You are a fawn. You wake up in a clearing. Time to explore!
[[>>->Choice]]You wake up in a clearing. What should you do today? Should you trust your [nose]<1b| or your [spots]<1a|? (click: ?1b)[Your nose is tickling, signaling there might be something intriguing in front of you. ] (click: ?1a)[Your spots are tingling, saying that there might be something interesting behind you. ]
[[//Trust your nose. //->Trust Nose]]
[[//Trust your spots. //->Trust Spots]]You turn and walk back into a darker section of the forest. You wander around until you come to a clear fork in the path. There are three options: [left]<5a|, [middle]<5b|, and [right]<5c|. (click: ?5a)[The left path sounds of burbling and crashing. ](click: ?5b)[The middle path sounds silent. ](click:?5c)[The right path sounds of harsh whistling. ]
[[Take the left path. ->River]]
[[Take the middle path. ->Middle Fork]]
[[Take the right path. ->Right Fork]]
[[No path tells you what to do! Wander off on no path. ->Neither]]You trot forwards into a brighter section of the forest. You come out into a clearing with two clear paths: [left]<2a| and [right]<2b|. (click: ?2a)[The left path smells absolutely delicious.] (click: ?2b)[The right path smells fresh and clean.] Which way do you go?
[[Left->Farm]]
[[Right->River]]
[[Neither! Wander off in some other direction. ->Neither]]You head off into the brush, wandering at random, letting your whim take your wherever it desires. After a while, you become bored, and realize you have no idea where you are.
[[>>->Lost]]You take the left path and pop out of a path of bushes. Before you lies a patch of vegetables: carrots, cabbages, and more. It all smells heavenly! You can't possibly resist.
[[Eat them. ->Yup]]
[[Eat them. ->Yup]]
[[Wait a bit, then eat them. ->Yup]]You take the right path and come out of the trees at the bank of a river. You take a drink, and look for a way past. As the river rushes past, you see some ways across. There is a series of [stones]<3a| marking a rough path across, and an old [log]<3b| fallen over the river. What do you do?
(click: ?3a)[
The stones are flat but covered in water, with spray and rivulets flowing across them constantly. ]
(click: ?3b)[
The log is old but thick, and the ends are solidly attached to the banks of the river. ]
[[Try the stones. ->Stones]]
[[Try the log. ->Log]]
[[Try to swim across. ->Swim]]That was delicious!
As soon as you finish eating, though, a strange tall creature on two legs crashes into the clearing. It makes some scary noises, and begins to run at you. What now?
[[Run!!]]
[[Jump into the brush and hide.->Hide]]
[[Freeze.]]You bolt into the forest, blindly running as fast and as far as you can. Leaves and branches rustle and fly by, and you don't stop for quite a while. When your energy runs out, you stop, and realize you have no idea where you are.
[[>>->Lost]]As soon as you leap into the bush, the strange creature stops running and turns back the way it came. You stay completely still for a while. After a moment of silence, you stick your head back out of the bush to check your surroundings. You are alone.
[[Go back to the clearing. ->Back]]You stand still, unable to move, and the strange creature whacks you one over the head. You see stars, and your vision fades to black.
ENDYou are throughly lost. Every direction around you looks exactly the same. Well, you might as well start walking.
[[Try left. ->10]]
[[Try straight. ->20]]
[[Try right. ->30]]You trot back to a brighter section of the forest. You come out into a clearing with two clear paths: [left]<2a| and [right]<2b|. (click: ?2a)[The left path is scary. No way are you going back there!] (click: ?2b)[The right path smells fresh and clean.] Which way do you go?
[[Right->River]]
[[Neither! Wander off in some other direction. ->Neither]]You hop onto the stones and carefully, slowly, make your way across. As you approach the opposite bank, you slip and tumble off your perch. As the river carries you downstream, you manage to grab onto the edge and heave your way up out of the water. You look around, and realize you have no idea where you are.
[[>>->Lost]]You carefully lift yourself onto the log. A couple of steps, and the log holds steady. You quickly trot to the other side of the river. From the opposite bank, you sniff around for what to do next. You smell something [gentle]<4a| and something [foul]<4b|.
(click: ?4a)[
The gentle smell is calming and nice. But as you continue to sniff it, it feels as if it's almost too calming. ]
(click: ?4b)[
The foul smell is terrible, acrid and burning in your nose. ]
[[Follow the gentle smell. ->Gentle]]
[[Follow the foul smell. ->Foul]]You plunge into the cold, rushing water. As soon as you hit the water, you are pulled under and are unable to stay afloat. You are sent tumbling down the river, and your lungs fill with water. Your vision fades to black.
