"We have been avoiding dangerrous blaces ube until now." Baldrek points out as he jumps through the broken window again.
"Everrysing we founde has trried to kill us. Zate rroom is clearrly magical orr currsede and forr surre a trrabe."
"I would rrazerr beat zose rrat sings and check ze rrooms beyonde, zan head blindly towarrds zis trrabe herre."
Mya nods to Baldrek's suggestion "I agree, let's go"
Back at the library, you see the ratlings have continued their book-destroying and haven't become any more welcoming than they were the first time you saw them.
Mya concentrates and hastens both Baldrek and Tassa.
Baldrek throws his net at the closest ratling, then follows up by getting closer and swiping his trident at its legs!
Baldrek's net barely misses its target, but he's able to connect with his trident swipe, knocking the ratling over. It's difficult to see from its elevated position, but a squeak of pain indicates that the stab hits its target.
Tassa, meanwhile, transforms into a horrific abomination and charges toward the next-closest ratling.
A swarm of rats suddenly appears around Baldrek and begins to bite him mercilessly!
New Round
Mya steps back outside the room and keeps concentrating on speeding up her two companions. This is not an ideal situation, but I have got to pace myself in case something terrible comes from that dark room...
"Frreaking rrats!" He curses, kicking the pests and sidestepping, but keeps stabbing the ratling.
Baldrek slays the wounded ratling while fighting off swarming vermin. Meanwhile, Tassa spits a web at her own target...
... entangling it.
The rat swarm mindlessly follows Baldrek, continuing to bite.
Meanwhile, the entangled ratling attempts to escape...
... but fails.
New Round
Mya sees her companions being swarmed by rats, but knows there is nothing she can do about a swarm. She keeps focusing on hastening her two companions.
The rats get to him and with that Baldrek can't think straight. He jumps up and grabs the edge of the bookcase and pulls himself up to escape the pests.
He then attacks the rats from above.
Baldrek begins stabbing at the rat swarm from his elevated position, slaying many of the vermin as they climb after him.
Mya sees the crawling rats disappear as magic dissipates and the strange creatures lie dead. For the first time since waking up here she finds within herself the want to be excited, even if she cannot express it properly. She was avoiding the thought since she saw the library but with the ratlings gone, Mya finally rushes to the nearest tome and investigates it. What is it about? Where is it from? Which language is it written in?
As the last ratling falls, Tassa sighs with relief. Meanwhile, her tentacles–seemlingly with a mind of their own–begin eating the ratline corpses (crunching loudly).
Tassa's expression is a mix of surprise and pleasure.
Then she joins Mya in searching the room.
This library contains hundreds of texts, and the ratling's vandalism has all but eradicated the prior organizational structure. Nonetheless, you notice that the majority appear to be written in the Common tongue and are predominantly of a scientific, medical, or historical nature.
"I want to spend some time here and try to figure out where we are or if this room has any documentation of what might have happened here. I can keep exploring, but not for too long, my magic has been straining me."
Baldrek gets down from the bookcase, his body showing countless bite marks. "If we arre going to keeb bushing forrwarrd, I will need to drrink one of ze healing botions."
He then looks back at Alberie, who apparently stayed back frozen. "While I want to get away as soon as bossible, it might be betterr if we block ze doorrs we have not checked and rreturrn to ze chabel. Ze girrl should stay zerre. It is saferr. Since we arre doing ze heavy worrk, it seems only fairr zat zat Winterr woman take a look in my wounds, just in case."
"Once I'm in a betterr shabe, I'll rreturrn herre with you, Mya, so you can take a look in ze books."
Mya coldly assesses the situation "I think that it's better to just rest. We can save the potion for an emergency, we can bunker down with the other survivors, regardless. I will help you block the doors and we'll be back here by the library tomorrow. Also, even if we didn't get along very well, might as well warn the survivors about the three yellow-robed men we found. Who knows if they'll freak out or become ghouls, as it seems to be the case."
Now that her hunger has been sated (for the moment) Tassa returns to her human form, and nods, brushing grime off of her tunic.
"Resting seems wise. Fine to do it here, but perhaps Mya's right: strength in numbers...even if the other survivors seemed a fearful bunch."
Mya rubs her temples, it feels an eternity since she woke up in this strange building. "Let's head back, then. I'm curious if there were any developments with that strange man we rescued."
The shelves catch Tassa's eyes. "I'm not terribly tired yet. If you aren't either, I'm happy to poke around these tomes. Maybe we can learn something useful about what the f%&k happened to us!"
Mya stretches her arms "Well then, let's go for it, then."
Over several hours of research, you learn that you're in a place known as Briarstone Asylum. Located on Briarstone Isle, the asylum was founded in 4585 with the support of Count Haserton Lowls I and Rozenport’s Sincomakti School of Sciences. The asylum devotes itself to the treatment of patients with mental diseases and those in need of psychological care. Its staff also pursues humane, nonmagical treatments of such disorders. With the exception of restraints, most physical and surgical treatment methods were phased out at Briarstone over a century ago.
