It's dark, and Dayo and Jaol are being as quiet as they possibly can.
It doesn't really help. As soon as they're noticed, Jaol cries, "Go, your majesty!"
Dayo doesn't need to be told twice. He runs. It's too dark, though, and he trips, and hits his head against a tree trunk—
Dayo wakes up, with his face on the sand. Suddenly he hears a voice in his head.
“You wake up on a desert island. You have no idea how you got here. The last thing you remember is a sharp pain in your head.”
The next thing he might notice is the sound of waves crashing nearby.
"What the fuck," he cries, jerking up suddenly. "Jaol? Jaol!"
His head hurts, but not in the way it should hurt after hitting a tree. The voice in his head continues.
"Your clothes are wet and tattered. Next to you there is a pirate trunk. On the other side of the pirate trunk there is the skeleton of a pirate. There is nothing else on the island."
His clothes are not in fact tattered nor wet, just a bit sand-covered. And calling this place an island is being over-generous; there is enough room for Dayo, the trunk, the skeleton, three coconut trees, and not much else.
"Who are you and why are you talking in my head?"
"You look in the distance. There is a distant island that should provide much better shelter than this one. But the journey through these shark-infested waters should prove dangerous and risky."
The voice in his head speaks again, apparently not paying attention to his question nor caring where Dayo is actually looking. The distance between this islet and the island is pretty short and the water looks quite shallow. There is however a shark circulating the water, and when Dayo looks at it he hears a two-note tune that is very suspenseful.
"I don't have time for this, where am I, why are you doing this, what's going on?!"
There is an absence of answer from the voice in his head. Just the crashing of the waves.
Ugh. "Will anyone give me an explanation?"
Not expecting to get an actual answer, though, he scoots over to the... chest and skeleton.
The skeleton is... dead, and awfully clean and white for something left out in the open. It is wearing blue pants, a red-white stripped shirt and an eye-patch. One of the hands is replaced by a metal hook.
The chest glows and then opens... "What a wonderful treasure!" chirps the head-voice.
The chest is bigger on the inside, like someone used some sort of space-raveling. Inside there are several things floating: nine silver coins; a tunic that looks made out of white tiger hide; a folded tent; a mason jar containing something hard to identify; an iron lantern; and a bottle with a rolled up piece of paper inside.
The bottle is glowing with golden light.
What the fuck.
Okay, he'll... let that lie... and see if there's literally anything else of interest on this tiny island.
Well, how about coconuts? Those are interesting, right?
...no. No they are not.
Okay, back to the chest. He reaches for the bottle...?
As soon Dayo touches it he hears the mental voice again.
"Inside the bottle there is a message, that describes the deceased pirate's tale."
And then voice changes to another, more rough and accented.
"Curse Jones! He left me stranded on this island, no way to escape without my treasure! He wouldn't even help me carry it through the water! He just used the shark bait to distracted the dangerous tuneshark and bailed on me! Curse Jones a thousand times! Now I am too weak to swim even without my treasure and I am going to die on this cursed island."
What the fuck.
What happens if he tries to actually get the paper out of the bottle and read what's written on it?
That gets him a piece of paper that looks old and is scribbled with random lines. It looks more like a prop than an actual message.
...right.
Mason jar?
This gets him to hear the head-voice again. "Old Grandma Traditional Shark Bait: The best shark bait in the seven seas! Feed this to a shark and it won't be able to chew on anything else, not even your legs! Satisfaction gguaranteed or your money back! Just add water! (Or rather, add it to the water.)"
What, didn't the skeleton say there was no shark bait or something...?
Whatever. Tent?
"This island is too small to set up the tent."
Right but can be grab it.
He in fact can grab it.
When he does that he sees a ghostly image of the tent nearby, translucent and marked in red.
"This doesn't look like a good place for this item."
...he puts it back.
Coins?
There is no mysterious telepathic message, from them, but they stack themselves into a pile when Dayo isn't holding them. The coins have a rather simple design, with a "10" written on one side and a "$" symbol in the other.
Dear gods.
Lantern?
"This is going to be useful when the night falls."
