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playtesters: 'Kirk Damato'
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> [[3 DAYS AGO]]
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[[About]]
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{embed image: 'column thumbnail.jpg', alt: 'The Column'}
written by Sarah Willson\
for {link to: 'https://itch.io/jam/ectocomp-2024', label: 'ECTOCOMP 2024'}
playtested by {playtesters}
{back link, label: 'back'}
You follow the archaeologist over to the column, then place your hand on the center of it. She does the same. When you look her in the eyes, you feel an odd warmth running through your hand, deep under the skin. It’s not unpleasant, besides the unsettling fact that it’s a completely new feeling.
You both remove your hands, and the archaeologist looks relieved.
[[The warmth fades, and your attention drifts to the others.]]You follow the botanist over to the column, then place your hand on the center of it. She does the same. When you look her in the eyes, you feel an odd warmth running through your hand, deep under the skin. It’s not unpleasant, besides the unsettling fact that it’s a completely new feeling.
You both remove your hands, and the botanist nods at you. “I’m glad you trust me.”
Isn’t that what the ritual means? And yet you’re not entirely sure you do.
[[The warmth fades, and your attention drifts to the others.->p2]]living: "The botanist, the archaeologist, the navigator"
--
You walk over to the column once again and perform the ritual, perhaps for the last time.
“Thank you,” says the botanist, still looking in your eyes. “I think we’re going to be okay. All four of us.”
The warm feeling in your hand subsides.
You watch as the others perform the ritual:
The archaeologist and the navigator.
The captain and the cook.
The medic and the engineer.
[[No one gets much else done for the rest of the day.->>]]
You walk over to the column once again and perform the ritual, perhaps for the last time.
You turn to see the botanist talking excitedly with the medic. She glances back at you, then turns away.
The warm feeling in your hand subsides.
You watch as the others perform the ritual:
The botanist and the medic.
The archaeologist and the engineer.
The captain and the navigator.
[[No one gets much else done for the rest of the day.->>2]]living: "The botanist, the medic, the captain"
--
You walk over to the column once again and perform the ritual, perhaps for the last time.
The archaeologist looks betrayed. She walks over to the cook, who’s the only one sitting alone.
The warm feeling in your hand subsides.
You watch as the others perform the ritual:
The botanist and the medic.
The navigator and the engineer.
The archaeologist and the cook.
[[No one gets much else done for the rest of the day.->>3]]You walk over to the column once again and perform the ritual, perhaps for the last time.
The botanist and the medic are talking. You catch a few words: “just going to be the two of us.”
The warm feeling in your hand subsides.
You watch as the others perform the ritual:
The botanist and the medic.
The captain and the navigator.
The cook and the engineer.
[[No one gets much else done for the rest of the day.->>4]]You wake up before dawn, your head swimming. You hear the rustling of other restless bodies around you. Did you sleep? Did anyone?
You look around to see several of the others stumbling off down the beach. You gather your shoes and coat and prepare to follow them, when you see the botanist doing the same. She smiles grimly—the first time you’ve seen her smile in three days.
You hear nothing but the rustling of trees and the calling of gulls, but as you approach the column you can smell the burnt remains. Plumes of smoke rise from the corpses of the four cursed ones who got there before you. You turn away.
But four of you are still standing: the four who worked together. Who trusted each other. {living}, and you.
Just like the others, you are bonded for life. Joined by the terrible things that happened here. But unlike the others, you can finally leave.
You all pack your things and set off for home. You’ll bring some specimens, records, and information. The next expedition will be better informed. They won’t make the same mistakes your group did.
You’ll be home soon, and you won’t be bringing the curse.
>>[[*Could you have made different choices?*->What harm could come of it?]]You wake up before dawn, your mind swimming. You hear the rustling of other restless bodies around you. Your head is throbbing. It’s time to get to the column. Whose faces will you see?
The anticipation drives you forward. Ignoring the sunrise, trapped in your feverish thoughts, you stumble through the brush. You feel your heartbeat in your ears as you imagine what you’ll find.
But you don’t make it to the column. You’ll never see whether you were right. But you know anyway.
The column has claimed you.
>>[[*Could you have made different choices?*->What harm could come of it?]]The expedition was supposed to take a week, no more than nine days, depending on the weather.
