[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

[Assistant]
No, you're not going anywhere. Maybe she needs her independence and maybe she's more "worldly" than most would be at her age, but the fact is, she's still young and if she DOES ever need help, you want to be available.

Besides, it isn't like you've really got anywhere important to go. Besides this unpleasantness with Mara, your life here in Jicol hasn't been that bad. Certainly better than it was in Klyton or your very brief stay in Hessla.

Still, you're starting to wonder if you should try your hand at something new. Not that you really believe that you're starting to get too old for this, but it would be nice to have an income that's steadier.

You know that they have Qweepa fights here, but you're a little too attached to Elana to subject her to that. Besides she's too old and you don't think that after having one as a pet that you'd want to willingly risk their little ugly rodent lives even if it is for coin.

You think for a moment on the various activities you could be doing and then realize you could be a fence. It's not like you don't have skill in selling stolen items already. You had to do it when the Crimson Talons stopped fencing for you; you still do it now when you're selling to the less honest merchants here.

What you need to try to do though is make yourself known to other thieves who are unwilling to or don't know how to wheel and deal with the merchants. Not that you've ever particularly hung out within the "criminal circle" in the city, but you are aware of some of them. You figure you can work your way up to bigger clients in time.

You get yourself set up and within a month you get a few of the lesser pickpockets to sell you're a few of the trinkets they've stolen. You in return sell those to whoever is willing to buy. Be it an average citizen on the street that needed for a gift for his girlfriend or a less than honest merchant.

As you become more engrossed in this work that you spend less time watching out for Mara, however she's always in the back your mind and you at least try to keep an ear out for possible information. She still hasn't returned of course and that of course still makes you feel a bit down.

A month later your mood doesn't change much when Elana dies peacefully in her sleep. You bury the little rodent, thanking her for being the link that allowed you meet Mara in the first place.

Perhaps it's due to being a bit lonely and away from the mainland that you start to think about your real family again. You wonder how they're all doing. Is your sister still having her adventures on the road? Are your mom and dad okay? In fact, you get a little home sick and do something out of character, you write a letter to your family explaining that you're doing well. You don't go into great detail of course, you just keep it light and add an apology at the end. You send it by the courier service here, but who knows if it will actually get to them and you have no expectations that you'll hear anything back.

A few more months pass and you're approached by a couple of young teenagers. You immediately notice that they both have tattoos of black hooks on their arms.

"Hey…um…are you the guy?" one asks.
"Am I the guy what?" you answer.
"Y'know, the guy that buys shit."

You nearly chuckle. Of all the groups that would come to you…then again you suppose it isn't too surprising, what with the Black Hooks being "on the rise" and all. And what the hell, business is business.

"If I was, and I'm not saying that I am, do you have something in particular?" you ask.
"Yeah! We just ripped this off from that Artifacts of the Ancients place! LOOK!" one of the teenagers remarks and trusts some sort of vase at you.
"Are you fucking stupid showing that thing out here in the open? Put that damn thing away and follow me to some place less likely to get us all fucking pinched!"

After doing your business with the Black Hooks, you remind them that you also sell items too and if they need anything in particular you could try to acquire it for them.

"You have any Green Lotus?" one of them asks.
"Not really a drug dealer guys, you'd have better luck at Desolation Alley if that's what you're into. However I can probably find something stronger in a few weeks if you're interested." You say.
"Stronger? Fuck yeah! Oh wait, it's not Yellow Devil is it? Because I heard that shit literally melts your brains and body if you use it."
"Oh no, not that. What I'm talking about is actually legal, but not just available to most of the public. Physicians use it mostly for surgeries, it's called Numb. Used to be able to get a lot of the stuff back in Klyton thanks to their medical school. Not as easy to get here, but I have my ways. Now normally this would cost you more than a bit of coin, but when I get it I'll give you a discount, but I do want to some information.
"What sort of information?"
"Do you know a girl named Mara? She's in your gang."
"We just joined, so we don't know everyone yet." One of them remarks.
"Wait, Mara? She's got black hair and was teaching those other guys how to pick a lock a few days ago. She's Marco's girlfriend." The other says.
"Ohhhhh, yeah her. She's fucking pretty, I'd so get her on all fours and fuck the hell out of her."
"Hey! That's Marco's girl!"
"So? He's not here."
"Yeah, but I am. I've looked after that girl for the past five years you asshole." You say.

The teen suddenly shuts up.

"Um, he was just joking…" his friend says.
"Hm, I'm sure. Look never mind all that. I just want you two to give me a report on her, and no, I'm not asking you to snitch any of those precious Black Hook plans or secrets, of yours."
"Nothing else?"
"No, I just want you to tell me what she's up to and if she's okay."
"Well that's okay I guess, but this Numb shit better be worth it!"
"Oh, it'll be worth it. Trust me."

And with that last bit of assurance, the two teens leave your presence. You hope those two idiots don't make themselves too obvious in performing your task. You'd hate for them to get caught and then Mara come down just to bitch at you about it.

You make a note that you need to go do a proper burglary of that Numb addict doctor that lives over across town. You're guessing that he must get it through a very well protected shipment from the mainland. Probably even from Klyton. You also know damn well that the last time you cased his place that you found way more than he would ever need for a private practice of his that small.

In the meantime, you have to go see a woman you know who is a sucker for fancy looking vases.

[User] You time passes...

[Assistant]
Year 32

"I just paid you! Dolan exclaims.
"Yeah and you know the damn rules Dolan, you can get Numb AFTER you give me the information as well!" you say.
"But I don't know any more! I swear! I'm got my ass chewed out by Marco already for asking too many questions! Hasn't all the other information I've given you in the past been good?"
"Hmmm, fine. But I'd advise you to start going easy on this stuff. It's not as simple to acquire anymore. So unless you want to go risk getting that inferior Green Lotus shit that got your buddy killed due to getting a bad batch, I suggest you not even come back unless you got a lot of coin or some information I can actually use. Now you better get out of here before some other Black Hooks come in to sell something and overhear that you're spying on all of them."

Dolan meekly takes his small container of Numb and scampers away like the low life he is. The boy had no idea that it was going to lead up to this, though you planned that it would. A somewhat reliable mole in the Black Hooks just so you can keep an ear out on what they're doing, though it's still more to keep a check on Mara who apparently is doing well in her position with Black Hooks though that doesn't surprise you for several reasons.

In some ways you're actually proud of her, but as always there is still concern. Especially with what you've been hearing lately and the Jicol Watch is the least of potential problems. A few members of the infamous Ebony Claw Syndicate have been seen in the city.

You've already heard the many tales of the Ebony Claw Syndicate. They're a huge organization with a shitload of resources behind them and when they start showing up regularly in a city that usually means it's currently in their sights for expansion. And if they do expand, there isn't much that is going to stop them, as most of the criminal here are unorganized. Anyone who they don't bother to incorporate into their organization is going to just get eliminated.

This development has got you slightly more concerned for Mara since as a member of the only potential "organized resistance" to an ECS take over the Black Hooks could very be on the list for elimination.

You aren't really sure what you can do though. You haven't spoken to Mara since she left two years ago and she's made no effort to contact you.

Of course you haven't really made the effort to speak with her either and it's not like you couldn't meet her alone given the eye you keep on her with your drug addled spy. You suppose you haven't since you aren't sure if she'd want to see you.

For a couple days you seriously mull over the idea of going to see her or not and that's when you get a visit from members of the ECS.

"Figured it wouldn't be long before you guys showed up." You say when they come through the door.

The pair of them are about the sort you'd expect from the ECS, a couple of intimidating muscular guys with tattoos. They don't answer you right away and just briefly look around before addressing you.

"I take it you're the fence of this city?" one of them asks.
"Well I'm hardly the only one." You reply.
"Yes, but we've heard that you're probably the best one."
"Really? Glad to hear my reputation is in good standing with the underworld I suppose. Never can quite tell in this line of work as I'm sure you well know."
"Hmm, can't say I'm impressed with the Jicol underworld if you're considered the best, but looks can be deceiving I suppose especially since you seem to have even eluded being under suspicion by the Jicol Watch here. It at least shows you know how to keep a low profile, which displays signs of professionalism. In any case my name is Nathan and since you already seemed to know we were going to show up I'm going to go ahead and assume you know why we're here." Nathan says.
"Well I can take a guess, but for all I know you might be here to kill me." You reply.
"Oh we don't have nearly enough information about this city and it's major players to start killing anyone yet. However it doesn't seem like there are any major players unless we count the actual government…or have we missed someone?"
"Are you asking me?"
"I don't know, am I? Surely an important man as you knows things. Of course if you're saying you don't know anything, maybe we should talk to someone else…"
"Hold on. I didn't say that I didn't know anything. It's just that you're fairly correct about the situation in Jicol. The underworld element here has no real uniting entity and I don't have much to add."
"Interesting. So what about this other group I've heard about in passing, the Black Hookers or something?"
"Um, the Black Hooks. Yes, mostly an unruly gang of amateur teenagers who think they're tough. Not really that important."
"I see. Though from what I hear their numbers are sizable and the youth are easily molded if given the proper motivation and training."

You don't respond to Nathan's last response. Nathan at this juncture makes a few eye and hand gestures to his less talkative comrade. Nathan's friend nods and stands by the door while Nathan addresses you again.