The lantern is made of iron and lights up on its own as soon Dayo touches it.
Figures.
Tunic?
"This is really nice fur and should protect against the extreme cold."
...right okay and how is he even supposed to carry these things.
He sighs and looks around, then grabs the shark bait.
He can grab the shark bait. Also, the pirate chest just shrank.
...what. How. How much. What about its contents.
It can easily fit in the palm of his hand or even in his pockets. Contents - minus bait jar - have shrunk as well.
...okay, can he make the chest large again?
It gets larger again as soon as he forms the intent.
Alright. So he strips naked, puts his clothes inside the chest, keeps the bait out, and—forms the intent to get the chest smaller.
So how does he use this bait again? Does he just open it and...?
The chest gets smaller and apparently the bait is supposed to be opened.
The bait looks like a fat worm, rubbery and dry to the touch. It doesn't smell like anything.
...ew.
He throws it into the sea.
The shark's melody changes from the scary two notes to something upbeat and the shark itself stops moving.
What. The.
Whatever. He just. Whatever. He holds the chest with the other objects and his clothes in one hand and starts swimming to the other island.
The crossing goes without a hitch.
Right, okay. And what's on the other island?
Several things! There is sand, trees, this rock, this another rock! Maybe he should explore some.
Yeah, he'll do that.
This causes him to find more trees, more rocks, oh, look there is an altar and a second skeleton over there.
And if he walks over there...?
Once he gets closer the telepathic voice strikes again:
"Another tragic scene. But wait, what are those things that the departed is holding?"
The right arm stretches in the direction of the altar, while the other hand is apparently holding something close to the chest.
"I don't know, what are those things that the departed is holding?" he echoes sarcastically as he approaches the departed.
The voice declines to comment. The departed is holding a stone figure in its the right hand and a book in the other.
Ew. Okay. Ew. He's going to. Ew.
He reaches for the book.
When he touches the book, he gets the telepathic message. "Jones' journal. It must have valuable survival information."
Uh... huh. The figurine?
It's small round and abstractly shaped like a person. "It's cute because it's so smol!"
"...small. It's spelled 'small.'"
There is no response, unless that sudden gust of wind is a coded reply.
...nah. Back to the journal.
He opens the book in the first page.
"You read the last page."
Now with a different less gruff voice.
"This will be my last message. I am sure. Unless I manage to escape this island. Which I am not sure. I hope that whoever finds this journal sends my regards to my beloved Maribelita or at least has better luck than I did while uncovering the mysteries of this place."
A red bookmark suddenly appears and glows.
Whyyyyy is this place so weeeeeeeeird this is not the last page what happens if he goes see the last page?
Well, he can try going to the last page.
And keep on trying.
It appears that every time he attempts to turn the last page, there is still another page after that one.
Okay what if he closes it, turns the book upside down, and opens the back cover?
The pages are flipped through and keep going and going...
Ugh. Okay whatever. Back to the first page. What's the red bookmark?
"Following the instructions of this journal should prove key to survival."
The voice changes again into what must be Jones' voice.
"I figured out how the totems work. You place one at the altar and give them an elemental offering. I discovered this when I placed one of the totems in the slot and the wind blew a leaf onto it, counting as an offering of wood."
Again the words are repeated in the actual book. Except there are also the words:
Goal: create a wood totem. 0/1.
...he grabs the little statue.
The little statue is little, made out stone and not obviously magical as far he can tell.
And if he places it on the altar?
It fits into the slot neatly.
...and...?
Nothing really obviously magical happens. The smol totem just sits there.
And the book hasn't changed?
Not as far he can tell. Just the same endless pages as before.
Okay, what if he tries doing the offering of wood thing, putting a stick or something on the altar?
The smol totem changes! It gets a green and brown coloring with some leaf-like designs.
Also there is now a golden bookmark in his book.
Progress! Woo!
What's it do?
It bookmarks a page with the tittle "Know Your Totems" in really fancy letters.
The next page is the "smol wood totem" entry; it contains a really good picture and a description:
The weakest wood totem, but it can make plants sprout, blossom or grow fruit, or shape wood in simple ways. Basic wood manipulation. Single use.
