Your body coils invisible around stars, a bridge of $flesh for (link: "|displink>[them]")[the Nobility, those beings given the power of all space and time,] to walk along.
Your (link: "|displink->[teeth]")[teeth (sharper than time and stronger than gravity)] surround worlds marked for |proglink->[ [[annihilation]]](set:$freeform to 5,$freeroam to 5,$day to 1,$time to "morning", $flesh to "feathers", $monstrous to true)
<!-- The $freeform variable measures how much freedom of shape you are permitted, from 0 to 10. 10 hypothetically permits total freedom to choose your form. 0 means you're entirely restricted. When it drops below 3, you're not permitted womanhood. The $freeroam variable also runs from 0 to 10 and determines your freedom to move about the castle. Both tick down based on the fluctuations of favor (define variable later) -->(enchant: ?proglink, (text-color: magenta + red +red))
(enchant: ?displink, (text-color: magenta))
(enchant: ?navlink, (text-color: cyan))
(enchant: ?cyclink, (text-color: yellow))
(enchant: ?page, (font: "Georgia"))
(if: (visited: "Bedroom") is true and $time is not "eternity")[(replace: ?sidebar)[(text-size: 0.75)[Day $day
$time]
(icon-undo:)]](link: "|displink->[JUDGEMENT]")[JUDGEMENT (the last gift given to the sinner)] IS CAST. YOU ARE THE (link: "|displink->[EXECUTIONER]")[EXECUTIONER (giver of the last gift)].
|proglink->[(link-goto: "DEVOUR")]FANGS CLOSE AROUND THE WORLD SWALLOW SWALLOW THEY ARE BUT A MORSEL TO|proglink->[ [[FEED]]] YOU|proglink->[(link-goto: "Good girl.", "Bedroom")]It is $time in the Castle of Distances. (if: visits is 1)[To accomodate the length of your great and coiling body, it has been permitted that the Steward of Meters produce for you a falsity of scale and form.
You have been permitted the form of a woman on condition of continued servility.
Your $flesh show(if: $flesh is "chitin" or "stoneflesh" or "fur")[s] what you really are anyway. The Castle sees no harm in a mask that does not conceal.] (if: $choked is true)[The flesh around your throat hurts.]\
(if: $day is 3)[
A message has been left on your bedside table. (link: "|displink>[Read it?]")[It informs you that the Lord of Distances will be hosting a party this evening, and that he wishes for you to attend, preferably in a tight-fitting dress . It's unstated, but thoroughly implied, that failing to attend dinner tonight will result in more severe punishment than usual.]]\
(if: $freeform < 5)[
Something about your body feels different. You feel the urge to look in the bathroom mirror.]\
(if: $day is 4 and (visited: "Relic Handoff") is not true and $acqmerchant > 0)[
You didn't get the merchant what he needed. It seems he's left in the night. (set: $acqmerchant to 0)](if: $day is 5 and (visited: "Component Handoff") is not true and $acqmerchant > 0)[
You didn't get the merchant what he needed. It seems he's left in the night. (set: $acqmerchant to 0)]
You are in your room in the eastern tower. Your room is small and quiet. A|navlink->[ [[bathroom]]] is attached, for the maintenance of your permitted form. A|navlink>[ [[wardrobe]]] stands filled with fine clothing. You are required to comport yourself appropriately.
(if: $time is not "night")[\
//''Choosing a (text-color: magenta + red + red)[red] link will move you through the day, from morning to afternoon to evening. Your options will change throughout the day.''//
(if: $freeroam >6)[Your freedom to roam is increased.](elseif: $freeroam >4)[You are permitted freedom to roam.](elseif: $freeroam >2)[Your freedom to roam wanes.](elseif: $freeroam <=2)[You are limited in your freedom to roam.] Where will you go?(if: $freeroam < 3 and (visited: "Revel Removal") is not true)[
(link-goto: "The Laundry")]<navlink|
(if: $freeroam >2)[(link: "The Courtyard")[(if: $clean is true and $dressed is true)[(go-to: "Courtyard")](else:)[(go-to: "Wash")]]]<navlink|(else:)[You are barred from the courtyard.]\
(if: $freeroam <=2 and $acqchef > 2 and $informant is not true)[
(link: "The Kitchens")[(if: $clean is true and $dressed is true)[(go-to: "The Kitchens")](else:)[(go-to: "Wash")]]<navlink|, even though you're technically barred from them.]
(if: $freeroam >1 or $time is "evening")[(link: "The Great Hall")[(if: $clean is true and $dressed is true)[(go-to: "Great Hall")](else:)[(go-to: "Wash")]]]<navlink|(else:)[You are barred from the great hall.]
(if: $freeroam >= 0)[(link: "The Chapel")[(if: $clean is true and $dressed is true)[(go-to: "Chapel")](else:)[(go-to: "Wash")]]]<navlink|(else:)[You are always permitted to go to the chapel.]
(if: $freeroam >5)[(link: "The Western Tower")[(if: $clean is true and $dressed is true)[(go-to: "Western Tower")](else:)[(go-to: "Wash")]]]<navlink|(else:)[You are barred from the western tower.]\
](else-if: $time is "night")[\
[(link-goto: "Sleep")]<proglink|]\
<!-- The $freeroam variable measures how free you are to move about the castle. As you violate rules, you lose access to areas, and as you gain favor, you gain access to new areas. At current, you are always allowed to go suffer in the chapel. Other variables may open up other areas to you, and area links may be $freeroam-bound in locales other than your room. You also can't leave unless you're washed and dressed.-->(if: visits is 1)[You were permitted a choice of material as a reward for the destruction of certain worlds.
[(cycling-link: bind $bathroom, "Marble and verdigris.", "Silver and glass.", "Granite and woodsmoke.", "Brass and steam.", "Porcelain and gold.")]<cyclink|](else:)[$bathroom]
You look at yourself in the mirror. (if: $freeform > 2)[A woman (if: $freeform < 9)[with a body designed to the tastes of the Lord of Distances.](elseif: $freeform >= 9)[(if: $bodychosen is not true)[(display: "Form Select")](elseif: $bodychosen is true)[with $eyecolor eyes, $hairlength, $haircolor hair, a $bodytype body. (link: "|displink>[Change this form?]")[(set: $bodychosen to false)(rerun: ?chooseform)]]]<chooseform|](elseif: $freeform < 3)[Your disobedience has been punished with a man's body, awkward in your clothing. You feel bulky, rough, misshapen. The marks of your monstrosity remain, the only continuity between this and the body you otherwise would have. (display: "Form of " + $flesh) You want to vomit at the sight of yourself.] (if: $freeform < 10 and it >2)[The marks of your monstrosity are clear on your form. (display: "Form of " + $flesh)]\
(if: $freeform is 10)[You have earned the privilege of concealing your monstrosity. |choosemonster>[For once, you appear truly, fully human.(set: $monstrous to false) (link: "|displink>[Show it anyway?]")[(replace: ?choosemonster)[Your monstrous features return. (display: "Form of " + $flesh) (set: $monstrous to true, $monstrosity to it + 1)(link: "|displink>[Hide it again?]")[(set: $monstrosity to it - 1)(rerun: ?choosemonster)]]]]]\
(if: $choked is true)[
In the mirror you see the marks of the chain around your throat.]\
(if: $freeform <5)[
A sigil has been placed on your cheek, the fiery-red brand of a disobedient servant.]
(if: $clean is not true)[(link-goto: "Ready yourself")]<navlink|(else:)[You have readied yourself for the day.]
[(link-goto: "Return", "Bedroom")]<navlink|
<!-- This was hell to program. If it breaks I'm going to scream. -->Warnings for abuse, sexual assault, and, potentially, suicide.
(color: magenta)[Magenta] links reveal or change.
(color: yellow)[Yellow] links cycle and make a choice upon continuing.
(color: cyan)[Cyan] links act or navigate.
(color: magenta + red + red)[Red] links move the story forward.
You have five days, with morning, afternoon, and evening to do things.
|proglink->[(link-goto: "BEGIN")]You step out the door. The guard looks at you with disdain. You have not properly concealed your abominable form. (if: $dressed is not true and $clean is not true)[Get dressed, wash up, and do your makeup. Then you can go about your day.](elseif: $dressed is not true)[Put some proper clothes on and then come back.](elseif: $clean is not true)[Wash up and do your makeup, then come back.]
|navlink>[(link-undo: "Return")]Soaps, tonics, paints, powders, knives.(if: $freeform < 3)[ Try to make your awful face less painful to see.](set: _step to 0)
[(seq-link: bind _step, "Cleanse", "Scour", "Anoint", "Decorate", "Cut", "Compose", "Sculpt", "Paint", "Finish")]<displink|(event: when _step is 'Finish')[(hide: ?displink)(link-reveal-goto: "Finish", "bathroom")[(set: $clean to true)(]]<navlink|(if: $freeform <7)[\
(set: _dress to 0)A[n](n| |cyclink>[(cycling-link: bind _dress, "flowing", "tight-fitting", "elaborate", "armored", "delicate")] gown of |displink>[(cycling-link: "iron", "shaped bone", "glass", "teeth", "chrome")] and |displink>[(cycling-link: "mothwing", "mirrored silk", "woven starlight", "comet dust", "heartstrings")].
