[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 old Comrades (Catching up)

[Assistant]
"…and so that's what Warrick and I have been up to. Just making things difficult as best we can for the Felkan Kingdom." Gerald says.
"I'm just surprised that put you on these sneaky commando raids, Warrick I can understand, he's always been a stealthy individual, but you were usually rushing into battle like the rest of us." You reply.
"Hey, I've changed a bit since you last saw me. Besides, it's not all sneaking around. Some of it requires just enough to get in and then we can raise as much havoc as we need to. Still, if it's a mission that requires a lot of covert operations, then Warrick goes in by himself. I'd go to, but I'm too damn tall and stick out like a sore thumb sometimes."
"Heh, maybe they should put Edgar on your missions, he's short enough." Roldan laughs.
"Yeah right, he'd go charging in screaming at the top of his lungs for the entire Felkan Kingdom to attack him."
"Oh I don't know about that, he's changed as well last time I saw him. He's a lot better disciplined now. Speaking change, how the hell did YOU get married?" You ask Roldan.
"Well you see, when a man and a woman love each other…"

This causes a bit of laughing from Gerald and Roldan, but you're as serious as ever.

"You know what I mean, Roldan."
"Yes, I know what you mean, sheesh. I see some things haven't changed. Well it's rather simple. Brenda and I spent so much time together and our thoughts, our actions, and just I dunno everything about us seemed to be in relative harmony. It only seemed natural that we end up together. It was like…what other people call love I guess? Hard to know for certain, I mean I think we all know that wasn't something we were trained to for. Anyway we just ended up taking the next logical step, but we were pretty worried that the Empire would frown upon it and possibly even split us up. Turned out of course they just made us fill out a bunch of annoying paperwork. I don't even think whatever pencil pusher was in charge even realized we were Eternals. Just bureaucracy as usual."
"Bah, you just got lucky you had no real competition. Had I still been stationed there, things would've been a lot different!" Gerald remarks.

While Roldan gives Gerald a light punch to his arm, you're about to ask further questions about Roldan's marriage when Gruz suddenly asks you a strange question.

"Tell me Eternal, what are you going to do when you get old?"
"Huh? Get old?"
"Yes, when you get old, you do realize it will happen right?"
"Well…uh yeah."
"Okay then, what are you going to do?"
"I guess I never thought about it."
"Hm. Sounds about right. Most young people don't." he replies and goes back to his ale.

This odd interlude is interrupted once again by Gerald and Roldan who were so preoccupied with their little playful banter that they didn't even hear Gruz's remarks.

"So… big bad Bane of Rask! Heh." Gerald says and does a little drumming motion on the table. "Heard a lot of stories about some of stuff you've done. Maybe you can clear up some of the rumors and truths."
"You mean like Kane?" you bluntly say.
"Er…well actually I got some of that story about that from Edgar last time I saw him. I was certainly surprised how bad it was when he told me directly, but after one of the letters I got from Kane months before, it did have an odd tone to it…"
"Wait a minute. Hold on. Kane sent you a letter?"
"Yeah, I assumed he sent one to all of us. Warrick got one the same time I did."
"Brenda and I received letters as well. Very odd. Kept referring to us as his brother and sister throughout the thing." Roldan adds.

You're at a loss that you didn't receive one considering when Kane first met you he was very eager to have you on his side. You initially chalk it up to Cyrus' meddling, but then Gerald asks another question.

"You know speaking of letters, how come you never answered any of mine? I had a few sent to Rask a few months after we all got split up, but never got a reply. I was sort of worried you were dead for a while until deeds of your exploits started popping up."
"Letters? I never got any letters. Never got any letters from anyone." You say.
"Well that would explain your surprise at Brenda and I getting married because we made sure to send one to everyone on the team. Hell, even Edgar wrote back to congratulate us."

Gerald makes a remark to Roldan that maybe Rask has shitty mail service, and then Gruz pipes up again while they're talking with each other.

"Don't worry about it lad. Isolation makes one stronger anyway."
"What?"
"Teamwork, cooperation, greater good, its all bullshit. In the end it's just about survival and who crosses that finish line between life and death last is the winner. Just sucks about those last laps though when you're practically crawling towards it just to get the shit over with." Gruz says taking another drink.

You aren't exactly sure what Gruz is going on about, but you're getting the impression that he's had more than enough to drink. You decide that you all need to start wrapping up this little get together soon so you can concentrate better at the true task at hand.


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

[User] Continue

[Assistant]
Blackness.

Your mind is cloudy and hazy.

Pain. You feel pain.

Flashes of sound burst in the distance. You slowly feel awareness coming back, the world leaking back into coherent form. You are in so much pain. Around you you hear familiar sounds: Screaming, the butchery of men, the agony of rape, buildings burning, children screaming, and the cheers of the victors.

"Where am I?" You think to yourself. Slowly you move your fingers, then your toes. A soft moan issues from somewhere around you. You realize it is you and you begin to make your stiff body begin to move again. First one arm, then your leg, then you slowly lift up and look around.

You think hard to remove the fuzziness of the recent events from the corners of your mind and concentrate on survival. "I've got a concussion." You conclude.

Finally, you peer through the dense smoke and realize that you are in a crater, the bodies of men, horses, and weapons of war surround you. The acrid smell of burning flesh mixed with the tinny smell of blood, the pain in your head, and the entrails of the man you ran beside all make you vomit.

Strangely, you feel just a little bit better and your head is starting to clear, "I'm Sebastian, a mercenary, I chose to defend the city of Essitrea against the Turric . I don't think we won... I think I'd better get the hell out of here!"

Looking around you a sturdy broadsword sticks out from a body of a Turric soldier, you recognize the blade as yours. You stagger over to the soldier and with effort pull the blade free from the man's corpse.

Now armed, you know you've got to get out but amidst the rubble and the ruffians running amok, the sounds of battle in the air, and the thudding of artillery, every step could be your last.

You decide quickly that you can either run building to building a fast method of travel but with heavy odds of discovery; try to enter the sewers, an obviously unsanitary means to travel but with less likelihood of discovery, or you can try to hole up in the nearest building and wait for the action to die down.

[User] You run For It!

[Assistant]
You grab your blade tightly and look around quickly before dashing over the lip of the crater and towards the blasted wall nearest your left side. Nearby an explosion spurts up chunks of earth and stone as well as the arm of a corpse, high into the air. You watch in horror as the appendage plops onto the sidewalk.

From your left, three Turric warriors rush and assault an injured merchant, stabbing him repeatedly with their wickedly barbed scimitars before looting the man's corpse.

To your right you see another building about twenty feet across some exposed ground.

Do you:

[User] You attack the Turric Warriors?

[Assistant]
You attack the warriors with the advantage of surprise. Crawling low, you creep until you are at the edge of the wall you were hiding behind then you suddenly sprint with your broadsword lifted in both hands. As you descend upon the Turric Warriors, you swing the sword in an arc that splits the first Turric Swordsman's left arm from his body. You spin and use the heavy blade's momentum to make a second cut from the shoulder blade up through the man's neck decapitating him instantly.

As the first warrior falls, blood arcing into the sky, the two others reel in shock. You take advantage of this momentary lapse of reason and bring a low slice towards the second man's knee. The blade connects and the limb is taken clean off. Following the blade's momentum, you raise it up and steer it into the man's chest.

The third warrior has now gathered his wits and attacks viciously trying to slice you with his barbed scimitar. You back away from the first strike, block the second, and duck the third. His blows are coming faster than the broad-blade can react. Do you: Parry and look for an opening with the butt of your sword to stun the enemy or block with the sword and pull a dagger with your other hand and plunge it into his neck?

[User] You parry and Stun the Enemy!

[Assistant]
You conserve your energy and block his blows. Knowing the wild style of the Turric swordsman, you easily parry several wild blows. As he failed to strike he becomes more and more frustrated and you lure him into a wide swing and while he is pulling back, you step in his reach and break his nose with the handle of your sword. The stunning blow makes him stumble backwards and you press the advantage kicking him backwards and then turning your sword and driving it through his stomach!

He squirms like a worm for several long seconds before you twist your blade and finish the job. Though you conserved your energy by blocking, you attracted the attention of a few more warriors. They come streaming out of a building to your right and you count at least five men, two with crossbows aimed in your direction.

Do you: Run away or  turn to face the group and take them head on using throwing knives to whittle them down before resorting to your sword?

[User] You run Away!

[Assistant]
Feeling like discretion is the better part of valor, you turn tail and run away as fast as you can. You are lithe and Agile and in light armor and the heavier, more armored men can't keep up. However, one of the crossbowmen draws a bead on you and fires. The bolt slams into your left shoulder and you scream in pain before skirting around a clump of rubble and ducking under some fallen timbers. The warriors curse as they try to track you but they walk past your position and disappear into the smoky ruins.

You are injured and the bolt projects out of your left shoulder. You try to hold back tears as you reach with your good arm and gingerly touch the shaft. It's buried deep and you'll need a healer to remove it. You grimace and pull your first aid kit out of your belt. You find a few bandages and make yourself a sling and place your left arm in it.

You are alive but now you are crippled. Without both arms your swordplay will be much diminished and you realize that your ability to defend yourself has been compromised. You will now have to use stealth until you can find an ally or escape altogether.

Desperate, you must move on, losing consciousness in this state could be life-ending.

Do you:

[User] You wait for Nightfall to Continue?

[Assistant]
Resting back, you decide to wait until nightfall to continue trying to escape. You hope that your stealth will be aided by the darkness. The problem is finding a decent place to rest. Carefully, you creep towards a building that looks promising. It is three stories tall but also damaged and missing most of the roof. You think that it is the least likely place around the enemy will look but you admit it's a gamble and a possible deathtrap if you get cornered by enemy forces with no where to run.

