html.main {
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(color:white)[#Are you a ...?]
[[Boy->Boy]]
[[Girl->Girl]]
[[Other->Other]]
(color:white)[The sun has long gone down when you make it to your rented room. It’s black as night as you fumble around.]
[[Next->CandleRoom]]
(color:white)[The sun has long gone down when you make it to your rented room. It’s black as night as you fumble around.]
[[Next->CandleRoom]]
(color:white)[The sun has long gone down when you make it to your rented room. It’s black as night as you fumble around.]
[[Next->CandleRoom]]
(color:white)[You think to yourself:]
(color:white)[A match, a match... Now where's that] [[candle->WritingDesk]]
<img src="http://i.imgur.com/tXEtJE7.jpg?1" height="450" width="500" />
<audio src="candlematch.mp3" autoplay>
(color:white)[The events of the day weigh heavily on your mind. You know this day will surely go down in history, even in the deep violence of the Revolution. You resolve to record the day - and your role in it - and send it to a confidante. Sitting down at the desk, you] [[put your quill to parchment->SheetofPaper]] (color:white)[before you can reconsider your words.]
<img src="http://i.imgur.com/b3ta5lO.jpg?1" height="450" width="500" />
(color:white)[My dear friend,
This morning dawned beautiful… so strange to see sunlight on the faces of the wretched! The police have been making patrols, and they now take every urchin for a revolutionary. Not such a presumptuous thought -- how the people have turned against the King. There a dozen new pamphlets printed every morning, bearing the acts of violence, the philosophies of the English, the names of flown aristocracy. But the tyrannical reign!
The Bastille still stands like a God and a ghost.
And in the face of this sublime oppression still the people rise. Yesterday, just yesterday, a mob of thousands appeared out of thin air, myself in their company - and we marched upon the gates of the palace with flags of the republic and torches to guard against the snow and rain. The flames flickered but we held them high; we were soaked to our bones and still we pressed forward. I wonder, ceaselessly, if this is what the fight is like. How dear the cost!
You must promise to me that this letter remains in your possession alone - I know there is no one else who will understand what I am about to relay. I trust your judgement, friend: am I still a good man?
The guards came upon us as thick as the snow. Those in our number are vastly peasants and those few of us one may accuse of playing at a game below our rank. I know that my voice is no stronger than the farmer. A winter-fearing mouse has more right than me to write to you. But when a roaring man turned upon with a musket and blood on his teeth I went forward and met him with all the violence of my heart. There is blood on my hands, my friend, and these are only the earliest of days.]
[[The candle flickers!->SameDesk]]
(color:white)[The flame has burnt the tallow low. It is time to end the day. You lick the calloused pads of your thumb and finger and pinch the] [[flame-> Bedroom]].
<img src="http://i.imgur.com/tXEtJE7.jpg?1" height="450" width="500" />
(color:white)[There is the faint whiff of smoke as you climb into your bed and easily fall into] [[sleep->DREAM]].
(color:white)[You are now dreaming.
The scent of something burning reaches through the fog of sleep. You scrub your hands over your face and sit upright.
Your feet touch down against a rocky floor. It is not the room you saw when you closed your eyes.]
[[Walk closer to the fire->Next1]]
(color:white)[As you walk across the cave’s uneven floor, your eyes struggle to identify the shape behind the flames. The pass through the cavern curves, and at its bend you stop in your tracks. There lounging by the shifting blaze is a cat of unbelievable proportions. Your heart thunders in your chest but you find yourself unable to draw a breath, fear gripping in vice bands around your ribs. In the dancing orange light, its stripes seem to shift, kaleidoscopic. The massive head turns; you are immobile under the weight of its gaze.]
<img src="http://i.imgur.com/p4sw1xw.jpg" height="450" width="500" />
(color:white)[This much is clear: you cannot stay in the cave. The wall behind you is solid, and while the cat languishes, surely it will become bored and choose you as a plaything. The fire sparks, drawing your attention. The animal sprawls on the righthand side of the cave’s entrance - the fire occupies much of the left. On the far side of the fire, a long, thick branch extends well into the gravel and sand. It looks sturdy enough to support its own weight. Here’s the bottom line: if you need to face that tiger, you stand half a chance of getting out alive with some kind of weapon.
You take another few steps. The very end of the tiger’s tail twitches, just another flickering shadow. Your nerves nearly give out. This is the moment of choice. Do you move slowly, or make a dash?]
[[move slowly->slowmoveroom]]
[[make a dash->dashroom]]
(color:white)[You press your back to the rocky wall of the cavern. It snags your clothes, but no rocks or sand crumbles to your feet, so your passage is nearly silent under the crackling of the fire. Your breathing is quick and quiet.
