The Noster Mock

1

The ladies of the night stood under what light they could find as the rain fell heavy and the moon was obscured by black clouds. They were already unhappy that they was to meet Christian on the outskirts of London, a place they were not familiar with.
They were to be picked up by carriage and taken to the manor of the moderately wealthy Lord Dayle Haney. He was offering them a tidy some for the services, and requested that they stay overnight and would be dropped back in London by the following morning.
Agness, a fairly large brunette was the leader, and was looking back and fourth down the trail waiting for the mysterious Christian and his horse drawn carriage.
"Where the bloody hell is he?" she exclaimed with both excitement and frustration. It had been a while since a person of such stature requested an overnight service; and these were something Agness knew paid quite well.
Angela was standing under the shelter of a canopy, sitting on a barrel getting more in-patient by the minute. "Fresh food, good drink and a warm bed for the night. That's all I'm thinking about." She pulled her tarnished overcoat more tightly together, the weather was getting worse by the minute. She looked up at Charlotte, who by now was also looking up the lane awaiting the carriage. She was blonde, and if you asked anyone in the public houses the most beautiful. She was also the most requested out of The Ladies Of Night, but also their newest member. Secretly Agness was jealous of the attention she got but knew she could do with the experience.
"I see something in the distance" Agness spoke, trying to look through the heavy rain and lack of light. "I think it's a carriage."
The troves of horse hooves splashing in muddy puddles made Angela step up off the barrel, and now all three ladies were trying to make out a carriage through the rain.
It was the carriage, looking ominus through the heavy rain, a dark silhouette of a man at its reeds. As it got closer the girls all became excited, a night of the streets of Victorian London doesn't happen everyday, and the fact they were getting paid for their services sweetened the deal.

"Are you the Ladies of the night then?" the driver asked. The ladies all said yes in unison, just eager to get into the carriage and out of the miserable rain and weather.
"Oright then. My name's Christian. Get in the carriage. There's towels and some refreshments. The journey back to Lord Haney's manor house should take about an hour and forty five minutes. If you're quiet."
The ladies didn't hesitate to jump in the carriage, inside was a luxurious red velvet carpet, with leather seats. The ladies didn't hesitate to shut the door and warm up inside the cabin.

2

The manor looked like something out of an old Lovecraft novel as it sat upon the hill. It was a modest sized manor, however the storm lashing down around it gave it a sinister character. A small lane led up to the front door, with an iron fence around it.
"Okay ladies. We are here. Be good to the Lord, or he will feed you to one of his many monsters''. Christian spoke with a sinister laugh. He jumped down off the front of the carriage splashing mud around the bottom of Angela's dress, before she could complain Christian pointed to the front door.
"Head up to the front door and wait for me under the porch. Your clothes will be washed in the morning. You will bathe before you meet Lord Dayle. And you will speak when spoken too. Do you understand ladies?"
They nodded in unison before turning their back and heading up the lane to the front doors of the manor. Christian started hitching the horses near a small barn at the side of the house, seemingly unsathed by the rain.
Agness was looking out to the darkness, realizing they had no idea where they were and how to get back to London. Being the wisest of the girls she also realized this could pose a problem if Lord Dayle happened to be a creep - she had dealt with many in her time.
Her mind went to the innocent and blonde Charlotte. Young and stupid she thought, Agness knew she would be dead if she had not taken her under her wing.
Christian came around the corner with a slow walk considering the weather was beginning to get heavier. He walked between the three without looking at them, and pulled out a key chain with many large and small keys.
"Follow me if you would ladies, I will show you where to wait."
"Wait?" Angela protested. "We are sopping wet!" She was struck down with a serious stare from Christian, who looked back at the lock and turned the key.

3

Christian walked them into a small room to the right of the landing. It seemed to be a hidden room used mostly for laundry, a room so small Christian stood in the doorway.
"Now get undressed. There is a small otterman behind you. Pick what clothes you like, don't put them on yet, then knock twice on the door when you have finished. Fresh towels are to my left."
Suddenly the girls were overcome with excitement and rushed to the otterman containing the gowns for the night. They rooted though it giggling and laughing, all except Agness - which the two other Ladies began to notice.
"What's the matter Agness?" Charlotte spoke, sensing her growing confusion. "There was a saying my father had. He said if something feels too good to be true then it probably is." Angela laughed. "Your father spent more time in the pub then with his head in a book. What did he know? We've struck gold!"
"I agree," Angela said, although she too had a splinter in her mind. Something she just couldn't get her head around.

