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“Ah, I know exactly what you mean,” Tam says, cutting you off. “House too tiny, with not enough space for even a person like you to live in? Don’t worry, Tam will help you expand, yes?”

“No Tam, it’s actually…”

“Do not worry, Mayor,” says Tam. “Though it breaks my heart, I cannot charge you directly for this expansion. You have been here merely two days, and you are the mayor, in addition. Rest assured, I will charge the debt to the Town Hall, where you can pay it off at your leisure, yes? No need to worry about money or credit, Tam knows how to help the customer, yes.”

“Tam!” you say. Tam looks at you suddenly, confused. You sigh. “Tam, I’m just here to buy furniture for now. I might consider getting my house expanded at some point, but right now I barely have anything to put in it anyways.”

“Oh…” Tam nods. Suddenly, she lights up. “Well then in that case, why not check out our premium goods, yes? We have many large and bulky furniture items to take up all your space! We are suddenly having a sale on large and spacious items, 50% off if it is larger than you!”

You roll your eyes. It’s pretty transparent what Tam’s trying to do, but at least you’ll be able to get some kind of deal out of it.

What will you do?


>Request some furniture from Tam [Any sort of furniture item, she’ll see if she has it]
>Request something else from Tam [Lots of things at the general store, including the clearance items]
>Ask about the house expansion
>Talk to Tam about something [What?]
>Other [Write in]

--------

For any newcomers, this quest is based primarily on Animal Crossing, but with elements of Rune Factory, as well as completely original elements, mixed in. The MC is a human boy named Leo, and he is the Mayor of a coastal town called Whiteport, the map of which is attached.

As always, there is a 20 minute voting period after every post (except the first post, which gets as long as it needs). However, if you just barely miss the window, I'll probably still accept it.

>>41998587
>>Request some furniture from Tam [Any sort of furniture item, she’ll see if she has it]
Bed, couch, tv, stove, refrigerator

>>41998587
Not too hot about micromanaging furniture, so I'll just link what plans I had for damage control.

>>41968423

>>41999165
I'll second this. We'll start with the bare essentials before getting other stuff. Something plain for right now, too. No esoteric styles.

Bells: 23,300

You request a bed, a couch, a stove, a refrigerator, and a TV. Tam is pretty helpful in finding things for you, but you can’t help but feel like she selected the largest versions them.

In the end, you end up buying five discounted items, probably a bit too large for you. The bed is King sized (but only costs 1,300 Bells), the couch is fairly wide (costing another 1,100), the stove and refrigerator are certainly larger than you need (1,600 and 1,200 respectively), and the TV is very widescreen (2,200 Bells). Tam promises that your furniture will be delivered to your house soon enough, and you leave a grand total of 7,400 Bells lighter than you entered.

Bells: 15,900

Turns out that, for all that you spent, it still only cost a small portion of your wallet. The discount certainly helped, but things here seem almost unreasonable cheap, for some reason. As you head back out, you consider what’s happened to you over the past couple of days.

Things here in Whiteport certainly seem, at least on the surface, to be calm and peaceful. A perfect little town for hiding away in. But… something is distinctly off. All around, residents of this town seem to be hiding secrets. Some, like Mika, are a bit more open about things, but others remain silent, hiding their secrets away from the light.

What is this Darkness that Persia talked about? Could that be what’s attracting people here? Even Mika didn’t know what it could be referring to, though you’re glad that she agreed to help. Maybe you should ask Kaluga more about it? Actually, why not just tell everyone about it, get them all to help?

Because they could be hiding something a lot darker, a voice inside you says. Secrets aren’t just little things, like magic. You don’t know, after all, who could be a traitor. It could be anyone.

You shake away the thought. This is Whiteport, things like that don’t happen here.

Right?

What will you do?

>Go talk to Kaluga
>Go find Mika
>Go home
>Other [Write in]

>>41999819
>Go talk to Kaluga
Gonna hold a magic-user meeting, because this is frankly a ridiculous number of secrets in just 2 days.

