- Rewind
- Restart
- Bookmark
- This story was created with Twine and is powered by TiddlyWiki
"This is a bow," Ulf says, "and these are arrows."\n \n"Gee, thanks," you tell him sarcastically. "I never would have guessed."\n\nHe grins, but doesn't seem offended. "You nock the arrow on the bow like so. Draw back with three fingers, let the fletch just touch your cheek and try to close one eye as you aim. It will take practice before you can hit accurately but..." he lets fly, and the arrow strikes a rabbit that had been nibbling the grass nearby.\n\n"Wow," you say, impressed in spite of yourself.\n\nUlf hands over the bow and his quiver. "Why don't you practice for a bit while I get this rabbit cleaned up?" he suggests.\n<<silently>>\n<<set $skill_bow_hunting = 1>>\n<<endsilently>>\n\n[[("Nah, I don't need to practice. I'll just go hunting now.")|Go Hunting]]\n[[("I don't really feel like practicing. I'll just go sit by the fire.|Sit By The Fire]]\n[[("Yeah, okay. I'll go and practice.")|Practice Hunting]]
Just as your fingers brush the surface of the black ball you wake up.\n\nYou are panting heavily, and for a moment you wonder if it was all a dream. But a freezing touch brushes your head in farewell and you shudder and tug the blankets over your head, wanting to hide in the warm dark safety for the rest of your life. \n\n\nIn the morning, you and Ulf continue through the forest. Around midday you are both hungry, and Ulf pulls a small game bow out of his pack.\n\n"Do you know how to shoot?" he asks as he strings the bow. You have no idea what the answer to his question is, so you just shrug and shake your head. "It's a useful skill," Ulf tells you. "Maybe I can teach you while we travel."\n\n"Sounds good," you say, then watch in silent awe as Ulf nocks an arrow. He waits in a still crouch and you do the same. Both of you spot the rabbit at the same time, and Ulf looses his arrow with a habitual grace. The rabbit crumples sideways and the man goes to fetch it. He tosses the body at you.\n\n"D'you know how to clean a kill?"\n\nYou shake your head again. He must think your education was sadly lacking, you think ruefully. \n\n"That's okay," Ulf shrugs. "You can get the fire started."\n\n\n[[("No, teach me to hunt!")|Learn To Hunt]]\n[[("How about you show me how to clean a kill?")|Learn To Clean The Kill]]\n[[("Sure, I'll get the fire started.")|Get The Fire Started]]\n[[("I can hunt by myself!")|Go Hunting]]\n[[("You catch it, I'll cook it.")|Clean The Kill]]\n
"Great," the voice hisses. "In that case, come with me." \n\nThe pressure over you eases, and when you squint you can just make out a skinny, see-through figure floating in front of you, wavering in the breeze. The ghostly man holds out a hand, and you hesitate for a second before laying your palm in his. \n\nAs soon as you grasp his freezing fingers, things seem to turn upside down and back to front. Your head feels as though it is being squeezed in a vice and you can't say anything. Just as you think your eyes will pop like berries under the pressure the headache clears, and you can see again. The world around you is somehow... similar but different. It's hard to look directly at anything. Little pinpricks of red light float around in the darkness of the forest, but when you look at them they disappear, only to reappear again when you look away. \n\n"Where am I?" you say aloud.\n\n"This is the Spirit Realm," the ghost answers. "Most humans will see this place only once. You can count yourself lucky that you will be returning to the mortal plane."\n\nYou shudder and take a careful step forward. "What do you want me to do?" you ask the ghost.\n\n"Make a choice," he tells you. "A choice that will decide the fate of our world. A choice which, unfortunately, must be made by a human. Just follow the path."\n\nA gleaming silver path appears in front of you, winding away through the trees. You start to walk along it and go straight through a bush. Jumping back with a shocked yell, you lean forward and wave your hand backwards and forwards through the solid-looking leaves. Nothing here is quite what it seems, you think to yourself. \n\nAs you follow the path the woods begin to become more silver. Lights sparkle in the top of every treetop and the dancing red spots become larger and a little more obvious, glinting like red bubbles. You can't tell how long you've been walking for when you finally reach your destination, for you aren't tired or even out of breath. The path ends beneath an overhang - almost like a cave, but open to the world. You step inside and a cloud of red bubbles gathers around your head, lighting the place with an eerie orange glow. \n\nTwo crystalline balls sit on a ledge in front of you. Both are large, large enough for you to have to hold them with two hands, and they seem to be made of smooth, clear material without a single flaw. Inside the clear external shells of the balls you can see swirling mist glimmering and gleaming. The ball to the right holds a white mist, clean and milky-pale. As you put your face close to it you breathe in a fresh, minty smell - lilies, you think. The ball to the left has a black mist swirling in its centre, roiling and boiling like an angry thundercloud. When you gingerly approach it you hear a sparking sound and get a sharp whiff of wood-smoke. \n\n\n"Which do I choose?" you ask, but no one answers you. The ghost has gone, and you are alone here with only your choice for company.\n\n[[Choose The White Ball]]\n[[Choose The Black Ball]]\n
You charge at Marcus, shoving at him with your shoulder and trying desperately to get past him, and out of the cell. You are weak, though, from hunger and thirst, and Marcus easily shoves you back in.\n \n"It's not right for food to try and escape," he tells you, and before you can react, he's whipped a knife out from behind his back and plunged it into your neck. "Food should be quiet," the cannibal says calmly as your life bleeds out of you.\n\n<b>GAME OVER</b>\nYour character has died.\nPlease [[try again|Cannibals Cell]] or [[restart|Start]].
After some time you come across a clearing, and the trickling of water is just ahead. You are about to bound out into the clearing and drink until you burst, but some instinct stops you. Cautiously you peer around the trunk of a tree. Two soldiers wearing green and gold uniforms that look horribly familiar are crouched in front of a skinny, scrawny man tied to a tree. He is slumped over the roots of the tree with his wrists tied above him. His head lolls weakly and he is covered in blood. You shrink back in disgust, and wonder if there is anything you can do, or whether you should just carry on away from the clearing?\n\n<u>Your Surroundings</u>\n\nAround you are trees, trees, and more trees. The tree beside you has plenty of [[low, spreading branches|Climb Tree]], but the rest of them are bare for at least five metres up. \n\nShould you [[try and help the man|Try To Help Tortured Man]] or [[just give up and leave|Walk Away From Clearing]]?
Your second attempt is even worse than the first, and after struggling with a foul-smelling and soggy rabbit-bile-covered lump of fur, you give up, and toss the filthy carcass at Ulf. It doesn't improve your mood to watch him skin it with a few quick flicks of his wrist.\n\n[[("Can you show me how to do that?")|Learn To Clean The Kill]]\n[[("I'm starving, let's eat.")|Sit By The Fire]]\n[[("I'm sure I'll do better if I try hunting.")|Go Hunting]]
"Hey there, lass," the blacksmith calls as you approach. He is a big man with well-defined muscles and a cheerful grin. "Looking for an apprenticeship? I could do with a strong girl like you to help in the forge."\n\nYou shrug. "Maybe," you say casually. "How long is it for? And what's the pay?"\n\n"The apprenticeship lasts six months," the man explains. "I'm Audunar, by the way. You'd get paid two hundred golgas at the end of the apprenticeship, and you'd also be able to find temporary work as a blacksmith wherever you travelled. So? How about it? You in?"\n\n[[("Yeah, why not?")|Get A Job (Blacksmith)]]\n[[("I'm not ready to get a job, but thank you.")|Go Visit The Shops]]\n
<<silently>>\n<<set $have_flag_cloth = "yes">>\n<<endsilently>>\n\nYou find nothing beneath the flag, but as you begin
to lower it the stupid flimsy thing tears away in your hand, leaving you holding a large chunk of thin cloth.\n\n<<if $have_burnt_out_torch eq "yes">>You realise that this is exactly what you've been looking for, and you wrap the cloth around the head of the torch. Perfect! Now all you need is a way to light it. \n<<silently>>\n<<set $have_flag_cloth = "no">>\n<<set $have_burnt_out_torch = "no">>\n<<set $have_flag_head_torch = "yes">>\n<<endsilently>>\n<<endif>>\n<<if $have_flint_stones eq "yes" and $have_flag_head_torch eq "yes">>The flint stones in your pocket, you think, and you pull them out and strike them together. The flag catches light with a satisfying sizzle, and the torch flares up again. You tear down the other flag and tuck it into your pocket in case the torch dies down again later. <<endif>>\n\nShould you [[keep looking around|Tower Room]], take the [[door straight ahead|Door Straight Ahead]], the [[door to the right|Door To Right]] or [[go down the stairs|Down Stairs]]?
<<silently>>\n<<set $lift_rug eq "yes">>\n<<endsilently>>\n\nYou lift the rug and stare down in interest. Beneath you there is a small, open square hole. You can see the rungs of a ladder leading down into pitch blackness. <<if $have_burnt_out_torch eq "yes" or $have_flag_head_torch eq "yes">>If only the torch was working! It could be dangeroug to venture into the dark without a light.<<else>>Thinking fast, you look up at the torch on the wall. It could be dangerous to venture into the dark without a light. But just as you look at it, the torch flickers and dies.<<endif>>\n\n<<if $have_lit_torch eq "yes">>You are grateful for the torch, which is blazing brightly in your hand. It could have been dangerous to venture into the dark without a light.<<endif>>\n\n\nDo you want to [[go down the ladder|Go Down Ladder]]? Or should you [[keep looking around|Tower Room]], take the [[door straight ahead|Door Straight Ahead]], the [[door to the right|Door To Right]] or [[go down the stairs|Down Stairs]]? \n
You scream, flail and kick out frantically at the animals, but none of it seems to achieve anything. Instead, they growl and move in closer. The circle of eyes tightens, and you start to get dizzy. You shut your own eyes. Your chest feels tight, you can't breathe, all you can see is blackness...\n\nThe Pack Leader lunges at your throat and life cuts out.\n\n<b>GAME OVER</b>\nYour character has died.\nPlease [[try again|Night In The Forest]] or [[restart|Start]].
<<silently>>\n<<set $have_flag_cloth = "no">>\n<<set $have_burnt_out_torch = "no">>\n<<set $have_flag_head_torch = "no">>\n<<set $have_flint_stones = "no">>\n<<set $have_shield = "no">>\n<<set $have_wallet = "no">>\n<<set $gold_coins = 0>>\n<<set $lift_rug = "no">>\n<<set $skill_bow_hunting = 0>>\n<<set $skill_knife_hunting = 0>>\n<<set $skill_acrobatics = 5>>\n<<set $skill_skinning = 0>>\n<<set $skill_fire_lighting = 0>>\n<<set $skill_hand_fighting = 10>>\n<<set $skill_tracking = 0>>\n<<set $skill_sword_fighting = 0>>\n<<set $skill_blacksmithing = 0>>\n<<set $skill_cobbling = 0>>\n<<set $skill_fishmonger = 0>>\n<<set $skill_butcher = 0>>\n<<set $ankle_broken = "no">>\n<<set $ulf = "no">>\n<<endsilently>>\nYou stand in the middle of the tower room, lost and alone with no memory of how you got there. Vague, hazy flashes seem to drift around your mind, but there is nothing concrete. You can barely remember your own name! It’s… you have to pause to think for a moment before your name comes back to you. Astrid, that’s who you are. But where are you? You can hear shouts from beyond the stone walls that enclose you, and a familiar whizz-and-thud. Arrows, you think, and grit your teeth. You may not be able to remember how old you are, but you definetely know how to die, and you don’t want to die today. \n\nThere seem to be only two ways to leave the room, and the layout of this keep appears to be one of the few things still in your dazed mind. There are two doors set into the walls. You know that these will lead out along the ramparts, a bare, high stretch of open wall before coming to another tower. You remember that you are in the south tower, so the door straight ahead of you will lead to the west tower, and the door to your right will take you to the east tower. The keep entrance is between the north and west towers. However, running along the uncovered ramparts will practically be a death sentence with all those arrows flying through the air.\nThe other way out of the room is down a set of stone stairs. These will lead to the courtyard, and you can make a dash across the space to get to the entrance – your way out. The trouble with this option is that you seem to have a half-formed idea that there are soldiers waiting in the courtyard. Of course, your battered memory could be lying to you, but it may not be worth the risk. \n\nSo, you have three options available to you. Take [[the door straight ahead|Door Straight Ahead]], [[the door to the right|Door To Right]] or [[charge down the stairs|Down Stairs]]. Which will you choose?\n\n\n<u>Your Surroundings</u>\n\nThe room is perfectly circular, made of solid grey stone. There are [[two flags|Lift Up Flags]] hanging to your right and left, both coloured in green and gold. A lion’s head is imprinted on the centre of the flags. Directly in front of you, a bracket is fastened to the wall. A [[torch|Grab Torch]] is fixed inside it, with the burning end wrapped in oil-soaked rags. It looks more like a temporary arrangement than a real torch. A [[red velvet armchair|Look Under Chair]] is off to your left, beneath one of the flags. It looks decorative and useless. A sturdy round buckler [[shield|Grab Shield]] sits in the armchair, covered in green and gold and with a metal centrepiece. Behind you a set of [[reed pipes|Grab Reed Pipes]] are hanging on the wall beside the stairs. They are painted a festive red-and-yellow. The stairs themselves are old, made of stone with a dip in the centre where feet have worn away part of the stone over hundreds of years. There is moss growing on the edges but the stairs themselves seem relatively stable. The two doors out of the room are both made of solid oak, a strong wood which doesn’t burn easily. Their doorhandles are menacing black metal. The room’s floor is covered with an oversized [[green rug|Lift Up Rug]] with maroon edges and tassels. There is nothing else around you.\n
<<if $skill_bow_hunting eq 0"\nYou take the bow that Ulf gives you and walk silently into the forest. Immediately, it's obvious to you that if you've ever used a bow before, it wasn't one of the skills that escaped your amnesia. You can't even figure out how to stick the arrow to the string!\n\nYour attempts become more and more frustrated until you realise that the noise you've been making will have scared off all the prey close to you. You return to Ulf, and sheepishly hand him back the bow.\n\n[[("Could you teach me how to use it properly?")|Learn To Hunt]]\n[[("Maybe I'll do better at cleaning the prey.")|Clean The Kill]]\n[[("I guess I'll just stay by the fire.")|Sit By The Fire]]
You bang on the door, and scream for help; for someone to let you out. Unfortunately, the only people who hear your cries are the cannibals in the next room. Marcus, the young man, opens the door.\n\n"Stop this racket," he tells you sternly. "My daughter is asleep."\n \nYou think about [[barging past the man|Barge Past Marcus]] but maybe it's better to just [[keep quiet and let him lock you back up|Cannibals Cell]].
\nNight finds you wrapped in rugs and poking the fire. You aren't sure if it's safer to let it [[die down|Let Fire Die]] or [[burn through the night|Let Fire Burn]].
There is a hole in the floor, which you found when you lifted the rug. It is a small, open square hole. You can see the rungs of a ladder leading down into pitch blackness. <<if $have_burnt_out_torch eq "yes" or $have_flag_head_torch eq "yes">>If only the torch was working! It could be dangeroug to venture into the dark without a light.<<else>>Thinking fast, you look up at the torch on the wall. It could be dangerous to venture into the dark without a light. But just as you look at it, the torch flickers and dies.<<endif>>\n\n<<if $have_lit_torch eq "yes">>You are grateful for the torch, which
is blazing brightly in your hand. It could have been dangerous to venture into the dark without a light.<<endif>>\n\n\nDo you want to [[go down the ladder|Go Down Ladder]]? Or should you [[keep looking around|Tower Room]], take the [[door straight ahead|Door Straight Ahead]], the [[door to the right|Door To Right]] or [[go down the stairs|Down Stairs]]? \n
The door is huge and thick, and there is nothing you can do to it. Maybe if you [[bang on the door|Bang On Cannibals Door]] someone will come? Or maybe that's [[not such a good idea|Cannibals Cell]].
