Ugh. Stupid birds. It’s too early. Julien squints against the intrusive light of day, completely unappreciative of the morning’s symphony. If I can just make it to the coffee machine, I might be able to pry my eyes open. He swings his legs over the edge of his makeshift bed to dangle above nothing. Wait. Where is the…floor?!
Amidst a stream of curses, Julien tumbles past multiple branches. The thin tendrils whip his flailing limbs and face. The thick branches knock the wind out of him as they slow his descent to solid ground.
Scratched, bruised, and now thoroughly awake, Julien lies sprawled amidst the ferns. He groans.
“Want to sleep safe?” he mumbles. “Out of reach of potentially murderous creatures, including but not limited to giant salamanders and killer rats? Sleep in a tree! Brilliant. Simply brilliant.” Spitting out a few leaves, he scrambles to his feet.
I guess, since I am still in good, well, okay condition, it wasn’t that bad an idea. But man, am I parched. Following the sound of water, Julien sets out for the little square with the aqueduct-fed basin.
After his face-to-face with the Fool, Julien had retraced his steps to the very same basin to wash the underground off himself and his clothes. A wide drain leading away excess water into the fields had put him at ease about contaminating his only water source. The fields could handle sewer grime.
Thankfully, the remainder of the day was long and warm enough for his clothes to dry before nightfall. The wait did give him a couple of hours, which he spent using his Fool’s Lens to investigate his status screen and the nuts and berries he had eaten. Apparently, the nut was called Rabest. It increases health regeneration. The berries had been even more interesting. They had grown from a particular strain of a parasitical plant called Migaera that yields berries which increase the recovery rate of magical energy. Eaten in excess, though, it can lead to drowsiness. Go figure.
The investigations and experiments had drained his magic pool. That and the dwindling light had forced him to consider the more practical issue of where he might safely spend the night. Ultimately, he had decided upon the upper reaches of a tall tree.
Now, after a good night’s rest following a well-rounded meal, his magical energy is restored. Time to get some more clarity about where I am, Julien thinks as he cups his hands and slurps. He has just the idea. Maybe clearing away some of the vines at the pagoda will reveal some interesting details.
But first, something else. Right at that moment, his stomach rumbles. Right. Breakfast too, of course. As he devours some Rabest nuts and Qami fruits at the pagoda, Julien activates his lens and looks at the Fool suit upgrades. He focuses on the line that reads +1 and revisits the screen that had him puzzled the last time.
Three options are visible, although one is greyed out. The descriptions of the ones readily available read:
‘Card slot +1:
Card slot – a magic slot used to activate a card from your Deck.
Knapsack of the Fool:
Even a Fool knows enough to start his journey with some provisions. His trusty knapsack lets him carry them wherever he goes.’
Julien takes a moment to consider this information. The Fool mentioned the deck of cards was important. Does a card slot function like in a collectible trading card game? Can they be used to somehow trigger some magical effect from my cards? But there is nothing on his cards yet. Something else to ask, I guess. And the knapsack? Looks quite useful, but that third option...
‘Mage Armor:
The world isn’t kind to Fools. Full-body magical armor keeps one safe, for this hazardous world contains numerous terrors waiting to jump the unwary Fool when he least expects it. Protects only upon activation.’
Extra armor is important. Maybe by gaining another level, he will be able to invest in it if he doesn’t pick an upgrade now. Should the system work that way.
Julien sighs. Maybe I should let it rest for now. I don’t want to make any hasty decisions. Of course, I can ask the Fool, but first, I want to have more to show him. Clear input he cannot ignore. I want to know where I am, damnit, and I want to know where I need to go.
So Julien spends most of the morning and early afternoon clambering around the pagoda, clearing away vines of the parasitical Migaera from the main frames of the latticework, making sure to pick the berries he finds on them. It is tough work without the ideal tools available. He definitely doesn’t want to annihilate the creeper as a source of food that helps restore his magical energy, so he assesses branch by branch whether to cut it or not.
When Julien uncovers a piece of coloured glass behind the vines, his heartbeat quickens. This must be what created that colorful shine on the floor yesterday. Somehow, he feels it is important. Putting extra effort into not breaking anything precious, he uncovers a stained-glass window piece by piece. However, when he thinks he is done, the window is still mostly dark. Stepping outside the pagoda, he discovers that the outside is largely covered by vines as well, mostly originating from a tree he hadn’t noticed before.
He climbs the tree to cut the growths with boundary issues close to the source. While cutting, he spots some gourd-like-shaped growth hanging from some of the branches, some quite close to the ground. Hmm. Now what could that be? Julien looks at it, focuses to activate the Fool’s Lens and…
‘Balmea – these gourd-shaped fruits have a sturdy shell that holds precious juice inside. Restores health and has curative properties.’
That’s useful. I’ll have to pick some of those sometime.
Satisfied with the result of his work, Julien climbs down. As he is about to head into the pagoda once more to summon the Fool, he grasps one last look at the vast garden at his feet. He is stunned to see an impossibility in the distance. The silhouette of a vast building that had not been there before. A building whose shape was not unlike… A castle! That has to be significant!
He rushes inside. “Synthisa Activa!”
The Fool appears, takes one look around, and says, “Still here at the garden shed?”
“Yes, and I think it’s time I showed you the sights.”
Julien leads the Fool around the (mostly) clean and uncovered pagoda. At each pane of latticework, he says, “Yes, yes, Julien, that is some very nice woodwork. Anything else?” But when they get to the window, the Fool is suddenly silent.
The sun shines through the window, and together they stare at a story painted in glass. Four frames above one large window. The first shows a bearded man with a jeweled crown standing on a balcony. He waves to the next frame where a golden-haired woman – clad in a white dress adorned with red roses and carrying twelve stars on her tiara – rides a chariot drawn by two sphinxes into a luscious garden. The chariot is steered by a young man wearing armor. A woman in a white dress girded with green vines pets a majestic lion in the third frame. In the fourth, yet another woman is depicted. This woman is clad in naught but her skin. She pours water from two jugs, watering a garden and…a pond? And then there is the central piece. The woman with the stars on her tiara oversees the planting and maintenance of a large garden. She holds a scepter in her right hand. The left rests on the shoulder of a boy standing next to her – a boy with golden hair wearing a multicolored tunic.
“So, what do you think?”
The Fool remains quiet.
“Still not enough? Then I think it’s time I show you the main event.” Julien drags the Fool outside and points to the silhouette in the distance. “Now tell me what you think about that!”
The Fool’s face goes pale. “Impossible,” he whispers. He whirls around to the pagoda they had just exited and stares at the stained-glass window again. “This has to be some sick joke,” he groans.
Then, without another word, he disappears.