…Why am I bent over like this?
I sit up and stretch my arms. Man, my eyes feel sore…Gods, the sun is concentrating all of its shine on this one spot, I swear…
I must’ve fallen asleep while reading last night. Well, it was a good place to stop anyway, so I’m not exactly complaining…ouch!
Argh…my back feels horrible. Good thing there’s a lot more to explore…I’m sure the pain will go away while I’m out walking around.
I shut Nico’s journal and return it to my bag, grabbing some of the dried fruit while I’m at it. Freeze drying, huh? I guess it’s one of the things they invented…although, I can’t imagine why anyone would want to eat stuff like this…
After folding up the cloth I was using as a blanket, I get up and head out into the snow, stretching again. Making sure to not bend over too much, I break the ice on the Pristine Lake and flinch when I cup some of the freezing cold water in my hands.
…On second thought, maybe it’s not a very good idea to splash this on my face. Just rubbing my hands on my face would do the same thing. There wouldn’t be water on my clothes, too…
I press the palms of my hands against my face, feeling the warmth fade a little. Ugh…I don’t even want to go anywhere today. This sucks…
But, well, the quicker I get this done and over with, the faster I’ll get to just lie down and relax. I’ve got plenty of time, anyway…
I go back inside my makeshift shelter, grabbing my bag and slipping the strap over my shoulder. Woooo…more exploring.
I should leave the squirrel here, on second thought…Wouldn’t want it getting…smooshed or anything. I gently take the squirrel out of my bag and place it on top of the folded tent piece before setting out.
Now that I think about it…why is the squirrel like that, anyway? There’s nothing I can think of that would make the squirrel stay still like that…It doesn’t seem to be sleeping, either.
Unless…it’s magic? But then again, there’s none of it left…well, that’s what the Captain said. Maybe there’s still little bits of it around here. Hmmm…
I guess I won’t really be able to make any solid conclusions without finding more stuff first. Still, though…it’s kind of annoying knowing that I’ll probably take hours upon hours just looking for one thing.
Less complaining, more working, me! Alright, time to think up a to-do list…
First is the pine tree forest down there, because I didn’t get to explore it yesterday. Gotta make sure that I’m prepared to fight anything that comes my way…
Then I’ll take a closer look at the buildings. I probably missed something yesterday, considering how I was just giving everything a quick scan. And I’ll look through the slums, too. See if I can get a little more info on myself.
If I’m not too tired at the end, I’ll search through the Pristine Forest. All I’ve seen from it so far are the trees alongside the path…and that squirrel. I’ll probably find more of those frozen animals if I look closer.
Thinking of the Pristine Forest, it doesn’t look too…damaged. It looks pretty good compared to the town - no massive cracks running through the floor or anything. It’s kind of hard to believe that the Pristine Forest wouldn’t be that affected by the Calamity…
The town itself is also kind of weird. The stalls at the docks looked like they were there for a long time, but the town looked like they had just been hit by the Calamity.
Let’s see…what else can I think of…oh! The normal forest looked almost unaffected, but the further the trees got from the town, the more…dead trees there were. Oh man, that forest was actually pretty big…I might take a week or so to search through all of it…
I pull my journal out of my bag and scribble down my findings before putting it away and carefully making my way down the hill leading to the forest. Don’t wanna trip and fall from here…
Once I reach the bottom, I take a moment to look around and listen for anything unusual. The silence actually makes it pretty easy to hear anything out of the blue, disturbing as it is.
There’s no noise at all, but who knows. Maybe the thing from yesterday is just keeping quiet. In either case, I don’t know where it is, so I’ll have more reasons to worry about whether it’s nearby or not…
On the bright side, there’s a path I can follow! Guess I won’t have to worry about getting lost for a bit. I just hope it doesn’t go on for too long, or else I might not make it back before dark.
This path is a bit cleaner compared to the ones leading to the town and the Pristine Forest. But the strange thing is…these trees.
I guess I didn’t notice it while I was up on that cliff, but some of these trees are tilted. And not in a good way - half of their roots are in the air and not in the ground, where they should be. The dirt looks like it’s been upturned pretty recently, and the trees are still alive…
They look like they could fall over any second. I try lightly pushing one of the trees over, but it doesn’t move. I push harder, I kick it, I even put my entire weight on it and just shove - but it doesn’t move. In what world does that make sense?
