Royal Meteorological Chronicle: Nocturnal Spectral Fog under Waxing Crescent
At the fourth hour, the mercury in my barometer clings to 29.96 inches—steady as a tombstone—while the thermometer reads 52 degrees of Fahrenheit, the dew point a mere three degrees below, and the valley below drowns in a river fog so dense it seems to exhale from the earth's very lungs. The waxing crescent moon, pale as a scraped bone, hangs in a sky only one-fifth obscured by cloud, its light filtered through the mist into a sickly phosphorescence that clings to the pines and the slate roofs of the sleeping town. A North-Northeast wind of but two knots—calm air, yet not calm; it carries the rot of wet leaves and the distant howl of a wolf that may be a wolf or may be something else.
My hair-hygrometer, strung from the observatory railing, has swelled to an alarming length, its golden strands twisting like the fingers of a drowned woman. The fog moves against the wind—a phenomenon I have noted thrice before, each time preceding a disappearance in the valley. Coachmen, heed me: the road to Bistrița is a ribbon of black ice beneath the mist, and the river has risen past its usual banks. Travelers on foot should carry lanterns of consecrated tallow, for the spectral fog has been known to lead men astray, their voices swallowed whole. The barometer's steadiness is a lie; pressure builds in the east, and the mountains are holding their breath.
Let the townsfolk bar their doors and hang garlic and iron above the lintels. The moon's crescent is waxing, but its light is thin and cold, and the fog drinks it like a thirsty thing. I shall remain at my post, recording each flicker of the mercury, each shift of the wind, until dawn breaks or the instruments themselves fall silent. May God have mercy on any soul abroad this night.
Meteorological Readings & Barometric Log:
• Atmosphere: Nocturnal Spectral Fog under Waxing Crescent
• Temperature: 52°F / 11°C / 9.0°R Mountain Chill
• Barometer: 29.96 inHg - Steady
• Wind & Squalls: North-Northeast 2 kts Calm Air
• Station: Scarlet Ridge Observatory, Transylvania
• Observer: Alistair Sterling, Atmospheric & Barometric Scholar