[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 follow Kyros

[Assistant]
You follow Kyros, as the darkness forms into the very room aboard the Quill that you're in. Kyros faces Khalid, who stands alongside his two Rubric Marines. Hayes, Elizabeth, Durge and Elios stand next to Kyros, as well as his deceased lieutenants, Chapter Master Taj Suenage, Rebecca Staine and Magos Cern.

"I'm sorry, what part of kill yourself confuses you, Kyros? I don't make deals with slaves!"

"I'm no slave," Kyros spits, gritting his teeth together.

"You're a slave to the Dark Gods!" Khalid says. "I seek to master the Warp and all who dwell within it. You seek to suck off the strongest being in it."

"This decision is highly illogical. Do your men agree?" Magos Cern says.

"Oh, let's see!" Khalid says, turning to look at one of the Rubric Marines. "Narmer! Do you agree? What's that, you don't care? Because you're barely sentient because your soul has been trapped in your armor and you're nothing more than dust? And the fact that the fucking robot cunt can survive without a soul doesn't mean you can? Yeah, good to fucking know! What's that, Narmer? Yeah, the Khornate does look like she swallows!"

"You have no other allies. You need me," Kyros says. "I'm offering you a chance at vengenace. Don't you want your revenge against the Space Wolves who burnt Prospero? I promise you, theirs will be one of the first worlds destroyed.

"Fine, slave. If you make a march towards Terra, I'll join in the slaughter. But know this. When... who am I kidding? If you end up sitting on the golden throne, you'll still be a slave."

The room dissolves once more.


[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 stay and help get ready for the push East with the military guys, they have the guns afterall

[Assistant]
It's only a few days before your guesses are proven correct. The captain gathers everyone briefly and outlines a plan to head East. They have one working Military Jeep that they have been saving and lots of guns and ammo stockpiled for the attempt. Everyone is going along. They plan to head at a good pace just around the North of the city center along roads that have been scouted in advance over the past few weeks and head right for the bridge in force. Once over and safely near the 'Eastern Haven' as they call it, some of them will return with the jeep and begin their work here again to gather more survivors and get them across when they grow in number.

Happy to be getting a free escort to your destination you continue your efforts to help the stadium and the next few days pass.

It's the day before the convoy leaves when you are approached by your friend from your first mission just as night falls.

"Hey man, a couple of us don't like the odds of this mission, they are going too close to the city center and that place is a death trap, also recently it seems like too much has been going wrong. We think the harbinger is behind it and we are getting out before everyone gets killed, you with us?"

You weren't expecting this since you've only been thinking of getting East for the last few days but you have to make a choice since he is clearly geared up and ready to leave.

[User] You stay with the heavily armed convoy

[Assistant]
You aren't going to leave the convoy now when you're so close to your goal so you wish him the best of luck and wave him off; you can let the Capt. Know in the morning and just not tell him how long they have been gone. Staying has always been voluntary anyway.

Morning comes and there is no sign of them, you report to the Capt. what happened and he simply nods. "Thought he might, hasn't been the same since that mission. Glad you stayed though."

You head back to your post and prepare, you leave in 3 hours.

The time arrives and you all gear up and follow the jeep, it weaves through the barricades and you all push the moveable ones out of its way until it stands ready to go on the road, its 50cal. reassuringly manned on the roof.

"All stay close to the jeep and keep moving, we don't stop for 4 hours when we make our first checkpoint, if you are too tired to continue then ride the tailgate and side seats on the jeep for a few minutes but switch out fairly."

Then you are moving. This level of exercise is nothing to you so you don't feel the need to rest until three hours of jogging go past. That's also about the time you turn a wide corner to find a full roadblock of cars.

"I thought you scouted this!" one of the men shouts up

"We did, but things have changed, we switch to route 2! Back 50 meters then we swap to a road parallel to this one, we only lose 5 minutes!"

Its then that the bus comes rolling down the road you were headed back too and blocks your retreat.

Swearing can be heard now and men and women preparing their guns.

"Hold and prepare to fire!" the captain shouts but there isn't anywhere to run even if you wanted too, infected start appearing in the doors and windows of all the buildings around you and start climbing the cars, climbing out of the bus until you are totally surrounded by a horde of infected, even a few mutants among them.

You finally realize that you friend was right, the harbinger COULD control the infected and had come for you all. "Too late to make use for that information now" you think to yourself as the attack begins. At first the guns take them down but then the gunner on the jeep gets shot by something, followed by those doing the most damage, and the rest are swarmed over.

You included.


[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 help her students

[Assistant]
Heather's a powerful wizard and can probably take care of herself. Her students on the other hand you're not so sure of and you're going to need all the magic help possible if you're going to turn back this invasion.

If you can take out the opposing wizard, that would probably break the stalemate and then you all can help Heather if still necessary. You figure if you can sneak in range and get off a shot, you'll kill the wizard and dispel the demons he keeps warping in.

Well that's the ideal plan anyway.

You sneak around a few buildings trying to stay away from the direction of the fighting and getting closer hoping the whole time nobody notices you. Eventually you go into a partially destroyed building and get to the third floor of it to take your shot since you figure you'll at least be out of immediate danger of the demons suddenly turning around and attacking you.

Taking aim, your pull the trigger and shoot the wizard in the back. You were aiming for his head, but it seems to have done the trick anyway as the wizard goes down. All that magic and you figured he neglected a protection spell against more mundane dangers.

Whether the bullet killed him or not doesn't really matter since the demons warping in aren't under his control anymore and instead of immediately getting themselves killed by the students, a couple of them attack the easy prey on the ground instead. You watch a couple of them take chunks from the wizard and go bounding away.

The students make quick work of most of the remaining demons that do insist on continuing their attack. Meanwhile, you're making your way back down to go meet up with the students now that the demon threat is over with.

You exit the partially destroyed building and still see that Heather is fighting her opponent on the roof of the intact building. She needs help fast and you begin shouting at the students when you get closer to them.

"Hey! Hey! I'm on your side! Heather needs help! Look!" you shout pointing up and towards the roof.

No sooner have you done that, when they start shouting back and it looks like they're prepping spells.

"What the fuc…shit!"

Feeling in danger you immediately start firing at the students. A couple of them go down, cuasing the rest to scatter a bit and a few magic bolts go wild in your direction missing you.

Unfortunately they also miss the demons they were trying to hit behind you.

Your shouting caused the escaped demons that you thought left the area to come back for seconds on another easy target. You hear the growls and turn around just in time for one of them to almost be on you.

The last thing you see are inhuman jaws enclosing on your face followed by a sickening crunch sound.


[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 off into the trees

[Assistant]
Heading off into the woods in a desperate attempt to find a way out of this place, you quickly hurry off out of the light of the lantern. You're soon drowned in darkness, without the light of any light to guide you. After a few minutes, as you're feeling your way forward to avoid hitting a trunk, you hear the faint sound of someone weeping.

A huge, towering creature of black fur with muscles that ripple underneath, standing like a gorilla with two massive, clawed hands appears out of the darkness, right in front of you. It's face is a white, china mask of a crying woman, with tears of red flowing down its cheek. It continues to weep as it moves towards you, a hand wrapping around you. It lifts you up, moving you right in front of its crying face.

Suddenly, it flings you into a tree, shattering your ribs. You hit the ground with a scream, as it continues weeping, although you can't see where it is. You lie there in pain, listening to the sound of the crying growing fainter as the monster moves away.

Suddenly, you hear the sound of laughter, growing closer and closer. You try to move, but you're effectively crippled by pain, unable to move. You close your eyes and like your assailant, begin to weep, hoping whatever creature finds you first does its job quickly.


[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 head back home

[Assistant]
You should head back home to gather your things and you at least should return Peter's car back. You're confident that he'd drive you back here.

You still aren't sure about calling Bobby. If he finds out your intentions, he might do something crazy…well other than the usual craziness he participates in. Might be best to still not return his call.

"I appreciate this opportunity Roofie. I'll be back later today or tomorrow morning at the latest."
"Hm, okay. See you later then." Roofie says and you leave the tent to quickly make your way back to your car.

You realize that you're still in your clown outfit as you're driving off. Oh well it hardly matters. Well other than Peter is probably going to get freaked out when he sees you.

You head back towards town and halfway there you suddenly hear the sound of a tire blowing out.

"Oh what the fuck!?" you exclaim, in your attempt to keep the car from swerving. You pull over to the side of the road.

You get out and see your front driver side tire is completely fucked. While you don't have any experience in changing one yourself, you go and check if there is a spare anyway.

You open the trunk and of course there is nothing in there. Or rather nothing that can help you. You do find a bunch of your old clothes that Peter probably stole a long time ago..

While its possible someone random might try to help you on this road, you don't hold out a lot of hope. Or rather the element that usually traverses this area usually consists of trailer trash types that you definitely don't want to put up with.

Lacking any better options, you decide to call your younger sister Donna and hope that maybe she's not bust partying. No answer, but you leave a message. You also call Julie, but have the same amount of luck.

You then try to call Peter, since he'll definitely want to know about his car. Again, you get no answer, so you leave a message.

Some cars pass you on the road, so far its looking like nobody is helping you. You wonder if it might be the clown costume though. You have the temptation to call Bobby, but you resist.

"Great. I finally start to get something going with my life and fate decides to kick me in the face for it." You say sitting in the car.

It starts to get dark and nobody has returned your call yet. Tired of waiting around for help you come to a decision.

You go back and grab your old clothes from the trunk of the car and start walking back to the carnival. It'll be a long walk, but given how everyone in your family has failed spectacularly in even returning your call you figure you'll be better off just making a clean break and not go back home after all. At least you've got a few extra clothes.

