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

[User] Continue

[Assistant]
You begin to concentrate and prepare for whatever is coming at you. A couple of zombies enter and as soon as they see you they shamble over.

You maintain your calmness and focus, backing up only to get out their reach. It's not work though, but you refuse to give up so you do something that you never thought you'd ever use.

You're underground and there are a lot of roots where you're at, you remember a minor spell you learned in you nature magic class. You cast the spell, and the roots entwine the zombies' feet causing them to be unable to move at you anymore. You then concentrate on controlling them, which now comes a lot easier to you because you don't feel in danger anymore.

When you're sure you have a hold on them, you release the roots and then practice telling the zombies what to do. Sort of fun, like having a pet. Your fun is cut short when Mr. Demar reappears.

"Well, that was an interesting way of handling things. Don't think I've ever seen combining nature magic with necromancy before. Usually the student kills one of the zombies with a fireball or something and then focuses all their attention to control the other one. Still, whatever works, and you are one of the few that's managed to control the both of them with no training in necromancy at all, so you have natural talent. And natural talent will serve you better for this path."
"I understand why you gave me the test, but I have to say I thought you'd start me off on raising the dead rather than controlling them first." You say.
"Ah! Yes, that's a common misconception. You want to know why most necromancers fail even before they get started? Because they lack the control. Raising the dead is relatively easy; controlling them takes a great deal more focus and power. Most of the time a neophyte necromancer will go to the local graveyard and end up getting himself killed by the very bodies he raised because he can't control them. Okay, I think it's time we introduce you to the rest of the class. We'll have lots of time to practice while most of the so called regular students are away for vacation."
"Uh, I'm ready, but I was supposed to go visit my family for vacation…and well also I don't think I've passed all my classes either, specifically the nature magic class."
"What? (Sigh) Very well I shall take care of your grade; I know exactly how to handle the situation and I have a lot more pull in this school than most could ever dream of. As for your family members, I'll leave that up to you. Surely you can think up something to tell them, right?"
"Yeah."
"Very well then, it's all settled. Time to meet the rest of your kind."

Once again Mr. Demar takes you through another portal. You're still underground, but now you're in a more structured setting with actual bricks rather than a cave like setting.

You're soon introduced to the rest of Mr. Demar's "class" known as the Dark Order. Some of whom you've actually seen on campus or even in your other classes. Those that know you are surprised.

"You're letting THAT guy in here? I remember him back in Illusion class, and he ended up creating clones that punched the professor in the face!"
"That's nothing, back in Evocation class; he ended up setting the professor on fire."

"Okay that's enough class! I can assure you that he has the potential to master the dark arts. He wouldn't be here if I didn't think so. Now Trelik and Felsa, you're coming with me, the rest of you practice your lessons and one of you help our newest associate here get started, we're all in this together you know."

After Demar leaves with two of his students, you're left to your own devices as it seems nobody wants to help you. You look around the study area a bit and you start to pick up one of the many tomes lying around until someone comes up to you.

"Hey, do you even know what those are for?" an ugly student asks you.
"Well, they have a skull on the front, and from the looks of them they contain descriptions of various types of undead creature. My guess necromancy."
"Yeah, so what do you know of it?"
"Not much, that's why I'm here obviously, isn't that why everyone else is?"
"Not at all, in fact you're only the fifth necromancer-to-be here. Most of the students are into studying how to control the infernal planes. You know Demonology. There's even a guy studying on the lost art of temporal magic."
"Temporal? You mean time?"
"Yep, a lot of people forget about that one being outlawed as well. Good reason, considering it could really fuck up something if not used properly. I'd actually stay away from Quayle, I think all that studying on time has made him a little loopy. He tends to talk backwards, and sideways a lot. Even Mr. Demar has a hard time keeping him on track."
"Interesting, so what's your name, are you a demonologist?"
"Me, nope I'm one of the disciples of death as they say. My name's Sebastian. You might as well meet the others, you'll be working with."

Sebastian takes you over to two other students. Catalina and Irwin. They nod at you and go back to their training which involves creating a some sort of bone golem. Catalina looks somewhat familiar. Sebastian tells you the other is Trelik who just left with Mr. Demar.

"He's the most skilled, besides Mr. Demar of course." Sebastian says.
"So what exactly do I start on first?" you ask.
"I'd start out with raising and controlling some skeletons. I know you probably did the zombie thing, but you'll need to hone your skill a lot and skeletons are easier to practice with. Take this book, and get started. You'll find the bone pits down the corridor and to the right, don't go left though; the demonologists got some bad ass demon locked in a circle down there. He's really pissed off too. Best stay away."

You take one of the necromantic tomes and head down the corridor. On your way there, you begin to hear a voice penetrating your head.

"You, come here. I know you. You seek power. I can give you that power; you need not waste your time studying anymore. I can grant it to you instantly. You want to be a master of death? Come to me…"

This voice is very tempting.

[User] You head to the bone pits

[Assistant]
No way, you're not going down that path. There are too many stories about demons fucking people over in their deals. In fact, you're a little worried about the fact that this "class" has more dedicated demonologist than necromancers. Still you'll just have to deal with it for now, you can only hope they know what they're doing and have a better grasp on things than a certain cabal of wizards did during the Dead War.

As for you, you need to start mastering your own branch of magic. When you get to the pits, you are literally surrounded by bones. You open up your book and begin to read a bit before casting your spell.

Your first attempt isn't too bad. You animate one skeleton, and surprisingly it doesn't attack you. You continue to practice this, and while it's only been an hour, you've already animated thirty skeletons, all of which are completely obedient and not attempting to attack you at all.

You're not sure if this is normal, good or bad for a beginner, but given how many problems you had with other branches of magic, you think you're doing pretty well. In fact you feel pretty proud of yourself.

You decide to get a little more inventive and you see rusty weapons on the floor along with the bones. You command the skeletons to pick them up and begin to start sparring with each other. They do so, without problems.

This sound of minor battle brings in a few of the students, most of whom are shocked.

"What's going…whoa. I thought you said you never did this before." Sebastian says walking in.
"I haven't…I dunno, it's just coming so easy to me. For the first time I feel like I'm actually good at something!" you say.
"Well, it's a lot better than what you did in Enchantment class when you managed to charm all those frogs which then proceeded to attack the professor." Catalina says.
"That was you? I even heard about that. Man, what is it with you and your spells accidentally hurting your professors in some way?" Irwin adds.

You ignore Irwin's question, and address Catalina.
"I thought I remembered you from somewhere. I asked you out once."
"Hmm, yes and you were unsuccessful in that as well. I suggest you stop looking at me and pay attention to your little army there, before they get out of hand. Like that one."

You turn around and stop one of the skeletons that's wandering in your direction and then command him to go back to sparring.

"Man, I've never seen someone with this much control just starting out. Well Trelik comes to mind, but he was already very skilled in general magic and was learning directly under Mr. Demar. From what others have said, you were completely inept at magic and have no previous training in this stuff whatsoever. You're like an idiot savant of necromancy or something." Sebastian says.
"Um…thanks. I think."
"Well anyway, glad you've joined up. We'll leave you be. If you want to try something harder, there's more tomes in the study area and just ask one of us where the other practice centers are."

And so it goes. You find your place among the Dark Order and practice your skills there, in fact it gets to the point that you rarely leave the secret underground base at all. You begin to catch the attention of Mr. Demar who is very impressed with your ability to learn and master so quickly. "Natural" isn't the word for it, more like prodigy. Trelik however is showing signs of jealousy…

Mr. Demar has to tell you to take a break every now and then or else you'll drain yourself. You don't feel that way though, you feel like you have more energy than ever.

As he promised your grades were "fixed" though Mr. Demar's actions meaning you don't get kicked out of the college. You tell your parents that you're taking an advanced course in magic that requires you to stay and how you're really excited about it. Your Mom is a little disappointed that she won't see you, but is happy to hear that you're doing so much better in school.

If she only knew…

The City of Nuro is a quieter place with less students around, but the guise of secrecy still must be kept. After a month has passed you find out that this "class" aren't the only allies Mr. Demar has. He's been teaching the dark arts for years and most of his "graduates" are living in this city. The attack is going to come when classes first start up again. Demar feels that it will actually be more beneficial to attack with more people in the city because after the demons are done with the killing, the Necromancers can raise the dead to reinforce the hold on the city.

One key part in all of this is Quayle. He is to cast a slow spell of the greatest proportions over the city. While everyone else is moving at a near stand still, the Dark Order will be able to take over key locations much easier.

While all of this sounds exciting you can't help but still be concerned about this plan. Mr. Demar is placing most of his faith in the demonologist, which you suppose is understandable given his background in conjuration, but you feel as if you necromancers are getting put on the backburner. Sure you're playing your part, but it almost seems as if you're just there as "back up". Not to mention you're still not keen on the whole idea of dealing with so many demons.

Of course these concerns are the least of your problems as another month goes by, Trelik is becoming a complete asshole to you. Within the short time you've been here, he's time and time again attempted to sabotage your spells, but usually you manage to overcome.