Agness chose a red satin nightwear and gown, while Charlotte and Angela chose blue silk dresses - they both agreed they would make them look like princesses. They picked a towel each and knocked twice on the door, which immediately opened; revealing Christian's white and muddy face. He led them to a room across the hallway giving the girls a chance to look at the marvelous wooden staircase and purple carpet leading up to a painting of Lord Dayle sat uptop and elephant. Not bad looking Angela thought, hoping the picture was recently painted.
Christian opened the door keeping his palm on the oak wood, motioning them to enter with his left hand. Inside was beautiful. Cupboards streched down either side of the walls - black and white tiles brought the floor to life, and the centrepiece was carved bronze bath - inscribed with pictures and symbols the ladies did not recognize.
"Okay. Bathe yourselfs, make yourselves look presentable to the Lord, knock twice when you have finished. Remember what I said on the carriage." This time there was a grin on Christian's face. Agness has seen that type of grin before. Immediately after he shut the door Agness checked the room for spy holes.
"That creep ain't paying us for our services. He is not getting his kicks watching us bathe" She exclaimed.
Charlotte and Angela were all ready undressed, realizing that all three of them could fit into this unusual bath tub.
All three bathed and made the most of this opportunity, Agness even forgot about the splinter in her mind for half an hour. They bathed, dried themselves with the softest most refreshing towels they had ever had, then knocked twice on the door.
"Follow me." Christian spoke. And together they ascended the red carpeted stairs.

4

Christian opened two double doors to a sight that made the Ladies jump up and down with excitement - even agness was caught in the moment. Before them was the most luxurious meal set out on the largest table Agness had ever seen, with seven candles illuminating all kinds of perfectly cooked meat and fruit, wines more expensive than they could imagine.
"Lord Dayle will be with you shortly. Do not eat before he does, and only address him as Lord. I have errands to run and will not be back until sunrise. Do you have anymore questions?" Nobody spoke, but the splinter in Agness' mind began to torment her again. She couldn't help but replay her dad's saying over and over again in her mind. But what if he got it wrong? What if sometimes things that felt too good to be true where in fact true.
"Sit down, mind your table manners and remember what I told you." And with that Christian turned around and shut the door behind him.
The long table had four chairs, two on either side. Two are the far sides of the table. Three chairs were red, and the chair the furthest away was purple, the girls sensing that was Lord Dayles.
The food was piping hot, a roast chicken main with fruits and fine wines that lay upon and red velvet table. The girls couldn't take their eyes of the food when the main doors swung open. Lord Dayle walked in with an eliquate dressing gown, a small neatly trimmed grey beard and a bald head.
"Sit down please ladies. Let us eat and get to know each other."
The Lord walked around the table and cut them all a piece of the roast chicken, placing it on a plate with roast potatoes and gravy. "What are your names?" the Lord asked. The Ladies told them their names in unison, and all would agree that Lord Dayle was a well spoken gentleman, and easy on the eyes too. Agness was so wrapped up in the Lord's charisma she even forgot about the splinter within her mind, even becoming jealous that the Lord was focusing more on Charlotte.
"And Charlotte." Lord Dayle said. "What is your story?" Agness spoke over her, answering the Lord's question before she could.
"Charlotte is new to The Ladies Of The Night. She doesn't have the experience I do Lord Dayle." The Lord looked back to Charlotte. "Do you always let other people answer your questions for you?" Charlotte didn't reply. She had never stayed over at a customer's house, come to think of it she's never conversed with one if only to discuss payment.
Lord Dayle finished serving his food to the Ladies then sat down at his seat.
"So the Ladies Of The Night. Tell me Agness, as I assume you are the leader, no?" Agness sat upright, feeling like a schoolgirl with a crush on her teacher.
"Well Lord Dayle, I assume you've heard about the brutal killings of our workers happening in London?" He nodded, and took a sip of his wine.
"Well I like to believe that if we all banded together, and formed somewhat of a community that we would be safer."
"And what do you think about that Charlotte. Do you agree with Agness?"
"Oh. Why yes Lord. Safety in numbers and all that".
Angela couldn't be less interested at the topic of the conversation, she thought the killings were being blown out of proportion and was more interested in the wine and roast chicken.
"And you Angela. What is your story?" The Lord asked when he knew her mouth was full. It struck him as rude that she would come to his house and dine without even conversing. She chewed quickly, as Agness and Charlotte couldn't help but smirk.
"Oh I'm just in it for the money my Lord."
She let the words hang in the air for a few seconds before realizing she was being rude.
They dined and chatted more and drank wine for another hour, before the Lord finally asked them to follow him to the master bedroom.

