The old house creaked like it would fall apart at any moment. Even the cobwebs were abandoned and decrepit. As the three adventurers lurked through the house, with only the pale light of a hooded lantern to guide them, they huddled close to each other, for both heat and safety.

"It's cold in here," Brave Bren said, his huge yellow Wocky hands carrying the lantern.

"Hush!" Professor Vinsjin hissed. His blue Kacheek ears were twitching. "We may not be alone in here."

Doctor Boolin, the shivering red Kiko, said nothing, keeping his mouth closed, but his wide eyes open.

They stepped up to the old bookshelf, the Professor's fingers fumbling to find the hidden latch. "It must be here somewhere!" he whispered.

"Hush!" Bren said. "We may not be alone in here."

The Professor turned and looked at him, his eyes burning. Then, he went back to the bookcase, and found the hidden latch. The bookcase turned on a hinge, revealing a secret passage and a long staircase going down.

All the way down the spiral stairs they went, like crawling down a spine. At the bottom, a small room and... a coffin.

"That's not supposed to be here!" Brave Bren said, his free hand reaching for the wooden stake in his belt. He turned to Professor Vinsjin. "Where's your great-grandfather's diary?"

The Professor shook his head. "I'm not sure. This is where the diary was supposed to be hidden. The first part of it, anyway."

"The first part of the spell that will send all of Neopia's vampires screaming back to where they came from," Brave Bren finished. Doctor Boolin said nothing, just looking at the coffin with his wide, blue eyes.

"Yes," the Professor said. "And now the vampires are returning, we must find those hidden diaries before the vampires do..."

"Or we'll never get rid of them." Brave Bren finished the thought again. The Professor nodded quietly. Bren continued. "Then, we'd better do this vampire in. Obviously, he knows about your great-grandfather's diary. And if he knows..."

Nobody wanted to finish that thought.

They stepped up to the coffin. Brave Bren was up front, their strongman. Just behind him, Professor Vinsjin, the inheritor of the Vinsjin name, legacy, and its curse. And just behind the Professor, Doctor Boolin, who never said a word.

Bren steadied his hand. "Ready?" he asked. They all nodded. He gulped once, gathered his courage, flipped open the coffin and...

"Empty!" Bren shouted.

A voice behind them answered. "Indeed," it said. The trio turned and saw Count Von Roo standing at the foot of the stairs. And in his hands was a book. An old book containing an even older secret. He cackled at them. "Now that I know the secret of the diary..."

"You'll never escape!" Bren screamed. But, it was already too late. Count Von Roo vanished into shadow, taking the precious diary with it...