A Friend In Need

Job Details:

Job Sign-Up: Page 21, Post Number 520

-The Sheridan Estate, Victoria's room, 12:00 A.M.-

The clock had just struck midnight and Victoria was still awake and lying on her bed. She was watching the anime channel on her newly installed television that Laura had thoughtfully bought for her yesterday. Since her uncle tended to sit in the living room and watch television half the day, Laura had bought Victoria a TV to go in her room. Victoria was glad to have it because her uncle was fond of those lame "singing cowboy" Westerns that she did not care for.

A rerun of Fortunate Meteor had went off and now some anime about a pizza delivery guy driving a beat-up old gray car in nighttime street races was on. It was not very interesting and Victoria was tempted to change the channel when her attention was directed elsewhere. Her iLac had started ringing. Curious as to who would call at this late an hour, Victoria grabbed the ringing device which was sitting on her right and muted the television with the remote in her left hand. Once that was done she dropped the remote and answered the iLac.

"Hello?" Victoria greeted the caller.

"Hey Vic! It's me, Abby!" Abigail answered.

"Oh hey there, Abby! What's going on?" Victoria asked her longtime friend.

"I think I got way in over my head." Abigail answered candidly. Victoria did not like the sound of that.

"I'll give it to you straight, Vic. A few hours ago I took a job that involves going to Sombras Manor and I need your help." Abigail confessed to Victoria. The brunette frowned when she heard the name of the place her friend had to go to.

"I've been there a few times before. What do you need from there?" Victoria asked her friend.

"There's some guy in my town who's an avid wine collector. He hired me to go to Sombras Manor and retrieve a bottle of wine of a really rare vintage that's rumored to be kept there. He's offering me a big payday and I'm not exactly in a position to turn down the money. You see, the roof of my house started to leak and it's gonna cost a lot to repair it." Abigail told Victoria the purpose behind going to Sombras Manor.

"OK." Victoria said. Sombras Manor was not one of her favorite places to visit, but she was willing to help her old friend with the job.

"Mind if I come to your place and talk before we set out?" Abigail asked Victoria.

"Not at all, Abby. Come on by!" Victoria invited her friend to come to her place.

"Great! I'll be there in a few hours... about three or so. See you then!" Abigail gave a rough time for her arrival before hanging up. Victoria set her iLac down and continued to watch television. The weird street racing anime was still on and was still about as exciting as watching paint dry, but she kept it on for the time being because there was nothing else on television worth watching. She would have the next few hours to see if it got any better, but Victoria was not particularly optimistic that the show's quality would improve.

-Four hours later-

Victoria had sat through eight consecutive episodes of the anime and it had not gotten any better. It was kind of boring because the main character was driving a beat-up old car that was better suited for a trip to the supermarket than for competing with souped-up sports cars yet he somehow always won when everything was said and done. It got old to see the main character fall behind in a race only to miraculously catch up due to his opponents getting into one kind of trouble or another and pass them for the win.

Whether it was convenient engine trouble, tire trouble, or something else, his opponents always seemed to run into trouble right when victory was within their grasp. Of course the main character never ran into those kinds of problems as he zoomed by his hapless opponents for the win. To add insult to injury, the main character frequently boasted about how he was "fortune's favorite" after he won thanks to sheer dumb luck.

A ninth episode was coming on, but Victoria's attention was diverted from it when Laura walked into the room. It was no big loss, though. What Laura had to say was undoubtedly more interesting than the show.

"Miss Sheridan, Miss Windstrider is waiting for you in the living room." Laura notified Victoria. The brunette turned off the television and picked up her iLac, then got off of the bed and walked over to Laura, who then guided her towards the living room where Abigail was waiting.

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-In the living room, the Sheridan Estate-

Following Laura down the stairs, Victoria reached the bottom and saw Abigail standing behind the couch and her uncle standing in front of it. Abigail was wearing a blue t-shirt and blue jean shorts with brown hiking boots. On her left hip was the scabbard with her Sky Blade and on her back was a backpack. In her right hand was a suitcase, presumably one that had spare clothing in it.

