Wardrobe

Villager: Inkwell

Relationship Status: Single??

(Warning, the story for this villager is kind of spooky! The story ends when the italics end, in case you want to skip right to the description.)

Like other places that surrounded the village, the mansion was off limits to explorers and travelers alike. The guards that patrolled the forest shooed away trespassers, claiming that the mansion was private property with that same glimmer of fear in their eyes. Ones who did not follow this rule were often given a stern talking to by the leader of the village, and warned that if they dared to repeat their actions again, they would be given harsher punishment if they came back with their life. But, unlike the derelict and rotting house that held a malevolent spirit, or the old and abandoned laboratory that contained a monster screaming to be let free, the mansion was inhabited by a legal resident of Silverflecked Village. He had no history of ill intent, his paws were clean of blood. He was sentient and sane, sometimes rarely appearing in the village to purchase various goods. But the guards and villagers still regarded him with the same sort of caution that they showed the ghost and the monster-- the resident was not one to be trifled with. At his request, he was to be left along good and proper. It seemed like that request was the reason the village warriors only patrolled the general direction of the mansion, and not on the proper destination itself.

Perhaps that was the reason you had decided to make the mansion the target of your exploration.

Like most structures outside of the village, the mansion had a "special" place in which it was located. The ghost's house, lay in a foggy clearing deep within the woods, and the monster's prison stood strong upon a cliff. The mansion was no different in this aspect. It stood upon a hill, intricate and beautiful. It could be seen from a distance, glimpses of it peaking out between the branches of the thick pine trees. As you approached the manor, you noted that the vast expanse of trees was almost identical in every direction. No paths, no lights, no artificial scenery could be seen as the sun slowly dipped below the horizon. This was not true for other parts of the forest, where guard outposts and trading routs and lamps for the lost could be seen even in the darkest of nights. The intent was clear-- you were not welcome here. No one was. Not even the monsters seemed to stray this close to the mansion. Despite the implication, you were only thankful for a journey free from distraction.

The mansion came into view all at once when the trees dissipated and became sparse, then stopped altogether. The building was huge, probably big enough to hold all of Silverflecked Village and then some. Compared to the Inn in the village that existed for traders to rest and a safe place in case of disaster, the mansion was ten times bigger. Not as tall, but much, much wider. The owner certainly had deep pockets if he could afford a building this big. Only a few lights were on in the manor, and you couldn't help but feel a grin spread across your face. Unlike the run-down house and the laboratory, the mansion was a gold-mine for valuables, and not at risk of collapsing at any moment. As far as you knew, it only held three beings within it, the owner himself and two butlers. It would be nigh impossible for them to find you in such a grandiose structure, and that's what you were counting on.

Getting in was harder than you expected. Every window you tried to enter through was locked up tight. Despite the size of the manor, it seemed to be well kept up in defense. You didn't want to break a window, as that would most likely alert one of the beings inside. You gave up on entering through a window, and made the trek along to the side of the house. It took a couple minutes due to the size and the fact that you were walking through weeds-- although the area around the front entrance was well-kept, the rest of the border was not. Soon enough, you turned the corner and began walking along the side of the house. In the distance, you spotted what looked like a fenced-in garden at the back, with structures just peeking out around the back of the house that you couldn't see due to the rapidly approaching darkness. But before you could even make it halfway along the side of the mansion, you tripped over something.

You hadn't seen it due to the weeds, but it was an old wooden door. Two to be precise, cemented to the ground and barely held together by a broken and rusty lock. You tossed that aside and opened the doors as they squealed in resistance. You stared down into an abyss, and the steps that descended into it. You had found your entrance.

There was a floor, despite the darkness making it appear as if you were descending into the endless void. It was concrete, and dead silent. Even your quietest footfalls echoed across the empty room. Shining a flashlight revealed that the "cellar" was completely barren, but in the distance you could see a ladder. You hurried over to it, the room starting to give you the creeps. You climbed the ladder and pushed on the trapdoor, and it opened into darkness. Attempting to climb out found that it was covered by something fuzzy. But, you persisted anyways, and found yourself in a hallway. Dim torches lit the halls, casting eerie shadows across the hallways with their eternal flame. Looking down, you realized that the trapdoor was covered by an intricate rug of red and gold. Quickly, you closed the door and straightened out the carpet. You couldn't get caught this quickly.

