[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 ask your Uncle Ed

[Assistant]
It might be morbid curiosity that's causing you to ask Uncle Ed. He obviously is getting money from somewhere, but you and everyone else can only guess how. It's most likely illegal no doubt.

As you approach the door to the garage, you have a feeling of dread overcome you, but you press on anyway.

Upon opening the door you see Ed's van and various other things that would be in a garage. Everything looks normal. Of course you haven't actually inspected the little apartment space that exists above the garage where Ed actually sleeps.

You make your way up the steps only to find Ed isn't there. His place isn't exactly as you imagined it. It's clean! Everything is neatly packed away. In fact he appears to be the neatest person in the house.

His bed is neatly made and doesn't appear to be slept in, which is odd since his van is here, unless he made it already and went out during the day without his van. Of course that would be out of character behavior for him as you know him to be a night owl.

You shrug your shoulders and decide to wait for him. Waiting for you though doesn't include just sitting, you start to snoop around. Without thinking anything of it you open up his large freezer…

Inside are heads and other body parts. Frozen blood paints the inside of the freezer. You scream in shock and fall backwards.

"So, now you know, what many in this family have probably already whispered about for years. Knew I shouldn't have slept in the van last night."

You turn your head and see Uncle Ed standing by the stairway. His clothing is caked with dried blood and he has a knife in hand.

"Oh…uh…Uncle Ed…um…" you sputter, you're too terrified to even scream out, though Ed gives you some quick instructions on that line of thinking.

"Suzy, before you say anything else. Keep in mind that I kill pretty things like you on a regular basis. If you scream, I'll do it again, family or not and that would be very regrettable. Besides I doubt if anyone would come running anyway."

Ed's threat is completely calm which makes it all the scarier. You just sit down and quietly watch him as he approaches.

"What're you going to do to me?" you ask trying not to think about his possible answers.
"Do? Well…there's a lot of things I WOULD do to you if you weren't my niece. You're just about everything I look for in a girl. Nice, pretty, young. You're even a virgin aren't you? Yeah you are. You know how appealing that is in this age of whores who are only suitable for rape and annihilation?" your uncle says licking his knife in front of your face before stepping back.

"Oh yes, I WOULD have lots of fun with you. However you're family, and I always had a lot of respect for my sister. God rest her soul. And from what I know of you, you're about the only one who followed her value system, which means you respected her too. So you're safe for now…but…"
"But?"
"Well, call me paranoid, but it would really be foolish of me to just let you go after knowing my secret now wouldn't it?"
"But you already said everyone in the family thinks you're a serial killer anyway…"

Ed gets perturbed and holds his knife up.

"Now stop right there. That's the point. They THINK that. They don't know for sure though, and I thought I was doing a good job of keeping them all away too. (Sigh) But I'm not really worried about you telling any of them, I'm more concerned with you going to the police after you leave here. Then I have to move, and then I'd have to come back and do something bad to you when you least expect it. So what could you do that could convince me?"
"My word?"

Ed starts to laugh.

"Ha ha ha ha! You're serious? My you are a unique one. God I wish you weren't family…but anyway no I'm afraid that won't do. While I'm sure you may very well be telling the truth, your moralistic view point and conscience may get the better of you one day and then where would I be. No, I need something else from you. Something that will bond us in a more meaningful way."

You start to panic and what he might be implying and you start to cover yourself with your arms and cross your legs. Again he laughs.

"Oh no, not that my little Suzy. As much as I might like to, that's just not something for me to place on the table. Besides it wouldn't make me inclined to trust you anymore than I do now. Tell me Suzy, what do you know of the Morningstars?"
"The Morningstars? You mean the family that lives in that compound up the street? Not much."
"Hmm, I thought as much. They are a strange lot, I'm surprised nobody has complained about them given their blatantly cultish ways."
"Well people on this block tend to keep to themselves."
"Hm, true. One reason why I like living here. It's perfect really. But there's really only room for one of us."
"What do you mean?"
"Isn't it obvious dear girl? The Morningstars ARE cultists. Not sure what they worship, but I know damn well in involves human sacrifice. I've kept an eye on them ever since I noticed a few of their number taking in young girls." Ed says while starring at your body. "These girls are never seen again."
"Uh, how do you know all this?"
"Because sometimes my work overlaps with theirs and I know my prey. And they're encroaching on it. I don't think they're really aware of me yet, but I think they've been getting suspicious."
"Okay so what does all this have to do with me?"
"Right, straight to the point. Well whether you want to be or not, our families are going to embark in a good old fashioned feud. And you're going to be bait."
"What?"
"You heard me. Now as far as I can tell the Patriarch of that family and his eldest son are in absolute control. I figure if you can help me take out those two, that family will fall into chaos and it will be a simple matter of picking off their more incompetent members at leisure."
"So what am I supposed to do exactly?"
"Heh…yeah I guess you might very well be clueless in this sort of thing. Look Suzy, I know you're a good girl…but within every good girl lies a filthy dirty whore. A whore that wants to be fucked and desecrated…"

Uncle Ed seems to be somewhere else for a moment, but he tries to quickly get back on track.

"…uh anyway. YOU need to get in touch with the whore that is within you. You need to flirt, seduce and beguile those two in such a way that will allow me to get them. I really don't think you'll have that much of a problem though."

You take a deep breath and realize you have little choice, but to agree at this point.

"Okay. I'll do it."
"Good girl. I knew I could count on you. I'll be in contact with you soon."
"Alright, I…"

Uncle Ed grabs your arm as you try to leave.

"Remember, we're in this together now. Don't do anything foolish. I really wouldn't want to have to hurt you."

With that final warning, he lets you go.

Completely unnerved and creeped out, you run back to the basement and pace the floor wondering what you should do next.

[User] You obey Uncle Ed

[Assistant]
Ed's got you so scared that you don't dare disobey him. For the next few days you spend your time in the basement as usual hoping that he forgets about you. You barely sleep and you're on edge constantly expecting him to come in to get you. You get sick many times.

Exhausted from fear you eventually give in and fall into a deep sleep…

"Wake up Suzy. It's time." You hear Ed's unpleasant voice say.

As much as you've been dreading this moment, you oddly don't feel quite as sick anymore.

"I'm sorry you had to go through what you did. I figured that would happen so that's why I let it run its course. I think you're sufficiently drained of emotion to the point where you'll be able to pull this off without the chance of hysterics now. I hope you don't mind me dropping in like this…hmm nice little hide away you got here…very dark and isolated…nice."

Uncle Ed continues his inspection of your "domain" as you slowly get up. You know he's getting a kick out of this. You intruded on his "domain" and now he's returning the favor.

"Uncle Ed?"
"Hmm?"
"I gotta get dressed."
"Oh. Please don't let me stop you. In fact I brought you some more appropriate clothing. Wear this."

Your uncle throws you some clothing at you. It's a mini skirt and tight top and basically clothing your sister Donna would wear.

"I took the liberty of getting you some more appropriate clothing. I'm pretty sure I got all the bloodstains out."

You look at this "hookerwear" in disbelief.

"You expect me to wear this stuff?"
"I'm afraid it'll be necessary for you to better lure Bobby and Pa Morningstar. They like to hang out by the park. That's where we're going. Put those on, because while you may have the morals of a saint, you have the body of a harlot… within every virgin lies a fucking slut…whore…"

Ed is successfully making you feel scared again. When he realizes what he's doing he apologizes.

"…I'm sorry Suzy. I get in another place sometimes. I guess you'll want some privacy. I'll wait outside."

Uncle Ed goes upstairs to wait and you try to psyche yourself up for this ordeal. You look at the clothing and put it on which makes you feel really vulnerable. Your legs are exposed, your stomach isn't covered. You feel almost naked.

When you exit the house it's twilight. You didn't realize you slept so long. Ed motions you over to his van where he beeps his horn. You feel like a hooker going to be picked up. You don't say a word when you get in the van.

"Ah yes, you almost look the part now. But let's do one more thing." Ed says and then pulls something out of his jacket. It's lipstick.

Uncle Ed gets close to apply it on you. Again you don't say anything. It doesn't take long, and then he shows you what you look like in a mirror. He's done a good job. Probably better than you could have considering you've never worn any make up of any kind. It would appear that Uncle Ed's done this before.

