Grayscale Family

03/08/3022
 
The storm hit hard this time, the mayor got everyone in the village to come ot the Phoenix Inn for safety, although I've been here almost half a year I'm still treated like an outsider, at least they don't treat me with suspicion.
 
3 Strangers entered during the storm, outsiders to the village each here for their own reasons no doubt, A female satyr by the name of Ciri, A male elf by the name of Rénlèi, and a male tabaxi by the name of Storm. The tabaxi seems to be asking after the grayscale family, from what I hear they haven't been seen for a while but they live in the manor located in the swams to the east. Ciri seems ot be in search of a flower for her mistress Miss Fancy who is unwell/bedridden ? And the elf seems to be here for some official buisness.
 
Another outsider, this time dragged in by the guard, seems the roudy type apparently caught going through the bins out back, an interesting instrument on his back, he is a human as far as I can tell and goes by the name of Axel, he's quite loud but seems to be a nice enough person.
 
The Mayor has both asked us to help with the night watch as well as asked the outsiders to look into the Grayscale Manor and I to supervise them, Duncan will be the one who guides us their as he knows the path. I write this before I go to sleep mine is the second to last watch paired wih the tabaxi Storm, I can only hope it is a quiet night.
 
Before heading off we discussed current events with the mayor, from this I can surmise a few things I want to make not of. The lady of the house has not been seen since the death of her husband and son which was 6-9 months ago now. For whatever reason the mayor seems to blame the Lady of Grayscale for the mist being far more active of late, although rumours it is true that after the death of most of the family and the disapearance of the lady the msts have encroached further where it used to not, this night being evident of this fact.
 
04/08/3022
 
Night watch was not what I expected, woken by first watch myself and Storm went down to the ground floor of the inn and kept watch of the door and windows, to be honest at the time I was not sure what to expect, looking outside took me by surprise however, the entire town was covered in the mist with the lights inside the inn feeling like the only thing keeping the shadow out, as if it were alive in some way of speaking. This idea was sadly, if not horrifically proved right, tendrils of darkness, seemingly with some sort of mind of their own or maybe a greater influence is at hand, the tendrils reached for the lights in the inn but none made it too far past the cracks in the door of the inn.
 
Outside of the inn altough dark there seemed to be lights, ghostly green lights, whisps, pulsing through the town. They had a certain pull to them but something seemed off, Storm seemed to see something as well, but nothing came of it and we passed to the next shift. Apparently their watch was quiet as well but Axel did mention seeing someone he knew but that it would have been impossible for them to be there given that they were not longer alive.
 
In the morning while having breakfast the mayor came for a report on what happened during the night and to intorduce us to our guide, Duncan. We duscussed what happened, which worried the mayor. We are set to head off soon, hopefully we can get this done before the sea comes in and the bridge is no longer accessable.
 
04/08/3022
 
Well this is not what I expected, upon getting to the bridge we were made witness to the ghostly reenactment of the death of the lord and son of the manor followed shortly by the scream of the lady who witnessed the event. Duncan had us come off the road as we witnessed it, and from what I understand this seems to be common place, it certainly left an impression with us all I feel much more with Ciri but we all made it ot the house. upon arrival at the doors of the house Duncan left us running as fast as he could.
 
We found the flowers that Ciri spoke of but sadly this did not help her, although asthetically similar in look the stems were off and were painfull to the touch, from what I've experienced of this house now it would seem maybe it has corrupted the flower, but it could very well just be a different variety.
 
We entered the house, entering a small antichamber, those with shoes felt the need to take them off as if respecting the house but this house has been abandoned for some time now and likely no one would mind nor care, as we entered the hallway we were greeted by the hum of chatter as if there was a tea party going on at the time, this was offputting at the time but looking back was probably an omen of what to come. It was not helped by a tamestry hanging next to the door, seemingly themed around harvest and farming upon closer inspection themes of cannibalism run throughout it, seemingly depicting creatures in the act of consuming the flesh of others.
 
As we moved forward the front door locked itself, and even now at time of writing it is still locked. As we ventured through the ground floor we found more art with hidden and horrific themes, each room seemingly with a fireplace still lit but its flame a mere facade of a fire providing no warmth to the room not to say that it was or has been too cold. Entering the dining room we were greated with a table filled with food, its smell and appearance was quiet amazing but we decided against eating it. and with the examination of the kitchen this seems to have been the right move, devoid of any ingredients although the meal at the table looked just cooked.
 
We then entered the smoking room, what were are now using as a place to rest. apart from the 3 taxidermied wolves posed about the room and to my surprise very well maintained, a small table with chairs and a lounge char and chair near the fireplace, filled then and now with the same cold fire as everywhere else. There were to locked cabinates in the room but a little work and they revealed a few working crossbows the other containing tableware and a few bottles of wine. What peeked our curiosity at the time was a small trapdoor located by the fireplace, seeming locked in place by magic, however when getting close it seemed to cause a sound to eminate from the wolves, at first a weak deterent with thought but when 2 of the 3 wolves became animate and attacked this proved us wrong.
 
One thing of interest was a peice of art, it seems to speak to the group or at least some of them. It diserves further looking into due to its nature but for now I'll keep it on the back burner.
 
05/08/3022
 
Glad that's over, The house is burned, and the dragonborn we met in the Inn... dealt with. I'm unsure what the Lady's sister hoped to achieve even knowing the goal, but I think it's best to move on, I've recieved communications and need to move to cambridge for further details.