(if: $time is not "night")[(link: "Yes, this will do.", (color: cyan))[(set: $dressed to true)But you haven't yet earned the privilege to choose your attire. Your dress has already been chosen for you, a (display: "Outfit " + (str: $day)). Perhaps this was what you wanted.[ [[It matters not.|Bedroom]]]<navlink|]](else:)[But it is nighttime.[ [[Don your nightgown and go to bed.|Bedroom]]]<navlink|]
[(event: when _dress is "armored" or "elaborate")[(show: ?n)(rerun: ?eventfalse)]]<eventtrue|[(event: when _dress is not "armored" and is not "elaborate")[(hide: ?n)(rerun: ?eventtrue)]]<eventfalse|\
]\
(elseif: $freeform >6)[\
A[n](n| |cyclink>[(cycling-link: bind $dressstyle, "flowing", "tight-fitting", "elaborate", "armored", "delicate")] gown of |displink>[(cycling-link: bind $material1, "iron", "shaped bone", "glass", "teeth", "chrome")] and |displink>[(cycling-link: bind $material2, "mothwing", "mirrored silk", "woven starlight", "comet dust", "heartstrings")].
(if: $time is not "night")[(link: "Yes, this will do.", (color: cyan))[(set: $dressed to true)You don your gown. You've now earned the privilege to choose your attire.[ [[Go about your day, now that you're dressed.|Bedroom]]]<navlink|]](else:)[But it is nighttime.[ [[Don your nightgown and go to bed.|Bedroom]]]<navlink|]
[(event: when $dressstyle is "armored" or "elaborate")[(show: ?n)(rerun: ?eventfalse)]]<eventtrue|[(event: when $dressstyle is not "armored" and is not "elaborate")[(hide: ?n)(rerun: ?eventtrue)]]<eventfalse|\
] <!-- If your outfit is chosen for you, "armored" is never chosen. Somewhere I'll add a hint that accessing one of the endings requires an armored gown, which requires freedom of form. One point of $freeform over the starting 5 will get you the ability to choose your clothing, so it's not super hard to get to. It will be a little puzzle though. -->The courtyard holds a ring of|navlink>[ [[uncountable standing stones]]]. The castle was built (link: "|displink>[around them.]")[around them. (To contain their error.)]
The courtyard is full of (link: "|displink>[people]")[people (servants, artisans, knights)] walking from one part of the castle to another. \
(if: $day is 1)[The castle's infantry corps are training in marksmanship all day today. The drum of riflefire rings a staccato beat to the courtyard's activity.]\
(if: $day is 2)[A merchant's vessel has arrived, bringing new goods.]\
(if: $day is 3)[A tutor instructs knights in the art of painting. (if: $acqmerchant < 1)[The merchant has moved on.]]\
(if: $day is 4)[Knights are sparring in their powered armor. Plasma blades clash, sending off waves of sparks.]\
(if: $day is 5)[There's a sense of culmination in the air. People hurry to their tasks as if the end is upon them.]\
(if: $acqmerchant > 0)[The merchant is still here.]
Where will you go?
[(link-goto: "Your room", "Bedroom")]<navlink| (if: $day is 2 or $acqmerchant > 0)[
(link-goto: "The Merchant's Stall", "Merchant day " + (str: $day))]<navlink|
(if: $freeroam >3)[(link-goto: "The Kitchens")]<navlink|(else:)[You are barred from the kitchens.]
(if: $freeroam >4)[(link-goto: "The Forge")]<navlink|(elseif: $day is 4 and $acqmerchant >0)[You are barred from the forge. (link: "|navlink>[Sneak in anyway?]")[(set: $disapproval to it +2)(goto: "The Forge")]](else:)[You are barred from the forge.]
(if: $freeroam >7)[(link-goto: "The Starport")]<navlink|(else:)[You are barred from the starport.]
(if: $freeroam >9)[(link-goto: "The Armory")]<navlink|(else:)[You are barred from the armory.]A vaulted ceiling, studded with diamonds to mark the constellations, stands above a vast and opulent hall. A chandelier of captured starlight scintillates overhead. The grand hearth roars with sunfire. (link: "|displink>[Hunting trophies]")[Hunting trophies(append: ?table)[ You sicken at the sight of a vast, (if: $flesh is "scales")[scaly](else-if: $flesh is "feathers")[feathered](else-if: $flesh is "chitin")[chitinous](else-if: $flesh is "stoneflesh")[stony](else-if: $flesh is "fur")[furred] head much like your own. Smaller. Only requiring minor manipulations of space to fit in the room. She did not survive as long as you have.]] cover the wall above the high [table.]<table| In the center of them is the castle's (link: "|displink>[coat of arms.]")[coat of arms. //(Party per pale azure and sable by a surveyor's chain argent.)//]
(display: "Great hall " + $time)
[(link-goto: "Return to your room", "Bedroom")]<navlink|Stained glass windows of saints you can't recall the names of. The pews hold only the odd penitent. The chaplain stands near the altar, in deep contemplation.
[(link-goto: "Speak with the chaplain", "Chaplain")]<navlink|
[(link-goto: "Pray, for the sake of appearances", "Pray")]<navlink|
[(link-goto: "Return to your room", "Bedroom")]<navlink|
(if: (visited: "Merchant Chat 2") is true and $hasrelic is not true and $acqmerchant > 0 and $day is 3)[You see the reliquary the merchant asked for the contents of. The little golden box sits on the altar, right under the chaplain's nose.
[(link-goto: "Figure out how to get the reliquary", "Relic Hunt")
(link-goto: "Tell the chaplain about the merchant's plan", "Inform Chaplain")]<proglink|]The Lord's (link: "|displink>[chambers]")[chambers(show: ?bedroom)] are here in the western tower. |bedroom)[You have been in the Lord's bedroom before, on the occasions he has requested your presence there.] You cannot enter them without permission, of course.
There are other rooms here you may enter, though. Where will you go?
|navlink>[(link-goto: "The Library")
(link-goto: "The Game Room")
(link-goto: "Back to your room", "Bedroom")]The roar of the stellar furnace. The pounding of the gravitation hammer. The thrum of the harmonic lathe. Bodies of brass working meteoric iron.
(if: $freeroam > 4)[The foreman keeps an eye on you.](else:)[You sneak past the foreman.] (if: $projectrumor is true and $seenproject is not true and $day < 3)[You can see something going on behind a|navlink>[ [[partition]]].](elseif: $day >=3 and $seenproject is not true)[There's a |navlink>[ [[partition]]] near the back, where something is loudly going on.](if: $seenproject is true and $freeroam <= 6)[Several guards are keeping you from going back behind the|navlink>[ [[partition]]].](else-if: $seenproject is true and $freeroam > 6)[You could return behind the|navlink>[ [[partition]]] if you like.]
(link-goto: "|navlink>[Step back out]", "Courtyard")Starships arrive and leave. Deliveries, visitors, travelers stopping to refuel.
The Lord of Distances astroyacht, the //Parallax Arcsecond//, is docked here. It's a beautiful vessel, luxurious and swift.(if: $day is 2 or $acqmerchant > 0)[The merchant's vessel is docked here as well.]
(if: $day<5)[There are laborers hard at (link: "|displink>[work]")[work(show: ?labor)] here. You spot some of them leering at you, but there are plenty who don't.][ [(if: $hotwired is not true)[There's work being done on the //Parallax Arcsecond//. If you have time to spare, you could|proglink>[ [[join in|Shipwork]]].](else:)[The work today is just mundane dock tasks. Nothing much worth your doing.]]](labor|\
(if: $day is 5)[The usual laborers aren't here at all. All is quiet. You could easily slip onto the|navlink>[ //[[Parallax Arcsecond]]//].]
(link-goto: "|navlink>[Step back out]", "Courtyard")The castle's guards and knights are equipped here. Suits of powered armor, energy and conventional-ammo firearms, and various high-tech swords, lances, and pikes are all on display. The head armorer (who normally, when you have lost privileges, keeps you out of here) lounges at his desk, reading a magazine on guns while he reloads the magazine of a gun.
(if: $dressstyle is "armored" and $poweredup is not true)[Your gown is only superficially armored. But the pieces look near-identical to a couple of the suits of powered armor on display. You know a small trick, born from the quirks of your nature, that would make it trivially easy to|proglink>[ [[switch them]]] while the armorer is distracted.](if: $dressstyle is not "armored" and $poweredup is not true)[Some of these suits of powered armor look a lot like some of the armored gowns in your wardrobe, just actually functional as armor, instead of mere superficial decoration.](if: $poweredup is true and $dressstyle is not "armored")[You've snaffled some armor from here, although currently it's hidden in your wardrobe.](if: $poweredup is true and $dressstyle is "armored" and $day is 5)[This is the day of reckoning. You wear the finest powered armor available and there are many weapons close to hand. Why not|proglink>[ [[use them]]]?]
(link-goto: "|navlink>[Step back out]", "Courtyard")A whirl of activity. (if: $informant is not true)[(if: $day < 5)[The[ [[head cook]]]<navlink| stands at the center of it all, conducting the kitchen like an orchestra.](if: $day is 5 and $acqchef >4)[(if: (visited: "Ready") is true)[The chef is preparing her side of the plan. You'd best prepare yours.](else:)[The chef is|proglink>[ [[waiting]]] for you.]](if: $day is 5 and $acqchef < 5)[The chef is too busy to talk. You wonder what's going on today.]](if: $informant is true)[The chef is gone. A former sous-chef has taken her place. There is no more for you here.]
(if: $freeroam > 2)[(link-goto: "Step back out", "Courtyard")]<navlink|\
(if: $freeroam <=2)[(link-goto: "Sneak back out", "Bedroom")]<navlink|\
(if: (visited: "Ready") is true and $time is "morning")[(link: "Wait in the kitchens. Pass some time.")[(set: $time to "afternoon")(goto: "Ready and Waiting")]]<proglink|
(if: (visited: "Ready") is true and $time is "afternoon")[(link: "Wait in the kitchens. Pass some time.")[(set: $time to "evening")(goto: "Ready and Waiting")]]<proglink|[There are (set: $circlecount to (random: 1, 3)+(random: 1,4)+(random:1,4))$circlecount. No, that's not right.]<count|
|displink>[(link-rerun: "Count again")[(rerun: ?count)]]
(link-goto: "|navlink>[Stop counting]", "Courtyard")Deep in the bowels of the castle lurk the steam and suds of the laundry. It's odd; your freedoms have been curtailed and restricted, but nevertheless, here's a new place the castle permits you to go.
