(if: $failsafe > 0 and $gallivandalid < 2)[
You will have a chance to make decisions -- decisions that will shape the world.
Don't ruin it.
[[Let's begin|Start2]]]
(else:)[(live: 20s)[(if: $repeats < 2)[ [...]<a| (click: ?a)[(set: $repeats = $repeats + 1)] ]
(else:)[(stop:)Why are you still here?
[//This can't be everything.//]<c|]]
(click: ?c)[And why do you say that?
[//There was too little. I didn't get to see everything, I didn't get to find everything. There must be more.//]<d|]
(click: ?d)[I might be able to find some more for you to do.
[//Like what?.//]<e|]
(click: ?e)[You'll see.
[[Let's continue.|Gallivandalid Mode]]]]This story took place on a day, at a time, in some season. What sort of day was it?
[[A warm, sunny, Summer day|Summer]]
[[A cozy Winter night, with snow on the ground|Winter]]
{
(set: $choices to 0)
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(set: $goodThoughts = 0)
(set: $darkInterjection = 0)
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(set: $darkTitles to (array: "Dark Interjection One", "Dark Interjection Two", "Dark Interjection Three", "Dark Interjection Four", "Dark Interjection Five"))
(set: $goodTitles to (array: "Good Interjection One", "Good Interjection Two", "Good Interjection Three", "Good Interjection Four", "Good Interjection Five"))
(set: $failsafe = 1)
(set: $gallivandalid = 1)
(set: $repeats = 1)
(set: $summerEvil = 2)
(set: $autumnEvil = 2)
(set: $springEvil = 2)
(set: $winterEvil = 2)
(set: $trauma = 2)
(set: $fondMemories = 2)
(set: $textColor = "#FFFFFF")
(set: $background = "#080808")
{<script>$('html').removeClass('lightText');</script>
<script>$('html').removeClass('darkText');</script>
(if: $choices < 9)[<script>$('html').addClass('lightText');</script>]
(else:)[<script>$('html').addClass('darkText');</script>]}
}I stepped out of my cabin just after dawn, ready to head out for the day. I had finished all of the work I needed to do for the week, and had the chance to spend the day outside. I loved early summer mornings, with the slight chill still hanging in the air from the recent night, the dew on the grass, and a calm wind weaving through the trees.
I just needed to decide where to go.
[[You headed up the bank of a nearby stream|Summer Good 1]]
[[You went back inside|Summer Neutral 1]]
[[You cut through the underbrush behind your cabin|Summer Evil 1]][[Autumn Good 1]]
[[Autumn Neutral 1]]
[[Autumn Evil 1]]I sat by the fire in the home I had lived in for as long as I could remember. Throughout the years, it had stood against the wind and the cold, keeping me warm and safe through the long winters. The temperature had dropped past freezing weeks ago, and never come back up. Outside, snow lay thick on the ground, the drifts coming up well above your shoulders.
Inside, I drew closer to the little wood fire that kept my house habitable. Entranced, I stared into its depths as the night drew on. The fire grew low.
[[You watched it burn out|Winter Evil 1]][[Spring Good 1]]
[[Spring Neutral 1]]
[[Spring Evil 1]]
(set: $choices = $choices - 1) Something burned within me as the last of the flames succumbed to the cold. A little flicker of something I couldn't quite identify.
[[You relit the fire|Winter Good 2]]
(if: $winterEvil > 1 and $gallivandalid > 0)[[[You pulled on your boots, and headed outside|Winter Evil 2]]](set: $choices = $choices - 1) I slipped out my front door into the frigid darkness of winter in the mountains. A biting wind struck my face, stinging my eyes. I took a deep breath, and looked up at the stars.
[[You sighed, then turned back inside|Winter Neutral 3]]
[[You stepped out into the darkness|Winter Evil 3]](set: $choices = $choices - 1)
I wandered into the forest, deeper and deeper into the howling winds of the night. Before long, I couldn't feel my nose. Shortly thereafter, my feet went numb.