You walk for quite some time and a couple vehicles pass you, but once again nobody offers you a ride. Looks like the clown outfit might be warding off people. As they say, there is nothing funny about a clown in the moonlight.

There is also nothing funny about two rednecks in a pick up truck at night either…

And that's exactly who rides up along side you. A fear wells up within you, but you try to ignore it.

"Woo weee! Look at chu'. You from dat carnival a few miles up dah road?" one of them shouts from the passenger side.
"Something like that."
"Mm, yeah I don't usually go fer clowns…but damn are you fine. You fill out that outfit something fierce! You remind me of that girl from the funny books. Y'know that crazy guy's girlfriend who fights that bat guy."

You continue to try to ignore him and step up your pace.

"So, you need a lift back to your carnival sweetheart? We got room."
"No, the back of your truck looks full of scrap metal."
"Oh honey, you wouldn't ride back there. You'd ride up here with us. Maybe you could even sit in my lap."

You're starting to get worried now.

"No, I'm okay. Thanks though."
"I don't think yer understandin' me missy, this ain't a fuckin' request! Hugo stop the goddamn truck, this one's gonna give us shit!" the hick says and you don't even waste time, you start running before he even gets out of the truck.

It's a long dark lonely road and you're a young woman screaming and running from psycho hillbillies. It would sound like a bad horror movie if it weren't actually happening.

So far you're out pacing them so you figure if you stick to the road you'll be fine and maybe even be lucky enough to have someone pass by to help you.

You look back and see the one from the passenger seat still far behind you, in fact you don't even see the other one. But you do hear shouting by the one chasing you.

In a few moments you hear the sound of an engine see the glow of headlights right behind you. They're not going to bother chasing you so much as they're just going to run you down!

At this point you get off the road and you do, but the truck just follows you into the high grass and at the speed it's going it succeeds in hitting you at a good speed. You go flying several feet way into the field.

You still live, but your body is broken in several places. You cry out followed by several whimpers of someone to help you. Of course there is no one and all it does is let the two hicks know where you've landed. You can't even crawl away.

In a few moments the truck pulls up near your area and your fear and anguish is overwhelming you. This is it. This is how it's going to end.

"Heard that bitch scream, she's gotta be here somewhere…got her." The hillbilly says shining a flashlight in your bloody face.

"Sheet. You ain't much now are ya bitch? If you'd gotten in when I told ya, We might've even let ya go after we were done havin' our fun. But noooo, you stuck up pretty bitches always gotta do things da hard way. Fuck it. I don't care if you are all broken, I'm getting' a piece of this."

During the last agonizing moments of life are thoughts of how you should've stayed in the basement.


[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] Continue

[Assistant]
Maybe you just want to talk to Salina because you're creeped by Pervus or maybe you want to talk to her because you think she's pretty, or maybe it's a combination of both.

Whatever the case the result is still the same when you bang on her trailer.

"PEEYOO! Geek! Get the fuck outta here, even if you did have some money I wouldn't debase myself!" Salina says when she answers.
"No, its not that, I need some help."
"I'll help you get your ass kicked if you don't get outta here! I'm sure Charley wouldn't like seeing you here lingering around me."

You just realized that. If Charley caught you here, he'd probably torture the shit out of you and then let Ajax finish you off (Nevermind the fact that Salina IS a prostitute, but Charley isn't always logical when it comes to her, plus you're a punching bag anyway)
You need to not remain here as long as possible.

[User] You beg and plead pitifully

[Assistant]
Being pitiful has always been something you've been good at, sometimes it even works to your advantage. You collapse on the little piece of stairs you're standing on and start pleading.

"Please Salina you gotta help me! (sob) I don't have anyone else to turn to! I need to sneak in Madam Orbec's tent and get a book from without her knowing (sob) or I'm gonna die! (sob)"

Salina doesn't completely understand what the hell you're babbling about, but she just wants you to leave and stop stinking up the place. Salina goes back inside and grabs a bottle and dumps the entire contents on you. The shit burns like hell on the sores you have on your skin. You roll off the stairs and on to the ground in irritated pain.

"I dunno what the hell you're on about Geek, but you ain't sneaking anywhere as long as you smell the way you do. I just dumped a strong perfume on you. Normally you'd smell like flowers, but with your disgusting odor all it's gonna do is cancel out your usual foulness and even then only for a little while giving you time to do whatever it is you have to do. And this is ALL the help you're getting from me! Now get outta here I got customers coming!" Salina says and then slams her trailer door.

Not exactly what you had in mind, but more help than you expected. You head to Madam Orbec's tent. When you arrive there's a distinct air of creepiness about it. You can't afford to waste too much time so you head around the back of the tent and start trying to pull up so you can sneak in and get the book. You only hope she doesn't happen to be looking in your direction while you're attempting to do this.

As luck would have it, she isn't, in fact when you crawl inside you see you're right near her bed where she's fast asleep. Next to the bed you see a small table with a black book on it. That must be it. You grab it.

Madam Orbec then begins to stir. She starts sniffing in her sleep. The perfume must be wearing off!

[User] You run out of the front entance of the tent

[Assistant]
No time to mess around lifting and crawling you just need to get out of here! You run out of the tent and don't stop until you reach Randal who wonders why you're breathing so hard.

When you get back to Randal he wonder's why the hell you're so worked up.

"(Pant) I got the book."
"Phew! Well don't breathe all over me, just gimme the thing! Excellent. I'll study what I can tonight before show time and then afterwards we'll see who the new master is! And what's wrong with you Geek? Why are breathing so heavy and looking around…you didn't let Madam Orbec see you borrow this did you?!"
"No, not at all. I'm just winded from trying to get out there without her seeing me!"
"Well you better make yourself scarce until showtime anyway. I'm sure you wouldn't want to run into the Ring Master before hand. Relax, I will keep my end of the bargain. Now go."

You leave and linger around the edges of the Carnival, staying out of sight until show time. You just hope Randal does live up to his bargain and manages to take control, because if he doesn't, you're going to be in a world of shit with the Ring Master.

Eventually you wander back to the Carnival around show time. Everything goes as normal with a few exceptions. The Ring Master looks pre-occupied, and Randal's act seems to be a lot more spectacular than usual.

[User] You but the real show occurs afterwards

[Assistant]
A dark moonlit night.

Charley confronts the Ring Master with his army of midgets behind him as well as Ajax. It appears that Pervus and his clowns have also decided to join him. The Ring Master has Atlas, and looks around for his usual allies, the Freaks, and to the surprise of everyone Randal appears with most of the Normals behind him. You attempt to hide directly behind Randal figuring that will be the safest place.

"YOU? You're attempting to take over? You must be joking! Go take your fairy dust and
prance off somewhere, this is between me and the she male freak!" Charley spits.
"No, you malignant midget! Your time and a criminal ways are at an end here today! And your too Ring Master! No longer will this Carnival be run by an exploitative tyrant!" Randal retorts.

The Ring Master sees you and shakes his head.

"I'm very disappointed that you decided to betray me here today Geek. You will learn to regret that fateful decision."
"Enough, of this fuckin' talk. Let's see who's gonna fuckin' run this show once and for all! Attack!"

Charley and his midgets begin the assault, and the other two sides follow suit. The fighting is furious and brutal. All you do is crawl away and try to hide under a trailer and hope Randal wins, which he looks like he's doing.

Randal has the upper hand in every way, he has numerical superiority for one thing, and the other thing is he's casting actual magic spells. A couple of bolts of lightning fry Ajax and Charley. Another spell strikes down Atlas. All looks good for Randal, especially when he wipes out Pervus and all the clowns with a huge fireball and finally with one last spell he strikes down the Ring Master with a dark black light which completely disintegrates him.

Its over.

"Geek! You can stop hiding! We won!" Randal shouts.
"Yes, and with the help of MY book!" Madam Orbec says appearing from nowhere. "What the hell is wrong with you Randal? Didn't I tell you not to mess with this book?" Orbec begins hitting Randal and takes her book back.
"Ow! I'm sorry Madam! I just wanted to prove to you that I was ready to…ow!"
"You'll never be ready for this book, you hear me? You're lucky you didn't bring the dead back to life with your careless chanting!" then she points to you. "And YOU'RE lucky I didn't catch you stealing this for him! I would've turned you into a worm which probably would be a step up for you!" Orbec decides she doesn't want to dirty herself hitting you though, so she just leaves. After this embarrassing incident Randal regains his composure.

"Okay people get some rest for tomorrow, a new era of this Carnival has arrived and we have a lot of hard work ahead of us, but it'll be worth it! Because with magic anything is possible! And don't worry Geek, I still haven't forgotten about you, thanks to your help, you'll have a place in my Carnival."

Time passes and Randal "cleans up" the Carnival of all remaining criminal activity, though without Charley around, it wasn't really a factor anymore. Salina ends up leaving though as the Carnival has gotten too "Goody" for her liking. Without Ajax around, Sasha ends up falling for Randal and the two eventually get married.

There also aren't anymore Freaks in the Carnival anymore; the few that survived ran off to eke out meager livings elsewhere. There were quite a few Midgets left, and were allowed to stay due to the fact that they were hard workers, but their status is severely diminished. In fact they're pretty relegated back to second class citizen status again.

The Carnival flourishes though as it becomes a truly wondrous and safe place for entire families. And your reward for your help was a complete magical transformation into…

An animal keeper.

Having no other useful skills you're relegated to have to look after all the animals and take care of them in Randal's new Carnival.

Every day you take your life into your hands when dealing with the lions.
Every day the horses fart on you whenever you're around.
Every day you suffer the indignities of the monkeys throwing their shit at you. Not that it matters since you smell like shit anyway after having to clean up after the elephants.