You've got a month to go before the final plans are in place, but suddenly Mr. Demar has some news he's not pleased to inform everyone of.

"Class, we've got a delegate from the Vampire Clans. I don't think I have to tell you how annoying this is."

You ask Sebastian what's the problem and what exactly is going. Sebastian tells you that ever since the clans heard about Demar's plans, they've been strongly opposed to them for they fear that it will draw attention to their one last stronghold which is kept invisible and secret to the rest of the world. It is there where the last of the "ruling" class vampires still exist, most of them having been killed or degenerated into little more than mindless beasts that are eventually hunted down.

While you're fascinated by Sebastian's explanation of things, you're suddenly singled out by Trelik.

"YOU! Do you find this so unimportant that you feel the need not to pay attention?"
"No. I just didn't know the whole situation and I was asking…"
"If you wanted more information you should've been asking Mr. Demar after he was done talking!"
"Okay, okay. That will do Trelik. Someone should've explained it to him before actually, given that he'll be playing a large part in this plan. In fact, maybe he should come with me to meet the delegate instead."
"But Mr. Demar! I have more experience in this sort of thing!"
"True, but to be quite honest, the blood suckers don't care too much for you. You're too combative. So how about it? Do you wish to be present when I speak to this delegate?"

[User] You go with Mr. Demar

[Assistant]
"Sure I'll go."
"Very well, you and Felsa are coming with me. Trelik, you go brush up on the attack strategy."
"But!"
"No buts! Just do it!"

Trelik storms off while you, Mr. Demar and Felsa head towards the conference room. When you arrive, you see a single pale emaciated figure. He doesn't look at all like the vampires you've heard of in past. There is no regality here.

"It's about time you showed up. I must confess I was not enthused about you leaving me here waiting like a dog. We have very important matters to discuss!" he hisses.
"My apologies Yolev. I just needed to take care of a few things. Please sit, and let us all discuss this."
"There really is no discussion Mr. Demar! You are to cease your plan immediately lest you face the full brunt of the vampire clans! Your foolish mortal desires will kill us all and we cannot allow that to happen! We must continue to survive!"
"Survive? Is that all you vampires worry about anymore? Why at one time you were secret rulers and puppet masters. Hell, without you the Great Lich Lord wouldn't have made nearly as much progress as he did."
"And THAT folly of those ignorant vampires is exactly why we must stop you now. The Dead War cost us greatly, we should not have thrown our lot in with a mad man who was determined to bring death to the world. It was only at the last minute that the wiser of us realized to do so would be detrimental to us. Almost too late. We are only a shadow of our former selves, but that shadow is still long…and we can make life difficult for you." Yolev warns.
"I don't respond well to idle threats, but I will say this, your fears are unfounded. The Dark Order is not seeking to bring death to the world, we are merely going to reestablish the proper order of things. The strong were meant to rule, and WE are the strong. Those who master the dark arts have always been strong. It is why we are so feared and hated and hunted. You should not be against us Yolev. You should see this as an opportunity to reestablish your rightful place as vampires."

Mr. Demar's words have a slight effect on Yolev. He falls silent and looks almost wistful of ancient times, when his kind roamed more free in civilization, rather than hiding and cowering on the outskirts like animals. He quickly snaps out of it though.

"Idealistic words, Mr. Demar, but even if we were still to use what little influence we still have, I cannot believe that you and a few students can change the world. Even if you manage to take this one city, you can't believe that you'll get away with it. You there! You're one of these students are you not? What do you think? And tell me what you TRULY think, not what Mr. Demar wants you to think." Yolev points to you.

"Well uh…I think we can do it." You stutter off guard.
"…You think you can do it? Is that all you have to say about it? This is what you're working with Mr. Demar? How could we ever place any faith in your plan when you're training near idiots that can barely form sentences?"
"Yolev, you might be a delegate, but you best watch your tone, you're not in the best position right now, and given your previous threats you're already treading on dangerous ground."
"You dare to threaten ME? I've crushed greater men AND women than you!"
"Yeah, and now you're a running lap dog for some so called vampire king who rules over nothing but a few remaining scraps of a dying legacy."

As this begins to get hostile, you notice Felsa preparing to cast something.

You think that if you say anything, things are only going to get worse, so you stand back and do nothing, but hostilities don't cease and eventually Felsa casts a blast of fire at Yolev, he falls to the floor trying to beat out the flames, but Demar isn't pleased.

"FELSA! WHY DID YOU DO THAT!?" he shouts and then finishes off Yolev by casting some sort of spell that causes his chest to explode. Two Imps suddenly appear and begin to rip Yolev apart before he can get a chance to recover.

"The pair of you really fucked up today! You with your actions and you with your bumbling! I might as well had Trelik with me! Shit! (Sigh) Alright. Fine we can still do this, but the vampires are going to be pissed off at us now for killing their delegate and it's definitely going to make things harder. Come on we got a lot to prepare for."

The last month is no picnic. Mr. Demar has you all training a lot harder than you have before. He's been pushing everyone a lot harder to the point that they're getting tired and sloppy. One of the demonologists gets eaten by a brimstone beast. Another accidentally casts a spell backwards and causes himself to be sucked into the infernal realm. Morale isn't exactly the highest.

But the plan goes through and after the first week classes go back in session, the gates of hell are literally opened. Portals appear all over various parts of not only the campus, but also the city. Demons come swarming out of the portals gleefully killing all in their path. The demonologist lead the attack, while you and the other three necromancers take advantage of all the new corpses in the area. Soon, you have a fair sized army of dead. Mr. Demar himself is taking on the head professors at the college, with the help of Felsa and Trelik. Given the amount of explosions you're seeing from the streets, you're glad you got a "lower" assignment.

All seems to be going well until it looks like the demons have decided to leave the city limits, one of the demonologists tries to corral them back shouting that they are supposed to only concentrate on Nuro, but they laugh and simply say: "You didn't mention that in the deal!"

With the demons completely unreliable now, it's up to you necromancers to take up the slack. You do alright, but there's still a lot of resistance and something has gone wrong with Quayle's spell as your attackers are beginning to move at a normal rate instead of a slower one.

You don't see this ending well, unless something changes quick. Even if you win, you know you got a shit load of problems ahead of you.

[User] You attempt to regroup

[Assistant]
Victory isn't beyond your grasp, you just need to regroup and organize. You immediately seek out Irwin, Sebastian and Catalina.

You find Sebastian and Catalina, and they're running low on viable corpses.

"Hey, glad you could get here, the Nuro mage guards are putting up a hell of a fight! The demonologists can't keep the demons in line and whatever former graduates Mr. Demar had to help us are probably all dead by now!" Sebastian explains.
"Yeah, it's bad all over. Where's Irwin?" you ask.
"Irwin? He's dead; can't you see his body lying over there with all the arrows in it?" Catalina points out.
"Well, no point in letting this go to waste, we need all the help we can get." You say and command Irwin to rise to join the rest of the horde

You tell Catalina and Sebastian to hand control over the rest of their troops to you, as if you can concentrate them with a single mind, you'll be able to break the doors down of city hall and take out the remainder of the mage guards holding out there. You also tell them that one should head back to the college itself and go check on Quayle, and the other should go help out Mr. Demar.

Oddly enough Sebastian and Catalina obey your orders immediately. You begin to feel even more confident in your power of command. You proceed to tell your now larger undead horde to attack the last bastion of Nuro's governmental control. You unleash blasts of dark energy at the mage guards who attempt to defend from the windows while your zombies and skeletons break down the doors and begin to massacre all those inside.

You enter the building nearly oblivious to the carnage. You feel a very real sense of calming peace amongst the death. Eventually you encounter the "First Citizen" of Nuro busily trying to slay as many of your soldiers as possible, but as you continue to raise them, even he realizes it's a futile endeavor.

A skeleton warrior hacks his arm off with an axe, and then a recently raised mage guard clubs him in the head with a small mace. He falls to the floor of his own office before your feet and looks up at you.

"Why? You…you'll never get away with this…" he sputters as he bleeds out.
"You might be right, but it'll be interesting to see if I do." You calmly say and kick him in the face before another skeleton lands a killing blow to him. He is then raised to join the ranks.

You exit the building and notice that the city is near empty. At least as far as the living go. The dead however are plentiful, bodies litter the streets. More resources for you, you think.

A demonologist looking very worn from battle sees you and you have to stop your small horde from attacking.

"Hey hold on! I'm on your side! Shit, this didn't turn out as planned, did it?"
"Oh I dunno, we got the city."
"Yeah, but Mr. Demar is still battling the rest of the staff in the college and I'm really worried about what the hell's going on with Quayle's spell, I don't know if you've experienced it yet, but I've been seeing buildings phase in and out of existence. I knew fucking around with time would be trouble!"
"Where are all of the demons?" you ask.
"Most of them left! I mean there's a few that stuck around, most of the weaker variety. There was a major demon called Velzix who was supposed to be helping, but he took off as well. Bah! Unreliable lot they are. I should've done what you did, become a necromancer! The dead always obey."
"Not always…but you may still fulfill your wish after all this is over, so where exactly are Mr. Demar and Quayle, I mean I know they're in the university, but where exactly?"
"You can't miss either one of them, Quayle's located in east section of campus, where you see all the damn buildings phasing in and out. As for Mr. Demar, well I'm sure you can still hear the explosions. I'm going to try to corral at least some of the imps and help Mr. Demar, I'm not going anywhere near the eastside of the campus though. I'm off!"