There were nine of you:\
The captain, an experienced adventurer with a knack for storytelling.\
The navigator, who handled communications as well as travel logistics.\
The cook, who would manage supplies and provide the comfort of a good meal.\
The medic, who could solve any problem to do with wellness.\
The engineer, who could solve any other problem.\
The botanist, a keen observer of nature of all kinds.\
The archaeologist, who was the reason for this whole adventure in the first place.\
The photographer, who would keep record of the trip. \
And you, the linguist—and the one who was supposed to have the most local knowledge.
[[But this island was “underexplored,” they said. So how could you have helped anything?]]By the time you landed on the sandy shore, it was close to dusk. The storm threw the plan off schedule. But there was still time enough to make a neat camp, and for the cook to prepare a meal, and for the captain to get to talking about some adventure or other. You’d been on expeditions with the botanist and the archaeologist before, so you spent some time catching up on each other’s lives and adventures.
Before the sun was gone, people wandered in and out of camp, exploring just enough to be confident the area was safe. When the archaeologist and the photographer were gone a little longer than expected, people were polite enough not to even give each other meaningful looks. But when you heard them chattering as they followed the burning fire back to camp, [[everyone stopped.]]
“We found something,” said the archaeologist. Probably her favorite sentence in the English language, though there was a hesitation in her voice just then.
The captain’s stories were forgotten as the archaeologist and the photographer relayed the story of a tall, crumbling column that felt like it snuck up on them in the darkness.
“When the sun comes up, we’ll investigate every detail,” said the engineer.
[[“It might be what we’re here to find,” said the navigator.]]
> [[2 DAYS AGO]]
In the morning, before everyone was even out of their sleeping bags, the photographer tried to whip up enthusiasm for a hike out to the column. When the botanist attempted to convince him that breakfast should come first, he had to agree.
After everyone prepared their packs for the day, with the cook and the engineer staying behind, the rest of your party followed the archaeologist and the photographer back to the site of the column. And after about 20 minutes, you saw it, looming like the steadfast chimney of a burned-out house.
Closer up, it looked even taller, its surface marked yet smoother than you’d expect from [[an ancient monument.]]“It could be as old as sixth century,” said the archaeologist, peering at the scratched, bulbous rock. The botanist, poking at the lichen and the plant matter rotting at the column’s base, agreed.
You caught sight of the medic peering around a small grove of whip-thin trees, behind which was concealed a crack in a cliff face. The medic saw your shadow approaching and jumped back from the cave opening.
“I don’t like the dark,” he said with a sheepish smile.
After only a few minutes, the captain became impatient and conferred with the navigator about making a cursory exploration of the island, before beginning the next day’s more in-depth studies.
The navigator concurred. “We should continue round the island to survey the whole thing,” she said. “It'll take at least the whole day.”
Trailing behind the others, you looked back at the column. One lump near the top of the structure appeared almost the shape of a human face, if somewhat featureless. You tried to shake off the feeling, and for that day at least, [[it worked.]]
> [[YESTERDAY]]For the second full day on the island, everyone had planned to split into groups to begin their individual research. You decided to support the scientists, so you went with the botanist and the archaeologist, straight back to the site of the column.
In the light of morning, the lump near the top of the stone looked even more human. You asked the archaeologist about it, and she said it might be human-made, as some of the scratches on the other side of the column appeared to be.
That’s when you saw the inscription. Finally, tragically or not, you would be of some use on this expedition. Without a doubt, [[the runes spelled out the word “curse.”]]With the help of the archaeologist, you translated some of the inscription. This had been a sacred place, a sacred monument. Entering the cave was forbidden, and a curse was placed upon anyone who entered. The cursed one would live for three more days, and in those three days, anyone in the vicinity must perform a trust ritual. Until the cycle was complete, no one would leave the island alive. And if the ritual failed, everyone else would suffer the same fate as the cursed one.
“I’ve never seen anything like it,” said the archaeologist.
When you got back to your campsite at midday, the others had much less to report. Everyone listened eagerly to your discovery of an ancient curse. At the photographer’s urging, most everyone agreed to spend the afternoon investigating further and making a record of your findings. Only the captain and the medic stayed behind to rest and tend the fire.
[[Soon, you stood in front of the column again.]]The photographer looked at the cave, at the column, at the cave again. “Do you think it could be true?”
The archaeologist remembered. “You went in there three days ago.”
Everyone laughed nervously. *I guess we’ll find out*, you thought.
