[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]
The sound of your alarm clock wakes you and you groggily switch it off. You go through your normal morning routine and grudgingly head off to your job. As always, you arrive at work on time and walk straight into the back room to put on your uniform. Once there you notice your best friend, Ian, is already dressed and preparing to begin.

"Hey Jake."

"Hey Ian, ready for another exciting day?" You ask sarcastically.

"Oh yea, working here has been highlight of my entire life." He replies with equal sarcasm, "I hope I never quit."

"Ah yes, stocking food has always been a dream of yours hasn't it?"

"A lifelong-dream. Now if you'll excuse me, it's time to live that dream."

He grabs a small nearby crate and rolls it into the main area of the store. You never thought he would end up as a stock boy in a grocery store. Then again, you thought both of you had bright futures. Although you were never really motivated to do anything, Ian was and certainly should have succeeded. You sigh and change into your uniform; this is your life and there's no point in brooding over what could have been.

The day goes by relatively quickly, which is about the only benefit to the job. However it's a rather hollow benefit, as the day passing by faster just means you have to work that much sooner the next day. You and Ian wave goodbye to each other at five o'clock and you walk to your small one-bedroom apartment, reaching it by 5:30pm.

[User] A strange dream

[Assistant]
You blink your eyes and look at your new surroundings. You're alone in the middle of a classroom, a very familiar classroom. Glancing down you notice you're sitting in a desk and that there's a small 'J' carved into the bottom right of its surface. This is your desk. At least it was, some point in time many years ago. Bringing your attention back up you notice the class is now filled with other students, each sitting in their own desks frantically writing notes. You don't recognize any of them, or rather you can't since none of their faces are clear to you. A teacher stands at the front of the class by the blackboard, presumably lecturing, though you all you can hear are muffled words.

You idly glance around the room and notice something out of place. A girl stands in the doorway, with long blonde and pink hair, flowing down to just above her waist. You stare at her for a while, trying to remember who she might be. No one else in the class pays any attention to her, and like the rest of them, you can't seem to make out her face. Suddenly, she turns around and runs down the hallway.

You stand up and walk out of the classroom, ignored completely by the rest of the class. As you enter the hallway, you look down the way you saw her ran, but see no one. Curious, you continue down the seemingly endless hallway trying to find her. Finally, you seem to reach the end, as a black metal door now blocks the path. Grasping the handle, you push it open. A bright light emits from the inside, blinding you and preventing you from seeing what's beyond the door. Curiosity gaining the better of you, you close your eyes and step through the doorway.

[User] The other side

[Assistant]
"Jacob, wake up it's time for school!"

You hear a familiar voice yell to you, and you groggily wake up in response.

What a strange dream...

You try and remember the girl from your dream, but can't figure out who she was. The classroom was probably from your high school, but as far as you can remember that girl was never in any of your classes. You shrug and proceed to get up. After all, high school was years ago, it wouldn't be unusual for you to forget a few people in that time.

Once fully awake, the reality that you live alone dawns on you; there should be no one yelling for you to wake up. Then another thought occurs, you don't go to school anymore either. Confused, you stand up and walk over to your dresser, which seems different from usual. Opening your drawers you notice your clothes seem different as well. Now even more confused, you get dressed and exit your room to find some answers. Outside your door you find your younger sister standing in front of you, in the uniform that she wore during high school. That is to say, while she has the same face, green eyes, and short brown hair as your sister, she looks considerably younger than she should.

"Mom says wake up." She states quietly, then turns to walk away.

"Um, Tina?" you say, trying to confirm it's her.

"Hm?", she replies softly, turning towards you.

"Ah, um, never mind. I'm up."

She nods and walks away. You return to your room and look for your backpack, the one you remember using in high school. Sure enough you find it, right beside your dresser. You open it and grab one of your notebooks, hoping to confirm what you think has happened. You turn to the last note in the book and look at the date:

April 24th, 2008

You walk to your bed and sit down, trying accept what has happened. Yesterday was April 23th, but the year was 2018. Ten years ago you were 18 and in your last year of high school. The fact that your sister was in her private high school uniform confirms this, since she was in her first year of high school when you were in your last. Your thought process is interrupted by the familiar yell of your mother.

"Jacob, hurry up! You're going to be late!"

There's no point in thinking over this any longer. You quickly grab your bag and head down the stairs to the front door.

"Remember, you need wake up early on Saturday to bring your sister to school, since I'll be working."

Your mother tells you, as she stands beside you watching you put on your shoes. You nod quickly in response, and although you're tempted to hug her or say you've missed her, you put it off. The you in the past wouldn't have done it, so you're not going to do it either. After all, if this really is the past then doing something different could screw up the future in a major way.

You open the door and find Ian standing in front of you. Well, a younger version of him.

"It's about time Jake, you goin' to school today or what?"

[User] Yes

[Assistant]
"Yeah."

You turn and wave goodbye to your mom, who waves in response, then quickly walk down your front porch to Ian. The two of you reach the sidewalk before you take a brief look back at the house.

Exactly as I remember it...

The walk to school is uneventful. Ian tells you some story involving his older brother but you don't really pay attention. The thought that you're ten years in the past is all you can think about.

"Hey."

Ian pushes your shoulder once you reach the entrance of the school and the two of you stop. He has a concerned look on his face.

"You alright? You sick or something?"

He asks.

"Huh? No, I'm fine. Don't worry about it."

You walk ahead into the entrance of the school and Ian follows shortly after.

[User] You class

[Assistant]
Although you roughly knew how to get to the school on your own, you have no idea what class you have. You follow Ian in hopes that you have the same first class together. Once at the classroom door Ian turns to you with a puzzled look.

"Aren't you going to class?"

"Uh, yea...right..."

"You're acting pretty weird today man."

"Yea well...today's a pretty weird day for me."

Ian seems even more confused now, but decides to drop it and heads to his seat once he hears the warning bell. You walk down the hallway a little further before opening up your bag in hopes of finding some sort of clue telling you where you're supposed to be. Inside you find various notebooks and textbooks, but nothing concerning your schedule. You sigh and notice the hallway is now completely empty.

The final bell which marks the start of class should be ringing any minute and you have no idea where you're supposed to be. Unsure of what to do, you decide to sprint down the hallway and look for whatever seems familiar. Fortunately (or perhaps unfortunately) you find two room numbers across from each other which seem somewhat familiar: Room 134 and Room 135. You'll have to guess which is the right room.

[User] You room 134

[Assistant]
You quickly open the door to room 134, the final bell ringing almost as you enter. You managed to make it on time. At least you would have, had this actually been your 12th grade class. Inside you recognize the teacher as the one you had in your 11th grade history class. However, apart from her no one else looks familiar, so this isn't your class. This is further confirmed when the teacher begins speaking to you.

"Why hello, Jacob. Did you miss me and my class so much you felt compelled to return?"

You grin, unable to withhold a sarcastic reply.

"Yes, yes I did. May I have a seat?"

The teacher smiles, amused you played along.

"Sadly no, you will have to return to your classroom."

She then points you to the door. You shrug in response and walk across the hall to room 135, the correct room.

[User] You late for class

[Assistant]
You enter room 135 a few moments after the bell rings, your attention quickly brought to the middle-aged man at the front of the room. He strokes his short beard while glaring at you.

"So, Jacob, I see you've arrived late."

He says in a angry tone. Luckily, and unfortunately, it seems like this is in fact your current class, which makes you late. The rest of the class joins him in staring at you as you awkwardly nod in response. You've never been particularly nervous in front of crowds, but you still dislike being the center of attention for a negative reason.

"I'm sure you understand this means you will have detention after school today."

He continues in a demeaning tone. Again you nod in response and quickly take a seat, trying to ignore the majority of the stares in the class.

"Now then class, reviewing what we learned yesterday..."

The teacher says, beginning his lecture as he turns to face the blackboard. You pay attention for the first few minutes, as a sort of apology for being late, but you quickly lose interest in the topic itself. If you really have gone back in time, then you already know all this anyway; at least that's the excuse you give yourself. You idly look around the room for anything that looks familiar as he drones on.

You sigh softly, thoroughly confused at your current situation and bored with this class. Eventually, you spot a girl in the corner of the room that you seem to recognize. Or, rather than recognize, you should say you feel like you know her, for some reason or another. No name comes to mind, nor any memories involving her, but for some reason you still think she's someone you know.

Long, black hair, with brown eyes, and a slim figure. What's most noticeable about her though, is her gothic outfit of all black, complete with a spiked dog collar, and black painted finger nails. Looking at her closer, you determine that her black hair is probably dyed, your guess being her originally hair colour is a light brown. You brood over how you may know her, and your predicament as a whole, until the class finally ends. As the goth girl leaves she seems to ignore you completely. Maybe you don't know her?

[User] You continue with your classes

[Assistant]
The rest of the day goes rather smoothly, sort of. Eventually, your body seems to fill in the blanks as to where you're supposed to be going, and you manage to find the rest of your classes for the day without issue. Unfortunately, Ian wasn't in any of your classes, and you got lost during the lunch break, so you've spent the school day feeling incredibly awkward and alone.

Sadly, that's the least of your worries. You've also spent the majority, or rather the entirety, of the day pondering over your current predicament. If you really have gone back in time, there's a lot you can do to improve your future, probably. While that's the conclusion you've reached, you really have no idea where to start in order to "fix" your future. Sure being a stock-boy isn't a grand job, but what else can you actually do? What exactly is there to "fix"? Maybe you're just meant to live unhappily in the future. Maybe you should just enjoy your youth while you can, and accept your future.

Maybe you can't even change anything. If fate is real, then any attempt you make to actually change the future should result in, well, nothing happening and the future merely correcting itself. At least, that's what you think. Truthfully, you have no idea what may or may not happen if you attempt to change anything. In fact, you being in the past means you're bound to do something different at some point anyway.