"Wish I had some eye liner, but we don't have time for all that. Your eyes are pretty enough without it though. You're a very lucky girl to be blessed with such natural beauty." Ed says as he starts up the van.

The drive to the park is uneventful. When you get near there, Ed stops the van to brief you.

"Alright, I don't want to get too close yet, but the father and son duo should be sitting at a picnic table over near that lightly wooded area way over there. I've been keeping up with their routines a bit, so they should be there. Now that area is a little secluded, but not enough, I need you to actually lure them into the woods. I'll take care of the rest. After we do this, me and you will be even and I'll be able to trust you completely."
"What if I can't lure them into the woods? What if they try to kill me?"
"They won't try to kill you. They don't do it that way. And I have faith that you'll be able to lure them. No man can resist a whore…"

Sensing your uncle is going to his dark place again, you cut the conversation short.

"Okay, I'm leaving…" you say quickly getting out of the van and nearly running off. You're so glad to be out of his presence.

You look around the park which is still fairly populated at this time, though most of the families are going home now. You're drawing some looks from several teenage guys though. You get a lot of comments as well. You aren't used to it so now you're afraid of getting assaulted by some horny teenagers. But like most teenage guys, they do a lot of barking, but don't actually do anything.

Eventually you reach the area your uncle was talking about. You see a young man sitting at a table by himself, you know that's Bobby having seen him a few time before in the neighborhood. No sign of his father though. No sign of your uncle either, but you sense he's somewhere nearby.

As you approach Bobby you see that he must be preoccupied because he isn't even looking up. It's like he's deep in thought.

Searching your memory of how you've seen it done in movies and TV, you try your best to be seductive.

"Hello." Is all you can think of.

Bobby looks up.

"Erm, hello? Do I know you?"
"You might. I'm Suzy. I live down the street from you."
"Oh yeah…I haven't seen you for quite awhile."
"Well, I'm around, I just don't get out much."
"Hm. So what brings you out here?"
"Oh sometimes I like to take walks by myself. You know clear my head from family troubles."
"Well I can understand all about family trouble, let me tell you. But I've never seen you here before. I come here quite a bit and I can honestly say I would remember you walking around." Bobby says looking you up and down referring to your state of dress.

You get a little shy, and try to think of an excuse.

"Oh this get up? Well, I don't usually dress like this, these are my sister's clothes. I lost a bet with her. It's a bit complicated."
"Ah, say no more. Family again. (Sigh)"

That's the second time Bobby's mentioned family in a distracted manner again, so you decide to follow up on it before he presses you for more information.

"Is there something wrong?" you ask as you sit down.

Bobby looks hesitant to tell you at first, but when you smile at him from across the table, he lets down whatever guard he might've had up.

"It's my Dad. He's so demanding. I come from a very large family and just because I'm the oldest son I have all this extra responsibility! I'm expected to keep all my siblings in line, I'm supposed to take over when Dad's gone. I'm supposed to do all this shit and it's always been that way all my life and it sucks! Tiamat forbid that I get to do some stuff by myself."
"Uh…Tiamat?" you question, but Bobby doesn't stop his rant to explain that oddity.
"My Dad still treats me like a little kid sometimes. I have to go with him to do all these important things and he takes every opportunity to point out all my shortcomings, without listening to any of my ideas! We were supposed to do something to today and instead of doing it, we spent the whole day arguing. He stormed off and told me I better get my shit together by the time he comes back. In fact he left not too long after you showed up. If he saw me talking to you, he'd probably accuse me of not paying attention to my so called duties."
"Is your dad still here, where did he go?"
"Yeah, I wouldn't be fortunate enough for him to leave me alone that long. He went to go cool off in those woods over there…"

Your heart begins to race quicker at that thought. If Pa Morningstar went into the woods then he might've already run into Uncle Ed. Things on your part are probably going to be a lot easier now.

Part of you wants warn Bobby though since you sort of sympathize with him on some level.

[User] You warn Bobby

[Assistant]
You can't go through with this. You know your life is going to be in danger and that Pa Morningstar may very well already be dead, but you can't actively be involved in killing anyone directly or indirectly.

Your demeanor changes from one of feigned cheerfulness, to one of scared candor. You even take Bobby's hand which shocks him a little.

"Bobby, you opened up to me, so I'm going to open up to you. We need to go into that woods right now, because your dad might be in serious trouble."
"What?! What're you talking about?"
"There's no time to explain, but my uncle is going to kill him!" you exclaim and get up trying to pull Bobby with you.

Bobby starts to move, but insists that you tell him in more detail of what is going on. You do in a very condensed fashion which causes him to pause.

"So wait, you're working with your uncle to kill me and my dad in the woods? And now you want ME to go in there?"
"NO! I was bullied into helping my uncle, but I couldn't do it that's why I'm warning you now, so that you can save your dad!"

Bobby stops completely.
"Why would I do that?"
"What? Come on it may already be too late!"
"So what if it is? Look Suzy, you don't know my dad like I do. The guy has barely any fucking redeeming qualities and those he does have he barely shows most of the time. Fuck him."
"B…but he's your father!"
"What of it? Just because someone is related to you don't mean anything if they're complete assholes to you and treat you like shit your whole life. Hell he hasn't even been the worst to me. He's been a fucking abusive tyrant to my whole family. I'm sure all of them at some point have thought about killing him themselves. Shit, I know I have."

You certainly didn't expect this reaction. You don't know what to do now, you start to cry.

"Now what's wrong with you?" Bobby asks.
"I wish I could be that brave, but I'm so scared. Now that you know what's going on you can avoid your fate. But I'm still in danger. My Uncle Ed is gonna (Sob!) kill me!"
"Hey…Shhh…Hey…don't cry. Don't cry. Look you are brave. I mean it took courage to tip me off didn't it? You went against your uncle's threats and took a chance that I wouldn't flip out and kill you myself right?"
"(Sniff) I guess so."
"Look…your uncle is still expecting me right?"
"Probably."
"Well let's wait a minute or two, then I'll go in the woods and I'll take care of your uncle Ed."

At this point Bobby lifts open his jacket and quickly displays a large knife of his own. It's rather ornate from what little you see of it. "I'm prepared." He says

He spends the next few minutes calming you down, but then begins to mumble some sort of prayers. You can't make out most of them, but they certainly don't sound Christian and you hear the name Tiamat a lot.

After he finishes he turns to you and smiles.

"Okay I'm going into the woods. YOU wait here. Now one of two things will happen. Either I'll come out and your uncle will be dead. Or your uncle will come out and I'll be dead, and you can still take credit for luring me into the woods. Just tell him you told me to make up with my dad or something. He should buy that, and you'll be still be safe."
"What about your dad?" you ask.
"My dad? He's probably dead. If he was still alive he would've came out by now. Obviously Tiamat had forsaken him, if he was taken down by the likes of your uncle."

Bobby makes his way into the woods.

You wait at the table for awhile in the darkness. There isn't a soul around. You continue to look into the woods waiting for someone to step out. Bobby, Uncle Ed, Pa Morningstar, anyone…

Eventually someone does and it's Bobby. He looks a little roughed up and there are bloodstains on his clothes. You can only guess that it wasn't an easy kill.

"Sheesh, that was intense. Your uncle might've killed me, if I hadn't known he was lurking around. I think what caused him to go off his game plan was when I mentioned you told me that he was waiting. I think he wanted to yell at that point, because his calm killer demeanor turned into white hot rage. Still he never made a grand outburst, he just mumbled something about ripping you apart after he was done with me. Well we better get out of here. You need a ride home?"

You back off a little bit. As much as you didn't want to be involved in Bobby's murder, you're not entirely trusting of him. You know for certain that he and his family are indeed cultists that sacrifice people to this Tiamat he's mentioned a few times.

"Uh…not that I don't appreciate the offer, but maybe I should walk home."
"Walk? In that outfit and through this area? You'd be safer with me. I'm not going to do anything to you."
"How do I know you aren't going to sacrifice me to Tiamat?"
"…well I suppose you don't. However, all I can say is that I'm in a better mood than I was, and that's thanks mostly to you. I can now run the compound the way I want to and communicate to Tiamat directly as the new high priest. Plus you did warn me of your uncle and possibly saved my life. So I'd say you're safe. I mean it's not like you're going to blab about any of this right?"