"Okay friendo, I'm going to tell you this because quite frankly I don't want to be bothered running around speaking to every little two copper thug that's in this city and you seem to deal with most of them anyway. Even if you don't then you know enough of them that they'll spread the word to the rest."
"And that word is exactly?"
"The ECS is taking over ALL operations here. A pocket isn't going to be picked in this city without us guiding the hand and getting our cut. This might not be today, this might not be tomorrow, it might not even be next year, but we are coming and nobody here is going to stop us."
"Anything else?"
"Yeah, let everyone know that the ECS isn't unreasonable. If they seek us out for official membership we will consider them. Even if they aren't quite up to our standards, we'll find something for them as an associate. One thing we WILL NOT tolerate however is resistance. So let everyone know, defying the Ebony Claws won't be in their best interest if they wish to continue their choice of careers in the future."

You don't have much to add to that, save for a nod.

"So I trust I can count on you for this task?" Nathan asks.
"Sure, I'll spread the word, though I'm wondering about my place in this new order you're proposing." You say.
"Oh I'm not worried about you. You seem intelligent enough to know to step aside when a storm is coming. For now you can continue your business as usual. We can discuss your future when things are more settled. I'm sure we'll talk again many more times soon."

Nathan smiles and bids you good day. As he and his friend start to walk out the door, you realize that now you really do have to speak with Mara personally.

Later on in the week you go to seek her out, though you stay out of sight until you can get her alone which isn't really a long wait since you find out that she mostly works alone and at night when she's not socializing with her fellow Black Hooks.

You follow her for a while as she creeps into a couple closed businesses, and then make your presence known when she's sneaking out of a bakery of all places.

"Didn't realize the bakeries were doing so well." You say.
"Shit! Oh damn it, there goes my evening snack!" Mara exclaims when she gets startled by you and then drops the pastry she stole.

Mara composes herself and then looks at you. She's grown a bit. Granted you knew that and you've seen her from afar, but this the first time in two years you've spoke to her and seen her this close.

You sort of expect Mara to either walk away from you or get nasty, but she doesn't, instead you get:

"Hey…dad." She says.
"So, you're my daughter now?" you ask
"Well what would you call us?"
"I dunno, you made a pretty damning accusation before you left two years ago."
"Yeah…I really shouldn't have said that. Always sort of thought I should apologize to you, but…I dunno…guess I was just too stubborn."
"Well I could have apologized as well. I was stubborn too, though I also thought that you'd just yell at me and walk away."
"Maybe in the beginning I suppose, but I haven't really been angry at you for a long time. Honestly, I probably shouldn't have gotten as mad as I did, but…"
"Yeah I know. You needed to have friends your own age. That's another reason why I just let you be."

Mara smirks a bit.

"Bullshit. You've still been keeping an eye on me all this time. Even when you stopped physically spying, you got those two idiots Dolan and Addison when he was still alive to spy for you." She replies.
"Guilty. So when did Dolan confess his guts to you?" you ask with a bit of a smile.
"Actually Dolan and Addison never told me anything directly, but they became so obvious as time wore on that I knew they weren't just being horny guys staring at me and trying to eavesdrop on me. When I found out that several of the Black Hooks would do business with you, I sort of drew my own conclusions after following them around a bit." Mara remarks.
"So any reason why you kept it to yourself and didn't tell Marco or even confront me about it?"
"Well like I said, I was too stubborn to go see you in person again, and I figured why mess up perfectly good business between you and the Black Hooks? That wouldn't benefit anyone and I didn't want to see you possibly get hurt since I know that you were just concerned about me."

Mara then walks forward towards and touches your hand.

"You stepped up and looked after me when I was well on my way to an orphanage. At least you taught me skills to survive and were nice. Who knows what would have happened in the orphanage. I won't ever just forget that and I'm sorry we parted the way we did."
"Like I said, that's all in the past. Don't worry about that now."
"That's good to hear you say that, though I feel like you didn't just come see me to reconnect again."
"There's trouble coming for everyone in this city and maybe the Black Hooks most of all."

You and Mara go some place more private (And less near some place she just broke into) and you explain the situation with the Ebony Claw Syndicate. While she's definitely listening to you, you don't think she quite appreciates the situation.

"The Black Hooks will fight back against these Ebony Claws if they start showing up and throwing their weight around." Mara says.
"No, no, that's exactly what you DON'T want to do with these guys. Look Mara, I'll acknowledge that the Black Hooks are more skilled than I originally gave them credit for and they've lasted longer than I thought too. But when it comes down to it, you're all still a bunch of teenagers that don't know shit. The ECS has been around for…shit I dunno even know how long. These guys aren't just a gang like your Black Hook friends or even the Crimson Talons, they're a powerful organization that rivals fucking governments at times. Jicol is a prime meat for them and they aren't going to be denied their dinner."
"I hear what you're saying, but how do we really know all this? What I mean is, how do we know it isn't all just stories? Have you really ever had to deal with them in before? They never had a presence in Klyton, maybe their rep is exaggerated."
"I won't argue that maybe it is to some degree, but I also don't see the need for a pointless risk. Honestly, the Black Hooks would probably be incorporated into the EBS, you'd probably be fine if you complied."
"Perhaps, but I doubt if Marco would agree to it. He's got some plans of his own and getting assimilated or pushed around by a rival group isn't part of it."
"Well you better convince him otherwise then, because it won't end well for the Black Hooks if you go to war with the Ebony Claws."

Mara has her own suggestion.

"Well…can't we all just unite?" Mara asks.
"What do you mean?" you ask.
"I mean don't you have connections with a lot of the other independent thieves and such? I mean surely they wouldn't want the ECS coming in, pushing them around and taking a cut of their money either."
"Well some of them wouldn't be pleased. Others I'd wager would just throw their lot in with ECS thanks to their reputation alone."
"But couldn't we convince enough of them to repel this invasion?"
"That's a tall order, but…I suppose it could be possible. We'd have to act fast though and we'd have to track down the current ECS outpost here and eliminate them all. I mean leave nobody left. With some luck MAYBE with nobody reporting back to the mainland, the ECS will just assume the worst and not bother sending anyone else. If not, well we just continue with the united front and kill the ECS as they arrive until they stop. I don't have to tell you though how dangerous that's all going to be."

Mara seems more receptive to that plan, though you're usually more for anything that's going to result in less risk for life and limb, but you've also got the long term to think about which is do you really want to answer to the ECS?

[User] You comply

[Assistant]
You've already been given a good deal and fighting the ECS is just crazy. Hopefully you can make Mara see that.

"Mara, we only just reunited and I don't want to lose you now. We need to not oppose the ECS."
"Okay. I understand. However, I can't just abandon my friends either. I'm going to try to convince them…though I don't know how much success I'm going to have, but I need to try."

You hug Mara and breathe a sigh of relief. It isn't the complete break from the Black Hooks that you wanted, but it's a start and she's at least listening.

You part ways with Mara and tell her to be careful. You hope that she gives up her plan before things get worse with the ECS.

In the meantime you go back to your own business and perform the task that the ECS told you to do. Many of the thieves' express a certain amount of fear and respect upon hearing the Ebony Claws are in the city. Several outright say they're leaving it now. Many others mutter a bit about the end of the independent is at hand. A rare few say they're actually going to oppose the Claws.

Madness, you believe with the last group, but you're merely relaying information, not trying to change anyone's minds, other than Mara's.

Weeks pass and while you see Mara every now and then still, you begin to worry because you thought she would have given up this foolishness of convincing the Black Hooks by now. She's been going for slow burn of trying to convince them, but so far she's only got a couple who simply say that while they aren't keen on fighting with the ECS, they don't really want to oppose Marco. And convincing him has been completely unsuccessful.

You really don't want to interfere since you know if you do, it's possibly just going to drive Mara back into the Black Hooks.

Your concern increases when you hear that the Black Hooks killed two of ECS members and burned down a general store, which was acting as their headquarters. Already the Black Hooks are declaring victory over the ECS, which you know is not true. When you ask Dolan what the two men looked like that they killed, they don't match the description of Nathan and his friend at all.

The ECS probably has a lot more folks on here than anyone knows. The general store was probably just a business front they were getting ready to set up and their real headquarters is elsewhere. Wherever it is though, you know the Black Hooks don't have long for this world and you need to get Mara the hell out of there.

As soon as you're able, you make your way down to the popular Black Hook hangout near a small beach and under a boardwalk.

You see a lot of them drinking, laughing and generally having a good time. You don't even get the hostile territorial attitude that you'd expect.

"Hey it's fence man! Have a drink! We're celebrating our victory over those Ebony Claw pussies!" one of them says thrusting a bottle of something at you.
"Yeah! We just saved the fuckin' city! We're heroes!" another says.
"Ohh, who's this one? He's old…but handsome, you wanna give me a spanking daddy?" a mildly drunk girl says to you.

You tell them all to get off of you and ask if anyone has seen Mara. None of them have though. You don't have much luck until Marco suddenly shows up. He's certainly grown since the first time Mara brough him around two years ago, but you're hardly intimidated.

"What the fuck do you want? This is a private celebration for Black Hooks only, not pussies who quake in fear of the ECS! The ECS that WE just destroyed!" he says.
"Yeah, sure you did. Look, I'll leave you assholes to your dead man's party in a moment, but I'm looking for Mara, now where the hell is she?"
"Hey cocksucker, I dunno where you THINK you are, but this is fucking Black Hook territory and you're talking to the fucking head of it! You don't come into my fucking place and start…"

Before Marco can even finish, you punch him in the face and trip him to the sand. You then place a knee into his chest and pull your flintlock on him. The rest of his minions don't even make a move against you. They just look on in awe. Marco on the other hand looks on in fear.

"I don't have time for this shit Marco, I wanna know where my daughter is NOW!" you ask.
"Okay! Just don't shoot! I dunno where she is! She kept coming around trying to convince us not to fight with the ECS, but after a really big argument a few days ago, she and a few others that agreed with her finally left for good. I think she's been hanging out with them on the other side of city! And that's all I know, I swear!"

