Small Forest

Wake up... [[...]] (Set: $Size to "Normal")

You take a look around and see that you are inside of a dense forest. Trees surround your every direction and lead into complete darkness. You sigh. If only the rest of the forest was as bright as the clearing. [[Check for signs of human activity]] [[Wander into the forest]] (if: $Key is "True")[[Put the key in the suspicious hole]]

You check your surroundings. From what you can see, no discernable man made path can be seen around here. The surrounding area is flat ground with [[trees]] growing around in a circular pattern. From what you could tell, grass is the only thing that's able to grow here. You can hear [[water]] off in the distance.

You decide to walk blindly into the forest. "It's much better than staying near that creepy altar!" you think as you traverse the dense thicket. You keep marching until you've gone well past your starting point. Your footsteps echo through the forest until you realize, it has been oddly quiet. The forest is silent. [[Go deeper]] [[Head back to the altar ->Look around]]

You shrug off your bad feeling and keep trudge forwards. As you get deeper within the forest, the light seems to fade as you go into [[pitch darkness]].

You walk towards the trees surrounding the clearing. They seem to bend outwards, their branches seemingly avoiding the altar at all costs. (link-undo: "Check around") [[Look for clues]] [[Wander into the forest]]

You decide to investigate the area thoroughly, [[checking every nook and cranny in every tree]] to the best of your ability. Nothing you find is exactly out of the ordinary, except for that [[pile of dust in the corner]]. Maybe you should try getting back to civilization? [[Wander into the forest]]

(if: $Size is "Small" or "Tiny")[You reach in and find a small key. It's etched with weird symbols you've never seen before (set: $Key to "True")](else:)[You swear you see light reflecting off of something inside of a tree trunk, but the hole is too small to reach into.] [[Look elsewhere->Look for clues]]

You find a pile of what seems to be dust next to one of the trees. Even though wind is blowing, it seems to resist blowing away, almost as if it wants to stay here. (link-undo: "Leave it be") [[Search the pile]]

You decide to follow the sound of running water. You keep following it until you reach a murky lake with an accompanying waterfall, the sound of which is nearly deafening. (Link: "Go into the water")[Yeah, no. You don't know how to swim, and the last thing you need is to drown in the middle of nowhere with no help in sight. [[Do it anyways]]] [[Search the lake]]

The water begins to surround your skin as you walk into the lake. You realize that, even though you know the water is cold, you don't really feel uncomfortable. [[Further]] (link-undo: "Go back")

You look around and don't see much except for what seems to be a small lodge on an island in the middle of the lake. There is a small boat on shore resting on the dirt. (if: $Size is not "Small")[You would try to get on but it's much too small for you, it's as if it was made for kids] (else:)[(if:$Lighter is "True")[You've already seen what's on the island, there's not much else to see.](else:)[[Get on the boat ->Get on the boat]]] [[Go back to the water->water]] [[Go back to the altar ->Check for signs of human activity]]

You dig your hands into the pile. Gray dust coats your hands as you try to find anything that will help you figure out your situation. You find pieces of red cloth inside of the ash. (if: $Memory is "1")[It seems familiar... You pull out the locket and look at the woman. The soft red fabric matched the color of her clothing. Tears fall slowly from your eyes until you realize that you're quietly sobbing. You tuck away the locket and try to calm yourself. (set: $Memory to "2")] (else:)[You're unsure where this cloth came from, but you're certain there's not much to it. You put it back in the pile and leave it be.] [[Look for clues]]

You keep stepping into the water, your feet stepping into unseen territory one at a time. You keep this up, until you eventually step into nothing. Your body drops as you struggle to stay up. If only you had taken swimming lessons seriously. Your feet desperately search for footing with no avail. You head ducks under the water as you take one last desperate breath of air. [[You sink down, your vision getting dark]]

You can feel your body getting cold... That is... Was it ever warmer than this before? ... Your vision goes black. (if: $Size is "Normal")[[You start to see something...]] (if: $Size is "Small")[[Something comes to mind...]] (if: $Size is "Tiny")[[Something...]]

