£65k unlock, Stretch Goal realignment, the story continues
over 1 year ago – Wed, Nov 30, 2022 at 11:07:00 AM

£65k unlock

Hi folks, you did it, you helped us break through £65k. Thank you! We will now be adding two new standalone Adventures to the Deepsorrow set. That's another 2 to 3 hours of gameplay in that set.

Campaign performance and Kickstarter Environment

I have had professionals in the industry tell me today how tough the KS environment is just now, it means a lot to us that you are coming out and supporting us in these challenging times. 

What are we doing about it?

•  Marketing. It's pretty clear we are not getting the word out there well enough. We have been added to the BGG Crowdfunding list. We have also had some traction with our Facebook Ads. Most importantly we are delighted to announce that we have brought on board Helena Tzioti as our Marketing Consultant. Helena has a wealth of experience working with numerous Tabletop Publishers.
•  Campaign page tweaks - we are continuing to iterate the page to make it simpler and easier to understand the proposition. The data we are receiving suggests that visitors are perhaps having to work to hard to understand what LU is and how to get involved. We will keep working away at this to improve it. 
•  Bringing forward our £100k Stretch Goal to £75k. This one is pretty special to us. When we made the Weeping Caves 6 years ago the world was a different place. We put everything that we could into the box at the time. However, we always felt it could do with a bit more variety. We want everyone who plays LU to have the best experience they can with the set they are playing with. To that end if we can hit £75k we will create the Weeping Caves Enhanced Edition which has all of the upgrades already mentioned and also adds 20% more cards to the set.  

So to be clear for those that are new to LU. Compared to the original Weeping Caves set the Weeping Caves Enhanced Edition will have:

• A box that is twice the size with a prominent Foe in the top right who will form part of the tweaked adventures.
• A new Core Rulebook in A4 format not the original A5.
• A tweaked Campaign book with two revised Adventures.
• A new Contents Almanac in A4 format.
• A new Combat Aid and Combat tokens for all the Heroes and Creatures.
• A new Readiness Tracker.
• 20% more adventuring content (This is 30 more cards to encounter in the Weeping Caves rather than Hero related cards).

If we can unlock the £75k Stretch Goal we will be adding the Weeping Caves Enhanced Edition to the Newcomer Pledge and the All In Pledges for free.

We will, of course, also add the 20% additional cards to the Upgrade Kit we have created so that those backers who are backing the Quest or New Content pledge will also receive this.

We hope by doing this we can firstly say a massive thanks to all of you who have supported the LU project  whether that is from 2016, now, or at any point in between. We also hope this makes it clear to all that the Weeping Caves Enhanced Edition is a bigger beastie than the original Weeping Caves we made in the first printing. Finally we hope with some suitable graphics this will make it clearer to anyone returning to the page that we really are offering a lot of game for their pledges.

For those interested in the story here is the next part:

Nakia reads the Prophecy to you a second time but it does little to aid your understanding. The other Scriveners begin talking amongst themselves and several head off to recover various tomes and scrolls.

‘I do not understand much of this. I have many questions.’

‘Of course you do, we also understand only a fraction of this.’

‘What should we do?’

‘We should read, talk, research, read more and then debate the best course of action.’

‘That could take a considerable amount of time. My master…‘

‘Was very clear in his scroll to me that he was not sure what to do next, but that some urgency was required and that he would trust in our judgment. Give us a day, explore our beautiful city and return to us. We will have some answers for you then.’

***

As you walk around the sun baked streets of Memf you can not help but wonder at the scale of the place. Street after street of stretches in front of you, rows of neat houses interspersed with much larger public buildings in a very deliberate manner that seems both functional and aesthetically pleasing. Clearly town planning is an art form held in high regard in these lands.

