Chapter Four: What Caught Their Eye
At this point there are no further paths out, but you are not quite ready to turn back the way you came.
If you are at the cascade...
You are pleased to find that its waters are soothing whether or not you've chosen to submerge yourself. It's easy to lose time here where it seems most animals are content to leave you to your own devices and the water plunges onward, uncaring. You feel ready to continue exploring but it is beginning to darken. In spite of the cooling air you feel at peace and sufficiently warmed from the glow sunlight. No one — nothing — has disturbed you.
You are pleased to find that its waters are soothing whether or not you've chosen to submerge yourself. It's easy to lose time here where it seems most animals are content to leave you to your own devices and the water plunges onward, uncaring. You feel ready to continue exploring but it is beginning to darken. In spite of the cooling air you feel at peace and sufficiently warmed from the glow sunlight. No one — nothing — has disturbed you.
Perhaps...
The light has not yet gone from the sky and the water reflects the blues and purples of the clouds. The calm is broken as a shadow darts by overhead, bringing your attention to the treetops. You are surprised to see a silent figure perched in the branches above. At first it's a dark silhouette, lit from behind by the sunset.. It takes you a few steps closer to see it as a bird, then a few more before you see that it must be an owl. It tilts and rotates its head curiously as it watches you approach. You are about to step away, but something doesn't seem quite right. The air around the owl seems dark as if it was leaching all of the color out of the sky, creating a stark contrast against the colorful sunset just beyond its head. You stop before the creature, staring, and it stares back while looming above you. A moment passes before the creature puffs up and reveals that its wings are a fan of lush green ferns that cast an unnaturally large shadow across you and the ground. The creature cocks its head and looks straight at you as if waiting for you to speak. It is listening and reaching into you with large, dark eyes and then you recognize... this is no owl at all, you have found another Esk: the forest wanderer, Ikkit. |
Or perhaps...
Somehow you can tell that the cascade holds more secrets, and that if you tread carefully, you will find them. Something about the shadows behind the mist caught your eye so you pressed your body against the rocks to slip behind the falling current. Tucked away behind the cascade, you find a small dark cave veiled from the sun by the waterfall's spray. The floor of the cave is slick and a dark passageway invites you further in. As you investigate its depths, the once roaring water of the cascade becomes muffled by the thick rock walls. Looking back from where you came, you see the last faint hints of light begin to fade. Dusk’s hues gently illuminate the damp ground. Further up ahead you can see what appears to be a muted glow in the distance. As you carry on, the narrow passageway opens up to reveal a larger cavern. A pool of water has collected here and the surface remains undisturbed. Your feet touch the edge of the pool and all around you the walls and ceiling of the cavern are peppered with dots of glowing blue, casting you and the entire cave in a dim glow of cyan that reflects onto the water below your feet. This glow brings you into a deep state of relaxation. |
To continue on this Quest, you must draw or write about your Esk participating in something inspired by one of the scenes above. Your esk must make a choice - do they venture close to the silent figure or investigate the small dark cave?
For some reason, you cannot manifest your specialized powers - accessories, familiars, enchantments, and elementals will not be present here. If your Esk is not from the Forest Biome, they will not manifest their nature features. Abnormal Esk will manifest their nature features regardless of biome.
For some reason, you cannot manifest your specialized powers - accessories, familiars, enchantments, and elementals will not be present here. If your Esk is not from the Forest Biome, they will not manifest their nature features. Abnormal Esk will manifest their nature features regardless of biome.
If you are in the abandoned graveyard...
You probably haven't been relaxing even though nothing here seeks to disturb you. It is incredibly still here, but there is a tension to the quiet that pulls you forward and causes your eyes to wander.
You probably haven't been relaxing even though nothing here seeks to disturb you. It is incredibly still here, but there is a tension to the quiet that pulls you forward and causes your eyes to wander.
Perhaps...
Nestled within the feeble first sprouts of grass and melting snow, you glimpse a fallen animal that is now nothing more than bones. Evidently not everybody has a formal resting place here among the rows of graves. Moving closer, it becomes clearer to you which animal these bones belong to. You walk carefully around them, and perhaps you are small enough to walk right through the rows of ribs, or are large enough that you must take care not to crush them. Dried vines or new seedlings twist around them, pulling the remains back into the earth. As you continue your investigation, the wind picks up, sending frost-coated branches aflutter overhead. Falling icicles and bits of snow twirl and dance around you. The wind sounds like howling and suddenly the graveyard doesn't feel quite so alone. Just beyond the edges of the graveyard live hundreds of animals... you wonder if any of them are missing their family member that lay here quietly. |
Or perhaps...
A crumbling building sits on the edge of the graveyard. It is the largest structure here, though still dwarfed by the ancient trees above. As you walk towards it, you can see that these are the ruins of what was once a Mausoleum, now overrun by ice, dried vines, and hopeful new plants. The exterior is crumbling and broken in a few places. You peer through one of these openings and see the interior is entirely unlike the outside. It is made of beautiful marble with walls held up by tall pillars. The sky is now becoming dark, perhaps the only light around you is from the last rays of sun filtered through a pane of broken stained glass. The rays glow through the fog that has drifted in and they illuminate the colorful shards on the ground. A large marble tomb sits in the middle of the building; its sides are decorated with intricate carvings. You notice the dead quiet inside the thick walls... It's lonely but beautiful. |
To continue on this Quest, you must draw or write about your Esk participating in something inspired by the scene above. Your esk must make a choice - do they venture close to the fallen one or investigate the crumbling building?
For some reason, you cannot manifest your specialized powers - accessories, familiars, enchantments, and elementals will not be present here. If your Esk is not from the Forest Biome, they will not manifest their nature features. Abnormal Esk will manifest their nature features regardless of biome.
For some reason, you cannot manifest your specialized powers - accessories, familiars, enchantments, and elementals will not be present here. If your Esk is not from the Forest Biome, they will not manifest their nature features. Abnormal Esk will manifest their nature features regardless of biome.