You're about to ask where on the other side of the city and that's when you hear the sound of a bolt going into someone followed by their body dropping.

Several more bolts, as well as bullets follow.

"Oh shit! It's the ECS and there's a shitload of them!" someone screams.

You look around from your position and see that there are indeed A LOT of ECS members all armed and surrounding the area. Some of the Black Hooks are trying to escape by swimming out further into the water, but thanks to most of them being drunk, they don't get very far and just become even easier targets

Marco pushes you off of him in an attempt to escape, but he gets struck down by crossbow fire after only getting a few paces away from you.

You attempt to shout at the ECS explaining that you're not with the Black Hooks, but they're not in a listening mood and as far as their concerned, you were found with them, so…

You die on the sand, with several bolts in your body.


[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 telekinetically disarm Drake

[Assistant]
With a narrowing of your eyes, the knife flies into your hands. The prostitute stands, shoving Drake away.

"Out," you command, as the prostitutes nods in thanks and leaves.

"OK, OK, you're skilled," you say.

"You're coming with me," you say.

"Sure, sure," Drake says, standing up.

You bind Drake's hands together with invisible chains, and force him to march forward. Drake immediately becomes compliant.

"Can I grab a few things?" Drake asks. "My... dreams get pretty bad. I have terrifying nightmares. I have medication that helps. Please, please can I get them?" Drake asks.


[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 empire Expansion (Year 33)

[Assistant]
Year 33

While the Emperor may be physically sick, his ambition remains perfectly fine and the Empire continues to grow thanks to you leading its armies.

Shortly after the death of Roldan, you were assigned to the eastern frontier of Nalin just as you thought you might. Though with Roldan dead, you also thought you might immediately get reassigned to take care of the gnolls, but expansion westward was put on hold since there was no longer an immediate danger.

You worked with Brenda for some of the campaign. She was most familiar with the region east of Nalin and had scouts sent that way many times. You remember during Roldan's funeral you wondered if she might be angry with you for your inability to kill the assassin that killed her husband, but apparently what really happened was made a secret. You got credit for killing Cyrus and then Semra ambushed you and left you for dead. As a result, Brenda has always treated you with a lot of respect and gratitude. She may even feel a certain kinship with you since you both experienced loss of a significant other.

Brenda however has never forgiven Warrick who she felt was supposed to be in charge of security that day. Indeed he and several Eyes might've normally been executed for incompetence or even suspicion of treason, however he swore up and down that he believed everything to be secure. As upset as Jacob was, he said Warrick was not at fault and surprisingly neither did the Emperor. Besides you all know it was really the work of Semra anyway.

In any case, Brenda's scout information proved most useful. There was a small tribal war going on between four separate groups, though all of them are hostile save for one of the and that's mainly because the other three have come in contact with the Empire before. Two of them are human barbarian tribes, one them is elven, but much wilder than what you know of them and the last one is a race you're not familiar with called the Slin. They're reptilian in nature though, similar to the kobolds, but much larger and meaner. The fools obviously thought they could escape the reach of the Empire by hiding, they soon learn that they cannot hide from the Emperor's wrath.

The Belkaz were one of the human barbarian tribes. Since they had no prior hostilities to the Empire, they were dealt with first diplomatically. Of course your version of diplomacy meant that their most argumentative and hostile members were executed as an example and the rest were given warning that if they do not submit then the rest of them will be put in chains at best or follow their executed brethren at worst. Doesn't take long for them to submit and provide further intelligence on their rivals.

The other human tribe, the Fleg were the next to fall. The Emperor told you that he vaguely remembered the Fleg. Said they were a very minor cult that cropped up and became disruptive in the Nalin province about a century ago. The Emperor doesn't quite remember what the hell they worshipped, but that like most religions it was subversive to the proper order of things. The Empire stomped it out, but it can be assumed that some of the members fled here and these were their descendants. They didn't provide much of a challenge despite their fanatical beliefs in whatever gods they worshipped. Ultimately their cult was finally wiped out for good when you got to their last village you found that they all committed ritual suicide.

The wild elf tribe was next. They were fierce fighters at first, but after you wiped out the Fleg and started making great progress against the Slin, something in them must've changed. It's as if all their courage left them. These elves were all former slaves that managed to run away from the Empire during the chaos of the Halfling rebelling long ago. The elder that lead them actually called for a white flag parley with you and spoke of how he should've known it was folly to run away and that the Empire would eventually find them again even if it took them hundreds of years. You told him that it was indeed foolish, but that his realization of this reality wouldn't be enough to save the remainder of his people.

You have all the elves slaughtered like the cowering dogs they are. Their begging and pleas fall on deaf ears and sicken you. Part of you briefly wonders if you should spare the children and take them back as slaves, but then you think, why run that risk again in another couple decades? They're already tainted with the idea of "freedom" and will only repeat the mistakes of their parents and grandparents.

Finally, the last to fall are the Slin. The Emperor told you that he remembered the Slin and thought he'd made a point of making them extinct centuries ago. They originally dwelled in the swamps of Delerg and were once at hostilities with the Shadows that lived there as well. Wasn't long after the Shadows made their convenient alliance with the Empire that the Slin started taking heavy losses against them. It was thought to be the case that the shadows were successful in killing them all, but it seems they were not and the Slin ultimately had the last laugh of outliving their former foes. Though not for long.

Still, they fought to the last, giving no quarter and showing none themselves, they were about the only worthy enemy you fought against in this region. In many ways to be admired.

With the four major inhabitants subdued, the region was claimed and it will only be a matter of time before proper Empire citizens settle it. Further east leads to vast open sea. You predict that in time as the coast is settled the Empire will eventually have a navy to rival its army and who know, new lands may be conquered across the ocean. There are certainly tales of other such lands.

After this victory, the next bit of business was finishing off the gnolls. You were put in charge of this as well and it didn't really take too long. You and Alison had broken most of the might of the gnoll tribes long ago. Roldan was just mopping up the remnants and you complete the task at last.

With the last major gnoll lair destroyed the Empire expanded its western borders even further. What lies beyond is a little bit of a mystery as there are no major reports of any organized societies, though there are certainly reports of other civilizations beyond the immediate western wilderness, they are very far away. Whatever they may be you're confident that they will be no match for the Empire.

Of course these thoughts of future victories are all you have now to keep yourself in a positive mood nowadays. Your recent success has basically ensured that further major expansion and conquest won't be necessary for quite some time. Alison's gone and the Emperor's health is still poor and showing no signs of improving.

It is no wonder that your mind drifts into possible better days ahead.


[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 rain Arrows Upon Them

[Assistant]
Why run when you can fight?  The arrows worked for you before and you believe you can get off quite a few shots before they start catching up to you.  To wait until you reach the top of a local hill then spin around and draw your bow.  The five skeleton creatures are still running towards you in a tight grouping.  You let fly the first arrow and it hits the collarbone of one of the back skeletons.  You release another and it hits the leg of another skeleton.  In fact you score a lot of hits, even putting one through the skull of the lead skeleton.  There's just one problem... they aren't slowing down!

Maybe you've forgotten, but arrows and bladed weapons are only effective against enemies that still have flesh and blood to let.  These skeletons are not slowing down or taking much damage as a result of your arrows.  In fact, it would require a more blunt weapon to kill.  As they start drawing in close you turn and continue running.  You've pretty much lost your head start and now they are hot on your heels.  This continues for a while until one of your skeletal pursuers gets it in his mind to throw its hand axe into your back.  It only goes downhill from there for you.

THE END


[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 refuse The Offer And Tell The Assholes In Your Community Where They Can Shove Their New Idea

[Assistant]
The people of Jacquescrappe have never really treated you with respect and you never really liked them either.  Moreover, you are offended by how many of them just agreed to send you in without even bothering to ask you how YOU felt about the idea.  You decide to return to your swineherding responsibilities and let the rest of the townspeople try to figure this out for themselves.  "Fuck 'em" you think as you leave the council chambers and return to the fields.

In the weeks that followed, several intrepid individuals attempted to reach the Craxil and never returned.  Many townspeople gathered together all the gold they had in hopes of putting together a reward for a worthy adventurer who might succeed in this task.  Many others were sent to the royal palace, begging desperately and fruitlessly for military assistance in their remote and low value settlement.  In the end, all these events failed and soon, the raids returned.

If the townspeople didn't like you before, they certainly hated you now.  While before you would sometimes get dirty looks or the occasional one word answer, they now ignore you completely wherever you go.  You insist that you had every right to refuse such a foolish plan, but most just dismiss you as being a selfish bastard.  You return to the fields to talk to "oinky" and "snout", the only friends that haven't turned their backs on you yet.

In the monthes that followed, numerous people are dragged off into the mountainside, never to be heard from again.  You smile as the fat hog of a woman with a barbed tounge that pissed you off the most is seen screaming while in the grasp of one of these creatures.  However, one night while you are cleaning up the digested remains of oinky's chili burritos you are surprised by two humunculi.  You may have enjoyed it when others you didn't like so much got carried off, but this time it is you.  You are never heard from again.

THE END


[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 make the journey to Delerg

[Assistant]
While you aren't convinced that going to Delerg is necessarily the best idea, maybe you do need a change of scenery. With the population being unhelpful and the troubles with Flog, it might very well be best to leave before this gets worse. Besides, while it isn't common knowledge that you made a deal with Flog to enslave the northern most towns in exchange for his help, there have always been "rumors" amongst some of the Raskians and eventually those rumors are going to become an even bigger problem.

Part of you feels like you're "running away" from conflict and that somewhat bothers you. However, you spent your life running away from the Empire and striking at the right time to strengthen your own position while weakening their own. Why shouldn't you employ a similar outlook on life in general? Retreat from an unfavorable position to hopefully a better one, it couldn't hurt at this point.