You cross over one of the many beautiful sandstone bridges which meander over the arterial waterway that functions as both a water source and road in this city. Engineers seem to have diverted it in many places to create numerous side channels for irrigation and other uses. You learn from a fruit vendor that the walls of these water channels are tall and steeply raked to help prevent damage to the city during the annual flood that ‘Iteru’, for that is what they call the river, bestows upon this place.

After exploring the markets a little further you head west towards the setting sun along a wide avenue. The buildings on this street seem older, of a different age. Grand porticoes and statuary are commonplace. Often you are able to guess the function of a building: hospital, school, barracks, numerous temples but sometimes the buildings seem to be massive simply for the sake of it, eerie unvisited monuments to the past that quietly consume the bustling noise of the evening streets.

The enormous pyramids on the horizon are a constant reminder of the age of this city. The people that walk past you now descend from a long line of kings that have called this land their home for a great many years. You note that most of the street vendors have now packed up for the evening and people are hurrying past you at a far quicker pace than before. You note a gang of rough looking characters sitting at some tabled playing dice. One of them gestures towards you and you are sure you see a flash of steel briefly in his hand. You’re sure that you saw a dagger but all you can see now is the man smiling with a key in his hand asking if you need a room for the night.

Perhaps your mind is playing tricks on you, you decide that you have seen enough of Memf for the day and return to the Grand Library where you have been giving lodgings by the Scriveners.

***
 Standing in the same chamber as before the morning sun beats down on the Prophecy Stone (for that is what the Scriveners now call it) with the same blue piercing light as before. Nakia smiles at you, ‘Good Morning, my young Initiate. Did you enjoy your visit to our fair city?’

‘I found it fascinating, very unlike the Temple precinct at Firesorrow.’ You are trained far too well to offer any insult to your host.

You note an exquisitely dressed man beside Nakia, he looks quite unlike all of the Scriveners, wearing clothes of silk embroidered with flowers and carrying a prominent cane.

Nakia notes your glance. ‘This gentleman has travelled from far across the ocean to the west. He is an Envoy from the Jade Realms, specifically…’

‘Let us leave it that just now please if you will Master Nakia.’ The man interrupts, offering a formal bow. His eyes gleam with an intelligence which is matched by the charm he exudes. You feel surprisingly comfortable in his presence, which strikes you as most odd given that he is a complete stranger.

Courtly etiquette is not something you are thoroughly practiced in. ‘May I ask why the good gentleman is here, joining us for this particular audience?’

 ‘Yes of course.’ Added Nakia. ‘But later please. All will become slightly clearer in good time. Now let us all gather round the Prophecy Stone and we will share what we have learned. Yes, you too please my noble Envoy. Brother Librarian Jo’khun please begin.’

An older silver haired man steps forward, you note he uses some form of seeing glasses to help him read. ‘Let me decipher it, to the extent that I am able. It is clear that the Prophecy begins with the leaf bud found by the Watcher back at the Lost Forest. That place has been without foliage for longer than our records show, and those go back thousands of years. We are confident therefore that the Prophecy has begun.’

‘And Earth’s blood fruit?’ you enquire, eager to understand more.

 ‘Likely to be the pomegranate,’ Jo’khun responds. ‘It is the obvious candidate when you take into account the various tales stretching from here all across the Warmlands to Achea in the north where they also associate the fruit in such a manner.’

A female voice, that evidently belongs to a strong young woman, challenges. ‘We do not know that, it could be any kind of plant Jo’khun.’

 ‘And you would no doubt argue the same for the rarest flower, Sister Librarian Khasan?’ You note there is no hostility in the tone used by either Librarian. The Scriveners evidently debate things constantly to arrive at their illuminations.

‘No, now that is quite different. Having looked through the most important tomes we have on the flora of our lands we have narrowed it down to three possible species.’

***
 The session continued for several hours, after which you felt that much of what the Librarians had shared was a ‘best guess’ agreed upon by all, rather than a hard and fast translation of the Prophecy of the Departed Poets.