And then you didn’t think about it again, [[until the next morning.]]> [[DAY 1]]By the time you open your eyes, everyone else is already awake. The captain, the engineer, and the photographer are gone, and the others getting ready or going over their plans for the day while waiting for breakfast. You’re preparing your notes when you hear someone calling for the medic.
Everyone looks up as the captain and the engineer appear at the edge of the clearing. Distraught. The captain says some words to the medic, too low for you to hear. Everyone crowds over, unconcerned with politeness.
“What happened?” someone says. “Is it an emergency?” says someone else.
The captain waves the navigator over, and the four of them head back down the shore in the direction they came from. Everyone else follows without a word. [[Breakfast can wait.]]You can tell where you’re headed, of course. The place seems to be the center of this island, if not geographically.
It’s hard to tell what you’re looking at—you mostly know from context that it’s the photographer’s body. His limbs are twisted inward like a spider’s, and the ground is singed as if struck by lightning. But you see his gear on a pile of rocks nearby, and it becomes real. You turn away.
Some of the others step back, others forward. You hang back with the botanist, wordlessly.
The archaeologist gasps and you both turn around. She’s pointing at the column, where the bulging rock formation at the top of the structure now looks even more like a human face.
[[The photographer’s face.]]The others see you looking, and now everyone’s gathered around, even the medic. The captain covers his face with his hands. How can anyone know what to do in a situation like this?
“There’s no way this could have been…” the medic says, trailing off. “It must have been…an accident.”
“We have to perform the trust ritual,” the archaeologist says.
Someone sobs—was it the navigator? Someone scoffs—was it the cook?
“There’s no harm in it,” says the captain. Clearly everyone has heard about the ritual by now. Maybe they were all discussing it amongst themselves on their various jaunts yesterday.
[[No one argues.]]You all tend to the photographer’s body as well as you can under these circumstances. And then everyone gathers to listen to you explain what’s written on the column. You read further and translate as best you can:
*To perform the trust ritual, two people must touch this stone together and look at each other’s eyes. You must perform the trust ritual every day until the cursed ones are claimed. You must perform the trust ritual with a different person each time. Anyone who has entered the cave nullifies the trust ritual. That person cannot avoid being claimed. Perform the ritual or [[suffer the curse]].*“Did anyone else go in the cave?” asks the captain.
Everyone else looks at each other, silently.
“Someone did,” says the archaeologist, pointing at the column again.
At the top, next to the cursed image of the photographer’s features, you can see two more bulging areas of rock that you didn’t see the previous day.
*[[Two others went in the cave?]]*The captain and the medic are examining the column.
“We just touch the column in pairs?” says the captain, putting his palm on an ornamented ridge.
The medic puts his palm on the other side. As the two look up at each other, the medic seems startled. “I think something happened.”
“Must have been the ritual,” says the captain, brushing off his hands, looking away.
“It felt warm for a moment,” the medic says to no one in particular.
When a minute has passed with no ill effects, the others look around, sizing each other up.
The botanist approaches you first. “Let’s do it. [[What harm could come of it?]]”“Wait, just wait!” says the archaeologist. She glances at the photographer’s body, covered with pine boughs. “He kept asking me to come to this grove, to go in the cave. He seemed drawn to it. If there is a curse, it might make people want to take others with them.”
Now everyone looks even more bewildered. It would be easy to laugh off if it wasn’t for the body, but…
“I promise I didn’t go in the cave,” says the botanist. “We’ve spent almost all our time here together so far. And even if I did, it just says the ritual would be nullified. No harm done.”
The archaeologist is skeptical. “You and I should do the ritual first,” she says. “You know I’m not cursed, right? I’m just trying to figure this out along with everyone else.”
Who will you trust enough to pair up with for the ritual?
> [[The archaeologist->Ch1A]]
> [[The botanist->Ch1P]]The botanist has already approached the navigator, who’s tentatively following her back to the column. With some urging, the navigator puts her hand on the column opposite the botanist’s. After a moment, they both remove their hands.
“What an odd feeling,” says the navigator, shaking the invisible energy off her hands.
With the taboo lifted and everyone waiting, the cook and the engineer soon pair up and perform the same actions.
“I can’t believe it,” says the engineer. “All of us felt the same warm feeling, right? Nullified or not. If this curse thing is even real.”
The botanist turns to go. “Well, I’m going to have breakfast.” She looks at you. [[“But then we should talk.”]]Back at your home base, the cook returns to preparing breakfast, and everyone eats in silence. A few words are spoken about how to prepare the photographer’s body for the return voyage. Some muse about whether he had a family. You really hadn’t had time to get to know each other well yet.