Putting all that aside, even more questions come to mind, that you actually try to ignore. "Why" and "how" being the two most disturbing. Even if you can accept you've gone back in time and need to relive the last ten years, you have no idea why this happened, or how it could possibly be possible. Sinister answers are the ones that come to the front of your mind, the most prominent one being that you've somehow pissed off some supernatural being that has decided to make you loop through time forever, until you're driven insane.

You always were a pessimist. Although you try to shake it off as impossible, the idea of going back in time was also something you thought impossible up until recently, so you can't get rid of the idea completely. As the day ends, you walk to the front entrance of the school, mentally exhausted.

[User] You remember you have detention

[Assistant]
Suddenly, as you reach the front entrance of the school, you remember you have detention. You sigh, not thrilled at the prospect of having to spend the next hour sitting in a class to make up for something you didn't even do intentionally. Ian approaches you from behind and then reaches your side, looking at your face as he does.

"We going?"

"Sorry, I was late for my first class. I got detention..."

He frowns, though he doesn't seem that shocked.

"Alright man, I told you to hurry there though."

"Yeah I know...Where is detention by the way?"

"Er, Room 225..."

Ian replies, confused that you don't seem to know something that obvious. He looks like he's about to address the issue, but you quickly thank him and head towards room 225, leaving him behind.

Sure enough, it's the correct room for detention. An older woman you don't recognize at all sits at the front of the room. She looks up from her book in time to give you a quick glance, then returns to reading. You put your bag at the side of the room and take a seat away from most of the other delinquents already in the room, not wanting to associate yourself with them. You're only here because you've gone back in time after all, you're not like them.

As the minutes pass, you find yourself looking around the room for anything of interest, and quickly spot something, or rather someone. The gothic girl from your first class is also in the room, staring out the window and paying no attention at all to the others in the class. She's only two chairs over from you, and with no one between you and everyone else in the class already occupied, you figure you can use this time to talk to her. If you actually want to that is. It is detention after all, so if you're caught you'd likely be punished.

[User] You try to talk to her

[Assistant]
You decide to take the chance and go for it. The gnawing feelings inside of you that say you know her are too much to ignore, especially in this situation. You wait for a moment when the older woman at the front of the room seems engrossed in her book, and gracefully move over to the chair beside the gothic girl. With all the grace of a stampeding elephant that is. Not only do you turn over the desk your were previously sitting in, you manage to miss sitting in the other desk, and fall to the ground.

The class uproars in laughter before they are hastily shushed by the older woman at the front. You sheepishly smile and turn back your original chair to its original position, then sit in the one beside the goth girl. The woman at the front glares at you for what feels like eternity, before finally returning to her book. Meanwhile, the girl beside you is now turned towards you and glaring at you.

Mustering your courage, you finally speak, or rather whisper, to her.

"Hey, I'm Jacob."

You say, darting a quick glance at the front to make sure you did it without being caught. The girl continues silently starting at you for a moment before replying.

"Olivia."

"Hey, Olivia. So, this is a bit forward, but I could swear I know you from somewhere."

You say.

"Have we, like, met before or something?"

Olivia looks to the front of the room, then back to you and shrugs.

"If we had, I'd probably be offended you forgot about me."

She states with an apathetic tone. Though, if someone you knew had asked if they knew you, you'd certainly be offended they had forgotten as well.

"Well, nice to meet you then."

You say, extending your hand. She slowly extends her own hand and shakes yours.

"Yeah, I'm sure we'll get along like the bestest of friends."

Olivia says sarcastically. She then turns her attention back to the window, effectively ignoring you. Detention ends without too much else happening. You make your way back home afterwards, and along the way you try to retrace your steps from this morning. Although you go down a wrong alley or two, you eventually make it home. Of course, your mother is noticeably upset you are hours late from school.

"So Jacob. Mind explaining why you have come home at such at late hour?"

Your mother asks impatiently as you enter the house, two hours after you should have been home.

"I...err...sort of had detention."

You reply.

"What for?"

"I was late for my first class..."

Your mother seems annoyed, but doesn't push the matter too much further.

"Honestly Jacob, you won't ever succeed in life if you don't take things seriously. Even if you dislike school, being tardy is no excuse."

She says in a rather condescending manner. You nod your head in agreement and your mother shakes her head, then walks away. The rest of the day passes by with nothing of interest really happening. At the end of the day you go to sleep and wonder if you'll wake up back in the future.

[User] You waking Up

[Assistant]
You wake up to a brand new day, and to a familiar sight. Sure enough, you're still in the past, in your old bedroom. You get up, get dressed, and make your way downstairs to eat some breakfast. There you find your sister, already ready for her school, eating a waffle. She looks up at you and you can tell she's a bit surprised to see you up already, but you ignore it and grab a poptart for yourself. As you munch on it, you can feel Tina's eyes staring at you.

"What?"

You ask, slightly annoyed. She visibly flinches at your question and quickly returns her gaze to her waffle. The two of you never really got along, before and after she entered high school, so this kind of interaction is normal. You finish your food and head out there door, just in time to see Ian walk up.

"Yo."

He says, giving you a short wave. You walk to the end of the walkway and join him in walking to school. Like last time, Ian goes on about another story involving his older brother. This time, once you reach school, you split up and find your class without issue.

[User] You class

[Assistant]
You first class begins, but instead of teaching like normal, your teacher just stands at the front of the class beside the door.

"Today, a new student will be joining us".

He says. As he does the new student enters the room. You see a pretty girl with familiar long blonde and pink hair flowing down to just above her waist. A realization hits you as the teacher introduces her.

"This is Allison- Jacob, what are you doing?"

He asks annoyed, as you stand up and point to Allison with you mouth open. This is the girl you saw in your dream the other day. Her features are far more defined than they were in then, but this is unmistakably the same girl. She smiles at you, amused at your action, while the rest of the quietly giggles.

"I, um, her, ah never mind..."

You say, returning to your seat flustered. You find it rather doubtful that the teacher will care you saw her in your dream. Rather he, Allison and the rest of the class would no doubt find it creepy.

"Alright, Allison, please find a seat."

The teacher says, and Allison walks over to an empty seat at the back of the room, flashing you another smile as she passes you. A familiar feeling you've been getting all too often reoccurs. Do you know Allison?

[User] You lunch

[Assistant]
Lunch time comes, and after finally escaping from your class, you find Allison on your way to the lunch room. She smiles again once she notices you, but rather than approach you, chooses to go outside. Instinctively you follow her out to the bench she is now sitting on.

"So..."

You begin, cautiously taking a seat beside her on the bench.

"I don't I know you, do I? I mean, it feels like we've met before."

You ask, recalling that you asked Olivia the same thing yesterday. Why does it seem like you know but can't remember so many people in this school?

"Hmmm. You could ask far more interesting questions than that."

She replies.

"Why I'm here, how I'm here, who I'm here for; all are far more interesting questions."

She says. You silently sit together, unable to come up with a proper response for her rather odd answer. Sensing that won't change soon, Allison sighs then speaks again.

"We just met now, correct? So it's safe to say it's our first meeting."

She says.

"If you believe in a linear concept of time that is."

Allison adds in a playful tone. You frown, having no idea what she's going on about. Her answer puts you a bit at ease though. You haven't met before, according to her, so maybe you're just imagining things. Maybe your dream of her wasn't really about her then. As you think she stands up and walks a few feet away from you.

"For the love long since lost, the old friend forgotten, the new one neglected, the sister he could never see, and the brother he could never be."

Allison says suddenly, bending forward and leaning in your direction.

"That's why I'm here."

She says smiling, she then quickly runs away before you have a chance to question her about her cryptic message.

Just who is that girl...

You wonder, shaking your head.

[User] You try to talk to Allison more

[Assistant]
You chase Allison into the lunch room and grab her hand as you catch up, stopping her from running. She turns to you and gives an exaggerated sad expression.

"Well, ya caught me, now what?"

She asks. You look into her eyes for a minute, and decide to try something.

"You're lying."

You replying accusingly.

"I'm what now?"

"Lying. You know who I am. No one acts that friendly to someone they just met, and what you just said before sounds like it has some deeper meaning to it."

You say. Allison looks down to her hand, which you immediately let go of, then she glances around the room. Finally she sighs.

"You caught me. I know you. But the more important thing here, isn't what I know, but what you know. So, what do you know of me, Jacob?"

Allison replies, revealing that your guess was right. Unfortunately, you don't actually know anything about her. The closest you have to a memory of her is your dream, and even if she does actually know you, that'd be a rather odd thing to bring up. Then again, she seems like a rather odd person anyway.

"How do you know me?"

You ask, trying to ignore her question. She pouts and takes a step back.

"Beep beep, wrong answer. Should I take this to mean you don't know anything about me?"

She asks.

[User] You tell her about the dream

[Assistant]
"That's not entirely true..."

You reply to her. Curious, she takes a step towards you.

"So, what do you know about me then?"

Allison asks.

"I, um, well, it was just a dream."

You begin.

"I saw you, at least I think it was you, in a hallway of the school. You ran and I chased you, and then..."

"And then?"

She asks.

"And nothing. The dream just ended after I chased you."

"Hmmmm..."

She replies, clearly thinking about what you just said.

"So, when was this dream?"

"Just the other day..."

You reply, leaving out the part that you actually dreamt it 8 years in the future. Allison appears to be thinking deeply again. Then she suddenly giggles.

"That's kind of creepy to be honest."

You almost grasp your chest in response to that critical hit of an insult. Sure enough, she finds it weird and creepy that you would have dreamt about her.

"Well, I suppose it's not that bad. Even creeps and geeks have their own appeal after all."

She continues, teasing you.

"Catch ya later."

Allison says, waving and walking away. You give her a short wave back and sigh, unhappy with the results of your conversation. Even so, you decide to hang out in the lunch room longer and have something to eat.

