Henry Ford Hospital stays quiet around Thadeus’s bed. The monitors hum, the room bright and sterile, as Elias and Marla step in with tired faces and urgent eyes.
Elias
We found her. Or close enough to matter. The Grimoire kept pointing east, then locked onto one place in London.
He lifts the Belmont Family Grimoire. Its pages give off a steady, ominous pulse, like a second heartbeat.
Marla Brewer
I pulled satellite shots while he checked the book. This castle was supposed to be gone decades ago.
Marla sets her laptop on the tray table. The screen shows a black, jagged silhouette on open ground, a structure that should not exist.
Elias
Castle Proserpina. Outskirts of London. If Erzsebet is hiding there, this is where the month starts counting down.
Thadeus Jovanović
The castle appears where nothing stood just days ago.
Marla looks from the screen to Thadeus, waiting. Elias holds the book a little tighter, as if it might burn.
✓ Quest Accepted
Reach Castle Proserpina
✓ Quest Accepted
Pursue Erzsebet in London
“Thadeus looks Elias and Marla, "This is excellent work. Nice job, both of you. Elizabeth, does the castle look familiar to you?" She shakes her head, "I was barely a newborn when I would've seen the castle. When I started developing memories at the age of three, I was already gone in Wallachia. This is first I recall seeing this castle."”
SUCCESS (Legendary Reasoning, rolled +1)
Thadeus thanks them both, and the room eases a fraction.
Elias
We kept the trail clean. That was the point.
Marla Brewer
I just wanted the lead to hold. It did.
Thadeus Jovanović
Elizabeth, does the castle look familiar to you?
Elizabeth Bathory
No. I was barely a newborn when I could have seen it. By the time I formed memories, I was already gone from Wallachia. This is the first I recall of that place.
Her answer hangs in the sterile light, and the glowing Grimoire pulses once against Elias’s grip.
Marla Brewer
Then it is not just a memory site. It is a real place, and it is still standing.
“Thadeus feels exhaustion catching up again. Thadeus says to the group, "Sorry team, I'm starting to feel tired again, I should try getting some more rest." Marla responds, "Agreed, no need to apologize. We heard you're supposed to be able to get out tomorrow”
Thadeus Jovanović
Sorry, team. I am starting to feel tired again, so I should get some more rest.
Marla Brewer
Agreed, no need to apologize. We heard you are supposed to get out tomorrow.
The room stays calm, the laptop glow steady beside the bed, while the Grimoire’s emblem gives one faint pulse in Elias’s hands.
“With that, Elias and Marla say their goodbyes to Thadeus and leave. Elizabeth walks up to Thadeus, gently lifts his head, and kisses him, her lips warm, "Get some rest. Let that be something to motivate you to get better soon." Thadeus smiles, "Don't have to tell me twice." Elizabeth steps out of the room, the silence now hitting Thadeus. He smiles to himself, and closes his eyes, getting some additional rest. He feels like he's fully recovered from his injury, and one more night of rest will have him ready to start preparing for London.”
Elias and Marla exchange quiet goodbyes at the door, then slip out, leaving the room softer and smaller. Elizabeth crosses to the bed, lifts Thadeus’s head with one gentle hand, and leaves a warm kiss on his forehead. The silence settles, easy and welcome.
Thadeus Jovanović
Don't have to tell me twice.
Elizabeth steps away, and Thadeus lets the stillness hold him. He closes his eyes, already feeling the rest doing its work, with London waiting on the edge of tomorrow.
“Thadeus is able to sleep peacefully through the night. He doesn't have any dreams, but as gets out of the hospital bed, his mind wanders to the future that awaits Elizabeth. He walks into the bathroom attached to his hospital room, and puts back on his normal clothes. He looks at himself in the mirror, thinking, "Everything looks good, and feels pretty good." He thinks he's fully recovered. After a quick visit to the nurse station, he checks out and leaves the hospital, standing in front of the entrance.”
SUCCESS (Legendary Agility, rolled +0)
The night passes cleanly. No fever, no dreams, just the slow mercy of sleep and the steady hiss of hospital air.
Thadeus swings his legs out of bed and crosses into the bathroom, moving with the easy certainty of a body that finally feels like itself again.
Thadeus Jovanović
Everything looks good, and feels pretty good.
He changes back into his normal clothes, the familiar weight of them settling into place like armor.
In the mirror, his face looks tired but whole. The old injury is not the story anymore, not tonight.
At the nurse station, he signs out without drama. A quick exchange, a final nod, and the papers are done.
A few minutes later, Thadeus stands just outside Henry Ford Hospital, cool air on his face, the city waiting beyond the glass.
Quest Complete
Recover from the hospital stay