#I wonder if Gabbro could be enough curious to go there when they saw the Stranger on the Sun

[scarletfantasia]

I am watching a friend playing Outer Wilds and he is almost not so far to find the dlc...and I realize what if Gabbro arrived at the good moment to see the Stranger? Could they have the curiosity to go there? If they did it...how their journey could be? I feel the urge to think about that possibility or write a fic about that what if.

[witchyfictional]

Week 7 (SPRING 7/13)

Professional Log of Harper Tobin, Journeyman Witch

Patient: Susan Chert, local geologist

Ailment: Dwarven Lung [cough*] [lungs**] Too much time spent in the mining sites along the foothills near Moonbreaker Mountain, and probably a neglect of proper safety equipment (like breathing masks).

Recommend: Gull-Drake Guano alone will smooth out coughing and clear the lungs (it’s gross but it works), but for Dwarven Cough there tends to be far too much build-up, so this time the lung damage will require something stronger. Raw Dentist Crab gel should be strong enough.

Field Notes:

While catching extra Dentist Crabs I came across a third chest from the underwater pirate wreck, this time full of what might have been incredibly fancy hats - but unfortunately all waterlogged, thanks to a small hole in the corner of the chest.

As I was collecting the Gull-Drake Guano, I spotted a glimmer in the water and thought it might be something nifty, so I went to take a look. It was a small, corked bottle with a rolled up message inside - which is unexpected, what with this being a lake. Why would someone throw a message in a bottle into a lake, where it can’t go anywhere? I opened it to see what it said and the message was as odd as the circumstance, only asking a list of personal questions and requesting a reply. It instructed the finder of this note ot simply toss their reply back into the water to send it back. My curiosity was piqued enough to prompt me into replying - I wonder if it will really get back to its original sender?

I spent the rest of my time at the Loch collecting as many Slime Shells as I could possibly find for the management of Bàs Bàta’s shattered tooth. I was highly successful, despite several very curious incidents (enough for eight doses).

One notable encounter was with a siren I haven’t seen or heard before. I was out on the water when I found it suddenly hard to think, strongly compelled to swim out to some distant rocks toward the sound of singing. The way he sang was somewhere between a human voice and birdsong, strange but wondrously lovely. He stopped abruptly when he saw me and flushed red with shame, immediately falling into apologies. I asked why he was all alone in the Loch - usually sirens travel in flocks, or so I’ve been told, and since the males are rare, I’ve never heard of one traveling without his mates. He hedged around my questions, seeming reluctant to answer, and hastily offered me a Wigfish wig he’d picked up as an apology for interrupting my day. I can’t say no to such quality reagents, so I accepted, but when I looked up again he was already gone with a flurry of his wings.

Baffled, but pleased with my newly acquired prize, I continued with my exploration and came across another stranger - a very kind dwarf out fishing, who invited me into his boat. His name was Raggen Gabbro, and he spoke with me for a good while about his own explorations of the Loch. He seems to know quite a lot, and I appreciated his insight and advice. When we parted, he directed me to where I might find some Gas Weed, which was much appreciated.

I was eventually chased out of the water again by Bàs Bàta’s tortured thrashing. I feel for the creature but I certainly don’t want to be anywhere near it while it’s mad with pain. I hope I can gather enough ingredients to help it, soon. I doubt any human-portioned remedy will be effective. I briefly returned to the huge nest in the rocks that I found last week, and to my delight found that the Amethyst Antler shards were still there among the eggs - but again I was pecked away by the vigilant mama bird before I could grab them.

I spent the rest of my foraging at the Loch following those unidentified footprints all along the shore. I tripped over half-buried items in the sand at least three times along the way - there is a lot of flotsam and junk left by people all over the beach. The upside was that I also found a substantial pile of Deep Reed that had also washed ashore. As the sun set, I spotted the familiar shape of the ghost ship Capybara cresting into the bloody horizon once again, so I got back in my canoe and headed over for a visit. I ended up spending the entire night partying with the raucous spirits, losing track of time so badly that I got unceremoniously dunked in the water at dawn when they retreated again beneath the waves.

When I swam back to shore, I stubbed my toe on something half buried in the wet sand. When I dug it up and rinsed it in the waves, I was startled to find a small, empty box carved from ancient coral. It looked extremely old, crusted a little with the fossils of other sealife around the edges. The strangest part was that I saw, carved into the inner lid of it, a sigil - the same sigil printed on all the leftover containers and equipment in my Apothecary. Kevyn’s personal sigil.

Except this time, in addition to the signature swirling pattern, there was a word engraved around the symbol - “Orendal.” If this were written anywhere else, I would have taken this for something in a language I didn’t understand…But the way this was written matches too exactly with the way ancient master witches left their marks. Nowadays people tend to forego the name and only leave the sigil, but in more ancient times they almost always used both, according to my studies. “Orendal” is almost certainly a name...although why it’s written along with Kevyn’s personal sigil is a mystery to me. It can’t be that Kevyn copied the sigil - every witch must have their own, and every one must be unique, like a fingerprint.

When I retuned home, I compared it to the versions I have around the cottage, and confirmed - this is absolutely Kevyn’s sigil, but for some reason paired with a different name. Could “Orendal” actually be Kevyn’s real name? Or perhaps, a previous name he’s long since left behind? But if so, how on earth did it come to be on such an incredibly ancient object? I had no time to fully dwell on this, since I still had a remedy to make, but I set the box in a safe place to contemplate at a later time.

