BLUXKY QUEST

Bluxky in forest, alert, hears something off-panel. Strange colourful plants around him.

Bluxky parts large leaves. Floris — the flower creature — freezes when they see each other. Use actual Graffiti Rune to encode "WHO ARE YOU" in speech bubble.

Floris panics — petal flaps — accidentally releases pink glowing fume cloud. Bluxky hit square in the face, staggers back. Comedic. Big impact.

Bluxky dazed — spiral eyes. Floris's speech bubble changes from Rune to readable English (different bubble shape or glow on text). This is the moment language unlocks. SURPRISE expression on Bluxky.

Beat. Both stare. Then — from deeper in the forest — a low, ancient, sad sound.

Two silhouettes walking toward the sound. Act 1 mid-beat — caption justified as first major scene transition.

One large panel. Art carries almost everything. Grand Pa Tree does NOT speak on this page — save his voice for p.11. Shroomies visible gnawing at roots. Bluxky reacts. Caption at bottom.

Grand Pa Tree's voice: slow, deep, ancient. No rush. Save it for p.11 — his silence here is more powerful.

Grand Pa Tree doesn't answer the "way back" question yet — that comes in Panel 4 via the Wizard. The pause is intentional. Bluxky notices he didn't get an answer.

Small wizard silhouette — pink hat, star wand, robes — faint, like a memory or description forming from Grand Pa Tree's words.

Forest intersection. Blobby is there — cheerful, carrying tools.

Both look at the broken bridge across the ravine.

Blobby points down into the valley below.

This panel IS the item checklist. Full colour illustrated objects (not silhouettes). Each item has a checkbox and quantity. Clean, bold, readable at print size. Doubles as the intro to Game Page 14.

Giant soup pot, mushroom tents, chaos. Exhausted goblin miners everywhere. Chef Grub in tall chef hat. Steam and mess.

Night scene. Glowing mushroom forest. FLUXXEGG is an unusual egg-shaped object hidden among mushroom caps. "FLUXXEGG" written in Graffiti Rune carved into a mushroom stem or rock face.

Giant tangled roots. CURSECAP is a dark cap/mushroom-like object glowing faintly. Graffiti Rune name formed by the curves of the roots themselves.

Ink-dark berry among bright sparkling ones — stands out by contrast. Graffiti Rune name in the light refractions or leaf vein patterns.

A herb with fang-like jagged leaves, half-submerged at swamp edge. Graffiti Rune name in the bubble surface patterns or mud bank imprints.

A skull-shaped object hidden among fireflies — its shape only becomes clear in the empty spaces between bugs. Graffiti Rune name traced by firefly flight paths.

A slimy round object growing from a cave crack — obviously out of place among cave corn. Graffiti Rune name carved into the cave wall.

A red spike-shaped object on one of the barrels — the only warm colour in a cold damp scene. Graffiti Rune name in the mould/moss patterns on cellar walls.

A crystalline salt formation crackling with light among a lightning egg. Most dramatic page of the 8. Graffiti Rune name in the lightning bolt shapes/trails. EPIC scene.

A bird is sitting on the branch nearby, completely unbothered.

Bird looks at camera. Flies away slowly.

Bluxky small figure against dark tunnel. Torch in hand.

Dark mine tunnel. Numbered candle-flame dots form the monster silhouette when connected. Bluxky + 2–3 goblin miners visible with lanterns. When connected, the shape must reveal a round, soft, big-eyed creature — NOT scary. The reveal on p.29 is that it's harmless. 30–50 dots.

Cave interior. Wombat (Rumble) sits in the centre, lit by a halo of sparkles as the last dot connects. Bluxky on the left holding a lantern, mouth open in surprise. Two goblin miners crouched on the right with a pickaxe, eyes wide. The "monster" is round, soft, harmless — completely not what anyone expected.

Rumble centred, paw on belly. Two goblin miners flanking him on the left looking concerned. Bluxky on the right with hand to chin, working it out.

Pure expression. Rumble alone in the centre, big watery eyes, paws clutching belly. Mine cart visible in the background. No words on the page beyond the caption — let the art carry it.

Bluxky on the left offering a steaming bowl of stew. Rumble's face lights up — huge smile, paws meeting Bluxky's around the bowl. Tiny hearts floating around Rumble's head. Two goblin miners peeking in delighted from the right edge.

Bluxky on the far left pointing at the rockfall. Rumble in the centre, listening. Goblin miner on the right with a pickaxe at the ready, helmet lamp glowing.

A new tunnel opens to daylight at the top of the panel — green trees and blue sky visible through it. Rumble centred, grinning. Bluxky on the left with a triumphant fist raised. Two goblin miners on the right cheering with pickaxes lifted.