ENDYou follow the gentle smell into a field of flowers. The flowers are bright, warm colors, and their scent is so relaxing. So relaxing, in fact, that when you go to lay down, you are unconsious before you hit the ground.
ENDYou follow the foul smell deeper into the woods, deeper and deeper until the light all but fades from your surroundings. The smell leads into the mouth of a cave, and you follow it into the darkness.
[[>>->Deeper]]You take the left path, and follow it until it opens up into a copse of bare trees. The wind makes a harsh whistling as it cuts through dead branches and hollow trunks. You canter around, going up and down fallen trees and exploring cracks and piles of wood. One misplaced step, however, splinters a particularly weak part of the tree you are standing on. It shatters under you, and your hind legs slip off into open air. You frantically look around, and see that you have three options.
[[Climb forwards and up onto the higher portion of the trunk. ->Higher]]
[[Let go of the tree. ->Let Go]]
[[Jump to a nearby tree with a sharp angle. ->Slide]]You take the middle path, and end up in a mesa, flat and barren. You trot around the place, and after a while, you catch a whiff of something foul.
[[Follow the smell. ->Foul]]
[[Leave the way you came. ->Back Spots]]You turn and walk back to where you came from. There are three options: [left]<5a|, [middle]<5b|, and [right]<5c|. (click: ?5a)[The left path sounds of burbling and crashing. ](click: ?5b)[The middle path sounds silent. ](click:?5c)[The right path sounds of harsh whistling. ]
[[Take the left path. ->River]]
[[Take the middle path. ->Middle Fork]]
[[Take the right path. ->Right Fork]]
[[No path tells you what to do! Wander off on no path. ->Neither]]You heave yourself up, and climb higher onto the rest of the tree. As you try to find secure footing, though, the rest of the tree starts to creak and crack.
[[Jump down at the ground. ->Jump]]
[[Jump at the nearby tree. ->Slide]]
[[Jump higher. ->Fall]]You let go of the tree and fall, flipping uncontrollably in the air. You crash down hard on your back, and with a sharp jolt, your vision fades to black.
ENDYou leap as the wood beneath you crumbles away to nothing. You land on the other tree, and start to slide down it. As you slide, you notice that the tree isn't growing up out of the ground, and the end is actually stuck in the mouth of a cave. You plunge into the cave and land on smooth stone. The light fades as the cave stretches before you.
[[>>->Cave]]You jump down at the ground from more secure footing, and land hard. As you stand up, you feel a jolt of pain in your left front leg. This was way too much adventure! You retrace your steps and hobble your way back to your clearing. It's going to take some time to heal.
ENDYou jump up only to find the tree splitting open beneath you. Your hooves find nothing, and you fall, landing hard on your head. Your vision cuts to black.
ENDYou move deeper into the cave and it splits into two paths. Will you go [left]<6a| or [right]<6b|? (click: ?6a)[The left path leads deeper into the earth and is wide and clear. ](click: ?6b)[The right path leads upwards, and is thin and rough. ]
[[Go left. ->Deeper]]
[[Go right. ->caveHome]]You're home! Back in the clearing you started in. What a day! With your itch for adventure satisfied, you curl up and go back to sleep. You're going to need all the energy you can get for tommorow's adventure.
ENDYou come out into an open cavern, wide and tall, with columns, stalagmites, and stalactites all around you. In the center of the cavern there is a [circle]<7a| drawn with some kind of dust on the ground. Around it are strange [symbols]<7b| and [objects]<7c|.
(click: ?7a)[
The circle of dust is exact, precise, and it shines with what little light there is in the cavern. ]
(click: ?7b)[
The symbols are carved deep into the stone, and are nothing like you've ever seen before. As you look at them, they seem to swim and pulse in your vision. ]
(click: ?7c)[
The objects are foreign, but similar, and are placed in very specific locations around the circle. They seem to emanate a slight glow that flows into the circle. ]
[[Touch the circle. ->Free]]
[[Touch the symbols. ->Activate]]
[[Touch the objects. ->Break]]
[[Leave well enough alone. Turn back and take the other path. ->caveHome]]You touch the powder making up the circle, and it spills over. As soon as the dust stops forming a perfect circle, a bright flame erupts in the center of the dust. The fire forms into an amorphous blob, and a voice speaks to you in your mind. The sounds you do not comprehend, but the meaning you understand. (text-color: "red")[//Thank you for freeing me, foolish child. You have given me my freedom, but I'm afraid I need more than just freedom if I am to rule as I am meant to. //]The shape in the fire stretches upwards and around you, and swallows you whole. As the flames consume you, your vision fades to black.
