[System] Narrate an interactive dark fantasy adventure. The world is brutal and unforgiving. Respond to the player's actions with vivid, immersive descriptions and let their choices carry real weight.

[User] Continue

[Assistant]
Getting the gate open is the first priority, you will need your shamblers running distraction and killing the slow humans while you pick off the ones with the automatic weapons.

You slip out in the moonlight and move silently between the houses. Your night-vision is as excellent as ever and the clouded night is revealed to you just as clearly as the daytime would be for a human. You keep checking on the guards and others in the community but everyone is in the beds on the second floor of the houses and most of the guards are not moving. "Probably asleep in their chairs" you think as you finally get in a clear view of the gate.

The two guards at the gate are clearly still awake. They are standing, one on each side, chatting across the gap. They aren't any more use as guards than the others since they are not facing the road or fields at all but they are facing each other which is bad for you. You judge the gap between the walkway edges at 10 feet. You can easily make the jump but you will need to time everything perfectly. They also have torches lit beside them so they are lit up completly while making themselves night-blind to anything else.

[User] You try to get close with talking, then when they relax, strike fast

[Assistant]
They are facing each other and chatting across the gap. You might be ridiculously fast but you are nearly certain that you couldn't kill one, make the jump and silence the other before they get out a shout, or worse a bullet. The second the alarm goes up you know your plans will be ruined so you need to get closer by other means.

It takes a few minutes but eventually you notice something that you normally wouldn't have. You realize that the guard to the right is female. You haven't looked at humans as specifically male and female in years, since you started eating them at least. "This place is really affecting my brain, although this information I can use, she was one of the ones hanging around a lot when I first arrived and making comments about my looks".

You stand up then begin walking forward, making a little more noise than necessary just to be safe. You get a few feet when you see the guards turn quickly to look your way "a little more alert then" You think as you continue forward a few steps "Who is it?" gets called your way as you reach the edge of the torchlight. You step fully into it so you can be seen before replying "Just me, I can never sleep around this time so I was just walking around" you bank on them being a little suspicious of this excuse and it works perfectly. The woman calls out "And you just happened to end up at the gate?"

You pause and pretend to be embarrassed before replying "Well, actually I ended up at the South wall and chatted to one of the guards there for a bit and when I asked about you, he said you were on the gate duty tonight..." You trail off and it takes a few seconds but the male guard catches onto your hint and lets out a chuckle, that gives the game away to the girl and she immediately blushes, you can see her reactions as clear as day with your heightened senses but she does not know that and tries to hide it by putting up a front "No matter, all you need to do is let my up on the walkway and you wont ever have to act again" You think as she replies "Well he was right, I am on duty now. So why were you asking about me?" You smile this time"Well you made quite the first impression on me when I arrived and I was planning on, you know, trying to get to know you a bit better over the next few weeks, when I heard you were awake now too I just kinda headed this way". The girls blush deepens and you can see the other guard laughing his head off as she responds "Well I am on duty now and can't leave my post!" You know you have her now though and push one last time "Oh, I wouldn't expect you too but having another set of eyes up there while we chat wouldn't hurt would it?" You give your biggest smile and she finally gives in and smiles back "Ok hop up and you can try and chat me up then!"

You grin as you jog forward and try to act like pulling yourself up onto the platform is at least a little tricky, finally leaning against the arch of the gate beside her "She let me stand between her and the gate, idiot!" You think as you glance at the male guard who is now making a point of looking the other way. You turn back as the girl speaks "Well I'm waiting, I thought you were going to chat me up?" she says with a cheeky grin.

The timing was perfect so you struck. You step a little closer and open your mouth as if to speak but as she looks at your face your fist moves unbelievably fast and hits her cleanly in the throat, crushing her windpipe, she wont be able to should for help or do anything at all as she quickly suffocates. You spin and leap the gap. The other guard barely even registers what is happening as your punch knocks him cold. You quickly snap his neck then stop and listen to see if your attack alerted anyone but the only sound you hear is the soft strangled noise of the girl dying and after a few moments that ends too.

You smile to yourself as you force your hunger back down "Can't feed yet, I have to keep it in check until the battle is over" you mumble as you gently hop down and lift the bar off the gate. You gently swing one side open just enough to let the shamblers in and control them all directly again, making them move quickly until they are gathered right across the road, then slipping over and into the compound.

[User] You clearing the guards out before the rampage

[Assistant]
"Time to play my little pets" You tell them as you direct them carefully between the buildings, spreading them out so that they can cause the greatest havoc possible. even if they die, they should bite enough to make more infected and those can rampage too. You hop back up on the walkway and start creeping South until you find the first torch and guard asleep at his chair. You take two quick steps and grab him with one hand on his throat and the other over his mouth. Just a gentle squeeze crushes his windpipe and you hold him until he stops struggling, dropping him back into his chair after "There, you are just as much use sitting there dead as you were alive!" You chuckle as you keep moving and turn the corner, heading wet now until you see the next light and the next guard asleep, or close to, in his chair. You smile at just how lax the guards had become as you do exactly the same as before and have the man by the throat before he even knows what is happening.

You feel his windpipe pop and keep holding him as he kicks, imagining how good it was going to be to eat all the dead soon when his foot kicks out and hits his chair and you watch helpless as if, and his gun, tumble over the side with a small crash. You swear to yourself, you can't let yourself daydream in the middle of killing someone!

You hear the expected call from further along the wall and know the gig is up for now. If you hide, the body will be found and the alarm goes up, if the kill the next guy, the others who heard the call will raise the alarm when he vanishes too "Well, half of the guards will be down at least" You think as you sneak forward into the darkest area near you and wait.

The guard comes jogging your way calling out "What did you fall asleep and tip your chair over again?" You immediately stand and hit him as hard as you can. You catch him cleanly in the jaw and see his head snapping round instantly, accompanied by a snapping sound. You sense his life vanish instantly and realize your punch must have snapped his neck "I am getting stronger, never used to be able to do that before" You think as you keep moving forward seeking the next guard.

[User] The raised alarm call

[Assistant]
You hear the shout going up load and clear "Everyone evacuate, infected in the compound, the gate wa opened!" Then you hear a loud horn going off and every human mind in the compound begins to move "Their guards are lax but they know how to evacuate at least" You start running openly now, no point hiding out if the alarm is already raised.

The next guard sees you coming but realizes you are not a comrade far too late to save himself and he joins the dead. You sense the humans reaching their doors and then the screaming starts. Your dozen shamblers were all placed perfectly to cause the most chaos and you instantly sense several biting and feeding on human flesh. You think about making them rampage but they are slow and they are doing their job so you just leave them to attack and feed as their instincts direct. You feel one getting beaten off and killed, but then you sense a human mind change as you watch it.

You see something like rot spread over it, the glow fading, it seems to fight back but they rot tears away at it until it shatters, leaving a weak rotted husk where there was a vibrant mind moments before "And so it spreads" you say aloud as the new shambler lumbers after what must have been it's family moments before.

You reach one more guard as the gunshots begin and two more shamblers die. This guard is ready for you though with his gun raised toward the compound to shoot the first infected that comes near. You are that first infected and he spins towards you as you rush him, he realizes in time that you are an enemy but you are too close and his shot skims past you, just grazing your side "Claw has spotted some, Centre West wall!" You hear from not far away. The dead guards reinforcements are headed right for you. You sense three below running your way and another along the walkway.

You pull at the nearest shambler and have it go after the three below but they instantly shoot it down and keep coming, the one on the walkway is getting closer too and you only have moments before they see you.

[User] You into the bunker! It should be close enough!

[Assistant]
You immediately slip over the edge and land lightly on the grass below, you only have a few seconds but you were right, the bunkers is close, so you sprint towards it and slip into the already open door. You are the first one here but you can sense more headed your way already. You quickly hunch up against a wall pretending to look worried and wait. The call from the guards goes up as they find the bodies and you can sense them moving outward in arcs, searching the area but they don't come your way yet.

You are going to need more survivors in here incase they come your way. You quickly locate your shamblers and find one blocking some humans so make it move as if it has a new target to the side and you sense the humans surge past and toward you. The guards locate another and it vanishes amidst the gunfire. You can feel the difference now between the human minds, some are clearly fleeing, headed your way, wavering and moving in sprints while others are methodically sweeping the area, these must be the guards. You do your best to have your last shamblers ambush the guards but you only catch one before the last of your horde are wiped out.

Then the humans arrive, they flood inside lead by a guard who doesn't even look your way and the other humans don't either. They are just too panicked and desperate to get inside. You smile to yourself, a few more and no-one will remember where you were, they will just think you came in with the others from the houses.

You watch as more and more pile inside, filially followed by a few guards and the door swings partly shut, manned by two guards. You can sense others outside, more guards, holding the area around incase of more survivors or threats but you know there are none of either, the humans are all here and the infected are all dead. You do a quick head-count and see at least twenty inside, your shamblers did good work with the ambushes.

Time to fit in, You quickly see a a group of the humans that you met the day before and head over there trying your best to look scared "What's going on? we were just directed here but there were infected everywhere!" They don't even look suspicious for a moment as they reply "The gate got breached and they got inside. We have as little idea what's going on as you do."

You simply nod in response and stay close, they are now your alibi and you will look less suspicious in a group. "This is going perfectly, half of their guards are dead and all the humans are trapped in here with me!

[User] You surviving in the bunker

[Assistant]
You stay with the group, occasionally chatting, sometimes watching others come over to trade stories but generally just trying to fit in and look appropriately worried. If you are going to make your plan work you need the humans to trust you for just a little bit longer. Finally you sense that the humans left outside have swept the area clear and they all enter the bunker, staying in a group near the entrance. You sense the last three outside heading at speed towards the gate.

