[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 run into the portal

[Assistant]
Test or not, you're not going to stand here and accept the judgment that Master Ebon has passed on you. You're more than strong enough to pass through the ceremony, you know you are and to prove it, you immediately make a run for the portal.

"Master Ebon, the Eternal is running towards the portal!" you hear Brother Gray shout just as you make a leap into the shimmering portal. If Ebon said anything you didn't hear it, in fact as soon as you pass through the portal you don't hear anything. You also don't see anything or even feel anything. It's like you've stepped into a place that has sucked out all your senses. You even attempt to speak out loud, but nothing comes out, of course you wouldn't really know since you can't hear anything. You don't believe you're standing on anything and feels like you're "floating" in some sort of void.

As for your mental state of mind, your feelings have become muted. You still have them, but they aren't as strong as they once were. Even before when you suppressed your feelings yourself, you never managed it to this degree. Everything has become deadened.

All of this is so strange and you briefly wonder if you've made a mistake, but then you hear a voice, but it's inside your head. It isn't some sort of subconscious either. It's a very real external force speaking to you in your mind. The voice is a whisper, but loud at the same time, almost overpowering.

"You were not given permission to be here. Why have you disobeyed your superior?" the voice asks.
"I…I wanted to prove I was worthy." You answer. It is a strange sensation to speak with just your brain.
"I see…so do you think you are worthy?"
"Yes."
"Your confidence is admirable. Yet, you do not even where you are, let alone WHO you are."
"I am an Eternal."
"Are you? Tell me, how can one be an Eternal, when one has not even experienced life outside what your superiors have told you? How can one be eternal when one is a mere baby in terms of existence? How can one be eternal when you are before a being that has existed longer than you mortals first came up with the idea of your primitive methods of measuring time? No, you are not eternal. You are confused."

The voice is absolutely oppressive. Any feelings that were dead before are replaced with an extreme feeling of hopelessness and as the voice stated confusion. Within that moment you start to question everything you were taught. Not the skills, but the ideology. Still, you try to maintain your mind, by asking questions.

"Are…are you the god of the Shadow Guards?"
"That designation I suppose is accurate in a sense, but one should not get stuck with just one description, lest it confine you. I am many things as are you, even if you do not realize it yet, despite what your superior believes. Not to say he is wrong, just that he does not have the…insight I possess. Now your fellows that entered before you did are limited in their thought processes. Some have already failed due to their lack of complex thought. Tell me, are you loyal to your Emperor and your Empire?"
"…of course!" you say, though due to your experience in this place, you feel a lot less certain of that, for the first time. This whole event is troubling to you. You almost feel suicidal for not answering with absolute certainty.
"One cannot serve two masters, or at least not for long. The ones your Empire has designated the Shadow Guard are my loyal servants. They are loyal to ME, first. You cannot be a true member of this order if you place your Emperor above me. My followers have survived by hiding in plain sight and making themselves indispensable to the Empire. They have done this for centuries, but there will be a reckoning some day soon and the question is, who's side are you going to be on?"

You cannot answer. The concept of not placing the Emperor about all is so abhorrent to you that you can't even comprehend it. Yet here you are being asked this question by a god no less. He's even suggested a reckoning of some sort that indicates the Shadow Guard will betray the Empire in the future! How can you argue with such a being though? If you disagree it is likely to destroy you, but in this place you almost can't help but to swear subservience to this god. You feel so helpless that it's almost like the choice Mistress gave you except even worse.

[User] You swear to serve the god to survive

[Assistant]
You want to live so much that nothing else matters to you, and no matter how much it sickens you utter "I…I will serve you…" with great effort.
"Yes, you will serve, but do you mean it? I don't think so. You're lying to survive this encounter. This is interesting. I was correct in that you are not as rigid as your fellows. If you are willing to risk lying to me in an attempt to save your life, then you are possibly willing to do ANYTHING to save your own life…that means there is still hope for you. I'd advise you though, do not wait too long to pick a side, otherwise you may find that even your will to survive won't be enough to save you.

The feeling of oppression leaves you, and it's instead replaced by a surge of pain jolting through your body. You'd probably cry out if you could, instead you suffer in silence.

"You will be given the powers I bestow to all my worshippers. Whether you will use them to further the cause or not, is another matter, but one that shall be interesting to see unfold. I have a feeling we shall speak again Eternal."
And with those last words, you blackout and lose consciousness.

When you wake up, you find yourself back in the room where you first stepped into the portal. Master Ebon, Brother Gray, Cyrus and Talia all stand around you.

"He's awake." Brother Gray remarks.
"Hmm, it truly is the work of Dendrin that he survived the process. Dendrin must've seen something in him that I did not. I will have to ask for forgiveness of my lack of vision tonight in my prayers. You two, help your brother up, he has proven worthy to be called a shadow and passed Dendrin's judgement."

As Cyrus and Talia help you up, you're feeling a little groggy and you ask who Dendrin is. Everyone goes silent as if you've said the wrong thing.

"Who is Dendrin? Are you jesting? Dendrin is our god! Surely his name appeared in your mind when he spoke to you during the ceremony." Talia exclaims.
"Huh…oh…right…I dunno I feel so drained and woozy right now." You sputter, so as to cover up your less than typical experience with Dendrin.
"Hmm, well that does happen. Some new members take days to fully recover after being in the presence of his power." Master Ebon remarks. "In any case, I welcome the three of you to the fold and you are now truly as brothers and sister to us. Our bond is stronger than any can hope to imagine and with Dendrin's guidance there is nothing we can't accomplish. You three shall report to Fortress Gloom, from there you will receive your future assignments and even additional training on your new powers. I shall take my leave now as I have other more important duties to perform. Brother Gray I trust you can take it from here."

Master Ebon leaves, and Brother Gray does indeed take over. He mentions that the four of you will be heading by carriage to Fortress Gloom, which is located in Quala, the home province of the Empire. Fortress Gloom is apparently the sole head quarters of all the Shadow Guard.

On the carriage ride there Brother Gray speaks more on Gloom.

"Personally we'd prefer it if we were located in the Delerg province, but since most of our assignments are in Quala, the Empire desires that we stay close by, still our home at least borders on Delerg so it isn't all bad and things will be set right one day.
"What is so special about Delerg?" you ask and once again you've said something that causes disapproving silence followed by scolding.

"Sheesh, you really are out of it aren't you? Delerg is the original home of the Shadows! You should know this when Dendrin open your mind to our history!" Cyrus shouts.

Once again you apologize and claim you're having problems with gaps in your memory and continued disorientation. Brother Gray is a little more understanding and says that you'll soon recover and remember everything and that in the mean time you can refresh your memory with the books at Fortress Gloom.

You thank him and decide to stay quiet until you can get a better understanding of your situation. It is apparent that you did not pass through the ceremony like everyone else did. Cyrus and Talia seem like they're dedicated converts now. Brian and David are no where to be seen and nobody has mentioned them. You can assume that Dendrin destroyed them for some reason. Presumably because they refused to serve, but still that doesn't explain why you were spared. Dendrin obviously knew you were just paying him lip service to save your own life, and he passed you anyway. Is there something else in store for you?

You don't know and you can't do much about it right now. You just hope you can make it through this.

Eventually the carriage stops at the edge of a forest area.

"Okay we have to walk the rest of the way; it's not too far though." Gray remarks and all of you get out and the carriage driver quickly makes his way out of the area.

Gray leads the way through the dark forest. The trees have so much foliage that they're blocking out most of the sunlight. Several times you could swear something is watching you in the trees, but nothing attacks. Gray, Cyrus and Talia, aren't on edge as you are, but then they wouldn't have cause to be.

Eventually you all an area with a large rock formation in the forest. Gray mumbles a few words and then another portal opens up in one of the large rocks. He tells you all to follow and you do. After a long flight of stairs downward, you finally reach Gloom proper. It certainly lives up to its name as you travel the corridors the entire place is barely lit, the place is also very quiet. Gray goes on to explain that the place used to be a former Derro stronghold, but they abandoned it for unknown reasons long before the Shadow Guard started to use it.

After a small tour of a small portion of the fortress, Brother Gray tells you all that you will all share the same room with some of the other newer members for now, though he says that the room itself might currently be empty as they are probably on their duties right now. He also goes on to say that he wants you to test out your shadow powers in the training are tomorrow before you go on assignments, so you should try to rest in the meantime.

You, Cyrus and Talia retire to your room and sure enough it is indeed empty of any other members right now. You all grab a bed that doesn't look like it has been taken yet. Cyrus begins to speak.

"I don't know about the rest of you, but I'm going to test some of my powers now. I figure I should get a head start on the practice." He says and then attempts to make himself invisible. He flickers for a moment, but then fails completely causing himself to collapse on the bed.

"Wow, maybe I shouldn't have tried something so hard at first." He says breathing hard.

Talia does something a little different; she begins to run from one end of the room to the other. For a brief moment she is a barely visible blur, but she too is winded from the effort.