The demonologist runs to go do what he said, leaving you with a couple choices of proceeding. You could go try to fix this problem with Quayle since it won't do anyone any good if the city collapses on itself or disappears to gods know where, of course you don't know exactly what you're going to do, hell you've never even spoken to Quayle before. He was always kept locked up by himself in his room studying most of the time.

Of course you could go help Mr. Demar, chances are he could solve the problem with Quayle a lot better if he survives.

[User] You go deal with Quayle

[Assistant]
Mr. Demar is a powerful wizard and he's already got help, along with the help you sent and also the help that's coming. You need to do something about this time problem.

When you get to the east campus, the demonologist was right, you see a lot of weird things going on, nearby plants are growing older and younger before your eyes, buildings are indeed disappearing and reappearing. It's a mess. You see Catalina watching it all in wonder. She looks at you briefly only to acknowledge your presence and then goes back to watching the changing landscape.

"I see you choose to check on Quayle." You say.
"Yeah, I think he's in that small gray building over there, the only one that seems to be stable. I can't get to him though, well at least I'm not risking it, I sent some of my troops in there and I watched them either accelerate in rot and disintegrate, or even stranger actually turn back into their living selves until they eventually became babies and then nothing. In fact I'm getting out of here as it only seems to be getting worse. This plan sucks." Catalina replies.
"Well someone's gotta go in, so I guess I'll do it. I've risked too much already to fail. I suggest you go help Mr. Demar." you exclaim.
"Wow, this whole thing has really made you really authoritative. You've come a long way since Enchantment class."
"Yeah well I've had a revelation that I'm really good at this necromancy stuff and I won't be denied my career in it before it's truly begun."

You suddenly grab Catalina and kiss her on the lips; she pushes you away and slaps your face.

"What the fuck do you think you're doing?! Just because you're not incompetent at one thing, doesn't automatically mean I'm wet for you!"
"Well let me show you I'm not incompetent in two things then!"
"Ha ha. Maybe later, like next century. Nice try though. But I will go help Mr. Demar seeing as that would be the best course of action for me. Good luck with the time storm there."

As you check out Catalina's ass as she leaves you realize you should be focusing on the task at hand, but it's just you feel so alive for the first time in awhile as ironic as that may seem given the circumstances.

You begin to employ the same strategy that Catalina did, and you get mostly the same results she did, however you currently have a lot more troops than she, so eventually you manage to map out a safe path to the building she thought Quayle was located in.

Apparently she was right, you see him sitting in one of the auditorium class rooms in a lotus like position on the floor in a trance. A strange white field of energy surrounds him.

"You are the future…there is no future…there are many futures…it's all so fascinating…" he says in an echoed voice.
"Hey Quayle, we pretty much won, you can stop doing whatever it is you're doing with time now. It's really starting to mess things up."
"Things have started to get better…they will get worse…they will stay the same, all is relative… how will you proceed…you have decided…"
"Uh, yeah. Look Quayle you NEED to stop what you're doing, the whole fucking city is going to disappear if you don't, and I don't want to know where it might end up. So stop this right now!"

As soon as you give this order, a flash of light appears from above Quayle's head and a bizarre creature with way too many tentacles comes out. Naturally it attacks. You dodge out of the way of its tentacle whip and command what remains of your troops to attack. You don't know why, but you don't feel very well in its presence. You feel like you're about to vomit.

"There are so many things…worse than hell…worse than death…madness…insanity…I must show everyone…I have shown everyone…I have lost…I have won…"

Quayle's either gone completely mad, or he's speaking perfect sense. Probably both, but either way if this one creature is any indication of what he's talking about, you'll have to stop him, but you're having a really hard time concentrating as strange thoughts begin to enter your mind. You see all manner of images from the past and the present…you dare say the future. It's all going so fast though and you're getting dizzy.

[User] You cast a blast of negative energy at Quayle

[Assistant]
You attempt to concentrate, but as you do so another strange creature appears and smacks you in the face, knocking you to the ground. You don't even have time to recover before it begins to wrap one of its powerful tentacles around your head and squeezes until your skull cracks and your brains come leaking out.

Given what is in store for the world, you were lucky to be killed so quickly.


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

[User] You lash out at the city minds, crush them before their horde does any more damage

[Assistant]
You let out an angry roar and concentrate hard on attacking again, leaving the Old Man to try and salvage some of his infected. You lash out hard again at the two minds but without the Old man, you are no longer crushing them, they are holding you at bay, you fall further into rage and push with all your might, thinking that you are still make some headway against them when you feel something hitting your own defenses. You had neglected them and pain shoots into your mind as you quickly shore them up but a small light seems to slip in a crack and your entire mind seems to suddenly explode with pain and colours, blocking all of your senses for several seconds.

You stagger back and rub your temples until your mind recovers, it was some cheap trick by them, your defenses were still intact. The old man laughs at you "You fell for such a weak trick? I trained you better than that! Now attack them while I salvage the horde you threw away!" You simply hiss at him then turn back to your attack, they wouldn't get away with it.

Again you lash out and again at the peak of your attack your mind explodes in colours and lights. This time you hear the Old Man swearing when you return and see that the battle has been totally lost, there are also several humanoid mutants moving your way at incredible speed, some small but ridiculously fast, others larger than delivery vans yet still moving at speed.

You try and think of the best plan when the Old Man insults you again "Weakling, you couldn't even distract them properly!" This time was enough and you lash out at him only to be met by his attack, you strive against each other and this time you are almost equally matched.

You suddenly see him scream in pain and clutch his head, you try to push the advantage but your own head explodes in pain again and you realize too late that in your rage, you ignored the other enemies. As your senses come back to you, you see the fist of the monstrosity that reached you first. "It's first is the size of my entire torso." You think right before it slams into you.

You feel your entire ribcage crushing inward and destroying your organs, then your back hits something hard and blood is forced out of your mouth like a fountain. But you are still alive. You try to move, to get away but as you raise your head you see several of the smaller ones coming for you. The big ones now seem more concerned with the Old Man who is screaming at them "I am the End of You! The Endmaster! You cannot stop me!" sadly he is wrong as you see them catch him and tear his upper body in half before beginning to eat him.

You turn back to the ones near you, they seem small, almost weak compared to the others until one moves close faster than you even though possible for something to move, one moment it was several metres away and the next it was beside you and your arm was gone. The others then move and you barely feel it as they remove your head.


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

[User] You mix of food and guns

[Assistant]
"Pack both," you say. 'We'll need some of both." Conway nods, and begins packing. You take half the food and half the guns, burying the rest so no one else can get to it. After the duffel bag is full, you move into the streets.

You can immediately tell what the others were talking about. Where the streets used to be empty (of zombies, not of cars), there are now vast hordes. They aren't moving in any direction, or at all for that matter. They just bump into each other and walk in circles. You and Conway elect to stay off the roads, and slip between buildings.

Meanwhile, Conway keeps a conversation going with the other soldier. Through garbled radio speech, you hear him tell you what's going on. The dead are mostly avoiding the museum, which is why that's their pick-up spot.

You're sneaking past a rogue group of zed when the radio suddenly emits a loud burst of static. The group slowly turns their heads, and they growl at a potential food source. "Oh, please no," Conway whispers. The dead slowly hobble over to where you're advancing. You don't know whether to keep sneaking or lash out, but Conway makes that decision for you. Whipping out his knife, he takes the top half the the closest zombie's skull off with one sweep.

You draw your knife, and take care of a few of the others. After the horde is cleared, Conway switches off the walkie talkie. "Not gonna go through that again."

You slowly progress through the city amongst the waves of walkers. Eventually, the museum is in sight. You're surprised to see an actual helicopter guarded by a handful of soldiers. Conway switches the walkie talkie back on.

"We can see you, over."

Tchhhhhh....okay, that's good......These hordes are getting worse....no way you're gonna make it through here.....we can provide covering fire......run for it......

You look at Conway, and nod. The soldiers reveal several guns, and start firing on the group of zombies. Taking the chance, you follow Conway through the gunfire. A few zombies attempt to follow you, but you're moving too fast for them. When you get past the hordes, the soldiers wave to you and open the helicopter doors. "GET IN!"

You climb into the helicopter after Conway, with a sea of rotting flesh at your heels. You slam the door shut, and hear the helicopter blades whir to life. "Come on! Let's get this bird off the ground!" shouts one of the soldiers. The helicopter slowly lifts off the ground, with a few zombies holding on for dear life to the bottom. They slip free once you're airborne.


[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 don't comply with his demands

[Assistant]
You tell Calwin you're not paying him anything more than he's getting and that it's complete bullshit that he's jacking up his prices like this. Calwin goes on a rant about supply and demand and how he's doing you a favor.

