#pi:temetnosce

[thepelagoislands]

Know Thyself. Three voyagers travel to an island in hopes of obtaining their fulfillment of wanderlust, only to have the turmoils of inner trials befall them in their dreams. Each person has their own story, as they seek a way out while they learn about the fallacies of themselves.

@gun-nun | @violinsnotheanswer | @heartofshale

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[thepelagoislands]

New Island: Temet Nosce

This island was written by Soseki-mun!

@postmanwayne | @thedensedoctor | @apiescatch | @gourmaid

When the island appears in the distance, it looks to be nothing more than a hunk of oddly shaped rock. As the boat draws closer, the details of the island become more apparent. White buildings come into focus, several of them dotting the island from tip to tip, but most are gathered near the center. Clustered in the middle of them is a clocktower, a clock face situated on each side and looking out. Along the coast, a pier stretches out over the water with ample space for a boat to dock safely and for the passengers to disembark with ease.

> I hate islands.

> What’s the worst that can happen?

Once on the pier, the only path stretching off leads into the town proper. However, if anyone was expecting to find people living here, that assumption is quickly proven wrong. No matter where the voyagers venture in the town, there is no one there. Every building is empty and has seemingly been abandoned that very day judging by the untouched dinners, the clothes hanging out to dry, and the open market stalls.

The voyagers can take their time exploring the area if they wish. Each home and place of business will look as if everyone had been doing something only hours before only to leave immediately. However, there is no trace of where they might have gone. Market stalls and businesses have their merchandise still on display. Every home is unlocked and free to enter. Besides the oddity of no one being around despite its appearance, voyagers may catch glimpses of people in ball gowns and ornate masks, but they’re visible for only a split second before disappearing as if they were never there at all. Other times they may swear the air is filled with the scent of perfume and sweets only for it be replaced by a fresh breeze a moment later.

Whatever the voyagers may find — food, accessories, clothes, weapons — they are free to take.

In the center of the town is a large fountain with golden coins scattered across the bottom, their surfaces reflective in the water. A close inspection reveals that each coin’s surface has a word engraved on it. They all seem to relate to faults: bigot, blunt, arrogant, gullible, nosey, reckless, the list of words goes on. If anyone attempts to gather them, they find that they cannot. The coins keep slipping through their fingers. However, if anyone took the time and concentrated effort to count them, they would find that there are 347 coins.

Besides the businesses and homes, the only other noteworthy place to visit is the clocktower. Its entrance is a few feet away from the fountain. Entering, the voyagers find nothing of note on the ground floor but a sturdy staircase wraps around the wall and goes up into the air. At the top, the voyagers enter a square room, each wall hosting a large circular glass that looks out with the face of a clock.

It’s only a few minutes of being in the clock tower room that a sudden and powerful sleepiness overcomes each voyager. One by one, they pass out.

When they awaken, it is not to the pristine interior of the clocktower, but to a ballroom. Each voyager is sitting in an ornate chair when they awake, all of them separate from the other, and dressed to fit the occasion. A suit, a ball gown, masks: whatever would be their hearts desire to wear at a masquerade. They will also find that any items they may have picked up in town are still with them or near them in some fashion.

The initial feeling they have is that they belong here. They are honored guests of this party and well expected. Some of the other guests may seem familiar — perhaps the voyagers have seen them in brief glimpses before? — but it is hard to pinpoint where exactly, especially with everyone in masks of their own. Regardless, the other guests are nothing but extravagant and polite.

Very soon, each voyager will find themselves approached by another dancer. This person will take the form they find most appealing in both looks and attire. When they speak, their voice and words sweet as honey, the voyager will forget about any loved ones they may have. They will find themselves further pulled into a complacent state of mind. Eventually, the dancer will offer them a coin, a party favor they will call it, and request that they keep it close. Only the strongest willed of the voyagers will be able to refuse such a request and the others will be very compelled to do as asked.

