Written by Ben Groenen (Raushan)

The final token from the Circle members to complete the repair of the Circle must now be obtained. Lillane explains that we will need to go to the Outer Worlds. To do so, we will need to pass through a mirror that has been sealed to prevent things from passing through. When we try to get some definitive information from Merffyn and Lucio, they point out that any information they could give us would be useless?! Although this leaves us all bemused, confused and wanting to refuse, but … we do nothing.

We travel down to a cellar I didn’t know had existed to find a mirror. The mirror has much ornate angelic script all around the sides, but the surface is just stone. Standing in the centre of the room, Lucio changes to his mighty jinn form to perform the ritual to open the fissure. Soon the stone within the mirror has turned into blackness, the kind which you’re not really sure something is even there. Gathering ourselves, we break on through to the other side.

We find ourselves before a very strange place … there are very fine and strange furnishings all around, finer and more ornate than any I’ve ever seen. The walls are covered in exquisite paintings of a mastery I can recognise, but not attain. There is a door to one side, but there is a opening which is covered in what must be glass, but the most clearest glass I have ever seen. This strange opening is slightly ajar, and strange music is wafting in. As we approach this opening, a very lavishly dressed servant enters bearing a tray of drinks. All of us are shocked still, but Monaco takes a glass and we all follow the servant out onto what turns out to be a balcony. While everyone else is more distracted by more earthbound bizarreness like hundreds of strangely garbed people mingling … strangely, Monaco sees that there are two black moons in the sky.

Out of this teeming mass, a woman wearing a huge mask (in fact, everyone I can see is wearing them) approaches and names herself Casilda. She welcomes us to Caracosa and invites us to join in the dance. Again, only Monaco seems to be thinking on his feet as he accepts and follows her down the stairs into the gardens where everybody is. Looking down, we can still see them as Casilda begins to show Monaco a few courtly set of steps, but I notice that she never seems to complete a pattern. I am not surprised that Monaco just can’t seem to follow the steps. Soon another masked lady, named Camilla this time, comes by looking for Casilda, so I escort her down the stairs to her friend. Rafi decides to wander around the balcony to see if he can find a leader of this place. As Camilla and I arrive, I subtly tell Monaco that he should try whatever steps he likes instead of what he is being shown. With a quick look at me, he starts his own steps and then Casilda and Camilla applaud, praising him that he has learned the dance. I can’t help but laugh.

Rafi returns from his investigations and tells us that the strange building just continues on with no end in sight. Taking an opportunity in one of the pauses in the strange music, Monaco asks Casilda and Camilla who is in charge. Their response is to look mystified, and they ask him who he wanted to see. As we don’t know who we are supposed to see, Monaco can’t say who … but he asks if there are any strange people. Looking blankly at each other, Casilda has a burgeoning look of realisation and says she thinks she knows and begins to lead us away. She leads us inside, and takes us from room to room to room. It feels like some time has passed when a bell tolls 11. Asking our intrepid guides where they were going seems to surprise them and they can’t seem to remember what they’re doing. When we ask them what’s outside, they clap their hands and grab our hands and take us out to a lake. Finding a boat, they insist we get in it and row out. Rowing a fair way, Monaco and I look down at the water and notice it doesn’t reflect anything … in fact, there is a total absence of anything under the boat. As Rafi almost proves when he throws a torch over the side and it seems to disappear a few seconds below us after showing something big and gnarly below us. It was at this point, that we all made a great effort to get back to shore as soon as possible.

As the twelfth hour approaches, we’re told to go back inside quickly. Everyone does so, and we see that all the dancers from outside are also inside, being absolutely still and absolutely silent. Waiting a few moments doing nothing can’t hurt us, and I’m getting a feeling that something is going to happen. I can sense the anticipation in everyone around us like I could taste it. At the twelfth stroke of the bell, we are all standing silently when a scream comes from down the hall. Moving quietly towards where it came from, we enter a library in which is a circle of partiers. In the middle of the circle is someone in black, sinister clothing. Someone with a mask on, but a mask that is much less gaudy than anyone else’s. Everyone around this figure is frozen in terror, you can smell them as they try not to do anything to attract it’s attention. Rafi couldn’t pass through the doorway, while I couldn’t make more than a few steps into the room, but Monaco kept walking on. I opened my sixth sense to the being and felt a mental slap which threw me through the doorway, the doors of the room across the hall and straight out the window on the far-side of that room onto the balcony outside. Trust me when I tell you that really hurts.

Monaco told me afterwards that It asked him whether he liked the library. It showed him a few of the books … not by reaching out an arm to show them, but the books slid out by themselves and then back in. By the time I have come back to the doorway, It is pointing out the qualities of the covers. Hmm, I guess this was a realm where the guise – the … the seeming is what was important, not the content. It looked straight at me and I felt a dread that I had never felt before. I couldn’t even think to praise Allah. Then It focused on Monaco and picked out a book and gave it to Monaco, who thanked Him as quickly as possible, and we then fled left. Rafi bolted, I walked quickly behind him and Monaco followed me.

When we came through, Rollon and the guards were still ready for anything to come through the mirror as they had when we left. They were relaxing as we came through, that is, until Monaco stepped through with the book.