The Setup

It's October nightfall. You find orange leaves crushed here and there into the roads, needles everywhere. You feel like being among the forest trees in a hammock. Fall is your time of year, especially for Halloween. There’s a slight drizzle as you walk to the parking lot. You’re glad you’ll make it to your car in time before it starts to pour. You accidentally bump into someone. “I’m sorry,” you say, but the man keeps on heading towards the street. You see he’s blind. Where’s his cane? You try to guide him. Cars are coming. You run to stop him. You shout out to him. He can’t seem to hear you. He walks his own way and crosses the road oblivious to the fact he made it safely. Whew. You follow him. He passes the nearby shops, the clearing, and reaches the corn fields. Then, he stops abruptly as if he was about to smack into a wall.

He turns his head at your direction. He looks like David Schwimmer of the Friends sitcom but in that not really sort of way. He has a flat head and glazed look. His eyes are chalky white. You feel chills. He sniffs the wet air. Suddenly, before you can react, he takes off to the left through the fields. That just gave you the heebie jeebies. You stand speechless. Then, you go after him. You comb through the wet stalks as they whack you. You swear you’re on his trail. It’s raining now. You tell yourself you’re going to catch him. You finally pop out of that hell. And see him heading towards the concrete wall!!! Oh my gosh. He’s going to die. You need to do something now! You run after him, shouting as loud as you can. The rain’s hampering your sight. You must reach him in time. You run as fast as you can. But.

He goes right through it!

“What tha.…” You can’t believe it.

Your clothes are soaked. You’re at the concrete wall, and you’re out of breath too. You put your hands along the. Wait. Your right hand vanished. You pull it back out. You’re in disbelief. You go through the wall a step at a time. You hear an odd ring. No. Not like a tricycle bell. No. Not like a ringtone. But anyway, you shrug it off.

It’s extremely dark. How are you supposed to navigate in this blackness? You move forward as the walls appear to hug you, even the hard rain can’t seep through this. How did he jog through this? It’s hard to tell if you’re making any progress as you go. The walls press against you tightly. For a brief second, you listen. Nothing. You’re becoming like the guy: blind and deaf. You scoot along. It feels like you’re swimming in jello or against a bean bag. You’re scared and want to turn back, but now you can’t tell how far you’ve gone into this thing. You’re sure he’s probably on the other end waiting for you. Or better yet, maybe he’s behind you. Your hands are out in front of you. Not being able to see anything. You detect a wall in front of you, so you slide along. It’s so dark. You want to yell but don’t. Getting out this alive is your one remaining hope. You do hear something. It sounds like knocking like the kind you hear when you’re inside a tube for an MRI scan. But these are disturbing noises. You muddle along at a snail’s pace.

You hear scratching. And it’s getting louder. You wonder if you should go towards it. It’s driving you crazy. You feel the vibrations through the floor you’re on. You must be close to the noise.

A light? A rather dim one. You're saved, or so you think. You peek into the room.

Yikes! Spiders!! The size of dogs!!!

There's no way you're squishing these critters. You want to run. You try escaping but you can’t find your way back. It's been swallowed up. To matters worse there's a woman staring at you wearing black in the far corner. The light hardly reaches her. You see the man you’re after leaving the room through the exit near her. How did he escape the spiders? They’re menacing. You can hear their legs scratching the floor. It echoes. Thud. Thud. Thud. It feels like they're chewing the wood the way the vibrations hit you. You see their webs churning into cotton balls. Something tells you those are carrying eggs. You're spooked out and terrified. The darkness surrounds the woman. She seems to attract the bleakness of it all. Some spiders approach you. What will you do?

Close your eyes? Or close both your eyes and ears?

***

(First choice - wrong choice)

You wonder how the man got around the spiders. You get an idea to act blind, so you shut your eyes tight and cover them with your fists. Suddenly you're transported like a ghost.

"You shouldn't be here." An angry female detective quickly yanks out a light brace. She throttles it down making it extend. She then holds it up with both hands. Pure white light blinds you. You can't see a thing. It causes you to drop your hands and open your eyes. You end up returning to the room. The spiders jump on you and attack, before you can do a single thing.

***

(Second choice – correct choice) You get an idea to act blind and deaf, so you shut your eyes tight and plug your ears with your fingers. Suddenly, you're transported like a ghost.

There’s someone trying to reflect light into your eyes.

"Hey, stop that." You try to move out of the way.

"Look into the light." The lady angles the mirror into your eyes on purpose.

You try to duck, but she keeps at it. Annoying you.

"You have to look into the mirror."

You can't see around her. It’s quite annoying for her to persist. You get angry and focus. Then, you see not one, but two lights.

“Good. Good. That’s it. Tell me what you see inside the mirror.” She’s got a hold of you. Steadying the mirror, she crawls closer to you.

“This is the first time I’ve seen a lighthouse with two lanterns.”

“Keep going. Describe it. Tell me what you see.” She brings it closer, so that the image surrounds you.

“It’s a sketch. A really good one, I might add. Made with a pencil.”

“Yes.”

“The lighthouse is made of stone all the way down. There’s two lanterns, a catwalk around the light room.”

“Keep going.” From behind, she draws up her pointed tail.

“There’s a window. Ooooh. And another catwalk midway around the lighthouse with steps spiraling down to the grounds.”