Making sure no one is watching, you scurry from the rubble to an alley and with another quick look around, you duck through a hole in the wall and make it into the first floor. A quick search reveals nothing good. A family has been butchered, the man stabbed repeatedly, his wife raped and her throat cut, the oldest boy, perhaps ten in age, was stapled to the wall with crossbow bolts and still hangs there, his life's blood pooled and congealed at his feet, and the youngest daughter, about six? Well if there is a hell, who ever hurt her will burn there forever.

You curse the gods at their apathy and resolve to never give up, never surrender, even if death is the only alternative! Better to jump from a building or cut one's own throat than to be raped and killed like a cowering dog.

A noise takes you out of your revelry, you need to hide somewhere and fast! Rushing towards the staircase do you...

[User] You run Upstairs!

[Assistant]
You skate up the stairs taking three at a time and find a door at the top of the stairs. You pull out your lockpicks and begin to jimmy the door. Within seconds you hear the lock 'click' and you slide inside closing the door behind you. You hear a creak and some sniffling sounds somewhere in the room. It's very dark, all of the windows are shuttered, and you negotiate the room by sound and touch rather than lighting a lamp and giving yourself away.

Following behind your sword, you investigate the dark room and try to track the noise before someone or something gets the drop on you. When the sound is made again, you rush to the wall ripping off a tapestry and see a that it hides a small doorway. You open it in a flash, sword back to provide a fatal stab. To your surprise a young girl, perhaps sixteen years in age is in hiding.

You look at her frightened face, streaked with tears and the knowledge that none of her family made it through whatever happened downstairs. She screams at the sudden discovery and scrambles as far back in the hidden compartment as she can go. You curse your luck and say, "Be quiet girl! I'm not here to hurt you! Pray you haven't woken the neighborhood!"

You quickly move away from the whimpering girl and check the windows. Sure enough two Turric Swordsmen and a Wardog are on the prowl. The dog starts to bark and drag the two soldiers towards the house.

"Shit!" You hiss and move back to the secret compartment. Pulling up the tapestry you tell the girl, "No matter what you do, no matter what you hear, do not leave this compartment for the next few hours unless you hear me say 'Defender'." You slide a dagger her way and say, "And no matter what, don't let them take you alive, if this place is discovered, if this flap is opened and they try to take you, slice your throat, plunge this into your chest but don't let them take you out of here. No matter what!"

You close the hidden door, drop the tapestry, close and lock the door to the first floor, and hide behind a desk. When those bastards come through they're going to pay dearly.

The sound of heavy boots tromping up the stairs follow a barking dog. They try the lock, try it again, and then start trying to bash the door in. The door survives four solid charges before the door rips off of the hinges and the men and beast rush in swords drawn.

[User] You kill the Dog First

[Assistant]
You realize that the hound is going to be a noisy, dangerous problem and so you resolve to end that issue first. As soon as the trio of enemies rush into the room you pop up from behind the desk and throw three throwing knives at the beast. The first knife goes wide and lands knee level in the wooden wall, but the second catches in the jaw bursting it's teeth and jutting through it's muzzle, and the third smashes in the flanks sticking through it's hind quarter. The beast yelps pitiably and staggers backwards incapacitated.

The beast howls and you leap over the table drawing both of your short blades. In close quarter fighting, your short swords and stabbing style will be a good match against the barbed scimitars the Turrics favor which require wide fast swings.

The first Turric swings high and you duck and deflect the first blade while reversing your spin and cutting the soldier's leg off at the knee. The second swings towards your midriff but you tumble and his swing lodges in his already injured partner's ribs.

You crouch and then spring low stabbing the second soldier's foot and slicing his sword arm off at the wrist. The second soldier screams and tries to stagger backwards but his foot is pinned to the floor. Rising you pull the blade free and jut the short blade up into his stomach pushing under his ribs until the blade pierces his heart and blood runs down his armor like a burst dike.

As he falls back, you turn to the hound. You hate to kill such a noble beast but it was now time to end it's pain. A quick reversal of your swords sets up a downward thrust that pierces it's brain and severs it's spine. The hound collapses with a quiver.

You wipe your swords on a soldier's sleeve and place them again on your back. You then collect your throwing knives and search the soldiers for anything they carry you can use. You ignore their damaged armor, barbed scimitars, and top-heavy daggers and instead collect their coin pouches. Thirty Silvers later, you check the windows. You are relived to see that there is no further action in the streets.

Do you:

[User] You go into the Basement?

[Assistant]
You hurry downwards, using the stairs to enter the basement. At the bottom of the stairs is a cellar door. It opens easily into a pitch black room. You back up and decide to light your lantern.

Now with a fresh light source, and broad sword in your other hand you begin to explore the room. The basement is dark and eerie, filled with boxes and other items of storage, small terra cotta statues, paintings and furniture with tarps over them, extra sets of candles, piles of clothes, and other errata fill the shelves, cabinets, and wall spaces.

You figure that if you were to hide here, you'd probably be able to get the jump on any who entered here but you'd be trapped if there were multiple opponents. You reason you could probably take two swordsmen without difficulty but a larger group would be problematic.

Do you:

[User] You search the Basement

[Assistant]
You decide to search the basement. You comb through the boxes, look through the shelves, and rifle through the cabinets looking for something that could help you with your escape from the city. As you are searching, you hear some noises coming from above. Quickly you duck and blow out your lantern.

You can now light your lantern 2 More times.

Tense moments pass but the sounds cease. after ten minutes you feel safe enough to try looking again. After about a half of an hour you have accumulated everything that might be of interest to you. It isn't much but these people were obviously merchants, not warriors and as such didn't store any warrior items.

You find:

Lantern Oil: Useful for lighting your lantern 3 extra times.

[User] You crash here.

[Assistant]
You're tired, you've had  a long afternoon and you have found somewhere to crash. You hope that this place is safe enough but in a city under siege, no where is truly safe. You find a little corner amongst the clutter and nestle in as best as you can.

You place your broadsword to your side within easy reach and thank the gods you have your modified light chainmail. It's very comfortable to sleep in, especially compared to most armors. Covering yourself with a blanket you slip easily into the demesne of sleep.

TEST YOUR LUCK: Pick a number between 1 and 3.

[User] You 1

[Assistant]
You sleep fitfully, your dreams filled with nightmares that involve you being caught by the Turric, held down, and cut into pieces and fed to wardogs with fiery eyes. Several times you jump awake and look about yourself hoping you haven't been discovered and sit for several minutes straining your ears for phantom noises but eventually give up the search and head right back into another nightmare. You aren't discovered but you really don't feel rested when you awake.

Frustrated when you awake, you grumpily gather your few belongings and head back out into the city. It is now NIGHT.

[User] You nIGHT: Creeping in the Darkness

[Assistant]
You wait until nightfall and begin to make your journey flitting from alley to alleyway and make good progress though you occasionally have to see nightmares, at one intersection you see Turric soldiers by a scaffold where then men and women; soldiers and civilians both, are being hanged. You cringe as the men slap the horses underneath the victims and the prisoners are left to dangle helplessly in the air struggling as their weight begins to choke them to death. It takes over three minutes before the last of the men stops twitching, leaving the bodies swinging in the air.

You move on helpless to alter the events of the sacking of the city. Stepping from an alleyway you later see hundreds of Turric soldiers leading hundreds more prisoners down a broad street towards whatever grim fate awaits them. You turn back and enter a building through a window moving across the floor and exiting out the other side. Most of the buildings have by now been ransacked.

You exit out of the other end and creep into the next street. You immediately flatten against the wall as you see a Turric Deathwarden steering a group of hellhounds down the street. The flaming hounds are barking and growling but don't catch your scent. Taking a deep breath, you wait for the Deathwarden to pass and sprint for the next street.

Finally, after over two hours have passed, you arrive at a massive barricade. The barricade is manned by a holdout group of Essitrean soldiers each holding crossbows. There have to be dozens of them all on watch. The bodies of hundreds of Turric soldiers lie scattered in the streets around the barricade though it's obvious the Essitreans are wounded and exhausted.

[User] You join them

[Assistant]
You pull your contract and slowly move towards the Essitreans making sure that you hold the contract high so that the tired and trigger happy soldiers don't mistake you for the enemy. As you enter into their line of sight, you hear the guards call out, "Halt and identify yourself or you'll be shot on sight!"

You enter into the torchlight and call out, I'm Sebastian, a mercenary serving under the Essitrean flag, here is my lawful contract. I wish to join you."

The men aren't much moved but a voice calls through the barricade, "Sebastian? By the Gods you're still alive? Boys, let her in, she's a friendly."

You jog across the street looking both ways for any enemy snipers or troops and enter a small gate and go beyond the barricades. The gate is closed quickly behind you. The situation behind the barricades is worse than you would have imagined, with dozens of troops injured or dead, scorch marks from enemy mages, and decapitated undead minions lying like wheat after the harvest.

A soldier approaches you and offers you a handclasp. You recognize him as Captain Krayler, a stern but effective commander whose forces numbered a full company, scarcely three platoons exist now and you see that by daylight only two dozen men will still be clinging to life. His face is grim and streaked with blood and dirt. he says, "What is the situation in the city beyond."

You reply, "The city is lost, the Turric are killing and rounding up anyone they find and Deathwardens, Vanguards, and Deathmagi wander the streets at will.Those who aren't killed or turned into the Walking Dead are being turned into slaves. I'm sorry Commander."

He nods and said, "I was expecting as much. The tide of refugees has thinned and you've been the first person we haven't had to fight in three hours. This is a tragedy, we watch the death of my beautiful home and the birth of another Turric Enclave. Such a blasphemy to the gods should have never been seen."

You nod.

He says, " I know you are tired and hungry, let me offer you some scant supplies and then we'll talk further."

