20 January 2027
Wednesday. A pair of recruits came below this week: one who had escaped a dozen rooms and one who had escaped none. A fine pairing. One to hold the lantern, one to ask why.
Two may hunt in my catacombs on most days, which the Count finds vulgar, since he needs four before he will so much as lift his lid. Friday and Saturday evenings are different. The house asks for four or more at those busy hours, so pairs do best earlier in the week.
I will be honest with beginners. My catacombs are rated seven and a half out of ten, and a party made entirely of first-timers would do well to warm up in one of the gentler rooms in the same building, among the pirates or at the university of magic, and come to me afterwards with their confidence intact.
The seasoned one held the lantern. The new one asked why. Between them, I could not have asked for better.
— Prof. Van Helsing