Well, maybe Lowell can make a conclusion or two out of it…I chip off a piece of the bark and place it inside my bag. I’ll write this down in my journal when I’m back at my camp.
Eventually, I come to a place where the path splits. There’s no signpost this time, but the path on my left is a lot thinner than the one on my right. This shorter path’ll probably lead to somewhere faster, so I guess I’ll go down this one first.
It doesn’t take long before I see a massive house looming in the distance. The walls are a slightly-stained white, while the wooden beams making up the exterior are a dark brown. The windows are only a little bit dirty, and the door is cracked open.
This would be the perfect place to set up an ambush…or some sort of den…ugh. It gives me shivers just thinking about it.
Be brave, me! I can do it! Argh…
I slow down as I approach the door, listening to the stairs leading to it creak under my feet. The door’s hinges squeal as I gently swing it open.
The inside smells musky, which is a nice change from the smell of death coming from the town. I guess this place belonged to someone who was really rich - not just rich enough to afford a huge house.
Expensive vases filled with slightly wilted flowers line the windowsills, some hang from golden chains on hooks above said windows. Several, gold-framed paintings line the walls, each more detailed than the last. The carpet is intricately decorated with small flowers and bright, swirly patterns.
Even the lights are pretty - the chandelier’s white candles are held in place by the ornate silver. The glass circles around the silver bars, making a sort of vine.
Meanwhile, the stairs are just as grand as the rest of this room. Two marble staircases lead to the upstairs, their railings made of gold and their ends shaped like dragon heads.
I wonder how much all of this cost…and we’re not even past the foyer yet. I feel like a lot of people could’ve used that money, like that fisherman who took care of the kid from the journal. Life really isn’t fair, is it…?
I’ll save the upstairs for later. For now…
I turn to my right, walking through the rooms. There’s a large piano in this room and a lot of big windows looking out onto the path I just walked through. There’s more vases of plants across these windowsills, and a few tapestries hang on the walls.
The next room is the kitchen, which is oddly small for a building this size. I would’ve expected this to be bigger…oh, well.
There’s no extra decorations here aside from the plant dangling above the sink. No fire hazards, I guess? I don’t think I want to search through the cabinets…who knows what critters might be lurking in there.
There aren’t any more rooms past this area, so I head back to the foyer and go left this time. The first room is a dining room with a gold-lined table. A few tapestries hang from the wall here. The candelabras are silver and gold, and the candles seem new.
The second room is a storage room filled with barrels and crates, most likely packed to the brim with food. There’s a thin layer of dust over everything here.
Beyond all of the barrels and crates is a trapdoor that probably leads to the cellar. I open it and take a quick look around…
…aaaaand what was I expecting. Of course it’s filled with loads upon loads of what I can probably assume to be the best wine ever. Argh.
I retreat out of the cellar and decide to head up the stairs this time. It’s really bright up there - especially when all the walls are painted a creamy color.
There are five doorways I can choose from once I’m at the top. The middle one has two elaborately carved doors with silver handles, while the two doorways on either side only have one.
Man, this reminds me of when I explored the Captain’s ship…well, better get going. I walk to the door furthest to my left and open it.
…I’m kind of annoyed at how wealthy these people are at this point. I bet the other rooms are bedrooms, too. Massive, just like this one.
A huge bed lies in the middle of the room, against the wall. The blankets look thick and comfortable, while the velvet red drapes hanging over the bed only add to the dreamy atmosphere of the place. The delicately embroidered pillows are plump and just looking at them makes me want to punch one.
I could go on and on about how nice all of this looks, but I don’t think I wanna stay here anymore…I just feel sort of disgusted now at how much these people are flaunting their wealth. I wouldn’t even feel bad just taking everything from here.
Actually, on second thought, I’m just going to take one of those pillows and one of those thick blankets. There’s not really much point in taking anything else, anyway. I grab the things and stuff them in my bag, under everything else I have in there.
The next room is basically the same, just in a different color and different accessories. I skim over every part of the room, and then move on to the room with the two doors.
On the inside is an extremely large library, filled to the brim with books, plants, and ladders. At the top of every bookshelf is a beautiful painting, each depicting a different background.
