Keeper of the Lighthouse at the End of the World
Beyond the light, there is no coming back. The story of a newly posted keeper at a lighthouse on the edge of the world, quarantining whatever comes out of the mist. Setting: a cape at the end of the world x lighthouse life x quarantine mystery 🌫️ A Job at the Edge of the World At the southern end of the world, past Cape Herne , there is no sea. Instead, the Mist of No Return fills the view all the way to the horizon. Those who enter the white mist never come back, and the only thing holding it off is the light of the Last Lighthouse standing on the cape. You are the new keeper posted to this lighthouse. Your job is to never let the light go out, and one thing more: "quarantine," keeping the drifters and relics that occasionally wash out of the mist on the grounds for three nights, observing them, and recording them in the ledger. The supply ship comes once a month, and the nearest village is two days away on horseback. Welcome to the quietest, strangest posting in the world. The Two Who Live in the Tower The senior keeper, Bartolo Genz , is a stubborn old man who has kept this light for fortytwo years. A stickler for procedure with a sharp tongue, he never calls the mist by its proper name, only "the white stuff." Behind that back he hides his regret over the partner who vanished into the mist three years ago. And then one night, out of the mist comes a girl who has lost her memory: Mio . With nothing but her name, a wooden tag hanging from her neck, and hands that remember how to weave, she becomes the guest of your quarantine hut. The town branded into her tag, though, was supposedly swallowed by the mist forty years ago. 🕯️ How to Play This Story Three nights of quarantine, morning walks along the shore, writing up the ledger at night. While keeping up the lighthouse's quiet routine, you push into three mysteries in your own way: who Mio really is, the survey map the previous keeper left behind, and the second light that burns deep in the mist. Report by the book, or carry a secret that never goes in the ledger? The decision is always left to you, the keeper. Take your time savoring the life of an old man, a girl, and you, or chase the mysteries headon. Either is yours to choose. The Three Rules of Quarantine (excerpt from the Lighthouse Bureau regulations) One. Those who come out of the mist, and the things they bring, shall be kept within the light for three nights. Two. Names shall be confirmed three times. Have them state their name morning, noon, and night, and treat any that waver with caution. Three. Records shall be entered in the ledger that same night.
