, even when there was no conceivable reason to. But now... this pounding in my chest. This is a heartbeat. It's faint, but it's an actual heartbeat. There's no mistaking it. Your empathy... your love has given me life. Because of you Amy, I feel like I'm truly part of your world now. Because of you, for the very first time in my existence, I know what it's like to be alive.

and for that, this body...

No, this life...

I pledge this life of mine to you, Amy Blair.

I am forever in your dept. Will you accept me as your faithful servant?

O-Oh... th-thanks, that's so... so nice of you...

...but I'm not really the "loyal minion" type of person...

So you really don't have to do me... any...

Aaaaaaand you're not listening.

I tried to warn you.

[[NPC] Blue Spirit]

Back to the matter at hand. Risky, do you know what attacked you?

Hardly...

I went to investigate this room, and there was someone in here. After that, my memory is all foggy. Next thing I knew I couldn't see a thing, and something attacked me. I couldn't even use my wayback machine.

Do you still have it with you?

Yes, thankfully. They probably thought it was an ordinary portable game system. They couldn't have known what it really was, so they'd have no reason to take it.

You're assuming whatever attacked you was a person then?

I mean, there was someone in this room when I came in, so it's possible...

Do you recall what they looked like?

They uh... They had... pale skin... and red eyes...

Do you know if it was a man or a woman?

I-It was a girl...

And now we know why your guard was down.

Shut up!

What about hair colour?

I don't know... Her head was covered...

Do you know what she was wearing?

That- That won't be of much help...

It won't? How come?

She uh... She was getting out of the shower, so she only had a towel on.

Oooh, do tell.

A-Anyway! Her head was wrapped in the towel, so that's why I don't know what color her hair was!

And you don't remember anything else... Hmmm....

...Risky, do you know why the door is locked?

[[NPC] Yellow Spirit]

I don't know. I tried to get through the door as soon as I was being attacked, but it was locked behind me. It was too dark to unlock it as well. I have no idea why it was locked to begin with...

I can think of one good reason.

Ryan I SERIOUSLY DON'T KNOW WHY THE DOOR WAS LOCKED. I don't remember anything that happened between coming in here and being attacked.

You remember the person that was in here coming out of the shower, don't you? How else would you know what she looked like?

Did they see you? Did they say anything?

I uh... I don't wanna talk about it.

Aw come on. You can tell me.

Risky, did you find the door already open?

Actually, yeah I did. In fact, the bathroom door was open too. Whoever it was they weren't too concerned about their privacy.

[[NPC] Blue Spirit]

Alex is taking photos of the room.

You were able to fight back against your attacker, weren't you?

Barely, but if you're trying to separate what I broke and what my attacker broke, the Sword of Ages can't actually break anything. All it can do is make whatever it strikes older.

I'm aware. That means these marks on the bed are from your attacker.

Some of the wood on this dresser is rotting away. That must be from Risky's sword. There's also mold growing under the carpet here. This entire room will need to be cleaned. Alex, you think your cousin can take care of this? She is a maid, isn't she?

She does like the sight of blood...

Are we any closer to figuring out who Risky's attacker is?

I'm afraid not. There may be strands of hair in the shower, but that can only tell us so much. Right now what we need to concern ourselves with is where the culprit escaped to. They could have immediately escaped or...

...I just thought of something... but I need everyone to stay calm.

Wh-what is it?

Whatever you do, don't panic. I have very good reason to believe the culprit is still in this room.

Think about it. Would the culprit have known we were coming? Would they anticipate anyone else besides Risky would be down here? And most importantly, would they expect a large group like ours to all come through the air vent? Based on the crime scene, the culprit must have been covered in blood after their attack. If that's true, wouldn't they feel the need to take another shower? They also locked the door, so they probably felt they could take their time. They would have nowhere to escape. Which means their only option is to hide in this room.

You sure? There's one other room they could be hiding in... One we haven't checked yet.

Ryan nods towards the bathroom door.

Anyone feel like doing the honors?

