Garrick Johnson : simplebooklet.com

2 As if from a restless and stormy dream, you are shaken awake. “Hello? Can you hear me? Oh, good, you’re awake. For a second there I didn’t think… well never mind, anyway, welcome to the island! The ship you were on crashed here in the storm last night, remember… maybe not, oh well, seems like you’re stuck here now.” A strange creature that sat in the sand is speaking to you. Your vision is still fuzzy but you can make out the creature’s figure, a figure something like a human but glowing red and translucent. Is this some sort of ghost or spirit? What sort of island is this? The creature laughs and continues to speak. “Well, you’re probably very confused. My name is Clavin. Don’t worry, I’m not a ghost… I’m a spy! Not one of the bad ones though. Everything will be explained soon, I’m sure.” There is something wrong here. This island looks normal enough; the waves, the sand, the palm trees, the distant volcano… but the ghost… spy, thing, that’s new. You stumble to your feet and try to get your bearings; out over the ocean there’s nothing but water as far as the eye can see, and beyond the beach there is a dense and dark jungle. The realization that you’re stranded on an island starts to wash over you. Clavin notices the growing look of panic on your face and stands up. “Well, my… employer would like to meet you. He knows of a way to get you home, if that is really what you want. I think we can help each other. Just follow me, he’s in the cave up ahead.” You are still skeptical of this creature and you don’t seem very sure about following him. “How about I leave you to think about it,” he says. “I’ll be back in thirty minutes. I hope you will

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3 have decided to help us rather than to try and get home on your own. Helping us so that we can help you is the best choice. See you later!” After that he disappears. You think for a moment, then start walking along the shore to see what else is on the island. You see the wreckage of a ship on some large rocks. It isn’t the ship you were in though; this one seems to have been here for a long time. All of the sudden you hear some strange whispering coming from the wreck. As you slowly approach the it the whispering gets louder, then suddenly stops. You hear a rustling in the sand, then hear a voice calling from the darkness, “Hello… is it really someone else? I haven’t seen another real human in years!” An old man cautiously walks out from under the wreckage that was propped up on the rocks. He has a long, gray beard and tattered clothes. “I saw you,” he says as he points at you. “You were talking to that phantom, that red demon! If he asked for your help in exchange for escape, you must not agree, find another way! I don’t trust that thing in the cave that he calls his master. They are of some evil I’m sure of it!” The old man does not seem to have real proof to confirm his suspicions, but at the same time Clavin didn’t provide any evidence that his plans were not sinister before he disappeared. There are so many unknowns; what if he is up to no good, what if the old man is the untrustworthy one. What if they both are? You realize that a bit of time has passed and Clavin will be coming back soon. You tell the old man that you have to go, then make your way back to place you were before. After a little while Clavin appears. “Ah, you’re here!” he says. “I trust that you’ve made a decision. Will you help us so that we can help you off this island, or… will you try and get home on your own?” A. Choose to go with Clavin, continue to page 4 B. Choose NOT to go with him, turn to page 8

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4 A. You decided to go with Clavin… “That’s what I like to hear! Trust me, you’ve made the right decision.” He says with a smile, “Alright, onward to the cave!” As the two of you are heading toward the cave you wonder if you made the right decision. There isn’t much reason to trust or distrust him, but it’s not like you have much of a choice. That old man obviously decided not to go with Clavin and he’s still here, you wouldn’t want to end up like him. At this point, you come up to a large cliff. “Well, here we are!” Clavin says. There is no sign of a cave entrance here just sand and a cliff. “You’re probably wondering where the cave is. Just stand back a bit and I’ll show you; this will only take a second.” He then cracks his knuckles… somehow, and puts his hand on the sand. The sand begins to shake and ripple with increasing magnitude, then a portion of the sand splits open forming a staircase down to an opening in the cliff. Clavin laughs. “Pretty cool, right? Let’s go. I told him you were coming… after you agreed, of course!” You both walk down the staircase and into the cave. The path through the cave is full of twists and turns and many different pathways going various ways, much like a maze. You hear the sound of dripping water and the echoed screeches of distant bats. You feel something like a cold tap on your shoulder, but when you look back there’s no one there. Clavin notices this and chuckles, “Don’t be alarmed. It was just a drop of water. When a drop of water lands on you in a cave, they’re called cave kisses. It means that the cave likes you! That’s what they say anyway.” You come up to a large chamber with an opening on one side. It is complete darkness. You cannot see the bottom or the top within it. “We’re here!” Clavin says as he walks up to the

