"Yes?" an old man with a long face and a scraggly beard asks as the door slowly opens. He is dressed head to toe in formal clothes, and is even wearing a bowler hat indoors, which seems a bit odd. His eyes are hidden behind a pince-nez with tinted lenses, which add to his strange appearance.
"Oh, uh, hi. I'm the former owner's granddaughter? They told me to come here..." you stutter nervously, unsure whether this was a good idea.
"Yes, Miss, a pleasure. Please come in," the man says with a slight bow and indicates for you to enter. You hesitate, but can think of no way to extricate yourself from the situation, so you walk in. The old man shuts the door behind you with an ominous thud.
"Uh, who..." you begin.
"My apologies, Miss. My name is Steppan Phaunos, and I am the butler here. You may address me as Phaunos," Phaunos explains flatly, pre-empting your question. "Cait, please take the MIss' bag to her room." You start a bit when you realize someone else is in the entry. A figure peels themself away from the wall, and you cannot even hear its footsteps. When it comes close, you realize that it appears to be a young girl with dark hair and features, which would explain why you didn't notice her in the dim light. She is dressed in a traditional long-skirted maid's outfit, with even a bonnet to match. She approaches you with her eyes lowered, curtseys, and proceeds to take your bag from you.
"That's okay, I..." you start to protest, but both Cait and Phaunos ignore you. As Cait makes off with your bag through a side door, Phaunos indicates for you to follow him deeper into the dark foyer.
"I apologize for the lack of light," Phaunos says over his shoulder. "Since the old master passed, the place is not as lively as it once was. Also, many members of the staff are sensitive to light, so we do strive to make things more comfortable for them." Your head feels like it's on a swivel as you try to get a handle on what is going on. Although you cannot make out many details, you get the feeling that the house could pass for a castle on the inside, rather large and cavernous, and filled with strange sculptures and art. The only sound is the strange echoey clop-clop of Phaunos' footsteps, which make it seem like he is wearing wooden shoes. He pauses to light a candle, then leads you up the grand staircase to the first landing, at which point he pauses and raises the light. "Your grandfather was a great man, and we are all honored to have served under him." At that point you realize that what Phaunos has paused to illuminate is a large portrait of a man who bears a slight resemblance to you. That is, except for his eyes, which unnerve you. Something about them seems almost feral, and piercing.
Phaunos turns to continue up the stairs and you follow, but you cannot shake the sensation that the portait's eyes are following you, and shudder involuntarily. After entering a large hallway, Phaunos stops before a set of double doors and opens them.
"These are your living quarters, Miss," Phaunos says, leading you in. You are pleasantly surprised to find the rooms better lighted than the rest of the mansion, but the heavy architecture and strange artwork still gives it a slightly oppressive atmosphere. "Your bedroom is through there, and a powder room beyond that." You peek in the door and are relieved to see your suitcase, although the massive four-poster bed with canopy looks like something out of a Victorian horror story. "Since it is rather late, I assumed you would rather dine here than in the dining room," Phaunos states as he lifts the silver lid off a tray loaded with delicious-looking food, and your stomach growls, much to your embarrassment. "Please ring for Cait should you need anything or when you are ready to have the tray cleared." Phaunos gives a slight bow, then exits, closing the double doors behind him and leaving you alone with your thoughts.
You are too tired to care about anything at this point, and too dumbfounded to speak. Eating ravenously, you finish your meal, ring for Cait, and throw yourself into the huge bed. As uncomfortable as you feel, you are exhausted, and end up in a deep sleep. When you finally wake the next morning, it takes a while to remember where you are, but you drag yourself out of bed as the movers should be coming today with your stuff. Exiting your rooms, you find Phaunos waiting patiently in the hallway, and receive the shock of your life.
He is no longer wearing his bowler hat or pince-nez, and thanks to the morning light, you finally get your first clear look at him. The first thing that strikes you is his eyes, which contain, inside lightly colored irises, strange horizontal pupils like that of a goat. But that is not all. Sticking out from his wispy curly gray hair are a pair of long twitching ears and...horns?
"You...what are you?!" you gasp, taking an unsteady step backwards.
"A faun, naturally," Phaunos says matter-of-factly, and to emphasize his point, lifts the leg of his pants slightly to reveal a hairy, oddly-shaped leg ending in a shiny hoof. Noting your surprise, he frowns. "I was under the impression that all this had been explained to you..."