"Hey there, lass," the cobbler calls as you approach. She is a big woman with well-defined muscles and a cheerful grin. "Looking for an apprenticeship? I could do with a strong girl like you to help in the forge."\n\nYou shrug. "Maybe," you say casually. "How long is it for? And what's the pay?"\n\n"The apprenticeship lasts six months," the woman explains. "I'm Dalla, by the way. You'd get paid two hundred golgas at the end of the apprenticeship, and you'd also be able to find temporary work as a cobbler wherever you travelled. So? How about it? You in?"\n\n[[("Yeah, why not?")|Get A Job (Cobbler)]]\n[[("I'm not ready to get a job, but thank you.")|Go Visit The Shops]]
"Good idea," Ulf agrees. He takes two steps forward and stumbles, falling awkwardly and crying out as he catches his ankle on a jutting branch. "Astrid!"\n<<silently>>\n<<set $ankle_broken = "yes">>\n<<endsilently>>\n\n"Don't move," you say quickly, dropping to Ulf's side and feeling the ankle through his trousers. "It feels broken," you say. Ulf winces as you probe the grating bones.\n\n"We'll have to go to Katla Palace now," he says with a groan. "They have the best healers there." He looks up at your face and adds, "I'm sorry, Astrid."\n\n"Don't be," you say briskly. "Let's get you to the Palace." You help Ulf to his feet and drape his arm over your shoulder. Moving slowly together, with you helping to support Ulf's weight, you start walking forward, [[towards the Palace|Go To Katla Palace]].\n
Ulf brings a rabbit over to you and sits cross-legged beside you. "It's all about the way you move your wrist," he explains. "You need to slide the knife in beneath the skin, but not so deep that it hits the flesh. Watch me." He demonstrates, and then says, "Now you try."\n \nYou copy Ulf's actions. At first it's difficult, but you quickly get the hang of it, and before long you're surprised to see yourself sliding the knife in almost as smoothly as Ulf does.\n\nThe rabbit is a hopeless cause, after all these stab wounds, but you've learnt something new. \n<<silently>>\n<<set $skill_skinning = 1>>\n<<endsilently>>\n\n"I'd better catch another rabbit," Ulf laughs, levering himself to his feet.\n\n[[("Can you show me how to hunt?")|Learn To Hunt]]\n[[("I'll wait by the fire.")|Sit By The Fire]]\n[[("I think I'll do some hunting too!")|Go Hunting]]\n[[("Can I try skinning the next rabbit by myself?")|Clean The Kill]]
There is nothing beneath or behind the drawers, apart from a tally scrawled on the slate wall in what looks like blood. But it is when you tug open the first drawer that you make the most disturbing discovery yet. A severed human hand sits in a pool of blood. It looks fresh - the blood has not yet clotted and the hand is clean of maggots. You shriek in disgust and throw yourself backwards across the room, stumbling over the straw mattress and falling. When you pick yourself up again you slam the drawer shut. You have to force yourself to check the other five drawers - but thankfully all of them are empty. \n\n[[Keep looking around|Cannibals Cell]]
"That's quite all right," the Padre says peacefully. "If you still need work, or a place to stay, I would reccommend visiting the shops."\n \n"Thank you, Padre," you say, and leave the church. You intend to [[take the Padre's advice|Go Visit The Shops]] as soon as possible.
You walk through the darkness and wonder what might be around you. Dimly you think that before you lost your memory you must have been a very cautious person, as everything seems to scare you now. Suddenly, your foot slips off the solid ground and you tumble into thick bog. You struggle frantically, but that only serves to make you sink faster. Gradually your head slips under. As you take a deep breath of water and the world fades to black, you think that at least you can stop being scared now.\n\n<b>GAME OVER</b>\nYour character has died.\nPlease [[try again|Start]].
You head out of town.\n\nIt is when you are in sight of the gate that you see it. A WANTED poster with your face on it - and your name above the drawing. Astrid Jenssen... so that's what your real name is. It's probably safer to stick with Leafblower. You take a step closer, wondering what your crime was, but just at that second someone standing nearby sees you and the poster and puts two and two together.\n\n"Astrid Jenssen! That's her! Someone grab her!" the onlooker yells, and you swivel on your heel and bolt for the gate. \n\nYou toss a glance over your shoulder as you race away from Hallasholm. Thankfully no one is following you, so you slow your pace to a brisk walk. \n\n"I - I guess that man thought I was a criminal," you stutter to yourself, shocked.\n\nYou walk in silence for some time. Eventually you come to a signpost leading off [[the main road|Continue Along Main Road]] towards [[Falkvor Quarry|To Falkvor Quarry]].
<<if $have_shield eq "yes">>\n\nYou skip down the stairs rapidly and burst through the door into the courtyard. At first glance it seems empty, but then soldiers start pouring from every side-alley, appearing from behind hay bales and leaping out of empty carts with yells and cries. You try to take shelter behind your shield, but it is too heavy, bulky and hard to manoeuvre for hand-to-hand combat.\n\n“Get her!” someone yells, and you turn to run but find your way blocked by two beefy guards. One of them grabs your shield, twisting it up and around and bringing your arm with it. You shriek as you both hear and feel your shoulder dislocate, and then the other guard looks at you and cocks an eyebrow. His sword lurches forward and embeds itself in your stomach. \n\nYou stumble drunkenly for a few seconds, feeling your blood soak the stones beneath you. Your foot slips in a puddle of it and you fall forward, driving the sword deeper into your body. As blackness creeps in around the edges of your vision the pain begins to fade, and you are thankful for that.\n\n<b>GAME OVER</b>\nYour character has died.\nPlease [[try again|Start]].\n\n<<else>>\nYou skip down the stairs rapidly and burst through the door into the courtyard. At first glance it seems empty, but then soldiers start pouring from every side-alley, appearing from behind hay bales and leaping out of empty carts with yells and cries. \n\n“Get her!” someone yells, and you turn to run but find your way blocked by two beefy guards. One of them grabs your arm, twisting it up and around. You shriek as you both hear and feel your shoulder dislocate, and then the other guard looks at you and cocks an eyebrow. His sword lurches forward and embeds itself in your stomach. \n\nYou stumble drunkenly for a few seconds, feeling your blood soak the stones beneath you. Your foot slips in a puddle of it and you fall forward, driving the sword deeper into your body. As blackness creeps in around the edges of your vision the pain begins to fade, and you are thankful for that.\n\n<b>GAME OVER</b>\nYour character has died.\nPlease [[try again|Start]].\n<<endif>>\n\n
The reed pipes are lying on the floor. There's nothing to do here. \n\nShould you [[keep looking around|Tower Room]], take the [[door straight ahead|Door Straight Ahead]], the [[door to the right|Door To Right]] or [[go down the stairs|Down Stairs]]?
It's calm and quiet beside the crackling of the fire, and you quickly start to relax. It doesn't take Ulf long to return with the skinned rabbits.\n\nHe sets the prey on a flat stone and pulls two sticks from his belt. Ulf uses his knife to split each stick down the middle.
Because they are green-sticks - freshly broken from trees - the split that he has made at the top allows him to bend the two halves of the stick backwards, making a fork. He then sits each stick in the ground on either side of the fire, finds another longer, sturdy stick and threads it through the rabbits. This stick he balances between the two forks so that the rabbits are suspended squarely over the fire.\n\n"There," he says proudly when he is finished. "We'll have to turn it in a minute to cook the other sides."\n\nWhen the rabbits are cooked you each take one and the two of you gulp down your food. A memory hits you quite suddenly as you eat.\n\n<i>"Here, Bi," you say quickly, tossing a chunk of your rabbit into the air. Bi leaps up and catches it with a snap of his jaws together. He gulps it down then steps closer to you with a hopeful whine. His tongue swipes around his lips and you laugh and push him away from you. "No more now. Silly wolf," you say affectionately. Bi pushes his nose into your arm and snuffles at the crook of your elbow.</i>\n\nAs the flashback ends you wonder just how long the two of you travelled together. People say that wolves are smart and wary and don't trust humans, but your memories of this one seem to indicate that he was your companion for quite some time.\n\nYou and Ulf start moving again as soon as the last remnants of the rabbits are eaten and the fire is kicked out. There seems to be no end to this forest, and you wish you could have a bird's eye view of the place.\n\n<i>\nThe forest is huge and unwieldy, stretching over the edge of the mountain and out of sight.\n\n"It's going to take days to cross all that," Lambi says. "Are you sure you're up for this, Astrid?"\n\n"Of course," you tell him. "It can't be that far, really."\n\nThe two of you are suspended somehow above the forest - walking on air. The view is incredible - not just the forest, but the palace beyond it, glittering with thousands of precious stones mined from the quarry. \n\n"I can see practically the whole of Isolas from here," Lambi says, echoing your own thoughts. "I wish you wouldn't do this Astrid."\n\n"I know," you say sadly. "But I have to."</i>\n\n"Astrid?" Ulf asks. "Are you okay? You look very pale."\n\n"I feel fine," you lie, shaking your head. What was it that you had to do? What mission led you to the keep? You push the unsettling thoughts to the back of your mind and focus instead on the overhead view you just got of the forest. "There's a path... ahead a little and to our left. It leads out of the forest," you tell Ulf. "If we keep going the way we are now we'll be walking for days, and we'll eventually end up at Katla Palace."\n\nUlf shrugs. "I don't care which way we go," he says honestly. "It's up to you, Astrid."\n\n[[("I'm sick of this forest. Let's get out of here.")|Leave The Forest]]\n[[("Katla Palace sounds nice.")|Go To Katla Palace]]\n
<<if $ulf eq "yes">>\nFive metres in the path becomes less clear. Fallen leaves start covering the dirt and there seems to be an abundance of trees all around you. \n\n"I don't think this is a good idea," Ulf says when you are about ten metres in. "These forests are dangerous, Astrid. Please, let's just turn back." \n\nGrudgingly, you concede, and the two of you turn around and start walking back the way you had come. There are thick bushes on either side of the path, and as you approach them they suddenly shoot towards each other, growing and intertwining across the path and making it completely impassable. You gape at the foliage.\n\n"What just happened?" Ulf asks. You shrug, but you have an awful feeling in your stomach, like you've seen this somewhere before. And then the flashback hits you.\n\n<i>The path you are walking along is well-trodden but grassy. As usual, your feet are bare. Bare feet are an acrobat's best friend, you had been told when you were younger, and now you agree. It makes you faster, lighter and far more agile. \n\nThe wolf padding beside you is pale in colour with beautiful grey eyes. He glances up at you now and you touch his head with your hand.\n\n"Don't worry, Bi," you tell the wolf. You don't have to reach down to touch his fur, as his head reaches just above your waist. "We'll be fine."\n\nBi shakes his head and whines softly. You let your hand ruffle over his ears and just at that second the bushes around you start to close in. With the ease that shows your years of practice, you dart forward with a yelp of surprise. The last tendril of bush whips for your feet, but you are prepared for it and flip over onto your hands and then back onto your feet. Standing on solid ground once again, you turn around only to see Bi's terrified face peering from the bushes. His howl echoes through the trees for several agonising moments before it is finally swallowed by the bushes, just as he had been.</i>\n\n\n"Bi," you whisper. But the name doesn't click quite right in your head; doesn't feel perfect in your mouth. You struggle with your memories for a few seconds before a headache overwhelms you and you give up.\n\n"What did you say?" Ulf asks, but you don't want to tell him.\n\n"Nothing."\n\n"What was that anyway?" he asks. "With the hedges? You don't think it was... black magic? I've heard stories of mages who live around here - and not all of them are the good guys."\n\nYou don't remember what or who mages are and you don't think you want to find out. Instead you simply carry on down the path. "Best foot forward," you call back to Ulf as you walk.\n\nNight finds the two of you wrapped in rugs and sleeping around a fire. Ulf warned you about wild animals in the area so you built the fire up before you lay down. You've been lying on your back counting stars for a good two hours now, but you still can't sleep. Shifting onto your side you stare across the flickering flames at Ulf. He's fast asleep, breathing slowly and steadily. A thin tendril of pale hair trails over one cheek and he has let the blankets fall over his chest and lie loosely around his waist. You give a half smile as you watch him sleep - he seems so peaceful. But you can't be distracted for long and thoughts of your past begin to plague you again.\n\nYou only realise you have fallen asleep when a cold finger against your face wakes you. "Ulf?" you ask sleepily, shifting onto your back. The freezing hand clamps suddenly over your mouth and your eyes shoot open.\n\nThere is nothing above you.\n\nYou start to struggle, but strong arms are pinning you down. You try to yell for help but it feels exactly like there is a broad, rough-skinned palm pressed against your face. A voice hisses in your ear.\n\n"You owe me a favour, girl." Your eyes widen and you shrink back from the disembodied words. They continue nonetheless, pouring into your ear like a snake. "You stood by and watched me die - don't think I didn't see you in the forest. You walked away and left me, girl." The last word is spat with undisguised hatred. \n\nYou think you vaguely remember this man - the man the soldiers were torturing. But what other option did you have? \n\nHe is still talking and you force yourself to pay attention. "Luckily for you the spirit world has shown me that you would have died if you had done anything but walk on like you did. But you still left me to die, and that stings, girl. It hurts my feelings. So, the way I see it, you owe me a favour. Are you ready to pay up?"\n\n[[("I don't owe you anything!")|Refuse To Do The Ghost A Favour]]\n[[("Okay. I'll help.")|Do The Ghost A Favour]]\n<<else>>\nFive metres in the path becomes less clear. Fallen leaves start covering the dirt and there seems to be an abundance of trees all around you. \n\nYou're starting to think this is not a good idea. Reluctantly, you turn around and start walking back the way you have come. There are thick bushes on either side of the path, and as you approach them they suddenly shoot towards each other, growing and intertwining across the path and making it completely impassable. You gape at the foliage.\n\nYou have no idea what's just happened, but you have an awful feeling in your stomach, like you've seen this somewhere before. And then the flashback hits you.\n\n<i>The path you are walking along is well-trodden but grassy. As usual, your feet are bare. Bare feet are an acrobat's best friend, you had been told when you were younger, and now you agree. It makes you faster, lighter and far more agile. \n\nThe wolf padding beside you is pale in colour with beautiful grey eyes. He glances up at you now and you touch his head with your hand.\n\n"Don't worry, Bi," you tell the wolf. You don't have to reach down to touch his fur, as his head reaches just above your waist. "We'll be fine."\n\nBi shakes his head and whines softly. You let your hand ruffle over his ears and just at that second the bushes around you start to close in. With the ease that shows your years of practice, you dart forward with a yelp of surprise. The last tendril of bush whips for your feet, but you are prepared for it and flip over onto your hands and then back onto your feet. Standing on solid ground once again, you turn around only to see Bi's terrified face peering from the bushes. His howl echoes through the trees for several agonising moments before it is finally swallowed
by the bushes, just as he had been.</i>\n\n\n"Bi," you whisper. But the name doesn't click quite right in your head; doesn't feel perfect in your mouth. You struggle with your memories for a few seconds before a headache overwhelms you and you give up.\n\nNight finds you wrapped in rugs and poking the fire. You aren't sure if it's safer to let it [[die down|Let Fire Die]] or [[burn through the night|Let Fire Burn]]. \n<<endif>>\n\n\n\n
You’ve made your decision, and your breath catches in your throat as you wait for the ghost to react. For a moment, he hovers in front of you, and then he lets out a sigh which washes over you in freezing waves. \n\n“Very well,” he says, and vanishes abruptly, with no fanfare or farewell. You look around, and when you are satisfied that he is really gone, you smile happily and prepare to lie down again. \n\nIn that instant, you feel cold air on your back, and a whisper in your ear. “Just kidding. Did you really think it would be that easy to refuse me?” His voice is soft and smooth, but filled with a poisonous malice, and ghostly fingers close around your throat.\n\nSomehow, you are able to hear the ominous sound of your neck snapping, although luckily the sound soon fades, along with your vision, your heartbeat and your life.\n\n<b>GAME OVER</b>\nYour character has died.\nPlease [[try again|The Ghost's Question]] or [[restart|Start]].
