[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 stick with your own plan

[Assistant]
Theo might mean well, but you're a firm believer that simple plans often work best and since you've got the last word, you're sticking with your original plan.

"It's a good idea Theo, but I believe it may stir up more attention towards us, if we start attempting to convert people outside Delerg. It may even cause certain warlords to unite against us if they believe us to be threatening enough. Better that we keep our presence to a minimum and especially not try to contact any of them directly. What I want you to do instead is to just keep an eye on Anu and Sam since they're close by, but since they seem to be content on bashing each other in the head just send some Blades to perform sabotage on both sides just to keep them mired down."
"As you wish Shadow Master." Theo remarks.
"The western Quala warlords seem pretty occupied as well so we don't need to deal with them either. General Ackerson though I want assassinated. I know he's attempting to expand into Rask, but the man is the biggest threat as far as powers in Quala and I don't want him to improve that position in the future. Cyrus, since you're really eager about doing this, I'm going to leave it up to you who to send, but I imagine you'll want to oversee things personally."
"It will be done Shadow Master, and thank you."
"I believe that's about it, we can go over more details one on one later."

After the meeting Talia speaks to you directly.

"You sure you want to leave it to Cyrus? I would've thought you would've wanted to handle something so important yourself."
"I'm confident that Cyrus can do the job efficiently. If nothing else he's enthusiastic for things like this. I thought about going too, but I'm slowly begining to realize I'll be needing to delegate and remaining at this temple more. Besides I'm sure there will be other opportunities to go kill someone. Never seems to be a shortage in fact."
"Well that's true."
"I'm thinking I'll spend more time looking after the security within the Delerg province. I mean yes we have potential enemies outside the province, but it doesn't hurt to keep alert in our homestead."
"I suppose not, but we're pretty well liked here."
"Perhaps, but if I've learned anything, its that enemies can exist anywhere of you look hard enough."

Over the next few days your initial plans go off quite well. General Ackerson is assassinated successfully and there wasn't even any indication there was shadow involvement. As of now his group is fighting amongst itself and no longer united. Captain Anu and Sam Jowin have each been suffering set backs and of course blaming each other for them.

You then relent a bit to let the chaos do its work in Quala until it looks like the place is going to stabilize once again and that's when you send in shadows to create strife again. It becomes routine just like any of the prayer sessions for Dendrin.

Of course as good as the shadows are, you can't go undetected forever and eventually someone catches on to what's really been going happening…

"There's a huddled mass of people outside the temple, Shadow Master. We're keeping them out obviously, but their speaker really wants to see you." Brother Gannon says to you.
"Who are these people?"
"Mostly peasants I believe, but they aren't from Delerg, they're from Quala. Under Sam's dominion I think. They say they want our help."
"Our help? What's bringing this on and what makes them think we're going to help a bunch of unbelievers?" Cyrus asks. In fact you all are wondering what this is all about.

"Well I guess the best way to find out is to ask them. Send in their speaker and keep the rest outside. If anything looks suspicious kill them all." You say.

Brother Gannon nods and waves in the Qualans' speaker. While you expect a grubby peasant with dirty clothing to come shuffling in, you instead get a young man dressed in leather armor. Despite his warrior garb he's nervous. He's trying his best to be brave, but you sense the fear in him.

"Well? Out with it, you traveled a long way just to waste our time." Talia remarks.
"Yes, my apologies, um Shadowlord is it?"
"Shadow Master actually, but let's just get on with why you saw fit to lead a bunch of peasants here and why you think we can even help you." you say.
"Oh yes that. My name is Flynn and we all live in the Quala Freelands, which as you know is run by Sam Jowin. I myself am a soldier of relatively low rank…and uh…look there's no easy way of saying this so I guess I'll get right to it. We want you to kill Sam."

You have to admit this wasn't exactly the sort of help you thought they were going to ask for. You and the rest of your council look at each other before you speak again.

"And why do you think we would do that?"
"Because you routinely sabotage our side and Captain Anu's? Because you were most likely involved in the assassination of General Ackerson? It wasn't apparent at first, but…"
"Now stop right there for a moment Flynn, and think very carefully on your next words."
"I…I'm sorry Shadow Master, but I do not know any other way to put this."
"Very well then, let me help you. Even if we were involved in such activities and that's not an admission, what still makes you think that we would be willing to assassinate your beloved leader?"
"He's NOT a beloved leader! Sam is no better than the tyrannical Emperor that ruled over us before! I will admit during his freedom fighter days he was an inspiration, but now? He's just another petty warlord that doesn't give a shit about anything other than his own power!"
"That's a pretty bold statement. I knew Sam during the Empire War years and even fought along side him a couple times. He was always a fair man from what I knew of him and cared for those under his command." Theo remarks.
"Yeah, well he's changed drastically since then, the things he's done... the things I've had to do in his service…I do not even wish to think about let alone discuss. So do you need payment? We weren't sure what we'd need to get your help. We have scraped together valuables and gold for you. I don't know if its enough, I mean I think we could scrape a bit more, but…here's what we got."

At this point Flynn reaches for a small pouch on his side and extends his hand towards all of you with it. Cyrus snatches it from him and reveals a few gold coins and a couple of gems of low quality. Probably a paltry amount, but then you don't really know what the going rate is for assassination is these days never having done it for money before.

"And you think we're mere thugs for hire?" Cyrus asks throwing the pouch back at Flynn who barely catches it.

"No! I mean well…we uh…are also prepared to give you a virgin girl in exchange for your help if you aren't motivated by profit."
"A virgin girl?" Yvette asks.
"Yeah, for your sacrifices to Dendrin. Isn't that what you guys do?"

At this point Cyrus gets so pissed at Flynn he punches him in the face. Theo isn't too happy with him either and begins calling Flynn names. You on the other hand, chuckle to yourself thinking that human sacrifice might actually break up the monotony around the temple sometimes. And while you're not seriously considering such a thing, you are seeing an opportunity here to change things up a bit.

"Alright Cyrus that will do for now. This man obviously came to us for help and kicking the hell out of this poor bastard isn't going to help matters."
"But he insulted Dendrin! And he insults the shadows by coming to us like we're some lowly criminals!"
"No this man came to us looking for skilled assassins who can get the job done right. And that's what we are, aren't we? I mean that's partly how we won the war against the Empire isn't it? If there are already rumors going around by ignorant peasants that we killed General Ackerson and have been involved in sabotage in Quala then our cover has already been blown at this point. We may as well embrace it."
"What are you saying?" Talia asks.

