SECOND DOOR
recovered survival fragment
“Look like the innocent flower, But be the serpent under't”
this page was not meant to be opened yet.
since you have opened it, read quickly.
good.
some things only become visible when the light stops lying.
hidden instruction recovered: do not trust the one who makes wishes.
At the festival marketplace, find the stall with no sign.
It will not call out to you. It will not advertise itself. It will be easy to miss unless you are looking for things that do not want to be found.
Look for a narrow table covered in dark blue cloth.
On it, there will be empty bottles, cracked bells, old keys, dried lavender, white feathers, little glass fish, and shells that are damp despite the evening air.
The stallowner will be old enough to have forgotten their own age.
They will wear a hood the colour of stormwater. Their hands will be gloved, even in the warmth. Their eyes will look pale in the lanternlight, as if the moon has been caught behind them.
Do not ask for a weapon.
If they answer, take what they give you.
item acquired: Moonmoth Jar
quantity: one only
status: frightened
use: release when the road is lost
warning: do not shake it. do not name it.
When you forget your path, open the jar.
Let the moth choose the road.
FIRST RULE: The thing beneath the lake is not your enemy unless you teach it to be.
SECOND RULE: Do not strike first.
THIRD RULE: Do not cast into the water unless you want the water to answer.
FOURTH RULE: If the surface goes still, put out the lanterns.
FIFTH RULE: If an eye opens beneath the boat, lower your voice.
SIXTH RULE: If it rises, stop rowing.
SEVENTH RULE: If you feel watched, do not look long enough to be remembered.
Fear makes noise.
Do not answer when they sing.
Not with your voice or your name.
They will not sound like monsters.
Do not say "I'm here."
Do not say "come back."
If someone beside you begins to listen, remind them where they are.
"You are on the boat."
"That is not them."
"Do not answer."
Tie yourselves to the living before the dead begin to call.
If you must give the water something, give it an object. Never give it yourself.