That's Not My Crown

(set: $catchphrase to 'That is //not// my Crown!') One day, while you're taking a nature hike down the road from the apartment you share, the wind begins blowing slightly and you immediately grip your skirt to keep it from flapping. In the distance, you see an old woman running towards you as fast as she can, holding out a crown towards you as if you had dropped it. (print: $catchphrase) [[Accept crown]] [[Run away]] [[Push the frail sweet old woman]] (set: $goodEndReady to 'true')(set: $hasCat to 'false')(set: $hasSword to 'false')(set: $hasCrown to 'false')(set: $hasGhost to 'false')(set: $location to 'path')(set: $playerAge to 'young')

The old woman places the crown on your head. Suddenly, you see her transform into an young maiden, and you realize that you yourself have transformed into an old woman - having gained over one hundred years in age in just a few seconds! ##### She Tricked you! You also find that you cannot remove the crown no matter how hard you try. What do you do? [[Embrace]] your new age and settle down, or seek to [[pass on|Pass on]] the crown, and the curse with it?

You race away from the scary crowned woman. Find yourself in a clearing with a clear small pond in the middle. Sunlight filters through the trees. Something sparkles at the bottom of the water. [[Get the item|Get Sword]] [[Continue Running]]

(set: $hasGhost to 'true') (if: $location is 'pond')[As she falls into the pond, the crown rolls off to land at your feet.] (if: $location is 'path')[As she falls onto the ground, the crown rolls off to land at your feet.] She doesn't move again, which is strange, considering you didn't push her all that hard. Suddenly the wind picks up and a spirit rises out of her corpse. [[Pick up the crown and run|Path]] [[Wait here at the $location|Wait here]]

You remain old, but lively, yet fear that your girlfriend will no longer accept you. You roam the world for a few months, before returning home. She recognizes you immediately, and while she is stunned silent and is surprised, she also loves you enough to accept you despite what happened to her. You pass away two years later, held by your loving partner. The End Replay from [[Start]]

You quest to pass on the crown with no success, wandering lonely across the earth. You pass away a few years later, lonely and unable to find a purpose in life. Game Over Replay from [[Start]] ?

At the bottom of the pool is a shimmering blade with a jeweled handle. You reach into the crystal clear water, shivering at the cool temperature and draw the Sword back to the edge of the pool. (set: $hasSword to 'true') (if: $hasSword is 'true')[It is shiny and heavy, but looks very sharp.] That said, the woman has caught up with you. (print: $catchphrase) [[Fight the woman at the pond|fight woman at the pond]]. [[Run|run]], you coward. [[Accept the crown|Accept crown]] from the woman. [[Hear her out]].

(if: $playerAge is 'young')[You run until your legs cramp up and take several heaving breaths leaning against a gnarled tree.] (if: $playerAge is 'old')[Unfailiar with your newfound old age, you find yourself growing weary faster than before. You take some heavy, exhasperated breaths.] A voice pipes up from above 'Hey quiet down, some of us are napping'. [[Find the source|Meet Cat]] [[Defiantly breathe louder|Meet angry Cat]]

(set: $location to 'pond') You turn with the sword and menace the woman. Her eyes widen with fear and she steps backwards towards the water. Suddenly, she slips on a wet rock and tumbles into the pond, as if you [[pushed her.|Push the frail sweet old woman]]

Didn't your mother ever tell not to run with a sword? [[Yes|Get Sword]] [[No|Trip and Fall]]

You decide to listen to the old woman who keeps trying to place the crown on your head. She explains that the crown is cursed, and that she is actually a young maid who's been cursed by the crown. She believes that the only way she can be rid of the curse is by passing the crown onto someone else. Do you [[believe her]] that this is the only way? Or do you think that [[there has to be another way]]?

"Thanks for quieting down. You're actually fairly respectful for a human. I used to be respectful, but now that I'm a cat I can't help but see all humans as selfish and obnoxious." A cat jumps down in front of you and circles around you. You become confused about why a cat is around when you're searching for the source of the noise, before you realize that the cat is the one speaking to you. "What's the matter? Never seen a cat speak to you?" ...it doesn't really make too much sense, but apparently the cat is...talking to you. Do you [[meow at it disbelievingly]], or do you [[respond to it in English]]?

