A Terrible Discovery

This note is found in the Lost Tomb of the Damned. The Earthquake has inflicted some damage on the upper levels of the catacombs. Bones scatted, tombs crumbled, piles of rubble everywhere and one of the bridges was completely destroyed. This is terrible news as it forces us to take long forgotten alternate paths to reach the furthest end of the catacombs. My true dread is in exploring the deepest foundations. I am no stranger to death. I have combed over battlefields and waded through blood and gore to recover the brave heroes lost in combat. However, this secret place where the bones of cursed and nameless damned are banished makes my skin crawl and my soul scream. With every step I wish to turn and flee from this unholy place.

I have long proposed that keeping the remains of so many wicked men in one location is unwise, but thus far my voiced concerns have been dismissed. Criminals, witches, heretics, cursed, murderers and the insane have been secreted away down here. I can feel their malignant souls heavy upon the air drowning us in their combined guilt; pushing the crumbling walls until they buckle; calling to the dark hollows of the earth; imploring vile things to seek this prison and release the centuries of evil that is trapped within.

I have discovered a great tear that has opened up beneath the catacombs. Several support walls have collapsed and fallen into the darkness below. There are scratches on the floor and walls as if something scored the very stone. I have also found bones with strange markings on them, as if gnawed by an animal. And lately I've been hearing sounds coming from the walls, as if something was skulking in the darkness nearby. Some wretched thing gliding along the shadows staying just outside the light. My worst fears have come to pass. I must flee and warn the others.

Caretaker of the Dead, Aleister Pencroft