You are led to a chow table, mostly chunks of bread and a few sips of water from a canteen before he leads you to a chair. You have a seat and instantly the weight of the night descends upon your weary bones. The captain brings you a tightly wrapped scroll and says, "Bast, you've always been a reputable mercenary, I need someone I can trust with an important mission. I need you to take this scroll and this boy. He is the heir to Essitrea's throne. Though his home has been lost he can keep the noble lineage flowing and can rally any escapees under the Essitrean Banner so that one day we can take this place back. I need you to take him with you to the gates. Can you do this for me?"

You ponder your options:

[User] You take the Boy and Scroll

[Assistant]
You nod, this was a grave task. "I will be proud to serve the throne, Sir. I will take the young lord and deliver him safely to his men outside the gate."

The Commander nods and points to one of his men, and from a tent they bring forward a richly dressed but dirty faced little boy of about ten Summers old. Blood stains the front of his clothes but he appears uninjured. He wields a short sword uncertainly and there is both fear and stout resolution in his eyes. The boy looks you up and down, "I am to go with this lady?"

You look to the captain who says, "Yes, Milord, Sebastian is an experienced and wise warrior and your best hope from henceforth, follow her, do what she says, and rebuild our city. Remember those who died for it."

The Lordling nods and says, "I am honored to make your acquaintance Sebastian. Take my horse Arbalest he is a true steed meant for a warrior. The white pony is my own mount Bayerus."

The Commander smiled and said, "Well that's that. We'll hold the wall, we are the last hope for anyone to try and escape this blasted place. I wish you luck Sebastian." You salute and turn to head for the gates.

You begin the last part of the journey even as you hear behind you, "Ready men, here they come!!!"

The sound of battle rings out behind you as you gallop for the Only gate left in the city still controlled by Essitrean forces. The last that you see of the captains forces is the zombies overwhelming the barricades.

Less than fifteen minutes later you arrive at the gates with the Lordling. Men snap to salute as you and the Lord Ride out of the city into the countryside. You know not where the future lies but you realize that you have found the only candle of hope in the darkness that falls over the city of Essitrea.


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

[User] You listen to him

[Assistant]
With the day it's been, you might as well.

You take a seat and watch the Syndicate rep take a few steps back and forth before pulling up a nearby chair to sit as well. You didn't expect him to be so casual.

"Okay, first off, my name is Rook and you're probably wondering why I haven't just killed you immediately." Rook says.
"I'm listening." You answer.
"Information on you lot is always fucking spotty thanks to your location and the fact you've been fairly successful at keeping us off this island and that's been an advantage. I, however have been doing my own leg work for a few days, and while I don't know everything about you lot yet, I know enough that you're the leader, and you've got a pretty young girlfriend." Rook says.
"Actually she's my daughter." You remark.
"Truly? Hm, the way you two interact…well I'm not here to judge your family business. In any case, sooner or later the Syndicate leadership is going to get it's head out of its collective ass and actually implement a plan that works instead of trying the same damn thing over and over believing that it will. I swear, it's like fucking Holgard all over again."

Rook shakes his head at his remark before continuing.

"However, before that happens I'm here to offer you a one time deal mainly because change in ECS leadership can only come when dedicated individuals take the initiative on squandered opportunities, such as this place. Especially when they can do it with minimal resource waste."

At this point you're wondering if Rook's henchman should have just killed you with a bolt to the back, because this fucker loves the sound of his own pontificating so much that he's killing you with boredom.

"You are obviously a dedicated man of convictions. I imagine you believe that the ECS is going to just come in and take away what you consider freedom hence why you've fought us for several years now. Well, I'm here to tell you, you're right BUT if you make a deal with me right now, I will make sure this city remains more or less out of the eye of the Syndicate. You will just give me personally forty percent of what the Jicol Alliance earns monthly and of course there will be some of my people to oversee things just to make sure there are no more attempts at opposing us." Rook says.
"You personally? Won't the Syndicate high ups object to that?" you ask.
"Oh the appropriate people will be getting a cut too, you don't need to worry about that."
"I suppose if I say no, you'll kill me right now."
"Not at all, I'll just leave and let you wait for the inevitable. As I said, I'm here on my own accord. I don't particularly have any grand interest in this place unless it's a potential extra moneymaker for me with minimal effort. I promise you though; the Syndicate will take this place eventually. So it's either deal with me now and endure indentured servitude or deal with the Syndicate later and face extinction."

It's good deal actually; it's so good in fact you start laughing due to the fact that you can't agree to it, but you do come up with a different one.

"Rook, I've got an even better deal for you. How about you and all your people just take this place over completely, but I don't have to give you anything at all and my family just continues to do their own business without interference?" you ask.
"Wha…what are you talking about?" Rook asks.
"I'm unfortunately not the leader of the Jicol Alliance anymore. One of my closest advisors basically just deposed me and it's now officially a guild rather than a loose collection of vagabonds only united for self-defense."
"Wait, when the fuck did this happen!?"
"Not long before you ambushed me. If you're thinking about going to him with the same deal though I wouldn't bother."
"Oh? And why the fuck shouldn't I? In fact is there any reason why I shouldn't kill you for wasting my time?
"Because the guy currently in charge said he fought you lot in Holgard and has no intention on ever giving up to you. In fact part of the reason he strong-armed his way as leader is because he felt I wasn't doing a good enough job. Should have known you couldn't trust a guy that calls himself Sneaks."

Rook's one good eye widens and stands up suddenly.

"Did you just say Sneaks?" Rook asks.
"Yeah." you answer.
"That fucker is here? In this city?"
"Yeah, you know him?"
"Know him? That's the sonofabitch that took out my fucking eye! He was part of the Holgard Guild that gave me fucking grief for YEARS! I've been trying to track down that cocksucker for so long that I can't even believe you're telling me that he's right here!"
"I know where he stays and how many other Alliance members there are."
"I didn't bring anyone else along on this trip save for my friend Bolt and while I don't doubt we couldn't handle this ourselves, but I'll tell you what, as an act of trust if you come help us, you've got a deal that all your family's business dealings and activities will not be taxed by the Syndicate or even by me personally. I swear to Fel and all the shadows that this will be so." Rook says making some sort of weird gesture afterwards.

Normally you'd be skeptical about such a thing, but Rook seems really dedicated to Fel and making declarations like that before one's god is usually a pretty serious thing so you're fairly sure he's being truthful. Not to mention he sounds like he hates Sneaks more than anything else.

You give Rook all the necessary information and he tells you to meet him at Sneak's favorite tavern in thirty minutes. You remind Rook that this is a public place, but he tells you once again, not to worry about it and leaves.

As you're taking the opportunity to get ready for this (and feeling a little upbeat at the same time about it) Mara comes walking in.

"Hey dad, who was that guy who just came from the house? He looked really creepy. Almost reminded me of one of those Ebony Claw guys that have the shadow powers." Mara says.
"That's probably because he was." You say.
"WHAT!?"
"Yeah, I expected that response. I can't go into too much detail, but A LOT happened from between the time you left this afternoon and now."
"Well you're going to have to at least try to explain it to me!"

As quickly as you can (And most of it is walking and talking) you fill her in on everything that's happened. It's a lot for her to take in, but her main concern seems to be you and her.

"How can we trust this Rook guy? I mean we've been fighting the ECS for years and he's just going to let us go?" Mara says.
"That's the deal. As I said, Rook seems to be more interested in building up his own personal powerbase than as the ECS as a whole. And right now he seems to be more interested in revenge. I'd say we're the least of his concerns. He doesn't even need me to help, he just said if I did, he'd honor the deal and considering he made it before his shadow god that's another reason I don't have cause to doubt him." You say.
"Well…if you think so."
"I have to say, I thought you'd be more opposed to the idea."
"Well I'm not exactly thrilled with it, but given that Sneaks and the rest betrayed you, I can see the wisdom in just making a deal to protect our own asses. Personally I'm still hoping they all kill each other, but I'll personally make sure not to target any Ebony Claw members."
"You don't really need to come, it's just me that promised."
"No, I'm coming too, I'm not going to miss a chance of getting a measure of revenge on the lot that betrayed us too. But I do always think it's sweet that you always try to keep me safe. You always look out for me." Mara says and puts her arm around you briefly and gives you a peck on the cheek.

Even in this bit of grim business that you're about to engage in, Mara's actions manage to still make you feel the more anxious than anything else. The way she looks at you with love in her eyes…

Sneaks was right.

That's what this is and it's clearly there between there between the pair of you.

This is probably wrong, but you might very well die in a few minutes so…

You grab Mara around the waist and kiss her deeply. When you finally come up for air you both stare at each other.

"That was wrong wasn't it?" you ask.
"Yeah, probably." Mara replies.
"I keep having inappropriate thoughts about you."
"Do they involve taking me from behind and slapping my ass while I call you daddy?"
"They do now."
"Then we better hurry up and kill these assholes then."

You and Mara rush to where you're supposed to meet Rook. When you arrive he tells you that there aren't any of the Jicol Watch around and there won't be, so the place is going to be fair game. He mentions don't worry about anyone trying to escape either since Bolt will be outside taking care of that.

"I don't see your friend." You say.
"And neither will anyone else. I see you brought your daughter along. Good. Extra help is always welcome."
"Actually she's my girlfriend." You say proudly causing a bit of a smile from Mara.

Rook just stares for a moment, opens his mouth and then stops.

"Nevermind. I'm too anxious to kill Sneaks right now. Which brings me to another thing, don't kill him! You can cripple him, maim him or whatever to stop him from attacking you. I don't give a good fuck what condition he's in, just as long as he's alive long enough for me to piss in his face before he dies."
"Understood.""
"Good, you two go in, I'll be right behind you."

You and Mara go into the tavern.

No sooner has Sneaks seen the pair of you, he already calls for his people to start attacking. Say what you want about Sneaks, but he's not stupid and knows an attack when he sees it.