"Well EXCUSE ME, we don't ALL have to breathe obnoxiously here!" A cat jumps down in front of you and circles around you. You become confused about why a cat is around when you're searching for the source of the noise, before you realize that the cat is the one speaking to you. "Oh, NOW you're silent?! Come on, we need to focus if we're going to get any headway through your thick skull. Can you even understand me? Do? You? Speak? English?" ...it doesn't really make too much sense, but apparently the cat is...talking to you. Do you [[meow at it disbelievingly]], or do you [[respond to it in English]]?

You, in your typical clumsy manner, trip and fall down. In the time that it takes you to get back up and reclaim the sword that fell several feet away from you, the woman catches up to you and [[places the crown on your head|Accept crown]].

You belive her - after all, she would know more than you would about her own curse! However, having no other ideas, you resign yourself to that fact. Do you [[accept the crown|Accept crown]] ((print: $catchphrase)), or do you try to [[run away from her again]]?

(set: $playerAge to 'old') You don't beleive for one second that the curse has to be permanent - would that make for a good adventure, after all? You ask the old woman to help you uncover the truth behind the curse, but before you can finish she has put the crown on your head and run. (set: $hasCrown to 'true') Suddenly you age many years, while the woman running away returns to being a young maid, as she had said. Angry and indignant, you set forth at as fast a pace as you are able, (if: $hasSword is 'true')[with your shiny sword,] and you move [[into the woods|Continue Running]].

Unfortunately, she's already right there next to you and you've tried to run away from her enough already. She successfully [[gives you the crown|Accept crown]]. (print: $catchphrase)

The cat scoffs at you and runs away, leaving you alone. In your confusion, the woman catches up to you, and [[gives you the crown|Accept crown]] from behind your back. (print: $catchphrase)

(set: $hasCat to 'true') "Ah. Glad to have someone actually understand me and believe me! It's so shockingly rare these days. Humans, right? Regardless, we must go. (if: $playerAge is 'old')[I see that you've recently aged. No doubt thanks to that crown that my ex-wife gave you.] I'll travel alongside you - the next place in your path is east, where a [[tall, foreboading wall|The Wall]] will guard your path."

(set: $location to 'wall') You can go no further, there is a 10foot stone wall, covered in vines blocking your way. There is an [[Iron door]] with no knob or handle. You think you might be able to open it from the other side. There is a [[small gap]] near the bottom, barely visible. A small animal might be able to fit through. Would you try to [[climb the vines]]? The wall looks slippery.

It's a tall, iron wall. (if: $hasGhost is 'false')[You can't find a doorknob or any way to open it, and kicking it yields no results. Perhaps you should [[turn back|The Wall]].](if: $hasGhost is 'true')[The ghost of the young maiden passes through the wall and opens the door for you. When you ask her how, she simply shrugs and says "magic." You trust her and move onto the [[Circle of Ash]] trees that surround a mysterious dias.

You kneel down closer to the crack, and see part of an old stone dais in a circle of ash trees. This must be where you need to go. Too bad it's on the other side of the wall. (if: $hasCat is 'false')[Unfortunately, you cannot fit, and you have no other ideas as to how to reach the other side. Try [[another method|The Wall]]?] (if: $hasCat is 'true')[You get a ton of cat tail in your face as he slips through the crack and dissapears from view. A large clanking sound tells you that the door is now unlocked. You step back and see the cat pushing the door open a sliver. [[Enter through the door|Circle of Ash]]]

(if: $playerAge is 'old')[You attempt to climb the vines, but seem to have forgotten the curse that //literally aged you over one hundred years//. After managing to climb up roughly three or four inches, you fall down. The cat walks over to you as you lie on your back, saying "Perhaps...you should try to think of [[another way|The Wall]]."] (if: $playerAge is 'young')[You try to climb up the vines, trying to fight the slipperiness of the wall itself. Roughly halfway up the wall, your foot slips and you fail to keep ahold of the wall. You can try again, but perhaps you will be more fruitful with [[another method|The Wall]].]