Your legs instinctively move as step by step you tredge forwards. Left. Right. Left. Right. (if:$Escape is "True")[ [[Left...]] [[Right...->Until...]]](else:)[[Until...]]

You lose your footing as you fall down a hill, until eventually you land, headfirst onto a rock. [[You sink down, your vision getting dark]]

You start to remember something... something about who you are and where you came from. But eventually, all you could remember is Blood. The same dark red liquid which coated your hands as you coughed into them. The same liquid which caused her to panic and worry. [[...]] (set: $Size to "Small")

You remember spending days at a hospital. Slowly, days turned to weeks, weeks turned to months, and months turned into years. You hear the beeps from the machines echo throughout your ears. You hear shouting as your nurse calls for you, you have a visitor. You smile. Your day always brightens when she comes. She approaches as you hug her and feel her warmth. Your close your eyes, wanting this feeling to last forever. [[...]] (set: $Size to "Tiny")

You remember riding in a car, your body felt weak, your temperature dropping. You heard somebody shout in the driver seat that everything was going to be alright, that they would find a way to help you no matter what. For a second you feel happy. And in a moment you drift off, off to sleep again... [[Off to rest once more...]]

Your eyes open, you feel groggy. The sun shines down as you quickly shield your eyes against its harsh light. You lift yourself up, the palms of your hands pushing against the coarse rock you were lying on. (if: $Size is "Normal")[The rock you're on seems to be in the shape of an altar. The surface is flat and you see that it was just long enough for you to lay on. After looking at the sides, you find what seems to be various small holes at different heights, one of which looks oddly shaped near the top of the altar.](if: $Size is "Small")[The rock you're on seems to be in the shape of a table. The surface is a little rugged. You are a bit small, but you can drop down off of the altar safely. After looking at the sides, you find what seems to be various small holes at different heights, one of which looks oddly shaped near the top of the altar.](if: $Size is "Tiny")[You are stuck on top of what you believe to be a large rock. After looking down the sides, you find what seems to be various small holes at different heights, one of which looks oddly shaped near the top of the altar.] (link: "Check your possessions")[(if: $Size is "Normal")[From what you can tell, you don't have anything. You feel around your body until you feel something in the pockets in your pants. You pull out a small silver locket and open it. One side is engraved with the text "Don't forget, I'll always love you. Even when I'm gone." The other side is a picture of an older woman that seems familiar.] (link: "Try to remember")[(set: $Memory to "1")You attempt to remember, but as you rack your brain around this mysterious person, you feel a tingle creep along your brain until it begins to sting. You decide to pocket the locket and let it be for now.](if: $Size is "Small")[From what you can tell, you don't have anything. You feel around your body until you feel something in the pockets in your pants. You pull out a small silver locket and open it. One side is engraved with the text "Don't forget, I'll always love you. Even when"... Even when? The words are scratched out, you can't tell what the rest of the sentence is. The other side is a picture of a woman.(If:$Key is "True")[You also have a key with weird etchings on the sides of it.](if: $Lighter is "True")[You dig deeper in your pockets, finding an orange lighter.]](if: $Size is "Tiny")[From what you can tell, you don't have anything. You feel around your body until you feel something in the pockets in your pants. You pull out a small silver locket and open it. One side is engraved with the text "Don't forget" The other side is a picture of ... Somebody? (If:$Key is "True")[You also have a key with weird etchings on the sides of it.](if: $Lighter is "True")[You dig deeper in your pockets, finding an orange lighter.]]] (if: $Size is "Tiny")[(if: $Chain is "Unlocked")[You see what seems to be a large golden chain handing off the side of altar. [[Climb down]]]] [[Jump down ->Look around]]

You get on the boat and start rowing towards the small island. You dock the boat and walk towards the hut. The small wooden cabin is covered head to toe in cobwebs and a thick layer of dust. After a while, you realize that there's nothing that useful inside of here, nothing except for... [[A lighter?]]