Uh... huh. And the page with the 0/1 thing?
When he turns to that page, there is a shower of sparkles. The "0/1" turns into "1/1" and a voice happily shouts "Goal complete!"
Some of the sparkles coalesce into a fraction of a sphere, as if someone was pouring sand into it and the sphere was half full.
"The many kinds of totems are created differently," says the likely Jones-voice, "but all share the same theme of a big enough offering. Enough water to submerge the totem, or enough sand to bury it. Stone offerings always get heavier, which is a pain in the back!"
And again those words are transcribed on the page, followed by:
Goals:
Hint: search the island for more totem statues. Their mischievous spirits move them around when you are not looking, so always keep an eye out for them and don't forget to store them in your chest or in your tent.
...right. His chest is still in his hand and he's still naked, he should perhaps put clothes back on to have pockets. He wills the chest to be larger—
The chest enlarges, and as soon as it gets too large to comfortably hold it jumps out of his hand and floats to the ground.
And he grabs his clothes again and puts them back on (ew ew ew salt on his skin and sand and ew so uncomfortable) then shrinks the chest, puts it in his pocket, and goes looking for totems.
There are more to be found! Sometimes in plain sight, sometimes under leaves and sometimes in places he already looked...
In total he finds about four smol totems and two slightly bigger totems. The first one he picks up causes a mental message: "This looks very average... for a magical statue on a weird island."
Right whatever he'll figure it out later. What happens if he dunks a totem in the sea?
He gets a wet totem.
And if he puts it on the altar?
He gets a smol water totem!
There is also a new entry in the "Know Your Totems" sections.
The weakest water totem, but it can create a strong splash of water or enough water for someone to drink during a day. Basic water manipulation. Single use.
And did his book update?
The relevant line turns into:
Okay so if he buries a totem in the sand and then puts it on the altar...?
He gets a smol sand totem! With an accompanying entry in the book.
What's it do?
The entry says:
The weakest sand totem, but it can create a gust of sand capable of blinding an enemy, "dust off" a person or small area, or create a small quantity of sand. Basic sand manipulation. Single use.
If he blows on another totem while it's on the altar?
It earns him a "smol air totem".
With a matching entry:
The weakest air totem, but it can produce a gust of wind that no human could with their lungs. Basic air manipulation. Single use.
And if he... puts some earth he excavates on the totem and puts the totem on the altar?
Gets him a... smoll dirt totem.
The weakest dirt totem, but it can move a small quantity of dirt at a short range, or create high quality soil enough for a small plant. Basic dirt manipulation. Single use.
Not stone, right, hmm...
Is there a rock anywhere nearby?
There is plenty of rock around in various sizes.
...okay, and if he brings a rock and the statue to the altar...?
Gets him a stone totem!
The utterly most average stone totem, it can move, shape or create moderate amounts of stone. Stone manipulation at average range, average speed and average power. Continuous use, but spent if used to create more stone.
Also when he turns to the red bookmarked page...
He gets presented with another shower of sparkles and the orb of energy gets full and grows, releasing even more sparkles! He also gets to see the following text in the air in front of him with the words:
Level up!
+1 speed
+1 stamina
+1 magic
+10 health
Extra Health boost from leveling up, doubled health until damaged.
Whyyyyy is this place so weeeeeeeeird.
Does the book ask him to do anything else?
Apparently not at the moment.
Okay... What else is there around?
Well, there are trees, ground, rocks and the ocean at the distance. All very exciting island stuff.
Really? No more stuff in the diary, no new entries? No other land?
Nope! Nothing.
...no other totems?
There are more of those, yes. He finds another average totem and two smol ones.
Then another quest shows up in his book.
What's it say?
"Surviving alone is a hard task and more so without shelter! All I did the first night in the island was think about that tent that I had left behind in my chest. And then there is food! Water! And warmth!"
Goals:
Hint: the fire doesn't need to be stay lit continuously, but it only counts from dusk to dawn.
Okay so he grows the chest again and reaches for the tent...
