Description
· Thin spine, embossed on black leather
· A Deep and Creeping Darkness
· Hand-lettered neatly but not flawless
The Tale
· Recounts experiences of a small, isolated mining town in the Graypeak Mountains
· survivors, travelers, and neighbors, told in a series of vignettes
· Unclear if cautionary tale, folklore, or history
· Account seems factual, but dramatic in tone
· Vermeillon
o Established after discovery of ore vein
o Difficult terrain and climate restricted growth
o Intermittent traveling merchants
o Nearest settlement was 3 days by horse
· Named inhabitants in book
o Lei Duvezin, mayor
o Tormun and Blenyss, smiths
· Explosion within mine collapsed tunnels and buried 60 workers alive, 30 were killed, 19 were rescued after weeks trapped in the dark, with the dead and dying
· 11 were never found
· Second catastrophe in the wake of the first: unexplained disappearances
· Survivors vanished one by one, in small groups, with weeks between vanishings
· After minors fled, villagers began to disappear
o Watches and weapons under pillows didnt help
o Nor traveling in groups - one would invariably wander off
· Rumors of curse and steady deportation quickly slowed trade and created a ghost town from a once prosperous settlement
· The end of the patchwork story claims the village is still there, vacant
Author muses about the villagers' fates