A Nadian royal ship is seen sailing off the coast of the Toko Archipelago. On board is a young noble, Lady Singari, with her handmaiden Moti, and her bodyguard Vishal. The three run into Yapa, a merchant operating a ceramics shop out of his small boat near the island of Tokotoko. Yapa is kindhearted, offering fair prices for his handmade pots, and admits that he has never met anyone from Nadia. He advises the party to head straight for the island of Poko to avoid the coming storm.
Despite their best efforts to follow Yapa's advice, the group is still caught in the storm. As their ship turns and tumbles in the crashing waves, an Irish elk Familiar named Tatenen appears and uses his magic to protect the boat. Although the ship is not destroyed, it sustains enough damage to be forced ashore. In the aftermath of the storm, a young stowaway named Tieo is discovered below deck by Tatenen, having snuck his way onboard in a barrel of apples during a stop in Pharos. Yapa happens upon Gari and her stranded crew again. He offers Gari and Tieo safe passage to the nearby port of Potoko, leaving Moti and Vishal behind to stand guard.
In Potoko, Gari and Tieo meet the village elder Lady Jeloda and her tapir Familiar Loota. The two share a one-of-a-kind, symbiotic relationship in which only one can be awake at a time with the slumbering half able to have helpful if not enigmatic premonitions. Loota imparts a vision of Gari and Tieo traveling to the hidden city of Ayar Uchu and meeting with the leader of the Sages, the Head Sorceress Em. In addition, she informs them that Gari's entourage has been captured by pirates.
RAT ALLEY RAT ALLEY??
--CONSIDER ENDING CHAPTER HERE??--
Gari and Tieo begin their long journey to Ayar Uchu. The two are distant and uncomfortable with one another. Gari frets over the predicament of Moti and Vishal's kidnapping while lamenting the loss of her leisurely way of travel. Tieo is mostly silent, communicating with Gari in few and simple words. During their first night in the woods, they are visited by an ominous ibis that does not appear to be a Familiar. The two are frightful at first but let their guard down once they are each given a gift. Gari receives a golden brooch in the shape of a cicada, enabling her a handful of opportunities to rewind time by a few seconds. While Tieo receives a jeweled ring of gold, enabling him to turn invisible.
The following day, they meet Amaru, the serpentine Familiar of Em, who they help to infiltrate a mysterious pyramid. Inside, a fierce battle is waged against a giant spider Familiar named Apasanka. Amaru grows to a gargantuan size to battle the spider, Gari is knocked unconscious, and Tieo is able to deal the finishing blow by stabbing Apasanka with his hidden dagger. As Apasanka's life force fades away, Tieo's dagger emits an otherworldly glow and gains the ability to shoot a magic laser beam.
--CONSIDER ENDING CHAPTER HERE??-- what happened to Amaru? call this one something about secrets? Amaru is as powerful as Em and up to his own things. he says he felt like an evil prescence there. Isn't this where Tieo reveals his name to Gari? He went by a fake name or something before this??
Gari and Tieo arrive at a magical garden of obstacles that tests them with an illusory rolling boulder, a puzzle of potions, and a duel against topiaries mimicking their appearences. During the battle, Tieo is knocked out and Gari single handedly defeats the magicked topiaries. Past the garden, they find the home of Palla Pachakamanta and her ferret Familiar Jiraa. As a reward for overcoming her challenges, Pella concocts a potion meant for Tieo to commune with his late grandmother's albratross Familiar, Ming Xi. But the potion fails, revealing that either Ming Xi was not his grandmother's Familiar, or is not dead.
--CONSIDER ENDING CHAPTER HERE??-- wtf this potion at the end? call this one something about trials? the potions are the same potion puzzle from HP? Why did go see Lady Pella? Who gave us her name? It could have been Lady Palla or Amaru?
Continuing on their journey, Gari and Tieo make their way to The Snail's Foot, an innhouse that sits atop the shell of a gigantic traveling snail Familiar. Inside the establishment, everything appears to be run by various monkey Familiars, including the rambunctious baboon Iato. Our heroes attempt to relax at the bar before noticing how awkwardly quiet and empty everything is. Suddenly, the two are bound and taken into the woods by the apes, who reveal themselves to be the pirates who kidnapped Moti and Vishal. Unbeknownst to everyone, the woods are known to be haunted by metallic monsters. The monsters attack and drive away the pirates. Tieo takes one of the monsters as a pet, which is actually a floating sentry Automaton that he names Tippy. The two return to The Snail's Foot, where they meet a small mouse Familiar named Cedes and her kiwi mount Hazel. Cedes is a traveling ranger and is there freeing the owner of The Snail's Foot, Captain Janewa. Cedes agrees to escort our heroes to the village of Dhalia.
--Could our party meet Cedes a little earlier? Maybe she is investigating reports of strange activity at the snail's foot when she runs into Gari and Tieo tied up?-- call this one The Snail's Foot?
TBD
ORIGINAL
Lady Singari with her handmaiden Moti, and her bodyguard Vishal are sailing along the ocean near the Toko islands near the island of Tokotoko when they meet a merchant named Yapa. Yapa operates a small pot shop out of his small boat. He is friendly and kind and offers fair prices for his handmade pots, and he’s never met anyone from Nadia. He advises the party to head straight for the island of Poko to avoid the coming storm.
Following his advice, they make their way to the island where they were instructed but they are still caught by the storm. Even though Tatenen did his best to save them, their boat is damaged and forced to go ashore. A little while afterwards Yapa arrives and offers to take the youngest to the nearby port of Potoko. The runaway Tieo is discovered below deck, by Tatenen, having gotten aboard when the ship stopped at Pharos.
The group makes their way to Potoko, where they meet the village elder Lady Palla and her familiar Loota where she uses her powers to predict that they would need to travel to Tipperacti and meet with the Head Sorcerer Em. They also discover that Gari’s entourage has been captured by pirates.
Their first night in the woods, they are visited by a ominous ibis that gives them both a gift. For Gari, it was a golden cicada that could rewind time by a few seconds, for Tieo it was a ring of invisibility.
The next day they meet Amaru, the serpentine familiar of Em. who they help to infiltrate a mysterious ruin where they fight the giant spider Apasanka. Amaru and Apasanka fight and Gari is knocked out but Tieo saves the day by stabbing the spider with his secret dagger. his dagger gains the ability to shoot magic lasers.
Gari and Tieo make their way to Pella’s house where they face obstacles in her garden including an illusionary rolling boulder, a puzzle involving potions, and a battle against their own body double topiaries. in this battle, Tieo is knocked out and Gari saves the day. They meet Pella Pachakamanta and her ferret familiar Jiraa. She makes a potion that was supposed to communicate with Tieo’s grandmother’s familiar the albatross Ming Xi, but instead reveals that Ming Xi was either not his grandmother’s familiar, or not dead.
Continuing on their journey, they make their way to the traveling Inn, the Snail’s Foot, which sits atop a gigantic snail. However, the tavern was actually taken over by a gang of pirate apes looking to kidnap Gari and hold her for ransom along with her captured entourage. They are bound and taken into the woods but the apes, including the baboon Iato, being unaware of the monsters that haunt the woods, are attacked and driven off. Tieo takes one of the monsters as a pet which is actually a rolling sentry robot, which he names Tippy. back at the snail’s foot they meet Cedes the ranger, and her kiwi mount Hazel, who is a mouse familiar who is there freeing Captain, the captain of the Snail’s foot. Cedes agrees to escort them to the village of Dhalia.