In fact you only smell slightly better than when you were a Geek, though at least you don't have eat various parts of the animals' anatomies and you don't get beat up anymore.

It's a step up!


[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 help Louis bury his son

[Assistant] You stumble out into the snow with Louis and scrabble around in the snow trying to dig a shallow grave. The infant is finally laid to rest but when you return to your cabin you find you cannot see. The world is darkness. Lying down makes it better and during the night you slip away.


[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 need a hint

[Assistant] First I need to apologize since the flags are not historically accurate considering this game is meant to be set in medieval England. Second, for those of you that don't speak six different languages, avez-vous entendu parler de google translator?


[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 letters to home (Battle at Garwold...)

[Assistant]
Dear Mom,

I'm still in Garwold and each day I see more of this once beautiful land die under the hordes of the Great Lich Lord. I wish I could've seen this place before all of this. I think I probably could've made a living here as a bard under different circumstances. Playing for the downtrodden militias and fleeing refugees during the few free moments is one of the few pleasures I get anymore.

We're expecting a big undead push soon, and I don't see how we can hold on to the remaining territory we have left here.

I know you probably won't, but if we lose Garwold, I want you and the rest of the family to SERIOUSLY consider abandoning the farm. It's not even ours anymore. Why stay there in the face of oncoming danger?

But I know you'll probably stay regardless. Maybe it doesn't matter, because at this point where is there to run?

Give my love to the rest of the family.

Your son


[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 let him live

[Assistant]
"Alright, you got me in a generous mood, plus there really isn't enough time for me to kill you properly, but here!" you throw the briefcase at him which he catches. "You're making yourself useful, carry that, I'LL keep your pistol."

You exit the elevator through the service panel in the top of the elevator with Jack following behind you. Mr. Hyde is attempting to punch his way through the bottom of the elevator.

You point the gun at the main elevator cable and fire, hitting it a couple times. It dangles a bit and then falls onto Mr. Hyde who is in no position to be able to stop it. Eventually the elevator hits the bottom of the shaft crushing Mr. Hyde under it.

You continue your escape by prying the elevator doors open and crawl through panting heavily. You then pull Jack up while holding them open. Both of you are very tired.

"Damn, I think that formula of yours is wearing off Jack." You pant.
"Hmm, that's interesting; I'll have to make a note of that. Well here's your money. I suppose this is where we part ways, I guess I should thank you for not killing me and being a good subject for my formula. I anticipate the government will be very pleased with it. More than they would've been with Henry's clumsy formula at least. You really do have my eternal gratitude Wolf."

"Yeah, yeah, you better get the hell outta here Jack before I catch my breath and change my mind about letting you live." You say snatching the briefcase.

Jack turns to leave, but you tell him one more thing.

"And Jack…don't let me catch your scent near me again or you'll find that invisibility won't be enough to protect 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 say "I really like you, but as a friend."

[Assistant]
"Oh, yeah, yeah, I agree," Fay says. "I feel the same way, I was actually really dreading telling you that, and I thought I'd have to tell you it now,  but since we feel the way, it's OK now."

"Oh, good, good."

"So, what was that other thing?" Fay asks, rushing onto the next subject.

"Rebellion."

"Oh?"

"Kyros is mad and paranoid. He's either going to slit our throats or send us on an endless string of suicide missions. We need to do something, and I really need your help. A group of collaborators have planned to rise up, and rid ourselves of Kyros. Then, we take over. I need the support of your Tribals to do so.

"Yeah, totally. Done."

"Done?"

"Yeah. If we don't escape, we die here. Also, they're your Tribals as much as mine. Who else is in on this?" Fay asks.

"Elios, Durge and Elizabeth are all in. No doubt Calpurnia's man will help us," you say.

"What about Cain and the twins?"

"I haven't asked them yet, but we need to get them on board," you say.

"Do we hae a solid plan yet?" Fay asks.

"Not yet. We need to find out how many people we have fighting for us."

"What happens after we take the ship," Fay asks, raising an eyebrow.

"That is still to be decided. Once we have Cain. Castus and Olive behind us, we'll have bargaining power. So you're in?"

"I'm in," Fay nods. "I'll have the message spread among the tribals."

You notice one of your guards walking towards you, carrying a tray. You motion for Fay to quiet down, as the guard arrives putting the tray down on the table.

"Eat," he says, in a cold voice like the scraping of a blade on rusted metal.

You look at your food. There's a bowl of noodles and strips of thin, cured meat, a small bowl of green jelly with chunks of odd, alien fruit inside, a large plastic cup of wine and a small, dense biscuit-like cake.

"Well, someone's being pampered," Fay says, smiling.

"Clearly I'm just more important than you," you gloat as you have a forkful of noodles and meat.

Fay grabs the biscuit cake from your tray, taking a bite.

"Hey!" you say in annoyance, as Fay sticks her tongue out.

You quickly eat your meal, polishing off the entire tray and gulping down the wine. Then, Magos Cern arrives.

"Good, you've eaten," she says. "These operations will be safer if you've had a full stomach."

"OK, I'm ready, let's go, you say. "Bye, Fay. See you soon."

"See you later, Fay says, looking a bit sullen, as you wonder whether that put down was too forward.

Magos Cern leads you out of the cafeteria and along the halls, off along halls and elevators. Eventually, you pass through the cyro-sleep section, arriving in a large operating room. Dozens of Goliaths are lying on the surgery tables, many halfway through surgery. A half dozen other Tech Priests wander around between the Goliaths, removing and adding flesh, bone, organs, cybernetic implants and other strange things.

"I didn't know there were other Tech Priests," you note.

"This ship is the size of a small moon. Did you think you've seen enough of it to accurately be able to say that we don't have something? I have scores of Tech Priests who followed me into the embrace of the Dark Gods," Magos Cern says.

Magos Cern leads you to an operating table.

"This is yours. Please get undressed and wait here, I need to grab my materials and equipment. Stay here."

Magos Cern turns around, walking off, leaving you alone. You spot Cain, lying on his operating table, his chest cut open to reveal still functioning organs. You wonder how he can still be alive with such a hastily cut-up torso, before you wince as you see his eyes dart towards you and you realize he's conscious. Looking to see Magos Cern hobbling away, you hop off the operating table and walk over to him.

"Commander Karth," Cain grunts. "Need something?"

"I have... an offer."

"An offer? An offer of what?" Cain says, absent-mindedly picking at a cut alongside his... or at least, one of his stomachs.

"Freedom," you say, catching the monster's attention.

"Go on," Cain says, furrowing his scarred brow and causing a thin stream of blood to pour from his horns.

"We're planning an escape. We could use you and your men," you say.

"We?"

"Elios, Durge, Elizabeth, Fay, others," you say. "That's it, I think."

"When?"

"We don't have details, yet. We need a head count before we can start planning it."

"Hmmm... I'm willing to give you control of my... "Goliaths", as you called them. But, I have a list of conditions that I want to be satisfied once we take the ship."

"Go on," you say.

"I want us to get names. Every Goliath who is capable of remembering and answering to a name will be called that instead of its serial number, by you and ALL other members of command. No more cyro-sleep. I want a bed for every single Goliath. I don't care if it's fine cloth or a slab of concrete, as long as it doesn't freeze them, it'll do us. I want free time that's not just killing."

"Anything else?" you ask.

"That's it," Cain says, spitting out a serrated teeth that's fallen free from his jaw.

Cain's demands are far from unfair. Really, all he wants is slightly more rights for his Goliaths, which wouldn't even take any more resources. Still, you don't want the beast getting a big head. You ARE still in charge of not only his collar, but the collars of every single Goliath. All you need is a few threats, and the Goliaths will be yours.


[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 refuse to drink

[Assistant]
You refuse to drink and it seems a sensible decision, McCoy throws himself off a cliff in a drunken fit of depression, plummeting to his death. With his friend gone Quintal becomes more depressed also, drinking more and becoming more violent. In one incident he bites the ear off his wife Tevarua when she fails to catch enough fish one day. Tevarua, herself a heavy drinker, imitates McCoy in throwing herself off a cliff to her death.

Deprived of his wife Quintal takes another one and when Adams and Young protest Quintal threatens to kill them both. He is now moody and unpredictable and Adams and Young confer with you in a secret meeting and tell you that the next time Quintal is passed out drunk they intend to kill him with an axe. You consider whether to join them in this plot or warn Quintal of what is happening.

[User] You join Adams and Young in killing Quintal

[Assistant] That night when Quintal is passed out you, Adams and Young sneak up on him and Adams decapitates him with one swing of the axe. Quintal's death finally restores peace to the island which lasts another year until Young dies of asthma on Christmas Day of 1800. All that is left now is for you and John Adams to rule over a Pitcairn Island inhabited exclusively by women and children...

[User] You discovery

[Assistant]
The next thirty or so years are peaceful ones for you and Adams, raising your many children and taking care of the island. A ship was spotted out to sea in 1795 and another in 1801 but it is not until February of 1808 that an American ship called the Topaz finally visits the island. You and Adams cautiously meet with the sailors who come ashore and finally learn what has happened on the outside world.

After the Mutiny on the Bounty in 1789 Bligh and his surviving companions made it back to England and reported the Mutiny. A ship called the Pandora was sent to Tahiti where she captured your remaining companions, while searching for you the Pandora sank off the Great Barrier Reef. The survivors eventually made it back to England where some more of your companions were executed. The search for the Bounty and the rest of you was eventually abandoned.