Footsteps muffled by the rugs that made up the middle of the hall, covering a shining mahogany wood floor, the started to explore the massive building. The hallways on the right side of the building were mostly the same, doors on either side spaced far apart. They either ended in a dead end, or in a spiraling staircase that led to the next floor. The left side of the building was much more interesting, with much less hallways and more open rooms. you spotted a kitchen, a library, and a living room with a fireplace filled with glowing embers, the last remnants of a fireplace recently snuffed out. Typical mansion things. The one hallway the left side of the mansion did have ended in another staircase, and so you ascended to the next floor.

These hallways were covered in even more intricate rugs, dazzled in flecks of pure gold. They held antique tables and drawers, the drawers locked but with delicate china and various statues and trinkets sitting atop them. You swore you could even see a platinum plate studded with diamonds. Eagerly, you began to take whatever looked most expensive. You explored hallway after hallway, pilfering those rare hidden gems that you knew the owner of which would never notice missing. It wasn't until the weight of your stolen goods began to slow your progress that you realized your mistake. Every hallway looked the same. The doors had no numbers, the carpets had become repetitive in their beauty. The torches remained the same throughout. The only differences had lay in the trinkets that lay upon the evenly-spaced tables, but you had only paid attention to those that you decided to take.

The hallways stretched on forever. No matter how hard you looked, how fast you ran, you couldn't find another staircase. Even after you discarded some of your items, bones aching with tiredness and soreness, the exit refused to reveal itself to you.

A banshee screech echoed down the hallways, followed by rapidly approaching footfalls. Expletives rang out within your mind, and you left behind all you had attempted to take as you broke into a frantic sprint. While the steps of your pursuer were at a distance when they began, they started to close the distance. When they landed upon the hardwood floor, you could hear the scrape of claws as they dug into the floor, digging deep in their unceasing attempt to get closer to you. Another scream rang out, echoing from a different hallway. How many monsters were there, if the one behind you was not the cause of the noise.

The run continued for what felt like forever. Your breath became ragged in your lungs, appearance haggard as if you had spent an eternity in chase within these damned halls. You could feel the phantom pinpricks of teeth on your neck, hear the slavering jowls that the beast gnashed together. you did not turn to see what it was, in fear that it would finally catch you. Rounding a corner, you spotted something different for the first time in forever. Complete and utter darkness. Perhaps it was an escape? In Dragonsmaw Manor, explorers would often feel as if they had "died", only to wake up in their beds with all of their items still with them. This might be your only chance at escape. Despite the burning that you felt throughout your whole form, you increased your pace and sprinted towards the abyss, nearly letting out a scream when darkness enveloped you.

All was serene. All was quiet. The footfalls disappeared just as they had started. You couldn't even hear yours.

The torches lit up all at once, only enough to light up the surrounding area nearest to you. In front of you, no more than a few yards away, was a tall dog. A demon. You could not tell if it was furred, or if the disgusting black colors was its skin. It wore a fancy purple suit that seemed to writhe around him as the shadows danced over the demon. His paws were gloved in fine white silk, fingers decorated with gold and ruby rings. He held a cigarette in his mouth, small smile emotionless and filling you with unbridled terror. He had no eyes.

The demon removed the cigarette from his mouth, letting the smoke flow out of his mouth like blood. The stared at you, and his smile deepened. The red marking upon the wallpaper started to shimmer and dissolve, giving the impression of blood running down the walls. The carpet was swarmed with spiders, crawling out of the threads and starting up your legs. You couldn't move. The smoke continued to pour out of the demon's mouth, surrounding him. His other paw was hidden behind his back, and he pulled it out. It held three cards of colors you couldn't recognize due to the utter shock you were experiencing. Finally, he spoke.

"Care for a game of cards?"

They flew out of his paw, surrounding you and flying around you in a dizzyingly fast speed. With them they brought the smoke that had gathered around the demon, encircling you with that air of death. It became impossible to breathe. This couldn't be real, this was not happening. The world darkened around you as the spiders made their way to your arms and then your torso. In a moment, you were going to wake up in your bed, safe and unharmed, right? Stuff like this happened in Dragonsmaw Manor. But you weren't in Dragonsmaw, you were in a village that almost no one lived in and that people only went to for trade, and in a mansion that no one at all even went to. But, that didn't mean that you would... you were going to make it out of this. Right? By now, it was only a dream, right? The burning in your lungs would cease and your vision would return and the spiders would be but a bad memory.