Once the tent is out of the trunk it jumps out of his hand, grows and unfolds by itself.
Soon he has a neatly set up tent. How convenient. The interior has a bed, a stool and a table. None of which could've fit inside the folded tent.
...okay. What if he wants to set it up elsewhere though?
It unfolds neatly and is back on his hand when he thinks about that.
...and if he wants to put it over there...?
It will settle in the new location easily enough.
Okay.
Is there food anywhere?
Plenty, apples, grapes, bananas, oranges, strawberries can be found all around... plenty don't really look proper for the climate but their respective plants look healthy enough. While searching around he also comes across a freshwater stream.
Does he have anywhere to put the water?
Well, if he looks in the trunk (which shows up conveniently nearby when he thinks about it), Dayo might notice he does have a bottle with a message inside.
Right, the bottle. He gets some water in there (after removing the message) and grabs fruits.
Now the only goal missing is the one about fire.
Right, okay. Is there flint?
Assuming he can identify it, yes there is.
Of course he can identify it.
He starts looking for dry twigs to start the fire and other denser wood to keep the fire going.
Eventually he will get enough materials for the fire, find another smol totem and what a second freshwater stream.
So he can start lighting the fire, then.
Lo and behold: Fire.
It's still not dark enough. Anything he'd like to do with his time?
Continue exploring this weird island.
Well, he will find another average totem (is he keeping track of those?) and eventually he will discover that the two streams start as one and further upstream there is a pretty nice set of waterfalls, with another altar nearby.
Ooh, anything interesting near the altar?
There are about five tree stumps arranged and sized such that they resemble a table. If he looks in that vicinity he will find a knife besides one of the "chairs". The type useful to go through vegetation or infect people with tetanus. He will also find the remains of a small telescope to one side, which prompts the message, "Must've belonged to Jones. Could be useful if I find a way to fix it."
Look, a new quest!
Goals: Fix Jones' telescope. 0/1
Hint: The right combination of magic can achieve many things.
...how ridiculous. But okay, he'll grab the telescope and the knife and continue exploring the island.
How much effort is he going to put into that exploring? Even with that knife some areas are hard to walk through or climb up. And eventually it's going to get dark.
He's only going to explore for long enough that by the time he comes back it's barely dark.
There is what looks like an entrance to a cavern on that mountainside over there, but he really can't afford any time to explore it or take a closer look if he wants to get back while it's still light out.
Yeah no he'll just go back to his tent.
Eventually night falls. The quest page counts the time until the six hours are complete. And then there is a shower of sparkles telling him that the quest is complete.
Jones' voice sounds in his head:
"The fire was so warm and so comforting."
Suspenseful music.
"Wish I'd known it would attract their attention. I would've preferred the cold darkness."
Oh, look, he just got a new quest! How exciting!
"Disturbing the spirits interrupted their peaceful rest. At night, animals got aggressive and I would see frightful visages. The moment it got dark I would go back to my shelter and lock myself inside." says the Jones-voice.
"Hostile mode unlocked."
Goal: survive the night. 5h55min until dawn.
Hint: If you fail at this quest you won't be able to try it again.
You don't fucking say.
Well, it was telepathy instead of speech.
Right. Anyway, dude says he'd lock himself inside... which probably means not in a tent. Dayo sticks his head outside.
He sees the island in the darkness of the night and some odd lights in the distance. Also he hears a screech right above him.
There is a huge bat with a wingspan about as big as his arms, looking down on him.
Fucking stupid island. He scrambles out of the tent.
The bat screeches and takes flight, and another bat tries to knock him down.
Fuck's sake—he dodges—and tries to grab his tent back into his chest—
- The tent folds first and then it's back in the chest.
And now he runs. Are there visible tracks anywhere?
No tracks besides his own, and even those are hard to see in the darkness. There are some parts of the forest that are relatively easy to walk through, but not in any sense that makes him think of "this is a path to somewhere specific".
...his fire is still lit, isn't it, what happens if he touches it with one of the totems then puts it on the altar...?
He just got himself a fire totem! Another bat swoops down on him.
