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Logbook of Bit - Entry 001
A very peculiar incident happened. Having pondered on the causes and implications for an appropriate amount of time, I have decided to approach this curiosity as I would handle any difficult problem: I will write down every aspect I encounter as well as my thoughts upon these matters for later study. In so doing I will be able to rearrange these observations into a coherent picture allowing me to find a solution and remedy insofar as possible.
But first things first. I seem to have lost my memory. Well, technically most of my memory. What is left over is blurred and only appears in incoherent figments. I have attempted to order them chronologically as well as possible:
… an enormous hill made of metal … fire and lightning … wandering through vast plains … a group of humans in hide clothing and massive swords … they attack … a bright flash … the large man falls down with smoking a hole in his chest … the warriors flee … more people but with fine cloth and strange weapons … ‘come with us’ … a cage on a wagon … freezing and hungering … travelling through hills and mountains … flapping wings ... … a market in a town … acid and mist … a mansion … the master makes creatures appear … we study his book … a construction workshop … the master is angry - must flee … reappear in another place … and then - blackness ...
In this blackness I was wandering for what seemed like a lifetime. My last memory - was it real? - is that a yellow fog appeared. I was running away, but the fog crept closer. Interestingly, elongated structures - what turned out to be tentacles - materialised from it, but I was somehow able to evade them. Then a crossroad - should I follow the path downhill or rather climb the hill? From the fog a voice emerged - ‘up’ or was it ‘up me’? From a rough estimate of the fog density and pressure I decided the wiser path leads uphill, but my calculations were wrong as the fog ascended much faster than anticipated. A creature appeared through the fog - a leathery humanoid - and uttered another word - ‘save’. I could not make sense of this incoherent babel and instead decided to stop the creature. Turning around I held my hands up and a strange liquid formed on them - only to disappear in an instant. Before I could run away further, the creature mumbled ‘WAKE’ and slashed at me. As it slit my throat, the words rearranged and I heard a shrieking voice screaming ‘Wake up! Save me!’ - And then I woke…
As I opened my eyes I saw what had become my fate. I was locked in a cell. Inside, a creature unlike any I ever had seen or read about - as if a human and a cat had mixed their essences - was I save from her? Outside, a man strapped on a table, obviously the source of the shrieking voice. A woman with a scalpel cutting into his flesh. I quickly decided that staying in the cell with the cat lady (Mrriaál, as I later learned) was 78 per cent less likely to result in fatality than dealing with the scalpel lady - so I remained silent. There was no clear indication on whether the man deserved his treatment anyway. At this point, however, the cat lady started to quite strongly hammer at the cell bars. Was she trying to distract the lady or cheering for her? Or was she hungry and demanded food? It is awkwardly hard for me to read the intention of others.
No matter her intentions - the result of her action was the scalpel lady coming at us and shouting ‘You’re next!’ to the cat lady. Before I could reassess the situation, the cat lady grabbed her through the bars and started to strangle her. Given my apparent association with the cat lady and the scalpel lady’s obvious intentions, I recalculated the likelihood of fatality and determined that leaving the cell and trying to kill the lady before she kills me was arguably the better option. I thought the bars would be an impossible obstacle, but while thinking ‘I would be rather on the opposite side’ I suddenly disappeared and reappeared five feet away from my cell. I have a theory on what happened, but I need more data to verify it.
As the scalpel woman was held tightly by Mrriaál (i.e. the cat lady), I took my chances and calculated the appropriate vectors to snatch the keys from her belt (it turns out that choosing spherical coordinates simplifies this considerably). The number of unknown variables was low enough for me to succeed, so I held the cell keys in my hands. Quickly I opened the cell door so that Mrriaál could escape, but she would not loosen her grapple. So I took a scalpel from the table and slashed at the woman. However, while my attack vectors were appropriate, I lack the necessary strength to harm her. From the opposite side of the room I heard another voice - a cowering man - or should I say boy? - also in a cell. He waved at me pointing at my hands. What did he want? Discuss my attack vectors or was was he excited by something? Would he hurt me? I couldn’t tell. Anyway, I did not take any risk and continued to slash at the vile woman. From the other side a small creature approached us. I could not see much of it as it was engulfed in shadows, but it was obviously on our side trying to chain up the evil woman.
Then she broke free of Mrriaál grasp, who in turn left the cell to attack her again. My suspicion that the woman was not human solidified when her hands turned into claws. A fierce battle erupted between the two beasts until both seemed to drop to the ground at any moment. As the man/boy in the other cell cast a soothing magic on me, he revealed himself to be on our side, so I went over and handed him the keys. Sadly, I miscalculated my relative safety, since the clawed monster jumped and stabbed at me. My last thought was ‘Has my blood always been blue?’. Darkness followed.
When I woke up again the fight was over and the beast had been slain (so had the man on the table - but I digress). My companions in misfortune had saved and healed me. The man/boy is called Tam and seems to be a priest of some sort. The little creature actually is a halfling woman named Lorena, and she has magical powers. Still, she is constantly moving in the shadows, so I have not been able yet to study her closer. Time will tell. As I was investigating the room, suddenly, a bird appeared on my shoulder. Strangely, I seem to have a connection with it - as if… His name is Nat, and he is a fine example of an ara ararauna - remarkable bird, lovely plumage! He seems to put talking before thinking though - this might suit me well.
We searched to room somewhat more and found interesting items - I took a crossbow, a pen with some ink, some candles, a pouch with odd contents, and a magnificent book - a spell book! Some memories came back! My spell book! I used it to cast arcane spells. This required some study! While the others climbed up the vents of a furnaces (or whatever else these people did), I devoured my spell book (not literally - obviously). Lorena pulled me back into reality and suggested to follow the others. I didn’t see why, but staying down here alone did not seem wise either. Climbing up was easier than what a simple cylindrical model would have implied.
On the upper floor there was a bit of a mess - Mrriaál had played with some mice - but there were some left, so the consensus was to leave the room as fast as possible. Outside some people were barricading in a hallway - were they monsters, too? I couldn’t tell. But they would not let us join them anyway unless we bring them three monster corpses. Was this some exotic form of mating ritual? I couldn’t tell. Our group was very undecided on how to handle this, so in the meanwhile we followed the hallway in the other direction. At least the other people told us were we are - an asylum. This does seem to be the most logical explanation. You lose your memory - you end up in an asylum. So there’s that.
Opening doors only led to big omnipedes attacking us. At the end of the hallway a massacre had happened - the only survivor, an elderly woman - or was she? I couldn’t tell. But the others told me to stay behind (maybe I smell strange). As if they had know - had they? - the woman transformed into a vile monster and attacked. Luckily the individuals in my group know how to deal with these situations. They slaughtered the old lady. She probably deserved it - Nat (suddenly in the form of a corvus corax) confirmed this. Exploring the asylum further only revealed more monsters - a dislodged head and hands - and a ghoul. I wonder when we will meet civilised people?
I shall see how I can escape this unpleasant situation. It is hard to concentrate in here - it is as if I sometimes heard some mumbling - but when I turn around there is nothing. And it triggers … feelings? Is it anger or joy? I cannot tell… yet…