"I think we should wait until we have proper instruction first. You two are going to hurt yourselves." You say.
"Proper instruction? All the knowledge is right here! Dendrin saw to that!" Cyrus says pointing to his head. "All we need to do is practice."
"Leave him be brother, he's still recovering from his experience being in the presence of Dendrin."
"Yeah, I guess. What an eye opener that experience was though! Seriously, all that stuff we learned was really enlightening. Don't you agree sister?"
"Oh yes. Just think, all those lies they told us just to try to keep us loyal to the so called Emperor. Murderous tyrant is all he really is and his day will come." Talia says.

You can't believe what you're hearing. It's unreal to hear two Eternals you've practically grown up with to speak such…treason! You don't know what they heard when they went through the ceremony, but it's very apparent they have been corrupted. As much as you've been trying to keep your feelings on everything secret, you almost feel like you must speak or do something about it.

[User] You confront Cyrus and Talia

[Assistant]
Cyrus and Talia are still Eternals and you have to believe that despite whatever divine indoctrination has taken place that they still have some sort of loyalty to the Emperor and not the Shadow Guard and certainly not Dendrin.

In any case, you're going to try to get through to them and you don't know how to do that except just by being direct.

"Do you two really think Dendrin is more powerful than the Emperor?" you ask.
"Of course! How could he not be? Why would you even ask such a thing?" Cyrus says.
"Dendrin showed us…all of us that the Emperor and the Empire is a lie and corrupt! He is the only true path! You were in his presence! How can you doubt him?" Talia adds.

"I might ask you two how you can you suddenly revere Dendrin and turn your back on all of what has been taught us? Dendrin…whatever he is obviously is going to show us, or tell us whatever he wants for his own purposes, that doesn't make it true! We're Eternals first remember? We swore to serve the Empire, it's why we were born!"
"Stop it! Just stop! You're speaking heresy and foolishness! I think your mind was too weak to withstand the greatness of Dendrin and has been damaged!" Talia says.
"On the contrary I would ask how is it that I have maintained MY ability to question the Shadow Guard agenda? Why is it that Dendrin did not just destroy me if I wasn't worthy? Perhaps I'm the strong one. I managed to hold on to my beliefs against a god while you two quickly abandoned them completely. Now you've got two options, you can either leave this place with me and we shall report this treasonous organization to the Empire and I swear I will not mention your own doubts in the Emperor."
"The only reporting you should be doing is to either Brother Gray or Master Ebon about your sickness and hope they know how to treat it! I'm warning you, continue to speak the way you have been or…"
"Or else what Cyrus? You'll kill me?" you ask and shake your head. "Do what you must then, but see now that I will not be able to get through to you. Now what about you Talia? Are you completely…"

Before you can complete the sentence, Cyrus attacks you. You narrowly miss a blade to your chest and throw Cyrus face first into a nearby bed. You then follow up with a stomp to his spine though you fail to break it and instead he just grunts in pain. You pull out your own sword and then that's when Cyrus starts using his new shadow powers. He rolls out of the way and turns invisible.

You begin swinging at his closest location, but he slips by and stabs you in the foot. You wince at this pain and kick forward with your other foot. I lands somewhere into Cyrus, because he makes another sound. At this point he's flickering in and out and also breathing heavy. His inexperience at the shadow magic has reared its ugly head again to your advantage.

Unfortunately you were so focused on fighting Cyrus that you completely forgot about Talia, she however hasn't forgotten about you. You feel two daggers go excruciatingly into your back and puncture your vital organs. You yell out in pain and collapse on to the floor.

"(Wheeze) Thank you my sister. (Pant) Only a shadow for a little while and we've already managed to kill an enemy of Dendrin! I'm sure someone heard our fighting, but I'm going to go find Brother Gray, you stay here and watch his body, though I imagine he won't give you anymore trouble." Cyrus says and leaves.

You aren't dead yet, but you soon will be. Talia, stands far enough away from you so you can't do anything sudden to her in your last moments.

"Why did you have to say anything? Why didn't you just submit to the will of Dendrin? You made me kill you!" Talia says with a tone of regret in her voice.
"No I didn't…I did my duty. You chose to abandon yours…"
"I didn't! I…"

Talia's voice quivers a bit, like she's genuinely upset about having to kill you. You didn't expect that, maybe it will cause her to question her priorities now. Perhaps your actions here have accomplish something after all and the seed of chaos has been planted to destroy the Shadow Guard from the inside before they can carry out whatever plans to betray the Empire.

You comfort yourself with these thoughts as you pass from this world.


[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 much as you enjoy his company, you need to leave. You'll tell him as much.

[Assistant]
You shake your head. "I'm sorry, Gi'anti, but I must go. I enjoyed our time together but I need to carve my own path in this world. I'll leave come sunrise." With those words you finish setting up your tent. Gi'anti sighs, shakes his head a bit. Still, he smiles.

"Do you know what T'kanka means, my friend?"

You shake your head. "No."

"It's the name of a legendary warrior, where I come from. T'kanka, the Wandering King. Able to slay an army with one swing of his sword, able to traverse thousands of miles in a single day, and able to survive no matter how many times he is struck. Of course, these are all myths, but T'kanka was a real man. Legend has it that after his death, his body denied this fact, and he continued to roam, forever." Gi'anti leans forward. "I saw in your eyes the same spirit that I imagine T'kanka to have."

You suppose you must be flattered by that, so you crack Gi'anti a small smile. The two of you then begin to banter again, as you've done in the past month, and finally lay down to sleep. Come sunrise, you may never see this man again. But you know that you've made a brother for life in him.

In the morning light, you leave, never once looking back.

THE END


[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 concentrate on the two 'Lords' above you, hit their minds hard enough and you could get away or even defeat them

[Assistant]
You mentally lash out at the Lords above you again and once more find their defenses holding you at bay. You concentrate on just one of them and try to force you way in, putting all your anger and rage into the attack. You feel his defenses buckling under the pressure but then you find the problem with your plan.

While you concentrated on your attack you stopped moving.

Nate the Sentinel did not stop moving.

You feel the impact and turn back to your normal senses just in time to register that your right arm and ribcage is crushed and you are flying at a tremendous speed directly at the wall.

You impact with a sickeningly hard crunch and feel more ribs breaking. "Oh dear me folks, the Lords just indicated to me that instead of fighting Nate, the idiot tried to attack our rulers! That left him wide open for Nate's punch! Give the man a hand though, I never seem anything that didn't turn into jelly at one of those hits never mind still be moving!"

You cough up blood and stagger to your feet. Just in time for Nate to reach you again. You even see the punch coming but can't get out of the way in time and take it full to the chest. You get slammed back into the wall and know your done for, your organs are jelly and your blood is pooling at your feet.

"And it's over folks, even if he is still breathing, he isn't moving! That's a win in two punches for Nate the sentinel, always a crowd favorite even if his opponent was weak.

You want to protest and tell them you weren't weak when just register being lifted in the air. "Oh and Nate is hungry folks!" you hear right before the crunch.


[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 cast of Characters (The Sideshows)

[Assistant]
Normals

Normals is really a generic term for anyone who isn't a Freak, but its often used to describe Carneys who aren't deformed in some way and make a living in the Carnival utilizing some skill. ("Normals" who aren't Carneys are usually just called "Rubes" or at best "Townies") The core of these include acrobats, tightrope walkers, game barkers and the like. Normals as always out number the Freaks, but they aren't nearly as unified, though Randal's been trying to, in his effort to gain power.

Nearly all Normals find you revolting and run you off if you get near, either verbally OR physically.

Freaks

This is a generic term for Carneys who have some sort of genetic condition that separates them from the rest of society. They can range from being very hairy, have no limbs, or have a few extra ones. In any case they are one of the major carnival draws. Some learn a few skills to go along with their deformities, but it's mainly their horrific appearance that they rely upon. Despite all their different forms, they are very unified and support the Ring Master for giving them a place in the world. Jasmine the bearded lady tends to be the Matriarch of them all

Freaks are a little more tolerant of you, since they've also suffered scorn and ridicule too, but you're not REALLY one of them and as such you're still an outsider and aren't really welcomed around them.

Midgets

Not quite normals and not quite freaks, but the midgets are the ones who get things done in the Carnival and keep it running. (Though everyone else refers to them as Midgets, they prefer to refer to each other as Dwarves) They make up a majority of the labor force of the Carnival, a thankless job to be sure, and one that went unappreciated until Charley arrived. Now they make a lot more thanks to his "extra curricular" activities. They are pretty much unified, though they have mixed feelings about their self appointed leader.

Midgets are overworked at the best of times, so when a smelly disgusting Geek like you is around they really don't have the tolerance or patience for it. Bob is about the only one who'll even talk to you, the rest tend to kick you in the shins and chase you off with their work tools while shouting obscenities.

Pinheads

An interesting sub-society within the Freak community. They all tend to hang out together constantly laughing and babbling nonsensical ramblings. Though they may appear childlike and carefree, those qualities can mask a mean spiritedness sometimes.

You'd know since you've experienced this meanness first hand.

Clowns

Pure evil wrapped up in the guise of something supposedly funny and harmless. While technically classified as "normals", there isn't anything normal about them. One wonders if they're actually even human underneath that make up. All intelligent right thinking people stay away from them.

Even YOU stay away from clowns!