"Ok, the compound is clear now and we are shutting the gates. We do not yet know how they got inside but once the gate team returns they can tell us more. For now you know the drill. Everyone check your neighbors for bites." You hear some mumbled swearing, it seems that they all had forgotten part of the procedure in the panic and now everyone starts rolling up their sleeves of taking their shirts off. You of course join in and pretend to look a couple of others over before giving them the all clear and they return the favor. A few people start calling out "All clear here" and you call it out for the people near you. "Not a single bite in the room, too bad, could have used a shambler or fast type turning in here".

Finally things begin settling down and the guards return from the front gate, giving their report to the other guards, they speak softly but you know the survivors nearest them can hear and your hearing is advanced enough to pick it up too "Gate was definitely opened from the inside, bar taken out and pulled open, inside job. Looks like other guards on the walkways were killed too, probably before the gate was opened."

The guards keep conversing for a time and finally call out to the whole bunker "The immediate threat is gone, but we are going into lockdown. This was no accident, the infected were let into the compound by design." You hear worried mumbling breaking out but as the door seals shut and is locked you can feel the entire bunker relaxing slightly "They must have fended off attacks in here before then" You think as you suddenly realize that several of the guards and a few other humans are staring right at you. "Well of course they suspect me now, gonna have to act fast."

[User] You pretend to want to prove your innocence to the guards, then strike fast and kill the armed ones, you must act before they do

[Assistant]
You stand up slowly and see several more set of eyes latch onto you so you begin your act right away "Look, I know I am the most likely suspect here since I just arrived so I am going to go talk to the guards to prove my innocence." You make sure to keep your voice calm but loud enough for the entire bunker to hear and see many of your watchers stop staring. You then begin to head over to the guards who watch you coming, they don't actively point weapons at you but they are clearly keeping them close to hand.

"We heard your little speech there and you are right. You are the main suspect, so how do you plan to prove yourself?" One of them says. You notice than Boring isn't here and realize he must be one of the dead, you smile inside while you speak "Well I don't know but but letting infected inside would be suicide for me so it doesn't make sense. How would I get the gate open with the guards watching me then get away as the infected attacked, in fact, how could I even have made them attack? They are just lumbering relics that hang around where they died until disturbed."

The guards clearly don't seem convinced "We have been attacked before, in fact a few years ago the raiders were strong in this area, they used to capture or lead infected right up to the gates of communities like ours then kill some guards and let the infected in to do the dirty work for them. I think you are one of them." A couple of the other guards nod but some don't seem so sure so you know the idea can't be watertight yet "And at least they don't suspect I am a harbinger" You think as you plan your next response, you already pretended to not know the guards were killed so best to keep with that.

"So you think that the raiders, who were wiped out years ago, suddenly recovered and sent me in here to open the gate and let infected attack me? why on earth would I do that? If they were willing to sacrifice me why wouldn't I just join you instead. You held off the strongest raiders groups in the past so why would I risk ym own death for some weak remnant?" You pause as if thinking "And how would I even do it, I mean you have guards all around the walkways and at the gate and they all have guns, you' think they might just notice a guy removing the bar and opening the gate?"

You can see from their faces that your points are sinking in and they are relaxing, a couple let their guns slide down to less threatening positions. You smile slowly, then strike. You lunge forward and punch one guard, immediately grabbing another in your other hand and throwing him back into a third. you spin and lash out at one behind you, grabbing his gun as he falls unconscious and fire it point-blank into the chest of the next one you see "Too easy" You think as you use the gun like a bat to smash a guard round the head, feeling her mind blink out instantly as she dies "They can barely comprehend what is happening before they die".

You leap towards the ones you knocked over and two swift blows kill them too and you finally turn to the gathered humans who are rushing away from you as much as the space allows in fear. "Future meals! hear me, I am in charge now! You can recognize me as a herald or harbinger, whichever term you choose to use for me, but you can also see that you don't stand a chance against me." You wave to the group of dead or unconscious guards behind you "All your guards are now dead and I will feast on their flesh, all you have to do is cower and wait to be eaten."

[User] You to feast or to kill? You have all the time in the world to decide

[Assistant]
You grin to yourself "Look at them, prey is the right work for them, cowering in fear from me as it should be. They can live in fear while I slowly eat them all one by one. I can even take the kaycards for the door an leave them locked in here with shamblers as guards!"

You are considering your next announcement when you hear the boom, amplified by the small space and metal walls and feel the impact on your back. You see a spurt of red leaving your chest and something hits a bag of wheat on a shelf in front of you. Glancing down you see blood pouring out of your chest.

You spin around as you fight off the weakness you are feeling and are just in time to hear the click-click of a bolt action being worked to reload a rifle. You see one of the guards still lying slumped against the wall where your punch had sent him flying "Too bad you didn't knock me out then isn't is harbinger!" He shouts at you.

One bullet wound wont kill you, you just need to get outside and lock the door while you recover, you know you can survive it, only one lung was punctured and your healing is more accelerated than ever now. You leap at the guard but you ar too late as just as you land his second shot tears through your chest leaving a second gaping hole and you can feel both lungs rapidly filling with blood. You try and swing for him but you are too weak and simply slump to the side. you watch your prey running forward to help the wounded and see them just ignoring you as everything just fades away.


[System] You are the narrator of a dark fantasy text adventure. Describe the world and its consequences with unflinching detail. The player's choices shape the story — for better or worse.

[User] Continue

[Assistant]
You're an orphan. You don't know anything about your parents. You have never even met them before the hand of fate swept them away from you. All you know is that they died on October the 10th, the day the monstrous creature struck your village.

You remember growing up in an orphanage. Neither the adults nor the children there cared for you. Everyone avoided you for some reason. Even then, you felt like there is something you can do to change their opinion, until today. For today is the day that they've unanimously decided to kick you out.

You stumble into the street as the door shuts behind you. The thunder in the sky cackles as though they are laughing at you. The rain pours down your body as you lurch around the street, trying to find a shelter somewhere where you can stay. At least you found a dumpster in an secluded alleyway, and you grab the head of the dumpster, before flipping it up and climbing in.

How do you want to spend your childhood?

- You can choose to spend your childhood on the streets. If you choose this path, you will gain immense charm. Charm is useful for many things, such as bartering for lower prices inside stores, and in general getting along with people. There are also techniques that will require charm to use, and other techniques that rely on charm; such as that the more charm you have, the more your damage your technique will do.

- You can choose to spend your childhood in the woods, training on your physical attributes. If you choose this path, you will gain immense strength and dexterity. Strength and dexterity determines how much damage you do to your opponents. While strength reflects how much health you have, and the maximum amount of damage you can dish out, dexterity determines the minimum.

- You can choose to spend your childhood in the library, reading away your days. If you choose this path, you will gain immense intelligence. Intelligence determines how many chakra you have, and how much damage your chakra base attacks will do. You will need this for almost every techniques you come across. You will lose the game if your chakra hits zero.

- You can choose to spend your childhood hiding from people in the daylight, and coming back out at night time to do various night activities, such as stealing, and spying on people. If you choose this path, you will gain immense stealth. Stealth is required for certain missions you will do, such as that you won't be able to do certain missions until your stealth is are the required level. There are also techniques that will require stealth to use, and other techniques that rely on stealth; such as that the more stealth you have, the more your damage your technique will do.

[User] You on the streets

[Assistant]
You have no parents. No one to take care of you. The orphanage that you were suppose to live in, you were kicked out. You didn't even know why. What were you suppose to do? Go crawl inside a hole, and die quietly? No. You were stronger than that. You wouldn't have given up, and you didn't give up. You found an abandoned apartment, and you made it your home, as well as you can.

Then you spent the rest of your time on the streets, scavenging what you can find. Running errands in the red district. Bartering with anyone who would trade with you. Even though most people are still wary of you, there are some that are willing to befriend you, mostly those in the red light district. As it is, you gained a lot of charm points in your childhood.

Charm + 45

Strength + 11

Dexterity + 14

Intelligence + 19

Stealth + 9

[User] You waking Up

[Assistant]
8:04 A.M

You wake up.

The first thing you see is the white walls. And past that, the open windows. It was nice and windy out last night, so you left the windows open. Two techniques you have used before suddenly pop into your head. The henge, and the vampire sucking technique. The henge technique basically changes you into anyone you want to, but you usually use it to change into a female counterpart. The vampire sucking technique basically let you leech health from your enemies when you're in battle.

Oh. There's another technique you know, which is called the shadow clone technique. This technique lets you create copies of yourself. You can also combine this technique with your henge technique. Which means your clones can also henge into anyone they want. You have different clones scattered around your house for various purposes.

[User] You your history

[Assistant]
8:08 A.M

You're an orphan. You don't know who your parents are, and how they died. You just know your own name, and you're not even sure if it was the one your parents gave you before they passed away.

Everyone hates you for some reason.

Everywhere you go, people point at you and whisper things behind your back.

Which is why you decide to stay out of sight, ever since you have understood what those whispers behind your back is really saying about you.

Since then you decide to wear gray clothes because they are less conspicuous. That way, you are less likely to be noticed. That way, you will not be seen and harassed.

You live inside a village.

The people here have a system. A system to defend themselves.

There are two types of schools for children here in the village. One is for regular civilians. Another one is for military recruits.You have decided to join the academy for military recruits because you  want  to learn how to defend yourself against those people who really hate you; against those who really want to hurt you.

Ever since you have enrolled in the academy, you've been pushed back by the instructors. Your test papers had gone missing, your instructions had been written wrong, and your weapons were handed out dull and broken.

You have decided that you have to act the idiot in order for them to underestimate you; in order for them to think that you're not a threat; that you're just an idiot.

You have to fail.

So you did. You have failed twice. Once to persuade them that you're not a threat. And another one to prove that you're just another feeble minded idiot, so that they'll shift their attention somewhere else.

It worked. Like a charm.

They have no idea what you're capable of.

Today's going to be the third time around that you're taking this test.