>>41999819
>>Go talk to Kaluga

>>41999819
I'd say go home since it's late, but everyone wants to talk to Kaluga anyway.
>Go talk to Kaluga

It’s getting really late, but you decide to make at least one more stop for today. You want to get a better answer to this whole “Darkness” thing, and without being able to reach Persia’s island, it’ll have to be Kaluga.

As you arrive at his shop, you notice that winds have begun blowing in across the water. Specks of salty sea water splash onto the coastline, and the wind is definitely picking up. A storm is brewing.

Kaluga isn’t at his shop. but you find his house quickly enough. It sits like the turtle himself, looking somehow old and worn despite its obviously new construction. Maybe it was just built that way, leaning towards the water, the foundations creaking in the wind. You knock on the door, and after some waiting, it opens.

Kaluga stands inside, nodding as he sees that it’s you. “Greetings, Mayor Leo,” he says, inviting you in. Inside his house it’s a lot warmer than you would have expected, given the conditions outside. The house is fairly spartan, but the seashells and fishing photos around the place show exactly whose house you’re in. “Have you encountered trouble in your exercise? Do you need me to show it to you again?”

You shake your head. “No, Kaluga. This is about what Persia said earlier. What exactly is this “shadow” beneath Whiteport? And why do we need to quell it?”

“Ah,” Kaluga says. “In that case, why not take a seat. In order to explain this, I must first tell you a story.”

You’re a bit skeptical, but accept, sitting down on his couch as he takes the armchair.

“Let me ask you, Mayor Leo. Do you know what Mermaids are?”

You shake your head. “I can’t say I even knew they existed before this morning.”

“Well then,” says Kaluga. “Let me explain. Long ago, someone of great power created the Mermaids. Similar to the creatures given life through Dark Magic, but at the same time, different. Unlike those dark creatures, Mermaids were given intelligence, beauty, and the ability to choose for themselves their path in life. The were the master creation of someone, who poured their very soul into creating a new species. Someone who the Mermaids call Titus.

“As beings created from Magic, they have a much stronger connection to it than most,” Kaluga continues. “I tell you this, because while Persia is able to use her magic to see the Darkness, even at my best, I cannot hope to use magic as well as she.”

You frown. “So you’re saying the only one who can even see this darkness is Persia? That seems a bit suspicious.”

Kaluga shakes his head. “Now, I never said that, Mayor Leo. You see, I met Persia many years ago, when I was much younger. Like with you, she sensed the potential for great Water Magic within me, and taught me so that I could later help her to quell the Darkness. One day, I came to her with much the same question as you have now. What was this Darkness, and how do I know she’s not lying about it?” He chuckles. “I was certainly a great deal more direct in my younger years. So she showed me. She used her Magic to touch her soul to mine, and used that connection to show me what she saw. It was…” Kaluga smiles. “I can honestly say, I’ve never experienced anything else quite like it. What I saw was… as she says, Darkness. Deep below Whiteport, there is a cavern, and in it, all there is is Darkness. Not the living sort of Darkness, nor even the solid sort of Darkness, but the all consuming pure void of Darkness.”

Kaluga frowns. “To this day, I remember the chill that gripped my heart at the mere sight of it. There is something primal about that Darkness, something that I could not help but fear. And like Persia said, I could see it growing. Not quickly, but certainly growing. It is that Darkness that Persia and I hope to quell, and that which we need your help in order to stop.”

Well, that’s certainly something. You’re not sure quite how to process this, but it sounds bad.

What will you do?

>Ask Kaluga for more information [What?]
>Ask if Kaluga has contacted Mika about helping
>Tell Kaluga that Mika has offered to help
>Other [Write in]

>>42000587
>meet with everyone, because if he so truly fears it and believes it something to be stopped, WHY HAVENT THEY ASKED ANYONE YET

>>42000587
>Ask if Kaluga has contacted Mika about helping

>>42000587
>Ask if Kaluga has contacted Mika about helping

“What about Mika?” you say. “Or, I don’t know, Serena? They’re Light Magic users, right? Isn’t banishing the Darkness kind of their job?”