Right?

~~~

Inkwell is a demon who lives in a large manor on a hill just outside of the forest. The building does not reside within the borders of Silverflecked Village, but it does reside on its territory and therefore Inkwell is a legal resident of Silverflecked Village. Rain was visited one day by the mysterious canine, who wished to become a resident of her village but not live in close proximity to others. An arrangement was worked out, and even though Inkwell is technically welcome to come down and interact with the others who live in the village, for as far as Rain knows his track record is clean, no one has ever seen Inkwell down in the village. As a matter of fact, after their original encounter, Rain and Inkwell have yet to meet again. Of course, Inkwell could just be going down to the village while in a disguise of some sort, but Rain finds this highly unlikely as Inkwell seems to be the lone wolf type of person. Despite regarding Inkwell as safe for everyone to interact with, Rain forbids anyone from going up and knocking on his door for sales purposes, notices for events and such, and basically anything of the advertising sort. Flyers are usually just left in his mailbox, and nobody really knows for sure why. Perhaps it's because Starscape Child gave Rain some sort of warning about the demon, as the Manokit is usually right with their instincts, and they are one of Rain's closest and most trusted friends. The only person who really interacts with Inkwell is Fancy Bean, who was hired to grab them groceries once a week. The Dragling was chosen for the job because they easily follow orders and aren't disobedient, are pretty oblivious in all, and they don't ask questions. Anyone who tries to ask Fancy Bean something about Inkwell will be disappointed, because Fancy Bean in unwavering in their loyalty to their employer's confidentiality.

Inkwell has two forms; his regular form in the shape of a bipedal canine, and a much more sinister looking quadrupedal form made entirely of ink and dark magic. This second form is much bigger, able to grow twice as tall as Inkwell and very long, skinny and capable of slinking in the shadows without being noticed. This form can also shrink to be as small as a greyhound pup, though this is a rare occurrence for Inkwell hates to appear weak. While Inkwell is usually able to keep a sinister calm, in this form he is a vicious beast with no regards for mercy or safety. He can turn into the inky beast at any moment, yet only does so sparingly due to how much strength and magic is consumed in the process. For this reason, it is especially unwise to anger the demon, although truth be told, it was never wise to make him mad before he learned the spell anyways. For Inkwell is a demon, who is just as deadly as he is unpredictable and scheming.

~~~

Village Relationships:
Rain is the well-known leader of Silverflecked Village, and one of the only denizens of the village that Inkwell has actually has a conversation with. Rain allows Inkwell to live on her territory, and does her part in keeping undesirable nuisances away from his mansion. Inkwell has no particular feelings towards her, at the very best they are business partners. He finds it amusing that her best attempts to keep trespassers away from his home don't always work, though he would never kill someone that actually lives within the village. He'd rather avoid that mess. Despite being an untrustworthy demon, Inkwell has to plans to usurp, attack, or betray Rain. So, at the very least, he tolerates her.

Fancy Bean is Inkwell's hired errand-dragon. The dragon is rather oblivious, eager to please and praise-motivated. Despite them being an airhead, Inkwell has come to lean that Fancy Bean is obedient, loyal, and not one to tell secrets. He doesn't even need to curse the dragling to prevent him from talking about Inkwell to anyone else-- the serpent just won't. So, Fancy Bean is to shop for Inkwell once a week, ordering all his food in advance and then taking it to the demon on the same day each week. They also grab Inkwell's mail, since the demon has his own designated mailbox in the village for easy access. Whenever he drops off his collected items at the demon's manor, Inkwell always greets him personally. They have a small conversation every time, and then Fancy Bean happily leaves. Inkwell finds this amusing.

Surprisingly, out of everyone in Silverflecked Village, Chester the cowardly deer is the closest to Inkwell. The poor deer had gotten lost on the night of a full moon, and transformed into a were-deer due to his affliction of lycanthropy. Not at home and safely bound in silver chains, Chester was free to run amok and cause havoc, a worst-case scenario. Instead of going down to the village, Chester made his way up to the mansion, crashing through a window in blind madness. Inkwell was there in a heartbeat, already in his quadrupedal form and surrounded by dark smoke. As savage as the were-deer was, Inkwell was much stronger. Chester was out like a light in an instant, relatively unharmed besides injuries sustained from the glass and the bite on his arm. Inkwell knew that Chester was one of Rain's friends, so unfortunately, he couldn't kill him. So instead, he had his servants dress Chester's wounds and put him to bed in one of the rooms on the first floor of the mansion. When morning came, the deer was both terrified and extremely apologetic. At his servant's request, Inkwell begrudgingly served Chester breakfast before sending the deer on his way. Despite the unorthodox meeting, Inkwell found the deer's jumpiness and outright pureness amusing. Of course, Inkwell is a pretty lonely demon, so perhaps it wouldn't be too bad to become acquainted to someone else. Currently, the two are pen-pals.