The next day you call all the shadows to gather in the main hall and announce that you've conversed with Dendrin and that he's told you that the shadows need to go back to reclaim the shadow homeland in Delerg and that your future is there not in Rask. Many of the human shadows seem to be enthusiastic about this idea. The Eternal shadows less so, but that might be for several reasons. In any event, you tell everyone that all of you will be packing up everything and moving on as soon as possible. Since it is looking a snowstorm is coming you'll have plenty of time to prepare and you'll leave Evergloom when it subsides. You also ask some of the older shadows if they know where the original temple is exactly located in Delerg. Brother Theo says that he knows and that he remembers visiting it once back in his youth when he was escorting some rebels to the shadow safe houses in Delerg.

"Despite it being in ruins and covered in overgrowth, I still felt it to be a place of power. Not power in the traditional sense, but more like a feeling. A feeling that the cause of the Shadows was the correct one and that by trusting in Dendrin, we would eventually return to the temple of our forefathers one day. It looks like that day has finally come and I couldn't be happier." Brother Theo says.
"Well brother, we aren't there yet. We've still got to get there. The Empire might be gone, but who knows what might've taken its place. The journey still might be dangerous." You reply.
"I know Shadow Master, but Dendrin guided us successfully through the Empire War. I know he will guide us to our home just as easily."
"Yes, I suppose he will."

A month passes before you can actually get going due to the snowstorm. Everyone's glad to leave too being stuck in the fort for so long. You wish you hadn't had to eat up a lot of your food supply though, but you figure you'll worry about food along the way either by hunting for it or trading for it when possible.

As you and the shadows begin your exodus from Evergloom, you look back at the old Empire fort that was your home for so long. You wonder how long it'll be before someone else takes residence there. If you had to guess, Flog will probably figure out it isn't occupied anymore, take it over and start using it as a staging ground to assault the southern towns of Rask. You'll bet the Raskians will wish you were still around when that eventually happens.

The journey through Rask is slow going. You can't just speed yourselves up considering all the equipment and belongings you've got packed on wagons, carts and horses. Still, you aren't in any danger as you pass through Raskian towns. While it alarms the people to see so many shadows nobody dares attack you. You find trade easy, as they are eager to help see you on your way. You didn't really think you'd have trouble traveling through Rask though, it's after Rask that you're more concerned about.

From what news has reached you, ever since the Empire fell the Quala province has fragmented into several bickering warlords, each fighting for control of what's left. In some ways the people of the land are in a worse situation than when the Empire existed, but that isn't something you can really dwell on now. Your goal is to get through the land and you're sure to run into someone's territory as you travel through and they'll no doubt be hostile about it. Not much can be done except hope for the best because much like speeding yourselves up isn't an option, neither is cloaking yourselves. Well you could, but those horses and wagons are still going to be visible.

"How are we going to play this?" Talia asks as you stand at the Rask border.
"I know our information structure started falling into disuse when we drove the Empire from Rask, but does anyone have any information on what the exact situation is in Quala?" you ask.
"Last I heard, an ex-Empire general declared himself the local warlord of the northern most portion of Quala. A General Ackerson I believe." Cyrus remarks.
"Never heard of him."
"I don't think most did, even before the rebellion he wasn't a very prominent general and the Empire tended to have more than a few useless high ranking officers that never did much. I only knew about him due to all the years working in the shadow cells and keeping abreast of all the Empire military commanders. He got his rank mostly due to family connections and was never put in charge of anything important. I don't even think he was even in charge of anything during the rebellion days, at least not that know of when I was still situated in Quala. Still, I assume he must have some skill in combat and have some charisma if he's made himself a warlord now. Well that or very rich which might be more of the case." Brother Theo adds.
"Okay, any other information on warlords in the area?" you ask.

Nobody knows anything else other than he seems to be the top one. Funny how the most obscure people can rise to power when the opportunity presents itself. Stepping off the road, you could probably just trespass through General Ackerson's territory to reach Delerg and you'd only have him to deal with him if need be, of course it's going to be even slower going due to all your baggage. The terrain that way is known to be somewhat hilly and if gets too rough, you might even have to leave some of your stuff behind. Rough terrain aside, there's also the open fields you'd have to cross too. Not much cover if a large patrol of archers happened upon you.

Of course sticking to the road will be quicker and unobtrusive to your baggage carts, but you'd still have to trespass through Ackerson's territory and assuming you got through that, you'd probably have to go through some other warlord's territory as well before you reached Delerg. On top of all this, you have no idea how you'll be treated by any towns you pass through.

[User] You travel off road

[Assistant]
The Empire might be dead, but chances are shadows probably still aren't welcomed in these parts. You're not afraid of a fight, but you aren't sure just how much manpower and support this warlord has and there is no need to take unnecessary chances. Besides, some of the shadows traveling with you have actual families; if there is going to be growth in this organization then you can't risk them.

"Okay everyone, we're heading off road. I'm warning you now, we may have to drop baggage if need be, but until then, we're continuing our journey to Delerg. I also want all of you Eternal shadows to cloak yourself and walk on our perimeter. If you see anything or anyone that might be hostile, don't reveal yourself, but instead report to either me, Cyrus or Talia directly and take a position that will allow you to ambush any interlopers when the time comes."
"Won't we look like an easier target with less people visible? Shouldn't we have a show of force instead?" Cyrus asks.
"We could, but we'd likely be attacked anyway since we're probably going to be outnumbered here. This way at least we'll have the drop on anyone who decides to attack. There's no easy way to do this, better that we play to our strengths and use stealth. That's why I want to avoid the roads altogether."
"Very well Shadow Master." Cyrus remarks.

As you continue your journey across the long stretch of uneven fields, Talia comes up to speak to you.

"I think you've made the right decision in traveling off road like this."
"Hope so, we're pretty open out here. I'd hate for some platoon of patrolling archers to start firing at us."
"Well the cloaked scouts around us should give us a little warning at least. That was a good idea too. In fact I'm pretty excited about this whole journey. It's a new chance to start over and I think it will do everyone some good…though I hope we will find a book or writings of the old ritual to open up the portal to Dendrin again."
"Well, it's a pretty old ruin and in swamp. I don't think we can get our hopes up too much that anything like that survived, but that doesn't matter right? I mean if people are going to follow Dendrin, then he'll find a way to reach them surely."
"I suppose you're right, I just…well it's silly I guess, but the new batch of eternal brothers and sisters never got properly indoctrinated by Dendrin and I think it would do them well to hear his words from his own voice."
"I don't think we need to worry about their loyalty or dedication at this point, you've probably trained and taught them better than anyone could've about the ways of the shadow save for Dendrin himself."
"Yeah…maybe that's what's needed..."

Talia at this point gets very quiet. Her face shows a combination of fear and guilt. It's obvious she wants to tell you more, but now she's afraid to.

"Talia, let's ride over there from the rest of the group for a moment." You say.

Talia nods and rides off and you tell Cyrus to take oversee everything while you talk to Talia privately. When you ride over next to her she's in the middle of crying.

"Talia, I don't know what this is all about, but you know you can tell me and not be afraid about it."
"I'm not afraid of you… (sob) I mean I know your feelings for me are so strong that you'd probably be willing to overlook almost any transgression and that's partly what I'm afraid of, because (sob) I don't want you to get in trouble because of my decisions."
"Wha…? How am I going to get into trouble? What IS this all about and start from the beginning."

After calming herself, Talia begins to tell you what exactly is troubling her and she starts from the beginning which apparently was three years ago. She tells you that she caught two of the male eternals raping one of the female ones in a storeroom and that she did nothing about it, because she wanted to see if they suffered from infertility like the old eternals did. Instead she let the two males off with a warning and convinced the victim that something like this would never happen again. She also tells you that of course the female never got pregnant so it would seem the infertility also exists in the new eternals as well.

"And you never thought to tell me this before?"
"You had other concerns on your mind and I had it under control, or at least I thought I did…"
"What? What happened?"
"While we were waiting out the snowstorm, remember how Brother Seminai broke his neck while coming back from look out duty? He slipped on some ice and fell down the stairs?"
"(Sigh) Let me guess, he was pushed?"
"Sister Grace did. It was apparently in retaliation when he had raped her two night before. She told me and begged me not to tell you since she didn't want to be punished for harming another shadow…it isn't her fault. Its mine, I should've taught them all better, I am their mother and they are my children and I've failed them."

You shake your head at this point. You know Talia's always had a maternal instinct towards the eternals, but you didn't think it would go this far. You also have always known the newer eternals to be a bit more "wilder" but that only seemed to be in battle and you could easily rein them in. You never realized there was a deeper darkness within them and who knows how many harbor these undesirable traits.

"Okay, first question. This Brother Seminai and Sister Grace were they also the ones involved three years ago? I mean is this a repeat action?"
"No, those were three different eternals."
"Wonderful, I was hoping to limit my worry. Anyway, I know we're low on the women folk in our order, but I think you know we can't tolerate wanton raping just because their horny and undisciplined."
"I know and it was wrong of me to keep this from you in the first place…I just wanted our order to flourish with the blood of eternals…I mean yes I have hope that the shadows will at least grow, but we're also eternals and we will eventually die out."
"Well, if these new ones are displaying these types of traits, maybe it's better that we do. I mean I don't pretend to be a devout clergy man that does nothing but good deeds and I will always have a desire for battle, I think most Eternals do having it bred into them, but I've never committed cruelty for the sake of it."
"What are you going to do?"
"I'm not sure yet, but my other question is why did you think I would get into trouble?"
"Because while you knew nothing about this, you would still be innocent in Dendrin's eyes and because I know your love for me is such that no matter what you decide punishment won't befall me even though it should. Dendrin I fear would not look favorably on you if you decide to do nothing to all those guilty after hearing what I've told you."