Kaluga pauses for a second, before speaking. “We cannot risk it, Mayor Leo. If word of our efforts got out…” Kaluga shakes his head. “This Darkness, it is too strong and too deep for the Light Mages to help. If you’ve seen their magic, you would know. Light Magic is strong when close, but weak when distant; even their shield over the town is barely able to deter monsters away. But they are not the issue.”

“The issue, Mayor Leo, is the Dark Mages.” Kaluga looks at you, a hard look in his eyes. “I hope that you can forgive me for this, Mayor, but someone in this town is feeding the Darkness. One of our residents must be a Dark Mage, boosting the Darkness in order to destroy us all for whatever plot they have planned. Persia and I are Water Mages. We specialize in subtleties, in helping others. If this Dark Mage were to find out that we were trying to stop them, they would destroy us in an instant.”

You raise an eyebrow. “Why not get help from the Light Mages then? They could stop the Dark Mage, and prevent all this.”

Kaluga shakes his head. “The Temples of the Light Mages are filled with corruption and spies. Years of complacency have caused them to lower their guards. Were they to hear of this, the Dark Mages would be on us in an instant. Even if we were to stop the Dark Mage, it would not prevent the Darkness from being fed again. No, we must subdue the Darkness itself, once and for all.”

You don’t really know that much about Dark Mages, but you suppose you could ask Mika about it. But the thought that one of your townspeople is a Dark Mage, working to destroy the others… you can’t believe it.

What will you do?

>Ask Kaluga for more information [What?]
>Tell Kaluga that Mika has offered to help
>Ask if Kaluga has any suspicions
>Head home
>Other [What?]

>>42001503
>Ask Kaluga for more information [What?]
How long has this darkness been festering?
>Tell Kaluga that Mika has offered to help

>>42001503
>Then not the Temples, but Mika or Serena themselves. Whose to say that Serena hasn't been secretly looking for that stone thing you were talking about?
>As mayor, it's my job to trust everyone. I can't just go around suspecting people.
>Tell Kaluga that Mika has offered to help
>And seriously, why does everyone in this town have such deep dark secrets? There are less than 20 people here! Next you're going to tell me that Oldwin is a necromancer, raising a fossil army.

“I… Kaluga, as Mayor, I can’t be constantly suspecting everyone,” you say. “Whether there’s a Dark Mage here or not, the town’s safety is my first concern. If you say that only you and Persia can stop this Darkness, then I’m willing to help, but I’m going to bring Mika.”

Kaluga raises an eyebrow. “Why, Mayor Leo? Mika… she does help our town, but she would be an unnecessary risk.”

“She’s my deputy, Kaluga,” you say. “I trust her. She won’t tell the greater Temples, but she has offered to help us any way she can. Mika is just as much a part of this town as you or I, she deserves the right to help us in saving it.”

Kaluga shakes his head. “As I said, there is nothing she can do. If you have already told her, as it seems you have… Please, Mayor. Our mission to protect the town cannot be compromised. The more people who know this secret, the greater the chance that the Dark Mage will discover us.”

You frown. If what Kaluga has told you is true, she might actually not be able to help. For now, you drop that point. “How long has this Darkness existed, then?”

“A very long time,” Kaluga answers. “Mermaids live longer than us creatures, but even Persia says the Darkness has been there longer than she’s been alive. The growing, however… it began almost ten years ago, Persia tells me. The progress has been slow, but we’ve been trying to hold it back ever since.”

Ten years, huh? Just like the incident that Mika told you about. The similarities could be a coincidence, but somehow you doubt that. “My last question then, Kaluga, is this. Does this Darkness… attract people? People with secrets?”

Kaluga raises an eyebrow. “Are you admitting to something, Mayor?” He chuckles. “Well, I’d have to say that if it does, it does so subtly. Can you feel, using your Water Magic, how rich the area around here is with Magic? I would say that this is one reason why Serena, the prized pupil of the Temples, chose to come here despite having no real connection to Whiteport."