After the meal is done, the botanist sits you down to talk, away from the others.
“You and I, we‘re acquainted, but we haven’t built enough trust yet to fully know each other. But I’m observant, and I think it’s made me a good judge of character. You didn’t go in the cave, right?”
[[You shake your head.]]“I believe the navigator hasn’t either. And you made the right choice to trust the archaeologist, since she’s behaving like someone who wants the best for all of us. Unfortunately, if your translation is accurate, we can’t perform the ritual again tomorrow with the same people. So I’d like to propose we expand our circle of trust. I suggest that tomorrow, we switch partners: you and me, and the archaeologist and the navigator.”
As you think about this, you notice the cook is preparing more food. Perhaps a way to relieve the anxiety of this strange moment.
The botanist sees you looking at him. “I know, none of us know each other well. Talk to the others and see what impression you get. [[We do have all day to decide.]]”Of everyone here, the cook is someone you’ve barely spoken to, so you sit down next to him by the fire, just as he’s finished boiling something.
“It’s a form of celery native to this area,” he says. “She helped me find it, and it makes a good light soup.”
He hands you a cup. It tastes slightly bitter, but flavorful, almost like tea.
“You ever been on an expedition like this?” he asks. Then he smiles, already knowing your answer. “I just keep thinking no one’s going to believe any of this back home. Not that I’ll be telling my family, but you know how word gets around.”
He must be anxious to get back to his family. But he seems calm compared to everyone else, [[and you tell him so.]]“I’ve gotten good at packing my bag as I go. Putting all the hard experiences in the rucksack and waiting until I’m alone to revisit what I collected along the way. But I just…I just want to get home to them.” He looks away, but not before you see his eyes are teary. “Anyway, you seem pretty quiet yourself. Are you okay?”
You talk a little more about how bizarre the trip has been, and about your lives back home. It’s nice to chat normally, yet surreal to dance around the fact that a man is dead through circumstances that still don’t make any kind of sense.
Some of your party makes an effort to continue their planned tasks—the navigator creating an impressive map of the island, the botanist collecting samples, the archaeologist taking rubbings of the column. After the sun sinks behind the trees, [[everyone quiets and tries to sleep.]]> [[DAY 2->d2]]This time, you wake up before everyone else.
After a few minutes, the cook wakes up too and quietly begins preparing the morning’s meal.
The others wake up not long after. The captain is deep in conversation with the navigator, and you hear the botanist and the medic talking about the ritual. You would have preferred to think it was all a nightmare, but it seems today there will be another round of pairings.
“Why would I go in the cave, anyway?” you hear the cook telling the botanist. The medic is walking away in frustration.
“Then why don’t you care about the ritual?” the botanist is asking.
“For all I know, you’re the cursed one,” the cook retorts. But he’s smiling and shaking his head.
“He’s not taking this seriously,” the botanist tells you. “But that’s his problem. [[We can’t help him if he doesn’t want to be helped.]]”Before long, everyone is standing in front of the column again. The two new lumps near the top of the column almost appear to have eyes, noses, mouths.
“How is this possible?” says the engineer. “They didn’t look like that yesterday…right?”
“They certainly did not,” says the navigator.
“If the curse is real…it means no one’s ritual was nullified,” says the botanist.
“So it actually worked,” says the medic.
“Oh, so you believe it now?” says the captain with a bitter laugh.
As the botanist approaches you, you already know what she’s going to say. You spot the cook hanging back behind the others, sitting on a rock wall alone.
Who will you trust enough to pair up with for the ritual?
> [[The botanist->Ch2P]]
> [[The cook->Ch2B]]The archaeologist has already approached the engineer, and the two return to the column and place their hands opposite each other. After a moment, their eyes widen and they remove their hands.
“How is it so warm?” asks the engineer, peering around the base of the column.
With the taboo lifted and everyone waiting, the cook and the navigator soon pair up and perform the same actions.
“All of us touched it, and all of us felt that warmth,” says the navigator. “So what is “nullified” supposed to mean?“
“None of it makes sense,” says the captain. “We’re all just doing our best.”
“This is a research team, right?” says the medic. “I have no doubt you’ll figure it out.”
“I guess it’s time for breakfast then,” says the botanist, [[and she turns to go.]]Back at your home base, the cook returns to preparing the morning meal, and everyone eats in silence. A few words are spoken about how to prepare the photographer’s body for the return voyage. Some muse about whether he had a family. You really hadn’t had time to get to know each other well yet.