<<if $have_shield eq "yes">>\nYou plan to keep awake and take off the second you see light, but before you know it your head droops and your eyes close. Sleep overtakes you.\nYou wake with a start to the sound of a crossbow bolt slamming into your shield. Startled, you leap to your feet and race away from the wall. Yells and shouts from the defenders on the ramparts follow you, and more arrows and bolts hit the shield before you make it to tree cover. Sighing with relief, you follow a narrow winding path into the forest. As you travel, you become aware that the ground to either side of the path has turned to sticky bog. You are glad that you decided not to follow this path last night - the chances of wandering into the bog and sinking would have been pretty high. \n\nYou walk for what feels like a long time, but after a while the bog ends and you leave the path and walk deeper into the forest, hoping to find some source of water. You feel as if you should be afraid of the forest but your newly naive mind can't see a good reason for it so you shrug and carry on.\nAfter some time you come across a clearing, and the trickling of water is just ahead. You are about to bound out into the clearing and drink until you burst, but some instinct stops you. Cautiously you peer around the trunk of a tree. Two soldiers wearing green and gold uniforms that look horribly familiar are crouched in front of a skinny, scrawny man tied to a tree. He is slumped over the roots of the tree with his wrists tied above him. His head lolls weakly and he is covered in blood. You shrink back in disgust, and wonder if there is anything you can do, or whether you should just carry on away from the clearing?\n\n<u>Your Surroundings</u>\n\nAround you are trees, trees, and more trees. The tree beside you has plenty of [[low, spreading branches|Climb Tree]], but the rest of them are bare for at least five metres up. \n\nShould you [[try and help the man|Try To Help Tortured Man]] or [[just give up and leave|Walk Away From Clearing]]?\n\n<<else>>\nYou plan to keep awake and take off the second you see light, but before you know it your head droops and your eyes close. Sleep overtakes you.\nYou wake with a start to the sound of a crossbow bolt skating off the stone wall beside you. Startled, you leap to your feet and race away from the wall, but yells and shouts from the defenders on the ramparts follow you, and as you run more bolts are loosed from crossbows. One of them strikes you squarely between the shoulder blades, and you cry out and tumble forward, hitting the ground hard. A couple more arrows strike you as you lie there, and you can hear the men in the keep laughing. You are lying in a red pool, and you cannot summon the energy to move as blackness eats at the edges of your vision and your life bleeds out of you. Gradually, you hear your own heartbeat slow, until you can no longer hear it pounding in your ears, pulsing in your wounds – and then you can’t hear anything at all, and you will never hear anything again.\n\n<b>GAME OVER</b>\nYour character has died.\nPlease [[try again|Start]].\n\n<<endif>>\n\n
As you shuffle forward on the branch, an ominous snap echoes behind you. You instantly start scooting backwards, but it's too late. The branch you are sitting on topples rapidly towards the ground and you plunge face-first into the dirt. For a few seconds you think that you've managed to get out of this one with barely a scratch, but then a long, sharp splinter jumps out of the tree and hits you in the neck. The aim is impeccable, and you have barely a millisecond to watch the blood spurting out of your carotid artery before your mind and vision turn black.\n\n<b>GAME OVER</b>\nYour character has died. \nPlease [[try again|Clearing]] or [[restart|Start]].\n
\nWhen Ulf drops a rabbit in your lap, you wait for muscle memory to take over, but nothing happens. Looks like your memory won't be helping you out with this one.\n\nWell, surely it can't be too difficult, right? You reach for the knife that Ulf has provided and grab the rabbit firmly.\n\n<<if $skill_skinning eq 0>>\nYou don't know how it happens, but the rabbit spins out of your hands and spirals across the clearing, bouncing over the dirt and coming to rest at Ulf's feet. He laughs.\n\n"Do you want to try again?"\n\n[[("Sure. This time I'll get it.")|Clean The Kill Again]]\n[[("Can you show me how to do it?")|Learn To Clean The Kill]]\n[[("Maybe you'd better do this one...")|Sit By The Fire]]\n<<else>>\nYou push the knife between the rabbit's skin and its flesh. The skin is hard to rip away from the body, but you struggle and eventually you have a pink, fleshy rabbit sitting in front of you.\n\nUlf comes back towards you and looks pleased. "Great job, Astrid," he says cheerfully. \n<<silently>>\n<<set $skill_skinning = 2>>\n<<endsilently>>\n\n[[("I'm starving, let's eat!")|Sit By The Fire]]\n[[("I'll try catching something, now.")|Go Hunting]]\n\n<<endif>>
<<if $have_shield eq "yes">>\nYou open the heavy oak door to your right and dash out onto the parapets, hearing the hiss of arrows as they soar past you. You feel the impact as you take a couple of them on your shield, but the door to the east tower is approaching fast. In another few seconds you are there, and you sling the shield on your back as you try to open the door.\nIt sticks. There is a closed bolt on the inside, and you have no way of undoing it. As this realisation hits you, you hear the familiar, sickening ‘thud’ of weapon meeting flesh. One of the stray arrows has found its way past the shield protecting your back and hit you just under your left arm. The pain is agonising, but as you sink to your knees and watch your crimson blood washing across the cobbles you think that at least you won’t feel it for long.\n\n<b>GAME OVER</b>\nYour character has died.\nPlease [[try again|Start]].\n\n<<else>>\nYou swing open the heavy oak door to your right and dash out across the parapets, hearing the hiss of arrows shooting past you. For a few seconds you begin to think you might make it, as you see the door to the east tower approaching fast, but then pain blossoms and flares under your right arm. You've been hit! Slowly you crumple to the stone floor, and as your world fades to black you are grateful that at least you can't remember anyone who will miss you.\n\n<b>GAME OVER</b>\nYour character has died.\nPlease [[try again|Start]].\n\n<<endif>>
Silverwick Saffron: The Memory Saga
"Hey there, lass," the butcher calls as you approach. She is a big woman with well-defined muscles and a cheerful grin. "Looking for an apprenticeship? I could do with a strong girl like you to help in the forge."\n\nYou shrug. "Maybe," you say casually. "How long is it for? And what's the pay?"\n\n"The apprenticeship lasts six months," the woman explains. "I'm Bera, by the way. You'd get paid two hundred golgas at the end of the apprenticeship, and you'd also be able to find temporary work as a butcher wherever you travelled. So? How about it? You in?"\n\n[[("Yeah, why not?")|Get A Job (Butcher)]]\n[[("I'm not
ready to get a job, but thank you.")|Go Visit The Shops]]
You head towards the shops.\nHalfway there you remember that you don't have any money. You keep walking anyway, wondering if there is some kind of job or trade you can pick up here. After a time you come to a straight stretch of path with signs stating: HELP WANTED. There are four shops advertising for apprentices. \n\nThe first is a [[blacksmith's|Towards The Blacksmith]], the second a [[cobbler's|Towards The Cobbler]]. The third and fourth are close together, one a [[fishmonger's|Towards The Fishmonger]] and the other a [[butcher's|Towards The Butcher]]. You ponder which to choose... or if you [[really need a job at all|Don't Get A Job]].\n
"Great!" Byrnjolf exclaims. "Come on in, lass, and I'll get you an apron... and, uh, a pair of shoes..."\n\n***\n\nSix months passed quickly. You spent most of your time working with Byrnjolf - he gave you a small room at the back of the shop where you could stay for free. As time went on you started doing odd jobs around the shop for extra money - most of which you spent at the Phoenixfeather Inn. You met Ulf there several times; apparantly he's a regular. You saw him around the city too, and the two of you gradually became friends. In fact, when six months were up you were almost like a different person. You had relaxed - slowed down and lost your razor-sharp reflexes. You'd become accustomed to your new role as Astrid Leafblower, so the morning that your apprenticeship ended was a surprise.\n<<silently>>\n<<set $skill_fishmonger = 5>>\n<<endsilently>>\n\n***\n\nYou wake with a start, breathing heavily and clutching your chest through the thin nightdress you're wearing. A shockingly vivid dream had come to you in the night - and thinking back on it now, you began to realise that it wasn't a dream - it was a flashback. Gradually the dream itself was fading, but the memory of your purpose was left behind, fresh in the front of your brain. You hunch forward in your bed, holding your head in your hands as you realise that you have to leave Hallasholm - today. You are just grateful that your apprenticeship has finished.\n\nYou dress quickly and head out to the forge to meet Byrnjolf. He waves a greeting when he sees you, and holds out a large leather wallet.\n\n<<silently>>\n<<set $have_wallet = "yes">>\n<<set $gold_coins = 200>>\n<<endsilently>>\n\n"Made it meself, and all," he says proudly. "Good luck lass, whatever you do with yourself."\n\n"Thanks, Byrnjolf," you say, touched. "Good luck yourself." You clap the man on the shoulder and walk away from the shop that has become your home. \n\n"Hey! Astrid!" someone is yelling, and you turn automatically just in time to see Ulf waving frantically. Dimly you register that you are the same height as him now, and you wonder if you had a birthday in the past six months.\n\n"Hi Ulf," you say automatically.\n\n"Were you sneaking away without saying goodbye?" he accuses. "Or have you finally decided to stay in Hallasholm?"\n\nYou sigh, and wish you could tell him something else. "Sorry, Ulf. I have to go," you say. \n\nHe pauses, and you see the disappointment in his eyes. Then they light up again. "It's okay, Astrid, I understand. But... can I come with you?" You stare at his hopeful face and wonder if you have the guts to say no.\n\n[[("Um... Ulf, I don't think that's such a good idea.")|No, Ulf Can't Come]]\n[[("Okay, Ulf! It'd be nice to have company, right?")|Yes, Ulf Can Come]]\n
"Great!" Dalla exclaims. "Come on in, lass, and I'll get you an apron... and, uh, a pair of shoes..."\n\n***\n\nSix months passed quickly. You spent most of your time working with Dalla - she gave you a small room at the back of the forge where you could stay for free. As time went on you started doing odd jobs around for forge for extra money - most of which you spent at the Phoenixfeather Inn. You met Ulf there several times; apparantly he's a regular. You saw him around the city too, and the two of you gradually became friends. In fact, when six months were up you were almost like a different person. You had relaxed - slowed down and lost your razor-sharp reflexes. You'd become accustomed to your new role as Astrid Leafblower, so the morning that your apprenticeship ended was a surprise.\n<<silently>>\n<<set $skill_cobbling = 5>>\n<<endsilently>>\n\n***\n\nYou wake with a start, breathing heavily and clutching your chest through the thin nightdress you're wearing. A shockingly vivid dream had come to you in the night - and thinking back on it now, you began to realise that it wasn't a dream - it was a flashback. Gradually the dream itself was fading, but the memory of your purpose was left behind, fresh in the front of your brain. You hunch forward in your bed, holding your head in your hands as you realise that you have to leave Hallasholm - today. You are just grateful that your apprenticeship has finished.\n\nYou dress quickly and head out to the forge to meet Dalla. She waves a greeting when she sees you, and holds out a large leather wallet.\n\n<<silently>>\n<<set $have_wallet = "yes">>\n<<set $gold_coins = 200>>\n<<endsilently>>\n\n"Made it meself, and all," she says proudly. "Good luck lass, whatever you do with yourself."\n\n"Thanks, Dalla," you say, touched. "Good luck yourself." You hug the woman briefly and walk away from the forge that has become your home. \n\n"Hey! Astrid!" someone is yelling, and you turn to see Ulf charging towards you. Dimly you register that you are almost the same height as him now, and you wonder if you had a birthday in the past six months.\n\n"Hi Ulf," you say automatically.\n\n"Were you sneaking away without saying goodbye?" he accuses. "Or have you finally decided to stay in Hallasholm?"\n\nYou sigh, and wish you could tell him something else. "Sorry, Ulf. I have to go," you say. \n\nHe pauses, and you see the disappointment in his eyes. Then they light up again. "It's okay, Astrid, I understand. But... can I come with you?" You stare at his hopeful face and wonder if you have the guts to say no.\n\n[[("Um... Ulf, I don't think that's such a good idea.")|No, Ulf Can't Come]]\n[[("Okay, Ulf! It'd be nice to have company, right?")|Yes, Ulf Can Come]]\n
You reach out with the only weapons still available to you - your thumbs. You press them against the glowing green orbs that are the Pack Leader's eyes, and the animal drops your leg to yelp in surprise. Instantly, you seize your chance, and stagger to your feet. You bolt for the nearest tree, and scale it as fast as you can with one tattered, bleeding leg. It's a race against you and the Pack circling below - but to your surprise, you win it.\n\nThe tree is huge, with broad branches and dark green leaves. You feel as if there is something you should do, or say...\n\n[[(Gently stroke the bark of the tree.)|Stroke Tree Bark]]\n[[("Thank you for giving me shelter, old one.")|Thanks For Shelter]]\n[[("I humbly request permission to perch in your branches.")|Request Permission]]\n[[(Clap your hands three times and pray for rain.)|Rain Clap]]\n[[(Close your eyes and try to sleep.)|Try To Sleep]]
You built the fire up before you lay down. You've been lying on your back counting stars for a good two hours now, but you still can't sleep. Shifting onto your side you stare across the flickering flames. The dance of shadow and light is beautiful, and you give a half-smile at the scene. Still, you can't be distracted for long, and thoughts of your past begin to plague you again.\n\nYou only realise you have fallen asleep when a cold finger against your face wakes you. Sleepily, you turn over onto your back. The freezing hand clamps suddenly over your mouth and your eyes shoot open.\n\nThere is nothing above you.\n\nYou start to struggle, but strong arms are pinning you down. You try to yell for help but it feels exactly like there is a broad, rough-skinned palm pressed against your face. A voice hisses in your ear.\n\n"You owe me a favour, girl." Your eyes widen and you shrink back from the disembodied words. They continue nonetheless, pouring into your ear like a snake. "You stood by and watched me die - don't think I didn't see you in the forest. You walked away and left me, girl." The last word is spat with undisguised hatred. \n\nYou think you vaguely remember this man - the man the soldiers were torturing. But what other option did you have? \n\nHe is still talking and you force yourself to pay attention. "Luckily for you the spirit world has shown me that you would have died if you had done anything but walk on like you did. But you still left me to die, and that stings, girl. It hurts my feelings. So, the way I see it, you owe me a favour. Are you ready to pay up?"\n\n[[("I don't owe you anything!")|Refuse To Do The Ghost A Favour]]\n[[("Okay.
I'll help.")|Do The Ghost A Favour]]
<<silently>>\n<<set $ulf = "yes">>\n<<endsilently>>\n"Fantastic!" the man announces, leaping into the air. "When do we start?"\n\n"Uh... right now," you explain patiently.\n\n"Fantastic!" he cries again. "Just let me pack some things, I'll meet you at the gate in ten minutes. Go!" \n\nHe starts running away and you wait until he is out of sight and then start ambling towards the gate. \n\nIt is when you are in sight of the gate that you see it. A WANTED poster with your face on it - and your name above the drawing. Astrid Jenssen... so that's what your real name is. It's probably safer to stick with Leafblower. You take a step closer, wondering what your crime was, but just at that second someone standing nearby sees you and the poster and puts two and two together.\n\n"Astrid Jenssen! That's her! Someone grab her!" the onlooker yells, and you swivel on your heel and bolt for the gate.\n\nThere is no time to wait for Ulf, you think regretfully. But as you pass through the gate he appears behind you, running just as hard as you are.\n\n"What's going on?" he pants, and you toss a glance over your shoulder as the two of you race away from Hallasholm. \n\nThankfully no one is following you, so you slow your pace to a brisk walk. \n\n"I - I guess that man thought I was a criminal," you stutter.\n\n"But you're not," Ulf says confidently. Then he pauses and frowns. "Are you?"\n\n"No... look, it doesn't matter," you say. "Anyway, my name's Leafblower, not Jenssen."\n\nThe two of you walk in silence for some time. Eventually you come to a signpost leading off the main road towards Falkvor Quarry. You start to turn down it but Ulf grabs your wrist and pulls you back.\n\n"Not down there," he says quickly. "A madman lives down there. They say he kills people for sport."\n\nYou frown and shudder, and you both continue along the main path. The sun moves overhead, and you start to pant in earnest soon. You are just wishing you had drunk some water before you left when Ulf pulls a bottle out of his pack and dangles it in front of your nose.\n\n"Glad you brought me now?" he says, and you nod and smile an agreement.\n\nYou look at Ulf when you reach the next fork in the road, but this time he shrugs, indicating the decision is up to you. The two signs point to [[Dakvor Village|To Dakvor Village]] and a place simply called [['The Forest'|To The Forest]]. You wonder which one to take.\n
You fire into trees (and into the air... and into the ground... and into thornbushes...) over and over again, and gradually you begin to feel as if you are achieving something. It quickly gets too dark for you to shoot any more. Even though you haven't caught any prey, you have definitely improved your skills.\n\n<<silently>>\n<<set $skill_bow_hunting = 2>>\n<<endsilently>>
"Great!" Ulf smiles. "Follow me." He beckons you out of the inn and you walk after him. "My house is right near the church," the man continues, chattering away as you follow him through the streets. He is wearing silver armour with red curlicues. It looks very posh and proper, but he is also wearing thick, tattered, too-large brown boots which sort of dispel the image.\n\n"What does the church worship?" you ask. \n\n"Who," Ulf says over his shoulder. "Kadlin Forrunner. She's the one who created the world."\n\n"For real?"\n\n"Yeah. Hey, I never asked - what's your name? I'm Ulf Thigresse."\n\n“Astrid," you say with some pride. "Astrid…Leafblower." It's the first name which springs into your mind and you wonder what your real surname is.\n\n"Well, Astrid Leafblower," Ulf says with a mischevious grin. "How would you like to see inside the church of Kadlin Forrunner? It's closed now, but we can climb in through a second-storey window. I've done it tons of times." He winks at you. "Of course... it's illegal. Are you willing to risk it?"\n\n[[("I'm always up for a challenge!")|Look Inside The Church]]\n[[("Actually... I'd better not...")|Don't Look Inside The Church]]
Just as your fingers brush the surface of the white ball you wake up.\n\nYou are panting heavily, and for a moment you wonder if it was all a dream. But a freezing touch brushes your head in farewell and you shudder and tug the blankets over your head, wanting to hide in the warm dark safety for the rest of your life. \n\n\nIn the morning, you and Ulf continue through the forest. Around midday you are both hungry, and Ulf pulls a small game bow out of his pack.\n\n"Do you know how to shoot?" he asks as he strings the bow. You have no idea what the answer to his question is, so you just shrug and shake your head. "It's a useful skill," Ulf tells you. "Maybe I can teach you while we travel."\n\n"Sounds good," you say, then watch in silent awe as Ulf nocks an arrow. He waits in a still crouch and you do the same. Both of you spot the rabbit at the same time, and Ulf looses his arrow with a habitual grace. The rabbit crumples sideways and the man goes to fetch it. He tosses the body at you.\n\n"D'you know how to clean a kill?"\n\nYou shake your head again. He must think your education was sadly lacking, you think ruefully. \n\n"That's okay," Ulf shrugs. "You can get the fire started."\n\n\n[[("No, teach me to hunt!")|Learn To Hunt]]\n[[("How about you show me how to clean a kill?")|Learn To Clean The Kill]]\n[[("Sure, I'll get the fire started.")|Get The Fire Started]]\n[[("I can hunt by myself!")|Go Hunting]]\n[[("You catch it, I'll cook it.")|Clean The Kill]]\n
"Great!" Bera exclaims. "Come on in, lass, and I'll get you an apron... and, uh, a pair of shoes..."\n\n***\n\nSix months passed quickly. You spent most of your time working with Bera - she gave you a small room at the back of the forge where you could stay for free. As time went on you started doing odd jobs around for forge for extra money - most of which you spent at the Phoenixfeather Inn. You met Ulf there several times; apparantly he's a regular. You saw him around the city too, and the two of you gradually became friends. In fact, when six months were up you were almost like a different person. You had relaxed - slowed down and lost your razor-sharp reflexes. You'd become accustomed to your new role as Astrid Leafblower, so the morning that your apprenticeship ended was a surprise.\n<<silently>>\n<<set $skill_butcher = 5>>\n<<endsilently>>\n\n***\n\nYou wake with a start, breathing heavily and clutching your chest through the thin nightdress you're wearing. A shockingly vivid dream had come to you in the night - and thinking back on it now, you began to realise that it wasn't a dream - it was a flashback. Gradually the dream itself was fading, but the memory of your purpose was left behind, fresh in the front of your brain. You hunch forward in your bed, holding your head in your hands as you realise that you have to leave Hallasholm - today. You are just grateful that your apprenticeship has finished.\n\nYou dress quickly and head out to the forge to meet Bera. She waves a greeting when she sees you, and holds out a large leather wallet.\n\n<<silently>>\n<<set $have_wallet = "yes">>\n<<set $gold_coins = 200>>\n<<endsilently>>\n\n"Made it meself, and all," she says proudly. "Good luck lass, whatever you do with yourself."\n\n"Thanks, Bera," you say, touched. "Good luck yourself." You hug the woman briefly and walk away from the forge that has become your home. \n\n"Hey! Astrid!" someone is yelling, and you turn to see Ulf charging towards you. Dimly you register that you are almost the same height as him now, and you wonder if you had a birthday in the past six months.\n\n"Hi Ulf," you say automatically.\n\n"Were you sneaking away without saying goodbye?" he accuses. "Or have you finally decided to stay in Hallasholm?"\n\nYou sigh, and wish you could tell him something else. "Sorry, Ulf. I have to go," you say. \n\nHe pauses, and you see the disappointment in his eyes. Then they light up again. "It's okay, Astrid, I understand. But... can I come with you?" You stare at his hopeful face and wonder if you have the guts to say no.\n\n\n[[("Um... Ulf, I don't think that's such a good idea.")|No, Ulf Can't Come]]\n[[("Okay, Ulf! It'd be nice to have company, right?")|Yes, Ulf Can Come]]
If you're not going to get a job, you figure you should leave the city sooner rather than later, because you can't pick up any money here without working. \n\nYour only options are to [[change your mind|Go Visit The Shops]] or [[leave the city|Leave Hallasholm]].