You climb down the golden chain until you get to the end. You can see that the rock you were on actually had caves dotted around the surface. [[Go into the cave]] [[Go down]]

You head into the cave and leave the chain behind. However, it slowly gets harder and harder to see... (if: $Lighter is "True")[You dig around your pockets looking for something until... [[Oh, right!]]](else:)[Maybe I should [[turn back...->Go down]]]

You head down the chain and hop off. It doesn't seem like you can jump back on anytime soon. [[Look around]]

You pull out an orange lighter and flick it on. The small flame illuminates the surrounding area. Etchings can be seen on the walls, images of people praying to some kind of god figure. [[Keep reading]] [[I've seen enough.->Go down]]

You find a small orange lighter resting on a dusty wooden table. You wobble it around and see through the thin orange plastic that it still has fuel inside. [[Pocket it and go back ->Search the lake]] (set: $Lighter to "True")

You put the key into the suspicious hole and pull. Suddenly, a chain emerges now attached to the key. [[Pull harder]] [[Leave it be]] (set: $Chain to "Unlocked")

You notice that the etchings are on both sides of the cave. The pictures are laid out in order from left to right, almost as if it was a pattern. [[First step]]

You swing your lighter to the left, illuminating the first step of the ritual. You can see what seems to be a person laying another down onto an altar while a large godlike figure watches over them. [[Second step]]

You move your lighter to the right, where the looming figure now seems to be extracting something from the person performing the ritual. [[Third step]]

You keep the lighter to the right. The person performing the ritual has been replaced by a pile of ash. You can see that now the godlike figure is inserting something inside of the person ontop of the altar. But it's strange... You could have sworn that they illustrated him larger in previous panels... [[Fourth step]]

As you keep your lighter to the right, the last panel gives you chills. It's no longer a depiction of the ritual, but a picture of the large godlike figure's face. It's solemn, but it feels as though it's smiling. You swear that it's staring at you, almost as if it was alive... You look at it's mouth and see that etched between it's lips is what seems to be a person, but it's much to small to tell... [[Check the steps again->First step]] [[Leave->Go down]] (set:$Escape to "True")

[[Left.. ->Until...]] [[Right..]]

[[Left. ->Until...]] [[Right.]]

[[Left ->Until...]] [[Right]]

You see light in the distance as you begin to sprint towards it. You've never felt so relieved in your life as you are now. You shield your eyes from the blinding light as you open them once more. You look behind you and see that the trees aren't as big anymore, in fact, did you get bigger? Who cares, you're free! (if: $Memory is "2")[A tear falls from your eyes as you start to remember. That's right. You've always been in a dangerous situation. You've always wanted to be free but why does it hurt so much. Why did she sacrifice herself for you. Why did she give birth to you only to leave you alone. Why did she sacrifice herself just to revive you. But you know there's only one answer as you begin walking towards civilization triumphantly.](else:)[You can't help but feel like you're forgetting something back there, something important. But then you realize the danger of treading through that forest any longer. You walk away, trying to figure out what you forgot.]

You awaken in a concrete desert, there's nothing but rock surrounding you. You can see large folliage off in the distance, but it's large, larger than usual, larger than you've ever seen. You lie down onto the warm concrete and stare into the sky. You don't know why but you feel defeated, as if you could have done better... And as you stare, you swear that you could see something stare back with grinning teeth as it all turns to black.

You pull as hard as you can until eventually, the chain snaps and all you're left with is a broken chain. (set: $Chain to "False") (set: $Key to "False") [[Oh well. ->Look around]]

You decide to leave the key be. Who knows, maybe it'll be helpful later? [[Leave ->Look around]] (set: $Key to "False")