A mission so close to his recruitment didn't seem prudent, but who was he to complain? Checking out a place to make sure that it would be ideal for Rocket expansion? Seemed easy enough. But it was always the jobs that seemed the easiest that proved to be troublesome. They wanted a place closer to the island that had taken form from the tectonic shifts below? So be it. Working in the shadows seemed like the best course of action. Dewford was a small place to start, so locals would be on high alert if they noticed a stranger laying claim to some abandoned house.

It took some finesse, but after he managed to pick the lock, the rest was as clean cut as it could be: get in there and get rid of what didn't belong. Which realistically, that was everything. The house felt ice cold as he took his first step in. The chill that crawled up his spine earned a shudder from the man. Time stood still in the surprisingly well preserved home. Sure, a few things looked broken: windows, vases, doors on cupboards... But the building seemed frozen in time. Despite how the place looked to be ransacked, it seemed everything remained.

This made his job feel all the more tedious.

"The person we're pairing with you is a bit... Eccentric," the higher-up explained.

Eccentric, he could handle. But as Schuyler glanced at his watch, his lips twisted into a frown. He didn't care much for tardiness. Then again, the two had come separately. It posed the possibility that his partner had gotten lost. Though the moment he heard footsteps approach was the moment he whipped around and spoke curtly.

"I was under the impression you weren't going to show," he admitted. "They said this place is haunted, but I'm not a firm believer in the supernatural I must admit. I hope you're not one to frighten easily."

As if on cue, something in the other room clattered and came crashing down against the tiled floor of the kitchen.

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ARIADNE MAUCH