You keep a careful note of all that was said in a scroll for future reference but the following interpretations seemed most key to you:

 The Departing Poets are a people unknown to the Librarians. They are clearly ancient even by the standards of the Aegyptoi. The Librarians are unable to identify who they may be but all agree that because the Prophecy has been created using aethersilk they must somehow be related to, or be known to the Areten. The silkstone tablet is clearly written in Aetheru which is the language used by the Areten.

The rarest flower can not be agreed upon but it seems clear that this particular plant must be found and used. Nobody is clear about the stone that is being referred to. Presumably this is the Firetiger that you brought with you from Firesorrow. At the mention of the stone the Envoy takes a keen interest and mentions a disease that is ravaging his lands. He simply refers to it as The decadence of the Jade. It is why he is here, the Librarians believe that his arrival can not be a mere coincidence.

It is unclear who ‘walked before’, clearly their return is of great concern to the Departing Poets.

In terms of the location Dip’Sa’Ra, none of the Librarians is able to cast light on it.

***

Nakia summarises the situation for all present. ‘Clearly we are now part of something much larger than we ever thought possible. Whatever or whomever walked before is returning to our land and we are duty bound via the prophecy to prevent them achieving their aims. We are not entirely sure what the rarest flower could be but to me it is clear that it must be written from the perspective of the Poets. They clearly lived a very long time ago, and presumably are known to the Areten of whom we study so much.

We shall therefore send a Scrivener north and west via the sea to Beln’Ra’Te to try and find this rarest flower, or at least to try and make contact with the Areten that were last seen there to see if we can find out this flower’s whereabouts.

Turning to the stone and Dip’Sa’Ra we are not sure where to look. However, it is clear that we need the help of those that understand minerals in a far greater detail than we do. This in turn links with the desire of our Envoy to find answers to this terrible malady that has infected the beautiful jade of his land. We therefore ask that you both travel north, up Iteru herself to Gnimshkenka, and seek an audience with the Glyptographers there. They should be better placed to tells us more about this stone. Perhaps they may also know of this place Dip’Sa’Ra.

We ask that you join one another as a travelling party and make north for Gnimshkenka with all possible haste.

Designer’s note: The journey to Beln’Ra’Te is a link to an intended story at Apprentice Rank that we hope to perhaps share with you in the future. The Scrivener’s discovery is relevant to the environments which we have mentioned before for Apprentice Rank (The Ancient Crypts, The Brethren Works, The Silent Dark, and The Booming Grotto).

Special Black Friday Gift for those that wanted the Bigger Box
over 1 year ago – Mon, Nov 28, 2022 at 05:34:32 AM

Hi all,

Firstly, Happy Thanksgiving to all our backers in North America!

Important note: If you are backing the Newcomer pledge this particular gift does not impact you (everything fits fine in the Caves box). 

This is a special update from us as today is Black Friday. Normally we see lots of 'quasi-sales' at this time of year some of which save you money, some...not so much. 

We like to be a bit different here at IG and so we thought we'd give you out a gift for free instead! Please note that this gift specifically affects the Deepsorrow box and will be of interest to those that want to store more than just the Deepsorrow content in it. We are delivering this gift because it is clear from the comments that many of you want to understand if there will be a bigger box in some format or another.

We've now heard back from the manufacturer and can confirm we can do the following for the Deepsorrow box:

1 - Tweak the box dimensions to 325 x 234 x 100mm

2 - Add in a component upgrade for you. We will add in a divider board so that if you wish to store your cards in a library card style with dividers (either sleeved or unsleeved) it can lay on top of the cards/dividers. This then creates the much needed flat space for your books, as you were pretty clear when I asked on BGG that you want to be able to store your books with the game.  A special thanks to everybody there and on the LU Facebook Group for helping out there!

 https://boardgamegeek.com/thread/2951413/single-box-storage-novice-rank-content 

Please note we still need to actually try this out so it remains subject to tweaking (we may find a better solution).  Here is a sketch explaining how it will work (please forgive the rough nature, this is proper Kickstarter stuff on this occasion):

It is our intent to print that divider board and make it a useful component. Originally it was going to be the Combat Aid and Readiness tracker combined (which gives you one nice neat component) however that does not work because you will need to flip the Combat Aid over to activate the Melee and Ranged sides. We will keep working away at it so please accept the caveat around the solution. However we wanted to share the news with you now and let you know that there will indeed be a (slightly) Bigger Box solution provided which should accommodate sleevers and non-sleevers. We are giving it to you for free.

