It’s dark here. You stand on a hard floor, that feels like plastic and metal but looks like wood. The whole world shifts under your feet, gently rising and falling, rocking this way and that. You smell salt on the cold breeze, and hear the slow, rhythmic crash of water. Maybe the earth churns is soothing. Maybe it’s nauseating. And maybe it takes a moment to click that you’re not standing on earth at all.
The rolling hills and fields of the village are gone. The circus has travelled to its next destination. You are on the deck of a massive ship, cruising through an endless ocean.
The ship appears to be a sleek, modern cruise liner, based on what you can see of it. The circus dominates most of the deck, the tents and ferris wheels rising up above the wine-dark sea, scattering light down across the prow where you stand and the water far below. The front of the ship is bare, walled by chest-high railings and giving you a clear view of the water, which stretches beyond the horizon in all directions.
The only feature on this part of the deck is a red door, set in a small boxy structure made of white metal, like a rooftop door on a skyscraper. On the door, in gold letters, is written ‘Below Deck’.
Above you is the moon and the stars, though sometimes, dark and angry clouds roll in and block off the light. In the distance, there are sometimes flashes of lightning, and rain might sprinkle the deck from time to time, but a thunderstorm never materializes before the clouds move on.
Despite the fact that you are on a ship, the backstage is still as green and grassy as ever, and the garden is still surrounded by forest. As you walk to the garden, you notice that the earth no longer seems to move with the swell of the water. Surely you must still be on the deck of the ship, right?
The exterior of the circus is walled off by a curtain of cloth-covered wooden fences, striped with red and black and gold. The cloth ripples in the cold air. Inside, there is warm light pouring up into the sky and draining the colour from everything around the circus, and the sound of music and life.
The only way into the circus is the arching gate in front of you. It feels like a maw, ready to swallow you whole. [[But it’s the only way forward.|Circus Crossroads]]
Unless this nightmare is too frightening, [[and you want to turn back|Below Deck]].
<img alt="crossroads" src="main_area_map_crossroads.png" width="800" height="800" />
You pass through [[the gate|Entrance]] into a dark tunnel with walls of fluttering cloth. The light closes behind you and you’re plunged into silence. You lose track of time and space here, moving forward in the blackness. How long is the tunnel- five steps? Five hundred? After hours, or seconds, you reach the curtain at the other end, and the circus opens up before you, an assault on the senses.
You step into a little courtyard of sorts, an open space for you to get your bearings before diving deeper into the circus. Strings of lights like rows of fireflies loop from poles far above you, brightening the circus to an artificial daytime despite the inky sky beyond. At the center of this courtyard is a bonfire in a huge black brazier, throwing light and warmth and the smell of woodsmoke.
The sounds of music and laughter and conversations hum in your ears, even though you can’t tell where it comes from. You are alone in the circus, but everywhere you go, you get the sense that there’s a crowd of people just out of sight. It’s the lingering sense that you’re not alone, and that eyes are everywhere.
There are three archways leading forward. The one on your left says [[DELIGHTS]], and through it you can see amusement park rides. Through the arch on your right, reading [[WONDERS]], are clusters of smaller tents. And in the middle, directly ahead of you, the arch reads [[TRIBULATIONS]]; beyond it looms the big top.<img alt="crossroads" src="main_area_map_delights.png" width="800" height="800" />
From [[the crossroads|Circus Crossroads]], through the DELIGHTS gate, you enter a large, fenced-off area that curves clockwise around the big top and covers about a third of the circus. You’ve entered a miniature amusement park! It’s noisy here with the sounds of hundreds of circus-goers laughing and screaming - despite the fact that there’s no one here at all, no one but you. Beneath that is the rumbling undercurrent of machinery. The park is brightly lit in red and gold, drenching everything in rich, warm hues.
The park rides operate on their own in endless motion, but when you approach, they slow to a stop and let you get on. They seem to respond to your thoughts; when you’re ready to get off, they come to rest and let you go, before rumbling to life once more.
Right beside the entrance is a big building capped with a shining sign reading [[DELECTABLES|Concession Stand]]. Beyond that, you can see a [[Merry-Go-Round]], a [[Ferris Wheel]], and, even further in, an enormous [[Roller Coaster]].
At the very back of the park, behind the roller coaster, is [[a gate reading EMPLOYEES ONLY|Backstage]]. It seems to be open… To your right is [[another gate|TRIBULATIONS]], leading toward the big top.
<img alt="crossroads" src="main_area_map_wonders.png" width="800" height="800" />
From the [[crossroads|Circus Crossroads]], passing under the WONDERS gate, a path curves counter-clockwise around the big top. It’s crowded here; tents of all colours and sizes cluster in this section of the circus, and the path is barely wide enough for two people to pass each other without brushing shoulders.
