You're disoriented...
You find yourself tied to a chair in a dimly lit room. From the wood paneled walls, you recognize this as the back room of the OUTPOST. The STRANGE OLD MAN stands over you.
"Thanks, Missy. You've done all the hard work for me. Now that you've collected all my materials, I finally have what I need to complete my work."
You ask him what he means.
"You see, the mysterious fall of all civilization on CORAS wans't caused by war, plague, or famine... No, nothing like that. It was caused by a powerful dark magic... a magic wholly incompatible with life. Nothin' that can be explained by you sciencey folks who keep poking around here."
"From what I understand, this magic came to CORAS following an asteroid impact on JAWEK and spread from there. It's like BLEACH. It just kills shit. Spending more than a few days around it seems to turn your bones to ash and guts to goop. Powerful stuff. In fact, I was amazed to find you still standing on ZEOTHAD. The others I've sent didn't make it that far."
I've heard that some people, a very rare kind of people, are immune to it. They called them the SA'AREVAI. Perhaps you are one of them..."
"Anyway, this infectious magic has remained more or less quarantined on CORAS. But now that you've collected unique samples of it on each planet, I can harness it. Use it wherever I please, and put it to damn good use... Any tyrannous civilization, any corrupt society... I can destroy all of them as I see fit. Sure, it'll kill me too - rot by bones from the inside out - but It's what needs to be done. A fresh start, you know? So thanks agan, Missy.
The STRANGE OLD MAN picks up your KNAPSACK and begins rifling through it. He picks up each item and places them on a table beside him: the FLYER, the MANDIBLE, the POEM, the NOTICE, and the DEBRIS.
You realize he missed the DAGGER, which was stowed in a side pocket.
"Just one moment, Missy," he says. " I need to gather my other tools."
the STRANGE OLD MAN walks out of the room. By this time, you've covertly untied the rope behind your back. You hear him grab something and begin approaching the room.