The Journal of Harren Smoulder Entry #13

I woke in the early morning while everyone else was tossing and turning in their sleep. Even if I was the only one who wanted to help Mollie find her man I was going to find him. I slipped out through the front door without so much as a creaky floor board protesting. I couldn't find a single soul out at the time other than the man still attached to his post. With no one else to talk to I struck up a conversation with him. While he was a dubious character he didn't seem to be lying, what reason would he have to? He spotted a crestfallen man wearing glasses walking in the direction of the old cathedral yesterday morning. I left him a handful of nuts as thanks for the lead. He didn't seem to understand that they were meant to be eaten, instead he tried to use the hard shells to free himself.

The innkeeper was spooked when I came in. She'd just begun preparing breakfast. I was relieved to see bread and eggs in her hands instead of mystery meats or mushroom caps. Zanvar came downstairs and joined me at a table. I slyly suggested that today we all take a look at the cathedral to learn a bit more about where we are. He was agreeable, so were Few and Eric when we talked over breakfast. I don't think anyone other than me felt strongly about going to any particular place. On our way out of town we came across Annie and Diedre whiling away their morning. They were happy to use the excuse of showing us around to go do something more interesting.

It wasn't so far off the path we took to reach Dragonhallow, just a detour around a few especially large mushrooms and we could spy the collapsed peaks of its roof. Shattered stained glass windows lined either side depicting a story that could never be understood with so many parts missing. Best any of us could make out was there was a dragon and it talked to someone. The inside was beyond dirty. So many dust covered pews riddled with insects reduced to splinters of wood. Sitting on a step in front of a disheveled alter at the very front of the room was a smart looking man with a book. When he saw us he sighed.

His living situation is beyond absurd. He was the man with glasses I was looking for, but also the man who used the magic coin wishing for a wife. After making that wish Mollie entered his life. He'd gotten more than he'd bargained for with her so he'd been trying to devise his escape with every free moment he had. He'd been hiding in the place he'd found the coin trying to find a solution or atleast a little peace and quiet from Meh's incessant hunger and Mollie's constant nagging for more children. He's a pitiful man living a pitiful life.

He refused outright to go back home, instead offering us more treasures like the coin in exchange for our silence. I was unmoved but everyone else was keen to allow him to run away. He tapped a series of tiles on the floor triggering a mechanism. The alter slid along a track when he pushed. He led us down a secret staircase to a small chamber he'd been using as a hideout. It seemed like a small church within a larger one with seating for the congregation in front of a podium with holy text for the head to lead worship. He'd laid out his provisions and sleeping bag in one corner next to a cupboard. Once we'd all spread around the room looking for our treasure the fink showed his true colors. He crept back up the stairs and blocked the entrance with the alter, trapping us inside one poorly lit little room.

After we'd all sworn our revenge we set to finding a way out. Eric was quick to dash any hope of digging a way out. Diedre and Few were smashing chairs against walls mostly out of frustration. I was at a loss as to what could be done other than examine the underside of the alter. Zanvar and Annie were the only ones among us making progress. They'd been reading over the sheets of paper on the podium. They were special sermons written in a draconic language designed for the most dedicated to use in a trial of their faith. Repeating a portion of it, “Eternal revenge to the foolish mortals.” caused a previously invisible mural to magically light up. It showed a dragon selecting a few people to take into its cave. They were the best in their own fields, magical research, martial prowess, crafts of every variety, and the most beautiful artists. When I touched it the light faded, and the wall along with it.

Through the new opening was a small circular room hardly big enough for the six of us to squeeze in. Scuffed markings on the floor were beyond our recognition. A hum started emanating from the center as our exit was cut off by a shimmering barrier. Zanvar pounded on it but it didn't give. The hum grew to a deafening volume. I fell to my knees as lights filled my eyes, blinding me for a moment. When my vision returned I saw my friends in an awful state. Zanvar had fallen and was trying to to pull himself back together. Few had started heaving leaving a streak of vomit on the wall. Annie's knees wobbled like a new born fawn's. Diedre had fallen on the floor clutching her head and screaming.