5

The Lord lay on his bed and requested that the Ladies undress. Agness was the first, revealing her voultropus breasts, followed by Charlotte and Angela.
"Just perfect. Art of the Divine."
The lord sat upright, then fell forward and landed in a heap on the floor clutching his chest. All three ladies started to scream in unison. "Lord Dayle!" they repeated, but never got a reply.
Agness was the first to rush to his aid, lying by his side and shaking him. She couldn't sense any form of life in his body, his jaw loose and swaying.
"He's had a bloody heart attack!" screamed Charlotte, trying to get herself dressed and run to his aid. It was chaos in the room, Agness was by his side pounding on his chest while Charlotte ran out the room.
"He must have a chef, or a butler or something!" screamed Angela, until she realized that Christian must do all the work around the house. "No!" Charlotte screamed, "Christian is only back in the morning. We're in here alone and we don't know the way back to the City. With the weather it makes more sense to stay and tell Christian in the morning."
The ladies agreed, and pulled Lord Dayle onto the bed, where he lay still motionless. There were still no signs of life.
"I'm going to search the rooms anyway" cried out Charlotte, and left the door swinging behind her as she ran down the main stairs trying to find the kitchen. Agness was still beating on the Lord's chest but gave up once she realized it was fruitless. There was no other way around it. The Lord had suffered a heart attack.
"So what do we do,'' said Angela." sliding down the side of the bed. "Nothing we can do" replies Agness. "He's gone. Let's cover him up and find somewhere to gather our thoughts."
Agness leaves a note by his table side. Writing down his time of death. She looks back, and realises he was probably a good man. Anger takes over and she goes to throw Ivory Tusk on a nearby table. But it clicks and stops before it can fall over.
The house begins to creak and rattle, and a door opens up at the rear of the room. There was no light coming out of it - just the pitchest black she had ever seen. The ladies both looked at it in unison, but neither dared move closer towards it. For a moment, they forgot a dead man lay on the bed behind them.
"I''m betting there's nothing good in there. Nothing we should be looking at anyway." Angela disagreed, "And I bet there really is something good down there. Why would he have a secret room with nothing good in there?"
"I know what you're thinking," replies Agness. "And It's not happening. That's the first place that Christian will look".
Charlotte came back to the room out of breath. "There's nobody else in the house. We're stuck here until Christian gets back in the morning. What's that room?"
By now Agness and Angela were both peering in, beginning to realize it was not a room, but a staircase that spiraled down into even more darkness.
Charlotte approached holding a gaslamp, before Agness quickly took it off her.
"I will lead".

Slowly the Ladies descended down the stairs, linking hands as the spiral staircase went deeper and deeper underground, tightly, so as to not lose grip. Agness knew that if one of them was to step a foot wrong it could be a disaster.
The spiral came to a stop, and now it was just one more small staircase that led to a small wooden door with the inscription on it that read:

The Noster Mock
Please knock twice in reverse.

Below that was a strange circular symbol none of the Ladies could recognize.
"Knock twice in reverse? What the bloody hell does that mean?" exclaimed Angela. Charlotte turned around and knocked twice over her right shoulder. The door opened revealing a large room with a giant Ivory tomb in the middle. The bottom of the tomb was inscribed with pictures of elephants, hyena's and strangely pictures of men laughing and women crying. Above it, was the strange circular symbol on the doors they entered through.
"I don't like this'' exclaimed Agness. "I think we should just leave it and go back upstairs. Charlotte was already walking around the tomb looking at it's many pictures and enscribings, in complete fascination.
"Look. There's describings of parrots and egypt stuff. What do you think is in there?" Agness began to get more upset. "This is nothing good, and I hope you know that".
"There's something on the side here." Charlotte said, come and look at it. The ladies gathered round a small tablet place in a glass lock box. Agness refused to read it, but Angela insisted claiming it all to be hocus pocus nonsense.
But eventually, they all agreed to try and recite the language they couldn't understand.

Quis, clamorem qui,
Stillabunt qui rideam,
antequam ad alias noster.

"See." Angelia said. She was about to finish her sentence when they were all struck down by fear; they could hear loud scuttling and hyenas laughing a deep sinister laugh, they seemed to be running round in circles and jumping at the walls of the tomb. Then noises of parrots in distress, The Ladies began to scream, the noise was deafening, as the doors of the tomb crashed open -silence hit the room.
Calm was restored. The Ladies couldn't make it out, Agness crawled to the front of the tomb to inspect. There was nothing inside, no animals trapped, no coffin. There were no visible urns. Just a black and white checkered floor and ivory walls with no inscriptions.
Angela was the first to rise to her feet. While stood around the tomb the ladies stood in silence. Not one questioned what had happened, they all just stood shellshocked, and walked a line back up the staircase.