Briarstone... Asylum?
"I thought it was a hospital. Why are we here? Mya couldn't help but scoff at the notion of "humane treatment", it might have been true, but something clearly happened.
She yawns, almost as a reflex, and she knew intellectualy she needed to sleep, but the feeling of 'sleepiness' was not something she felt ever since she woke up. "Going through the records, we might figure out what happened or at least have a clue of what led the patients to worship another one of them... Anyway, as I said before, I'd rather sleep with the other survivors and come back here tomorrow refreshed, everyone agrees?"
"Considerringe we know verry little about ourrselves, I say we arre batients." He shrugs. "Cannot say it does not fit."
"Yes, we rreturrn to ze chabel, but I got ze imprression zat whateverr is habenninge herre, it is somesinge rrecent, so berrhabs you will not find about zem in zese books."
Tassa nods. "Yeah, we may not learn what we really need to know here...but I guess it's worth another look in the morning. Then, barring something new, we push on."
When the group returns to the chapel, Ephra'im is waiting for them. "Greetings to you, my new friends," he says in a loud voice, "I am Ephra'im. I have heard from the others that you found a way past the weeping eye. I must admit I am very curious what it is that you found there. None here seem to know much about where we are elsewise."
He spots Baldrek's injuries and frowns. "But, you are hurt! An accident, or perhaps a battle?" His eyes shine with excitement. "I have an ointment that I have mixed from natural ingredients, which should reduce your pain and swelling and speed the healing process. Would you allow me to fix you a poultice? I assure you, I mean you no harm."
Mya blinks, trying to remember the man from their previous night. But with how eventful the last days have been, she has no recollection of basically anyone in the chapel, maybe aside from Winter.
"Hello. I'm Mya. We did get past the eye, found some more survivors, but of the yellow-robed kind. We've killed some creatures and spent time at the library, but we cannot guarantee its safety for other survivors to go there."
"A pleasure to make your acquaintance." Ephra'im cocks his head. "The yellow-robed kind of survivors? Are the robes some indication of status, perhaps? Were they servants of whichever lord presides over this estate? Or perhaps orderlies in the asylum?"
The way the man asks questions makes it seem like he is talking to himself rather than to Mya. Not exactly rhetorical, but like he is poking at his own brain to see what information spills out.
A young woman with thick black hair and sea green eyes meets Ephra'im's eye. The embroidered kapenia scarf she wears around her neck clearly marks her as Varisian....though there’s some disturbing hint about her that’s hard to put one’s finger on, but that seems not quite human: A flicker in her shadow, perhaps, as though there were tentacles or insectoid features moving within her shadow.
She dresses in a practical black explorer’s outfit, and her kapenia is black as well, though embroidered with blue, green, and silver.
"Greetings. I'm Tassa." She extends a hand (flinching only the tiniest bit, as she checks to see that it really is an arm, and not a tentacle). "I'm afraid we haven't learned too much, except that there are horrors trying to kill us in every third room. That said, we found a library that might have more clues buried in it. Already we know know that this is–or was?–Briarstone Asylum. Located on Briarstone Isle...and it supposedly devotes itself to the treatment of patients with mental diseases and those in need of psychological care, using methods that are 'humane and nonmagical'...but clearly something went to s&*t here.
"Oh, and the yellow robed people seem nuts. Or brainwashed? They mostly just seem to say 'words fail' or 'Zandalus sees!', whatever that means." She shakes her head in exasperation. "After we rest, we plan to check out the library again, and then see what else we can find."
Ephra'im nods sagely as the slightly ominous Varisian woman speaks, considering her words carefully. His eyes widen at the end of her sentence, however. "Library?" he says with almost fanatical enthusiasm. "You have discovered a library?! But you must allow me to accompany you there when you go back. The worst part of this place is the lack of knowledge about who we are and what has happened to us. I presume you three also experience nightmares of being chased when you rest, and have no memories of your past? It is an intriguing puzzle trying to reason how a man named Ephra'im came to be as I am, even with the extensive knowledge that I possess, but there are so many inconsistencies and troubling paradoxes that I have had to admit defeat." He shakes his head, looking curiously at the rest of the group. "Forgive me for saying so, but all of you also have elements to your outward appearance that might seem out of place in this region, which I have deduced is somewhere in Ustalav."
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What Ephra'im Knows
- Briarstone Asylum is a hospice stuck on a rock sitting in the Danver River. It's a sanitarium - not a renowned institution, but far from the torture pit common folk often make asylums out to be.
- At some point before Ephra'im woke, a patient named Ulver Zandalus led an uprising - not a riot, but more like a fanatical religious movement. The northern halls of Briarstone are now held by his followers: the Apostles in Orpiment.
- People who sleep outside the chapel wake up screaming about an empty city and a creature dressed in rags.