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5 opening. “Spirit of the cave… I have returned with the human I told you about.” Suddenly there’s a gust of cold air, two glowing points of crimson light appear in the darkness of the opening. “Hello,” a cold and lifeless voice says from the depths of the darkness ahead, echoing and reverberating all around you. “So, you are the human that I’ve heard so much about… I’m glad to see that you are more open-minded than the last one that came to be on this island, I trust that since you’ve come all this way, we can count on you to help us. Fear not, the task is simple… somewhere on this island is a book, a dark book that contains a curse… I want you to find it and bring it to me so that I can undo the curse. After that, we will both be free.” You wonder why you have to be the one who goes out in search of this book. Why not Clavin… why not this cave spirit? The spirit must be able to perceive your thoughts because it answers. “I am the cave spirit; I can only exist within caves. That is why I have Clavin to go out and spy on the outside world for me. But only a human can find the book, and Clavin is not a human… not anymore.” Then Clavin speaks up, “That book is imbued with a powerful magic. You are the only one that can find it.” By this point you know much more about the nature of the task they want you to do for them. If you find the book the cave spirit will be able to leave the island and in return take you home. You wonder if this is a very good idea. How can you trust Clavin or the cave spirit? Perhaps there is a good reason they are trapped here… What will you do? A. RUN AWAY! continue to page 6 B. Help them find the book, turn to page 20

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6 A. You decided to RUN AWAY… After hearing everything that these two have said you have a change of heart about helping them. The cave spirit notices this and asks, “Human, what is wrong? Having second thoughts?” The red glowing eyes of the spirit seem to move closer to you. It’s now or never! You turn around and bolt towards the passage that you came through. You run through the many twists and turns of the cave trying to remember the correct path to the outside. You turn a corner and you see Clavin standing there, “Where do you think you’re going? I thought we already came to an agreement; you can’t turn back now, that would be rather rude,” he says as a maniacal grin starts to creep across his face. At that moment you see a rock wedged in the side of the tunnel that seems to be holding up a part of the cave ceiling. You kick it and run. The ceiling caves in on Clavin and you hope that will at least give you an opportunity lose him. The cave begins to rumble. Perhaps kicking that rock out wasn’t such a good idea… as you run the cave becomes more and more unstable. Now you really regret kicking out the rock. It seems the entire time you’ve been on this island has been one regrettable decision after another, but maybe your luck is about to change because you can now see light at the end of the tunnel, literally. You run even faster towards the exit, but before you can get out Clavin appears ahead of you and laughs, “Did you really think that you could stop me with some rocks? Look at me! Anyway, I think that what you are doing is quite rude and ungrateful, running away even after you agreed to help us? It’s just terrible! We are tired of being trapped on this cursed island! So, how about this, you will bring us the book whether you want to or not, because-” Clavin is cut short when the cave begins to shake again. The cave is too unstable. You look up at the ceiling that is ready

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8 B. You decided NOT to go with Clavin… “Well, that’s disappointing, my employer will be…” Clavin pauses for a moment, then continues. “Sad to hear the news. Good luck on your own then human, I hope you are happy with your decision.” After he says this, he disappears. You stand alone for a while, not knowing what to do. Was this really the right choice? It’s too late to think about that now though. You have a feeling that you will never see Clavin again. You decide to go back to tell the old man that you have refused Clavin’s offer. When you arrive, he seems happy to see that you’ve returned. He clasps his hands together and smiles, “You’ve come back! I take it this means that you have rejected that imp’s temptation and trickery. This is wonderful!” the old man starts to look around, then picks up a coconut and gives it to you. “Here, have a coconut. You must be hungry right? Just hit it on a rock.” Now that you think about it, you are a bit hungry, who knows how long you’ve gone without eating. You sit down on a stump by a fire pit he has made and begin to hit the coconut on a rock as he had instructed. As you attempt to break apart the coconut the old man begins to tell you about himself, “I’ve been trapped on this cursed island for something like fifteen years… I was once a fisherman; my name is Edward. One day I was out casting nets when a massive storm blew up out of nowhere. The next thing I knew, I was here… my ship was destroyed, my compass was lost, and I don’t recognize the stars here. I have no idea where we are, or how to get home… but with your help maybe we could build a better raft than the ones I made by myself so we can leave this place!”

