Hadrian followed his employer to a fairly large estate nestled a bit away from the rest of the city. The large, iron-wrought gates had vines growing around them and a bit further ahead lay a very wide clearing of land. Leading up to the building itself was a cobbled road. Just before reaching the house, the road curved around a fountain that had long since stopped working. the water, however, was still there. A dark, disgusting mess it was, too.

He had to cut away at the vines to open the gates, and it did take a bit of time walking to the building, but he liked the wide area. The grass was a bit overgrown, but it was more than enough for his men to make a camp.

With the money Phaedra was paying them, they could make a decent one. There was a forest near the estate, so they could cut down some wood and quickly make some houses to live in. A few beds and they were good. It wouldn't be as nice as an Inn, but it would be enough. He wasn't sure Phaedra could afford their housing otherwise, really.

Also, if they were paid to be her guards then it made sense to stay close. Though perhaps they would also fit inside the actual building. It did seem large enough, at least. But Phaedra was a Noble, so she likely would not like rough mercenaries living inside her own home. Even if she wasn't scared of so many unscrupulous men being so near her, they were also not entirely the most polite or hygienic of sorts.

They weren't Knights from well-off families, let's say. 

Phaedra made her thoughts clear as they reached the building. They had just gotten done checking the place out. It had four floors with around five or six large bedrooms on each. 

"Ruri and I will take the upper floors. Your men can have the ground and second floor. You'll sleep next to our room."

With the number of his men, it may be a bit of a squeeze but luckily the rooms really were quite spacious. As such, several could fit in a single one. The women in his company could take the higher floors, too.  Since many of them used the bow and the rooms had windows facing the gate they could take advantage of the fact to rain arrows down upon any enemies they might face.

Of course, Hadrian doubted that anyone would come to invade the estate. Certainly not in any great enough number that they would need to use arrows. But it was possible, however unlikely. 

He tried to make a point of using his surrounding to the best effect he could. Not only would doing it this way offer an advantage, it would also make the two young girls feel safer to closer to the women.

"Understood." He nodded. Then took a look around the living room, where they had ended up  again after taking a tour of the place. "This place must be worth a pretty penny." He surmised. "How did you acquire it? It's probably more expensive than what you could normally afford even with your current funds."

Oh shit, Faye thought. She suddenly shifted her eyes left and right as a quiet horror took over. She neglected the fact earlier because she hadn't believed it was real. But now....

"Um, well....you see, the thing is," She instantly moved towards the man and hid behind him in fear. "I was told that it's haunted."

She felt his entire body go taut. "What?" He hissed. "Why didn't you tell me this beforehand?" He demanded.

"Because before those Ghasts, I didn't think ghosts were real!" She gulped. "Are we in trouble?"

Hadrian stared at her hard. "What was said about the thing that haunts this place?" Suddenly the shadows seemed just a touch out of place to him. As if they were not where they should be. 

"Ah, I forgot what they called it," She apologized with an awkward laugh. 

"I don't care." He replied harshly. "Details, I need details. Come on, anything you can remember." He urged. "There's no way they would have left out it's habits."

Faye racked her brain. "It screams, I think? Er, people said they thought they saw pale figures down the halls?"

"Pale figures? Noon?" Hadrian frowned. "Figures like what?"

"...A woman?"

The number of spirits he was thinking of narrowed. "Alright. Now, this is very important. Did anyone die?"

Her heart stopped. "Um. At least five...but I chalked that up to bad luck. Why? Is that bad?"

He cursed. "It's a fucking Wraith." Hadrian scooped the girl into his arms. "We need to leave. Now."

He should have known. Only something as bad as that would make people give up on an estate like this. Normal blades won't do a damn thing against such a creature, not even ones dredged in holy water.

As soon as he thought so, a piercing wail cut through the air. 

Faye peed herself a little. "What was that?"

"The Wraith." He replied emotionlessly.