After the meal is done, the botanist sits you down to talk, away from the others.
“I don’t know if it’s safe to assume someone else went in that cave, but if there are two cursed people in our group, you and I need to stick together and figure this out,” she says. “The engineer seems like she’s hiding something, I’d bet on it. And the navigator is awfully cavalier, though maybe that’s just how she is. Have you worked with her before?”
The two of you get to talking about past expeditions. Neither of you have met the captain or his crew before, though he, the navigator, the cook, and the engineer seem well acquainted. Apparently the medic said it was his first expedition.
[[*Not likely there will be a second one, however this plays out*, you think to yourself.]]The archaeologist wanders over to talk. “You know I trust you two more than anyone here. And you know I wouldn’t lie about going in that cave.”
All of you talk a little more about the surreal situation you’ve found yourselves in, and what a relief it is to have familiar faces at a time like this. It feels good to have a circle of trust.
That’s why it hurts so much when the archaeologist walks away and the botanist says, “We can’t trust her. I believe her, which makes it so much harder. But I don’t trust the person she chose for the trust ritual.”
The botanist explains how the engineer‘s behavior had changed that last time at the column. “She was standing farther away from the cave than everyone else was, even the medic, who seems terrified of the cave. Why would she suddenly avoid the cave, especially when it meant being closer to the photographer’s body? There’s no answer that’s not suspicious.”
Some of your party makes an effort to continue their planned tasks—the navigator creating an impressive map of the island, the botanist collecting samples, the archaeologist taking rubbings of the column. After the sun sinks behind the trees, [[everyone quiets and tries to sleep.->s2]]> [[DAY 2]]This time, you wake up before everyone else.
After a few minutes, the cook wakes up too and quietly begins preparing the morning’s meal.
The others wake up not long after. The captain is deep in conversation with the navigator, and you hear the botanist and the medic talking about the ritual. You would have preferred to think it was all a nightmare, but it seems today there will be another round of pairings.
The medic is calling the captain over to speak to him away from the botanist, and the archaeologist comes to talk to you.
“You’re one of the only people I trust here,” she says. “I don’t know what they’re talking about, but it doesn’t matter. They’ll figure it out without us. [[We need to stick together.]]”
Before long, everyone is standing in front of the column again. And no one can avoid looking at the four lumps near the top of the column.
“How is this possible?” says the engineer. “There were only two before…”
“There were none before,” says the navigator.
“If the curse is real…it means two people’s rituals were nullified,” says the botanist.
“It could be any of us,” says the medic.
“Oh, so you believe it now?” says the captain with a bitter laugh.
The botanist and the medic are already stepping up to the column and placing their hands on either side. *That must be what they were talking about earlier.*
Then the botanist leads the captain over to you. “You two need to stick together, trust me.”
But the archaeologist is approaching you too, looking worried.
“Are you ready?” she asks.
Who will you trust enough to pair up with for the ritual?
> [[The archaeologist->Ch2A]]
> [[The captain->Ch2L]]It’s way past dark, and everyone’s keeping to themselves but no one can sleep.
The cook is doing something by the fire. Making tea, probably.
The engineer is looking at a photograph she brought from home.
Everyone else is staring up at the stars.
A thought occurs to you:
[[*You’ll need at least two people to even get the ship home.*->DAY THREE]]It’s way past dark, and everyone’s keeping to themselves but no one can sleep.
The cook is doing something by the fire. Making tea, probably.
The engineer is looking at a photograph she brought from home.
Everyone else is staring up at the stars.
A thought occurs to you:
[[*You’ll need at least two people to even get the ship home.*->D3]]It’s way past dark, and everyone’s keeping to themselves but no one can sleep.
The cook is doing something by the fire. Making tea, probably.
The engineer is looking at a photograph she brought from home.
Everyone else is staring up at the stars.
A thought occurs to you:
[[*You’ll need at least two people to even get the ship home.*->DAY THREE]]It’s way past dark, and everyone’s keeping to themselves but no one can sleep.
The cook is doing something by the fire. Making tea, probably.
The engineer is looking at a photograph she brought from home.
Everyone else is staring up at the stars.
A thought occurs to you:
[[*You’ll need at least two people to even get the ship home.*->D3]]> [[DAY THREE->good end]]> [[DAY THREE->bad end]]