You are nervous of what effect the news that you and Adams (after all, still wanted pirates) are living on Pitcairn Island will have but it is not until 1814 that a pair of Royal Navy ships finally visit the island. Twenty-five years after the Mutiny on the Bounty the men aboard report that the Admiralty has decided to grant you both amnesty for your parts in the Mutiny and allow you to continue living on the island. Relieved you continue your peaceful lives.

Your great friend John Adams dies in 1829 at the age of sixty-one leaving you the sole King of Pitcairn Island.


[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 chop her up

[Assistant]
If you're going to do this, you need to do this right. In fact the more you think about it, this isn't going to be done in one day. However, you can get some of it done tonight if you stay focused.

Sure, you're going to have to come up with a few excuses to your parents of why you were out all night, but you can think them up while you're taking care of this.

You quickly search her body, but find nothing of interest. The purse that she dropped on the floor when you smashed her in the face contains all the important stuff, but you figure you can go through it more thoroughly later.

The first thing you do is leave the room and head directly to the check in office. When you enter you see a slovenly man watching a tv. His leering eyes turn your way and you have no doubt he thinks you're the same woman from earlier.

"Hey, I'm gonna need that room a little longer." You say.
"Business that good huh?" he snorts.
"Very funny, look how much for two more days?"
"Same price you see on the fucking sign above my head."
"Oh, well I guess I didn't see it since I was so mesmerized what with you being such a stud and all." You say sarcastically while pulling out a couple hundreds out of your pocket.

You toss the money at him dismissively, but he takes it without question.

"Keep the change and I don't want anyone disturbing me until its time to check out, got it? That means no house keeping ladies or shit knocking at my door." You say.
"House keeping ladies? Pfft, no problem there. I got one and she barely does her fucking job as it is. If I wasn't married to her I would've fired her years ago." The man says and returns to his show.

You then head to your car where you start bringing in several of the various objects you brought from the house. Takes you a couple trips, but you don't have any trouble.

The motel bathroom is fortunately bigger than you expected it to be, it's also a lot dirtier than you expected it to be. Of course now you're not so much worried about making a mess so much as you're afraid you're going to catch hepatitis just being in the damn place.

You lay down tarps on the floor and in the bathtub then you drag her body in. You go grab the axe and study it a bit; hoping that it's sharp enough that you won't need to struggle with the whole dismemberment task.

Standing over her body with an axe is a little surreal to you, but you need to stop dwelling on how weird this all is and get on with it.

"Here we go." You say and swing the axe…

Chopping up the body is a mixed feeling. On one hand you're completely at peace with the deed and everything that goes along with it. The blood and gore isn't even all that bad since you've gotten a bit accustomed to that, but it's the smell that's making you feel a little sick.

You actually have to stop chopping for a moment because you can't stop gagging. Eventually you just give in and throw up in the toilet nearby. Afterwards, you're more or less fine. It still isn't nearly as bad as that fucked up reality warping tentacle monster shadow abominations you had to endure during your time in the Gray Building. You never want to experience something like that again.

By the time you're finished, you've got severed parts waiting to be wrapped up. You got most of the bloody mess on the tarps, so that's one less thing to worry about you suppose. You'll have to dispose of the bloody clothing you're wearing though.

Getting naked, you return to your large luggage case, which you placed on the bed and open it up to retrieve all the trash bags you took along with the duct tape.

The wrapping and taping is probably more time consuming than the chopping up part. You don't really have too many problems except when it comes to the torso which is not fun to deal with since it's still heavy and blood is leaking everywhere from it.

Eventually you get everything in order and before you know it, you've got several body parts wrapped fairly tightly in bags and they don't seem to be leaking either. After washing your hands and arms a bit, you grab the luggage case from the next room.

It takes some effort and squeezing, but you just barely manage to fit all of the parts in the case. After carefully moving the tarps to drain the blood in the tub, you then fold them up and squeeze them in too, along with your blood drenched clothing. The luggage case itself is made of solid material and you're confident there won't be any leakage, but just dragging it back into the main room takes some effort. It definitely isn't going to be easy to shove into the car trunk.

Next you spend a little time cleaning up a few places where the blood spilled on the floor or splattered on the wall. Most of this was in the bathroom and is relativity easy to get rid of, though you do spend some time scrubbing the carpet a bit where you first choked her out.

After you're done with all of that, you take a shower, which also gets rid of the blood already in the tub. You briefly feel a little like that infamous countess that bathed in the blood of young girls to maintain her youth.

Getting dressed in a new set of clothing you brought in the duffle bag, you finally collapse on the bed not caring how filthy it may or may not be.

"Ahhh…shit…" you say to yourself as fatigue sets in.

You take this opportunity to go a bit through the purse now, starting with the phone. You check the time and see that it's practically getting up for morning.

You figure you'll sleep here for what remains of the night and tomorrow you'll take the remains to the wilderness and find a good spot to bury them. You imagine your mom will call you at some point, possibly even waking you up. You figure you'll tell her you had a few drinks with Diana and you didn't want to risk driving home. She'll understand that even if she might not approve.

You also figure you'll take the blue car when you drive. The shovel is still in that one and you might very well have to stop off at your parent's house first for some reason anyway if they really make a fuss to want to see you immediately. Better you don't have to park around the block or something just so you don't arouse suspicion. You'll definitely be abandoning the blue one and taking the silver one back when you leave town and head back to Security City though.

And that's just some of what you have to do for tomorrow. You'll be able to do it though as long as you stay focused on your goals like you have been doing.

As you begin to drift off, your thoughts briefly focus on Bobby. Seems weird to think of him even now after all you've been through this week. You wonder if his family lives in town? Are they still cultists or are they normal?

You have no idea, there is going to be a lot to learn from this reality, but you can only dwell on "your" Bobby and what he might think. You certainly are a far cry from that "good girl" he rescued so long ago. He probably would be proud of you right now.

You know he's out of your life forever now, but you still can't help feel a little sad about it.

"I still wonder if being with you influenced me or what I just did was within me all along. Either way I guess if I stayed with you earlier this week…maybe…maybe… we could have made it work after all. Another reality perhaps…" you say and close your eyes.

[User] Next day…

[Assistant]
SATURDAY

You wake up to the cell phone ringing. You're very tired, but when you see who it is, this call isn't unexpected.

"Hey mom…" you groggily reply.
"Hey mom? Where are you? I thought you would've come back last night!" your mom exclaims.
"What time is it now?"
"It's almost noon! Are you okay?"
"Mom, mom, mom, calm down. I'm fine. I just…well I drank a little too much…"
"Drink? You don't drink!" your mom exclaims.
"Yeah, I know hence why I've been more or less out of it. Diana was really distraught last night and she was already drinking a bit when I got over to her place. She got an eviction notice, she broke up with her boyfriend, she lost her job and just a whole bunch of other drama in genera hit her this week. She really needed a friend to speak with and well, I ended up drinking with her since she was sort of insistent and I wanted to be there for her. Maybe I shouldn't have, but I think she felt better as the night went on. Of course that might have just been the drink…I dunno…I'm sorry for worrying you though."

There is a pause after you give your excuse.

"Okay Suzy. I get it. (Sigh) I'm just glad you had the sense not to drive if you really got that drunk though. I do hope this isn't a habit though, I know you're an adult, but you're still my baby and I don't like to think of you as being some falling down lush."
"Oh mom, that's not going to happen. Seriously, like I said, I only did it so Diana would feel better. I fully intend to tell her when she wakes up that this won't be happening again."
"Glad to hear it. So when do you think you'll be home? Your father and I would still like to see you since you actually came here to visit us remember?"
"I know, I'll be home in a few hours I suppose. I still feel woozy from last night. Did you need me over immediately though? Because I can do that if you want."
"No, no, you take care of everything you need to over there and come over when you're feeling up to driving. Don't want you getting into an accident because you're not feeling one hundred percent."
"Okay, I will be over as soon as I can though."
"Alright, we'll see you then. Love you Suzy."
"I love you mom."

You hang up and rub your eyes a bit.

"Well that's one thing out of the way. Better get on with the more important task." You say.

You open up the door to your room and see a closer parking spot to your room, which is good since you really don't want to drag that case too far.

You go to your car and bring it in closer and then head back to your room to gather up everything.

You gather up the bat and axe (which you also wash off in the tub) and toss them in the trunk. Next, you grab the luggage case. With some effort, you drag it to the trunk and lift it inside. You're really glad you decided to chop her up, you can't imagine how awkward it would've been to carry her intact.

You take your new purse and duffle bag and leave the room. You'll come back for the sports car later. The only danger of leaving it here is someone stealing the thing, but then it wasn't really your car to begin with.

Believing you've taken care of everything you need to here, you start up your car and drive off for north of town.

A few hours later and you're just finishing up digging a good-sized hole in the ground to shove the case in. You really think you were better off doing this in the day time since you neglected to bring a flashlight which would have made digging in the middle of the woods at night a little more difficult.

You were a little concerned about some random campers stumbling upon you, or maybe some redneck hunters, but so far you haven't seen a single thing, which is good.

You look at the luggage case.

"Well Suzy, now is where we part ways. I wish I could say I didn't want things to be this way, but I'd be lying. You had a better life and I wanted that so I took it. Maybe that makes me a fucking sociopath or evil or something, I don't know and I don't care. All I can say is I'm going to make the most of it and not waste your life the way I wasted my life."

You grab the case and shove it into the hole.

"Thanks Suzy and goodbye." You say and then fill up the hole.

After your deed you make the mildly long walk out of the woods and to your car. You throw your shovel in the trunk and sit in the car for a while not doing anything except resting. Digging a hole for a body is some tiring business even if it's neatly tucked in a case.