"Cool," Ulf says with a grin. "Come on." \n\nHe grabs your hand and tugs you towards the church. The two of you clamber up a tree to a ledge outside a second storey window and then peer in. You stare at the church in amazement... for about five seconds. Then your head begins to throb painfully and you yelp and fall backwards out of the tree, landing with a thud.\n\n"Are you okay?" Ulf asks quickly, shimmying down the tree to your side and helping you up.\n\n"I think so," you say. The headache eases as you move away from the church, and you frown, wondering what this might mean. \n\n"Come on," Ulf tells you. "Let's get home."\n\nYou follow him for a while longer and eventually arrive at a small, rickety-looking house. Ulf flings the door open.\n\n"Welcome," he says cheerfully.\n\n"Thank you for doing this," you tell him. "I really appreciate it."\n\n"No problem," he responds, leading you inside. "The spare room is at the end of the hall and to the left." He startles you then by leaning in and kissing you briefly on the cheek. "Goodnight, Astrid. Thank you for being brave enough to see the church with me."\n\n"Goodnight," you say softly to his retreating back. \n\nThe door closes behind him with a click, and you are left alone in the hall. Cautiously you creep down to the end and push open the door to the left. When you see the room, it's a shock. You're not sure what you were expecting, but it certainly wasn't this spotless place. The room is impeccable, and lavishly furnished. You smile and cross to the bed, sinking onto it with a sigh of relief. It has been days since you've slept on a proper bed, and you fall asleep almost immediately.\n\n\nYou wake very early to the sound of someone ringing a bell. As you struggle to focus your bleary eyes, Ulf comes dashing into the room. You can't see very well through the gloom but you think he is only half-dressed.\n\n"I have to go," he says, sounding annoyed and hurried. "That's the guard warning. I probably won't be back until nightfall, so I just came to say goodbye. Maybe I'll see you again sometime!"\n\n"Goodbye, and thanks again!" you respond quickly. Ulf nods and leaves the room in a rush. You flop back onto the bed with a sigh.\n\nAfter lying there for a few minutes more, you get up and leave the house after helping yourself to a glass of water and two slices of bread. Outside, the city of Hallasholm is bustling with activity. You wander around and wonder where to go. There are the [[many shops ringing the wall|Go Visit The Shops]], or [[the church which you still haven't seen inside properly|Go Visit The Church]]. Both appeal to you, so you pause for a moment to make the decision.\n
"Eh," Ulf says with a shrug. "Maybe you can come back tomorrow, when it's open."\n\nYou follow him for a while longer and eventually arrive at a small, rickety-looking house. Ulf flings the door open.\n\n"Welcome," he says cheerfully.\n\n"Thank you for doing this," you tell him. "I really appreciate it."\n\n"No problem," he responds, leading you inside. "The spare room is at the end of the hall and to the left. Goodnight!"\n\n"Goodnight," you say softly to his retreating back. \n\nThe door closes behind him with a click, and you are left alone in the hall. Cautiously you creep down to the end and push open the door to the left. When you see the room, it's a shock. You're not sure what you were expecting, but it certainly wasn't this spotless place. The room is impeccable, and lavishly furnished. You smile and cross to the bed, sinking onto it with a sigh of relief. It has been days since you've slept on a proper bed, and you fall asleep almost immediately.\n\n\nYou wake very early to the sound of someone ringing a bell. As you struggle to focus your bleary eyes, Ulf comes dashing into the room. You can't see very well through the gloom but you think he is only half-dressed.\n\n"I have to go," he says, sounding annoyed and hurried. "That's the guard warning. I probably won't be back until nightfall, so I just came to say goodbye. Maybe I'll see you again sometime!"\n\n"Goodbye, and thanks again!" you respond quickly. Ulf nods and leaves the room in a rush. You flop back onto the bed with a sigh.\n\nAfter lying there for a few minutes more, you get up and leave the house after helping yourself to a glass of water and two slices of bread. Outside, the city of Hallasholm is bustling with activity. You wander around and wonder where to go. There are the [[many shops ringing the wall|Go Visit The Shops]], or [[the church which you still haven't seen inside properly|Go Visit The Church]]. Both appeal to you, so you pause for a moment to make the decision.
<<if $have_acid eq "yes">>\nAn idea occurs to you. You grab the small vial of acid, and pour it on the window sill. The acid runs along small grooves chipped into the stone and pools at the bottom of each of the bars. Within seconds, you can hear the metal start to faintly steam. A small, winding column of smoke rises from the bubbling liquid, and you grab the bars higher up, where they are dry, and pull. All four of them come away in your hands and you smile in relief. Acid still covers the base of the window so you grab the blanket from your straw mattress and use it to cover the base of the window frame as you haul yourself out. \n\nYou take a deep breath as you roll on the ground then scramble to your feet. From inside the house you can hear Tansy's voice chirping a question and the unmistakable sound of a knife being sharpened. You shudder at the thought of the fate you have only just escaped, then turn and head off through the forest, moving in a zigzag pattern which you know will elude pursuers. You wonder how often you had been pursued in your previous life. What exactly were you doing in that keep? Why don't you have any shoes on? You frown as you ponder the questions, and before you know it the sun is creeping over the horizon again and a new day is beginning. \n\nYou walk for another couple of hours. Measuring time by the sun is another skill you seem to know inherently, and you soon begin to wish you had found a way to bottle some of that water from the lake. Or even take some of the pumpkin soup with you. Sleeping right now doesn't seem like a bad idea. \n\nYou stop suddenly as you arrive abruptly on a real dirt path again. You have been wandering across unmarked grass and leaves since you ventured off the path trying to find water. That was... yesterday, you realise suddenly! \n\nCautiously, wondering if there are more cannibals out here, you follow along the path. You feel the dirt scratch the soles of your feet, but it doesn't hurt, lending weight to your theory of spending a lot of time barefoot. \nBefore long you arrive at a crossroads. Each route has a sign - one specifying that it leads towards [[Falkvor Quarry|To Falkvor Quarry]], and the other directing you to [[Hallasholm Town|To Hallasholm Town]].\n\n<<else>>\nYou tug at the window bars, but they are firmly set in the stone. If only you had something to weaken them! There is no way you can get out through here.\n\n[[Keep looking around|Cannibals Cell]]\n\n<<endif>>\n
"Fine," Ulf says with a heavy sigh. "Good luck, Astrid." \n\nYou watch as he walks off miserably, and then you head out of town.\n\nIt is when you are in sight of the gate that you see it. A WANTED poster with your face on it - and your name above the drawing. Astrid Jenssen... so that's what your real name is. It's probably safer to stick with Leafblower. You take a step closer, wondering what your crime was, but just at that second someone standing nearby sees you and the poster and puts two and two together.\n\n"Astrid Jenssen! That's her! Someone grab her!" the onlooker yells, and you swivel on your heel and bolt for the gate. \n\nYou toss a glance over your shoulder as you race away from Hallasholm. Thankfully no one is following you, so you slow your pace to a brisk walk. \n\n"I - I guess that man thought I was a criminal," you stutter to yourself, shocked.\n\nYou walk in silence for some time. Eventually you come to a signpost leading off [[the main road|Continue Along Main Road]] towards [[Falkvor Quarry|To Falkvor Quarry]].
You crouch down by the fire after borrowing some flint stones from Ulf, since you lost your own with the cannibals. Carefully, you pile up twigs and leaves and strike the flint together until the sparks catch light. You feel quite pleased with yourself as you watch the fire blazing merrily.\n<<silently>>\n<<set $skill_fire_lighting = 1>>\n<<endsilently>>\n\n[[Better wait for Ulf to get back...|Sit By The Fire]]
"Great!" Audunar exclaims. "Come on in, lass, and I'll get you an apron... and, uh, a pair of shoes..."\n\n***\n\nSix months passed quickly. You spent most of your time working with Audunar - he
gave you a small room at the back of the forge where you could stay for free. As time went on you started doing odd jobs around for forge for extra money - most of which you spent at the Phoenixfeather Inn. You met Ulf there several times; apparantly he's a regular. You saw him around the city too, and the two of you gradually became friends. In fact, when six months were up you were almost like a different person. You had relaxed - slowed down and lost your razor-sharp reflexes. You'd become accustomed to your new role as Astrid Leafblower, so the morning that your apprenticeship ended was a surprise.\n<<silently>>\n<<set $skill_blacksmithing = 5>>\n<<endsilently>>\n\n***\n\nYou wake with a start, breathing heavily and clutching your chest through the thin nightdress you're wearing. A shockingly vivid dream had come to you in the night - and thinking back on it now, you began to realise that it wasn't a dream - it was a flashback. Gradually the dream itself was fading, but the memory of your purpose was left behind, fresh in the front of your brain. You hunch forward in your bed, holding your head in your hands as you realise that you have to leave Hallasholm - today. You are just grateful that your apprenticeship has finished.\n\nYou dress quickly and head out to the forge to meet Audunar. He waves a greeting when he sees you, and holds out a large leather wallet.\n\n<<silently>>\n<<set $have_wallet = "yes">>\n<<set $gold_coins = 200>>\n<<endsilently>>\n\n"Made it meself, and all," he says proudly. "Good luck lass, whatever you do with yourself."\n\n"Thanks, Audunar," you say, touched. "Good luck yourself."\nYou hug the man briefly and walk away from the forge that has become your home. \n\n"Hey! Astrid!" someone is yelling, and you turn to see Ulf charging towards you. Dimly you register that you are almost the same height as him now, and you wonder if you had a birthday in the past six months.\n\n"Hi Ulf," you say automatically.\n\n"Were you sneaking away without saying goodbye?" he accuses. "Or have you finally decided to stay in Hallasholm?"\n\nYou sigh, and wish you could tell him something else. "Sorry, Ulf. I have to go," you say. \n\nHe pauses, and you see the disappointment in his eyes. Then they light up again. "It's okay, Astrid, I understand. But... can I come with you?" You stare at his hopeful face and wonder if you have the guts to say no.\n\n[[("Um... Ulf, I don't think that's such a good idea.")|No, Ulf Can't Come]]\n[[("Okay, Ulf! It'd be nice to have company, right?")|Yes, Ulf Can Come]]\n
<<if $ulf eq "yes">>\nFive metres in the path becomes less clear. Fallen leaves start covering the dirt and there seems to be an abundance of trees all around you. By the time you are ten metres down the path it is pretty obvious that the signpost had been switched around.\n\n"This is the wrong way," you tell Ulf, and he nods.\n\n"We should go back."\n\nYou turn around and start walking back the way you have come. There are thick bushes on either side of the path, and as you approach them they suddenly shoot towards each other, growing and intertwining across the path and making it completely impassable. You gape at the foliage.\n\n"What just happened?" Ulf asks. You shrug, but you have an awful feeling in your stomach, like you've seen this somewhere before. And then the flashback hits you.\n\n<i>The path you are walking along is well-trodden but grassy. As usual, your feet are bare. Bare feet are an acrobat's best friend, you had been told when you were younger, and now you agree. It makes you faster, lighter and far more agile. \n\nThe wolf padding beside you is pale in colour with beautiful grey eyes. He glances up at you now and you touch his head with your hand.\n\n"Don't worry, Bi," you tell the wolf. You don't have to reach down to touch his fur, as his head reaches just above your waist. "We'll be fine."\n\nBi shakes his head and whines softly. You let your hand ruffle over his ears and just at that second the bushes around you start to close in. With the ease that shows your years of practice, you dart forward with a yelp of surprise. The last tendril of bush whips for your feet, but you are prepared for it and flip over onto your hands and then back onto your feet. Standing on solid ground once again, you turn around only to see Bi's terrified face peering from the bushes. His howl echoes through the trees for several agonising moments before it is finally swallowed by the bushes, just as he had been.</i>\n\n\n"Bi," you whisper. But the name doesn't click quite right in your head; doesn't feel perfect in your mouth. You struggle with your memories for a few seconds before a headache overwhelms you and you give up.\n\n"What did you say?" Ulf asks, but you don't want to tell him.\n\n"Nothing."\n\n"What was that anyway?" he asks. "With the hedges? You don't think it was... black magic? I've heard stories of mages who live around here - and not all of them are the good guys."\n\nYou don't remember what or who mages are and you don't think you want to find out. Instead you simply carry on down the path. "Best foot forward," you call back to Ulf as you walk.\n\nNight finds the two of you wrapped in rugs and sleeping around a fire. Ulf warned you about wild animals in the area so you built the fire up before you lay down. You've been lying on your back counting stars for a good two hours now, but you still can't sleep. Shifting onto your side you stare across the flickering flames at Ulf. He's fast asleep, breathing slowly and steadily. A thin tendril of pale hair trails over one cheek and he has let the blankets fall over his chest and lie loosely around his waist. You give a half smile as you watch him sleep - he seems so peaceful. But you can't be distracted for long and thoughts of your past begin to plague you again.\n\nYou only realise you have fallen asleep when a cold finger against your face wakes you. "Ulf?" you ask sleepily, shifting onto your back. The freezing hand clamps suddenly over your mouth and your eyes shoot open.\n\nThere is nothing above you.\n\nYou start to struggle, but strong arms are pinning you down. You try to yell for help but it feels exactly like there is a broad, rough-skinned palm pressed against your face. A voice hisses in your ear.\n\n"You owe me a favour, girl." Your eyes widen and you shrink back from the disembodied words. They continue nonetheless, pouring into your ear like a snake. "You stood by and watched me die - don't think I didn't see you in the forest. You walked away and left me, girl." The last word is spat with undisguised hatred. \n\nYou think you vaguely remember this man - the man the soldiers were torturing. But what other option did you have? \n\nHe is still talking and you force yourself to pay attention. "Luckily for you the spirit world has shown me that you would have died if you had done anything but walk on like you did. But you still left me to die, and that stings, girl. It hurts my feelings. So, the way I see it, you owe me a favour. Are you ready to pay up?"\n\n[[("I don't owe you anything!")|Refuse To Do The Ghost A Favour]]\n[[("Okay. I'll help.")|Do The Ghost A Favour]]\n<<else>>\nFive metres in the path becomes less clear. Fallen leaves start covering the dirt and there seems to be an abundance of trees all around you. By the time you are ten metres down the path, it is pretty obvious that the signpost has been switched.\n\nRealising that you are going the wrong way, you turn around and start walking back the way you have come. There are thick bushes on either side of the path, and as you approach them they suddenly shoot towards each other, growing and intertwining across the path and making it completely impassable. You gape at the foliage.\n\nYou have no idea what's just happened, but you have an awful feeling in your stomach, like you've seen this somewhere before. And then the flashback hits you.\n\n<i>The path you are walking along is well-trodden but grassy. As usual, your feet are bare. Bare feet are an acrobat's best friend, you had been told when you were younger, and now you agree. It makes you faster, lighter and far more agile. \n\nThe wolf padding beside you is pale in colour with beautiful grey eyes. He glances up at you now and you touch his head with your hand.\n\n"Don't worry, Bi," you tell the wolf. You don't have to reach down to touch his fur, as his head reaches just above your waist. "We'll be fine."\n\nBi shakes his head and whines softly. You let your hand ruffle over his ears and just at that second the bushes around you start to close in. With the ease that shows your years of practice, you dart forward with a yelp of surprise. The last tendril of bush whips for your feet, but you are prepared for it and flip over onto your hands and then back onto your feet. Standing on solid ground once again, you turn around only to see Bi's terrified face peering from the bushes. His howl echoes through the trees for several agonising moments before it is finally swallowed by the bushes, just as he had been.</i>\n\n\n"Bi," you whisper. But the name doesn't click quite right in your head; doesn't feel perfect in your mouth. You struggle with your memories for a few seconds before a headache overwhelms you and you give up.\n\nNight finds you wrapped
in rugs and poking the fire. You aren't sure if it's safer to let it [[die down|Let Fire Die]] or [[burn through the night|Let Fire Burn]]. \n<<endif>>
You walk for what feels like hours, until your legs and sides are burning and your every breath rasps in your throat. You need water, and you need rest. \n\nIt's funny, because just as you think it you see the stream ahead of you. Moaning with relief, you take five more agonising steps and collapse at the water's edge. Scooping handfuls of water to your mouth over and over again, you think that this water has the sweetest taste of any water ever. Suddenly a voice behind you startles you.\n\n"What are you doing down there, missy?"\n\n"N-nothing," you start to stammer, and then your body reacts instictively, without you telling it to. You spin around and your leg whips out, knocking the ankles of the man behind you out from under him. He falls to the ground and swears loudly and then tentacles are reaching from the lake and dragging him under. You scream and stagger to your feet, backing away as fast as you can. Two more tentacles break the surface of the water and lash wildly from side to side, searching for you, and you turn and run as fast as you can.\n\nWithin a few minutes you realise that the sun is sinking once again - and you can see smoke coming from ahead of you! You hesitate. Smoke might mean a house with a warm fire, a hot bath, some food... you lick your lips unconsciously. But it might also mean enemies, more soldiers... and the last time you almost went somewhere in the dark it nearly had a very bad ending. Thoughts of that bog fill your mind and you shiver. It might be safer to spend the night here. What will you do?\n\nAre you going to [[go towards the house|Go Towards House]] or [[spend the nights in the woods|Stay In Woods For The Night]]?\n
"You owe me a favour, girl." Your eyes widen and you shrink back from the disembodied words. They continue nonetheless, pouring into your ear like a snake. "You stood by and watched me die - don't think I didn't see you in the forest. You walked away and left me, girl." The last word is spat with undisguised hatred. \n\nYou think you vaguely remember this man - the man the soldiers were torturing. But what other option did you have? \n\nHe is still talking and you force yourself to pay attention. "Luckily for you the spirit world has shown me that you would have died if you had done anything but walk on like you did. But you still left me to die, and that stings, girl. It hurts my feelings. So, the way I see it, you owe me a favour. Are you ready to pay up?"\n\n[[("I don't owe you anything!")|Refuse To Do The Ghost A Favour]]\n[[("Okay. I'll help.")|Do The Ghost A Favour]]
Before long you arrive at a crossroads. Each route has a sign - one specifying that it leads towards [[Falkvor Quarry|To Falkvor Quarry]], and the other directing you to [[Hallasholm Town|To Hallasholm Town]].
