Heiress

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All it took was the shortest of letters to send her flying toward her family's estate. Hearing the pleas of help from her uncle in that missive, Heiress knew that she had to do something- anything- to set things right. There was some disagreement within the family, especially from her mother, in the end, Heiress was allowed to leave her home to go fix the mistakes of her uncle back at the family estate. However, she wasn't to go alone...

Enter Reynauld, a crusader hired to be a bodyguard for her on the way to the estate. Heiress was mortified by the very idea of having someone to protect her in what was likely to be a short trip across safe lands, but kept her mouth shut about the ordeal. So the two went off in the direction of her new home. Only to be attacked by bandits on the way. It was one against five, with Reynauld doing his duty as bodyguard for Heiress. She was thoroughly convinced that she was going to die there, never reaching the estate and never doing her duty of fixing the problems that her uncle had caused.

But something had caused a rift. An unknown entity had entered the fray, taking out those that Reynauld had trouble with. When the bloodshed had died, a solitary figure in black stood there, a rogue bandit by the name of Dismas. Despite his help, Reynauld could not trust the bandit, seeing him as someone who would likely turn on them the moment something better came up. But Heiress thought differently. She offered Dismas payment to get them closer to the estate if he would be willing to take out those that Reynauld could not. Much to the crusader's chagrin, he agreed and the trio were off to the estate.


Upon arrival at the estate, she came to realize how bad off her uncle left things. Most of the buildings in the surrounding area had been boarded up. Not a soul seemed to stay outside for longer than a few minutes. The woods they had just crawled out of had grown dangerous from more than just the occasional bandit. The seaside and surrounding areas were just as bad as the forest. What was going on, she wondered.

It wasn't until she did some digging around the estate that she found out why. Her uncle, her foolish uncle, had unleashed a great horror upon the land and its surroundings. What was worse was the cryptic warning left behind: 'Unless they can be stopped, history will continue to repeat itself'. What did that mean?

The reveal and the warning hardened her resolve to set things right, going as far as to hiring more and more mercenaries and wandering adventurers to help speed up the process. However, the two that seemed to be of most value were that of Reynauld and Dismas, taking up more and more difficult tasks to see things come to an end.

But... despite all their efforts, the horrors could not be stopped. The estate was engulfed in darkness. Heiress, overcome with grief, felt like she had failed. She closed her eyes, awaiting the end...


...Then she woke up, as if from a nightmare.

But when she awoke, Heiress was no longer at the estate, but at her old home. Confused, she had gone to see what had happened. The day, she had found, was that of the day before her departure to the estate. Had she never left? Was it all just a dream?

Then came the day of her leaving and her father introducing her to Reynauld. Heiress, ready to play the part of it all being a dream, was shocked whenever the crusader had embraced her, asking her if she was alright. He too had remembered the cataclysmic events at the estate. Did that mean that others did as well?

It didn't take too long to find out. Taking the same path toward the estate as before, again they were attacked by bandits. Again, Dismas was the one to assist, just as confused and relieved that they were alive from what had happened. What was going on?

Then her uncle's cryptic warning came back to mind. Was this what it meant by 'history will continue to repeat itself'? That unless the horror that had cursed the estate was defeated, everyone would be stuck in such a cycle? She didn't know, but she was determined more than ever to set things right.

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