You grab your new phone out of the purse to call your mom so you can let her know you'll be home soon and that's when you notice someone else has called while you were out digging.

It's your "girlfriend." Apparently her name is Heather and she left you a voice message which out of curiosity you listen to.

"Hey Suzy, I hope you're having a good time visiting your family. I just wanted to call though and see how you were. I know you haven't been gone long, but you know I always miss you when you're not around. Anyway, call me back when you have time. Oh and I sent you some pictures to keep you occupied when you're alone! (Giggle!)"

You go through the phone and see that Heather has indeed sent you more than a few pictures. You see a raven haired girl of small physique with lipstick and eye make up wearing lingerie and making sexy poses. You have to admit, she's actually very pretty in a slightly goth sort of way.

"Damn, maybe I shouldn't break up with her immediately." you chuckle.

You turn the car on and begin making the journey back to your parent's house. Along the way you think about everything that's happened this week and how this is just beginning of your new life. You weren't joking about making the most of it when you said those words out loud in the woods. You meant that, well except you're not going to be making the most out of her life, you're going to be making the most out of YOUR life.

While the "transformation" is far from complete, you think the hardest part is over and even if there are challenges or you to overcome, you'll succeed in surviving and conquering them.

Because that's all you've done during this Hell week, survived and ultimately conquered it.

[User] Continue

[Assistant]
Mirror rorriM

The Future…

Your siblings, spouses, children, and you all stand in your mother's bedroom. It probably won't be long now.

You always knew the day would come when you'd lose her again and that day is today. While you might have been more prepared for it this time, it doesn't make it any less sad. You didn't even feel this sad when your dad died years ago and you loved him very much, though maybe that's because you always still had the tainted memory of your crappy alternate one.

Your mother though in both realities was always there for you and you've never forgotten that.

"Now that I've said my goodbyes to everyone…I want….I want to speak to Suzy…alone…" your mother utters.

Everyone is a little surprised by this unexpected request. You are too, since you thought everyone was going to be in her room until the end.

"What? But mother…" Kelly starts to say looking almost a little offended.
"Kelly. Not now. Not today." Ben says with a stern voice.

Kelly looks at Ben like she wants to argue, but he's about the only person that can make her back down. She does however give you the stare of death.

Kelly never changes no matter what reality. She always hates you. There actually was a slightly comforting consistency when you first encountered her.

"Fine. She's all yours, just like she always is." Kelly snaps and storms out the room.

Ben exhales and shrugs with a slight widening of his eyes looking at you.

"It's okay…I'm used to it." You say.
"Alright, everyone come on let's leave these two alone to talk." Ben replies.

Ben escorts his children out of the room while Julie goes up and gives you a quick hug before following them.

You kiss and hug your husband and tell your daughter that you'll see them later.

After they leave it's just you and mom. You pull up your chair as close as you can to the bed and sit near her and hold her hand.

"I'm here mom." You say.
"Yes…yes you are. You've always been here. (Cough) Even when you weren't."

Your mom at this point turns to look directly at you and despite her very weak state you feel her hand squeeze yours somewhat strongly and she gives you a sudden intense look.

"I know you're not Suzy…or rather you're not the Suzy I gave birth to…" she says with a tone that you've never heard before. It isn't anger or anything negative, but it is one that puts you so off guard that you get a chill down your back.

"Mom, I…" you begin to sputter before she interrupts you.
"Don't. I know. I've known for a very long time now. A mother always knows her own child."

You don't know how to react. You look down and away from your "mother. You actually feel a little sick and you start to tremble a bit. You have never once in all these years felt bad about what you did, but now you're not so sure. You begin to sniffle and tears start to form.

"Shhhh, Suzy. Save your tears for when I'm truly gone because it doesn't matter. You're still my daughter, but I couldn't go to my grave without letting you know that I knew. I also thought I'd tell you for your sake. Now (cough) I don't want to know the gruesome details…about HOW this came to be, but if its been weighing on your conscience at all, you didn't actually replace the Suzy I gave birth to anyway."

This is beyond unexpected. How is it possible that she knows all this just on instinct? You look up at your mother.

"My Suzy…the Suzy I knew as the daughter I gave birth to? Something happened to her a long time ago. (cough cough) Something changed soon after she went to college. I never could place my finger on it, but first time she visited I knew something was different. And it wasn't just due to experimenting with new ideas and sexuality in college. SHE was different and I KNEW she was. As I said, a mother knows, but the frequent little inconsistencies in her memories and such made it certain. Just as I learned with you."

You just continue holding your mother's hand as she speaks.

"But what could I do? What could I say? Who would believe such a fantastic tale? Sure this new Suzy was a little more full of herself, but she still loved me just like my Suzy did. I couldn't lose my baby daughter twice so I never spoke up. Never (cough) dreamed it would happen again though. I suppose in some ways I might have even been glad though. You replaced the one who replaced mine."

Never did you ever believe that your mother knew. To learn this now is just as overwhelming as when you had to deal with the situation so long ago.

"Why…why didn't you say anything before?" you ask looking up.
"Why ruin a good relationship? You never disrespected me and treated me kindly. You always visited when you could and you even moved back to town with your family when your father died so you could be closer to me. You obviously loved me very much. Could I really ask for a better daughter?" your mother says with a faint smile.

The feelings are almost overwhelming you at this point. You're completely at a loss. At this point your mom gives your hand another squeeze, but weaker this time.

"You're my daughter. My baby and I always loved you. Never doubt that." She says.
"I don't…(Sob)" you say and attempt to hold it together.

Your mother's grip is becoming less firm now.

"Soon none of this will matter, but before I go…I want to know a couple things…" your mother says weakly.
"Of course." You reply.
"What…(cough) was your other mother like?"
"She…(sniffle) was very much like you. She was kind and was the only one who ever truly cared when I was growing up. I…(sob) was still little when she died…I missed her very much…" you say trying to keep from crying completely.

Your mother nods.

"I see…I suppose…(cough cough) that answer might partially answer my other question then…"
"What's that?"
"How many other Suzys were there after you?"

You're silent for a moment.

"Three that I know of. I think you may have even met one of them."
"Mm…considering you were never replaced… I suppose…you just wanted this life more than they did then…"
"It…(sob) has been a good life…(sob)"

Your mother pats your hand.

"And you'll still have a good life Suzy, even after I'm gone…" she says.

At this point your mother's eyes begin to flutter and then shut completely and her breathing becomes shallow.

You stay until the end and then sadness is completely released. You cry over your loss and head towards the door, not wishing to be in the same room with the empty shell that was your mother any longer.

When you exit, your husband immediately sees had distraught you are and goes to comfort you. Your daughter has been visibly crying as well. Ben, says that he'll start making the arrangements for the funeral, meanwhile Kelly takes it upon herself to call medical personnel.

Later, the drive back home is quieter, with your daughter Sally sleeping in the backseat and your husband Roger just paying attention to the road.

It's been an emotional roller coaster for you today. More than you even thought it would be, but you're sort of glad your mother knew. Somehow her knowing and still loving and accepting you anyway made it just as real as how your reality's mom felt towards you.

You also wonder if this means you won't have to put up with any other reality hopping Suzys any longer. That might be a little too much to hope for though, after all your life is still a good one and you have much to be happy about in the scheme of things. Your mother was right about that.

Doesn't matter, you'll continue to fight for it just like you always have because now you truly have a life worth fighting for.

"You okay over there honey?" Roger asks.
"Yes, well no, but I guess I'm just trying to think about all the good times I had with mom. You know, focus on the positive."
"That's good Suzy. I think that's a healthy approach." He replies.

Roger always has been a supportive husband to you. You never would have thought you would have fallen for a soldier type before. You sometimes wonder if you and Roger ever met in another reality.

"Yeah, it's odd, but I think I'm also coming up with an idea for a new book. Figure maybe I should re-channel all this negativity into something productive." You say.
"Oh? What idea?"
"Well I suppose my mind is still a bit fragmented for a solid idea, but I'm thinking of doing a sequel to Mirrors."
"Oh, your scifi book about parallel dimensions? That one was pretty popular. I know I certainly liked it better than that one your wrote about that inbred cultist family. That one was a little too gruesome for my tastes."
"Well I had to make a dramatic break from my first three books. Up until then, all people thought I could write was lesbian pirate erotica."
"Hey I liked Treasure Chest. I thought it was a pretty deep love story." Roger says.
"Oh I know why YOU liked it." You say chuckling a little bit and allowing yourself to feel a little better.
"Well okay I liked the obvious too, well anyway do you have any idea on what the new story might involve?"
"It will probably just pick up a few years after Mirror left off and I'll see how it goes from there. Like I said, it's just in the idea stages now, but whatever I come up with, I'll definitely be dedicating it in the memory of mom."
"Well I think that's a very good way to honor her. She certainly has contributed to your inspiration."

You nod.

"In more ways than one Roger. In more ways than one."


[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 retire

[Assistant]
As much as you might like to go on, you decide that perhaps it is finally time to pass the torch to younger and more energetic men and women than yourself. You also know it would probably make Dawn happier. You've done quite a bit for the Felkan Kingdom and served as well as you could have under the circumstances. You just wish you had time to do more, or at least the youth, if not the time.

When you step down, its sort of a surprise to the entire Felkan military, they always figured you'd never willingly step down and probably die in office. Even the new ruling class is a little disappointed to see you leave, you were after all instrumental in their rise to power.

A small service celebrating your years of dedication to the Felkan Kingdom is held which you naturally attend and you even give a small speech. It's all very patriotic and keeps the up the morale and optimistic outlook of the kingdom for everyone. Shortly after your retirement, you do indulge in the frivolities of said retirement; this pretty much consists of not doing much of anything or spending time with Dawn. It's fun for a while.