“Keep going.” Her tail’s hanging over her head.

“A bridge extends from the lighthouse. It’s also made of stone. Curved archway.”

“Is there a door?”

“Yes, there’s a door at the base. It’s made of wood.”

“Walk to it.”

“But I’m afraid if I open my eyes, I’ll return to the spiders.”

“Yes. Keep them closed. You must trust me. Use your legs. Just walk.”

“Walk?”

“Yes. Trust me.”

You move your legs. It doesn’t feel right. The sketch appears to be rolling as if someone’s flipping pages, like a flipbook. It feels wobbly and dizzy. You stop, steady yourself, and walk again. You appear to be blending into the mirror’s scenery.

“Yes. Keep going.” Her tail’s above you, just shy of your head.

You continue to walk. The lighthouse is a lot bigger than you first thought. And by the time you’re at the door, you see it is massive. Looking up is the catwalk. There are steps spiraling up to it.

“But how will I open the door? My fingers are plugging my ears.”

“You must go now! The door will open.”

You step closer to the door. Ahhhh, the last flip of the page opened it.

“Quick! Enter. I haven’t much time to ward off the….”

You’re inside the lighthouse. You didn’t hear what she said last. Oh well. Unlike the flat outside, this is amazing. There’s depth, detail, and warmth. You’re so excited, you unplug your ears. Was that a good idea? You don’t care at that moment. Your hands feel the stone –- the smoothness, the creases, the little dents, the specks. Your fingers outline each stone as you touch from stone, to mortar, to stone. You feel refreshed. You hear water from somewhere, but where? It sounds like a drain or maybe a steady stream. Looking around you, you’re at the bottom. You’re surprised by how big it is. On your left, there are steps spiraling upwards. Then, the living quarters --- a curved room with a bed, an ocean view, a table and chairs, and a closet. Still, the water gnaws at you. You sit on the bed trying to figure out what to do. You can’t help but desire to open your eyes. You can hear the water soothing you, calling you. You decide to peek outside, so you stand up and go. It’s still appears drawn like with a pencil. You walk a little. Still doesn’t feel right. It feels woozy and dizzy, even more so than before. And yet, the noise of the water entices you. You hear it louder or is that just your imagination? You walk a little more. The sound of the water beckons you. What will you do?

Open your eyes inside the lighthouse? Or outside?

***

(Second choice – wrong choice) You open your eyes while outside. You’ve been transported. Next to you is a large round fountain full of crystal- clear water. It’s glowing from within. You desire to drink it. You walk around it. It’s like a small pool or basin framed with brick and design. Other than that, it’s completely dark in the room save for the small opening in the ceiling. There’s a wide ladder that leads up to it. You can see the clear blue sky through the opening. There is also an exit in front of you, but its dimly lit. It looks oddly familiar, but your thoughts return to the water. You cup your hands to….

“I wouldn’t do that, my sweet. It was a mistake you returned hereeee,” states the lady as she enters.

It’s the one who stared at you from the corner with the spiders. Oh my gosh. Now, you realize where you are. The darkness clings to her like glue. You feel like you’re being choked as the darkness floats around your legs.

“Come out. Your feast is ready,” she says, grinning.

Suddenly, out from the darkness, you see a giant tarantula, larger than the other spiders, poke out its head. It attacks you. Your last glimpse is of more spiders drumming into the opening and down the ladder. Brown ones. Joining the feast!!!

***

(First choice – correct choice) You return inside. It’s better in here than the flat outside. You open your eyes. Rather than being transported elsewhere, you feel collected, whole. The water sounds go away instantly. And for some reason, you feel relieved because of how tempting it was. You didn’t notice it before, but there is a package on the bed. You scratch your head as to how it got there and how you missed it earlier.

The brown package is wrapped beautifully. A letter is attached. You take it out.

---------

Dear Adventurer,

Welcome. You should feel honored and proud to have completed level one. Not successfully, mind you, but you did a great job. You overlooked some parts of the story as well as capturing your mark, so you’ve been awarded a talisman instead.

This keepsake will freeze spiders in their tracks when you quest into the Spider Lands.

Unfortunately, due to your score, you will not be able to restart level one. However, ongoing levels will allow to visit areas you have previously explored. Your next quest will begin shortly. Find us on Facebook.

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According to this, you’re the new keeper of the etched lighthouse. You drop the letter. Seriously. This must be a prank. You do feel a charge in you though. You have so many questions, and you feel something else inside you. You can’t explain it. It feels like you’ve improved in some areas like luck, strength, foresight, intelligence, even health. You feel content.

There’s so much you want to explore. For one, the rest of the lighthouse. You tear open the package. Inside is a beautiful medallion, an adventurer’s t-shirt, a keychain, some stale candy, and one glass bottle filled with wine, you assume.

You choose to celebrate for finishing level one. As the sun sets, the tandem lights shine. They become brighter than ever. You raise your hands over your head and clap. You bop your head, as you clap louder. Snapping your fingers. Party streamers fall over you from somewhere. You gained a magic light spell: the ability to see what’s hidden. On your left wrist, a copper red horizonal line appears.

Meanwhile, a mist covers the landscape and an empty gondola stops at the shore. The grim reaper waits to propel you to level 2.

Good Luck!