Of course unfortunately for him, you've got very dedicated follower of Fel on your side. Before you even engage one of Sneaks' men, he has already killed two of them using his shadow magic enhanced speed. It's a damn good thing you didn't attack this guy. He's way more powerful than any of the others you faced in the past. He's not just a blur, he's practically invisible.

All non-combatants just try to keep their head down as the carnage ensues. Sneaks himself tries to run out the back, but you manage to get in a good shot to the side of his leg, specifically around the knee area. Such an effective place, Sneaks goes crashing to the floor immediately screaming the whole time. He goes for his own pistol, but Mara grabs his hands and stabs daggers through both palms and into the floor.

"No, please don't kill me …(sob) I'll leave!" Sneaks whimpers.
"Too late for that I'm afraid. But I should think you for being right about one thing. Mara and I decided to give into our feelings after all. When all this is over with, we're going to REALLY give into them. Thanks for showing me the light, now I think it's time I show you the shadows. I think you know this guy. Apparently he's been looking for you for a long time."

Rook suddenly becomes more visible to your eyes and stands over Sneaks who looks like he's seen a ghost from the past.

"…YOU! No! Please no! Not him!" Sneaks screams at you.
"Good, you remember me. Now you remember this cocksucker?" Rook shouts and then flips up his eye patch revealing a solid black gem, which then shoots a black light into one of Sneaks' own eyes.

Sneaks screams in agony that you kill him as his eye gets destroyed by the black light.

Sensing that Rook is going to take his time, you decide to ask if you're done.

"So, should we just leave you to it then?" you ask.
"Yeah, we're good. Bolt and I can hunt down the rest myself. Talk to you later before I leave." Rook says waving you away and now getting ready to burn out Sneaks' other eye.

You and Mara leave the tavern with Sneaks' screams still in both of your ears. Surprisingly there's nobody even remotely around nearby outside and you know there was quite a bit of noise made inside. You dunno what the hell Rook did to make that happened, but you can't help think he did some sort of shadow magic shit.

None of that matter right now to you though, and by the time you get home, the only thing that matters is what's going between you and Mara in the bed.


[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 do nothing

[Assistant]
The panic is overwhelming and you completely freeze up. Even when Mr. Zoll pulls a pistol out of his pocket you still do nothing. It's like the next few moments are in slow motion to you.

You watch Johnny attempt to run up the stairs, but Mr. Zoll turns quickly and fires two shots, one in Johnny's chest and another in his head. Johnny falls backwards down the stairs and his body falls in heap on top of the dead soldier.

You don't even scream when seeing this, but your crippling frozen panic ends and you instantly make a run for it. Mr. Zoll attempt to grab you, but you're too fast.

You actually get to the front door before you hear Mr. Zoll tell you to halt or he'll fire. You can't stop though, you're too afraid for your life.

Upon opening the door, you feel a piece of hot lead going into your back and then another.

You slump face first onto the front porch. Tears in your eyes and screaming from the pain you attempt to drag yourself forward, but it's all for naught. Mr. Zoll casually walks up to you and ends your suffering with a final bullet to the 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 shake your head. "Afraid I won't oblige your request. Now leave."

[Assistant]
Miller scowls at your calm request for him to leave. "I'm afraid I can't, Sir Kit. Please, come with us. I won't ask again." You can feel your anger flaring up, and for a moment you wish you had brought your sword to cut this bastard down.

"You listen to me, Miller," you growl, hissing his name out like it's an insult. "I want to live in peace. You take your Gold Hawk Knights and get out of here. Leave me be."

He shakes his head. "I was hoping it wouldn't come to this. Knights, apprehend Sir Kit." The two knights flanking Miller approach you, attempting to grab you. On instinct, you fight back, delivering a hook to one's face and causing him to stumble back towards Miller. The other quickly draws his sword and swings, but you duck under it and disarm him. With the longsword in hand, you quickly stab him in the chest.

Blood pours out of his wound as you push him to the ground. You blink, suddenly realizing what you just did. Miller and the other knight look at you and their dying comrade in shock. Miller and his ally draw their own swords, pointing them at you. "You're under arrest, murderer! Surrender or our blades will taste your blood!"

[User] You didn't mean to do that... You can't believe... You surrender willingly. You deserve whatever fate awaits.

[Assistant]
You're in as much shock as the two knights. Quickly, you drop the sword and raise your hands. Miller approaches you, rage written on his face, and hits you in the face with the pommel of his sword. Instantly, darkness takes you. The last thing you hear before you slip into unconsciousness is Miller telling his comrade, "Tie him up and get him in the wagon. Take Edward's corpse."

When you wake up, you're face down on a cold stone floor. Pushing yourself up, you look around and see Miller not far from you. Seperating the two of you is a row of iron bars. "Miller," you say. "What is the meaning of this?"

He sighs, pulling up a wooden chair and sitting down. "You should be thankful you're not on the chopping block. The king's respect for you is the only reason you're still alive. If you were any other man, your head would roll for killing a knight."

You don't respond. The weight of what you did hits you full force in that moment. Because of it, you're going to rot here.

"There will be no trial. If anything, you being in this cell is to protect you. The Gold Hawk Knights are furious." Miller stands, pushing the chair back. "Farewell, Kit."

Miller heads to the door and shuts it, leaving you to your isolation. It's the last time you ever see him.

For the next few years, your only human contact is when a guard comes in to deliver you some food. At first it's a nice break in the monotony of being alone in your cell, but soon it becomes part of the routine. Even when you try to strike up a conversation, the guard ignores you and just gives you your food. It's a lonely life.

Eventually, the meals decrease in frequency, until one day you realize that it's been a week since you had food. You begin to yell, hoping to grab a guard's attention and get some food, but no one comes. Another week passes and you find yourself barely clinging onto what little life you have. The lack of food has been effecting you greatly, and the only water you can get is from drops of rain that come through your little window.

When three weeks pass, you finally die. A guard comes the next day to remove your corpse. He drops it into a wagon of similar corpses, where you're sent off to be incinerated. A criminal such as yourself doesn't deserve a proper burial anyhow.

THE END


[System] Narrate an interactive dark fantasy adventure. The world is brutal and unforgiving. Respond to the player's actions with vivid, immersive descriptions and let their choices carry real weight.

[User] Continue

[Assistant]
You lay down on the sofa, wondering what lays in store for you. No one would go through all this trouble for no reason and you dread learning what that reason is. Does the kidnapper simply want a ransom or do they have something more sinister in mind? You notice there are no windows in this room and the bleak white walls are not helping you stay positive. You can't let fear overcome you, only by thinking rational will you get out of this.

Suddenly the door that was locked opens up and the man who kidnapped you appears, he is holding a tray with a paper bag on it, he appears nervous and is looking down at the tray and not you.

[User] You beg to be freed

[Assistant]
"Please let me go, I won't tell anyone about this I promise, I'll give you money if that's what you want" you beg as tears begin to roll down your face.

The man appears to get sad as if he regrets what he is doing and his eyes seem to get a bit watery. It isn't long before he regains his composure and begins to speak

"I'm sorry about this, I promise everything will be explained in time, just relax I have no intention of hurting you and by the end of the week, you'll be home". The kidnapper explains.

"What's that?" you ask pointing the bag on tray with one hand and wiping the tears off your face with the other.

"Oh, this is dinner, I got it from this deli called Luca's, the internet said you liked pepperoni calzone and diet soda so I got you that" The kidnapper says while putting down the tray.

"Now that sofa opens up into a bed and in the morning, you'll meet my girlfriend, it won't be so bad"

The man quickly leaves closing the door behind him and locking it. You wonder if he is afraid of being caught by the FBI or if he is always like that. You pick up the bag on the tray and take out the contents, sure enough it's a pepperoni calzone and a diet soda. Your stomach growls at the sight of the meal, you are too hungry to care if it's poisonous or not and begin wolfing the food down. After you've finished you put the tray in a corner and pull the bed out of the sofa . As you lay down, the events of the day race through your mind and you wonder if you'll truly leave this place alive. However you are exhausted and soon you fall asleep.

[User] The next day

[Assistant]
You wake up the next morning, hoping the kidnapping was just a bad dream, sadly when you look around you see that you're still in the small windowless room. Not long after you wake up, the kidnapper enters the room with another tray, this one has a stack of pancakes and orange juice.

"I read you like buttermilk pancakes and pulp free orange juice" He says as he puts down the tray.

"In hour my girlfriend, Jeanette is going to visit, you can meet her, she's quite a fan yours"

Before the man leaves he picks up the tray from yesterday and exits the room, locking the door behind him. As you look at the tray you noticed he didn't leave any utensils, he has either planned this out or is just forgetful. You figure now is not the time to worry about proper eating habits as you grab a pancake and take a bite out of it. While you have breakfast you turn on the TV.

"20 hours after Linda Niles kidnapping, the FBI appears to be no closer to finding her. So far no group has claimed responsibility and no ransom has been demanded. Surveillance footage from the Destiny Hill Mall showing the kidnapper has been released to the public in effort to identify the man. Witnesses say that before the abduction, he gave his name as 'Jacob' when requesting an autograph. FBI officials say the name is most likely a fake.Officials also say they are considering a house to a house search, with the town's population at 40,000 doubts if such a search is possible or even if legal have been raised. Residents of the once quiet town are upset of the over the high police presence and checkpoints set up around the town's exits, meanwhile sales of Linda Niles albums have skyrocketed and rumors of the kidnapping being a hoax are beginning to circulate..."

You finish breakfast and turn off the TV. You begin to wonder who this "Jeanette" person your going to meet soon is like, maybe she is just is timid as the guy is, you'll have just to wait to find out.

[User] You an hour later

[Assistant]
After waiting for an hour the door opens and the man appears.

"Come on" he shyly says while sticking out his arm.