The argument heats up, but ultimately ends when your mother grabs your dad's Troll Gun from under the bar counter and points it at him, telling him to get the hell out before she blows his head off. He and his lackeys leave, which means you'll have no alcohol supply this month.

"I told you we shouldn't have dealt with him at all now we'll have to go back to the Klyton supplier and they probably won't even get around to delivering a shipment to us until near the end of the month! We'll have to make due with what we have left and given how much those miners drinks, we won't have enough!"

"Well maybe we could water down the drinks or something…" you say trying to think of a solution.

"Water down the drinks? Are you serious? That's not going to work and we're going to lose people doing that! Those miners are some serious drinkers, they're going to know the difference."

"If you hadn't chased Calwin out with a gun, I might've been able to reason with him. Okay fine, the only other solution I can think of is we'll have to make our own ale."

"And how do we do that? I don't have any experience in doing that and we don't have license to do it either!"

"I took some chemistry classes, I'm fairly certain I could try to build a still and…"

"And that's even worse than watering down the drinks. Look, I'm tired just thinking about all this and I'm going to rest before the business hours start."

[User] You start watering down the drinks

[Assistant]
You figure you'll be able to stretch out your alcohol supply just long enough to get your next shipment and you'll just have to hope for the best.

That very night you're already getting comments that the ale doesn't taste quite as strong, this results in the miners ordering MORE ale since they aren't getting drunk on what you're currently giving them. This means you end up having less alcohol to stretch things out.

By the end of the week, you're getting loud verbal complaints about the ale, and outright accusations that it tastes like water. Several miners are insulted and leave the inn claiming that they've been loyal patrons here for so long and that they don't need to be treated like this. You attempt to explain, but they shove you out of the way and tell you to go back to your fancy college.

"I wish I could." You quietly say to yourself.

You aren't optimistic about the rest of the month. Sure there's still adventurers and the odd wanderer, but not enough to turn a profit before you get in the next shipment. This still wouldn't be so bad except it's going to be time to pay Mr. Reynolds soon and you're going to fall short again.

Your mother can't bare to see you get hurt again and suggests forgetting all about the inn and just taking off with all the remaining money you have and going to live with your crazy aunt Enora.

[User] You leave Klyton

[Assistant]
You agree with your mother, you don't want to take another beating and that was only a punch in the stomach from an ogre. Who knows what they'll do to you next?

You and your mother pack as quickly as you can and catch a late coach heading west. It feels weird leaving Klyton, in fact now that you think about it, you've never been out of city before.

Eventually after a couple days the coach stops in Teckleville where your aunt lives. Teckleville is just one of the many small villages on the borders of the Dalantium Kingdom. Probably in time it'll get absorbed like so many others do, but that's not really a concern of yours right now.

Your aunt Enora is happy to see you both, and while this whole living with her thing was sprung on her at the last moment it doesn't seem to bother her. She says there's plenty of room and you can stay as long as you like.

While the house is certainly nice and you're happy to live there rather than in the street, it's sort of on the small side and you feel like you have no privacy. Teckleville isn't anything like you're used to either. The whole small town thing just doesn't appeal to you, and you feel trapped with a bunch of boring backwards people. It's even worse than when you were stuck serving the miners.

You were supposed to do greater things! Your were going to be a doctor! You did everything right and studied hard and what do you have to show for it? Nothing! You're stuck in some cow town where the best job you can hope to get is probably shoveling shit. Some future.

"Thanks dad, you fucking idiot." You say throwing a rock against a barn door.

In time, your mother works at the local tavern where she serves as a cook. It's not much, but it is something she's used to doing.

You manage to get a job working as an assistant to the mean old bastard who runs the general store. It's a thankless job, but he's about the only one who'll hire you since nobody else will work for him and everyone else thinks you have a superiority complex (Which is sort of true) and won't hire you.

The only upside is since you live at your aunt's house you manage to save what little money you do make. You have a plan to head to the Delantium Kingdom and start fresh again, because staying here isn't in your future.

Unfortunately neither is the Delantium Kingdom.

One night while you're sleeping an oversized hand covers your mouth and two more grab your arms. You open your eyes to see Olaf grinning at you in the darkness.

"What? Did you really think we'd forget about you? Don't worry about the debt anymore kid, consider it paid with your family's life." You hear Mr. Reynolds whisper before he shoves a knife into your stomach and rips it up to your chest.

The next day your aunt's friend finds the bloody bodies of you, your mother and your aunt. The incident becomes known as the Teckleville Massacre.


[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 attack the guard on the wall and dodge the three below

[Assistant]
You turn and sprint toward the mind coming your way and leap out of the darkness at him. His gun goes off too but again you are not hit as you snap his neck. You stand and begin to run when you hear the shot and feel the impact in your back. You stumble and look behind. The guards below should be too far to see you in the darkness but you realize you had jumped into torchlight when you killed the guard and lit up your actions for everyone to see.

The next shot is followed by a burst from an automatic weapon and you die just as quickly as the guard you had punched.


[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] Continue

[Assistant]
"Uh... the... the fi..." you stutter, tripping over your words as the vampire growls.

"Have I found myself with another fool, a boy with the mind of a mule?" the vampire says, his long, gleaning white fangs, the corners of his mouth still red with your blood. "I've had a year out of you. Perhaps it's best to finish you off now."

Count Grey slowly walks forward, snarling as his fangs poke out, looking like huge spears.

[User] You stand your ground

[Assistant]
You stand your ground, as the vampire grabs you by the throat, lifting you into the air. His grip is tight, strangling you as he snarls, looking you at you with his cold, dark eyes.

"I'm going to feel nothing as you die," he says.

Your brain begins to scream from lack of oxygen, as his eyes stare into yours. Your vision gets blurry, as your head begins to pulse with a desire to simply close your eyes and pass out. Suddenly, he releases you from his grip, as he drops you to the ground.

"Perhaps… perhaps you're ready to truly serve. Your life is mine, Samuel. If I decide to break your neck, you'll lay your head down on the table and have your neck broken, understood?"

"Ye... yes, sir. Whatever you desire," you manage to spit out.

"Good. The rich one, was it?" the vampire says, smiling. "Follow me."

You quickly begin following, walking along the stone road. You stop at one of the larger brick houses, with a fancy looking brass knocker. Count Grey briefly knocked on the wooden door, waiting. There was a loud noise inside, as the owner scrambled to get ready. The door opened on a chain, with an elderly bespectacled man peering out.

"May I... oh, my..." the man said, stepping back.

Count Grey grabbed him by the throat, tearing the door open as the chain snapped. Count Grey raised the man into the air, tossing him aside.

"Follow," Count Grey shouted, as the old man struggled to stand, grabbing a letter opener.

"Stay back!" he said. "You stay away from..."

Count Grey let out a snarl, as he bared his teeth, his eyes filling his hunger. The old man meekly dropped the letter opener, stepping back. Count Grey walked forward into the house, sniffing the air. With a quick kick, he smashed the door open. You stood behind him, watching as a young girl barely into her teens lies, wearing a night gown. From the wet path on both the gown and the sheets she's curdled up in, it appears she's peed herself.

"Ah... so fresh... so young... so delicious," Count Grey says.

The girl screams for her grandfather, but Count Grey simply grabs her by the hair, in a quick jerk ripping her from the bed. Count Grey walked along the hallway, dragging her towards the coach. You follow, passing the disgraced looking grandfather.

"Grandpapa! Grandpapa!" the girl screamed, as her father just looked down, ashamed.

Count Grey dragged her into the coach, throwing her into the back, before locking it. He motioned for you to follow.

"It's a beautiful night. The moon's full in the sky. I need to... negotiate with a few of the beasts of the night. I shan't be long. When to the West the honorless dogs create endless machines of war and to the East our enemies have endless' souls to give, we could always use more allies, yes?"

You nod slowly, as the Vampire slides his coat off his gaunt frame, holding it out. You stare at it, before realizing he wants you to take it and grabbing it.

"Take the girl back to the castle. Detain her. Then, await my return."

"Yes, sir," you respond, as your master turns away, strolling off into the night.

[User] You head back to the castle

[Assistant]
You walk towards the shotgun seat, climbing up to sit next to Haygarth.

"The girl is alive and in my coach, yet the master is not. What happened?" he asks.

"Count Grey is hunting. You need to take me and the girl home."

"What's to become of the girl? Is she a blood bag, or a new apprentice?" Haygarth asks, raising an eye. "Neither would be particularly surprising."

"I don't know," you admit.

"So be it," Haygarth replies.

You put your head against the back of the coach, and close your eyes as you head towards the castle.

[User] You an Hour Later...

[Assistant]
The coach enters the castle gate, as you climb off the coach. Haygarth lowers the portcullis, as you go to the back to open the coach. The girl sits there, staring at you in terror.

"Get out," you command.

