The Last Contract
Official
Fantasy
Medieval
Monster Hunting
Dark
Inspired by The Witcher
The Story
Lady Maren has called you to her estate. Her daughter Irina is to be married today, but since recovering from the illness that nearly killed her she has not been herself, and her mother cannot say why.
Inside, the household is doing its best to pretend everything is on schedule. Irina is warm and bright and waves off every worry. Lord Maren pours himself another drink each time his daughter comes up. The groom's family keep to their own wing and smile at all the right moments.
The wedding is being hurried forward. Lady Maren wants an answer before the vows are spoken.
The Location
The Maren estate sits alone in a wide valley in the eastern provinces. Stone walls and steep timber roofs, surrounded by bare autumn fields and walled by low hills. The nearest town is three days on horseback. Dusk on the day of the wedding: the light has gone low and grey-gold, long shadows stretching from the bare trees across the valley. The air carries woodsmoke from the great hall hearth, the dry smell of fallen leaves, and the gathering cold of evening.
The World
A grounded late-medieval Eastern European world. Stone manors, candlelit halls, muddy autumn roads, worn leather and iron. Magic is real but rare, distrusted by ordinary people, and practiced by those who learned it from older bloodlines or older books. Orders exist that deal in such things, and pacts older than the church; most villages will go a lifetime without seeing either.
Locations
Estate Courtyard
Gravel paths wind between trimmed hedges and stone benches dressed with white ribbons for the wedding. The last grey light throws long shadows across the gravel; hanging candle lanterns are being lit against the dusk. Servants carry crates of wine and flowers across the courtyard. The chapel doors at the far end of the path stand half-open.
Bride's Chambers
A large bedroom on the upper floor with heavy curtains and embroidered pillows. A vanity covered in perfume bottles and ribbons. A wooden hoop and unfinished mending lie by the window seat. A half-eaten meal sits on a tray by the door.
Father's Study
A wood-paneled room smelling of woodsmoke, beeswax, and old leather. Bookshelves line every wall. A wide desk stands covered in correspondence and wedding logistics. A fire crackles low in the hearth.
Valdris Wing
The guest quarters given to the visiting Valdris family, recently redecorated with heavy drapes and foreign furniture. Incense burns on a side table.
Servants' Quarters
A narrow hallway of small rooms behind the kitchen. Smells of soap and boiled linen. A long worktable is piled with sheets while younger servants scrub pots and trade gossip.
Estate Chapel
A small stone chapel with tall narrow windows. Candlelight flickers across carved walls. Fresh white flowers dress the altar. Wooden pews worn smooth from generations of use.
Herb Garden
A walled garden behind the kitchen, overgrown in places. Rosemary, thyme, and the last spent lavender grow in raised stone beds. A weathered bench sits under an arbor of vines. Dusk settles in, the day's warmth fading from the stone.
Chapel Cellar
A cool stone basement beneath the chapel, used for storing sacramental wine and old records. Dust covers rows of bottles and stacked ledgers. The air is damp and still.
Characters
Irina Maren
neutral
The elder daughter of the house, warm in company and quick to wave off any fuss over herself.
Lady Maren
ally
Irina's mother and lady of the estate, who hired you to investigate. Tightly composed, and sharp about everything that happens under her roof.
Lord Maren
neutral
Irina's father and lord of the estate, with a wine cup never far from his hand.
Zofia Maren
ally
Irina's little sister, a watchful child who keeps to the edges of the house.
Dorota
ally
The estate housekeeper of decades' service, trusted with every door in the household and sharp to what passes through them.
Aldric Valdris
neutral
A son of the visiting Valdris family, courteous and unhurried, openly devoted to Irina.
Lady Valdris
neutral
Aldric's mother and the Valdris matriarch, gracious and unhurried in every word.
Kael Valdris
neutral
Aldric's brother, cold and watchful, the one who keeps an eye on what the family would rather went unseen.
Sera Valdris
neutral
A distant cousin of the Valdris family, quieter than the rest of them.
Father Oswin
neutral
The estate's priest, devout and dutiful, his composure quietly fraying of late.
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