"Seems like some kind of curse," says Yasmin uncomfortably. "Should we go back out the gate to the garden? Or look for an alternative exit here?"
When they look about the ladies began to take in the full extant of the vanishing dream. The park, no longer verdant and full of false life, has gone cold, swathes of verdancy stripped away to reveal hard dirt and patches of weak grass. The trees themselves hold no leaves, having long ago withered and died.
No light shines upon any of you in the park or the buildings of the city, has it been enough hours yet to turn to night? In it's place an awful radiance floats above the city, vivid but emitting no light. It is not a cloud or smog per say but a nightmarish mishmash of colors, bits of purple and green amidst a blot of gray your minds are able to work out as the mass of color floats higher and higher into the sky.
Leaving.
All that remains is strands of its baleful radiance, anchoring down into the city's depths.
Yelenn initially doesn't seem to hear her companions, lost in sorrow and something else, staring down at the sword she'd drawn from the hamadryad's body, her fists clenched, breathing ragged as the dream unravels around them.
"I don't know anything about that sword other than that I'm not going to touch it. What do we do now? This was all an illusion, the hamadryad is gone, we're back to having to eke out our survival on this empty island," says Yasmin.
"Sorry, you're right. I was....distracted. We need to find shelter, I suppose head back the way we came and maybe try one of the other ways." Yelenn says shaking off the daze.
Mylyna saw the radiance take off into the sky with a mixture of horror and fascination. She was just as relieved that it was gone and wasn't sure that she wanted to go back to the town. She noticed Yelen's off behavior towards the sword and wasn't sure about the thing. It was disturbing and something felt off about it.
Mylyna shifted her position, her coils looping around as she lowered herself onto them. "We have shelter back in the town but I don't know if I want to go back there again. The town is very real, as are the people there, but I don't think I trust any of it after that...thing took off into the sky."
"Neither do I, we could head back the way we came, at the very least the forest was a relatively safe place to spend the night....nowhere near as creepy as this." Yelenn replies.
"I'm inclined to agree," says Yasmin. "And we will eventually need a safe place to sleep for the night."
"Alright, let's head there then." Yelenn says standing up.
"She should be properly laid to rest after suffering for so long." Yelenn says breaking of bits of nearby dead trees, at times hacking pieces off with her sword, to create a bed of dry wood. Arranging the hamadryad in as peaceful a position as possible, she lays her body down, uttering an arcane syllable to ignite the makeshift funeral pyre.
Being as respectful as she can Yelenn manages to arrange a pyre for the Hamadryad after a few minutes, and after a simple utterance sets it alight, that simple spark soon turning to a slow and steady blaze to completely free the woman from this accursed land.
As the fire rises along the long dead wood a morbidly pleasing scent fills the air around them.
Yasmin bows her head as the fragrance of the flowering hamadryad passes from this world to... wherever it is that faeries of the wood wind up. She lets out a tiny sigh of disappointment; the whole city was too good to be true, after all.
~~~~~~~~~
Once the pyre has ended, Yasmin says, "Although everything here seems denuded, I wonder if we can at least get something to eat. Nothing for it but to check the remains of the town, I suppose."
b]"Yes, we might as well see what's left."[/b] Yelenn says leading the way.
Heading back the way you came the market street is as dark and cold as the dead park, with all of the splendor gone revealing years and wear on the many buildings and structures. Though not to the point of disrepair.
Over at the pie stall a rather corpulent creature seems to be closing it up, though it looks nothing like the man manning it before it is wearing the same clothes, but just barely. Through its pants you can see its legs bend back, and its hands only have three long fingers. Its head, completely bald, has it jaw split apart as it breaths and mumbles to itself while it works, little claws on the end of each jaw clasping back when they reconnect.
After taking in the physical features you also notice there are various parts of its clothes and body that have a white splotchiness to them. The lack of color does not look like diseased flesh nor if some white paint was spilt on it, but rather if parts of it were and unfinished sketch.
"Over there, where the woman we spoke to was....there's a weierd pile of white powder and she's nowhere around." Yelenn says puzzled and looking at the bloated man.
Amid finishing his work he turns to the ladies, either by happenstance or feeling eyes upon his back, and gives a friendly wave while his jaws dislocate slightly in what you can only assume was an attempt at a smile before turning his attention back to his stall.
Yasmin waves back with a distressed attempt at a smile. "Do you think... none of them know they're in the spell?" she whispers to her companions.
"It's possible. It could have been active all their lives." Yelenn replies softly.
"Well... let's not break the spell. I'd rather not, um, have... hostilities?" says Yasmin, a little nervously.
"Where should we go? I'm... kind of at a loss."
"Maybe the inn is still a viable option." Yelenn says hopefully.
"We might as well see if there's food and sleep available there. Otherwise there's not really much point in staying here," says Yasmin. "The, uh, 'people' here have to eat somehow. Let's see what they've got."
Heading back to what they presume was an inn with an unfinished sign the women note that the street is completely empty. Though cold and with a darkness starting to settle they can see bits of warmth and light on the other side of the darkened windows, though notably less so with the illusion gone.