The workers pay you little mind as you enter.
(if: visits is 1)[The head of the laundry, obscured by a cloud of steam, waves for you to come over.](else:)[The head of the laundry is here as always.]
[(link-goto: "Head over", "Reveler")]<navlink|
[(link-goto: "Return to your room", "Bedroom")]<navlink|(if: $acqchef < 1)[(set: $acqchef to 1)]The chef! One rare, true friend in this place. She sneaks you pots of soup and loaves of bread and roast meats and pastries when the hungers grow too great to bear.
(link-rerun: "|displink>[Sneak some food, making eye contact the whole time]")[(replace: ?chat)[She watches as you shove an entire pie into your dress. It vanishes into your hidden vastness. She winks.]]
(link-rerun: "|displink>[Ask her about the day]")[(replace: ?chat)[She tells you the rumors of the kitchen. (if: $day is 1)[A secret project going on in the forge, a scandal surrounding the chaplain, a noble visitor.(set: $projectrumor to true)](elseif: $day is 2)[That secret project—did I tell you about that yesterday?—is continuing, of course. Oh, and there's a merchant here today. Picked up some ingredients from him.(set: $projectrumor to true)](elseif: $day is 3)[His Lordship is hosting a party. Apparently one of the visiting nobles has already thrown up in the billiard room.](elseif: $day is 4)[Apparently the Lord of Distances threw a servant down the stairs after they implied he might be hungover. They've been hiding in the kitchens.](elseif: $day is 5)[There's a thrum of tension in the air today. Something's going to happen.]]]
(link-rerun: "|displink>[Ask how she's doing]")[(replace: ?chat)[(if: $nicetochef is not true)[(set: $acqchef to it + 1, $nicetochef to true)]She's doing fine, thank you. And how are you? You're well? She's glad to hear.]]
(if: $cooked is not true)[(link-goto: "Take a $time shift in the kitchen", "Kitchen Shift " + (str: $day))]<proglink|(else:)[You've already taken a shift in the kitchen today.]
(link-goto: "|navlink>[Go back]", "The Kitchens")
[She smiles when she notices you.]<chat|(if: $freeroam > 6)[The foreman doesn't bother you. You could|proglink>[ [[head back there|Secret Project]]] if you like](else:)[The foreman doesn't let you stay long enough to look. He politely but firmly escorts you to the (link-goto: "|navlink>[courtyard]", "Courtyard") and suggests you spend your time elsewhere.
|proglink>[(link: "Or you could sneak back in")[(set: $disapproval to it + 2)(go-to: "Secret Project")]]
//''This will incur disapproval.''//](if: $time is "morning")[The chef lets you fold pastry for a few hours.(set: $time to "afternoon")](else-if: $time is "afternoon"
)[The chef sets you to making soup for tonight's dinner.(set: $time to "evening")](else-if: $time is "evening"
)[The chef moves around in a flurry of activity for the dinner service. You follow her lead and fill in where needed.(set: $time to "night")](set: $acqchef to it + 1, $cooked to true)
You sit with her during a small break in the work.
"Tell me, dear," she asks. "Why do you come work in the kitchen?"
[(link: "|proglink>[Hunger]")[(replace: ?answers)["I'm hungry. There's food here."
She chuckles. "You're putting in quite the work for just a meal you already get for free. I won't complain though. Take as much food as you need, alright?"
|proglink>[(link-goto: "Finish your shift")]]]
(link: "|proglink>[Company]")[(replace: ?answers)["The company is good."
She smiles. "You're a delight to have around. Please do come by tomorrow. You're a good cook too."
|proglink>[(link-goto: "Finish your shift")]]]
(link: "|proglink>[Boredom]")[(replace: ?answers)[You shrug. "Something to do."
She laughs. "Well, you do a good job. You're quite the cook."
|proglink>[(link-goto: "Finish your shift")]]]]<answers|Sunlight pours in through the vast windows. It is morning, and the great hall is near empty.The hall bustles with activity. Preparations for dinner.It's dinnertime in the hall.\
(if: $day is 1)[The (link: "|displink>[lord of the castle sits at the high table]")[Lord of Distances laughs, in conversation with a visiting noble. (link: "|displink>[Their eyes are on you]")[Their eyes drink you in, (link: "|displink>[enjoying]")[savoring] the juxtaposition of your true form with the pretty thing you are now]].]\
(if: $day is 2)[(if: $acqmerchant > 0)[The](else:)[A] starfaring merchant is at dinner today. The Lord of Distances has given him a seat at the high table.]\
(if: $day is 3)[The hall crowds with visiting nobility and their retinues, standing around rearranged tables drinking cocktails and enjoying light fare. The Lord of Distances, noticing you, beckons you over. (if: $freeform < 3)[As you enter the hall, you feel your form change, back to what His Lordship prefers. Pretty, monstrous, and subordinate.](elseif: $freeform is 10)[As you enter the hall, you feel your modifications to your form revert. His Lordship wants you in his preferred shape for tonight.] He intends to show you off. You are the prized jewel of his collection after all.]\
(if: $day is 4)[A military visitor, an admiral of the Royal Navy. As you enter, you feel your form ripple, features modifying themselves to ensure you're pretty for this visitor's tastes.]\
(if: $day is 5)[(if: (visited: "Ready") is true)[The little syringe of poison is concealed beneath your clothing, feeling ever-heavier as you walk towards the high table.] His Lordship sits(if: (visited: "Ready") is true)[, unaware,](else:)[as always,] and waits for you to come up to him. ''//This is your last chance to bring about an ending. If you have no plans to carry out during dinner, your fate is sealed.//'']
(if: $day is not 3)[(link-goto: "|proglink>[Sit down to eat]", "High Table " + (str: $day))](else:)[(link-goto: "|proglink>[Join him and the cluster of nobles]", "High Table 3")]You're on display for them. You try to eat in peace, answer their questions, feel their eyes on you, try not to hear the comments they make about you. //Isn't she so pretty today. You'd never know, would you. Other than the $flesh, obviously, ha. Can't hide what she really is.// You try not to gag as their fingers (link: "|displink>[brush over you]")[brush over you, caress you, tangle in your hair, try to make you let out a yelp].
(set: $approval to it + 2, $time to "night")\
Eventually it relents. As the light vanishes and the nobles decide they wish to retire, you are dismissed.
[(link-goto: "Night falls. Return to your room.", "Bedroom")]<proglink|(if: (passage:)'s name is "Bedroom" and visits is 1)[//''You have five days. Each day has a morning, afternoon, and evening. |proglink>[red] links, during the day, will commit your time to an activity. Other links will let you explore the castle.
Doing things the lord of the castle approves of will earn you greater freedom to roam the castle. Doing things he disapproves of of will lose you privileges.''//
]\
(if: $day is 5 and (passage:)'s name is "Bedroom")[''//This is the day of reckoning. Find a way to bring things to an end.//''
]\
(if: $time is "evening" and (passage:)'s name is not "Great Hall" and (passage:)'s name is not "High Table " + (str: $day) and $day < 5)[//''It is evening. The lord of the castle requests your presence at dinner. Failing to appear will incur disapproval.''//
]\
(set: $acqchef to it + 2)\
When the clock tolls the onset of $time, you clean up, thank the chef, and \
(if: $time is not "night" and $freeroam > 2)[step out of the kitchen to the|proglink>[ [[courtyard|Courtyard]]].]\
(if: $time is not "night" and $freeroam <= 2)[sneak back from the kitchen to your|proglink>[ [[bedroom|Bedroom]]].]\
(if: $time is "night")[leave the kitchen.
You've missed dinner. The lord of the castle won't be happy with you. (set: $disapproval to it + 2)
[(link-goto: "Night falls. Return to your room.", "Bedroom")]<proglink|](after: 2s)+(t8n: "blur")[Your body coils invisible around stars.]
(after: 4s)+(t8n: "blur")[\
(if: $day is 1)[(display: "First Night")]\
(if: $day is 2)[(display: "Second Night")]\
(if: $day is 3)[(display: "Third Night")]\
(if: $day is 4)[(display: "Fourth Night")]\
(set:$choked to false)](set: $seenproject to true)(if: $time is "morning")[(set: $time to "afternoon")](else-if: $time is "afternoon")[(set: $time to "evening")](else-if: $time is "evening")[(set: $time to "night")]\
Behind the partition, on a workbench, is an array of components and a half-assembled device about two feet to a side. You have no idea what it does.
And then, although you've only been here for a moment, the bells outside toll $time. You look at the machine, notice the array of timekeeping devices among the components, and realize what it might be doing.
(if: $day is 4 and $acqmerchant > 0)[
|proglink>[(link-goto: "Grab the component the merchant asked you for", "Component Grab")]]
|proglink>[(link-goto: "Smash the machine")]. ''//This will send you to a random point in this or a prior day, but all other variables will stay the same. Don't do this unless you want the game to break. You can't undo this.//''
(if: $time is "night")[As the bell sounds the onset of night, you realize that you've missed dinner. His Lordship won't be happy.(set: $disapproval to it + 2)
[(link-goto: "Night falls. Return to your room.", "Bedroom")]<proglink|](else:)[\
[|proglink>[(link-goto: "Step back out", "Courtyard")]]]Why would you believe any of the nonsense they peddle here? You are larger than suns, greater than nobility, older than the light of law they put so much faith in. But so be it! Make a show of it for their cruel eyes. Pick a saint. Who cares which one! You've eaten saints before.(if: $prayed is not true)[(set: $approval to it + 1, $prayed to true, $monstrosity to it + 1)]
[(link-goto: "Return", "Chapel")]<navlink|He turns to you with a smile. "What can I do for you, (link: "|displink>[my child?\"]")[my child?" (You notice the slight hesitation before the word "child.")]
