[This continues the story of Rogier the bard, a warforged called Gravedigger and a goliath paladin known as Uthmar Shatterstone. They have arrived at the mysteriously deserted town of Everaska in the Hills of Lost Souls area.]
DAY 13
For some reason, this morning Uthmar decided it was time to wash his nether regions so he went down to the river to perform this task.
He found that the water was pleasantly temperate and he spent far too long squatting over a hot spring.
After lunch time then, they walked into Everaska via the main gate. The town was indeed deserted and our erstwhile heroes searched some of the houses near the gate, looking for clues as to what could have happened.
They all started to have a weird otherworldly feeling as they went from house to house. Food still sat at the dinner tables, although it was now rotten. In the larders, potatoes had sprouted and then dried out.
Gravedigger noted that tables were set and beds were made, suggesting whatever had happened had happened during the day, probably in the late afternoon.
'Are we not looking for a tower?' Rogier asked, confused by Gravedigger's outburst of the other day. They all agreed that someone had mentioned a citadel though and they went in search of that.
They walked into the centre of town. Gravedigger heard a voice in his head - "Break the circle. Let the truth in."
He also studied the lawns in the gardens. The state of the grass suggested that several years had passed.
Rogier noticed some slogans or phrases written on some of the exterior walls. It was written in a language none of them could read.
They looked around the shops in the centre of town, a butcher, a baker, a fishmonger. On one wall, written in common they saw:
"Our reflection is our truer form. Our flesh is the lie."
Gravedigger went into the butcher's and noted that all the meat was well rotten. He then found an outhouse with a newspaper in it that was dated:
28 Alturiak 1687 DR
Gravedigger thought it odd as he thought the date was:
7 Flamerule 1703 DR
[Please note, dear reader, that both these dates are far in the future from the time of me documenting this tale, so the God's only know what was going on here!]
Cautiously they approached the inner wall and a large closed gate that led to the innermost district of the town.
Rogier started by firebolting the door, but stopped when Gravedigger asked him to. Uthmar then tried to throw Rogier over the wall, but since it was at least 25ft tall, the result of this experiment was about what you would expect.
As they mucked about with that, Gravedigger opened a side door by cutting through a small metal bolt with a chisel.
The biggest building in this district was a large fortified building that looked like lord's castle or garrison. Perhaps a mansion house that had been fortified and turned into an army barracks.
As they walked to the main gate a voice in Gravedigger's head said:
"Soon you'll remember who you were, what you are."
Gaining entry wasn't difficult and they entered a large living area through the main hall. Rogier lit some candles with his Firebolt spell.
Gravedigger looked at the bookcases. They seemed unremarkable, but some appeared completely fake, with books attached to each other and the case they were in. Suspecting it was a hidden door, Gravedigger looked for a switch but could not find one.
Uthmar had found a suit of armour stood beside an interior door that he wanted to try on, but it all seemed to be joined together somehow.
Gravedigger looked at the armour's feet, they appeared to be glued to the floor.
Curious, Gravedigger then went around trying to pick things up or move things around. Some things appeared normal, while others appeared fake, bonded to other objects or the floor.
It appeared to be a phenomenon restricted to the building, nothing that they had brought in with them was sticking together. They moved on and entered a bedroom. Uthmar looked in a mirror on a dresser and noticed that there seemed to be a delay in the reflection. Gravedigger looked and waved his hand at it, but it appeared normal.
Rogier took a good look and reported that he saw "dark and terrible things".
Uthmar wanted to detach the mirror from the dresser but Rogier told him to stop.
"Don't tell me what to do!" said Uthmar, but he backed off none-the-less.
Rogier waved him away and said he had only been joking.
Uthmar growled and went to lift the mirror.
Suddenly the doors slammed shut and walls began to twist. Tentacles reached out from the floor.
No one had time to chastise Uthmar for his careless curiosity. Gravedigger, who had been in the living room at the time, avoided the tentacles and went to the main door and booted it open.
Uthmar jumped out the bedroom window. Rogier followed Gravedigger but was grabbed by a tentacle. With Gravedigger's help he escaped and they tried to get out through the hall. Next it was Gravedigger's turn to be grabbed by a tentacle, but between the two of them they wrestled their way out of the tentacle's grasp and out the front door.
Meanwhile Uthmar had made his way around the building. On the side of the house was a giant eye surrounded by six smaller eyes. Uthmar attacked whatever it was, the face of the monster-house or something, but missed.
Once they were all outside they backed off, but Uthmar could not resist one last poke at the giant eye. This had the effect of awakening the monster.
The entire mansion seemed to be a giant mimic full of smaller mimics.
Not wanting to fight such a huge monster they ran for the main gate as fast as they could!
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