Please note we are aware that not everybody will want to use the dividers solution and that's fine, it's your game to store the way you want to. We're also aware that just as some of you prefer a specific brand of sleeves, some of you prefer to use your own type of card dividers. For those that are interested we have confirmed with Whatz that they will manufacture printed sets of 100 dividers which will clearly demarcate what cards go where. For those that know or own Aeon's end, Whatz make those dividers, they will be similar to those in quality but with an LU design on them.

Not everybody will want or need the Official LU dividers accessory. We will be creating them as an add on at a price of £10. However we really do want to say thanks and accommodate as many of you as we can and so are going to add this as another 'flexi option' to the Quest and New Content pledges.

So when the pledge manager comes out you will now be able to select for free 1 of the following:

• Novice Booster 1
•  OR Radiant Dragon Dice Set
• OR Umbral Dragon Dice Set
• OR a set of Legends Untold card Dividers

Please note as an extra thanks to all of the new backers who are coming in and pledging for the All In pledge we will add a set of the dividers to your pledge for free.

Please note I've not forgotten about the lore section we need to give you from Part 2 of the last upgrade, I just wanted to share the good news for the Deepsorrow set backers with you before the weekend.

Happy to answer any questions on this.

Wishing you and all of your families a restful weekend.

Best

IG

£50k At Memf!
over 1 year ago – Tue, Nov 22, 2022 at 03:53:32 AM

• £50k Stretch Goal unlocked
• £70k Stretch Goal revealed (locked)
• A new pledge added 'Newcomer pledge' to give people that are new to LU an introduction at the best possible value.
• Novice Booster 1 (MSRP £19) added for free to 'Quest' and 'New Content' pledges.
• Free Dice upgrade box added to the 'All-In' pledge
• Bigger box being investigated
• The adventure continues:

Hi folks, 

apologies for the delay in getting this one up, we have been doing a lot of work behind the scenes here to help you and the campaign and wanted to get it all together into one update for you.

£50k Stretch Goal unlocked

Just over 24 hours to unlock the £50k mark - we are delighted with this and want to say thanks to you all for making it happen!  We are now adding 4 new Loot items and an Event (Ancient ways) to the Novice Booster 2 set. The Loot cards are cards which you can use in either the Adventure or Treasure decks and the Event card expands your pool of Events to draw from. In particular we are excited to be adding in the Shield and the Greaves so you can try out some armour options. 

£70k Stretch Goal revealed (locked)

We have added in the locked Stretch Goal 'To Gnimshkenka', I really hope we can get you there folks. For those that are new to Mor Nadar, Gnimshkenka is a really special place, I'm really excited to have the opportunity to visit it with you.

New pledge (Newcomer Pledge) & Free gift into the other pledges

We've had a number of you reach out to us and ask some key questions:

1) How do I get involved and where is the best place to start?

2) Why do the prices look very different from the first kickstarter?

3) What would be the best way to try LU on a more limited budget?

To be clear, we absolutely welcome these questions, we've been having a great interaction with many of you on BGG regarding this. 