As I step inside the library and walk around, I (once again) think about how much the mansion probably cost. Maybe…ten or twenty thousand gold pieces?
There’s a desk here and there with a bunch of writing utensils and paper, but I don’t really feel like taking a closer look. However, when I approach one of the bookcases on the left wall, I see…some sort of stain on the carpet.
…is that blood?
…it probably is.
There’s a huge splatter of blood all over the books and carpet in this area, and some sort of an outline that’s bloodless. I’m guessing someone stabbed another guy to death here and continued to stab him while after he fell down, against the bookshelf…
I don’t feel so good anymore…I’ll check those last two rooms as quick as I can. I don’t want to stay here for too long…
I exit the library and check the next room. It’s another bedroom, which I’m pretty much sick of seeing, so I just close the door and move on. The next door leads to a walk in closet, filled with several different outfits, probably made of expensive stuff. Ugh…
I sigh and exit the room before going to stand at the top of the staircase. I turn around, giving the rooms one more glance, before going down the steps-
Wait.
I feel like these doors should be more evenly spaced…I turn back around.
There’s a bigger space between the second door on the left and the library, and it really annoys me…why, you could fit a smaller closet between those rooms. So…
…but didn’t the wall end just after the doorframe? The bedroom doesn’t take up that space…and from the looks of it, the library is more of a triangular room. There’s an entire area that doesn’t get used over there…
It’s not the same with the second door on the right, though. That side is entirely flat, so why is the left side slanted? I don’t get it…
And I’m also wondering about the area behind the staircase - or, rather, the lack of one. Usually there would be a back door somewhere behind those staircases, right? But there’s only a wall there.
The kitchen and storage room don’t take up that space, though. Nothing uses that space. Did the builders mess up?
I re-enter the library, studying the left wall. The bookcases are in the way, so I can’t get a good look. I glare it for a couple more minutes and then I give up - there’s nothing to see here. I guess it really is just a building flaw…
I descend the stairs and return to the foyer, where I give the area one last scan. Is there anything I missed…nope. Well, I’m outta here…I push the squeaky door open and step out onto the stairs.
It would’ve been nice to camp here, but I don’t feel comfortable enough…I don’t want to sleep in someone else’s house, much less one where some guy was probably murdered. That probably sounds weird, though, considering how I‘ll be sleeping with someone else’s blanket and pillow tonight…
…but, well, those don’t bother me nearly as much as the house itself does. A blanket and pillow on their own don’t really have that much sentimental value compared to a house.
I head back down the path to the place where the original one split and take the other path this time. This one probably leads throughout the entire forest…or at least, past the place where the dead trees start to outnumber the living.
I take a couple more fruit chunks from my bag and shove them into my mouth as I set out. The quicker I get to the end of this path, the faster I can return…argh.
I walk for what seems to be the better part of an hour before I finally see a completely collapsed tree. Woooo, guess I’m finally out of the weird area…
As more and more of these fallen trees show up, I start to hear faint chirps all around me. I guess the wildlife in these areas aren’t affected by whatever affected the town and forest…
A bird soars overhead, flying towards the weird area. I watch it as it goes, happy to see something familiar for once. Ahhh…if only the town was slightly more welcoming-
The bird explodes as soon as it reaches the area. Its bloodied feathers slowly drift to the ground.
. . .
Oh. Okay.
That’s…definitely something I should take note of.
Is that why everything was almost untouched? Because every adventurer who came here just…exploded upon entry? Is that what happened to most of the other animals, too?
Wait, then…why am I not dead? I should’ve exploded, too…
I…uh…I don’t wanna risk going back to the town anymore…or at least, not until I figure out what the conditions for exploding are.
Well…since I’m not gonna be doing much exploring…I guess I should take the time to write stuff down, I guess.
Big, very expensive manor house in pine forest.
Trees in pine forest halfway fallen. Less of these trees the further I get from town.
Bird from outside halfway fallen area explodes upon coming near said area.
Town and Prist. Forest affected by strange force. Most living outsiders will explode upon contact (assumed.)
Well, excluding me. Thankfully.
So…that means that the creature making the noise never came in from the outside. If I’m lucky, it left the area and then tried to return, thus becoming a bloody puddle…but then that brings up another question.
