Hey everyone!
The other day I started playing a game called Wusang: Isle of Blaq by 
In my post two days ago, I had originally planned to just keep all my journal entries as comments on the original post.
I released a new entry yesterday in the comments of my first post in the series, and I now realize that this might not be the best idea.
It seems likely that interested readers might miss some of the entries because new comments don't make a post hit subscribers' feeds in Hive.
Given how long I've spent on writing, storytelling, and visuals for these posts, I think it would be a shame if they went unnoticed simply because of where I decided to post them.
So I've decided to split the journal entries into their own posts. I will still use the original post as the "mine" for the game, but I will link each day's mine to the post that I put out for it.
At some point soon, I will also likely create PeakD collection of my posts and link to that collection in each post so folks can catch up if desired.
Below is yesterday's comment post reprinted as a full Hive post for the "Day 2" entry. I might also release "Day 3" today. Keep in mind that not all entries will be the same length--some days there won't be much happening plotwise, while others may have more excitement.
I hope you enjoy the content and please let me know if you have any feedback!
Sidenote: If you're interested in learning more about playing Wusang you can get a quick overview in my first post about it or you can visit the official website: https://wusangisleofblaq.netlify.app/
Art/Illustrations are all original works I created with AI.
Day 2
We were eating breakfast by a freshly stoked fire at base camp when Dirk stepped into the light and warmth of the fire and asked our patched-together crew of treasure hunters, "So, who's ready to make some HBITS today?"
We all nodded our heads and grabbed our gear, eager to get started. Dirk had us split into teams of two and paired me with a woman named Mara. She was small but scrappy, and I could tell she knew her way around a spear.
As a whole, we were tasked with exploring the northeastern quadrant of the island. We began heading that way when Mara says to me in a hushed voice, without turning her head, "You're new here, right?"
I nodded, not trusting myself to speak. Mara continued, "Heard you came from the mainland. What brings you out here to this godforsaken place?"
I took a deep breath and told her my story. About how I was down on my luck and needed the money. How I was desperate and this was my last chance. Mara nodded along, not seeming too surprised by my tale.
"We all have our reasons for being here," she said. "But be careful. This island is more than it seems. Either way, keep a sharp eye and don't hold me back."
With that, we pressed on. After a bit of time, Mara tells me that she vaguely remembers seeing an old abandoned shack during one of the group's previous explorations. She thought it might be worth checking out, so we veered off from the group and headed that way.
As we approached the area, I was the first to see the old shack. It looked like it had been abandoned for years.
Mara and I exchanged a look, and then cautiously approached the shack. Mara went in first, spear at the ready, while I stayed at the door to keep watch.
"You'd better come in here," Mara called out after a few moments. "You're not going to believe this."
I cautiously stepped into the shack and Mara pointed at a human skeleton in the corner. It was clutching a gold necklace, and there was a note clutched in its bony fingers.
Mara carefully picked up the note and handed it to me while she searched the skeleton for anything else of value. The note was old and faded, but I could make out the words "Beware La Sombra".
I showed Mara the note, and she went pale. "La Sombra means the shadow in Spanish," she said. "I don't know what this means, but given the general darkness that looms over this island, I don't like it."
Just then, the room became very dark. As we turned to look out the window we could see it had become obstructed by something we couldn't make out.
Then, Mara screamed. As I spun around, I saw a large spider dragging her into a fresh hole in the dirt floor of the shack. I ran to help her, but she called out "Throw me my knife!"
I did as she asked and Mara expertly sank the blade into the spider's eye. The spider dropped her and Mara ran back to me. As she approached I caught a glimpse of the spider claiming the gold necklace the skeleton had been clutching.
"What the hell was that thing?" I asked, shaken.
"I don't know," Mara said. "But whatever it is, it's not natural. We need to get out of here, now."
We ran out of the shack and were immediately surrounded by more spiders. They were huge, and there must have been dozens of them.
"Run!" Mara yelled, and we took off as fast as we could keeping the spiders at bay as best we could with our spears.
Somehow we made it back to camp alive and Mara related what had happened to Dirk.
"Sounds like you earned your HBITS today," he said as casually as if we had just found a lost trinket.
I was exhausted, and while Mara was shaken, it was also obvious that this wasn't a new experience for her.
"Welcome to the Isle of Blaq," she said with a humorless laugh. "I hope you're ready for more surprises."