Portabella

Description
First character you speak to

Queen of the town

One of the only characters to know about pep's true nature.

Gauntlet Interaction
-Oop. Poking me for more information? Very well.

-I love the people of the forest for voting me into office, but I also often find them tiresome.

-I've issued detailed pamphlets for them to learn about the Storm,

--but they've complained that the words are too big to understand.

-Well then, LEARN THE WORDS! You know what I mean?

-Barometric Pressures, Precipitation Cycles, Atmospheric Composition - these concepts aren't hard.

-I honestly have no idea how they can spend so much time piddling around without ever learning anything.

Axe Interaction
-Taking a shot at the Queen, huh?

-What are you trying to do Pep? Usurp me?

-Unlike you hapless mammals, we don't walk around with our vital organs accessible to any fool holding a pointy stick.

-The Fungal Council is born from an elaborate root system. Cut us down, and we shall rise again from the mother root.

-ARMILLARIA OSTOYAE! We shall never die!

-...

-What's that, you say? It was an accident?

-Ah.

-Excuse me.

-I... may have gotten a little carried away then.

-Anyway.

-I'm the reason you're here at all, Pep. Don't forget that.

Feather Interaction
-Oh, that's real cute, Pep.

-Unlike my time-bending cousin over there, I'm not so ticklish.

Intro
-When the Storm first came, we were terrified.

-The Oracle warned us of its coming, but we didn't have much time to prepare.

-Mind you, this was no ordinary storm. Not your everyday squall. Far from a typical... you know, gale.

-No, no. You see, this Storm had a consciousness.

-It scoured the landscape, leaving behind a wake of destruction, heedless of the lives it took.

-When it reached our village, we sent our own champion to meet it.

-Mitera, an ancient dragon of unknowable powers, our forest guardian.

-Mitera took to the skies and battled the Storm.

-In the end, she was able to dissipate it.

-(blank screen)

-But the battle cost her greatly, leaving her unconscious.

-To this day, she sleeps, recovering from her heroic effort.

-We thought we were saved, until recently, when the Oracle told us that the Storm is returning with an even greater wrath than before.

-Soon after we learned the Oracle's grave news, you arrived.

-It's been long enough that the villagers have forgotten their fear of the Storm.

-Myself and the other members of The Council have tried to warn them, but no one wants to hear it.

-And so, our hopes lie with...

-You.

-I guess.

First Translation Conduit Interaction
-Pep. The people of The Forest-my people-need you.

-They go about their daily lives, woefully ignorant of the impending doom that will befall this land.

-The Great Storm.

-Only you can save them. Why?

-Because unlike most of us, you have opposable thumbs.

-And you are not a complete idiot.

-You must collect the Six Artifacts to awaken Mitera, the slumbering dragon.

-I see that you have found the first artifact: The Translation Conduit.

-This will allow you to talk to the people of The Forest.

-If you need any reminders of what to do next, come talk to me again.

-Good luck.

After receiving Axe of the Fallen
-Great work! You found the second artifact - the Axe of the Fallen.

-Legend has it, that axe belonged to Brendan the Beaver in ancient times.

-Brendan was born without teeth, so he forged this mighty tool to chop wood for his dams.

-Its blade is still sharp... Incredible.

-I'm sure its chopping power will help you find the next artifact.

-Once you find all six, you will be able to wake Mitera.

After receiving Wings of the Griffin
-Ah, you've found the Wings of the Griffin.

-Did you know that Griffins are actually flightless creatures?

-They're very impressive jumpers, though.

-You haven't lived until you've seen a flock of hopping Griffins on their annual migration.

-Anyway, that's three artifacts down. Three to go!

-We need all six artifacts to wake Mitera, the sleeping dragon.

After receiving Gauntlet of Legend
-So you found the Gauntlet of Legend. Another artifact of ancient times.

-Apparently it was sewn from the golden silk of the Mother Wurm long ago.

-Moss the Sloth famously used it to save his village by poking Crull the Cyclops directly in the eye.

-Hopefully it comes in... handy...

-Sorry. I've never tried a pun before. It feels wrong.

-You're getting close! Just two more artifacts until you can wake the dragon.

After receiving Essence of Lightning, Bottled
-The fifth artifact... Lightning in a bottle.

-When lightning strikes dew-covered grass, it leaves behind tiny droplets of essence that evaporate in mere moments.

-Collecting these droplets into an enchanted bottle such as this is no easy task.

-One sip will send you dashing forward.

-Think of all the places you can get to with a power like that...

-Just one more artifact to go. Once we have all six, you can finally wake the dragon.

After receiving Feather of the Phoenix
-That feather you found came from the body of a powerful phoenix.

-Along with Mitera, our sleeping dragon, that phoenix is one of the Great Forest Guardians.

-I would love to meet her one day.

-...

-Do you know what this means, Pep?

-You've done it!

-All six artifacts in our grasp!

-You have everything you need to wake the dragon.

After waking Mitera
-Amazing work, Pep.

-Mitera is finally awake.

-But the Storm is here...

-You must talk to the dragon, and she will guide us

-I hope.

After First Key
-Hm. I see you found a key.

-You know, collecting those won't help us wake up the dragon.

-Besides, some doors are better left unopened, I think.

After Second Key
-Still spending your precious time collecting keys?

-I'm telling you right now - leave that door alone!

-Why is Pep so determined to open it, anyway?...

-Now that I think about it, the door appeared around the same time Pep did.

After Third Key
-Pep. This 'key business' has got to stop.

-This is a misguided diversion that won't help us on our quest to wake the dragon.

-What can I do to stop this?

-Should I just tell Pep the truth?

-...no, better not.

After Fourth Key
-...

-You're just collecting these keys to spite me, aren't you?

-...

-Ok, fine. Maybe if I give you a little bit of context, you'll reconsider this fool's errand.

-The morning you came to the village, I woke to find this door had suddenly appeared.

-We haven't been able to get it open, but Enoki can sense a strange energy behind it.

-He warned us it could be dangerous.

-Whatever is behind this door seems to be drawing you to it.

-I don't know if it's malicious, benevolent, or neither.

-But why take the chance?

-Maybe we should cast our curiosity aside and leave this door closed.

After Fifth Key
-That feather you found came from the body of a powerful phoenix.

-Along with Mitera, our sleeping dragon, that phoenix is one of the Great Forest Guardians.

-I would love to meet her one day.

-...

-Do you know what this means, Pep?

-You've done it!

-All six artifacts in our grasp!

-You have everything you need to wake the dragon.

After Sixth Key
-Is that...

-the sixth key?

-Oh my.

-As concerned as I am, I can't help but be amazed at your determination.

-You are connected to those keys and that door in a way that I can't explain.

-I suppose this was inevitable.

-And yet, I feel like this has happened before. In another place. Another time.

-Well, I'm as ready as I'll ever be.

-Let's open that door.

-*door opens*

-...

-I've always wondered what it would look like.

-The space between realities.

-...

-Is this where you came form, Pep?

-Is there where we all came from?

-...

-I don't know if we are meant to comprehend such things.

-...

-Oh, what's that behind you?