<<silently>>\n<<set $have_flint_stones = "yes">>\n<<endsilently>>\n\nAs you reach your arm under the chair, it closes around two heavy stones. You pull them out and look at them. Flint stones! You know how to use these to make a fire, and you thank whatever spirit is watching over you that your memory still extends to this. \n\n<<if $have_burnt_out_torch eq "no" and $have_flag_head_torch eq "no">>Hurrying over to the torch, you look at the tattered material wrapped around the handle. There isn't enough of it left to burn anymore.<<endif>>\n\n<<if $have_burnt_out_torch eq "yes">>Now you have a way to light the torch, but nothing to fuel the fire.<<endif>>\n<<if $have_burnt_out_torch eq "yes" and $have_flag_cloth eq "yes">>Of course! You take the bits of tattered flag that came off the wall earlier and wrap them around the head of the torch. Perfect! \n\n<<silently>>\n<<set $have_flag_cloth = "no">>\n<<set $have_flag_head_torch = "yes">>\n<<endsilently>>\n\nYou strike the flint stones together and watch the flag catch light with a satisfying sizzle. The torch flares up again.\n\n<<silently>>\n<<set $have_lit_torch = "yes">>\n<<endsilently>>\n\n<<endif>>\n\n<<if $have_flag_head_torch eq "yes">>Perfect! You strike the flint stones together and watch the flag catch light with a satisfying sizzle. The torch flares up again. \n\n<<silently>>\n<<set $have_lit_torch = "yes">>\n<<endsilently>>\n\n<<endif>>\n\n<<if $have_flint_stones eq "yes">>It's a red velvet armchair. There is nothing to do here.<<endif>>\n\nShould you [[keep looking around|Tower Room]], take the [[door straight ahead|Door Straight Ahead]], the [[door to the right|Door To Right]] or [[go down the stairs|Down Stairs]]?\n\n
You struggle to pull yourself away from the beast with only your forearms. Given that the Pack Leader has his teeth in your leg, this probably wasn't the wisest choice. The animal is strong, and it doesn't take him long to pull you back to where you started. The Pack closes in, a circle of glowing eyes, and the last thing you feel is hot breath on your throat.\n\n<b>GAME OVER</b>\nYour character has died.\nPlease [[try again|Night In The Forest]] or [[restart|Start]].
"Hey there, lass," the fishmonger calls as you approach. He is a big man with well-defined muscles and a cheerful grin. "Looking for an apprenticeship? I could do with a strong girl like you to help in the shop."\n\nYou shrug. "Maybe," you say casually. "How long is it for? And what's the pay?"\n\n"The apprenticeship lasts six months," the man explains. "I'm Byrnjolf, by the way. You'd get paid two hundred golgas at the end of the apprenticeship, and you'd also be able to find temporary work as a fishmonger wherever you travelled. So? How about it? You in?"\n\n[[("Yeah, why not?")|Get A Job (Fishmonger)]]\n[[("I'm not ready to get a job, but thank you.")|Go Visit The Shops]]\n
As you approach the huge, magnificent building, you notice people giving you odd looks. It's probably because of your tattered clothes, scruffy hair and bare feet. You think maybe it would be a good idea to get a job, and earn some gold. If you're going to be spending any amount of time in the city, you need to fit in. \n\nYou enter the church quietly and cautiously, and gaze around in awe. The place is huge, with a massive, soaring ceiling and brilliantly carved pillars and balconies. You don't think you've ever seen anything quite this impressive in your life - although if you had, you wouldn't remember it.\n \nThere's a soft chuckle behind you. "Incredible, isn't it?" a man asks.\n \nYou whirl around. "Yes," you admit, "it's beautiful."\n \n"I'm Padre Tonken," the man says, holding out his hand.\n\nYou shake it. "Astrid." You have a vague feeling that 'padre' is a title, not the man's first name. He might be a priest of some kind.\n\nYour thoughts are confirmed a second later when the Padre says, "You know, you look like a young lady who is down on her luck. I don't suppose you'd be willing to stay and help the church for a few months? We're like a great big family here - the family of Kadlin Forrunner - and I'm sure that you'd be welcome in our family."\n \nYou hesitate.\n\n[[("That sounds amazing! I'd be happy to stay for a few months - thank you!")|Join The Church]]\n[[("Thank you for your offer - but I have my own family somewhere and I need to find them.")|Don't Join The Church]]
You shake your head and back away, wary after your experience with the cannibals. Ulf shrugs, and he and the bartender watch as you stumble out of the inn. Outside, the city is dark, and unfriendly. You shiver as you walk through the unfamiliar streets, rubbing your arms against the bitter chill. Taking a sharp left turn, you cut down a dark, narrow alley, and suddenly someone hisses from a doorway.\n\n“Psst.”\n\nYou turn quickly towards the sound, your fists coming up defensively, and someone jumps at you and slips a long, thin blade between your eighth and ninth ribs. You scream, and crumple abruptly to the ground. You’re crying with the pain, and the cobbled streets beneath you are slick with your blood, and somehow it doesn’t feel like you’re going to last much longer. As your vision begins to go black, you feel the man who stabbed you pulling at your clothes, taking them for himself. At least, you think
bitterly, you won’t be able to be ashamed of your nakedness if you’re dead; which you shortly are. \n\n<b>GAME OVER</b>\nYour character has died.\nPlease [[try again|To Hallasholm Town]] or [[restart|Start]].\n
Unfortunately, as you get closer one of your bare feet snaps a twig. You curse your bad luck and then realise that your overly loud cursing has drawn the men's attention towards you. Both have drawn their swords, and as you turn to run the taller of the men hurls his sword at you. It strikes a line of pain up your back and you sink to the floor. Gradually, your legs begin to go numb, and the soldier still holding his sword steps up towards you and raises it above your head. Your life doesn't flash before your eyes as the sword comes down - because you don't remember it. And disconnecting your head from your body is going to make it pretty hard for you to ever remember anything again.\n\n<b>GAME OVER</b>\nYour character has died.\nPlease [[try again|Clearing]] or [[restart|Start]].
As you walk down the path, a man with long, tangled hair and flecks of spittle flying out of his mouth charges up to you. You have a brief second to look into his eyes, and you see that they are wide with madness and rage. Then he swings a heavy axe round above his head, yells: "Cabaragnaroooo!" and separates your head from your body. It's a quick and relatively painless death, so there's that to be grateful for, at least.\n\n<b>GAME OVER</b>\nYour character has died.\nPlease [[try again|Forked Path]] or [[restart|Start]]
You brush past Marcus in a hurry and dash away from the house. Something in you feels that it’s too dangerous to stay there with those people, and your legs pump as hard as they can. Distantly, you hear the man calling after you; “Hey, wait a minute! Get back here, miss!” but you ignore him and keep running.\n\nEventually, you slow to a jog, panting, and then you stop. You double over with your hands on your knees and breathe hard. It’s pitch-black out here – you’ve been running through darkness without even noticing, you were so afraid. Now, you look around nervously, and start walking forwards slowly, with your hands out in front of you as though you were blind – well, you are, in this light. \nAbruptly, your foot hits something which feels warm and soft through your shoe. You hear a hiss, and then pain stabs you in the ankle. You cry out, bending to clutch the wound, and are bitten again, in the hand. The snake – for you are sure that’s what it is, now, hisses again, ferociously, and you stumble backwards a few steps, moving desperately. The poison must be acting fast, because already you can feel your head throbbing and your muscles cramping. It’s getting harder and harder to breathe, as though your throat is closing up. Suddenly, you lose your sense of balance, and topple over backwards. You must have appalling luck, because your head lands in exactly the right place for the sharp log behind you to skewer you through the skull. As the branch pierces your brain, you feel a split second of absolute agony, and then, thankfully, blackness takes you over and you are gone.\n\n<b>GAME OVER</b>\nYour character has died.\nPlease [[try again|Go Towards House]] or [[restart|Start]].\n
<<if $have_flag_cloth eq "yes" and $have_burnt_out_torch eq "no" and $have_flag_head_torch eq "no" and $have_shield eq "no" and $have_wallet eq "no" and $lift_rug eq "no">>\nThe room is perfectly circular, made of solid grey stone. Directly in front of you, a bracket is fastened to the wall. A [[torch|Grab Torch]] is fixed inside it, with the burning end wrapped in oil-soaked rags. It looks more like a temporary arrangement than a real torch. A [[red velvet armchair|Look Under Chair]] is off to your left, beneath one of the flags. It looks decorative and useless. A sturdy round buckler [[shield|Grab Shield]] sits in the armchair, covered in green and gold and with a metal centrepiece. Behind you a set of [[reed pipes|Grab Reed Pipes]] are hanging on the wall beside the stairs. They are painted a festive red-and-yellow. The stairs themselves are old, made of stone with a dip in the centre where feet have worn away part of the stone over hundreds of years. There is moss growing on the edges but the stairs themselves seem relatively stable. The two doors out of the room are both made of solid oak, a strong wood which doesn’t burn easily. Their doorhandles are menacing black metal. The room’s floor is covered with an oversized [[green rug|Lift Up Rug]] with maroon edges and tassels. There is nothing else around you.\n<<endif>>\n<<if $have_flag_cloth eq "no" and $have_burnt_out_torch eq "yes" and $have_flag_head_torch eq "no" and $have_shield eq "no" and $have_wallet eq "no" and $lift_rug eq "no">>\nThe room is perfectly circular, made of solid grey stone. There are [[two flags|Lift Up Flags]] hanging to your right and left, both coloured in green and gold. A lion’s head is imprinted on the centre of the flags. Directly in front of you, a bracket is fastened to the wall. A [[red velvet armchair|Look Under Chair]] is off to your left, beneath one of the flags. It looks decorative and useless. A sturdy round buckler [[shield|Grab Shield]] sits in the armchair, covered in green and gold and with a metal centrepiece. Behind you a set of [[reed pipes|Grab Reed Pipes]] are hanging on the wall beside the stairs. They are painted a festive red-and-yellow. The stairs themselves are old, made of stone with a dip in the centre where feet have worn away part of the stone over hundreds of years. There is moss growing on the edges but the stairs themselves seem relatively stable. The two doors out of the room are both made of solid oak, a strong wood which doesn’t burn easily. Their doorhandles are menacing black metal. The room’s floor is covered with an oversized [[green rug|Lift Up Rug]] with maroon edges and tassels. There is nothing else around you.\n<<endif>>\n<<if $have_flag_cloth eq "no" and $have_burnt_out_torch eq "no" and $have_flag_head_torch eq "yes" and $have_shield eq "no" and $have_wallet eq "no" and $lift_rug eq "no">>\nThe room is perfectly circular, made of solid grey stone. A [[red velvet armchair|Look Under Chair]] is off to your left, beneath one of the flags. It looks decorative and useless. A sturdy round buckler [[shield|Grab Shield]] sits in the armchair, covered in green and gold and with a metal centrepiece. Behind you a set of [[reed pipes|Grab Reed Pipes]] are hanging on the wall beside the stairs. They are painted a festive red-and-yellow. The stairs themselves are old, made of stone with a dip in the centre where feet have worn away part of the stone over hundreds of years. There is moss growing on the edges but the stairs themselves seem relatively stable. The two doors out of the room are both made of solid oak, a strong wood which doesn’t burn easily. Their doorhandles are menacing black metal. The room’s floor is covered with an oversized [[green rug|Lift Up Rug]] with maroon edges and tassels. There is nothing else around you.\n<<endif>>\n<<if $have_flag_cloth eq "no" and $have_burnt_out_torch eq "no" and $have_flag_head_torch eq "no" and $have_shield eq "yes" and $have_wallet eq "no" and $lift_rug eq "no">>\nThe room is perfectly circular, made of solid grey stone. There are [[two flags|Lift Up Flags]] hanging to your right and left, both coloured in green and gold. A lion’s head is imprinted on the centre of the flags. Directly in front of you, a bracket is fastened to the wall. A [[torch|Grab Torch]] is fixed inside it, with the burning end wrapped in oil-soaked rags. It looks more like a temporary arrangement than a real torch. A [[red velvet armchair|Look Under Chair]] is off to your left, beneath one of the flags. It looks decorative and useless. Behind you a set of [[reed pipes|Grab Reed Pipes]] are hanging on the wall beside the stairs. They are painted a festive red-and-yellow. The stairs themselves are old, made of stone with a dip in the centre where feet have worn away part of the stone over hundreds of years. There is moss growing on the edges but the stairs themselves seem relatively stable. The two doors out of the room are both made of solid oak, a strong wood which doesn’t burn easily. Their doorhandles are menacing black metal. The room’s floor is covered with an oversized [[green rug|Lift Up Rug]] with maroon edges and tassels. There is nothing else around you.\n<<endif>>\n<<if $have_flag_cloth eq "no" and $have_burnt_out_torch eq "no" and $have_flag_head_torch eq "no" and $have_shield eq "no" and $have_wallet eq "yes" and $lift_rug eq "no">>\nThe room is perfectly circular, made of solid grey stone. There are [[two flags|Lift Up Flags]] hanging to your right and left, both coloured in green and gold. A lion’s head is imprinted on the centre of the flags. Directly in front of you, a bracket is fastened to the wall. A [[torch|Grab Torch]] is fixed inside it, with the burning end wrapped in oil-soaked rags. It looks