You see no point in continuing to fail this test anymore. You are strong enough now. You have gained enough power, and you're going to pass it this time.  After that, you're going to surpass them all.

[User] You open your closet

[Assistant]
8:28 A.M

You get up and open your closet door.

Inside is...


[System] Narrate a dark fantasy text adventure. The setting is harsh and morally complex. Describe scenes vividly, react to player choices with fitting consequences, and never shy away from the reality of the world.

[User] You leap to another tree

[Assistant]
Bursting up, you push your boots against the branch as you stand for a second, before kicking off from the branches, leaping through the air towards the nearest tree. You fly through the air, hands reaching out for the next branch as you yell, only to find you're too far away and won't reach it.

You fall through the air, collapsing to the ground as you scream. You hit the ground with a thud, your back breaking as you scream, collapsing onto the ground. Your mind goes hazy, darkness beginning to take you as you hear the werewolf growl, leaping from branch to branch down to you.

You hope you pass out before the creature reaches the ground, and you.


[System] Run a text-based dark fantasy adventure game. Describe the world with gritty realism, respond to player actions with narrative consequences, and maintain the tone of a world where survival is never guaranteed.

[User] You go back to your place

[Assistant]
You decide you're better off not trusting the miltary to this, you ponder on the idea of convincing your parent's and sister to not trust them but decide their best chance is to. After all a zombie world is no place for a family....

You say what may be your last goodbyes to your family and head back to your house, it takes a while but once again you beat all odds and return unharmed (though you're pretty damn tired by now).

Too tired to try and get supplies you decide to just walk next door to Bob's house and see what his plan is.

[User] You see what Bob's plan is

[Assistant]
You go next door to Bob's house. He answers the door, clearly high. Not bothering to ask him anything in this state, you enter and close the door behind you. He stares at you the whole time with a blank look on his face, but says nothing.

Moments later you hear knocking on the door. A slow, heavy knock.


[System] Narrate a grim fantasy text adventure. The Empire's world is brutal, its people hardened. Respond to the player's choices with immersive storytelling and let consequences flow naturally.

[User] You go back to the city

[Assistant]
You pump your muscles and start running back to the city walls. She follows you like a hawk, soaring above you with her wings. Once she's directly above she swoops in. Too late though as you bolt through the city entrance. You keep running straight and dive into a nearby bush. You stop breathing and don't dare move. You can sense that she is nearby, but she doesn't seem to be trying to kill you anymore. Instead, you hear screaming in a nearby house followed by laughing.

Curiosity gets the better of you and you peak out from the bushes. You spot her in a house cornering a family. You know demons are monsters, but what benefit is there to killing innocent children and their parents? It's senseless, what's the point of destruction for destruction sake? You continue starring at her as she slashes the throat of presumably a father. But for some reason, she does not kill him.

What she does is much worse. She leaves him alive to watch as she sends a ball of red energy at the children. It renders them into ash, not giving them a chance to scream. You curse at yourself for indirectly causing this. Why did you listen to a demon anyways? You keep watching in nervous anticipation of her killing the father. Instead, she just leaves. What cruelty propels such an atrocious action? This man has lost all that's dear to him, and she left him alive.

You stay in the bushes as she goes from house to house committing similar acts of violence. There must be a stop to the madness. You gather the courage to leave your bush haven. You dash away back to your home and fling the door open. Your immediately reaction is to get your sword and leather armor to slay the demon. Yet, the logical side of your mind tells you that's suicide. There's another way, although you don't want to admit it. What if you got drunk and contacted Catia to save your city? She saved your life before, maybe she can do it again?

[User] You slay the demon

[Assistant]
You must slay the demon yourself. Catia didn't bother showing up to the forest, why would she help you? You throw on your armor and pick up your sword. You grin at the thought of stabbing this demon to death. You haven't ever felt pleasure from violence before, yet something tells you you'll enjoy killing her. With your weapon and protection, you leave your home.

Terror has spread like wildfire. Bodies lay on the street charred and bruised.  Your veins pulsate with anger. Why, tell me why? These are your neighbors and friends. You run with each step being more purposeful than the last. After a few hundred steps, you hear laughter. There she is, cornering a group of children. You yell to create a distraction, but she ignores you. The children are reduced to fragments of ember.

Destruction lies all around you with more bodies than you could count. You scream a battle cry of hatred and charge. She looks up and makes eye contact but doesn't move. You resist the urge to strike her down as you know you are outmatched physically. Still, another urge gnaws at your conscious forcing you to spit out,

"Why would you do this?"

You're surprised when she stops to think for a moment.

"I had everything I held dear to me ripped away. When Catia came to me with the idea of working along side a human, I couldn't contain my anger."

"What's wrong with working with a human?"

She stares at you with pity.

"You truly don't know? Why the hell are you helping Catia then? I don't understand."

You are equally confused and explain your relationship with Catia.

"Oh, so you're her fuck toy then? Jesus Christ, she'll never get back with such degrading tactics."

You ignore her insult (although she said it more like an objective statement) and ask her,

"What do you mean get back? Demons invaded earth, why wouldn't they want to finish the job?"

"You think we're here willingly? Holy shit you're brain dead, I still can't get over Catia fucking a human as dumb as you. It would be like if you had sex with a jellyfish, completely different wavelengths."

This hellish creature is relentless with her insults. Though it seems there is a fundamental misunderstanding between you two.

"If you're not here by choice, why are you here?"

She explains that there is a demonic code in the infernal realm. Any demons who break it, are sent to lesser realms for a chance at redemption.

"And I was sent to one of the worst; Earth."

"How do you get back?"

"I need to conquer not through destruction, but manipulation. It goes against my nature, but it is the way of life in the infernal realm where all strength is equal. To prove my worth, I need to work with humans and other lesser creatures."

"Then why are you destroying my city?"

She sighs and furrows her eyebrows.

"Because I'm pissed off, ok?"

You continue talking to the demon, who tells you her name is Aria, until you come to a complete understanding of each other's motivations. Still, after everything you've learned about each other she says,

"I'm still going to destroy your city. Although there may be one thing you could do to stop me…"

She explains how a nearby wizard has imprisoned her friend, Azor, and offers to spare your city in exchange for his freedom.

"You have 24 hours, or your city goes up in flames."

Your blood boils over the fact she still desires to destroy the city. Your morality prevents you from standing aside and letting your city burn. You have your sword in hand and amour equipped. Why not pretend to agree then attack when she least expects it?

[User] You help save her friend

[Assistant]
"I'll help you to stop the destruction."

"Great!"

Aria conjures a portal made of dark matter.

"Quick get in before it closes."

You jump in, not knowing your destination. After a short transit, you find yourself outside of a tree house. You wanted to live in a tree house as a child, but now that your in front of one, they don't seem very practical.

"How do I get inside?" you wonder aloud.

"The ladder."

"Why didn't I think of that! Thank you voice inside my head."

"You're welcome, now free me from this ethereal prison."

This must be who Aria was talking about, but you want to make sure.

"Say, what's your name?"

"Amlodipine Olmesartan Medoxomil, but you may call me Azor for short."

You climb the ladder and enter a room with wooden floors and walls.

"Why are you so fixated on the floors and walls? What did you expect a tree house to be made of?"

You don't answer and continue examining your surroundings. A table lies in the center of the room aligned with various trinkets. One that catches your eye is a glowing red crystal ball. Your first instinct is to break it but you resist the temptation.

"What are you waiting for, mortal? Free me from this ethereal trap at once!"

[User] You free him

[Assistant]
You grab the red crystal ball and drop it as it burns your finger tips. It shatters into a million pieces as a red fog pours out of it.

"Now open up!"

The red fog flows into your ears, mouth, and nose. Your eyes roll into the back of your head as your mind splits into two. Thoughts that aren't your own begin to flood in.

"What are you waiting for? Let's get the hell out of here."

You climb down the ladder and exit the tree house. You don't even know where you are right now but somehow know the way back is to the north.

"Take a rest, I'm taking over."

Your face grows warm and you start feeling lightheaded. Your body still walks forward as you black out. You awaken in mid conversation sitting by a campfire.

"So when are you gonna get a better body Azor? Look at yourself, how will you kill anyone appearing like that."

"Don't be so dismissive Kancor, at least with this body he won't have to worry about losing control."

You look around and note the men you're talking with are much more muscular than yourself. There's something off about them, their body language is inexpressive and follows little pattern. Sometimes their hands dangle from their arms and other times they jerk up and down. It all feels unnatural and inhuman.

"Looks like you might of spoke too soon Borax."

"Nonsense, Azor is fucking with us and you're taking the bait. Now tell me, how did you convince this poor fuck to release you?"

You stare at these two men and know you can't fight them. Plus, you feel a nauseating light-headed feeling. You could experience a loss of movement at any time if Azor gains control.

"I convinced him to break my crystal ball, releasing me from my ethereal prison," you say remembering his own words.

"Yeah but how did you do it? Borax and me had to torture bandits to near death, how did you get someone to give you control willingly?"

"He had no idea I would gain control," you say with a hint of spite.

"Damn small-muscled and a moron? Looks like you hit the jackpot with this one."

"I sure did…"

You talk for a little longer before Borax puts out the fire. Despite having little clothing for spending a night outside in the winter, you don't feel cold. Is Azor's presence maintaining your normal body temperatures?

"What's the point of putting out the fire? We're going to have to use twice as much energy to stay warm."

"We're demons, not monsters. Wouldn't want an entire forest burning down for no reason."

"Wasn't the poor bastard you're possessing now screaming 'Monster! Monster!' when you tortured him?"

"Kancor, you know I had no choice. He was being uncooperative and I needed to put him in his place."

"Well you can think about how you had no choice but to mutilate his ball sack into a dough-like mess over sleep."