Music drifts through the area, a voice that’s hard to place singing in a language you feel like you should be able to understand but makes no sense. You can almost feel a crowd of people pushing down the path behind you, but there’s no one there.
Many of the tents are empty; a quick peek inside shows a barren interior and a dirt floor. But some call to you. One says [[FORTUNES|Fortune Teller]], and another says [[LOTTERY|Lottery]], and another says [[WORKSHOP|Workshop]]. And, one of the previously empty tents has changed; a sign on it says [[SIDESHOW|Sideshow]]. On top of that, it seems one of the tents has been removed altogether. There is a gap in the sea of tents, and the ground is disturbed. Something was here, but now it’s gone. The rest of the empty tents give you a strange sense of desire. Maybe you should stop by again sometime, a little later.
At the very end of this area you reach a wall of red cloth. [[There’s a gate here, with a sign that says EMPLOYEES ONLY|Backstage]]. It seems to be open… If you turn left, the path continues toward [[the big top|TRIBULATIONS]].
<img alt="tribulations" src="main_area_map_tribulations.png" width="800" height="800" />
The pathways through the circus converge again at this little open spot, a second courtyard. To your left is a path back to [[DELIGHTS]], and to your right is [[WONDERS]]; behind you is [[the bonfire|Circus Crossroads]]. Ahead of you is the big top, the center axle of the circus’ great wheel.
It’s quiet here. As you stare up at the bulk of the biggest tent in the circus, the sounds of crowds and music fade away to an uncomfortable quiet. It feels, somehow, like the circus is holding its breath here. The air is charged, as if a thunderstorm is minutes away, but for now everything is still.
There’s no bonfire in this courtyard. Instead, there’s a great clock in the center. It’s ten feet tall, monolithic, more of a monument than a simple timepiece. The base reminds you of a pipe organ, enormously broad and vertical, painted in red and black. The face of the clock itself is gold, with black hands shaped like swords.
Every time you look at the clock, the hands are in a different position. They move too slowly - or maybe too quickly - and shift positions when you look away. While the positions seem to be random, the hands never rest at midnight.
There’s nowhere to go but forward. On either side of the clock, [[a tent flap is open|Big Top]], allowing you access to the big top. Maybe entering the tent makes you hesitate. It’s hard to say why, other than that there’s a feeling of… foreboding. Or maybe it’s nothing, and you just stroll on in.
A small, low tent of plain dark canvas tucked away between flashier attractions; it’s easy to miss. Push the flap aside, and there’s just enough room for two to sit comfortably in here. Lush purple silk hangs from the inner walls, decorated with astrological symbols and star charts. Strings of softly glowing fairy lights drip from the ceiling, casting a gentle glow, and the floor of the tent is covered in an ornate rug.
A low table sits in the middle of the tent, and dozens of soft cushions are piled around for seating, giving the tent a cozy atmosphere. It’s warm in here, and the air smells faintly of incense.
On top of the table is a crystal ball, which seems to be filled with swirling smoke. It’s a little warm to the touch, but nothing seems to happen when you stare into it. There is an antique deck of tarot cards, both the major and minor arcana. You can do readings for each other, of course, but there’s also a slip of paper under the deck that tells you that if you clap three times and call for REM, she will appear and give you a private reading.
If you look through the deck of tarot cards, you’ll notice that the artwork on the major arcana has the standard symbolism, but instead of anonymous figures, they show… you. An image of you is drawn on the card with the same number as your carriage. Card 0. The Fool shows a strange, imp-like figure in a top hat, and Card XXI. The World shows the circus itself.A flashy tent with gold walls beckons you closer; the front flap is tied open, giving you a clear view of what awaits. Inside, the brightly lit tent seems to sparkle and shine, as if the interior lining is made of real gold. Two antique armchairs done in rich red fabric sit inside, but they’re not the main attraction.
In the middle of the tent is what looks like an oversized steampunk gumball machine. The tall base is brass and silver, decorated with glass panels that show intricate machinery inside; when the machine is in use, its innards whir to life, rattling and rumbling. Crowning the top is a huge glass orb filled with colourful tennis ball-sized capsules.
There’s a handwritten brass plaque attached to the base with instructions. Insert a coin, and receive a capsule prize. That’s pretty straightforward. Step right up and try your luck!
[Please message the blog if you’d like to roll a gacha prize. You may only roll three times per chapter.]
<img alt="crossroads" src="main_area_map_living_area.png" width="800" height="800" />
You make it through the noise and busyness of the circus and enter the area behind the big top, and immediately, things feel calmer and quieter. The sounds of the music and crowds fade away to near-silence, and there’s lots of space to move. Instead of packed earth, the ground is a grassy field, grass that becomes greener and lusher the further away from the circus you walk.