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9 You finally get a hole big enough in the coconut to start drinking the coconut water, and as you drink it Edward finds a large flat piece of bark and a burnt stick and begins to write down some of the things needed to build a raft. “We will need lots of rope, which I can make by spinning long blades of grass together. We’ll need logs and branches, some kind of sail, a place to store food, and a place for shelter.” Edward seems quite eager to leave this island, perhaps seeing another human on here made him think that you both might have a better chance of leaving. When he finishes his list and looks over it again, he starts to take inventory of the things he has nearby. He seems to already have quite a large stack of logs and small amount of rope, but other than that there isn’t much that would helpful for making the raft. “Alright,” he says, “we will need to get some things if we are going to make a proper raft; mainly, we need more rope and something for a sail… one of us will have to go into the jungle to find some tall grass so we can spin it into rope, while the other stays behind to watch the camp. There are many strange things on this island, if we leave the camp unattended things could get stolen… again. So, what do you want to do? Watch the camp or go into the jungle, which ever task you choose I will just do the other, but be warned the jungle is much more dangerous.” It seems you have another choice to make, what will you do? Going into the jungle sounds a lot more interesting than watching the camp, but at the same time, the jungle is more dangerous. You think for a moment unsure which would be best but eventually make up your mind. A. Go into the jungle, continue to page 10 B. Stay and watch the camp, go to page 16

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10 A. You decided to go into the jungle… “Sounds like a plan, I’ll watch the camp while you’re gone,” Edward says as he hands you a worn-out burlap sack for grass collecting. “Oh, one more thing, I almost forgot,” he says as he hands you a wooden spear. “You might need this while you’re in the jungle.” You set out into the jungle in search of materials necessary for building a raft. You have been walking for a while now when you come up to the ruins of an ancient temple. Inside you see an equally ancient looking book on a pedestal in the middle, with a single beam of light falling on it. It’s just an old book, probably useless, you move on. After about an hour of wandering through the jungle you come to an open area with tall grass. This must be the type of grass Edward wants to spin into rope. You gather grass until the burlap sack is full and then start to head back. It’s getting dark now, so you try to move faster through the jungle. As you keep going you can’t seem to see anything familiar that you passed on your way to find materials for the raft. It would seem that you’re lost. It has become much darker now and it’s hard to see. You come up to a steep slope in the dark, but before realizing it you take another step and tumble down to a ravine below. Once you get back up you notice the remains of an old military helicopter, shining in the moonlight, half sunken into the ground and mostly covered in vines. As you approach it you hear a strange noise. You stop for a moment but everything is silent, so you continue to approach the helicopter. After struggling with the vines for a bit, you’re able to open one of the doors. Inside, most of the things are completely destroyed, but you are able to find two important items: a flare gun with two flares left, and a parachute pack in decent condition. The parachute will make a perfect sail, and comes with much better rope than

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11 anything made by spinning grass. As for the flare gun, it will be perfect to alert a nearby ship when you get out to sea. What seemed to be a turn for the worst actually may have provided the means of a successful escape. Once you climb out of the helicopter wreckage you hear a voice coming from the shadows. “Not so fast… you aren’t stealing from ME, are you?” A massive green snake slithers into view, “This wreck is on my territory, so everything inside it is mine! The last idiot to come here died long ago for the very same reason that you will die… STEALING!” The snake rears up and lets out a terrible hiss, revealing razor-sharp fangs dripping with venom. “I haven’t tasted human flesh in sixty years!” the snake says. “This will be fun!” The snake lunges at you and you jump to the side, the snake narrowly misses you. You throw some of the grass you collected earlier at the snake’s head to confuse it, As the snake shakes the grass away, you stab it in the side with the spear Edward gave you. “Augh! Curses of thunder and lightning upon you, insufferable human!” the snake shouts then dives toward you. You duck and roll, then jump back into the helicopter. It’s too small for the snake to fit in so it rams the side of the helicopter, shaking and denting it. “This pile of junk won’t hold for much longer! Ha ha ha! You’re going to die!” the snake continuously rams the side and it begins to break apart. You must do something quick! You remember that the flare gun you found came with two flares, you could shoot one and still have one for alerting ships. You quickly load the flare gun, aim it out the window towards the snake, and fire! The snake cowers back, the brightness of the flare temporarily blinds the snake. There is an opening, what will you do? A. Try to run away, continue to page 12 B. Try to stab the snake with your spear, go to page 15