[(link-goto: "\"I need something to do.\"", "Task")]<navlink|
[(link-goto: "\"I need advice.\"", "Advice")]<navlink|
[(link-goto: "\"I need to confess.\"", "Confession")]<navlink|
[(link-goto: "\"Never mind, father.\"", "Chapel")]<navlink|He smiles ever wider. (if: $time is "morning")["Would you join me in performing the|proglink>[ [[Ablution of the Rising Sun]]]?"](else-if: $time is "afternoon")["Would you aid me in|proglink>[ [[sweeping the chapel]]]?"](else-if: $time is "evening")["You should go to dinner. Our Lord is waiting for you, isn't he?"]
[(link-goto: "\"Never mind, father.\"", "Chapel")]<navlink|He smiles ever wider. "Come with me."
You follow.
You do not remember the things you tell him. You do not remember if you've forgotten them, or merely the telling of them. (if: $confessed is not true)[(set: $confessed to true, $approval to it + 1)]
[(link-goto: "Return", "Chapel")]<navlink|He smiles ever wider. "What can I advise you on, child?"
[(link-goto: "\"What does the Lord of the Castle think of me?\"", "Lord Opinion")]<navlink|
[(link-goto: "\"What do you think of me?\"", "Chaplain Opinion")]<navlink|
[(link-goto: "\"What does God think of me?\"", "Divine Opinion")]<navlink|
[(link-goto: "\"Never mind, father.\"", "Chapel")]<navlink|A ritual bath, a cleansing of the body and of the chapel. The faith holds that darkness brings with it sin and abomination; each morning the chapel, the chaplain, and the sinner must bare themselves before the light.
The sunlight is blinding.
|proglink>[(link-goto: "You feel eyes on every exposed inch of you", "Exposure")]One half of the chapel must be swept, then half of the remaining area, and so on and so forth. The chaplain describes it as an exercise in meditation. Once the space is so small a half of it cannot be swept, that area is left to remain dusty. You've never learned to sweep as small a half as the chaplain can.
|proglink>[(link-goto: "You leave a space half a foot by half a foot.", "Sweeping")]Your sinful form must be concealed, unless of course it is demanded it be revealed; your falsity is an abomination, unless of course it conceals the abomination that is your trueness. You once were subjected to a sermon on the hidden face of God; you compared it later to your own being and were punished with a tripled burden of gravity for seven days.|proglink>[ [[How could something as wretched as you compare itself to God?|Blinding]]]You put your dress back on. In the window of the Lord's Tower, you think you spot a figure. But you're still blinking sunspots from your eyes. Perhaps you're seeing things. The chaplain smiles wider ever wider. He, of course, being not a sinner, did not need to disrobe, merely wash his face.(set: $approval to it + 2, $time to "afternoon")
[(link-goto: "Return to the chapel", "Chapel")]<proglink|The chaplain's smile only ever widens. "A smaller failing than last time." You try to see what he does as you watch him finish the job, but his small bend of distance and time leave you dizzied. Somehow the limit is reached and the chapel is clean.
(set: $approval to it + 1, $time to "evening")
[(link-goto: "Your task is finished", "Chapel")]<proglink|(if: $approval > $disapproval)["Today, I think he approves of your actions."](else-if: $approval < $disapproval)["Today, I think you've disappointed him."](else-if: $approval is $disapproval)["I think today there is still time to sway his approval one way or the other."]
[(link-goto: "\"Thank you, father.\"", "Chapel")]<navlink|"I see what you are, child. God has given you to me as a wonderful project. I hope I can forge you into a better weapon than you already are."
[(link-goto: "\"Thank you, father.\"", "Chapel")]<navlink|"He does quite hate you, my child. But is it not said: 'In the reckoning, if by the grace of the chosen of God the abomination may be made of use, as a tool or as a weapon, they may be spared the spear of the heavens. And they shall be driven to the dark and cold beyond the light of law, and they shall praise God even in their torment.' A kindness for your kind!"
[(link-goto: "\"Thank you, father.\"", "Chapel")]<navlink|Back to your other life.(set: $prayed to false, $confessed to false, $clean to false, $dressed to false, $cooked to false, $time to "morning", $day to it + 1)\
(if: $freeform < 3 and it >0)[(set: $monstrosity to it + 1)]
[(link-goto: "Rise from your bed.", "Bedroom")]<proglink|Two nobles stride along your back. The|navlink>[ [[Lord of Distances]]], of course, and the|navlink>[ [[Lady of Hours]]].
(if: (visited: "Lord of Distances") and (visited: "Lady of Hours"))[The Lord of Distances has his|proglink>[ [[instructions|Instructions 1]]] for you.]Here he stands in his full glory. A corona of pure measurement flares around him. The light of law; to tell the meter to be a meter, the inch to be an inch, the light-second to be the length light takes to travel one second and to tell light to take one second to travel that length. In his hand, the surveyor's chain. The other end of the chain is looped around your throat.
[(link-goto: "Glory to him.", "First Night")]<navlink|She stands in her full splendor. She pulses with the heartbeat of the universe. Perfect-kept time. In her hand, the irreversible hourglass, the future flowing steadily into the past.
[(link-goto: "Glory to her", "First Night")]<navlink|"First, the reckoning of your day's actions." Your Lord may stand on one of your own (link: "|displink>[coils]")[coils (vast as the gap between suns)], but he still seems to tower over you.
(if: $approval > $disapproval + 2)["You've served me well today. I will permit you greater privileges. Keep up the good work."(set: $freeroam to (min: $freeroam + 1, 10), $freeform to (min: $freeform + 1, 10))](else-if: $approval > $disapproval)["You've served me well today. Keep at it, and you may earn greater privileges."(set: $freeroam to (min: $freeroam + 1, 10))](else-if: $approval is $disapproval)["Your efforts have been insufficient. Try harder tomorrow."(set: $approval to 0, $disapproval to 0)](else-if: $disapproval + 2 > $approval)["I'm disappointed in you. Perhaps a restriction of your freedoms will teach you to serve me better."(set: $freeroam to (max: $freeroam - 1, 0), $freeform to (max: $freeform - 1, 0))](else-if: $disapproval > $approval)["I'm disappointed. Serve me better tomorrow."(set: $freeroam to (max: $freeroam - 1, 0))](set: $approval to 0, $disapproval to 0)
[(link-goto: "\"Next, your instructions.\"", "Orders")]<proglink|\
<!-- Between this and "resist", both $freeroam and $freeform can drop by up to 2 points each day. With high approval and making yourself "useful", both can rise by up to 1 point. It's easier to lose privileges than gain them. -->A planet to (link: "|displink>[devour]")[devour (rebellion unable to be quashed. Bite down or the chain around your maw will make you do it)]. Stars to coil between to let nobles (link: "|displink>[walk along]")[walk along. The bodies of you and your sisters are bridges to traverse, weapons to wield, oddities to gawk at, or trophies to hunt. Be all three of the former to avoid becoming the latter].
You're kept hungry. You can't help but|proglink>[ [[swallow]]].Do you|proglink>[ [[resist]]] when the chains pull? Or will you make yourself|proglink>[ [[useful]]]?
Either way, you have to bite down.The chain pulls tight. Reductions in privileges are noted. (set: $freeroam to (max: $freeroam - 1, 0), $freeform to (max: $freeform - 1, 0), $choked to true)
[(link-goto: "Wake")]<proglink|No reward but the absence of punishment. You do as expected; nothing ever changes.
[(link-goto: "Wake")]<proglink|The merchant's installation consists of a small, temporary showroom, front wall open to the courtyard, surrounded by a larger area containing|navlink>[ [[bulk goods]]] for sale. Porters carry crates back and forth and procurers for the castle make purchases to stock necessities. More|navlink>[ [[singular items]]] are on display in the showroom, behind the counter or under glass. The|navlink>[ [[merchant himself]]] is a broad, tall fellow, long black hair tied back, tattooed arms on display.
|navlink>[(link-goto: "Step back out", "Courtyard")]There are no nobles tonight.|proglink>[ [[Instructions|Instructions 2]]] have been left, blazed into your retinas. The chain around your throat is slack.(if: $approval > $disapproval + 2)[//My sweet creature,
You've done exceptionally today. I have instructions for you tonight.//(set: $freeroam to (min: $freeroam + 1, 10), $freeform to (min: $freeform + 1, 10))]\
(else-if: $approval > $disapproval)[//My sweet creature,
You've done well today. I have instructions for you tonight.//(set: $freeroam to (min: $freeroam + 1, 10))]\
(else-if: $approval is $disapproval)[//Pretty thing,
Put some actual effort in tomorrow, and fulfil my instructions for you tonight.//(set: $approval to 0, $disapproval to 0)]\
(else-if: $disapproval + 2 > $approval)[//My dear foolish creature,
You've disappointed me. Expect punishment. Do as you're asked tonight, or it will be worse.//(set: $freeroam to (max: $freeroam - 1, 0), $freeform to (max: $freeform - 1, 0))]\
(else-if: $disapproval > $approval)[//My dear foolish creature,
You've disappointed me. Do as you're asked tonight, and do better tomorrow.//
(set: $freeroam to (max: $freeroam - 1, 0))]\
(set: $approval to 0, $disapproval to 0)
//Your orders are as follows.
The ninth planet of star 12,419-ZRF is in revolt. Place your jaws around it and let them know we see their folly.
A gala is to be held at the Palace of Orbits. Place coils near it and near major transit hubs.
A flow of falsities comes from the west. Flick your tail 15 degrees to deflect it.//
[(link-goto: "Do it.")]<proglink|
The chain is slack.|proglink>[ [[Don't do it.]]]THREATEN. CONVEY. DEFLECT.|proglink>[ [[SWALLOW?]]]