Abigail saw Victoria and raised her left hand in greeting.

"Hi Vic!" Abigail cheerfully greeted Victoria.

"Hey Abby!" Victoria returned the greeting. Once the pleasantries had been exchanged the pair immediately started talking about the job Abigail had been hired for.

"So Vic, what can you tell me about Sombras Manor?" Abigail asked Victoria.

"You don't want to go there if you can help it, but in your case you can't help it. You were hired for a job and now you've gotta do it." Victoria started off. Abigail set her suitcase down, crossed her arms, and listened to Victoria tell her more about Sombras Manor.

"Another thing is that the manor tends to be full of ghosts and zombies. That means you're gonna need something that can hurt both types of enemy. Holy magic is good, but if you don't have Holy magic, a silver or Holy weapon works just as well." Victoria informed Abigail that the latter would need a weapon that could work against ghosts and zombies. Abigail frowned.

"I don't have Holy magic and my Sky Blade's neither silver nor Holy. So my Sky Blade's gonna be totally useless, huh?" Abigail asked the brunette. Victoria shook her head.

"Not completely, Abby. It can be used against the zombies that roam the place, but if you try to use it against ghosts you might as well be swinging a butter knife." Victoria answered plainly. Abigail continued to frown.

"Great. Where can I find a silver weapon or Holy weapon on short notice?" Abigail inquired. Victoria shrugged her shoulders.

"I don't know, Abby. I wish I could help, but I just don't know where we can find any. If push comes to shove we might have to share my Silver Dagger and hope for the best." Victoria replied plainly. Abigail sighed. Unless they could find a place to buy a suitable weapon for Abigail before they set out for Sombras Manor, it looked like they would have to share Victoria's Silver Dagger like they did during the fight against that creepy necromancer in Silent Cemetery.

"Hold on just a minute." Lawrence commanded the two. Both young women immediately stopped talking and looked at the burly man.

"How long do you have to complete this job, Abigail?" Lawrence asked the blonde.

"I have a week to get it done, Mr. Sheridan. The client gave me a generous time limit because they know that I'm going into a dangerous place and that I need to gear up first. They also gave me that much time to allow for travel time to and from the manor." Abigail replied. Lawrence hmm'd and asked another question.

"Are you supposed to do this job by yourself or can Victoria go with you?" Lawrence asked a second question of Abigail.

"Victoria can go with me, Mr. Sheridan. I told the client that I'd need support for this job and once I told them how powerful Victoria was they agreed that she could go with me. They'll even pay her what they're gonna pay me." Abigail replied. Lawrence smiled a little.

"Excellent. In a few hours I'll go to town and look around for a weapons shop that sells what you two need." Lawrence informed the pair of his idea to get them silver or Holy weapons before they set out for Sombras Manor.

"Judging from what you said, you use edged weapons like swords." Lawrence said to Abigail.

"Yes, Mr. Sheridan." Abigail replied in the affirmative. Lawrence then turned to Victoria.

"And you use guns." Lawrence said in a tone that made it clear he already knew which type of weapon she would need.

"Right." Victoria answered anyway. She was not sure where her uncle could find what they needed, but she was going to let him try. Besides, she and Abigail had plenty of time to get the job done and they could afford to spend a day trying to get weapons that would help them survive a trip to Sombras Manor.

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-The Sheridan Estate, the living room, eighteen hours later-

Victoria and Abigail were waiting for Lawrence to return with news of the location of a weapons shop that sold silver or Holy weapons. He had left around 10:00 A.M. and had not yet come back. Since he did not have an iLac, Victoria could not get in contact with him without going to town and finding him. Both she and Abigail began to worry about him.

