Farhaven Hotel

The black-clad vampire kicked his legs forward while his child excitedly ran ahead to find the room they were looking for. She stopped and scanned each door, finding the symbols that didn’t match their key in her hand. She stopped and found their room with the tiara, her pointing her mitten to it and smiling. “Papa, I found it!”

“I thought we were gonna walk forever.” Diran laughed gently. He joined her side and she put the key in the lock, turning it with all of her strength, but it didn’t work. “Papa, the key’s broken.”

“Try twisting the other side, sweetheart.”

Sember followed his instructions and the door opened with a click. She twisted the handle and ran right in, happy to find a new room to explore. The room was spacious, the window having a long, sparkling drape that made light shine through. There were two king sized beds, Diran quietly gulping at the sight. He had feeling this place was going to exceed what he was willing to spend. But whatever kept dear Sember away from the cold.

He noticed the air had a slight smell of paint and oil. But not a single painting in the room. He examined the kitchen, turning every switch and lever he could find. It all worked just as it was suppose to. A part of him was suspicious. It felt too good to be true. He wondered if there was some kind of catch.

“Papa!” Sember called to him. “I wanna go explore outside! There’s a beautiful mountain out there! Do you think we’ll find yetis?! Oh, maybe forest fairies! Winter fairies even!”

“Perhaps. We’re probably not allowed there.” Diran assumed. “We can always ask the staff once we settle in and get ourselves something to eat, okay?”

“Okay!” As bundle of energy as she was, she ran everywhere to examine every nook and cranny. While Diran was checking as instinct. He wondered if there was some kind of book of sorts he could find about the place. His curiosity was piqued, that’s for sure.

Sitting atop the massive pile of pillows of both king sized beds in the room Diran will no doubt quickly discover exactly what he had been looking for while his daughter explores the rest of the massive room and it's attached bathroom. A pair of panflets, tied up in pretty silver ribbons lay there, waiting to offer him the answers to all the questions that are no doubt swirling within his brain at the moment.

"Jackpot." Diran said to himself, taking the pamphlet and opening it with eagerness to see what this place was all about. The tone and the happy, welcoming words and font left Diran feeling more suspicious than secure. While he wanted to believe that this was a lucky break from the storm he was dealing with back home, he wondered if this was perhaps some trick. He glanced at his daughter from the corner of his eye, seeing she was digging underneath the bed to see if there was anything hidden. Not a thing. Diran guessed if it was as true as it said, they could leave with no issue. But the storm was still going on back home. Or so he assumed. He sighed gently. "Mom, I hope you're okay out there." He whispered to himself. Upon finishing his quick read, he folded it and handed it to his daughter. "Let's go get a lay of the land, okay?"

Sember nodded eagerly. "Do you think they'll be okay with seeing my claws, papa?" She asked.

"Well, there was that succubus, that... elf, I think?" Diran didn't exactly get a good look at the fae. "Ah, I'm sure it's okay. But me being a vampire, it's between us, okay?"

"What about blood? Do you have any left?"

Diran patted his many coat pockets, feeling just his necessities. His 'locksmith' kit, a rather flashy dagger hanging off his belt, a medallion with the carvings of a horse's skull with runes surrounding it, but nothing resembling blood. He groaned. "Crap. I must have lost it during the storm. Well, I'll just have to ask for my steaks extra bloody."

"Eww!" Sember made a grossed out face. She grabbed the silver key and marched right out, wanting to see more of this place. Diran followed, closing the door behind himself. [Wonder why they'd turn a castle into a hotel?] Diran thought to himself.

Returning from the manager’s office, Sember was the first to enter the room, given the responsibility to open the door. Once she did, she went right to her bed and sat on it, finally finishing her hot chocolate. “She was nice. She was kinda like me, papa! She was inhuman, and she had the same skin colour like me! And the hair too!”

“Except she’s was a lot taller.” Diran teased his daughter, putting their disposables in the bin. He stretched, a part of him itching to do something. But he supposed he could use some down time. He just hoped that his mother would be fine on her own. His sister too. He looked at his daughter, seeing that smile had disappeared. “Is something wrong, sweetheart?”

Sember kicked her legs sadly. “She’s not like me, is she?”

“No. She’s a shifter, not a Kimyona.” Diran said to her, seeing her frown deepen. He knew what upset her. “I’m sorry, sweetheart. We’ll find them eventually. Until then, we just gotta be patient. Figure out what’s our next move, okay?”

“Okay…” Sember lied on her back. “Papa… she’s really pretty.”

“Yeah. But I think there’s a lot to her we don’t know yet.”

“Like?”