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12 A. You decide to try and run away… You choose to use the opportunity you’ve created to run away and climb back out of the ravine. As you run you look back to see the snake turning around in circles and shouting. “Where did you go! Curses of Thunder and lightning upon you, wretched thief!” You run for a long time to make sure you’ve lost that monstrous snake, before stopping to catch your breath. At that point you notice an orange light shimmering off in the distance and you hear the voice of Edward talking to himself. “Oh, I knew I should have gone into the jungle instead, where on earth could you be?” You call to Edward and he nearly drops his torch. “Is that you? What happened? You must have gotten lost in this dense jungle, well, let’s just hurry back to camp. This place is dangerous at night.” When you both get back to the camp, you show him all of the items you found: the parachute, the flare gun (now with only one flare), and the remaining grass. You also tell him about the snake, but he says not to worry about it following you because those snakes rarely leave their territory. The next day you begin working on the raft, incorporating the parachute as a sail and using the rope from it to securely tie the logs together for the base. After working on the raft for the whole day you decide to set sail in the morning since it is already so late. Edward puts a fish over the fire on a stick and slowly spins it. “After all these long years…” he says, “after trying to build raft after raft, none of them were able to make it past the breakers… but with this new sail and sturdier rope, I think we could have a chance! Tomorrow… tomorrow we leave this cursed island, one way or another.”

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13 When the morning comes you pack some remaining food onto the raft, then you and Edward push it out into the water and hop on. there is a nice wind blowing, you untie the sail and the raft instantly begins to pick up speed. “It’s working!” Edward says with a laugh. The island is getting farther and farther away, Edward grabs the mast with both hands and shouts over the sounds of the ocean. “Alright the breakers are coming, hold on tight!” You grab the mast as well and watch ahead. You see them, large white capped waves like a wall around the island rushing toward you. Then the first wave hits, the raft is pushed up to a steep angle and water crashes over the front, you nearly lose your grip but you’re able to barely hold on. “We made it past the first breaker!” Edward says. You make it past the other breakers with similar ease, then you reach the open waters. “The freedom of the seas at last! We’ve done it! We’ve done it! It would’ve been impossible without that sail, good work!” Edward exclaims in celebration. You look back at the ever-shrinking island and smile. Out of nowhere a dark and violent storm blows up causing massive waves, torrential rains, thunder, and lightning. You grow lightheaded and your vision becomes blurry, you hear Edward shouting, “Hold on!” but then… You wake up to the sound of the flare gun being shot. You sit up and look around, there is a barge ship close by and the island is nowhere in sight. Edward is waving at the barge and shouting, then notices that you woke up and speaks. “Good, you’re awake! I think we both nodded off a bit there in the storm, very strange indeed. Now that I think about it, I don’t think that island exists in our world… I wonder… either way I want to thank you for helping me, well, helping us get off that island. I couldn’t have done it without you.” The people on the barge notice you and send a smaller boat out to reach you and bring you on board, and soon enough you’re both on barge and well on your way back home. It seems your

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15 B. You try to stab the snake with your spear… You choose to use the opportunity you’ve created to try and stab the snake. You jump out of the helicopter and thrust the spear at its head, but it gets wedged under a scale and you can’t get it out. The effects of the flare wear off and the snake looks at you. “There you are!” it says. The snake lunges at you again and you jump, but this time the snake had gotten wise to your tricks and lunges instead to where you’re going to be after you jump. You feel its fangs sink deep into your side and the venom courses through your body… everything fades to black. SNAKE SNACK. ENDING #3 OUT OF 8 Try again for a better fate? Turn to page 2