He hits the ground with a grunt, but alright, can he use the fire totem to light his way and try to get the heck away? What does he have?
The smol totem lights up like a torch.
Besides the original contents of his chest. He has a total a total of seven smol totems (two unused, one of the following each: fire, water, sand, wood and dirt) and three average totems (two unused and one stone).
In the environment not in his possession.
He has a delightful selection of rocks, variously sized pieces of woods, that nook over there that looks relatively defensible...
—nook yes he goes there.
He gets bats trying to tackle him to the ground and then bats trying to tackle him to the ground, but from one direction.
And is there anything useful in the nook?
Not really, unless he counts rocks and branches useful.
Maybe. Can he use them to defend against the stupid bats?
If he is capable of hitting giant bats with stones and branches, sure. One even yelps in agony when Dayo lands a lucky hit that takes out one of its eyes.
And he has to endure a whole night of this? No, that note by the pirate dude said he had locked himself inside, there must be some inside place he can go. He sprints out of the nook, timing his exit to dodge the bats, and starts running around and zigzagging unpredictably, looking for a place to lock himself inside damnit.
Well, for how long is he going to do that? Because that is certainly an absence of obvious places that allow one to lock themselves inside. On the upside there are a tons of giant bats and weird slow-moving fireball thingies.
...slow-moving fireball thingies...?
They look like balls of pale-blue fire that moves very slowly. There is no other way to describe them.
Are they attacking?
They are moving towards him (slowly), but there is nothing particularly aggressive about the action.
Except for that they are mysterious balls of fire on a weird island.
Yes that, sure, whatever. He'll go somewhere where the trees are denser where giant bats can't hit him.
Denser trees help a great deal, the bats have a lot more trouble reaching him.
The fire-ball things are still approaching.
Sure but he can just leisurely walk away from them while he keeps looking for a place to lock himself in.
If he keeps up like this he might eventually run into that area with a second altar and waterfall.
Sure he'll look there.
Well, eventually he is going to try searching the waterfall. This earns him an attempted piranha bite which makes him jump through the waterfall and also allows him to discover that there is a cavern there, leading to a small area with a brick wall and a door.
...handy, that. Can he open the door?
Yup, it opens to a cavern space with surprisingly straight geometry. There are at least three doors, there is some random furniture scattered around the room, something that looks like a chimney or oven and a chest on a table.
—chest? He'll go check the chest.
The chest opens with a piece of fanfare. There he will find: half a dozen silver coins; three pearls; a pink egg with the stylized drawing of a pig.
...he grabs the egg. Is there a helpful mental explanation?
No, and when he grabs it there is a sudden and loud pig's noise that startles Dayo. The egg is dropped and...
...poof! A pig appears amidst a cloud of pink smoke.
"Why."
"Oinc!" Is the pig's reply. It sniffs around for food.
No honey you are food.
Can he store the pig in suspended animation in his chest?
Well, presuming he is strong enough. The pig isn't full-sized though. Also, it doesn't smell bad and looks clean. It looks more like an idealized version of a pig than an actual farm animal.
What why does he need to grab the pig he didn't need to grab his tent.
This is stupid. He collects the other things in the chest and puts them in his.
At least the pig shrinks once it gets inside. The pig floats amidst the other objects and looks at Dayo as if expecting for an answer to this weird turn of events.
Yes well it's food it can stuff its opinions.
He'll look around some more.
One of the doors leads to a bathroom containing a tub, a mirror, a sink and a toilet. All made of iron, yet nothing is rusty.
The second door leads to a small bedroom; a single-person bed and a stool are the only items of furniture. There is a painting on the wall of a dark-haired woman wearing pink clothes. There is a very soft but noticeable breeze of fresh air coming from this room.
The third door leads to what looks like a storage space. The stone here isn't regular like the other three rooms. There are three wooden barrels scattered around the room and a chair.
...where's the breeze coming from, exactly?
After a while searching in the dark... Dayo can determine that it is coming from the portrait on the wall.
And if he examines it?
"It's like she is actually breathing," says the mental Jones-narration.
Actually, it's pretty obviously coming from behind the painting.
