The Arlington House
The Arlington House, more commonly known as the Halls of the Howling Spirit, is an old, abandoned dwelling within the Halberd. It is a faded, dilapidated structure, with tattered gray drapes visible behind cracked or shattered windows. Most people within Mythrite avoid the house, whether for superstitious reasons or for lack of care. Because of this, it is often used by the more unscrupulous crowd of Mythrite as a safehouse or meeting place.
In the olden days of Mythrite, before the Halberd was flooded with hundreds of incoming miners, merchants, and other lower-class immigrants hoping to find new fortune in the town, there lived the Arlington family. Being part of the earliest wave of settlers in Mythrite, not much is still known about the family. However, those details that are remembered paint the Arlingtons as a happy family, though their economic status was shaky at best. The mother, Eileen Arlington, was a cobbler, providing services in a small shop in the Service & Trades Corridor, and the father, Gilbert, stayed at home to care for their son.
However, after a month and a half of living in Mythrite, disaster struck the family. One morning, when the first cool winter air began decaying the town’s vegetation, the family was found dead, brutally killed in their own home. The small gathering of volunteers that would later become the Town Guard performed an investigation, asking the neighboring houses and settlements that were constructed. They all reported the same thing: a mysterious, inhuman howling noise that echoed out from the Arlington residence late the previous night. With little to go off of, the guard ascribed it to a robbery gone wrong and abruptly left the house. However, in the weeks following the residents of the Halberd began spreading rumors about the deaths of the Arlington family, claiming that a horrible spirit lived within the building and murdered the family. This is how the dwelling earned its nickname. Few would openly admit that they believed in these far-fetched tales, but they steered clear of the house nonetheless.
In the present day, the Arlington House remains abandoned. Most of the people within the Halberd know the tale of the Arlington family, and are superstitious enough to avoid its empty halls. However, there are those that don’t believe these ghost stories, or are brave enough to ignore them. For these people, the Arlington House serves as a safe haven, a place to hide away from prying eyes.
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