...

Sui in land of Gukk

Playtest for a yet unpublished game called Ragbag Realms

Sui is heartbroken.

Yes, there's been that breakup with Jim, that didn't certainly help; but they knew they would, eventually, get over it. But Nana died, and the future of the department was looking grim, and their PHD proposal wasn't exactly the kind that appealed to potential sponsors.

So they make up their mind to go for a trip in a place that, up to that moment, they had only dreamed of, listening to Nana's tales.

They packed light, but gave themselves permission to bring along one extravagant object: Nana's spectacles, a pair of lorgnette folding glasses. Sui doesn't remember Nana ever using them, but has fond memories of playing with them, and how they made the world feel magical.

It's hard to fall asleep, the night before the trip starts, but eventually they do, clutching in their hand the tiny gold pendant Nana gave them as a baby.

While traveling, Sui thinks back at the dream from the night before, of a snake who wished to became a painter and asked them for help. It felt strangely vivid. Finally, after many stops, trains, buses, and a bit of a walk they get to the village.

It is at the same time familiar and completely new, and Sui feels a bit disoriented. Many buildings appear to be closed, uninhabited for years.

After a bit of wandering around, marveling at every detail, they find the house of their Airbnb host. Pat is a very tall woman, almost a giantess; they chat a bit while she shows Sui the place where they'll be staying, just around the corner.

They end up talking about Nana, and Pat says the family house is on the other side of the chasm, on the side of the mountain; however the bridge that leads there is currently broken, and she hasn't had time yet to finish fixing it; the village is small, and Pat is a carpenter, but also the plumber, postman, gardener, and a few more hats to wear. There's not much works left to do, and if Sui is willing to lend a hand, they could probably get it safe enough to cross by the end tomorrow.

There's not much to do in the evening in this village, but tonight is game night at Hyedim, and Pat is sure she would love to have someone new to inflict, err, entertain with their riddles. But Sui is exhausted by the trip and declines so they can finally get some sleep.

After a solid night of sleep, Sui wakes up, cobbles together something for breakfast, then resumes visiting the city. They enter the one shop that is in the village, a small space full of stuff: in a corners there's a skull, labeled "Sasquatch". A few moments later, Hyedim emerges from the back, watchmaker's glasses on top of her head. "So, Fepil was your grandmother, uh?" They chat for a while.

Everything feels so vivid inside this room, and Sui has a strong feeling Hyedim is not someone you'd want to play poker with. Her eyes seem to glow pink, but that's probably a reflection from something in here. Her short hair are messy, and two short bits are sticking up, almost looking like pointy horns; it was probably raising the glasses above her head that created that effect. Probably.

Hyedim makes a living as a watchmaker, creating sophisticated movements in her small workshop, on the back of this shop that doesn't see many customers.

She rummages a bit and gives Sui a small bottle with a pegasus on the label. No writing. "Talking about your grandmother made me think of this. You can keep it; drink it when you feel like it. I promise, it's not alcoholic. Or poisonous."

Sui is surprised and curious. They thank the woman, hesitating for a moment before asking for clarification, but Pat arrives to lead Sui to work on the bridge.

It is fascinating to watch Pat work, she makes things look easy when Sui wouldn't even know where to start. Still, they somehow manage to help, and the bridge is ready. Pat has other things to do, so she waits for Sui to cross the bridge safely then waves and shouts "See you later!".

It's early afternoon of a clear, bright day, and Sui explores this side of the mountain. It is towering and the path is convoluted. From where they are, they can see a thick mist covering the bottom of the canyon, and idly wonder what's on the bottom of it.

They get to a clear stream, look for stones for crossing, being thankful that they're wearing good boots; but when they're crossing, they get hit by a large fish jumping out of water and immediately disappearing back into it. Sui is now sitting into the stream, completely wet; when their look falls on the bottom of the canyon: they were so concentrated crossing the rivulet that they would have never thought to look down.

The mist is nowhere to be seen, what they see is a glimmering landscape of spindly palm trees and cacti. And a few things that could be buildings, and a clear, if complicated, path to get to it.

Slowly, carefully, they descend.

Finally, at the bottom; it doesn't look like there's a defined path, but Sui feels like their feet know where to go. Soon they are in front of a majestic statue, a radiating, shimmering phoenix.

Sui reaches into their inner pocket to fish out Nana's lorgnette. Luckily, it didn't broke when they fell. Looking through, the shimmer on the phoenix looks even stronger. Then it moves, and speaks.

"I thought you'd never get here."

Sui staggers for a moment. They nearly drop the lorgnette but catch it just in time.

"Oh, you don't need those anymore, now that you've crossed the threshold"

"Whatwhywhowhhhhh"

"Welcome to Gukk, Sui. Welcome to the ancestral home of your family. Please remember to breath." The voice of the phoenix feels snarky, but affectionate.

Sui hears another, vaguely familiar voice "So it worked! Welcome!"

A half man, half snake appears from behind the phoenix. He has the voice the snake had in that dream. "Sorry for that fish attack, but I was afraid you might miss the view..."

The phoenix intervenes "Oh you from the house of Zafehd, always meddling..."

"Well, it worked, didn't it? But now let's show our friend around maybe?" the half snake man turns toward Sui "You can call me Jurg, and this is Tykua. Would you like to go for a walk? Or maybe you'd prefer to sit and have a breakdown?"

"I, me, ehrr...; let's go for a walk please"

So they walk together, through palms and trees, and soon ruins, that look ancient, while Tykua tells tales and stories and anecdotes, and Sui tries to listen and follow but it's a lot, it's so much, to see, to hear, to smell, to feel, too much and not enough, there's so much more to know, so many questions.

