A low, mournful howl hits your ears and pulls you back to the present. You look for the source, and a shape materializes in the distance as it trots closer.
Coigreach Storyline
From Grouse House Wiki
The Coigreach event is focused on a large storyline you can follow to dive into the lore of the event, meet new characters, and earn rewards! This month's storyline is driven through explore encounters, and you will be unable to progress in the storyline if you are not exploring when required. The story will begin on November 1st as soon as the event starts, and you can access it from the Coigreach page.
Storyline rewards are based on choices you make near the end of both parts of the storyline. The choice is clearly marked with asterisks (*), and we'll make sure to note when a choice is important on this page, as well. Rewards for completing the storyline change each year!
Characters
Characters
Since many events unfold during this storyline that would be considered spoilers to those who haven't seen them yet, we've hidden some of these character's information behind spoilers buttons. Part 2 of the storyline contains spoilers for Part 1, so these characters are also hidden. Click on the button to view the hidden information! These are hidden by default, but you can use the buttons below to toggle all spoiler images and text on and off. Character image galleries will contain all of the character's artwork, spoilers included, so proceed with caution!
| Maeve | ||
| Maeve is a friendly personality, searching for her mate, Lowen, who's suddenly gone missing without a trace. Late Story Information |
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Wolf |
She/Her |
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Character Image Gallery | ||
| Sirona | ||
| Sirona is the Chaorainn Pack's herbalist. She seems worried about Maeve, and she's intent on helping you uncover the mystery of the recent disappearances. Late Story Information |
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Wolf |
She/Her |
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Character Image Gallery | ||
| Conall | ||
| Conall is the leader of the Chaorainn Pack. An old but powerful wolf, he's respected by his packmates. Conall is concerned that Lowen's disappearance is just the tip of a much larger puzzle. Late Story Information |
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Wolf |
He/Him |
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Character Image Gallery | ||
| Quany | ||
| Quany is an elder of the Chaorainn Pack, grumpy but full of wisdom. He believes he may have an idea of what's causing the mysterious events. Late Story Information |
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Wolf |
He/Him |
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Character Image Gallery | ||
This section contains spoilers for later parts of Part 1 of the storyline.
Click to view
This section contains characters from Part 2 of the storyline, which occurs shortly after Part 1 and thus includes spoilers for Part 1.
Click to view
Part 1
Part 1
Storyline steps are listed in linear order, and are not sorted based on which path or choices you take. Clicking on a button in each step will allow you to quickly jump to the next step in the story, affected by the button you pressed.
| You're nearing the edge of your territory as you finish up your patrol today, and you stop for a good roll and back scratch before it's time to head back to your pack. Ah... that hits the spot. Nothing better than getting those itches out, and getting a fine coating of dirt in your fur at the same time-
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The wolf stops abruptly, looking rather surprised to see you. Suddenly they're closing the distance between you, tail wagging eagerly.
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| The wolf stops abruptly, looking rather surprised to see you. Suddenly they're closing the distance between you, adopting a submissive pose.
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"I... I just..." she splutters, not sure how to react. She looks away suddenly, a crestfallen expression spreading across her face.
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| Her face grows sad, and she sits down heavily.
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Her face grows sad, and she sits down heavily.
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| Many wolves inhabited these lands, so it wasn't surprising that there were packs unknown to you.
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Her eyes light up, and she's on her feet again.
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| "You know this area well, do you not? Perhaps other wolves and their packs have seen or heard something of him. Any information, however small, would help. Let's split up and see what we can find out. 10 wolves should be a good start. Someone is bound to know something."
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Head to explore and ask some wolves about Lowen.
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1st Wolf
The wolf shakes their head sadly. You feel as though they want to help, but have no information for you. Instead they tell you of a similar situation in their own pack - their herbalist has been missing for two days now.
2nd Wolf
They look at you with an intense stare and ask, "We've heard howling that keeps going unanswered - could it be to do with that?" That's weird.. but maybe?
3rd Wolf
Their face crinkles in concern and they nod fervently. "Do they have puppies? We've heard crying puppies that nobody is tending to, and have been searching for them but we never seem to find them." You don't think there were puppies involved.. how odd.
4th Wolf
As you mention the missing wolf, a demoralised sigh escapes from them. "More missing wolves? We've lost two, our neighbouring pack has lost three. I hope this doesn't continue."