“Cough Quencher”

Crush the dried Gull-Drake guano into fine dust

Boil the the resulting powder and strain well

Spoon in raw Dentist Crab claw gell until the mixture thickens and smooths

End result should be something like a vaguely fishy yogurt

Paid: 30 silver Despite the strange taste, it works fast, and Susan was already breathing better as she left.

Additional Notes:

I spent the next several days going back up the mountain and repairing Dwayne the stone golem, and at last I deemed him fully healed, to the best of my ability. He can’t speak, but he seemed very grateful, and  nearly crushed me in an earnest but uncomfortable hug. Unexpectedly, he ended up following me back down the mountain. I didn’t protest, as long as he was careful where he stepped, although I wasn’t sure what more he wanted of me. After a complicated game of pantomime, I gathered that he wanted to stay with me and repay me for my help. I certainly don’t mind the company, so I agreed, and was able to direct him to an uncluttered portion of the land left to me by Kevyn. I’ll have to teach him to write if we want any extensive conversations, though.

I also went to Hero’s Hollow this week in search of powerful painkillers, and with Shadow’s help I was able to procure a bit of Vampire Venom without issue. While sneaking away from the coffin room I did end up triggering a trap and falling into a stone cell for a while, which was frustrating, but I was thankfully rescued not long after. A beautiful woman with hair like spilled ink and eyes like pale glass showed up and looked in on me, calling down to ask if I needed help. I expected her to throw down a rope, but instead I found myself levitating all the way back to the top to greet her. Her skin was a deep cerulean blue. She wore a lavishly embroidered gown and glittered with gems and jewelry, looking as elegant as a queen - which is certainly not what I expected in a dungeon.

I thanked her for her help, and she asked what my business was in the Hollow. I could have asked her the same, but instead I told her I was looking for ingredients to create a remedy for Bàs Bàta. I guess this was the right thing to say, because she immediately turned from aloof and suspicious to charming and courteous. She introduced herself as Yeza, Dark Ruler of the Underlands and Master of Shadows. It was quite a title, and I suddenly felt silly and shabby, but she was very sweet to me from then on. She apologized for the inconvenience of my falling into one of the many traps, and invited me for dinner in her throne room. I’ve never been in a throne room before.

I follower her safely through the deepest parts of her domain - protected from its various threats only by her presence, I suspect - and we entered a much more lavish and elegant wing of the Hollows than I ever imagined was there. It was less “dank dungeon” and more like a hidden underground palace. She clapped her hands for attendants and we were served one of the strangest and yet most decadent meals I have ever eaten. We ended up getting along very well. I told her of my explorations in the Hollow and how I’ve helped people with the things I’ve collected, and she was surprisingly eager to assist in my endeavors. She said the last witch, Kevyn, had been too obsessed with his own convoluted dealings, and never would have wanted to help poor Bàs Bàta. Apparently Kevyn hated Bàs Bàta, but when I asked her why she kept changing the subject.

She asked if I’ve ever met someone like her before - blue, that is - and I said no. She asked if I’ve ever heard of something called the Strange, and I said no again. She said that she wanted to help me by granting me passage to her original home plane, for the purpose of finding other kinds of reagents that might be useful to me, and I got extremely excited. I’ve read about the possible existence of other planes but never dreamed I’d get to see one in person. When we finished dinner, she led me back up into the shabbier side of the Hollow and showed me the way to an incongruous fancy archway standing empty and useless in the middle of a hall. After Yeza chanted a while in a language I couldn’t understand, the empty air beneath the arch began to swirl with deep blue and violet-black light

This is the portal to the Strange.

I wanted to explore it right away, but for once my better sense held me back, and I told Yeza that I would rather return with the proper equipment for a full expedition. She wrote down instructions on a scrap of parchment to instruct me on how to open the portal myself, for which I thanked her profusely, and we parted ways. I cannot wait to actually go through, when I can set aside the time. I am absolutely thrilled.

OOC: Rep – 12 [Intermediate] Silver – 126 Tools – basics / coracle Familiar skill – Hunter (-3 Animal reagent rarity) Golem Helper – getting settled Upgrades – garden plot (x1; Surgeon Sap)

Surplus reagents: ** Surgeon Sap [wound] [burn] [+1s]  — (freely available) *** Amethyst Antlers [magic] [curse] [mood] — (x1) ~Candy Rock [+4s] — (x1) * Deep Reed [ear] [blood] [stomach] — (x1) ** Dentist Crabs [teeth] [mouth] [lungs] [infection] — (x1) ** Foot Fungus [burn] [boils] [rash] [+2p] — (x1) *** Fossil Fish [time] [magic] — (x1) * Gas Weed [lungs] — (x1) *** Ghost Goo [spirit] [curse] — (x1) ** Glittersnow [curse] [magic] — (x1) * Hermit Snails [wound] [bones] — (x1) *** Innocent’s Suffering [pain] [sleep] [nerves] [wound] — (x1) ! *** Jumpkin [stomach] [cold] — (x1) ** Milkstone [teeth] [pain] — (x1) *** Moon Moss [blood] [curse] — (x1) ** Princess Toad [wart] [rash] [mood] — (x1) * Scramble Bramble [mood] [senses] [+1p] — (x1) ** Shockfish [nerves] [pain] [boils] — (x1) * Silverleaf [infection] [rash] — (x1) * Skullcap [poison] [pain] — (x2) ** Slime Shells [parasite] [infection] [blood] — (x10) *** Vampire Venom [curse] [pain] [mood] — (x1) *** Wigfish [mood] [sleep] [hair] — (x2)