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In the last days of my long, long life, I found myself walking across a path of infinite rooms, never-ending forests, and everlasting oceans. My old bones were crumbling under the weight of the ages, my skin trying its best to keep itself attached to my body. I met very different people in my journey, some more gentle and kind, and others harsh and angry, hardened by the difficult life of always living at the edge. A lot of them told me to stop and get some sleep. But I couldn’t; there was still a promise to be kept, one that mattered more than rest or relief. I would not break it, not now, not ever.
SURVIVAL DIFFICULTY:
Class 5e - Environmental
- Extremely Unsafe
- Unsecure
- Non-Entity Hazards
Description
The white sands that fill the level.
Level 739 can be described as an infinite expanse of sandy white desert dunes, alternated by shallow pools and rivers of water. The climate of the level seems to be always sunny, with a clean, plumbeous sky often crossed by lonely clouds. This unchanging landscape creates an eerie sense of timelessness, affecting both the environment and those who traverse it.
The combining effect of the reflection of sunlight by the sand and the water makes the average ground temperature near 42°C1. This, united with the undrinkable water from the bodies of water, makes the living conditions of the level unsustainable. Traveling through the level is greatly unadvised without bringing a stockpile of Almond Water and clothing that protects from direct contact with sunlight.
One of the many bodies of water found inside the desert.
Even though strong gusts of wind have been registered in parts of the level, the appearance of the sand dunes does not change, thus the landscape does not shift over time. This unchanging quality extends to travelers, who often report feeling trapped in a moment of perpetual decay. In fact, the level has a strange effect on living creatures, where it tries to leech away some their vitality. This gives the wanderer age-related pains both on the body and the mind, like stiff joints, dry and withered skin, blurred vision, and slow cognitive functions.
Studies on samples of the water from the pools discovered the presence of salt in high concentration, which demonstrated the possibility of big objects, even people, to float. The presence of salt water in the level and the rare appearance of huge whale-like skeletons half buried into the sand, supports the theory that a long time ago it was covered by an ocean several miles deep. Further analysis found small pockets of highly toxic natural gases, like hydrogen sulfide and carbon monoxide, under the ponds, which are probably another remnant of living creatures once found in the abyssal seas of the level. This explains the constant flow of bubbles that fill puddles, and the absence of any kind of life in the environment. These toxic emissions can be directly linked with reports of vivid hallucinations given by travelers, in which the main theme described being visions of the past or of loved ones recently lost.
Sinksand
One day I found myself walking in the middle of what I could identify as a mixture of a desert and an ocean. The sun was high in the sky, and every step I took felt like a thousand bricks crushed my spine, making my bones scream in agony. Looking far away hurt badly as water and sand united their reflection powers, pointing beams of light directly into my eyes. But I didn't give up.
After what I counted as 7 days of walking, I noticed the last droplets of drinkable Almond Water drying up inside my mouth as I was swallowing what remained of it in my canteen. I knew that from now on, it was all on me.
Each day, every step I took felt like it could have been the last, the sun scalding my skin second by second. I had no food left inside my delapidated backpack, and the mere dream of my mission was the only thing that was keeping me going in this treacherous journey. The thirst was becoming more and more prominent, so I decided to go to a river and collect some water. The river smelled like festering flesh and rotten eggs. I didn't know if the water was drinkable, but I had no choice, so I was forced to drink a full bottle. Little did I know the error that I made. Even in this situation, I couldn't let my mind surrender; I had to endure.
While I was walking near the shores of the salty rivers in the level, I started to notice a strange substance forming near my feet. Having already experienced many hazards and strange things in this realm, I decided not to step on it. Instead, I carefully threw one of the many dead batteries I had in my bag into the moist sands. At first it bounced on it like on a normal surface, but then it started sinking.
Along the interface between the desert and the water pools, travelers may encounter a distinct mixture of sand and water, which can be classified as a non-Newtonian fluid.
The mixture behaves in a manner highly dependent on the force applied to it. When subjected to minimal force or slow movement, such as a traveler walking across calmly, the solution reacts like a liquid, and the risk of being pulled in the sand is high, while if the traveler moves quickly or runs across the surface, the mixture behaves like a solid.