The tiger watches you move, but shows no signs of rising to its feet. The heat rises off the fire, but you do your best to ignore the discomfort as you lean down, snagging the branch from the fire. Sparks spray up, but the branch is solid, longer than your arm. Its end is deeply charred, not likely to give out any time soon.
Looking back across the flames, the cat blinks at you, and you take it as the sign to move on,] [[into the dark->intodark]] (color:white)[outside the mouth of the cave.]
(color:white)[You’ve made the choice to run for it. You take a deep breath and run. The tiger rises to its feet!
You reach down and snag the branch with your right hand as you run past the fire. The tiger growls, but doesn’t give chase.
Your running feet carry you out] [[into the dark->intodark]]
(color:white)[The cave opens out to a rocky plateau. Using the branch as a torch, you begin to carefully pick your way down the slope.
There is a narrow line of rocky ground between the tree roots.]
[[continue->mariner1]]
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(color:white)[#A Mighty Lesson]
[[Start game->main]]
(color:white)[You are walking along the path now, your thoughts and details of what you have just witnessed swirling around your head. Just as you are about to pass a rather large tree, a hunched over figure steps out from behind, startling you enough that you backup a few steps. Upon further inspection you find that it is an old man, his face covered in wrinkles, and a long, unkempt beard protruding from around his face, extending down past his chest. The] [[old man->description]] (color:white)[studies you for a moment, looking you up and down with his tired grey eyes.]
<img src="http://i.imgur.com/64nSIc6.jpg" height="450" width="500" />
(color:white)[“Why hello there,” he begins to say before you wrinkle your nose in disgust; not only does his breath stink, but you’re just suddenly realizing he smells of salt and fish. Either he does not notice your reaction or he does not care, and continues talking, “who might you be?”
You stand there in silence, maintaining eye contact, unsure of whether or not this man is safe to talk too; what kind of person stinks of fish and hides behind trees? Again, he does not acknowledge your reaction. Instead, he begins to walk towards you, bearing a toothy grin. You remain quiet as he approaches you, but cannot help but make a face once the scent of fish gets stronger and stronger.
“Well that’s okay, you needn’t talk for me anyhow,” the old man says, letting out an old, worn out chuckle, “but would you spare some of your time to listen to my tale? Please, humor an old man.”
You stand there for a moment, the smell of sea and fish filling your nostrils stronger than ever before. He seems harmless enough, and now you’re curious what kind of story he might have to tell you that required him to wait behind a tree for someone. On the other hand, you are in a rush, and this might just be a trap. Do you decide to stay and listen to his story? Or do you leave him?]
[[stay and listen->staylisten]]
[[leave him->leavehim]]
(color:aqua)[You politely smile at the old man before turning to the nearby tree and sit down, leaning your back against it. Everything about the man seems to have changed in accordance with his satisfaction about your choice; he seems to stand a little taller, look more energetic and smile a little wider.
''“You’re in for a treat!”'' he joyously announces as he gets into a stance, spreading his legs and raising his arms. You remain silent as he begins his story, but smile at his enthusiasm.
“Well you see, it starts not all too long ago, when my crew and I sailed out to sea on a beautiful day, with the sun shining and the ocean glittering. We were prepared for a lovely voyage; unfortunately fate had different plans, and a massive storm, tyrannous and strong, forced us into the frigid Antarctic waters, leaving our ship trapped in a maze of ice.]
[[Continue...->Nextmoment]]
(color:white)[You decide that you can’t be bothered to listen to this old man, and quickly apologize to him before pushing past to continue on your way. You don’t get very far before you feel a skinny hand grab your arm; you turn and look the old man in the eyes, surprised. He stares back at you for a moment, disappointment filling his eyes, before speaking again.
“Please, I have a story that I must tell to somebody. It will not take long, and I assure you will find it interesting to say the least!” the elder exclaims, raising his voice slightly.
You wait a moment before sighing and slowly walk towards the tree, slumping down next to it; you can tell that this man is determined to tell whatever story he had, and wasn’t going to take no for an answer. The old man is visibly excited as a large smile crosses his face, and he raises his arms, ready to make dramatic gestures. As you get comfortable, he begins his story.]
[[Next->leave2]]
(color:aqua)[''"After some time, we noticed that there was an Albatross in the sky, circling the ship, and then, almost if by magic, our ship broke free from the ice, and a strong wind carried the ship out of the icy waters and into warmer, foggier ones. The crew rejoiced, and saw the bird as a symbol of hope, for as long as it flew behind the ship, the strong wind continued to push us onward.”'']