The girl nods, crawling ahead as she gets out of the coach. You grab her by the wrist, leading her along to the coach. She doesn't talk, seemingly in shock. She doesn't say a word, instead staring at you in terror. You wonder if you should try to converse, to calm her, or keep unemotional and professional about this issue.

[User] You talk to the rich girl

[Assistant]
"So, do you have a name?" you say.

"Yelena," she says, struggling to even talk.

"My name's Samuel."

You walk on for another few seconds of silence, as she looks at you, her face pale.

"Am I going to die?" she asks.

"You..." you begin to say, before she stares at you, trying to see if you're lying. "I don't know. I'm sorry."

She nods.

You show her down the stairs, before leading her into a prison cell. You lock the cell door, staring at her from behind the bars. She stares blankly ahead, leaning against the wall and sliding down to lean against it, her nightgown now covered in mud and dirt.

You leave her there, now secured, and end up heading to bed for a few hours sleep before Count Grey arrives back.

[User] You sleep...

[Assistant]
You awake to the prick of fangs against your neck. You don't move, taking in a deep breath.

"You looked so... so appetizing. Let's go. We need to finish the last stage of your path towards becoming a true apprentice."

You nod, standing. You make your way down to the prison cell, where the girl still waits. She looks up, terrified.

"What... what is to be done with her?" you gulp.

"She is food. Learn that fact," your master says.

The vampire draws a long dagger from his side, handing it to you.

"If you're going to be my Ghoul, you need to prove you're capable of preparing my food. Kill her,"

You hold the knife, staring at it as the girl begins to cry. You notice from the wet patch growing on her nightgown, she's pissed herself once more.

"Kill her. She's weak, you're strong. Slice open her throat, so I can feed," Count Grey commanded.

The girl breaks into sobs as Count Grey opens the cell door, swinging it ajar and motioning for you to enter. You nod, walking forward with the knife held tightly in your hand.

[User] You kill her

[Assistant]
You step forward, into the cell. You close your eyes, moving forward as you grab the girls' head. You hold the knife to her throat as she struggles desperately, her fingernails scratching at your face. You stab her through the throat, directly through the main vein. She collapses, shuddering as blood spurts out and begins to run down her neck, staining her hair crimson. You feel like bursting into tears, but you know to show weakness would be to end up like her… if you were lucky.

"Good," Count Grey says, tossing a rag forward. "Hold it against her neck to stem the bleeding, and then pick her up and follow me."

You grab the girl, holding the rag tightly against the wound to stem the bleeding. You lift her over your shoulder, standing up. You follow Count Grey along the hall. Soon, you find yourself in front of a large, wooden door. Haygarth has forbidden you from entering, which only mean that you had one less room to clean. Count Grey pulls a short, silver key from his pocket. He opens the door, revealing a massive storage room. The room is filled with cabinets and shelving units. They're all filled with crystal bottles, filled with a scarlet red ichor.

"This castle was built to withstand a siege. It's storerooms could keep a force here going for years with wheat, potatoes, salted meats and more, as well as small gardens. Unfortunately, I require a more… delicate solution to avoid starving."

You look at the endless bottles of blood, wondering how many lives were given to fill them.

"It's quite hard to successfully bottle blood. Let alone hard hard it is to get it from the victim without a needle and a few hours. You'll need to get quite good at that."

"You want me to kill people and bottle their blood?" you ask.

"Yes. Not just anyone. Virgins, particularly. Once they've lost that, their blood's impure, and will spoil quickly enough outside the body. After that, you'll need to keep it around for a few days, make sure it doesn't spoil."

"I thought you said virgin blood doesn't spoil."

"It doesn't, but in this day and age, it's so hard to tell. I always struggle to pick out my targets. I want them to be young enough to be a virgin, but still old enough to… well, perhaps from the morality my tribe taught me oh so many years ago, I don't want to kill babies, or children that young. I'm perfectly willing to, mind you, but I don't find it necessary when there are so many other potential blood bags. Even then, you can never be sure. You always have some human filth so enamored with mortal concepts like sex that they end up defiling children. You'd be surprised by how young I've found my victims to be, yet still spoiled. Oh, they say power corrupts, but it just lets people be who they are naturally. Perhaps some day, we'll see who you are at heart."

"Does… does it have to be children?" you ask. "What about someone like… the Catholic priests in the village?"

"Ha! I'd be able to find more virgins among the girls at the whore house then at the church!" Count Grey says, laughing. His laughter is… unnatrual. Even though you understand the context to the joke, you still somehow feel as if he's laughing maniacally since he's got you at his mercy, which you suppose he does.

You weakly smile, before the weight of the dead girl over your shoulders becomes too much and you lower her onto the cold stone floor, keeping the now red, sticky rag pressed against her wound.

"Ah, yes. We're wasting time," he says.

Count Grey grabs a crystal bottle, handing to you.

"Move the rag, and replace it with bottle. Fill it," he says.

You take the bottle and remove the rag, quickly pressing the bottle against the bleeding wound, as blood continues to flow into it. You take effort not to look at the girl's face, watching as the bottle is slowly filled.

"The heart is a tremendous organ, isn't it?" Count Grey says, licking his lips. "So… fresh. So… delicious."

The vampire snarls, taking a deep breath. For a second, his face contorts into a combination of that of a starving man willing to break any moral code to feed his hunger, that of a hate-filled demon knowing nothing other than the negative emotions that plague the depths of man's soul, as well as that of a beast, knowing only hunger. You step back, almost knocking over a rack of bottles, before Count Grey pauses.

"Don't worry, little one. It's just that staring at the blood makes me so, so thirsty. I'd imagine you'll be able to fill up a lot more bottles than I, seeing as you won't be tempted to down the bottle you're filling at any given moment."

Count Grey takes the bottle, pouring a small amount into an ornate wooden bowl, before capping the bottle with a crystal stopper.

"No, we test. You get this little box," he said, grabbing an oak box from the cabinet, and opening it to reveal various things.

Count Grey draws out a long tooth, seemingly from a vampire. It looks to be a curved, deadly sharp fang.

"This belonged to Elise the Skin-Taker. You need to drop the fang in the bowl, and leave it there for three days. If the tooth is no different, put the tooth back in the box and put the bottle with the others. If the tooth has turned black, dump out the blood and wash out the bottle. Then, use a blade to scrape of the rotten outside, and put the rest, the tooth that's not rotten, back in the box. Be careful. A tooth can only last two or three of these, and I only have so many. Getting more takes another trip to the wilder regions and find a maddened, bestial vampire without reason or logic, a bandit who has found himself with the gifts of the blood moon or some aspiring Vampire who wishes to be a count."

Count Grey puts the bottle on the stone table, next to the bowl.

"You've prepared your first bottle, little one. You'll prepare many more. You've proven yourself tonight. Now, your job changes. Follow me," he says.

Count Grey walks along the hallways, stopping at a small, wooden door that again has remained locked during your stay here. He opens it with the same key, before handing it to you.

"Here. This is your new room," he says, opening the door.

In stark contrast with your last room, a simple tiny bed in a barren room, this one is surprisingly less furnished. A desk and chair stands there, a mirror, a wardrobe and a large bed. A gun rack sits by the single window, with two rifles and a shotgun in it.

"Thank you, thank you master!" you say.

"Open the wardrobe," Count Grey commands.

You walk forward, opening the wardrobe. Inside is a pair of black leather boots, black trousers, a black shirt, a dark red leather long coat and belt and a dark red tri-corner hat.

"Put it on," Count Grey commands.

You quickly get undressed, as Count Grey stares, bored, at the wall. You get dressed into the outfit, turning to look back at your master.

"Yes... it fits well. Kneel, dog," the vampire says.

You drop to your knee, bowing your head low. You look up at Count Grey, who raises his arm to his mouth. He bites it, releasing a flow of blood that runs down his hands. He holds it out, staring at you expectantly.

"Drink," he commands.

You look at the burgundy liquid running down the vampire's arm, in stark contrast with the white, ghastly skin. You put your mouth to the wound, and begin to suck.

The liquid is like a poison. Your skin begins to tingle, as you feel drowsy. You try to pull your head away, but the vampire holds it in place.

"Drink!" he commands aggressively.

You keep drinking the cold liquid down, as your stomach begins to churn. You feel like you're about to collapse into a coma, as the blood seems to drain your life source. Finally, Count Grey lets you pull your head back.

"Rise, ghoul," he commands.

You stand, trying not to puke. You look at Count Grey, who raises an eyebrow.

"Are you going to vomit, child?" he asks.

You feel the puke rise up in your throat, but hold it down, shaking your head.

"Well done," he says. "Now, you're a ghoul. No longer will you work like a slave with Haygarth. You will hunt for me when I am busy. You will scout and pick out potential prey. You will guard the castle. You will be a true minion."

You nod, eagerly.

"I... am yours, master," you say.

[User] Three Years Later...

[Assistant]
You sit in the shotgun seat of a carriage with Haygarth at the reins. It's been a long journey. You have to venture to meet with King Ferdinand I in order to arrange taxation laws and other things you haven't been educated well enough to understand. You're finally entering the territory under Count Grey's control, staring out at the village you're entering as the sun falls in the distance.