[User] You look for Ian

[Assistant]
After a short search through the cafeteria, you find Ian sitting with a girl, with long black hair, brown eyes, and dressed in a goth outfit. Oddly enough, you recognize her as Olivia, the girl you were talking to in detention yesterday. Noticing you, Ian waves you over to their table.

"Hey man, this here is Olivia."

He says, motioning to Olivia.

"We're both in the chess club together it seems, so I figured I should hang out with her a bit to get to know her better."

Olivia looks at you with a mild expression of surprise while Ian speaks, before scoffing at his remark.

"I have a boyfriend you know."

She states, apparently thinking Ian had an ulterior motive.

"Ah, well of course you do. A cute girl like you is quite the catch."

Ian replies, although you can sense he didn't really expect her to have one. Olivia blushes slightly, but it's unnoticed by Ian.

"That's right, I had forgotten you were in the chess club Ian."

You say, finally sitting down.

"Yep, I'm the best damn chess-inator there is!"

He replies while puffing out his chest with an odd sense of pride. However you don't really doubt he's the best there, as he's always been incredibly smart. You gaze wanders to Olivia, who notices and speaks.

"Just cause I look this way doesn't mean I'm stupid. Girls can be smart too, you know."

She says harshly to you, apparently thinking you were judging her inability to play chess based on her goth outfit. You quickly shake your head in response.

"I, wait, I never said you couldn't."

You said defensively. She turns her head away from you, almost in disgust. Ian looks at the two of you confused.

"Am I missing something here? Do you two got some history or something?"

"No, of course not. We just met yesterday after all. Didn't we, Jacob?"

Olivia replies angrily, even more upset now.

"I need to go."

She announces, quickly standing from the table and walking away. The two of you watch as she leaves and Ian shrugs as you turn to him.

"Girls man. Confusing as hell, right?"

He says before taking a drink of his milk in front of him. You nod, but can't help but think there was something more to what Olivia said.

[User] The next morning

[Assistant]
The rest of the day goes by without much else happening. Neither Allison nor Olivia are in any of your other classes, and you don't seem to run into either of them. You walk home with Ian, and spend the rest of the day lounging around your home. You're beginning to feel like you've fallen into your old routine from back in the day.

The next morning, Ian arrives at your door, as per usual, except this time he doesn't seem to have his backpack.

"Yo, Jacob."

He says while standing at the end of your walkway.

"Hey Ian, where's your backpack?"

You ask while walking towards him, a bit confused.

"Ah, well about that, I was thinking we'd do something a little more interesting than school today."

He replies.

"Such as?"

"Well...you'll see when we get there."

He says with a bit of a laugh.

"It'll be fun man, just hide your bag somewhere first, we won't need it for where we're going."

He adds. If you remember right, skipping school so haphazardly wasn't something Ian often suggested. In fact, if you recall correctly, you were usually the one suggesting it and he was the one rejecting the idea. This makes you really wonder what he has in mind for the day. You stand there and consider if you really want to go or not. After all, if you go you'd be missing school, and you guess that would also mean you miss a chance to see Olivia or Allison.

"You won't give any hints about what we're gonna do?"

You ask, hopeful.

"Not a single one."

Ian replies smiling.

[User] You go with Ian

[Assistant]
"Alright fine, I'll come with you."

You reply somewhat grudgingly, trying to mask your interest. Fortunately, your mother had already left for work, taking your sister with her, so you easily return your bag to your closet without being caught. During the walk to the unknown destination, you and Ian converse.

"So, now that I've agreed, care to let me in on where we're headed?"

You ask.

"You'll see when we get there."

He replies with a smile. You glare at him, annoyed that he refuses to tell you, but continue to walk along with him. After a short walk he stops in front of what looks to be an abandoned warehouse. You glance at him then to the building.

"Seriously? This is it?"

You ask, clearly disappointed. A worn down and dangerous building isn't exactly your idea of fun, and it doesn't really fit Ian's either.

"You'll change your mind about it once we're inside."

He says, leading the way. You follow him into it, although you're rather doubtful your opinion will change. Sure enough, once you follow him through the main door, all you see is a large run-down warehouse, exactly like you expected.

"Come on, what are we even doing here Ian?"

You ask, suddenly feeling a bit uneasy about the situation.

"Don't worry man, just a little further."

He says, leading you through the large room and into a side-room. In the side room, which appears to have previously been an office of some sort, you see signs that it was recently used. In fact the furniture inside seems rather new, and there's even a mini-fridge at the side, plugged into a battery pack. Ian hops onto a large, comfortable looking couch, and then smiles.

"Welcome to the wolves."

[User] The wolves

[Assistant]
"The what?"

You ask, thoroughly confused. You don't remember anything like this happening in the past. Maybe your decisions have been different from before, leading you to a different outcome. The possibilities run through your mind before Ian snaps you out of it.

"The Wolves man. Our gang. Well, you're not really in them yet, but I'm sure my brother won't have a problem with it."

Ian says, standing up and opening the mini-fridge, pulling out a beer.

"Want one?"

He asks casually. You don't really care that he's drinking while under aged, but this isn't how you remember Ian acting.

"No..."

You reply slowly.

"Actually, what the hell is going on? Since when have you been in a gang?"

You ask demanding an answer. Ian doesn't seem too put off by your response. It's almost as though he expected it.

"Ah well, I've been telling you about this club for the last few days. I mean I never said it was a gang or anything, but it shouldn't come as that much of a surprise."

He replies.  That's when it hits you. The stories he was saying involving his brother that you largely ignored were about the gang he was in. Most likely he was trying to talk it up a bit before bringing you here. Still, Ian has a great future ahead of him, so he really has no need to be in a gang.

"So, you in man?"

He asks, with a bit of hesitance.

[User] You protest him being in the gang

[Assistant]
"No."

You reply bluntly.

"And you shouldn't be in it either man. The hell is wrong with you?"

You say, your voice getting louder. Ian at this points backs away a step, and seems a bit afraid.

"You're fucking smart man. Why the hell would you throw that away by being in a gang? You won't -"

You yell, then you suddenly stop. 'You won't go anywhere in life', is what you were about to say, but then it dawns on you that that is exactly what happens. He joins you, doing nothing with his life, as a stock boy. Your anger subsides, and your breathing normalizes, but Ian still keeps his distance.

"I...I'm sorry."

You say in a dejected tone, apologizing. You contemplate saying more, but decide against it. Slowly, you open the office door and exit the room.

"I'll see you later."

You say. Ian doesn't say anything in return, nor does he try to stop you. You leave the abandoned warehouse and wander around town for the rest of the day, wondering what you can do to help Ian.

Along the way you run into a group of girls, wearing a uniform you recognize as the one from the school your sister goes to. They laugh obnoxiously and talk about some other girl in their class. You sigh loudly, annoyed by their interruption of your thought process, but continue walking rather than confront them.

By the end of the day, you return home, hungry and without any real solution to how to help Ian. You've concluded that there's nothing you can really do to talk him out of being in the gang. Although you think you probably should have asked him why he's in it before leaving. You eat dinner and go to bed, your mom and sister blissfully ignorant of your day out. You glance at your alarm clock before dozing off, happy that tomorrow is Saturday.

[User] You sleep in

[Assistant]
You happily decide to sleep in, it's Saturday after all. You do the same as all teenagers in high school do, sleep as much as possible.

Or rather, you would have spent it sleeping, had you not been rudely awoken at about two by someone knocking on your front door. You groan as you exit your bed and move downstairs to answer the door.

"What?"

You ask angrily as you open it, only to find Allison happily standing in front of you. She smiles as you open the door.

"Why hello there, Jacob, or should I say good morning?"

She says cheekily. You open your mouth to retort, but she interrupts you.

"Anyway, I've been out here for a while, so can I come it?"

She continues, you go to reply, but she again interrupts you.

"What do you mean no? Would you really leave a cute girl outside in the cold?"

You stand silently and glare at her as she attempts to make a cute pose.

"...Done?"

"Yep!"

[User] You say "Good, I'm closing the door"

[Assistant]
"Good, I'm closing the door."

You reply, shutting it immediately in her face. You hear a cry of protest from the other side, and some more banging on the door. Happy with your revenge, you open it again to find her standing there pouting. You smile in response.

"Done?"

You ask. She nods in response.

"Good."

You reply, shutting the door yet again in her face and laughing.

"Just let me in already, Jacob!"

You hear her yell from the other side. You comply and smirk once you see her pouting face again.

"Well, what you waiting for? Come in!"

You say, feigning ignorance and opening the door wider, letting her in. Though it suddenly dawns on you that yourself and a high schooler are about to be alone in your house. You quickly shake off some of the thoughts that come to mind and shut the door once she enters, escorting her into the living room.

"So, what'd you want?"

You ask. She places her hand to her mouth and does an 'eh-hem', before replying.

"I came to invite you somewhere."

Allison replies. You wait for a moment for her to explain further, but get no such response. You're getting quite a few of these invitations to mysterious places lately.

"And where would that be?"

"Does it matter? You'll be there with me!"

She answers, smiling. For someone you just met the other day, she sure is acting awfully close to you.

"Alright, when did you want to go then?"

Allison looks at the nearby clock, seems to nod approvingly, then looks back to you.

"Right now."

[User] You agree to go with her

[Assistant]
"Alright, I'll go with you."

You reply. Allison does a triumphant fist pump to the air and smiles.

"Great, well then let's go!"

She says, standing up and leaving your house. You follower her obediently for about 10 minutes through the streets of your town before you reach your final destination - a park. She sits on a nearby bench and motions for you to follow.

"So, what was the point of coming here?"

You ask as you sit beside her. Allison gives a soft shrug in response.

"No real reason."