[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 continue to live

[Assistant]
No, there are still battles to be won even if they aren't of the physical nature anymore.

One of these battles is how to prevent all of what you've built from collapsing soon after you die. You don't believe it'll fall into complete anarchy immediately of course and you're sure that your first few successors will probably do a good enough job since you've set it up in such a manner, but entropy and decline seem to be factors as certain as death.

You wonder if this would be easier if you had been able to have children. You know that you can't just by experience and your own past discussions with Brenda when she spoke of Roldan. No Eternals could have children. You never did know why and just chalked it up to it being something in the process of your creation. Maybe nature balancing itself?

In any case you do come up with something. You think back to the old Empire and the emperor. You never did get to meet him…or her…or it! You once wondered if there even was an emperor. You assume there had to have been at one time, probably several, but something changed. Something changed to make people believe that the emperor wasn't just a mortal anymore, but an immortal of sorts. It's this sort of thinking that held the old Empire for a very long time.

It occurs to you that you need to start this very same mindset now. Most of the citizens as of right now hold a certain respect for you and the military is in near awe. You need to keep that going even after you're dead. The population needs to believe that you're still alive, watching and protecting them forever. You're not really looking for immortality for yourself so much as you're looking for immortality for what you've struggled to rebuild. Even creating a strong cult of personality so that you still have "followers" long after your death won't solve the problem.

Basically, you can't die and you mean you literally can't die.

Of course this is impossible, so you have to do the next best thing. Fake your life. Create the same lie that the Empire did. Granted you don't know if they did, but you're going to have to attempt it the best way you can. It's a gamble and it might not even work, but you figure it's worth a shot and you won't really know if it fails or not since you'll be too dead to care.

You call General Gemma into your chambers. She arrives promptly as usual though she seems a confused as you never call anyone into your private chambers.

"Ah good, you're here. We've got some important things to talk about."

You begin to explain your plan to Cynthia. It's a lot for her to take in, but she certainly understands it, she also provides some input that you didn't immediately think about.

In time a few more of your closest staff are informed of this plan and sworn to absolute secrecy then the plan is set into motion. You begin to make less public appearances and have little contact with anyone else except your staff, and begin to have propaganda spread about how you seem to be undergoing a transformation.

You confine yourself to your private chambers most of the time and never leave the palace at all. It's like a prison, but this is what you need to do in order to carry out this grand plan. You keep yourself busy by thinking up more ideas for your grand plan and making notes as you go.

You think about having all your palace guards replaced by some sort of golem, but then that would require having mages around all the time and you'd rather not deal with that factor. So you do something else, you implement your own elite warrior program. The Silent Ones, utterly loyal soldiers conditioned from birth to serve the Nalin Empire and you no matter what. Their tongues are also removed so that they cannot speak any lies or speak out of turn.

Year 88

The Silent Ones have replaced all other normal palace guards and nobody else other than a select few are able to enter the palace at all and only Cynthia is able to directly have contact with you.

The palace becomes a very quiet place which you enjoy as you can now wander more around your own home without bumping into anyone other than your new guards. The Silent Ones may be young still, but you don't doubt their loyalty or their skill. When you look them in the eyes, you can see the near worship they've been trained to have. Reminds you of the old days when you used to feel the same way about your leader, though at least they've gotten to see you and know you're real, you felt you owed them that much for their indoctrination.

Cynthia is supposed to meet with you today as she normally does. You figure it'll be about the usual stuff She meets you in your private chambers as usual.

"Hello Cynthia, I hope you are well today." You say.
"I'm fine sir, and you?"
"The usual aches and pain, though ever since I threw everyone out of the palace, I've actually felt better than I have in years. Things sort of feel more relaxed when you don't have a host of advisors constantly chattering in your ear all the time wanting to get your attention about something."
"Yes, it would be a blessing I suppose. You sure you don't want a medic or anything to keep track of your health?"
"What for? I'm going to live forever remember? Start bringing doctors in here and all there needs to be is one bystander to see it and start spreading lies about me possibly being dead or dying."
"Well there are a few rumors about you already…"
"Ah yes, but just that there are strange goings on at this palace, changes and such. That coupled with the ongoing propaganda about me, the commoners and the average soldiers don't really know what to think. It's important that they believe that they don't just have a series of tyrants watching them, they need an immortal sentinel."
"Why not just create a religion and tie it into the state?"
"Oh no, not doing that. I've already seen some of that in action with my countless battles with barbarian tribes. In Rask, several of them were all practically worshipping the same faceless deities and continued to fight each other due to small disagreements in how it was interpreted. They would've done better to put aside their petty differences in doctrine and unite under it against us instead. Religion can unite people, but it can also divide them worse than anything else, it's why I outlawed organized religions and cults a long time ago. It's a silly concept anyway. The idea of beings with so much power over us, yet do nothing."
"But who says they don't? Maybe they work through us or something…"

Your eyebrows rise a bit.

"Why Cynthia, I didn't take you for a believer in the gods."
"I…I don't know. I mean, even though there is less magic in the world nowadays, it still exists. There are so many fantastic things in this world that I just don't think it's out of the realm of impossibility to have gods."
"Hmm, well I'm not convinced. I think holy men of all kinds just perpetuate this lie to serve their own ends."

At one time Cynthia might've been a little too scared to approach you about this, but given how close you've been over the years, perhaps she has gotten a little more familiar.

"But, isn't that similar to the lie we're trying to perpetuate?" she says.

You look at her with a completely serious expression, one of annoyance actually. She looks slightly worried now, and then you smile.

"You're probably right, but in our case we're doing it for the greater good!" you laugh.

As your laugher can be heard throughout the quiet halls of the palace, somehow it brings a little joy to the Silent Ones. Your happiness brings them happiness.


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

[User] You say "Protect the King!"

[Assistant]
"Protect the King!"

You cry, and several weary Housecarls bound into action, following your lead. You sprint towards him.

He half turns towards you, and flashes one of his charismatic bright smiles.

The single arrow that flies through the air surprises you more than Harold. Curving gently, it hisses downward and slams into his eye. He lets out a startled cough and staggers backward.

You keep running towards your king, but a Norman rider canters in front of you, blocking your way.

Turning his horse neatly, the Norman swings his blade and opens your King's throat, spraying blood.

Harold falls to the ground, dead.

You falter indecisively, filled with wordless horror and remorse.


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

[User] Continue

[Assistant]
You are an immigrant travelling along the Oregon Trail to California, joining the thousands of settlers who are crossing America to the rich fertile lands of Oregon and California. Three months of journeying alone finds you in Fort Bridger, the last outpost on the Oregon Trail until you come to California. An explorer named Lansford Hastings recommends that settlers travelling to California leave the Oregon Trail here and follow a route known as Hasting's Cut-Off, a shortcut across the Salt Lake Desert and Sierra Nevada Mountains that will save hundreds of miles of travelling.

Jim Bridger, a legendary explorer and owner of the trading post Fort Bridger, also recommends the route to the last party of settlers to arrive before you: a group of eighty-seven people led by two brothers called George and Jacob Donner. Hastings left Fort Bridger a week ago, escorting another party through Hastings Cut-Off and though you are disappointed to have missed him you decide to join the Donner Party who are also taking the route.

It will prove to be the worst decision of your life.

On the last day of July the Donner Party leaves Fort Bridger and you leave with them, driving your wagon piled high with provisions. You travel over the hills and valleys of the Wasatch Mountains until after a week a letter is discovered tied to a sage bush at the mouth of a canyon. It is from Hastings and advises against going down the canyon as it is rocky and might damage the wagons. He suggests that any immigrants following should send some people on fast horses to catch up with him so he can give specific directions about the route ahead.

Three men: James Reed (a man with a strong personality and one of the most respected members of the party), Charles Stanton (Another strong personality in the party who is travelling to California on his own initiative) and William Pike (An engineer and one of the cleverest men in the group) are chosen to perform the dangerous task of travelling across unfamiliar country to try and catch up with Hastings. You can either volunteer to accompany them or remain camped with the Donner Party.

What do you do?

[User] You ride ahead

[Assistant]
Riding hard for three days with your companions you cover a great deal of distance before finally catching up with Hastings and a large wagon party of a few hundred settlers on the shores of the great Salt Lake. By the time the four of you catch up with him you are all exhausted and your horses are close to collapse. Lansford Hastings is a strong-jawed man with a rapidly receding hairline and despite his note he is surprised to see you.

While Charles Stanton and William Pike rest their horses you and James Reed trade your horses for two fresh ones from some of the settlers with Hastings and ride with him to the summit of a nearby mountain where Hastings explains the best direction to travel across the Canyon's wooded slopes and promises to continue leaving messages. Reed is keen to ride ahead and get back to the Donner Party to get them moving along this but both Pike and Stanton's horses are tired. Reed proposes to split up: he'll ride ahead back to the Party while Stanton and Pike follow behind.

What do you do?