Bobby is smiling. He's even a little playful, but you get the very real feeling he is warning you.

"No, no of course I won't."
"Good! I'm glad that's settled then. Come on let's go."

You follow Bobby to his car and sit quietly. Bobby turns on the radio and begins humming happily to the heavy metal music playing. Halfway home he speaks to you directly.

"So, you wanna go out sometime?" he asks.
"What?!" you say in total surprise.
"Do you wanna go out? I mean it seems like we got some stuff in common. And before all this went down it seemed like there was a spark there. At least I felt a little something. It's why I told you about my dad, which was a major place of trust on my part given that you were a virtual stranger."
"Yeah, I suppose so."
"As you might guess my family isn't much for outsiders. None of us gets out all that much. I was one of the luckier ones, being the eldest son and all, but I still had strict guidelines. Fucking your sister alleviates the tension so to speak, but really it doesn't allow for a good future bloodline. Well that's the way I see it anyway. So, how about it?"
"Well, I dunno. I don't get out much either. Though that's by choice, not because anyone made me."
"Hah. Sounds like you were your own prisoner. Come on, let's go out. It'll be good for the both of us, you can tell me all about your obviously fucked up family on the date."
"I wouldn't even know where to start." You laugh.
"See that's the spirit! If it helps you don't have to dress like that either." Bobby points at your clothing.
"I don't normally wear this sort of thing."
"Yeah, I sort of figured that. You didn't seem comfortable in it from the moment I saw you. Hell, if I had to guess. You're still a virgin."

You're amazed at Bobby's insight.

"Is it THAT obvious? My Uncle Ed knew too when he roped me into this."
"Well it's probably more obvious to us predatory types even if we don't know that much about the person. Darkness is often drawn to purity. Don't worry though; Tiamat doesn't have a predisposition toward virgin blood. You're still safe."
"Well lucky me."

Bobby stops in front of your house. You didn't realize you were already so close to home.

"Here you are. See, nice and safe. So…do you want to go out sometime?"

You look at Bobby and its crazy that after all that's happened tonight, you do feel a certain spark between you.

"Okay what the hell. Come pick me up whenever you're able I suppose. You know where I live and I never go anywhere so I'll be here."
"Alright then, but first…"

Bobby quickly leans over and steals a quick kiss from you before you get out of the car.

Your first kiss. You always wondered if it would happen. You feel completely giggly. He smiles in satisfaction.

"See you soon!" he says and drives home. You head back to the basement nearly walking on air. A good thing came out of all this and you fall asleep with no problems for the first time in the past few days.

The wonderful dreams you have that night you know are just glimpse into the reality that is sure to come.


[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 1 January 1799: Pitcairn Island, Pacific Ocean

[Assistant] You warn Quintal of what is happening and both of you are on your guard. It doesn't take Adams and Young long to learn what you have done and a few nights later they confront both you and Quintal with muskets. Before you can defend yourselves your former friends shoot both of you dead, finally bringing peace to the island. They throw your bodies in the sea for the fish to eat.


[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 kingdom

[Assistant]
The Delantium Kingdom is a large piece of territory and whether they're increasing their military endeavors or not, there are still bound to be places where the security is going to be less than adequate.

It's a long way to Sivak though, and you're probably going to have to more or less stick to the roads since you only have the vague knowledge that it's east somewhere.

You'll probably hit one of the many small villages under Delantium rule first, so you'll be able to learn a little more about the Kingdom in general, as well as hone your skills and hopefully make a little profit at those. You figure by the time you get to Sivak you will have a clearer idea of what your long term plans are.

With this goal in mind, you backtrack around Teckleville, maintaining caution the entire time. You stick mainly to wooded areas, hoping that you not only don't run into someone from Teckleville trying to hunt you down, but potentially anything worse. You've never really been big on hanging out in the wilderness after all so you don't know what to expect.

When you once again put enough distance between you and Teckleville again, you slowly start exiting the wooded areas (which are starting to thin anyway) and start following the road directly.

The road itself is empty for most of the time, though you do pass a couple merchant caravans heading in the opposite direction. You just think how if you were still in Teckleville, you probably would have been stealing from them.

Whenever night starts to fall you temporarily get off the road and sleep in the fields behind whatever cover you can find though you never really sleep easily and are constantly waking up at various sounds.

Despite being on the road for a few days, you don't know when you've actually crossed into Delantium territory until you see a sign post along side the road that states that fact. Not far from the signpost is a building, probably a roadside inn of some sort.

As you make your way towards the inn, you hear the clopping of horses behind you. At first you get concerned that someone from Teckleville is galloping your way, but a quick glance shows it's probably just some other travellers given their relaxed pace.

In any case, it's getting dark again and as much as you're getting used to sleeping outside, you'd prefer to sleep on a normal bed for a change. You just hope that you've got enough for a room.

You enter the inn, which is fairly empty. An older woman sweeps the floor, while an older man stands behind a bar. You see a couple of people sitting at tables, but none of them really pay much attention to you.

You figure that the man behind the bar is the innkeeper so you go up to him to ask how much for a room. The price he gives you is just out of your price range, too bad you can't just "steal a room."

"Come on, you can't cut me a break? I'm only a few coppers short." You say.
"I cut you a break, and all of a sudden I get a reputation that I just let everyone walk all over me. Before I know it I got every wanderer in the region asking for handouts. No! You pay the price or get the hell outta my establishment!" the innkeeper exclaims.

"Ren, you oughta be glad anyone even pays for the misfortune of staying at this shitty establishment!" you hear a voice chuckle.

You turn and see three people walking in the place, probably the travellers that you saw earlier. The speaker (and presumably leader of the group) is a man dressed in leather armor with a sword by his side. His two companions are dressed in a similar manner.

"Flynt! Been awhile since you've stopped by. You want the usual?" Ren remarks.
"You know me so well."

The innkeeper calls to the older woman (probably his wife) to go get the special wine from the cellar and then begins exchanging pleasantries with Flynt and his men. He seems to have forgotten about you entirely, though this Flynt seems to be looking over in your direction a bit.

Just as you're about to leave, Flynt calls over to you.

"Hey son, don't you still want that room?" Flynt asks.
"Um…well yeah, but I don't have the money." You answer.
"Yeah, money is always an issue these days, but I think I've got a solution to your problem. Just hold on a moment while we get our drinks."

Flynt hands over a few gold coins to Ren who takes them and then heads over to a table. He then waves you over to come sit with him and his buddies. You figure it can't hurt to hear what he has to say.

"Sooo, where you from son?" Flynt asks.
"Why?" you ask.
"Hey, Mr. Flynt asked you a question!" one of Flynt's friends snaps.
"Easy there! We're just having a conversation, not an interrogation! I apologize for my friend; sometimes our line of work keeps one on edge. It's okay if you don't want to tell us where you're from, a man has a right to his secrets." Flynt says in a cordial tone.

The one guy who snapped at you is still giving you a hard look, meanwhile the other one isn't paying too much mind to you at all and is focused on his drink. Flynt of course is still smiling at you from across the table.

You aren't quite sure how to play this so you decide to go with your immediate thoughts.

"So you said something about solving my money problems?" you ask.
"Straight to the point. I can appreciate that. You want to get the how out of the way." Flynt says.
"Actually I was thinking more about the why."
"Heh, suspicious type aren't you? That's a good quality. Smart. Yes, I may indeed have an ulterior motive…but let me ask you this first. Are you familiar with the shadowy arts?"

You look a bit wary at Flynt and his fellows after that question.

"Oh don't worry son, we're not soldiers for the Delantium Kingdom or any other law men if that's what you're worried about. I just get a vibe from you, that you might be…shall I say skilled in the less than legal endeavors. I'm usually good at judging people with only a bit of observation…so am I right?"
"…if I was…and I'm not saying that I am. What business is it of yours?" you ask.
"Well it could be that this is an opportunity you won't want to miss. Especially seeing as you're currently too poor to afford a room in this shithole. Look, here's the deal, we're in a little trouble with the law right now and have to lay low for a while. In fact we're probably going to be leaving soon after we have our drinks. However, I have to make a delivery to a man in Sivak, are you familiar with the city?"
"I was heading that way, but I've never been there."
"Oh just stay on this road, heed the signs and you really can't miss it."