“She doesn’t like talking about the dead, it seems.” Diran assumed. “Or just the subject at all. I’m wondering if she’s in some kind of… contract. But these are only theories. We’ll get our answers once we get that ghost.”

Sember nodded. “I’m not afraid of ghosts.”

“I know you aren’t. You’re a brave girl.” Diran said with a smile, hugging his daughter.

Unaware of the newest guests arriving to the hotel, Diran read up on some of the books here they were provided with, while his daughter had fallen asleep to reading another. The book in question was one about castles and why they're structured as they are. Such as spiral stairs, because defending always held an advantage compared to another. Then there was mismatching staircases, so the home team recognized the pattern better than the attacking. Diran yawned gently, before he glanced at Sember. He closed the door and he approached her, gently leaning to her ear. "Papa's gonna go for a walk, okay?"

"Okay... be safe." Sember replied, before she curled to the side.

Diran stepped out of the room, closing the door with a sigh. "Nice vacay and all... gods, I'm such a workaholic..." He complained, finally going to find something to do while he waited for the items he'd need for the exorcism.

Sember will be afforded all the time and comfort she could possibly need or want to rest her adorable little head. The castle provides and today it provides a tired girl with warmth and softness she may not have ever experienced in her entire life. That is not all it provides, however.

Should the little one with her claws and her curls, awaken before her father returns from his reconnaissance, Sember will wake to find that a small table near the center of the room as a few things set upon it that were not there before. There's another hot chocolate but also a glass of water. Must stay hydrated. There's a plate of snacks from crackers to cheese to grapes to carrots to cookies, because of course cookies. Beside the food are a few other items of interest. A little puzzle box that she should be able to poke and manipulate even with her claws. A pretty doll with hair that looks remarkably like Sember's dressed in a gingham dress, though it looks as though it might rip if she were careless. Several picture books round out the offering for the child, though the subjects of the books seem to be a bit...odd. The titles include How to Save a Princess, The Castle in the Sky, and All the Pretty Little Crystals.

Having woken up and decided to pass her time, she kept rolling around, pretending to be like her father and stealthing around, catching villains and monsters off guard, killing or capturing them. But then, after she had decided to calm down and examine the area, she found the items on the table. She guessed someone must have come by while she was asleep. She walked to it and decided to examine it all.

Her sniffer caught the smell of the snacks. The lightly salted crackers, the cheese and fruits, hot chocolate and water. She gave it a whiff, smiling with delight, the cookies in particular catching her interest. She immediately took a cookie and shoved it into her mouth, taking in the sugary delight.

Then she saw the other pass times she was gifted with. There was the doll, having matching hair, as well as the cute dress. She carefully held it, examining every detail of it to make sure that it was matching her. While she didn't have a dress, mistaking it to be some representation of her, she decided to put it down, remembering last second of her father's advice on dolls. [Voodoo is dangerous.] She then decided to look at the puzzle box. She gently shook it, wondering what was inside. Before she'd decide to solve the puzzle back, she decided to check the books just for fun.

Each title were ones she didn't recognize. The one that caught her eye was about 'How to save a Princess'. Part of figured her father could tell him. Queen Lucibelle, Princess Brenna, Empress Esaria... Sember only began wondering why he knew so many royal women. Or just royals in general. She wanted to play with the puzzle box first, examining the toy.

The puzzle box is made of heavy, darkly stained wood, though beneath the stain it has been treated so that a lighter color shows through in swirling, elegant designs. Each side, top and bottom as well, is a perfect five inch square of each other side giving the object a very uniform appearance despite the embellishments. A metal piece in the shape of an unfamiliar royal crest (A lion with wings spread sits upon a mountain surrounded by five eight pointed stars) has been affixed to the very top of the box and does not seem to move or be interactable in any way. There is clearly a lid, but it does no have any hinges, indicating that it likely slides off. It even jiggles just a little bit in an enticing manner when pushed.

Jiggling is all the lid does at the moment, however. There are several gems set into the edge of the box, each a different color and shape and clearly real. All of them save one. On one side, to the right when the crest is held right side up, is a round purple gem that doesn't quite glitter or catch the light the same way the others do, indicating it's likely glass. Turning the box over entirely offers yet another clue. Burned into the bottom is a small poem. It reads:

Sember looked excitedly payed attention to each part of the puzzle box. But then she found the poem at the bottom. She tilted her head, a dumbfounded look on her face. She wasn’t sure what to make of it, scratching the side of her head in confusion of the poem’s clues. She mulled it over for what felt like hours, only to constantly check the clock and see it has been minutes.

But then she had an idea. She took the box and shoved her mouth full of snacks, running out to see if any of the staff could help her. She wasn’t shy. To her father’s worry, she was independent at times.