ENDYou touch the symbols carved around the circle of dust, and they light up with a deep red. A flame appears in the center of the circle, and slowly grows until the has filled as much of the circle as possible without touching it. It grows upwards, and a voice sounds in your head. You cannot make sense of the sounds, but their meaning is clear to you nonetheless. (text-color: "red")[//Greetings, little one. What is it that you desire? //]
[[Food! ->Yum]]
[[Go home. ->demonHome]]
[[Endless power. ->falseApotheosis]]You nudge one of the odd objects around the circle, and the light in the cave dies and fades away. You make it back the way you came before you are trapped in complete darkness. There seems to be only one place to go, now.
[[Take the right path. ->caveHome]]You struggle through the tiny crevasse and use the last of your energy to squeeze your way out of it. You see the light ahead of you, and you move forward to meet it.
[[>>->Home]](text-color: "red")[//Really? That's it? //]You stand there, waiting for the fire thing to fulfill its promise. (text-color: "red")[//Well okay, then. //] A gigantic pile of delicious food appears before you, and you happily munch it down until you can munch no more. (text-color: "red")[//Anything else, little one? Perhaps--//] You interrupt it, turning around, and marching your way back out of the tunnel and through the other path. (text-color: "red")[//Wait--//]
[[>>->caveHome]](text-color: "red")[//That's it? You don't want anything else? Unlimited power? Godhood? //]You just stand there and stare at it, waiting for yourself to be back home again. (text-color: "red")[//Uh... Okay then. //]
You suddenly see that your surroundings have changed.
[[>>->Home]](text-color: "red")[//Yesss. Of course. Touch me, and we will merge into teh most powerful being in the world. Nothing will stand in our way. //]You stick a hoof into the fire, and your vision is consumed by blinding light. Your mind expands. You know all, see all, and a great power is at your hooves. Suddenly, that power is redirected, wielded by a force other than yourself. The demon. (text-color: "red")[//Thank you, foolish child. All I needed was a physical body and I could rule this entire planet. You were stupid to think I would let you share in my dominion. //] You feel yourself being locked away, able to see and feel and hear, but not to do anything about it. You are just a passenger, a witness to the horrors dealt by the hand of the demon, now and for all eternity.
ENDNo change.
[[Try left. ->30]]
[[Try straight. ->12]]
[[Try right. ->20]]No change.
[[Try left. ->21]]
[[Try straight. ->30]]
[[Try right. ->23]]Still lost.
[[Try left. ->31]]
[[Try straight. ->32]]
[[Try right. ->33]]A little brighter.
[[Try left. ->41]]
[[Try straight. ->41]]
[[Try right. ->42]]A change.
[[Try left. ->41]]
[[Try straight. ->42]]
[[Try right. ->43]]A little darker.
[[Try left. ->42]]
[[Try straight. ->43]]
[[Try right. ->43]]Nope.
[[Try left. ->12]]
[[Try straight. ->10]]
[[Try right. ->21]]Nope.
[[Try left. ->20]]
[[Try straight. ->20]]
[[Try right. ->20]]Nope.
[[Try left. ->21]]
[[Try straight. ->20]]
[[Try right. ->10]]A cave opens up before you, and you decide to go in. The light fades as you move deeper.
[[>>->Cave]]You stumble out of the trees and realize you finally recognize where you are. You head for your clearing, happy to be home.
[[>>->Home]]Brighter.
[[Try left. ->52]]
[[Try straight. ->51]]
[[Try right. ->32]]
[[Go back. ->31]]Change.
[[Try left. ->43]]
[[Try straight. ->41]]
[[Try right. ->71]]
[[Go back. ->32]]Darker.
[[Try left. ->32]]
[[Try straight. ->61]]
[[Try right. ->62]]
[[Go back. ->33]]Bright.
[[Try left. ->52]]
[[Try straight. ->52]]
[[Try right. ->71]]It's much brighter, and you see some familiar landmarks.
[[>>->lostHome]]Dark.
[[Try left. ->71]]
[[Try straight. ->62]]
[[Try right. ->62]]It's very dark, but looks new, different from where you've been wandering.
[[>>->foundCave]]Different.
[[Try left. ->51]]
[[Try straight. ->42]]
[[Try right. ->61]]