"I suspect that, by some property of the Darkness, the area here is suffused with more magic than anywhere else. Those with strong connections can likely sense it, completely unconsciously, bringing them here.” He shakes his head. “Then again, that is merely a theory of mine. I have no evidence to prove it, and perhaps the magic buildup is due to some other factor entirely. But it would be quite a coincidence, if true.”

You nod. It’s getting very late, and you can see the beginnings of a storm outside the window. “I should probably head home, Kaluga,” you say. “You’ll be at your shop tomorrow, right?”

Kaluga nods. “As always, Mayor Leo. Good night.”

You exit, thinking on the conversation you’ve just had. You still don’t know what this darkness is, but from the sounds of it, it’s hidden somewhere deep beneath the earth, in a cavern.

So you stand, closing your eyes, and channel your Earth Magic. Unfortunately, you can’t reach very far. It looks like your maximum range, even just for sensing, is far too short to sense this cavern. So you try using your Water Magic as well. Feeling the vibrations, and they way they propagate through the dirt, you try to feel even deeper. Dirt carries vibrations very differently than water, but it’s still there.

And then, on the very edge of your combined vision, you think you feel it. You cannot even reach close to the actual cavern, but judging from the vibrations, there is something deep down there that’s large and empty. Well, it seems that Kaluga wasn’t lying. As you open your eyes, however, you feel a sudden wave of tiredness wash over you. Sensing with Earth or Water magic isn’t usually this strenuous, but this time you feel like you’ve just run a mile or two. But you’re pretty sure you’ve confirmed something’s existance.

What will you do?

>Head home
>Go find Mika
>Wander around
>Other [What?]

>>42002519
>Head home

>>42002519
>Head home
We'll get inside before the rain slams us.
Turning Mika into a deputy and revealing everything learned has backfired TWICE now.

You decide to head home. You spent quite a bit of time talking to Kaluga so it’s already very late. As you’re passing through the Plaza, though, you notice something up in the sky.

First it’s one, then another, then all of a sudden the whole of the sky is filled with beads of light, descending down to the ground. Fireflies light up the sky, looking for all the world like stars.

“It’s pretty, isn’t it?” You turn to see someone standing behind you. It’s a male chameleon, one you’ve never seen before. He looks up at the fireflies. “They come every night, all at once. Not many stay up late enough to see them, but I do. I can’t catch them, you know. I’ve tried, but I don’t have it in me to bottle up one of these beautiful creatures and keep them from the world.”

“Who are you?” you ask. He doesn’t seem like a robber, or a gang member. He’s just carrying a bug net, looking up at the sky.

“Morris,” he says. “Nice to meet you. Are you a friend of Flint and them? They’re usually the only ones that are up this late with me.”

You suppose that’s technically true, but… “I’m the new Mayor, actually,” you say. “You’re… the bug catcher, right? People say you don’t usually leave your house.”

Morris grins. “I guess that just goes to show how few of them ever stay up past their bedtimes, huh?” He turns to leave. “Nice meeting you, Mayor. Oh, and a word of advice? Don’t let yourself get pulled into the drama of the town. You seem like a nice guy.”

He leaves, and you look back up, watching as the fireflies hang up above, like little angels, watching from above. You’ll have to head home soon, but for now, you just sit there, and watch.

[End of Session 10]
[End of Day 2]

It's an early ending, I know, but I felt like this was a good place to stop.

If you guys want to Q&A, then go ahead and post your questions, and I'll try to answer them as best I can.

If not, I hope you all have a good rest of the week. I'll be dealing with College starting Saturday, but I'll try to make the time to make threads with you guys. Thanks once again for reading, and good night.

>>42003056
Thanks for the thread Yagreth!
Archieve reader here, I haven't totally caught up yet, but I'm enjoying it sofar!

>>42003102
And thank you for reading, Anon. I'm glad you're enjoying it, and if there's anything you feel I could improve, feel free to let me know. I'm still a beginning QM myself, so I'm always looking to improve.