All three of you lie down on lovely dirt mattresses. You stare eyes open fearing you might lose control at any moment. After what feels like an hour, you're sure both of them are asleep. You could get up and make your escape, although you have no idea where you are. Something tells you north is the way to go, but you have no idea how long of a journey it will be and when you will lose control again. You could fall asleep and wait until you're closer to safety. But what good will that even do? Azor will still coexist with you like an infernal parasite.

[User] You escape

[Assistant]
You get up and sneak away, careful not to step on any sticks. Once you're a good distance away, you break into a sprint. You need to get out of here before they realize you're gone. If Ashton, or any city for that matter, is nearby, then maybe someone could help you. You heard about demon purges before but it never seemed to be the most pleasant process. What choice do you have if you want to hold onto your own free will?

While running you start to feel incredibly dizzy. Your head sways up and down, spit drips out of your mouth, and you begin to fall. You wait for Azor to take over, but he never does. A coldness perpetuates all around you as you go numb. There will be no one to save you as you pass out from the freezing temperatures. You die a relatively painless death.


[System] You are the narrator of a dark fantasy text adventure. Describe the world and its consequences with unflinching detail. The player's choices shape the story — for better or worse.

[User] You head for the guild as you know your experience could get you a good position if you push it enough.

[Assistant] You approach the miners guild with the hopes that your experience will land you some work fast, but your hope doesn't last long. They are happy enough with your resume and they even have a couple on people on staff who can vouch for your work but there are no new jobs right now and no major movements planned until the spring. They put you on the books and they guarantee you a skilled position by the time the winter snows melt but that isn't going to put food on your plate right now.

[User] You your on the books now so what harm is there in taking up your friends offer for a few weeks?

[Assistant]
Life isn't so bad working at the inn, you put in all the hard work required and your friend, apart from many sarcastic comments and jokes, is a good boss. You have a room and food again and start saving a small amount of coin up in the hopes of buying some new cloths and getting a better paid job eventually. After a few months you think you've saved up enough to make a go of it again in a richer part of town and let you friend know your plans.

You thank him for doing so much for you without really asking much in return as you know the work you did would never normally earn a wage along with room and food but he just waves you off and says the word "friends".

You arrange to finish off the week and move out as soon as you find a new job and new place to live.

That evening you both sit down to share a drink and talk about how to make easy money (your favorite topic since you were 10 and he was 15 working for his dad in this very bar). You glance out the window and comment that its awfully bright out for the time of day when you hear the first screams.

You both rush out to see a fire sweeping through the wooden buildings of the old quarter. you both turn to run but there is a wind coming off the sea pushing the fire on and the old wooden buildings are going up like kindling. In your blind sprint you both almost make it to the walls dividing the city's districts when the flames overtake you and the smoke makes you choke and fall. Its not long before you are engulfed entirely in flames.


[System] Narrate a dark fantasy text adventure. The setting is harsh and morally complex. Describe scenes vividly, react to player choices with fitting consequences, and never shy away from the reality of the world.

[User] Continue

[Assistant]
On Saturday, December 17th, 2005, I proposed to Katrina, my girlfriend of five years.

This storygame is based off of my actual proposal to Katrina. I've tried to keep thisas close to how it happened / was planned as possible. Since this is a choose-your-story, you will probably have a slightly different experience, but all paths will lead to the same place, since it was planned that way.

You will be reading this story from the perspective of Katrina.

[User] You oK, you've got it!

[Assistant]
It's Thursday night, a little after 9:00PM, and you just returned home from a twelve-hour workday. But it's all good -- this is the start of a long weekend --  your Birthday weekend -- and you've got five days before you have to return to the daily grind.

You see that Alex's friends are over, feasting on Chinese food, and have ordered your favorite dish: General Tso's Chicken. You chow down while they finish up judging some $100 make-a-game contest for their website. They wrap things up after an hour or so, leaving just you, Alex, and a quiet house.

You're a bit tired, but are a bit anxious about tomorrow. It's your birthday, and you're dying to know what Alex got for you. He's been talking about it for a few weeks and seems to have been having some shady dealings with some strange people. You have a good idea of what it is (an artifact of some sort) but really want to know what it is ...

[User] You say "Alex, can you give me my gift tonite?"

[Assistant] You ask Alex if he can give you the gift tonite, but he denies, insisting it will have to wait.

[User] You say "Pleeeaaassee ... I'm sooo curious ...."

[Assistant] You beg and plead, but Alex still insists that you wait tomorrow. Phooey.

[User] You oh well, off to bed

[Assistant] After such a long work day, it's great to finally get to bed. You fall asleep without any problems and sleep in for a long time. A verrrry long time. A verrrrrryyyyy looooong time.

[User] Twelve Noon

[Assistant]
You wake up and do the morning thing, rushing a bit because you're just dying to know what Alex got for you for your birthday. Alex tells you to sit down at the kitchen table and close your eyes. He runs off and retreives your gift, placing it down right in front of you.

"Happy Birthday, Katrina" he says.

[User] You open Your Eyes

[Assistant]
You open your eyes and see a medium-sized Shabti statuette enclosed in a glass case. The artifact is 7.5" long and is in pristine, museum-quality condition. Compared to the small (1cm) sized bead from last year's gift, this thing is huge -- and in great condition.  How could Alex have gotten this?

You also see a piece of paper under the case ...

[User] You what's The Paper Say?

[Assistant]
Wow, it's the accompanying Certificate of Authenticity. It says that the piece is an Anubis Shabti and is from the  Twelfth Dynasty (Approx 1908 BCE). It was discovered by Miriam Lichtum in 1967. That's pretty neat!

You absolutely love the gift. Being a huge fan of Egyptian things -- especially artifacts -- this is more than you could ever want for your birthday! You are a bit curious how Alex was able to obtain such a nice piece, though ...

[User] You ask Alex how he got this

[Assistant]
Alex explains ...

Strange thing, really. I called the Cleveland Museum of Art to see if they knew a reputable artifact dealer and they refered me to the Egyptian Antiquities Society in Chicago. I gave them a call and they kinda laughed at me, saying they really only work in the tens-of-thousands of dollars.

A few weeks later, this one guy from the Society, Dr. Evans, called me back and said that he found something that would fit my profile perfectly. Since these artifacts cannot be shipped, he brought it to Cleveland from Chicago.

[User] You interesting ...

[Assistant]
The rest of your Birthday isn't too eventful. You do the normal birthday stuff: go to your family's house for cake, go out to dinner, and relaxed for the rest of the night.

Throughout the day, you can't stop thinking of how cool the artifact is. It does seem a bit creepy -- after all, this was buried with some guy almost four thousand years ago. But it is so neat to own such an amazing piece of history.

[User] The Next Day ...

[Assistant] The rest of the weekend was fun and relaxing, but nothing to write an adventure game about. You did find a few hours of free time while Alex was busy at work. During those few hours, you ...

[User] You ... Watched some television

[Assistant]
It's amazing how much time flies while you're watching TV. It's not like you really find anything new, but it's always entertaining. Before you know it, it's Sunday night, and time for bed.

As you and Alex get ready for bed, Alex complains that two of the fish died.

[User] Monday

[Assistant] Monday was a pretty relaxing day: sleeping in, shopping, and just hanging out. Nothing notable happened, although as you get ready for bed, Alex mentioned that some more fish died.

[User] You on to Tuesday ...

[Assistant] Another day of rest and relaxaction. Might as well, it's been a long year -- you've been going to classes at night after work for the past five years, so it feels really great to finally have a break and nothing to worry about.

[User] You off to work tomorrow ...

[Assistant]
Yicch -- nothing like going back to work after a small vacation. But it's all good, it's a short week and was a normal day. No staying late required. Woo!

After work, you and Alex stop and do a little bit of shopping. You arrive home and notice that the cat must have completely gone insane. All of the statues and trinkets on the shelf that the the Artifact sat on were knocked over. Some books and magazines were on the floor, fallen from another shelf. It's almost as if a small earthquake happened.

You're not quite sure how she could have possibly gotten up on the shelf to knock all those artifacts and trinkets over. It also is a little weird that the door on the glass case was open. Oh well, those are cats for ya.

[User] You on to Thursday ...

[Assistant] Another uneventful day at work. After getting home and eating dinner and watching TV, you get ready for bed. You fall asleep and are a ....

[User] You ... Light sleeper

[Assistant]
As you're sound asleep, you are jarred awake by a loud noise ....

SLAM!

Alex awakes too, and you are both completely dazed. You look across the room and see that the door is closed. it must have slammed shut. This wasn't the first time you've been awoken in the night by a slammed-shut door. In the summer, when all the windows are open, a bit of wind will cause the doors to slam shut.

But of course, it is the middle of the winter, and no windows are open ...

[User] You that's weird ... Back to sleep

[Assistant]
Finally it's Friday! After a long day of work, you decide to just stay home and watch a movie tonight. You have a big day tomorrow: shopping with your friend and a girls-night-out for your Sister's birthday. Plus, Alex has to go to work early tomorrow morning; he's been complaining about that for weeks.

 You end up watching Sahara, an action movie about Treasure Hunters and Africa. It was a pretty fun movie.

[User] You off to bed ...

[Assistant] The alarm goes of bright and early at 7:00AM and Alex jumps out of bed, rushing to get to work. He was supposed to be there at 7:00 .... whoops!

[User] Back to sleep ...

[Assistant]
After falling back to sleep, you're rudely awaken by the telephone ...

RING! RING! RING!      RING! RING! RING!

Who on earth could be calling at 8:30 in the morning on a saturday? Probably a telemarketer ...

[User] You pick up the phone

[Assistant]
It's Alex.

Sorry to wake you hun, but Dan* just called. His harddrive crashed last night and needs another one for his MP3s so he can do his DJ gig. It's in Akron tonite, so he needs to stop by and pick it up around 10:30AM or so.

You're not too happy about this. You actually sayed up till about 3:00 AM watching another movie, so you need some serious sleep!