We have always wanted the LU project to welcome everyone and it does not sit well with me that potential new adventurers are being put off. The challenge I have is that many are looking at the 2016 prices, but the games have not been selling at that level in retail for years.
 I also need to look after those that have come with us on the journey so they do not feel disadvantaged. So with this in mind we are doing the following:

Launching a new £39 pledge (Newcomer pledge) - the name is accurate and for those familiar with the lore it makes it kinda kicka$$ too! This will be our entry level pledge of the Weeping Caves reprint which is the best option for those on a limited budget. As an added incentive to make people feel welcomed to the table and in an affordable manner we are also going to a add a copy of the Novice Booster 1 set for free  to this pledge (MSRP £19). Note this pledge will also qualify for the Novice Booster 2 pledge (Min MSRP £19) and so you are getting an extra £38 minimum value beyond the price of this pledge. 

For those unfamiliar with it that is 16 Adventures in the Caves plus a further 7 in the Novice Booster 1 Set for a total of 23 Adventures. If each of those takes about an hour to play I make that about £2.52 (after shipping) per session to play this game, significantly cheaper than the cost of a latte I would hope people would agree.  This is important to us folks, we want everyone to have the opportunity to play  LU.

Now that we are doing that we need to make sure that none of the other pledges are disadvantaged. 

We've been asked by many which product to buy if you want to truly experience the LU vision - and for us that is Deepsorrow. The new Clues system and the Campaign Book has the dynamic world building in it that we want you to see, this has been further vindicated by reviews by Ricky Royal (Box of Delights), Daniel at the Dungeon Dive, and Mike Siggins at Ludeme. They all mention that it takes LU to the next level. We believe this is the best value option for LU owing to the increased gameplay experience.

If you want to try Deepsorrow as your first game of LU then we don't want you to lose out on the Novice Booster 1 gift either. So to that end we are adding a free copy of Novice Booster 1 to each 'Quest' pledge. And of course for those that want the Potions & Preps sets we want to look after you too, so we are also adding a free copy of the Novice Booster 1 set to the 'New Content' pledge.

Finally please note the All-In pledge already includes a copy of the Novice Booster 1 Set. To that end we are therefore going to add a free copy of the Dragon Dice to your pledge instead (your choice which one). We will enable you to do this via the pledge manager when the Campaign closes.

Please note you do not need to do anything to your pledges to benefit from this gift, we will sort it for you. 

Bigger box being investigated

OK lot's of you have asked for a bigger box now, for various reasons. I ran some design ideas past our manufacturer on Friday and they will be looking into it early next week. Please bear with us for a few days until we know more.  We appreciate the feedback and requests, it helps us make the right decisions and deliver the things you want.

For those that want to take part, please find the next episode of the adventure below:

Episode 2 – At Memf (£50k Stretch Goal)

The carved stone edifices tower above you unlike anything you have ever seen before. In the weeks since you travelled from the Temple Sanctuary at Firesorrow you have seen many new and awe-inspiring things. Endless dunes of rose coloured sand in the morning sun, rocky outcrops adorned in Moondrip Trees, a pair of Shimmersnakes hypnotizing their prey before devouring it in unison. This, however, is enough to break your composure. A sea of beautifully decorated stone buildings stretches before you. Awnings stretch from the rooftops to protect the inhabitants from the scorching sun above, while those on the streets below move quickly from shadow to shadow, taking respite in the shade of the palm trees where possible.

   ‘Welcome to the great city of Memf stranger!’ A city guard, resting against his spear in the shade of his guard house, addresses you. ‘You look unfamiliar to my eyes, from where have you travelled?’

   ‘I am bid to deliver this to the Scriveners of the Grand Library.’ You hand the guard a scroll with the mark of the Grand Master of the Temple Sanctuary imprinted in the sealing wax. The guard stares at it in awe, temporarily losing his composure before clearing his throat and standing to attention. ‘This way friend.’

---

Within the confines of the Grand Library, deep inside one of the inner chambers, a group of robed men and woman stand in a semi-circle around a massive stone slab supported on an ornately carved plinth. A tall, slender woman steps forward and pulls back her hood to reveal a cascade of beautiful black hair tumbling well below her shoulders and braided with precious flowers. Her companions bow and remove their hoods in unison as further confirmation of her rank. ‘I am Nakia of the Grand Library of Memf, Keeper of Knowledge, and Servant of the Past and Future. It has been decades since we have seen a scroll from the Grand Temple, how is Master Aur’k’nah?’