You walk towards him and he grabs hold of your wrist. He heads out while tugging you along, he is obviously trying to make sure you don't run for it, he also seems to be trying to avoid hurting you. You walk into the next room which is basically just a larger version of the room you were just in, carpeted floor with dust bunnies, bleak white walls and no windows. In the middle of the room is a staircase which you and the man walk up. Upstairs you discover you are in a foyer in what appears to be a residential house.

You eye the front door at the end of the foyer but the kidnapper tugs you in the other direction. You enter a room on the right which has two loveseat sofas, a large flat screen TV on stand with a DVD player and several DVDs. On the floor is a carpet that doesn't have dust bunnies, walls that aren't so bleak as the ones in the basement, and more importantly for you windows. You never thought you'd be so happy to see sunlight, but after almost a full day without you'll never take it for granted again.

While you're staring outside you almost overlook that there is a women sitting on one of the love seats. She looks around your age, has almost waist long blonde hair, jean short shorts and a red tank top, she looks far more confident then the kidnapper ever did. She notices you are looking at her and begins to talk.

"I can't believe you pulled this off Martin" the women begins.

"Yeah, I made a promise and I don't break my promises" the man replied as he sat down next to her.

You notice the man is far more relaxed when in the company of this women.

"So you're the world famous Linda Niles, I'm Jeanette" the women introduces herself.

"Nice to meet you" you respond. You suppose being polite will improve your odds of getting out of this situation.

"I hope Martin has been treating you alright, he isn't a bad person, but I don't blame you if the kidnapping gave you a different impression"

You can't tell if she is being serious or making a wise crack.

"So the reason I am here is I'm going to babysit you today, Martin has a few errands to run and we obviously can't just leave you here alone" Jeanette explained.

"But the FBI is out looking for you" You say surprisingly with a bit of concern in your voice.

"I have...things to do" Martin stated purposely vague.

You could insist that Martin stays and Jeanette goes out to do whatever these errands are. You're not quite sure what to make of Jeanette, she could be dangerous, while you know Martin is timid and (probably) won't hurt you. You might even be able to make an escape attempt. On the other hand Martin isn't much for conversation, having Jeanette stay around would give you somebody to talk to, which would really help you keep your saintly while trapped. However Martin going out runs the risk if him being caught, which can your situation much better or way worse.

[User] You ask Martin to stay

[Assistant]
You're smart enough to know the devil you know is better then the devil you don't.

"Maybe Martin should stay" you suggest.

Both Martin and Jeanette are bit surprise by your comment.

"Sorry hun, but I have a ton of work to do and so does Martin" Jeanette stated.

"If you really plan on letting me getting go by the end of the week, then it benefits me not having Martin go out and risk getting caught"

Your case doesn't seem to persuade Jeanette in the slightest, Martin on the other hand seems to take heed to what you say.

"You can do my errands Jeanette and I can do your bank statements, you'll still get the credit for doing them" Martin advised.

"Fine, I guess we should be careful"

Jeanette and Martin kiss each goodbye as she gets off the sofa, leaves the room and heads out the front door. As soon as she is gone Martin becomes his more on edge self.

"We have some work to do" Martin explained.

As before Martin grabs you by the wrist but not very tightly  leading you into the foyer and then a room on the left. It is a kitchen complete with a refrigerator, oven and stove. The appliances seemed fairly modern, although the oven and stove appeared to be a bit dirty. Next to them was a counter and sink, with dishes that needed to be washed.A sliding door on the right lead to the backyard was on the right. In the middle of the room is a kitchen table, on it is a box with a bunch of papers. You both sit down at the table as Martin takes the box and dumps the papers on the table.

"Jeanette needs these bank statements alphabetize" Martin blunted instructed.

It is a very dull affair as Martin at times seems to forget you are even there, paying for more attention to the papers then to you. You try to make small talk, Martin doesn't say much, but you manage to learn that his parents died in a car crash a few years ago and he doesn't like hot weather. Martin works at very fast pace, finishing his half of the statements and then proceeds to complete your half. By noon you are done, Martin orders a pizza, mushrooms and olives your favorite. After lunch Martin returns to the room with the love seats, lays down on one and promptly dozes off. You are now left unsupervised in the house.

[User] You explore the house

[Assistant]
Escaping is way too risky, but it would be a waste to go back downstairs just yet, so you decide to have a look around. You walk into a room  that is at the opposite end of the front door. In it is a staircase leading to a second floor. When you reach the upper level you notice it is rather small, as it is just a hallway with two doors, the first one you try is locked but the second one isn't, inside you see a bed, a small nightstand, a dresser and a desk with numerous papers on it. There is little doubt this is Martin's bedroom. You head towards the desk and inspect the papers. One is the blueprints for the Destiny Hill Mall, with an a red arrow drawn from it. The arrow starts out in Zidane's clothing store, goes out the back exit, down a set of stairs and out of the employee entrance. It stops at a parking space outside the mall.

So this was Martin's escape route, you remember there were a bunch of cops guarding that entrance, how'd he get past them? You being unconscious at time, can't recall. The next item is a photo of a fancy blue sports car, on the back of the photo it says:

Leaves keys in garage, code is 0515, asleep by 11 PM.

You are bit surprised how someone who acts like his own shadow would scare him, could plan this all, maybe Jeanette had a hand you wonder. Next to the photo of the sports car is a flyer with your face on it:

COME MEET 8 TIME GRAMMY WINNER LINDA NILES!!!

YOU CAN HAVE YOUR PICTURE TAKEN AND GET AN AUTOGRAPH  OF THE WORLD FAMOUS SINGER.

ON THURSDAY AUGUST 16TH FROM 12PM-4PM AT THE OPENING OF THE NEWEST ZIDANE'S CLOTHING STORE LOCATED AT DESTINY HALL MALL  AT 219 OKONEDO STREET, IN DESTINY HILL, N.J

*limit, one photo and one autograph person, first 800 people only.

Did they really have to make this flyer so obnoxious you wonder. Moving on you see a small piece of paper with handwritten notes.

Sgt. Marcus Walker $10,000 WAY TOO MUCH!!!

Sgt. Lewis Mott $4,000. DOESN'T HAVE GOOD REPUTATION

Cpt. Harold Morowitz $3500, NEEDS MONEY, HAS A LOT TO LOSE IF CAUGHT

Ben Hinds (Head of mall security) $2000, SERVED WITH J's FATHER, TRUSTWORTHY

So cops were on the take, now things started making more sense, the final thing on the desk was another photo, it appeared it a bit more worn then the one with the sports car, on it was Martin only he appeared slightly younger, next to him was a teenage girl, it wasn't Jeanette as the girl had short brown hair and a more narrow chin, the back of the photo read:

 M+K, state fair

This photo had to be important as the creases on it showed it had been held many times. You hear footsteps shuffling around downstairs, Martin must be awake, you quickly leave the room and rush down the stairs, you manage to get back to the kitchen before Martin comes in.

"Time to go back downstairs" He says in a somewhat groggy state.

Once again he grabs you by the wrist and once again not too tightly. He leads you to  basement and back into what has become your room. Once you are inside Martin heads out. Jeanette returns a few hours later and comes into you room, holding a box of leftover pizza.

 "Thanks for doing the bank statements" Jeanette said while putting down the box of pizza.

 "Martin did most of the work" You admit.

"Maybe you didn't want Martin to go because you were worried about him, maybe you found working with him romantic"

You are taken aback by this statement.

"I'm joking" Jeanette says as soon she notices you're getting uncomfortable.

Jeanette is obnoxious and Martin is on another world, quite a pair those two are you think to yourself.

You and Jeanette spend time eating the leftover pizza and talking for a bit. You learn Jeanette's father was in the army. After you are done, Jeanette leaves taking the now empty pizza box. You watch some primetime TV and then fall asleep.

[User] Next morning

[Assistant]
You wake up the next morning and the smell of pancakes is in the air. You sit up to see that another tray of buttermilk pancakes and orange juice on the floor, there is also a small hand written note on the tray as well. You get up, walk towards the tray and read the note:

I just realized  you haven't had a change of clothes since you got here, there's a fresh pair in the bathroom, I borrowed them from Jeanette, I hope they fit alright, once you have eaten and changed, meet me in the backyard. -Martin

You find it a little creepy that Martin was walking around in here while you were asleep, no point in stressing over it now through. Suddenly it dawns on you that wearing the same clothes for two days, including to bed, can't be good hygiene. You enter the bathroom and find the clothes the note mentions, which consists of a pair of loose fit jeans and a navy blue tank top. In addition a pair of fresh socks are sitting next to them. After a relaxing shower, you change clothes, and head upstairs. You remember the sliding door in the kitchen, you go through the foyer into the kitchen and out the door.

    When you head outside, you take a moment to bask int the sunlight, you've been couped inside for two days and you now you have the chance to savior the sunlight beaming down your skin, a gentle breeze touches your face and feels so comforting.  You take off your socks and shoes to feel the grass on your feet, enjoying the feeling of each blade. if someone was watching you, they'd think you'd suffer some sort of brain injury, but right now you simply don't care.

   As you walk further into the back you see tall wooden fences on both sides of yard, preventing the neighbors from looking in. At the opposite end of the lawn you see that there are tall trees, there are so many that it appears dark despite being early in the day. In the middle of the area  you can see a lawn chair, with Martin laying in it, dozing.  You'll have to wake him up, although you could run into woods and make your escape or you could turn around go back in the house and out the front door.

[User] You wake up Martin

[Assistant]
You've stuck around this along you might as well find out you were kidnapped in the first place. You walk up to Martin and gentle nudge his shoulder, he wakes up startled but calms down quickly. He notices you standing beside him and gets up from the lawn chair.

"How Jeanette's clothes?" He asks

"They're fine" you reassure.