Opening the door the the group is greeted by the chime of a bell and an empty common room. Though the bell was clear and it’s sound carried it did not wake the innkeeper behind the counter who was currently using the surface to rest its head.
Dissipating whatever glimmer of hope and memories Yasmin might have began to conjure on the walk over to the building the creature behind the counter is the same as the one that was manning the meat pie stall outside. Though where that one had its girth on display this one seems to have lost all of its fat near instantly, leaving behind rolls of skin hanging off its body.
Also like the vendor this one too had a white sketchiness to its form.
"Uhm.... hello, we were looking for food and shelter if you have it available." Yelenn says politely.
The creature continues sleeping for a few seconds after Yelenn speaks to it before it begins to twitch and stir. Eyes flicking open it stands up with a yawn. Standing upright it would tower over the women if it’s back wasn’t haunched. From the thinness of its fingers and with the way its skin sloughs with its movements the rolls of skin do a good job of hiding a very thin frame in a grotesque robe of its own flesh.
Blinking as its eyes adjust to the waking world it says in a dry and whispy voice. ”Oh, welcome to, oh, the sleeping dragon inn, where you sleep... like a king... no, that doesn’t sound right...” Finishing it’s greeting, dragged on by the additional yawns, it looks over seemingly at nothing as its eyes begin to close before they flicker back open and it gives itself a shake.
”Oh, I’m terribly sorry about, oh, that. Yes, we have rooms. Five each.... meals included....” it manages to get out before it’s eyes close.
Yelenn, studies the strange man, trying to determine his nature, or at the very least if he could be trusted.
"Thank you..." says Yasmin, trailing off as the "man" falls asleep again.
She turns to Yelenn and Mylyna and whispers, "What do we do? Are these all people who were cursed on this island? Are we going to turn into things like them if we stay here? I have... concerns. And I'm not sure what we should do next. If we don't stay we should head back to the forest. If we do... maybe find a storyteller or someone who can tell us the history of this town - assuming there's anyone who isn't living in a dream."
"That sounds like the best idea. He seems genuine, but he also seems to be unable to stay awake, and I'm worried there's still some residual magic here that could lull us into their shared dream state." Yelenn replies softly.
The innkeeper’s eyes and mandible begins to twitch as he, possibly, wakes back up. Letting out a yawn he tries to stop himself when he sees the three women still in front of him. ”Whaz-oh, I’m... sorry, have I not given you your room keys yet?”
"Oh- oh, we were just wondering about pricing. We still have some errands to run, but we may be back later, thank you!" says Yasmin. She gestures to the ladies for them to head back outside.
"I don't really feel comfortable staying in this town," she says. "The illusions and the... uh... 'people' are really unsettling."
"Oh, my apologies, I thought you had already paid, thank you for your honesty." it lets out, eyes widening slightly at its misstep before they return to their half-lidded state.
"Take care now." it happily says ass the ladies leave, before crossing it arms back on the counter and laying its head back down.
"I agree, we need to get out of here." Yelenn says heading back the way they'd come with her companions. "We can try one of the other ways or head back to the forest and go from there."
Retreating into the backroads and alleys from where they entered into this city they find a familiar path meeting the alley, with no wall in sight, and just beyond that is an open gate into a familiar garden.
"Through the gate I guess." Yelenn says leading the way.
After a short walk you find yourselves back in the garden with the fountain. To the left is the door leading back into the forest, and then there are the two other gates. The one across from you leads up to the manor on the cliff, whereas the one to the right led down into the mire.
"Have you been up to the manor house?" asks Yasmin. "Know anything about it?"
"No, not as yet. The forest was as far as we got when you encountered us." Yelenn replies.
"I suppose it can't hurt to try that. It could be something good" Yelenn says slightly skeptically.
Mylyna nodded in agreement, "Anyplace we can find a bed is good with me."
"All right. Might as well check the manor house. If it's abandoned, at least we can sleep. If it's inhabited by more of those creatures, we can demurr. If it has actual people, great!" says Yasmin.
"Let's see if we can get a look at it from a distance. Shall we?"
She starts up the hillside toward the manor house, keeping an eye out to see if she can spot anyone on the grounds - gardners, servants, or residents.
Trying their luck through the gate leading out onto the cliff they can hear the constant sound of the waves belows crashing up against the rocks as they make their way up the cobblestone path towards the manor as snow begins to fall the closer they get. The flowery topiary doesn’t even run half the length of the journey, giving way to a simple lattice then to nothing restraining their movements if they so desired to explore elsewhere.
In less than five minutes (assuming a walking pace) they arrive on the grounds of the estate, bits of garden work still showing through the frost and snow. The building itself is three stories it seems, with a set of patterned glass doors inviting guests in. Behind the manor appears to be a rather large lake, and beyond that the island’s landscape turns into a mountain that crawls into the sky. Opposite the front door a bridge leads off the cliffside seemingly to nowhere.
Yasmin spots no one on the grounds. And there does not appear to be any lights in the manor, though the glass of the windows could just be stained dark.
"Could be pretty, with a bit of work," says Yasmin. She tries to peer in the windows.