It's funny, but you've been keeping a bigger secret than Talia for decades. You almost feel like telling her that Dendrin isn't going to give a shit what you decide especially since he hasn't seen fit to even speak to you in years.

In any case, you probably need to do something, though you just aren't sure it needs to be now. You're in the middle of potentially hostile territory and settling an internal dispute might not be the best thing right now. Still the new eternals are going to have to be dealt with on some level and the sooner the better. As for Talia, she's right in that you wouldn't do anything to her, but it is somewhat surprising that she allowed this to happen. She might be a bit delusional, but you still love her. You give her an answer that should seem impartial though.

"Talia, I need to know the names of the brothers involved in the rape three years ago and I need to know of any other eternal who has displayed potential disruptive behavior within the shadow order. I will have to consult Dendrin on this and decide what should be done with them…and you."
"I…I understand. I know you must be fair on this matter and I will accept any judgment that Dendrin sees fit to give."
"Well, I will have to as well and despite you only just now telling me, I may still be in trouble as well. After all as Shadow Master I really should've been more aware of my own people, but don't worry about me. I will beg Dendrin for his forgiveness and that of all involved in this. Perhaps he will show mercy."
"We can only hope." Talia replies and tells you the names as the two of you ride back to the group.

Later that night you continue to ponder whether or not to dispose of your more troublesome followers. Granted the two in question haven't done anything in three years, but that potential is always there, and so are the ones that haven't done anything yet, but show signs of it. You can only guess this is more due to their breeding not anything they've been taught since they still uphold the tenets of being a shadow without question and that's a bigger problem.

If you kill them, is it going to stop there? All of them came out of those Derro tanks and who knows what the hell kind of magical concoction is coursing through their veins to make them behave in such an unstable manner and why is it becoming more of a problem lately?

It's times like this you almost wish that you actually COULD call upon Dendrin for his help…

And why can't you?

What could it hurt?

If you actually pray to him for help and he doesn't listen, then nothing was lost and you're back to what your plan was originally, which is dealing with the situation yourself in a violent manner.

Of course if he actually does listen, he might very well help, but with a "catch." You've known Dendrin for too long to know that when he does help, he doesn't often do it in anyway that could be considered generous.

[User] You help yourself

[Assistant]
You've gotten this far without begging for Dendrin's help before, you're not going to start now. Given that he hasn't spoken to you in years maybe he's finally lost interest. If that's the case you'd hate to tempt disrupting that by calling on him directly.

Before you go to sleep, you decide that it'll be better off to kill the problem eternals that look like they're going to continue being as such. You'll make up some sort of story that Dendrin told you or some such nonsense. Everyone will believe it. You have it done soon after you get to your destination though, no sense in wasting potential manpower in hostile territory.

Having made your decision you drift off into a deep sleep. You're really tired, the stress of the day and the move in general has gotten to you more than you thought!

In fact you're so tired you don't even wake up when you're attacked in the middle of the night. It isn't until Talia slaps you across the face that you awaken.

"Ow! What the hell's going on?" you ask rubbing your cheek.
"We're being attacked! Get up and move!" she shouts.

A bright light is illuminating the nighttime sky along with several fire arrows. You' roll under a wagon to avoid immediate danger.

It would appear General Ackerson's men have discovered you and have attacked in force. They're being smart about it too, attacking at night with archers and unfortunately also a couple of battle mages who are making the darkness disappear with their spells.

"How the hell did they sneak up on us? I had scouts around the perimeter to avoid this sort of thing!" you mutter to yourself. Doesn't matter now you suppose, what you have to do is get the hell out of here as fast as possible. You don't like running, but you'll end up losing more people if you stick around and fight. Besides, there are probably more troops behind the archers or at least on their way. However you do see this as an opportunity, in fact it saves you the trouble of even weeding out various eternals.

You deliberately give orders that all the eternals need to engage Ackerson's army while the rest of the shadows make the escape attempt.

"Everyone else, grab what you can, head for those hills, speed up and cloak!" you shout.
"You can't send them to engage the army, they'll all be killed!" Talia says.
"If it is Dendrin's will, then that's what's going to happen, better that they should die in his service than all of be destroyed, now let's move!" you shout back.

Talia isn't happy with the decision, but follows your lead.

The soldiers are still shooting at you of course, but they're doing it blind. Some of the mages get a few people though by blindly throwing fireballs in the general direction. It isn't long before the ranged attacks become lessened when the eternals close in for combat. As you get closer and closer to the hills, the arrows and fireballs have seemed to have stopped altogether.

The next few days also involve some fighting with more soldiers in the hills, and while it's mostly swordsmen you still don't have a major advantage as you're short several good warriors since losing all of the eternals. You curse the fact that you behaved so rashly. Though nobody is cursing more than Cyrus when Dravin gets cut down by a lucky soldier, he nearly kills all the skirmishers himself after that happens. After the battle he still hasn't calmed down.

"Cyrus I know you're upset about Dravin, but we've got to keep moving."
"Fuck you! This is YOUR fault!" Cyrus shouts as he morns over Dravin's body. "If you hadn't sent all the eternals to sacrifice themselves we might've had more people with us to close the gaps in our defenses! What the hell were you thinking?"
"I was thinking that I was trying to save most of the shadows instead of all of getting killed instead!"
"Well you've sure done a great job of that oh great Shadow Master!"
"Cyrus, you honestly have a problem with me being Shadow Master after you practically begged like a pathetic worm for me to spare your life?"
"And that was the biggest mistake of my entire life! I see now that you were never the chosen one of Dendrin, either that or he's abandoned you and as a result us completely! Did you ever really talk to him at all or did you just make it all up?"
"I knew I should've killed you…"
"What's stopping you now?"

Talia attempts to separate the pair of you, but both of you are ready to draw weapons on each other. Meanwhile Theo is attempting to keep the rest of the shadows in order who are not only demoralized by the attacks and loss of people, but also the fact that their leadership is fighting on top of it.

Things go from bad to worse when Talia is accidentally stabbed in the chest by Cyrus when he tries to stab you instead. You see her fall to ground with a look of shock on her face. Cyrus stands with a bloody dagger in his hand with a similar look of surprise on his face.

"I…didn't…I meant to…I…" Cyrus stutters as your eyes look right through him.

You waste no time and tackle him to the ground. Theo shouts for you to stop, but you don't hear anything until you hear the last sounds of Cyrus' breath as you choke the life out of him before breaking his neck. By the time you're done, no body knows what to think or do. They just stand around watching the self destruction of their order.

You go back over to Talia's body and find her still alive, but breathing weakly.

"I'm sorry Talia, I…should've be able to stop…"
"Stop what? It was Dendrin's will that…I die obviously…at least I'll see my eternals again…my children…" Talia says and lapses into unconsciousness and then death.

You shed a few tears over her death, then Theo tries to get you to move.

"Shadow Master we have to keep moving as you said."
"You want to keep moving go ahead Theo. I'll be staying here." Looking off in the distance.
"But you're the Shadow Master, you have to…"
"I don't have to do shit! You want the job? Go ahead, I make you Shadow Master. Lots of luck! Now begone!" you shout.

Theo stands there for a while and starts to say something, but stops. Instead he just tells the remaining shadows to keep moving and eventually they're all out of the area leaving you alone with several dead bodies surrounding you.

When the rest of General Ackerson's men reach you, you're still sitting on the ground cradling Talia's body. They shout some predictable threats and such at you, but you ignore them. You don't care anymore. You're numb all the way until you feel a sword blow to your head.

And then you feel nothing ever again.


[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] A Puppet

[Assistant]
"A puppet," you say softly.

"Oh, you're actually answering the riddle? How delightful! Maybe I misjudged you!"

"Am I right, then?"

"Oh well, we're all puppets in a way, aren't we?" the Fool grins. "Well, I best be off. Good luck dealing with my boy tonight, Willy."

"Wait!" you growl, aiming your shotgun at him. "You move and I blow your brains out!"

The Fool sighs, shaking his head.

"I don't think you really know how this game works, do you?" the Fool says.

The Fool leans forward, placing his thumb against the shotgun barrel. He scratches at his puffy, burned eyes, sighing.

"You're not going to shoot that gun," he says simply.

With that, the Fool turns, strolling off into the woods. You try to aim your shotgun, but find your arms are incapable of moving, the numb, cold muscles refusing to work. All you can do is watch as the Fool disappears into the darkness.

When he's out of view, you snarl. You sniff the air, smelling the scent of prey, and... you try to focus on the pain for a moment, ignoring your bestial senses, before you smell something else. The smell of smoke, in the distance.

You pause, raising an eye. Smoke means fire. Fire means activity. There needs to be something in that direction.


[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 look at him blankly in response

[Assistant]
The silence continues for several more seconds, until the mercenary starts to exchanges worried glances with the others. "Js spmfthjng wrpng?" he says to you, a concerned expression on his face. "Djd ypv npt fvlly vndfrstbnd me?"

A look of realisation suddenly washes over him. "Pf cpvrsf! Vnwprthy. Lvngvbgf...laaa….lan..." For some reason, the mercenary seems to be having a hard time speaking, as if he can't pronounce the word right. "Lan...lang-goo..."

"Lan-goo-rah?" another one tries.

He shakes his head, gesturing to you. "Lan...lan-grah. Lan-gredge. Language. Lan-gruage bah...bah-wee-uh...barrier..." The man steps forward in your direction, an inquisitive look in his eyes. "We...we do not...we do not speak your..." He winces again. "Your lan-grah..."

"Language," you say helpfully, getting the gist.