[User] You ride ahead with Reed

[Assistant] It took three days to reach Stanton but by riding with incredible speed and determination it takes just one for you and James Reed to return to the Donner Party. There Reed boastfully describes meeting with Lansford Hastings and how they worked out the route the Donner Party should take. Unfortunately it turns out to be a not very good route and you have to cut a road through the thick trees that line the Canyon's sides and haul the wagons up some steep inclines to make it. Charles Stanton and William Pike become lost on their return journey and arrive twelve days after you, extremely hungry and very relieved to re-discover the Party. The jubilation of their safe return and finally reaching the Salt Lake Desert is marred by a tragedy that happens the next day.

[User] The first death...

[Assistant]
Just outside Fort Bridger a young man called Luke Halloran joined your group: dying of tuberculosis he was taken in by George and Jacob Donner and allowed to ride in their wagon. On the shores of the Salt Lake he collapses and dies suddenly of his illness. There was nothing anyone could have done but his death casts a bleak mood of the Party. He is buried the next day on the shores of Salt Lake next to the grave of another settler who died on his way to California.

Pressing on you enter the Salt Desert in September, a place of skin-blistering heat and dry humidity. The wagons struggle to cross the Desert, the cattle pulling them consume enormous amounts of water as they struggle to pull the wagons. James Reed is forced to abandon two of his wagons and George Donner and another settler, a fierce man called Louis Keseberg, both have to abandon one of their wagons. The whole wagon train becomes strung out over many miles and the cattle herds with the wagons become separated, many of them dying. Somehow you manage to keep your wagon moving and your cattle alive but the experience is nightmarish.

Finally you and your companions make it across the Desert and camp at a spring for several days which are spent rounding up lost cattle, recovering things from the abandoned wagons and it is not until nearly the middle of September that the Party is ready to continue. The crossing through the Desert killed many cattle and also cost the Party many supplies. Most of the settlers, especially James Reed, are now concerned they might not have enough food to make it all the way to California.

A plan is soon made: Charles Stanton and another settler called William McCutchen (a giant of a man who is travelling to California with his wife and baby daughter) volunteer to go ahead on fast horses to Fort Sutter, the first trading post in California, collect fresh supplies and bring them back to the Party. Moving fast they could be back in as little as a month. If you want you can ride ahead with them to California or you can remain travelling with the Donner Party.

What do you do?

[User] You stay with the Donner Party

[Assistant]
After Charles Stanton and William McCutchen leave things get no better. Though you are out of the Desert Indians now begin to steal horses from the Party at night and tempers become very short. Arguments begin to break out between the settlers as food becomes scarce and hunger begins to set in. The situation inevitably culminates in violence in October when two wagons become stuck while climbing a difficult hill.

Your wagon becomes stuck in the rocks while climbing the hill, forcing James Reed's wagon and another belonging to Franklin Graves (a friendly man travelling with his wife, seven children and son-in-law) to collide. Reed loses his temper and snarls "Move you damn fool, you have no business being in my way!" "Shut your mouth trash or I'll shut it for you" barks back John Snyder, a hot-tempered driver working for Graves.

At this Reed completely loses his temper and springing from his wagon he strides across towards Snyder who drops to the ground to meet him. You are startled to see a long-bladed butcher's knife gleaming in Reed's hand and there is murder in his eyes.

What do you do?

[User] You rush forward to intervene

[Assistant] You drop from your wagon and race forward as Reed plunges his blade deep into Snyder's chest. Snyder staggers backwards clutching his wound and falls to the ground. As you run up Reed whirls and slashes his knife across your throat, opening a savage wound. You step back and clutch your throat, stunned. Immediately Reed drops the knife and looks horrified. "My God, what have I done?" he cries but it is too late. The world turns black and you collapse lifeless to the ground.


[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 go with Helen

[Assistant]
Getting into a fistfight with Diana is one thing, but you're definitely not up to dealing with this crazy asshole. You just hope Bobby is up for dealing with him though apparently Helen thinks so as you start to allow yourself to be pulled away by her.

"Come on! Bobby can handle this, but we need to get to the children where its safe!" Helen exclaims and you start to follow her.

The pair of you run upstairs away from the sounds of shouting and gunfire. You soon reach the top and follow Helen through a corridor doorway.

Then you promptly get smashed in the face hard by a blunt object. You fall backwards and through blurry eyes you see the image of Diana walking towards you holding a small bat. You attempt to get up, but the next blow is to your legs causing you to cry out.

"Diana! Hurry up! Someone might hear that and see all this! Besides I want to go help Bobby!" Helen exclaims.
"Will you shut the fuck up Helen? I want to enjoy this. Besides, sounds like Aaron is keeping everyone occupied, and ain't nobody coming for this bitch." Diana says.
"Don't be so sure, just hurry up and kill her. We should go help Bobby anyway."
"(Sigh) Fine. I swear Helen, you're no fun whatsoever. Well blondie, I wish I could take more time with you, but time isn't on my side any more than it's on yours right now, so guess this is it. You never should've laid eyes on Bobby bitch." Diana says.

Diana ceases your screaming with another blow to the head and then another and another.

While your face is mashed into mush, your vision becoming dark and your breathing becoming more erratic, your hearing isn't completely gone and you hear several gunshots and Diana's body falling partly on your own.

You then hear a very faint voice say, "I'm sorry" before everything goes black.


[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 might be a traverler along the road, camp beside it

[Assistant]
You decide it would be best to just set up camp beside the road and see if any other travelers come along during the night. You go a few feet east of the road to a nice looking oak tree and start setting up a camp for yourself as theres still some time till night sets. You Set a few snares further into the trees and build a nice fire for yourself then settle down for a while.

Just as darkness arrives you hear some noise in the trees, one of your snares has caught a hare! Gathering in the other snares you quickly skin and prepare the hare then set it cooking on the fire- its worth staying up an hour or two for some good hot food.

The hare eventually starts to cook nicely and you've just pulled its leg off to start eating when you hear some noise coming up the road. You keep eating as you watch a large group coming towards you. They slow as they reach the fire and the one in the lead walks over to you.

"Hail stranger, mind if we set up camp with you for the night? I could even trade some ale for a little of that hare if your interested?"

You haven't had ale in a week or two now so you readily agree and watch the group start to build a couple more fires and set out their sleeping rolls. The man who had talked to you first sends a few of the group off North up the road then joins you by the fire with a small ale keg under one arm.


[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 brush it off

[Assistant]
"Sure, alright," you say.

"Oh, so blase. Did I hurt your feelings? I love the tattoo, by the way."

You raise an eyebrow, before noticing that there's a black ouroboros, a snake eating its own tail, burnt into your robes, going around your arm at the bicep.

"Lift it up," Khalid says.

You lift up your sleeve, seeing that the ouroboros has burned into your skin, a black brand.

"A little reminder of our deal. It happens during these," Khalid says, tapping his armor, where you notice a Uwais tribal tattoo now raps around his arm. You recognize the glyphs for "Witch" mixed in with traditional hunting glyphs.

"I like yours," you respond.

"Alright, it's best you receive the grand tour, then. If we're to be allies, I'll show you what we're working with."


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

[User] Continue

[Assistant]
You didn't move, but instead, help your ground as the ghost continued to eye you.

"What's your name?" You ask, a little more steadily then your wordings from before.

The ghost stood motionless her a second as her pupils moved from side to side, as if thinking heavily on the answer to your question.

"It was Gwen."

"Well, I'm sure it wouldn't be all that bad if you still decide to go by Gwen." You joke a little with a smile.

The humor doesn't seem to be returned though as her face shows no emotion, making you feel a bit awkward for what you just said.

"You're not going to go then...?" Gwen asks in a lower voice than before.

You shake your head. "I usually don't like going to first period anyway, It wouldn't be all that bad if I just killed time here with you for a while.

You knew your mom and dad would seriously have your ass if they found out you were ditching, but you would worry about that at a later time.

"I see.." Gwen replies as she makes direct eye contact with you once again.

"Do you have anything you would like to talk about, anything you'd like to ask me?" You had run out of things to say to her so you decided it would be best to let her do the talking while you came up with more topics in the back of your head for later.

"What grade are you in?" This was probably the first time you could directly hear emotion in her voice, which was no doubt curiosity.

"Oh, I'm a senior, this will be my last year before I graduate."

"I was a Junior...I think I know school was just starting though." Gwen replies with her own memories.

"Oh really, did you know which school you had gone too?" you asked a little too quickly since you were interested if you went to the same school or not.

"I don't know..."She says sorrowfully, breaking eye contact and looking down.

For someone who has been dead for less than a year, this girl seemed to forget things rather quickly. You had met one or two ghosts who seemed rather old, and even they seemed to have more recollection about their past than she did. You didn't want to pry too much though, as the questions seemed to be bothering her somewhat given on how they were making her act.

You decided that it would best to come up with questions on your own.

[User] You what's your favorite color?

[Assistant]
Wanting to start your questions with something simple and innocent, you tried asking something basic.

"What's your favorite color?"

"Green." She says immediately, her attitude sparking up with that answer.

This causes you to smile a bit.

"How come it's your favorite color?"

"I used to go on trips a lot to the mountains, with my grandpa at his lake house. I loved the trees around there."She says, quite rapidly, and possibly with excitement.

As she's talking about this, you could swear that there areas of her body that were turning from a rotten and decayed color to the light color of tan skin. Even her eye that was bulging seemed to shrink slowly to that of normal size.