"I'm saying that we should take this man up on his offer. However, our payment will be that he owes us a favor. In fact ALL of those that are with him today will owe us a favor. Be sure to get all their names before they leave here. It may be big, it may be small, it may never come at all, but when we call it in, they better deliver…are we agreed to this Flynn?" you say extending your hand to help him up.

He's unsure at first, but eventually he takes it and gets up. Sam must really be some sort of bastard if Flynn is agreeing to this arrangement.

"I…I accept your terms Shadow Master."
"Good, it'll be taken care of as soon as possible."
"Thank you! Thank you!" he says and starts to bow a lot while he steps backwards towards the door.
"Excuse me, but where do you think you're going?"
"I was taking my leave Shadow Master."
"Not with that pouch of valuables you aren't. They were a gift to us were they not?"
"Oh…yes…of course. Here you go. My apologies Shadow Master." Flynn says and tosses the bag to you.
"Good. NOW you may go."

After Flynn leaves the temple you remind some of the Blades to get all their names down. Meanwhile your council is a little confused by your latest decision

"Are you serious about this?" Theo asks.
"Of course I am, if I wasn't I wouldn't have made the offer." You answer.
"But we're helping unbelievers!" Cyrus says.
"So? We helped them during the Empire War too, what makes now so different? I'll tell you what makes it different, we're actually going to be profiting from it for a change. Look if we're going to stay safe, and I mean truly safe from external threats we need to get back on to the world stage. Staying isolated in this swamp is only going to work for so long and eventually someone is going to come here with an army and attempt to overwhelm us. Last time I checked our numbers are still low."
"Okay, but weren't we ensuring our safety by destabilizing Quala?" Theo asks.
"We were, but as I said our presence has obviously become known now. It's nobody's fault, it was bound to happen eventually, but that means we've got two options. Either we stop completely and risk Quala being united under one person who decides they want to emulate the Empire which means war in the far future. Or we continue doing what we're doing and risk pissing everyone off to such a degree that they stop fighting each other and unite against us, which means war in the near future. Neither of those sound attractive so I'm choosing the third option."
"Which is?" Yvette asks.
"We offer our services to the highest bidder. We become the go to organization for assassination. We spread so much fear and terror that nobody will ever want to attack us, they will instead wish to curry our favor in exchange for our help. And Cyrus I already see you're about to protest and I don't know why because you're the first one who usually wants to go practice your killing skills on someone. I'd think you of all people would be happy with this arrangement."
"You may be right." Cyrus says.
"But what about Dendrin?" Yvette asks.
"Yes! What about the integrity of this order?" Theo adds
"Dendrin is the god of shadows. Why else would he give us such powers if not to use them in such a manner? But if it will calm everyone down I will certainly consult him on this matter. At this time though I have made my decision on what is best for the shadows."

None of them may see it now, but you really are taking steps to ensure the survival of the shadows. The shadows were feared during their lackey days under the Empire and during the rebellion the Empire itself learned to fear the shadows.

Now? The fear still exists, but not to the extent that it needs to be. Not to the extent that it SHOULD be. You're going to get that fear back and that reputation is what going to keep you all alive and thrive.

Surely Dendrin would certainly approve of that. In fact you know that sadistic bastard would.

[User] Continue

[Assistant]
Year 50

With all business taken care of, you tell Talia to let you know if anything important comes up since you're going to catch a few moments of sleep. Seems like you don't do much of that anymore.

As you settle down for some much needed rest, you drift off thinking about all what you've managed to accomplish.

Quala is essentially under your thumb and you haven't even resorted to an army to do it. You've got people from there paying you left and right to assassinate their enemies whether it is in tangible goods or simple favors that you intend on calling in some day.

It doesn't stop there either; you've even had a few people travel all the way from the Arat province and even Rask to use your services. It of course helps that you've never failed to assassinate a chosen target.

As a result, you've accomplished much of what you first envisioned. You've managed to put enough dread into those in power to not want to invade Delerg for fear of their own deaths or on the more pragmatic side of things they'd prefer to have you around in case they want to get rid of someone.

"You're enjoying all this aren't you Eternal? I know you're playing the emotionless cold hearted assassin guild leader and all, but deep down you're enjoying every moment of it. It's okay to admit it, not like I'm going to tell anyone."
"Of course I am, but not for the reasons you believe. I'm enjoying this because things are going well for the shadows for once AND I'm not terminally bored while leading them. For the longest time I could achieve one or the other but not both."
"Going well? Haven't you had to execute ten shadows, including two of your own council? Theo and Yvette I believe?"
"It was necessary. They were conspiring and disagreeing with the new direction the shadows needed to go in order to thrive. Besides, I didn't say we were without problems. I just meant things were good in general and you don't seem to have a problem with what I'm doing. You even encouraged me when I made the effort to consult you about it."
"Of course I don't. In fact you've actually made the shadows more interesting than they have been in a long time. So…now that you're on top of the world so to speak, what's your next move?"
"Nothing major though I imagine it won't stay like that for long. I don't delude myself that the calmer times last forever, just that I should enjoy them while I can."

Those words prove to be true considering that Delerg sudden gets a large influx of svelk mercenaries in the town of Sinkhole one day. What's more disturbing is they weren't detected until they were in the town. This could be the precursor to an invasion for all you know and you personally go with Cyrus and several other Blades to sort this out.

When you arrive, a few shadows that were in the town report that the svelk haven't been doing anything except carousing at the tavern. He says they've been obnoxious, but nothing serious yet. Besides Mistress, the only dark elves you've had to deal with were those that were hired by the Empire to kill you during your time in Rask, so your opinion of them isn't exactly high to begin with, but that probably makes you the same as everyone else in that aspect.

You know damn well they have to be here for a reason other than spending money on booze though.

You enter the tavern and it gets suddenly much quieter from the revelry you heard before entering. The staff looks miserable, particularly the waitresses and only a few other customers remain trying to hide in a dark corner, probably too scared to pass the dark elves to leave.