This behavior can be explained by the dynamic of non-Newtonian fluids: when a traveler exerts a greater force, the fluid's resistance increases, while in the absence of a significant force, it returns to its more viscous, liquid state, creating a significant sinking hazard.
Sinksand acts as a one-of-a-kind trap enacted by the level itself. In fact, it can be stated that every negative effect applied to the wanderer—hallucinations and age progression included—is used as a type of deterrence against anyone who dares to explore it. In particular, the negative effects become stronger as the wanderer gets nearer the center, and its forbidden knowledge.
"So you are still trying to find me, old man."
I woke up covered in sweat, trying to make something out of what I just heard. The last thing I remembered was walking near that river with sinking sand. Looking around me, I noticed there was something strange in the landscape. The sun was nearly four times bigger than normal, colored in an unnatural red hue, while the water from the rivers was boiling and emitting vapor that was filling the air with mist.
My first reaction was running, getting out of there as fast as I could. But my muscles were obstructed; I was blocked in the moist brown mixture that I encountered before. The strange fluid started boiling, and I felt like I was being cooked alive similarly to a lobster in a low-tier restaurant.
Before I could think of a solution, he appeared, with the same jacket, same face, and same gaze as the last time I saw him, when we, all three of us, were still together as a family. I dreamt of him a lot in the past month, but after entering the desert, the dreams became more and more vivid, feeling more like hallucinations of my past regrets. "It has to be one of those," I thought.
"Hi old man, how is life going? You seem pretty much stuck." His voice was calm and soothing, but I knew it wasn't real.
"Why don't you smile? It's me, the son of your brother's daughter, your grandchild; you should be happy about encountering me." I wasn't, and he knew it; he was aware of what I've done.
"You should stop, really. She doesn't want to be found. She was twelve when it happened, and she understood your actions and the choice you made. Why should she change her mind now, 6 years later? That day, you let go of someone from your family, blood of your blood. You knew there was a chance to save both of us, but you followed the easy way. Tell me if I'm wrong, but it makes sense—you always preferred her over me, didn't you? She needed someone to hold onto after the loss of her father, and you were the perfect choice. But you have gone too far. Just stop, go back, and maybe you will keep your skin and your stubborn mind, or what remains of it after the traversal of this hellscape." I knew what he was talking about; on that day I saved someone but lost everything else; I traded a soul for another like a god would do, but when she discovered what happened, I felt like the biggest mortal. When she found a way to bring him back—something so powerful that could give him back life—she escaped from the base. From then on, nothing was ever the same; I knew I had to save her from herself. I wanted to talk, to respond, to tell him everything I thought, to say the excuses I couldn't while he was still here with us before that terrible event.
"I don't know if failing to realize that some mistakes cannot be forgiven and that some scars cannot disappear is part of human nature, but surely it is part of you. You will not find her, and, in any case, she will not forgive. Give up."
Before he could say anything else, I decided that I didn't have time for this; I had to keep going. Every minute of sleeping was another one taken from my mission, further distancing me from her. So I stopped fighting, and the sand loosened the grip, making me sink and waking me up.
As the nightmare dissolved, I staggered to my feet, breathless. The fever of my mind had clouded my senses, but as the mist cleared, I stood in disbelief. I had made it. In front of me stretched the ocean, and in the middle of it my destiny, the island.
The island of the lonely tree
No matter the position of your arrival in the sublevel, walking for an unknown time and an uncounted distance will take you to an opening, where the deadly sands disappear and the puddles connect in one large, shallow ocean. The water properties of the ocean have been registered as the same of every other body of water, with the only difference being the absence of natural gasses, which makes the inland sea traversable. Here, the ancient skeletons of dead animals are even more present. Though the possibility of being intoxicated by natural gasses is near zero, in this zone the aging effect is even more prominent, with travelers reporting effects that vary from completely losing their eyesight to bones breaking even after the slightest fall on the ocean floor.
A picture of the shallow ocean taken near the shore.
