text: As you gather the expedition crew, the leader of the natives approaches you.
  
  "Shipmaster, will you wait a moment?" he asks leaning on the staff. After seeing you pause, he continues, "There is a blight upon this island. A dark magic attempting to corrupt the divine power of Quetzalcoatl. Quetzalcoatl's twin brother, Xolotl."
  
  "If Quetzalcoatl is so powerful, why doesn't he simply destroy Xolotl? Isn't this his island, the centerpiece of his power?" you ask.
  
  "I dare not try to understand the thinking of Quetzalcoatl," the native answers. "Perhaps this is your test. If you prove yourself worthy and cure the blight, you may be the next coming of Quetzalcoatl. I ask something of you, shipmaster."
  
  "Yeah, get on with it," you answer.
  
  "Come with me to our village, it's not far. There is someone I'd like you to meet. Someone who may be able to help you in your quest."
  
  > change your mind and attack
  The three natives before you are just the first of many obstacles in your way. Although they aren't showing any signs of aggression, that could change. You'd prefer to be the one attacking when it comes to a "surprise attack." Confident your crew knows your signal, you remove your tricorn and scratch the back of your head with your left hand. You give your hat a spin in your hand and place it back on your head.
  
  After a silent count to five in your head, you draw your flintlocks and fire at the three figures. In unison behind you, the crew draws their weapons and fires. The leader spins his staff in front of him creating a magic barrier. Your projectiles don't find their targets. Twin arrows fly on either side of you and slam into a couple of your crew members behind you. Their bodies hit the sand, then explode in flame as the magical energy within the arrow combusts.
  
  You sprint towards the natives, drawing a third pistol from behind your hip and firing. Just before your third shot fires, Victoria finishes her dispel incantation. The barrier in front of the natives disappears and your bullet slams into the leader. He looks down towards the gaping hole in his chest, and looks up, confused at the events that just transpired.
  
  Your sprint is disrupted for a slight second as you dive to your left to avoid an arrow. Landing in a roll, you raise your swords to attack and see the two archers dead on the ground. Several throwing knives lay buried in the neck of both.
  
  "You couldn't do that before I ran all this way?" you ask Freddy.
  
  "Well, you need to burn off that rum somehow. Daily visits with the milkmaid just isn't doing the trick," he replies.
  
  After the brief skirmish, three of your crew are dead. Witnessing the deadly potential of the natives, you and everyone else is left with the same thought: I hope we don't have to face more than three at a time.
  
  > Onward
  The jungle is dense. The crew of The Sanguine is formatted into three lines, each a few feet apart. The leaders in all three rows chop forward at the green vines and vegetation that layers the way forward. Gnarled roots and plants crawl on the forest pathway. The lack of sunlight allowed through the canopy creates the illusion of night.
  
  Several hours later you arrive in a clearing. The overgrown jungle suddenly cuts off into a round, circular open area. In contrast to the chaotic jungle, the clearing looks groomed to the highest order. Lush green grass carpets the entire area. A lone tree sits in the center. Its aged trunk is riddled with knots and broken branches. Compared to the maintained clearing, the tree looks out of place, like it's too scarred for the neatly kept grass.
  
  "Think it's some sort of religious grove?" Victoria ponders.
  
  "Must be," you answer. "Men, create a perimeter. We'll rest here for a bit."
  
  The crew gathers close together and four unlucky members are selected for first watch. Freddy takes a seat leaning against the ancient tree and pulls out his mandolin.
  
  > Procter's thoughts
  "How's my favorite quartermaster?" you say.
  
  Procter looks up from the wooden figurine he's carving and answers, "I'm not a child." Upon speaking the last word, he accidentally nicks the edge of the wood removing a large portion of the carving.
  
  "Damn it!" he yells and chucks the carving into the surrounding jungle.
  
  "No, of course not," you answer. "What do you think about the island?"
  
  "There's something...living about it. I feel the magical energy all around me. There is powerful magic at work here," he says.
  
  "The entire island is hidden from view," you aptly point out.
  
  "Invisibility? A simple parlor trick. I've seen countless street charlatans with that ability."
  
  "Fair point, although none of them can perform something on this scale."
  
  "Not alone," Procter says. "Put more than a few of them in a room, or on an island, and I bet they could conjure up—well, combine their abilities for a more potent spell."
  
  "Makes sense. Better luck on you next carving," you say handing him a piece of wood.
  
