As you wander through the unseasonably warm Winter Market, you find yourself tracing your steps back to that cursed area again. There aren't many gathered there. Perhaps they've learned the lesson that you still haven't - that nothing good ever came from the Stump and it was best to be far, far away from it. A sense of unease lingers in the air as you turn, expecting to see the tree stump you remember from last year and every year before that, but instead, you find a deep depression in the sand where it once stood. The ground is sunken, the edges crumbling, and a dark hole yawns at your hooves. Curiosity tugs at you, and you lean closer, peering into the depths. A flicker of movement catches your eye - something shimmering just out of reach. You squint, trying to make sense of it when suddenly, a shove from behind sends you tumbling forward.
You fall, the world around you blurring as you plummet into the darkness. You fall and fall and fall, and just when you think you’ll never stop falling, you hit the water with a splash. The cold ocean envelops you, quickly pulling you under before you break the surface, gasping for breath.
As you shake the water from your eyes, you squint toward the horizon. There, amidst the waves, you can't believe your eyes but you see it - a gigantic stump, somehow afloat, bobbing gently on the sea. Atop it sits a small green figure with long golden hair, her expression a mix of boredom and annoyance, a cobbled-together fishing pole resting beside her.
“Oh… hey there,” She sighs, glancing your way as you scramble aboard, dripping and bewildered. “Welcome to the Stump. You can play some games down below or well... we could use some help figuring out how to survive out here... Maybe work together to get home? But... if not," She sighs again. "That's okay too I guess. I don't know what home even is anymore..."
The ocean stretches endlessly around you, and you can’t shake the feeling that this is just the beginning of an adventure you never anticipated and DEFINITELY did NOT sign up for.

Time passes on the Stump. How much time, you’re not sure. The sky remains the same bright blue color, the sun remains blistering and hot above your head. But then, suddenly, it changes. The sun begins to set. Clouds begin to come in. The sky darkens. You look up at the sky and see the beginnings of a face in the clouds. Two hollow eyes and an open, haunting mouth. You blink and it’s gone. Tricks turns to you.
"It’s coming..." she whispers.
WEEK 2 BEGINS
For others, it’s as normal as it can be on a Stump in the middle of the ocean watching a perpetual unnerving sunset. But... for one, things get a bit stranger. You Hide I Hunt's skin begins to itch and develop dry patches. The tiniest twig begins to twist its way out of their shoulder. Perhaps they should not have eaten those acorns…
You spend the week eyeing the sun that has been stuck at the edge of the horizon and adjusting to the dark purple sky and swirling clouds. But, suddenly, the sun is gone and gone are the purple and blue hues. Suddenly everything is dark and black and stark white. Everything is wrong. You can barely see in front of you and what you do see... it can't be right. Shadows dance around the Stump. The water is eerily still. There is no wind, only whispers. The crew seem... different, but they are still happy to give you tasks... for now.
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