"I hope your uncle's doing OK, Vic. He's been gone an awfully long time." Abigail said to Victoria as the pair halfway paid attention to the television, which was turned to the anime channel. They were halfway watching a rerun of the mecha anime and Victoria recognized it as the episode where Arik had been soundly beaten by the enemy ace piloting the knightly mecha. As luck would have it, the scene was where the enemy ace closed in on the panicking Arik and utterly trashed Arik's mecha with a beam sword by first decapitating the suit, then cutting it in half at the waist with a 360-degree spinning slash, and finishing with a downward chop that removed the sword arm.

Victoria watched the beatdown and laughed. Once it was over she then turned back to Abigail.

"I hope that he's OK, Abby. I think he will be, though. He's a smart guy who know what he's doing." Victoria asserted to her friend. Lawrence had not survived this long by being a dumb brute. He was a lot smarter than he looked and he was very tough. If he could survive all the battlefields he had been on and live to retire in his forties, he could survive a walk through Capital Crocus.

Suddenly there was knocking on the front door. Both young women stood up and they were trying to decide which one of them would answer it when Laura walked into the living room and answered the door for them. In walked Lawrence with two weapons cases. One of them was a long rectangular one and the other was a shorter rectangular case like one would use for a handgun.

"Thank you, Laura." Lawrence thanked the silver-haired maid for opening the door for him. She nodded and Lawrence strode into the living room with the two cases in hand.

"It took a lot of doing, but I found a weapons shop called A Fighting Chance. I managed to buy weapons for both of you. I have good news and bad news." Lawrence informed them. Abigail spoke first.

"What's that, Mr. Sheridan?" Abigail asked him.

"The good news is that I managed to find weapons for both of you. They're weapons made from blessed silver. The owner assured me that they'll be able to handle anything supernatural." Lawrence told the blonde. Abigail smiled.

"So what's the bad news?" Victoria asked her uncle. He turned his attention to her.

"The bad news is that there wasn't a whole lot of that kind of merchandise to choose from. They had been picked over and I had to take what I could get. I apologize if they're not what you're used to." Lawrence told the brunette.

"That's no problem, Mr. Sheridan. We're just glad that you made it back all right." Abigail assured him that the "bad news" was really not that bad.

"Yeah. We're glad that you made it back safely. We're also thankful that you took the effort to go find us the weapons." Victoria chimed in. Lawrence gave a small smile and walked towards the two young women. He handed Abigail the long case and gave Victoria the short one.

They gently set their respective cases down on the couch and opened them. Abigail reached in and pulled out a silver sword with a curved edge. Victoria reached into her case and pulled out a long semi-automatic handgun.

"Hmmm... a silver falchion. I think I can use this." Abigail said while examining the sword. She turned towards the staircase and started doing a slow practice swing with her right hand. Meanwhile Victoria examined her new handgun.

"It's called the Hellsinger. It's a handgun that can fire rounds that can stop ghosts, zombies, vampires, demons, and humans. The shop owner told me that there's another gun just like it somewhere out there, but she sold it years ago. It could be anywhere by now." Lawrence told Victoria a bit about her new firearm. Victoria examined the weapon closely and felt its considerable weight in her hands. The handgun was likely going to be difficult to handle, partially because she was not used to handling physical firearms and partially because of how big the weapon was. However, if the Hellsinger's power was proportionate to the recoil, she could learn to cope with it if it meant having the means to take on supernatural threats without having to use her Silver Dagger.

"One of these should be enough, Uncle. If I ever find the other one and I'm ever in a situation where I have to use both of them at once, that situation's probably not gonna end well for me." Victoria commented after being told that two of the large handguns existed. Handling just one in a combat situation looked like it was going to be a daunting task. There was no possible way for her to handle both of the hefty handguns at once.

Hellsinger:

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Abigail finished doing a few slow practice swings of her new silver falchion and looked at Victoria's Hellsinger handgun. The blonde did a double take.

"Whoa. That's one big handgun." Abigail commented on the Hellsinger as Victoria raised it with a two-handed grip and aimed it at the television, aiming right for the center. She made certain to keep her finger off of the trigger so that she did not destroy the television and put a hole in the wall behind it with an accidental shot.