How come the squirrel is frozen but the creature isn’t?
Also, unrelated question - since I would expect adventurers to come in through this path or from the docks, why aren’t there bloodstains and abandoned clothing all over the area? Or…did no one come visiting?
There’s also the possibility of them coming from other places where their bloodstains won’t be as visible, but I just can’t imagine why…hmm. Did no one think to visit this place once the Calamity was over?
But then again, with how things have been going in this new, constantly changing world…I take it no one’s going to come here until they wanna dig up some resources. And besides, it’s not like that mansion back there was something everyone knew about…or else there would’ve been a lot of bloodstains by now.
Hnngh…I’m just worried about how I’m going to give Lowell that squirrel and the other stuff now. Of course, with my way back blocked by the invisible make-things-explode barrier, I can’t just waltz back in…
And while I didn’t explode when I left the area, that squirrel might just turn into a clump of blood and fur when it leaves the area…and even if I’m immune to the barrier, I’m not exactly willing to test how close Lowell can get to the affected area without exploding.
Well, it’s not like I’m stuck with the decision of “stay here and live off of random animals or turn into bloody vapor…” I can always head to Mayrill and try to meet the crew there. I’ll probably get mauled by wolves before I get there, though…
If I make it past that invisible barrier…hm. It technically acts as a shield from everything bad, so that would be a better option than staying out here and getting mauled by wolves anywhere else. I can die now, die later, or make it to Mayrill…
This is probably a really bad idea…but I survived once without any side effects, so who’s to say I won’t survive again?
I probably won’t feel the pain. I won’t know I’m dead until I see heaven. And besides, the crew just gets to think I’m missing…but it would also be…unfortunate if they exploded, too.
I begin to inch towards the affected area again. Looking at the bright side…I definitely won’t get mauled to death by wolves, regardless of the outcome.
I really hope this is a good idea…I push my finger towards the place where the bird exploded and take step after step, squeezing my eyes shut.
Wait, why am I even using my finger, anyway? My entire body’s going to explode on impact, so there’s not really a point.
…oh, hey. These trees are all halfway-fallen.
Wait, what? I made it?
I look back, seeing the bird’s bloodstain a couple of meters behind me. I really did…
So…Am I immune or something? I should get back to town before something screws me over…
I sprint back down the path and stop when I’m out of breath. More questions! Hooray! I pull my journal out of my bag and open it, preparing to write on a new page.
Now that I’m alive (hooray,) I can start figuring out what can or can’t pass the barrier. First things first…
Can’t Pass: Animals (excluding humans)
Can Pass: Humans
Although, it might only let certain types of humans pass. Considering that the Oblivion started to infect people after the Calamity started and that this is the place where the Calamity was said to have begun…it might’ve only let me through since I’m an Oblivian.
Humans (Oblivians only?)
But then again, I was also living here at some point, according to Birch…so maybe it only applies to natural born citizens of this place?
Humans (Oblivians or citizens only?)
Or maybe it’s because I’m young or whatever.
Actually, anything about me could apply to this barrier thing…this is just pointless. Ugh…
Would the corpses explode if I took them out and dragged them back in? Wait, let’s not test that…
Well, I guess the only thing I can be certain about is that any objects taken through the barrier won’t explode. As for the trees…those probably can’t pass. There’d probably be some weird-looking trees stuck halfway through the barrier if they could pass, but there haven’t been any.
Since I’m on the road back to the town, I might as well look around before heading back to my camp…
I also wonder who owned that mansion. I didn’t see any paintings of people in there…or maybe I just skimmed right past that after I got tired of looking at that wealth.
Now that I think about it…those rooms looked more like they were for decoration. They didn’t really feel…lived in. Nothing was different about most of those rooms…
Except the third bedroom, I think. The third bedroom seemed a little more messy. Maybe the second one was also sort of messy, but I didn’t really take the time to absorb the details…
I guess I can always go look at those rooms first. It doesn’t really take that long to get to the mansion from the split in the path…just a couple of minutes, compared to the hour I just spent walking to the barrier.
…I wonder how the crew is doing. Did they find any more information on the mother’s kid yet?
