1.1 - In Search of Sanity - Prison of the Mind

Winter rushes through the Eastern doors and into the hallway with York and your group shortly behind her. Ahead of you, you see a dismal and bizarre scene. The yellow-cloaked man of recent topic is slumped on the ground in the hallway, the previously-suspended bed sheets now torn down and partially covering the man's body. Two crossbow bolts protrude from the still body, blood pooling ever closer to a nearby, bloody knife.

Not but a few feet away lies the body of one of the guards. You recognize him as the rotund balding man by the name of Ralf who had been one of the first to greet you at the barricade the day prior. He had been quick to smile, you recall, but the look frozen on his face in death is one of terror.

Three other guards stand nearby, mixed expressions on their faces but none of them looking better for the situation at hand.

Somehow all of this is the least of the spectacle, as far to the end of the eastern hallway is situated some sort of otherworldly parasitism. A mass of stringy, yellow fungus stretches across the stone blocks that line the hallway. At its heart bulges and blinks a watery eye the size of a wagon wheel, a fanged maw at its center.
 


"What in the seven hells happened here!?" York demands, his eyes shifting to the guard to his left, "Denman? What happened, man?!"
  
 
Denman snaps out of his shock at Captain York's question. "The robed man. He had been quiet the whole night, hardly a word, until just a few minutes ago. We thought he was sleeping, then all of a sudden he was like a caged animal, screaming and shouting that fanatic's name, Zendalus. When Ralf tried to restrain him, he pulled a knife and took Ralf hostage."

One of the other guards, a woman with long blond hair, still holding a crossbow in the direction of the slain man, adds, "He was acting like he was trying to leave through the east door. Don't think he knew about...that thing. We were shouting for him to let Ralf go, then he just cut him open with that knife, and Ralf...Ralf..." She quiets and moves to lean against the wall. York steps forward and puts a hand on her shoulder in comfort.

It's clear the guards had loosed bolts at the man in response.

"Get the bodies," Winter says with the tone of a defeat. "What a shame, he was a nice man. We'll speak of him over dinner tonight and I will pray to Pharasma that he may pass unhindered to the beyond," she says before turning to you.

She points in the direction of the large eye-like thing at the end of the hall. "Well, there is that. The thing growing at the end of the hall...well, there was a door there once. If you find a way to dispose of what's there now, the asylum's entry hall is just beyond. Maybe out there we can find more supplies, and maybe you can find answers. What say you? Will you help us?"
 

Aye...I'll help you. What can you tell us about that...eye? Elias says as he looks at the weird yellow fungus and eye.

"Dear gods..." he exclaimed as the group came upon the scene. His initial shock quickly subsumed to anger. "I knew that man could not be trusted... wait a moment..."
He moved to the body wrapped in the sheet to inspect it closer. He found it hard to believe that if the guards had kept him bound and under watch he'd be capable of catching them off guard like this.

His gaze went over everyone he could see. He had to know if they were still human.

"What fresh horror is this?" he whispered as he looked upon the grotesque eye with his third eye.

Iosef carefully moves the sheet in order to inspect the body of the robed man more closely. He confirms the man's hands appear to be no longer secured with manacles.

At Elias's question, Winter sighs, "We have no idea. We've left it alone and it hasn't bothered us. It's just...disturbing. We've tried to keep it covered, so as not to upset the children or any of our more delicate souls. Things are bad enough without that."

Grim grabs up his weapons and hurries to find the source of the commotion along with the others. His eyes narrow upon seeing the nightmarish manifestation on the door. He tugs on his beard and rubs his chin. "Most curious. And..it just starting growing there?" He asks.

Razhel joins in the rush toward the sound. Her eyes immediately go to the thing on the wall and she snarls. "I say we burn it, but might set the whole place aflame."

"That's right," Winter replies to Grim. "Two mornings ago, we just found it like this. If anyone gets close, it tries to attack and makes an infernal racket, so we've been leaving it alone."

Upon closer inspection of the surrounding area, Razhel notes the walls are made of stone and there isn't much nearby that might catch fire. As long as some effort was made to control the flames, its unlikely the fire would endanger the building at-large, or hurt the survivors nearby.

The guards follow Winter's orders and start to retrieve the bodies of the fallen men. They pull them away to the west, into the chapel, presumably so they can be prepared for eternal rest. Another of the guards hurries to fix the sheets back over the hallway.

"Odious," he scoffed at the eye.

"If there are more provisions beyond that thing, we'll get past it after we look around some more on this side. May I have a word in private, Winter?"

If Winter assented, he would reveal to her his ability to see the auras of shapeshifters and confirm that none are within their camp right now. He will not mention that Glasses also has this ability.

Winter seems pleased with the overall intent seeming to be agreement to align yourselves to the survivor's plight and help find a way off of Briarstone Isle.

Upon Axon's request she steps to the side and speaks with the man, who steps her through his magical survey of the room and halls. "This method of yours...if it works, it's good, but for now it seems a theory. Let me know when you've successfully identified one of these creatures with it. Until then, I will rest easier, but must remain vigilant."

She turns to the others assembled. "Again, thank you for your help, all of you. The meal was one of the best we've had, and likely will be the last decent meal we get, with Ralf gone - he was a member of the kitchen staff here before all this. And we should have enough firewood to burn to keep us going through the night, not to mention all of our seriously wounded are now fully healthy. I had been using all my energy the last few days to triage and heal the worst wounds among them. Now, come the morning, I will pray for the goddess to bless me and shall retain some of her divine power to heal any wounds your group may suffer. Come find me if you need me."As you part from Winter, York and the others, you determine to clear the northern rooms before dealing with the Eye.

Just north of the barricade, you push a door open into another small storage room. Much like the room to the north, the tremors that shook the asylum seem to have ruined several of the racks found here, which at one time likely held cleaning supplies. The air is scented of chlorine and the floor is heaped with rubble, toppled shelves, and broken containers.

"Thank you, Winter," he replied then had one last look around the chapel before his amnesiac troupe continued its search for answers and identity.

"We have to be sure this new sight imparted from the demented doctor's notes actually works," he told the others. "Winter needs to be certain... as do we all. Unfortunately, that means actually encountering one of the things in human form again."

With the newfound phylactery strapped tight, he looked over the small room with both his normal and arcane senses.