‘He is both troubled and fulfilled.’

   Nakia smiled, ‘You truly are of the temple, what do you mean?’

   ‘That the Grandmaster is troubled by the arrival of the leaf from the Lost Forest, but fulfilled that he and the temple delivered their sacred obligation as prescribed by the prophecy.’

   ‘May I inquire…’

   ‘It would not be appropriate for me to speak of it. The Grandmaster instructed me to explain that I was chosen as the Initiate of the Temple in this regard, my mission to walk the sands and deliver you the scroll and the Firetiger.’

‘Very well then, let us begin.’ Nakia opens the scroll carefully with delicate, impossibly long fingers. She reads silently to herself before releasing a short gasp.

The other Scriveners look at her in alarm for such utterances are clearly rare in this company. With a simple gesture from Nakia the entire chamber transforms from a state of peace to one of great industry. ‘Please join us, my young Initiate of Firesorrow.’ Nakia invites you to join her. Resting on the dais is a massive slab of finished marble. To the side of the chamber, gentle clicking noises herald the shutters being drawn back via a curious system of gears and ropes to permit the light to enter from above.

Nakia stares at you intently. You race your mind back to the numerous lessons on architecture and masonry that you underwent at the temple. ‘The stone is certainly of a fine workmanship,’ You venture.

Nakia laughs in a polite manner as sheets of azure blue light descend through the coloured glass above and onto the stone below. Now it is your turn to gasp as the veins in the marble glow a faint silver. Transfixed, you note that the vein-trails are in fact not random at all and form a series of marks unknown to you.

‘This is truly wonderful, can you read this?’

‘I can. We all can. This language is Aetheru, the magical script of the long departed Areten. It is one of the many responsibilities of the Scriveners of the Grand Library, we are servants of the past.’

‘And the future.’

   Nakia smiles warmly at you, ‘Indeed. You learn quickly. I can see why Aur’k’nah chose you.’

You point to the stele before you, now covered in the revealed silvery glyphs. ‘These look like the trails of a snail in the morning sun.’

‘Close. Not the trails of a snail but the trace of silk. Aethersilk to be precise, tiny strands of pure Aether created from the Areten themselves and then laid carefully upon the stone where it fades as a forgotten language.

The stone before you was found on an expedition by one of our kind a long time ago. We have never been able to read it beyond the first passage until now. Please pass me the Firetiger you brought with you from Firesorrow.

The Grand Librarian carefully takes the gem that you recovered in the vaults beneath Firesorrow and places it in a special recess in the centre of the slab.

The Scriveners talk loudly, excitedly, unreservedly, as a riot of colours erupt from the Firetiger and dance around the slab, adding further marks to the existing glyphs, creating further text that until now had been hidden.

   ‘Hush, hush, we must understand this fully.’ Nakia leans forward and reads words that have not been heard on Mor Nadar in a very long time.

The story will continue with the next Stretch Goal unlock.

Funded!
over 1 year ago – Mon, Nov 21, 2022 at 05:25:07 AM

We funded, and within the 48 hour mark - thank you all so much!

We're delighted to confirm the Novice Booster 2 Set will now be added for free to every pledge that includes a Core Set (Weeping Caves second printing, Great Sewers second printing, or the Deepsorrow set). 

We want to grow that by a lot more though folks and we have the Stretch Goals to do so.

Please note based on backer feedback many people stated they did not want more than one Update per day this time round. If we break through new SGs during that period our intent is to update the campaign page and summarise it all into that one daily Update.

