WERIGO SAGA Episode 2: The First Quest

COLD OPEN. Black.

• CAPTION: Later that night.
• SYSTEM (pink): [WARNING: ANOTHER PLAYER DETECTED.]

PANEL 1. A wet empty street at night. Arya on his olive Athena faces a young woman on a pink Athena. Emerald aura vs pink aura.

• SEKAR: You're the one everyone's talking about?
• ARYA (thought): ...Who is she?
• CAPTION: Twelve hours earlier...

Title card. EPISODE 2 · THE FIRST QUEST.

• CAPTION: The next morning. 6:10 AM.

PANEL 2. Golden morning light. Arya sits up, stretching, well rested.

• SFX: CHIRP... CHIRP...
• ARYA (thought): ...No alarm?
• ARYA (thought): First time in years I woke up before it.

PANEL 3. Arya at the door. The olive Athena parked in the courtyard, glowing faintly.

• ARYA: ...It wasn't a dream.
• SYSTEM: [DEVICE LINKED: ATHENA]

PANEL 4. The landlady, broom in hand, stares at the bike. Arya with a toothbrush in his mouth.

• LANDLADY: Arya!! Whose bike is that?! Did you win the lottery?!
• ARYA: Mmf... it's a long story, Bu.

PANEL 5. Narration.

• CAPTION: He couldn't tell her the truth.
• CAPTION: That the bike came with a System.

PANEL 6. Over the shoulder. A holographic window floats in the courtyard, the Athena beside him.

• SYSTEM: ! DAILY QUEST · Deliver 35 orders before sunset. Reward: ??? Failure: back to the queue.
• ARYA (thought): Thirty five? I did 31 yesterday and it almost killed me.
• ARYA: ...Fine. Accept.

PANEL 7. A roadside warung. Arya eats nasi jinggo, sweet tea, phone on the table.

• CAPTION: 7:02 AM. Nasi jinggo, sweet tea.
• SFX: TING!
• SYSTEM: [ORDER #1 RECEIVED]
• ARYA (thought): No petrol stop today. Straight to work.

PANEL 8. Arya rides past the petrol queue. Riders turn their heads.

• CAPTION: Same route as every morning.
• RIDER IN QUEUE: Hey... isn't that Arya?

PANEL 9. Komang in the queue on his rusty bike, waving wildly.

• KOMANG (shouting): Oi!! Arya!! Where'd you get that?!
• CAPTION: Komang. Best friend since primary school. Still loyal to his 2009 petrol bike.
• ARYA: Later, Komang! Orders!
• KOMANG (shouting): Oi! Wait! I'm still in line!!

PANEL 10. Close-up. Komang, one eye squinting, rubbing his chin.

• KOMANG (thought): Since when does Arya have money...?
• CAPTION: He just doesn't stop here anymore.
• SYSTEM: [ORDERS: 6 / 35]

PANEL 11. Montage. Rain, market alleys, a hand on the throttle.

• CAPTION: Rain. Market alleys.
• SYSTEM: [ORDERS: 14 / 35]

PANEL 12. A Canggu villa gate. A startled tourist; Arya is suddenly beside her with her food.

• TOURIST (shouting): Oh my god!! I didn't even hear you arrive!
• ARYA: Sorry, ma'am. It's... quiet.
• SYSTEM: [PASSIVE SKILL: SILENT APPROACH] [ORDERS: 21 / 35]

PANEL 13. Midday. Arya rests under a frangipani tree with iced tea, looking at his phone, eyes a little wet.

• CAPTION: 12:40 PM. The hottest hour.
• PHONE (chat with MOM): Arya: "Sent you a little extra this week, Ma. No petrol to pay today." · Mom: "Thank you, nak. Eat properly, okay? Don't just drink tea."
• ARYA (thought): ...I'm eating, Mom. I promise.

PANEL 14. A red window.

• SFX: TING! TING! TING!
• SYSTEM (red): ! URGENT QUEST · Medicine for a child with a high fever. Time limit: 20:00. Reward: NONE.
• ARYA (thought): No reward?
• ARYA: ...Doesn't matter.

PANEL 15. A small pharmacy. The pharmacist hands Arya a medicine bag.

• PHARMACIST: She's four. The fever won't go down. Please hurry.