"Ah! The great Shadow Master graces us with his presence! I was wondering if we could be expecting you. I told my soldiers here that if we showed up unannounced that we'd get your attention. It is truly a testament to your patrols that we found ourselves hard pressed to evade them undetected until we arrived in this dismal town." One dark elf says while sitting at a table with his fellows. You presume he's probably their leader.
"What do you svelk want and make it quick." You say.
"Straight to the point eh? Very well then. My name is Tyren and what I want is to hire your services."

You don't believe it.

"You? You want to hire the shadows to kill someone? Since when did svelk rely on assassins? Doesn't your race learn such a trade from birth and gleefully kill as a matter of course?"

Suddenly Tyren stands up as if he's offended by your remark.

"And what do you know of us, shadow? What do you know that you haven't heard second hand from the grubby ignorant peasants?"
"Trust me, I know your kind well enough that your senseless posturing and fake attempt at being offended are not going to intimidate or second guess myself. You're a race of sadistic murderous mercenaries that go from battlefield to battlefield profiting from conflict which I don't have a problem with. What I do have a problem with is when a bunch of them suddenly show up in my backyard where there is no conflict. You come here saying you need our help, yet show up unannounced and without coming to us directly. That shows a severe lack of disrespect, and there is no reason why I shouldn't just kill the lot of you now and throw your worthless carcasses to the Sul-Monkeys."

You and your shadows take a step forward and Tyren's demeanor changes immediately though he tries to play it off like he was joking.

"Sheesh, calm down. I didn't realize you shadows were so fucking serious all the time. Fine I'll explain in greater detail. I want you to kill the leader of another Svelk mercenary company. She goes by the name of Edolith. Currently she's located in the eastern part of the Quala province fighting for one of the half assed warlords there. I want her dead because she's been taking all the good paying jobs for years and also with her dead I may even be able to gain her warband which has no other viable leaders to take her place."

Tyren takes a drink before continuing.

"Now I know what you're thinking why don't I do this myself or even join an opposing side and kill her on the battlefield that way. Well it is with great risk in front of ALL my soldiers that I admit that I am neither clever or strong enough to take her on, though I would remind my soldiers that I could easily kick all of their asses." And with those words he quickly draws a dagger and stabs one of his men in the throat. The dark elf spits out a glob of blood and falls backwards gasping for life until Tyren finishes him off with a crushing stomp to his head.

Naturally all the rest of the svelk look upon this as a normal thing, Tyren then turns to you.

"So I call upon you, the shadows for help, the greatest assassins ever known in recent history. I believe that your order has the skill to pull off her assassination. So do we have a deal?"
"Not really considering you haven't even described payment yet. What could you possibly offer? Svelk mercenaries aren't known for their wealth and trust me you'd need a considerable amount for me to even consider this."
"Hmmm, well what about we owe you a favor?"

Now you laugh.

"A favor from you lot? Not likely. We have no need of mercenaries and I doubt if you'd come through with it anyway. We'd probably have to slaughter you all and while that would be doing the world a favor and maybe even sort of fun, I'd like to at least have something tangible if I'm going to help you."
"You're incredibly suspicious of us. You sure you don't have svelk blood? No probably not, you're pretty ugly even for a human, but what can you do seeing as you all evolved from those Sul-Monkeys out there right? Ha ha ha ha! Okay but seriously… Zarren! Get over here with that big bag!" Tyren shouts at one of his underlings.

Zarren comes to Tyren's table with a big bag and dumps the contents out on it. What is revealed is more than just regular valuables. There are also some books and other objects as well. So much that part of loot falls to the floor.

"Hey, I recognize that book…its one I read during my days at Gloom! I thought it was lost forever." Dravin suddenly exclaims. "In fact a lot of these objects are from Gloom! These ceremony rings, these cups…where the hell did you get this stuff?"
"Oh we svelk do a lot of trading with all kinds of people in our travels, those rock eating dwarves just being one of many. We sort of thought you all might be interested in lost objects from your old stomping grounds. Along with the gems and gold, I'd say this should be more than enough payment shouldn't it?"

While you aren't overly attached to any "lost objects" from Gloom, you can see Dravin is pretty fond of some of them. You imagine the older human shadows that are still around would be happy to see such things again. Even Cyrus is looking at a couple things, and you know Talia would be interested in them. The actual valuables are probably a fair payment for a job such as this.

Still part of you doesn't trust the svelk. Something about all this seems a bit sketchy. You don't know what exactly, but it just doesn't feel quite right to you.

[User] You accept the contract

[Assistant]
You don't trust the svelk, but if they have some sort of ambush planned, you're fairly confident that you can handle anything they're going to throw at you. In any event you'll be taking the payment in advance.

"Very well svelk. We'll take the job. Pack up the loot and put it in the bag."
"Hey wait, we didn't say we were paying you all of it now. We need some assurance you'll complete the job! Half up front, half later!"
"Yeah, not going to happen. I don't trust you as it is; you really think I'm not taking all the payment now? You're delusional." You say.

Tyren is perturbed by your insistence, but then he realizes he's not exactly in friendly territory and severely outnumbered.

"Fine, just as long as that bitch is dead." He replies and he proceeds to give the specifics of where Edolith is located before he takes his leave. You tell Cyrus and Dravin to take the best Blades and carry out the job.

"And be very careful. Don't take anything for granted. I still don't trust them." You say.
"Don't worry about us, we'll be able to sense a trap." Cyrus remarks.

When you make it back to the temple with the lost items from Gloom, all the older shadows are eager to look through them, hoping to find something personal of theirs. Talia is especially glad to see the return of them and reassures you that you made a good decision to take the contract.

The next day Cyrus, Dravin and several other Blades have set off on their mission and its business as usual at the temple.

About afternoon, several shadows report that they suddenly aren't feeling well. Given that you're in a swamp, you could chalk this up to the environment, the problem with that is the shadows tend use their magic to fend off such ailments. Plus some of the eternals are sick as well and they're naturally resilient to disease and sickness.

By night time, you and Talia aren't feeling well either and a couple of the shadows have already died of this mysterious illness. Prayers to Dendrin have been made, but he's not listening as usual.

"It's the fucking svelk. I know it. They caused this somehow." You say in between feeling sick.

You're so dizzy you can barely think, but it suddenly occurs to you what's going on. It's what they paid you, or rather the objects from Gloom. They must've done something to them. Maybe a curse of some sort.

