Orian ended up finding Razor not at her personal residence, but in an administrative building located near the center of the settlement higher up the peak.
Currently she was having a rather 'heated' argument with several different griffins. After a few minutes she noticed Orian waiting for her.
She dismissed the griffins who stomped out of the room with pouts on their avian faces. She sighed before inviting Orian closer with a gesture.
"Trouble?" Asked Orian.
"It never ends, whenever something new gets constructed, people always insist on owning a piece of it!
You remember the tunnels I asked your father to build to connect our two city quarters together?" Asked Razor.
"Of course... I believed it was quite an extensive project? It spans a pretty significant portion of the mountains connecting us?" Stated Orian.
"Well those bird brains got it in there heads that it would make a good tourist attraction! They're constantly here trying to convince me to approve plans to build businesses into the tunnels itself.
I keep telling them, it's a emergency tunnel, not a shopping bazaar!! But they just can't get that in their heads!!" Exclaimed Razor.
Orian shook his head.
"Don't they realize that if enemies came there, their venues would become a battlefield?!
Increased foot traffic through there and constant construction would weaken our ability to defend it and put the entire settlement at risk?" Stated Orian.
"That's exactly what I said, and yet they just won't drop the topic!!" Exclaimed Razor.
Who seemed on the verge of ripping her feathers out.
She took a deep breath to calm herself.
"What brings you here, Orian? I don't think you've ever visited here before?" Asked Razor.
"I need information on one of your residents, a dragon by the name of 'Tanwen' and her daughter 'Lavender'." Asked Orian.
"Your friend? Why look here? She isn't one of the residents here? I don't think she even visited here before?" Stated Razor.
"According to the school records, she stays here!! Could you be mistaken?" Asked Orian.
"Trust me, Orian! I know everyone that stays here by name! Even the children! They are definitely not staying here in the Sky Quarter!" Stated Razor.
"Then why would the school records list them as staying at Raven's Hollow?" Asked Orian.
"Raven's Hollow !! Now I know there's a mistake!! No one lives at Raven's Hollow!!" Exclaimed Razor.
"What makes you so certain?!" Asked Orian.
"Because I've been trying to convince people to stay at that place for months! Every time I think I finally found someone, they come running to me begging me to find them another residence.
I'm even considering having it torn down and rebuilt. " said Razor.
"Why? What's so bad about that place?" Asked Orian.
"Local stories are that it's haunted. It's always had something of a sinister reputation after it's last owner 'Raven' was discovered to be a death mage.
But people who stay close by have been reporting strange noises and lights at night. Personally, I just think it's bored kids playing pranks! You know how kids are.
But people who stay there reports strange smells, noises and sights. Things moving at night, that sort of thing." Stated Razor.
"What happened to it's last owner?" Asked Orian.
"Raven? Found dead in his home one day. No wounds on his body, seemed like his heart gave out, but some people believed he was killed by an spirit he summoned. "
Orian had heard about that incident from his father. Raven was a researcher into anything related to death and the afterlife.
His goal was to create a encyclopedia about anything related to what happened after death for a wide variety of creatures.
He gathered his information by interviewing spirits who had passed on after death. And not all of them liked being called up like that.
Based on his notes, his last topic was about the draconic afterlife called Elysium and he was attempting to contact spirits who had passed on into the realm.
Necromancy or 'Death Magic' wasn't 'technically' illegal, though several of it's practices were and people tended to frown on necromancers, even when using the legal arts only.
Summoning and communing with spirits wasn't illegal, but binding them against their will was, as was the creation of undead, or using necromancy to extend one's life through unnaturally means.
Raven never broke the rules, but people were still wary of him.
"Do you think I could go have a look?" Asked Orian.
Razor retrieved a key from her desk and handed it to him.
"Knock yourself out, but I feel it's a waste of time. I suppose if you do encounter spirits there, as a Lumomancer your more than equipped to deal with them.
Maybe you can finally solve this problem for me!?" Stated Razor.
After getting directions to the dwelling from Razor, he walked through the settlement until he stood in front of the gates of Raven's Hollow.
And seeing the place up close now, he understood where the rumors came from.
A small patch of land leading up to the entryway and which was surrounded by a cast iron gate had been set aside for a small garden, but all the trees and plants around the garden had long since withered and died.
Two large oak doors was built up against the mountain and led to the mansion that was built into the mountain.
A large, wide balcony extended from above the doors that had several wide windows that had been covered up by curtains.
Orian imagined that the place may have been beautiful at some point but that time had clearly passed.
The paint covering the stone entryway was long since peeled, and several windows were broken.
The wind howled though the abandoned dust filled halls, the bare branches of the long dead oak that no doubt crowned the once beautiful garden scrapped up against a window.
Further adding to the eerie atmosphere.
The place looming over the settlement like a long dead carcass of some long forgotten beast.
Orian swallowed and carefully opened the gate as he made his way through the garden.
He pushed on the doors and much to his fear, he found them unlocked.
"Get a grip on yourself, there's nothing to fear!! It's just an old house!!" Reassured Orian.
He stepped into the wide entry hall and looked around.
"See!! Nothing to worry about!!" Thought Orian.
A loud eerie moan echoed through the abandoned rooms a moment later!!