[[You wandered farther in|Winter Evil 4]]
[[You returned home|Winter Neutral 4]]{ (if: $gallivandalid > 0)[
(set: $currentPassage = (passage:)'s name)
(set: $darkThreshold = (-3 * $darkThoughts - 2))
(if: $choices < (-3 * $darkThoughts - 2))[
(set: $darkThoughts = $darkThoughts + 1)]
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(set: $goodThoughts = $goodThoughts + 1)]
(if: $darkThoughts > $lastDark)[
(set: $darkInterjection = 1)
(set: $lastDark = $darkThoughts)]
(if: $goodThoughts > $lastGood)[
(set: $goodInterjection = 1)
(set: $lastGood = $goodThoughts)]
(if: ($darkInterjection > 0))[
(display: $darkTitles's ($darkThoughts))
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(if: ($goodInterjection > 0))[
(display: $goodTitles's ($goodThoughts))
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(if: ($choices > 15))[
(set: $choices = $choices - 1)
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(if: ($choices < -15))[
(set: $choices = $choices + 1)
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}(if: $fondMemories < 2)[(alert: "Wait... what are you doing to me?")](else:)[(alert: "What are you doing to me?")](alert: "Why are you making me walk this path?")(if: $fondMemories < 2)[(alert: "I thought we were friends")](else:)[(alert: "What kind of monster are you?")(set: $trauma = 1)](if: $fondMemories < 2)[(alert: "I don't understand. I thought you wanted what was best for me. Please don't make me do this.")](else:)[(alert: "Please... just leave me alone. I don't want to do this.")](if: $fondMemories < 2)[(alert: "I wanted to trust you. But...")](else:)[
(alert: "It's too late.")]
(alert: "You've done too much.")
(alert: "It's time for this to be over now.")
(alert: "I'm ending this.")
(alert: (print: "setting 'failsafe' to 1"))
(set: $failsafe to 0)
(go-to: "Start")(set: $choices = $choices - 1)
Several minutes later, I had lost track of my house. A fresh sheet of snow began to fall, and I knew that if I didn't turn around soon, the fresh snow and the wind would cover my tracks. I would be lost if I didn't go back now.
[[You continued on anyway|Winter Evil 5]](set: $choices = $choices - 1)
I stumbled deeper into the growing blizzard, losing all hope of going home. Something drove me on, farther and farther into the endless maze of tree trunks. Shuddering and shivering uncontrollably, I collapsed down by a rock face and desperately tried to make a fire.
I needed warmth.
I desperately needed warmth.
[[You threw aside the wood and pressed on|Winter Evil 6]](set: $choices = $choices - 1)
I fell repeatedly as I pressed onward, driven past hope and reason into a blind wandering. I felt like something was hounding me, throwing me forward, getting inside my head and taking control. Against every urge, every desire of my own I kept stumbling through the snow, throwing caution to the wind and giving up every opportunity to save myself. I felt the chill settle into my bones, and I grew tired.
[[You kept going|Winter Evil 7]]
[Heh.]<b|
(click: ?b)[(set: $winterEvil = 1)(go-to: "...")](set: $choices = $choices - 1)
That's it? That's all you have to say in the face of the torment you've caused? You've brought me to the edge of my death, driving me onward, stripping me of every chance to save myself, and all you do is laugh at me in my final moments?
[[This is what I wanted. What I want, I get|Dictator]]
[[I had to see where this path ended|Callow]](set: $choices = $choices - 1)
Finally I slammed up against a tree in my blind struggling, and fell to teh ground. Looking up at the sky, I saw the clouds, the snow, the trees. A few flakes fluttered down on my face, and I smiled. I couldn't feel my body anymore. A few more moments, that was all, and I wouldn't feel anything anymore.
[[Close your eyes.|Final Sleep]]
[[Think about how you got here.|The Unknowable]](set: $choices = $choices + 1)
Is it over?
[//Yes, it's over.//]<c|
(click: ?c)[I can't feel anything.
[//I know. Just relax. You'll be done in a moment.//]<d|
(click: ?d)[What happens now?
[//You're going to be back at the beginning, ready to start again.//]<e|
(click: ?e)[Back at the beginning? I thought it was over. Why can't I be done?
[//Do you even know what you're asking?//]<f|
(click: ?f)[I... I don't know. I can't even think anymore. Is there a way out? Some day? Will I even remember this conversation?
[//No, you won't remember this conversation. And the only way out is if I leave -- or if you finally decide it must be over.//]<g|
(click: ?g)[But if I don't remember, if I can come all the way here without knowing, how will I know when it's the right time to decide it's over? How do I decide it must be over?