"Get all of the objects out of this temple and we need to cast a purification ritual right now!" you say.

As several shadows attempt to carry out this order, you try your best to get prepared for the ritual. Other shadows are deathly ill by this point and you're not going to save them in time.

"Shadow Master, the svelk are attacking just outside the temple!" Brother Gannon wheezes.

You attempt to order the temple doors locked, but the svelk have already managed to barge in by this point. Under normal circumstances, you'd be more than a match for them, but whatever this curse is, it's affected the shadows quite severely and they've taken full advantage of your weakness. Most are so sick they can't concentrate to cast any spells, and that includes you.

You put up a good fight, but ultimately the effects of the curse and Tyren's sneak attack prove to be too much. You eventually fall to one of their repeating crossbows. With several bolts lodged in your vital organs your last thoughts are of the hope that Cyrus will survive whatever the svelk had planned for him.


[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 head for the mountains

[Assistant]
You set out through the barren waste, using the highest peak in sight at the far end of the valley for your bearing. Not having to watch your step to keep from tripping on ties makes it much easier going. You skirt large patches of low-lying bushes and piles of rock so you don't have to worry about snakes.

The sun climbs slowly overhead and you start putting away the water. You still have nearly a gallon which should more than do to cross this valley. The mountains are right there, after all. You can almost reach out and touch them. Just in case, though, you pick up your pace. You don't want to be out here alone after dark.

When it starts getting too hot, you wrap your T-shirt around your head like you did back on the train and imagine yourself as Lawrence of Arabia crossing the desert. You wonder if there might be an oasis out here. Wouldn't that be something!

The sun continues to swing across the sky and more than makes it to the finish line of the peaks before you. Maybe this wasn't such a good idea after all.

You look back from whence you came and can't tell how far you've come or even where the railroad cars might be. You haven't even left tracks as far as you can tell across the hard and scorched landscape. There's no going back.

Night falls and with it the temperature. The coat isn't enough so you pull out the blanket and wrap it around you as well. You continue on until the peak fades into the night sky and you are no longer able to see it.

You have no choice now but to stop here until morning. You can't even see the ground anymore so you could step right in the middle of a snake before you even knew it was there.

Wrapping up tightly in the coat, you lean back against the bag. Night insects chirp and buzz even out here so you don't feel quite so alone as you thought. Somewhere in the far distance, you hear a lonesome yelping howl. It's so far away that you have nothing to fear from it. But, what about the things closer in? The things that might not even make a sound?

Your eyes finally close on their own while you are straining to listen. You sleep through the night.

[User] You cast to the Winds

[Assistant]
You've been without water now since the day before yesterday. Or was it the day before that? You can no longer remember anymore.

You can't go on. Your legs have lost all their strength so you allow yourself to crumble to the ground. You don't really have a choice in the matter.

Looking out across the barren landscape, the mountains appear no closer than they did when you first set out. Everything has its own tint of blinding white and you can only make out what you think you are looking at by its vague shape.

You pull Jane's card from your pocket and unfurl it in your hand. It's difficult to make out the lines on the page, but you don't really need to. They have been seared into your mind since that very first day when she presented it to you. You did your best. You only wish you'd have been able to complete your quest so that her dream would have been realized.

A slight breeze snatches the page from your grasp. You are helpless to stop it. It flutters for a second where it gets caught on a dessicated plant before the wind works it free.

For a moment, it blots out the sun just long enough that you can see her standing there—beckoning to you. Those spindly legs and knobby knees ending in flipflops beneath those faded and ragged cutoffs. The stained, white button up shirt tied at her waist. That toothy grin stretching wide across her face beneath that long and cascading raven hair. Those eyes the color of new grass.

She reaches down and folds her fingers over yours.

— The End


[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 kill him now

[Assistant]
You need to kill him, things are just going to get worse, or at best stay the same. All the shit that Elliot's done over the years has gotten to you, and you can't help, but feel partly responsible for all of this. Sure you don't like most people, but you're not a BAD guy. However you are serving a bad master. A really bad master, one that needs to be stopped now.

You take a deep breath and pace around the floor for awhile. Trying to psyche yourself up for your plan. You feel like you gotta take a shit, a piss, and vomit all at the same time. It's all in your mind though. Its just nerves. You stare at yourself in a blank monitor screen.

"You can do this…you can do this…" you repeat.

You then leave the computer room, ready to do what you have to do.

You don't get far when you see Elliot walking around with two guards and Leon behind him. You also see him with his wife Brenda and their two daughters. (Of course he didn't feel the need to make a "sacrifice" for the shelter)

"Shit." You say to yourself. You didn't think you'd have to shoot somebody down in front of their goddamned children. You nearly turn back around to re-think this plan, but you stop yourself again. If you don't do it now, you aren't ever going to do it. Besides he's seen you now anyway.

"Hey! How's our techie doin'? I'm surprised to see you out the computer room; I know how much you like to be alone. So what brings you out?"
"Well, uh…there was something I really thought you needed to see…"
"Oh? What is it?"
"Just this."

You pull your pistol out and you hesitate just long enough for Elliot to pull Brenda in front of himself resulting in you killing her instead. Leon catches Elliot from the blow back of Brenda's body and whisks him of to safety. One guard attempts to run at you, but is tripped up when Elliot's two daughters run screaming past him. The other guard reaches you, but you just manage to get a shot directly in his face. Gouts of his blood splatter in your own face temporarily blinding you.

The guard, who was momentarily tripped up, punches you in the face knocking you to the ground, he pulls out a knife to finish up the job, but with your hand still on your pistol, you fire a couple rounds in his chest causing him to slump to the floor beside you. You get up only to have the guard you just shot to stab you in the foot as a last act of revenge. You holler pain, and shoot him again, before pulling knife out of your foot.

Meanwhile you begin to hear other people yelling, screaming and fighting. Apparently your actions have caused a small rebellion. You've given people the incentive again to fight back. Of course it's going to be up to you to finish it. You limp as fast as you can attempting to stay out of the way of the major fighting, You see Elliot and Leon fighting some people and making quick work of them, you take the opportunity to open fire, blasting Elliot in the knee, he won't be walking anywhere.

Leon goes to pick him up, but you follow up with another couple shots, hitting him in the side. He goes down and attempts to crawl on top of Elliot, except Elliot kicks him away with his good leg and tries to crawl off instead. You finish off Leon and then kick Elliot in the face hurting your foot since you kicked him with the one that has the big gaping knife hole in it.