She answers as she kicks her legs back and forth. You sigh and turn your attention to the park, which while not full of people, still has a few pairs of children and parents playing. Allison makes small talk with you for a bit, about how she used to live in this area, and was fond of this park. You in turn tell her a few random facts about yourself, nothing really interesting. The mood slowly goes from being a light-hearted conversation into awkward silence. Then Allison sighs.

"I can't take this anymore..."

She says, and then she promptly grabs your shoulders and pushes herself into your chest. You freeze, her sudden show of affection catching you completely off guard.

"I, um, Allison?"

You manage say, incredibly conscious of the fact that her blonde and pink hair is brushing up against your face, and that you can feel her breathing on you.

"Shut up...you're so stupid..."

She mumbles into you as she clenches your shoulders.

"Why can't you figure it out already..."

You don't respond. You can figure by what she's doing now that she probably has a crush on you. You still have no clue how she knows you, however you can guess that the past you just didn't notice her. Thinking back, the you of the past was pretty oblivious to the things going on around him. You quietly curse your past self for not noticing this cute girl earlier. Then reality kicks in, and you remember that you're in a park with other people, being held by a girl a decade younger than you. Your moral center kicks in shortly after, and you force yourself to gentle push her away from you. Even if you're technically the same age now, something just doesn't feel right. Surprisingly, Allison doesn't protest at all.

"I'm sorry..."

You say, unable to say anything else.

"Don't worry, I understand how you're feeling."

She says softly with a forced smile.

"That was pretty rude and selfish of me, sorry..."

She continues, standing up.

"I should have thought about how you felt too."

Allison finishes. Before you have a chance to properly respond, she dashes out of the park. You sit there for a few minutes in silence. You hadn't thought that going back into the past would have revealed something like a past crush that you hadn't noticed. It depresses you, but eventually you pick yourself up and head home.

[User] You sunday

[Assistant]
You wake up the next morning to the sound of your mother calling for you, saying something about a phone. You slowly manage to wake yourself up and get dressed, only to have your mom scold you when you finally get downstairs.

"Honestly Jacob, it's noon now, it shouldn't take you this long to wake up on a Sunday."

She says.

"You won't be successful in life if you spend all your time sleeping."

You nod your head, still somewhat asleep in response. You can't really disagree with her, given she's right about not being successful in life, though you rather doubt it's because you tend to sleep in. After she finishes scolding you she explains that Ian called and that you need to call him back, so you take the phone and return his call.

"Hm? Why did I call?"

Ian asks after you call him.

"I'm bored, so I wanted to hang out. You busy?"

He continues. You tell him you're not so he says he'll be over in a minute and hangs up. About twenty minutes later he comes over, and the two of you spend the afternoon together at your house. You reminisce about the times when you and Ian used to do these kinds of things. For you, high school was probably the high-light of your life, as after that you accomplished nothing but working in a dead end job. Sure it could have been worse, but you still wonder about what could have been. Eventually Ian asks you a question you didn't expect.

"So, who you goin' to the fair with?"

He asks. You frown and tilt your head slightly, indicating you really have no idea what he's talking about.

"The annual fair? You know, the thing that comes here ever year? It's opening up next weekend."

You think back and try to remember what Ian is talking about. You're pretty sure you remember a fair happening, or rather it'd be stranger if a fair hadn't happened.

"Ah yeah, that fair."

You reply, vaguely remembering it.

"Yep, that fair. So who you goin' with?"

You haven't asked anyone yet, but you should at least tell Ian your intentions.

[User] You you're not going

[Assistant]
Thinking it over, you decide you don't really want to go to this fair.

"I'm not going."

You reply. Ian gets visibly upset.

"What the hell, man? You say that every year."

He says. You shrug in response.

"Just doesn't seem like it would be fun, no big deal. Who are you going with?"

You ask, trying to move the conversation away from you.

"I haven't made plans yet...I think I'll ask Olivia to go with me though."

Ian says, with hint of nervousness.

"Doesn't she have a boyfriend?"

"Who cares? I'm not asking her to date, I'm just seeing if she wants to go to the fair with me."

He retorts. Ian's intentions here are obvious, but he's really trying to deny them. You weren't aware he was into Olivia though. Thinking back it kind of makes sense, they're both on the chess team, and he even introduced her to you.

"Anyway, she might say no, but you never know."

He finishes. You give a short nod, and the conversation ends. The two of you carry on talking and hanging out until the night comes, and Ian leaves.

[User] The next morning

[Assistant]
The next morning comes and you head out to school with Ian like normal. The day passes and nothing of interest happens at all. You're not surprised or disappointed by this. Thinking back, this was the way you had always lived, simply going through life day after day, doing as little as possible. With no real ambition, you're likely to end up right back at the grocery store after you graduate. Maybe fate really is preventing you from changing your ways, or maybe you're just afraid of what might happen if you pursue something you actually want. If you're just going to fail and get disappointed anyway, then what's the point of trying to change, right?

At least, that's what you think.

You become content with falling back into your high school routine. Weeks pass, and the thought that you're a decade in the past is all but a distant memory. That's fine though. This is what was supposed to happen; the way it's meant to be. It's because of fate, so it's not your fault that you were unsuccessful in changing anything.

At least, that's what you tell yourself.

[User] You retry

[Assistant]
The sound of your alarm clock wakes you and you groggily switch it off. You go through your normal morning routine and grudgingly head off to your job. As always, you arrive at work on time and walk straight into the back room to put on your uniform. Once there you notice your best friend, Ian, is already dressed and preparing to begin.

"Hey Jake."

"Hey Ian, ready for another exciting day?" You ask sarcastically.

"Oh yea, working here has been highlight of my entire life." He replies with equal sarcasm, "I hope I never quit."

"Ah yes, stocking food has always been a dream of yours hasn't it?"

"A lifelong-dream. Now if you'll excuse me, it's time to live that dream."

He grabs a small nearby crate and rolls it into the main area of the store. You never thought he would end up as a stock boy in a grocery store. Then again, you thought both of you had bright futures. Although you were never really motivated to do anything, Ian was and certainly should have succeeded. You sigh and change into your uniform; this is your life and there's no point in brooding over what could have been.

The day goes by relatively quickly, which is about the only benefit to the job. However it's a rather hollow benefit, as the day passing by faster just means you have to work that much sooner the next day. You and Ian wave goodbye to each other at five o'clock and you walk to your small one-bedroom apartment, reaching it by 5:30pm.


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

[User] You new Marsbourth

[Assistant]
Amadeus, more than happy to see you leave and the leadership of the vessel to fall into command of the Staine siblings who will eagerly shower him in luxury to appease him,  gleefully navigates the vessel towards New Marsbourth. You find one of the smallest, weakest factions in the planet, the noble house of Gilford, a who are little more than a pawn to bigger houses, not even having made any alliances with any house at all, let alone one of the larger ones. Yin a few quick raids, you wipe out the Gildford House, taking their place as Rulers and guardians of the tiny amount of territory they controlled. Landers ferry people, equipment, supplies and rare resources down to the planet, where they begin to set up inside the Gilford House's fortress.

With the conquest of the Gilford House, you're left as a new, unexpected player, a small but powerful faction. You realistically have two choices, two long term plans for your forces. You could go to war. The Staine siblings will help your forces get a few critical early victories, before leaving you to wage and perhaps finish the War of the New Marsbourth Houses has been going on for centuries if not millennia.

Secondly, you could go for the peaceful option. You control a small area with farmlands, manufacturing facilities, mines, a city and more. The area could absolutely survive  as an isolated but heavily fortified area, too powerful to conquer without serious and crippling losses, and too small to be worth even a slight amount of effort to secure.

[User] You war

[Assistant]
You stand in front of the Staine siblings, as they finally agree to support your early skirmishes and campaigns against the New Marsbourth houses. Your other lieutenants are alongside you, planning your actions. A quick blitz of raids and bombings could cripple the Samson House's offensive capabilities. Then, a small invasion to secure the lowlands from Jericho House, a game of trench warfare to fight Lars House to a standstill to prevent their predicted invasion, with a final capture of Hive Jun from the Lawrence Family should put you in powerful standings.

"The Black Rats are resilient creatures, as are the Goliaths. We shall take on Lars House when they strike," Durge says.

"I'll lead a few saboteurs alongside Castus to hit Samson House," Olive says.

"We'll be able to capture the lowlands. The Tribals have fought in plains all our lives, we'll crush every last fucker there," Fay says.

You watch as your lieutenants plan the various attacks. This is what you were made for.

[User] Three Years Later...

[Assistant]
The Forever War of the Houses

You stand on the battlefield, tearing a Dark Eldar Talos, as it explodes in front of you. The Dark Eldar begin to fall back, clearly realizing that this mercenary gig wasn't worth it. You laugh, sending up a wall of flames to terrify them and send the brave holdouts scuttling back to regroup, which turns to a full-blown retreat once they see a wave of Goliaths charging.

Your arrival on the scene has been a huge changer to New Marsbourth. After your early crushing victories that broke the strength of many of the major houses, the Concord of the Vipers took place, where the noble houses made an alliance to destroy you. This, combined with the fact that the Staine siblings have left to rebuild and continue on with their escapades, has left you with serious losses, but you get back to your former position through grit and brutal fighting. Mercenaries flock to both sides, while minor houses change sides regularly.

You soon find yourself perfectly matched. Your defenses are strong enough that any invasions are damaged enough that the Los ground can be easily regained by a counter-attack. Soon, a hemisphere of New Marsbourth lies in each of your hands, with the area around the equator being a permanent war zone, with land switching hands rapidly.

Your relationship with Fay goes well. You have a wedding, a small, relatively secret event. You both agree that your enemies knowing that you're married to one of your generals is best to be avoided. Soon, a child is conceived, a beautiful daughter with her mother's body and her father's powerful mind. You know she will do great things some day.

