thefoundation | MOCK ROUND INTRO LOG

Welcome to ~~Rokkenjima~~. This island may just be a copy in the middle of reformation, but the Witch extends her greetings all the same. Please, relax.

This game is just a trial run, but please do not think you can sleep through this. The Witch fully intends to put the system through its paces, so please put up a good fight.

The difficulty level depends on you. Think deeply on your moves during this short play time.

You wake with a start - even if you don't remember falling asleep in the first place - and find yourself standing on the dock of what looks like an island. There's a noise behind you - and if you turn to look, you'll see a plain white boat taking off and leaving you all behind, not stopping for a second if you try to flag them down or scream at them.

It doesn't look like you can swim to shore, either - there's nothing but sea in all directions, and something tells you trying to swim out will end up badly. However, a small dip, if you were so inclined, would be fine. It's not like the weather is bad for it - it feels like it's summer, despite whatever it was when you laid eyes on the envelope.

...Speaking of, Every last one of you have an envelope in your hands, with a gold letter 'L' on it. It's the same letter you were reading before you 'woke' up here, after all. More than that, those of you who had supernatural or magical abilities will feel...strange, as if your abilities are being forcibly blocked. Try as you might, you just can't use them - though all of your physical abilities are intact, of course.

If you decide to head up the path, you'll find Goat....men? waiting for you near the doors to the mansion. Despite their bright red eyes, they merely bow politely and wordlessly bring you into the mansion, showing you your rooms and then stating that they will prepare food for you or anything else you should need whenever you want, in surprisingly deep voices.

As they leave, you can't help but wonder...

What did you just get yourself into?

Mock Round Calendar!
The taken page still requires a little coding, but it should be done by sometime today.
Thank you for your patience!

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

[Whatever this boy is, he's kind of reminding Bruno of his little brother and it's slightly comforting.

However, the whole situation is still incredibly bewildering, plus Bruno's worried about accidentally scaring the boy with his hideous apperance.]

That sounds like a good idea, but I think we better introduce ourselves. At least.

[Bruno definitely gets a stare at first. Oh. Hm.

Never seen anything like that before!]

Ah... did you get a letter, too?

[Just where did that witch find all these... folks?]

[That is a good question.]

Yes, I did. Whoever sent this has a very strange idea of "agreement."

[He read through the whole thing and thought "maybe" for a split second. Look where that got him.]

I wonder if the letter itself was magic...

[Taking them all instantly to another place is some pretty powerful stuff, though.]

I wouldn't doubt it... And powerful magic at that.

[Teleportation is something only very powerful magic users and faeries are capable of, right?]

[He nods.]

And a powerful spell means a great sacrifice.

[What.]

... Excuse me?

[What is right. It would make sense if we were talking about non-faerie magic, but...]

Magic requires sacrifice.

[It's not too weird to explain it, a lot of normies don't really think too hard about these things. Heck, some magic users don't, either.]

So in order to cast a strong spell like this, you'd have to give up a lot. The sacrifice depends on the person, though.

[That... Barely makes sense. He remembers seeing his sister do her magic, but most of it was in the wand or brewing potions... Closest he has is her sacrificing ingredients or him risking his life to help with that summoning potion...]

Sorry, I think I got pulled into another world. I don't recognize anyone's species, and I'm pretty sure your magic system is different from the one we have where I'm from...

Though I guess you're not from here either?

[...........]

Sorry?

[He's a little bit stuck on the ANOTHER WORLD part.]

Uh... [Oh dear, how to explain.]

Where are you from again?

I'm from Kamigusk.

[You know, capital city of Kamisaid, real famous.]

... Never heard of it.

And I suppose you haven't heard of Neovia either? [Which would make more sense since Neovia is a fairly small town in the middle of the Haunted Woods that just recently got un-cursed. Mostly.]

[Well, if he's from a different country, maybe...]

No, I haven't. [And he shakes his head when he admits that.] Are most people like you where you're from?

What? No!

[... Wait, that was a knee jerk reaction. Let him clarify.]

I mean, yes, most people are Neopets, but I wasn't always this ugly!

[... It's a long story.]

...Neopets?

[That's a new word.]

[Bruno nods.]

Yes, Neopets. They're the "people" from where I'm from... How do I explain this... And there's more than one species of Neopet, if you want to be specific. For example, I'm a gelert, but I got turned into a monster ten years ago thanks to a curse.

None of those names are familiar to me...

[Especially odd, because that kind of gives the sense that they're like. Pets to someone else? Hm.]

Well, what exactly caused the curse?

[Well, they're not... But there are pets. They're just called petpets.

... Sigh.] It's a long story.

[He glances around a bit. And then:]

I don't think we're on any real schedule here.

True... I may as well tell you.

[He takes a deep breath before recounting his tale.] I'm pretty sure the trouble started when I met that stranger on the way home one day. He offered me a potion that was supposed to grant any wish and chase away sorrow. Now, I was young and didn't know better, so I bought one from him thinking it would help me win someone's heart...

And at first, it did. Made me strong and handsome, I think. Then my father went to the stranger for help with his job, then my brother went to him for knowledge, and before I knew it nearly everyone in town had a taste.

[Bruno frowned and shook his head.] But of course, it was all too good to be true. Some time after that stranger left town, everyone who drank that potion became twisted by those wishes and turned into horrible monsters...

Edited 2019-02-10 03:46 (UTC)

[Ahhh...]

Sounds like the kind of situation you would get into with a demon.

[Lots of bad news, basically.]

So... if that's the case, your wish here would be...?

I'm not too sure what a demon is, but that sounds right...

[Bruno frowns at the notion.] To tell you the truth, I don't think I should risk asking someone who practically kidnapped us for a wish. The only reason I'm here was because I went and read that letter all the way through.

Besides, my sister and I managed to finally reverse the curse on the rest of the town with the help of a traveler about a week ago. I'm not sure why the cure didn't work on me, but I'll live with it.

They say demons will offer you any wish, in exchange for your soul.

[So that's definitely not relevant to their current situation or anything.]

Ah... it's good you were able to reverse the curse, at least. What kind of magic did that require?

Hm... That makes sense.

[He wasn't exactly there when Sophie brewed it, but...] A potion of some sort had to be poured in the water supply. Getting to that point, though... That was a lot more complicated.

(no subject)

curryparty - 2019-02-10 19:51 (UTC) - Expand