Redes and Rhymes

Ah! We have reached the mysterious Island of the Monkeys!

You are in the main, capital city, called Insel. Your characters are in individual rooms in the palace, a picture of which you can find in the folder with your character images.

If you need a point of reference, I've based the land on the island of Indonesia. The ruler of the monkeys is named Purnawarman and his kingdom (the island) is called Shrivijaya. They are a secretive people, hiding after the invasion from King Desmond a century ago. They rescue those they can, both from shipwrecks and from the slave trade, and those who come to the island are never let to leave, to preserve their safety. Most of the rescues stay in Insel, but some are taken, or go to, other places on the island. Still, humans outnumber monkeys by about 10 to 1 on the island and 5 to 1 in Insel itself.



Okay, I have a few tasks for some of you:

Anglis: It's dawn when you arrived in Insel and were hurried off to the hospital. Your body and mind are completely exhausted, so much so that the Monkey doctor, Uut, had to use his magic to restart your heart and keep your lungs moving, like a ventilator. He used his magic to then imbue you with energy so that you could continue breathing on your own. When you wake up, the following day, you'll still be very, very tired and sore, so take it easy for a while. You're a hero to the monkeys, so they'll be very eager to help and see to your every need. Your job is going to be to find out what the heck a spirit-walker is - I'll email you some details. That and to heal up, of course. Explore a little and bask in the worship of the monkeys, you'll be meeting the king eventually, so keep that in the back of your mind.

Marguerite: Redit's attempts to heal Dmitri have failed; the dragon won't let his magic help. Your task, once you're made aware of it, is to heal him. To do this, you'll need to make a bargain with the dragon. He wants Dmitri's soul. You have to keep him from getting it, and as I'm the dragon, send me some ideas of what you want to do and I'll answer them the way the dragon would and we can go from there. You're conscious from the moment you land back in the garden, so you can just pick up your story from there. You'll have a full day before any of the others are awake to plan what you want to do.

Tai: Talk about a City of Ghosts! Just like Monykom City, Insel has seen more than its share of tragedy and all those ghosts are wandering about ready to tell you about them, for these ghosts definitely see you and hear you. Get as carried away as you want, but your job is to, once you figure out where you are, to find Dmitri (your alter-ego-ghost-from-the-future-self will see to it that's what you do first) and then find the one person who can help: Marguerite. The monkeys will probably tell you that Anglis can solve all your problems, because he's their hero, but Anglis would be able to tell you that Marguerite is who you need. As the princess, she's the only one who can. Remember, you'll need a full day to recover from your weeks at sea in that highly stressful environment, but your ghost-girl won't let you sleep past noon.

Kiera: Your headaches decline after resting for that whole first day and you feel very much better. Still, what I need for you is to get yourself lost in the city. I have someone important to you who needs to find you, so go exploring, party, or whatever, just somehow manage to get lost.

Marius: You don't need quite as much rest as Anglis, Tai, and Kiera do. You can wake up as early as noon if you want. I need you to find the temple. The Order of Renunciation is still flourishing in Insel and their cathedral is extremely large. Their library is as big as the monastery in Monykom City. The cathedral itself is situated at somewhat of a trek from the city. This is a jungle, so there aren't any horses, but they do have elephants. The monkeys will recognize your holy symbol and will tell you where the cathedral is and help you get there if you ask. You might even find a few brothers, ones who got too close to the slave trade in their efforts to shut it down, perhaps, and were taken prisoner themselves. In any case, explore the city however you want, but I'll need you to find the cathedral to get what you need. And be sure you have the box from Stonehenge, and the papers, with you when you do. Remind me if I forget to send you some more info when you're ready to write about your discoveries.

Derrick & Mordred: I don't have anything specific for you at this time, but I haven't forgotten you, I promise, we just need to get some more info before I fit your little pieces into the puzzle. Just like Marius, you should sleep until about noon, and then you can go about exploring.



In general, Insel is a city of wonders. They have indoor plumbing! So everyone can get a hot shower, go to the bathroom indoors, cook with the turn of a nob, etc. Have fun with it. This is like the City of Oz. Practically anything goes, but remember that it's not magic that runs these guys' lives; merely an advanced civilization. Magic is a thing belonging to priests and doctors and not for everyday living. They have cobble roads in Insel only, as they're impractical in the jungle, so stick close, if you would, please.

You have the rest of the day that you arrive (or some of you do) and the next to do your exploring. After that, it's off to see the wizard!