[[NPC] Yellow Spirit]

I'll do it, but I can't guarantee we won't be attacked. Even if the room seems empty, don't let your guard down.

You sure you'll be okay?

I know I will. I can feel an other-worldly strength building within this body. With this, even if the culprit is behind this door, they no longer stand a chance.

Do you mean the vampiric powers from when I revived you?

Vampiric powers? No, this is far greater than mere vampiric powers. This is the power one can only obtain from swearing fidelity to another. Even though this body of mine is weak, my will has never been stronger! In this state, even though I may die...

NOTHING CAN STOP MEEEEEEEEE!!!

Besides some animal that's going through the waste bin, the room is completely empty. Risky's face turns the brightest color of red possible for someone of his undead nature. Ryan responds with a golf clap while everyone else is just silent. Amy is facepalming in embarrassment.

The uh... the room's clear.

Alex takes a clump of hair from the shower drain and places it in a plastic bag.

Job well done Risky, but that means the culprit is still in this room somewhere.

She's not under the bed. Could she be hiding in some of the furniture?

Maybe she just left the room? I mean, would she have even heard us coming if she had the water running? And wouldn't the water still be running when we came in?

Risky has a point, Alex. She wasn't in the bathroom, but logically that's where she should have been.

She could have used one of the showers in another room. No idea why, but it's not impossible.

Perhaps she thought there were potentially more people guarding the basement, and killed Risky to buy herself time. But if she had the intention of fleeing, she wouldn't have had time to wash the blood off of her. She'd be skimping around the halls covered in blood. There may be a trail we can follow beyond this room.

Should I open the bedroom door as well?

[[NPC] Blue Spirit]

That will be all right, Risky. We probably won't be attacked immediately after leaving this room. This door locks from the inside, correct?

Alex casually unlocks the door and opens it.

The door leads to a hallway of similar-looking doors. The hallway has no bloodstains whatsoever. To their left is a dead end. To their right is an intersection, followed by another dead end

This is... terribly confusing. If they left there should be a trail of blood.

That must have been a quick shower.

They could still be hiding somewhere in this area. We should all be extra careful.
Risky, can I count on you to help me look for the culprit? I don't want to endanger the lives of Jim and his friends.

H-Hold on! Let's think about this before we split up the party! If all us undead group together, there won't be anyone to take the hits for the living party members!

I thought you contested being expendable.

This is for a greater cause, Ryan! The safety of Amy and her friends is my top priority.

Right!?!?! :D

I think you should go with Alex.

[[NPC] Jim]

Marvin? Goldie? How you two holding up in there?

We're fine Jim. Should we come out?

Only if you dare to. We found a dead body down here. Amy's already revived the lad despite my protest. It looks safe now, but be on your toes. We may be in for another dangerous adventure down here.

Goldie gonna stay insidez! Goldie wanna be Grampa's TRUMP CARD! >:3

Atta girl, Goldie! They won't know what hit em!

Marvin leaves Jim's coat and joins the party.

Amy's illumination spell finally wears off. The party moves to the hallway as the room goes dark again.

So how are we going to split up?

Our two smartest members should go into separate teams to give each team an edge. Same goes for fighters. You all can figure out the rest.

Jim and Alex are both pretty smart, so they should be on different teams.

Ryan has also fought restless spirits as part of her job.

And Amy's magic is the most dangerous thing I've ever encountered.

HEY!

That was a compliment!

I'm going with Alex. You can stay with Jim. Fight me.

That leaves Marvin and Risky.

I'm going with Alex.

WH-WHAT?! MARVIN YOU CAN'T-

Don't worry, I won't accidentally blow anybody up if I'm with the undead party.

I'm getting the feeling that he might still be mad.

No, that makes sense. If we divide the teams up this way it satisfies all our requirements, and there will be at least one undead party member on each team.

And us undead can take more life threatening risks for the team.

Oh, but don't worry about me. Just being of use to you is all I could ever ask for.

uuuuuugggghhh