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16 B. You decided to stay and watch the camp… “Sounds like a plan, I’ll go into the jungle and you watch the camp while I’m gone.” Edward says as he picks up a wooden spear and throws a worn-out burlap sack for grass collecting over his shoulder. “I should be back in an a few hours,” he says, then walks into the jungle, leaving you to watch the camp. You sit by the fire for a couple of minutes… you start think of how you got here, that thing said that your ship crashed in the storm last night, but you don’t see any new wreckage. Now that you think about it you don’t even remember being on a ship yesterday. Did you just… forget? How did you get here? You decide to think of something else. You start to wonder what could be in the wreck of Edwards ship that he has turned into a make-shift hut. Snooping around would be rude, but he’s not here. Maybe just a quick look before he gets back, he would never know. Curiosity gets the better of you and you decide to look into the hut. Inside is a bed made of leaves and sticks with a sack full of feathers as a pillow. There is also a pile of coconuts in one corner. But something catches your eye, an old photo of someone, so you take a closer look. The photo was too damaged to see anything more than a silhouette. On the back of the photo were two dates separated by a dash, a birth date and a death date perhaps? Whoever this was must have been important to Edward. You decide to go back to the fire pit before he gets back. As you wait by the fire you hear some whispering coming from behind some rocks on the shore. You are able to make out some of what is being said. “I saw the old guy go into the jungle, but now there is someone else!” Another voice replies, “Yes, last time we came here there was no one… and we could take what we wanted.” The first voice speaks up again, “Let’s get out of here, I don’t want to get caught!” Apparently, Edward wasn’t kidding about things getting stolen.

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17 A few moments after that, Edward returns with the burlap sack full of grass. “I’m back,” he says. “I couldn’t find anything for a sail but it will be fine… we probably won’t need one.” For the rest of the day, you and Edward spun blades of grass into rope. By the time the sun sets, you both had made quite a large stack of ropes. “We’ll build the raft tomorrow, goodnight.” He says, then walks into his hut to sleep, and you go to sleep by the fire. The next morning you both begin to work on the raft, using the grass rope to tie the logs together. By the end of the day, you have completed the raft. Edward puts a fish over the fire on a stick and slowly spins it. “After all these long years…” he says, “after trying to build raft after raft, none of them were able to make it past the breakers… but I think we could have a chance this time! Tomorrow… that’s our chance to escape this mysterious island.” When the morning comes, you pack some remaining food onto the raft, then you and Edward push it out into the water and hop on. The raft slowly moves away from the shore, and eventually it gets far enough out that you can see the breakers off in the distance. “Here they come! Hold on to something” Edward shouts over the sounds of the waves. The first breaker hits, but the raft isn’t going fast enough to overcome it. The raft topples over and you’re sent swirling through the water, and you narrowly miss hitting a large rock sticking out off the water. You quickly start to swim back to the island. Once you and Edward make it back and pull the raft onto the shore, you see that the raft has been damaged and some of the rope has snapped. “Come on!” Edward says. “We can try again.” The first time the raft toppled over at the first breaker wave… will you try again or not? A. Decide not to try again, continue to page 18 B. Decide to try again, turn to page 19

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18 A. You decided not to try again… You decide that it would be too risky to try to get off the island again. When you tell this to Edward, he seems confused at first, but eventually you convince him not to go. “I suppose it would be too dangerous…” He says, “The waves are so unforgiving, and we almost hit those rocks out there… perhaps I’ve spent so long trying to leave this island that I never really stopped to think about how good I actually have it here. The dangers of the jungle aren’t so bad if you just stay away from the denser parts. Besides, who doesn’t want to live on a tropical island!” And so, you and Edward decide to be content with what you have and stay on the island. Life isn’t easy here but that’s the fun of it isn’t it? You realize that staying was the best option, and neither of you ever try to build any of those silly rafts again. After all, you’re already right where you belong, and as time goes on, you and Edward become amazing friends, perhaps even… something more… IT WAS MEANT TO BE. ENDING #4 OUT OF 8 Try again for a different fate? Turn to page 2

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19 B. You decided to try again… You decide not to give up; you and Edward push the raft out to sea again, hoping that this time you’ll make it. The raft slowly moves away from the island and out towards the breakers. As the first breaker wave quickly approaches, again Edward says, “Hold on!” The breaker hits, the grass ropes snap and the whole raft is torn apart! You are sent swirling through the water. But this time you hit the rocks… and everything goes black. A RAFT WITHOUT A SAIL. ENDING #5 OUT OF 8 Try again for a better fate? Turn to page 2