[[Next->Explanation]]
<audio src="nextmoment" autoplay>
(color:white)[(text-style:"shadow")[###Suddenly, everything in front of you starts to become hazy] The surrounding environment becoming cloaked in a veil of thick, black smoke. Noticeably alarmed, you immediately turn around, only to find the menacing black smoke consuming the landscape behind you as well. You become confused and frightened as everything around you begins to vanish; the sky, the land, everything you know.
It is not long until everything is gone, everything except you, lost in this vast swirling sea of darkness. As your heart races and your palms begin to sweat, the smoke begins to close in on you and the little piece of word that still exists; you’re about to take a step back before realizing you’d walk back into the unknown.
“W-what’s happening?!” you barely manage to squeak out, having to almost drag the words out of your throat before the darkness closes in and finally envelopes you.
For a moment you stand in this veil of darkness, hunched over, terrified. Not a second later, you feel yourself begin to fall, fall into the nothingness; naturally you try to scream but find you can’t produce any kind of sound. You end up falling in silent terror, your eyes darting all over the place, heart pumping like you’ve never experienced.
You suddenly jolt upright, eyes wide and heart still racing as light fills your vision, momentarily blinding and stunning you. Disoriented, you rub your eyes and glance around for a minute before realizing you are back in your study, at your desk. Your breathing and heart rate begins to return to normal as you come to the realization that you must have fallen asleep at your desk the night before; another second passes before you the thought of everything you had fought for was all for nothing.
Or was it?
Your eyes slowly drift over to the letter you were writing last night to your friend. Maybe there is a way for you to make a difference. Maybe you can make a difference.]
(color:white)[#Maybe there is hope.]
(color:aqua)[The man explains his story, smiling. However, you see his smile begin to fade for a moment before it flickers back into place, and a guilty tone enters overtakes his voice when he continues.
''“Well, as you can imagine, the crew was not very happy with what I did next,"'' he says, looking at you sheepishly, “With my cross-bow, I shot the Albatross. The other sailors, at first, were infuriated with me; I had essentially just killed our own guardian angel of sorts. But before they could act on their feelings of anger and detest, the fog all around us lifted, and we could finally see the beautiful vast ocean in all directions. Naturally, the crew rejoiced at the sudden turn of events, and we all assumed the actions I had taken were in our favor; there was even a strong wind that carried the ship along at an amazing rate. For a while, my crew thanked me.” The man says in a calm tone, seemingly looking right through you, a glassy look now glazing over his eyes. You look back at him questionably; you feel a little uneasy about this story, though you aren’t sure why. ]
[[Next->MoreExplanation]]
<audio src="explanation" autoplay>
(color:aqua)[“While this wind did manage to take us quite a distance, the end result was less than satisfactory. We went from soaring across the seas to an area that was completely dead; no wind, no waves, nothing. It was then the horrible realization that we were stuck settled in, we were as idle as a painted ship upon a painted ocean. With the sun constantly beating down on our poor skins, things quickly took a turn for the worse. We had nothing to drink, and men descended into madness, claiming that a spirit from the icy waters stalked our ship from beneath the surface. At night, gruesome, slimy creatures bubbled to the surface, making the water turn green, blue and white. Believing all of this to be a result of me killing the Albatross, the crew unsurprisingly turned on me, and forced me to wear the corpse of the creature around my neck as punishment, presented as a symbol of shame.]
[[Next->MoreExplanation2]]
(color:green)[After some period of time passing, how much I am not sure of, everyone’s mouth had become bone-dry, to the point where we could not utter a sound, no matter how much we tried. That is, at least, until the day I spotted what I assumed to be a ship on the horizon. Excitedly, I attempted to alert the other sailors of my discovery, but did so in vain; my mouth was drier than a desert, and I was unable to produce even a single word. With the idea of the ship, our only hope, passing by us beginning to envelope my mind, I did what was necessary.” The old man says, his body suddenly tensing up, almost as if to recoil from something. He takes a breath to continue as you listen intently now, “I bit into my arm, with enough force that my teeth sunk deep into my flesh. The pain was nearly unbearable, and I could feel my warm blood lavish the inside of my sore, dry mouth. It wasn’t much, but it was enough to wet my throat so that I was able to communicate the words ‘a sail, a sail!’ to the others. Together, we rejoiced.”]