The backstage area is enclosed by a tall iron fence. In the fence is [[an elaborate iron gate|The Gate]] that leads out to the back of the circus. The grass at the base of the fence is the brightest green, tall and unmowed.
Back here, even the sky is lighter, and while it never quite brightens to daylight, it does slowly lighten and darken in some approximation of day and night.
In the middle of this space is [[a cluster of 19 wagons|Carriages]] - wait, 19? Sure enough, the one numbered XVII has vanished. There are even dents in the grass where the wheels rested, but it seems the wagon itself has not made the trip with you. In the middle of them is [[a big black cauldron|Cookery]] with a crackling fire beneath. Off to the right side is [[a little wooden building|Outhouse]] with three doors.
A long, low building - a trailer, really, judging by the sets of wheels along its base - with an exterior of red panelling. A glittering golden sign above it reads DELECTABLES. There are three windows, all on one of the long sides of the building; beside the windows are menus, and a note at the bottom: step up to the window, clap three times, and say what you want - and it will appear!
The menus have a lot of typical carnival snacks like funnel cakes, candy apples, popcorn, and cotton candy, as well as some more substantial foods like hamburgers, hot dogs, and sandwiches. You can also get drinks, like soda pop, coffee, and water. The foods that come out from the windows are of the highest quality, as delicious as a dream.
There’s a door on one of the short sides of the building, and it’s unlocked. If you go in, you’ll find a slightly cramped but otherwise state of the art kitchen, stocked to the brim with fresh ingredients of all sorts. If you want to cook a meal for yourself, this is a great place to make it.
Oddly enough, if someone is inside the kitchen, food will not appear through the windows, no matter how much you clap…
Around the building are a bunch of picnic tables. Each has an umbrella in the middle, striped with the same red, gold, and black as the rest of the circus.
Despite any apprehension, there’s nothing really noteworthy happening in the big top. The space is huge. The center stage is marked off by a ring of waist high panels in red and gold, circling a central space that takes up about two-thirds of the interior of the tent. The ground here is packed earth and sand. Around the stage are rows of seats, raised on tiers of wooden platforms. This tent could probably fit hundreds of spectators, easily. Aisles through the seats lead back to the tent flaps and [[out into the circus|TRIBULATIONS]].
A central pillar supports the tent, rising high up into the red-gold-black striped sky. Strings of firefly lights cluster at the center and drape outward to the edges of the tent, a glow that illuminates the central stage and leaves the edges dark. Standing in the center, the audience seats seem to fade into the darkness. There is only the stage, and impenetrable blackness on all sides.
The big top is quiet. You might feel a pang of anticipation in your chest, and you’re not sure whether it’s good or bad. Nothing is happening now, but you’re sure that something will happen here soon enough.The Merry-Go-Round turns and turns, and the horses rise and fall. The ride’s crown is painted in ornate white and black patterns and lit with red and gold lightbulbs, and it rises to a point in the center that echoes the big top, towering nearby. Music emanates from this structure, soft and gentle music that seems like a lullaby. Sometimes, though, the music takes on a distinctly sinister feeling, though you’re not sure what’s changed. Just as abruptly as that sensation appears, it vanishes again.
The outer ring of seats are all fancy carousel horses, huge porcelain animals carved in mid-trot, heads high and legs raised. They’re attached to striped poles, and rise and fall slowly as the ride moves. They’re red, or black, or gold, and their saddles and reins are in the same colours. No two of them look the same… in fact, as the Merry-Go-Round turns, none of the horses look the same. As you lose sight of each horse, it seems to disappear entirely, replaced by one that’s similar, but not quite the same. Sometimes a horse appears that looks frightening and nightmarish - it has glowing eyes, or sharp teeth, or seems to move to watch you as the carousel turns - but those disappear too, in time.
The outer row are horses, but the inner row, along the central spoke, are mythological beasts. You see dragons and pegasi, three-headed chimaeras and cerberuses, monstrous bulls with human faces, and some that are too horrible to look at. These, too, vanish eventually, and you see all manner of beasts go past.
As long as you are on the ride, the ceramic beasts that you can see stay consistent, but as soon as you lose sight of one, it vanishes.
As you ride the Merry-Go-Round, occasionally you might spot a flash at the edge of your vision. If you watch for it, you could see a tiny brass ring hanging from a ribbon attached to the ceiling of the Merry-Go-Round. It seems to appear at random, and travels past you in the opposite direction. You can’t quite reach it from where you’re sitting, but maybe, if you really stretch, and you’re really lucky...