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20 B. You decided to help them find the book… You decide you might as well help them find the book. After all, you have already come all this way. “Now you must go out in search of the book,” the cave spirit says. “Clavin will go with you… he knows this island better than anyone.” Then you leave the cave and make your way into the dense jungle. “Be careful, the jungle is dangerous,” Clavin says. You walk through the jungle for a long time, looking all over the island for the book; in hollow trees, under rocks, and even inside coconuts. Eventually you come up to a large wooden formation, and you climb up to see if there is anything on top of it, but there’s nothing. Then it begins to shake, and you jump off. The large wooden formation starts to unfold and rise from the ground. It seems to be taking on a human form. It stands up and speaks. “You have awakened me. I am Treshikbog the wood golem!” You step back at the sight of the giant creature, but Clavin walks up to him like nothing is wrong. “Hey, Tresh,” he says, “long time, no see! How’s it going, old pal?” Treshikbog clinches his fists. “Begone, insufferable imp! I must devourer this human who has annoyed me.” Clavin laughed. “Oh, that’s a bit petty, don’t you think?” he says. Treshikbog stomps so hard that he shakes the ground, then shouts. “Do not belittle me, specter! If you had a physical form, I would have killed you the moment you were ensnared on this island!” Clavin chuckles and straightens his bow tie, (which is also glowing red and translucent, in fact it might be part of him.) then snaps his fingers and a cigar appears in his hand. “Well,” he says, as he puffs a cloud of smoke at the wooden golem, “That’s why I got rid of my physical form, Tresh, so I wouldn’t have to worry about getting killed by silly things like, for example… fire. Unlike certain bad-tempered wooden creatures.” Clavin says this with a sinister grin as he taps some ash at him. Treshikbog begins to back up and growl. “Fine, you’ve made your point! I will let you and the human pass…

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21 this time!” Clavin smiles and tosses the cigar into the air and it evaporates. “I knew you could be reasonable.” Then you and Clavin move on. You finally come across some strange looking temple ruins. Clavin stops in front of the doorway and says, “This looks promising!” As you walk inside the ancient ruins you see an equally ancient looking book on a pedestal in the middle, with a single beam of light falling on it. When you get closer to the book you are able see its title; Tenebris Liber. This must be the book that the cave spirit is looking for. You wonder if you should open the book, just to see what’s inside. Perhaps you should just take it back as soon as possible so you can get off this island sooner. What will you do? A. Decide to open the book, continue to page 22 B. Decide not to open the book, turn to page 26

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22 A. You decided to open the book… The curiosity gets the better of you and you decide to open the book. You lift open the book and turn some of the pages, but you find that it’s completely blank, except for the last page which has a small note that reads the following; --If you seek the real dark book, you must face the fiery heart of the beast— You wonder what it could mean. Once you get back out, you tell Clavin about the predicament, and he thinks for a moment. After a time, an idea pops into his head. “The volcano!” he says, “If you consider the island the beast, then its fiery heart must be the volcano. That is where we need to go… but I’ve been there many times and seen nothing out of the ordinary, maybe something will reveal itself since you are a human. Well, there is only one way to find out!” You and Clavin begin to head towards the volcano. On the way there you see many strange creatures in the distance. “Actually,” Clavin says, “once the curse is broken everything on this island will be free to leave it… I don’t think the cave spirit wanted you to know that, but if you’re fine with letting someone like that free, I’m sure these lesser beings would be of little importance to you.” When you reach the foot of the volcano, some of the rock crumble away to reveal a door. “This looks promising!” Clavin says as you both walk through. You can see the red glow of the lava ahead, and you feel the heat blowing on you like a burning wind. When you reach the end of the hall you see a circular room with the book on a pedestal. “It’s been here, after all this time!” Clavin says. You go up to the book and open it, and judging by the contents, you determine that this is the real spell book.

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23 When you pick up the book the room begins to shake. “Oh no,” Clavin says. “There must be some sort of trap!” The floor begins to fall away and crumble into the lava beneath from around the sides leaving only a small platform near the pedestal for you to stand on. Clavin shouts, “Throw me the book, then I’ll help you out!” A. Give him the book, turn to page 25 B. Do not give him the book, continue to page 24

