Night 022

[allthekeys]

|| THREAT DOWN

|| NIGHT 022: GENERAL As night falls, the sound of the grandfather clock reverberates through everything once again, on a more normal scale of time, calling the hour. The sky is clear overhead, the night still hot and dry, if far less oppressive than it had been during the day. A light breeze stirs. All servants and other assorted arrivals will find themselves falling asleep while the clock chimes echo, a creeping weight of unconsciousness that cannot be fought off. When they awaken, they will find themselves scattered through a cluster of buildings in the center of the areas of the ruins that are not engulfed by fog, wearing nothing but plain grey robes that look like the least amount of effort possible was expended in their construction. There is some variance in size, but not much, leaving those taller or broader wearing robes that are short or uncomfortably tight, while the smaller will find themselves in garments too big for them. Almost all possessions or normally worn objects are missing, save anything necessary for a character to function or survive and companion creatures. The front gates of the Castle and Castle Grounds are closed and sealed. Guards are visible on the battlements, and will quickly move to address any attempts at entry for the duration of the night. || THE RUINS As the sky darkens, the fog starts to recede back towards the forest. As it fades away from the ruins, the writhing faces dissipate along with it. Once the fog has settled again, it leaves no trace that they had ever been there at all. The Ruins are once again accessible to freely explore. Those who had been familiar with the area’s layout will notice the appearance of two buildings that had not previously existed. In contrast to the decrepit remains of the town surrounding them, they are sturdy, in tact, and decidedly out of place—almost seeming to have been constructed directly on top of the rubble, without any care for whatever had once stood beneath them. Those who are familiar with the castle’s basement will easily recognize one of these buildings’ contents as the hallway of craft rooms that had vanished during the previous day. In an even stranger occurrence, a Carnival is now set up in a fenced-off piece of land near the river. Its recognizably modern rides and games are not at all congruous with the relative time period or technology level of the Keep. In the more derelict areas of the ruins, twisted shapes dart over and through remains of buildings. The wallcrawlers show no signs of black mottling, but remain twisted mockeries of vaguely human figures, traveling in small packs. They are quick to attack anyone roaming the ruins alone, although they will avoid groups of two or more. Several of the Clockwork Creatures are near the riverbank. They carry battered metal buckets, and are methodically stopping at the river, drawing water from it, then carrying the water to pour over the roots of a large, gnarled dead tree several meters away from the river, forming a loop as they each draw water, carry it, pour it, and head back for more in turn. They ignore passers by, but are hostile if disturbed. The Carousel is spinning. The Jester sits atop one of its horses, dressed in his usual ornamental trappings. His face is painted up and he stares straight forward, his eyes glazed over and seemingly lifeless. Gilly follows behind him, flying in time with the carousel without pause, strangely never seeming to tire.