[(link-goto: "No. This is not ordered.", "Not ordered")]<proglink|
[(link-goto: "No. You take pity on them.", "Take pity")]<proglink|There's nobody to force you to do it. What will you do? (set: $fateofrevolt to "ignored")
[(link-goto: "Explore the stars")]<navlink|
[(link-goto: "Find your sisters")]<navlink|
[(link-goto: "Look upon your waking home")]<navlink|GIVE IN TO HUNGER. DEVOUR. (set: $fateofrevolt to "devoured")
[(link-goto: "Savor it as you wake.", "Wake")]<proglink|No. Better to do what is asked. (set: $fateofrevolt to "threatened")
You will be rewarded for following orders unsupervised.(set: $freeroam to (min: $freeroam + 1, 10), $freeform to (min: $freeform + 1, 10))
[(link-goto: "Wake")]<proglink|Gape your mouth wide, but loll your tongue apologetically. You do not wish to bite down. Let their revolt continue. Do your best to be an empty threat. (set: $fateofrevolt to "pitied")
You will be rewarded for following orders unsupervised.(set: $freeroam to (min: $freeroam + 1, 10), $freeform to (min: $freeform + 1, 10))
[(link-goto: "Wake")]<proglink|Where will you go?
[(link-goto: "The Constellation Cosmopolis")]<navlink|
[(link-goto: "The Maze of Vortices")]<navlink|
[(link-goto: "The Revel Star")]<navlink|
[(link-goto: "Back", "Don't do it.")]<navlink|You and your sisters are vast, dark, and translucent. Light passes through you. When visibility is not demanded of you, invisibility is expected of you.
[(link-goto: "Sing for them")]<proglink|
//''This will move things onward. Make sure you've explored all you want to.''//
[(link-goto: "Back", "Don't do it.")]<navlink|You turn your head and look upon the Castle of Distances. So small, next to its sun. You could easily|proglink>[ [[put your jaws around it and bite down.|Crunch]]]
//''This will kill you, ending the game prematurely. You can't undo this.''//
[(link-goto: "Back", "Don't do it.")]<navlink|A swath of stars and planets, all connected by shining bridges of folded space. This is the center of the universe, one vast, cosmic city. You can see the pinprick flashes of starships zipping between worlds, the webs of light on each city-covered planet, the gleaming warships that patrol the space around the Cosmopolis to keep out beings like yourself.
You can dream of the wonders one might find in that infinite city. You cannot visit it.
[(link-goto: "Explore Elsewhere", "Explore the stars")]<navlink|Swirls of cosmic dust being pulled into vortices of twisted space. The holes at their center hold things more vast and ancient than your kind. This realm is not traversed by the nobility, except when they choose to hunt the things that dwell here, making sport of the vestiges of the old universe.
You dream of escaping into the maze, diving into a maelstrom and finding peace among the other strange and timeless things. But there are tethers on your soul, and you cannot stay here forever.
(if: $speakwithmonsters is not true)[(link-goto: "Speak With Them")]<proglink|]
[(link-goto: "Explore Elsewhere", "Explore the stars")]<navlink|One lone star untouched by noble rule. One lone star where the power to shape the laws of the universe was seized and made free, where endless festivals spin through the asteroid belt, where utopian commune cities float in the atmospheres of the gas giants.
It's where you want to go, if you ever get free. They have the technology to maintain the form you hope for. You could weave your vastness between orbitals and be at peace while your smaller body lives free.
[(link-goto: "Explore Elsewhere", "Explore the stars")]<navlink|For a moment, a deep, mournful note rings through the cosmos. You still your voice and wait.
Then the chorus picks up to join you. You sing to them of the sorrows of captivity, of being made a weapon, of your wish to flit between forms and fly between stars.
They sing of their own woes. The terror of being hunted. The torments of their own captivities, made bridges and weapons and ornaments like yourself. The desire to change, to escape, to have lives of their own, rather than those provisionally given.
On many worlds, they will hear the song and call it a wonder of the universe. Those rare few who know your tongue will weep, knowing what you've suffered and wishing they could reach out to you.
But the night comes to an end, and you must weave your way back and wake up to face the reckoning.(set: $freeroam to (max: $freeroam - 1, 0), $freeform to (max: $freeform - 1, 0))
[(link-goto: "Wake")]<proglink|(forget-undos: -1)Your home slides down your throat like any other morsel you've tasted. You savor the sensation, the feel of the towers crumbling against your esophagus, the taste of false-distance and noble terror.
Then you feel your own digestion. For one burning moment, your vast truth and your small falsity are one and the same. As your prison melts away, you burn hot in your own gut and the lights in your eyes flare out.
Your corpse drifts in the cosmic wind.
(link: "Restart?")[(restart:)](set: $speakwithmonsters to true, $monstrosity to it + 1)\
You speak with your fellow monsters, older than time and gravity. You know each other's troubles well. They remind you that, though you have been shackled with a name and a shape, these things are breakable, changeable. You remind them that the universe is vast, beyond their prison, and that one day, you hope, they will return to see it.
Eventually, you must bid them farewell and [(link-goto: "return to your explorations", "Explore the stars")]<proglink|.(if: $time is "morning")[The chef has you cook a great deal of pancakes.(set: $time to "afternoon")](else-if: $time is "afternoon"
)[The chef puts you in charge of caramelizing a massive pot of onions.(set: $time to "evening")](else-if: $time is "evening"
)[The chef conducts the rush of the dinner service. She has you shuttling ingredients and dishes from station to station.(set: $time to "night")](set: $acqchef to it + 1, $cooked to true)
Afterward, you join the chef outside as she smokes. She offers you a cigarette.
|proglink>[(link-goto: "Take it")]
|proglink>[(link-goto: "Decline")](if: $time is "morning")[The chef has you chop vegetables to prepare for the lunch shift.(set: $time to "afternoon")](else-if: $time is "afternoon"
)[The chef lets you decorate little hors d'oeuvres for the cocktail party tonight.(set: $time to "evening")](else-if: $time is "evening"
)[The kitchen is more busy than ever, with the number of visiting nobles and their retinues. The fact that you're down here, following whichever order the chef last shouted to you, instead of up there looking pretty, is going to bring hell down on you later.(set: $time to "night")](set: $acqchef to it + 1, $cooked to true)
As she often does when you come to cook with her, the chef beckons for you to join her as she takes a break. You sit with her|proglink>[ [[outside on the steps]]].(if: $time is "morning")[The chef has you fill little pastries with jam.(set: $time to "afternoon")](else-if: $time is "afternoon"
)[The chef has you prepare meats, marinating them for dinner later.(set: $time to "evening")](else-if: $time is "evening"
)[The handful of nobles still remaining with their entourages mean dinner service is extra busy. You help the chef out as much as you can.(set: $time to "night")](set: $acqchef to it + 1, $cooked to true)
(if: $acqchef >=5)[In a spare moment, she beckons you to the pantry. You|proglink>[ [[join her]]], curiosity burning in your mind.](else:)[She seems preoccupied as she goes about her business, but you can't get it out of her.
|proglink>[(link-goto: "Finish your shift")]]You nod gratefully, take the offered cigarette, and let her light it for you.
(display: "Smoke Break")You decline, and she nods and leans back, taking a long drag.
(display: "Smoke Break")After a while, she exhales with a sigh. "You ever feel trapped?"
|a1>[\
(link: "|proglink>[\"All the damn time.\"]")[(replace: ?a1)["All the damn time."](show: ?q2, ?a2)]
(link: "|proglink>[\"Yeah.\"]")[(replace: ?a1)["Yeah." You sigh deeply.](show: ?q2, ?a2)]
(link: "|proglink>[\"Sometimes I almost forget this place is a gilded cage.\"]")[(replace: ?a1)["Sometimes I almost forget this place is a gilded cage."](show: ?q2, ?a2)]
(link: "|proglink>[Shrug. \"I like it here fine.\"]")[(replace: ?a1)[You shrug. "I like it here fine."](show: ?q2, ?a2)]]\
|q2)[
She nods. "It's a lovely place, and don't get me wrong, the work is good, but hell. I don't know. I've seen what happens to people who try to leave when His Lordship doesn't want them to." She pauses for a moment. "You ever think about leaving?"]\
|a2)[
(link: "|proglink>[\"It's all I ever think about.\"]")[(replace: ?a2)["It's all I ever think about."](show: ?q3)]
(link: "|proglink>[\"On occasion.\"]")[(replace: ?a2)["On occasion."](show: ?q3)]
(link: "|proglink>[\"Never.\"]")[(replace: ?a2)["Never."](show: ?q4)]]\
|q3)[
She smiles and takes a long drag. "Maybe we'll both get out someday. But until then, I gotta get back in there. Come clean up and then enjoy your $time, alright? I'll see you tomorrow, if you drop by."
