220 / 05 / 17 - Doppelgangers, a real threat?
Doppelgängers. Grey skinned humanoids able to take on the appearance of anyone they meet. A creature of horror from old songs and stories. Master's of disguise these creatures are even said to be able to imitate someone's habits and manner of speech so well that the person's own family couldn't tell the difference. It's a good thing they are just a myth.
Except maybe they aren't. Maybe we do need to start wondering if the person next to us is really who they appear to be. There has been a flurry of stories over the last few months about a gray man who can change his appearance at a whim. I must confess that we were skeptical of these stories at first, writing them off as a prank by a mage or a gnome. The same person appearing to be in two places at once has always been easily explained away by the use of various forms of magic, but magic has it's limits and according to these tales the creatures can change as much as they want. And it is not just their features that change. Their attire changes to match making them that much harder to detect.
Though we don't know how long they have been in Chirin the first story that was brought to my attention was that of Felix Baker. Felix had left Chirin to visit his brother in Elbin on the 11th Roth and did not return until the 14th. We have confirmed this with the trader he travelled with. On the 12th his apprentice Meredith was surprised to see him walk in to the bakery. The supposed Felxi spoke to Meredith as he normally would, explaining that the trader he had meant to travel with had cancelled the trip. Leaving Meredith to get on with the days tasks Felix then went to check the accounts. He left an hour later saying he had some errands to run. It was only when Meredith went to put the days takings in the strongbox that it became clear that something was off. The strognbox, which should have held at least 20 silver was empty. Still Meredith didn't suspect anything about Felix, until the evening when he didn't show up for dinner. Adora, Felix's wife, then reminded Meredith that Felix was away for a few days. The nature of the theft didn't become clear until the real Felix returned. Forced to defend himself to his wife, who suspected him of various indiscretions, he was forced to appeal to Ralf of Autrin, who he had travelled with, to verify where he had been.
A similar tale was told by Herbert Carpenter, while he was out delivering a finished piece, his wife, Marisella, saw him return to the shop. He stopped briefly to talk to her, mentioning some things they had discussed at breakfast that morning, before going to the strongbox. Fortunately for Herbert the deliver had been a quick one, and he returned before the intruder had had time to take anything. Marisella claims that when the real Herbert and the double confronted each other, there was no difference between them, even down to the stain on their tunics. The intruder bolted for the door and though Herbert gave chase, he lsot sight of the creature in the crowd.
It appears that in my investigations I may have drawn the attention of this creature. While I was out discussing a commission, my assistant reports that I came back to my shop and went up to my quarters. Though nothing was taken. an eye was left on one of my shelves as if to say that it is keeping a watch on me. Despite this I decided to publish this story as Chirin needs to be aware of the potential threat.
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