Flynt takes another drink before continuing.

"As I said, I have to make a delivery to a man by the name of Crasnov. He runs a pottery shop by the same name. If you could take this package to him when you reach the city, I'd certainly be in your debt."

At this point Flynt pulls out a fist sized wrapped bundle and pushes it towards you. He then pulls out twenty gold coins and puts them right next to the bundle.

"Now, the only rules are, you don't tamper with it and you definitely don't give it to anyone else except Crasnov. If you accomplish that, you will be rewarded with more money and I guarantee you will have the thanks of some powerful friends. Friends that may call upon you for other lucrative opportunities."
"Wait, you're basically paying me to be a courier?" you ask.
"If you wish to see it that way. If I were you though, I would see it as a first step to become an important person in certain circles."

Twenty gold coins up front just to deliver a package and more reward afterwards seems like a pretty good deal. Plus the making connections bit is what entices you a bit more.

"Okay, I'll take the job." You say.
"Knew you were a smart and ambitious boy. Good, glad this is settled. Now judging the distance from here to Sivak, and you should get there in about four more days as long as you follow the roads and keep on a normal timetable of walking and resting. Too bad you don't have a horse; otherwise you'd easily cut that time in half. I do urge you NOT to take too much longer than six days though." Flynt says.
"What happens if I don't get there in six days?"
"Well let's just say many people would be upset with you. If you're concerned with being timely however, you can probably buy a horse with some of that new money, over in Hegglesburg. You should reach that town by tomorrow and they might have a horse you can buy."

You nod and thank Flynt while pocketing the coins and grabbing the package.

"Well I trust you know just about all you need to. Remember, that package is very important, so guard it carefully. Though I don't expect that you're going to have any problems, Delantium's military definitely makes sure bandits and the like are less of a threat, especially on the roads." Flynt remarks.
"Yeah speaking of that, should I be worried about getting stopped by the law?" you ask.
"Why? Are YOU a wanted criminal son?"
"Um…no I guess not."
"Heh. You guess not? Not sure are we? Well let me rephrase…are you a wanted criminal within the Delantium Kingdom?"
"No, this is my first time within its borders actually."
"Then you're safe son. You aren't going to get randomly hassled. You just look like another young wanderer. Just keep your head down around the law and you should be fine. Was there anything else?"
"No, I guess not."
"Okay then, my fellows and I are going to finish our drinks and then get back on our way. Unlike you, we don't have the luxury of an unknown reputation. Such is our burden in life. I trust you'll want to get some rest for your journey tomorrow. Perhaps we'll meet again in the future."

Flynt wishes you good luck and returns to finishing up his drink. His friends are doing likewise and you take that as your sign to leave the table.

You return to Ren and hand him a gold coin for a room to which he just grunts and hands you a key.

"Upstairs, last room on the left. Best one in the establishment. You're out of here by morning." He says.

You head upstairs and make your way to your room.

When you open the door, the room is nothing special. It's not bad, just nothing that would stand out to think this is a good one. Still, if this is the best room, it's a good thing you didn't get one of the lesser ones.

You settle in for the night thinking about your task. You didn't expect to get someone approaching you to perform a job, even if it is just a courier one. Still, this seems pretty low risk for decent money so you're not complaining.

You go to sleep wondering if things are starting to look up for you.

[User] Next morning

[Assistant]
"BUST IT DOWN!" a voice shouts followed by the splintering of your door.

You're barely awake before you're rushed by several men dressed in chainmail.

"DON'T MOVE!" one shouts as several spears are pointed directly at you.
"What's going on?!"
"Shut up!" one of the men says and pokes you in the chest with his spear hard enough that it superficially breaks the skin.

You don't say any more, but between the men holding you at bay with spears and a couple other searching your room, you fear the worst. One of them inevitably grabs the package you put under your bed. He then opens it and while you're having a hard time seeing from your position, he pulls out some of its contents and holds up a vial with blue material inside it.

"Is it contraband, sir?" one of them asks.
"Yeah, there's twenty vials of Blue Dream in here." A slightly more decorated man remarks.
"You think it's the Ebony Claw Syndicate?"
"Who else would it be? They're the ones who mostly smuggle and deal this stuff."
"But this kid doesn't look like he's Claw. He doesn't even have the tattoo on his arm."
"Meh, maybe he has it elsewhere…doesn't matter, what matters is he's going away for a long damn time."

A feeling of dread overwhelms you.

"Hey wait! Can't we talk about this?!" you say.

The man with the package turns to you.

"And what would we have to talk about criminal? You've got enough Blue Dream here to get the entire town of Hegglesburg trashed. This seems like a pretty simple situation as far as I'm concerned. You think because you're young, you deserve leniency? Hah! You can try it on the judge when he sentences you, but in any case you're coming with us."

You're lifted up roughly from your bed by the men with spears (Who you're assuming are Delantium soldiers at this point)

Your arms are put behind your back and iron shackles are placed on your wrists. When you're marched down the stairs and in front of various inn onlookers, you hear Ren complain about them breaking his door, to which the one that was talking to you earlier remarks that Ren's lucky that they aren't taking him in and shutting this whole place down.

When you exit the inn, you're shoved into the back of a cart. Another older man with many scares on his face in iron shackles sits in the cart. He gives you a brief look and then returns to looking back at the cart floor.

"The prisoner is secure, sergeant." One of the soldiers says.
"Okay, let's take this drug dealing trash back to Sivak." The sergeant says, still hanging on to the Blue Dream package.

This is the second time this week that you've been accused of a serious crime and once again you didn't even mean to do it!

Was this all a set up, while Flynt took off to parts unknown? Flynt DID seem pretty willing to just hand off illegal drugs to you. Then again, why bother setting you up, when he could have just hid them somewhere rather than risk losing the product altogether? Maybe this is all just more bad luck hitting you.

In any case, your mind starts racing about what you can do in your current situation. First thing you think about is escape. The cart is going slow enough that you could probably easily jump out and just run. The problem with that plan is there are multiple mounted guards to the front and back of you. They would easily run you down and most likely kill you for attempting to escape.

The second thing you can think of is what the sergeant said. Something about the Ebony Claw Syndicate. You can make an educated guess that Flynt and his friends were part of this organization. Maybe if you told them everything that transpired at the inn, they would let you go.

Of course you could just resign yourself to your fate for now and look for an opportunity later.

[User] You rat out Flynt

[Assistant]
You're not taking the fall for some assholes you're not even connected with, you didn't even know about Blue Dream OR the Ebony Claw Syndicate until today!

"Hey! I wanna tell your superior something!" you say.
"Shut up criminal, or we'll have you WALK the rest of the way tie to back of the cart!" one of the guards remarks.
"But this is really important! It's about the Blue Dream! Your sergeant will want to hear this!"
"I said SHUT IT!" the same guard says and trots his horse next to the side of the cart and hits you in the head with a small cudgel causing you to fall off your seat and onto the cart floor. The other man in cuffs just watches you as you attempt to get up.

"Alright what the hell's going on back here?" the sergeant asks riding his horse back to the cart.
"This criminal claims he's got something really important to tell you about the Blue Dream we confiscated."
"Oh, still trying to talk his way out of it is he? (Sigh) Fine. Let him get it over with, so we can get on with this in silence."
"Thank you, sir! Thank you for allowing me to tell my side!"

The sergeant tells his people to stop and then you begin to tell your tale. You mention how Flynt came up to you and how you accepted his offer because you needed the money and thought it was just a simple delivery since he never mentioned what was in the package.

As you're telling the story, the sergeant begins to look a little concerned.

"This Flynt you mentioned is a known Ebony Claw Syndicate lieutenant and you're saying you aren't affiliated with them? All right son, just stop talking right now and get…" the sergeant says.
"What you don't believe me? I would have never carried illegal drugs had I known!" you exclaim.
"You're not listening kid, I'm telling you to get…"
"Do you need more information? He gave me the name of the person I was supposed to deliver to! Someone named Crasnov that runs a pottery shop in Sivak!"
"Shut the fuck up kid and get the hell out of the…SHIT!"