When you start to keep up on the news on the Rask invasion, you become increasingly dismayed by what your successor is doing. There are victories at first, but they eventually become costly ones. The Raskians begin organizing enough to make further conquest difficult.

Eventually several lower ranking officers begin calling for you to return if only as a consultant or strategic advisor. You actually would gladly volunteer as you definitely want to help the kingdom and you're starting to find your retired life a little boring. Unfortunately the current general doesn't want that, as he wants to take all the credit for the conquest of Rask and if he's able, to surpass your victories. The fool manages to sway the king in his favor by pointing out that they hold most of the territory and are plundering its resources. The king of course is just concerned with the bottom line, so he keeps him on.

Of course the biggest problem with this, is it's incredibly short sighted. The Raskians sabotage their mines and fight a guerilla war that makes things even worse. Felkan soldiers die by the thousands over the course of several years and this begins to have a downward spiral. Not a grand one, but it's noticeable that the cracks are starting to show and people are beginning to protest again.

You don't agree with how the government is handling things, but you're a patriot to the end and one day you get into an argument with a group of them on the street. Dawn tells you to let it go, but the more they get in your face, the more you won't let it go and eventually you feel that call to violence again…

You punch out one of the protestors, which causes more shouting from the rest of the crowd as well as the soldiers attempting to keep order. One the soldiers respectfully attempts to hold you back, but you continue to try to attack the rest of the protestors and screaming at them of how ungrateful they all are. With tensions heating up on all sides, it's only a matter of time before things escalate and somebody fires a shot and it isn't from the soldiers, it's from one of the protestors carrying a concealed pistol.

You feel the impact to your chest and fall to the ground as mass chaos erupts all around you. Dawn screams for a medic and attempts to drag you out of the way, but you're already coughing up blood and gasping for breath as the chest wound continues to bleed out your vital fluids.

"Dawn…(gasp, gurgle)" is all you can utter before your heart stops beating.


[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 set him alight

[Assistant] You fire a burst of flames forward, setting Skinrik alight. He screams as flames engulf his body, but grits his teeth. With a look of pure malice, he draws a shotgun from his side holster and charges forward, fighting through the pain. Your men raise their weapons but Skinrik is faster, and with a single shot blows off your head.


[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 diplomacy (Year 31)

[Assistant]
This is really annoying.

You cut down the orc you wounded from before. You knew he wasn't getting far in this blizzard. Unfortunately you've lost sight of Flog again. You'll pick up the trail again to be sure, but this whole thing is a complete waste of time.

If Cyrus hadn't pissed off the orcs, they could've been sent to prevent Kane from destroying another town. Instead the Flog and his merry little band have been raiding the little villages north of Fort Defiance, villages that were supporting the shadows.

This can't continue and will not continue.

A cave lies up ahead, knowing Flog he's probably set up some sort of crude ambush, but that's where he's going to be. You need to get out of this blizzard anyway before you freeze. Shadows don't have any magic that keeps you warm after all.

You'd like to where Cyrus is since he's supposed to be helping you in this task. (This is fault after all) You told him to not to bother chasing those other orcs as they were obviously just a distraction.

The cave provides welcoming warmth from the cold outside. It also provides a welcoming committee in the form of three ogres. This would be Flog's crude ambush.

You dodge the first ogre trying to cave your head in with a club and make a deep slash across his great fat belly. Innards are emptied out onto the cave floor along with a foul odor. The other two ogres knock over their mortally wounded companion in his own blood and shit to reach you.

As powerful as they are, ogres in your experience have never been particular good fighters. It's over reliance on brute strength and no match for your own abilities. A lot easier than trolls that's for sure. You never want to have to fight one of those things again.

You easily avoid the ogres' attacks and hamstring the pair of them before they even know what's going on. You jump on the back of one of them and put a dagger through the back of his neck. He throws you off as he gags on his own blood.

The last ogre crawls at you while you shake off the cobwebs of being thrown into the cave wall. A familiar "shhh thunk!" sound is heard and you see a bolt going through the eye of the ogre. He continues to crawl at you for a moment before succumbing to brain death. You look to your left and see Cyrus loading up another bolt in his armbow.

"These creatures were always unworthy of being in the presence of Dendrin's faithful to begin with." Cyrus says calmly
"Where have you been?"
"I got lost in the blizzard temporarily when I was chasing those orcs. I'm here now so let's finish this brother."

You shake you head sometimes wondering why you don't just kill him and declare yourself shadow master, but he's still got enough followers to make that problematic and thanks to this orc distraction, you need his help. There's also the fact that Talia would still prefer you to somehow find a way to work it out with him. There have been times where you think you have, but then there is some sort of disagreement and the both of you are back where you started.

You figure all of the same reasons are why Cyrus hasn't attempted to kill you and declare himself shadow master. He certainly could get away with it up here in the hinterlands and you sort of wondered if that's why he agreed to come with you on this mission. He could kill you and then claim you fell in battle. Who'd really know? But again, he needs you, probably even more than he'd like to admit. You also know that perhaps somewhere within him, he'd prefer that you'd be on better terms as well.

The pair of you travel further into the cave and eventually you come across a single figure standing by a small fire. It's Flog.

"Shadows, Flog sees that you have finally tracked him."
"Wasn't exactly difficult considering all the raiding you were doing. You really brought this upon yourself Flog." You answer.
"How else are we supposed to sustain ourselves? Can't farm in this land and orcs not farmers anyway. Hunting is scarce lately. Too much competition with giants and unfriendly ogre tribes. Humie villages have lots of supplies. They have more than enough. Stupid for having a settlement in hostile territory anyway."
"It wasn't excessively hostile until you started raiding them and two, those supplies are to help the rebellion against the Empire, you do remember that war remember?"
"Flog remembers. Flog remembers all too well since shadows just used orcs as sword fodder to hide behind. Shadows no better than the Empire."

At this point Cyrus speaks up. "Why are we wasting words on this savage, let us kill the beast the be done with it."
"Huh, you seemed to hide the most. If not for pretty female shadow, Flog would've killed you a long time ago."
"Enough! Flog, your alliance with the shadows while probably not ideal, it was to your benefit. Since our split, the Empire has managed to make a small come back here in Rask. If the Empire gets strong enough to defeat us, you know you'll be next."
"Bah! Flog not care anymore! Empire is weak enough now. Empire will never be able to tame the upper reaches of Rask. Flog will make his home there and be free. Empire YOU shadows problem now."
"Very well Flog, but there's one problem with that plan. Namely you're not getting out of this cave to be able to live free. You won't be living at all in fact."
"Oh…right…Flog see…"

At this point you fully expect Flog to make a last moment attack, but he doesn't, instead he takes his hand away from his weapon.

"Anyway Flog can convince shadows?" he asks.
"Wait, are you seriously trying to negotiate?" you ask
"Yeah, if it gets Flog to live."

You can't help but chuckle a little. Talia always told you Flog was intelligent for an orc. You can only imagine how intelligent Captain Gruz was considering he was the originator of this orc rebellion. Cyrus of course isn't finding this amusing at all.

"Why are you laughing? This orc scum insults Dendrin and us! I'm putting an end to this…"

Cyrus attempts to shoot Flog with his armbow, but you stop him from doing so and the bolt flies harmlessly into the wall. This would be a perfect time for Flog to try to escape, but he doesn't. Either he's smart enough to know you'd just find him again, or he's serious about coming to some sort of agreement. This situation isn't totally unsalvageable with Flog, but it certainly makes your current situation with Cyrus worse.

"Brother, you deal with this orc barbarian if you wish, but I'll not have any part of it! And if whatever deal you make with it bites all of us, I will be the first one to make sure you pay for your poor decisions! I make this vow to Dendrin himself!" Cyrus exclaims and storms off.

After a brief moment of silence, you speak to Flog.

"Alright Flog, this is a negotiation, but you won't be changing anything about them because everything is going to be on MY terms. Okay first off, you can't raid the villages north of Fort Defiance anymore. The people are expecting the shadows to protect them and we can't do that AND fight the Empire. I think you know what takes precedence, however if we can't protect them, they won't give us any supplies because they're either losing them to you or they lose faith in us and won't help."
"But if Flog don't do that, what remains of my tribe will see me as weak and kill me anyway."
"Yes I know. And we'd just be left with the same problem. So this is what I want you to do. I don't want you to raid the villages.I want you to enslave them."
"You want Flog to enslave the villages?"
"Yes, I assume you still have enough orcs to do it, and if you don't I'm sure you can also engage in your favorite past time of beating up ogres into submission to join you. In fact I'd prefer you to do that, just so we don't have to deal with those big lugs sniffing around the fort. They waste our time. So enslave the villagers and you'll never have to raid them again and you can take what you want when you want…and when the shadows want."
"Hur hur…Flog see now. Won't that make shadows look bad?"
"Who is going to know? It isn't like many people travel back and forth past Fort Defiance, let alone to those remote villages. Just keep anyone from escaping and we should be fine. I trust you'll be able to handle all this."
"Sure, sure. Flog can do all that. Giants might still be a problem, but Flog will find a way."
"Glad to hear it. I'm counting on you to keep that savage north tamed up there, while we can focus on the Empire."
"Hrmmm, lotta faith in Flog. Though you shadow only place faith in your god."
"I place faith in your desire to live. Talia's told me about how smart you are before. I know you can see this to be a good deal for you. You get to be practically independent and a leader and all you have to do is supply us every once in awhile. Better than dying by my hand I'd imagine."
"Huh yes good deal. Liked pretty shadow female, always dealt straight with Flog. Still not as pretty as orc female. Too skinny and not green enough. Good mate for you though."
"Heh, yes well I certainly think so."
"Alright shadow. Flog agree…but one question. How you know that Flog not eventually raise army to attack you in the future?"
"Because…" you smile. "I also have faith that you dislike Cyrus so much that you'd rather prove him wrong by NOT attacking me."