[(link-goto: "Finish your shift")]<proglink|]\
|q4)[
She frowns. "Well. To each their own, I guess." A pause. "I gotta get back in there. Come clean up?"(set: $badanswers to it + 1)
[(link-goto: "Finish your shift")]<proglink|]tight-fitting gown of glass and mothwing(set: $dressstyle to "tight-fitting", $material1 to "glass", $material2 to "mothwing")flowing gown of teeth and mirrored silk(set: $dressstyle to "flowing", $material1 to "teeth", $material2 to "mirrored silk")tight-fitting gown of shaped bone and comet dust(set: $dressstyle to "tight-fitting", $material1 to "shaped bone", $material2 to "comet dust")elaborate gown of chrome and woven starlight(set: $dressstyle to "elaborate", $material1 to "chrome", $material2 to "woven starlight")delicate gown of teeth and heartstrings(set: $dressstyle to "delicate", $material1 to "teeth", $material2 to "heartstrings")A pattern of serpent-scales spreads from the sides and back of your neck up to your cheeks, extends down your back and along the backs of your arms.Chitinous plates cover parts of your skin, from the sides and back of your neck up to your cheeks, extending down your back and along the backs of your arms.Multicolored feathers cover parts of your body. A crest of them sprouts from your hair and soft down covers your back and arms.Your skin is cold to the touch, patterned like black-veined marble.Soft fur grows on your body, along your limbs and torso and on your feline ears. A tail twitches beneath your skirts.with |cyclink->[(cycling-link: bind $eyecolor, "blue", "brown", "grey", "green")] eyes, |cyclink->[(cycling-link: bind $hairlength, "long", "short", "very short", "very long")], |cyclink>[(cycling-link: bind $haircolor, "brown", "black", "blonde", "red")] hair, a |cyclink>[(cycling-link: bind $bodytype, "plump", "thin", "muscular", "fat")] body. You've earned the privilege to choose your form, now. (link: "|displink>[Is this the body you desire?]")[(set: $bodychosen to true)(rerun: ?chooseform)]She sighs deeply, (if: (visited: "Take it") is true)[offers you a cigarette before lighting her own,](else:)[lights a cigarette and takes a long drag,] slumps back against the wall.
"What do you dream of, my dear?" She says, after a long moment of silence.
|a1>[\
(link: "|proglink>[Answer about your hopes. \"Getting the hell out of here.\"]")[(replace: ?a1)["Getting the hell out of here."](show: ?hell)]
(link: "|proglink>[Answer about your hopes. \"Doing my job well each day.\"]")[(replace: ?a1)["Doing my job well each day."](show: ?qjob, ?ajob)]
(link: "|proglink>[Answer about the dreams you have at night.]")[(replace: ?a1)["My other life, where I'm vast and beautiful and strange."](show: ?qvast, ?avast)]]\
|qjob)[
She makes a face as if she's weighing it over. "Sure, I see that. But don't you have any dreams beyond that?"]\
|ajob)[
(link: "|proglink>[\"I want to get out of here, someday.\"]")[(replace: ?ajob)["I want to get out of here, someday."](show: ?hell)]
(link: "|proglink>[Just shrug]")[(replace: ?ajob)[You just shrug.](show: ?disappointment)]]\
|hell)[
She nods. "You and me both, girl. You and me both." She pauses. (if: $acqchef > 3 and $nicetochef is true)["Maybe. Maybe. Join me for a shift tomorrow. I have something to tell you."](else:)[It seems as though she was about to say something, but she says nothing more.]
She finishes her cigarette with you in (if: $acqchef > 3 and $nicetochef is true)[pleasant](else:)[mildly awkward] silence, then heads back in, motioning for you to follow.
|proglink>[(link-goto: "Finish your shift")]]\
|disappointment)[Her face falls a little. "Well, I suppose that's a way to go through life." She takes a long drag and says nothing more.(set: $badanswers to it + 1)
When she finishes her cigarette, she motions for you to come back inside with her.
|proglink>[(link-goto: "Finish your shift")]]\
|qvast)[
She laughs. "Of course. I sometimes forget about that." She sighs as she settles back. "What's it like?"
]\
|avast)[\
(link: "|proglink>[Tell her how beautiful it is.]")[(replace: ?avast)[You tell her of the beauty of the cosmos, the taste of sunfire as it slides down your throat, the joy of soaring through space without a care for gravity. She listens in rapt attention.
Eventually, you must return from your breaks. (if: $acqchef > 3 and $nicetochef is true)[Before you do, though, she hesistates for a moment, then says to you, "Join me for a shift tomorrow. I have something to tell you."]
|proglink>[(link-goto: "Finish your shift")]]]
(link: "|proglink>[Tell her of your torments.]")[(replace: ?avast)[You pour out your sorrows to her, of the bite of the chain around your throat, of the horror of being used as a weapon, of the dual life you're trapped in. She puts an arm around your back as tears well up in your eyes, and lets you sit in silence with her for a while. Eventually, you must return from your breaks. (if: $acqchef > 3 and $nicetochef is true)[Before you do, though, she hesistates for a moment, then says to you, "Join me for a shift tomorrow. I have something to tell you."]
|proglink>[(link-goto: "Finish your shift")]]]
]\
She speaks in a whisper. "Make sure you keep quiet. I don't want anyone to hear any of this." You nod to indicate you understand, and she continues.
"I have a plan to get out of here. To escape. There's a garbage barge parked below the castle, and all I need to do is make sure we're not going to have //His Lordship// coming after us when we stow away on it and vanish into the cosmos." The way she says it hisses of vitriol. "And to make sure of that, we need to kill him." You reel back in shock, a little, and she nods. "I know. I have a plan. I need your help, though. Do you want in?"
|proglink>[(link-goto: "Tell her you'll help her. You want out of here.", "Agree")]
|proglink>[(link-goto: "Tell her you can't help, but keep your silence.", "Silence")]
|proglink>[(link-goto: "Get out of here and tell the Lord of Distances that she's plotting something.", "Inform")]She tells you her plan.
"There's a poison that can kill even the nobility. I can procure the ingredients, manufacture it, I've done all the preparations already, but I can't deliver it. It has to be done in two parts. One goes in his food, the other has to be delivered into his bloodstream after the first has digested. That's what I need you for."
|proglink>[(link-goto: "Ask how you're supposed to deliver it", "Method")](if: $day < 5)[She sighs. "I see. Well, if you change your mind, come find me in the kitchen tomorrow."
She lets you out of the pantry.
|proglink>[(link-goto: "Finish your shift")]]\
(else:)[She sighs. "I see. Let me know if you change your mind. Farewell, my dear."
|navlink>[(link-goto: "Leave the pantry", "The Kitchens")]]You flee from the pantry, run to His Lordship. You find him (if: $time is "afternoon")[eating breakfast at a table in the courtyard](if: $time is "evening")[in his chambers in the Western Tower, reading](if: $time is "night")[eating dinner in the great hall. He's about to reprimand you for missing the meal, but you interrupt him.] You tell him that the chef is plotting a treachery against him, that his life is in danger.
He investigates, discovers the poisons, unravels the plot. You are commended for telling him this. You will be greatly rewarded.(set: $freeroam to (min: $freeroam + 3, 10), $freeform to (min: $freeform + 3, 10), $informant to true)
His Lordship personally escorts you to your|proglink>[ [[bedroom|Bedroom]]]. He needs to go deal with the chef, he says. You do not see her again."I have a needle and a syringe to inject it with," she tells you. "But I can't get close to him. Not without causing a scene." She sighs. "You're his prized possession. (if: $freeform < 3)[Even if he's changed your shape like this, you can still](else:)[You can] get him to let you close. When he's ogling and leering at you, get him to take you to his chambers. (if: $freeform < 3)[Tell him you want your old shape back and you're willing to do anything to get it.] When the moment comes, strike. The poison will act quickly."
|proglink>[(link-goto: "And then?")]"And then we flee. Run to the kitchens and we'll get on the barge. I know the driver, I'm ready to convince her to bring us. We flee, somewhere, anywhere we can. We'll be long gone before they realize."
(if: $day < 5)[\
(link-goto: "Agree to it")
(link-goto: "Tell her you've changed your mind.", "Changed Mind")]<proglink|\
(else:)[(link-goto: "Tell her you're ready.", "Ready")]She smiles. "Come to the kitchen tomorrow. I'll give you the poison and we'll prepare for our departure."
|proglink>[(link-goto: "Finish your shift")]Her face falls. "I see. Well, if you change your mind, come find me in the kitchen tomorrow."
She lets you out of the pantry.
|proglink>[(link-goto: "Finish your shift")]She beckons you to join her in the pantry.
(if: (visited: "Agree to it") is true)[She has a grin on her face. "It's ready. I'll ensure the first part ends up in his food. Remember, all you have to do is go to dinner, lay on the charm, ask him to let you join him in his chambers, and then strike."
|proglink>[(link-goto: "Tell her you're ready.", "Ready")]]\
(elseif: (visited: "join her") is true)["I'm glad you changed your mind," she says. "We'll be out of here before morning. All you have to do is go to dinner, lay on the charm, ask the Lord of Distances to let you join him in his chambers, and then..." She holds up a hypodermic syringe. "You stab this into him when he's vulnerable. It's the activator of a two-part poison. The first part will be in his meal. Once you do that, get to the kitchens and we'll escape."
|proglink>[(link-goto: "Tell her you're ready.", "Ready")]]\
(else:)["I'm glad you're here. I was hoping to tell you about this last night." She speaks in a whisper. "Make sure you keep quiet. I don't want anyone to hear any of this." You nod to indicate you understand, and she continues.
"I have a plan to get out of here. To escape. There's a garbage barge parked below the castle, and all I need to do is make sure we're not going to have //His Lordship// coming after us when we stow away on it and vanish into the cosmos." The way she says it hisses of vitriol. "And to make sure of that, we need to kill him." You reel back in shock, a little, and she nods. "I know. I have a plan. I need your help, though. Do you want in?"
|proglink>[(link-goto: "Tell her you'll help her. You want out of here.", "Agree")]
|proglink>[(link-goto: "Tell her you can't help, but keep your silence.", "Silence")]
|proglink>[(link-goto: "Get out of here and tell the Lord of Distances that she's plotting something.", "Inform")]]She hands you the syringe. It's cold in your hand. The liquid inside is clear and slightly viscous. It doesn't seem like a noble-killing poison, but you trust her. The needle itself is held within a plastic casing with a spring. The chef points it out to you. "Just press it into any bit of flesh you can and the casing will retract."
The plan is set. (if: $time is "morning")[(link: "Wait in the kitchens. Pass some time.")[(set: $time to "afternoon")(goto: "Ready and Waiting")]]<proglink|
[(link-goto: "Return to the kitchens", "The Kitchens")]<navlink|You wait. Some time passes. The bells toll $time.
