History Of Eymet

The contents of books found in Eymet.

*\*A series of crumpled, yellowing pages lie before you. Thick, heavy handwriting is neatly written across the pages, interspersed with other fragments of paper.\**

**We've just returned from Eymet with this stack of books and journals. I've taken it upon myself to see what they have to reveal and figure out what the hell happened in Eymet.**

*"I grow concerned. The dead drop behind the roses is growing full of old dispatches, which means no courier has made it through in some time. At best, that means the Citadel is not aware of the evil growing here, but I worry it means there is no one back home to hear the news."*

**Seems like Eymet was in some form of isolation before it got completely overrun. At the very least, it almost sounds as if Espérer lasted a while without any serious problems.**

*"New lord and lady dispatched to Eymet to restore order. Sir Gregori Marcellin. Lady Alset Valentina. Competent. Marriage healthy. Food rationing implemented. No garrison reinforcements."*

**So two people were sent to Eymet to help keep the peace. They were married, but why would sending a married couple help at all? It also mentions food rationing and the garrison, so it's probably safe to say that there was some level of danger starting to set in around the place.**

*"Supplies in Eymet are running low. Observations suggest dwarven resident engaged in illegal mining. No garrison reinforcements."*

**Situation looks like it's getting more desperate. Surprising to find evidence of Dwarves living here after finding no clues about Kulsim Emen.**

*"Town drunkard found mummified, wrapped in webbing. Civilian unrest. Marcellin attempting to maintain calm. Looks unwell. No garrison reinforcements."*

**Now it looks like it's getting interesting. Appears something is affecting Gregori Marcellin as well.**

*"More citizens mummified in the night. Web strands too thick for even local giant spider strains. Some citizens have fled. Valentine not seen in public recently. Garrison morale low. No reinforcement."*

**This is our first mention of the spider problem, seems like it's not the ones they're used to dealing with. The current militia are waning, the people are panicking, I think this might be when Eymet starts to fall apart.**

*"Rationing holding, food stores supplemented from river. Witnessed Lady Valentine sneaking around at night. Unable to follow due to risk of discovery. Minor altercation at tavern. Alcohol stores low. No garrison reinforcements."*

**The town is still holding on, looks like the food is really running low. Strange why Lady Valentine would be out at night, especially at such a dangerous time.**

*"Reports of massive spider creature in caverns below Eymet. Garrison mobilizing to seal entrance. Marcellin stands in opposition. Stand-off prevents entry. Screaming that he loves her. No reinforcements. Garrison dwindling."*

**Well that's the spider that we killed, no doubt about that. Sounds like Lady Valentine went into the spiders lair, but why are they sealing her in? That's the last of the dead-drop journals we found, the rest is fragmentary notes from various townspeople.**

*"Son, your mother won't let me speak to you anymore, I hope this letter can explain some of my actions. I have to say it but..." The letter is faded and worn and most of the writing is obscured. With love, your father, Eddard Barrol."*

**Can't really get any information from this one, just sounds like a family split by something the father has done.**

*"Dame Valentina
Sir Marcellin
My deepest apologies that I could not provide more suitable accommodation for knights of your repute. I hope that my house will suffice for the duration of your stay in Eymet. - Yeoman Ennio."*

**Ah, so the Lord and Lady are actually knights. Sending them to try and keep the peace makes a lot more sense now.**

*\*A list of prices for girls in the Eymet brothel.\**

**Nothing to see here, couple of the names were spotted in the crypt, if I recall correctly.**

*"need business
sir i beg that you encourage the men of your caravan to drop by the sleep square some time! our income is non-existent since the towns militia left for the Flammegrott, but the members of your caravan could easily replenish our coffers. I'm sure a discount could be arranged for you, were you to come to our aid!*

the monstyrs of the flamgrot ryse and all we militia are callt away from eymet to fight, evyn thogh the rysyng dead here are a problem. the duke ys apparently sending two brave knyghts from vallecrosia to defend the town whyl we away, so I worry not too much for the town. the stone ys strong and the peeople strongyr styll. coty of bellac 5090"