The Ferris Wheel is huge, as tall as the big top not far away. From the very top, you can see across the entire circus, and even the endless landscape beyond. The ride is smooth, save for the way the baskets swing a little whenever it stops, and perfectly-paced, not too fast and not too slow.
The baskets are painted in red, black, and gold. There’s enough room for two in each, and the seats are softly cushioned. They’re open to the air, though, and it’s a little chilly when you’re at the top, exposed to the nighttime breeze.
Twenty baskets hang from the wheel. The spokes are lined with hundreds and hundreds of lightbulbs in red and yellow, making the wheel shine like a beacon, visible everywhere in the circus. Follow the path up to a raised platform with iron railings to get on; the wheel knows you’re here, and comes to rest so you can climb on. Sometimes, though, a few baskets go by before the wheel stops, and you get the vague sensation that there’s someone already in them...
A behemoth of a roller coaster looms at the back of the little amusement park. It rises and falls in waves, and you can see a loop here, and another over there, supported by wooden scaffolding, painted black. It turns in on itself, twisting and turning, crossing and criss-crossing its own track, which means that even though the ride itself is huge, the track is even longer than it looks, and as you ride, you may lose track of where you are or how long you’ve been on the ride.
The cars are brightly decorated in red and gold, and they rattle a little as you ride, but that just adds to the thrill! From the platform, it takes you slowly up and up, as high as the top of the ferris wheel and the flags on the big top. It pauses at the top, a moment of anticipation… and then you hurtle downwards, pulled this way and that, twisting and turning and looping, all the way back to where you started, where the ride slows and lets you back off.
The gate is tall, formed out of wrought black iron. It rises about fifteen feet into the air, and its bars gently twist and curve; the longer you stare at it, the more organic it feels… until you blink, and remember that it’s iron.
The gate doesn’t seem threatening. No, it actually seems inviting, somehow. The padlock that previously held it shut has vanished, and the gate opens up to [[a path through the trees|The Walk]].
The lush green grass continues on the other side of the gate, but disappears into mist. At your feet, tiny white and pink flowers bloom around the bars of the fence.
A cluster of 19 old-timey caravan wagons are parked over to the left side of the backstage area, arranged in a loose circle. The wagons are wooden and have four big wheels; the walls are about 8 feet high, and there’s an arching roof. There are little windows on the sides, and on one end there are a few little steps up to a door. Each of the doors is unique, intricately carved with a motif from the major arcana, and inscribed with a stage name. A few of the cards are missing, but otherwise, the wagons are arranged in tarot order, clockwise around the circle.
I. The Magician - ARISTOTLE
II. The High Priestess - ULNA
III. The Empress - MADAM
IV. The Emperor - TORQUE
V. The Hierophant - BANSHEE
VI. The Lovers - ROSWELL
VII. The Chariot - DRIFT
VIII. Strength - SPACE MAN
IX. The Hermit - COCKROACH
X. The Wheel of Fortune - KHASKI
XI. Justice - SERICA
XII. The Hanged Man - ENTROPY
XIII. Death - COBRA
XIV. Temperance - JESTER
XV. The Devil - CRESCENT
XVI. The Tower - GEMINI
XVIII. The Moon - OTOMA
XIX. The Sun - COPPERFIELD
XX. Judgement - HARLEY
Inside, they’re roomier than you might expect, but still very cozy. Along the right wall is a cushioned bench, with some storage space underneath. On the left wall are countertops and a sink. Cabinets on the wall above are full of dishes, cutlery, cooking tools, and some small appliances like a hot plate and toaster. In the storage space under the counter, you find ingredients and produce that seems to be tailored to your taste. The food is always fresh, it seems, even though there’s no fridge here, and the appliances work without being plugged in.
The back part of the wagon is a raised loft. Notches in the wall form a little ladder to climb the four feet up to where your bed is, a comfortable mattress made up with blankets and piles of cushions. There’s a little window on the back wall just above your bed with a curtain to close at night, and the low ceiling here makes it feel cozy. Beneath your bed, beside the little ladder, are doors that open up to more storage space, where you find extra changes of clothes, pyjamas, exercise gear - none of it is your clothing, but it’s all your style, and fits perfectly. There is also a set of formal clothing, as well as a gaudy red, gold, and black costume of some sort that would make you look like a circus performer.
Otherwise, the wagon is decorated to your tastes. Wall hangings, trinkets on the shelves, items stashed under the bench, and even the colours of the walls and cushions. The interior of each wagon is different, and each seems to match its occupant perfectly.