(if: $time is "afternoon")[(link: "Wait a little longer.")[(set: $time to "evening")(goto: "Ready and Waiting")]]<proglink|\
(if: $time is "evening")[It's time. (link-goto: "Return to your room. Get ready to go to dinner.", "Bedroom")]<proglink|The Lord of Distances chats with the merchant(if: $acqmerchant > 0)[, who gives you the occasional wink]. You are sidelined for tonight.
(set: $approval to it + 2, $time to "night")\
Eventually you are permitted to leave. (if: $acqmerchant > 1)[The merchant walks with you for a few moments. Once you're out of earshot, he gives you an unexpected hug.
"You bring me hope. I wish I could tell you how much. Tomorrow. I'll see you then. Thank you."
He splits off before you're able to say a thing.]
[(link-goto: "Night falls. Return to your room.", "Bedroom")]<proglink|You maneuver through the assembled crowd towards the center, where the nobility gather. Your lord smiles and draws you close. You are towered over on all sides as he slides his arm around your waist. You are acknowledged only in third person, complimented as one would a piece of jewelry.
You pick up some of the titles among this crowd, through the evening. The Duke of Angles, the Marchioness of the Thirteenth Month, the Count of Tens. The faces blur together in a haze of gently fractured reality and copious alcohol, handed to you each time your glass empties.
You do not remember dinner, or the events that came after. Consciousness returns to you slowly.
(set: $approval to it + 2, $time to "night")\
|proglink>[(link-goto: "Determine where you are", "A Room Outside of Space")]
You must, once again, suffer the whims of a visitor given free rein with you. Dinner is painful. Afterwards is worse. When the admiral falls asleep, you have to drag yourself to the bathroom to vomit. But, as you're required to, you crawl back into his bed and settle into awful [(link-goto: "sleep", "Sleep")]<proglink|.(set: $approval to it + 2, $time to "night")
(if: (visited: "Ready") is true)[You put on the charm. (if: $dressstyle is "tight-fitting")[You let your tight-fitting dress do the talking. ]You laugh at his jokes, make more conversation than ever, show as much deference as you can stomach. He buys it. He eats it up. When you tell him (if: $freeform < 3)[that you want to redeem yourself, that this form is punishment enough, that you want to show him a good time again, with your old body,](else:)[that you want to show him a good time tonight, join him in his chambers tonight,] he accepts greedily. As dinner ends, he motions for you to|proglink>[ [[follow him|Poisoner]]].](elseif: $freeform is 10 and $freeroam is 10)[You sit down with him and he smiles. "My dear creature. I feel I haven't thanked you properly for how obedient you've been these past several days. Come with me to my chambers tonight."
You are obedient, aren't you? Of course you'll|proglink>[ [[go receive your reward|Reward]]].](else:)[You eat dinner, try to hold down your bile as he gropes and caresses you, and head to bed as the meal ends.|proglink>[ [[Nothing ever changes]]].]You could pass many an hour in here. It's easy to lose yourself in a story and escape, for a while, that way.
His Lordship pays attention to what you read. He occasionally opines on it to you.
Scanning through the shelves, you find an interesting-looking|proglink>[ [[tale of stellar adventure|Adventure Novel]]], a|proglink>[ [[text on starship maintenance|Starship Manual]]] a dry-looking|proglink>[ [[volume on etiquette|Etiquette Book]]] that seems tailor-made to be boring yet "edifying," and a |proglink>[ [[romance novel|Romance Novel]]] with a scandalous illustration on the cover.
''//If you don't have anything else you want to do, this can pass a chunk of time.//''
|navlink>[(link-goto: "Go back, rather than waste time reading", "Western Tower")]A pool table, an in-progress chess board, an all-consuming smell of smoke, hunting trophies. A place where noblemen entertain each other.
There's nobody else here.
|navlink>[(link-goto: "Return", "Western Tower")](if: $time is "morning")[(set: $time to "afternoon")](elseif: $time is "afternoon")[(set: $time to "evening")](elseif: $time is "evening")[(set: $time to "night")]\
You eat away several hours reading tales of space adventure. The brave Captain Ivo and the crew of the //Cosmos Moth// fly through the galaxy, finding lost treasure, battling space pirates, and even slaying a great stellar wyrm!
The last of these adventures makes you a little sick to your stomach. \
(if: $time is "night")[
As the bell sounds the onset of night, you realize that you've missed dinner. His Lordship won't be happy.(set: $disapproval to it + 2)
[(link-goto: "Night falls. Return to your room.", "Bedroom")]<proglink|](else:)[\
As the bell tolls the onset of $time, you set the book down and let your thoughts|proglink>[ [[return to reality|The Library]]].](if: $time is "morning")[(set: $time to "afternoon")](elseif: $time is "afternoon")[(set: $time to "evening")](elseif: $time is "evening")[(set: $time to "night")]\
Bland, condescending, and unpleasant. It's likely the Lord of Distances left this here specifically for you. The book is intended to educate servants on the proper deference to show their superiors, how best to maintain their appearance for proper service, how to keep their face still and words polite even when enduring the harshest abuse.(set: $approval to it + 2) \
(if: $time is "night")[
As the bell sounds the onset of night, you realize that you've missed dinner. His Lordship won't be happy, even if you were reading something he'd approve of.(set: $disapproval to it + 2)
[(link-goto: "Night falls. Return to your room.", "Bedroom")]<proglink|](else:)[\
As the bell tolls the onset of $time, you set the book down and try to|proglink>[ [[shake the boredom from your head|The Library]]].](if: $time is "morning")[(set: $time to "afternoon")](elseif: $time is "afternoon")[(set: $time to "evening")](elseif: $time is "evening")[(set: $time to "night")]\
It's not as good as the cover makes it look. It's perfectly fine, a romance between a big-city cosmopolitan artist and the handsome, down-to-earth construction engineer she meets when she accidentally ends up travelling to a distant, provincial planet. It's fine. There's excessive puns about "steel erection." \
(if: $time is "night")[
As the bell sounds the onset of night, you realize that you've missed dinner. His Lordship won't be happy, even if you were reading something he'd approve of.(set: $disapproval to it + 2)
[(link-goto: "Night falls. Return to your room.", "Bedroom")]<proglink|](else:)[\
As the bell tolls the onset of $time, you set the book down,|proglink>[ [[wishing it had been a little better|The Library]]].]The merchant's installation is still here. Most of the purchasing has already been done, so the stall is much quieter today. If you haven't already perused them, the|navlink>[ [[bulk goods]]] and the more|navlink>[ [[singular items]]] are still on display.
The merchant is waiting for you.
|navlink>[(link-goto: "Step back out", "Courtyard")]
|navlink>[(link-goto: "Speak with him", "Merchant Chat 2")]The merchant's installation is still here. The crates of bulk goods have been packed away, so only the more|navlink>[ [[singular items]]] are still on display.
The merchant is waiting for you.
|navlink>[(link-goto: "Step back out", "Courtyard")]
|navlink>[(link-goto: "Speak with him", "Merchant Chat 3")]Everything's packed up. The merchant is waiting for you with a smile. "Ready, friend?"
|proglink>[(link-goto: "You're ready", "Merchant's Machine")]
|navlink>[(link-goto: "Not yet", "Courtyard")]You haven't been inside the //Parallax Arcsecond// often. The crew is doing electrical work, and send you on errands, to (link: "|displink>[flip switches]")[flip switches (check if lights are working, turn circuit breakers on and off)], spot (link: "|displink>[frayed wires]")[frayed wires (the mouse chewing on them has been caught, and now the damage must be uncovered)], bring (link: "|displink>[tools]")[tools (multimeters, wire cutters, work lamps, soldering irons)] back and forth. As you do, you get a feel for the astroyacht. It's not a large vessel, but it is comfortable to the point of luxury and designed for swift, stylish travel through the cosmos. It's powered by a real beautiful thing, a (link: "|displink>[falsifier-engine]")[falsifier-engine, a little piece of noble space-warping power. It gives you ideas for what you could do with it].
[|proglink>[(link: "Do the work well")[(replace: ?actions)[You do your work well. It's a pleasant job. When you |proglink>[ [[wrap up]]], it's with a sense of pride.]]]
|proglink>[(link: "Notice places to make hotwiring easier")[(replace: ?actions)[You do a fine job, but you notice a few things as you work. The astroyacht is keyed to the Lord of Distances, so that he alone may pilot it. But, if you're hearing the electrician correctly and understanding the circuit board you're looking at...
You make a few adjustments in a few places on the ship. Your reading on electrical engineering in the castle's library pays off. If you're here on a day nobody else is, something exciting just might happen. You|proglink>[ [[wrap up]]] with a plan brewing.(set: $hotwired to true)]]]]<actions|A fine $time's work.(if: $time is "morning")[(set: $time to "afternoon")](elseif: $time is "afternoon")[(set: $time to "evening")](elseif: $time is "evening")[(set: $time to "night")]
(if: $time is "night")\
[You've missed dinner. Someone will be disappointed. At least you can tell him you did something to help him.(set: $disapproval to it + 1)
[(link-goto: "Night falls. Return to your room.", "Bedroom")]<proglink|]\
(else:)[You|proglink>[ [[return to the courtyard|Courtyard]]], certain that His Lordship will appreciate your efforts.(set: $approval to it + 1) (if: $hotwired is true)[And what he doesn't know about those efforts can't hurt him.]]A beautiful, silent vessel. Luxuriously furnished for traveling the skies with speed, comfort, and style. A (link: "|displink>[falsifier-engine]")[falsifier-engine(show: ?falsity)] can warp space for even faster travel.\
|falsity)[
The falsfier engine is a beautiful thing, a little piece of the noble's power to warp space and time.