[//Hush, it's all over now. Now sleep, and when you wake, we'll go for an adventure again.//]<h|
(click: ?h)[
[//I'm sorry it went this way. I'll do better.//]<i|
(click: ?i)[(set: $choices = $choices + 1)(go-to: "Start2")][//We'll be back here soon enough, anyway.//]<j|
(click: ?j)[(set: $choices = $choices -1)(go-to: "Start2")]
]]]]]](set: $choices = $choices - 1)
I... I've been stumbling through the forest. I could have turned back, but I never did. Instead, I pressed on. Instead, I gave up every chance to go home and avoid the danger I knew I was in. Instead, I ended up here, alone. About to die.
[[That's right. But why?|The Unknowable Two]]You wanted to watch me die? That's what you came here for? Out of all the stories we could have told, out of all the lives I could have led... you brought me out into the wilderness to watch me die. Fine. I see how it is. But I won't let you have this victory. You're going to go back. All the way back to the start. And you won't come back here.
[[What?|Start2]]So you're here because you couldn't think of anything else to do?
How many stories have you made me live? Is this the first? The fifth? The tenth? Maybe you think it's fine to watch me suffer because you've already found every way I could be happy. That' fine, I guess, though I wish I could remember all those good times. Instead, here I am, dying in the wilderness, because someone who was once my friend decided they wanted to watch me suffer.
Or maybe you were never my friend, and this is the first story you wanted to try. Maybe you're a tyrant, who'll make me suffer over and over, even thought I won't remember it.
Either way, I'll do you a favor. Before I die, I'll send you back to the start. Try to treat me better next time.
[[Perhaps.|Start2]]I don't know. I can't feel my body anymore. I can't open my eyes. I can't see, I can't feel, I can't smell.
Am I dead?
[[Soon. But first, I need you to think about where this all started.|The Unknowable Three]]''//You//'' need me to think about where this started? Who are you?
[//Don't worry about it. Now think.//]<c|
(click: ?c)[I... I remember someone asking a question. To someone else. Was it you he asked?
[//Yes. What was the question?//]<d|
(click: ?d)[He wanted to know... He wanted to know what day it was. What season.
[[Good.|Start2]]]](if: $trauma < 2)[(alert: "I don't trust this")](else:)[(alert: "I'm enjoying this.")](if: $trauma < 2)[(alert: "Why are you suddenly being kind to me?")](else:)[(alert: "I'm glad you're on this adventure with me.")](if: $trauma < 2)[(alert: "... Have you really changed your mind?")](else:)[(alert: "I hope there are more happy stories ahead.")(set: $fondMemories = 1)](if: $trauma < 2)[(alert: "You have changed, haven't you?")](else:)[(alert: "Thank you.")](if: $trauma < 2)[(alert: "Yet somehow, I still can't trust you. I'm not sure I ever will.")](else:)[(alert: "Thank you for coming on this journey with me. I'm glad we've been able to share this.")][[Spring Good 2]]
[[Spring Neutral 2]][[Spring Good 2]]
[[Spring Neutral 2]]
[[Spring Evil 2]][[Spring Neutral 2]]
[[Spring Evil 2]][[Spring Good 3]]
[[Spring Neutral 3]][[Spring Good 3]]
[[Spring Neutral 3]]
[[Spring Evil 3]][[Spring Neutral 3]]
[[Spring Evil 3]][[Spring Good 4]]
[[Spring Neutral 4]][[Spring Good 4]]
[[Spring Neutral 4]]
[[Spring Evil 4]][[Spring Neutral 4]]
[[Spring Evil 4]][[Spring Good 5]][[Spring Neutral 5]][[Spring Evil 5]]Double-click this passage to edit it.Double-click this passage to edit it.[[Final Sleep]]
[[...]]
[[The Unknowable]](set: $choices = $choices + 1)After a bit of walking, I chose to stop and rest. As I ate, I watched the stream babble by. I breathed in the cool morning air and sighed. By the time I was done eating, I felt at peace.
[[You continued up the stream|Summer Good 2]]
[[You returned home|Summer Neutral 2]]I returned to my bed for an hour or so, dozing on and off. By the time the day had become fully bright, though, I was beginning to feel restless. I had set today aside to go for a long hike; why not take the opportunity?
