The hourglass churns rhythmically, sand slowly gathering into the bottom of the glass. Occasionally, you can see one to six eyes peering out at you.
You are tasked with watching it day and night, everyone will be taking a turn in doing so. You may as well find some ways to pass the time.
[[What will you do to pass the time?|Check activities.]]
(set: $tea to 1)
(set: $bandage to 1)
(set: $stables to 1)
(set: $news to 1)
(set: $fire to 1)
(set: $herman to 1)
(set: $lilith to 1)
(set: $clean to 1)
(set: $read to 1)
(set: $greenhouse to 1)
(set: $flowers to 1)
(set: $paperwork to 1)
(set: $bar to 1)
(set: $greaves to 1)
(set: $taelura to 1)
(set: $savante to 1)
(set: $dumuzi to 1)
(set: $wallace to 1)
(set: $minutes to 0)(if: $tea is 1)[Make [[tea]].](if: $tea is 2)[You've made tea.]
(if: $bandage is 1)[Make a [[bandage]].](if: $bandage is 2)[You've made a bandage.]
(if: $bar is 1)[Go to the [[bar]].] (if: $bar is 2)[You went to the bar.]
(if: $greaves is 1)[Help Greaves in the [[alchemy lab]].] (if: $greaves is 2)[You helped Greaves.]
(if: $stables is 1)[Go to the [[stable]].](if: $stables is 2)[You've played with the animals.]
(if: $paperwork is 1)[Do some [[paperwork]].] (if: $paperwork is 2)[The paperwork is done.]
(if: $taelura is 1)[Taelura offers [[training lessons]].] (if: $taelura is 2)[You trained with Taelura. Ouch.]
(if: $news is 1)[Retrieve the [[Darkshire Harbinger News]].](if: $news is 2)[You've read the news.]
(if: $fire is 1)[Sit by [[fire]].] (if: $fire is 2)[You've sat by the fire.]
(if: $herman is 1)[Talk to [[Herman]].] (if: $herman is 2)[You've seen the bat.]
(if: $dumuzi is 1)[Talk with Dumuzi in the [[warehouse]].] (if: $dumuzi is 2)[You talked to Dumuzi.]
(if: $wallace is 1)[Go over [[contracts]] with Wallace.] (if: $wallace is 2)[Went over contracts.]
(if: $lilith is 1)[Go wrestle Arlyn in good [[spirits]].] (if: $lilith is 2)[You remember that Arlyn is a sore loser, and you smile.]
(if: $clean is 1)[Clean the [[upstairs]].] (if: $clean is 2)[You cleaned. Good gremlin!]
(if: $read is 1)[Read a [[book]].] (if: $read is 2)[You read a book.]
(if: $greenhouse is 1)[Go to [[Greenhouse]].] (if: $greenhouse is 2)[You went to the Greenhouse already.]
(if: $flowers is 1)[Pick some [[flowers]].] (if: $flowers is 2)[You picked some flowers.]
(if: $savante is 1)[Learn about [[diplomacy]] with Savante.] (if: $savante is 2)[Listened to Savante. Significantly strange.]
(if: $minutes is 60)[Check [[hourglass|Check hourglass.]].] (if: $minutes is 120)[Check [[hourglass|Check hourglass.]].] (if: $minutes is 180)[Check [[hourglass|Check hourglass.]].] (if: $minutes is 240)[Check [[hourglass|Check hourglass.]].] (if: $minutes is 300)[Check [[hourglass|Check hourglass.]].] (if: $minutes is 360)[Check [[hourglass|Check hourglass.]].] (if: $minutes is 420)[Check [[hourglass|Check hourglass.]].]A small ritual. Silvery Peacebloom intertwined with Green Tea Leaf and Steelbloom dried en masse hangs from the hearth like a moss-covered moon.
You crush the herbs in your hand, inhaling. The smell of earth and green.
(set: $tea to 2) (set: $minutes += 5)
[[Put kettle on fire.|put kettle on fire]]In exchange for a steady supply of the pests— at least the ones the carnivorous plants did not eat— the green webweavers of the alchemy lab allowed a portion of their gossamer silk to be harvested. There is always a crate of the stuff upstairs, freshly bundled. You wind a strand of silk around your fingers, weaving the silk into something Greaves calls a webweave bandage. It takes almost no time at all, now that you've been practicing.