[[Next->Relax]]
(color:white)[At this point you start to relax, you are certain this is the end of the tale. However, the man continues in a most disturbing tone; “We were right about one thing, that it was a ship. What we were not prepared for however, was that it was captained by Death itself, and a sickly pale woman, going by the name of Life-in-Death. The two began to play a sick game of rolling dice; death was play for the life of the crew, while the women played for mine, thinking my life had some value.” You continue to look at the old man, but now in disbelief. Had he actually come face to face with death?]
<img src="http://i.imgur.com/027PkpU.jpg" height="450" width="500" />
[[Continuing Listening->moreexp3]]
<audio src="creepy.ogg" autoplay>
(color:white)[“I was met with a fate worse than death. For seven days and nights straight, I was forced to watch all of the crew die, the life escape their bloodshot eyes, and as each fell, I was met with a vengeful, cursed look, letting me know this was my fault. Even after they had died, the look on their faces remained the same, leaving me surrounded by spiteful crew member’s corpses, their hate for me frozen in time.” The old man shudders for a second before continuing his horrific story, “I however, could not die. I was trapped in a quite literal living hell, nothing could save me. I could not even pray, for when I tried, a wicked whisper caressed my ear, leaving my heart as dry as my mouth. I was alone.” You stare, wide eyed at this man. This time you remained in silence because this story has left you speechless. Surely this was the man the child earlier on had described to you; who else could have seen worse than this man here, and lived to tell the tale?]
[[Continue...->moreexp4]]
(color:white)[“I was almost positive that I was damned to exist on that ship for eternity, to be constantly reminded of the fates I had sealed, the pain I had inflicted, and the sins I had committed. It was not until one of the countless nights, when I looked at the ocean, and studied the creatures that had before repulsed me oh so much. But now when I looked at them, after being exposed to the true hideousness that lay within the world, I could see past my previous judgement, and found them to be beautiful, almost gorgeous. Their colors of green, blue and white seemed to gracefully skid across the water in a dazzling display, as opposed to their earlier movements of skulking along the surface of the water. In that moment, without realizing it, I silently blessed and thanked these creatures for their beauty that they shared with the world, providing a momentary escape from my own personal hell. It was then I could feel it, the Albatross, the weight of my sins, slip off from around me and plunge into the ocean’s depths, disappearing from view.”]
<img src="http://i.imgur.com/iQwdeUU.jpg" height="450" width="500" />
[[Continue...->Moreexp5]]
(color:white)[You sit there, bug eyed. You are in complete and utter disbelief at the old man’s tale, and notice that you are now leaning forward, with your heart in your throat. You listen endearingly, waiting for him to continue; there must be more to this enthralling and terrifying tale. Rather than continue talking, a look of relief slowly crosses the old man’s face before he lets out a sigh, one you recognize that stems from being at peace. The old man, for once, says nothing and instead looks at you in silence, smiling for a moment before slowly reaching out with a tightly clenched fist. Intrigued, you hold out your open palm as he releases a crumpled up piece of paper, which gently lands in your hand. He nods to you for a final time and begins walking in the other direction. ]
[[Continue...->FinalScene]]
(color:white)[Curious, you take the balled up piece of paper the old man handed you and begin to unroll it, trying to smooth out its creases. Once you do, you manage to make out the few words scribbled messily onto it;
“He prayeth well, who loveth well, both man and bird and beast.”
After a few minutes, you stand up and begin to walk down the path you were previously exploring, your mind now buzzing with terror, excitement and questions. What did the note mean? That you should express kindness to all living things more often? Was it highlighting the importance of every living creature in general? Perhaps the bloke was just mad, but you doubt that. You are so engrossed in the note that the old man had given you, you are unaware of the dropping temperatures]
[[Next->leave3]]
(color:white)[Its only as you push past a stray branch from a bush do you notice something is wrong. Turning around, you see the landscape you had passed mere seconds ago now cloaked in a thick layer of snow, draping over the trees and ground. You stand there, stunned for a moment as the cold air washes over your face. Just as you start to feel an eerie version of déjà vu well up, you tense up at the faintest sound of a whisper.
A wicked whisper.
Remembering the haunting story the old man had just told you, you waste no time in turning around and dashing, leaving the cold behind, along with the disembodied voice. You don’t stop however, and continue to dash through the wilderness, off the path. Your feet seem to have a mind of their own, and you let out a yelp when you skid to a halt whilst grabbing a nearby tree branch. Your heart still thundering, you look at the gargantuan cliff that lay directly in front of you, and that you surely would have run off of had you not grabbed the tree branch.]
<img src="http://i.imgur.com/WNV2bBx.png" height="450" width="500" />
[[Continue...->FinalScene]]