6

They thought their horror show was over, until they looked at the bed. Lord Dayle was nowhere to be seen, at first bringing relief to the girls, until they realized all the windows in the bedroom were sealed. Quickly they ran down the stairs only to find the front door and all the windows had been sealed. They were trapped in the manor, and whatever they had let out of that tomb was in the house with them.
"What's going on?" Charlotte cried, but no one replied. Agness was kicking herself for not listening to the splinter at the back of her mind. She knew this was not good.
Before they could speak to formulate a plan, an all white parrot landed on a coat hanger and began to eye them up. whores. whores. whores. It squeaked, then lifted it's nails to its mouth to clip. Charlotte began to cry, Angela stood in shock. Agness picked up an apple and threw it with her best shout, but it landed just east of the mysterious parrot hitting the sealed door. whores. It squaked again. Never trust a whore.
All three ladies ran to the front door trying to unseal it. It was fruitless. They were trapt, a mechanism on the door made it so it could only be opened from the outside. Somewhere where someone had made sure they wouldn't get.
The Parrot began to laugh, as they heard footsteps behind them. Three hyenas with a strange white glow stood behind them, drooling at the mouth. They started to walk closer, laughing and sizing up their meals. Charlotte put her back to the door and slumped down it, completely amazing by these glowing hyenas. Agness tried her best to get her on her feet, noticing that Angela was already running down a hallway besides the stairs.
They started to laugh and move closer - the parrot started to laugh and jump up and down on its perch.
"Please. Please, we have to keep moving" Then fear struck Agness, a deep fear she had never felt before. Charlotte's eyes had started to turn white. She seemed to be mesmerized. "Suit yourself Charlotte I'm not dying here!" Agness began to run down the same hallway as Angela, not looking back but with tears in her eyes.
The parrot, still jumping on its perch started squawking the dead whore. dead white eyed whore.
Then without warning the hyenas started tearing at her legs and arms. But Charlotte did not scream, or fight back, she stared at the ceiling with white eyes in total awe of what they were showing her. It did not take them long to grip into her. These were hungry hyenas, ripping her body back and forth violently. She died when they got to her juglar. The wooden flooring around the door was a thick red. With two wide open eyes shining a most beautiful white.
Two whores left. Two whores left.

7

Agness had found herself in the kitchen, rooting through all the cupboards and draws for something sharp. She settled on a stake knife, she needed something pointy that she could defend herself with from a distance. She climbed into one of the cupboards, hoping and hyena's sense of smell was weak.
That's when her heart rate started to increase, she could hear one looking around, just the one sniffing the air and laughing a most unusual laugh. The sounds got closer, and unless it was fate or a very unlucky mistake, she peered out the cabinet at a very wrong time.
The hyena gripped on her left foot and started to try and pull her out, she swung the steak knife violently knowing what had happened to Charlotte with her eyes closed, she must of caught it once or twice but she wasn't willing to open her eyes, she swung down near her left foot only to catch herself across the shin.
She knew it was over if she didn't do something fast; she brought the knife down and hit something - the hyena gave out an ear piercing screech. She opened one eye to see a gash down its chest, but became mesmerized by its thick white blood, but she let her guard down. The hyena pounced into the cupboard, and latched straight onto her neck, she died still swinging the knife, both eyes now permanently open and white.
One whore left the white parrot squawked from down the hall.

Angela had found a wardrobe in one of the spare bedrooms, placing herself in there because she could see a window that hadn't been sealed. She told herself she could rest up in here and then make a move for the window once she knew the time was right. "Oh no" she thought. She'd left the door open. She was hoping that hyenas had a bad sense of smell, instead she heard a bird flapping its wings and getting closer to her. It flew in the room and landed on top of the wardrobe in here. She didn't know what was on the other side of the window, only that she was on the second floor and should be able to survive the fall. Final whore the bird squawked.
She flung the doors open and ran to the window, two hyenas on her trail - she jumped with her eyes closed hoping to land on a bush. She was not lucky, she landed awkwardly on a concrete bench. She knew her ribs were broken as soon as they made contact. She rolled over to see two hyenas jumping out the window, and a parrot took flight, she turned over and started running as fast as she could, struggling for breath along the way. She made it as far as the gates before collapsing, with two hyenas chewing on her ankles. She cried out in agony, rolled over to see the white parrot flying in circles overhead. Laughing, squawking the whores are dead.

8

The sun was just rising when Christian got back from his duties. He leaped off the carriage and walked straight over to a wheelbarrow - putting whatever was left of Angela's corpse in there. He then walked over to the two white hyenas and patted them on the head. He unlocked the front door but had to give it more of a push then usual. The remains of Charlotte's corpse was behind the door. He scooped her up and threw her onto the wheelbarrow like he'd done this a million times before.
He then entered the house and was greeted by Lord Dayle. "Good sacrifice Christian. The Noster Mock shall be pleased. The last whore is in the kitchen.

Christian walked into the kitchen and immediately saw her slumped in the corner of the cabinet with a vast majority of her neck missing. He grabbed her twisted and chewed ankles and dragged her to the wheelbarrow.
"I will perform the closing rites" Said Lord Dayle. "Bury the harlots in the graveyard at the back of the Manor. I shall finish the ritual.”

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