[[You know it will probably be used by tomorrow morning.|Check activities.]]
(set: $bandage to 2) (set: $minutes += 5)(if: $minutes is 60)[Something has [[happened|HourglassHour1]] with the hourglass.] (if: $minutes is 120)[Something has [[happened|HourglassHour2]] with the hourglass.] (if: $minutes is 180)[Something has [[happened|HourglassHour3]] with the hourglass.] (if: $minutes is 240)[Something has [[happened|HourglassHour4]] with the hourglass.] (if: $minutes is 300)[Something has [[happened|HourglassHour5]] with the hourglass.] (if: $minutes is 360)[Something has [[happened|HourglassHour6]] with the hourglass.](if: $minutes is 420)[Something has [[happened|HourglassHour7]] with the hourglass.]When you arrive at the stable to spend some quality time with the animals, you find that they’re all missing—rather, they’ve been displaced, and are only now being returned to the stable through the efforts of your stalwart coworkers. Not wanting to get in the way of the very large animals and their handlers, you return back inside in short order. (if: $herman is 2)[You are now exceedingly aware of what mischief Herman got himself into.]
[[You barely spent any time outside.|Check activities.]]
(set: $stables to 2) (set: $minutes += 5)The headline reads: BELLINGFORD MANOR SET AFLAME, COVERED BY ROSES.
An old manor burned down, only to be overgrown with roses in the next week. Talk of the intervention of cults and spirits, or wayward druids. The editor seems to think a powerful enchantress of fire eloped with the lady of the house, but she was promised to a druid. They postulate that the druid wept such bitter tears, white roses sprang from the ground. The roses then cut the druid, dying them red. You barely can stand to skim the article.
[[Utter Nonsense.|Check activities.]]
(set: $news to 2) (set: $minutes += 5)(either: "Hissing with the tongue of every reptile born to Azeroth, the sands tell you", "If the sands have a throat, it is broken and husky, grating out","The words of the sands sound like a promise delivered", "Tiny, chattering voices titter among themselves too discordantly for you to pick out the sounds, until they rise suddenly in a crescendo that says", "The sands churn, a voice whispering in slithering tongues", "Tongues of leather trace into the air until their matching teeth snap at you", "With punctured lungs, the sands bleed out a whisper", "Salted snatches of words shriek out"): "mirror to the sky, where the far"
It trails off.
[[That was odd.]] (either: "Hissing with the tongue of every reptile born to Azeroth, the sands tell you", "If the sands have a throat, it is broken and husky, grating out","The words of the sands sound like a promise delivered", "Tiny, chattering voices titter among themselves too discordantly for you to pick out the sounds, until they rise suddenly in a crescendo that says", "The sands churn, a voice whispering in slithering tongues", "Tongues of leather trace into the air until their matching teeth snap at you", "With punctured lungs, the sands bleed out a whisper", "Salted snatches of words shriek out"): "trolls gorging on hemolymph, far from"
[[Hmm.|Check activities.]] (either: "Hissing with the tongue of every reptile born to Azeroth, the sands tell you", "If the sands have a throat, it is broken and husky, grating out","The words of the sands sound like a promise delivered", "Tiny, chattering voices titter among themselves too discordantly for you to pick out the sounds, until they rise suddenly in a crescendo that says", "The sands churn, a voice whispering in slithering tongues", "Tongues of leather trace into the air until their matching teeth snap at you", "With punctured lungs, the sands bleed out a whisper", "Salted snatches of words shriek out"): "...the bad land where the..."
[[Check activities.]] The fireplace already has a low flicker in it from someone’s earlier efforts, and you coax it to grow with a poker and a few more dry twigs. You settle yourself down into a chair and stretch your legs out, leaving your feet close to the grate. The warmth seeps into your bones: you know you’ll fall asleep if you stay here much longer, so after a few minutes longer of lingering, you depart from the comforting hearth.
[[You remain warm the rest of the day.|Check activities.]]