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24 B. You decided not to give him the book… “What?! Why not? That book is important! It can’t be lost! It must be destroyed by the cave spirit!” Clavin yells. He seems quite angry and confused but then he finally reaches out his hand and you jump, barely able to grab his hand and then the ledge. Once you climb back over the ledge you and Clavin leave the volcano and head back to the cave. “Well, I suppose that makes sense.” Clavin says. “But I would have helped you out after I got the book. I just… didn’t want to risk losing the book forever, that’s all.” Once you get back, the cave spirit sees the book in your hands and speaks, “You have found the dark book! I knew you would be right for the job! Now we will break the curse of this book so that we may be free to roam the earth once more! A new age has come, the ways of the guard shall die, and all will bow before me as they did in the ancient days!” The book begins to rise into the air becoming level with the glowing crimson eyes of the cave spirit. The book begins to spin rapidly as the crimson eyes begin glowing brighter and brighter until the book explodes in a blue shockwave. You hear a crackling noise and somehow you can feel that the curse has been lifted. “Farewell, human. It’s time for all of us to leave here!” Clavin says, then everything seems to distort and shift until suddenly you are home. There’s no telling what sort of horrors you’ve unleashed onto the world to get home, and maybe you compromised your morals a bit, but hey, at least you’re home! That’s all that really matters in the end, right? A NEW AGE. ENDING #6 OUT OF 8 Try again for a different fate? Turn to page 2

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25 A. You decided to Give him the book… You throw the book to Clavin and he catches it. “I knew I could count on you!” he says, “On second thought… now that I have the book, we don’t need you anymore. Farewell, human!” At that he left the volcano without hesitation. The small piece of floor you’re standing on gives out and you fall into the lava below… and everything goes black. YOU SHOULD HAVE SEEN THAT COMING. ENDING #7 OUT OF 8 Try again for a better fate? Turn to page 2

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26 B. You decided not to open the book… You decide it’s best just to take the book back to leave as soon as possible, You pick up the book and you and Clavin start to head back to the cave. “That was simple enough!” Clavin says as you’re walking through the jungle. Once you make it back into the cave, the cave spirit seems confused at the sight of the book. “What?” the spirit says, “What is this? I see the book but I sense no magic within it… this must not be the dark book I seek, a decoy perhaps?” The cave spirit causes the book to float up into the air and then opens it and the pages begin to flip. “No! it is blank! There is nothing but… wait, there is one thing… it’s a possible clue to the location of the real book it says this; --If you seek the real dark book, you must face the fiery heart of the beast— This must be referring to the volcano. Now go, you must hurry before the sun sets.” After this rather disappointing development you and Clavin begin to head towards the volcano. You think to yourself that if only you had opened the book when you found it, you would have saved so much time. The time you lost turned out to be invaluable because the sun was setting and you weren’t even half way to the volcano yet, “Be careful,” Clavin says, “this jungle is dangerous at night.” The darkness becomes blinding as you stumble through the rough terrain, the only thing to guide you is the distant glow coming from the top of the volcano, and the faint glow of the moon. As you’re walking, you trip on a root and fall into what seems like a ravine, and you tumble down. Once you reach the bottom you see a giant snake slithering out of the shadows and into the moonlight, The snake opens its mouth and lunges at you. Since you are still discombobulated and dazed from the fall, you are unable to get away in time. The snake bites

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27 your leg and the venom quickly begins to take effect. Your vision becomes blurry, but you’re able to see Clavin rush down the ravine and attack the snake, driving it away. Once the snake is gone you see Clavin run up to you… then everything fades to black. “Hello?” “Can you hear me?” You open your eyes… you’re within the room of the cave where the cave spirit is. You see Clavin, and those glowing crimson eyes of the spirit. All the pain that you were feeling because of the snake bite is gone, and you feel lighter than a feather. You see your body is now translucent and glowing, much like Clavin is, but the color you’re glowing isn’t necessarily red. “Oh, good, you’re awake!” Clavin says. “For a second there I didn’t think I had got to you in time… I once told you that I use to be human, and the cave spirit made me like this so that I would not have to worry about mortality… well, the cave spirit has done the same for you, it was the only way to save you from the snake venom.” You hear the cave spirit begin to speak. “It is such a shame that we were so close to finding the book, but now you can no longer be considered human, you will not be able to find the book, even though you know where it may be… at least I was able to save you from perishing though. One day another human will come. Perhaps then, we will be free.”