The black iron cauldron in between the wagons sits on four tall legs, each shaped like a different animal: a camel, an elephant, an eagle, and a gecko. Underneath is a pile of carefully arranged logs that’s always burning, and no matter how long the fire burns the logs stay exactly the same. A carved inscription winding around the cauldron just under the rim says ‘the whole is greater than the sum of its parts.’
There’s a wooden lid with a handle sitting on the grass not far away, and attached to that is a note with instructions on how to use the cauldron. Throw up to five ingredients into the pot, cover it up, clap three times, and take a look! The ingredients will be combined into a complete dish - or a disgusting mess, if you’re not careful. Try out different combinations and see what you get!
Each of the three doors has a symbol carved into it. One has ♂, another has ♀, and the third has O. It seems like you’ve found the bathrooms. Each bathroom has three toilets and three sinks, identical despite the symbols on the doors. Don’t worry, it doesn’t smell bad in here; it seems the washrooms are kept perfumed by whatever staff maintains the circus. The floors and walls are clean white tile.
If you go around to the other side of the building, you’ll find three more doors, with the same symbols. Through each door are three stalls, each with a little changing area with a wooden bench and a privacy curtain, and a bathtub with a showerhead above. Remember, your hygiene is important!An unfamiliar tent stands within the perimeter of the circus, with such confidence that one might assume it had been there all along. Curious minds would find that the tent opens, easily as the others, though the contents are entirely new.
The walls of the tent are lined with countless tools and materials; wrenches and screwdrivers in every size, hammers, nails, wood planks, the list goes on.
In the middle of the tent stands a crafting table. A book lays on top of it, spine down, open to a random page. Upon inspection, the book appears to be full of instructions, cover to cover. There are pictures to go with it, but the font is incomprehensible. Still, those brave enough to attempt crafting with unclear instructions are welcome to do so.
If you stay long enough, you might catch a glimpse of a familiar face, fleeting as it is. But then again, it may just be your imagination.
Should you attempt to leave with any tools or uncrafted materials, they will immediately vanish and reappear where they started.
You pass through the gate and find yourself on a long, winding path forward. The path is worn into the earth, and a bank a few feet tall rises on either side of you, covered in lush, green grass and dotted with more of the white and pink flowers. At the top of the banks you can see trees, but they’re shrouded in mist, and everything beyond them disappears into white.
The mist here doesn’t seem threatening. It feels… dreamlike, like your consciousness simply doesn’t extend beyond the trees. The grass on the banks is slippery and hard to climb, but if you manage it, and walk through the forest, you will somehow always find your way back to the path.
As you walk away from the circus, the sky gradually lightens, going from the darkest night to hazy pre-dawn light, as if the simple act of moving away from the circus forces the world to turn closer to the sun; if you turn around, the sky will darken again until you’re back at the circus.
It’s hard to say how long you’ve been walking, but eventually you come across a high archway made of flowers and ropy vines. [[As you pass through...|Garden]]
At the end of the path is a garden. It’s easy to imagine that this was once a carefully-manicured ornamental garden, but it has run wild. Save for the packed earth paths through it, the dewey grass has grown to knee height, and flowers spill from their carefully contained garden beds and grow wherever they please. Tall, stately rows of hedges indicate the original ring-like structure of the garden, and you come to realize that, not only is this whole area circular, it’s just about as huge as the circus itself. But instead of being choked with tents and attractions, it’s wide open. The whole garden is ringed by the same iron fence as in the backstage area, and somehow, it is impossible to cross this fence.
Here and there are tall trees, branches heavy and dripping with blossoms that spill petals onto the grass. Under some of the trees are delicate iron chairs and tables, stone benches, and waist-high brick walls, all sinking into the sea of grass, any sense of order or arrangement lost to the quiet chaos.
The whole place is heady with the scent of flowers and fresh-clipped grass. It’s a sweet, comforting scent, but after a while, it starts to make your head hurt. All of the colours of the garden are gentle pastels, all green and blue and purple, a welcome change from the bold red and gold of the circus. The sky is seafoam, and along the horizon is coral pink, minutes away from dawn that never quite breaks.
The path leads you to the center of the garden. A river runs across it, gently burbling, and right in the center is a small island, connected to either side by footbridges. On the island is an old-fashioned telephone booth. Inside is… a telephone! Instead of the standard buttons of the telephone, there are twenty numbered buttons, labelled I to XX. Two of them are lit up: IV and XIX. The button where XVII should be seems to have been pulled clean out of the phone. Perhaps you remember which trailers the numbers all correspond to. And if you dial this one…?