(set: $fire to 2) (set: $minutes += 10)(if: $stables is 2)[You can tell by the self-satisfied way that Herman is skittering around wings that he was definitely behind the stables fiasco.] (if: $stables is 1)[Herman seems oddly active today, as though he was involved in some mischief or another before you visited him.] Nonetheless, you bid the bat a polite hello, and he deigns to swing down to stare at you fully. Being about the size of stout dog, you resist the urge to pet his shelled ears and instead try—unsuccessfully—to engage him in conversation for a few minutes. Eventually, Herman explodes in a burst of wing-flapping and returns to the rafters, leaving you alone.
[[You tell yourself that Herman is exceptionally grumpy, and try not to think about what it means that a bat won’t tolerate your presence.|Check activities.]]
(set: $herman to 2) (set: $minutes += 10)Rumors have been spreading of a new competition among Hollowlight’s elite, one that squarely proves once and for all who the mightiest among the company members truly is. For this purpose, you track down Arlyn, who is honorbound to respond to your challenge.
She is very much not impressed when she loses, and takes the moment to point out that she’s still a squire.
That doesn’t stop you from being proud of your win, nor from bragging about it on your way back inside.
[[Distantly, you can hear Yreka laughing at her misfortune.|Check activities.]]
(set: $lilith to 2) (set: $minutes += 10)As with all cases of housework, cleaning feels like it takes much longer than it actually does. On the whole, everyone in Hollowlight does their part to pick up after themselves and not leave any obvious messes behind, though it takes a little more determination and action to actually dust the tops of the shelves.
[[As though to commemorate your efforts, you release a large sneeze before returning back downstairs.|Check activities.]]
(set: $clean to 2) (set: $minutes += 15)The private library that Hollowlight owns has undergone several moves, and is now held in one of the largest parts of the warehouse out of necessity. You pass by a copy of “An Alchemical and Herbal Guide to Azeroth and beyond” after you enter, and you give the book a pat in greeting before you withdraw to the stacks. Once you’ve ensured you’re alone, you return to a dog-eared copy of "(either: "Forbidden Love", "Northern Exposure", "Got Milk?", "Hot and Misty", "Blue Moon", "Waves of Desire", "Of Elven Bondage", "Nightborne of the Living Dead", "Big Brass Bombs", "I'm in Love with a Robot", "Stormy Seas")" and re-read the passage where the protagonist and love interest share their feelings for one another at last. Several times. You try not to be guilty about it, given that SOMEONE had to authorize it being added to the Hollowlight archives. Besides, given the coffee stains, you’re not the only one that checks it out in the regular.
[[Reminisce about true love for the rest of the day.|Check activities.]]
(set: $read to 2) (set: $minutes += 15)The greenhouse radiates warmth. The lush, verdant sanctuary of botany stands temple-like against the gray wood surrounding outside. The glass panes fog and bead with dew in the waning light. Lots of plants seem to need attention this evening. Per Greaves' spidery-script scrawled instructions, you begin to make the rounds.
The Gorgrond flytraps happily accept the chunks of meat you throw them, gurgling green acid happily.
Starflowers brighten and glow to an impossibly blue, feathery hue as you turn them to face the rising moon.
Gilnean roses, extra dark red and wreathed by wickedly sharp black thorns, seem grateful for the water you carefully pour through their roots.
The blooms of the Morning Glory vines seem to have closed about halfway since your arrival, preparing for their slumber.
[[Leave the Greenhouse|Check activities.]]