"Yeah, that seems like a pretty nice play to go too, always wanted to go to a place like that."

"It really is great! Especially when it snows, it's an experience that you have to be there to truly know how great it feels!" As Gwen says this, her smile starts to fade, and her older decayed features begin to reappear.

"I want to go back..."

You frown at her sudden change in mood, you take a look at your phone again only to see that a half an hour had passed.

Fuck you really couldn't miss more than one period or you're mom would REALLY have your ass, the confidence of staying had left as soon as her mood began to falter again, you would have to come back and talk to her some more when you had the luxury of your own set time.

"Listen, I have to go and get to school. I'm going to come back though O.K? I just really can't miss it."

She lifts her head with a pained expression on her face.

"You promise you'll come back?"

"Promise."

With that being said, she sits back onto the asphalt and covers her head into her knees.

"I'll see you then."

It takes you a moment before you get yourself to move your legs and head down the quiet sidewalk towards your school.

Classes go by fairly slowly for you as you can't stop thinking about Gwen. About what she had told you so far and the time she had spent on that street.

It seemed rather odd how often her mood had changed, from being quiet to being happy and then finally ending with sadness. You couldn't tell if it was something like her being bipolar or just all the events that happened in such a short time span. Either way, you still felt sadness for how you left her, and you immediately had plans to go and visit her again on your walk home.

Though on your walk, you had gotten a call from your mom. She chewed you out a little for being marked absent for first period, and you just gave the excuse that you had to go to the bathroom on the way to school and couldn't hold it. That seemed to work for her as she didn't try to question you all that much afterward.

Gwen's figure had started to come into view as you arrived at her street. She was still sitting down while holding her knees, but as soon as she caught sight of you she instantly picked herself up and waved at you, with a cheery expression on her face.

"You came back!" She beamed with a wide smile.

"Of course I did, I promised you didn't I?"

Her smile got bigger as she tilted her head while her eyes narrowed.

"You're not leaving right away though right?"

"Of course not, I got plenty of time to spare." You assure her.

Her smile returns. "Good, because I've thought of a lot of things to ask you."

You spend around two hours talking to Gwen as she learns about your high school and stuff that happens with you on a daily occurrence. She asks about your powers to see ghosts and you tell her about all the interactions you've had so far. It's when though that you bring up some of them being crazy that her mood seems to dampen a bit.

"I was almost at that point too, had you not come along when you did. It wouldn't have taken long for me to be too far gone..."She told you sullenly.

"Why bother thinking about that when it didn't happen, I met you and that's that."

She smiles again. "Yeah, you're right."

You look at your phone to see that time that had gone by since you had been talking to Gwen.

"I should probably be heading home now, my mom would kill me if I didn't get home by six."

Gwen's expression darkens as she starts twiddling her fingers.

"Could you stay maybe a little longer....?"

[User] You sure

[Assistant]
It wouldn't hurt all that much if you were to stay for a little longer. You could probably come up with another excuse anyway if your mom questioned you too much about it.

"Alright why not, I think I can stay for another hour or so..." You say which causes Gwen's attitude to beam back up.

"Great! I still got stuff to ask you, like.....when's your birthday and....what's the worst thing that's ever happened to you!"

The conversation continued on as Gwen asked you random questions on a variety of topics. It seemed as if she was trying to prolong your stay or at least make it in so that you wouldn't get bored while being with her.

It's not like you were anyway when it was your turn to ask questions or talk, everything that she replied with genuinely interested you. Still, there was a strange feeling in the pit of your stomach you would get, and it seemed as if it kept on recurring every time you were to interact with Gwen. You pushed it off to the side though as just random nervousness.

Checking your phone you saw that it was already six.

"Alright, I really got to go now, my mom's going to get pissed if I get back any later." You say, trying to excuse yourself out of the conversation as soon as you saw a good stopping point.

"Yeah, you have been here for quite a while....thanks for deciding to stay a little longer with me though..." Gwen sweetly smiles you.

Don't worry I'll be back every day at least twice, this route is on my way to school after all."

"I know you will, and I'll be waiting."

Those words send a little chill up your spine, though you don't exactly know why. Besides that, you wave Gwen off as you start head back home.

Upon walking into your house, your mom is in the kitchen as she asks you where you've been. You tell her you stayed with some friends to do some stuff after school, and head up to your room before she can try to question you.

You wake up a bit later than usual the next morning and take your time preparing yourself for school. Somehow the day before had drained you, as you were sluggish to leave the house and go on your walk. In fact, you actually had an inner desire to take the bus and catch a nap for a few minutes but decided against it. Not wanting to do that to Gwen.

When you arrive on her street, you catch her looking in your general direction when the two of you make eye contact. You walk at a normal pace until you finally arrive at her boundary.

She's the first one to say something.

"You're later than usual."

She didn't say this jokingly, but with a sort of seriousness and matter-of-factness.

"Yeah....I slept in so I was a little late in getting ready."

As you say this you take out your phone and look at the time.

"Speaking of which I can't stay all that long either because of it, I can't be late again."

As you say this, you see a deep frown start to form on Gwen's face. She's not even attempting to hide the disappointment that came from what you just said, and because of that, you started to feel guilty.

Gwen didn't respond to what you said and just kept on looking at you. Fuck this was really awkward

"Alright, well I'll see you later then..."You mutter as you give a little wave. You walk at a normal pace until you feel that you're out of her eyesight, before quickening your pace.

You don't know why you did this, but you did know you weren't tired anymore. What the hell was that interaction? She was so weird about it that it actually made you genuinely uncomfortable. It wasn't just the guilty feeling, fuck the guilty feeling wasn't the worst part as all. The worst part is that you started having thoughts of just cutting interaction with Gwen, you had ideas why this came to mind, but you didn't know why it came onto you so strong.

You started to worry that Gwen would be like the past ones, the ones who wouldn't let go if they could help it. Did it just take longer for the signs to show with her compared to the others?

As more of these thoughts continued to plague your mind, you were eventually able to get rid of them and start trying to feel some compassion in which it seemed you were lacking. Gwen was alone a lot on that street, so it was only natural that she would get upset if it meant less interaction time with you if you were the only person she interacted with. Your apology for it was pretty shitty too, though at the time you didn't really feel the need to, and a part of you still doesn't now.

Regardless you were to visit her again after school since you weren't ready to just abandon her, much reluctance was in you though as you down that street after school as you were contemplating if you had made the right decision or not.

When you caught sight of Gwen, she was waving heavily at you, which made you quicken your pace a bit expecting something to be wrong.

"Hey! You came back!" Gwen exclaimed, as if you had no intentions of doing so.

"Of course I did, I said I would."

"Listen I'm sorry about how I reacted earlier today, I acted like a little girl and didn't realize you had your own problems to deal with and such, I was putting myself ahead of you and I'm so sorry!"

She was rapid with this apology, and with each word she had taken a step closer to you, causing you to in turn take a few steps back to keep the distance.

"Don't worry about it really....you have nothing to apologize for."

"I....I just don't want you to think I'm like those other ghosts that you left for being clingy or weird. I'm not like that, I'm.....I'm just lonely!" Her face twisted into something saddening as features of decay starting to rapidly show all over her body. It seems as if she wasn't able to hold in her emotions as she falls to the ground and starts sobbing, with her whole body shuddering heavily.

You don't know how to react to this, especially since you're not able to touch ghosts, you can't really comfort her physically. You're still a little shocked with this happening so suddenly, but you get yourself out of it quickly as you try to figure out something to say.

"Hey...I'm not going to leave you. You got it all wrong man, just because I didn't stick around for that long in the morning doesn't mean I don't want to be here or anything..."

You felt that you weren't really good with words, as what you had said didn't really seem to help all that much.

"I know, or at least I hope you're not lying. But still, these feelings just won't stop. I keep being afraid that you'll decide to leave me and I'll be alone again...Do you have any idea how long I've been on this street?"

"Four months?" You say rememberering your conversation.

"No...That was a lie. I've been here for about a year maybe more. You're the only person to have talked to me since then. At first, I didn't even think you were real, just a sign that I was actually losing it for real this time. But when you came back I knew you were real, and when there was the chance that you wouldn't be coming back, I got scared. I know I sound like I'm being clingy, well I am clingy. I don't don't want to lose you and I don't want you to go, ever."

At this point Gwen didn't seem to be holding anything in, as she was letting all her emotions and thoughts out in the rawest form possible. You didn't really know how to feel about this, in one way you felt extreme pity for her, on the other hand a few things in which she admitted made you feel a little dirty. It felt like she was expecting too much from you, there was no way in which you could stay by her side on this street forever, it was heavily impractical. It would have been one thing if it were just a figure of speech, but you knew she was being serious, and that sent chills down your spine.

[User] You you'll try your best

[Assistant]
Even though you didn't really ask for this responsibility, and you really hated obligations. You were the only one who would be able to talk to this girl if you were to leave her she would be alone to her own thoughts. You didn't know for how long you would be able to keep this up, but until the time came that you physically or mentally wouldn't be able to return here, you would visit her regularly.