Ephra'im shares what he remembers with the others. "Zandalus, I have heard that name. According to some of the other survivors, a patient named Ulver Zandalus led the uprising-- a sort of religious movement within the sanitarium originating in the northern halls. His followers call themselves the Apostles in Orpiment."
Mya rubs her eyes, mimicking other people's gestures to imply tiredness. She knew she had to feel tired, but feelings in general did not come easy anymore. "All of this information still does not explain..." she points to the nearest windows.
"Thanks for the help, Ephra'im. Of course you should come to the library. The more the merrier, we fought many strange creatures. Specially when we tried getting outside."
"I rreserrve ze worrd 'frriend' forr verry few beoble." Or he thinks he does, because he remembers none of them. Perhaps he never had friends and is just an a@+!@@@. "But ze name is Baldrrek."
He eyes Ephra'im with suspicion and then does the same for his ointments before shrugging and taking them. Being poisoned wasn't a completely bad way to go considering what they've faced so far.
"I would say ze lacke of an exit orr ze excess of monsterrs arre worrse zan ze lacke of knowledge, but zat is just me." He says, sitting on a chair. His left knee was a mess, so he massages it. "Ze lack of food is also bad. And prrostitutes, if we arre makinge a liste."
Ephra'im pretends not to notice Baldrek's distrust, though his nervousness is fairly transparent. He plainly does not want the fighter to have a bad opinion of him. "Alas, food is a problem, though Winter has been able to, ah, cleanse the meat and drink that the others have found and brought to her. I am sure you are all welcome to partake. Of the provisions, I mean, not the, ah, not any of the more, shall we say, intimate comforts you reference. But now, tell me more about this library! Did you get a look at any of the materials stored there? I suggest we leave as soon as we are all rested and restored. No reason to delay, is there?" His face twitches with excitement.
Mya is around 3ft. 4in tall with silver-gray hair that reaches the middle of her back that looks like it was tied in a braid, but is not anymore. Her skin tone is of darker gray and she looks middle age for a gnome, showing signs of age such as permanent frown lines on the forehead. Her eyes are also gray with a slight tint of orange. An artifact of colors gone by.
She is dressed in a plain dark green shirt under leather armor, brown pants and boots, carrying a bag that is half her size and noisily bumps as she runs. If not for the armor, she basically looks like dressed to work in a library.
Mya instinctively puts a hand on her belly, they spent many hours in the library and a few action-packed minutes exploring the Asylum. She was hungry but not overly so, somehow. "I agree. I have also to report to Winter what we did."
Ephra'im is eager for information about the sanitarium and the surrounding area, particularly what would have led to yellow mist outside and an invasion of body snatchers (doppelgangers). He is somewhat specialized in healing and the occult as topics, so he is always looking for anything new in his particular field.
Mya talks to Ephra'im as she walks around the chapel looking for Winter "We did get outside at some point. I was pretty confused and thought we were inside..." she waves her hand as to dismiss it "But I was just stupid. Turns out you are attacked on the yellow mist. It was a strange creature, none of us recognized it."
"I was hoping we could find information on what the mist is in the library, unlikely as it sounds. This cannot have happened everywhere, right?" for a moment, this sounded more like trying to convince herself than an inevitable conclusion.
Baldrek sits to rest, feeling they should get some sleep before going out again. "If it only herre orr everrywherre, it changes little forr us, so let us worry aboute zat laterr."
While you don't find any mention of yellow mist, there are several mentions of a "Briarstone Witch" that supposedly haunts the area with her servant: the Tatterman.
Ephra'im files this information away after sharing it with the others. "A witch, eh? And a Tatterman servant? Sounds like some sort of golem familiar, maybe. Well, let us see if we can find out anything else about this place! I suggest we head north when we have a choice, since that is where the yellow-robed fanatics come from. Agreed?"
'Tatterman... Is that the creature from our nightmares? Mya has flashes of herself being torn apart by the large creature with strange fabric and flesh.
"A witch is a good explanation as any, I suppose. Let's go."
"Ze blan is to bush srrough ze ozerr doorr in ze librrary." He informs Ephra'im. "We have investigatede ozerr barrts and endede ub trrabed by rroom zat is magically darrk."
The door opens to reveal an L-shaped hall. Mucuslike smears on the tile floor form a trail that runs between a few of the many doors here. One of the doors without the smear has a nameplate that reads "Administrator Eliege Losandro."
Mya sighs "It's doors everywhere, always." she reads the nameplate "Is this name familiar for anyone? Doesn't ring any bells."
She goes to the closes door to her left and signals for the group to get around and follow her. She attempts to check if it's locked or has traps of any kind. Depending on what she finds out, she puts her ear on the door to try to hear anything from the other side.
"Would you brreferr doorr to outside into ze mist?" He asks Mya.
Aside from that, Baldrek stands ready and armed for when something jumps at them.