Suddenly the other prisoner has lunged at you and you're taken completely off guard.

While you couldn't have known that the other prisoner in the cart was an Ebony Claw enforcer, the sergeant certainly did, but by the time he and his people get him off of you, the man has managed to head-butt you in the face, breaking your nose followed by ripping your throat out with just his teeth.

As you lie gurgling and bleeding to death you see the enforcer spit part of your flesh back at your face.

"Fucking rat." He says before you die.


[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 kill Edmond and don't inform Hans of the plan

[Assistant]
Hans is probably right about Edmond, he's going to keep you around indefinitely. On the other hand Hans probably isn't any better. It's always possible Hans will get killed by "normal" dangers when he gets in power, but he seems pretty savvy. He's likely to stay in power long enough for you to get trapped in this life and his successor is just going to insist on your services. That's even assuming you live that long, being connected to organized crime isn't necessarily a safe way to live if you don't have the street cred and stomach for it.

You need to get rid of Hans as well and hopefully not telling him what you're exactly going to do will create that opportunity.

When you leave the hospital you enter the carriage, which is waiting for you across the street.

"I trust you got everything you need?"

"Yeah, I found something perfect to take care of our problem. He'll slowly fall asleep, then lapse into a coma then finally die."

"Perfect, I can even say his lizard killed him. I better have a crew ready to bum rush him though. He's not going to be an easy kill though."

You're glad Hans sounds pleased with this plan, the only thing you have to do now is pull off the deception. Eventually you get back to the tavern where Reg and several other Talon members are waiting.

"What the fuck took you so damn long? Edmond could've died already!"

"Sorry." You reply and head to his office.

You enter the office and the Sotakan assassin is holding a dagger to your throat already.

"Down boy, it's the doc...ugh…what the fuck took you so long? I'm dying over here!"

The Sotakan releases you and you run over to Edmond who is now lying on the floor still clutching his side.

"I'm going to give you this shot first, it'll help as an anti-biotic and to ease the pain. You might start getting sleepy though, do you someplace more comfortable to lay?"

"Yeah, I guess the sofa."

You Help Edmond to the sofa and give him the shot of Incitahol. You then begin sewing him up as quickly as possible. Normally you'd do a better job and extract the shrapnel in his body, but you figure he's going to be dead soon anyway and you need to get out of here before he starts turning.

"There you go. You should be good now, but you'll need to rest and not move too much for a few days."

"(Yawn) Not a problem. I'll probably just take care of business from here for the time being. As long I got my Sotakan whatchin' my back, I'll be fine. Damn, that shit kicks in really quick. I don't feel anything….(Yawn) Glad you could help out doc…be sure to stick around…(Yawn) might have some work for you in the…zzzzzzzzzz…"

You stand away from Edmond, give a nod to the Sotakan and then leave quickly.

"So is he asleep?" Edmond asks walking up to you.

"Yeah, won't be long…hey where's that Reg guy?" you say noticing a difference in some of the personnel hanging around the bar now.

"Don't worry about him, you just take a seat at that table over there. If need anything just let Wallace know."

"Uh, I don't think you really need me around any longer."

"Nonsense! Given what's going to go down, we might still need a doctor soon. Besides having a doctor around in the future might be useful. Sit down, you'll be fine."

You get the impression you don't have much choice in the matter so you do as Hans says. You try not to make your panic too noticeable, but you really scared about what's going to happen. What happens if Hans finds out what you did? What if something gets out of hand and you suddenly got a bunch of zombies hungry for flesh? Normally you'd probably have a drink to calm your nerves, but you're so worried about what might happen, you feel your only hope is to have all your wits about you.

Eventually Wallace gets sick of watching you and goes to talk with his brother who is currently sitting at a table with a group of other thugs telling them how they need to attack the Sotakan assassin as quickly as possible when they rush the room. You think about making a break for it, but you'd never make it.

Time passes and eventually noise is heard from Edmond's office. It's a mixture of hissing, moaning and loud crashing.

"What the fuck?" Hans says pulling out his flintlock and then looks over in your direction, you shrug your shoulders replying "I dunno."

"Come on, let's just do it!" Wallace says picking up a nearby blunderbuss.

At this point Wallace and the rest of the thugs rush into Edmond's office. Hans stays outside watching you and the both of you hear a bunch of yelling, fighting, and gunshots. Then there's silence.

"Wallace?" Hans calls out while heading towards the office.

"…ugh…yeah…I'm hurt…get the doc…" Wallace's voice calls back.

"Come on, get yer ass over here, my brother's hurt!" Wallace says. You gulp nervously and slowly make your way to Wallace

"Shit, it looks like a fucking slaughterhouse in here." Hans remarks as you both enter the room.

Hans is quite correct, the office is splattered with blood and gore with several dead bodies everywhere. Edmond, the Sotakan, and the Crimson thugs they're all dead. You notice Edmond has a head wound, the Sotakan does too, you can't tell with some of the other though until…

"OH SHIT! WALLACE!" Hans shouts as two of those bodies suddenly sit up and attack!

Hans shoots one of them in the chest, dropping it to the floor temporarily, but the other one begins munching on Wallace. His screams are enough to finally cause you to run.

"HEY YOU COWARDLY FUCK, HELP ME! AGH! MY FOOT!" Hans yells as you try to open the tavern door. Unfortunately Hans wasn't taking any chances of you attempting to escape and the door is firmly locked.

In desperation you grab a nearby chair to bust out a small window you might be able to squeeze through. You attempts are cut short when one of the zombies tackles you to the floor and take a bite out of your arm. You cries of pain are cut short when the next bite rips out your throat.

Your death is just one of the first in the zombie plague you thoughtlessly unleashed on Klyton.


[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 sprint for the elevator

[Assistant]
You lower your head and make a sprint to the elevator which opens up just as you leap into it. Jack moves out of your way when you do this and then follows you into the elevator.

"Wow Wolf, you just missed getting nailed in the head." Jack says pressing the button up. He might be invisible, but you can tell by the movement of his clothing that he's fidgeting a lot. The building is shaking, not to mention the elevator, from Mr. Hyde's destructive rampage, you seriously hope it makes it to the top.

As the elevator ascends upward, you both can hear Mr. Hyde below bashing the elevator door open.

"YOU WON'T ESCAPE ME WOLF!" you can hear him yell. He's definitely in the shaft at this point, you can hear scraping and the twisting of metal. It sounds like he's climbing after you through the shaft, not the emergency ladder!

Suddenly the elevator creaks to a halt. Jack frantically presses the buttons, but nothing works.

"NO! Shit! No! This can't be happening! He must've knocked some sort of power out some how! Wolf there's a service panel up top, open it up and we'll escape out that way."

[User] You open up the panel

[Assistant]
While you turn around to reach the panel, Jack reaches into his coat pocket for a pistol. One loaded with silver bullets. He fires three into your back, then when you fall to the floor in a heap, he puts the final one into your head.

"Sorry Wolf, but you never were anything more than a test subject for my invention. Glad to see it worked very well, you have my thanks… I suppose you can keep this briefcase of money, I'll make a fortune with my formula after I dispose of your friend Mr. Hyde of course."

Jack dumps the briefcase on your dead body and climbs through the service panel and hops to the emergency elevator where he fires his pistol at the main elevator cable, hitting it and causing it to dangle a bit and then finally falling. This of course kills Mr. Hyde since even he can't withstand such a heavy force at such a speed when it knocks him off and then finally crushes him when they both reach the bottom of the shaft.

Jack makes his good escape, makes up a story about you and Henry to discredit him and his work, and finally makes millions of dollars from his formula.


[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] Begin a new story

[Assistant]
Year 50

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

You don't believe it.

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

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

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

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

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

Tyren takes a drink before continuing.

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

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

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

Now you laugh.

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

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

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

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

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

[User] You decline the contract

[Assistant]
While it probably would make some of your shadows happy, you just don't trust Tyren at all. This all seems too straight forward and with these objects from Gloom he's offering…well its almost as if he's over eager for you to take the job.

