New Games Journalism

After having defeated Jack Moschet and his wife Maggie, we collected our second drop of myrrh from the myrrh tree and continued our journey. Griggory, Ruby, and I decided to head back to Marr’s Pass. Along the way, we ran into the Leuda couple, Dah Yis and Hana Kohl. They were dancing and having a great time and invited us to dance along with them. Griggory and Ruby were too embarrassed to join in on their festivities, but being a Selkie like them, I decided to join in on the fun. I danced, did flips, and had myself a merry time. The two of them looked like they were enjoying themselves too, even if they weren’t dancing on the tree stump with us. I know that they are a little different than the Leuda couple and I, being that Ruby is a Clavat and Griggory is a Lilty, we all have our own ways and traditions.

In order to get back to Marr’s Pass and the Ironmine Downs, we had to make another long journey through the miasma stream. The swords embedded like obelisks marked the entrance and we wondered whether they were placed their as a reminder of those that had fallen on their journey to collect the myrrh that keeps the crystals shining brightly in the cities or if they were just there as markers for our journey. Carrying the crystal chalice, Ruby and I continued forward through the miasma stream. Half way through, Griggory starts yelling, “Hey you guys! You left me behind! I can’t believe you didn’t even notice. I… I think I am dying…” By the time we made it back to him, it was too late. There was no way we could continue the journey with a fallen companion, so we had to turn back to the nearest city, Alifteria.

The biggest city on the continent was again in front of us. Alifteria has a large castle and its princess is a little less than willing to take on so much responsibility at her. But, we all have our own responsibilities and ours right now was to revive Griggory. We decided it was best to stick closer together this time. After passing through the miasma stream, we finally made it to Marr’s pass. We all crafted some new equipment and continued to journey overseas. This time, we were headed to Leuda and the Lynari Desert.

When we got to Leuda, Ruby and Griggory received some disgusted looks from the Selkie natives. Griggory went to greet the elderly lady by the docks and instead of a friendly greeting, he got robbed! I was welcomed without any complaints or weird looks, and they never took anything from me. In fact, the children asked me to play with them on their make shift trampoline. It’s so much fun! Jumping around, doing flips combo-ing multiple flips and moves, its fun to show off my skills sometimes. It was nice seeing a place where Selkies are looking out for each other, on the main continent, no one really likes Selkies. But it was time to get back to business. The Antlion was going to take care of itself; we had to press on to the Lynari Desert and collect more materials to craft ourselves some better weapons and armor.

Lynari Desert was hot, sweltering hot. There were lamias and griffins lurking around every turn, and scorpions too. My favorite monster that we ran into though was the Cactuar. They were so cute! They look like running cactus men. After completing the puzzles of the elements, we made it to the Antlion’s lair. Man was that things huge! We could barely see each other as we were running around its giant body trying to find a weak spot. Ruby got caught in its long hairy legs and didn’t see the Sand Sahagin come up from behind and she was petrified, literally, she was turned to stone. Griggory ran to her rescue and cast clear on her, but for Griggory, it was too late. He had brought Ruby back, but he was struck hard and his body fell limp to the ground. His spirit lingered to urge us on. When we caught a break from the onslaught, we cast Holy upon him, which brought him back to life. Fully revived, Griggory swung his lamppost for the final blow. The Antlion was slain and Ruby sheathed her sword and I placed my racket on my back. I picked up the crystal chalice and walked to the desert’s myrrh tree to collect our third drop of myrrh. The crystal chalice was full. It was time for the end of another year.

We made our way home and we were greeted by our families with a celebration. The music played and the children danced. It was nice to see everyone so happy and know that without us, without our journey and hardships, this could never be possible. My little sister wouldn’t write me letters anymore, my mother wouldn’t milk the cow and send me milk, and my father wouldn’t worry about me not having enough money to make it on my journey. Without me and my friends, there wouldn’t be any of this and the people who love us and whom we love would be consumed by the miasma. Without the myrrh, Alteria’s crystal won’t shine and without the crystal shining brightly, the miasma would seep into our homes. Our families would pass away and Alteria would be nothing more than a ghost town.

The year was finally over, after five long years, we had collected fifteen drops of myrrh, but it wasn’t enough, it would never be enough. The never ending cycle of collecting myrrh and keeping our village safe must continue, unless we can find what is causing the world to be covered with the miasma…