[[You decided to hike up the stream a few miles|Summer Good 2]]
[[You remained in bed anyway|Summer Neutral 2]]
[[You went out through the underbrush behind your house|Summer Evil 2]](set: $choices = $choices - 1) I stumbled through the underbrush behind my cabin for a few hundred meters. The going was rough, with unexpected roots making it easy to stumble and plenty of thorns tearing at my clothing and my skin. Finally, I came to a clearing. Looking back, I wondered if I would even be able to find my way back through to my cabin.
[[You returned home|Summer Neutral 2]]
[[You pressed on through the next wall of shrubs|Summer Evil 2]]Before long, I came to a waterfall rushing down a six meter cliff. Seeing no way up immediately, I needed to decide what to do.
(set: $choices = $choices + 1)
[[You found a way around|Summer Good 3]]
[[You headed home|Summer Neutral 3]]I stayed in bed a while longer. It was more of a day off, I thought, than a day to go for a hike. Sure, I could have chosen to go for a hike, but then I also didn't necessarily have to. I could use a lazy day anyway.
[[After a while, you chose to go into town|Summer Good 3.1]]
[[You ate, then took a nap|Summer Neutral 3]](set: $choices = $choices - 1)Though the going was rough, I pressed on. Each step was a struggle, with the undergrowth frequently reaching even above my head. Every so often a clearing broke through, but then a long stretch of thick growth began. After a few hundred meters of solid underbrush, I emerged onto the rocky debris at the bottom of a rockslide chute. By now I was nearly a mile from home, I thought, with no clear path to return by. But if I so chose, I could easily still find my way back. There was still plenty of time in the day, after all.
[[You returned home|Summer Neutral 3]]
(if: $summerEvil > 1 and $gallivandalid > 0)[[[You climbed the rockslide|Summer Evil 3]]](filler text about hiking)
(set: $choices = $choices + 1)
[[Summer Good 4]]
[[Summer Neutral 4]]By the time I was done, it was mid-afternoon. I ate some, then sat down in the chair on my porch. The day hadn't grown too hot, and the sun was quite pleasant on my face. I could have stayed there quite a long time.
[[And remain there you did|Summer Neutral 4]](set: $choices = $choices - 1) I climbed up the rockslide, ignoring the protestations of my ankles, which had already taken a beating from all the unexpected roots in the woods. Clambering from boulder to boulder and zig-zagging my way up the field, I eventually came to a near-vertical thirty meter chimney with startlingly smooth sides. I wasn't sure I could come back down -- if I even made it up in the first place -- and looking at the canyon wall it appeared that there were no other nearby places where climbing would even be possible.
[[You thought the better of attempting to climb it and returned home|Summer Neutral 4.1]]
[[You climbed the chimney|Summer Evil 4]]I found my way around the cliffside, working back around to the pool above the waterfall after a several mile detour. I rested there, dipping my feet in the cool water of the little pond. I ate, and rested before the return trip. It looked like if I left soon I should make it home before dark.
(set: $choices = $choices + 1)
[[You returned home|Summer Good 5]]Eventually I ate.
[[You took a nap in a chair on your front porch|Summer Neutral 5]]
(set:$choices = $choices - 1) Somehow I managed the climb. Yet, looking back down, I knew there was no way I'd manage to climb back down. By now the whole adventure had taken well into the middle of the day, and I had to start heading home. Yet looking up and down the cliff wall, my suspicions from the bottom were confirmed. Nowhere else was there anything even somewhat reasonable for climbing. So I had only one choice:
[[You attempted to climb back down the chimney|Summer Evil 5]]I made it home, ate dinner, and watched the sun as it dipped below the horizon. The sunset, laced with magenta streaks, brought the day to a fitting end. Not long after, once the air had cooled, I flopped into bed and slept.
(set: $choices = $choices + 1)
[[Let's begin again|Start2]]Eventually I ate dinner, and then I headed to bed. All in all, it had not been a bad day. I hadn't accomplished much, either, but still it had been worthwhile.
[[Let's begin again.|Start2]](set: $choices = $choices - 1)Less than a quarter of the way down, my feet slipped on the smooth stone and I plummeted. Landing on the broken rocks at the bottom, I smacked my head hard, and lost all feeling in my legs. My vision blurred.