> Accept the coin

From now on, the voyager does not know it yet but their life is on a timer. The coin, the words ‘Find freedom in the acceptance of your mortal faults’ engraved along the edge, is designed to slowly drain the life from their body, which they will start to feel the effects of as time goes on. If they come across a mirror at the masquerade, on the edge of the ballroom or a pocket mirror carried by another guest, they will not see their reflection but instead they will see their sleeping bodies back in the clocktower.

Their bodies, however, are not just sleeping. Due to the coin’s powers, they are actively dying at an increased pace. Their hair graying, their skin wrinkling, their body wasting away. At advance stages, their skin and muscle will start to decay right down to the bone. The entire process will take a different amount of time depend on how old they are. Those in their twenties and younger will have up to six hours while someone older may only have two to three hours.

If they happen to glimpse other masquerade goers in a mirror, they will see bones and skulls instead of skin. This is true for everyone save other voyagers.

The voyagers have until their sleeping figures are skeletons to figure out how to escape. Their only clues are the coins they possess. Additionally, they will feel compelled by their dancer companion to enjoy the festivities, their worries easing from their mind like magic when they speak. However, seeing a horrifying sight or being approached by another voyager might knock them out of the spell.

As per the coin’s engraving, each voyager must verbally, and with their whole heart, accept and proclaim one of their faults. This cannot be a minor fault of theirs, not something they would easily admit to another, but rather something they are struggling with. Once they do, they awaken back in the clock tower. All of their life energy will be returned to them and any changes made to their bodies reversed. If any other voyages are still asleep, they will see their bodies slowly decaying, but revive in the same manner when they awaken. Any items they picked up before are now nothing but piles of dust.

> Reject the coin

If a voyager is able to reject the coin from their dancer companion, however, an entirely different fate awaits them. The dancer will continue to insist but if their offer is ultimately rejected, a feat accomplished by those with great magical talent or incredibly strong will, then the ballroom will instantly fade away.

While at first seems that they have awakened back in the clocktower, none of the other voyagers are present. The inside of the clocktower is also extremely different, now instead worn and old with busted boards and broken windows. They will also still be in their ballroom attire but, like the clocktower, it is now dirty and torn. A rustling, scratching, growling noise will come from the lower area of the clocktower and make its way up. Inexplicably, the staircase now continues up where before it did not.

The voyager can choose to run or to face the physical manifestation of their faults, which will take the shape of the voyager they are pursuing, right down to their voyaging clothes, and will claim to be them, saying things the voyager would never say to someone and would not admit to themselves, but only think and feel in their weakest moments. If they run up the stairs, they will find that each room above is identical to the clock tower, as is each room below, and the staircase itself is never ending.

The apparition will whisper their faults to them. The only way to escape and not be consumed by their faults is in acceptance of the apparition’s words and that what it says is true. The more they struggle against the truth, the more powerful their apparition grows and the more likely they are to be devoured.

Once they accept their faults, the apparition will disappear, seemingly happy for their true feelings to be accepted. The voyager will pass out once more.

However they make it back to the real world, the first noticeable difference is the utter state of decay the town is now in. The clock tower is still standing, though the glass of each clock face is now broken in jagged strips. The afternoon sun filters through the openings to paint itself haphazardly across the floorboards, suggesting that the voyagers have spent only a few hours sleeping. However, if a voyager takes longer they might be greeted with moonlight instead of sunlight. The floorboards of the clocktower are busted in and the staircase leading back down is rickety with each step prone to creaking or possibly giving away entirely under the weight of a voyager.

Outside, the atmosphere is generally gloomy, complete with crumbling buildings and ruined homes. The fountain from before is now dry and the golden coins have been replaced with a multitude of skulls, the only remnants of the villagers now forever trapped in their dance. And a chilling reminder to the voyagers that their own skull could have joined the pile. The pier is now rickety and unstable, but if they voyagers are careful they should be able to make it back to their ship without too much trouble. If any of the voyagers chance a glance back at the clocktower, they may see the dance still continuing in and out of the broken windows.

When arriving back to the Pelago Islands, the voyagers will find themselves unable to talk about what happened to them, either verbally, written, or with any other kind of communication. This effectively leaves the magical residents of the island to continue with their glamour and ensnare more hapless voyagers.