"You don't have anything to worry about trusting me, I'll stay by your side whenever I'm able, I'm not going to leave you alone here." You assure her as best as you can, she seems to work as a smile spreads across her face.

"Are you sure? Please don't lie to me to make me feel better, I need to know the truth."

"It is the truth, I won't leave your side if I can help it. It's not like I hate being with you, but you have to understand in turn that I have responsibilities and stuff, if there's a day that I don't show up or just end up being late, then don't take it personally. I'll be back eventually no matter what."

"Sorry for putting to little faith in you, I promise it won't happen again." She says, still having a bit of a worried expression on her face.

"Hey no please, don't try to hold back with me. I really want to know exactly what you're feeling whenever were together. If you hold something in then it's only going to get worse." You plead with her.

Gwen was silent for a moment as she just sat there looking at the ground, then she started to speak.

"During the first few months I was able to walk down the entire avenue, all the way to the next block. I didn't really take advantage of it though since I was still broken during those times, but as each month passed the barrier kept on getting smaller and smaller until it's what it is now. I started getting scared that it would keep on shrinking until I had nothing left but a few feet of walking space. Thankfully it never got to that, but it seemed to stop shrinking around the time that you had arrived. You saved me from getting squished, or whatever happens when the barrier closes on itself, but in a small way.....I wish it had. Then everything would finally come to an end. I could finally sleep..."

You didn't know how to respond to this, so you just didn't and then were was a continued awkward silence afterward, though Gwen soon got up while rubbing her puffy eyes.

"Thanks for the talk, I think I feel better now. I just needed to let some steam out, that's all."

"Do it whenever you feel like it, just please don't assume anything of me, OK?"

"OK."

What a rough day.

[User] You these worries

[Assistant]
Ever since that day when Gwen had broken down in front of you, you started to research online if there as any way that you could help her off that street. Even if you couldn't help her ascend to heaven or anything, at the very least you could move her to a spot in which there was more foot traffic, or better yet another ghost that she could interact with. The whole idea was morbid and gross to think about, but you didn't want to see her suffer anymore, there had to be a way. You had your powers for a reason, and you would be damned if you didn't put them to good use.

The time that you didn't spend with Gwen, which you had increased by a few hours, was time spent locked in your room as you visited countless supernatural pages. Each of them had information dating from just a few days ago all the way to old tribal superstitions and ideas.

Some of them sounded really far out there, while others just seemed like stupid entries placed by people writing fiction. Nevertheless, if you thought a process to help a ghost ascend sounded valid enough, you would try it out with Gwen to see if anything were to happen. Time and time again, you were disappointed with the lack of reaction.

Gwen had told you not to worry about it, and seemed a little worried with how far you were taking this as most of your conversations now involved helping her move on. You just couldn't forget what had happened that day, even if you did come off as strange or weird with what you were doing, you had to get her out of here, she needed freedom from the boundary, at the very least this one.

There were still two theories left that you could try out to see if it would help Gwen out of her boundary, and thankfully you saved them for last since they looked the most promising getting off of what you had read on them so far.

One involved doing an old African ritual in which you had to chant some words while holding a couple of ingredients. The other was an old native American ritual, in which one would let out blood from their palms, and touch hands with a ghost in order for them to have increased physical contact.

You were a little queasy about the second one, but not just that. You couldn't touch Gwen physically, so you didn't really understand all that well what that meant when it came to exchanging palms. The African one seemed more appealing, but gathering the materials would be a hassle, and you felt like you were being trolled with how rare the required ingredients were.

Nevertheless, you had to choose one.

[User] You african Ritual

[Assistant]
You felt as if the Native American ritual would be some kind of impossible riddle that wouldn't be able to be solved. At least with the African ritual, all you needed were physical items and everything would be set to go.

The list of what you needed made you grimace. Googling some of them led to results of plants that were from far away countries, of which didn't show up on Amazon. You would have to go looking in niche sites for anything that you would need, and if you were to get a fake of anything you were fucked.

You would need the feather of an African Harrier Hawk, ten crushed Dorylus ants, the eye of a lion, and a whole bunch of other shit that you couldn't even pronounce properly. Half of this shit was no doubt super illegal to try and obtain.

You were already having second doubts about going down this route, as you could tell you would be in big shit trouble if you messed up and got caught. Though after much debating in your head, you decided to just go through with it to the end and see if this solution would work.

Luckily you already had experience when it came to browsing the deep web as you had downloaded TOR when you were first looking up stuff about ghosts and phenomenon years earlier. You remember coming across online markets in which various illegal goods were being sold but never paid much attention to them. Those kinds of places would probably be your best shot for getting the materials you needed.

After some hours of re-downloading and testing software on your computer, you were able to recreate the system requirements needed to browse the deep web again. Though it would take even longer to get some good market results, as the site you had found before seemed to be shut down as you searched back up.

As you were getting frustrated with broken link after broken link and endless wiki pages to different sites, you were finally able to come up with two markets in which the materials you needed could most likely be sold. One of these markets even had its own little forum in which you could request products that weren't currently available on the market.

That seemed really fucking sketchy though so you shied away from it, promising yourself to only use it if it came to the last resort.

Anyways you had the choices between Garner.Net and Atlantic Trade.Net, which was the site with the forum to begin your searches.

[User] You garner.Net

[Assistant]
Something seemed a little too fishy about the other one, especially with the forum and all. You just wanted to get the materials and never touch this side of the web again. Since most of everything you needed was mainly animal parts and some herbs, it meant that filtering through everything else made the whole process a tad bit easier.

What really fucking sucked about this though where all of the prices each of the items on your list were going for on this market. Using your phone as a calculator, you started to add up all the expenses and saw that the total cost of everything would be a few grand.

You didn't even have that kind of money and we're past the phase of using your mom's credit card, though even that was only for a few bucks here and there. The money part of this completely went over your head until now, and now you felt as if you were fucked.

A idea hatched though, and that involved going back to the other site for the forum.

[User] You forums

[Assistant]
The forums were pretty bare looking compared to ones you've seen on the regular internet portion.

When making a new account in order to post and send messages, the only boxes were for a username and a password. Though in big red letters at the bottom of the password box red.

DON'T USE A IMPORTANT PASSWORD!

Very charming.

Like the market portion, there were subsections of the forum for different types of items and off-topic discussions with weird titles such as "Does Fed-Ex check it's packaging and "Is 'X' item illegal if used this way?" Pretty expected stuff honestly.

Though you looked past all of these, even the ones that were offering to sell some ingredients that were on your list.

The subsection that you were looking for was labeled under barter.

With your newly made account, you started on making a new post with the title.

H-(Ability to communicate with the dead) W-(The ingredients listed here.)

You didn't really expect this plan to work, but it was the only actual idea you could think of for right now so might as well put this here to sit and be read while you thought of other options to get money.

IF you worked a job, you could probably earn enough in a few months, but that would take far to long for you. Fuck you wish you had started working a part-time job earlier and had not been such a lazy ass.

For two days you would check back in on the forums to see if you had gotten response, and you got a few, but all of them were either dead ends or troll posts making fun of your offer, which is what you expected to be honest so it didn't really dampen your spirits all that much.

You actually ended up forgetting about the forums for a day as you were focusing on some schoolwork while also trying to take a break from the whole hunt to try and calm your nerves, though during class you had gotten a mysterious text during class.

Checking it, you see that it was from an unknown caller with a really weird area code.

'Take your post off of the forums, now.'

You didn't really understand what this text meant for a little bit, as it was so random and you posted on a lot of forums.

You reply back.

'huh?'

You get a reply in mere seconds.

'Delete your post of the barter section on Atlantic Trade."

The hairs on the back of your neck instantly stood up as your whole body jumped a little, causing the person sitting next to you to give you a stare for the way you were suddenly acting.

For the time being, you put away your phone and just continued to pay attention to class as your heart was beating at an alarming pace while tiny drops of sweat were forming on your forehead.

It's not like you could really do anything at the time being since you needed your own personal computer to access those forums. But still, who the fuck was this persona and how did they know that you posted on there. The whole process was supposed to be fucking anonymous. Were you careless this time and did something stupid giving away your information. Would you have your identity stolen in the next few days, did anyone else know who you were on that trading site? These type of questions continued to swarm your mind as the school day dragged on in a painful like way as you had raced from your bus stop all the way home when the never-ending school day had finally ended.

Racing up to your room and locking your door, you immediately logged onto what you needed to in order to get back onto the forums. Doing as what you were told, you immediately started to look for your post, and once you had found it, deleted it without hesitation.

With that out of the way, you brought back out your phone and texted back the person who had sent the message.

"Alright it's gone, now who the hell are you."

You got a message pretty quickly, just like last time.

"Do you feel any pain, live severe pain that would make you want to die."

The vagueness and the notion of the message made you feel worse as you just replied with a simple 'no'

"Interesting, I don't know exactly why it didn't get you as I've heard it harming others before even if the words of power were shared online. Nevertheless, you're a lucky man, and so am I since I managed to find you in time before my quota expires."

You didn't understand what this guy was saying, so you decided to start asking him questions on what the hell he was talking about.