more like a temporary arrangement than a real torch. A [[red velvet armchair|Look Under Chair]] is off to your left, beneath one of the flags. It looks decorative and useless. A sturdy round buckler [[shield|Grab Shield]] sits in the armchair, covered in green and gold and with a metal centrepiece. Behind you a set of [[reed pipes|Fallen Reed Pipes]] are lying on the floor beside the stairs. They are painted a festive red-and-yellow. The stairs themselves are old, made of stone with a dip in the centre where feet have worn away part of the stone over hundreds of years. There is moss growing on the edges but the stairs themselves seem relatively stable. The two doors out of the room are both made of solid oak, a strong wood which doesn’t burn easily. Their doorhandles are menacing black metal. The room’s floor is covered with an oversized [[green rug|Lift Up Rug]] with maroon edges and tassels. There is nothing else around you.\n<<endif>>\n<<if $have_flag_cloth eq "no" and $have_burnt_out_torch eq "no" and $have_flag_head_torch eq "no" and $have_shield eq "no" and $have_wallet eq "no" and $lift_rug eq "yes">>\nThe room is perfectly circular, made of solid grey stone. There are [[two flags|Lift Up Flags]] hanging to your right and left, both coloured in green and gold. A lion’s head is imprinted on the centre of the flags. Directly in front of you, a bracket is fastened to the wall. A [[torch|Grab Torch]] is fixed inside it, with the burning end wrapped in oil-soaked rags. It looks more like a temporary arrangement than a real torch. A [[red velvet armchair|Look Under Chair]] is off to your left, beneath one of the flags. It looks decorative and useless. A sturdy round buckler [[shield|Grab Shield]] sits in the armchair, covered in green and gold and with a metal centrepiece. Behind you a set of [[reed pipes|Grab Reed Pipes]] are hanging on the wall beside the stairs. They are painted a festive red-and-yellow. The stairs themselves are old, made of stone with a dip in the centre where feet have worn away part of the stone over hundreds of years. There is moss growing on the edges but the stairs themselves seem relatively stable. The two doors out of the room are both made of solid oak, a strong wood which doesn’t burn easily. Their doorhandles are menacing black metal. The room’s floor is covered by an oversized green rug with maroon edges and tassels. The rug is folded back, revealing a [[hole in the floor|Hole In Tower Floor]]. There is nothing else around you.\n<<endif>>\n<<if $have_flag_cloth eq "yes" and $have_burnt_out_torch eq "no" and $have_flag_head_torch eq "no" and $have_shield eq "yes" and $have_wallet eq "no" and $lift_rug eq "no">>\nThe room is perfectly circular, made of solid grey stone. Directly in front of you, a bracket is fastened to the wall. A [[torch|Grab Torch]] is fixed inside it, with the burning end wrapped in oil-soaked rags. It looks more like a temporary arrangement than a real torch. A [[red velvet armchair|Look Under Chair]] is off to your left, beneath one of the flags. It looks decorative and useless. Behind you a set of [[reed pipes|Grab Reed Pipes]] are hanging on the wall beside the stairs. They are painted a festive red-and-yellow. The stairs themselves are old, made of stone with a dip in the centre where feet have worn away part of the stone over hundreds of years. There is moss growing on the edges but the stairs themselves seem relatively stable. The two doors out of the room are both made of solid oak, a strong wood which doesn’t burn easily. Their doorhandles are menacing black metal. The room’s floor is covered with an oversized [[green rug|Lift Up Rug]] with maroon edges and tassels. There is nothing else around you.\n<<endif>>\n<<if $have_flag_cloth eq "yes" and $have_burnt_out_torch eq "no" and $have_flag_head_torch eq "no" and $have_shield eq "no" and $have_wallet eq "yes" and $lift_rug eq "no">>\nThe room is perfectly circular, made of solid grey stone. Directly in front of you, a bracket is fastened to the wall. A [[torch|Grab Torch]] is fixed inside it, with the burning end wrapped in oil-soaked rags. It looks more like a temporary arrangement than a real torch. A [[red velvet armchair|Look Under Chair]] is off to your left, beneath one of the flags. It looks decorative and useless. A sturdy round buckler [[shield|Grab Shield]] sits in the armchair, covered in green and gold and with a metal centrepiece. Behind you a set of [[reed pipes|Fallen Reed Pipes]] are lying on the floor beside the stairs. They are painted a festive red-and-yellow. The stairs themselves are old, made of stone with a dip in the centre where feet have worn away part of the stone over hundreds of years. There is moss growing on the edges but the stairs themselves seem relatively stable. The two doors out of the room are both made of solid oak, a strong wood which doesn’t burn easily. Their doorhandles are menacing black metal. The room’s floor is covered with an oversized [[green rug|Lift Up Rug]] with maroon edges and tassels. There is nothing else around you.\n<<endif>>\n<<if $have_flag_cloth eq "yes" and $have_burnt_out_torch eq "no" and $have_flag_head_torch eq "no" and $have_shield eq "no" and $have_wallet eq "no" and $lift_rug eq "yes">>\nThe room is perfectly circular, made of solid grey stone. Directly in front of you, a bracket is fastened to the wall. A [[torch|Grab Torch]] is fixed inside it, with the burning end wrapped in oil-soaked rags. It looks more like a temporary arrangement than a real torch. A [[red velvet armchair|Look Under Chair]] is off to your left, beneath one of the flags. It looks decorative and useless. A sturdy round buckler [[shield|Grab Shield]] sits in the armchair, covered in green and gold and with a metal centrepiece. Behind you a set of [[reed pipes|Grab Reed Pipes]] are hanging on the wall beside the stairs. They are painted a festive red-and-yellow. The stairs themselves are old, made of stone with a dip in the centre where feet have worn away part of the stone over hundreds of years. There is moss growing on the edges but the stairs themselves seem relatively stable. The two doors out of the room are both made of solid oak, a strong wood which doesn’t burn easily. Their doorhandles are menacing black metal. The room’s floor is covered by an oversized green rug with maroon edges and tassels. The rug is folded back, revealing a [[hole in the floor|Hole In Tower Floor]]. There is nothing else around you.\n<<endif>>\n<<if $have_flag_cloth eq "yes" and $have_burnt_out_torch eq "no" and $have_flag_head_torch eq "no" and $have_shield eq "yes" and $have_wallet eq "yes" and $lift_rug eq "no">>\nThe room is perfectly circular, made of solid grey stone. Directly in front of you, a bracket is fastened to the wall. A [[torch|Grab Torch]] is fixed inside it, with the burning end wrapped in oil-soaked rags. It looks more like a temporary arrangement than a real torch. A [[red velvet armchair|Look Under Chair]] is off to your left, beneath one of the flags. It looks decorative and useless. Behind you a set of [[reed pipes|Fallen Reed Pipes]] are lying on the floor beside the stairs. They are painted a festive red-and-yellow. The stairs themselves are old, made of stone with a dip in the centre where feet have worn away part of the stone over hundreds of years. There is moss growing on the edges but the stairs themselves seem relatively stable. The two doors out of the room are both made of solid oak, a strong wood which doesn’t burn easily. Their doorhandles are menacing black metal. The room’s floor is covered with an oversized [[green rug|Lift Up Rug]] with maroon edges and tassels. There is nothing else around you.\n<<endif>>\n<<if $have_flag_cloth eq "yes" and $have_burnt_out_torch eq "no" and $have_flag_head_torch eq "no" and $have_shield eq "yes" and $have_wallet eq "no" and $lift_rug eq "yes">>\nThe room is perfectly circular, made of solid grey stone. Directly in front of you, a bracket is fastened to the wall. A [[torch|Grab Torch]] is fixed inside it, with the burning end wrapped in oil-soaked rags. It looks more like a temporary arrangement than a real torch. A [[red velvet armchair|Look Under Chair]] is off to your left, beneath one of the flags. It looks decorative and useless. Behind you a set of [[reed pipes|Grab Reed Pipes]] are hanging on the wall beside the stairs. They are painted a festive red-and-yellow. The stairs themselves are old, made of stone with a dip in the centre where feet have worn away part of the stone over hundreds of years. There is moss growing on the edges but the stairs themselves seem relatively stable. The two doors out of the room are both made of solid oak, a strong wood which doesn’t burn easily. Their doorhandles are menacing black metal. The room’s floor is covered by an oversized green rug with maroon edges and tassels. The rug is folded back, revealing a [[hole in the floor|Hole In Tower Floor]]. There is nothing else around you.\n<<endif>>\n<<if $have_flag_cloth eq "yes" and $have_burnt_out_torch eq "no" and $have_flag_head_torch eq "no" and $have_shield eq "no" and $have_wallet eq "yes" and $lift_rug eq "yes">>\nThe room is perfectly circular, made of solid grey stone. Directly in front of you, a bracket is fastened to the wall. A [[torch|Grab
Torch]] is fixed inside it, with the burning end wrapped in oil-soaked rags. It looks more like a temporary arrangement than a real torch. A [[red velvet armchair|Look Under Chair]] is off to your left, beneath one of the flags. It looks decorative and useless. A sturdy round buckler [[shield|Grab Shield]] sits in the armchair, covered in green and gold and with a metal centrepiece. Behind you a set of [[reed pipes|Fallen Reed Pipes]] are lying on the floor beside the stairs. They are painted a festive red-and-yellow. The stairs themselves are old, made of stone with a dip in the centre where feet have worn away part of the stone over hundreds of years. There is moss growing on the edges but the stairs themselves seem relatively stable. The two doors out of the room are both made of solid oak, a strong wood which doesn’t burn easily. Their doorhandles are menacing black metal. The room’s floor is covered by an oversized green rug with maroon edges and tassels. The rug is folded back, revealing a [[hole in the floor|Hole In Tower Floor]]. There is nothing else around you.\n<<endif>>\n<<if $have_flag_cloth eq "yes" and $have_burnt_out_torch eq "no" and $have_flag_head_torch eq "no" and $have_shield eq "yes" and $have_wallet eq "yes" and $lift_rug eq "yes">>\nThe room is perfectly circular, made of solid grey stone. Directly in front of you, a bracket is fastened to the wall. A [[torch|Grab Torch]] is fixed inside it, with the burning end wrapped in oil-soaked rags. It looks more like a temporary arrangement than a real torch. A [[red velvet armchair|Look Under Chair]] is off to your left, beneath one of the flags. It looks decorative and useless. Behind you a set of [[reed pipes|Fallen Reed Pipes]] are lying on the floor beside the stairs. They are painted a festive red-and-yellow. The stairs themselves are old, made of stone with a dip in the centre where feet have worn away part of the stone over hundreds of years. There is moss growing on the edges but the stairs themselves seem relatively stable. The two doors out of the room are both made of solid oak, a strong wood which doesn’t burn easily. Their doorhandles are menacing black metal. The room’s floor is covered by an oversized green rug with maroon edges and tassels. The rug is folded back, revealing a [[hole in the floor|Hole In Tower Floor]]. There is nothing else around you.\n<<endif>>\n<<if $have_flag_cloth eq "no" and $have_burnt_out_torch eq "yes" and $have_flag_head_torch eq "no" and $have_shield eq "yes" and $have_wallet eq "no" and $lift_rug eq "no">>\nThe room is perfectly circular, made of solid grey stone. There are [[two flags|Lift Up Flags]] hanging to your right and left, both coloured in green and gold. A lion’s head is imprinted on the centre of the flags. A [[red velvet armchair|Look Under Chair]] is off to your left, beneath one of the flags. It looks decorative and useless. Behind you a set of [[reed pipes|Grab Reed Pipes]] are hanging on the wall beside the stairs. They are painted a festive red-and-yellow. The stairs themselves are old, made of stone with a dip in the centre where feet have worn away part of the stone over hundreds of years. There is moss growing on the edges but the stairs themselves seem relatively stable. The two doors out of the room are both made of solid oak, a strong wood which doesn’t burn easily. Their doorhandles are menacing black metal. The room’s floor is covered with an oversized [[green rug|Lift Up Rug]] with maroon edges and tassels. There is nothing else around you.\n<<endif>>\n<<if $have_flag_cloth eq "no" and $have_burnt_out_torch eq "yes" and $have_flag_head_torch eq "no" and $have_shield eq "no" and $have_wallet eq "yes" and $lift_rug eq "no">>\nThe room is perfectly circular, made of solid grey stone. There are [[two flags|Lift Up Flags]] hanging to your right and left, both coloured in green and gold. A lion’s head is imprinted on the centre of the flags. A [[red velvet armchair|Look Under Chair]] is off to your left, beneath one of the flags. It looks decorative and useless. A sturdy round buckler [[shield|Grab Shield]] sits in the armchair, covered in green and gold and with a metal centrepiece. Behind you a set of [[reed pipes|Fallen Reed Pipes]] are lying on the floor beside the stairs. They are painted a festive red-and-yellow. The stairs themselves are old, made of stone with a dip in the centre where feet have worn away part of the stone over hundreds of years. There is moss growing on the edges but the stairs themselves seem relatively stable. The two doors out of the room are both made of solid oak, a strong wood which doesn’t burn easily. Their doorhandles are menacing black metal. The room’s floor is covered with an oversized [[green rug|Lift Up Rug]] with maroon edges and tassels. There is nothing else around you.\n<<endif>>\n<<if $have_flag_cloth eq "no" and $have_burnt_out_torch eq "yes" and $have_flag_head_torch eq "no" and $have_shield eq "no" and $have_wallet eq "no" and $lift_rug eq "yes">>\nThe room is perfectly circular, made of solid grey stone. There are [[two flags|Lift Up Flags]] hanging to your right and left, both coloured in green and gold. A lion’s head is imprinted on the centre of the flags. A [[red velvet armchair|Look Under Chair]] is off to your left, beneath one of the flags. It looks decorative and useless. A sturdy round buckler [[shield|Grab Shield]] sits in the armchair, covered in green and gold and with a metal centrepiece. Behind you a set of [[reed pipes|Grab Reed Pipes]] are hanging on the wall beside the stairs. They are painted a festive red-and-yellow. The stairs themselves are old, made of stone with a dip in the centre where feet have worn away part of the stone over hundreds of years. There is moss growing on the edges but the stairs themselves seem relatively stable. The two doors out of the room are both made of solid oak, a strong wood which doesn’t burn easily. Their doorhandles are menacing black metal. The room’s floor is covered by an oversized green rug with maroon edges and tassels. The rug is folded back, revealing a [[hole in the floor|Hole In Tower Floor]]. There is nothing else around you.\n<<endif>>\n<<if $have_flag_cloth eq "no" and $have_burnt_out_torch eq "yes" and $have_flag_head_torch eq "no" and $have_shield eq "yes" and $have_wallet eq "yes" and $lift_rug eq "no">>\nThe room is perfectly circular, made of solid grey stone. There are [[two flags|Lift Up Flags]] hanging to your right and left, both coloured in green and gold. A lion’s head is imprinted on the centre of the flags. A [[red velvet armchair|Look Under Chair]] is off to your left, beneath one of the flags. It looks decorative and useless. Behind you a set of [[reed pipes|Fallen Reed Pipes]] are lying on the floor beside the stairs. They are painted a festive red-and-yellow. The stairs themselves are old, made of stone with a dip in the centre where feet have worn away part of the stone over hundreds of years. There is moss growing on the edges but the stairs themselves seem relatively stable. The two doors out of the room are both made of solid oak, a strong wood which doesn’t burn easily. Their doorhandles are menacing black metal. The room’s floor is covered with an oversized [[green rug|Lift Up Rug]] with maroon edges and tassels. There is nothing else around you.\n<<endif>>\n<<if $have_flag_cloth eq "no" and $have_burnt_out_torch eq "yes" and $have_flag_head_torch eq "no" and $have_shield eq "yes" and $have_wallet eq "no" and $lift_rug eq "yes">>\nThe room is perfectly circular, made of solid grey stone. There are [[two flags|Lift Up Flags]] hanging to your right and left, both coloured in green and gold. A lion’s head is imprinted on the centre of the flags. A [[red velvet armchair|Look Under Chair]] is off to your left, beneath one of the flags. It looks decorative and useless. Behind you a set of [[reed pipes|Grab Reed Pipes]] are hanging on the wall beside the stairs. They are painted a festive red-and-yellow. The stairs themselves are old, made of stone with a dip in the centre where feet have worn away part of the stone over hundreds of years. There is moss growing on the edges but the stairs themselves seem relatively stable. The two doors out of the room are both made of solid oak, a strong wood which doesn’t burn easily. Their doorhandles are menacing black metal. The room’s floor is covered by an oversized green rug with maroon edges and tassels. The rug is folded back, revealing a [[hole in the floor|Hole In Tower Floor]]. There is nothing else around you.\n<<endif>>\n<<if $have_flag_cloth eq "no" and $have_burnt_out_torch eq "yes" and $have_flag_head_torch eq "no" and $have_shield eq "no" and $have_wallet eq "yes" and $lift_rug eq "yes">>\nThe room is perfectly circular, made of solid grey stone. There are [[two flags|Lift Up Flags]] hanging to your right and left, both coloured in green and gold. A lion’s head is imprinted on the centre of the flags. A [[red velvet armchair|Look Under Chair]] is off to your left, beneath one of the flags. It looks decorative and useless. A sturdy round buckler [[shield|Grab Shield]] sits in the armchair, covered in green and gold and with a metal centrepiece. Behind you a set of [[reed pipes|Fallen Reed Pipes]] are lying on the floor beside
