NIGHT 027

[allthekeys]

|| THREAT DOWN

|| NIGHT 027: GENERAL As night falls, the temperature outside remains mild and pleasant. A light rain begins and continues intermittently over the course of the night, never seeming to last for longer than an hour at a time. It nonetheless leaves the ground damp, slippery, and covered in small puddles of mud. Early in the night, Sil, wearing a hooded cloak and obscuring scarves, leaves the castle gate into the ruins. || CASTLE In the hallways of the castle, Black-mottled wallcrawlers hunt the night. They will leave groups alone, but anyone in the halls alone is a target. The Tyger also roams the halls, trailed by a handful of salamanders. The lizards are oddly pacified so long as they remain near the ghost. The Tyger seems to be hunting the wallcrawlers, stalking them and viciously attacking any that linger in its path. Anyone armed is also a potential target. The basement is partially flooded from rain and snowmelt, puddles of dirty water flowing from cracks in the stone floor. The small creatures that some may recognize as Salamanders flee before the cold water, but encounter resistance to their retreat in the form of Leeches, large and fierce in their hunt for blood. For every salamander fleeing, there are several leeches giving chase; any leech that is bitten quickly dies, but likewise any salamander that slows falls before the terrible onslaught of squirming parasites. The battle seems endless, though it can often be stepped over; however, doing so runs a risk of being attacked by either or both sides! The door to the Steward’s Bath has been ripped off its hinges. The armoire that had been blocking it during the day is now tipped over, and piles of filthy, stained clothing are strewn across the floor. The Steward himself patrols the castle once again, with one notable difference from his usual appearance: he is not carrying his axe. Despite this (or perhaps because of it), he seems to be in a rage. He storms through the halls, giving chase to anyone who crosses his path. Luckily, he is not difficult to outrun--but even without the lethal force of his weapon, he is quite strong, and will attempt to drag anyone caught to the Cells in the basement. The mirror in the Crystal Bedroom is shattered. The vanity and floor underneath it are covered in shards of broken glass; many of the smaller pieces have become embedded in the carpet, and some of them seem to have been tracked across to the other side of the room. Nothing else in the room is damaged, and it is otherwise as pristine as usual. Now free from his prison, the Faceless Mirror Man is wandering through the hallways and rooms of the second floor. Lively and upbeat, he walks with a brisk, jaunty gait, swinging his cane as if in time to some unheard music. Occasionally, he will stop to linger in front of the mirrors in various bedrooms and bathrooms throughout the floor, tap on them several times in quick succession, then turn around and leave. It’s not clear what the meaning of this might be, but he seems very intent and purposeful in his actions. He does not appear to pay much attention to anyone else who might be in his general vicinity, although if they do approach him directly, he will swiftly stab them with a concealed knife. Anyone who spends a significant amount of time in the castle will have no trouble learning why, precisely, the Steward is without his axe. It is floating through the halls disembodied, seemingly with a mind of its own, swinging itself to hack up the walls, décor, furniture, and the occasional unfortunate intruder to its space. Not once does the axe happen to cross paths with its usual owner. It would almost seem to be avoiding him intentionally. Regardless of whatever chores the servants might have completed during the day, none of them have received any pay. || THE TOWN The battle of the leeches and salamanders continues in the wetter regions of the town. Some in the town complain of nightmares, but can’t seem to remember their dreams once they awaken, only that they were terrifying. || GARDEN AND YARD In the Stables, a section of the fence that usually contains the cows has collapsed. The herd has escaped and now runs loose in the yard, atypically aggressive and eager to charge anyone and anything in their path. The Guards are making a valiant effort to take them down and recapture, though they are clearly experiencing quite a bit of difficulty. The cattle are proving impossibly difficult to catch. A group of Hunters has flown over the gate from the Ruins and settled to bask near the edge of the garden. They seem to be lying in wait and will swarm to hunt any cow who dares to venture too far away from the herd. Servants who travel alone are also at risk of becoming prey. In the garden, the paths have begun to shift again, albeit not as quickly as before. A white rabbit can be seen in the middle of paths, fast to move if approached, but never quite going out of sight. If one follows the rabbit for very long, they will find fog slowly creeping in around them, eventually growing thick enough to obscure their surroundings - and stumble out of it into the edges of the forest outside the ruins. || THE RUINS Large shapes shamble through the ruins in groups. The Chestmouth Monsters are relentless and hungry, but not very bright; they will pursue anyone passing through, although they can be tricked and are poor climbers.