"Let's sit down for a while, shall we?" says Tykua, gesturing toward a block of stone that's conveniently the right height to serve as a bench.

"Technically, everyone can find the road to Gukk. It's just that very few know where and how to look. But in more than one occasion it has been pillaged. Who knows what one, armed of a shovel and enthusiasm, could find..."

Her eyes look glazed for a moment, lost in thoughts and memories.

"...and that's why a protection mechanism had to be setup. If you don't belong here, you will forget about Gukk once you get away from here.

There is a way to avoid this: it's a procedure called coronation."

"Co- coronation?" stuttered Sui

"Yeah don't get too excited about that. Yes, you come from an old family, but there's no royalty in Gukk. Some people claim a crown of light appears over the head of the subject during the process. But I am of the opinion that it was a pun whose meaning got lost in time.

We'll have to ask Hyedim to prepare the tonic, no idea how long it will take..."

Sui rummages in their pockets and produces the bottle with the pegasus label

"Ehr, uhm, Hyedim gave me this bottle and told me to drink it when I felt like it?"

"Oh well, we're one step ahead already! You'll also need an object from here to act as focus. I was joking about the shovel but also one might come in handy. However. You don't need to do this if you don't want to. You can go back to your life as it was before and forget everything. Take your time to think about it"

Jurg takes the chance to interrupt "Speaking of time, it's almost sunset. You're welcome to stay for dinner and we'll find you a place to sleep, but if you prefer to go back to the village for the night, you should probably get moving now."

"Yeah that's probably a good idea" sais Sui.

"We can't get you all the way to the village, but we can walk with you for a while if you'd like"

"Oh. Are you bound to Gukk?"

A hearty laugh comes from Jurg "No, no, nothing of the sorts, it's just that there's no lights on the path and we don't like to walk in the darkness"

"Oh, that makes sense."

They quickly get to the part where they need to climb up, it's not hard but it requires attention. Sui is fascinated by the way Jurg moves, but also feels it's rude to stare, so they mostly pay attention to where their feet are, which isn't a bad thing since they're unfamiliar with the terrain.

During this walk is Jurg that talks the most. No big tales this time, just comfortable chatting

"No I mean it, I really want to become an artist! Sculptor, painter, probably both. There's a sculptor here but he refuses to teach me! Will you talk with him? Maybe he'll listen to you. You have the aura of someone reliable"

"That's the first time someone says that about me. Are auras real here?" asks Sui

"Nah, it's just a metaphor" replies Tykua.

They get to the bridge and part ways there. Sui walks back to the house and finds Pat waiting for them.

"Did you..." she starts

"Yes"

"Do you want to talk about it?"

Sui hesitates for a moment "I... no, not now. I think I need to process all of this. I think I need to sleep over it"

"Sounds fair. Still, if you want to chat, or even be silent but not alone, feel free to knock. Anytime."

"Thank you. I appreciate it." replies Sui, who then retreats to their place. They spend a long time in a slightly too warm bath, a luxury they haven't enjoyed in a long while, no tub in their shared apartment, and anyway who would have time to just lay there and enjoy being, in their previous life.

It's weird, but it already feels different, it already feels like the life before no longer belongs to Sui. Or rather, Sui does not belong to that life anymore.

They go to bed and get a good night sleep. They spend the following days mostly in Gukk, wandering around, talking with people; sometimes just sitting there and feeling like they could belong there.

Sui feels like they should be more hesitant about getting through a non better specified procedure, whatever that entails. But they also feel like, really. Going back to life as it was before isn't an alternative.

After some looking and talking and digging, making sure they aren't digging in someone's garden, Sui finds a dagger decorated with many colors and feels like that would make for a good focus.

Meanwhile they have gotten to know a bit some of the others inhabitants of Gukk: Jovdik a sculptor from another world. He's working on a thing that looks like a spear but swears it's not a weapon. And maybe after he's done with it, he will finally agree to teach Jurg he basics. Or maybe not. A woman with a tattoo of a bear, named Dasiu, a great cook, and appears to be skilled at every craft she puts her hand on.

Finale

Tykua and Pat have walked with Sui to the other border of Gukk, a field of dunes.

Sui feels in their heart that they want to know this place, that the future they want to explore belong here. But they also feel like they should at least try to keep a link to their old life, to the University, that it would be a waste otherwise.

"Maybe I could, I don't know, find a way to turn this into research, maybe commute, living here six months and the other six on campus..."

"Sui, my dear" interrupts Tykua "I don't want to tell you what you can or you can't do, because no matter what has and hasn't been done in the past, there's always room for change in the future. But of those who have left for the outside world, no one ever managed to live in both places. The closest thing is living in the village, and that is very close. Not even your Nana, who loved this place very much, came back. She met someone, had your mum, then life, then you, then..."

"Besides" adds Pat "is that really what you want to do? Go back to the Faculty after all the things you told us? After the way they treated everyone there?"

More days passes. Hyedim came to Gukk, to assist and admire the installation of the spear shaped sculpture at a lonesome crossroads known for the grave of an historic ratcatcher.

"When you gave me the tonic, did you know?" ask Sui

"Knew? No. Hoped? Yes. This might be a land of myths and impossible things, but even here, prophecies are nothing more than suggestions. You are the one who shapes your own path.

Besides, making the tonic is not so different from making liqueurs, and those go well with the occasional tourist that ends up at the village. I love clock making but sometimes need a distraction.

So tell me, Sui, have you found your direction?"

"Without a doubt."

Epilogue

Jovdik the sculptor has taken Jurg as a pupil, after he promised he would create a performance for the presentation of his latest work to the community: a hermit's hut in the shape of two Sphinxes. Which also happens to be the entrance to Sui's house.

There's a bonfire, and food, and singing, and dancing.

Sui is home.