Additional Subtle Clues for the Players
These details will reinforce the eerie truth of their origins without outright stating it, allowing the players to piece it together themselves.
8. No One Remembers Them
When they interact with townspeople from their reactions are oddly distant. People they believe they knew look confused when greeted. “I don’t think we’ve met,” they say. Even those who should recognize them—the innkeeper who let them stay years ago, the old woman who once called them a nuisance—seem uncertain.
9. The Smell of Old Earth
They occasionally catch a scent on the wind—damp earth, rotting wood, the musk of graves long forgotten. Sometimes, it’s on their clothes. Sometimes, it’s on their breath. It clings to them when they wake, as if they had been somewhere else while they slept.
10. Strange Reactions from Animals
Dogs growl and whimper at their approach. Horses spook and shy away. Even crows watch them too intently—not with fear, but recognition. The birds do not caw at them. They simply stare, as if waiting for something.
11. The Missing Heartbeats
One night, while resting, one of them—perhaps while checking their wounds—presses a hand to their chest. They realize they can’t feel their heartbeat. In panic, they check another party member. Nothing.
But then, moments later, it returns—faint, slow, but not quite right. It happens again at random, their heartbeats stopping for moments, then restarting without pain or consequence.
13. The Stars Are Not the Same
At night, one of them looks up and realizes the constellations feel unfamiliar. A scholar or navigator might struggle to find their bearings, feeling that something about the sky has shifted since their childhood. Perhaps the stars they remember… no longer exist.
14. The Academy’s Forgotten Wings
If they search the ruins of Wightlych Academy, they may find sealed-off halls that are too well-preserved. Unlike the burnt out remains of the main hall, these wings were deliberately hidden, untouched by time. Old rooms remain exactly as they left them, their childhood belongings still pristine, as if waiting for them to return.
One such room might have neatly folded uniforms in their exact sizes, as if they never left.
15. The Blood That Isn’t
If they are wounded and someone examines their blood closely, they will notice something off. It clots too quickly. Under the right light, it seems to have a dark, ink-like sheen.
A trained healer or alchemist might notice something worse—it’s too still. It lacks the warmth and movement of living blood.
Final Revelation (When They Piece It Together)
As the clues mount, the realization will be undeniable: they were never alive when they left Wightlych Academy.
They were undead children, given an unnatural life by the Master’s work. For 33 years, they have walked the world as if they were human—but that spell is now fading. The Master never intended for them to escape.
Because in truth, they never did.
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