I tried to stand but I couldn't. I reached to the wall to help me. A small, stubby, pudgy, dry hand pressed against the stone. I recoiled, holding the foreign hand to me chest. It brushed up against bristly fur that tickled my nose. Turning my head I sneezed, right into my own face. I yelped, and my doppelganger let out his own. Few was the first to talk after wiping her mouth. “It's been so long since I've had the misfortune of a stomach.” She began explaining what she thought had happened. She was in reality Zanvar, and apparently Zanvar was really Few. She said that the markings on the floor must have been a magic circle infused with a certain spell designed to discombobulate those who undertook the trial by swapping their spirits and their bodies. Few had exchanged with Zanvar, Diedre with Annie, and I with Eric. For clarity's sake I will be referring to people as their spirits, not their bodies from now on.

Few was able to work with Zanvar's body enough to manage walking. The barrier lifted itself and we all stumbled out to a room that wasn't there before. It was rectangular with four statues made of the same magic the barrier was. Each statue was of a man in different poses like flexing muscles or meditating. At the back of each man was a raised platform. It was clear we were supposed to imitate the poses but we had significant problems being unfamiliar with our new bodies. Eric was having the most problems, tripping over his feet and wobbling constantly. Of course, he tried to do the most difficult pose standing on one foot while hooking his arms to his sides. He made my body look like a damn chicken and he couldn't even do it well! We eventually held the poses with a little help from the two who weren't posing themselves. Another wall vanished, and another hallway was revealed.

At the end of the hall was a smaller square room with murals etched into every wall. In the center of the room was a drain crusty with blood, and next to it were two skeletons. Carved into a plaque was the message, “The maiden's sacrifice is necessary for life.” Eric barked orders trying to find a volunteer to spill their blood, Zanvar's, Annie's or Diedre. It was a stalemate, no one ever wants to be hurt. Annie said it wasn't blood that we needed but water. She pointed to one of the murals depicting a mermaid in a desert with a pitcher of water. Instead of using it to breathe, she was holding it out to a man crawling on his hands and knees. I poured one of Eric's waterskins into the drain, but instead of water there was some foul smelling liquid I swear would eat through a man. He lunged at me but fell short, shouting that his god would come down on my head for wasting his drink. How was I to know? He poured out mine, and the mermaid wall was no more. A shame really since it was such a nice piece of art.

All that was behind was another long hallway that abruptly ended at a white wall. Another plaque at my eye level read, “Use your head to paint me red, inside of thee resides your key.” Eric took this to mean we had to literally smash our heads open on the wall. He started repeatedly whacking against the wall but was only hurting himself and making my face black and blue. If he wanted to leave my body bruised for my return I'd leave his broken. It was spiteful and I'm not proud of myself but it is what happened. I ran at the wall as fast as I could, crashing head long into the plaque. For a moment I couldn't see or hear, but I could feel the blood rolling down my forehead. Once my senses returned to me I smeared it into what vaguely looked like a key. The white wall was gone, and a door was left in its place.

The door looked like two slabs of stone set next to one another. An archway of twisting carved fire rose up to meet the face of a dragon. Its curled tongue had a message on it. “My truth and my words open the way for my entourage.” Zanvar immediately spoke up, the scripture he'd read earlier fit perfectly. The stone ground against the floor slowly until our path was clear. Inside was a room lit by the flames of green torches. Another alter just like the one that trapped us was draped with a regal sheet. On the alter were three items, a tiny velvet box, a purple gem, and a folded set of black robes with dark green embroidering. Zanvar took the robes and said that Few was the one who should have them. They're magically enchanted with a protective spell that will help keep her safe. Eric rushed to take the gem, maybe it means something to him like that liquid did but I think he was just being greedy. I opened the box. Inside was a ring with a spherical red gem. I tried to slip it onto my finger but Eric's hands are too fat.

The doors closed and opened again. Instead of where we'd came from there was the small room with the barely recognizable magical circle on the floor. We were practically climbing over each other trying to get back into there. The spell activated again, and we were back in our own bodies. Now we're merely trapped underneath the cathedral. I slid the ring on one of my long, slender, deft fingers and immediately made a fist. I wasn't sure what was happening but my hand tried to hit Zanvar. I hurt myself more than him. For now I'll leave it in its box and return to the search for an exit.

The picture used for the cathedral was taken by BlueGarou https://pixabay.com/en/users/BlueGarou-1254390/ Follow the link for a small album of nature photos by him.