(if: $hasCat is 'true')[You have the cat.] (if: $hasCat is 'false')[Unfortunately, you do not have the cat.] (if: $hasSword is 'true')[You have the sword.] (if: $hasSword is 'false')[Unfortunately, you do not have the sword.] (if: $hasCrown is 'true')[You have the crown.] (if: $hasCrown is 'false')[Unfortunately, you do not have the crown.] (if: $hasCat is 'false')[(set: $goodEndReady to 'false')] (if: $hasSword is 'false')[(set: $goodEndReady to 'false')] (if: $hasCrown is 'false')[(set: $goodEndReady to 'false;)] (if: $goodEndReady is 'true')[[[Break the Curse Forever|Win]]]

You enter a mysterious circle of ash trees, with a conspicuous dais in the middle. You approach it slowly, (if: $hasCat is 'false')[however you are unable to determine what to do with it. The spirit of the maiden says that you need ginger fur and a sword in order to break the crown at the dais and destroy the curse forever. Unfortunately, you have no idea what to do next. GAME OVER. [[Try again?|Start]]](if: $hasCat is 'true')[and your furry companion jumps up onto the dais. He explains to you that if he sheds onto your sword (???), it will infuse the sword with a magical power which will allow you to destroy the curse once and for all. While he has not yet led you astray, this seems to be the weirdest thing he has asserted yet. Do you [[trust him|Good Ending Start]] or do you [[question him|Cat Runs Away Angrily]]?]

You run away from the spirit of the young woman, but as you need to stop and heave to catch your breath, she catches up to you. "You idiot!," she shouts, "I'm bound to you now until you free me of this curse!" You raise an eyebrow. "Look. That crown aged me over one hundred years, and I was trying to pass the curse on to you. You must break it forever. There's a dias where you must lay it down and strike it with a sword! I can't help you with the sword, but I can lead you [[to the dias|The Wall]].

The young spirit approaches you, terrifying you but leaving you curious enough to hear her out. "You idiot!," she shouts, "I'm bound to you now until you free me of this curse!" You raise an eyebrow. "Look. That crown aged me over one hundred years, and I was trying to pass the curse on to you. You must break it forever. There's a dias where you must lay it down and strike it with a sword! I can't help you with the sword, but I can lead you [[to the dias|The Wall]].

"You trusted me this far. You trusted that I was once a human, that I was married to a woman, and that I'm a //talking cat//, and yet you won't trust that the curse needs my fur to undo? Well forget you, I'm going to go take a nap. Good luck reversing the spell without me, chump." The cat runs away before you can react, and you are sat there with a (if: $playerAge is 'young')[crown, a sword, and nothing left to your name. You sit and reflect on your choices, and wonder where you went wrong. [[Play Again?|Start]]](if: $playerAge is 'old')[crown on your head, over one hundred more years to your age, and you feel more exhuasted than you've ever felt before in your life. Maybe you should just close your eyes... [[Play Again?|Start]]]

--- ==> ###### A 2015 CodeChix Madison Game Jam Game. ###### Find out more at codechixgamejam.wordpress.com ###### Made by: Syrenne McNulty (4 Corner Games), ###### Brianna & Stacie Arellano.

You sprinkle some of the cat's fur on the sword. Suddenly the sword seems to grow twice as heavy, and you use every last ounce of your strength to swing it at the crown, which is laid flat on the dias. As soon as it strikes, you feel your energy spike, and you realize that you have regained your youth! ### The Curse is Broken! You turn to the cat, which is disinterested and chasing a bird. You question if anything that happened today actually happened, but you decide not to give it too much thought. You return home, tell your girlfriend about it before she simply raises an eyebrow at you. You sigh and lay down in bed, hoping that tomorrow won't be so...peculiar. THE END. Replay from [[Start]]?

##### __________ \&&&/ ##### That's Not My Crown! ---