In all honesty, you don't mind the situation you're in, of permanent, unceasing warfare. You're kept trained in war, and the war is fought at such a race that your hemisphere permanently gets to have the economical boost that comes from a war economy, until you in fact rely on it. The Goliaths, the Tribals, the Gladiators, you're all trained for or even designed for war. The fighting keeps you busy and keeps your forces from falling into awful habits like drinking, drugs, whoring, gambling and much worse distractions from boredom, although you feel like it's a waste of your potential, all of yours. Still, it's a life. What more could you want?


[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] Back off slowly

[Assistant]
Maybe it's because you're in a shitty situation yourself that you're feeling a bit sorry for the pitiful creature that presumably just lost its mother and now has to fend for itself.

"Fuck it." You say, and slowly start backing away, though the beast never lets its own guard down.
"What the hell are you doing. Shoot the little bastard!" Tych remarks.
"I don't feel like it alright? Besides, I'll probably need to save all the bolts I can for the wazia."

You get out of the line of sight of the manticore, but Tych won't let this go.

"Are you actually feeling sympathy for the creature? This thing would eat you if it was big enough! In fact, given that its probably hungry without its mother around now, I'm surprised it isn't at least attempting to anyway! Think of it this way, it can't survive very long on its own, you'd be performing an act of mercy if you killed it and at least its death would help us."

At this point you take off your pack and look for some of your remaining rations. Dried meat, it's as good as anything.

"Wait, are you actually going to feed it now? Have you gone completely barmy?"
"Probably." You say.

You go back to the manticore which once again has adopted a defensive stance, but you toss the meat in front of it which it cautiously moves close to, sniffs and then starts to eat, all the while still eyeing you suspiciously.

You leave the beast to feed.

"You know, you could have at least poisoned the food if you didn't have the balls to just shoot it." Tych remarks.
"Well, I guess I'm just going to have to get my balls back by killing this wazia, now stop bitching at me and let's get this done." You snap.

You enter the cave with Tych barely following ahead of you. He's flying as high as he can which provides just enough light for you to not break your neck walking around the cave.

As you were travelling here earlier, Tych was telling you a bit about wazias. He mentioned that they resembled very large moles with a huge gaping maw where the face would be. The mole comparison doesn't sound very threatening, but he also said that it has a very tough hide and layers of fat, which is why Tych doesn't think your bolts, would be as effective as they might otherwise be.

You suppose you'll find out.

You start to hear loud sounds, you can't see anything yet, but you have to be getting closer.

The loud sounds soon become rumbles and then Tych suddenly shouts to you.

"Shit, it's digging under you! Get the hell out of there!"

Tych begins flying back towards the exit and you do likewise as the rumbling is nearly right under you.

While its hard to keep up with Tych, you manage to do so. By the time you see the light of the exit, the rumbling is nearly coming from right underneath you. You instinctively jump forward just in time for the wazia finally come up and try to eat you.

You get up as quickly as you can and that's when you finally see the creature. And it does indeed resemble a giant mole. A giant mole with nothing but a giant mouth with rows of teeth for a face. It also has pretty large claws as well, but you're too busy trying get out of its immediate grasp as opposed to admiring them.

You make it outside with the wazia following close behind. When you're out in the open, you take advantage of the light and space and begin firing your crossbow at the thing which has mixed results.

Your aim isn't exactly true due to nerves and generally trying to staying away from the wazia, but it hardly matters when it's as big as it is. Most of your shots hit, but much like Tych warned, its tough hide seems to be outright deflecting a lot of them. And for the bolts that are actually sinking in, you certainly hope the poison starts working soon, because so far it hasn't had any notable affect.

The only thing that's in your favor is that the beast isn't exactly the fastest when not underground, but it tries to keep you off balance by smashing its claws on the ground and causing minor quakes. Large clumps of snow begin to fall from above and given your location, you're wondering if an avalanche won't just bury you at this rate. (Of course maybe that's its intent, it can just easily dig itself out and eat your corpse later)

You see Tych keeping his distance, flying about watching everything.

"Tych, distract it damn it! I need to reload this thing!" you shout while running and fumbling with the cumbersome crossbow magazine.

To his credit, Tych actually listens somewhat to you and shouts at it (in his high pitched squeaky voice) and even flies near it very briefly, but his presence is mostly ignored. Tych doesn't try too much harder than that, but you do get another helper.

The manitcore cub that you fed earlier and completely forgot about starts flinging its own spikes at the wazia. They don't seem to do anything to it, but between it and Tych, it's enough to refocus its attention briefly giving you enough time to reload your crossbow properly.

You fire a few times at the wazia with mixed results again, the manticore cub runs fast enough that the wazia doesn't bother to follow it and quickly turns its attention back to you.

It charges at you, but now you're starting to notice the beast is getting even slower and now begins making loud wailing noises and they aren't just due to anger. The wazia is finally feeling the affects of the poison and begins flailing about. It begins smashing its entire body into the ground and now even larger chunks of ice and snow begin to fall from above.

Along with it trying to cause an avalanche, it begins trying to dig underground again since it isn't sure what is exactly causing it such great pain, and is trying to escape. You can't allow that to happen though, because if it does, even if it dies, it's going to be so deep underground that digging its carcass out is going to be a nightmare.

Throwing a bit of caution to the wind, you get closer to wazia and fire upon it. Your fortunate enough that this stops it from digging long enough to try to swipe at you with its claws. It clumsily tries to do this several times. At this point you've run out of bolts and drawn your sword though realistically you wouldn't be able to get close enough to it that it couldn't still kill you. You're just trying to keep the beast from escaping and hoping the mountains don't come crashing down on your head.

Eventually as its motions towards you stop altogether and it opens its maw completely one last time to let out a woeful howl and then collapses. It twitches a few more times and finally stops moving completely.

You just look at the wazia for a moment before slowly moving closer to it. Just as you get to its body, Tych sneaks up on you.

"Is it dead?" he asks, buzzing in your ear.
"Damn it Tych, you fucking startled me!" you snap.
"Apologies, but I figured you'd be more aware of your surroundings."
"I guess its dead. Shit, I was wondering if that poison was ever going to kick in."
"Yep, looks like I saved your ass on this one."
"Hm, I guess you did your part."
"Damn straight I did, which is why I think YOU should help me now!"
"How the hell am I going to help you?"
"By killing Ral obviously."
"Nice idea, but I'm still bound by a geas remember?"
"Well after he takes it off of you, just chop his head off."
"Yeah, like he isn't going to take precautions. I'm fairly certain that if he does stick with his promise, I'm not going to be able to just chop his head off as you say. In fact I imagine he's set this up so I stay bound to him so he can reverse this condition I have."
"Wait, you aren't actually going to DO that if freedom is an option are you?"
"What choice do I have? It's not like I want to go through the rest of my life like this."
"Shit, I'd go through life with my wings fucking clipped if it meant not spending most of my life in a jar and being at that plivik's whims!"

You suppose Tych has a point and it is one you're more inclined to go with since it might be possible to get your condition reversed elsewhere.

All this might not mean anything however, if Ral has no intention on releasing you from the geas anyway. In the meantime you have a heart to carve out of the dead beast in front of you.

About midway through Tych starts calling to you again.

"Hey! Watch out, the manticore is back!" he exclaims and hides on the other side of the dead wazia.

You turn from your bloody work and look. The manticore cub is indeed back and watching you, but its not in a defensive stance anymore, it seems to be more curious than anything else.

"I'm not worrying about it since it probably isn't going to do anything, but if it makes you feel better…"

Tych probably thought you were going to follow up that statement with you trying to kill it, but you instead you just reach into your pack and give it another piece of dried meat, which it happily eats and no longer is interested in anything else.

"There you go Spikey." You say coming up with an on the spot name for him.
"You just gave away the last of the food!" Tych exclaims.
"What does it matter? As soon as I dig this heart out, and you perch on my shoulder, Ral will teleport us back anyway right?"
"I guess, I just don't understand why you're indulging that creature."
"Good thing I did, since it distracted the wazia better than you did."
"Hey I did my best considering my size, you dick!"

You go back to your unpleasant work. Not so much because of the gore and blood, but the smell is awful even with your dulled senses. Eventually you cut the large organ out and carry the thing out of the wazia's body. You then sit down to take a breather.

"Shit, I think that was almost as much work as killing this thing." You say.
"Did you get it?" Tych asks.
"Yeah, why are you so far away? I figured you'd be anxious to get out of this cold at least even if you don't like the jar."
"I would, but that thing is nearby!" Tych remarks and points to the manticore that is now coming up to you.
"Tych, you're worrying over nothing. He'd fling spikes at me before you given how close he is. Just get over here and get us home."
"Fine. Did you think anymore on killing Ral yet?"
"Yeah I've thought about it, and I guess you'll know soon enough."

Tych isn't enthused by your response or the manticore being nearby, but he flies to you anyway. He sits on your shoulder, makes a few weird hand gestures and before you know it, a flash of blinding light hits you and you're in the lab again. You also feel something bump your leg.

You look down and see that the manticore cub has teleported with you and is currently nuzzling against your leg.

"Shit!" Tych remarks and flies away to hide again.

Meanwhile Ral walks in from one of his other rooms in the lab wondering what all the noise is about.

"So you're back and successful as I knew you would be. Hello, what's this?" Ral asks.

Spikey growls a bit when he sees Ral.

"Spikey no!" you say and do your best to try to calm him which involves petting his head and neck. This seems to work somewhat since he relaxes, but still eyes Ral warily.

"Hmm, I see you brought back more than just the heart. You didn't need to go beyond what was required, but I appreciate the enthusiasm. The manticore parts will come in handy for spell components." Ral says.
"What? No, it helped take down the wazia and I guess it got caught up in the teleportation process."
"So?"
"So, I dunno seems sort of fucked up to just hand him over to you for parts after he helped me."
"What are you going to do with him, keep him as a pet?"
"Well I suppose I could…"
"A pet manticore? What do you think you are a frost giant? That's silly, you aren't going to have the means to tame such a beast when he starts to grow! You sure you don't want to hand that beast over? I could give you something extra."
"Can you reverse this fucking condition you imposed on me?" you ask.
"I imagine could, but that would require that you stick around a bit longer. I mean that can be arranged..."

