The game takes place in a country that has been almost completely destroyed by monsters, collectively referred to as "Marshbeasts" that came out of the marsh in the southeast. They still roam the natural areas and frequently attack people who leave the cities. Multiple towns and villages have been leveled, and the only safe places remaining are the major cities, which are far apart.
The Marshbeasts typically leave the trains alone, so the country heavily relies on the railway system for trade and transport. There are relatively few trains and operators for the distances, each city only gets a single train stop every 3-4 weeks. They take a maximum of 6 passengers per train, but they rarely get even half that.
Fennel (you) is an apothecary who lives in a mid-sized northern city. They are currently working with Doctor Clement Thorne researching a cure, or at least treatment, for the fatal illness caused by a specific type of Marshbeast. The disease has already killed most of the initial survivors of an attack on a neighboring town.
The two of them have identified several plants or substances with potential for treatments, but unfortunately none that could be obtained nearby had any significant effects. They decide it would be best for Fennel to travel across the country to find the remaining reagents, test them, and report the results back. They communicate their findings and experiences with Dr. Thorne over relayed radio messages, since they travel much faster than letters.
Gameplay
The game is an RPG, but with much less focus on combat. I haven't decided how the standard encounters will work, whether they're random or closer to Earthbound's style with visible enemies. Ingredient gathering and potion making are important mechanics for combat, quests, and the main story. Hopefully I'll be able to work out the puzzle "boss fights" I have in mind, too.
Ingredients are gathered from several sources. Most frequently they are found outside, but they can also be found in shops or obtained from the wilderness outside of cities.
Potion making is done through menus, but more complicated potions (for quests) or alchemy experiments (for the main story) have a minigame involved. I haven't decided entirely how those will work either, I haven't played around enough with the engine to know what's possible... The concepts I have right now are either something like Cooking Mama minigames (which I'm reasonably sure I can do) or a rhythm game (MUCH harder I assume...)
Conclusion
This post has gone on long enough, I think. There's a lot more that isn't mentioned here but I figure this should be enough to start with. Character info and portraits can be found on Fennel's page on the main site.
It'll be my first real project, so I hope it goes well.