Through the glass in the phone booth, you can see three structures in the far half of the garden, rising from the grass. There is no path to them, but once you make your way there, you see that they are marble mausolea - well, two mausolea. The intact ones aren’t ornate; in fact, they’re pretty plain. But there is a quiet dignity to them. Carved into the lintel over the door are names - TORQUE and COPPERFIELD, respectively. Just over there is what used to be another mausoleum, but now stands in ruins. The roof has collapsed, and two of the walls have crumbled as well. The lintel is rubble, but in the debris, a large piece bears most of an R.
And that’s when it strikes you that this isn’t a garden. It’s a cemetery.
If you stay here long enough, you see… something else strange. A shape floating about, drifting here and there, but it’s hard to tell exactly what it is from a distance. It seems like a small dark rift in the air that sucks in all of the light around it, making its shape indistinct. It’s rather hard to look at, actually; looking at it makes you feel as if there’s something wrong with your eyes, like a smudge in your vision. Perhaps it seems menacing, or maybe simply strange. It doesn’t go near you, but perhaps you feel brave enough to investigate…
The stairs descend three storeys through a cramped stairwell, all grey concrete with a single bare lightbulb hanging from the ceiling at the top. The further down you go, the further away the light gets, and at the bottom, it’s dark. The concrete is cold. There’s a grey metal door at the end.
You open it to find a long hallway. It looks the same as the stairwell; all bare concrete, cold walls, and no light, save for a single, harsh red emergency light at the far end, over another door.
Perhaps you hesitate here, not sure if you want to go any deeper into the belly of the ship. There could be anything on the other side.
But perhaps you find the courage and steel yourself, or perhaps you aren’t afraid. Your footsteps echo and even the slightest sound reverberates against the concrete. It’s hard to tell if the hallway is longer than it looks or not. You reach the other door after a few seconds (minutes?) and…
Find a very nice foyer, actually! What were you so scared of? You’re on the upper balcony of a two-storey room; a wide staircase leads down to the main level. The room is bright and modern, with light-coloured walls and lots of lights. A sleek, contemporary chandelier hangs from the middle of the ceiling, down into the room.
There are several couches and chairs, all dark upholstery and shiny metal frames, arranged into little groups here and there on the main floor of the large space for comfortable seating. Hallways extend out of the room, with signs giving directions. The long hallway on the upper floor leads first to a [[gift shop|General Store]], then [[restaurant|Restaurant]], [[gym|Gym]], and finally the [[medical tent|Medical Tent]] at the far end. On the lower floor, there is a [[pool|Pool]], [[club|Club]], [[greenhouse|Greenhouse]], and [[boat launch|Boat Launch]].
There is one door here that you can’t open. Tucked away in a corner on the lower floor, an unassuming door the same colour as the walls has ‘Staff’ written on it in small black lettering. There’s no handle on the door, but there is a card reader where one should be. A light on the reader is blinking red. You have nothing that could open it. Maybe you should come back later...
You enter the gift shop and-
Hang on. This is the general store. You know, from the village! You pass through a door on the ship, and find yourself back in that space, exactly the same as it had been before the trial. As ever, the place is nearly empty. The large shop has been cleared out of any products, and shelves along the walls are bare. Save for a wobbly table with uneven legs and three mismatched chairs standing in one corner, there’s nothing here.
Nothing except a long countertop standing two-thirds down the length of the room from you. A menu board stands beside the counter, listing what’s for sale in chalk.
Tool: 2 coins
Weapon: 3 coin
Item of your choice: 10 coins
Motive immunity free pass: 15 coins
At the bottom is written, ‘Please ask REM for assistance. All sales final.’
A second signboard, opposite that one, has a heading that reads, ‘Happy Customers’, with a cute smiley face drawn on it. Below are written all of the previous purchases from before the trial.
Futuristic light fixtures on the ceiling cast a cool blue glow across the restaurant. Ten glass tables occupy the space, each circled by four metal dining chairs with blue cushions. The walls are dark, almost black, broken up by abstract, geometric art pieces, all in cool tones, and the floor is a glossy black material that could be plastic or stone tiles.
One wall of the restaurant is entirely glass, giving a clear view of the ocean outside the ship. Of course, it is always night time out there, but the moon and stars shine into the room, and the water is visible far below.
Menus on each table, bound in faux-leather, show the list of options. This is some serious fine dining. All of the dishes sound very fancy, and have ingredients like aioli and truffle oil and stuff. You’re not even sure what some of these things are! But they’re probably delicious. The menu is extensive, and the dishes come from all corners of the world. The images on the menu are animated - it’s a touchscreen! Touch the dish you want to place your order, and the food appears out of thin air on your plate.
