Silent as a shadow, Damn approaches the grim shack. Beyond the grimy windows the interior of the cottage is dark and uninhabited. The vague outlines of a table, several chairs, and a bed lie scattered about the room. The cottage whispers of neglect and decrepitude. 

Once again calling upon the strength of his deity, Hond shudders in horror. The four of you are not alone.

(OOC: So I'm out of the trance now?)

(Yes, you’re free.)

"Songs unsung... Where is Hymnal, now?"

Perception: 18

Hond turns to Hymnal and whispers, "I don't know where we are but we're not alone." Hond shudders. "And whatever else is here is evil."

Hymnal does not detect anything unusual, but the hairs on the back of his neck begin to bristle.

A Miyazaki-shiver went over Hymnal. Something wrong was nearby, something that could mess with his head; maybe more than one something.

"Who--" Hymnal's voice cracks, and he clears his throat and tries again, braver this time. "Who is there?"

Hymnal takes out his lute and prepares to cast Dissonant Whispers. It was hardly his best option for survival if he truly faced more than one foe, but without his friends nearby, it would have to do.

Three figures stepped forward out of the treeline.

"...Hond? Damn? Morton? Don't sneak up on Hymnal like that, he almost sent one of you screaming into the wilderness!"

Morton picks up on the sense of the group and prepares himself for anything.  Looking to reactively dodge at the first sign of trouble.  

“We need to make a decision or we are just going to be sitting ducks for something.”

Damn will test the door to see if its locked

The cracked wooden door is unlocked.

(OOC: Still holding that spell.)

"You mean...something else is still out there? Nine Hells, it's getting too late for this." Hymnal looks around wildly.

Perception: 8

Damn opens the door quietly and slips inside while his companions make lots of noise out in the clearing

Damn is almost blinded by the warm light which streams out of the cottage. Recovering, he is met with an impossible scene. A crackling fire roars in the fireplace to his left, and on the wooden table to his right is prepared a simple meal of warm rolls, butter, and hot soup. Directly across from him, on the opposite wall, an old woman is knitting on a comfortable armchair, while a lean white tomcat with a scarred face purrs contentedly on her lap. Several candles are scattered throughout the cottage, and a bed stands beside the armchair. 

The old woman looks up in evident surprise. "Don't suppose you know how to knock?" She comments.

Damn stands frozen in the doorway in the bright light that he didn't see through the window, hisses and jumps back outside against the wall of the house out of sight from the old woman's cat.

"What? What is it?"

The old woman hobbles to the doorway, a perplexed expression on her face. The white cat watches you solemnly from behind her.

”Would you travelers care for a home cooked meal?” She inquires, looking distrustfully at Damn. “Me and Luna don’t get many visitors out here.”

Damn stares at the cat and growls a bit.

Hymnal takes in the newcomer and her fuzzy white companion.

Well, at least she's a cat person.

"Hymnal has read and recited enough stories to know this is either a trap or a cry for help," he says to the party in a low voice, then in a louder voice he addresses the old woman, "If you wanted to see us, you could have just asked; there was no need to hypnotize Damn and Hymnal with admittedly pretty lights."

(Do the rest of us now see Damn and the woman, or still just the empty house?)