[User] No questions

[Assistant]
You didn't want to annoy this guy, who knows what he was capable of if he managed to find you and get your phone number.

"Don't be too frightened, I'll tell you everyone you need to know in due time and when the situation comes to it. Now, tell me are you in contact with a ghost as of now?"

You didn't really see any reason to lie to him, and a bit of you thought that he would know if you were doing so.

"Yes, I'm talking to a girl that's been bound onto a street, and I've been trying to get her out of there." You text back, giving him the general idea of what you've been doing."

"Hmm, well that would probably fall into the caretaker class. Lucky you to have gotten such a thing, that class is generally rare to come by. That also seems to answer a few of my questions. So let me ask you, do you really want to get this girl out of her set boundary?"

"Yes. more than anything."

"Well then, let me help you with what you need. You were smart enough to find one of the correct ways in order to get the spirits out. Normally most caretakers go the other route instead of this ritual, but this could be relatively easier and faster than that riddle shit in which we would have to go through. Alright, I'll get you all the materials you need, they should come in by the weekend."

"What's the catch?"

"No catch, just hurry up and do the ritual."

You didn't really trust what he had just said, there's no way someone could buy this much stuff for that price just from the kindness of their hearts, but then again who were you to say no to free help.

"How did you know that I could really see ghosts? That I wasn't lying?" You ask, a bit curious.

"Our eyes are more....open than others. It's apart of our hierarchy, so don't you go worrying about it."

After you and Ned had finished exchanging messages, he had again said the date in which the materials would be coming, didn't even need to ask for your address which freaked you out quite a bit when he told you that he already knew.

Nevertheless you felt extreme joy for finally being able to get Gwen out of that boundary.

---

Ned started messaging on your phone for the rest of the time that you were in contact with him with how the deliveries were going. You were getting the ingredients on separate days individually. They each came in some pretty sketchy looking packages, ignoring this though you started storing everything in your room closet for future use.

Ned was actually pretty fast about all of this, more than you were expecting him to be considering that this was all free. You just know that there was a catch to all of this, but you didn't know what it could be, hopefully, he wasn't the devil or something and you had unknowingly signed away your soul for bird droppings and crushed ants.

It took about two weeks for the final ingredients to come in, to which Ned already knew without you having to tell him.

Ned- Alright listen here. I'm going to tell you how to mix these ingredients carefully. All you really need is a stove and something to mix everything with, you might want to throw away the pot after or just thoroughly bleach it or something but that's all on you.

"I thought the website already gave instructions on how to do everything?"

Ned- You're really going to trust instructions that are run by nerds who think they know our craft? I'll give them credit they got some stuff right, but only about 60% of it, and you need the whole process and ingredients to be perfectly accurate if you're going to make this work. Normally ascending someone would be a snap, but with what we're doing, it's going to be a little more tricky than that.

Ned then sends you a list of instructions on how to prepare the potion or drink it was that you would be making. The number of steps was pretty big, though reading through it a couple of times it didn't seem all that hard, just combining a thing or two and stirring for periods of time.

Ned had told you to get it done as soon as you could, though you were planning on to anyway.

You were lucky that your mom had gone out to go do some things were a friend and your dad was still at work. You could get the first quarter of the list done before any of them were to get home and see what you were doing. Unpacking the ingredients you needed, you got straight to work.

---

Jesus, the temperature that was emitting from the pot kept on fluctuation from hot to cold. You didn't even fucking know pots could let out a cold temperature, though will all of this ghost and stalker shit that you have come across you couldn't really be all that surprised. It must have been no joke when Ned said that the other faux ingredients wouldn't do, to combining these to make such concoctions took someone who knew what the fuck they were planning on making.

You were secretly hoping though that this wouldn't explode in your face and destroy the entire house if you did something wrong, Ned didn't say such things would happen, but then again he didn't bring it up.

The process was slower than you expected it to be as some of the ingredients took awhile to be stirred before they look as if they needed to be going by the instructions. Still, you think you would be able to finish in time before your dad was to get home since he would probably be here first.

Though as time went on, you got more and more worried that he would catch you in the act, and you had no way in knowing how he would react, and it wasn't like you could just stop what you were doing midway into it.

You could skip on stirring all the way, and only do it in half the time. The materials were already mixed enough as they were, it wasn't like they needed to be stirred to perfection.

[User] You keep going as the instructions tell you too

[Assistant]
You weren't about to be killed because you didn't follow the instructions. Ned probably trusted that you had common sense and didn't need to be told to no go off of the instructions.

A few more hours had passed as you finished with everything you needed too, pouring what you had made into a metal canister that Ned had sent you to store what you needed until you were ready to finish the other parts of the recipes.

You were really surprised that your dad hadn't come home in the time that you were storing everything back where you had hidden it, but you weren't about to over question your luck. Now you were set on bleaching the cooking pot as Ned had instructed, he may have been fucking with you but you weren't about to take any chances of dying because of it in the future.

Ned- You got the first part done then? Good, when you're ready for the next steps then get them done and tell me once you're ready to get your girlfriend of that street, there's a whole other process you'll have to go through on that day.

After you finished your conversation with Ned, you did whatever homework you needed to do and went straight to bed. Your arms felt a bit weak with how thick some of the ingredients turned out to be, and that constant heat made you a bit dehydrated as well even after drinking a few glasses of water. You could already tell you would be passed out for a long while.

--

Your dad had to wake you up the next morning as you were running a little late. Realizing what you were about to miss, you quickly got on some clothes and started to race down your usual route once you were out of the house.

Gwen, as usual, was patiently waiting for you as she seemed a bit worried with how out of breath you were.

"You O.K?"

"Y-Yeah just didn't re-realize how late I was." You panted as you regained your composure.

Gwen gave you a sideways look with a sweet small smile.

"It was only a couple of minutes."

You shrug with a small laugh. "Well..."

"Anyway, what have you been up to, you've been seeming really busy with our last few meetups." Gwen acknowledges curiously."

Shit, she caught on pretty fast, were you really that easy to spot?

"Ugh, well, to be honest, I've been missing some homework that's worth a lot of points for a couple of classes, so I've been racing to finish them so my parents won't have my ass." You lie with a cheeky smile.

"Well don't go getting yourself in trouble, and be sure to graduate. I don't want to see your moping around if you have to stay another year in high school." Gwen jokes.

Your earlier excuse was only half a lie, you have been cutting down on schoolwork ever since you started this quest to make what you needed, you really needed to spare some time for school so you wouldn't fall too far behind, though worrying too much about it would only cause a whole other set of problems that you weren't ready to deal with at the moment.

After you had said enough to feel content with your meeting, you give her a wave goodbye as you start racing towards school, if she was able to read your expressions with you realizing it, then you didn't want to risk giving anything away that would harm your mission.

Trying to pay a bit more attention in class now that you didn't have to worry about the parts coming in, you were able to do a bit more classwork in order to catch up where you needed to for the week, even with some stern talks with teachers that you had to face during lunch, you're pretty sure it was all going smoothly.

Your second meeting on the way home with Gwen seemed to be even shorter than the last one, though she brought up that you had a much better appearance than you did in the morning so she was glad enough to not ask you to stay longer.

It's not like you wanted to ignore Gwen or anything, you just needed to get this potion done as soon as possible, and getting home earlier meant better opportunities to get the brewing done.

With your parents away again for the early afternoon, you went straight ahead on starting the preparations to finish half of the potion, getting out all the materials that you needed. You like to think that because you had some experience with it yesterday, you should go a little bit faster now that you knew how all the steps usually went.

One ingredient after another went into the pot as the steps were followed once again. You were a little more used to the steaming heat, but regardless you had opted to wear a bandanna and a baseball cap while you cooked so you wouldn't be drenched in sweat, or at least have something else to absorb it.

After everything, you ended up finishing a half hour early. Since the third part of the recipe was also the smallest, you decided to get it out of the way as well, as you still had plenty of time to go going by when your parents had come home yesterday.

You felt satisfied by the end of the day with everything completed and you taking a well-deserved rest in your room after bleaching everything moments earlier.

You could get the last portion done by tomorrow, and the day after you could try out the potion with Gwen to finally get out of that street. Your mind was filled with complete euphoria knowing that everything was turning out in your favor. You never remember being this lucky.

Meeting Ned, finding the correct recipe, having everything shipped to you for free. Everything was going your way, and you enjoyed the hell out of it.

----

Finally, it was all done. The final portion of the recipe really almost fucked you over since you messed up a bit of it when you stirred a little less than you were supposed to causing a different color then was intended after the next ingredient, but the final product looked the same in which you were intending for. You were also very careful upon mixing all the four mixtures, as putting them in the wrong order would cause a different potion. You really had to nuke the pot with bleach afterward because the look of what you just made was very unappealing.

You had to remember to throw these metal cans you were storing this shit in far far away once you were done with everything.

You texted Ned the good news about the success of the potion, and he responded almost immediately.

Ned- Alright awesome, make sure to get the ritual done tomorrow with your girl, that potion shit isn't something you just want to have sitting around for to long.I'll text you the rest of the shit that you need to do then, just make sure to do it. Talk to you later.

