No one hade to be told to stick together. They weren't certain if the place would even hold up, if the floor creaking was Amy indication. They tried to figure out which way to go, as they didn't have the light to rely on.

They would have been arguing for a while if Endermon had not seen the small trails of moss heading down one hallway. Having no other leads, they followed the moss. After several twists and turns, they made it to a big open area and the place had windows.

They got to the front door and paused. They debated going outside, because the probability that the building would disappear was really high. But they decided to go out and face whatever was going to happen, head on.

Stepping out into the sunlight, they shielded their eyes so they could have time for their eyes to adjust. And when they did, what they saw completely baffled them. Instead of a bustling lakeside community there were faded and rundown buildings, nearly ghosts of their former selves.

The town was nearly deserted and those they did see, didn't seem to notice or care that they were there. Even the tavern they started at was crumbling and nearly falling apart. When they walked in the door, every eye was on them. Not wanting a scene, she had them go up to their rooms.

Everyone watched them go, but said nothing. It was starting to get creepy. Endermon found the bartender and asked if he remembered her. And he said it was hard to remember anyone in his old age.

Puzzled, she walked up to her room. Not wanting to stay there longer than necessary, Endermon wanted to get packing right away. When she got up there, she found the rooms packed up with a note on the dresser. It said to meet them downstairs after paying.

Endermon left the room and went down to pay. She gave them a healthy tip and was off. Following the carriage tracks she found them pretty easily.

When she caught up with them, they saddled up and took off. They didn't care where they were going, they just knew they needed to get away. As they put the town further and further behind them, but staying near the edge of the lake, they began to feel better.

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Pulling off into a grassy spot by the lake, they finally began to relax. They tied the horses up and let them graze, they got a fire going and started getting dinner going. No one said anything for a while. Dresden broke the silence by asking what was that back there.

They pulled out the map and saw that the town they had just left was now just some buildings. They looked at the scroll that was now filled in all the way, but the words were jibberish. The one thing they could all make out was that it said spread the word lest this be forgotten. Then the scroll crumbled into dust.

Shrugging their shoulders, they went about fixing dinner. They ate and enjoyed themselves. Since it was still relatively warm they only needed the fire and their cots. It didn't take them long to fall asleep either.

They woke up in the morning convinced it was a fever dream, but the chest with the pendants on it said otherwise. They realized that they never managed to open the chest, but found that they didn't want to, if rapidly aging and dying towns were the result.

Unless keeping it closed was the reason, then it should be opened. They all armored up, ready for anything. And put the pendants in the slots on the top. The lid popped open and they cautiously looked inside. There was a mirror, 4 tokens and 4 vials.

On each vial was a note. The notes all said the same thing. Uncorked, drink and look in the mirror, so it was up to them if they wished to follow the directions. Dresden said he had nothing to lose, and drank one. He looked in the mirror and claimed he didn't feel any different.

Everyone looked at the remaining three vials and shrugged they took turns drinking then looking into the mirror. Endermon couldn't say for certain what the others saw (or didn't) but she saw herself doing regular princessly duties.