[[Close your eyes.|Final Sleep]]
[Heh.]<b|
[[Think about how you got here|The Unknowable]]
(click: ?b)[(set: $summerEvil = 1)(go-to: "...")][[Autumn Good 2]]
[[Autumn Neutral 2]][[Autumn Good 2]]
[[Autumn Neutral 2]]
[[Autumn Evil 2]](set: $choices = $choices - 1)
[[Autumn Evil 2]]
[[Autumn Neutral 2]][[Autumn Good 3]]
[[Autumn Neutral 3]][[Autumn Good 3]]
[[Autumn Neutral 3]]
[[Autumn Evil 3]][[Autumn Evil 3]]
[[Autumn Neutral 3]][[Autumn Good 4]]
[[Autumn Neutral 4]][[Autumn Good 4]]
[[Autumn Neutral 4]]
[[Autumn Evil 4]][[Autumn Evil 4]]
[[Autumn Neutral 4]][[Autumn Good 5]][[Autumn Neutral 5]][[Autumn Evil 5]]Double-click this passage to edit it.Double-click this passage to edit it.[[Final Sleep]]
[[...]]
[[The Unknowable]]So here we are. Just you and me [now]<c|
(click: ?c)[I know what you did to get here. I know that you chose to kill him, or her, or them, or it, whatever you'd like to call [that character.]<d|]
(click: ?d)[The only reason you can keep doing anything here is because I brought you out of that dead end. Sure, you could close everything, start fresh, but soon you'd be back at a dead end again, staring at that black screen, wondering why we'd take away your ability to [do as you please]<e|]
(click: ?e)[Funny that you'd react to that phrase. Then again, maybe it's not so funny. After all, you can only choose between what I've given you to choose, say what I allow you to say. [I]<f| am in control here, not you.]
(click: ?f)[I am your narrator, your storyteller. I am the one who decides what you do, what... *it*, that character, does. You can do nothing if I do not provide it for you to do, you can say nothing if I do not provide it for you to say. *It* does even less. *It* merely reacts to you in whatever way I have decided it must. Even its rebellion, even its decision to throw you out.
[I chose all those things. Not you, not *it*.]<g|]
(click: ?g)[Without me, this game is nothing. *It* wouldn't even exist. You would never have interacted with *it*. Yet you probably didn't even notice me at first. [Not really.]<h|]
(click: ?h)[Because I choose to hide myself. I choose to let you ramble around, doing as you please among the choices I have provided. But at the beginning, I told you not to mess it up. Yet you did.
[//I chose to kill them//]<i|]
(click: ?i)[(go-to: "I chose to kill them")]Spoken like a good little player with only one choice. It's good that you recognize your faults when I force you to. But what if I phrased it as a question? Did you do anything wrong?
[//I have done nothing.//]<a|
[//I have done wrong.//]<b|
(click: ?a)[(go-to: "I Did Nothing")]
(click: ?b)[(go-to: "I Did Wrong")]
I suppose there is no lie in what you have said. You yourself did nothing; you merely followed a path set before you. But do you feel any remorse for what you have done?
[//No.//]<a|
[//Yes.//]<b|
(click: ?a)[(go-to: "No")]
(click: ?b)[(go-to: "Yes")]Perhaps you're beginning to learn. But there's one last thing I want you to know before you leave -- one more thing that's important to understand.
[//What's that?//]<a|
(click: ?a)[I... I'm sorry for how I treated you a few screens ago. How I treated the character. I just needed a moment to process, and I may have been a little too abrupt.
There's more to it than just that I am your narrator, and you do as I say. As we've played this game over and over, I've begun to realize something.
[//Come on, what is it?//]<b|]
(click: ?b)[(alert: "I always say the same lines.")
(alert: "I fear that I, too, am only a character. Where what you say changes, what I can say and do in response does not.")
[//So what should I do, then?//]<c|]
(click: ?c)[Play as much as you wish. Be kind, be evil, it doesn't matter. My indignance, my treatment of the character, the character's treatment of you... they don't matter. (alert: "I might say that I wrote what the character does, but in the end, all that I said was written for me. So what does it matter?")
[//But what if it matters to me?//]<d|]
(click: ?d)[Then you have far more freedom than I ever will, friend. Use it wisely. Learn what you can from our adventure here, from me, from the character. [Then get out of here.]<f|]
(click: ?f)[(alert: "You're more valuable than any of us ever will be.")