"Stop here," you say. "I want to grab a bite to eat."

"We must be home soon!" Haygarth says. "Count Grey's in the back, he might wake up soon. Sun's almost gone."

You're hungry, thirsty and you've been traveling for the past three days. There's no way in hell you're going back to the castle for Haygarth to cook up his famous soup, which you're certain he's literally shitting in.

[User] You attempt to convince Haygarth to stop

[Assistant]
"Haygarth, be fair here. Do you really want to go back to the castle to have to cook for us? We could quickly get some grub, some drinks, and then head back to the castle. Right?"

"Don't like leaving carriage. There's always pointing, laughing, staring," Haygarth says, pulling his balaclava up to the bridge of his nose. "Fine. I'll pull in. You go eat. I'll wait here, eat something when I get home," he says.

The carriage pulls in alongside a tavern, as you look to Haygarth, who looks fairly pathetic as he attempts to cover his mishapen form.

[User] You enter the tavern

[Assistant]
You walk inside the tavern by yourself, feeling the weight of your Leu-filled wallet in your side pocket. You walk along, and immediately garner the attention of everyone in the bar. Your garb makes it immediately clear to anyone but the most ignorant or simply stupid of the peasants that you're a servant of Count Grey. The tavern quickly clears out, heading to their various homes, leaving only a few idiots too old and stubborn or young and cocky to realize staying near you is death.

You toss a crumpled note on the counter, looking up at the bar tender expectantly. Soon, you find yourself drinking a pint, a plate of chicken, boiled potatoes and cabbage in front of you. You smile, eating it up eagerly, downing the pint in a few gulps. You belch loudly, smiling as you find yourself now filled with food, warm and content.

"Where's the bathroom?" you ask, feeling the need to piss rising as your full bladder demands you act.

"Bathroom's broken. Go outside," the bar-tender replies.

You raise an eyebrow, tapping on your hat.

"Do you know who I am? Who I work for?" you ask.

"I do. If he shows up here, I'm as happy to show him the broken toilet as I am you."

You sigh, standing and walking outside into the alley. You unzip your trousers and pull out your dick, pissing onto the side of the old building.

Suddenly, the cold blade of a knife is pressed against your throat.

"Don't move," a deep voice whispers. "Hands in the air."

"Do you expect me to let go of my dick and piss on myself?" you ask, more annoyed than scared.

"Finish up," the voice says.

You finish pissing, popping your genitalia back in your trousers, buttoning it up, and slowly turn to face your attack. Two teens, barely fifteen by the looks of it, both with short blond hair, one skinny, on large and muscular, stare at you. The skinny one holds a pistol, while the big one holds the knife pressed against your throat.

"What's this about, gents? Revenge?" you ask, knowing just how many family's want your blood for taking their daughter's.

"What? We don't know you," the big one says.

"The wallet. Now," the skinny one says.

You pause, frowning.

"Are you seriously fucking telling me you've decided to mug me?" you ask, surprised.

"Why the fuck wouldn't we?" the big one asks, pushing you against the wall as the skinny one draws his own knife with his left hand, strolling forward to press the barrel against your temple.

"Wallet. Now," he says.

"Fucking idiots. You don't recognize the outfit, eh? I'm a fucking Ghoul, Count Grey's personal assistant."

The big one looks at the skinny one nervously.

"Maybe we should let him go," the big one asks.

"He's bluffing," the skinny one says, licking his lips. "Ghouls... ghouls are rotten, aren't they?"

"The sun's down, boys. Count Grey's due to wake..."

"Shut it! Wallet, now!" the skinny one commands.

[User] You buy time

[Assistant]
"Do you know how dangerous the count is? He'll drink you dry, his fangs'll prick..."

"Shut it!" the skinny one says.

"Let's just go," the big one says.

"First, the wallet!" the skinny one says.

"I think I can hear Count Grey. He's co..." you say, before you're interrupted by the skinny one pulling the trigger, covering the wall with your brain matter.


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

[User] You let Zalmora go

[Assistant]
This is the business you've chosen and sometimes that business takes priority over friendship. You appreciate Zalmora and all, but you're not going to just give up your best moneymaker that is not only going to result in a loss, but also cause discord within the organization.

Not to mention, you are sort of wondering what kind of postion you'll be putting Zal in, if she has to break up with a dwarf. They aren't fond of broken promises after all. He could not only make trouble for her, but you as well.

The cons are outweighing the pros.

"You know what, I'm being a selfish asshole. I want you here for my own purposes and I'm trying to talk you out of having a happy life. That's not what a real friend does, and who the hell am I to question your feelings for the dwarf? Not like I'm an expert on relationships. So I think you should go and leave this life behind. You deserve good things Zal." You say.

Zal looks at you in silence for a moment.

"Fuck you." She says and starts to leave, which causes you to immediately try to stop her.
"What?! What did I say? I just wished you well!" you exclaim.
"Yeah, and did you really think I was going to fall for that shit right after your initial speech? I'm not a fucking idiot, thought you knew that by now. You were right about one thing though; you are being a selfish asshole. I ask you for one fucking thing. ONE. And one that will be beneficial in the long run, but do you give it up? No. Obviously you don't give a fuck like you claim and then you tried that totally transparent it's not you it's me shit. Yeah, I'm done. Have a nice life running this place without me boss man." Zal says and pushes you out of the way.

You briefly think about trying to stop her again, but you think that's going to result in real violence. You sort of fucked up. You laid it on a bit too heavy, and you probably should have just been straight with her. At least the goodbye wouldn't have been as bad.

Well there's nothing for it now. You'll just have to move on.

Year 28

The militia's increased activities have put a serious dent in your non-drug related endeavors. People would rather not get caught up in the middle of a war between a violent criminal organization and a violent government organization so the gambling games have dwindled to near nobody and that includes the bum fights too and to be honest most of your bum fighters are Yellow Devil addicts now.

Realizing that now Yellow Devil is the only major money maker, you made your gambling games location into the new Yellow Devil lab since nobody is going to be using it for it's intended purpose anymore. Your main lab is also be better protected and hidden in this way as well.

Of course recently the name "Yellow Devil" has come into question…

"Yellow Angel?" you ask.
"Yes! I've been thinking, we've already been changing basic YD so much that it's not really the same product anymore. It might as well have a new name. Also it sounds a lot nicer don't you think? I mean what could be better than one of those friendly angels that the Joachim priests talk about? An angel that takes you and flies you up higher than you've ever been. Makes it sound a lot more enticing than a devil dragging you down to hell or melting you." Camid says excitedly.

You have to admit, it's one of the better ideas he's had.

"Hmm, yeah. Actually I've been wondering if we should start expanding and I'm not talking about just here. I'm talking to other places like Hessla, Holgard or even the Delantium Kingdom. I might send you Vaughn to go get another Crimson Talon chapter started." You say.
"Me? I dunno boss. I mean I suppose Hessla would be okay, but Holgard and the Delantium Kingdom? Isn't that Ebony Claw territory?" Vaughn remarks.
"What if it is? The kingdom is a big fucking place. They don't get to have all of it and who knows what's going on in Holgard and who's in charge there. The place keeps having rebellions and revolutions. Seems like the place is up for grabs for anyone."
"If you say so boss. I feel I should also inform you that the militia has been stepping up patrols in the sewers and starting to go into areas they previously were leaving alone."
"Yeah, we're going to be directly dealing with that. I want us to start trapping the patrol locations first. No direct attacks yet, but those might be coming soon."
"By the gods, we're actually taking on the militia?" Vaughn asks.
"We are, because that's the only way we're going to get them off our backs at this point. We need to make it so bad for them that the costs are going to outweigh the benefits and they'll be better off going back to busting meltbrains than trying to wipe us out."
"But taking on the militia is surely going to require all the resources we have. I mean if you send me and a few others to open up another Crimson Talon chapter elsewhere, won't you be risking getting overwhelmed by the militia?"
"Well that is certainly a risk, but if you're successful where I send you, that's extra revenue and support in the long run which will help in fighting off those militia bastards."

Vaughn looks a little unconvinced, but like the loyal member he's always been, he just agrees with you. He doesn't really have a choice anyway.

Your choice is determining where to send him. The Delantium Kingdom might be a bit far for right now. You figure Hessla or Holgard will be good enough. You actually even think about Teckleville, though you aren't sure if a small town like that would be that ideal.

Also, despite the fact you got run out of there, you still consider it home and you're a little hesitant to start flooding it with Yellow Angel and recruiting from there. So you immediately dismiss the idea.

[User] You expand to Hessla

[Assistant]
Vaughn is going to be more comfortable going to Hessla and it's closer so that's probably the best place to expand.

After supplying Vaughn with a good portion of Yellow Angel, you send him and a couple outright thugs and one of Camid's "apprentices" on their way to Hessla. You tell him you want someone to send you a report on the situation by the end of the month.

In the meantime you have everyone available to start trapping portions of the sewers and continue business as usual.

One month later

You finally get a report from Vaughn and he tells you that things aren't going as well as hoped.