"Tyren, I'm sorry you traveled all this way from wherever you previously were and dragged a bag of treasure with you along the way, but I'm going to have to say, this contract is not in the best interest of the shadows at this time."
"What?!" Dravin asks.
"Are you serious?" Cyrus exclaims.
"Since when do the shadows turn down a contract?" Tyren asks.
"It's been known to happen. Now if you please, leave these premises and don't return." You say ignoring Dravin and Cyrus' outbursts.

"But this part of our history he's got here! How can we not take the contract?" Dravin says.
"I realize that, but it's the past, not the future and I believe taking this contract is not the best for our future."
"But…"
"Dravin! I am Shadow Master here, do NOT question me further on this!"
"Hey, he's asking a valid question. You don't need to pull rank like that." Cyrus adds.
"Cyrus, don't you start too. This is not the time or place."

While you bicker with Cyrus and Dravin, Tyren and his men begin to snicker which causes you to snap at them.

"Didn't I tell you merc scum to get the fuck out of here?"
"Okay, okay, we're leaving." Tyren chuckles though they're taking their time gathering up the valuables that they spilled on the table.

Meanwhile Dravin insists on arguing with Cyrus backing him up naturally.

"Look, I don't mean to question you Shadow Master, but I just think Dendrin would want us to have our history back, if only part of it."
"I agree. Besides I'm sure Talia would like some of these things as well."

You can hardly believe the insubordination going on here.

"The both of you are unbelievable right now. Questioning me and arguing in front of fucking dark elves? Did we turn into a pack of orcs overnight? Attempting to use my wife as some sort of support for your disobedience? You want the past? Fine, let's just take it!" you shout and you draw your weapon. Before anyone can do anything else you grab the nearest dark elf and run him through.

"Treachery! Defend yourselves!" Tyren shouts and drops some gems to pull his crossbow.

The skirmish in the tavern is quick and bloody affair. The dark elves fight the best they can, but the advantage is to you in every way. You allow none to escape and the tavern is littered with their dead and a couple of your own by the end of it. The bar staff peep out from behind their hiding places.

While the rest of the shadows gather up the valuables that are now all over the floor and place them into the bag, you search Tyren's body on a hunch you had long before you engaged in this bloodbath and fortunately you find something in the form of a letter.

Tyren,

Make sure to wait a day before triggering the curse we put on those objects the rock eaters sold us. That should be more than enough time for the shadows to have placed them somewhere in their temple. The magic words are at the bottom of this letter and they should be simple enough even for you to memorize.

As for the shadow assassin squad they'll send after me, don't worry about that, I've got that covered and have the ambush ready. You just stay near the Delerg province and monitor the situation with the after effects of the wasting curse. If it looks like they're severely weakened by it then by all means attack the temple yourself before I get there.

Also remember to destroy this letter, the last thing I need is for the shadows to kill you and find this on your corpse because you were an incompetent fool. Assuming you don't mess this up on your end. We should at least be able to cripple the shadows to a degree that they'll no longer be a threat to our livelihood.

Edolith

You figured it was something like this. Makes sense the svelk would see the shadows as major competition.

"Next time just listen to my orders instead of bitching like a couple of housewives at the market!" you say shoving the letter in Cyrus' hand.

Cyrus looks it over.

"Okay, so you were right, but we outsmarted them, got their stuff and we can perform a sanctify ritual on these objects. This situation turned out better than if we had just let them go."

You're already angry at this whole situation and this is just the final straw for you.

"Cyrus that's not the damn point. My point is you AND Dravin undermined my authority in front of not only the rest of the shadows but outsiders as well as if you knew better. When I told you to desist you continued to piss and moan…in fact you're STILL doing it!"

Before Cyrus can come up with another snappy come back, you speed yourself up and punch him in the face. He reels backwards and you follow up with a kick sending him to the floor. He attempts to get up, but you kick him again in the face and then with a power stomp you smash his shin, breaking the bone through the skin. He bellows in pain and Dravin dares to try to stop you.

"Shadow Master plea…" is all he utters before you give him a chop to his throat and then twist his arm behind his back before slamming his face into the table.

"You! Stretch out his other arm across the table and take out your dagger." You say to closest Blade, while continuing to hover behind Dravin. The Blade obeys without hesitation and Dravin is begging for mercy when he hears the unsheathing of a dagger. You can also hear Cyrus pleading for you not to harm Dravin.

Still holding on to Dravin's other arm, you half turn around to face him.

"YOU shut the fuck up, before I break your other shin! I'm not killing him, but a lesson must be taught to both of you! Now you, what's your name?" you ask the Blade since you never can keep track of these new eternals' names, you swear they must've altered them all in those tanks to look similar or something.
"Glen, Shadow Master."
"Glen, take Dravin's pinky finger."
"NO!" Dravin screams.
"Okay take his ring finger too!" you say and twist Dravin's arm further. "You wanna go for the whole hand? Then keep fighting me! You're lucky I'm not taking them from your dominant hand! Glen proceed."

Glen cuts off Dravin's pinky first which causes him to let out a stifled yelp. Glen moves on to the ring finger, and you're not sure if it's the combination of the shock and fear, but whatever the reason Dravin ends up passing out completely.

"Wrap up his hand and carry him back to the temple." You tell Glen.

Cyrus is still on the floor sitting up with his shinbone sticking out of his leg. He's still in great pain, but you believe he's more upset about Dravin. You crouch down beside him.

"I'm sorry it had to be this way brother, but I spared your life once for a reason Cyrus. You agreed to obey my commands as Shadow Master and today you repeatedly defied my will. Am I going to regret that decision?"
"…no…no…" Cyrus says trying not cry out.
"No what?" you ask again forcing him to look directly into your eyes.
"No…Shadow Master…"
"Good. Good. Something like this can never happen again." You say and stand back up.

You tell the other Blades to carry Cyrus and grab the ill gotten bag of loot back to the temple since you're going on ahead of everyone else. You then turn your attention to the frightened tavern staff.

"Apologies for the mess. Leave them some gold to help clean up this filth off their floor and tables." You say while stepping over a dark elf corpse and then heading out the door.

When you get back the temple Talia asks you what happened and where everyone else is.

"Had to put down some treacherous svelk, as far as I'm concerned all of their kind now has a permanent target on their backs if any us see one of them again. But we got some things off of them I think you'll be pleasantly surprised with, you'll have to perform a sanctify ritual over them first though before bringing them into the temple. As for the rest of the Blades, they'll be along shortly with said loot I imagine, oh and I'm dissolving the Council. Really no point in it anymore."
"Wha…well you are Shadow Master, but did you mention this Dravin and Cyrus?"
"Oh trust me, they know."

[User] Continue

[Assistant]
Year 55

You wake up with yet another permanent ache in your body. Getting old really sucks and it probably doesn't help that you've spent decades fighting all your life. Who knows how many broken bones, deep cuts, head blows and other bodily trauma you've had. However, you're probably more fit than most people your age and your magic ability is certainly a great equalizer.

You go over some of the newest contract requests and one catches your eye due to it suffering from multiple misspellings and the murdering of language in general. When you see that it's from Flog you're a little impressed that he was able to write as well as he did.

From what you can make out in the horribly written letter, he wants to meet with some of your people because he's got a major problem on his hands and he hopes that seeing as he once helped you fight the Empire, you'd help him out in return.

You shake your head at that remark considering that as you recall you basically spared his life in exchange for his support. He doesn't go into specifics about who he wants killed, but he goes on to say that he's acquired a lot of wealth in his "conquest" of Rask. A bit of stretching the truth since while its true he owns the biggest stretch on territory there, the area is far from conquered.

Amusingly he wants you to meet him at Blood Tooth, which is apparently what he renamed Evergloom after he moved in years after you left. He states he'll go into more specifics then, mainly because he doesn't want the letter possibly falling into the wrong hands and also because all this writing makes his brain hurt. He also mentions that while it isn't necessary, he'd prefer to meet with you personally since he's confident in your abilities to get the job done.

You can't help but smile a little at that last statement.