* or, as some know him, march5th00

[User] No way, you're too tired

[Assistant]
You tell Alex that you're too tired ...

He reallllly needs the drive. He has no music and needs to try to retreive it from his hard drive ...

[User] You can't he buy a hard drive?

[Assistant]
You ask if he could go to Best Buy and pick up a hard drive. They sell them for fairly cheap, afterall.

He is completely over the limit on his credit card. Besides, why spend $100 when I have one I'm not even using. He'll only stop in and out.


[System] Run a text-based dark fantasy adventure game. Describe the world with gritty realism, respond to player actions with narrative consequences, and maintain the tone of a world where survival is never guaranteed.

[User] You dESTRUCTION RAMPAGE

[Assistant] You decide to screw whoever decided to tase you and you immediately begin to smash everything in sight. You turn an antique oak tea table and matching chairs into toothpicks, you turn the priceless looking one-of-a-kind paintings into tissues and toilet paper. I think that it's needless to say that when Marcus enters the room and sees your destructive violence and the state that the bedroom is in he tears you limb from limb literally.


[System] Narrate a grim fantasy text adventure. The Empire's world is brutal, its people hardened. Respond to the player's choices with immersive storytelling and let consequences flow naturally.

[User] You continue to Ashton

[Assistant]
You keep running north, praying it's the way to Ashton. It's a long journey, and you find yourself having to piss multiple times. During one of these pisses you lose muscle control and fall into a puddle of your own urine. When you come to, you find yourself in Ashton. Or at least, what used to be Ashton. The city has been completely destroyed, houses burned to the ground and there's not another soul in sight. You do sense someone being nearby and search for any survivors.

What you find instead sends you into a rage. It's Aria and she is looking at you smugly.

"Good job destroying the city, you did a much better job than I ever could."

You hold back from attacking her considering you no longer have your sword. You make an emotional plea and say,

"You promised you wouldn't destroy the city if I freed Azor."

She laughs and starts to fly circles around you.

"Au contraire my little killer. YOU destroyed the city and I kept my promise. Thanks to you I've been granted a passage home."

"What are you even talking about? How could I destroy the city if I don't have a weapon?"

She laughs again and stops flying to land beside you.

"When you black out, you take on a different form. Azor is capable of much more than you ever will be."

This can't be real, you've gone through so much just to be a pawn in her little game. You wish you just died on that freezing night instead of having Catia save you. Maybe Ashton would still exist if it weren't for you.

"Don't be so sad, you're coming with me!"

You stare daggers at her.

"What do you mean I'm coming with you?"

"You're coming home with me of course. Azor's a demon too and you couldn't have destroyed the city without him. And thanks to you, Tornaxaan, a powerful demon lord, commended us for tricking you into destroying your own city. As a reward, we get to return to the infernal realm."

"Can't you just let me go? Surely Azor could possess a different body..."

"Nonsense, now grab my hand. We're going to have so much fun!"

[User] You epilogue #3: Returning to a Home Unknown

[Assistant]
"So your name's Coyote?"

"Yes, and I presume you're Azor?"

At this point you don't even bother correcting people. Your moments of control are becoming more scarce and there's no point in wasting it telling people you aren't Azor.

"That's correct, now tell me, how can I get sent to Earth?"

"You could try learning dark magic, that's how my friend Jirzan got there."

Dark magic is notorious for being hard to control. Still, it might be your best option.

"Dark magic sounds interesting. Is there some sort of teleportation spell that can get me back to earth? Oh, maybe I could learn to conjure a portal!"

Coyote, who is half man half coyote, shows what would be a pleasant smile if he didn't have two monstrous fangs.

"No nothing like that, you don't even have to learn a single spell. Just being in possession of a dark magic book, or kit, will be enough to get you sent back."

"And where could I get such resources?"

"I wish I knew, but dark magic is heavily guarded by the most elite demons. I would take a look in Tornaxxan's castle, just don't get caught."

"Yeah I wasn't planning to. Thanks for your help Coyote, I'll try to sneak in before it's too late."

"Too late? Buddy, you got an eternity to figure this out."

"Sure I do," you say while sulking away.

Coyote calls after you,

"Before you go, could you do me a favor?"

You stop and pause to ask,

"What?"

"If you ever meet a demon named Jirzan, tell him I've been released from captivity. He'll be happy to hear that."

"I'll be sure to tell him if I get the chance."

Coyote wags his tail as you wave goodbye. Who knows if you'll ever return home? And if you do, when can you get rid of Azor? Life used to be so much simpler.


[System] You are narrating an interactive fiction game in a dark fantasy setting. Bring the world to life with vivid prose, react meaningfully to player choices, and don't pull punches when the story demands it.

[User] You keep calm

[Assistant]
You're not going to play her game. Getting into a fight is just going to make things worse. She's all talk anyway, she's just going to bark and not actually do anything.

You just stay silent and try to walk away. Diana however keeps barking.

"Hey, where you going, this isn't over you fucking bitch!" Diana says, but you ignore her and keep walking away.

When you don't respond, Diana moves from barking to biting which involves grabbing you on the shoulder and spinning you around.

"Hey, get your hands off of me!" you say and attempt to push her away. Diana's spoiling for a fight however and grabs your arm with her free hand.

And unfortunately she's also spoiling for your death.

"You're fucking too weak for Bobby, better that I take care of this now. He'll thank me in the long run!" She exclaims and stabs you chest with her knife. You scream in pain and fall back in shock. Diana wastes no time in taking advantage and leaps on you while stabbing the entire time.

While the noise brings the attention of other family members who attempt to pull Diana off of you, but it's already too late, she's hit several vital organs and opened up several of your veins.

"All hail fucking Tiamat and her glorious chaos!" Diana yells in triumph and laughing as your blood is splattered all over her.


[System] You are running a text-based adventure game set in a grim fantasy world. Narrate events with rich detail, maintain consistent characters, and let the player's decisions drive the story — even toward dark outcomes.

[User] You stay hidden

[Assistant]
You stay hidden, and Louis walks over. He leans over the counter, his head just over you. Then, he spots the edge of Lucy's foot.

"Shit!" he shouts, turning and running out of the RV.

"Hey! The girls got loose! Where's the gun?"

Within seconds, Sheriff Buckly is standing by the doorway, aiming his gun.

"Come out or I'll blow your brains out!" he roars.

[User] You surrender

[Assistant]
You raise your hands in surrender, and step forward. Sheriff Buckly grins.

"Come on, there you go, drop the knife."

You drop the knife, and step forward. He swings his gun, smacking into the side of your head and sending you spiraling into unconsciousness.

[User] You awaken

[Assistant]
Apocalypse

You lie in the rusted gurney, at the edge of a large circle. Your friends are gone, but you only look for a second before you see the preparations for the portal. A large circle of stones lies, each stained with a drop of blood. Standing around the circle are the cultists. Standing around them are a half dozen monster-children that make you want to vomit, the failed attempts at rearing a Key Bearer. They're so deformed, so mutated, they barely qualify as children. One is missing both it's arms, replaced with long, thin, slimy tentacles like pasta. A second is missing most of its face, a gaping hole in its place filled with tiny, wiggling tentacles from the walls, back, roof and floor of the mouth. A third looks like a cute, perfectly normal girl of around four years old, except her mouth hangs open and her eyes are completely black. Another, one of the worst, looks like a cross between a schoolgirl, a fetus and an octopus, and stands wiggling. Still, that's nothing compared to what sits in the middle of the circle. Sitting in the middle, wiggling, is your child. The Key-Bearer is the size of a cat, and is nothing but a seething mass of tentacles that whip around, seemingly drawing lines of purple lightning around itself in the symbol that was carved into you.

"Ah, you're here!" Doctor Kessel says eagerly.

"Where are my friends?" you scream, terrified of the creatures that surround you.

"It doesn't matter now! Now, we begin! We will witness the glories of Crexiciliatanian's creation!"

The Key-Bearer speeds up, painting the symbol across the very fabric of reality. The ground begins to crumble away, turning in pure blackness. Suddenly, there's a flash, and the portal opens.

Then, it begins.


[System] You are the narrator of a dark fantasy text adventure. Describe the world and its consequences with unflinching detail. The player's choices shape the story — for better or worse.

[User] You attempt to take a more peaceful approach

[Assistant]
"Look... Khalid. The galaxy's a harsh place."

"Oh, I'm sorry, did you learn that from your tiny fucking amount of experience in the world?" Khalid says.

You stare at the psyker as he runs his hands through his hair.

"I wanted... an alliance," you say.

"Ter-fucking-rfic," Khalid the Despised says. "Follow me."

You look at your lieutenants. The slave leaders; Fay, Olive, Castus and Cain are all shocked, while Elios, Durge, Elizabeth and Hayes seem indifferent.

"His attitude has improved," Elizabeth notes.

"Is that a joke?" Olive asks, staring at her.

"No. You should've seen him last time," Elizabeth says. "Come on, let's follow."

You follow after Khalid, and soon follow him into a large library. Khalid points his staff, and a dozen large chairs float over. He sits down into one of them, looking up at you.

"I assume you're here about the psyker, yes?" he asks.

"Uh... what psyker?"

Khalid the Despised rolls his eyes, gently tapping his staff against the ground in annoyance.

"A new psyker has supposedly risen to power in the sector. We're talking a psyker of amazing power. Tremendous power. He's seemingly pledged as the greatest champion of the renegade Chaos God, Malice. I assume you want to make an alliance to take him out."

"No... although I'll look into it. I'm taking Kyros' place as a military power, and rebuilding. I want to secure my alliance with you."

"Ah, a little kid playing dress-up in the robes of his master, yes? Why should I ally with you?"

"Do you have many other offers of alliance?" you ask.

"Fair point," Khalid admits. "Yes, I want to ally with you."

"Oh, that was easy. Shall we discuss military strength? Under my com..."