With this statement Flog lets out a hearty laugh and you leave him to his mirth. He may become a problem in the future, but for now you've got him back on your side and eliminated the source of trouble to the north of you.

On your way out of the cave Cyrus stands waiting and asks you if you killed Flog, you tell him you took care of the problem. Cyrus just gives one of his trademark dirty looks and walks ahead of you.

One thing's for sure; if your relationship with Cyrus doesn't get better you'll be dealing with that problem before one with Flog.


[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]
Greatest Show On Scorched Earth

The Future…

After yet another successful show, the performers of the Cataclysm Carnival begin to pack down for the night and engage in their usual banter.

"Well that was certainly fun. It's been a long time since we got to actually perform an entire show like that." Sparkle remarks while putting away her chainsaws.
"Ha ha ha ha, yeah I wouldn't exacty call General Hellstorm's totalitarian city state civilization, but it was a nice change from the usual shanty towns or worse, those Ground Zero owned shelter communities. God, I sometimes wonder what the fuck happened in some of those places after the bombs hit. I swear most of those folks are more fucked up than the people who got caught on the surface." Randy adds.

Hector and Lucy step inside the trailer.

"I imagine being stuck in close quarters with a bunch of people for long periods of time is bound to make a lot of people weird. I mean you don't have to look too far to see that." Bruno says after hearing part of the conversation.
"I hope you remembered to lock up those cat-rat things, this time. Last time they got out and chewed several holes in one of the trailers." Sparkle says.
"They're called Nibblers and yes, I made sure they're all locked up. I threw in some meat too so they should be good." Hector remarks.
"Hrm, I still dunno how you can work with those things. I saw a wild one take off an arm in one bite before." Randy says.
"Just gotta show the little bitey bastards whose boss." Hector says proudly displaying how he still has all ten of his fingers.

Lucy says nothing and just walks to the nearest mirror to take her clown make up off. Randy and Sparkle sense something amiss.

"You okay?" Sparkle asks.
"Shes's pissed because apparently General Hellstorm was flirting a lot with her hot mom at the end of the night. In fact I'd wager that's how we landed this job in the first place."
"Hector, I'd appreciate it if you didn't call my mom hot. I told you that before. And I'd REALLY appreciate it if you didn't imply my mother was a whore!" Lucy says.
"For fuck's sake Lucy, I didn't say she was! I just meant ol' Hellstorm probably went all soppy when he first saw your mother. She turned on the charm and just reeled in the rube. Shit, we ALL should have such talent when we get to be that age. IF we get to be that age in this shitty world."

"Ever the flatterer I see, Hector. Glad to know that a woman in their forties still has a place in this rotten world." You say stepping into the trailer.

Hector isn't quite sure how to react.

"Um, apologies Ringmistress Suzy."
"Relax, you don't ever have to worry about not being charming Hector, you'll always have your Nibblers to keep you warm. Your father Klepto would've been so proud." You say patting Hector on the head in a condescending manner.

Sparkle and Randy both greet you, but your daughter continues to focus on the mirror.

"Anyway, I'm just making the rounds to everyone and I just wanted to say it was a good show tonight and I'm proud of all of you. In fact we might be coming here to perform again in a few more months. Mr. Hellstorm really enjoyed the show. You'd think a guy that goes by the name General Hellstorm would be all WAR DEATH RAGH! But the guy actually is pretty even tempered, well as far as wasteland warlords go anyway."
"Hey which act did he like the most? Did he like my chainsaw bit?" Sparkle asks enthusiastically.
"Heh, well to be honest he wouldn't stop going on about the freakshow portion. The guy really liked that bit. If there's one good thing about living in a radiated post apocalyptic landscape, it has got this carnival's freakshow up and running again. On the pragmatic side of things we also exchanged some of those weird laser weapons we found. We'd never use the damn things, but Hellstorm seemed to really like the idea of them and thought he could get them working so we've got food and medical supplies for months. I think Dolores is making a count now…"

While you're explaining the upbeat news, you notice that your daughter is still looking into the mirror and scowling the entire time as she finishes taking off her make up.

"Could the rest of you leave for a moment, I have to speak to Lucy." You say. Nobody argues and one by one they exit the trailer leaving you alone with Lucy.

"All right, what are you pissed about this time?" you ask.
"Nothing. Don't you have some guy to go lick your lips at?" Lucy replies.
"Not at the moment no, but I'm glad you continue to have such a high opinion of me."
"Flirting with power mad warlords, great reason to have a high opinion…" Lucy at this point turns to you with anger in her face.
"Goddamn it, Dad hasn't been dead a month and you're already fawning all over some other man! It was bad enough that you did it when he was alive, but can't you even respect the dead?!"
"We've been over this MANY times Lucy. I loved your father and I never once was unfaithful to him, but your father would've actually understood better than anyone. Show must go on Lucy. Besides I'm not actually doing anything with Hellstorm, except a tease and most likely giving him something to dream about. I've always done that to the rubes to get their attention, it's part of being a ringmaster. Even that idiot Hector gets that, don't know why you never did."
"Because it's fucking embarrassing to constantly hear the sexual innuendo about your mother from passing rubes about how they'd like to master YOUR ring."
"Hmm, hadn't heard that one before, sort of an obvious pun when you think about it though…" you remark.
"Stop being so fucking calm about this! I mean…sorry…I just…I mean I KNOW it's all an act, but I just wish you'd tone it down sometimes." Lucy says.
"Believe me, I do. You've never seen me in full-blown seductress mode. Look, I'm a big girl and not doing anything that I'm forced to do. (sigh) I know you're a worldly girl and all, but there's still a small part of you that's a bit naïve. Must be a genetic trait passed down from me."
"Naïve?"
"Yes my wonderfully oblivious darling daughter. You seriously believe that nobody is making comments about you? You walk around in a pink and purple skintight outfit with fishnets stockings blowing luminescent bubbles during your act. How do you know that all those lewd remarks are about me? Half of them are probably about you, but you're so concerned with my actions that you're too blind to see that you're just as much of a tease as I am. You're just unaware of it. Much like I was at your age."

Lucy is suddenly silent at this realization. It's sort of funny how on the mark you actually were with that statement. You and her father both taught her about this bad new world and she isn't unintelligent, but for some reason the girl has never really caught on to what a real knock out she is. Perhaps in some way you did shield her a bit from having to be really subjected to the "curse of beauty" since the carnival is a "safe zone" of sorts.

"Back before the world turned to complete shit I pretty much squandered my natural gifts. Now? I've used them to my fullest advantage, but not just for myself, but for you AND this carnival that we all call a family. You're really lucky Lucy, most people nowadays don't even have a family to look out for them. Shit, even BEFORE the nukes hit, I didn't have such a luxury, so if I have to give a little peck on the cheek to some petty tyrant to help us survive, then so be it. Better that I do it than YOU having to do it."

Lucy doesn't reply, she just looks at you. She knows she wouldn't have the stomach to go through the act that you go through at times. This might be the first time she realizes the sacrifices you've made to make her own life easier.

Lucy nods a few times before speaking.

"Okay, mom. I get it. And I appreciate it."
"Good, that's all I ask. Okay I'm going back to my own trailer now. We're heading out tomorrow morning. Get some rest, you deserve it anyway after the wonderful show you put on."
"I will mom. Thanks." Lucy replies.

As you walk away you see Sparkle, Randy and Hector all slowly sneak back into the trailer.

You enter your own trailer and lay down on the bed thinking about how far you've come in life. It isn't the life you ever expected, but it isn't a bad one all things considering.

Before you fall asleep you look at the old worn clown nose by the nightstand. You grab and squeeze it a couple times, remembering happy times with your now departed husband.

"Goodnight Lance." You say and slowly drift off with the round red foam ball in your hand.


[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] Yes

[Assistant]
You were looking for something to do with your life, and you've come this far so…

"Ben do you need some help fighting these things?"

Ben is taken back

"Are you serious? Suzy, while I appreciate your willingness to help, I think this is a bit much for you. Maybe if you were Kelly it would be a different story. You don't think Kelly would believe you if you told them what was going on down here do you?"

The pair of you laugh a little at that silly question.

"Ben why don't you just drag the bodies of one of them up here and show everyone?"
"I thought about that, except it's the damnedest thing. They fucking dissolve shortly after they get killed. I thought about catching one alive, but I doubt if I could do it myself and how am I going to drag one of those heavy things up a ladder while it's kicking, biting, clawing and screeching at me in a net?"
"Well…how about Peter?"
"Peter? What the hell is he going to do? Dress up in lingerie and be bait?"

You laugh again.

"As long as it isn't in my clothes he can, but you are aware of his film aspirations aren't you?"
"I dunno I haven't seen him lately, the last thing I remember was him playing with dolls."
"Well he's been in love with filming every little thing he sees lately. Seems like he'd help film something like this so there was proof. I mean I suppose we could do it without him, but I figure he's got some better connections, us being recluses and all."
"Hmm, maybe. Alright, get him down here. I won't change the entrance again for awhile."

You leave the bunker and go to Peter who is predictably filming unimportant shit around the house. Kevin thankfully seems to be in a corner nodding out from his recent heroin fix.

Peter is surprisingly difficult to drag back to the bunker. He scoffs at the idea that you know what would be good material to record. But after promising him some of your pink underwear with the hearts on them, he agrees.