Elliot turns over holding his face and addresses you.

"Why? I was your friend! I didn't do anything to you! I left you alone! Look at what you've done to this place! It's descended into chaos! You've destroyed everything I've accomplished here!"
"I don't care." You say pointing the gun at him.
"WAIT! GODDAMN IT WAIT! If you kill me, you'll be making orphans out of my daughters! Can you live with that?"
"No…I guess I couldn't…"

Elliot smiles thinking he's found a loop hole.

"I suppose I'll just have to kill them after I kill you." you say.

Elliot's eyes widen and you gun him down before he can retort. He dies a lot quicker than he should have, but at least he's dead.

You were bluffing of course you wouldn't shoot his children; you just wanted to see his expression before he died. It brought a feeling of satisfaction to you, like you really accomplish something before your own death…

Someone stabs you multiple times in the back with a scalpel while you were standing over Elliot. You fall mortally wounded, with anarchy all around you.

You don't know if you made things better or worse, all you know is you won't be around to find out.


[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 let Jesse finish him off

[Assistant]
Jesse shoots the old man twice more in the chest and he falls dead to the ground. Fleeing the scene rapidly you and your companions take to the woods where you live in hiding. Reading newspapers you learn that the Pinkerton Detective Agency are sending one of their Agents, Jack Ladd, to investigate Dan Askew's murder. As Ladd also took part in the attack on the James Family Farm Frank and Jesse see more opportunity for revenge and decide to kill the Pinkerton as well.

Returning to the Askew Property armed with rifles you and your companions sneak through the trees and get yourself into a position from which you can see the farm house. You watch it for several hours until finally a man in a smart suit who you recognize as Ladd from the newspaper photographs emerges from the front door. "Now," Jesse murmurs and all of you raise your rifles. You consider whether or not to fire at the unsuspecting man.


[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 twilight of the Eternals (Year 73)

[Assistant]
It's been a strange year. You've outlived two more of the original Eternals. In both cases it was suicide and oddly enough, for similar reasons.

The ruler of the Nalin Empire, Warden Matron Brenda was found dead by her own hand earlier this year. It was quite the big event, but it doesn't look like it'll fall into chaos though, as there was already another successor established soon after Tarna went "missing." You always knew nobody was going to come looking for her, hell perhaps Brenda knew of her treachery and just gave her the rope to hang herself with.

Brenda apparently left no explanation other than how she had wanted to join her beloved Roldan at last and had grown weary of life without him.

Right now you're in the attendance of the burial ceremony for Cyrus who did the same thing. Dravin died last year of natural causes and you know it was a major loss for Cyrus who had been with him so long. Still you thought he'd get over it eventually, but then again what else did he really have? After you established your undisputed dominance as well as crippling him, the only thing that he had to keep him going was Dravin and his faith in Dendrin. And his faith was probably a lot less than it once was given all that had happened to him. Really Dravin was his only constant and the only one who had stuck by him.

Perhaps it was an eternal thing? Something within that causes eternals pre-disposed to suicide after losing their mate? Still not likely since Brenda went on for decades and none of the new eternals display such behavior, though granted they were created in a much different manner than the originals. Also while you love Talia, you can't imagine killing yourself if she died. You'd morn certainly, but you'd have to carry on. Especially with what you're attempting to accomplish. You briefly wonder if that means you love her less, but you dismiss such thoughts, after all if every person committed suicide after the death of their own mates there would be a hell of a lot less people in the world. You wonder if you died if Talia would end her life. You certainly hope she wouldn't and would go on with living life. There are enough things trying to kill you without doing it yourself.

Now you and Talia are the last of the originals and it's a bit of a sobering thought. You were bred to serve the Empire and neither of you ever did. You've outlived the Empire, you've outlived all the other original eternals and you've outlived several shadows you once considered friends and peers. People like Murk. Like Bianca. Like Brother Gray. It all seems so long ago. You can't even remember their faces anymore.

You've even managed to outlive most of the second-generation eternals. A handful of them still live, but it seems funny that barely any of them have survived up to this point when there were so many more than the first generation. The age old "They don't make them like they used to" statement you suppose could apply here.

As you stand and stare at Cyrus' body you don't even know you're here. He's dead and that's that. You've got much more important things to do. You very nearly didn't bother to come, but Talia's insistence was a large part of your attendance.

"Well Cyrus, I always thought it would come to one of us killing the other, and I suppose it nearly did a couple times, but it would seem fate had other ideas." You quietly say to Cyrus' body.

Okay perhaps the other part of your attendance was out of the genuine respect you once had for him.

"(Sigh) You're an idiot. You didn't need to kill yourself. What did it accomplish? I could've still used your help on certain things. You weren't useless you know, you were always loyal despite everything."

Perhaps your attendance was out the genuine respect you STILL have for him.

"Now you're useless of course. Now I have to have someone else look after the temple security. Heh. You probably killed yourself just to inconvenience me. Bastard. Good one though." You chuckle.

You take one last look at Cyrus. He does look peaceful. Free of worry, concerns, and all of that other shit. He probably thought he was going to meet Dravin in the shadow realm where Dendrin holds a party for all loyal shadows. Of course that's a fool's idea. You know the truth about Dendrin and you need to get back to that particular problem right now.

"So long Cyrus…my brother." You say and take your leave.


[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 launch a fireball at the airship

[Assistant]
Best way to get them to stop shooting at you is to return the favor with superior firepower literally.

You unleash a torrent of fireballs at the airship, which land all over the place. Some hit the gun shooting at you, which causes it to explode. In fact other your hits cause several explosions and then one large one creating a blast that knocks you down on the ground even from you were standing.

The airship is in flames and falling out of the sky, unfortunately since it was directly hovering over the city that means it's crashing into it. You scramble off your feet and hope to find some sort of cover and maybe at least get away from where the major impact is going to be.

You keep your barrier up to protect yourself from the falling debris, but Renly and the others have no chance at all especially when the airship begins hitting the larger buildings causing them to collapse and setting what looks to you like the whole sky ablaze.

When the airship finally hits the city surface it is engulfed by fire and the impact strikes your barrier so hard that even you are pushed away by the force. Your entire body hits the ground and you lose concentration of your spell. Fire is all around you and you pass out.