I let my mind drift for a few moments. I guess, right about now…if they were on the ship…
Turner would definitely be lurking somewhere on the upper decks, just like usual. Lily might be…around the wheel? She’d probably be saying something like “Tuuuuurner…that’s daaaaaangerooooous…”
I guess Lowell would be in his lab, pretending to be a scientist again. Or maybe he opened up to the crew? Probably not, but I’m sure they’d accept him if he did.
Marie would be in her studio. I guess she’d be pestering Lowell…she does seem particularly close to him. They’d be a really bad match, though - if his desire to have everything clean and tidy sticks with him, Marie’s gonna ruin his life…
Daniel…Daniel would just be sleeping behind the door for his room. Not much else I can imagine him doing. Or he’ll be tapping away at his weird…machine thing. I forgot what it was called…
Alicia would be talking with some of the crew members. Maybe yelling at Nova, talking with the Captain, or asking one of the other crew members about something. I can’t really imagine her working in her area all the time.
Nova would definitely be hopping around being an annoying ball of energy. Maybe she’d try to help out with something…but then again, she’d probably fail at whatever she’s supposed to do in some clumsy way. I can definitely imagine her tripping and falling flat on her face. I laugh at the thought.
The Captain would probably be in his study. Making him do normal stuff just doesn’t feel right…it feels more like he just lives inside his cabin and comes out only sometimes. Maybe that’s just a ‘me’ thing, though…the other crew members could probably beg to differ.
Birch would be…oh. Right.
I guess…if he was alive…he’d be with me, right now. After all, he did say he would come along in that letter of his…
…it’s lonely out here.
I miss being with the crew…even if it’s only been two days. I can’t wait to see them again, even if some of them are annoying to hell and back.
I sigh. Well, there’s no use in thinking about it…they’ll come back and visit me when they’re ready. Then, after that…who knows when I’ll see them again.
I wish I could leave all this behind and go back to the crew, but I have to find out who I was. I feel like I owe Birch at least that much…even if he never really pushed me to go.
As the split in the path appears, I stop to take a look at the forest around me. It’s actually pretty strange…how come the house isn’t as affected as the town? They’re both behind the barrier separating this place from the outside world, but this house is virtually unaffected.
Nngh…more questions. If only I could actually get some answers…
I walk up the path leading to the mansion and step inside before making my way back up the stairs. From there, I begin to check the bedrooms.
The first bedroom…probably wasn’t used very much. Everything is organized neatly, and nothing has been used. The ink bottle on the desk in the corner is completely full, and the quills have no ink stains whatsoever. It’s pretty dusty in here, too…
The second bedroom looks a lot more lived in. It’s still pretty organized, but some items are strewn about, as if the owner of this bedroom just couldn’t care for cleaning. Maybe they left it behind for their servants or planned on doing it later.
The third bedroom is really messy, though…I’m not sure how I didn’t do a double take the first time. The bed is unmade and a bunch of the pillows are lying on the floor. A couple of them have indents in the middle.
Aside from how messy it is, there’s not really much else…
I walk towards the desk in the corner, trying to find anything of interest. I open a couple of the shelves, look around it a little more, and then step back. Is there really nothing in here? I just don’t think they would leave the place all empty of attachments like this…
As a last resort, I check under the bed…and what do you know, there’s a paper of some sort under there. I wriggle my hand into the space underneath the bed and just barely snag the paper with the tips of my fingers.
I pull it out and dust off my arm and the paper. On the front…is a family? I think…
A smiling man with fair skin and short, dark brown hair has his arm around a gentle-looking woman. Her son is pushing her long, green hair out of his way while his…
A large splotch of ink covers the second kid’s face, leaving only their smile and the ends of their hair exposed. Wow, the owner must’ve hated that kid to blotch them out like that…
In the background is the ocean…I think that’s a harbor behind them? I don’t know where that is…
Weird hair color…it probably wasn’t hair dye, since both the kids and the mother have it. I guess the mother, father, and unblotched kid were living here…Their clothes are pretty simple, though. I can’t imagine any of them living in this place.
Well, guess we can save this for another time…it’s not exactly at the top of my priority list right now. I put the paper in my bag and leave the mansion.
It’s getting pretty dark outside…I guess I’ll stop here for today. I wanna read more of those journal entries, too…
I walk all the way back to the Pristine Forest and hole up inside my camp, cuddling the blanket as I settle in for another night of reading…