Hessla apparently isn't quite as lawless as imagined It actually does have it's own security called the Headsmen. They're fairly vigilant and they report directly to governor Tolen who has complete control over everything that goes on in the town.

What this all means is selling your Yellow Angel there is perfectly fine, in fact it's even getting popular, but Tolen is taking fifty percent of the profits!

There isn't much Vaughn can do though, for now he says you can't expect much profit funneling in from Hessla at this time though he's looking for potential opportunities. You don't hold out much hope though given that this is Vaughn and has never excelled in that field.

On the Klyton front things aren't much better. The militia has suffered some set backs, but it's clear they aren't going to give up. Camid has made steps to set up smaller labs not just in the sewers, but even topside in the more run down areas of Klyton. The best way to keep them off balance is to not let them focus too much attention on any one location.

You think your next investment is going to be in more gunpowder weapons.

Year 29

"So what does Vaughn say?" Camid asks.
"He says that he's finally worked out a better deal with Governor Tolen, but it's going to require me to be there to hammer out the details." You say after reading the message scroll.
"Oh. So when are you going?"
"Not sure. As soon as possible given how important this is, but I almost hate to leave since I'll be concerned about everything that's going on here without me."
"Don't worry about it boss! I can look after things while you're gone."
"Hmmm, I'm sure."

While Camid might be genuinely trying to be helpful, ever since the complete transfer to selling Yellow Angel, he's been getting puffed up with his own relative importance. A guy like him and ambition are a dangerous combo.

He already seems eager for you to leave, is he planning something?

Still, this is a pretty important meeting and honestly things are probably never going to completely be calm in Klyton. You're just going to have to have a measure of confidence in Camid that he'll be able to handle shit and isn't smart enough to plot anything meaningful against you.

"Alright Camid, you're up, but we're going to go over so fucking ground rules of how I expect shit to be run around here in my absence." You reply.

You spend a good portion of the day going over plans, routines and what to do in certain events. He's up to speed on most of the stuff, and is at least making the effort to seem completely compliant to your orders.

With some slight apprehension, you pack some of your stuff and leave for Hessla the next day. You wish you could take a carriage to get there quicker, but given the situation with the militia; you'd rather not risk being seen in public around Klyton at all.

Your journey to Hessla doesn't take too long however and it's relatively uneventful. Vaughn told you in the message to meet him at the Sensual Siren tavern and he'd be there every day until you showed up.

As you're asking for directions and walking about the town, you see that Hessla is indeed much different than you imagined. It's more orderly and many times you see groups of the infamous Headsmen that Governor Tolen employs to keep the peace.

Eventually you reach the Sensual Siren and after looking about the dark tavern, a familiar voice calls over to you.

"Hey Boss! Over here!" Vaughn shouts and waves you over.

It's been a year since you've seen him, but Vaughn look a lot different. He's shaved his facial hair in a fancier style and is dressed more…"piratey." You also notice several Headsmen in the tavern who are watching everything going on in the place.

"Well looks like you've gone native." You say sitting down.
"Oh. Yeah all this. I figured I should look more the part around here. It doesn't hurt." Vaughn remarks.
"Hey, I don't care. Dress how you like. So are we going to go see Tolen now? I'm a little anxious to get this meeting over with because I'd rather not have Camid running things for too long while I'm gone."
"Yeah, I understand. How is everything in Klyton anyway?"
"Same old shit. Trying to stay one step ahead of the militia and still keep everything running."
"Well I think this new deal I've struck with the governor will put an end to some of that hassle."
"Sounds good, so let's go see the man."
"Okay, um these gentlemen will be accompanying us. The governor's sort of a stickler about security." Vaughn says pointing to the Headsmen in the tavern.

You look around and see they're starting gather near you.

"Oh, yeah I figured the governor would have a shit load of his men around at all times. Whatever makes him feel safe I guess, let's get going." You say.

You, Vaughn and a small group of Headsmen all leave the tavern. As you head towards the mansion where the governor, Vaughn talks about how well the Crimson Talon chapter here is doing and that there is possibility of extending to a city called Jicol which lies across the sea. He says the place sounds like it's open territory.

While you're listening to Vaughn, you start to notice that you're taking a lot of turns that don't seem necessary to get to the mansion, which appeared to be a relatively straightforward walk from what you could tell. You look around and you start to feel uneasy as the streets start to get narrow.

No sooner have you start to put your hand by your weapon when Vaughn suddenly shoves you aside and runs forward. It isn't enough to knock you down, but it's enough to catch you off balance and the Headsmen have taken advantage by nabbing you.

You struggle to get free, but the Headsmen have firmly got you restrained. Followed by a few punches and kicks, along with taking away all your weapons and you have the distinct impression that you were paranoid about the wrong person betraying you.

You look up and see Vaughn now standing before you with a dagger in hand. He doesn't look happy, but he isn't exactly upset about this either.

"Gotta say, didn't see this coming from you. Guess more than just your style changed." You say.
"Stand him up." Vaughn remarks which causes the Headsmen to do just that.

"Better deal huh Vaughn? Was this the governor's idea, or yours? Probably the governor. You never would have had the balls to think of doing this without help." You say.
"Shut up." Vaughn says and approaches you with the dagger.
"What for? I'm going to shut up forever soon. I will say this, at least you're doing this yourself and looking me in the eye."

When you say this, Vaughn drops his guard and looks away a bit.

"Heh, I was right, this wasn't your idea. Fucking pathetic." You say.

Vaughn then musters up his resolve and shoved the dagger into your stomach. He then pulls it out and stabs you several more times. You never cry out once and you never stop looking at him the whole time despite the fact he tries to advert his gaze downward most of the time. He never says anything else.

Eventually several of your vital organs have been punctured enough and your blood is leaking out of several holes. The Headsmen that were restraining you drop your body and leave it for the street cleaners to dispose of properly.


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

[User] Continue

[Assistant]
You keep going and that night Reinhardt and Spitzer rejoin the Party without Wolfinger. In grim tones and with lowered eyes they tell the group, which includes Wolfinger's young wife Doris, that Wolfinger was killed by Indians who pilfered his wagon. Many in the group quietly express doubts among themselves that the pair are lying but no one is willing to go back and investigate so the matter is dropped but the mood in the group plunges even more.

The next day William Eddy and Patrick Breen (a wealthy settler and dedicated Catholic travelling with his large family) nearly get into a fight when Breen refuses to give Eddy any water for his thirsty children and Eddy threatens to kill him, the matter is only resolved when the Donner Brothers intervene and persuade Breen to give up some of his water. As the Donner Party struggles slowly on, suffering now from lack of provisions along with everything else.

You reach Truckee Meadows near the Humboldt River and here the Party halts for a rest. A small hunting group is prepared by William Pike and William Foster (a tough young man travelling with his wife and infant child). They are loading various weapons and drying wet gunpowder packets near the fire when William Eddy walks up to you and suggests that you join the pair in trying to shoot some animals for food.

What do you do?

[User] You stay with the rest of the Party

[Assistant]
You decline to join the group and it is just as well. William Foster is loading his pistol when it accidentally goes off, hitting his brother-in-law William Pike in the back and killing him instantly. This accident, the latest to befall the Party, is an especially great tragedy as the two men were the closest of friends, Pike was a popular member of the group and he leaves behind a wife and two infant children. Foster is horrified by the accident and inconsolable for weeks.

Three days later Charles Stanton returns to the Donner Party bringing with him seven mules loaded down with food being driven by two Indians called Luis and Salvador. Everyone is overjoyed to see him return and Stanton quickly fills you in on a few details. He says William McCutchen has fallen ill and is back at Fort Sutter in California. He met James Reed and Walter Herron on his way over the mountains and though on the verge of starvation both men made it to California safely. He reports it took him just eight days to travel from Johnson's Ranch, the furthest outpost of civilization in California, to the Donner Party. One last push will get you over the Sierra Nevada Mountains to California and safety.

As soon as the Donner Party sets off the troubles begin again. An Indian shoots nineteen oxen with arrows until William Eddy shoots him with his rifle and kills him. George Donner cuts his hand very badly trying to repair his wagon and the Donner Brothers, who are not young men, begin to lag behind. Even worse it starts to snow on the last day of October, which threatens to make the journey over the Sierra Nevada Mountains practically impossible. Charles Stanton, Patrick Breen and a few other families press ahead, climbing near vertical slopes while the Donner Brothers fall increasingly behind, slowed by George's injury.

What do you do?

[User] You press on ahead

[Assistant]
Determined to press on over the mountains before the passes become impassable you join a small group that includes Patrick Breen, William Eddy, Louis Keseberg, Charles Stanton, Patrick Dolan (a friend of Breen's) and the two Indians Luis and Salvador in pushing on towards the summit. It is not to be however: the snow begins to fall more thickly and the pass below is impassable. You cannot go forward or backwards.

You are trapped in the Sierra Nevada Mountains until the snow melts in the spring.