"Yfs. Language barrier." He sits down on one of the chairs and calls over to one of his companions. "Hfy, thf Cbptbjn wjll wbnt tp sff hfr npw thbt shf's bwpkfn. Spmfpnf tbkf thf Vnwprthy tp sff hfr, vndfrstbnd?"

"Svrf thjng," another man ventures, getting up and moving towards you. "Cpmf pn," he says to you, beckoning you over with one finger. "Thjs shpvldn't tbkf tpp ljng."

You do not understand his words, but it seems that he wants you to follow him.


[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 attempt to negotiate

[Assistant]
"Wait! Look," you say, holding up your hands in defense.

The girl slashes her knife, cutting open the palms of your hands as blood spurts out and you yelp in pain. The girl slams into you, jabbing her knife directly into your throat. Blood spurts out in even more gallons, as you choke on your own blood as the girl repeatedly stabs you in a mixture of anger and terror.


[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 just stay the night

[Assistant]
You and Donna have been through this song and dance once before, no point in doing it again. Still there's no reason to not take advantage of an opportunity here. You pull Donna aside away from earshot of everyone.

"Hey Donna, I think we should only stay the night, but I'm also thinking we could gather a few more supplies here."
"Wait, really? This place isn't like the trailer park. We won't be able to get out so easily."
"Well that's why we're going to case this place. Or rather I'M going to case this place and YOU are going make friendly with the guards."

Donna looks at you like "really?"

"What? You said I had my talents and you had yours. You know the drill."
"Yeah, I guess. Teamwork and all that…whatever. Just let me know who needs to be fucked and when."
"I'm going to go talk with Henry again and try to assess this situation. We can make a better plan soon."

You leave Donna and head back to Henry who is overseeing his people taking all the shit out of your car.

"Oh hey there, Suzy wasn't it?" he says.
"Yeah. Decided we're only going to stay the night Henry. We've got family in another county and we should at least try to reach them to see if they're okay." You lie.
"Well I can understand that…hmmm. Tell ya what; you can keep everything in your car. Actually we were just going to take the first aid kits, but I was sort of hoping you'd stick around to help out. Since you aren't I don't think it would be right for us to take what little medical supplies you do have. Especially since you'll have a dangerous journey ahead."

At this point Henry motions one of his people carrying the medical kits to put them back in the car. And with this act of kindness, you think you see your opportunity.

"That's really generous Henry. Thank you. Hey is there any place we can wash up?" you ask.
"Well there is a small shower in the waitresses' private bathroom. Just tell Anne I said you could use it. As for your sleeping arrangements, well I guess one of the booths or floor will have to do. Of course you could sleep in your car if you want." Henry replies.
"Hey, it's better than we could've hoped for. Thanks again."

At this point you part ways with Henry and return to Donna.

"Okay, new plan. An hour from now I want you to grab one of those medical kits in the car and go see Henry. Tell him a story about how you really think we should pay to stay here and you insist that he take a kit."
"Wait, you want me to fuck that old guy?"
"Well if you have to, but I'm thinking he's probably got a key to where he keeps all the medicine locked up. Find out where that is, steal the key and later on in the night we can raid it. Then when the morning comes we leave before anyone finds out."
"I dunno Suzy, that sounds pretty risky. In fact it sounds pretty dumb. Shouldn't we just, I dunno pilfer the kitchen during the night? Seems like it might be easier."
"Yeah and there's going to be a shitload of people sleeping in that diner too. Talk about your dumb ideas."
"Maybe we shouldn't steal anything. I mean that old guy didn't even take our medkits as payment and is letting us stay here for free. I mean that's pretty cool."
"(Sigh) Fuck Donna, how the hell are you ever going to survive in this world if you don't seize opportunity when you see it? Fine, you know what, fuck the plan. Why don't you just go blow as many guys as you can and hand me what you manage to steal off of them okay? That seems like it might be your speed." You say angrily and begin to walk away.

However you've pushed Donna a little too far this time and she pushes back, literally when you feel a heavy shove causing you to nearly fall over.

"Oh fuck you Suzy! FUCK YOU! You think you can look down upon me like I'm some sort of gutter whore? You're no fucking better than I am! You're a goddamn murderer!"

At this point Donna's yelling loud enough for others to hear and now people are looking.

"Tell the whole fucking world Donna. And if I'm a murderer then you're one right along side with me! Who's idea was it to steal that fucking truck in the first place? You ran over someone, you stupid whore!" you laugh.
"Stop calling me that!"
"Fuck you, it's the truth. It doesn't matter where you go or where you are, you'll always be a goddamn cum guzzling slut trying to fill some void that can never be filled."

At this point Donna is screaming and tears are running down her face as she starts going on a tirade about your own shortcomings. You aren't really listening though, it's like your mind is going to a different place. A dark place that's telling you to shut her whore mouth shut.

And so you act upon this feeling and pull your pistol shooting Donna.

At first she looks down at her body wound and then back at you in shock. There are no last words she just falls backwards dead.

You stand there for a moment in a little disbelief of what you've done. You look at your pistol and then Donna's body. Meanwhile several of Henry's people are pointing their rifles at you, telling you to drop the gun. You aren't really listening to them either though.

When you fail to comply, one of Henry's people decides to play it safe and drops you with a shot to your head.


[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]
Eliza's idea might be a little complicated, but if you're going sic the Klyton militia on Frank for something, you'd better at least have some sort of evidence to back it up, real or imagined.

"Okay Eliza, we'll go with your plan."

"What?" Rita exclaims.

"Are you serious?" Wendy adds.

" Oh, um really?" Eliza says just as surprised as everyone.

"Sure and you're going to be the one to do it."

"Oh I couldn't…I'm far too shy!"

"Oh for…if you're going to insist on doing this plan, you'll need someone who can work a room. Of course I'll expect to be paid extra for this." Rita volunteers.

"Oh I can see this plan is a GREAT idea." Wendy says rolling her eyes.

"Everyone be quiet! I'm not using you Rita because quite frankly too many people already know who you are and you're too obvious. Eliza needs to do it. She's practically invisible. No offense."

"Oh none taken, but I just don't know if I can."

"Of course you can, you came up with the idea right? We just need to hammer out the details."

After a few moments of discussion, Eliza says that the easiest way would be to get hired there as a waitress. If Frank questions her, she'll say that she didn't like the environment at your place and her co-workers (especially Rita). It should be enough to convince him, but Eliza's just worried that she won't get hired due to her looks. She's a pretty a girl, but she suffers from low self esteem so you try to boost her up a bit with compliments. Hopefully they work and hopefully this plan works.

A few days later the plan is in motion. Eliza "quits" working at your Inn and works for Frank. In your first secret meeting, she tells you he did know who she was, but apparently he didn't even question her that much. He was too overjoyed that he was taking help away from you that he hired her right away. Though you wonder if that could be a ruse to lull her into some sort of trap, you tell her to be very cautious.

The next time you meet Eliza she's dressed a lot more provocatively than usual. You can't help but to comment.

"Wow, Eliza that uh dress…"

"I know. It doesn't leave much to the imagination does it? I feel like I'm almost walking around naked and everyone is looking."

"Oh don't worry about it, they were looking even before you dressed like that. You are very attractive after all."

"Oh you don't need to boost me up anymore, I'm getting over my shyness, though I suppose I don't have much choice. Now here's what I've found out so far…"

Eliza goes on to say that other than having a lot of beautiful girls working for him she hasn't found anything out of the ordinary yet. He doesn't seem to be involved in any illegal activity either.

"Are you sure there isn't any prostitution going on?"

"That was the first thing I thought of, but it doesn't look like it. None of the other waitresses are sneaking off with the patrons to some backroom and I haven't been asked to do anything unseemly either."

"Damn…uh I mean that's good you weren't put in that position though. So nothing at all huh?"

"Well, the only thing that I noticed that might be odd is two of the girls always seem to be there all the time and sometimes they go off with Frank in the basement for long periods of time. There are rumors that they're sleeping with him."

"Well sleeping with the boss might be sleazy, but it's not illegal." You say.

"I dunno if it's that sleazy, I think people can maintain a healthy relationship even if one is in a higher position than the other."

This odd little quip from Eliza puts you off guard for a moment.

"Uh, well sure, but I doubt if that's the case with those three." You sputter.

"Oh I agree, but the thing is, I get the impression it isn't necessarily sex. It feels like something else is going on with them. I think it's still worthwhile to stick around a little longer."

"Okay, but as I've said before, be very careful. I wouldn't want anyone there to find out about you, you're the only employee I have that doesn't cause any trouble."

"I will, but thanks for your concern."

You suddenly feel the need to "correct" yourself.

"I don't mean I only care about you as an employee, I mean I also care about you…I mean as a person! Y'know, I don't want anything to happen to you." You awkwardly word.

"I know what you mean. And thanks again I appreciate it." Eliza says with a smile.

You tell her the next time you want to meet, but if she finds out anything really important to come to you earlier. As she begins to leave you realize you are starting to develop some feelings for Eliza, though you aren't sure if she feels the same way, but you get the impression that she has also been dropping a few hints.

[User] You leave it alone

[Assistant]
Whatever feelings either of you might have need to be put aside and left alone at least until she's done with this mission. She needs to focus.

A month passes and Wendy begins to grumble about being short staffed and wonder when the hell Eliza is coming back.

"Eliza's doing important work, just hang in there. She'll be back here on a regular basis soon."

"Well she better. Dunno why you went with her plan anyway, it would've been easier to go with mine." Wendy says.

"Maybe, but I wanted to have some extra leverage on Frank if we're going to report him to our militia friends."

Your gamble pays off, a few days later. Eliza comes running into the inn with something bundled under one of her arms and looking more than a little nervous. She says she needs to talk to you immediately and how important it is. You comply and head to the kitchen where your mother is, since she probably needs to know whatever Eliza has to say as well.

