Who are you?
{
(link: "Rivas")[(set: $name to "Rivas")(set: $weapon to "dagger")(set: $runCap to 6)(goto: "start")] |
(link: "Ember")[(set: $name to "Ember")(set: $weapon to "dagger")(set: $runCap to 5)(goto: "start")] |
(link: "Gladiola")[(set: $name to "Gladiola")(set: $weapon to "hammer")(set: $runCap to 7)(goto: "start")] |
(link: "Pasiune")[(set: $name to "Pasiune")(set: $weapon to "spear")(set: $runCap to )(goto: "start")] |
(link: "Eponine")[(set: $name to "Eponine")(set: $weapon to "star-knife")(set: $runCap to 6)(goto: "start")] |
(link: "???")[(set: $name to "???")(goto: "start")]}
(set:$timer to 0)(set:$inventory to "[[Check Inventory->inv]]")
The cracked cobblestone path carved between buildings neglected by everything but time.
How long had you been walking? You twisted back your neck, the road winding a corner you didn't recall taking moments prior.
[[Turn Left->walk1]] | [[Turn Right->walk1]] | $inventory
What did you say?
{
(link: "My name is "+$name+", yours?")[(set: $convo to "name")(goto: "speakConvo")] |
(link: "Where is everyone else?")[(set: $convo to "people")(goto: "speakConvo")] |
(link: "We should leave this place...")[(set: $convo to "leave")(goto: "speakConvo")]
}
[[Nevermind. Walk in silence->walk3]]
Not just your footsteps.
Others joined you in your mute march, five of them.
(if: $name is not "Ember")[* A rogue-ish man.
](if: $name is not "Gladiola")[* A strong woman.
](if: $name is not "Pasiune")[* A frail woman.
](if: $name is not "Rivas")[* A scrawny, ragged man.
](if: $name is not "Eponine")[* A brunette woman.]
Wordlessly, you all walked the same path, none guiding the others. You had a strange but unmistakable feeling that you knew them, and that they knew toy.
[[Speak->speak]] | [[Keep Walking->walk3]] | $inventory
(click-append: "frail woman")[ She had pale skin and short, blonde hair. She seemed almost starved.]
(click-append: "almost starved.")[ Her left eye had a black tattoo over it. You could tell she knew you were staring.]
(click-append: "ragged man.")[ He was Varisian, with tan skin and brown locks.]
(click-append: "brown locks.")[ He kept looking over his shoulders, avoiding eye contact. What was wrong with you?]
You continue to walk aimlessly. You've been here before. You're certain of it.
This familiar, dim city had a strange, disturbing serenity to it. Orange clouds hung motionless in the enduring twilit sky.
This forgotten, lost city had a merciless silence, marred only by the sounds of footsteps.
[[Footsteps?->walk2]] | $inventory
(click-append: "aimlessly")[, vague memories of this place returning with each step.]
(click-append: "feeling.")[ Right?]
(click-append: "certain")[, but you cannot recall]
(click-replace: "You're certain, but you cannot recall")[No. No, you haven't. It was just a feeling].
Your pulse quickened, a pounding felt all over your body.
(link-reveal: "Your heart beated, quick and thunderous.")[ The blood within you pounded. Your hands trembled with (link-reveal: "each beat.")[ Your mind ached with each deafening throb.]]
(click-append: "deafening throb.")[
But it was not just within your mind. Thunderous footsteps, heavy and slow.
A fear, a choking fear, crawled up your throat, palpable and thick as the sickly yellow fog that curled into the alley.
The cloud tumbled through the street, swelling towards you, quickened as it was funnelled by the towering, gray brick buildings.
The footsteps grew louder, keeping pace with the careening, hungry wave.
Behind you, the alley split, curving to the left and right. Ahead of you, the yellow fog advanced.]
(display: "speakContents")
[[Try saying something else->speak]] | [[Nevermind. Walk in silence->walk3]]
(either: "You forgot what you were saying, trailing off in silence.", "You formed your thought before you spoke your words. When you began speaking, however, you couldn't recall what you prepared.", "Your words came quicker than your thoughts.")
{
(if: $convo is "name")["''$name is... My, umm... My...''"]
(if: $convo is "leave")["''We, umm... We should... We...''"]
(if: $convo is "people")["''Where, um... where... The, umm...''"]
}
As the cloud advanced, you held still.
(set:$timer to $timer+1)(display: "timer")
[[Fight]] | [[Check Inventory->inv]] | [[Flee]]
(if: $timer is 0)[The sickly, mustard cloud matched your pace, chasing you. While the booming footsteps behind you were slow and measured, they seemed no more distant as you fled.](if: $timer is 1)[Behind the yellow fog, a figure took shape. A thin, contorted outline of a twisted human. As the sounds of it's steps grew louder, the mist crawled closer, advancing on you.](if: $timer is 2)[The mist parted as it battered against you. A mask of gray, leathery rags emerged, constricting a face not quite human.
A mouth of sharpened, shattered teeth opened to a wide bloodied smile. The thin, twisting figure lurched forward, the gauzy, faded ribbons that bound it reaching towards you like tendrils.](if: $timer is 3)[The cloud consumed you.
The buildings faded away. The sky blotted yellow. All that the yellow fog left for you was the bandaged, inhuman creature with a sinister smile.]
Fear twisted you on your heel, forcing you back from whenst you came. You hardly noticed the others as your survival instinct took over. (set:$flee to 1)
The alley split, curving to the left and right. You couldn't remember which path you came from.