You're not getting trapped. You can't get trapped again.

"No, I'll figure out another way." You say.
"Very well. Put that heart on the table and... wait a minute where did Tych go? I saw him fly off to hide, not sure why he bothers to do that, since he knows I can just teleport him back in the jar at anytime." Ral says as you lift up the oversized organ and slam it on the nearby table.

"Can we get on with this?" you ask getting impatient.
"In a moment and don't presume to give orders, I still haven't freed you yet and you'd be well to remember that. Now step back, you're very cold you know." Ral says.
"Of course I'm fucking cold, you did this to me!"
"And I offered to reverse the process, but you declined."
"Damn straight I declined, I'm not going to fall for your tricks again. The first time you enslaved me, the second time you made me into a freak!"
"If you like, that can remain your reality." Ral warns.

Ral raises his hands as if to cast a spell and that's when you see Tych flying over his head struggling with a small-uncorked glass tube that's as big as him.

"Hey glakface, try casting magic now!" Tych shouts and then pours a clear fluid on Ral, who looks up just in time for it splatter on his face, and he even gets some in his mouth.

"Gargh! (cough) (hack) blagh!" Ral gags and begins hacking up and rubbing his eyes.
"He can't cast magic! Don't just stand there plivik, kill the bastard!" Tych squeaks.

[User] You take advantage of the situation

[Assistant]
Given your recent exchange with Ral and your own suspicious nature, you question if Ral intends on releasing you. Perhaps getting rid of Ral IS the way to go and this would be the best time to do it.

You're still under the effects of the geas, and any violent action towards Ral by you would be met with immediate pain, however with his temporary inability to cast spells you wonder if you couldn't dispose of him quick enough that you'd survive it.

Not to mention you do have a pet manticore now.

"Spikey attack! ARGH!" you shout and feel a sharp pain to your crotch, which causes you to nearly double over. The only reason why you aren't completely laid out is your new condition has dulled some of your pain reception to a small degree. (Now is one of those times it came in handy)

Spikey isn't completely sure what you meant, but given that you're excitedly pointing at Ral who is also making loud noises and flailing about due to the shit that Tych poured on him, Spikey isn't feeling comfortable towards him anyway.

Spikey flings several small quills into Ral's body. The old wizard howls in pain. Spikey may be just a manticore cub, but it still hurts.

Due to the geas, a large part of you wants to stop Spikey from attacking and it's taking everything for you not to do that. You feel the pain spread over your body and it's getting worse. You finally collapse to the floor.

Spikey runs forward and begins biting Ral, he even succeeds in ripping off part of his hand. Ral is begging for mercy at this point, but he's getting nothing, but Tych's taunts.

You weakly pull out a dagger, but you can barely hold it in your hand as you attempt to crawl over to Ral. The pain you're experiencing is nearly unbearable.

Meanwhile Ral is experiencing his own form of pain, but despite being unable to cast magic and being a frail old man, he somehow manages to get Spikey off of him, who yelps when thrown into a nearby table.

"Come here, you little bastard!" he snarls and with a blink, Tych is suddenly within the one good hand of Ral. It would appear his powers are starting to come back.

"I'm going to crush you into…ARGH SHIT!" Ral shouts as you plunge your dagger into his ankle.

The old man partially falls on top of you, but that doesn't compare to the wave of agony you experience after stabbing Ral. Your condition is no longer numbing anything, not even a little bit.

You feel like you're suffering a heart attack, castration and a mace smashing your brains in, all the while being burned alive.

Unsurprisingly your body goes into complete shock, shuts down and you go unconscious. Blackness follows.

Time passes and eventually you wake up to a couple sensations. One being a rough tongue licking your face and another being a faint sweet taste on your lips and in your mouth.

"Hey! Did it work? You alive?" Tych remarks.
"Guh, buh, what work?" you sputter and move a bit causing Spikey to stop licking your face.
"The healing potion I tried to pour into your mouth. I guess it did, you're alive. Wasn't sure it worked since you looked pretty dead."
"I felt really dead. Is Ral dead?"
"Oh that plivik? Yeah. Your pet took care of that soon after you stabbed him. Ripped out his throat. I don't think that spell is on you anymore."

You look at your wrist and it's true, you no longer see the mark there anymore.

"So that's it. I'm free. Finally free." You say.
"Yeah, thanks to me." Tych sniffs.
"Ral was planning on releasing me anyway."
"You don't believe that. If you did, you wouldn't have nearly killed yourself, trying to kill him."
"Well I suppose I did have my doubts and followed your lead. What was that shit you poured on him anyway?"
"Oh, liquefied gazer eye. Not sure what Ral was planning with it, but then he was always experimenting with shit."
"Not familiar with gazers."
"Lucky you, they're even worse than wazias. Anyway, you're not the only one who is free, so I guess this is where we part ways."

As strange as it seems you're a little taken back by how quick Tych is to part company, but then it wasn't like you two were great friends or anyway.

"Oh. Okay. Yeah sure, I suppose you'll be wanting to go home to your wife." You say.
"…what the hell, I'll let you on a little secret, I'm not married. I just said I was hoping it would gain me sympathy when we first met." Tych admits.
"Why am I not surprised?"
"But you're right, I am still going home. I need to straighten out some things there. What were you planning on doing?"
"Dunno really. I still got this condition. First thing I think I need to do is try to figure out how to reverse it. Guess I'll start by heading to Holgard."
"Well sounds like you've got the adventure ahead of you. Can't say it was a pleasure being forced to work with you, but I suppose it could have been worse. And we both got revenge on Ral, so it worked out I guess. See you around blivik."
"What's that mean? Dickhead or something?"
"What? Oh blivik? No, it means friend. Well maybe not friend, but comrade in arms I guess."
"Sounds very similar plivik."
"Yeah well, sometimes in our culture the two are interchangeable."
"That I can believe. Bye Tych and thanks."

Tych nods his head and flies out the lab door, leaving you alone. (Well with a manticore cub that is currently eating Ral's body nearby).

You don't leave right away, instead you take the opportunity to start going through Ral's lab seeing if you can find any clue of what he did to you. You find lots notes, but his handwriting is pretty bad and you can't make much sense of the diagrams. You think they might pertain to you, but you aren't really sure.

You temporarily slump in a chair nearby realizing that you've lost some of your life and your thoughts keep wandering back to Lisa. What happened to her? You were supposed to meet up with her in Holgard as you often did. At the time the city was on the verge of a rebellion. Does she even still live? And if she does, she surely must believe you are dead and moved on.

It's a bit depressing considering your feelings for her, but lost love is the least of your concerns right now. You suppose either way, your next move is to Holgard, either to seek her out or to seek a way to fix your condition.

In any case, you're sitting on a small fortune of magical equipment. Granted you don't know what most of it does, but at the very least, you'd be able to get a good price for some of the stuff that you can't figure out. Holgard will be the perfect place to

At the very least you can use this place as a home of sorts which seems strange given that you've been stuck here, but then you're not exactly beholden to Ral anymore and it's not a bad place as far as homes go. You even have a pet to defend it when you're not around.

You spend a few more days going through Ral's house before finally deciding to make your way to Holgard. Takes awhile to convince Spikey not to follow you, but eventually he gets the hint and stays around the house. You figure he's probably more than able to hunt whatever wildlife is in the area.

You make your way to Holgard and the journey is uneventful and the same as you remembered, though you're noticing that when you camp down for the night, the next morning the grass has a layer of frost on it. You're going to be leaving a trail of it at this pace.

When you get to Holgard, you find that the city is a lot calmer than when you remember. While doing some business with an apothecary, you learn that the old ruler got overthrown and his daughter now rules the city.

"Yeah, be glad you missed that one. It was a pretty brutal time…did it just get chilly in here? In fact, did the temperature drop outside because everything you've handed over to sell feels a bit cold to the touch." the apothecary says.
"Hadn't noticed." You answer.
"…you uh sure you're all right pal? You look a little pale. I figured when you came in here you came in to buy, not to sell."
"You got anything that can cure this?" you say and grab the apothecary's wrist.
"Shit! You're fucking ice! Let me go! Please! Take anything you want!"
"I'm not here to rob you! I'm serious when I ask, if you have anything that can cure this condition." You say and let go of the man's wrist.

The apothecary steps back and rubs his wrist a bit.

"I can honestly tell you that I have nothing that would help you. I can only believe that magic must be at work. Is that the case?" he asks.
"Yeah, and I killed the wizard who did it."
"Well, I guess he had it coming. Wasn't one of those Dornans was it?"
"No."
"Hm, okay that's good, because they're about the only folks that I think would be able to help you. They're pretty interested in all things pertaining to magic, though I'd be careful since it'll be the knowledge that's important, not the person. You might have killed a wizard, but I don't think even you would be able to kill a whole temple of them if things go south."
"Noted. Can't think of anyone else?"
"Not really, I mean unless you want to head all the way to Delantium Kingdom and their magic university. It has a good reputation and they aren't swayed by religious fanaticism. There's a small magic college in Klyton, but I wouldn't waste my time."
"Why not?"
"Because I graduated from there and the magic college there is rubbish, that's why. It's understaffed and only kept afloat due to one of the council members being a mage. It's not bad if you want to learn how to mix potions and such, but the wizards there aren't exactly the most skilled in magic and they'd probably be just as baffled by your condition as I am. You'd probably end up as a toad with their bumbling."

Great, more wizards.

[User] You head to the Delantium Kingdom

[Assistant]
The Dornans might be closer, but they also sound like religious fanatics. You don't really need to deal with that right now. You're not exactly keen on dragging your cold ass all the way to the Delantium Kingdom, but if it's your best shot, then that's where you need to go.