"Demons…Frank's in league with demons!" Eliza blurts out.

"What? Are you sure?" you ask.

"Yes! I was in his wine cellar getting a special bottle for one of his wealthy merchant customers when a rat passed by and startled me. This caused me to jump back and I hit the wall, but in doing so I must've hit some sort of secret button because the wall opened up into a small room. There was blood on the floor, a few bones, and a bunch of symbols drawn everywhere. The thing that stood out though was this!"

Eliza drops the bundle on the kitchen table and unwraps the cloth she's put it in to reveal a large leather bound book with a few symbols written on it. If it isn't a spell book, it sure looks like one.

"Well I suppose we now know Frank's an unlicensed mage, but are you sure about the demons?" Your mother asks.

"Yes! I've seen them! I mean everyone has, they just don't know!" Eliza exclaims. "When I was leaving with the book and closing the secret door, two of the waitresses I work with confronted me. When they showed me their true forms, I was scared for my life. These two in particular had always made me a little nervous. They just had an odd aura about them, never imagined that they were demons though."

"They didn't try to do anything to you?"

"No, they just said that I was very lucky Frank neglected to be thorough when drawing up his contract with them. I think they saw me as a potential loophole out of their service to him. I know they never really seemed fond of Frank."

"Well whatever the reason, I'm glad you're safe. I suppose now we should go inform the Klyton militia." You say.

After bringing the book to Klyton sergeant and Eliza repeating her story to them, they take action immediately. Unlicensed magery is a very series offense, let alone cavorting with demons.

Naturally you don't witness the raid; in fact the Klyton militia tries its best to section off the area beforehand, but given that Frank's place is in a high traffic area and is already pretty popular, it's not an entirely successful endeavor. A group of heavily armed Klyton militia with sanctioned wizards as support tends to draw attention. Fortunately it doesn't end in a big explosion and hundreds dead. It ends with a few smaller explosions and only a couple dozen dead instead. Unfortunately it also ends with the one of the demons escaping as well. For a while there's a lock down on the entire city as the Klyton militia tries to maintain order as well as searching for the thing, eventually nothing comes of it and it is assumed that the succubus flew away to a place where it could hunt for new prey a lot easier. (Probably Hessla).

During this time, the inn was pretty busy since several merchants couldn't leave the city right away, not to mention some of the regulars drinking a little more to calm themselves of a possible demon running around, so it works out for you pretty well.

After everything is said and done, you have enough money to continue your education and with this financial pressure off, you easily pass the rest of your classes with no worries.

Of course now you're in your final stages of your education, which means medical school as well as actually having to get a job actually working at a hospital. The only problem with that is being an intern doesn't pay all that well and you certainly can't do that AND work at the bar. Your mother reassures you that you shouldn't worry about it as she'll be able to hire a couple extra people as well as being able to help with the rest of your tuition.

In any case it looks like your days as an innkeeper are over.

[User] You future Plans

[Assistant]
A few years have passed and your medical schooling is complete and you now work at the Klyton hospital as a real doctor.

Your personal life has changed quite a bit over the past few years as well. You currently live in an apartment near the hospital with a fellow medical student. Actually she's your girlfriend. It started out as a simple roommates thing, but then it developed into something a little more. Cindy still has a year of schooling to go, and you now have a job at the hospital so you weren't planning on going anywhere just yet.

However Cindy suggests that the pair of you should leave for the Delantium Kingdom, specifically Sivak, which is the closest big city. She mentions that there are more opportunities there and she would prefer living there as well.

You don't really have any specific objections against going there, it's just you've never left Klyton, so you're probably a little nervous especially since you've managed to succeed in getting a good job here and maintain a friendly relationship with most of the people you work beside.

Well you have a year to hammer out all the plans in the meantime you're on your way to visit your mother. You don't see her as much as you used to but she is of course very proud of you and mentions that your father would be too if he were still alive. After all it was always his goal to make sure that you went into medicine for a career.

When you get to the Traveler's Inn, it never ceases to amaze you how much the place has changed and how much it has grown since the days when you were little. Wendy does most of the day to day inn management nowadays, leaving your mom to concentrate on the cooking, which she prefers in the first place. Rita still works there surprisingly enough. Apparently she found it a lot better to just hook up with various rich guys for a short period of time to get some gifts and then remain single.

Eliza is the new head barmaid. You guess that experience with the whole Griffon Inn situation boosted her confidence. She even managed to turn Flameflower and Sunshine into productive employees! You remember how friendly you were to each other and how sometimes it seemed like there was the potential for more there, but neither one of you seriously pursued it.

"Well, haven't seen you in awhile Mr. big shot doctor. You still with that…girl?" Rita asks when you walk in.

"Her name's Cindy and yes I am, Rita. What's it to you anyway?"

"Nothing, can't I be concerned for your well being? I mean we have known each other for a long time and all."

"Hm. Well I'm fine. Where's my mom?"

"She's in the kitchen as usual."

You walk past Rita, shaking your head at her sudden interest in you now that you have a good paying job. As you approach the bar, Wendy notices you.

"I see the great doctor has come for a visit. Taking a break from that girl you shacked up with huh? Anyway your mom is in the kitchen." She says and then goes back to talking with some of the patrons.

When you enter the kitchen your mom turns around to see you and smiles before rushing to give you a big hug.

"Aw mom." You say not wanting all this fuss.

"Hey indulge me, I don't get to see you as much as I used to. So how have you been? What's going on? Are you still with…that girl?"

"Her name's Cindy, geez why doesn't anyone like her? Rita and Wendy both made some snide remark about her as I came walking in."

"Sorry son, I'm sure Cindy's a nice girl and all, but the couple times you visited here with her, she was a bit pretentious, and you know Wendy doesn't care for people like that. As for Rita, well I'm sure you know why she's acts the way she does by now."

" Okay I know Cindy has a bit of that upper class personality, but Eliza was the only one who even tried to be friendly with Cindy the last time she was here!"

"Eliza would be friendly to a mountain troll as long as it wasn't eating her. It's just her nature. Not to mention she thinks you're happy with Cindy so she's happy for you."

"So, why can't you be happy for me?"

"Who said I wasn't? If that's who you want then good! I'm all for it. The question though is are you happy?"

"Of course I am! I wouldn't be moving with her to Sivak by next year if I wasn't! That's sort of why I came here today. I wanted to let you know, I'll be leaving Klyton soon."

You mother doesn't seem too emotional about this revelation, you were sort of expecting more tears or celebration. Instead she just sighs and heads off to cut some vegetables, before speaking again.

"Hmm, okay. Well as long as you're sure that's what you want to do."

"Why wouldn't it? I mean there are more opportunities in Sivak than there are here for me and Cindy. You didn't want me to stay did you? I thought you were going to sell this place and move to Teckleville anyway."

"No, of course I don't want you to stay for me! Geez, I can manage just fine. Your father and I always knew the day would come that you'd move far away. As for selling this place, eh, I'm not sure yet. It is true that after your father died, my main motivation was to keep this place running to help continue paying for your education. I figured after that goal was reached I would indeed retire to Teckleville. I dunno now though. I guess after all the stuff we went through to keep this place, not to mention making it better, I've become more attached to it again."

Now you're sort of surprised to hear her say that, you thought for sure that she was fully intending on moving back to Teckleville.

"Well, no matter where you are, I hope you know I'll visit." You say.

"Oh of course, I wasn't worried about that. Well anyway I have to finish preparing this drakling. Some adventurers can't ever order something simple, well at least they brought it in themselves I suppose."

At this point you and your mother say goodbye to each other and you walk out of the kitchen. On your way out you bump into Eliza.

"Hey you! I haven't seen you in a long time! How have you been? Are things going well for you and Cindy?"

You smile at the fact that she remembered your girlfriend's name. "I've been okay. I heard about you being the head waitress now, congratulation."

"Thanks, I'm actually running a little late right now. I'll have to talk with you later, maybe we should meet sometime when we're not both busy."

"Um…yeah maybe. Well see you later." You say and quickly leave the area.

As you leave you feel a mixture of guilt, anxiety and confusion. Part of you wants to go back. You don't know if you have real feelings for Eliza or you're just deliberately thinking about sabotaging things so you don't have to move away from Klyton.

[User] You make plans to meet with Eliza

[Assistant]
You go back to the inn. You don't know what the hell you're doing, but you're doing it.

"Back so soon doc?" Rita says as you ignore her and look for Eliza.

You instinctively head back to the kitchen where you find her talking to some of the other staff members.

"Eliza, I have to talk to you!" you say anxiously.

"Um…okay, I'm almost done here."

You wait impatiently for Eliza to finish talking to her subordinates, while you're doing that your mother is eyeing you suspiciously as she begins cooking a large piece of meat.

You can't wait here! This was a mistake! You have to leave now!

You rush out of the kitchen, but you don't get far when you feel Eliza's hand grab your shoulder.

"Hey, where are you going? I thought you had to talk to me." She says.

You turn around and nothing comes out. You just take one look at her face and you can't contain yourself. You grab and kiss her right on the lips. This is followed by a few cheers and claps from the patrons in the bar.

"Huh, took him long enough to realize it." Wendy says and goes back to cleaning the bar.

Eliza's response is pure shock. She doesn't know what to do except run into the ladies room. You call out to her before realizing you've done this in front of several onlookers. You panic again and run into the kitchen.

"What's going on out there? Did I hear you call out Eliza's name? What did you do?"

"I…I fucked up…" you blurt out.

You quickly explain what just happened and your mother shakes her head while throwing a washcloth on the table.