"Yeah. The gun's almost as long as my forearm." Victoria seconded her companion's statement.

"Unfortunately that's the only gun the shop had that could hurt the supernatural. I didn't have much choice" Lawrence commented to his niece.

"It's not a complaint, Uncle. I'm just surprised that a gun this big existed. And I'd hate to imagine what it was made to kill." Victoria was quick to apologize for the perceived ingratitude her comment might have held. Lawrence laughed.

"I was told that in addition to everything else I listed, it could also take out werewolves." Lawrence added a little more information. Victoria looked at the Hellsinger, then looked at him.

"I can believe that." Victoria said with no sarcasm whatsoever. Lawrence laughed again.

"Now that you're properly armed, are you two gonna try to go to Sombras Manor today?" Lawrence asked them. Abigail looked at Victoria and Victoria looked at Abigail. Abigail then turned to face Lawrence.

"I don't think that it's a good idea, Mr. Sheridan. I haven't slept very much ever since the roof of my house back in Oak Town started leaking. If we can get away with it, I'd like to sleep here tonight and get going for Sombras Manor tomorrow afternoon." Abigail answered.

"I agree with Abby. It'd be better if we waited until tomorrow before we set out for Sombras Manor. You don't want to go into Sombras Manor without being fully alert and ready for anything." Victoria voiced her agreement with her friend. Lawrence nodded.

"Good thinking. You guys have seven days to complete this job, so I think you can take a day to get some sleep. You can set out for your destination either tomorrow morning or tomorrow afternoon." Lawrence expressed approval in the duo's idea to spend the night here and get going tomorrow after they had had some sleep. He waited a few moments before speaking to them again.

"OK, now that that's settled, how are you two gonna get there? Are you gonna walk or do you have some means of transportation available?" Lawrence asked the pair.

"I have my Centaur, Uncle. It's a hovercycle that can move pretty fast. I can drive us there in a few hours' time... assuming that we don't run into bandits or any other obstacles." Victoria informed him about her Centaur.

"Good. Traveling that way will save you both a lot of time." Lawrence commented on the Centaur.

"Well, now that we have appropriate weapons we're pretty much ready for the trip. Once tomorrow comes we'll pick a time to set out and get going." Abigail said to the Sheridans.

"All right then. It sounds like we have everything settled." Victoria said in response. Abigail nodded.

"Hey Vic, do you have a guest room that I can stay in for tonight?" Abigail asked Victoria. The brunette nodded.

"Yeah, I have one. Would you like to see it now?" Victoria asked. Abigail nodded.

"Sure thing, Vic. Lead the way." Abigail answered in the affirmative. Putting the Hellsinger back into its case for the time being, Victoria motioned for Abigail to follow her and walked towards the staircase. Abigail followed behind her and Victoria began to guide her friend towards one of the guest rooms of the Sheridan Estate where she would be spending the night.

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Job Details:

Job Sign-Up: Page 22, Post Number 540

-The Sheridan Estate, Day 2: the next afternoon, Victoria's Room-

It was the afternoon of Day 2 of the job that Abigail and Victoria had been hired for. Yesterday they had obtained silver weapons courtesy of Victoria's uncle Lawrence, who had found a weapons shop in Capital Crocus that sold silver weapons. After receiving their new weapons both of them had decided to wait until afternoon before setting out for Sombras Manor because neither mage felt like a long drive after a sleepless night. Both Victoria and Abigail had slept most of last night, so they felt up to the challenge of traveling to Sombras Manor and searching for a rare vintage of wine rumored to be hidden somewhere in its basement.

"Hey Vic, ready to set out for Sombras Manor?" Abigail asked Victoria. Abigail was wearing a light green t-shirt and blue jean shorts with boots. On her left hip was the scabbard containing her new Silver Falchion. On her back was her small backpack of supplies which included her iLac.