PANEL 16. High angle. Total gridlock on Sunset Road in the rain. Arya cuts into an alley gap.

• CAPTION: 3:12 PM. Sunset Road. Nothing moves.
• SYSTEM: [TIME LEFT: 11:40]
• ARYA (thought): The main road is dead. ...But the gang isn't.

PANEL 17. Arya rides through a narrow gang, a cat watching from a wall.

• CAPTION: No engine roar to wake the babies. No smoke in anyone's kitchen.

PANEL 18. Close-up. Arya determined in the rain.

• SYSTEM: [TIME LEFT: 04:15]
• ARYA (thought): Almost there.

PANEL 19. A doorway. A mother holding a feverish girl receives the medicine, tears of relief.

• MOTHER: Thank you... thank you so much.
• ARYA: Get well soon, little one.
• SYSTEM: [URGENT QUEST COMPLETE. TIME LEFT: 01:02] [HIDDEN STAT UNLOCKED: KINDNESS]

PANEL 20. Dusk at a red light. Bayu on a black and red sportbike leans in, smirking.

• CAPTION: 5:31 PM. Red light on Sunset Road.
• BAYU: Nice toy, delivery boy.
• SFX: BRAP BRAP!!

PANEL 21. Two close-ups side by side: Bayu grinning, Arya calm.

• SYSTEM: ! DUEL REQUEST · Unknown rider wants to race. ACCEPT?
• ARYA (thought): I don't race.
• ARYA: I deliver.

PANEL 22. Green light. The Athena launches instantly, emerald trail. Bayu left behind in his own smoke.

• SFX: VMMMM...
• SYSTEM: [SKILL ACTIVE: INSTANT TORQUE]
• BAYU (shouting): What the...?!

PANEL 23. Two kilometres later. Bayu's sportbike dies.

• CAPTION: 5:58 PM. Two kilometres later.
• SFX: SPUTTER... PFFT.
• BAYU (shouting): Don't. Say. Anything.
• ARYA: Need a push? I'm going that way.

PANEL 24. Close-up. Bayu, embarrassed, looking away.

• BAYU: ...You're annoying, delivery boy.
• SYSTEM: [RIVAL AFFINITY +1: BAYU]

PANEL 25. Sunset at a traditional family compound. A grandmother receives the last order and gives Arya a small offering.

• CAPTION: 6:18 PM. Order #35. The last one of the day.
• GRANDMOTHER: Suksma, nak. May the road be kind to you.
• SYSTEM: [ITEM RECEIVED: A GRANDMOTHER'S BLESSING]

PANEL 26. A clifftop at sunset. Arya sits on the Athena watching the sea.

• SYSTEM: DAILY QUEST COMPLETE · Orders: 35 / 35 · Rating: RESTORED
• ARYA (thought): For the first time in years, I'm watching the sun go down instead of waiting in a queue.
• SYSTEM: REWARD · Petrol money: KEPT · Evenings: UNLOCKED · Title: SILENT RIDER LV.2

PANEL 27. Night.

• SYSTEM (pink): [WARNING: ANOTHER PLAYER DETECTED NEARBY.]

PANEL 28. Extreme close-up. Arya's eyes, pink light on one side, emerald on the other.

• ARYA: ...Another one?

PANEL 29. Full page. Sekar sits on a pink Athena under a streetlight, pink aura.

• SEKAR: So you're the new one.
• ARYA: Who are you? How do you know about the System?
• SYSTEM (pink): [PLAYER: ???] [CLASS: ???] [RANK: C]

PANEL 30. Close-up. Sekar's knowing smile.

• SEKAR: The System doesn't give out bikes for free, rookie.
• SEKAR: You'll find out at the raid. Friday. Uluwatu.
• ARYA (shouting): R-raid?!
• SEKAR: Don't be late.

PANEL 31. Sekar rides away, a pink light trail on the wet road.

• SFX: VMMMMM

PANEL 32. 11:47 PM. Arya lies awake, a small emerald window above him.

• SYSTEM: ! NEW QUEST · Find the other players. Players found: 1 / ?. Next event: RAID, ULUWATU.
• ARYA (thought): A raid...? What did I get myself into?

Closing. To be continued... NEXT EPISODE: EP.3 · THE RAID. Should Arya show up at Uluwatu? And who is she? Tell us in the comments.