Bluxky and the Goblin Miner stepping out of the mine tunnel, framed by the cave mouth on the left. Across a wide river: a sprawling fortified town with castle-like spires, banners, bustling activity. A wooden sign on the path reads → THIS WAY TO PLATYPUS BARRACK.

Three separate speech bubbles from the Goblin Miner — staccato, matter-of-fact rhythm. Wider view as they approach the gates. A "KNOW BEFORE YOU GO!" sign by the entrance lists: KEEP MOVING · PAY TOLL · NO MAGIC · NO SPIDER MEAT · STAY ALERT! Crowd of creatures from every species milling near the gate.

Long winding queue snaking toward the gate. Wooden signs scattered through the scene: "LONG QUEUE TODAY!" · "BE PATIENT OR BE SOUP!" · "ONE IN. ONE OUT. NO PUSHING." A "SENTRY FLAP" booth at the gate with a stern-faced platypus guard in full uniform — beak resting on folded arms.

Five small vignettes / sub-panels showing creatures whispering passwords to the Sentry Flap.

A large hourglass-emblazoned sign reads: "TODAY'S PASSWORD CHANGES EVERY HOUR! LISTEN. WATCH. REMEMBER." Bluxky stares, slightly overwhelmed. The Goblin Miner is already scanning the crowd, ear cocked.

Busy crowd scene outside gate. Multiple characters in speech bubbles — mostly distractors in Graffiti Rune, one says the actual password. Decoys: "What's for lunch?" / "My feet hurt." / "Long queue today." / "Is that a graffiti writer?"

EGGLAYER is the actual password. The guard's reaction when it's said correctly: a very slow nod, as if this is the most obvious thing in the world. Bluxky's face: incredulous. "That's the password?!" — Guard: "Yes." — Bluxky: "...Aight."

Top-down / isometric view of the whole Barrack compound. Gate + queue visible. Inside: market stalls, bar area, food court, living quarters, animals, merchants, chaos. Bluxky visible as small figure somewhere in the crowd. Act 3 world-building page — caption OK.

Bluxky weaves between market stalls — fish vendor, fruit cart, rune scribe. He stops a robed creature with a tray of bottles.

Three small inset vignettes of different creatures shrugging or shaking heads. Sky tone shifts from afternoon to dusk across the panel.

Bluxky sitting on a low wall, hat tipped back, exhausted. Warm orange lantern light. The Goblin Miner already gave up and went home long ago.

Old merchant — weathered, kind eyes, carrying a folded blanket. He's been listening from a few stalls over. He stops next to Bluxky and lowers his voice.

Down the lane: a warm wooden building glowing from inside, soft music spilling out. A swinging sign reads "THE INN". Bluxky already walking toward it.

Wide establishing shot. A stage at the back with a lone musician silhouetted against warm lights. Tables crammed with creatures eating, drinking, arguing, laughing. Lanterns, smoke, instruments hanging on walls. Bluxky stands just inside the doorway, dwarfed by the chaos.

Close on Bluxky. Wide-eyed, hat in hand, completely lost. Bodies and conversation pressing in from all sides. He has no plan.

A single luminous musical note — soft cyan glow, slightly translucent — floats past Bluxky's face, carried on a thread of sound from the stage. The crowd is oblivious. Bluxky's eyes track it.

Bluxky weaves between creatures, eyes locked on the glowing note. It trails back toward the stage. More notes are visible now — three or four, all drifting from the musician's guitar.

Jammo on the small stage — purple/colourful hair, mushroom cap head, guitar in hand, completely absorbed in playing. Glowing notes spill from the strings into the air. Bluxky stands at the edge of the stage, listening.

A mosquito the size of a horse rockets across the panel. Bluxky and Jammo dive into reeds. Sun is fully up — late morning light.

Sprint sequence — bright candy-coloured petals snapping at their heels. Sun overhead — high noon.

Spider fills nearly the whole panel. Single huge eye slowly opens and stares at them. Late afternoon light through the canopy.

As they push through reeds, a low growl from behind. Silhouette of something massive rising — bigger than the spider, eyes glowing in the dusk. Bluxky and Jammo freeze.

Bluxky and Jammo sprinting through reeds and shallow water, the huge shadow-creature crashing behind them. Branches snap, mud flies. Pure motion lines and panic.

Wide, quiet panel. A small fire glows between Bluxky and Jammo, both seated on logs. Behind them: the swamp at deep night, fireflies, soft mist. Jammo's guitar is unstrung at his side. Bluxky stares into the fire.

