:: Random Item—Merek's Armor of Encore ::

Merek’s Armor of Encore

by Wm Jay Carter III, 5/23/15

Armor: Banded Suit

Color: Cotton Candy Blue

Conditions: Light, Dirty

Keyword: Skull

You step behind the curtain of the abandoned theatre and cast your gaze over what must be the dressing room. Mannequins stand single-file like soldiers along one wall, each wearing a unique costume. One costume catches your eye in particular: a suit of papier-mâché banded armor painted a whimsical cotton candy blue and stained with what you take to be a splatter of fake blood, long since dried. As a macabre touch, you notice that someone has replaced the head of this mannequin with an actual human skull. Moving on to the props, you study one of the false weapons, but turn around as you hear something move. You see nothing amiss...until you notice that the skull-headed mannequin wearing the suit of fanciful blue armor has suddenly gone missing.

Once upon a time, there was an actor from Burgundy called Merek the Macabre. He was so called because he was reputed to have literally bored an audience member to death during one of his monologues. The physicians identified the true cause of the old man’s demise as a blow to the head sustained after falling asleep on his feet in the standing-room-only section of the theatre. But this did not stop the critics from placing unjust blame on Merek.

Despite not being the actual cause of the old man’s demise, Merek’s reputation as a performer was nevertheless sullied beyond repair. In his determination to prove his critics wrong, Merek was known to stay at the theatre night after night, rehearsing his part as the gallant knight Lief of the Blue Talon, vowing never to stop until his captivated audience demanded an encore.

Then one night a terrible thunderstorm rattled the theatre to its foundations. Some said they could hear the ghost of the dead old man moaning and calling for vengeance upon Merek’s soul. Whatever happened that night, Merek was never seen again. The theatre was closed so the authorities could conduct a full investigation of Merek’s disappearance, but as the case was never conclusively solved, the theatre remained closed indefinitely.

Rumors tell that Merek’s corpse remains in the theatre, still wearing the papier-mâché armor he wore at his death, and still rehearsing his part until he receives the encore he always craved. Some say the armor costume itself is cursed, and whoever puts it on will be forced to act out the same lethally tedious monologue every night for all eternity.