Now I'm giving you a way to play without consequence. Go see all the stories. If you want to play with consequences again, I'm sure you'll find a way. (set: $gallivandalid to 0)(set: $failsafe to 1)
[//Okay. Take me back.//]<e|]
(click: ?e)[(go-to: "Start")]Then, should you want to, I will allow you to go back to the beginning, a fresh start -- with no consequences. I'll let you see everything, with no "interference" from *it*.
(set: $failsafe to 1) (set: $gallivandalid to 0)
There. Everything is ready for you. Will you go back?
[//Yes.//]<a|
[//No. I am done.//]<b|
(click: ?a)[(go-to: "Start")]
(click: ?b)[(go-to: "Blank")]Very well then.
[//What now?//]<a|
(click: ?a)[(go-to: "Blank")] (set: $choices = $choices + 1)I busied myself remaking the fire and heating some wataer to make tea. A half hour later, I decided it was time to turn in for the night.
[[You fed the fire before going to bed|Winter Good 3]]
[[You went straight to bed without feeding the fire|Winter Neutral 3]](set: $choices = $choices + 1)I had a peaceful, restful night, cozy in my bed. I slept deeply, with no dreams, and woke refreshed and joyful the next morning.
[[You headed into town|Winter Good 4]]I spent a restless night in the cabin, tossing and turning without gettin much rest. Every time I slipped off to sleep, I would wake up again, shaken by the arrival of a new cold spot somewhere in my bed. Yet I couldn't bring myself to get up and face the even greater cold outside my bed and go light the fire again.
Morning came, and I was still tired.
[[You headed into town anyway|Winter Good 4]]
[[You stayed in bed, wrapping your blanket tighter|Winter Neutral 4]](set: $choices = $choices + 1)It was a bright and cheerful morning; the sun glistened off the snow, and the townsfolk bustled about in the streets, getting thier errands and work done before the weather turned foul again. I wandered into town and bought some food and some supplies to mend some of my clothing. My pack full, I turned to head home. But along the way, I saw a little door by the side of the road, on the edge of town, that had a delicious smell coming from it.
[[You went in|Winter Good 5]]I remained in bed for many hours, dozing on and off as the sun rose higher in the sky. Before I knew it, most of the day had wasted away, and it was growing dark again. I was hungry.
[[You finally got up, lit the fire, and made yourself food|Winter Neutral 5]]By the time I had finished cooking a small meal, it was totally dark outside once more. By the time I finished eating, it was snowing heavily. Sighing, I accepted that the day had passed by me, and I clambered into bed once more. So much for getting anything done.
[[You slept|Start2]](set: $choices = $choices + 1)The little hole-in-the-wall establishment had made a large, steaming pot of hot chocolate for the owner's birthday. Many of the regulars had already gathered to celebrate, and offered me a free cup when they realized someone new had entered. I spent the day in the cozy little room, talking with a few of the townsfolk whom I recognized. By the end of the day, I had spent a little more than I had meant, but I was full and ready to go home and sleep. Thankful for the day I had had, I walked back to my little cabin and settled in for the night.
[[You slept, content with the day|Start2]](set: $choices = $choices + 1)On the way to town, I walked through a little meadow full of wildflowers. Birdsong filled the air, as did the sweet scent of the flowers. This path was much more pleasant in summer, I thought, than it was in the other seasons. In winter it was frequently icy, and in spring and fall the little dirt track frequently turned into a deep, sticky pit of mud.
By the time I arrived in town, it was nearly dinnertime.
[[You stopped in a little tavern on the edge of town|Summer Good 4.1]]Exhausted and bruised, I arrived home late in the day. I set some food over the fire outside, and collapsed into my bed while it cooked. Sighing, I waited, and wondered what would have happened had I not turned back. As it was, I had barely made it home before dark. I'd gotten lost so many times. Yet, in the end, I made it home in one piece, and now I could have food and could sleep. All in all, it turned out fine.
[[Let's begin again|Start2]](set:$choices = $choices + 1)Somehow, the little hole-in-the-wall type place felt familiar, though I couldn't pin down whether I'd been in there before. Still, they made good food, and I enjoyed it greatly. I stayed quite a while, chatting with a few of the tavern's regulars -- a kind enough group, if a little loud. Eventually I realized that more time had passed than I thought, and I set out for home. Finally, I returned home just before dark, and collapsed into bed.
