"Just a little further." Markus said, trudging through the sand as he led the party forth, his staff held aloft to cast an array of light around the party that both protected everyone from the sandy wind and pointed towards their destination. The great sage was well experienced, and he had led his fellow magic-casting companions through thick and thin. This seemingly endless ocean of sand and sun was not the hardest thing they had gone through, not by a long shot. "I can sense its

DAY 0:
 
*BANG RATTLE RATTLE BANG!*
 
Your eyes snapped open at the sudden sounds you heard somewhere outside. It was the dead of night, with only the light of the full moon illuminating the area outside your bedroom window. Something was rummaging directly outside your house, and you spent a few moments paralyzed in fear as you listened to determine what exactly it was. Some vigorous rustling, scrapes against metal…a tin can falling against pavement? You realize what was happening, and your

How long had you been in here? Hours? Days? The only possible way to gauge how much time had passed was to count the heartbeats that reverberated from somewhere far off, yet close enough you could barely make them out. But you couldn’t let yourself stay still for even a moment to focus on it. You were putting all your energy into fighting against the stomach walls that constricted you so tightly.
 
“Let me out! Let me out of here! Heeelp!!” You scream as you do your best to push against y

 
“The deadline? What do you mean the deadline was today? I wasn’t even told there was one.” You ask the yellow Shih Tzu standing at your doorstep, clipboard in hand, and an uncharacteristically business-like demeanor.
 
While you would often visit the homes of other villagers (as if they had invited you), it wasn’t common you ever got visitors yourself. More uncommon, a visit at 5:00 AM from the “mayor’s assistant” herself, Isabelle. The supposed mayor in question hadn’t ever