Besides, maybe it might be good anyway. You've spent more than enough time around Holgard and its surrounding area and it hasn't got you very far, maybe a change in scenery is in order. It isn't like things have gone that great for you around here and as for Lisa, if she's still alive, you have no doubt that she's moved on with her life. Maybe she's even some high-ranking Ebony Claw member. Whatever she's doing, you hope she's doing well at it.

You leave the apothecary and head to the docks to book a passage to the Delantium Kingdom.

Unsurprisingly you get some strange looks, and the first couple captains turn you away believing that your unnatural chill must be the result of a curse and don't want it rubbing off on the voyage. (You can't blame them for their caution since they're at least half right about it being a curse of sorts)

Eventually though you get a captain with less interest in gods and suspicion and more interested in coin. You pay the man and make your way to the cargo area since he doesn't have any more room for proper passengers, and he apparently thinks you'll keep some of the food fresher on the long trip just with your presence.

Doesn't matter, you've been in less than ideal conditions before. You just need a ride; this isn't going to be forever.

You make your way down to the cargo hold where you make a place for yourself near the crates of lemons and limes. It's as good as any. You'll have lots of time to think on your way to your destination.

One of your main thoughts is what you're going to do with your life if you do get cured. Obviously being a rogue never really worked out for you. Arguably, you haven't been one since you left Teckleville. You've had more "work" as a monster hunter of all things. Not that it's something you necessarily wanted to make a living at doing, but you have raised your skill with a weapon over the years, not to mention all your new outdoorsman skills. Maybe you should be doing something using those talents instead at this point. You're sure you'd be good at it.

Makes you realize that if you had those skills to begin with instead, you probably wouldn't have gotten lost in the forest and in Ral's debt in the first place. Of course if that hadn't happened, you wouldn't have gained what you do know now. Funny how that works. Also funny how it finally took you until now to realize that your parents were right all along and that this "life" was just going to lead to trouble.

In any case, you aren't sure what the future holds, if you'll be cured, if you'll remain this way or if you'll be killed in the process. You do know however that your days as a common rogue are over.


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

[User] You get Ajax to chase you

[Assistant]
He'll see through a lie, and even if he can't he won't want to listen to anything you have to say anyway. There's nothing for it, you have to have him chase you there. He's going to be pissed off anyway.

You look around for Ajax, but he's nowhere around, typical. The one time you WANT to find him you can't. Eventually you do see him entering Sasha's trailer. You take a deep breath and start throwing stones at it, calling him out.

"Hey asshole, stop hiding behind Sasha in there and get out here!"

Plink! Plink! Plink!

"Hey motherfucker I'm talkin' to you! I know you ain't still fuckin' Sasha. Everyone knows you don't last that long!"

Plink! Plink! Plink!

You're actually having so much fun shouting and throwing things, it almost comes to a shock to you when Ajax comes storming out like a mad bull. He is wicked pissed.

"YOU'RE FUCKING DEAD GEEK!"

You throw the rest of your stones at him and run as fast as you can. You just hope you can make it to the clown tent before he catches you.

Somehow despite Ajax being in better shape than you in every way, you are surprisingly faster than him, maybe its from all that protein from the pig uteruses you've had to consume over the years…or perhaps its just fear. Either way it gets the job done.

You arrive at the clown tent stopping right at the entrance with Ajax not far behind; you see the glinting eyes and hellish grins peering from the unnatural darkness within it. The slurping and hideous laughter makes you REALLY hesitant to actually enter. In your current situation you feel like you're bordering on the edge of madness with fury seeking to drive you into it.

And that's exactly what happens, while you're stopped at the edge of the clown tent. Ajax tackles you hard, where upon the both of you roll into the clown tent.

Its pitch dark in here and you don't know how that's even possible, but it is. You feel Ajax's heavy body suddenly be lifted off of you along with several bottle sounds breaking. You can feel several glass particles fall down onto you.

"AGH FUCK MY HEAD! GODDAMN CLOWN FUCKERS!" Ajax yells.

You begin the crawl on the floor to get to the outside of the tent, but you're not sure where the hell the entrance is anymore, the clowns have closed the flap. Apparently they have no intention on letting either of you escape. The only thing working to your advantage is they're having a hard time subduing Ajax. It's all very frightening to you though when you begin to hear Ajax scream in a high pitched falsetto voice, you never thought you'd ever hear something like that. The other sounds you hear from the clowns you don't even want to think about.

You keep crawling in the darkness hoping to reach the edge of the tent. It seems like forever, but eventually you feel the canvas, you then grab at the bottom and pull up; a beam of daylight enters.

"STOP THAT GEEK!" you hear one of the clowns yell causing you to scramble out of the tent as fast as possible. You feel a hand grab your foot and attempt to pull you back in. You kick several times with your other foot and once again luck shines down and the clown releases you long enough for you to escape.

You run back to Madam Orbec's tent, who glances up at you from her crystal ball.

"Ah, you've returned and from what the spirits have told me, you were successful…good. I will speak to Randal about siding with the Ring Master when the time comes. You may leave."

You're still a little bewildered by her attitude, but you're not going to press the issue, you got what you wanted. Time to report back to the Ring Master.

You tell the Ring Master that he'll have her allies when the time comes when you go back to his trailer though. (After getting Atlas' permission to enter of course) The Ring Master seems confident in you and tells you to get ready for show time.

You spend your remaining time a little on edge, wondering if everything is going to work out. You really wish the Ring Master hadn't put all this pressure on you.

Then show time arrives, everything goes pretty much the same except Charley looks a bit distracted the whole time as Ajax is nowhere to be seen. Pervus and his clowns seem to keep waving at you and making obscene gestures whenever they can.

[User] You but the real show begins afterwards

[Assistant]
A dark moonlit night.

Charley confronts the Ring Master with his army of midgets behind him. The Ring Master has Atlas, and his usual allies, the Freaks are hanging in the darkness ready to strike if necessary. Most of the Normals though are nowhere to be seen. You hope Madam Orbec did her job, because even without Ajax, Charley still has a numerical superiority and a pissed off midget can do a lot of damage.

"Your time has come Ring Master! No longer will you exploit us! I'm taking over!"
"So you can exploit your own people of course. Charley, I've put up with your delusions of grandeur long enough, it ends tonight. I have allies of my own, and you might find they are much more dedicated to me than yours are."
"It won't work Ringy, I got more in common with my people than you ever will! Blood is thicker, and yours is going to run everywhere if you don't peaceably leave…I'm giving you this one chance you pale she-male."
"Not likely."

At this point all of the freaks come out of hiding, and then Randal and most of the Normals appear as well. Pervus also shows up with his clown crew, and that's when you see Ajax, or what's left of him. He's dressed in a weird leather getup and has a chain around his neck which one of the clowns is holding. There's also a black leather mask covering his face now and some sort of ball gag…he looks completely docile and broken.

Suddenly Charley seems to get a little less hostile, the rest of the midgets also look less than willing to fight now, though he's still not backing down completely.

"…so that's what happened to Ajax…(Sigh)…alright Ringy you win. I can see I can't beat you…I'll leave. BUT! I'm taking my people with me!"
"No you won't, they work for me."
"The fuck I can't! They're still fuckin' free people! You don't fuckin' OWN them Ringy! They ain't your slaves!"
"Oh and I suppose they're YOUR slaves eh?"
"Fuck it, let's settle this." Charley turns around to his fellow midgets. "Hey, do you want to work for me and make some serious money doing something a lot less menial? Or do ya wanna work for this hypocritical slave driving bitch bastard who claims everyone is free to do what they want and has his protection, but in reality she doesn't do shit for anyone but herself and just expects everyone to obey him?"

The midgets talk to each other for a moment and then reply with a uniformed answer that they want to stay with Charley. The Ring Master actually looks surprised, she even gets mad claiming all of what he'd done for them, but it doesn't work. Charley was right they have more in common with him than they do the Ring Master. Charley leaves with his midget gang. The Ring Master looks like he's going to order an attack, but decides against it. Instead he just assigns some Normals to do the job of the midgets and orders the rest to seek out new recruits in the next town.

Everyone disperses leaving just the Ring Master, Atlas and you alone. The Ring Master for once looks a bit despondent. Not knowing what else to do, you attempt to lighten the situation.

"Well you won, I'm just glad I didn't mess things up for you."
"Yes, for now, but there will only be problems in the future. What happened to tonight was just a temporary patch for the situation…I suppose you did your best within your capabilities Geek. No more could be expected of you. The Carnival will survive, just like it always has though…return to your cell, we have a big show to do tomorrow and significantly less help."

And you do exactly that and continue on as usual

Time passes and while nothing really changes for you, things do change…

Without the midgets around to do most of the manual labor of setting things up, some of the less talented Normals like game barkers and such have to double as laborers. This causes some bad feelings initially until the Ring Master orders the Freaks to start helping as well. The Freaks seem to dislike the fact that the Ring Master isn't "favoring" them as much anymore, but she's just trying to keep things fair so his Carnival stays together. The criminal activity goes down quite a bit. (Though someone's always still making hooch so happily you still have a steady supply of booze to grab)

With Ajax out of the way Sasha grows closer to Randal who returns these feelings. This new relationship makes him a little less "uptight" and more willing to take chances and less likely to go running to Madam Orbec before he does anything. His "threats" of taking over start becoming more likely. Another rift in the Carnival is expected to occur and finally does, starting with the fiery death of Pervus and his clowns.

Since the Ring Master was always looking for more help, Pervus and his clown crew took it upon themselves to start "recruiting" unsuspecting townies and rubes to come work for the Carnival, this causes them to start engaging in debauchery on a bigger scale than before, to an extent that they become a liability and more obvious. Randal, still having a great sense of ethics and morality could not stand by and let it go on any longer. He and several other Normals set fire to the entire tent in the middle of the night killing them all. (And putting the "Gimpjax" out of his misery.)