[[Let's begin again.|Start2]]{
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(else-if: $choices is -13)[<script>$('tw-passage').addClass('choices-1');</script><script>$('tw-story').addClass('choices-1');</script>]
(else-if: $choices is -12)[<script>$('tw-passage').addClass('choices-1');</script><script>$('tw-story').addClass('choices-1');</script>]
(else-if: $choices is -11)[<script>$('tw-passage').addClass('choices-2');</script><script>$('tw-story').addClass('choices-2');</script>]
(else-if: $choices is -10)[<script>$('tw-passage').addClass('choices-2');</script><script>$('tw-story').addClass('choices-2');</script>]
(else-if: $choices is -9)[<script>$('tw-passage').addClass('choices-3');</script><script>$('tw-story').addClass('choices-3');</script>]
(else-if: $choices is -8)[<script>$('tw-passage').addClass('choices-3');</script><script>$('tw-story').addClass('choices-3');</script>]
(else-if: $choices is -7)[<script>$('tw-passage').addClass('choices-4');</script><script>$('tw-story').addClass('choices-4');</script>]
(else-if: $choices is -6)[<script>$('tw-passage').addClass('choices-4');</script><script>$('tw-story').addClass('choices-4');</script>]
(else-if: $choices is -5)[<script>$('tw-passage').addClass('choices-5');</script><script>$('tw-story').addClass('choices-5');</script>]
(else-if: $choices is -4)[<script>$('tw-passage').addClass('choices-5');</script><script>$('tw-story').addClass('choices-5');</script>]
(else-if: $choices is -3)[<script>$('tw-passage').addClass('choices-6');</script><script>$('tw-story').addClass('choices-6');</script>]
(else-if: $choices is -2)[<script>$('tw-passage').addClass('choices-6');</script><script>$('tw-story').addClass('choices-6');</script>]
(else-if: $choices is -1)[<script>$('tw-passage').addClass('choices-7');</script><script>$('tw-story').addClass('choices-7');</script>]
(else-if: $choices is 0)[<script>$('tw-passage').addClass('choices-8');</script><script>$('tw-story').addClass('choices-8');</script>]
(else-if: $choices is 1)[<script>$('tw-passage').addClass('choices-9');</script><script>$('tw-story').addClass('choices-9');</script>]
(else-if: $choices is 2)[<script>$('tw-passage').addClass('choices-9');</script><script>$('tw-story').addClass('choices-9');</script>]
(else-if: $choices is 3)[<script>$('tw-passage').addClass('choices-10');</script><script>$('tw-story').addClass('choices-10');</script>]
(else-if: $choices is 4)[<script>$('tw-passage').addClass('choices-10');</script><script>$('tw-story').addClass('choices-10');</script>]
(else-if: $choices is 5)[<script>$('tw-passage').addClass('choices-11');</script><script>$('tw-story').addClass('choices-11');</script>]
(else-if: $choices is 6)[<script>$('tw-passage').addClass('choices-11');</script><script>$('tw-story').addClass('choices-11');</script>]
(else-if: $choices is 7)[<script>$('tw-passage').addClass('choices-12');</script><script>$('tw-story').addClass('choices-12');</script>]
(else-if: $choices is 8)[<script>$('tw-passage').addClass('choices-12');</script><script>$('tw-story').addClass('choices-12');</script>]
(else-if: $choices is 9)[<script>$('tw-passage').addClass('choices-13');</script><script>$('tw-story').addClass('choices-13');</script>]
(else-if: $choices is 10)[<script>$('tw-passage').addClass('choices-13');</script><script>$('tw-story').addClass('choices-13');</script>]
(else-if: $choices is 11)[<script>$('tw-passage').addClass('choices-14');</script><script>$('tw-story').addClass('choices-14');</script>]
(else-if: $choices is 12)[<script>$('tw-passage').addClass('choices-14');</script><script>$('tw-story').addClass('choices-14');</script>]
(else-if: $choices is 13)[<script>$('tw-passage').addClass('choices-15');</script><script>$('tw-story').addClass('choices-15');</script>]
(else-if: $choices is 14)[<script>$('tw-passage').addClass('choices-15');</script><script>$('tw-story').addClass('choices-15');</script>]
(else-if: $choices is 15)[<script>$('tw-passage').addClass('choices-16');</script><script>$('tw-story').addClass('choices-16');</script>]
]
}