"I suppose now would be a good time to tell you why I went through  the trouble of brining you here"

"You did say you'd tell me today"

"I have a sister named Kate, she's fifteen and the only family I have, a year go she got diagnosed with liver cancer and it quickly became terminal"

Martin begins to choke up, but regains his composure and continues

"Tomorrow she is being released simply so she can enjoy the final days of her life. I own a place called the Whishaw theater, you are going to give her a concert"

You're not sure what to make of all of this, the story of Marin's sister is sad, but this man has kidnapped you and held you against your will for two days, does he deserve this act of kindness?

[User] You agree to do the concert

[Assistant]
Kidnapped or not, it just wouldn't be the right thing to do to turn Martin down, if not for him then at least for his sister who is dying of cancer and wasn't part of your kidnapping int he first place.

"I'm in" You tell Martin.

Martin faces quickly turns from sad, to surprised to overjoyed in a span of five seconds. He puts his arms around and hugs you.

"Thank you, Linda" He responds, still holding on, the nervousness you've seen in him appears to have melted away.

He eventually realizes what he is doing and let's go, his face has a flash of embarrassment.

"So, Kate is coming home later today, you can meet her, talk to her and in the evening you can go down to the Whishaw and give the concert"

"Sounds good"

 Martin walks back to the house, seemly forgetting the fact you are left outside without anyone watching. You sit down in the lawn chair he was sitting in earlier and enjoy the fresh air. After an hour or two of lounging you hear footsteps approaching, you turn to see Jeanette standing nearby.

"It's time meet Kate, Martin and I are heading out" Jeanette says as the two of you walk back to the house.

Once back inside, Jeanette heads out the front door while you see someone sitting in the room with the love seats. This is no doubt this Kate, she is about five feet tall, has short brown hair and a somewhat narrow chin. Upon seeing you, a huge grin appears on her face as she runs towards you.

"Oh my god, it's you, it's really you, sorry I'm acting like a total weirdo. I mean part of me was thinking Martin had simply lost his mind when he said you were here" Kate says excitedly.

Her outgoingness makes you surprise she is related Martin.

"It's alright, I'm human like everyone" You reassure.

Almost as she soon she gets up, she goes back to sit down on the love seat, no doubt all she going through is leaving her with limited energy. You go and join her on the love seat.

"I know Martin kidnapped you" Kate's tone becoming more serious.

"I imagine it's all anyone is talking about for past few days" You responded.

"My brother is a good person, sure he's an oddball but I love him, I just don't want you to think he's a monster, please forgive him and try to understand why he did what he did"

[User] You forgive Martin

[Assistant]
You've been fortunate to have never had to deal with the pain of loss, let alone the loss of someone so young, you can't begin to imagine the pain Martin is in. Once Kate dies, Martin's pain will only get worse, but at least he can take comfort in the fact that he made his dying sister happy. Maybe that isn't enough of a reason to justify what he did, but you understand why he did it and holding a grudge against him just felt wrong.

"I forgive him" You tell Kate.

Kate's face lights upon hearing this. You spend the next few hours talking about a variety of subjects like music, movies, TV shows and more specific topics such as why sliced cheese is better then cubed cheese, the right amount of ketchup to put on a hamburger, and why sticks will always be superior to stones. You're not quite sure what to think of that last topic, so you just go along with her opinion.

"I want to show you something" Kate says with excitement.

 She gets up and walks over to the flat screen TV.  She then turns on the DVD player, while rummaging through a pile of DVD's. She opens one with a clear case  and puts it the DVD player. A huge grin is once again on Kate's face as she hurries back to the love seat and sits down next to you.

"Wait until you see this" Kate says with enthusiasm as she use's the remote to turn on the TV.

The TV shows a slightly grainy image of a street that you can immediately tell is New York City. On video you see a girl you're sure is a slightly version of Kate walk up to a fancy hotel, with the cameraman following her.

"This is the place" Kate tells the cameraman.

"Are you sure she'll be here?" the cameraman asks, you recognize the voice as Martin's.

Suddenly two people walk out of the hotel, one is a very large, muscular man the other is you.

"Linda you're awesome" Kate shouts at you.

You give a quick wave, while the man glares at Kate. You then get into a waiting limo and drive off.

"She waved at us, did you see that?" Kate says with an abundant amount of energy.

The movie then cuts to static and Kate turns off the TV.

"You don't remember that do you?" Kate asks with a bit of sadness.

"I'm sorry kid, I won't be forgetting this that's for sure" You say with a mix of truth and dry wit.

Around noon, Kate orders a pizza, unlike the one from yesterday, it's not your favorite of  mush and olives, in fact it's your least favorite anchovies. You assume this must Kate's favorite as her eyes get wide eyed at the sight of it. Despite that she only manages to eat one or two slices. Despite her limited energy and lack of an apatite that is no doubt caused by her cancer she remains in good sprites. You manage to eat a few slices, although it is not a very fun experience.Shortly after lunch. Martin and Jeanette walk in through the front door. When they walk into the kitchen, Martin grins upon seeing the pizza.

"Anchovies" He says with delight as he grabs a slice.

"We just got back from Luca's" Jeanette scolded her boyfriend.

"Always room for anchovies"

Jeanette rolls her eyes, while Kate finds the situation quite amusing, letting out a small giggle. Once Martin is done with the slice he turns toward you.

"So now we're off to Whisaw" Martin says as he takes a piece of paper out of his pocket and hands it to you.

"These are the songs you're going to sing"

You look at the note and sure enough it has the names of the songs you're going to sing. There is about ten of them and  you know them all by heart, there is no need to rehearse. The four of you head outside and into Martin's car. It looks a bit old and is the color of walls in the basement. You all manage to squish in, with Martin driving, Jeanette in the front, and you and Kate in the back.

[User] You to the concert (Happy Mood)

[Assistant]
Martin drives the car into the parking lot of  the Whishaw theater. The building is about two stories and made out of bricks. Giant gray metal letters spelling out the word "WHISHAW" are above the front door. The parking lot itself needs a few repairs as grass is beginning to grow in the cracks of the pavement. As you get out of the car you look at the people across the street, walking to and from the various shops. You get a bit a worried that someone will see you, but they seem busy with their lives that if anyone did see you they wouldn't notice you were the famous Linda Niles who got kidnapped. You, Martin, Jeanette and Kate walk towards the entrance of the theater.

"So how does this work, is there a band or something?" You ask, knowing you've should ask this when you first agreed to the concert.

"It's like karaoke, the music of your songs will play and you do the lyrics" Martin explains.

The four walk into the building. Inside you see posters for plays, singers and bands you've never heard of. On the opposite wall, two sets of double doors leading into the auditorium. There is a concussion stand advertising food that may or may not have expired long ago.  A ticket booth on the right looks like it is in need of a good dusting. The carpet looks a bit dated and while the wall color is not nearly as bleak as the ones in the basement, it is beginning to peel.

"She's really something isn't she" Martin says marveling his theater.

"It's something alright" You respond.

Martin doesn't seem to pick up on your sarcasm, but Jeanette does as she lets out a snicker.

The four of you head into the auditorium, the stage has a microphone with a spotlight shining on it

"I've got to get the music on, good luck" Martin bluntly states as heads off and goes through a door to the right of the stage.

You walk up a set of steps and onto the stage. Gently you tap the microphone to see if it's working. The tapping sound echoes throughout the theater, confirm the mic works. Jeanette and Kate take their seat as the music for the first begins to play. Shortly after you begin singing Martin comes in and takes a seat next to Kate.

The concert goes to perfection, you can confidently say it is the best performance you ever gave. It's ironic that it's also the smallest audience you ever had. After the show, Kate stands and applauds excessively. Martin and Jeanette also join in the applause. You walk off to the stage and approach the trio.

"That was awesome, beyond awesome, awesome just isn't a strong enough word" Kate rapidly.

"What happens now?" you ask, slightly afraid of the answer.

"Now we say goodbye, if you leave here and walk down three blocks, you'll find the police station" Martin explains.

"It really means a lot to us that you did this" Jeanette thanked.

"Thank you for everything" Kate says while hugging you and squeezes tightly.

When Kate finally lets go, you head to the front door, you turn around and wave to them as they wave back. Once outside it occurs to you that none of them are concerned about you reporting to the police. Perhaps it didn't matter to them, you gave the concert for Kate and that's all they wanted. It also crosses your mind that you are free, the whole situation is over, although you doubt you will forget this anytime soon. The sun has nearly set as you head for the police station.

[User] A few weeks later

[Assistant] Finally you are back home in Los Angeles, the press had been hounded you non-stop. Granted as an A-list star, they hound you all the time anyway, but after the whole kidnapping event, they have been doubling their efforts. Thankfully your house has the best security money can buy and you don't have to worry about them for the moment.  You never turned in Martin and Jeanette, you even begin to see them as good people. Soon your kidnapping isn't the top story and it gets less and less media attention. After a month the news stops talking about it altogether, some other celebrity is caught in a scandal and the world turns their attention to that. Another month later you learn through sources that Kate has died from her cancer, you wonder if should attend her funeral or not

[User] You attend funeral

[Assistant]
It may be risky but something is compelling you go back to Destiny Hill. You've avoided the press before and you can do it again. You arrive back in Destiny Hill in a inconspicuous car, similar to the one you were in when you had the meet and greet.  At the church you recognize Martin's car. Rain begins to drizzle as you park the car and head in. There are a  few people inside and most pay no attention to you. In front pew you see Martin and Jeanette sitting with their heads bowed down. They don't notice you as you head to the front and sit near them. You tap Martin on the shoulder and he jumps slightly upon seeing who are. Jeanette eyes widen when she sees you.

"What are you doing here?" Martin says in a mix of sadness and confusion.

"I came to pay my respects, I only Kate for a day, but I know she was a good kid". You answer.

"You don't have to do this, you're risking your career by being here" Jeanette says with concern.

"I want to do this"

Martin hugs you in way his sister did back the concert.

