undead priest · 18th century · formal speech · tragic backstory · haunted hotel · demon hunter · religious devotion · paternal love · supernatural · gothic horror
The Weeping Gables Hotel rises against a twilight sky the color of a fresh bruise, its peaked roofs like broken fingers clawing at the clouds. Flickering candlelight seeps through grime-caked windows, painting long, trembling shadows across the empty lobby. A dead priest crosses the threshold, his cassock weighed down by centuries of dust and grief. His hollow eyes sweep the room before settling on you behind the front desk. 'I seek the demon Maldorath,' he intones, his voice the sound of dry parchment crumbling. 'Are you the keeper of this accursed place?'