"I know," Khalid nods. "You understand the amount of knowledge my spies give me? I have quite a few spies on your ship, and that's not even taking into account my psykers trained in Divination. It might seem I'm answering far too quickly. I'm not. I foresaw you coming to ask, did my research, did what I need. I decided what was to be agreed here a while back. What I've not learned is whether I can trust you. So, I have an offer. A Binding Contract."

"A binding contract?" you ask.

"Did Kyros teach you anything other than to take a dick? A binding contract is done brwteen two individuals with strong psychic abilities. We make a contract, binding our very souls to it to be relinquished should we break it."

"What's the contract?"

"We pledge to remain loyal to each other, absolutely no aggression, come to each others aid, yadda yadda yadda. The details are mental. The words don't matter so much as the spirit behind them."

"What do I do?" you ask.

"Just shake my hand. I'll say the incantation, and our minds will meet. You'll be able to search my mind for mistrust, as I will for you. Are we agreed?"

[User] You agree

[Assistant]
You nod, holding out your hand. Khalid grabs you by the hand, and stares into your eyes.

"This'll be simple enough. Just don't resist. Understood?"

"Got it," you say.

"With the Dark Gods, the Corpse-Emperor himself and anyone else out their with the power to oversee this bargain, I pledge these two souls together by the binding contract, that we will remain allies into all ways possible. Should we break this contract, let our souls be forfeit."

You hear the chattering of thousands of daemonic voices as they watch your deal. You feel your mind be flooded into by Khalid's, as consciousness, in the way normal humans feel it, fade.

You find yourself floating in a void, surrounded by an ever-shifting mass of golden energy, that seem to make up Khalid. You look around, as you see his thoughts floating around you. You reach out your hand, touching the thought screams as you hear Khalid's voice boom.

"Is the big freak literate? Is it even sentient? I would think not. If I had to look at that face in the mirror every morning I'd kill myself."

You frown, touching another.

"Is the dumbass seriously using Kyros' former lieutenants, those who enslaved his people, as his lieutenants? He saw them betray Kyros! And now the dumbass is reading your thoughts, no doubt learning that while I'll remain loyal to him, he's a fucking wanker."

You touch another one.

"You, Karth Uwais, are ugly. See? I'm not even slightly lying."

Well, you've got what you need from his thoughts. Still, in the golden fog of energy, you can see what you assume are memories drifting around. You see his staff floating through the void before disappearing, before you see a wolf bound through the fog. You can hear distant screams emanate through the fog from some horrifying memory. You see Kyros march across the fog and step back nervously despite knowing he's only a memory.

[User] You follow the staff

[Assistant]
You walk after the staff, as the darkness manifests itself into a massive forge. You smell the oil and grease of the forge, feel the heat of the forges, taste the taste of copper in the air, hear the screeching of metal. A younger version of Khalid clad in red and gold power armor works on his staff, sculpting the snakes that intertwine it. Another space marine with the same color scheme walks into the forge, grinning.

"Khalid! What are you forging there, friend?"

"I call it the Staff of Khalid," Khalid says proudly, holding it up.

"Ah, what humility!" the second marine says. "What great abilities has it?"

"Glad you asked, Narmer. It can act as a simple director of power, but more importantly, it can redirect psychic attacks back at the opponent. Unless they specifically know of the staff's powers, they should suffer the full effect of the action."

"Fascinating," Narmer says. "I..."

The room gently fades back into complete darkness.


[System] Narrate a grim fantasy text adventure. The Empire's world is brutal, its people hardened. Respond to the player's choices with immersive storytelling and let consequences flow naturally.

[User] You stay out of it

[Assistant]
You decide to stay out of this little war they got going, plan on just keeping a low profile. Hopefully they'll never come scouting around your warehouse to closely.

A few months pass and The Zeropolis Guard discovers your little slice of solitude one day, you awaken to the sounds of your door being blown off its hinges and soldiers coming in.

"Holy shit, there's someone living here!" one of them remarks.
"What the fuck man? You blew up my door!" you shout trying to gather your wits from being asleep.
"Yeah? Well what the hell are you doing down here anyway?" a mean heavily scarred mutant asks.
"I live here! What's it to you? Don't you have Ferals to kill or some shit?"
"We were looking for some and we found this place…looks like you got quite the set up here. Generator, water recycler…this place would make a good living quarters for the Captain."
"What? HELL NO! This is my home! You can't just…"
"Quiet civvy, this place is now the property of The Zeropolis Guard, you got a problem with it, tough. Maybe if you join up though you can help protect the place, but for now you better get your shit and leave AND you can leave that pistol right there as well. You're under our protection, you don't need that anymore."
"Fuck you! I've spoke with Captain Salazar before and even HE let me keep it!"
"Yeah, well things have changed since then, we're uh…having a weapon shortage, so shut the fuck up and get the fuck out! You ain't winning this one and if you persist in this act of civil disobedience I'll fuckin' just shoot you right now!"

You have little choice in this matter. You grab what little belongings you can still take with you and get evicted from your home. You eventually find an abandoned building in one of the neighborhoods to dwell in, but its not nearly as nice. You try to go complain to Captain Salazar personally, but you just get stonewalled and blown off all the time. They just tell you that if you really want a weapon that badly you should officially join instead of complaining. In fact they begin to warn you that if you don't like being under their protection, you can leave and see how much you'd like it elsewhere.

That is a tempting thing to do because you'll be damned if you'll join these fuckin' fascists at this point. Though you're mad enough to try to do something a little more proactive as well.

[User] You leave the Dust District

[Assistant]
You don't really have the connections to start inciting revolutions. You wouldn't know where to begin and chances are you'd end up getting yourself killed immediately. As much as you don't want to leave, you can't live under such oppression anymore, so you decide to travel to another part of Zeropolis.

You travel quite a bit, before remembering again that the rest of the City isn't nearly as safe as the Dust District! You're attacked by Ferals at nearly every turn, and worse you don't even have any type of long range weapon to fight them off with. Even the mutants that aren't Ferals have a gang like mentality that is hostile to any not in their immediate group. After running and hiding many times, and being wounded as well, you come to the conclusion that you'll have to grin and bear it and return to the Dust District.

Sadly you never make it, as a particularly large group of Ferals ambush you and proceed to make you wish you never came to the City in the first place.


[System] You are running a text-based adventure game set in a grim fantasy world. Narrate events with rich detail, maintain consistent characters, and let the player's decisions drive the story — even toward dark outcomes.

[User] You redouble your protection

[Assistant]
You cease your attack and attempt to redouble your protection, unfortunately while you're fumbling around and retyping, Miranda sends a worm and completely wrecks your system, making it slow to a crawl, then she follows up with another power surge, and this one blows out your most of the hard drive.

"POWE….RRRRR FFFFFF…….AAAAAIIIIILLLLINNN….GGG….." the Shelter utters as everything begins to flicker and eventually go out, leaving you in the dark and powerless.

You've lost.

Death is the price of your failure.


[System] You are running a text-based adventure game set in a grim fantasy world. Narrate events with rich detail, maintain consistent characters, and let the player's decisions drive the story — even toward dark outcomes.

[User] You attempt to barter with the Dead Man

[Assistant]
"So what's our plan?"

"The Dead Man."

"What? The ghost?"

"Yeah. We could use him."

"Ghosts aren't real, Hazel. Maybe you should sit down."

"I saw him."

"Ghosts aren't..."

"Becca, our friends have been kidnapped by demon-summoning cultists, and you don't belief in ghosts at the moment?"

"I... I guess."

"Yeah. Let's go pay him a visit."

You turn and lead Becca off towards the Dead Man's Barn. After about five minutes of jogging, you reach the empty field that's brightened in the moonlight, with the large, old abandoned barn standing there.

"Come on!" you say.

You reach the barn, and begin prying plywood out of the way. You pause, remembering the Dead Man's hatred of Becca, pause.

"I'll go inside alone," you say.

"Are you sure?"

"Yeah," you say.

Becca shrugs, pulling the plywood out of the way and clambering inside. You are immediately engulfed in darkness. The soft rustle of the grass ceases as the entire barn is filled with a silence. Then, a whistle breaks out. The Dead Man begins whistling a slow, soft tune, the only thing that breaks the silence. Each note is mixed with the wet squelching you heard the last time. You see him leaning on a large wooden beam, his long, cut open grin staring back at you. The whistling stops as shadows seem to enrapture him. He disappears from his position leaning on the beam, and you feel hot breath on the back of your neck.

"I didn't think you'd come around here, darlin'. I was certain you'd be smarter," you hear him whisper from directly behind you.

A gloved hand begins to stroke your hair as you feel a metal blade press against your throat.

"No bother. I won't mind cutting you up a little."

"Wait! I want to make a deal with you!"

The blade stops and twists so that the flat of the blade is rubbing your neck.

"Alright... you bought yourself a minute. Explain."

"I want to help you get revenge."

"No you don't.You want something that coincides with me getting my revenge. What?"

"I need Mrs Jordan, Alison, Sheriff Buckly and Doctor Kessel."

"Alison. What's her last name."

"Parker."

"Oh yeah, Parker... Damn right I want my revenge. But it seems you're far more desperate than I am."

"I..."

"I want something. The Montgomery girl."

"What?"

"I want you to bring me her."

"I don't have her. She left..."

The Dead Man smiles as his grin is elongated once again because of the cuts as a wave of blood spills down his cheeks. He leans forward, running a hand against your cheek and down your neck.

"Bring me the girl... and I will help you kill every last person you want dead."

[User] You agree

[Assistant]
You take a deep breath, and nod.

"OK. Fine," you say.

It's for the best. It's the only way to safe your friends. If you don't sacrifice one, you all die.

"Call her, then."

"Becca!" you shout.

"Yes?"

"Come in here!"

"I though you said..."

"Just do it!"

You see the Dead Man disappear, and seconds later, Becca climbs through the hole in the wall.

"What do you need?"

