Our game this week is This Heart Within Me Burns by Sam Dunnewold on the StorySynth engine in which we adventurers confront a curse and journey to seek a cure. We are Alada, a young traveler who adventures to see the world; Baylee, a farmer's son who set out to support his family and earn their love; and Maris, a sailor and gambler who adventures to get out from under crushing debts. At the end of our last adventure, Baylee was cursed and now the veil between our world and the nether realms is weakening, seeping through into our world wherever he goes. Periodically, especially if he stays in one place too long, horrors enter our world and threaten our lives. We must travel to the temple known as the House of Empty Goddess seeking a cure, a ritual to remove the curse.

Cover of This Heart Within Me Burns showing a red heart aflame.
Cover image for This Heart Within Me Burns from Story Synth.

Our journey begins with Alada thinking of the promise Baylee made to keep her secrets, fearful about losing her friend, and what that will mean for her future. Maris thinks of the sea monsters she has seen and shudders to think how they pale in horror to the things that creep out from the nether realms. Baylee wishes he had some protection from them, but is too distrustful of magic to ask for wards to be cast upon him. When we encounter another traveler, Maris collects clams to serve him, but after eating, the traveler quickly departs, muttering about how creepy we are, words that disturb and worry Maris. While Baylee appreciates the protection and care his companions offer, he remains dedicated to his family above all else, so he is resistant when Maris leads them to the temple and away from his family. Maris convinces him that Baylee would be endangering his family in his current state, and so they head directly north toward the House of the Empty Goddess. Alada is relieved because she sees how corrupted and frightening Baylee's appearance has become as the nether realms suffuse his soul, leaving him blackened and shadowed at all hours of the day.

Maris delays us for a few days in a seaside town, gambling with the locals, winning away sea treasures for herself. Baylee recalls the night he spent before reuniting with Alada and Maris before our last adventure, asleep in that room above the tavern, excitedly anticipating the day to come. He also recalls how this time, they never went to the tavern for their celebratory drink, and he never got the chance to send anything home through the moneychangers. On the third day at the seaside, a malevolent squid monster emerges from the sea, reminding us that to stay in one place with this curse means death. Alada can hardly believe how much faith Baylee has that the cure will come, as she begins to succumb to despair, fearing our quest is impossible. Perhaps the trip won't be wasted if she can receive a blessing from Empty Goddess, but she's disturbed when Maris confesses seeing glimpses of the nether realms through a haze behind Baylee.

As they approach the temple, Baylee is feeling the loss of the years away from his family that he's spent adventuring, and fears most of all losing himself and his loved ones. Alada fears the curse will overcome Baylee and she will lose her friend. Maris believes they will lift the curse at the temple, but fears the horrors may be unleashed upon us all. A priestess greets them at the temple and takes Baylee inside, leaving Alada and Maris to camp outside, waiting. And they must wait a month before the priestess again emerges with Baylee, who now is shaved bare and wearing white robes. He seems disoriented and naive, like a newborn child, and doesn't remember them very well. While Alada misses the friend who was, Maris is just happy he is free, and we begin the journey to return Baylee to his family.