You never wake up to experience Telis falling out the sky and causing an even greater explosion on the surface.


[System] You are the game master of a dark fantasy text adventure. The world is dangerous and choices matter. Narrate with immersive detail and let the story unfold naturally from the player's decisions.

[User] You go light the signal fire

[Assistant]
Year 378 of the Second Era

When you first transferred here, Byron was telling you about all of the duties that you might have here as a wall guard. One of these duties, should the need arise, was to light the signal fire. Byron didn't expound upon the why, and said only that it was an important duty. You didn't find out until later that this was the signal fire for the Griffin Knights. The Griffin Knights, or at least the patrol of them that stood at the ready in case the walls were attacked.

You assume most guards forget this fact. Otherwise they'd simply be fools. Griffin knights were among the best warriors in all of the Realm of Men, and that was when they weren't atop their chosen steed. With their griffins these knights surpassed all other units in their usefulness in battle.

That was the way to win this battle. Not through grit, and a hell of a lot of grit. No, in order to win, to live to see Liliana again, the Griffin Knights needed to be here. The wyverns would tear apart everyone otherwise.

You run along the ramparts to the signal fire. It's quite the distance from where the battle is taking place, and you start to hear the sound of swords clashing and wyverns roaring as you make your way. Upon arriving, you find straw and oil ready to be used in case of an emergency. You waste no time in starting the fire. Before long you tend the fire to maximum intensity, or at least as intense as you can get it on such short notice.

Having finished your job, you gaze back in the direction of the battle. Five wyverns patrol the skies with each occasionally taking dives at the top of the wall where division two was stationed. You feel a pang of guilt that you should've stayed there to help, but you dismiss it. If the Griffin Knights come to support you in the battle, then your efforts will have been well worth it.

That being said, there isn't much of an excuse for you now.

[User] You return to the battle

[Assistant]
Year 378 of the Second Era

You start a light jog to the wyvern infested ramparts, but you stop before you get there and string your bow. What is the point in throwing yourself into the middle of danger for nothing? Chances are that you would die a gruesome death for no reason other than your eagerness for battle. An inexperienced fool's death.

With your bow stringed and the wyverns attention away from you, you start taking shots at the beasts. You aim your first few shots at the wyverns themselves, but when they bounce harmlessly off of their scaly hides, you shift your focus. There are two kobold atop each of the five wyverns present, and while they are certainly dwarfed by the sheer size of the wyverns they are riding, you don't let that distract you. Each of the kobold atop the wyvern has a critical purpose. The one in the front is to steer and control the mount while the one in the back holds a bow in its hands. It's job is to fire at anyone attempting to kill the former type of kobold. Such as you.

The wyvern you'd been concentrating on turns its attention toward you, as does the kobold archer atop it, but it never gets a chance to loose its arrow at you. Instead your own arrow pierces its chest sending it tumbling from its mount and into the open air. Unfortunately, the other kobold still sits atop the wyvern, and after your display of accuracy, you've become a prime target. That wyvern and its rider come flying toward you, which is bad, but away from the battle, which is good. You take the last opportunity you'll get and loose one more arrow at the other kobold. Your aim is off on this, so your arrow only ends up bouncing off of the wyvern's body. You start to draw another arrow, but as you do, the wyvern takes on a burst of speed and is on you before you know it. Your life flashes before your eyes, and an image of Liliana's beautiful face plants itself at the forefront of your mind. You simply don't have enough time to react to the wyvern's speed, and you just close your eyes in acceptance.

Then you feel a large claw grab your waist. Its touch is surprising gentle. Nothing of what you would expect of a wyvern, and you keep waiting for it to hurl you from its grip, but that doesn't happen. Hesitantly, you open your eyes to find yourself suspended in the air, and not in the grasp of a wyvern. Rather, you find yourself in the grip of a griffin. The relief you feel is instantaneous, but that is quickly replaced by terror. You quickly reach your hands and grip onto the cold claws of the griffin.

You take stock of the situation. Including the griffin carrying you, there are at least seven Griffin Knights combating the wyverns in the air. It's  an amazing scene, and your breath catches. Griffins are much smaller than the wyverns, but this makes them significantly faster, so the wyverns seeme clumsy by comparison. The griffin knights themselves wear gleaming silver armor and cast a perfect picture of the word 'knight.' On the ground, the fight continues. The kobold outnumber division one, by nearly two to one, and that is discounting the giant lizards they brought with them to the battle. You start wondering why so many kobold came to mount an attack on the wall, but are soon distracted from that with what happens next.

You feel a sudden change in direction as the griffin carrying you heads back to the walls. You realize that it, and the rider, must want to drop you back off at the wall before returning to the melee. You are quite okay with this, but then a scene just below you unfolds in the span of a moment.

A wyvern, with just the rider left to guide it, chases a griffin just below you. For that moment it seems the entire world slows down in order for you to see and understand what's happening. The wyvern is gaining, and it opens its mouth in anticipation for the coming chomp on the griffin's lower half. It isn't some beast's wild hope that it'll manage to bite the griffin either. No, you can very clearly see that this wyvern will be able to catch the griffin. Thus leading to both the griffin's and its rider's death.

In this same moment, an utterly absurd idea crosses your mind. The griffin holding you wasn't trying to keep you prisoner. It was merely keeping you from falling, and you think you could pry yourself open from its grip if you really tried. If you did, then you should land just as the wyvern's saddle passes beneath you. Your weight might even be enough to cause the wyvern to lose the edge its gained on the griffin. You left your bow back on the ramparts when the griffin saved you from the wyvern, but you do still have your standard short sword strapped to your waist. If you did go through with such a ridiculous plan, you could maybe even take out the rider and wyvern.

Maybe.

[User] You follow that plan

[Assistant]
Year 378 of the Second Era

This won't be the first time you've done something crazy, though it is likely the one with the most at stake.

You pry yourself from the claws of the griffin and fall into the open air. Your plan...

[User] You fails!

[Assistant]
Year 378 of the Second Era

Your timing was horribly off. You jump much too early and find yourself face to face with the open mouth of a wyvern. It must think you're the griffin, for as soon as you even near its mouth it snaps its mouth shut on top of you. Your midsection is torn to pieces, and you die instantly.

At least you can die well knowing that you saved that Griffin Knight.