**This was dated about 25 years before we ever got to Espérer, but it mentions 'two brave knights from Vallecrosia'. They can only be Marcellin and Valentine, which means this town has potentially been overrun for at least 20 years!**

**It also mentions the 'Flammegrott' and states that's where their soldiers are, even though they needed them in Eymet.**

*\*Two maps. One of a desert region labelled 'Tanwadi', the other a volcanic region labelled 'Flammengrotte.\**

**I think the Flammengrotte might be the desolate wasteland to the north east. It's nothing but fire, ash and monsters everywhere. I think the militia were sent there to try and stem the tide of evil spewing from that area. It looks like without fighting the problem over there, they would have been overrun with monsters long ago.**

*\*An almanac containing drawings of stars and constellations. As the book goes on, the drawings become more chaotic and sketchy. Signed by Antares Centauri.\**

**I've found no other references to the author anywhere, but it seems some level of madness was overcoming him.**

*\*A book of Eymet militia figures and statistics. The numbers of rations, soldiers and weapons start to decrease as the months pass. Signed by Jebediah Biggs.\**

**This just cements the dire state that Eymet was in. They were sending more and more soldiers to die in the Flammengrotte without being able to replenish their numbers within Eymet.**

*\*Schematics of a grand gate, powered by very complex redstone mechanisms. 'Forgive me, my kin. I was needed here'. Gromni Dhoomsire.\**

**Now this is an interesting one. There was a 'Gromni Barracks' in Eymet and a luxuriously decorated tomb for a 'Dhoomsire' in the crypts. I can only assume that they are one and the same. In a mural above the crypt, it stated that Gromni Dhoomsire was a Demigod of war. His skills in battle may have staved off the death of Eymet for the longest part.**

**His writing there is very interesting. I believe that he might have left his Fortress to help with the situation in Eymet, whether he is living in Kulsim Emen we don't know. The gate mechanism is very interesting, perhaps it was something he was working on?**

*"Lady Valentina's tastes grow increasingly deviant and repulsive. Service is to be refused to her should her cruelty continue. Madame."*

**Seems our Lady Valentine wasn't very lady-like. She frequented that brothel and it seems she enjoyed being particularly cruel to the girls there, but what form that cruelty took remains a mystery.**

*"The rest of the town left today. They can't take what it's become. I have to admit, me and Martha can't either. We know what started it all. Martha found the bottle. I hope someone can undo this mess. If anyone finds this hoping to make it to Vallecrosia before the spiders catch them, please help them. Jeb Biggs had his two kids with him, oh god I hope they make it. We couldn't go. Too old I told them, we'd slow them down. No. I'm making Martha and I one last meal with some poison from the merchant's wares. I hid it. It's under the basin in the kitchen."*

**This last one yielded some very interesting results. We found a bottle, engraved with a spider, in this person's house. Even after all these years, there was a drop or two still left and, after I handed it over to an alchemist, it turned out to be very potent alchemy indeed.**

**Upon testing the tiniest of portions on a test subject, in this case a pig, it was transformed into a spider of roughly the same size. The alchemist and I deduced that a larger creature, for example a human, would be violently transformed into an even larger spider, with the capacity to grow larger as it ate more, much like a normal spider.**

**I believe the spider we killed under the crypts in Eymet was Lady Valentine, having been transformed through this evil alchemy into a monstrous spider. Gregori Marcellin's defence of her seems to fit the bill and Valentine's erratic and violent behaviour would make sense if she was slowly transforming into an arachnid.**

**Alchemy of this strength is almost unheard of and we are currently attributing the creation of the potion to Nicolo, the Duke's head alchemist.**

**The discovery of a multitude of things in Eymet has possibly raised more questions than it answered and I, for one, will strive to see the mystery of this island solved.**

**\*From the desk of Drakk Blackhand.\***