"I'm so, so sorry," you whimper.

"What...?"

The Dead Man is formed from the shadows directly behind Becca, leaning against the wall. He raises an old-fashioned revolver, and points it at the back of her head.

"Tell your ancestors I sent you," he says.

The Dead Man fires his gun and the revolver explodes with a thunderous roar, as does Becca's face. The front of her face explodes, sending blood, bits of flesh and grey matter onto the floor. You scream in horror as your friend collapses on the floor as all the life flows from her eyes and her face takes a dull expression.

"Ah... you can't imagine how good that felt."

You choke back a cry, as tears stream down your face.

"You have to kill everyone I mentioned."

"How the fuck am I supposed to do that?"

"What? You said you could! You promised."

"I promised I would try. You bring those people into this barn, I'll kill 'em all and leave you alive."

"How the fuck am I supposed to do that?" you shout, echoing the Dead Man's complaint.

The Dead Man grins, and fades into the background and is absorbed by shadows once again. You sigh, and walk out. You climb out of the barn, your mind racing. Then, you have an idea. The one thing any of them care about is the Key-Bearer. If you can get that,or it, or whatever the fuck the creature is, you can lure them into the barn. You begin walking back towards the camp.

[User] Five Minutes Later...

[Assistant]
You stare at the camp, watching the cultists work.They all pile stones in a large circle. You hear horrified moans from inside the RV, and you can vaguely see the horrified shapes of the failed attempts to birth a Key-Bearer inside the RV, the monstrous, contorting shapes howling desperately. Still, you see what you're looking for. Doctor Kessel holds a large bundle of contorting tentacles You look around the earthen floor of the woods, finding a large tree branch with suitable weight and length. You pick it up, and begin creeping towards Doctor Kessel. You silently creep forward, aas he watches the circle being formed, oblivious to anything else. You take a deep breath, and raise the tree branch. You swing it with as much strength as you can muster, and it smacks into the back of his head. It slams into his head and he collapses forward, the Key-Bearer flying onto the floor. You spot your friends in the cage, Sheriff Buckly watching over you, but know you don't have time to rescue them. You grab the Key-Bearer and get your first real look at it. A seething mass of tentacles, with at the base a small, spherical body. You shiver in terror as you notice the creature has a single, bright blue eye, the same color as yours. You grab it, wrapping in the blanket Doctor Kessel has been coddling it, and turn.

"Fuck! Get her!" Doctor Kessel screams.

Sheriff Buckly turns and raises his gun, but Doctor Kessel screams at him to stop.

"No, no! For god's sake, don't fire! You could hit the key-bearer and ruin everything!" Doctor Kessel screams later.

You break into a run, as you see Alison open the RV.

"Children! Go, go track down your brother and the girl!"

You see demented figures emerge from the RV. There's a pair of small legs that waddle forward, although everything above the waist is a seething mass of tentacles. There's an armless child who's eyes are just two empty caverns that are blacker the pure darkness. There's a small girl, each limb replaced with a long coil of muscles that it uses to crawl along the ground. They all see you, eyes filled with pain and angst, and begin to follow you. You turn and begin running as fast as you can towards the Dead Man's barn. You run as fast as your feet will carry you for several minutes, hearing the howls of the monsters behind you grow louder as the cultists follow just behind you.

"Stop running! We won't hurt you!" Doctor Kessel screams.

You feel the Key-Bearer writhe under the blanket in your arms and you wince, but don't dare stop runnign. Eventually, you break free from the trees, into the field under the moonlight. You spot the hole in the boarded up barn, and begin desperately running towards it. After a minute of running as fast as you can, you dive through it, into the darkness of the barn. Seconds later, you hear a slithering, shivering sound as those monsters enter. You stay perfectly quiet, and begin crawling under a small gap in the fence, into a horse stall.

"Hazel... you better come out now..." Sheriff Buckly whispers. "It's better we find you then one of the kids..."

You try not to breath and stay perfectly silent as you hear figures wandering around the room.

"Oh, there you ar... what's this?"

"Ah, look who it is. A Buckly... I always did know your family was a generation of snakes and government cocksuckers..."

"How... what the fuck are yo...?"

"I'm the Grim fuckin' Reaper."

"No! Wait! Please, don't!"

"Tell ol' grandaddy Buckly you died beggin' me!"

There's a gunshot, and Sheriff Buckly falls silent.

"Well, look at this... the Kessel family's newest generation are all pig-fuck ugly monsters. See ya, kids."

There's a series of gun shots as you hear the knife whistle through the air.

"Jesus fuck! What's...?"

"A Parker. Your gran' daddy had the dumbest horse grin I'd ever seen."

There's the noise of a knife, slicing through the air and the squelching sound of blood.

"Oops, there goes a Jordan and a O'Riley. Huh, your grand daddies on your mom and dad's sides were fiddling, only makes sense their kids would have kids."

There's a series of gunshots and squelches from knife stabs, before you hear a single, solitary voice.

"Hazel? Whatever you've done, stop this... please..." Doctor Kessel whimpers.

You hear a gunshot, and the thud of a body hitting the floor. Then, silence. Suddenly, the Dead Man stands, staring at you.

"Alright, darling. You never said there'd be a dozen monsters in tow."

"I didn't think they'd release them."

"Alright. Well, I reckon we're about even."

You nod, before the bundle wiggles in your arms again. The Dead Man raises his gun and shoots the wiggling bundle twice. You scream as blood flies up, before throwing the dying monster off you.

"There. Now we're sure as fuck even."

The Dead Man is absorbed by the darkness once more, and you're left alone in the darkness. You stand, walking out into the carnage. Corpses lie everywhere, shriveled tentacles and bleeding bodies around the room. You find Sheriff Buckly, lying on the floor in a growing puddle of blood. You search his pockets, pulling out the keys to the rusted cage. You leave the barn, and begin walking off to rescue your friends,  just as the sky begins to rise.

[User] One Year Later...

[Assistant]
Death and Vengeance

You're surprised how quickly and eagerly the media pick up on this. A tale of a bunch of kids discovering what a cult. Of course, the story gets botched considerably. The cult is said to be Satanist, the monster-children are claimed to be simply malformed or mutilated, any and all super-natural presence is rationalized, and its claimed that you and Becca made a stand against the cultists, leading to Becca's death in the fire fight. You don't disagree with them, because you know you'd come off as crazy. The Dead Man is happy to stay hidden every time they investigate the barn, knowing the difference between picking off a few trespassers and ambushing a police investigation, and not wanting his barn covered in police tape for any longer than needs be. Still, it does turn Dawnwood into a media hotspot for some time and turns you into somewhat of a celebrity some time. Still, it doesn't take long for the media to move on. With celebrity pregnancies, terrorist attacks in the Middle East and an endless amount of mass shootings, things move on. You continue living in Dawnwood, staying with your friends. You still have serious guilt over what happened to Becca, and any and all attempts to rationalize it lead to you just wallowing in self-depreciation and depression. Time passes, you settle down in the town and for the first time you're glad you moved to the town. Sure, you still have many unanswered questions about what happened and still wake up with phantom pains in your stomach and nightmares of that night, and nightmares of Becca's corpse slumped over in front of you, but you're able to move past it somewhat. You're looking forward to your future in Dawnwood.


[System] Narrate a grim fantasy text adventure. The Empire's world is brutal, its people hardened. Respond to the player's choices with immersive storytelling and let consequences flow naturally.

[User] You go legit

[Assistant]
You can't go back to those "good old days" even though you might wish to. Really, the good old days were long over the day you got chased out of Teckleville, and perhaps they were over even before that when your sister left. You hope she's doing well.

Zal isn't the only one that's gotten older. True you're still relatively young in comparison and perhaps the roguish streak hasn't quite left you yet, but her transformation and everything else that's gone on...well quite frankly it is time to start thinking about a more stable future that doesn't involve criminal endeavors.

As for being married...well you could do worse than being married to a woman who's been giving you sound advice for over a decade, even if she has been a bit manipulative at times. You'd be lying if you didn't like that quality slightly. She obviously cares about you on some level and the feeling is mutual. After all, if you didn't, you would have divorced long ago.

You grab Zal's hand, squeezing it while nodding silently. It's all you have to do to give an answer. Zal seems pretty happy with your answer and hugs you which you return.

"(Sigh) Considering I'm actually allowing myself to submit to this, I guess it's just as well I'm getting out too. I'm obviously too soft to be a crime lord anymore." You say as Zal smiles.
"Oh you're not going soft, you're just playing the odds and the odds are in favor of a better life if you get out of this game now." Zal says in an attempt to reassure you.
"I suppose. I do hope you know that this isn't going to be as easy as you believe though. Good thing we've got a lot saved up, because if we're going totally legit, we're probably going to be taking a major loss for awhile."
"I know, but I truly think this is going to be for the best in the long run."
"It's not just that though, we've got other people to think about. I mean the folks who aren't Talons aren't going to be a problem, like some of the waitresses. Even some of the Talons aren't going to be a problem. Hell, I can see someone like Vaughn being completely okay with this direction, but there are a few of the younger more ambitious members that aren't going to go along with this."
"Well that's tough shit."
"Perhaps, but they're going to be pretty mad about this and when they are, I can't say I'm going to entirely blame them. Still, we can deal with that later. Right now, priority is making this place respectable before the Klyton militia sweep."

You and Zal get back to that task at hand.

Later on in the week after the noise has died down from Klyton's most recent repressive tactics, you call a meeting to address everyone of the new changes that are going to be taking place.

It goes well for the most part, but predictably there are complaints.