The Ring Master was furious that Randal would take such a liberty. Another battle comes close to occurring, but fortunately for the Ring Master,(Who would've been greatly outnumbered) Randal doesn't want to fight over the Carnival, instead he convinces his followers to leave while they started their OWN Carnival. One that was more family friendly and without Freaks all over the place. He leaves with Sasha and most of the other Normals in tow.

The Carnival becomes much smaller and is little more than a traveling Freak show as they are practically the only ones still left. The Ring Master doesn't seem to mind though, as he said, the Carnival would survive, maybe not in the same way, but its still around.

And you still remain the GEEK.


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

[User] You hug her

[Assistant]
He wrapped his arms around her and, as she eased into him, she cried.

"They're cruel beings," she hiccuped, "They are self-seeking and would do anything to destroy their enemies and even their friends, if they had any, to make themselves stronger."  Gabri nodded on her candlelight hair.  Ka was callous at times but he always had good intentions.  He wanted to help, not hurt.  Gabri knew that now.  As the girl sobbed into his robe, he knew he had to stay a Jedi if he wanted to help.  And he did want to.


[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 investigate the Living Room

[Assistant]
As you enter the living room, you do not see anything out of the ordinary. The sitting corner around the fireplace, the dining table, the china cabinets, all are in their right places, though thoroughly caked with dust. Yet something does not feel right. Though the wind is howling outside, and snowflakes are clouding the windows, you do not feel cold. The Winter wind, though creeping through the cracks in the window frame, instead feels light a warm summer's breeze.

Piano music starts playing softly, as if coming from a great distance. The old piano in the corner, however, has been untouched for months, and looks even worse. Slowly, the music is strengthening, coming into focus more and more clearly. It's a ragtime melody, stirring memories of a day so long ago.

Then, suddenly, the snow in front of the windows starts clearing, vanishing in front of the bright sun. Your living room changes, shaking of its layers of dust and neglect, shining brightly in the sultry Spring heat. You can see flowers start blooming in a vase on the dining table, where flowers have not grown for quite some time, cobwebs vanish from the bookcases as if never there, and in the corner, besides one of the large windows, a woman is playing the piano, with a man standing behind her.

Though unfamiliar at first, you recognise the couple with a shock. The man, standing proudly, his hands on the woman's shoulders, listening to the beautiful music, you recognise as yourself. Albeit a younger version of you, unshaken by a long, dreadful sorrow. The woman, entranced by the music, swaying softly on the tune of her own making, you recognise as Lenore. A smile graces her fair and radiant face. Tears start to well up in your eyes at the sight of this unexpectedly peaceful scene. Illuminated by the Spring sun through the large window, the couple almost looks otherworldly, an intimate scene depicting heavenly love between a man and a woman, a scene fit for an altar piece.

Then clouds shift in front of the sun. The music dies. The man calls out in surprise, and you can see yourself stooping down, holding a lifeless Lenore in your hands. Her eyes are open, her chest is still softly swelling at the rhythm of her breathing, yet she is not conscious. Tears roll down your face, both of your own and that of your ghostly apparition. The man, you, is shouting now, calling for help, pleading for someone to come. Behind you, you hear a door open. Hurried footsteps come nearer.

CAW CAW CAW

The scene fades away into nothingness, and you're left looking at your old, neglected piano. Silence once more fills the room, broken by the periodic howling of the wind outside. A shadow flies past the snow-clouded window. In the middle of the cold, lonely room, you start crying as the memory of that sweet Spring day slowly fades away.

[User] You continue...

[Assistant]
Back into the hallway stepping, wiping the tears from your face, you hear the sound of a breaking glass, and the fluttering of feathers, coming from your library upstairs. That beast, that demon who has been your tormentor this entire evening, is surely there. Yet despite your fear, even despite your curiosity, you feel compelled to go upstairs. Past the portraits of your pale and pallid ancestors, you tread steadily on the ancient oaken steps.

Yet once you are upstairs, you do not know for sure if you should enter the library at all. Driven by memory, by the recollection of the events all those months ago, you know deep down inside that the library is not where this history ends. Instead, you imagine a light, shining softly, yet steadily behind the door of one of the bedrooms, Lenore's bedroom, the one that you visited not long ago. The one where you saw her, when she was still here.

'Nevermore.'

The voice startles you, clear as water, yet creaking like ice. Appearing out of nowhere, it sounded like it was addressing you. Yet, as you look around you, all you can see is the eternal dance of dust and shadows, here in the darkness of the hallway. You gaze wanders back to the closed doors of your library behind you. A cold wind blows through the cracks, chilling your very being.

A sliver of ice lodges itself in your spine as you contemplate your actions. In front of you, Lenore's bedroom looms, dark and forbidding like the rest of your house, yet a feeling deep inside of your heart urges you to go there; however, behind you, your library lies, your sacred sanctum where you have spent most of the past few months, now probably defiled by that infernal winged demon. Doubt besets you once more, but eventually, you decide to go to...


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

[User] You go back home

[Assistant]
If this how it was on your first day, you'd hate to think about if you had to deal with this on a regular basis.

"Uh…no, maybe I was wrong. Bye." You say and quickly take off.
"Heh, pig farmer don't have no stomach for it…Dibs on Foremeli's shit!" you hear Dimitri yell.

When you get back home, your family and mom in particular ask what happened, you explain it and say you don't want any part of that life. You apologize that you couldn't go through with it, but your mom looks more relieved than anything.

"Well son, I'm just as glad you didn't join up with that lot anyway. You'll be helping us out plenty just by working on the farm like always."

You're glad to hear that. Over the next couple days you fall back into routine again. You still wonder about the future though and you briefly consider the army plan again, but given your short lived experience with mercenary "life" you don't think you're cut out with battle on a regular basis. Plus the Zalan Empire is currently having really bad border skirmish with the Tulan Kingdom right now.

You resign yourself to the farm life. You play your lute to yourself (and family) when you have the time to do so. It's a simple life.

A year passes and a terrible incident occurs at a far away city known as Nuro. A group of rogue wizards summoned an army of the dead to take it over. They also summoned a lot of demons that have broken free and running rampant now in the Tulan Kingdom. It's all far away from you, but something like this is pretty serious. Necromancy and Demon summoning is strictly forbidden throughout the land.

Meanwhile life on the farm is going the same as it ever did. Hard sometimes, but manageable.

Another two years pass and things have gotten worse. The Necromancer Lord (as he's become to be known) has expanded, even to the point of taking over the Brot Kingdom. The Tulan Kingdom has been totally conquered by a demon army. A Grand Alliance of nations has been formed, but so far they don't seem to be making much progress.

Meanwhile life on the farm is a little harder. Your youngest sister Makana becomes gravely ill during the winter months, but there's not enough money to pay for a healer and most of the clerics have been summoned to battle with the undead or demon hordes. Sadly she dies making the overall mood of the farm a little more depressing. You don't even play anymore, your enthusiasm for music died along with the grim realities setting in.

Another three years pass and things are down right miserable. War is everywhere. The Demons have been taken care of, but the undead are stronger than ever. Reports even speak of the Necromancer Lord becoming The Great Lich Lord "reborn". You remember hearing tales by your father of such a being that existed centuries ago. They scared the hell out of you then and the fact that you're living in a time where he's returned makes you feel doomed.

To make things worse, the Zalan Empire has been becoming increasingly tyrannical. In order to help with the war effort they've started bringing back the draft and the talk of ceasing private property to be used for the good of the government. While they say owners will be able to live and still work on their lands and businesses, it will be owned by the Empire.

You know it's only a matter of time when you get a knock on the door by Zalan army troops coming to take you and your brother Mallack away to the army and your family's farm.

Another two year pass…

You're on the eve of battle in a land known as the Garwold Confederacy although it's steadily becoming a giant graveyard now. The undead hordes have been sweeping relentlessly across the entire landscape. Your own company has had to fall back several times. Morale is low. Not that yours was high to begin with. You don't even know how you've survived this long. You didn't even have that much military training when they threw you into you first battle a year ago. It was a terrifying experience and you still have nightmares about it. The undead…you'll never get used to fighting such emotionless creatures that are the embodiment of death and all that's unnatural.

You briefly wonder if your brother Mallack is alright where he's stationed, but it hardly matters at this point.

Battle comes as it always does and you are not so lucky this time. Horrible and powerful creatures known as Blood Specters and Death Knights utterly destroy your side.

You fall to undead blades and chilling touches only rise up and join them in their goal of global genocide.


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

[User] The Murderer

[Assistant] You row back to the island. On the island are the murderer and the witness. Who do you want to take across now?


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

[User] You stay because even though she hurts you a lot, deep down you know she loves me

[Assistant]
Well I would say you're pussy whipped, and while that might have something to do with it, it's far more likely that you're just suffering from a form of battered spouse syndrome.

Yeah so anyway you stay with her and put up with more of her abuse. Now you're probably thinking that she ends up killing you or something, but that doesn't happen.

Nope, you don't get arrested for statutory rape either. Her parents and your Mom are quite aware of the situation, but because Patricia lets all her aggression out on you, her parents find her to be much more manageable now. As for your mom, she figures that you getting laid and not wasting time on anime anymore so it's at least step up.

Time passes and eventually you manage to get her ass pregnant. It's at this point you are forced to move out of your mom's house since she's not putting up with you, your crazy bitch AND your unholy seed (Patricia's family is even less receptive to the idea). Fortunately, you save up enough money to move out of your mom's house and into a cheap ass trailer park with Patricia. (Hey you're already fucking your cousin, might as well go with it at this point)

You and Patricia live in this trailer park for the rest of your lives where she not only continues to abuse you mentally and physically but also gets fatter with each mutant child she gives birth to.

Face it, you're a big ass loser pal, but at least you're no longer a basement dweller.