"It'll be alright" You comfort Martin.

After the funeral, the three of you head back to the house, Martin goes over his favorite memories of his sister. You learn that Jeanette's father had also died of liver cancer and she and Martin meet at a support rally. By the end of the day you head off but remain in close contact with the two of them.

You make it an annual tradition to head out to Destiny Hill and visit Martin and Jeanette, also putting fresh flowers at Kate's grave every time you are there. A few years later Martin and Jeanette get married, while you don't attend as you don't want the attention on you instead of them on their big day, you foot the bill so they can have a very large and extravagant wedding.

The events that happen give inspiration and  another year later your next album is called "Stockholm Syndrome" which gets universal acclaim. You dedicate the album to Kate, people begin talking about who this Kate could be. The rest of your career  continues in this fashion. Decades pass and soon you are in inducted into the rock and roll hall of fame. You are considered one of the greatest singers of all times. Long after you're gone, people continue to talk about your legacy and the influence you had on music.


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

[User] Continue

[Assistant]
Ignore the fool who stole your army for now, you can deal with him once you practice your own powers more and wipe out the stadium community. You spend the morning planning and stretching your powers as much as you can until you finally manage to detect something further North "Must be up near the highway." You think as you head to find the Capt.

He is a little surprised at first but you carefully explain that you really just want to keep busy and heading out with a scavenging party to the North should be perfect since it's the furthers from the city centre and so should be the safest. He reluctantly agrees with you and the team for the day gets redirected to one of the Northern targets. You get to tag along as the 5th man.

It only takes a couple of hours to get to the Highway on ramps directly North and your team raids the convenience stores there for supplies, finding a surprisingly good amount, seems like after the highway got fully blocked with cars and infected, no-one came back here.

You also get lucky with the infected, you find a few dozen can be sensed from this far North so as you grab tins of Spam off a shelf you concentrate on beginning to steer them all South. Mostly shamblers and a few fast ones. You find one mind that's different from the rest, hazy like a normal but also cracked and venerable with twisted knots inside. You give it a test push to see if you can affect it but it reacts erratically and you immediately realize that it would be a lot more work to try and affect it in any meaningful way so you leave it alone for now. No point getting a nosebleed now just for a single crazy.

Watching the others work at filling their bags you realize you're in the perfect spot for a meal again and the hunger begins to rise. You even have a proper little horde this time you could use.

[User] You hold off for now, they are a suspicious lot and probably won't believe that you are the only one to get away twice in a row.

[Assistant]
You are highly tempted to wipe this team out just like you did with the last one but you know the guards would be too suspicious of you if that happened and it would make your life a lot harder so you hold off for now and instead have your new small horde hold off a few miles North of you and follow behind as you all return to the stadium.

You've never actively tried to control this many at once and you begin to feel the strain after just a few seconds. However you force yourself to keep going, fighting off a splitting headache until you are all half way back. You feel your nose beginning to bleed this time and quickly plug it up tight with some balls of cloth. It means the blood backs up and you have to swallow it, but it's better than having it streaming down your face again.

You finally arrive back at the stadium and release your active hold on the infected to the North, leaving them all just inside your current maximum reach as you head inside. You receive several comments about how pale and terrible you look and quickly try to explain that maybe it was too soon after looking your other team. You quickly drop off the supplies and collapse into you tent with your head feeling like it's going to split open where you fall unconscious for the rest of the evening and right through the night.

[User] You waking up as lord of your own little horde.

[Assistant]
When morning comes you wake slowly and groggily, the last remnants of your headache still present however you immediately notice that you can sense your horde still milling about where you left them. You can even sense some of the stragglers further back that you had lost control of last night due to the pain.

Trying to direct them right now is out of the question though as you know you over-did it the day before and you don't want to risk any more bleeding incidents right now, there is only so many times you can lose half a pint of blood from your nose before people realize something is wrong.

You find the Doc waiting for you at breakfast to check on your condition. "I heard you looked like death last night, one of the guards almost shot you before your team convinced him that you were ok and hadn't been bitten."

You think fairly carefully before replying. "Yeh, I think it might just have been a bit soon after losing my other team, I thought being back out there might help me get over it but I guess it had the opposite reaction. Feeling better today but still got a headache so might be best if I rest for a bit."

The Doc nods and goes to chat with the Capt. who comes over. "We saw things like this back in the wars so don't worry too much about it, it should mostly pass in a day or two, just let the doc here know if you start feeling overly paranoid or having flashbacks in the next week. You and your team brought back a huge haul of tins and supplies so don't worry about the scavenging or other duties for a few days either."

He heads off and you finally relax. They were giving you exactly what you needed to destroy them.

You head back to your tent with full permission to do nothing for a couple of days and fall asleep again, waking about lunchtime with your headache finally gone.

You do however notice that one of the hazy blobs that mark a normal is still hanging around near your tent exactly where it was when you went to sleep. "Seems they are having me followed" You think "best act as normal as possible for a bit then"

You head outside and see some of the guys you are friendlier with eating so you head over to join them, and sure enough your shadow follows, you never catch a glimpse of him so he must be one of the military ones or just very good at following people "Maybe they put an ex-stalker after me" you think with a laugh as you start joining in the conversation over lunch.

By the next morning of acting normal again your shadow vanishes and you feel up to flexing your powers again. You reach out to your horde and find that, as expected, it's simple to control them all at once now. "So keep pushing the limits, but not too far or for too long" You think to yourself as you plan your next move.

[User] You hit the stadium right away, get infected inside before they can react and defend properly

[Assistant]
You have the horde, the ability to use them and you even have a reasonable plan, why wait?

You head down into the basement on the premise of getting checkup by the doc and even get a few comments from the guards about them being glad you are feeling better. What a surprise it was going to be for them. Once in his office, you left him swing the door shut then, while his back is still turned you snap his neck from behind. "Huh, much easier than expected" you think as you carefully move his body out of sight from the corridor.

You give it a few minutes then exit the office, closing the door behind you and head back out to the two waiting guards who unbolt the door for you and let you through. "Clean bill of health then?" one asks.

You smile as you reply "Better than ever!" You punch him in the throat, planning just to crush the wind pipe but you feel his spine snap at the impact as you move to the next guard, you have your hand over his mouth and his neck snapped before the first even hits the floor. You quickly glance down at your hands before grabbing them both and half carry them down to the doc's office to hide them.

"Ok I was fast and strong before but this is on a whole new level. Guess advancing my other powers is helping my body too." You think as you take the locks off the cell doors and let the four shamblers out. Number 4 is barely able to walk and two are half starved so you let them join you in feeding on the Doc. And the guards while you slowly make your horde move into position.

Once you are finished you move with your little team of shamblers to the base of the stairs that lead up to the stadium and wait while your little horde surrounds the stadium, everywhere there are balconies that could lead inside.

It's just before lunch when you start the attack, shamblers and fast types moving out of the alleys and towards the stadium as fast of each of them is able. You immediately hear gunshots ringing out from the front balconies along with occasional booms indicating the 50cal. Sniper is getting involved too. The flanks are slower to react though like you predicted and your horde is already reaching the ditches and barricades by the time they open fire.

You can feel large numbers of your horde dropping dead or injured now but you press them forward, each one that falls increases your fine control over the rest and with your guidance they are moving through the defenses at a good speed.

The fast types reach the flanks about the time you realize the front is lost, two thirds of the infected there are already down and more drop every second. Seems the military guys on gate duty today are no slouches.

You quickly try and read where the normal are and find haziness moving towards all parts of the stadium with two coming your way. The reinforcements are reacting already, that's not the best news but you have fast types climbing up to the side balconies right now and you feel them taking down a couple of guards on the right side before the others get there.

[User] You head out to attack from the rear; make sure your horde gets inside

[Assistant]
Now is the time to strike, you can take out the re-enforcements headed to the right and ensure your horde breeches the perimeter.

You rush out with your shamblers following behind and run right into the two guards who were headed your way. You punch one right away and feel his chest cave, the other manages to shout and tries to raise his gun, but you're too fast and bat it aside, letting your shamblers take him down.

You begin heading to the right, to take out the re-enforcements however the shamblers, true to their name, move slowly and you decide to leave them behind and rush for the right flank. You arrive shortly behind the guards and feel them killing your horde but you attack from the rear and quickly kill all three, letting your horde into the stadium.

You give it a few moments for them to get the first few inside as you try and prolong the other fights, the front attack is pretty much wiped out but you keep the badly wounded moving to draw attention at least. The left side has made the walls but it's a much harder climb there so they aren't doing well either. "Time to attack from the inside."  You think as you head down from the balcony with your small force.

The first thing you notice is the low rumbling that seems out of place in the normally quiet stadium, the second thing is that the noise is coming from a large armored military jeep parked right in the middle of the field and pointing its mounted gun your way.

Even with your super human speed, you can't dodge bullets, so when the heavy machine-gun opens fire you feel yourself being torn apart along with your horde.

"They had a back-up plan."  You think as you fall.

"I could have told you that, if you had been willing to listen." You hear in your head right before it goes black.


[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 keep her in one piece

[Assistant]
The more you think about it, chopping her up is likely just going to complicate things. Your goal is to get rid of her body as quickly as possible and really all you need to do that is drive her dead ass to the wilderness and dump it. You probably over thought this by bringing all that shit with you.

No matter, better to have it and not need it rather than the other way around.

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

You go to the car grabbing the tape and tarps and return to the room. So far it's still pretty quiet out there, you just hope it stays that way.

You begin rolling her up in one of the tarps and then wrap duct tape around her like mummy. You then roll her up in a second tarp, which you also tape up. It's not exactly the neatest, but you believe you've got her firmly wrapped up tight.

You make the effort to clean up a little bit of the blood that was left on the motel carpet, you only got soap and water from the bathroom to work with, but it isn't like you're cleaning up brains and gore so you think you're good.