"Yeah, Abby. I'm as ready as I'll ever be." Victoria replied. Today Victoria was wearing her blue Steel Matron t-shirt with khaki cargo shorts plus white tennis shoes. On her right hip was the large holster containing her equally large new Hellsinger large-caliber handgun. On her left hip was her Silver Dagger in case either of them needed a backup silver weapon. On her back was her backpack of supplies which included her iLac.

"Well, let's get going to the garage then." Abigail said. The pair then wordlessly left Victoria's room to go to the garage and get on Victoria's Centaur for the trip.

-The Sheridan Estate, the living room-

Abigail reached the bottom of the stairs first followed by Victoria. The pair walked past the couch, where Lawrence was watching yet another "singing cowboy" Western on television. The moment they passed by his left side he turned to face them.

"I see that you two are about to leave for Sombras Manor." Lawrence observed.

"Yeah. We'd better get going before it gets too dark to safely navigate the roads. We don't want to be driving at night when the bandits are out." Victoria replied.

"Good idea." Lawrence concurred. He reached over to the right side of the couch and grabbed the remote, then pressed the button to mute the television. Once that was done he turned to face the two mages.

"I'm not gonna try to talk you guys outta this because you two have already taken the job and keeping your word's important. I know that you two can handle yourselves, but just be careful out there. Be really careful once you go inside Sombras Manor." Lawrence bade them to be careful while traveling to Sombras Manor. He also bade them to be especially careful while inside the manor.

"Don't worry, Uncle. We'll be careful." Victoria assured Lawrence. The burly man hesitated for a moment before speaking.

"Good luck out there." Lawrence wished them.

"Thanks." Victoria calmly replied.

"Thanks, Mr. Sheridan." Abigail replied. Without further delay the two mages walked for Victoria's garage. They opened the door to the garage and went out.

-Inside the garage-

Victoria pressed the button to open the garage door while Abigail waited beside the Centaur. Once the garage door was open the brunette fished out the key to the Centaur and sat in the driver's seat. She had just put it in the ignition when Abigail raised a question.

"Hey Vic, who's gonna shut the garage door once we leave?" Abigail asked Victoria. As if on cue the door that led into the house opened and out stepped Laura.

"Miss Sheridan, Miss Windstrider, please wait a few minutes before you go." Laura requested that the two mages wait a few minutes before leaving. Victoria climbed off of the Centaur while Abigail looked towards the silver-haired maid. Why did she want them to wait?

"Mr. Sheridan had something else that he wanted to give you two, but he forgot to give it to you while you were in the living room." Laura explained the reason why she had wanted them to wait a few minutes.

"OK. We'll wait for him." Victoria replied. She and Abigail stood in the open garage while waiting for Lawrence to get here with whatever it was that he was going to give to him. The two mages just hoped that he would not take too long to get here because it was mid-afternoon and they had a long drive ahead of them.

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-Inside the garage, eleven minutes later-

Just before they were about to leave for Sombras Manor Laura had bade Abigail and Victoria to wait. Eleven minutes later the pair were still waiting in the garage for Lawrence to get here with whatever it was that he had wanted to give them. He had better hurry, though. They were not sure how much longer they could wait before they could wait no longer and had to leave.

The door to the garage opened and out strode Lawrence with two long black flashlights, one in each hand. Both of them had florescent orange tape wrapped on the end near the battery cap. Judging from the uneven wrapping of the tape, that feature had been a last-minute addition.

"I'm glad that Laura made it in time to stop you two from leaving. I meant to give you two these flashlights before you left." Lawrence said to them. Abigail smiled.

"I didn't think to bring my own flashlight with me. Thanks, Mr. Sheridan." Abigail thanked Lawrence for the unexpected but useful gift. Lawrence walked over to the pair and handed each of them a flashlight.

"I went shopping and got you two these flashlights just this morning while you were still asleep. The batteries are brand-new. They should give you more than enough power to get through Sombras Manor." Lawrence informed them that both the flashlights and their batteries were brand-new. Victoria pointed to the orange tape and tapped it with her left finger.