At the far end of the restaurant is a swinging door that leads to a kitchen. The kitchen is immaculate, and everything from the appliances to the walls is a uniform white that makes your eyes hurt. The kitchen is stocked full of just about any ingredient or appliance you might need, and all of it is top quality. As you may expect, if someone is in the kitchen, food will not appear in the dining space.An empty reception desk sits at the entrance to the gym, and behind it is a short hallway leading to the changing rooms. There are three small, identical rooms, labelled men, women, and nonbinary, with cubbies and benches, all in white and light wood. Attached to each room is a shower and a washroom.
The three changing rooms all open onto the gym itself, a room that seems larger than it is thanks to the floor-to-ceiling mirrors on one of the long walls. The opposite wall is all windows, looking out onto the dark ocean and the stars above. The room is long and rectangular, stretching out ahead of you, curving slightly as it follows the contour of the ship.
The equipment is state of the art. A row of treadmills and stationary bikes stand along the window, facing out. The rest of the room is occupied by various other machines for strength training, to focus on each muscle group in turn. At the far end of the room is a rack of weights, dumbbells and barbells, and the necessary equipment to use them properly. Please remember to wipe down the equipment when you’re done!
The room is well-lit, but the interior is rather plain. It seems the room is much more focussed on working out than enjoying the aesthetics. Still, the view of the ocean might be nice. Or upsetting. You really are out in the middle of nowhere.
...Hang on, there’s something out there. It’s hard to tell, with how bright this room is, but somewhere out on the water is… a faint, blinking light?
It’s not a literal tent. Someone must have been going for some sort of rustic mood, as if this wasn’t a modern cruise ship. You enter into a small reception room with about a dozen chairs. A counter built into a wall, accessible from the main space of the clinic, has an empty desk and chair for an employee to sit. The reception room is decorated sparsely, in a minimalist style, but is all done in very pale pastel tones. It seems like it’s trying to be welcoming, but only manages to be stark and sterile.
The actual clinic has no pretenses. Through the door to the examination rooms, everything is white and chrome - the walls, the ceiling, the furniture. It’s like the whole thing was designed by Apple. Three identical, cramped examination rooms have a cot, a desk with a chair, and cabinets full of basic supplies like generic painkillers, bandages, and disinfectants.
At the end of the narrow hallway is a gender neutral washroom, and an office. It seems like this once held all sorts of files and documents, but the shelves and filing cabinets are all empty. It’s been very thoroughly cleaned out. At the end of the office is a small couch with an empty minifridge, indicating that this also served as a break room. The medical tent has the same supplies as the clinic from the village, but the whole thing is small, cramped, and so stark that it’s devoid of any real comfort or character. The tragedy of contemporary minimalism.
You have to pass through changing rooms to get to the pool. There are three of them, for men, women, and nonbinary people, all identical and decorated in cheerful yellow and blue, evoking Caribbean beaches, probably.
The pool itself is enormous, and must take up half of the ship. It’s more like a small indoor waterpark than a simple swimming pool. Most of the pool is divided into long lanes for swimming laps. Closer to the entrance is a shallow section for wading, the floor under the water decorated with sand textures and images of shells and starfish.
At the far end of the room are three enormous waterslides. Flights of steps up to them reach two storeys high, and the slides twist and turn down to the back section of the pool, dropping you into the water with a mighty splash! The water is warm, and the slides are a smooth ride all the way down.
The pool is surrounded by a massive deck. Brightly coloured patio chairs and big umbrellas set up along the deck make you feel like you’re at the beach, if you close your eyes. The air is warm and the lights are almost as bright as sunshine. Built into the wall near the deck chairs is a small concession stand. No one’s working here today, but you can still order fruity drinks and tasty snacks through a touchpad set up on the counter. Food appears right before your eyes, like magic!
Across the pool, on the other side of the room, is a hot tub that can fit several people at once. There are also large boxes of pool toys - floaties, inflatable rafts, pool noodles, you name it! Not to mention life jackets, too. Gotta stay safe.
The sound of a beat and the thrum of the bass in your chest gets louder and stronger as you descend into the ship down a flight of narrow stairs that goes deeper than you feel it should. You must be right against the hull of the ship when you finally reach a door. The only light is a purple neon sign above it, abstract twists of light that, if you focus, form letters - TARTARUS.
The club is a large, circular room, swathed in purple and pink neon lighting that emanates from the walls and floors. The music beats against your eardrums, your ribcage. At the center is a circular bar, counters and barstools all the way around, with a glittering chandelier hanging overhead. Under the counter, the cabinets are stocked with alcoholic drinks, glasses of all shapes, and other necessities for mixing cocktails.
Closer to the entrance are a number of circular tables ringed by curved seating booths; all of the furniture is in black, with purple fabric on the seats. A softly glowing crystal ornament that reminds you of the rocks from the catacombs is affixed to each table.
