The monthly Town Hall Meeting began with Drexella introducing the guest speaker for the evening, Schakal Ellig. Schakal spoke about Dunshade Manor here in Riverhaven, a topic which he clearly knows very well.

Schakal began, "The dwellings history though soaked in blood, began as a tale of love and fiery passion. Lord Byron Dunshade inherited the Manor upon his return from a war and met his self proclaimed 'Raven-haired' Goddess, Tatia. Soon after they wed and had a child they named Laurel. Soon after it is documented that a particular jealousy regarding his wifes affections towards her offspring rather than himself took the Lord and upon his indulgences of Alcohol and lack of sleep, he slipped into a consuming madness which brought him to the conclusion to reclaim the affections of his wife. Procuring a letter-opener it is speculated that he, one night, brought the edge across his daughters jugular arteries in one swift motion as she smiled bouncing upon her mothers lap. In shock Tatia retreated swiftly to the sanctity of her dwelling before the Lord came to her, hoping that their lives would return to how it was before their now deceased daughter. Her reluctance spurred forth an emotion that could only be described as the purest rage and insanity, before he promptly bludgeoned her along her cranium until death. His emotions allowed him to slip into a catatonic sleep, and upon waking, he realized the deeds he had committed. Consumed by guilt and regret, he threw himself from the attic onto the gates."

"Since then, the dead have sought release and wander the upstairs and basement. It is also speculated that the nanny whom he had an affair, placed a curse upon him which drove him to his madness, but in my time researching his obsession with his wife and the comings and goings of the Manor, I cannot fathom as to why he would come to agreement with such an act. If you find yourself among the halls of the Manor, be aware of some particular sights. In the study is the Lord's chair, still facing the portrait of Tatia. I have been told her looks are quite stunning though I myself cannot elaborate as to what makes it so. Also found in the study is a massive mahogany ledger hutch. It is locked and should remain as such. Attempts at picking will result in the removal of your head and hands. There is the childs room, as well as the Lord and Ladys. Behind a screen there is a mirror. It holds some power to make one enthralled though I have found no danger in it. Upstairs in the attic the shadows rise and fall like tides in the ocean. The fiends have a hand in this I feel, more importantly, you can find the window the Lord lept from. I have stood upon the ledge the Lord lept from. It is a significant drop and I do not recommend following suit. I am afraid I do not know much about the basement save that some of it is caved in. Though I have heard rumor of a dagger hidden away. If you wish to aide my endeavors in the releasing of souls, I have researched and found the following to be as accurate as I was able to gather regarding the difficulty of each spirit."

"Tortured souls, Expanding and contracting, the tortured soul is difficult to ascertain. Primarily humanoid in form in shape its body twists and shudders as if in excruciating pain. At times it takes on some solidity and the vague form of a person in torment can be seen. While its body may be nothing but a twisted mass of essence, its teeth and claws are certainly real, willing and able to rend your soul from your body. These are the most basic of undead wandering the halls of the second floor, comparable in skill to the Goblins outside the north gate in Riverhaven, or the Salt crabs. You will require a blessed weapon for this and I am willing to provide the blessing of Lady Eylhaar for this endeavor. Following these are the Dark Fiends. They can be found in the attic. You will easily recognize them as truly massive figures, the fiends are draped in shadows. Their very armor appears to be fashioned from the darkness. No details of their appearance can be seen except the malevolent glow of two glaring red eyes staring out from behind their helms. These are more difficult, their skill comparable to Blood Wolves in Therengia, or Sand Sprites, in Ratha. The last and most powerful undead residing in the Manor would be Death Spirits. They can be found in the basement. I have only seen a few in my time as I am not skilled enough to release them from their worldly torment but, The grey death spirit is a mass of swirling shadow given substance. Clothed in little but the rag of a robe, its hands are terribly jagged claws, its eyes a glowing sanguine color. The creature appears to have the mentality of the damned, moving with intention and deadly grace as it floats about. Their skill is comparable to Lesser Shadow Hounds, found in Zalfung Swamp, and Vykathi Soldiers found in Ilithi."

"Currently, though he does not reside within it's walls, the Manor is owned by Chamberlain Isleif Dunshade. I will be continuing my work cleansing the Manor, hopefully my work will one day bare fruition and he will be able to resume living in his birthright quarters. My sincerest gratitude for the opportunity to speak upon this matter. I do hope this has been enlightening and interesting to you, my audience. Thank you Order of the Dragon Shield and Commander Drexella for the opportunity to speak. May I see you all in the Manor, sending souls to their rightful place with Lady Eylhaar to Urrem'tier."

Schakal then answered some questions from the crowd, saying that if one does venture in there be sure to remember that Elemental and Lunar magic is not as effective as other types. It takes a fairly large amount of mana put into a spell to affect them. His final goal is to completely cleanse the place of it's undead residents though, as of right now, they do not seem be declining in number but he is fervently working on their removal and finding the true cause of them being there. He believes that something like burning the manor to the ground would not help but would simply release the spirits to the rest of Riverhaven.

The floor was then turned back to the Commander who spoke on the recent pirate invasion. It seems that the pirates stole a sack with the mayor's seal on it. Normally though, the pirates seem to enjoy stealing the Mayor's shirts for some reason.

There will be an audience with the Baron in a few days and because of it, the House Giraud fight night has been canceled. Caelumia intends to offer a proposal to the Baron at said audience. She would like to see a hut, a yurt or something along those lines built for the Silent Guardians and other militia groups that guard the Stones. If (and it's a big 'if') he agrees, she asked if Drexella and ODS would be willing to help in fund raising for it. The Commander agreed that we would do what we can to help.

The meeting was then dismissed, with the usual handful of people sticking around and chatting for a while.

Notes were thoughtfully provided by:
Assistant Scribe Nithhogr, 25 Uthmor, 396