"What about this tape on the end? What's it for?" Victoria asked her uncle.

"As you might have guessed, that's florescent tape. That's to help you find your flashlight should you drop it." He replied. Victoria gave a thumbs-up with her right hand.

"That's a good idea. Thanks." Victoria thanked her uncle for the helpful addition. Both mages took off their backpacks and opened them, then carefully put their new flashlights inside, making sure that the ON button was not prematurely pressed so that they would arrive at Sombras Manor with the batteries still fresh. Once they had put the flashlights away they closed up their backpacks and put them back on.

"Well, I won't hold you two up any longer. Good luck out there." He wished them good luck again.

"Be careful, Miss Sheridan. I'll take care of things while you're away." Laura assured Abigail and Victoria that they would have a home to return to. Victoria waved goodbye and climbed into the driver's seat. Once she was seated Abigail climbed into the passenger seat and Victoria cranked up the Centaur.

Victoria gently moved the throttle and got just enough speed to move forward. She moved straight ahead until she was clear of the garage. She and Abigail turned and watched Laura lower it.

"Well Vic, this is it. We're gonna have a long drive ahead of us, so we'd better get going now if we want to get close to our destination before the bandits come out." Abigail said to Victoria. The brunette faced forward.

"OK, Abby. We'll get going then." Victoria said. Without further delay she moved the throttle forward and the Centaur moved out onto the road. It was a fairly long trip to Sombras Manor and it was mid-afternoon, so they were going to be in for a ride. Victoria hoped that they would not encounter too many delays on the way to their destination.

-Outside Sombras Manor, Day 3, 1:25 A.M.-

Thanks to driving almost non-stop and a lot of luck, the two had made it to Sombras Manor without incident some time past midnight. Victoria had parked the Centaur roughly four meters from the front door and had it pointed towards the road they had taken so that the two could make a quick getaway if things went south during the job. Victoria had taken the ignition key out of the Centaur and put it in her right cargo pocket so that the Centaur would not be stolen by anyone who happened to pass by while they were inside Sombras Manor.

Both mages were stretching their legs after the long ride and Abigail had gotten out her iLac to check the time.

"Wow, it's almost 1:30 A.M.! We shoulda left your house earlier!" Abigail exclaimed while looking at her iLac. Victoria wordlessly took off her backpack to get out her flashlight and set it on the driver's seat. She opened the bag, fished out the flashlight, and zipped the backpack closed, then slung it on her back and drew Hellsinger with her right hand while holding the flashlight in her left hand.

"Yeah. We shoulda left earlier, but it's OK. It's just Day 3 and we've got seven days to get the wine to your client." Victoria reminded Abigail that while they had gotten a late start on the second day, they still had plenty of time to get the job done. Abigail calmed down a little when she was reminded of that fact.

"Yeah, you're right, Vic. Say, mind watching my back while I get my flashlight outta my backpack?" Abigail requested.

"Go ahead, Abby. I'll watch your back." Victoria replied before beginning to scan their surroundings with Hellsinger at the ready while her friend dug for her flashlight.

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-Outside Sombras Manor-

After what seemed like an eternity of searching Abigail finally found her flashlight. She held out the object so that Victoria could see that she had it. The blonde then zipped up her backpack and put it on her back again before drawing her Silver Falchion.

"OK Vic, I've found my flashlight. I'm ready to go in whenever you are!" Abigail announced. Victoria motioned for Abigail to begin walking towards the double doors to Sombras Manor and the blonde obliged. Victoria followed close behind her and soon the pair reached the front doors.

"OK Vic, this is it. We're about to go into Sombras Manor." Abigail said to Victoria. It sounded like she was saying that more to psych herself up than as a casual comment being made to the brunette. Victoria looked at her partner.

"Are you sure that you're up for this?" Victoria asked her partner. Abigail nodded.

"Like it or not, I've gotta be up to it. I talked a big game to the client and your uncle spent the money to buy me this Silver Falchion. I'm going in." Abigail replied. Victoria studied her body language and saw that her friend was telling the truth, so Victoria relented.