[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 help Bob reload the pistols

[Assistant]
You keep your head down and concentrate on helping Bob reload the pistols while your companions fire their guns. The posse returns fire, the men in front firing from cover while those behind on a slight hill direct their fire over their heads. Your friends are hit several times: Cole is hit three times, Charlie four times and Jim once but you all keep firing. Charlie glances at Cole. "We are entirely surrounded and we had better surrender." Cole nods. "Charlie if you want to surrender go but this is where Cole Younger dies." "All right Captain, I can die as game as you can," Charlie replies. "Let's get it done."

Springing to his feet with a pistol in each hand he opens fire, hitting one posse member in the hand. A moment later he is shot through the chest and with a groan he falls dead to the ground. A moment later Jim is shot in the face, the bullet knocking out several of his teeth and lodging in his head, clutching his face he falls to the ground. Cole turns to look at Jim and a bullet hits him in the back of the head, he too falls to the ground. Glancing round you catch Bob's frightened eyes looking at you.


[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 let him have it

[Assistant] Without your blanket you have no chance of surviving the bitter cold. Lying in the corner you too go to sleep, a deep sleep from which you do not wake.


[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 you're fine.

[Assistant]
"Y-yeah, I just...had some trouble getting across this section with the worst of the damage. It's bigger than it looked on the images we had. I'm fine now though, just had a close call."

"All right, well glad you're all right, and be careful, Zee."

"Right. I'll be at the turret soon."

You cut the call and take a deep breath, telling yourself you've got to pull yourself together. This is an astoundingly bad place and time to be having a crisis. You're unsure if that was your entire motivation in not telling Hinsman the truth, but you know you need to focus on getting the defenses up now. The memories, and the painful questions they've made you ask...you'll dwell on that later when there's no danger of attack.

Meanwhile you'll just hope that they don't return, or at least not with such force that you can't function. You need to stay focused.


[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] You march into the desert

[Assistant]
The usksha are broken and on the run, the opportunity to eliminate them as a future threat is certainly there, along with extending the Empire's influence south of the Nalin province. Your recent victories have filled you with confidence and you agree you should mount an attack on the usksha.

"You can't be serious! Look I know you guys are Eternals, and I won't deny that you're the best warriors I've ever seen, but even you won't be able to conquer the usksha in their desert! They've lived there for centuries, even before the Empire existed! They know it like nobody else, you'll be outnumbered and fighting the elements themselves!" the Jekka sheriff exclaims. Somehow he survived the battle by hiding no doubt.

Perhaps he is content on being a coward all his life, but you were meant for much more! You are an Eternal and the Emperor himself will reward you himself when you make the first steps in civilizing the desert. You slap him again and tell him that you'll need as much water as everyone can carry.

After a period of rest, you, your team and Delan's men set off for the desert. You figure the best way to approach this is to follow the usksha's tracks. This works out well at first as the lizard mounts are heavy footed creatures that leave deep prints, so you come across several small bands of fleeing usksha.

When you begin to leave the Nalin province and enter the desert, the prints get harder to track. You follow tracks for two days before you find more usksha. Still, you aren't finding any large settlements.

By day four and Delan's men are starting to complain. He tries to maintain order, but it's obvious they can't take the heat of the day and cold of the night. Your own team is fairing better, but even a couple of them are starting to make comments.

On the seventh night, you're ambushed by several usksha who spring up from the sands itself; they manage to kill several of Delan's men before you dispatch them.

"Sergeant, I think we need to get the hell out of this desert. There's nothing here, but sand and death!"
"Then leave weakling! We're more than able to carry out this mission ourselves! We don't need anybody! We're Eternals!" Edgar shouts.
"I don't doubt our abilities sir, but I'm beginning to wonder if this isn't a waste of time. We've defeated the usksha and chased them deep into their own land. Maybe we've made our point." Roldan says.
"I'm finding myself agreeing sir, we could better serve the Empire elsewhere." Gerald adds.

"Duly noted. We're sticking with the original plan and as for you Delan, you're under my command too, so you aren't going anywhere either, now I advise you to find your guts and keep what men you have left in line, before I take away what little authority you still have left."

Corporal Delan obeys and silently slinks back to his men. Your own people obey as well, but you know that the voices of dissent are already there. Still, you're convinced that you'll find something of importance out here along with wiping out usksha.

On day ten, a strange reptilian creature attacks you. The first instinct is to defend yourself of course, but when it turns Warrick and Gerald to stone instantly, even you find yourself worried.

"Don't look at it! It's got some sort of magic attack!" you shout and put your shield to cover yourself.

Delan and his couple remaining men don't even stick around they turn and run completely. Edgar closes his eyes and swings wildly at the beast, but only manages to get himself mauled by the creature's sharp teeth and claws. The distraction is enough for Brenda to shoot several arrows in the beast while its back is to her. The beast gives a final bellow and dies.

You survey the damage and it's pretty bad. You've lost two men, and looking at Edgar on the ground it'll soon be three. He can't even form any words, he just looks up at the sky gurgling and spitting up blood and trying to clutch at an arm which is no longer there.

"I told you! I told you we should've gone back!" Roldan screams.
"Silence! I'm in charge here and you won't speak to me like that again!" you say.
"Somebody needs to tell you something, because…"

You lose your patience from a combination of the disrespect, the loss, the failure, the heat, all of it. You punch Roldan causing him to fall to the ground. He looks up in disbelief at first, but then begins to laugh.

"Ha ha…ha ha ha ha ha! We…ha ha ha! Found more usksha!" he laughs and points. You all turn to see a sizable group of mounted usksha in the distance. They don't move in either, instead they shoot at you with their bows.

Brenda catches an arrow to her leg before you can sound a retreat. You and Kane run, but Roldan just sits there still laughing, the next time you turn your head to look back, he's no longer sitting up. Brenda tries to keep up, but the arrow in her leg slows her down and eventually she catches two more arrows in her back, killing her much in the same way she killed that strange beast.

Eventually you and Kane get away, but in all the excitement you don't know where you are and you don't even have the tracks you were following to go back to. Under better and less stressful conditions you might get your bearings again, but you never do.

Your next few days involve wandering the desert being continually worn down by usksha ambushes and the sun. You leave Kane's dehydrated body and continue alone, but not for long as you eventually also succumb to the heat.