the stairs. They are painted a festive red-and-yellow. The stairs themselves are old, made of stone with a dip in the centre where feet have worn away part of the stone over hundreds of years. There is moss growing on the edges but the stairs themselves seem relatively stable. The two doors out of the room are both made of solid oak, a strong wood which doesn’t burn easily. Their doorhandles are menacing black metal. The room’s floor is covered by an oversized green rug with maroon edges and tassels. The rug is folded back, revealing a [[hole in the floor|Hole In Tower Floor]]. There is nothing else around you.\n<<endif>>\n<<if $have_flag_cloth eq "no" and $have_burnt_out_torch eq "yes" and $have_flag_head_torch eq "no" and $have_shield eq "yes" and $have_wallet eq "yes" and $lift_rug eq "yes">>\nThe room is perfectly circular, made of solid grey stone. There are [[two flags|Lift Up Flags]] hanging to your right and left, both coloured in green and gold. A lion’s head is imprinted on the centre of the flags. A [[red velvet armchair|Look Under Chair]] is off to your left, beneath one of the flags. It looks decorative and useless. Behind you a set of [[reed pipes|Fallen Reed Pipes]] are lying on the floor beside the stairs. They are painted a festive red-and-yellow. The stairs themselves are old, made of stone with a dip in the centre where feet have worn away part of the stone over hundreds of years. There is moss growing on the edges but the stairs themselves seem relatively stable. The two doors out of the room are both made of solid oak, a strong wood which doesn’t burn easily. Their doorhandles are menacing black metal. The room’s floor is covered by an oversized green rug with maroon edges and tassels. The rug is folded back, revealing a [[hole in the floor|Hole In Tower Floor]]. There is nothing else around you.\n<<endif>>\n<<if $have_flag_cloth eq "no" and $have_burnt_out_torch eq "no" and $have_flag_head_torch eq "yes" and $have_shield eq "yes" and $have_wallet eq "no" and $lift_rug eq "no">>\nThe room is perfectly circular, made of solid grey stone. A [[red velvet armchair|Look Under Chair]] is off to your left, beneath one of the flags. It looks decorative and useless. Behind you a set of [[reed pipes|Grab Reed Pipes]] are hanging on the wall beside the stairs. They are painted a festive red-and-yellow. The stairs themselves are old, made of stone with a dip in the centre where feet have worn away part of the stone over hundreds of years. There is moss growing on the edges but the stairs themselves seem relatively stable. The two doors out of the room are both made of solid oak, a strong wood which doesn’t burn easily. Their doorhandles are menacing black metal. The room’s floor is covered with an oversized [[green rug|Lift Up Rug]] with maroon edges and tassels. There is nothing else around you.\n<<endif>>\n<<if $have_flag_cloth eq "no" and $have_burnt_out_torch eq "no" and $have_flag_head_torch eq "yes" and $have_shield eq "no" and $have_wallet eq "yes" and $lift_rug eq "no">>\nThe room is perfectly circular, made of solid grey stone. A [[red velvet armchair|Look Under Chair]] is off to your left, beneath one of the flags. It looks decorative and useless. A sturdy round buckler [[shield|Grab Shield]] sits in the armchair, covered in green and gold and with a metal centrepiece. Behind you a set of [[reed pipes|Fallen Reed Pipes]] are lying on the floor beside the stairs. They are painted a festive red-and-yellow. The stairs themselves are old, made of stone with a dip in the centre where feet have worn away part of the stone over hundreds of years. There is moss growing on the edges but the stairs themselves seem relatively stable. The two doors out of the room are both made of solid oak, a strong wood which doesn’t burn easily. Their doorhandles are menacing black metal. The room’s floor is covered with an oversized [[green rug|Lift Up Rug]] with maroon edges and tassels. There is nothing else around you.\n<<endif>>\n<<if $have_flag_cloth eq "no" and $have_burnt_out_torch eq "no" and $have_flag_head_torch eq "yes" and $have_shield eq "no" and $have_wallet eq "no" and $lift_rug eq "yes">>\nThe room is perfectly circular, made of solid grey stone. A [[red velvet armchair|Look Under Chair]] is off to your left, beneath one of the flags. It looks decorative and useless. A sturdy round buckler [[shield|Grab Shield]] sits in the armchair, covered in green and gold and with a metal centrepiece. Behind you a set of [[reed pipes|Grab Reed Pipes]] are hanging on the wall beside the stairs. They are painted a festive red-and-yellow. The stairs themselves are old, made of stone with a dip in the centre where feet have worn away part of the stone over hundreds of years. There is moss growing on the edges but the stairs themselves seem relatively stable. The two doors out of the room are both made of solid oak, a strong wood which doesn’t burn easily. Their doorhandles are menacing black metal. The room’s floor is covered by an oversized green rug with maroon edges and tassels. The rug is folded back, revealing a [[hole in the floor|Hole In Tower Floor]]. There is nothing else around you.\n<<endif>>\n<<if $have_flag_cloth eq "no" and $have_burnt_out_torch eq "no" and $have_flag_head_torch eq "yes" and $have_shield eq "yes" and $have_wallet eq "yes" and $lift_rug eq "no">>\nThe room is perfectly circular, made of solid grey stone. A [[red velvet armchair|Look Under Chair]] is off to your left, beneath one of the flags. It looks decorative and useless. Behind you a set of [[reed pipes|Fallen Reed Pipes]] are lying on the floor beside the stairs. They are painted a festive red-and-yellow. The stairs themselves are old, made of stone with a dip in the centre where feet have worn away part of the stone over hundreds of years. There is moss growing on the edges but the stairs themselves seem relatively stable. The two doors out of the room are both made of solid oak, a strong wood which doesn’t burn easily. Their doorhandles are menacing black metal. The room’s floor is covered with an oversized [[green rug|Lift Up Rug]] with maroon edges and tassels. There is nothing else around you.\n<<endif>>\n<<if $have_flag_cloth eq "no" and $have_burnt_out_torch eq "no" and $have_flag_head_torch eq "yes" and $have_shield eq "yes" and $have_wallet eq "no" and $lift_rug eq "yes">>\nThe room is perfectly circular, made of solid grey stone. A [[red velvet armchair|Look Under Chair]] is off to your left, beneath one of the flags. It looks decorative and useless. Behind you a set of [[reed pipes|Grab Reed Pipes]] are hanging on the wall beside the stairs. They are painted a festive red-and-yellow. The stairs themselves are old, made of stone with a dip in the centre where feet have worn away part of the stone over hundreds of years. There is moss growing on the edges but the stairs themselves seem relatively stable. The two doors out of the room are both made of solid oak, a strong wood which doesn’t burn easily. Their doorhandles are menacing black metal. The room’s floor is covered by an oversized green rug with maroon edges and tassels. The rug is folded back, revealing a [[hole in the floor|Hole In Tower Floor]].There is nothing else around you.\n<<endif>>\n<<if $have_flag_cloth eq "no" and $have_burnt_out_torch eq "no" and $have_flag_head_torch eq "yes" and $have_shield eq "no" and $have_wallet eq "yes" and $lift_rug eq "yes">>\nThe room is perfectly circular, made of solid grey stone. A [[red velvet armchair|Look Under Chair]] is off to your left, beneath one of the flags. It looks decorative and useless. A sturdy round buckler [[shield|Grab Shield]] sits in the armchair, covered in green and gold and with a metal centrepiece. Behind you a set of [[reed pipes|Fallen Reed Pipes]] are lying on the floor beside the stairs. They are painted a festive red-and-yellow. The stairs themselves are old, made of stone with a dip in the centre where feet have worn away part of the stone over hundreds of years. There is moss growing on the edges but the stairs themselves seem relatively stable. The two doors out of the room are both made of solid oak, a strong wood which doesn’t burn easily. Their doorhandles are menacing black metal. The room’s floor is covered by an oversized green rug with maroon edges and tassels. The rug is folded back, revealing a [[hole in the floor|Hole In Tower Floor]]. There is nothing else around you.\n<<endif>>\n<<if $have_flag_cloth eq "no" and $have_burnt_out_torch eq "no" and $have_flag_head_torch eq "yes" and $have_shield eq "yes" and $have_wallet eq "yes" and $lift_rug eq "yes">>\nThe room is perfectly circular, made of solid grey stone. A [[red velvet armchair|Look Under Chair]] is off to your left, beneath one of the flags. It looks decorative and useless. Behind you a set of [[reed pipes|Fallen Reed Pipes]] are lying on the floor beside the stairs. They are painted a festive red-and-yellow. The stairs themselves are old, made of stone with a dip in the centre where feet have worn away part of the stone over hundreds of years. There is moss growing on the edges but the stairs themselves seem relatively stable. The two doors out of the room are both made
of solid oak, a strong wood which doesn’t burn easily. Their doorhandles are menacing black metal. The room’s floor is covered by an oversized green rug with maroon edges and tassels. The rug is folded back, revealing a [[hole in the floor|Hole In Tower Floor]]. There is nothing else around you.\n<<endif>>\n<<if $have_flag_cloth eq "no" and $have_burnt_out_torch eq "no" and $have_flag_head_torch eq "no" and $have_shield eq "yes" and $have_wallet eq "yes" and $lift_rug eq "no">>\nThe room is perfectly circular, made of solid grey stone. There are [[two flags|Lift Up Flags]] hanging to your right and left, both coloured in green and gold. A lion’s head is imprinted on the centre of the flags. Directly in front of you, a bracket is fastened to the wall. A [[torch|Grab Torch]] is fixed inside it, with the burning end wrapped in oil-soaked rags. It looks more like a temporary arrangement than a real torch. A [[red velvet armchair|Look Under Chair]] is off to your left, beneath one of the flags. It looks decorative and useless. Behind you a set of [[reed pipes|Fallen Reed Pipes]] are lying on the floor beside the stairs. They are painted a festive red-and-yellow. The stairs themselves are old, made of stone with a dip in the centre where feet have worn away part of the stone over hundreds of years. There is moss growing on the edges but the stairs themselves seem relatively stable. The two doors out of the room are both made of solid oak, a strong wood which doesn’t burn easily. Their doorhandles are menacing black metal. The room’s floor is covered with an oversized [[green rug|Lift Up Rug]] with maroon edges and tassels. There is nothing else around you.\n<<endif>>\n<<if $have_flag_cloth eq "no" and $have_burnt_out_torch eq "no" and $have_flag_head_torch eq "no" and $have_shield eq "yes" and $have_wallet eq "no" and $lift_rug eq "yes">>\nThe room is perfectly circular, made of solid grey stone. There are [[two flags|Lift Up Flags]] hanging to your right and left, both coloured in green and gold. A lion’s head is imprinted on the centre of the flags. Directly in front of you, a bracket is fastened to the wall. A [[torch|Grab Torch]] is fixed inside it, with the burning end wrapped in oil-soaked rags. It looks more like a temporary arrangement than a real torch. A [[red velvet armchair|Look Under Chair]] is off to your left, beneath one of the flags. It looks decorative and useless. Behind you a set of [[reed pipes|Grab Reed Pipes]] are hanging on the wall beside the stairs. They are painted a festive red-and-yellow. The stairs themselves are old, made of stone with a dip in the centre where feet have worn away part of the stone over hundreds of years. There is moss growing on the edges but the stairs themselves seem relatively stable. The two doors out of the room are both made of solid oak, a strong wood which doesn’t burn easily. Their doorhandles are menacing black metal. The room’s floor is covered by an oversized green rug with maroon edges and tassels. The rug is folded back, revealing a [[hole in the floor|Hole In Tower Floor]]. There is nothing else around you.\n<<endif>>\n<<if $have_flag_cloth eq "no" and $have_burnt_out_torch eq "no" and $have_flag_head_torch eq "no" and $have_shield eq "yes" and $have_wallet eq "yes" and $lift_rug eq "yes">>\nThe room is perfectly circular, made of solid grey stone. There are [[two flags|Lift Up Flags]] hanging to your right and left, both coloured in green and gold. A lion’s head is imprinted on the centre of the flags. Directly in front of you, a bracket is fastened to the wall. A [[torch|Grab Torch]] is fixed inside it, with the burning end wrapped in oil-soaked rags. It looks more like a temporary arrangement than a real torch. A [[red velvet armchair|Look Under Chair]] is off to your left, beneath one of the flags. It looks decorative and useless. Behind you a set of [[reed pipes|Fallen Reed Pipes]] are lying on the floor beside the stairs. They are painted a festive red-and-yellow. The stairs themselves are old, made of stone with a dip in the centre where feet have worn away part of the stone over hundreds of years. There is moss growing on the edges but the stairs themselves seem relatively stable. The two doors out of the room are both made of solid oak, a strong wood which doesn’t burn easily. Their doorhandles are menacing black metal. The room’s floor is covered by an oversized green rug with maroon edges and tassels. The rug is folded back, revealing a [[hole in the floor|Hole In Tower Floor]]. There is nothing else around you.\n<<endif>>\n<<if $have_flag_cloth eq "no" and $have_burnt_out_torch eq "no" and $have_flag_head_torch eq "no" and $have_shield eq "no" and $have_wallet eq "yes" and $lift_rug eq "yes">>\nThe room is perfectly circular, made of solid grey stone. There are [[two flags|Lift Up Flags]] hanging to your right and left, both coloured in green and gold. A lion’s head is imprinted on the centre of the flags. Directly in front of you, a bracket is fastened to the wall. A [[torch|Grab Torch]] is fixed inside it, with the burning end wrapped in oil-soaked rags. It looks more like a temporary arrangement than a real torch. A [[red velvet armchair|Look Under Chair]] is off to your left, beneath one of the flags. It looks decorative and useless. A sturdy round buckler [[shield|Grab Shield]] sits in the armchair, covered in green and gold and with a metal centrepiece. Behind you a set of [[reed pipes|Fallen Reed Pipes]] are lying on the floor beside the stairs. They are painted a festive red-and-yellow. The stairs themselves are old, made of stone with a dip in the centre where feet have worn away part of the stone over hundreds of years. There is moss growing on the edges but the stairs themselves seem relatively stable. The two doors out of the room are both made of solid oak, a strong wood which doesn’t burn easily. Their doorhandles are menacing black metal. The room’s floor is covered by an oversized green rug with maroon edges and tassels. The rug is folded back, revealing a [[hole in the floor|Hole In Tower Floor]]. There is nothing else around you.\n<<endif>>\n\nIf you're ready to leave, you can take the [[door straight ahead|Door Straight Ahead]], [[door to your right|Door To Right]], or go [[down the stairs|Down Stairs]].
"Welcome to the Family!" the Padre exlcaims joyfully. "I suppose we'd better find you some new clothes - and, ah, some shoes."\n\nAs you follow the Padre deeper into the church, you feel a great sense of peace wash over you. You know that this is a place where you will be staying for a long time.\n\nActually you kind of underestimate exactly how long you <i>will</i> be staying in the Church of Kadlin Forrunner. The longer you spend with your new Family, the less your old life seems to matter. Before long, you have given up all hope of ever recovering your lost memories. \n\nYou will live a long and happy life in the Family, but your quest is over.\n\n<b>YOUR GAME HAS ENDED</b>\nFeel free to [[try a different path|Go Visit The Church]] or [[restart|Start]].