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28 As time goes on, another human eventually did wash up on the island, and you found yourself working for the Cave Spirit in a similar way that Clavin does. So, it seems that you have been recruited to be one of the cave spirit’s “spies”. At first the sudden change into a ghost like form is strange but eventually you’ll get used to it, you have to. After all, you have the rest of eternity ahead of you in this form… ONE OF US. ENDING #8 OUT OF 8 Try again for an alternate fate? Turn to page 2

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29 C. You decide to open the book and turn to the middle… As you look at the book it seems to call to you… you feel an overwhelming urge to open to the exact middle of the book. As you flip to the middle you see many different descriptions of spells, the middle appears to be blank though, but then words begin to form and you see a spell called the Fractum Fatum. (Which means “fractured fate” in Latin) The spell requires you to say Fractum Fatum three time then thrust your fist forward as if you’re punching the air. Clavin hears you performing the spell and calls out to you from across the ever-growing gap in the floor. “Human, what are you doing! Performing spells is dangerous!” He says, but his words didn’t seem to matter at this point. You punch the air, and reality seems to crack like glass. In the reflections on the shards, you see glimpses into alternate timelines about you and the time you’re spending on the island. Clavin takes a step back in awe. “What did you do!?” he says. You see many different timelines in the reflections; in one, you see yourself helping an old man build a raft. In another you see yourself fighting a giant snake. In a different shard you see that you are running through a collapsing cave. in one shard you see yourself reading a story called The Secrets of the Cursed Island. you also see one where you are jumping over the pit of lava. There are many more that you haven’t seen yet, but you don’t have time because one of the shards begins to spin and get bigger until it envelops you Leaving Clavin behind and swapping you with the alternate version of yourself in the reflection. You have now teleported to an alternate timeline… Continue to page 30

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30 You are now on the beach, you see the old man that had warned you to stay away from Clavin, but somehow you know that his name is Edward. It seems as though you had just made some sort of decision. “Sounds like a plan, I’ll watch the camp while you’re gone.” Edward says as he hands you a worn-out burlap sack for grass collecting. “Oh, one more thing, I almost forgot” he says as he hands you a wooden spear. “You might need this while you’re in the jungle.” You’re confused for a moment but decide to just go along with it. As if you’re gaining the memories from this alternate time line, you know that you goal is to find materials for a raft, such as grass for rope and a sail. So, you set out into the jungle in search of materials for the raft. You have been walking for a while now when you come up to the ruins of an ancient temple. Inside you see an equally ancient looking book on a pedestal in the middle, with a single beam of light falling on it. You decide that its best to just leave that book alone. After about an hour of wandering through the jungle you come to an open area with tall grass; This must be the type of grass Edward wants to spin into rope. You gather grass until the burlap sack is full and then start to head back. It’s getting dark now, so you try to move faster through the jungle. As you keep going you can’t seem to see anything familiar that you passed on your way to find materials for the raft. It would seem that you’re lost. It has become much darker now and it’s hard to see. You come up to a steep slope in the dark, but before realizing it you take another step and tumble down to a ravine below. Once you get back up you notice the remains of an old military helicopter, shining in the moonlight, half sunken into the ground and mostly covered in vines.

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31 As you approach it you hear a strange noise. You stop for a moment but everything is silent, so you continue to approach the helicopter. After struggling with the vines for a bit, you’re able to open one of the doors. Inside, most of the things are completely destroyed, but you are able to find two important items: a flare gun with two flares left, and a parachute pack in decent condition. The parachute will make a perfect sail, and comes with much better rope than anything made by spinning grass. As for the flare gun, it will be perfect to alert a nearby ship when you get out to sea. What seemed to be a turn for the worst actually may have provided the means of a successful escape. Once you climb out of the helicopter wreckage you hear a voice coming from the shadows. “Not so fast… you aren’t stealing from ME, are you?” A massive green snake slithers into view, “This wreck is on my territory, so everything inside it is mine! The last idiot to come here died long ago for the very same reason that you will die… STEALING!” The snake rears up and lets out a terrible hiss, revealing razer-sharp fangs dripping with venom. “I haven’t tasted human flesh in sixty years!” the snake says. “This will be fun!” The snake lunges at you and you jump to the side, the snake narrowly misses you. You throw some of the grass you collected earlier at the snake’s head to confuse it. As the snake shakes the grass away, you stab it in the side with the spear Edward gave you. “Augh! Curses of thunder and lightning upon you, insufferable human!” the snake shouts then dives toward you. You duck and roll, then jump back into the helicopter. It’s too small for the snake to fit in so it rams the side of the helicopter, shaking and denting it. “This pile of junk won’t hold for much longer! Ha ha ha! You’re going to die!” the snake continuously rams the side and it begins to break apart. You must do something quick! You remember that the flare gun you found came with two flares, you could shoot one and still have one for alerting ships. You quickly load the

Garrick Johnson

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