[User] The next day

[Assistant]
You were very careful not to fuck up the canister while you were finishing classes at school. You were a little frightened that a security guard would check your bag for one of their random vaping checks, and stumble upon the foreign liquid that could or could not be lethal to regular people. Though you realize they would just assume it was a thermos of a drink or something and leave it well alone. The smell of what you made was really strong when cooking it at your house, though the canister did a surprisingly well job at sealing it to make your bag pretty much odorless from it.

You raced down the street to your house as fast as you could make yourself go with your cargo as you were extremely excited to get this ritual done. You had already texted Ned that you were on your way to meet with Gwen as soon as you left your final class. On the way, he started sending you various messages that had the steps that you needed to follow in order to make the ritual a success.

Most of them seemed pretty normal to you, except when you came across one that was towards the end of the list.

6. Drink the liquid yourself, wait for effects to kick in.

You froze in your tracks as you re-read the step to make sure you weren't looking at it wrong.

You had to drink it?

Your fingers hastily typed out a confused message for Ned.

'What do you mean I have to drink it?'

Ned- You want to be with this girl, don't you? This is a potion to help you be with her, and that requires that you drink it too. Don't worry it's not even that bad. The taste is shit, but other than that it's going to help

You didn't really trust what he was saying all that much considering how it looked and smelled while you were making it, but given that he had much more experience with this than you did, it was going to work.

Gwen was waiting for you as usual, while you were already slipping your bag off your back.

"You got something to show me or something?" She asks with confusion and curiosity.

"You could say that," you say with a smirk.

Taking out the canister, you carefully start unscrewing the top, keeping it in your other hand so it could be used as a cup.

"Is that soup or something?"

"No it's not, but I want you to drink it."

"Excuse me?"

Pouring some of the liquid into the cap, and pushing it in her direction.

"You're actually serious?"

You nod your head.

"But I don't even think I can..." she says quietly.

"Just try for me please." You plead with her.

Being a little hesitant with her hand, she goes out to reach for the cup, which she gingerly grabs, though in both of your surprise that she could even grab it to begin with. Your eagerness rose exponentially as you knew the results of this would be in your favor.

Putting the cup to her lips, she tilted it a bit so that it could fall down her throat, which it did with none of it falling onto the ground. Once the cup was empty, she wiped her lips and handed it back to you, with a weird expression on her face.

"That tasted a bit funny..."

"Yeah sorry about that, though trust me give it a few minutes and it's going to be so much better."

"Could you stop playing with me and just tell me what this is all about." She complains with a frown.

"Of course, I'll tell you everything you want to know after I take my drink." You say while pouring some more of the liquid into the cup once again. It looked so unnaturally black and thick that you actually started having some doubts with it yourself on drinking it. Though if Gwen did it you definitely had to do it, so you tilted back your head and put the cup straight to your parted lips, pushing it back along with your head.

You managed to get it down in one big gulp, though your throat felt like complete shit afterward as you coughed it a bit. Weirdly enough it went down fine, though the coldness it left in your throat was the problem as if you had pushed an entire Popsicle down there.

"You O.K, it looked like you took that pretty bad," Gwen says with a bit of worry.

"Yeah I'm fine, just wasn't expecting it to taste like that either." You laugh a little while wiping your mouth.

Speaking of which, it had little to no taste, besides the hint of herbs. You had no idea if that should worry you or not, as it was completely different from the smell. Nevertheless, you put that out of your thoughts for a moment as you took out your phone and contacted Ned, telling him that you had both drunk what you needed too.

Though this time you didn't get a reply, at least not one in the span of the next five minutes as you usually did.

"Is something wrong?" Gwen asks.

You shake your head. "Nah, just messaging a friend is al-."

The feeling was instant, and you dropped to your knees without any warning.

"Hey!" Gwen shouted.

Though your ears started to ring, and you couldn't really much after a few seconds.

It felt like your body was quickly shutting down, as you were losing the feeling of everything.

You just wanted to sleep.

[User] You drugged

[Assistant]
You didn't know how long exactly you had been out, though by the time you had woken up the sun had already gone down. Though besides the darkness of the sky, the one other thing that had been watching you was Gwen, who was kneeling over her body, her eyes swollen red and her nose runny with mucus.

"Hey, are you awake!" She cries as she brings you closer to her face/

"Ugh...yeah, I think so....what happen?" You ask while groaning from your massive headache.

"You fucking passed out for over an hour! What the hell did you drink?"

Fuck, was it really the drink? You would be super pissed and Ned once you got all your senses together.

"No one stopped their cars to check on a passed out teen?" You ask, with a little sarcasm.

Gwen doesn't seem to answer at first, her eyes darting around with hesitation. This causes you to panic a little.

"You should probably look now..." She says.

Fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck.

Gwen grabbed both of your hands and laid them out in front of you so you could see all of your arms. Your heart started beating faster as you saw how they looked.

They were blue, though that wasn't the problem. Your arms were almost completely transparent, you could see your legs through them. Though the transparency was fading in and out as if it hadn't settled in yet. Looking at the rest of your body, you saw that the same effect was all over.

"What the fuck happened to me?!" you say with panic.

"I don't know! It was probably that drink like I said.....fuck I knew it was a bad idea..."

Yeah, Gwen was totally right about that, but it still really fucking pissed you off. Even though your body was still shifting in and out of reality, you were still able to grab your phone and other things that were in your pockets, backpack included.

'What the fuck did you do to me!'

Sending your message to Ned, you awaited a response.

Ned- Welcome to the spirit world kid!

The spirit world?

Ned- I know you got a lot of questions kid, and I'm sorry for tricking you like this. But I need you for an experiment I'm doing, and I haven't been able to find another replacement since my last one. Trust me if anything you'll thank me after this is all over with the powers that you'll gain. You'll see me soon, I'm already flying over to get you and your friend. Just hang tight until then.

Shit, shit, SHIT.

You clasped your hands onto your head in frustration as you didn't what the fuck you should do.

Getting up from the floor, you tried out your first intuition and went for the barrier that was always blocking Gwen. You were met with a large solid force that pushed you back as you hit it with your run, and of course, it was the exact same one for Gwen.

You were a ghost now, there was no denying it.

You would get that motherfucker Ned back if it was the last thing you were to do. Though the only good thing about all of this was that you hadn't left your body behind and actually died normally, so maybe there was still a chance to get back to your normal state.

Nevertheless, you walked back over to Gwen.

"I have something to tell you, it's going to be a pretty long story...."

and so you started telling Gwen everything that had happened since you first met Ned, the potion, his promise, and that he was coming here soon.

"You should of fucking told me this earlier idiot! That sounded sketchy as hell I would have stopped you!" She chastises you while giving you a push.

"Yeah I know, but now isn't the time to be playing the blame game OK, he's coming soon and we need to think of a plan to kick his ass."

Gwen just shook her head as she faced away from you, obviously still pissed about this.

"OK....Look, I'm sorry about what happened, it's just that I really thought this would work. It was supposed to get you out of here so you could finally leave this street and go wherever you wanted, I really wanted this to work, I'm sorry I fucked us over in the end."

Gwen gives you a quick look before shaking her head once again.

"Idiot....next time just tell me these things."

"Promise I will."

Gwen nods at this, as she walks back over to you.

"Well, whatever happens, we're going to do this together, no more secrets and no more surprises. If we're going to stop this guy then you can't do any more of that crap, you got to trust in me too." She says to you, looking directly into your eyes for confirmation.

"Together then." You nod.

She smiles, which makes you feel a little bit calmer about everything.

As long as you were together, nothing would stop you.


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

[User] You kill Your Mom

[Assistant]
You slam your hand down onto the button with your mother's name over it. Greg may have been the one to hurt you, but she was the one who let it happen over and over again. The one person in your life that was supposed to protect you and she had invited the monster into the house and then turned a blind eye to what he was doing to you. At times she had even blamed you for it, accusing you of seducing him on multiple occasions.

Peering out from around the metal sheeting hiding the buttons from the view of the occupants within the cage, you watch as your mother suddenly starts screaming as the bolts in her device begin to turn faster. They drill into her skull before eventually breaking through with a sickening crunch.

Greg moves away from her for a moment, watching as she starts to convulse on the floor and spit foam. Eventually, she goes still, blood dripping from her nose now that the bolts have pierced her brain. Greg yanks the fishing line up her throat until it pops out of her mouth with a spurt of blood. Strips of the inside of her throat dangle off the hooks as he clasps the blood soaked key in his hand.

It doesn't take him long to unlock his device, though he has to really yank on it to get the bolts off of his head. The heavy metal of the thing hits the floor with a loud sound that makes you jump as you watch Greg slowly turn towards you.

He snickers a bit, looking you up and down in the same way that always made you feel so dirty as a young girl, "Couldn't let me die, huh? I knew you wanted it all along. I'd give you another ride when we get out of here, but you've been passed around too many times now."

You bite down on your inner cheek as his words cut straight to your gut, making you feel simultaneously revolted and enraged, "Don't you mean I'm too old for you now?"

His face loses some of the smugness when you spit the words back at him. If you're lucky, he'll die some other way before he escapes this place. But, for now, you have other places to go. The exit is now open, beckoning you away.