<<silently>>\n<<set $have_wallet = "yes">>\n<<set $gold_coins = 10>>\n<<endsilently>>\n\nYou reach for the reed pipes on the wall and lift them up. From behind the pipes a wallet falls. You peer inside - it holds ten gold coins! Pleased, you tuck the wallet into your pocket and turn around. \n\nShould you [[keep looking around|Tower Room]], take the [[door straight ahead|Door Straight Ahead]], the [[door to the right|Door To Right]] or [[go down the stairs|Down Stairs]]?
You don't want the fire to burn out of control during the night. You let it die down until it is simply a pile of glowing embers and then you relax in your furs with a sigh.\n\nA few hours later, you are woken with a jolt of pain as <i>something</i> fastens its fangs in your leg. You scream, and the chattering, cackling sounds of many creatures all around you drown your cry. You don't know what you're surrounded by, but all you can see of them are pale green, glowing eyes.\n\n[[Scream and kick|Scream And Kick At The Pack]]\n[[Try to crawl away|Crawl Away From The Pack]]\n[[Go for its eyes|Go For The Pack Leader's Eyes]]
It's not a long walk to the town, but by the time you reach it night has fallen. There is a large wall which surrounds the entire town, and the heavy gate is just closing. You put on a burst of speed and hurtle through the gate seconds before it slams shut. One of the guards manning the two watch towers which flank the gate nods and tips his helmet at you.\n\n"Nice," he says, and you guess he is referring to the way you bolted through the gate. You shrug and smile at the man as you continue through the darkened streets.\n\nHallasholm is a small, secluded town. In the centre of it is a large church with three pointed peaks and a star-shaped spire. Around the church are the town houses - mostly small, humble buildings with thatched roofs. The buildings clustered against the edge of the wall are the shops
and offices where people work and buy supplies. It is these that you head towards first, hoping to find a tavern or an inn where you can spend the night. After your bad experience with Tansy and Marcus, you don't want to stay in the house of a stranger.\n\nIt doesn't take long for you to come across the Phoenixfeather Inn. A swinging sign on the outside depicts a vivid red-and-orange feather encased in tongues of flame. The place looks well-endowed, and you decide it is as fair a place as any to spend the night. You hurry inside and walk over to the bartender, a broad-shouldered woman with beefy arms who is rubbing a dirty glass with an even dirtier cloth.\n\n"Hi," you say confidently. "I'd like a room for the night, please."\n\n"Single rooms are three golgas," the woman says without looking up.\n\nYou realise with a painful frustration that those blasted cannibals stole all your gold. You assume golgas are the gold coins that you found in the wallet, but just to be sure you ask the woman to show you a golga. Now she does look up, in surprise.\n\n"You foreign?" she asks as she pulls a familiar-looking gold coin from the till. You curse the bad luck which caused you to stumble towards that little house in the forest.\n\n"Yeah," you answer quickly, figuring that explaining you've lost your memory will take too much time. It's a complicated and confusing answer which could be potentially dangerous to you. Better to go with the solution she threw you.\n\n"Well have you got money or not?" she asks. "I ain't got all night to stand here chatting."\n\n"No," you respond with a sinking feeling. "I'm sorry, I haven't got anything."\n\n"Well out you get then," the bartender says, jerking a thumb over her shoulder at the door. "We ain't got room for cheapskates here."\n\nYou sigh and turn to leave, but a smooth voice stops you.\n"Just a minute." It's a man’s voice, and vaguely familiar at that. From across the room steps the guard who spoke to you at the gate. He has removed his helmet and you can see now that his hair is white-blond and falls to his shoulders in gentle waves. His eyes are a friendly blue that seem to be smiling at you personally, as if the two of you are sharing some sort of private joke. "You shouldn't turn a lady out in the cold," he admonishes the bartender. \n\nShe scoffs and snorts, flapping a hand at him in a 'shoo' gesture. "Oh, get out, Ulf."\n\nThe guard – Ulf, you suppose - gives you a courtly bow. "Would you care to come home with me?" he asks. "I can't say that I have much, but I can at least offer you a bed for the night." You hesitate, and he smiles, putting his head on one side to look at you. "Come on, what do you say?"\n\nYou debate your options. Should you [[trust Ulf|Go With Ulf]] or is it safer to [[strike out on your own|Don't Go With Ulf]]?\n
<<silently>>\n<<set $have_burnt_out_torch = "yes">>\n<<endsilently>>\n\nAs you pick up the torch it suddenly snuffs out. You glare at it, seeing that the fabric bound around thefw handle has been burnt through. It was very clearly only a temporary design. You wonder if it is worth lighting again, and consider where you could get some more fabric from.\n\n<<if $have_flag_cloth eq "yes">>Of course! You take the bits of tattered flag that came off the wall earlier and wrap them around the head of the torch. Perfect! Now all you need is a way to light the torch. \n<<silently>>\n<<set $have_flag_cloth = "no">>\n<<set $have_burnt_out_torch = "no">>\n<<set $have_flag_head_torch = "yes">>\n<<endsilently>>\n<<endif>>\n<<if $have_flint_stones eq "yes" and $have_flag_head_torch eq "yes">>The flint stones in your pocket, you think, and you pull them out and strike them together. The flag catches light with a satisfying sizzle, and the torch flares up again. <<endif>>\n\nShould you [[keep looking around|Tower Room]], take the [[door straight ahead|Door Straight Ahead]], the [[door to the right|Door To Right]] or [[go down the stairs|Down Stairs]]?
Your eyes close quickly - you've had an exhausting day of walking. However, in the middle of the night you are startled awake by a loud and furious roar. You sit upright and start scrambling to your feet, your eyes struggling to adjust to the darkness - but by the time you see the outline of the huge mountain lion crouched in front of you it is already too late. Its teeth go straight for your thigh, severing the artery beneath the skin and muscle. You see your blood spurting into the air and close your eyes as the lion mangles your leg, praying for the end to come quickly. It doesn't take long.\n\n<b>GAME OVER</b>\nYour character has died.\nPlease [[try again|Walk Away From Clearing]] or [[restart|Start]].
<<if $have_lit_torch eq "yes">>\n\nIt's tricky climbing down the ladder balancing the torch, but somehow you manage and soon find yourself on the bottom. You are once again grateful to your spirit then, as you realise that you would soon have died down here without a torch. The place is a maze of tunnels, but there are white chalk marks scrawled on the walls and you follow them only a little apprehensively. It is as you are following them that the flashback hits you.\n\n<i>You are running through these same tunnels, only you are going in the other direction, towards the ladder. In your hand you clutch a piece of white chalk, and you leave marks on the walls as you pass them. You are hoping that you will be able to get out this way.</i>\n\n\nBlinking and shaking your head in startled surprise, you frown as you keep moving through the tunnels. What were you doing here? Who are you? This whole situation is confusing and complex.\n\nYou are so lost in your thoughts that you barely notice as you emerge from the tunnels into more darkness. The moon hangs in the sky and you take a deep breath of fresh air with relief. You toss your torch away, understanding that it makes you an easy target, but then you realise that you have no idea where to go. There seem to be only two options avaliable to you - stay here in the shelter of the keep wall until sunrise, or head off walking in a straight line and hope for the best. \n\n\n<u>Your Surroundings</u>\n\nYou cannot see anything around you.\n\n\nShould you [[stay here|Wait By Keep Wall Until Morning]] or [[leave now|Walk On Through The Night]]?\n\n<<else>>\nIt is pitch-black in the tunnels, and the second you step off the ladder you regret it. In the dark you quickly become hopelessly lost, stumbling around the tunnels for what feels like months. In fact, it probably was months. Eventually your starved, emaciated body gives out and you fall to the floor. Dimly, in the distance, you see a glimmer of light, but you are too weak to reach it now. It is as if someone is mocking you, you think, as blackness eats at the edges of your vision.\n\n<b>GAME OVER</b>\nYour character has died.\nPlease [[try again|Start]].\n<<endif>>\n
The room is mostly bare and the floor and walls are made of smooth grey slate. There is a [[door|Cannibals Door]] in front of you, made of sturdy oak planks nailed together and studded with metal to strengthen the wood. To your left is a [[small window|Cannibals Window Bars]] with vertical bars across it. It's probably large enough for you to squeeze out of - if the bars weren't there. To your right is a squat, heavy wooden [[chest-of-drawers|Cannibals Chest-Of-Drawers]]. It looks too heavy for you to move, and there are six drawers in it which you suspect are all empty. In the middle of the room is a plain [[straw mattress|Cannibals Straw Mattress]] covered with a grey sheet. That's what you were lying on when you woke up. On the wall beside the chest-of-drawers you see that someone has scratched words into the wall in a spidery handwriting. You squint closer - it says: <b>Cannibals</b>.
"Please," you say carefully, "I've been travelling through these woods and I... lost my supplies. Could I possibly ask you for food?"\n\nThe man's face splits in a smile and he shakes your hand warmly. "Of course!" he exclaims. "I'm Marcus. Pleased to meet you…”\n\n"She told me her name already," Tansy interjects. "Twice. It’s Astrid.” \n\n"All right," Marcus laughs. He pats Tansy on the head and gives her a little push towards the door out of the room. "Go on to bed, kiddo." Turning to you, Marcus continues speaking. "Sorry about Tansy. She can be a bit of a nuisance at times."\n\n"It's fine," you tell him.\n\n"Here," he offers, handing you a steaming bowl full of orange liquid. "Pumpkin soup. It's good."\n\n"Thank you!" you say fervently, and start gulping down the soup. \n\nMarcus moves to the other end of the room and starts stoking the fire. You think you should ask him how he has a daughter already, when he is so young, but you're too busy eating.
You finish off the bowl in minutes, and set it down on a small wooden table with a contented sigh.\n \n "Thanksss," you start to say again, but your words slur. Puzzled you try again. "Thhaaaa...." You shake your head in frustration and close your eyes for a second. When they open you find yourself somehow on the floor. Confused, you try to stand up but your limbs are heavy and unresponsive. "Aahhh..." You struggle to speak, and eventually give it up. Through a world which is wobbling and wavering blurrily, you see Marcus crouch over you menacingly. You feel yourself try to pull the same move you used on the man at the lake, but your whole body is tired and heavy. Your eyelids feel like weights, and gradually they slip closed.\n\n<<silently>>\n<<set $have_shield = "no">>\n<<set $have_lit_torch = "no">>\n<<set $have_flint_stones = "no">>\n<<set $have_wallet = "no">>\n<<set $gold_coins = 0>>\n<<endsilently>>\n\nWhen you wake up, you are alone in a small, practically bare room. You struggle to your feet and walk over to the door. It is locked and bolted from the outside, although you didn't expect anything different. You sigh heavily. The window has bars over it, and you can't see a way out of this one. Cursing yourself for trusting this man and his daughter you walk back to the middle of the room. You have a feeling that the old you would never have made this mistake.\n\n<u>Your Surroundings</u>\n\nThe room is mostly bare and the floor and walls are made of smooth grey slate. There is a [[door|Cannibals Door]] in front of you, made of sturdy oak planks nailed together and studded with metal to strengthen the wood. To your left is a [[small window|Cannibals Window Bars]] with vertical bars across it. It's probably large enough for you to squeeze out of - if the bars weren't there. To your right is a squat, heavy wooden [[chest-of-drawers|Cannibals Chest-Of-Drawers]]. It looks too heavy for you to move, and there are six drawers in it which you suspect are all empty. In the middle of the room is a plain [[straw mattress|Cannibals Straw Mattress]] covered with a grey sheet. That's what you were lying on when you woke up. On the wall beside the chest-of-drawers you see that someone has scratched words into the wall in a spidery handwriting. You squint closer - it says: <b>Cannibals</b>. \n
<<silently>>\n<<set $have_acid = "yes">>\n<<endsilently>>\n\nNestled deep within the straw of the mattress, your hand closes around what feels like a small glass bottle. Pulling it out and holding it to the light, you frown. There is some kind of clear liquid within. You carefully unstopper the bottle and sniff it. Acid! You know that scent from somewhere in your shrouded past. But what to do with it?\n\n[[Keep looking around|Cannibals Cell]]
Zaffie
<<silently>>\n<<set $have_shield = "yes">>\n<<endsilently>>\n\nYou walk over to the armchair, pick up the shield and settle it on your arm. It's heavy, and would give you a disadvantage in close combat, but you can tell that it is sturdy and good for blocking missiles such as the arrows you hear whizzing outside.\n\nShould you [[keep looking around|Tower Room]], take the [[door straight ahead|Door Straight Ahead]], the [[door to the right|Door To Right]] or [[go down the stairs|Down Stairs]]?\n
You continue along the main path. The sun moves overhead, and you start to pant in earnest soon. You desperately wish you had drunk some water before you left Hallasholm.\n\nIt's not long before you reach the next fork in the road. The two signs point to [[Dakvor Village|To Dakvor Village]] and a place simply called [['The Forest'|To The Forest]]. You wonder which one to take.
You tiptoe towards the house and peer in a window. It seems... empty! You wonder if that man from earlier lived here. A shiver runs down your spine as you remember his horrible demise. What was that thing in the lake? You have no memories of giant octopi... but then, you have no memory of anything. Carefully you walk around to the door of the house and pull it open. Stepping inside, you sigh happily as the warmth rolls over you. You hadn't realised until now just how cold it had been outside. \n\n"Hey!" a small voice squeals, and you leap back in shock as a small girl runs towards you. She doesn't look more than six, and her blond hair is in two neat plaits. "Who are you?"\n\n"I'm... ah..." you stammer. Is 'I don't really know' an answer? Then you remember your name again. "Astrid.” Saying it like that makes you feel better, more confident, so you say it again. "Astrid.”\n\n"I heard you the first time," the kid says, and you frown. "I'm Tansy. What are you doing in my house?"\n\n"I was - uh - cold," you explain. \n\n"My Daddy won't be happy when he finds you here," she says, and your heart sinks. You can't help but feel partially responsible for that man's death - and it looks like he did live here after all.\n\n"Who's your Daddy, kid?"\n\n"His name's Marcus," the little girl says. "He's damn awesome."\n\n"Of course he is," you mutter.\n\n"I see him!" the girl squeals, and your eyes open wide. Slowly you start to back towards the door, away from this crazy kid, and you bump into someone solid.\n\n"Oof," you mutter, and turn around to see a man only slightly taller than you standing there.\n\n"Um, hi?" he offers politely, but you are too startled to speak. Marcus barely looks older than sixteen! Dimly the fact that he is taller than you registers in your mind, and you realise that you can't be more than sixteen yourself.\n\n"I - I... sorry!" you blurt. It's tempting to just dodge around him and run out the door, but you are so hungry. Should you [[flee now|Run Away From Marcus]], or [[ask for something to eat|Ask For Food]]?\n
<<if $have_shield eq "yes">>\nYou open the heavy oak door in front of you and dash out onto the parapets, hearing the hiss of arrows as they soar past you. You feel the impact as you take a couple of them on your shield, but the door to the west tower is approaching fast. In another few seconds you are there, and you sling the shield on your back as you open the door and tumble inside.\n\nThere is a window at the north side of the west tower, and you peer through it. You have a clean run to the entrance from here and with your heart in your mouth you decide to take it. Your feet slap the cobbles as you charge across the parapet, shield still over your back. You realise with a start that you don’t have any shoes on, and you wonder if that is a normal behaviour for you. \n\nThe run takes you to the edge of the parapet and you only hesitate briefly before throwing yourself over the side. It isn't as if you had anywhere else to go. You land lightly, tucking forward into a neat roll which your body seems to instinctively know even if you don't.\n\nThe moon hangs in the sky and you look back at the keep walls with relief. You are finally out. But then you realise that you have no idea where to go. There seem to be only two options avaliable to you - stay here in the shelter of the keep wall until sunrise, or head off walking in a straight line and hope for the best. \n\n\n<u>Your Surroundings</u>\n\nYou cannot see anything around you.\n\nShould you [[stay here|Wait By Keep Wall Until Morning]] or [[leave now|Walk On Through The Night]]?\n\n<<else>>\n\nYou open the heavy oak door in front of you and dash out across the parapets, hearing the hiss of arrows shooting past you. For a few seconds you begin to think you might make it, as you see the door to the west tower approaching fast, but then pain blossoms and flares under your right arm. You've been hit! Slowly you crumple to the stone floor, and as your world fades to black you are grateful that at least you can't remember anyone who will miss you.\n\n<b>GAME OVER</b>\nYour character has died.\nPlease [[try again|Start]]. \n\n<<endif>>\n\n