5th Wolf
The wolf's eyes glaze over slightly as you're explaining the situation to them, and you get the very distinct sense that they have no idea what you're talking about. You struggle to pay attention as they start babbling about a pocket of mist that appeared one night, disrupting their hunts.
6th Wolf
The wolf doesn't seem to have any interest in what you've just asked them about. Instead, they keep telling you about this strange feline creature they saw. They explain that it's small with thick fur, and they've never seen or smelled one like this before. Annoyed that this doesn't seem relevant, you continue on.
7th Wolf
The next wolf you encounter is similar to the last - near incoherent babbling about new prey they've come across, and how they're not the only ones to have found them. You plead once more for information about Lowen, but they don't have any for you.
8th Wolf
As you're explaining, the wolf seems to be staring off in the distance behind you. You turn to look, and see if you can see what they're looking at. When you see nothing, you turn back and the wolf is gone. How rude.
9th Wolf
A vacant expression appears on the wolf's face as you ask about the missing wolf, and you gather that they haven't heard of Lowen. They make some mention of strange lights appearing at dusk but when they try to follow them, they disappear.
10th Wolf
The tenth wolf you ask has more unnerving information to give you than the others. They explain that certain places they have visited have left members of their pack paralysed by fear, as if by some unknown force. You hope that Lowen hasn't been caught in one of these areas.
The story will continue in 1 rollover.
| Trekking back to the edge of your territory where you first met Maeve, your brain is buzzing with everything you have learned. Mysterious lights, odd sightings, other wolves missing, strange trinkets causing visions...
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"I'd like to introduce you to Conall and Sirona. Conall is our leader, and Sirona is our herbalist. I asked them to join us. They've been helping search for Lowen and are just as worried as I am."
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| You tell them of the other wolves that you encountered in your quest to search for Lowen. They spoke of weird noises coming from the undergrowth and of lights dashing out of sight as soon as they turned to look. Pockets of mist rolled across the land, muting all sound in their midst. There was more than one instance of strange visions of a howling wolf, crying puppies, and the feeling of deep terror and sadness. You had also heard tales of caves appearing just out of sight and never coming closer, no matter how much distance was covered. All sorts of different fauna that were not native to this land had also begun to appear, and Sirona was not the only wolf who had noticed it. From what you had been told, it seemed Lowen was not the only wolf who had gone missing, either. Members of other packs had disappeared without a trace, leaving confusion and uncertainty in their wake.
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Once you finish, no one says anything for a very long time. Conall looks troubled, Maeve seems confused, and Sirona looks oddly thoughtful.
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| "Conall, don't you think we should--" Maeve protests.
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"Give us some time to digest this, and speak with our pack. I believe Sirona will also want to consult our elders and see what they have to say," Conall says, and looks at you kindly. "Make sure you get some rest as well, [NAME]. Meet us back here in 3 rollovers and we will see what can be done. Farewell, friend."
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| Come back in 3 rollovers to speak to the Chaorainn Pack.
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The story will continue in 3 rollovers.
The past 3 days have been restless and full of worry. You've encountered even more strange things, and without any idea of how to deal with them, you've felt lost. Now it was time to meet Conall, Sirona, and Maeve again and hopefully get some answers.
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| "I'll tell you on the way. Right now we're going to go back to my pack--there's someone who wants to speak with you."
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Rolling hills stretch as far as you can see, and it seems as though she's making her way closer to a mountain range you've never seen before. Soon the hills give way to dense forest and the ground begins to slope steeply. Is she taking you all the way up to the top of the mountains?
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| She sighs and is silent for a moment before answering you as if she's gathering her thoughts.
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The trees here are very old and stretch high into the sky. They give good shelter but their leaves also block much of the sun, making everything around you dark and quiet. The den site of the pack is well protected from the elements between the old trees and the dense brush that covers the outside of the clearing. Caves have been dug out between the roots of the trees and you see heads popping out from them with curious eyes. The sense of being watched makes your pelt prickle and you're careful not to let it show. It wouldn't do any good to appear anything other than friendly.
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| Sirona leads you towards the far end of the clearing where one of the biggest trees stands silently guarding. The cave among its roots is well made and it looks like the brush has been encouraged to grow heavily around the trunk to provide as much protection from the elements as possible.
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"Well now. I suppose you're not a half bad looking wolf. Bit scrawny, maybe."
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| "Well now. I suppose you're not a half bad looking wolf. Bit scrawny, maybe. Arrogant as well, looks like."