In the center of the ocean an island is located, unique to its kind. The landmass, with a dimension of 20 m2, is composed of crystallized salt and dead coral that, in an ancient past, gave life to this inhospitable environment. In the center of the island stands still and unbothered a lonely, withered tree. The origin of the tree is unknown, as the level does not contain any other type of vegetation. The lonely arbor stands as a staple of persistence in the center of the level, standing unfazed by the strong winds that pass across the sea. In fact, here the age-related pains disappear, as the island acts like an eye of the storm, being both the origin and the only safe spot of the level.
The tree alone has an interesting property. Near its roots, a small rock table is placed, written on it an ancient formula. When the said phrase is spoken, the branches of the tree will be lit on fire. At this point, a ritual requires the wanderer to write on a piece of paper a question regarding any topic. If the sheet of paper is thrown into the fire, the wanderer will fade out and will be transported to any desert-like or ocean-like level with the answer in their hands.
Traversing the shallow ocean wasn't easy. Even if the water gave me a needed feeling of peace after marching in sand for days, the presence of salt made me feel the hurt of every burn I had in my legs. The reflection power of the ocean was even stronger than the desert's, making my eyes bleed once again. I even broke my hand after tripping on a small rock, even though I never busted a single bone in my whole life. The body of water was littered with piles of strange bones that, as far as I knew, could have been there for centuries. I noticed the skeletons before inside the smaller pools, but they became a real problem here as I had to dodge them a lot while marching.
Then I arrived. It was like the holy grail of the medieval knights, the deserved prize after a long and troubled journey. In that moment all my injuries and pains disappeared, and I felt young once again. As I climbed on top of the island, I saw her. I didn't know if I could make it in time, but I succeeded. She had the stuffed toy in her hands, the same she and her brother played with when they were young and happy.
"Susan, I am aware that I am the last person you want to meet right now, but you don't have to do it. I know you are broken, but the risk you are taking is too high. Bringing him back will not give you peace."
"I don't care. And you shouldn't either. You had your time playing with someone else's life, and you failed. Maybe I can make up for that," she said.
"While I was traversing this damn wasteland, I dreamt of him a lot. Not that I didn't before, but this time it was more vivid, more real. We talked profoundly, and it was like he never left; he looked the same in every way. The strange thing was, he didn't want me to continue but to stop. He talked about how it was a bad idea, that there was something big and forbidden here and people died trying to get to it. It seemed liked he was almost protective and somewhat secretive about this place. He was just a dream, though, wasn't he?"
"I also dreamt about the real world, or The Frontrooms as you like to call it. It was like we were still together. Just me, mom, and my brother. A family. But you ended that."
"Susan, your mom is really sick, and your absence isn't helping her recover. I promised her I would bring you back. I don't know if she can make it without your help." I responded.
As tears started falling on her cheeks, she yelled, "If I can bring him back, I can bring back everyone!" After she said the last words, she threw a piece of paper into the flaming tree. While I was running to her, trying to get a grip of her hand, she disappeared.
"It shouldn't have gone that way." I shouted in the air, cried in anger, and punched the ground. "Get a grip; I still have a last chance to save her." I told myself, I still can make a wish.
After reaching the tree, I searched inside my backpack and took out a small sheet of paper with a text written on it. I read the paper, being sure that everything was written in the right way. Then I neared my face to the stone tablet under the tree, and I chanted the words written on it.
Suddenly, the tree erupted into flames. The fire carried the smell of regret, thick and suffocating, mingling with something more complex: hatred. There was the unmistakable scent of roses, strangely comforting. I threw the paper into the flame, watching it curl into ash as my vision began to blur.
Before blacking out, I heard a whisper into my left ear. "Every lost soul seeks redemption, but few possess the strength to embrace forgiveness. You, Samuel, can become a good man. Your journey is near the end, but not over."
Entrances
The level can be entered by either no-clipping in level-100 or Level 63 on a white spot of sand, or by jumping in a painting in Level 1 that depicts a rocky island with a withered tree on top of it.
Exits
The level can be exited by completing the ritual of the tree, which requires the wanderer to bring a piece of paper, and leads into any type of desert or water-related level.
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