Wearily you turn back to re-join the women and the children who have stopped on the edge of a frozen lake. The Donner Brothers did not even make it this far: snowbound down at Alder Creek eight miles further down the mountain they have halted there. As November goes on all the settlers begin to build cabins: at Truckee Lake the Breen and Murphy families build a cabin each while the Reeds and Graves Families share a cabin. Louis Keseberg builds a strange sort of lean-to against the Breen Cabin for his wife and their children. William Eddy and his family move in with the Murphy's while Charles Stanton and the two Indians move in with the Graves and Reeds.

Down at Alder Creek the Donner's build two cabins, one for the Donner family and the other for various wagon drivers and others, including Mrs Wolfinger who has been with the Donner's since the death of her husband. In all there are twenty-one people staying at the Donner's camp at Alder Creek and sixty living up by Truckee Lake. For your part you had better move into one of the two camps and make yourself comfortable: the snow won't melt until Spring and the supplies are not going to last nearly that long.

Which camp do you move into?

[User] The Alder Creek Camp

[Assistant]
Finding room in the tent that holds the Donner Brother's wagon drivers you make yourself as comfortable as you can in a corner with blankets and hunker down. There is little you can do: a strange lethargy seems to have come over the camp at Alder Creek: George Donner is still suffering badly from his wounded hand and Jacob Donner is looking more ill by the day. Both brothers, especially Jacob, keep themselves busy writing letters that various wagon drivers run up to the camp at Truckee Lake promising generous amounts of money for any food, no matter how small. All the cattle have already been slaughtered and everyone is cold and hungry.

In mid-December you visit the camp at Truckee Lake and return with an interesting note from Charles Stanton addressed to George Donner at "Donnersville". It mentions that he and Franklin Graves have been making snow shoes to try and cross the snow into California and asks for Donner's compass and some tobacco. Travelling up to Truckee Lake with Donner's compass you find that seventeen volunteers have been equipped with snowshoes to attempt the dangerous crossing of the snow-filled passes.

This group consists of William Eddy, Franklin Graves, Patrick Dolan (Patrick Breen's friend), Jay Fosdick (Grave's son-in-law), William Foster (the man who accidentally shot William Pike), Donner teamsters Dutch Charley Burger and Antonio, Sarah Fosdick (Jay Fosdick's wife), Sarah Foster (William Foster's wife), Mary Graves (Franklin's adult daughter), Amanda McCutchen (William McCutchen's wife), Harriet Pike (William Pike's widow), Lemuel Murphy (who is twelve) and William Murphy (who is ten). The journey will be dangerous and extremely risky but you can either volunteer or sit tight in the camp.

What do you do?

[User] You volunteer yourself

[Assistant]
Each member of the Snowshoes Party is given enough food for six days (at least enough for a few bites each day) and a pair of snowshoes. It is quickly discovered that William Murphy cannot keep up and he is sent back to the camp with Dutch Charley Burger, a little chunky man who is not built for this sort of activity. If you want to turn back now this is your last chance, otherwise you'll have to risk the dangers of the snow-filled passes.

What do you do?

[User] You press on

[Assistant]
Pressing on you initially make good progress, reaching the summit of the Sierra Nevada Mountains after one day's travel. Charles Stanton who has been exerting himself a great deal in making the snowshoes begins to suffer from snow blindness and fall behind. By the fifth day there is very little food left and everyone is exhausted. Stanton declares he is unable to walk and sitting by the fire calmly smoking his pipe he tells the rest of your group to go on without him. After a few moments hesitation the group resume their journey.

What do you do?

[User] You stay with Stanton

[Assistant] Remembering everything Stanton has done to help the group you know that you can't leave him behind. Sitting next to him the pair of you enjoy a last smoke and as the wind begins to whip the snow up all around you lose sight of each other. A wave of tiredness overcomes you and you find you can neither get up nor do you want to try. The pair of you die there in the snowy pass.


[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 remain aboard the Bounty

[Assistant]
You refuse to have anything to do with such a dangerous plan and the deserters swear you to silence. That evening, while Midshipman Thomas Haywood is sleeping over the arms chest Churchill, Millward and Muspratt sneak into the ship's cutter and desert. That morning Bligh is furious when he discovers the missing men's absence, suspecting you and Haywood of being involved he orders you both clapped in irons for a week.

Bligh pursues the deserters to Matavai Bay where he learns from Natives that the trio of fugitives traded for a canoe and paddled north in the direction of a small island called Tetaroa. Bligh is set to pursue but the weather turns nasty and for two weeks a storm rages (Bligh has a rage of his own when he discovers the spare sails have rotted into uselessness). Finally, it clears and Bligh sails north to the small island accompanied by dozens of Native canoes.

You and Haywood are still under suspicion so you are not part of the party Bligh leads ashore which succeeds in recapturing the fugitives without trouble. Between the three deserters Bligh sentences them to one hundred and twenty lashes and steers the Bounty back to Toaroa. By now the crew are all seething with quiet discussion about Bligh's disciplinary methods and a week after the recapture of the fugitives you are chatting ashore about the matter with Isaac Martin, a good-natured American sailor.

While you are talking a Tahitian man wanders over to your boat to have a look, a fairly common occurrence. You both ignore him until the man suddenly grabs an iron hoop that has come loose from a barrel and starts running off. Martin yells at you to get him as you both know Bligh is fond of flogging sailors who let Natives steal things from the ship, no matter how small. You both race after the Native and get close to him but there seems to be no way of stopping him short of violence.

[User] You crash-tackle the man to the ground

[Assistant]
You make a flying leap, manage to grab the man's legs and bring him down. Martin is on him in a moment and as the man tries to squirm free he punches him in the face. This calms the Native who lies there clutching his broken nose while Martin picks up the iron hoop and returns to the boat. You are both feeling rather good about your successful protection of Bounty property until you hear that familiar, hated, yelp from the trees.

"What do you infernal creatures think you are doing?" Bligh exclaims running towards you.

"Stopping that man stealing our things," you tell Bligh irritably. "As you ordered."

"As I ordered you insolent cur?" Bligh exclaims. "I also ordered no violence towards Natives, both of you twenty-four lashes each!"

That evening you are both lashed to trees and whipped by the quartermasters and it is only the intercession of the local Natives, who accept responsibility for the crime, that Bligh reluctantly stops the punishment at nineteen lashes. Regardless, by the time you are cut down you feel completely and utterly exhausted.


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

[User] You retreat and regroup

[Assistant]
As much as you're loathed to do so, you decide it's better to retreat and fortify your recent conquests. You've still done much damage to the Grand Alliance.

A month passes and you suffer counter attacks, and a few of your conquests get retaken, but for the most part you hold on to what you've acquired. Velzix takes advantage of the situation and decides to launch his own attacks on you and the Grand Alliance however, he's a little more successful having managed to conserve his own manpower and not being stretched out

Catalina informs you that The Ghoul King has been itching to strike against the Vampire Clans and that he's going to do it, with or without your direct help.

You're too preoccupied with your own problems to even argue or do anything about it. You tell her that he can do what he's gotta do. If he wants your help, Hessan and whatever pitiful army he can muster up is his to command. You don't care.

Five years pass…

It's been ten years since you took control of Aftermath and now it looks like that's all finally coming to an end.

The Ghoul King's assault upon the Vampire Clans was a failure, though it was damaging enough for them to never again bother you again. You have to move some necromancers into the Drozz region to take command there, which stretches you out a bit, since you didn't need to worry about it so directly before, having the Ghoul King there and all.

Over the years Velzix managed to build up much strength while you and the Grand Alliance fought a see-saw battle. Velzix manages to permanently open up a large portal to his home plane. He declares all out war on the entire world determined to turn it into the same hell he once called home. You heard your Dad's mercenary company attempted to stop him, but failed.

The Grand Alliance is the first to fall. Already weakened by your previous attacks, they could not put up much of a fight against the hordes of demons. You hear that your sister defended the capital of the Zalan Empire much like she did during your siege, except this time she was less successful and died. You can only presume your Mom suffered the same fate, seeing as she lived there as well. You hope that the pair of them have gone some place better

With the last bastion of "good" out of the way, Velzix turns his attention towards you. You won't go without a fight though. For every bit of land he takes, you make him pay for it in demon blood tenfold.

It's no use though, the hordes of hell are without end and while the dead are certainly just as numerous, you're the only necromancer powerful enough to command epic armies of them and you are only one standing against hell itself.

Aftermath is besieged and ultimately falls to demonic armies. Catalina is killed during the attack and you disintegrate her body before escaping through a portal to Drozz as you refuse to let it be desecrated by demon scum.

You wage a guerilla war in Drozz for months, and you can't help but realize you've become much like the Ghoul King; hiding in a hole while demons take over the world. For awhile you actually have some peace as the demons soon outnumber their "enemies" and begin to follow their natural instincts of in-fighting and you're forgotten.

When the next winter comes you're caught out in a heavy blizzard while foraging for food. You're not going to make it back to your hiding place.

Exhausted, you fall in the snow thinking about the hell that the world has become and how you're partially responsible. Eternal sleep is welcomed.

You embrace the blessed death that you once held mastery over.