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"I don't know, are you?" Quany growls back in response. He clearly doesn't appreciate your rudeness. Sirona looks shocked by your reaction, and stays very quiet.
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| "Good. All too often the young like to exaggerate things for attention. But I believe you, and I trust Sirona. She may have told you that I may know what's going on, but I cannot guarantee that I'm right. I can only tell you what I know from my own experience."
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"This story is no longer told to pups, but my grandfather told it to me. Too scary for pups these days, apparently," he sniffs indignantly, then continues on: "He spoke of a wolf from our pack long ago that fell into the trap of desperation which led her to do an awful thing. I will try and tell it objectively, but just know that this was a story that was told with disdain."
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| "Will you let me finish, pup?" Quany growls, clearly irritated by your comments. He takes a moment before he continues, his eyes hard as they refuse to leave yours. He composes himself.
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Quany lets out a long sigh.
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| "The Faelcu," he repeats.
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"This mother... she was desperate. Her puppies were getting weak. It seemed so obvious."
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| "She grew maddened and more and more certain that the stories were true, that her puppies had been switched. Her mate disagreed, but she wouldn't hear of it. Nobody could understand why the puppies had grown so weak. She was adamant this was true. So one day..."
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"I think we both know those puppies didn't come back to her. And when she returned, the changelings were gone too. All of them were gone."
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| "She couldn't come to terms with it. She was maddened, completely lost in her grief. She searched high and low for the puppies. She stopped eating, talking... existing. Nothing was more important than finding the puppies, and she searched high and low. She never stopped."
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Quany sighs, looking at Sirona.
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| "From what you've told me, these visions that wolves seem to be experiencing tie too closely to the story for it to be a coincidence. What I don't know is how they are seeing these visions, or why. The task falls to you to figure it out."
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"I was just thinking... Wolves can't just be seeing visions on their own randomly. I know there are things we can't explain in this world, but there has to be something causing them. Like how certain herbs can cause hallucinations. Maybe that's it! These strange plants I've been seeing are not native to this land. Who knows what they could do to a wolf?"
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| "Something is causing these visions, and we have to find out what. Perhaps it is something as simple as a bad reaction to an herb!"
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Encounter wolves in explore and see what they have to say about the visions. Maybe you can find a hint on where to look next. Come back when you have found a hint.
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While exploring after the previous step, you will come across new encounters that provide hints about which biome you must explore in in order to progress the story. The wolves that you find and the accompanying text differ depending on the biome you find them in. All of these encounters are listed in the Hint Encounters section of the Coigreach Explore Encounters page.
One of these hint wolves will suggest you explore in a biome that you have unlocked. Exploring in the given biome will result in a trinket encounter. The encounter you receive to collect the trinket piece will be randomized from the list available in the Trinket Encounters section of the Coigreach Explore Encounters page.
| You make your way back to Sirona and Quany with what you found while looking for clues: a small trinket that glows softly, emanating a dark energy.
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Quany is completely silent as he regards the object, taking what seems an incredibly long time to decide what he wants to say, before he lunges forward. He grabs you firmly by the scruff of your neck, forcing you down to the ground before you have a chance to even react.
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| You blink your eyes a few times, waiting for everything to settle. It seems the whole scene has changed. You're not with Sirona and Quany anymore. You're somewhere else entirely. Everything around you is strange to you... and yet... yet, it feels like home.
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You look down, smiling at the sight of the puppies nestled against you, nursing happily. Gosh, they feel so warm and fat.
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| Your sight blurs and twists, and suddenly it's darker in the cave and the other wolf is gone. The puppies are wailing and refusing to nurse as they attempt to waddle around on their poorly developed legs. They are no longer round and fluffy, and their weight hangs on their skinny frames. What happened to your beautiful babies? Why weren't they thriving? You curl yourself around them, attempting to keep them warm as best you can and encourage them to nurse. They continue to wail through the night.
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Before you can cry, everything fades out again. A loud sound rushes through your ears and you snap your eyes shut, willing it all to go away.
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| You splutter as you tell them both what you just experienced. It was like you were someone else, living a different life. It had started out so lovely, so gentle, and then changed so suddenly.
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"Fascinating," the elder murmurs, studying the trinket piece he'd previously forced you to touch with your nose, ignoring your question entirely.
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The story will continue on November 5th.
Part 2
Part 2
Storyline steps are listed in linear order, and are not sorted based on which path or choices you take. Clicking on a button in each step will allow you to quickly jump to the next step in the story, affected by the button you pressed.