The Spine

**The Spine** is a mysterious library is in an unknown location and the home to Binder. Inside, it is home to many clocks, and as the name suggests, books. This location is highly interactive, with even the stacks of books being interactive.

## Main Area

Being a library, the room contains several bookshelves and book towers with more books laying on tables. The floor is made of wooden planks with clocks hanging off of the walls. In addition, there are several tables on both sides of the room with scattered notes, jars, and terrariums on top. Lastly at the very top of the room, there is a grandfather clock, serving as a portal to the Trial Between Worlds.

### Exits

* Binder: Leads to Trial Between Worlds by using the grandfather clock.

### Interactive Objects

* Ledger
* Small Dog Figurine
* Sock
* Wooden box containing Binder's Apple

## Interaction Map

Main Area

* Yellow: Interactive Objects
* Green: Obtainable Objects
* Blue: Exits / Doors
* Orange: Interactive NPC

## Object Dialog

- Show / Hide -

> This section or article contains spoilers about Heartbound's content or story.

The bookshelves near the Ledger read:

"*At the spine of the world a Guardian perceives every page simultaneously. Guardians can move freely between these pages to record any and all events. The flood of information brought on by the power of the spine can be overwhelming.*"
"*A Guardian may only change events on a given page if the presence of an anomaly is detected. Without such an anomaly the Guardian passes through a page unnoticed and invisible to inhabitants. Living as ghosts the Guardians wait and watch over the pages of creation.*"
"*Anomalies can manifest in many different forms at any given place or time within a page. As the anomaly progresses, aspects of the page may become corrupted. The results of this corruption are highly unstable and impact each host differently.*"
"*Darksiders are born from anomalies in the early stages of corruption. These creatures are twisted manifestations of the original inhabitants of the page. The hosts mind and features are altered drastically as the corruption takes hold.*"
The bookshelves at the top of the room read:

"*This entire bookcase was carved out of a single block of wood. You can't even read the books!*"
"*A shiny crisp apple sits on the shelf. It seems stuck in place by some unknown force.*"
"*An old dark carrot lays in a terrarium on the shelf. The label says... 'BREAK GLASS IN CASE OF GOBLIN'. Weird... Why would a goblin need a carrot?*"
On the table above Binder's Apple, there are two stacked books.

"*A few books sit on the table.*" or "*Little brown book... Big red book!*"
The seven Booktowers scattered throughout the upper section of the room read:

"*A small pile of books.*" or "*A baby booktower. It's cute!*"
"*A pile of books.*" or "*Mama booktower guards her young.*"
"*A pile of books.*" or "*Pap pap booktower stands strong.*"
"*A medium pile of books.*" or "*Brother booktower hides behind his mama.*"
"*A large pile of books.*" or "*Uncle booktower is being shady.*"
"*A large pile of books.*" or "*Auntie book tower is spying on uncle booktower.*"
"*A large pile of books.*" or "*Grandfather booktower guards his family from the north.*"
Located halfway up the room on the left is a book whose dialog changes based on the player's actions so far.

"*The leatherbound tome shifts away when you reach for it.*"
"*The tome churrs quietly. Looks like it's warming up to you!*"
"*The tome ~~churrs quietly.~~ growls angrily.*"
"*The tome growls angrily.*"
The book near the top of the room on left has 10 possible pieces of dialog. It is unknown how its dialog is determined.

"*The pristine red book is sealed shut.*"
"*The dull red book lets out a belch when you try to open it.*"
"*The terrified red book screams at your touch.*"
"*The impetuous red book bursts into flame when you come near. It doesn't appear to be damaged.*"
"*The otherworldly red book fills you with a sense of unease as you come near it.*"
"*The bright red book tries to gobble up your hand.*"
"*The squeamish red book emits a small cry when you try to open it.*"
"*The ghostly red book blips out of existence and then back again when you try to touch it.*"
"*The stubborn red book is hot to the touch and refuses to open.*"
"*The haggard red book howls with rage when you come near.*"
The larger terrariums each contain a large stick. Their dialog changes based on the order they are talked to.

"*There's a terrarium with a large stick placed in the center.*"
"*It's just a stick.*" or "*Agnes is looking good today.*"
"*Another stick...*" or "*Just a stick is looking good today.*"
There are also two pairs of smaller terrariums within the room.

"*Terrariums with sticks in them.*", "*The twin terrariums each have a stick placed in the center.*", or "*The twin terrariums each have their own baby stickling.*"
On one of the tables, there is a plant. Next to it, there are some empty jars.

"*It's thriving despite the humble arrangement.*" or "*It's struggling to survive in the meager soil.*"
"*A bunch of empty jars.*" or "*A very faint mist swirls in one of the jars.*"
On the table next to the Ledger, there are scattered papers written in Guardian.

"*Papers in a strange runic text litter the table.*"
When translated, they read:

WHERE ARE THE OTHERS
AM I REALLY ALONE HERE
I NEED MORE PAGES
There are a few other miscellaneous notes and books scattered around the room.

"*These books are glued together... You can't even pick them up!*"
"*An open book.*" or "*It's some kind of cookbook?*"
"*A few books and scattered papers. A strange research paper... 'How to Prepare a Dwarf In a Jar'* "
"*A few books and scattered papers. Research papers focusing on the breeding habits of sticks... What...?*"

## Trivia

* Both of the sticks in the large terrariums are called 'Agnes'.

## References

1. ↑ https://clips.twitch.tv/SlickSmoggyCucumberMcaT