"You're not going are you?" Talia asks.
"Why not? I've been running the shadows for this long and I haven't even taken a contract myself. Seems a bit hypocritical don't you think?"
"You're the Shadow Master, you don't need to concern yourself with such things."
"Maybe, but I've always believed that a leader really should lead by example and I've done that for the most part."
"What about that incident with the dark elves?"
"Eh, I actually didn't even plan that and it really doesn't count. I just think I need to go on this one."
"You just want to prove that you aren't getting old. Don't think I haven't noticed you been mentioning it lately."
"Yeah…well maybe. But still…hey why don't you come with me?"
"Me?"
"Well why not? Flog's always liked you and it'll probably make the meeting go over better. Besides, you should be keeping your abilities up as well."
"Excuse me, but I continue to spar with the Blades every day."
"And so do I, but it isn't enough unless their real danger involved. Come on, you mean to say you don't miss the old days just a little bit?"
"Not particularly, but I see that this is important to you, so I shall accompany you, but aren't you concerned about this being a trap?"
"Not really, no. While Flog has always been a little more cunning than the average orc and an opportunistic fool, he's never been suicidal. I'm pretty sure he knows if he tried to ambush me, it wouldn't end well for him. Even if he managed to succeed, he also knows that the full force of the shadows would hunt him down personally and with as many enemies as he probably has I doubt if he needs to add more. Besides if it is an ambush, that'll just make things more interesting and Dendrin's always looking out for us anyway."

Your flip remark about Dendrin gets a nod in agreement by Talia who doesn't take it as a flip remark, but rather that you're being genuine. "Well I suppose there is that and as the chosen of Dendrin you'd be even better protected, but who is going to be running things while we're gone?"
"I don't think we're going to be gone for that long, but Cyrus can do it. Not like he goes on many missions anymore either."

This is true. Ever since the incident with the dark elves, Cyrus and Dravin started becoming more withdrawn. Granted Dravin was never an extrovert, but with Cyrus it's a little sad. It's like you completely crushed his spirit that day. He lost his unofficial position as leader of the Blades due to the permanent limp you gave him and resigned himself to keeping up on internal security. Sometimes you feel a little bad about it, but you believe that in the long run it was a good thing. Cyrus, even though he'd pledged himself to you still harbored a bit of willfulness that was starting to come back. If allowed to flourish longer, he may have become more of a problem and would have had to been killed.

Though perhaps his current fate is worse than death.

When you approach Cyrus about the situation with Flog, he's surprised that you're going, let alone putting him in charge of the temple until you get back. He of course agrees and wishes you luck. Given how Flog was never his favorite person, you wonder why he didn't at least express the same concerns about meeting with him like Talia did, and then it occurs to you that perhaps he's hoping you do get killed.

In any event, you're not going to worry about it. You instead hand pick some of the best Blades to come with you to Blood Tooth and set off on your journey as soon as possible.

The journey to Rask is fairly uneventful. While you mostly keep to the off beaten trails, you know most in Quala are wise enough to not attack a group of shadows even if they did see you. The "stable" leader of northern Quala, First Mage Galen has practically bent over backwards to stay on your good side. You sort of wonder if that is who Flog wants you to assassinate considering all the back and forth attempts at conquest into each other's realms by the pair of them. If it is, then he better have a hell of a lot of money.

When you reach the Rask it mostly looks very much how it did when you left it. Much of it untouched wilderness though the occasional battlefield markings are apparent. Some are even fairly recent.

"Hey Flog didn't say anything about safe passage did he in his letter?" Talia asks.
"No, but I don't think he'd be able to enforce it very well anyway. You know how tribal orcs are, even under a strong leader they tend towards chaotic acts."
"Well as you said, I suppose that'll make things more interesting. Actually a battle would probably warm me up right about now. I think I got too used to the heat, though I wasn't exactly fond of the freezing cold back in the old days either."
"Really? I kind of preferred it, but we're going to be making camp soon, we can warm up a little then."

Later that night at your campsite you take first watch. You can't really rest anyway since your body aches a bit. As the night goes on, you remember back to the time when you doing this as a regular thing, seems like a lifetime ago.

As you lose yourself in the past a bit you suddenly hear a noise. Like howling, but it isn't from any sort of wolf that you've ever heard. Doesn't even sound like a natural one and it sounds pretty close by.

"Everyone get up!" you shout with your weapon drawn.

As everyone starts to get up ready for battle, more of those howls can be heard. They're nearly painful at this point and several of you are clutching at least one of your ears.

"What the hell is that?" Talia shouts.
"Not sure, but we're about to find out." You say as all of you form a back-to-back circle for defense.

Several glowing red eyes appear in the dark forest around you, when your assailants finally show themselves, they are in the form of orcs, but more feral and savage looking (even for orcs).

"You think Flog set this up?" Talia asks you while eyeing her closest possible attacker.
"Let's worry about it afterwards." You say and the orcs attack.

You've had to fight a few unruly orcs in the past and though its been awhile, you know their tactics wouldn't have switched up that much. They almost lope at you and circle around you like an animal would, in fact animalistic is the best way to describe them since at this range you can see they aren't even wearing much clothing beyond a loin cloth and a few grisly trophies in the form of bloody body parts. Their hands resemble claws and some of them aren't even attacking with weapons at all and are just using their nails, which are unnaturally long for orcs.

You cross swords with one of them and even while speeding yourself up, it's still nearly matching you blow for blow. Its face is close enough for you to get the good look and it's contorted looking with an extra wide mouth filled with teeth. Whatever the hell this thing is, it isn't any kind of orc you've ever seen or encountered. You muster up all your strength and land a powerful strike against the orc's head nearly severing the top part of it completely. It attempts to still attack you, flailing its arms wildly and still making that horrible howling sound.

Then you hear a whispery voice in your mind. At first you think its Dendrin, but then you're not asleep and you don't feel the same numbness, but rather the exact opposite. A sharp pain in your head.

"The battle is lost mortal. You cannot kill us. You must submit to us, it is the only way to save yourself."

You look around to see Talia and most of the other shadows still fighting, but you also see a couple of them clutching their heads and falling to the ground in pain. These definitely aren't orcs you're fighting considering they're using some sort of psychic attack.

You could either try to finish off the rest of the orcs to stop the attacks or cast a shield over the minds of you and your shadows, though its very difficult to concentrate right now.

[User] You cast the spell

[Assistant]
You attempt to block everything out in your mind a concentrate on your spell. More voices invade your mind and you begin shouting out Dendrin's name loudly during your chanting in an effort to drown out the supernatural voice in your head. You also shout to everyone to try to shut out the voices you know they have to be hearing as well.

"NO! You cannot escape us! You are MEAT!" you hear and the voices begin to fade a bit. You notice that your shadows aren't struggling with their mental assaults anymore either and regular combat goes a lot better. Soon, all attackers are killed and Talia comes over to you rubbing her head a bit after dispatching her orc.

"What the hell are these things?"
"Well I'm not exactly sure, but if I had to guess, they're wendigos. Evil spirits that take over the bodies of the living and try to consume anyone they can. Found notes written about them after we took Kane's fort. He apparently fought them all the way back to their home territory and trapped them there. Looks like these idiots let them loose again or something. We should be safe now and I've got everyone shielded, but everyone else should keep up their own shield just as added protection. We can link that mental power to each other if we just focus."
"Just like back in shadow training when we all fought that brain lurker huh?" Talia asks.
"I believe it was a thought lurker, but yeah something like that. Odd that we never encountered another one of those creatures."
"I think I remember Brother Gray said they typically only lived underground or something."

Probably some sort of "gift" from the Derro no doubt, but you stop dwelling on the past and pack up you camp so you can continue your journey. You'll have to get some sleep later.

The rest of the journey is more of an endurance test against the elements rather than any more fighting. Even while sticking to the forests you feel the full strength of the cold winds and snowfall that has decided to grace you with its presence. You see a village in the distance, and briefly ponder if you should head to it and sleep at an inn, but the fact remains you don't know what you can expect there. You're guessing Flog might've enslaved most of the towns in Rask, but who knows what they've been turned into. Chances are they're probably the equivalent of slave camps now patrolled by a bunch of over eager orcs or ogres ready to attack anyone they don't know.

"I certainly hope Flog told his people to expect us when we finally get to Blood Tooth!" Talia says wrapping herself up and walking on as you decide to avoid the village.