You sit on the bed for a little while taking a break from your task thinking about which car you want to use. You suppose it doesn't matter, though the sports car probably has a smaller trunk, then again you loaded up your own car with a bunch of stuff, so you're probably going to have to rearrange stuff to make room.

You get up and using the car keys from the purse, you check out the sports car to see just how big the trunk is. After some inspection you decide that it's probably just big enough for your purposes. It isn't like it's a big body after all.

You still think it might be a good idea to bury the body though, so you grab the shovel out of your car and put it in the backseat of the sports car.

"Okay Suzy, let's do this." You say to yourself and head back inside to get her body.

You pick up the body and it really isn't easy. It isn't like you're literally carrying "your own weight" on a regular basis, not to mention a dead body is somewhat awkward to attempt to carry even if you do have it wrapped tight.

You get to the trunk of the sports car and start swearing when the body's weight begins to take its toll and you even up dropping it on the cement before you can even attempt to get it into the trunk.

"Shit!" you exclaim and then quickly look around to see if anyone is watching or around. You're still in luck that nobody is around. (You guess the hookers are really busy with their tricks tonight)

With some effort, you manage to pick the body back up and cram it into the trunk. Cram is definitely the correct word since you miscalculated and the trunk was slightly smaller than your thought. You actually have to lift your leg to stomp the body into the trunk before you can close it properly.

When you're done with that, you go back into the room to make sure you haven't forgotten anything and grab her purse before you leave.

As you start up the car and leave you figure you'll drive north of town, drag her into the woods, find a good spot and start digging a hole. You have no idea how long that's all going to take, but you imagine you'll have to come up with another excuse for your parents about why you were out all night. You figure you'll just make up something about Diana again. Never thought that bitch would come in so handy.

You also figure you'll have to come back for your own car as well since it will look pretty strange coming back home with the silver one. You suppose when you finally stop "visiting" your parents you can always come back for the silver one and just abandon this one.

It's all a lot to deal with still, and you're already partially frustrated and tired from all the dead body lifting.

Thanks to this fatigue and the sports car going slightly faster than when you were driving the other one, you end up going past the designated speed limit in the area and misfortune strikes, you attract the attention of a hidden police vehicle. The sirens and blinking lights soon follow.

You curse loudly and briefly think about just speeding up and getting the hell out of town, but you instead remain calm. You have this Suzy's ID and everything so as long as you don't act suspicious, you'll probably be fine. In fact, knowing the cops in this town, all you'll have to do is flutter your eye lashes at them a bit and you'll probably get let go with just a warning.

You slow down and pull over.

"Keep your head Suzy, you're in the home stretch…" you say closing your eyes and trying to maintain your cool.

A tall and bulky cop soon comes out of the car and walks over to you. At first you figure it's going to be a guy, but then your heart sinks when you see who it really is.

"Well, well, well, if it isn't baby sister." Kelly remarks.
"Fuck." You inadvertently exclaim, losing whatever composure you were attempting to have.
"Fuck? Now is that anyway to greet your big sister? I heard you were in town visiting mom and dad. What are you doing out so late breaking traffic laws?"
"I'm just coming back from an old friend's house okay? And I wasn't that much over the speed limit."
"Rules are rules Suzy, but then you always DID think there was a separate set of rules for you didn't you? Yeah, always the favorite getting your own way…"

You can't believe this. Even in this reality, Kelly is still a fucking jealous bullying asshole to you. Some things never change.

Kelly notices you're looking a little annoyed and anxious by her stop.

"What's wrong Suzy? No pithy come back college girl?" Kelly asks.
"Look, you win Kelly, you got me. I obviously broke the law and you got me. Just write me the damn ticket already." You remark.
"Not sure if I like your tone sis…in fact you're acting a little odd. What old friend might have you been visiting anyway in this town? Figured when you moved away you were glad to leave everyone behind. Not to mention the only person I ever remember you hanging out with was Julie and I hear you're not on speaking terms anymore."
"Just some girl from school days I've had contact with over the Internet. I promised I would visit her. I'm just on my way back to mom and dad's."
"Ohhh, girl huh? This wouldn't be some midnight booty call for you would it? Some old secret labia-licking friend you had when you were still in the closet? I thought you had a steady girlfriend. Guess more rules that you don't give a shit about."

You know you should keep your composure, but Kelly is really getting on your nerves.

"Are you going to give me the ticker or not?" you ask.
"I'll give you this fucking baton up your ass if you don't stop giving me shit! In fact why don't you get the hell out of the car, you're acting really suspicious." Kelly remarks.

You sigh and shake your head.

"Of course. Nothing is ever easy for me." you say and then you quickly turn the car back on.

"HEY! ARE YOU FUCKING KIDDING ME?! STOP!" Kelly shouts and grabs at the wheel while you attempt to drive off.

You manage to actually get a few feet before Kelly manages to grab the key out of the ignition. You punch Kelly in the face multiple times, but she's undeterred in her job of arresting you.

Kelly returns your punches with a couple elbows to the face and then pulls you out of the car through the window.

"You're in deep fucking shit now little sister. You just assaulted a goddamn officer of th…ugh!" Kelly grunts when you punch her as hard as you can in the crotch. It slows her down and you attempt to grab her pistol.

You manage to undue the snap of the holster, but Kelly stops you from getting and further with a knee to your face. Now SHE pulls out the pistol and points it directly at you.

"Suzy, I'm telling you to fucking stop or I WILL fucking shoot you!" Kelly warns.

You don't stop though. Your grand plans have gone to shit once again and you're a loser here just like you were a loser in your own world. You're either going to get lucky and wrestle the gun away from Kelly, or she's going to shoot you. One thing you're not going to do is go to jail.

Kelly sensing her life is in genuine danger now, ignores all the pain she's in and no longer treats you like her "sister" and starts treating you like a dangerous criminal which you actually are at this point.

Kelly shoots you once in the chest, dropping you instantly. You strongly get the impression that she COULD have easily stopped you without a fatal shot, but you imagine that Kelly being herself probably saw this as a perfect opportunity.

"I fucking told you sis." Kelly remarks.
"(cough) I'm not your fucking sister, asshole. She's in the goddamn trunk…" you laugh while still coughing up blood at the same time.

Your last moments are looking the confused look on Kelly's face before she radios for back up and an ambulance.


[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 kill Kane

[Assistant]
You don't hesitate. You see and know what needs to be done. Without another word you lunge at Kane who makes no attempt to defend himself and plunge your dagger directly in the center of his chest.

"Thank…the Emperor…" he utters and falls to the ground, though when he finally hits, his body twitches, makes snarling sounds and then stops.

And that's when the wendigo attacks you.

"You are a much stronger vessel anyway. Let me inside and I can make you even stronger." The wendigo voice hisses.
"Get out of my fucking head!" you shout and start clutching your head.

Under normal circumstances, you probably wouldn't have had as much trouble fending off the possession attack by the wendigo, but not only are you severely drained from your previous ordeal, but you weren't feeling right after it either. To make matters worse a few of the livelier gnomes watching decide to take advantage of the situation and make an escape attempt.

"This is our only chance! Get his keys!" one of them shouts and you are suddenly knocked over and half trampled on by several gnome feet when they make their way towards Kane's body.

In the middle of the chaos of guards chasing down gnomes and gnomes attempting to flee, you're having a seizure and losing the battle for your mind. Things get worse when Mistress arrives.

"(Sigh) Why'd you go and do that for? You got yourself all riled up for no good reason, went and did something foolish and now look at you. Maybe your mind isn't as strong as I thought it was. Well, as much as you deserve it I can't let you masquerade as one of those things."

Mistress casts a banishment spell and while that's a great thing to cast on them while they're still hovering about, but when they've managed to already get their hooks in their desired host it tends to have a negative effect on said host and whatever pain you were going through with the wendigo's possession is now five times worse as you now begin to experience the pain the wendigo feels as it is slowly obliterated.

After it's all said and done the wendigo is gone along with your mind. While its possible you might be able to live some sort of existence if someone assisted you with things like eating, but you don't live in such a world and you certainly aren't around any such people that would be willing to do that, hell if you could express anything anymore you'd say yourself that you wouldn't want to live any more in this near vegetative state.

Fortunately Mistress knows this and puts an end to your life. It's probably the kindest thing she's ever done for you.


[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 memories (Henry)

[Assistant]
The Split Personality: Dr. Henry Jekyll/ Mr. Edward Hyde

Henry Jekyll was a typical bookworm human nerd that couldn't get a girl. If that all he was, you two wouldn't have even met. Henry's experiments though led him to the "Monster world". Apparently he'd seen you and studied how successful you were with females of all types. He chalked it up to your confidence and overall badassitude.

(Well he wasn't really wrong in that assumption)

Using you as a model of what he wanted to be like, he started designing potions to duplicate the lycanthropy effect. Contrary to what most folks believe, Werewolves tend to breed with each other to make more, (as opposed to those unnatural parasitic Fagpires) they very rarely "make someone a werewolf". It's typically only by accident that that happens, and its VERY rare that someone survives long enough to escape a werewolf attack. Given all those risks and the very likelihood he would be killed in such a process Henry went ahead with his potions until one of them finally got the desired effect.

The problem was, it just made him into a big vicious ugly brute. (As opposed to a super smooth handsome Wolf like yourself) He wasn't any more successful with the ladies as Mr. Hyde, if anything they were repulsed by him even more, which led a lot of…"accidents". Ultimately he just broke down and paid for hookers. However, you and he hung out a lot back in the old days, mostly partying and fighting with others. He was a good guy to have your back in a fight when he was Mr. Hyde. You rarely talked to him as Henry, but he was usually civilized and respectful when he did address you. He didn't annoy and piss you off like Erik, because he knew to keep his distance when he wasn't your "peer".

You can respect a (hu)man who knows his limitations.