Are there hinges or will he have to remove the painting?
No hinges. The portrait was hanging from a nail and once it's removed reveals a locked safe. There is air blowing out of the gaps in the safe's hatch.
What's this bizarre contraption. What does it do. He fiddles with it.
It looks like a heavily armored hatch or small door. There is no lock; instead there is a circular dial-thing with numbers that he can spin back and forth.
Weird.
Anything else?
Just that thing and the constant fresh air. At least it doesn't feel like he will suffocate in this bedroom.
Right but how about in other rooms, anything else noteworthy?
Well, he didn't check the wooden barrels in the storage room.
There is no obvious way to open the lid.
...okay. Whatever.
Bedroom > bed > sleep.
He wakes up the next day feeling very well rested. Gosh this was the best night of sleep ever.
Cool story.
Okay, now she'll explore the place again in the light of day, anything new?
The light of the day can't penetrate the thick cavern walls. At any rate there are no obvious changes. If she checks her trunk she will notice that the pig reverted to an egg again.
Well, that's... good, she guesses.
Hey, she survived the night, shouldn't she get, like, some prize or something?
Level up!
+2 stamina
+1 magic
+10 health
Extra Health boost from leveling up, doubled health until damaged.
Okay, so she elects to explore the storage room again.
The storage room remains how she has left it, with the three barrels and the chair. Does she want to check the barrels? Maybe she should check the barrels.
Well she did check them last night but sure why not do it again.
The barrels look old, sealed and heavy. In fact they feel oddly... solid.
Can she move them?
Yup, they can roll easily enough.
And do they contain liquid or...?
It doesn't feel like there is any liquid inside. More like the barrels are solid all the way through, or maybe they are packed with something very tightly?
Okay... weird... can she try to pry them open?
Yup! Assuming she uses a knife or tool, or something similar to get a better leverage.
Is there one available somewhere?
There was that one she found yesterday.
Oh right that one. She tries that one.
Once she has pried just enough to see the interior (it's dark) the barrel explodes in a cloud of dust that dissipates into nothingness.
Now there are three amethyst geodes on the floor.
"Those look valuable."
Of course they do.
Other barrels?
That results in coins and fish.
...well she is kinda hungry...
And the fish does look fresh and edible. She can probably use that chimney and oven thing to cook it.
Yes she would like to do that.
Provided that she does know how to cook that will earn her a source of protein to complement her diet.
Of course she knows how to cook.
Okay is there anything else for her to loot?
Not in the little cavernous space.
Okay. Outside?
It's a nice sunny day! No giant monsters at all!
Good, so she can explore some more and hopefully find a way off this island and back home.
Of course, any particular direction she wants to explore? Maybe that cavern she couldn't reach before dusk?
Sure that works.
There is that. She could also check the new quests in her book. By the way, there are two new bookmarks that weren't there last night.
...okay what do they say?
There is a map showing the parts of the island that she already explored. There is an "X" connected by a dotted line to a place she recognizes as her current location.
There is a new "Achievements and Trophies" section and a "Know Your Enemies" section. There is a new quest.
A list of things, which include:
Each item has a matching icon, more or less representative of what they are about.
There is a hint section at the end of the list saying:
Hint: Some achievements are mutually exclusive and determined by the unique ways you choose your story progression. Much in the same way your choices will lead to benefits and drawbacks, they will lead to different achievements.
Followed by a list of blocked off achievements, which contains three items:
The new quest is as it follows:
"This island hides a lot of buried treasures, including some I put there myself!"
Goals:
Hint: you might need an average dirt totem or several smol dirt totems to dig up a treasure, but you can just will it to "dig up nearby treasure" and it will work as long it is in range.
If she hurries, she can probably visit both the cave and the buried treasure and come back before nightfall, but only barely.
Cave first, then.
It's a trek, but she eventually reaches the place (and finds a few totems on the way).
When Dayo gets to the cave's mouth she feels a cold shiver up her spine and hears in her mind, "There is a ghostly presence in this place."
Around the corner she can see light very similar to will-o-wisp light.
She came all this way, she'll explore.