You and Peter head back to the bunker where Ben is in full battle mode. He tells you and Peter to stay behind him the whole time.

You follow Ben into the lower tunnel where more of those Chulocks are. The noise Ben makes attract them.

Peter is dumbstruck by what he sees through his camera and records the whole gruesome incident.

Afterwards Peter shows the whole family the tape and unfortunately almost no one wants to help. Uncle Ed is intrigued, but says he needs to be moving on with other things and wishes you luck. Donna is terrified and runs away from home. Moonshadow doesn't approve of your willingness to destroy living beings and also leaves with Tommy.

As for Dad he's so drunk he just thinks you guys are watching a horror movie.

Fortunately Kelly who practically sees herself as one of the "defenders" of the McCray household is willing to help out and you all take the fight to the Chulocks.

All goes well for awhile. The family that's left is focused on goal of battling the Chulocks. It's probably the closest all of you have been in….well ever.

The problem lies with the arrangement. Ben is still doing most of fighting. Kelly is still the main bread winner of the house and as such can't really do any fighting (Indeed she does enough of that at her jobs!) Peter is almost more of a hindrance. He's so eager to get more footage of the creatures; Ben has to bail his ass out most of the time. As for you, well you try, and you do alright, but ultimately it's going to take more people to wipe out all the Chulocks as the deeper you go the more of them there are and there doesn't seem to be an end to them.

Then it all starts to break down. You begin to suggest reinforcing the bunker with thick concrete and steel so that the Chulocks can't enter anymore. You figure that they'll probably dig elsewhere for better picking. Ben argues that you need to exterminate all of them. Peter agrees, but his reasons are different than Ben's. Kelly says she doesn't give a shit, just follow through with a plan.

So extermination it is. During the discussion Peter says he can't wait to present this to the world. You're actually surprised he hasn't been uploading it to the internet in sequences, but he states he wants the whole "epic" before unleashing this masterpiece in its entirety.

This causes an argument with Ben who has never been fond of the idea of showing this to the world since he's starting to really believe that the government is behind the Chulocks. Peter says if they are then this would be a good way to expose them.

The final foray isn't pretty. You, Ben and Peter descend down as usual. The initial attack goes well. Then the next. And then the next. In fact you're doing very well, a little too well.

Eventually you go the deepest you've ever been and find the largest group of Chulocks ever. Ben wastes no time and starts throw grenades. Explosions occur and body parts start to fly. Unfortunately being underground this isn't the best place for explosions.

All three of you hightail it out of the area. Peter trips on something and falls. He cries out for you and Ben. You're about to go back for him, but Ben roughly pushes you forward and says he's done for and that you have to move.

You get the very real impression, Ben wanted him to die.

The collapsing tunnel is followed by an ambush. Apparently the Chulocks were a lot smarter than you thought and dug their own hidden passages and waited for you to be in so deep in their home that you wouldn't be able to escape effectively.

Ben fights valiantly, but the sheer number of them take him down. You see him gruesomely ripped to shreds before your eyes. Your fate is probably less pleasant.

The Chulocks apparently aren't just fond of breeding with each other, but are attracted to your "scent" as well. Your clothing is ripped off and you are forced to the ground, beaten, bloody and ultimately violated several times.

The terror and pain is so great that you actually pass out. For a couple days you're in those tunnels in a barely conscious state. You don't come to until several figures in hazmat suits surround you.

"Sir we've got them all, found this camcorder too."
"Good. So has the house been exterminated too?"
"Yes, only two inside. We'll be tracking the others down from this family soon."
"Hey this one's still breathing. Christ, do you think they did what I THINK they did to her?"
"Well it would explain why they didn't kill her. Better take her back to the lab for examination. Should be interesting to say the least. Alright boys let's move out."

You are whisked away to a top secret lab. Your nine month stay is not a pleasant one and ultimately fatal when you give birth.


[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 need a hint

[Assistant] I can't really help you with this one. You have a list of answers, choose the one you think is right… Or scream like a little girl. It's up to you.


[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 say "I really like you, but as a friend."

[Assistant]
"Oh, yeah, yeah, I agree," Fay says. "I feel the same way, I was actually really dreading telling you that, and I thought I'd have to tell you it now,  but since we feel the way, it's OK now."

"Oh, good, good."

"So, what was that other thing?" Fay asks, rushing onto the next subject.

"Rebellion."

"Oh?"

"Kyros is mad and paranoid. He's either going to slit our throats or send us on an endless string of suicide missions. We need to do something, and I really need your help. A group of collaborators have planned to rise up, and rid ourselves of Kyros. Then, we take over. I need the support of your Tribals to do so.

"Yeah, totally. Done."

"Done?"

"Yeah. If we don't escape, we die here. Also, they're your Tribals as much as mine. Who else is in on this?" Fay asks.

"Elios, Durge and Elizabeth are all in. No doubt Calpurnia's man will help us," you say.

"What about Cain and the twins?"

"I haven't asked them yet, but we need to get them on board," you say.

"Do we hae a solid plan yet?" Fay asks.

"Not yet. We need to find out how many people we have fighting for us."

"What happens after we take the ship," Fay asks, raising an eyebrow.

"That is still to be decided. Once we have Cain. Castus and Olive behind us, we'll have bargaining power. So you're in?"

"I'm in," Fay nods. "I'll have the message spread among the tribals."

You notice one of your guards walking towards you, carrying a tray. You motion for Fay to quiet down, as the guard arrives putting the tray down on the table.

"Eat," he says, in a cold voice like the scraping of a blade on rusted metal.

You look at your food. There's a bowl of noodles and strips of thin, cured meat, a small bowl of green jelly with chunks of odd, alien fruit inside, a large plastic cup of wine and a small, dense biscuit-like cake.

"Well, someone's being pampered," Fay says, smiling.

"Clearly I'm just more important than you," you gloat as you have a forkful of noodles and meat.

Fay grabs the biscuit cake from your tray, taking a bite.

"Hey!" you say in annoyance, as Fay sticks her tongue out.

You quickly eat your meal, polishing off the entire tray and gulping down the wine. Then, Magos Cern arrives.

"Good, you've eaten," she says. "These operations will be safer if you've had a full stomach."

"OK, I'm ready, let's go, you say. "Bye, Fay. See you soon."

"See you later, Fay says, looking a bit sullen, as you wonder whether that put down was too forward.

Magos Cern leads you out of the cafeteria and along the halls, off along halls and elevators. Eventually, you pass through the cyro-sleep section, arriving in a large operating room. Dozens of Goliaths are lying on the surgery tables, many halfway through surgery. A half dozen other Tech Priests wander around between the Goliaths, removing and adding flesh, bone, organs, cybernetic implants and other strange things.

"I didn't know there were other Tech Priests," you note.

"This ship is the size of a small moon. Did you think you've seen enough of it to accurately be able to say that we don't have something? I have scores of Tech Priests who followed me into the embrace of the Dark Gods," Magos Cern says.

Magos Cern leads you to an operating table.

"This is yours. Please get undressed and wait here, I need to grab my materials and equipment. Stay here."

Magos Cern turns around, walking off, leaving you alone. You spot Cain, lying on his operating table, his chest cut open to reveal still functioning organs. You wonder how he can still be alive with such a hastily cut-up torso, before you wince as you see his eyes dart towards you and you realize he's conscious. Looking to see Magos Cern hobbling away, you hop off the operating table and walk over to him.

"Commander Karth," Cain grunts. "Need something?"

"I have... an offer."

"An offer? An offer of what?" Cain says, absent-mindedly picking at a cut alongside his... or at least, one of his stomachs.

"Freedom," you say, catching the monster's attention.

"Go on," Cain says, furrowing his scarred brow and causing a thin stream of blood to pour from his horns.

"We're planning an escape. We could use you and your men," you say.

"We?"

"Elios, Durge, Elizabeth, Fay, others," you say. "That's it, I think."

"When?"

"We don't have details, yet. We need a head count before we can start planning it."

"Hmmm... I'm willing to give you control of my... "Goliaths", as you called them. But, I have a list of conditions that I want to be satisfied once we take the ship."

"Go on," you say.

"I want us to get names. Every Goliath who is capable of remembering and answering to a name will be called that instead of its serial number, by you and ALL other members of command. No more cyro-sleep. I want a bed for every single Goliath. I don't care if it's fine cloth or a slab of concrete, as long as it doesn't freeze them, it'll do us. I want free time that's not just killing."

"Anything else?" you ask.

"That's it," Cain says, spitting out a serrated teeth that's fallen free from his jaw.

Cain's demands are far from unfair. Really, all he wants is slightly more rights for his Goliaths, which wouldn't even take any more resources. Still, you don't want the beast getting a big head. You ARE still in charge of not only his collar, but the collars of every single Goliath. All you need is a few threats, and the Goliaths will be yours.


[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 letters to home (Battle at Garwold...)

[Assistant]
Dear Mom,

I'm still in Garwold and each day I see more of this once beautiful land die under the hordes of the Great Lich Lord. I wish I could've seen this place before all of this. I think I probably could've made a living here as a bard under different circumstances. Playing for the downtrodden militias and fleeing refugees during the few free moments is one of the few pleasures I get anymore.

We're expecting a big undead push soon, and I don't see how we can hold on to the remaining territory we have left here.

I know you probably won't, but if we lose Garwold, I want you and the rest of the family to SERIOUSLY consider abandoning the farm. It's not even ours anymore. Why stay there in the face of oncoming danger?

But I know you'll probably stay regardless. Maybe it doesn't matter, because at this point where is there to run?

Give my love to the rest of the family.

Your son