A cacophony of light, sound, and thunderous winds overwhelm your senses as you enter Ester Glen
THE VALE OF by Charu Patel
ru7.itch.io
A fog-entrenched district with a jazzy soundtrack faintly playing in the breeze. Here,
something is always going missing, shadows lurk behind most corners, cryptic notes
are scrawled on walls. Three overworked detectives are on the case in Ester Glen,
SHIFTING GLASS. trying to keep a tight latch on all the goings-on of the district. The rest of the townsfolk
go about their business, knowing that one way or another all of the missing items and
people make their way back. All of the administrative business for the Vale of Shifting
When your vision clears, one of the three planes of this Hollow materializes before
Glass occurs here in the Town Hall. The perpetually running Roadside Diner & Gift
you. Do you enter the Starlight Maze, a labyrinth of shops and houses, inhabited by
Shop is where the detectives like to congregate to piece together clues.
wondrous citizens of unimaginable shapes and sizes? Or do you see the misty Ester
Glen, where mysteries crop up every day, daring you to look beyond the surface?
Or do you splash into the tropical, swampy grounds of Tahjan’s Forest, completely
transported from the Woods you’ve come to know?
The Cable Car Roster of Current Detectives: Mystery board - A bulletin board in the
Residents traverse the planes often • Detective Aubergine - (harried, town center where residents can post
using the cable car. It is an ancient train often halfway between thoughts mysteries that they need solved. The
that travels through space and time in conversation; wants to keep detectives have marked their current
unifying the disparate districts of the the town in working order, hates mysteries and there are a few unclaimed
Vale. No one knows who the conductor choosing the most obvious solution on the board:
is, the front car door can’t be opened. to a problem, fears being unhelpful) • A cloaked stranger dropped off
• Mx. Inaya - (elderly, dry wit; has Detective Aubergine’s famous
• Starlight Maze: No matter when rotating selection of animal friends notebook at the Roadside Diner,
you board the train, it’s always to help in their cases; loves the thrill however the Detective reports that
sunset when it arrives at the Maze. of the chase, fears anyone getting her original notebook is not missing.
• Ester Glen: It is best to barely hurt, likes to close her cases in time [on the case: Detective Aubergine]
board on time, or the cable car for her favorite evening cup of tea.) (Little)
will run late. • Abhi Raan [UH-bhee rAHn], Kid • Senator Luffy, Ms. Alabaster Horne’s
• Tahjan’s Forest: Board the train Detective - (young, precocious; cat, has gotten stuck in the tallest tree
at a time ending in five…or you wants to make a name for herself, again. [on the case: no one] (Little)
may be transported to the past or fears finding a mystery they can’t • Cryptic poetry has appeared
future in the Forest. charm their way through, hates at numerous townsfolks’ doors.
feeling left out) Whenever the letter is opened, the
reader can only speak in limericks
or puns. Find who is sending these
letters and why. [on the case: Abhi
Raan, Mx. Inaya] (Big)
• The Cable Car missed its stop here
last Tuesday and several requests
to town hall have been delayed. The
administrators are asking for help
in fulfilling delayed requests and
finding out what happened to the
Cable Car. [on the case: Detective
Aubergine] (Big)
Starlight Maze Tahjan’s Forest
Materializing in front of you is an enormous maze Tahjan [Tuh-jAHn] languorously watches over
made of wrought iron gates and towering pillars. this plane of the hollow; the climate reacting to his
Twinkling diyas throughout the maze ebb and moods. The birds and reptiles living here must be
flow around the shadows of those meandering wary of anomalies such as rainbow storms, howling
through. It equally evokes wariness and wonder. waves, and mini tornadoes that often get caught in
The creatures who live and work in this district are the roots of the mangrove trees. This plane is a large
unlike any that exist anywhere else in the Woods. mangrove forest with numerous stilt-supported
The maze has pockets of quiet, cozy nooks amidst buildings dotting the water around the trees.
the bustling fair attractions and vendors. A sign at
the gate reads “An absolute joy to get lost in!” • Tahjan the Naranwaag [NAH-
ruhn-wahg] - (Shapesifter, enigmatic,
• Arnita Manin, (Carnivorous commanding presence; loves to hear
Flora Expert, formal, empathetic; stories of shenanigans and adventures
wants the rare Hierophant Lie of in the Starlight Maze and Ester Glen,
Lilies, dislikes sharing her shop fears being alone and bored and wants
space with Bordan the fire-seller) to make the forest more awe-inspiring)
• Nightjar Nickels - (group of nightjars,
Problems cautious; dislike sweet treats and
• Vending Machine Fortune Roulette idioms, want to play tricks on Maze
- a popular attraction that has been residents, fear getting caught for
malfunctioning and only giving out leaving the Forest)
Terribly Dreadful and Mundanely
Lamentable fortunes. Angry Problems
complaints paper the machine • Tahjan is irritated with the lack of
demanding the return of the Weirdly communication from Town Hall
Powerful, Divinely Curious, and about building houses for her two
Petulantly Catastrophic fortunes. new residents and is sending a
(Little) Miserable Rain their way to teach
• The bookshop hasn’t received their them a lesson (Big)
delivery of Hastily Bound Books™ • Residents from the third sector
from Tahjan and the residents are are complaining of a pungent
on the verge of bubbling the shop smell coming from their
(encasing it in a bubble until their neighborhood park. Tahjan
demands are met) if the books aren’t mentions several hidden lunches
delivered in the next half hour. (Big) from the weekly scavenger hunt
• Ghosts are off schedule and haunting at the park were never found and
the Northeast wing in protest of they’ve probably gone bad. (Little)
being called “barely even scary” and
“quite annoying, actually”. (Little)