(set: $greenhouse to 2) (set: $minutes += 20)(either: "Hissing with the tongue of every reptile born to Azeroth, the sands tell you", "If the sands have a throat, it is broken and husky, grating out","The words of the sands sound like a promise delivered", "Tiny, chattering voices titter among themselves too discordantly for you to pick out the sounds, until they rise suddenly in a crescendo that says", "The sands churn, a voice whispering in slithering tongues", "Tongues of leather trace into the air until their matching teeth snap at you", "With punctured lungs, the sands bleed out a whisper", "Salted snatches of words shriek out"): "keys were buried, where"
[[Hmm.|Check activities.]] (either: "Hissing with the tongue of every reptile born to Azeroth, the sands tell you", "If the sands have a throat, it is broken and husky, grating out","The words of the sands sound like a promise delivered", "Tiny, chattering voices titter among themselves too discordantly for you to pick out the sounds, until they rise suddenly in a crescendo that says", "The sands churn, a voice whispering in slithering tongues", "Tongues of leather trace into the air until their matching teeth snap at you", "With punctured lungs, the sands bleed out a whisper", "Salted snatches of words shriek out"): "bronze turn away, from"
[[That was odd.]] (either: "Hissing with the tongue of every reptile born to Azeroth, the sands tell you", "If the sands have a throat, it is broken and husky, grating out","The words of the sands sound like a promise delivered", "Tiny, chattering voices titter among themselves too discordantly for you to pick out the sounds, until they rise suddenly in a crescendo that says", "The sands churn, a voice whispering in slithering tongues", "Tongues of leather trace into the air until their matching teeth snap at you", "With punctured lungs, the sands bleed out a whisper", "Salted snatches of words shriek out"): "stone unwatching, faded like"
[[That was odd.]] The flora of Duskwood is sometimes rather subtle in its complexity. You, however, know some of the secrets to what the woods hold. Just outside of the warehouse, you venture into the wood to carefully gather Briarthorn, thick and brambled.
A patch of Kingsblood catches your eye, purple leaves shining in the night.
You spot some small clutches of flowering moss inside of a tree's hollow, and gather those as well.
On your way back, you stop to gather a few sprigs of Silverleaf. You know their power when bound with red thread.
[[The howl of a wolf sends you back to the warehouse quickly.|Check activities.]]
(set: $flowers to 2) (set: $minutes += 20)An unfortunate side effect of running a successful business venture is dealing with the bureaucracy involved. As is the custom, it falls upon a different member every week to deal with the busy work, and this time around marks you as the chosen. Steeling your resolve, you sit yourself down to copy over the various sales from the past few markets to the general company ledger. The only number that gives you pause is the fabled 26,000 gold made from auctioning off a pair of clown-related goggles at the Shadowsands Bazaar: you had thought it to be but a rumor or myth, but the number is starkly printed there. You boggle at this for awhile until you finally close the ledger and stumble your way down the steps, pondering just what kind of person would buy something like that.
[[At least you know your paycheck will be coming for the next few decades.|Check activities.]]
(set: $paperwork to 2) (set: $minutes += 30)Perhaps once the denizens of Darkshire were a lively collection of people, but the changes to their home have since tampered down the most exuberant of them. Nonetheless, they do their best not to be somber folk, and enough of the locals know your name for you to receive a few smiles and nods as you enter the local bar. While it’s not as busy as some taverns in Stormwind, it’s nonetheless warm, and you find comfort in the low-spoken conversations along with the company you find. After you’ve had time for one or two nonalcoholic drinks, you bid your farewells and return to the warehouse, feeling a little more relaxed.
[[It feels like you’re becoming part of this town, and for that, you’re glad.|Check activities.]]
(set: $bar to 2) (set: $minutes += 30)Greaves is making some sort of vastly complicated alchemical concoction for the upcoming tournament of ages. The ingredients are relatively rare and predictably strange. (either: "Gorloc fungus", "Dark Iron Residue"), (either: "Heartsap", "chicken feet"), and (either: "flytrap milk", "red brick dust").
"Polymorphing is an interesting art, alchemically," she muses, instructing you on how to (either: "peel", "trim", "pulp") (either: "walrus tusk", "fish gland", "murloc teeth") into the concoction.
You hand it to a nervously waiting Ilaian, who slams the concoction back like a shot of liquor.
Ilaian blinks a few times, then turns into a (either: "toad", "chipmunk", "bat", "black cat") for a few moments. The creature lets out a sonic squeal, then reappears Ilaian in her human form.
"Success." Greaves smiles faintly. "By the date of the tournament, these will likely last for hours."
[[You feel the compelling urge to depart.|Check activities.]]
(set: $greaves to 2) (set: $minutes += 45)Sweat beads on your brow, and you can already feel the bruises forming on your arms, shoulders, and chest. Boxing hasn’t sounded so bad — and your opponent only had one eye, so you had been certain of your advantage!