(link: "Flee: Left")[(set: $path1 to "left")(goto: "flee2")] | (link: "Flee: right")[(set: $path1 to "right")(goto: "flee2")]
(display: "timer")(set:$flee to 2)
The alley walls clawed outwards, battered bricks leaning over the path, nearly blotting out the twilight sky.
Again, the cobblestone alley split. One route curved uphill steeply, carving a trail between the crumbling, towering ruins that hung above. The other bent downhill, descending recklessly, the cobbled road broken up, stones loose.
(link: "Flee: Uphill")[(set: $path2 to "up")(goto: "flee3")] | (link: "Flee: Downhill")[(set: $path2 to "down")(goto: "flee3")] | [[Stand your ground->stand your ground 2]]
{
(if: $path2 is "up")[Bricks fall from high above you, shattering at your feet as you sprint. They cut into your skin like shrapnal, producing thin cuts across your legs.]
(if: $path2 is "down")[As the road dipped, you found yourself hardly able to keep from tripping on the stray cobblestones. As you sprinted down the hill, an avalanche of cobblestones followed, brusing your heels as tumbled.]
}
The yellow cloud trailed behind you, and a low laughter emanated from within it. (set:$flee to 3)
[[Keep Running]] | [[Stand your Ground->stand your ground 2]]
Your pace slowed, and you turned to face what chased you.
(set:$timer to $timer+1)(display: "timer")
[[Fight]]| [[Check Inventory->inv]] | [[Flee]]
You ran.
(either: "You didn't bother to look behind you.", "You nearly tripped on the poorly maintained road. The cloud almost engulfs you before you manage to pull ahead.", "You turned to the right, and the yellow cloud followed.", "You turned to the left, and the golden fog chased after you", "You felt almost out of breath, though you pressed onward.", "In the moment you take to look behind yourself, the fog gained on you. You ran as fast as you could.")(set: $run to $run+1)
In the fog behind you, whatever followed kept pace.(set:$flee to 4)
{(if: $runCap > $run)[ [[Keep Running]]]
(else:)[ [[Keep Running->tired]]] | [[Stand your ground->stand your ground 2]]}
While you couldn't remember what other belongings you had, you felt as though you had more when you checked yourself.
{
(if: $name is "Ember")[(display: "invEmber")]
(if: $name is "Gladiola")[(display: "invGladiola")]
(if: $name is "Pasiune")[(display: "invPasiune")]
(if: $name is "Rivas")[(display: "invRivas")]
(if: $name is "???")[(display: "inv???")]
}
* A dagger.
* A ring on your finger.
* A gold-tipped, iron rod.
* A flask, half empty.
(click-append: "half empty.")[ Whisky? Maybe it was half full then.]
(click-append: "ring on your finger.")[ Engraved was a coat of arms: a cardinal's profile over a shield of wings. You couldn't remember who it belonged to.]
(click-append: "iron rod.")[ A sunrod. If you survive until nightfall, it may come in handy.]
(click-append: "dagger.")[ The blade was shoddily sharpened, and seemed worn around the grip. This dagger has history, history you cannot remember.]
* A short-spear.
* An unlit torch.
* A bedroll.
(click-append: "short-spear.")[ The shaft was made of crooked wood. It wasn't crafted by a master.]
(click-append: "torch.")[ You had nothing to light it with. Should you survive until nightfall, it may prove useful.]
(click-append: "bedroll.")[ You weren't sleepy.]
* A dagger.
* Flint and steel.
* A waterskin.
* A coil of rope.
(click-append: "rope.")[ It was frayed, though otherwise functional.]
(click-append: "Flint and steel.")[ You had nothing you could light, however.]
(click-append: "waterskin.")[ Half empty. Your hands trembled too much to open it.]
(click-append: "dagger.")[ The blade is sharp, almost as if it was never used.]
* A Lucerne Hammer.
* A large wooden shield.
* A quiver of arrows.
(click-append: "Lucerne Hammer.")[ It rested comfortably on your shoulder. Wielding it felt //right//.]
(click-append: "wooden shield.")[ It was strapped to your back, and you doubt you could wield both the shield and your polearm.]
(click-append: "arrows.")[ You hadn't a way to fire them, however.]
* A single star-knife.
(click-append: "star-knife.")[ While perhaps unwieldy in most hands, you had a strange comfort with this weapon.]
You couldn't run any longer. As you gasped for air, the footsteps from the yellow fog grew louder than your roaring heartbeat.
You quickly drew your $weapon, nearly fumbling and dropping it on the ground.
(set$timer to $timer+1)(display: "timer")
[[Check Inventory->inv]] | [[Fight->fightTired]] | Flee
(click-replace: "Flee")[You couldn't run any longer.]
You drew your $weapon, fighting against the fear that told you to flee.
{ [[Fight]]|
(if: $flee)|
[[Check Inventory->inv]
(set: $timer to $timer+1)
(if: $timer < 4)[(display: $timer)
(either: "With your dwindling strength, you swung your $weapon at the creature.", "You stabbed at the fog weakly with your $weapon.", "Your $weapon swept recklessly." )
(either: "The fog curled with your attack, though the creature hardly twisted to avoid your it. It's smile widened.", "You struck the nightmarish figure, though your blow seemed to not affect it.", "With surprising speed, the twisted figure grabbed your arm, and stopped your attack. It merely pushed you back.")
It seemed to be playing a perverse game with you. It took a slow step forward.
[[Fight->fightTired]] | Flee
(click-replace: "Flee")[You couldn't run any longer.] | [[Check Inventory->inv]]]