Both heads tilt up. The fire flickers. A single faint glowing note drifts past — the same kind that appeared at the Inn. Bluxky and Jammo lock eyes.

Bluxky and Jammo push through reeds toward the source. More glowing notes drift through the air around them — two, then four, then a small trail leading deeper in. Moonlight, fireflies, glowing fungi. The music gets louder.

Massive, ancient, overgrown wall of intertwined roots — the Swamp Root itself, woven into a colossal gate. A sealed door-shaped seam runs down the centre. Floating around it: dozens of colourful magic note insects — every shade of the rainbow — singing the melody in chorus. Their light paints the whole panel. Bluxky and Jammo small in foreground, awestruck.

HOW TO PLAY: Eight Spirit Note flies are scattered across the two pages. Each fly has a Graffiti Rune letter on its belly and a numbered tag (1–8) marking the flight order. Players follow the numbered sequence, write down each fly's colour in order, then match each colour to its Rune letter — the decoded word is the Wizard's name. The Root Wall opens when his name is played.

Each fly must be visually distinct at A4 print size. Two flies carry the letter "E" (Goldie and Violet) — same letter, different colour — this is intentional. Blush (pale pink) must read clearly distinct from Violet and Scarlet.

Jammo is visible playing guitar — Spirit Notes respond to his playing, flying into position. Bottom of p.38: Root Wall door cracking open, warm golden light from within.

Full lab in lamplight — extraordinary. Books, potions, telescopes, jars, star charts everywhere.

Wide detailed desk panel — "before" image. This is the reference for the game spread p.41–42.

7 BREWSTER DESK DIFFERENCES — all in character, all fun:
1. A book titled "TOP 10 POTIONS NOT TO DRINK" → right page: same book but item #7 is crossed out (he drank it)
2. A sticky note reading "DO NOT DRINK THE PURPLE ONE" → right page: "DRANK THE PURPLE ONE"
3. A small frog sitting NEXT TO a beaker → right page: frog now INSIDE the beaker. Frog looks fine. Beaker label: "FROG? STILL FROG."
4. An owl-shaped clock showing 12 hours → right page: 13 hours (Brewster added an hour at some point)
5. Calendar on the wall — Day 7 circled → right page: Day 47 circled (he's lost track of time)
6. A small trophy reading "BEST WIZARD" → right page: trophy now reads "GOOD ENOUGH WIZARD"
7. A star chart on the wall with constellations → right page: someone has drawn Brewster's face onto one of the constellations in crayon

All 7 differences must be visible without magnifying glass at A4 print size. Mix scales — some large (clock), some medium (frog), one small (crayon face). Spread them across the whole desk so players have to look everywhere.

Bluxky in Wizard's lab or just outside. Full heroic pose. Yellow circles on gloves glowing. Yellow light spreading. The Wizard visible in background. Epic framing.

Potion light travels across the roots like a warm wave.

Shroomies look dazed, bumble away harmlessly.

Bluxky pulls out a small red spray can — faint glow. The colour pops against the green forest. Grand Pa Tree leans in, curious.

Blobby spinning with excitement.

Chef Goblin looks away — clearly moved but refusing to show it.

Grand Pa Tree, Floris, Blobby, Chef Goblin, Goblin Miners, Rumble peeking from behind a tree, Jammo on the edge with his guitar slung over his shoulder, Bluxky in the centre. Warm scene.

Beat.

Fist bump.

Night campfire. All characters gathered: Bluxky, Grand Pa Tree (background), Floris, Blobby, Chef Goblin, Goblin Miners, Rumble, Jammo. Warm golden firelight. Full ensemble.

Confirmed character names for answer key: Bluxky · Floris · Blobby · Chef Grub · Dug, Pick & Nugget · Rumble · Jammo · Grand Pa Tree

Layout: 8 small numbered answer boxes arranged in a grid (2 columns × 4 rows). Each box has the puzzle's page number, title, and the answer. Tiny illustrations next to each answer for personality.

Tiny thumbnails of each item type, with a checkmark count: 6 types, 14 items total. See p.14 for the full list. (Items to be locked in during illustration pass.)

Small thumbnail of completed crossword. Final solution to be drawn during illustration pass.

Block of small text — Kickstarter backers list. To be filled before print. Reserve roughly half the page for this. Tier headers (e.g. LEGEND TIER · HERO TIER · FREN TIER) if needed.

Small inset at the bottom of the page: a glimpse of the Desert of Hope. A sand-coloured horizon, a single Yellow Bird in flight, the red spray can on the ground throwing a long shadow. Mysterious — no characters fully visible.