The back half of the room is an open dance floor, and at the far edge of the room is a stage, raised six inches higher than the rest of the room. Holographic instruments shimmer from time to time on the stage, and it seems that, by interacting with a glowing touchscreen control panel affixed to the wall, they can be made solid and playable. However, they dissipate if taken off the stage. Said control panel also controls the music playing in the club, but when the space empties out, the thrumming electronica starts up again.
On the walls around the club at regular intervals are large LED screens. Mostly they’re lit with that same pink-purple glow, but every so often… they’re not. At random, one may change for a moment to show you an advertisement for some product or another, something you know you’d want or that would be nice to have. It seems the ads are targeted specifically to whoever’s in the room - so targeted, in fact, that no one but you is able to see them. The ads are grainy and staticky, and disappear quickly.
You enter a garden on the ocean. The pathway curves this way and that, the floor made to look like cobblestones but sounding like metal when you step on it. You first enter into a little garden, lush with grass and flowers, shaded by overhanging trees. A few picnic tables are placed here and there.
Walking through the garden, you find long, winding paths working their way through an orchard full of fruit trees, their branches heavy with ripe fruit ready for picking. As with the orchard in the village, the trees here have apples, oranges, pears, peaches, and cherries. The bases of the trees are surrounded by grass and colourful little flowers.
But there’s not doubt this garden is artificial. The plants grow on large rectangles of soil, with a six inch barrier around the edges to keep the soil in the right place. And through the branches and leaves of the trees, you can see the metal walls of the ship, painted in dappled green to blend with the flora, but walls nonetheless. And above you, an arching glass ceiling… shows water. Aren’t you inside the ship? But no, dark water above, shadows from time to time that look like they could be fish, and the faint glow of moonlight filtering down through the ocean into the garden.
Beyond the orchard, through a door, is the greenhouse proper. There are long tables of plants growing in shallow pots, brightly lit from above. The plants are of all sorts - vegetable plants, garden flowers, small shrubs, and even ornamental plants like bonsai. Unlike the rest of the garden, everything that isn’t green is a sterile, clinical white. The air is humid and heady with the scents of flowers, and misted water sprays onto the plants from the ceiling from time to time.
You descend a flight of stairs at the end of the hall to reach the boat launch, which looks like the loading bay of a military aircraft, but far bigger, and open to the ocean air. The floor of the launch is submerged in water, so you step up onto a metal catwalk to traverse the area; sloshing seawater sometimes splashes onto the catwalk, but the boat launch is deep enough and angled just so that ocean waves don’t make it this far in.
The space is enclosed by a huge, arching roof that is reminiscent of a gaping cavern. The interior is all industrial metal and harshly lit by long lights affixed to the ceiling. Hanging from the railings of the catwalk are dozens of life jackets, all in red, gold, and black, as well as signs clearly reminding you to wear one if you’re going out on the water.
Moored along the catwalk are boats, of course. Vessels of all sorts are here - jet-skis, motorboats, and small sailboats, as well as canoes, kayaks, and paddleboats. The boats are all small and clearly meant for no more than one or two people, and all have compartments containing extra rope, flashlights, flares, and a container for bailing water out in an emergency. Waterproof leaflets attached somewhere on each boat provides instructions for how to use them.
Once you’re ready to go, unhook the boat from its mooring and drive it out of the harbour. The water is cold, and the night air is brisk. Looking at the ship from the outside like this, you can tell it is, indeed, a massive cruise liner, topped with a shining ferris wheel, roller coaster, and tall tents, flags flapping in the breeze. As you sail away from the ship, its lights grow further and further away, until they disappear over the edge of the horizon. It’s just you, the moon, and the inconsistent stars.
And then, as you sail further, a light appears, far away. You sail toward it, perhaps, and the ship once again comes into view. It seems there is only one place to go out here.
As they say, all roads lead to Rome.A bright yellow tent has joined the rest in the Wonders section of the circus. With strings of dancing white lights and pennants of flags around it, it's very hard to miss. The tent flaps are pinned open, and a large signboard in some indecipherable script stands on either side of the entrance.
The floor inside is covered in sawdust, which hangs in the air and creates clouds visible by the stage lights above. There's six rows of low benches on the inside, parted to allow a walkway in the middle. The back rows are slightly elevated, and all are facing a rectangular wooden stage on the far end of the tent interior. If you aren't looking directly at the stage, it feels like someone is up there, performing?
If you walk up on the stage, the lights overhead follow you. There's a dark red satin curtain in front of it that can be opened or parted with three claps, and a curtain towards the back of the stage that leads to a storage or prep area. Back here, there's trunks upon trunks of props, and a small changing stall. It all disappears and returns back to its proper place if you take it out of the tent naturally.