Topics: fantasy worldbuilding, characters, factions, relics, creatures, locations, canon.

Tags: road, mimic, common.

Appearance: at rest they look like tollhouse doors, milestone benches, charity boxes, shrine cupboards, or roadside chests. When opened, the hinges become hooked ribs, the coin slot becomes a wet eye, and the painted toll notice curls like a tongue.

Threat tier: common as a single chest, elite when imitating a whole toll booth, and regional if a neglected waystation lets a colony copy signs, benches, doors, and sleeping stalls.

Habitat: Tollhouse Mimics follow the Old Auric Road, Silvercairn ruins, abandoned toll houses, pilgrim shelters, and corrupt checkpoints where travelers are trained to stop, pay, and obey.

Behavior: they prefer lawful habits as bait. They wait for travelers to count coins, read notices, bow to shrine boxes, or sleep beside what looks official. Mature colonies arrange false paperwork to separate literate clerks from guards.