"OK Abby. I'll go in first." Victoria informed Abigail. She put her flashlight in her left cargo pocket to free up a hand to open the door, then reached for the handle of the right double door. She grabbed it and twisted it right, opening the door. She paused for a moment, then went inside with Hellsinger held out in front of her. Abigail quickly followed and closed the door behind them.

-Inside Sombras Manor-

Now that she was inside Sombras Manor Victoria quickly reached for her flashlight and grabbed it with her left hand, then temporarily holstered Hellsinger to use her right hand to turn the flashlight on. Once it was on Victoria quickly drew Hellsinger again and shined the flashlight forward to light up the darkness. Ahead of them loomed a dusty but empty hallway lined with old suits of armor on display stands.

Abigail stepped to Victoria's left and shined her flashlight down the hallway to their left. The blonde must not have seen anything of interest because she soon turned her attention to the brunette.

"You said you've been here before, Vic. Where do you think the basement is?" Abigail asked Victoria. The brunette took a moment to think and recall her last trip here with Cleric Amberlin from the Order of Lightbringers. That trip had been over two years ago, but she remembered bits and pieces of it.

"It should be to the left. I'll lead the way." Victoria answered. She turned left and began to walk down the dusty hallway with dusty baseboards while Abigail hung back a few steps and watched their backs. The brunette walked to the end of the hall and turned right, then looked down the hall in front of her. She looked around for a few moments and remembered something from her last adventure here.

This hall was where she had met Umbra the zombie cat!

"You look like you saw a ghost. What is it, Vic?" Abigail asked her partner. The brunette ignored the word choice of the question and addressed it.

"Nothing. Nothing at all. I thought I saw something, but I didn't." Victoria replied, keeping the meeting with Umbra secret because it was not relevant to their situation and Abigail might question the brunette's sanity if she was told about a friendly zombie cat. Spotting what looked like the entrance to a stairway on the right side of the hall just before the turn that would take them back to the main hall, Victoria directed her companion's attention to that instead.

"Hey, I think I see the stairway that leads to the basement!" Victoria pointed down the hall and to the right wall with her flashlight, illuminating the stairway in question for her friend.

"Great! I wanna get that bottle of wine and get outta here as soon as we can!" Abigail said, forgetting all about what had given Victoria pause earlier. Victoria wordlessly took the lead and walked slowly so that Abigail could easily keep up with her. In a short time the pair were standing in front of the basement stairs.

"I'll go first, Abby. You watch our backs." Victoria commanded Abigail. Without waiting for a response the brunette began going down the stairs with Hellsinger pointed out in front of her and her flashlight lighting the way. Abigail soon followed her down to the basement.

-In the basement-

The pair reached the bottom of the stairs without incident and now their flashlights lit up the darkness in front of them. The basement hallway was empty except for a few doors evenly split between the left and right sides; there were three doors on the left and three doors on the right.

"So, Vic, which one do you think is the wine cellar?" Abigail asked Victoria, the former's voice ringing in the empty hallway. Victoria shrugged her shoulders.

"I have no idea, Abby." Victoria replied apologetically.

"Looks like we go door-to-door and see what we can find." Abigail remarked. Victoria shrugged her shoulders again.

"Works for me. We've still got plenty of time and there's only six doors. It shouldn't take that long." Victoria mused.

"Yeah, but what if the wine's not down here like the collector said it would be?" Abigail asked Victoria a very good question. The brunette looked at the blonde and shrugged her shoulders.

"I... I don't know. We'd likely have to search the whole manor, but I hope it doesn't come to that." Victoria replied with uncertainty. She hoped that this would be a job where preparing for the job took longer than actually doing it, but sometimes things just did not go as planned. Not that Victoria planned very much to begin with.

"Yeah. Me neither." Abigail said with palpable apprehension.

"OK, which side do we check first? Left or right?" Victoria asked Abigail where they should start their search for the wine.

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