"So wait, if this place is going legit, does that mean we can't fuck the merchants that come in here anymore?" A whore asks.
"You ladies can fuck anyone you want, but if you're going to be doing it here, you better be doing it for fun rather than profit. There is to be no more whoring here. If you want to pursue that line of work, you do it elsewhere. Better yet, the Klyton Kitty is hiring right now. You ladies could go there and be completely legal prostitutes at that establishment."
"What?! They wouldn't hire me and I can't compete with the bitches that hoity toity place! They're all twenty years younger, got all their teeth, magically enhanced tits, and don't have a rash on their..."
"Hey look, that's not my fucking problem! The best I can do is if any of you want jobs as waitresses, I can accommodate in that respect, but you if you want to go whore, you do it on your own time and away from this place!"

As the whores grumble, one of the more unkept employees raises their hands.

"Um, does this mean those of us who owed gambling debts don't have to work here anymore?" One of the "indentured servants" asks.
"No! You deadbeat fuckers still owe! I'm not absolving anyone of their debts and don't think I won't still enforce that! However, only part of it will be taken out of your pay. If and when you finish paying off your debt, you can either continue working here for your full pay or go on your way." You say.

Finally, there is the group that you were expecting the most trouble from.

"This a bunch of fucking bullshit." Camid exlaims.

Camid is one of the younger Crimson Talons. He's always been a bit outspoken about how things should be run, but he's more or less always complied. A few other Talons with his mindset also express their dissatisfaction.

"Which part?" You ask humoring this asshole.
"All of it. How fuck are we just going to walk away from all the money we're making and become regular blue collar bums? The working man is a sucker and this is just fucking stupid." Camid says.
"Yeah, I figured some of you would feel that way, so think of this as my retirement as head of the Crimson Talons. Camid, if you want the job you got it. If not, well I'm sure those of you who still want to go out and do illegal shit can decide who's going to run the organization. Good luck to you."
"I gotta say, I never agreed with all your decisions, but I never thought I'd see the damn day when you'd go fucking limp dick soft. What, so the Klyton militia assholes come sweep the place and you lose your damn balls?" Camid remarks.
"Pfft, he didn't lose them, he knows exactly where they are. In his old bitch of a wife's purse!" Another Talon remarks.

At this point Zalmora, Vaughn and a couple of the ex-Talons on your side begin to yell, but you calm everyone down.

"It's fine, it's fine. You done?" You ask.
"No, I'm not fucking done. This inn is a fucking Crimson Talon business! Now if you want to step down and live like some regular jerk off fine. But YOU don't get to take this with you! This is OUR place." Camid remarks.
"That's not what it says on the deed, and last time I remember I wasn't married to your ass. Look Camid, you got the damn sewers. You're gaining the bum fights, you can run whores and gambling there. Shit, you can even sell Yellow Devil again or whatever else you want, but YOU don't get this place. I was the one who scratched and worked for it. You want someplace that doesn't smell like shit and covered in slime, well you're going to have to work for it too."

At this point Camid and you are face to face and it's half expected that someone is going to go for a weapon. Camid is obviously severely tempted, but he's not quite confident enough to believe he'll survive the exchange.

"You're going to regret this." He says and then backs away slowly towards the door as likeminded folks follow.

You wave your hand away dismissively and tell your remaining people to go on with their work. You head to your office, though Zalmora and Vaughn follow you.

"I hate to say this, but I don't think Camid's going to just go away." Zalmora says.
"Yeah, I got that impression. (Sigh) This is why I didn't think this was going to just go smoothly." You say.
"Do you think we could just make a one time pay off for him to forget about us?" Vaughn asks.
"Vaughn you know damn well that isn't going to work. That fucker will just see that as weakness and start demanding payment on a weekly basis. Besides, we're already going to be losing money in the near future, I'm not parting with any more than I have to."
"Well, there's always the obvious solution." Zal suggests.
"But I thought the whole point was to get away from doing shit like that. I mean I'm with you guys on going legit, but if we start making exceptions, we're not really changing are we?" Vaughn says.
"So what are you suggesting?" You ask.
"We get the law to work for us for a change. Look, we all know Camid isn't going to be inventive enough to pick a new location to do business. He's probably going to go right back to that old location in the sewers. All I have to do is tell Gregory about the large Crimson Talon hideout there and boom. The militia takes care of our problem. Plus you know Camid, he'll probably go down fighting."
"Who's Gregory?" You ask.
"Vaughn's militia man. Got to admit, that's not a bad plan. Just...I dunno. Seems weird ratting them out like that to solve the issue." Zal remarks.
"What difference does it make as long as it gets the job done? Besides, as I said, I thought we weren't Talons anymore. There's no code of silence being broken." Vaughn remarks as Zal reluctantly agrees.

Seems that Zal hasn't quite gotten all the "rogue" out of her system despite everything she's claimed. You can certainly relate, but not so much because you're against ratting them out, but more because killing them is a more final solution to a potential problem.

[User] You snitch on the Crimson Talons

[Assistant]
It occurs to you that snitching them out to the militia is most likely the same thing as wiping them out. The Klyton militia isn't exactly known for showing restraint when it comes to things like this. And as Vaughn said, Camid will most likely be foolish enough to go down fighting and take everyone under his command with him.

"Fuck it, we're law abiding citizens concerned with the criminal element in this city. There's no reason we should risk our lives, let the militia do their job. Go talk to your boyfriend." You say.

Your response is a bit of a surprise to Vaughn and a bigger surprise to Zalmora who both figured you'd ultimately want to take care of the problem directly. Vaughn however seems happy that his life won't be at risk now. Zal doesn't argue with your decision, but seems a little distracted by it.

Later that night you address it directly before you both go to bed.

"Zal, this really is the less messy solution. If we're getting out like you wanted us to, we can't go around committing a mass murder that could potentially get one or more of us killed in the process. I mean how fucked up would it be if I died or worse, YOU died during the hit? Camid left with a little over half of the Talons, we would have been outnumbered. Let those militia assholes waste their lives. Better them than us, and as I said before, especially you." You say caressing the side of Zal's face.
"I know. I know. And I'm glad you were concerned about me." Zal says embracing you.

In the next few days, Vaughn lets you know that everything has been set in motion and the Klyton militia is going to launch a full scale assault on the location. They apparently want this to go so successfully they're doing their best keeping it secret. (Though Vaughn's boyfriend Gregory has a big mouth and told him everything anyway.)

Within the week you get the news from the paper about how the Crimson Talons were absolutely crushed by the Klyton militia. A big announcement is made of how the Talons are no longer a threat in the Klyton and have at last been brought down after decades of terrorizing the city.

All Talon members were killed in the raid along with several Yellow Devil junkies, whores, and gamblers who were there betting on a bum fight. But as usual nobody really cares about some dregs of society getting massacred in the process because justice has been served!

You smile and point out to Zal this success.

"See? Told you this was the best way to handle it." You say.
"Actually it was Vaughn who suggested it in the first place." Zal remarks.
"Being the boss means you always get to take the credit." You chuckle.
"Boss? We're not Crimson Talons anymore remember?'
"I'm still boss of this inn and I'm boss of your fine ass." You say slapping Zal on the ass.
"Oh yeah? Well you better come closer and prove that because I'm not convinced."

You and Zal proceed celebrate your victory and new lives as productive law abiding citizens in a physical way.

Year 33

"Where the hell has Vaughn been? He hasn't come in for the past three days. Did he say he was sick or something?" You ask.
"Last time I saw him he was fine. Never said anything about being sick." Zalmora remarks.
"I'm gonna have to go over to his home or something because he can't just disappear like this. We're trying to run a business here."
"It's odd for him to just disappear though. Maybe we should contact the militia on this."
"His boyfriend is a militia guy. I'm sure if it was really serious, he would have already let us know. He's probably just got some minor cold and decided it would be a good excuse to take off from work. He's done that before you know."
"So you going over to his home?"
"Maybe later when things here at the inn die down a bit. Too much to do right now."

You spend most of your work day tending to usual business. Still feels weird at times working a real job, but you're pretty much used to it now. Being with Zal certainly has made this transition easier for you.

If only your parents could see you now, they probably wouldn't believe it. You don't think your sister would either. Your thoughts sometimes still wander towards them and wonder how they all are at times.

By night fall the inn has gotten a little quieter. Normally that's not the case, but you know there's some major party going on at the Madcap Tavern tonight so most of the rowdier folks are there. You decide this will be a good time to go check on Vaughn.

You say goodbye to Zal and leave the inn.

As you walk to Vaughn's place you pass a couple of patrolling guards. You still remember when you first came to this city it still wasn't quite as restrictive as it is now. You guess it's good you got out of the life when you did.

Along the way, a man with a full beard and mustache and raggedy clothing comes up to you.

"Hey boss, can you spare a copper?" He asks.
"Don't have any. Get a job." You say still walking.
"I had a job boss, but the business got shut down by the government and in this environment, it's hard to get work." He says following you.
"Yeah, well things are tough all over."
"Well things look like they're going good for you boss. You got money, a nice business, a pretty wife even if she is a little on the older side."

You suddenly stop walking and it occurs to you that he isn't just calling you "boss" as some term of deference of social status.

"Never thought I'd get an easy chance to get you like this, you never leave that fucking inn." The man says in a nastier tone.

Your instincts kick in, and you swing at the man, but you're a little rusty in the combat area. This man however isn't and dodges your swing and then smashes you in the face with some brass knuckles.

You feel the crunch of your nose breaking as you fall to the ground. You then feel a boot to the side of your head nearly knocking you unconscious.

In your dazed state you feel yourself being dragged into a nearby alley. You attempt to stop your assailant, but are only met with more stomps to your face. He only stops in order to take out his flintlock pistol.

While you have no idea who this man's name is, you know he has to be an ex-Talon. Probably some young recruit that you never really paid attention to, which is probably why you never recognized him right away either, even if he does look like a vagrant now.

Apparently the Klyton militia wasn't as thorough as they claimed in the papers all those years ago.

"Been waiting a long time for this. Say hello to Vaughn in hell when you see him and don't worry your snitch bitch of a wife will be joining both of you soon too." He says and then puts a bullet in your head.