Harbours and boatkeepers
More guidesMeet the friendly skipper on every pier, sail the honey-wood ferry to any shore with a story on the way, and carry little parcels from harbour to harbour.
All aboard!
The sail fills, the pier slides away, and an old sailor at the wheel starts telling you about the land ahead. A few breaths later a new shore rises out of the sea. Every land in the valley has a harbour, and every harbour has a boatkeeper waiting to take you there.
The boats
Every harbour keeps a family of boats in warm honey-coloured wood:
| Boat | Where | What it is like |
|---|---|---|
| The Ferry | moored at the end of every harbour's pier | six cushioned seats, a wheelhouse, a cream sail with an orange band, a carved bird at the bow with a lantern under its beak, and a pennant in its land's colour |
| The Skiff | on the other side of the pier | the boatkeeper's own little boat: two seats and a triangle sail with a teal band |
| The Rowboat | beside the piers of seaside towns | round and cosy, with two cushions, oars in their locks and a bow lantern |
The lanterns light up at dusk. You can walk on the ferry's deck while it's moored: there is a gap in its rope rail on the pier side.
The boatkeepers
Walk to the end of a pier and you'll find its boatkeeper: a friendly gator sailor in a cream cap and a red neckerchief. Press E to talk. You can:
- Take a trip: pick any other land and sail there (see below).
- Ask about errands: the boatkeepers are one big family, and they like to send each other little gifts. Carry one and you are thanked with 25 orange coins and some XP (about 250, more as you grow).
- Hear their story: each one has a tale of their own, and a lesson tucked inside it.
- Ask how trips work.
| Harbour | Boatkeeper | Their errand |
|---|---|---|
| Riverside Harbour | Skipper Wade | a letter for his sister Rowan |
| Autumn Woods | Skipper Rowan | a jar of maple honey for Fern |
| Glowcap Hollow | Skipper Fern | a pressed glowcap flower for Moss |
| Primeval Isle | Skipper Moss | a footprint sketch for Sol |
| Sunscorch Desert | Skipper Sol | a pouch of sweet dates for Nell |
| Frostlands | Skipper Nell | a hand-knitted scarf for Flint |
| Ember Wastes | Skipper Flint | roasted chestnuts for Bea |
| Zombie Land | Skipper Bea | a new lantern glass for Bruno |
| Dragonfire Isle | Skipper Bruno | a thank-you letter for Wade |
You carry one parcel at a time. Every errand goes to the next harbour round the circle, and the last one comes all the way home.
The guided sail
- Choose Take a trip, or press E at the moored ferry. The list shows every other land, its creature levels, how far it is and the fare.
- The fare is 5 orange coins, plus 1 more for every 100 m of sea.
- Then you're on deck. The ferry sails into the new harbour for about 28 seconds while the boatkeeper steers and tells you one story or fact about the land ahead. The camera watches from the water, then joins you on deck.
- The ferry comes alongside the new pier, and you step off.
White water curls off the bow and trails behind the hull as the ferry glides in, and it settles when you come alongside. Friends standing near the harbour see your ferry sail in with you on deck.
Every harbour keeps a wide stretch of open water, even in the Frostlands and the Ember Wastes: the ice and the lava crust stop short of the pier, so the ferry always floats on real water.
Nothing can hurt you while you sail. In a hurry? Press E or Space to skip to the end.
A land whose creatures start more than 10 levels above you is locked: the list shows the level you need, and the boatkeeper won't sail there yet. A refused trip costs nothing. You can't set sail in the middle of a fight.
Pick up an errand before every trip. The parcel goes to the very next harbour, so the coins from the errand often pay for the ride, and you meet a new boatkeeper with a new story.
Where next
Walk to your home harbour and say hello to Skipper Wade: his letter to Rowan is a good first trip once you can visit the Autumn Woods. Read about the lands themselves in Continents and danger, other ways to travel in Getting around, and animal friends, and what your coins can buy in Orange coins: earning and spending.