As you lay dying your thoughts of glory are gone and though dehydrated, you manage to shed a single tear for your failure to serve the Emperor.


[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 attack Jicol without assistance

[Assistant]
You think you need to keep this all in the family so to speak. No need to hire a bunch of pirates who might not be reliable anyway.

"We're doing this ourselves. I don't want to rely on outside help, also we can get this plan underway a lot quicker with just us involved." You say.
"Well if you think that's best." Vera remarks.
"I think it is. Guess I better inform Marco that his days at sea aren't quite finished yet since he'll be the one to take the merchant ship seeing as he's got the most experience with it and nobody else here is much of a sailor."
"Neither is Marco apparently from what you mentioned on his attempt to be a pirate."
"Hm, I'm confident that he'll have at least enough experience to pull this off, since that's not going to be the hard part anyway, it's getting off the ship and out of the harbor area alive as soon as he enters it."

Later when you inform Marco, (who was just starting to enjoy his time off) he is indeed not happy about hearing what his latest task is going to be, but you don't need him to be happy about it, just compliant. Which of course he is. He does carouse extra harder though for the remainder of the time off you've given him though.

You inform the rest of the League of your plan and assign your most skilled to start finding ways (or making ways) of sneaking into the city now. You tell them not to engage anyone and to keep a low profile while they're scouting the security and such. You then tell them you want a report on everything within the next few days.

A month passes and Marco and his crew are about as ready as they're going to be and your spies that have been sneaking in and out of Jicol, have made steps in opening the gates along with just creating as much havoc for ground forces as possible during the actual attack.

As far as your involvement, you're going to take a lesson from the last time you led one of these attacks. Meaning you're not going to put yourself on the front lines and going to stay at a camp a mile away from Jicol's gates.

The day of the attack within the first hour you wait anxiously for a report. With any luck Marco's crew will manage to make it off their ship before they're all slaughtered.

In another couple hours, a runner finally comes to you with news that your people have opened the gates and fighting is going on all over the city. Marco and his crew successfully entered the harbor and managed to fool the Jicol Watch long enough to break through and start joining the attack on the city.

No sooner has this runner given you this information when a loud explosion is heard along with a visible black cloud in the distance of the city, you surmise that Marco's merchant ship that was also full of explosives was set off in the harbor.

A few days pass and the fighting is still going on and it's not going well. The Jicol forces have managed to maintain a stalemate. Marco has apparently died in the fighting as well.

You're still at the camp, not having set foot in the city yet and you're starting to wonder if this was a good idea. You might have to hire pirates and mercenaries to finish this job if things continue to go this way.

Suddenly you hear several loud explosions, but this time coming from the direction of Nightfall! You immediately start running back in that direction and bump into one of your people along the way.

"Boss! Boss! Jicol has mounted a counter attack! They're blasting us with cannons from their ships and we can't do shit about it!" he says.
"Are their no pirates docked in our harbor?"
"No, and the one slaver ship was sunk during the initial volley."
"Why the fuck wasn't I informed soon…"

More explosions are heard and now you're seeing chunks of stone flying overhead.

"Shit!" you say and push your underling aside and continue to run towards Nightfall.

When you arrive, you find several dead bodies and people running about in panic. Some of your men ask you for further instructions, but you're not even paying attention, you're just looking at the temple, which is half in ruins. You don't see Vera or Kol and you're sure they would be out of the temple by now.

You run towards the temple even though some are telling you not to go in since its being targeted, but you don't listen or care.

You run through the increasingly unstable temple which is already starting to collapse from weakened structure in an attempt to find your wife and child.

And you do, but no longer alive. You find the pair of them not far apart from each other. Their broken bodies are partially covered by several large stones, which you assume killed them instantly.

You collapse in despair and begin to weep, ignoring the several new explosions causing more of the temple to crumble around you. You brought all of this on them.

While you probably could get out in time, you don't bother, choosing to die along side your family in the same manner they died.


[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 scare off the horses

[Assistant]
You walk over to the horses, untying them from their carriage before gently giving them a hit with their sword on the rump, sending them running off into the wilderness. Pak notices what you're doing, turning to stare at you, snarling.

"What the fuck do you think you're doing? That was good meat, good leather! You dumb cunt!" he snarls, enraged by your lack of obedience.

[User] You try to convince him they deserved to live

[Assistant]
"But they were ki..." you begin to say.

Unfortunately, in all your life here you seem to have failed to pick up how society functions. By now, Pak's club is already flying through the air, and it smashes into your head, crushing your skull against the carriage and killing you instantly.


[System] You are the game master of a dark fantasy text adventure. The world is dangerous and choices matter. Narrate with immersive detail and let the story unfold naturally from the player's decisions.

[User] You what does the inscription mean?

[Assistant]
The inscription is very difficult to make out, and you can't translate it at all. Normally, spell 472 from the sixth chapter of the Book of the Dead is inscribed in full on Shabtis:

Illumine the Osiris NN, whose word is truth. Hail, Shabti. If the Osiris NN be decreed to do any of the work which is to be done in the Khert-Neter, let everything which standeth in the way be removed from him - whether it be to plough the fields, or to fill the channels with water, or to carry sand from (the East to the West). 'Here am I', you shall say, 'I shall do it.'

The only word you can make out in the inscription is Burden.


[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 will cast a minor shield on yourself and join the fray with your short sword.

[Assistant]
Not daring to cast more than a minor charm in your current mental state, you weave a protective shield designed to turn the knives and spears of your enemies away without so much as penetrating your skin.

Then, you grab your sword, and jump into the battle. A couple of wolves are startled by your appearance, and one snaps at you, but his teeth are deflected by your protection.

You ignore the startled wolf, and throw yourself on the next goblin, which is as startled. Piercing him with your blade, you move on to the next target, when Farhan notices you.

A pile of dead wolves surround him, and he laughs a madman's laugh in that pleasant voice of his. Then, he utters a command to the giant goblinoid creature, and it ignores the wolves hanging from him and charges you.

You dodge its first blow, as it sweeps aside goblins and wolves to reach you, and make a bold stab against its chest. But its arms are somewhat longer than your blade, and like a hammer, his backhand swing hits you on the head. You feel lifted up and hurtled through the air, and as ground closes in again, you hear the sickening crunch of your right leg before you pass out into a darkness you will never again wake from...