For those that want to join us on the adventure in Mor Nadar, here is the narrative:

Episode 1 – A leaf and a stone
   The desert was icy cold and dark. The night sky above was a glorious mix of purple, blue and black, not unusual for this time of year, but nonetheless remarkable in its beauty. The stars shone as milky pearls lying on a bed of velvet pillows, untouchable treasure for the travelers below who, without their shining wisdom, could so easily get lost in the vastness of the Nabti dunes.

Isesi swatted at the air with his hand absently, ‘Go away I’m trying to sleep’ he chided his disturber and pulled the blanket round his neck in an effort to stay warm and sleepy.

The Sand Wisp landed gently on Isesis’ shoulder and whispered into his ear.

‘Show me now!’

***

The Lost Forest; an endless sea of grey petrified trees standing silently, timelessly, in a desert of creamy sand. Isesi did not have to run for long to reach the outer trees from his watcher village that had stood on the outskirts of this place for as long as any could remember, scraping a living as hunters of the few animals that dwelt in the forest for shelter. Life was hard in these relentless and unchanging conditions, however the Watcher Tribes lived in relative peace as very few of the other peoples of Mor Nadar were interested in such an inhospitable environment. Now and again a boat travelling on either of the two great rivers that bounded this land would stop and trade. Very occasionally somebody would seek a guide to the ancient stones at the heart of the trees, but by and large this place remained quiet and nothing ever happened here.

Until this morning.

Isesi stopped his run and stared open mouthed as the Sand Wisp flickered excitedly and illuminated the branch in the dead of night. There, for the first time in millennia, a tiny bud had burst on what were assumed to be long dead trees, preserved only by the lack of humidity in these lands.

‘Are there more?’ his companion flirted from tree to tree and darted back nodding in assurance. Isesi wiped his brow and swallowed hard as he toyed with the carved antler pendant that hung at his neck.

‘We must tell them.’

***

Nothing.

Templemaster Aur’k’nah stared intently into his contemplation pool and saw nothing. Some of the other masters would advocate that this was a good thing. The product of a focused mind, one switched off from outside influences but Aur’k’nah knew this was not the case. He knew this could not be because he saw nothing, and yet it caused him angst.

The Templemaster gazed at the calm surface of the water, passing a flat pebble between his fingers over and over again. To an outsider this might look like an absent-minded activity, such as touching one’s hair while talking, but this was very much not the case. Decades of training and dedication enabled the master to focus on multiple things simultaneously with a level of perception that most visitors to the sanctuary could not apply to a single task. He sensed the tiny variations of the stone rub against his skin, each movement imparting an awareness of his own unique fingerprints.

Aur’k’nah’s awareness changed from the tactile to the audible, he could hear the noise of the stone within his fingers. As he focused further the noise grew until it felt like a woodcarver’s plane, slicing layers of skin off every time if passed between his fingers.

That is where the realisation came from.

As I move the stone, I impart an essence of my form upon it. The more I do this, the less pure the stone becomes and yet by removing a layer of skin it encourages regrowth within my own form.

He thought for a moment.

So, if I am the stone and the earth is me, the earth can use me to reinvigorate itself. And leave me with a tiny essence of itself upon me…

Soft, rapid footsteps could be heard approaching the chamber.

‘Enter Nakhem,’ Templemaster Aur’k’nah spoke before Brother Nakhem reached the door. He rose from his contemplation pool and adjusted his robes. ‘Speak Brother.’ The Templemaster could sense an unusual urgency in the monk’s tone.

Grateful that he had received permission to dispense with some formality Nakhem, opened the door, composed himself, bowed and addressed the Templemaster. ‘A rider has arrived.’

This was unexpected. ‘A Rider? From where did they hail?’

Nakhem, handed over a small wooden box to the Templemaster. ‘They brought this.’

Aur’k’nah opened the box carefully and for the first time in centuries a Templemaster of Firesorrow gasped as he saw the verdant foliage of a leaf bud, carefully nestled inside the box on a bed of feathers.

  “Nakhem, summon an audience of the Masters – all of them!’

The story will continue with the next Stretch Goal unlock.