"(Sigh) I KNEW something was up when you wanted to talk to her and were acting more jittery than a goblin caught in a troll's larder. I don't know what to tell you son except you've handled this poorly. This is definitely something you're going to have to fix yourself, but you need to do it soon, because Eliza's one of the best employees here and I don't need her all upset right now."

You think about slipping out the back, but your mother's right, you need to take care of this now. At least part of it, because you'll need to take care of the rest tonight when you talk to Cindy.

You sheepishly exit the kitchen wondering if everyone will be looking. Most glance your way, but go back to their business.

"She's down in the cellar doctor love." Wendy says.

Not saying another word you go down to the cellar. You see Eliza trying to keep busy by taking stock of the beer casks with another employee you don't know.

"Eliza."

"I can't talk anymore, I really have to make sure we have enough beer this month. Our shipment is a little late. It was nice seeing you." She answers without looking in your direction.

"Eliza we need to talk about what just happened."

"I think we should just forget about it. Shouldn't you be getting home? I'm sure Cindy will be wondering about where you are."

At this point you grab Eliza again and tell the stock boy to leave, he doesn't seem to want to get involved in whatever drama you two have so he complies.

"Let me go."

"Okay, but we're gonna talk!"

"Talk about what? About me being the other woman? I don't want to be that and Cindy doesn't deserve it! I don't deserve it!"

"I'm gonna break up with Cindy! I want you. I know that now. I should've acted on it earlier…"

"You certainly should have! (sob) Do you know how much I wanted you to say something? Years! From the moment you came back to this inn after your father died, I wanted you to say something. Now it's too late!"

"It's not too late! I just said I'll break up with Cindy then we can be together!"

"Just like that huh? You can toss her aside so easily? I thought you were in love with her."

"I was…I mean…no…agh! Shit look, I want to be with you! Why are you making this so difficult?"

"Because it IS fucking difficult! (sob) I had just come to accept the fact that you and I were never going to happen no matter how much I wanted it. (sob) And now you come back and stir all my emotions up, because you're having doubts about your relationship with Cindy? What the hell happens when you start having doubts about me one day?"

"That wouldn't happen…"

"How do I know? I mean… (sniffle) we've never even gone out on a date. How do you know if we're even going to be compatible?"

"Well let's go on one right now. Anywhere you want!"

"Just leave me alone. I need time to myself."

You try to touch Eliza to reassure her, but she flinches away. You don't say anything else and leave her be like she wanted.

On your way home you think about everything and how badly it all went. You didn't know Eliza pined after you for so long. You really had no idea. If you did you would've…

Would've, could've, should've, doesn't really matter now. What matters now is what you're going to do about all this. Eliza also brought up a good point on how can you possibly know that you're compatible and how it looks like you're just reaching out to her because of your doubts with Cindy.

Speaking of Cindy, you need to figure out what you're going to say to her when you get home.

[User] You stay with Cindy

[Assistant]
Given that Eliza didn't seem to happy with you, your future with her seems unlikely. You see now that you missed that opportunity a long time ago and that you need to move on from this folly. You just hope that you'll be able to and that none of this will get back to Cindy.

When you get home, Cindy asks where you've been and you tell her you visited your mother at the inn. You don't really elaborate anymore than that, but Cindy doesn't ask anything further as she's not too interested in what's ever going on there in the first place.

During your last remaining year in Klyton, you don't visit your family's inn anymore as a safety precaution. You try to go on about your life though the fear of Cindy finding out what might've happened is always in the back of your mind. Granted Cindy's not likely to visit the inn anytime soon, but what happens if one of those miners goes to the hospital for a broken leg or something? What if he sees you and asks how Eliza is in the "sack?" What if Cindy is with you when he asks that question? What if Eliza herself comes down and causes a scene?

"Hey you! Come here we need another doctor in ER!" a nurse shouts at you.

You stop your current daydreaming and quickly follow her to the emergency room

"She's not breathing!"

"Does anyone know what she took?"

"Her employer said she thinks it was Bog Malice."

The noisy chaos of the emergency room seems to go silent when you step forward to see the girl lying on the table.

It's Eliza.

"Don't just stand there, hand me that pump!"

You snap out of your daze and grab the pump the surgeon asked for.

"This isn't working, the poison's too damn strong. Her body is probably completely shutting down. Where the hell are those electro-gauntlets?"

"NO, she can't die!" you shout. "Hand me a syringe of Troll Adrenaline!"

"Troll Adrenaline? Her body can't take that!" a nurse says

"She's already fucking dying! Somebody gimme that syringe now!"

You shove the syringe deep into her chest and inject the adenaline. This causes Eliza's body to begin to twitch violently and she even opens her eyes. She then spits up a mixture of blood and some sort of black fluid.

"Huuuuuuuuuu!" Eliza wheezes

A nurse rushes in with electro-gauntlets and you grab them immediately and lay your hands on Eliza's chest.

"CLEAR!"

BUZZ!

"CLEAR!"

BUZZ!

"CLEAR!"

BUZZ! SPARK! FWOOM!

The electro-gauntlets short out and you end up giving yourself a nasty zap causing you to fall to the floor. It doesn't take you long to realize the gauntlets are also on fire. You shake them off immediately. You smell the scent of burnt flesh and scramble back up to help Eliza who has now once again ceased to move.

"Oh shit, shit! I'm sorry Eliza! I'm so fucking sorry!" you say and begin pounding on her chest, but it's no use

"You tried everything you could my boy, she's gone." The surgeon says trying to calm you down.

"No, but look her foot just twitched, she…"

"That twitch was just an after effect of the troll adrenaline. (Sigh) Never gets easy losing a patient…and I gather you knew this one personally?"

"…yeah…she…yeah…"

You stumble out of the emergency room and see your mother who must've been the one who brought her here.

"Son! Is Eliza…"

"She's dead."

After the funeral you take time off from work. Cindy tries to be sympathetic, but the fact that you feel really guilty over Eliza's death and incredibly broken up about it leads her to quite rightly think that you had stronger feelings for her than you let on. Ultimately Cindy breaks up with you and eventually moves back to the Delantium Kingdom by herself.

Eventually you go back to work and continue on with your life. You never do forgive yourself for Eliza's death though and immerse yourself in your work.

As for your family's inn, your mother continues to run it until the day she dies. You get the impression her concern for you caused her to stay rather than retire to Teckleville like she once planned. Upon her death you sell the inn, as you have no desire to run the place. The owner of a chain of inns from the Delantium Kingdom ends up buying it.

Due to your focus on your job, you end up becoming a more dedicated doctor with many patients speaking highly of you. In time you even win an Excellence in Medicine Award. You graciously accept these awards and praise, but you always think back of what you should've done differently to save the one life you feel directly responsible.

You think Eliza's suicide could've been prevented if only you'd kept your mouth shut that day. Or maybe you should've pursued her harder. Or maybe you should've done something else. You routinely mentally torture yourself with all the possible better ways you think you could've handled things. As a result you never marry and place flowers on her grave site on a weekly basis.

Your own death is a sudden one at home that comes to you many years later well into an age when you should've long retired. When your body is found, your last request in your will is carried out. Your body is cremated and the ashes sprinkled over Eliza's grave.


[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 shrunken Head (Necromancer's Army)

[Assistant] "Ah, that! I took that off a large bastard with a sword twice as large as you.That damn Necromancer, I can't remember his name, rose Zombies Ghouls, Skeletons, Wights, Death Knights, Specters, Ghosts and who knows what else in his quest for power. He led a small group of Death Knights up here to add some Ork Zombies to his collection. He ran faster than a deer when he saw what a true Orc can do! Ha!"


[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 will attempt to strike the enemies with a barrage of magical missiles.

[Assistant]
You quickly climb up the coach to get a better view of the battle.

There, you concentrate briefly and hurl tiny bolts of pure magicka with deadly precision into the horde of goblins. When struck, the goblins fall down never to get up again.

As the channeling of combat magic is not exactly your specialization, the feat proves to be very taxing.
However, dozens of goblins fall to your small but deadly precise hail.

The goblins are close to breaking and turn to flee, when suddenly you are distracted by a scream. Lucius, having prevented that you become the target of those goblin archers that have not yet dropped their bow, is spitted on an evil looking sword.

You give a start when you realize that it is Farhan Brownhand, the emissary of Alzur, that wields the blade that has stabbed Lucius into the back.

Grimly, you prepare to channel another two bolts of pure magicka into Farhan's direction, as you remember too late that his bodyguard is always close to him.

A blow on your head drives thoughts of magic away for quite some time, and darkness engulfs you.


[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 fuck your riddles, you're not playing your games!

[Assistant]
"Fuck your riddles, I'm not playing your games!" you yell.

"Ugh, how dull then. You're very angry, aren't you?"

"Watch it, fucker. Don't think I won't kill you."

"God, if you're going to be like this, I best go off and leave you alone with your anger. Good luck dealing with my boy tonight, Willy."

"Wait!" you growl, aiming your shotgun at him. "You move and I blow your brains out!"

The Fool sighs, shaking his head.

"I don't think you really know how this game works, do you?" the Fool says.

The Fool leans forward, placing his thumb against the shotgun barrel. He scratches at his puffy, burned eyes, sighing.

"You're not going to shoot that gun," he says simply.

With that, the Fool turns, strolling off into the woods. You try to aim your shotgun, but find your arms are incapable of moving, the numb, cold muscles refusing to work. All you can do is watch as the Fool disappears into the darkness.

When he's out of view, you snarl. You sniff the air, smelling the scent of prey, and... you try to focus on the pain for a moment, ignoring your bestial senses, before you smell something else. The smell of smoke, in the distance.

You pause, raising an eye. Smoke means fire. Fire means activity. There needs to be something in that direction.