SCENE FOUR — DOCKSIDE REFLECTION POOL, 7:52 AMLocation: Stone garden alcove, Northward edge of WaterdeepCodex Layer Active: Mirrorbound Temporal Friction FieldCurrent Party: Mel, Melodia, Krummar, DakaObserver Mode: Locked In

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  The Pool

  The Reflection Pool does not reflect.

  It lies like gss sanded down by time — matte, motionless, untouched by wind. The old mirror shard leaning against the garden wall is fractured down the middle, vines curling around its base like they’re trying to pull it into the dirt.

  Even light avoids this pce.

  Krummar stands still.His shield remains strapped, but his posture is rexed — watchful.“Something watches… but not from the pool. From behind it. Beneath the idea of it.”

  He steps to the water’s edge. His boots disturb no ripples.

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  Mel — Terrain Listening

  Mel crouches, bare fingers pressed to the grass beside the pool. Her forest-toned cloak blends into the moss. Her thorn scars pulse faintly.

  “The roots end here. They don’t grow beneath it.”

  She looks up.

  “This isn’t ground. It’s memory.”

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  Daka — Testing the Boundaries

  Daka unslings his Bag of Holding, reaches in, and pulls out:? A pair of bck silk gloves? A scroll beled “FIGHT IDEA #12: Reality Has a Weak Jaw”? An ornate, porcein opera mask (completely not his)

  “Time to poke the fourth wall and see what bleeds.”

  He skips a stone across the pool.

  It hits the surface.Stops.And then… sinks upward.

  “I LIKE THIS PLACE.”

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  Melodia — Emotional Sensory Spike

  Melodia steps lightly beside the pool, vender corset catching the dawnlight, ribbons swaying in near-still air. Her moonstone choker pulses — sharp. Her freckles glow.

  She stares down into the pool.

  There’s no reflection of her body.But her shadow is visible.

  And it waves.

  “My… reflection is waving.”

  Krummar (quietly):“That’s not your reflection. That’s your future. If you let it be rewritten.”

  Melodia takes a step back — her shoes silent, but her breath catches.

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  Codex Event Triggered: Mirrorbound Pulse I – “Self Rejection”

  The pool fshes once — dim, like a reverse candle.

  ALL PARTY MEMBERS must roll Codex Presence Saves (DC 15) to resist momentary disassociation.

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  ROLL RESULTS:? Mel: 17 — Steady. A thorn cracks through a cobblestone at her side.? Krummar: 21 — Unmoving. Divine resistance absorbs the pulse.? Melodia: 13 — Fails. She stumbles backward, eyes wide. Her aura dims.

  “I—I felt myself… not want me.”

  ? Daka: 8.He drops his opera mask.

  “What just happened. Why does my bicep feel… rejected?”

  He picks it up again and growls at it.

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  Mel Catches Melodia

  The bard’s knees give slightly — not colpse, just falter.Mel is instantly beside her, one arm around her waist, grounding her.

  “Don’t let it in. Don’t give it your rhythm.”

  Melodia’s hands tremble. She nods.

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  Krummar Activates Divine Lens

  His tattooed hands glow. He lowers one over the pool and murmurs:

  “In Sel?ne’s name, reflect only truth.”

  The surface shivers.Then clears.Then shows—

  The party, seated at Kereska’s Favor.But older.Changed.Worn.

  Mel’s cloak is gone. She wears bones.Daka has no voice — just gestures and scars.Krummar walks with a cane.Melodia… sings only in her sleep.

  Then — the image flickers and vanishes.

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  Krummar:“That’s the version they want.”

  Mel:“That’s the version where we stopped choosing.”

  Daka:“That’s the version that sucks.”

  He picks up a rock and throws it in.

  It explodes into butterflies.

  “I hate this pce.”

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  Codex Update: Mirrorbound Challenge I Passed

  The pool has opened.A spiraling glyph now glows at its center: the sigil of the Editor.

  New Option: Descend into the mirrorworld now, before the appointed midnight hour.Unscheduled entry may yield unexpected consequences… or surprise advantage.

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  Current Paths:1. Enter the Pool — Deliberately trigger the Editor’s domain early.2. Mark and retreat — Return at midnight with prep time.3. Split briefly — One or two enter, others observe.4. Daka punches the water. (You know he will.)

  SCENE FOUR CONTINUES — REFLECTION POOL EDGE, 7:56 AMCodex Layer: Mirrorbound Gateway StabilizedWarning: Unsanctioned Entry Will Disrupt Timeline Adhesion ThreadsObserver Mode: Active

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  Daka Makes the Call

  He’s been quiet for almost 10 seconds. Which, for Daka, is legally a pressure cooker.His orcish biceps twitch, his Pirate Hat tilts in battle formation, and he adjusts the strap of his Bag of Holding like he’s preparing to punch theology.

  “Alright. That pool just showed us a future where we got boring.”“Mel, your cloak was gone. My VOICE was gone.”“I say we go in right now, flip the script, and leave a Daka-shaped dent in their intro.”

  He holds out a fist.

  “Who’s with me?”

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  Krummar: Logic Meets Faith

  The duergar cleric watches Daka like one might study a charging goat.

  “Going early may give us leverage… or burn the only page we’re meant to turn.”

  He pauses. Looks at the pool.

  “But if this is a py… I’d rather walk onstage than wait for the curtain.”

  He steps beside Daka.

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  Mel: Barefoot and Brambled

  Mel looks at the pool, her scarred fingers flexing over the wood of her Gulthias Staff. Her voice is low.

  “They’ll rewrite us whether we wait or not. May as well interrupt the draft.”

  She’s already stepping forward. The ground under her boots is sprouting tiny red mushrooms.

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  Melodia: Still Shaken, Still Glowing

  She straightens. Adjusts her beret, tightens the straps of her vender corset, and reaches for her Lyre of Stars.

  “If I’m being rewritten, I’ll sing the edit myself.”

  She takes Mel’s hand.The moonstone choker glows pale silver — not with fear, but resolve.

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  Decision Locked: FULL PARTY DESCENT

  The four step to the edge of the pool.The glyph pulses.One beat. Two. Three.

  And then — they drop.Silently. Effortlessly. Like falling into a page someone hasn’t finished writing yet.

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  SCENE FIVE — THE MIRRORBOUND WORLD

  Time: Unknown. Light Source: None. Gravity: Unclear.

  They nd on nothing.

  And yet, they stand.

  The world is grayscale.Ink lines stretch across the sky like scribbles in mid-thought.Words form under their feet — literal script, shifting constantly beneath boot and shoe:

  “THEY WERE NOT SUPPOSED TO COME EARLY.THEIR NAMES ARE WRITTEN WRONG.ADJUST THE DIALOGUE. FIX THE TIMING. REMOVE THE GIRL WITH THE EYES.”

  Melodia stiffens. Her eyes widen. She grips Mel’s hand tighter.

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  Sudden Figure Appears — THE FIRST EDITOR

  Slender. Faceless. Fingers long as quills.Dressed in robes made of stitched manuscripts. Voice: yers of narration at once.

  “You enter without cue. You interrupt the plot.We are not ready for you yet. But we are always rewriting.”

  A floating ink-bde appears beside them.

  “So. Let us edit together.”

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