5. Story and Narrative

In the smithy village lives Norberto with his grandson Leonardo.  

The place is located in northern Italy and is a tiny fraction inhabited by about sixty inhabitants. 

Among the locals, a particular legend has been widespread and handed down for years. It is said that there is an entity in the mountains that kidnaps and makes children disappear. 

From the last century, only a few rumors have come of a couple of boys disappeared under unclear circumstances. 

Because of those events, the inhabitants began to give a name and a specific function to this legendary entity: "The Mother, she who adopts the children", thus justifying their mysterious disappearance.  

However, recently, this phenomenon has occurred much more frequently. The new generations have almost completely disappeared. One after the other, all the children were taken away from their families without anyone being able to prevent it. Some adults claim to have seen their children appear around time later. They had a totally different appearance and it was useless to try to contact them. Other people instead only believe that the whole story is a superstition and the appearances are due to psychosomatic factors, while they believe that the disappeared children were victims of some madman.  

As the children disappeared, so did the adults started to be seen increasingly rarely around. Some have left the village because they feared ending up the same way, others have just locked themselves inside their houses and have not come out anymore. The village is now plastered with posters with the photos of all those who have been adopted by "The Mother".  

Many searches were conducted by the authorities, but no one has ever managed to discover anything, and in the village, the belief that the legend might be true is increasingly widespread.

5.2.1. Level 0

[START]

Narrator : 

"Generous mother... harsh stepmother...they said nothing else. 

I came to ask myself whether it was better to regret what was done, or to regret what was not done.  

Until that moment, no one had acted, me first.  

The future vanished before our eyes, and we remained tied to something... 'Adopted' according to those who believed in the legend... but for me, these were just stories.  

They disappeared, perhaps kidnapped, but by something real, rational. As I was then.  

The others were seen increasingly rarely around, but leaving, for me, was out of the question.  

I had a lesson to learn first.  

Above the pain of every misfortune, one can rest, except for regret. In regret, there is no rest nor peace, and therefore it is the greatest or the most bitter of all miseries.” 

5.2.2. Level 1

NORBERTO  

Breaks the last two logs of wood, wipes sweat:  

"Leo! Leo, come here.  

Leo!!  

Ah that boy, when it comes to helping his grandfather, he vanishes into thin air…”

NORBERTO    

Enters the house and picks up the newspaper on the table:  

“Poor boys... Instead of seriously investigating, they would invent anything just to scare us and make us leave... but there is no place safer than home!”

NORBERTO    

Takes a drawing in hand: a hero with an arrow "grandfather" defeating a monster with an arrow "The Mother", signed by Leo: 

“Ahah me and ...the Mother?... That boy has imagination to sell…” 

NORBERTO   

While going upstairs, naturally says:  

"Leo, are you upstairs? I need a hand with the logs." 

NORBERTO  

Enters the grandson's room, picks up the paper with the rules for Leo. Says in an altered tone:  

"That boy is stubborn! He knows well he shouldn't be wandering around at this time! It's already getting dark..."

NORBERTO   

Finds a carved snail and says in an alarmed tone:  

"His favorite pastime...but...it's not like him to leave everything messy." 

NORBERTO  

Goes outside and finds another snail near the gate, outside the fence. He picks it up:  

“A snail from Leo! He would never have taken this road at night...I must go look for him.” 

NORBERTO  

Goes inside, takes the jacket and decides to also take the stick from the closet:  

"I won't get far without this..."  

Heads towards the forest.

5.2.3. Level 2

NORBERTO  

“Oh finally, there he is!” 

NORBERTO  

"LEO! LEO!"  

NORBERTO  

"What are you doing there?" Come here right now!"  

NORBERTO  

"It's late! Let's go home, come on!"  

NORBERTO  

"Did you hear me? Leonard-!"  

NORBERTO

A deer passes in front of him and almost hits him:   

"AHHHH!"  

NORBERTO  

"Leo?... Leo?..."  

NORBERTO  

"Where has he gone?" 

NORBERTO 

He approaches where he thinks he saw his nephew, and out of nowhere, an immaterial entity appears in front of him: 

Narrator  

"It was at that moment that the line between reality and legend vanished."

NORBERTO  

Fights with the Adopted and manages to defeat it thanks to the stick: 

"What happened? What was that? And this stick... could it be...?" 

NORBERTO 

Finds a flyer on the ground and reads it:  

"Adopted..."

NORBERTO  

“I need to find Leonardo”

5.2.4. Level 3

NORBERTO

He is in the forest, having to face other enemies like the ones he just overcame. He has multiple paths in front of him and must find the right one:  

“I can't pass here/ I cannot go this way”  

5.2.5. Level 4