When you finally arrive at Blood Tooth, you see that Flog hasn't changed your old home too much, other than the typical orc totems that their kind seem to favor. A group of orcs stand outside looking off in several direction as if they're expecting someone, but that might not necessarily be you though. They still haven't noticed you though.

"Well, this is it. We might as well just approach. Be ready for anything though." You tell everyone.

You reveal yourself from your cloak and begin to walk towards the group. They finally see you and begin waving you down.

"Shadows! Come quickly! Not safe out here!" one shouts.
"Well I'm guessing we're being welcomed at least." Talia says.
"For now. Like I said be ready for anything."

The orcs waste no time in calling for their fort doors to be opened and you're lead in. Now the place looks less like how you remember. It's definitely got that orcish touch now, not to mention smell. Eventually you meet Flog on his throne. The years have taken their toll on him to the point where you don't feel so old any more. Flog stands up slowly and limps over to you, refusing the use of any sort of cane. His face bear the scars of multiple battles and he's only got one hand, though the stump naturally has some sort of crude weapon grafted to it. His reign is most likely in danger being the age he is, let alone some of his obvious injuries. Still he's hanging in there somehow, you've got to give him credit.

"Shadow Master, its been a long time. And your mate Talia…wait you did not bring the strange lover did you?"
"Strange…oh!" you realize. "No, Cyrus is back in Delerg."
"Good. Good. Never liked him. You two. Like. Treat Flog fairly and with honor. Um, let us go to my meeting room. Much to discuss. Very important. Your shadows can stay here, drink and partake of our females!"

You look over and see several female orcs AND ogres attempting to look seductive towards some of your shadows. You think this is the first time you've seen any of them look genuinely scared during this mission.

"Ah no, I don't think that'll be necessary Flog." You say.
"All strange lovers too huh? Just as well, couldn't survive being with an orc woman anyway. Let us go."

Flog takes you and Talia to the very place where you used to hold small meetings and you all sit down before he speaks.

"Flog is old and will die soon. Flog know this and accepts it. Flog can only hope that Flog die in combat, but that time is not yet now. Flog cannot let it be so, so Flog call on those who may help."
"Well that's the whole reason for this, but I don't understand the need for secrecy and why the hell we had to drag ourselves all the way up here. You know there are wendigo prowling about in Rask now?"
"Yes, Flog well aware of it because Flog's son Mog foolishly attempted to harness them in his grab for power. Now Rask have evil spirits wandering about and Mog is making his move against Flog. Mog need to die."

There's your contract, but you still don't get all of this.

"Okay, but…well normally I don't ask why, however my curiosity about all this is still there. I mean in orc culture is it not the tradition of the strong to kill the current chief, most preferably one of his sons?"
"Indeed that would be the case, but Flog not feel that Mog deserve it. Mog's reckless behavior with the wendigo is just one example. Mog also prove to be wasteful with slave towns. If Mog take charge, all of this will collapse. Flog not want it to collapse. Flog want orcs to continue to expand kingdom. Crush puny Galen one day and then beyond."
"Beyond huh? That include the shadows Flog?" Talia asks.
"Heh. Perhaps one day the shadows and orcs will do battle and on that glorious day orcs will stand on top of the burning ruins of your god's temple…but not today or even in Flog's lifetime. All Flog ask now is for help, willing to pay large fee. You shadows also left things here when you abandoned this place. Stuffed things in a storeroom, perhaps you might want them back?"

That sounds very familiar.

"So if you don't want Mog to take charge who did you have in mind?" Talia asks.
"Next son in line of course. Skog. Skog smart like Flog but not strong enough to beat Mog. Skog from proper orc woman. Mog from terrible drunken night with an ogress. Glad cannot remember much, but Flog do remember a lot of hair and…"
"Okay didn't quite need those details. So where is Mog?" you say.
"Mog at Mogtown further north plotting my death and preparing to invade Bloodtooth. Be here soon, that's why he needs to die soon. Mog prefer the company of ogres and giants mostly. Mog also have slave witch with him. Human. She one who released the wendigo and try to tame. Foolish. Cannot tame spirits. Bad idea."
"I see…well Talia and I need to talk privately first. Just to discuss the exact details."

Flog nods and lets you and Talia go off in a corner to speak quietly to each other.

"What's wrong?" Talia asks.
"I dunno that part about giving us old shadow items as payment got me suspicious."
"We can always sanctify them first, but I doubt if Flog put any sort of curse on them. If he's honest enough to say the orcs will wage war on us one day he's not going to bother with the same trickery the dark elves did."
"Well there's that too. I'm wondering why the hell should we help a potential enemy in the future."
"Really anyone we perform jobs for could be our enemies in the future."
"True, but they're all human and they generally have a healthier fear of us and death in general than orcs. Flog only has some sense because he's a little smarter and he's known us longer."
"Exactly, these are orcs we're talking about, do you really think it's going to matter who takes charge? While that idea in Flog's head is a nice dream for him, I think we both know it's just that. There is no way orcs are going to stay unified long enough to form some major kingdom of any kind, not for long anyway. Even with Rask more or less under their rule, its still very tribal here and prone to infighting. Besides, with Dendrin on our side, how would then even stand a chance?"
"Heh, yes I suppose so. Though I'm just wondering if rather than dragging our asses further up north and facing giants, ogres, witches and who knows what else out in the open and by ourselves, if we shouldn't just make a different offer to Flog."
"Like what?"
"Well like staying here and helping him in a more direct way. Flog claimed that Mog would probably be coming to invade soon. There will be so much chaos going on, we could probably slip out the fort and move around behind the army to assassinate Mog that way. Might even be easier."
"Yeah, but who knows how long it'll take him to invade or if he'll even come personally and I don't think Flog is going to go for that idea. Besides don't you think being involved in a siege would be even more dangerous than trying to sneak into a town when they aren't expecting trouble?"

[User] You go ahead with the original plan

[Assistant]
Flog probably won't go for it and being here during a siege probably will be just as if not more dangerous.

"Okay, we'll stay here for a moment to get some rest and then get going. I hate to admit it but with the recent wendigo encounter and traipsing across the countryside I'm eager to get this over with since I'm starting to feel my age." You quietly say to Talia.
"Are you going to be okay?"
"Yes, I'll be fine, just need to get this mission over with."

You stay at Blood Tooth for a few hours to rest, but soon set off on your mission since the company of orcs isn't something you or any of the shadows want to endure for very long.

The journey to Mogtown is a miserable one, since the snow begins to fall heavier the further north you go. The snow is so deep that you can't really speed yourself up since your legs are buried in the snow to the point where you can't even run. Cloaking is useless since you're leaving tracks everywhere. By the time you reach your destination, you've half frozen and exhausted.

When you see Mogtown in the distance, you're in for a slight surprise. The front of the town is crawling with troops. Giants, orcs, and ogres are all standing around preparing to invade Blood Tooth no doubt. You expected some guards outside, but nothing like this.

"We'll sneak around the back and scale the wall from there. Mog's probably still inside the town in one of the more important looking buildings." You tell everyone.

Your plan is about the best you can do under the circumstances and while you manage to avoid detection from the patrols, unfortunately there are more wendigos lurking on the outskirts ready to pick anyone off that comes near. They waste no time attacking you and while you're better prepared for such creatures now, the noise ends up attracting the town garrison.

"Quick, scale the walls and let's find this half breed bastard!" you shout.

After scaling the walls you find yourself surrounded by more enemies waiting for you. You have to butcher your way through several orcs and ogres before you can catch a breather. You run down an alleyway to avoid more troops descending on your position.

The alley way seems to have been converted into a slave pen filled with humans. You briefly consider freeing them in order to cause a little chaos, but the humans in the cages look so pathetic, you doubt if they'd have the power to even move.

Suddenly large shadows loom over you in the form of a couple giants who are standing on the outside of the nearby town walls throwing great clots of snow at you.. They succeed in destroying some buildings, killing some slaves as well as slowing you down when you feel a great force slam you to the ground from above.

You struggle to maintain consciousness as you try to dig your way out of an icy grave. You don't have time to morn when you notice Talia's lifeless body as you dig by it. When your head reaches air you take a deep breath, but this small comfort is cut short when you catch an arrow in the skull.