And yet Taelura had still put you through the sparring session of a lifetime. She stood some paces away, flashing a fanged grin as she unbound her fists. “Sometimes you are left without your trusty weapons or tools,” she says. “It is important to be able to adjust accordingly. Let me know if you ever wish for another lesson, hm?”
You couldn’t shake the feeling that subsequent lessons would prove just as painful — though the habits and maneuvers that the pale-haired elf had recommended did seem useful. At the very least, your posture had improved — at the expense of a few days in bed nursing your bruises and perhaps your pride.
[[Return, wearied but stronger.|Check activities.]]
(set: $taelura to 2) (set: $minutes += 45)It takes some searching, but you eventually find Savante sequestered away at one of the desks in the library, small spectacles perched on the bridge of her nose. As you approach, she affords you a smile beneath her fatigued eyes. You ask her what she’s doing, and she gestures towards the various books open and laid out before her. “I’m currently studying the proper (either: "table manners", "greeting and goodbyes", "acceptable social behaviors", "funeral customs", "protocol for apologies") of (either: "various troll tribes", "Kezan-raised goblins", "naga", "gorlocs", "arakkoa","gilbins", "botani", "Dark Iron Dwarves"). It’s surprisingly fascinating.” She squints, then, glancing back towards the various lines of text for a moment. “...And relevant.”
Out of a sense of decorum or genuine curiosity, you express an interest in the topic, and Savante motions for you to pull up a chair. Her explanation is exceedingly thorough, and after almost a full hour of teaching, she sends you off with a better understanding—and appreciation—of another culture.
[[Well that sure was something.|Check activities.]]
(set: $savante to 2) (set: $minutes += 50)Dumuzi's face instantly brightens as your approach, scratching his stubbled face as he leans over a mug of ale. Ethan plays with what seems to be a friendly moth in the background.
You sit down at the table and listen to the man's wisdom.
"E'rybody is somebody. That means everybody counts, everybody matters. There are no little people, just small hearts.
It also means, when you say 'Somebody should do somethin'...' Yer somebody. You should do somethin'. You should help, any way you can."
"I don't think it's a good idea t' worship a god because in the end, it's a person. A real powerful, hopefully real wise, person. They've got wants 'n' hates. Whims. You gotta follow what you know is right, not what somebody else tells you is right."
"I'm not an alcoholic. I don't start drinking until the chores are done. Every day."
[[You feel wiser.|Check activities.]]
(set: $dumuzi to 2) (set: $minutes += 50)Wallace rubs his tired eyes, black circles underneath both. He seems surprised to see you, but grunts in greeting. His calloused hands point to various aspects of a contract.
He explains ethics, health insurance, the rights of inventors in the company, what a "loophole" is and how to "sew it shut with an iron thread." The contract is good to those who sign it, unlike most contracts.
He sips a dark, hot liquid in a cup stained with purple lipstick as he bids you farewell with a nod.
[[Enlightening, but slightly frightening, as usual.|Check activities.]]
(set: $wallace to 2) (set: $minutes += 50)The water simmers pleasantly over the fire. Leaves put in keetle, turning the clear water to silvery, deep jade. The smell of daisy wafts around the room, carrying through the thick night fog. You pour it into an earthen mug stamped with the phrase "Do not speak until this mug is empty."
[[Soothing.|Check activities.]] [[You may as well do something else to pass the time. |Check activities.]] (either: "Hissing with the tongue of every reptile born to Azeroth, the sands tell you", "If the sands have a throat, it is broken and husky, grating out","The words of the sands sound like a promise delivered", "Tiny, chattering voices titter among themselves too discordantly for you to pick out the sounds, until they rise suddenly in a crescendo that says", "The sands churn, a voice whispering in slithering tongues", "Tongues of leather trace into the air until their matching teeth snap at you", "With punctured lungs, the sands bleed out a whisper", "Salted snatches of words shriek out"): "the false gates that await you"
The hourglass turns rapidly back and forth around you, and you find yourself in a morning, but not a day older. It would seem time has come full circle, and you are back where the day began.
[[Go back in time.|Intro]]