  Procter accepts it with a nod and brings his knife to it.
  
  > Victoria's thoughts
  "Hey, V. How're you doing?" you ask.
  
  She absent-mindedly fixes her ponytail and replies, "You know me, Cap. Exploring forgotten islands and slaughtering natives is what keeps me going."
  
  "You don't think we should have attacked them?"
  
  "I think they had some usefulness, which we can't access now. We don't know anything about the temple we're heading towards. There could be traps or defense mechanisms in place. At the very least, we could have gotten a local guide through the jungle."
  
  "There's no certainty they would have helped at all. We're trespassing on their sacred island. For all we know they would have shot us in the back. I'd rather strike first before they have the opportunity. Besides, I have the crew to think of. A decision had to be made whether to engage or not and I felt it best to engage," you say.
  
  "I suppose hard decisions are the reason why you're the captain and I'm not," Victoria says.
  
  "That and my charming good looks," you say flashing a smile.
  
  "Captain! Did you just imply I'm not good looking?"
  
  Realizing the implication you reply, "Of course not! You're the bright flower on our boat. Proof that beauty is not without brains."
  
  "I'm just busting your cannonballs, although your ability to correct yourself in front of a woman is quite remarkable. Truly legendary stuff, Cap."
  
  "I do the best with what I've got," you reply.
  
  > Freddy's thoughts
  You approach Freddy leaning against the blackened tree. One of his knee is bent towards the sky supporting the mandolin. He finishes playing "My Sister, My Love" and looks up to you.
  
  "You know that's my favorite song," you comment.
  
  "Ever since we were kids, yes," Freddy replies finishing the final notes on the mandolin.
  
  As soon as his music stops, a deep rumbling echoes from within the tree's center. The earth begins shaking, dropping several members of the crew to the grass. Suddenly, the ground splits open and multiple roots slither through like tentacles from the Kraken herself. Caught unaware, you witness a couple of the crew dragged below ground.
  
  The ominous creak from a bark-covered tentacle curls itself around your ankle. Instinctively, you fire your pistol. Splinters explode from the tendril, but it remains fixed around your ankle. You holster the flintlock and recite the incantation exactly how Victoria taught you. Flames appear at your hands, which you quickly wrap around the tentacle. It recoils at the fire, and dives back below ground.
  
  Across the field, you see Victoria and Procter have already put into effect your keenly discovered technique. Flames project from both of their hands firing on close tendrils. Procter even takes it upon himself to fire at the tree itself. His blast craters a deep impact into the trunk of the blackened tree. Upon impact, a ragged deep whine echoes from within the trunk. The noise sounds like a whale call, only much lower pitched and resounding. The earthquakes increase knocking everyone, including you, to the ground.
  
  The tree begins to grow in size lengthening towards the sky. The ground erupts as more bark tendrils fly out pushing the tree upwards as if arms. You rise from the ground and look around. The peaceful field has turned into a chaotic frenzy. The neatly trimmed grass is now scarred by fire and the eruption of the roots.
  
  > continue fighting
  "Focus on the main trunk!" you yell in attempt to rally the crew. "Procter! Victoria! Keep up the fire!"
  
  As the tree continues growing in size, you can now see where the bark tendrils connect to its body. They must not simply be roots because they're layered throughout different levels of the trunk, not just near the base. It's clear attacking the trunk is most effective. As a tendril wraps around a crewman near you, you get an idea.
  
  You break into a sprint and use the momentum to hoist yourself on the tendril. Then, with arms raised in a "T" for balance, you continue the sprint upwards towards the tree's body. As the current branch begins moving too quickly, you jump to another, and a second after that to keep your footing. Your path brings you directly in front of the trunk where Procter's blast originally hit.
  
  You repeat the spell bursting your hands in flame. Suddenly, the blackened mark turns flips open. You find yourself face to face with a lone yellow pupil. The mark must have been on an eyelid. The eye remains transfixed on you and a voice begins in your head.
  
  The voice subsides, replaced with a deafening roar. Even with both palms against your head, you can't mute the noise level. Blood begins to pour from your ears creating a second reason to keep your hands pinned against your head. In your incapacitated state, a tendril wraps around your body. You can see the same is happening to your crew on the ground level.
  
  The tree returns to its original spot and height in the grove dragging you and your crew underground along with it leaving behind nothing but a Wilhelm. Over time, your bodies help fertilize the grass allowing the grove to regrow back to its original state. Your quest ends prematurely.