If you figured out how to use it just right, you might not only be able to leave on this, but break that pesky bond between your two bodies.]
(if: $hotwired is true)[Your little modifications mean you can easily |proglink>[ [[take control]]] of this vessel.](elseif: $engineer is true)[Having read that book on starship maintenance, you have a pretty good idea of how you could|proglink>[ [[modify]]] this vessel and use it to get out of here.](else:)[If you'd modified this in advance, you could have taken control of the vessel and used it to escape. But you don't know enough to do it quickly. Perhaps there are other ways out of here. Perhaps you could learn how to modify this somewhere.]
|navlink>[(link-goto: "Leave the ship", "The Starport")]You put one hand on the control stick and get the other one ready to fire up the launch sequence. If you have|navlink>[ [[second thoughts]]], now's the time to listen or ignore them. There's no going back.
|proglink>[(link-goto: "Liftoff")](if: $time is "morning")[(set: $time to "afternoon")](elseif: $time is "afternoon")[(set: $time to "evening")](set: $hotwired to true)\
You make a few adjustments in a few places on the ship. Your reading on electrical engineering in the castle's library pays off. It takes some time, but you think you're ready to|proglink>[ [[take control]]] of this vessel.
|navlink>[(link-goto: "Leave the ship for now", "The Starport")]With the modifications you've made, the firing up of the falsifier-engine both sends the //Parallax Arcsecond// into motion and kickstarts a reaction in the bond between your smallness and your vastness. You feel, for the first time, total control over both your bodies.
|proglink>[(link-goto: "Burn away your wyrm body. Use it as fuel for your transformation.", "Pilot")Let's take some time to think about this, actually. You can come back later.
|navlink>[(link-goto: "Leave the ship for now", "The Starport")](set: $time to "eternity")The flash of light through space as your wyrm-body is devoured, converted directly to energy and channeled into you and your newly claimed ship, illuminates the skies of a billion worlds in multicolored ribbons.
You fit cosmic vastness into the space of a human body, and are simultaneously obliterated and reborn. You reshape yourself, forge your new body as you like, cast off the features pushed on you for others' enjoyment.
There will be stories of the impossibly beautiful pilot with the ship fast enough to escape time and space themselves. But other people can write those stories later.
''The End''
(link: "Play again?")[(restart:)](link: "|displink>[Cloth]")[Cloth(show: ?cloth)] by the bale from the textile workshops of Meroë 9. |cloth)[You run your fingers over the wonderful patterns and textures. For each that you like, you take one of the small sample-squares and tuck it into your pocket. ](link: "|displink>[Fruit]")[Fruit(show: ?fruit)] by the cold-storage shipping crate from the orchards of Persica S46. |fruit)[You purchase a single peach with some of the few coins worth of allowance you are given, and savor it as you peruse. ](link: "|displink>[Machine parts]")[Machine parts(show:?machine)] tooled by the artisans of the Amphigyid Constellation. |machine)[You marvel at the tiny wonders on display, showcasing the precision of the gears and pistons.]
|navlink>[(link-goto: "Look at other things", "Merchant day " + (str: $day))]The showroom feels close, luxurious, and intimate, soft lights showing the details of each item on offer. There are (link: "|displink>[paintings]")[paintings (you can see that abstraction is back in style, although grand historical pieces are still on display)], (link: "|displink>[sculptures]")[sculptures (nobles in their glory, auras of power cleverly displayed with tricks of magnet-suspended colored glass and holography)], (link: "|displink>[gemstones]")[gemstones (each one only found in one place in the universe where the mineral composition is exactly right)], (link: "|displink>[jewelry]")[jewelry (far too expensive for your modest allowance)], and things more (link: "|displink>[unusual]")[unusual (a glass cylinder containing a single mote of solidified time. A vial containing a solar system reduced to miniature size. The vibration of a major D chord, timestopped between two metal rods)].
|navlink>[(link-goto: "Look at other things", "Merchant day " + (str: $day))](if: $acqmerchant < 1)[(set: _interested to "paintings")You wait until he finishes discussing the purchase of a necklace with a minor member of the Lord's house. When they move on, he turns to you. You get a good look at him, now that you're closer. He's tall, with the body of someone who does a hefty share of work in a day. His hair is long beneath his hat, his arms tattoed with tiny star charts, each little circle showing the stars as viewed from a particular planet at the time he visited it.
"Good $time, friend! Anything interest you?"
You express interest in the [|cyclink>[(cycling-link: bind _interested, "paintings", "sculptures", "gemstones", "jewelry", "oddities")].]<select| (link: "|displink>[Yes, that.]")[(hide: ?select)_interested.
(if: _interested is "paintings")[He smiles. "We do have some lovely works on display. I'm enjoying the new abstract cosmicist style that's been taking hold in the Cosmopole, hence why I have so much of it for sale today."
]\
(if: _interested is "sculptures")[He nods. "Clever bits of workmanship, aren't they? I'm not well versed in the techniques, but they are quite impressive."]\
(if: _interested is "gemstones")[He smiles. "They are beautiful, aren't they? This one is my favorite." He holds up an orange gemstone as small as a grain of sand, contained in a glass cube. One face is a lens, magnifying the stone and showcasing its complex faceting.]\
(if: _interested is "jewelry")["We have some pieces I'm sure would suit you wonderfully." He smiles, as if he's sizing you up for a new necklace or determining which earrings would complement your eye color. (if: $freeform < 3)[He seems genuine, despite your current shape.]]\
(if: _interested is "oddities")[He grins. "Prizes of my collection. These were difficult to procure." He indicates a cube of glass containing a tiny black hole, a tuning fork between the prongs of which hangs a span of space with its dimensions twisted one full turn, a vial in which hangs a nuclear reaction frozen in time. "Not many recognize what these are. I get the feeling you understand their magnitude."]
You chat with him for a while on the many delights he has on display. After a little while, you realize he's looking at you with concern.
He drops his voice to a whisper. "Is something wrong, friend?"
(link-goto: "|proglink>[Tell him what's wrong]", "Merchant Chat"). ''//This will not pass time, but it will set certain events in motion.//''
(link-goto: "|navlink>[Give a non-answer and go back to looking at the wares]", "singular items"). ''//You may return to this conversation at any time today.//'']](elseif: $day is 2)[\
The merchant gives you a wink. "$time, friend. Peruse as long as you like." There are many customers for him to help right now. If you want to speak to him more, you'll have to wait for tomorrow.
|navlink>[(link-goto: "Look at other things", "Merchant day " + (str: $day))]]You hesitate for a moment. But no one has asked you that question for a long while.
In a whisper you tell him how you feel trapped, divided, controlled, watched. How tired you are. (if: $freeform <6)[How you can't even choose what you wear each day. ](if:$freeform<3)[How even your body is used to torment you. ]It spills out a little too quickly.
He looks at you with compassion in his eyes and hands you a tissue. "I know how you feel. I've met folks in similar circumstances." He pauses for a moment. "I'm thinking I might stick around for a few days, instead of leaving tonight like I planned originally. Drop by tomorrow?"(set: $acqmerchant to 1)
(link: "|displink>[Ask him about those other folks, first]")[(show: ?others)]\
|others)[You ask him about those other folks, before you answer. Who were they?
He smiles, sadly. "People in rough situations. Some lucky enough to escape them."
Doesn't sound like he considers himself one of the lucky ones.]
|proglink>[(link-goto: "Tell him you will", "Chat 2")
(link-goto: "Shake your head", "Chat 2.1")](if: $time is "morning")[(set: $time to "afternoon")](elseif: $time is "afternoon")[(set: $time to "evening")](elseif: $time is "evening")[(set: $time to "night")]\
It's not the most exciting fare, but you find places to interest yourself. Some of the pages are bookmarked, annotated, and well-worn. The handwriting is uniform and elegant, the penmanship of your Lord. His notes apply to specifics of his own vessel, the //Parallax Arcsecond//, which most of the time lives in the castle's starport. (if: $hotwired is true)[You chuckle to yourself, thinking about how you've adjusted it.](else:)[Having read this, you could probably get in its guts and get it working yourself.](set: $engineer to true, $approval to it + 1)
(if: $time is "night")[
As the bell sounds the onset of night, you realize that you've missed dinner. His Lordship won't be happy.(set: $disapproval to it + 2)
[(link-goto: "Night falls. Return to your room.", "Bedroom")]<proglink|](else:)[\
As the bell tolls the onset of $time, you set the book down and |proglink>[ [[return to going about your day|The Library]]].](set: $acqmerchant to 2)He smiles. "Hopefully I see you then. I'm going to get my bearings around here today. Might have a couple favors to ask you tomorrow."
Once you've dried your eyes, you bid him|proglink>[ [[goodbye for now|Merchant day 2]]].There's a frown on his face for a moment, but it vanishes as he shrugs. "Well, I'll be here in any case. See you around, friend."
Once you've dried your eyes, you bid him|proglink>[ [[goodbye for now|Merchant day 2]]].(if: $time is "morning")[(set: $time to "afternoon")](elseif: $time is "afternoon")[(set: $time to "evening")](elseif: $time is "evening")[(set: $time to "night")]\
It's simple enough. A little maneuver in the pseudospace your dual-form nature requires in order to work, a quick adjustment of your clothing, and your flimsy mock-armor is exchanged for some proper hydraulic-powered high-entropy alloy gear. (set: $poweredup to true)
(if: $time is not "evening" or $day <5)[The process of getting it adjusted and operational, especially when the armorer is still watching, does take some time. By the time you're comfortably situated and the hydraulic servos are calibrated to your movements, the bells are already tolling $time.](if: $time is "night" and $day < 5)[You realize that you've missed dinner. His Lordship won't be happy.(set: $disapproval to it + 2)
[(link-goto: "Night falls. Return to your room.", "Bedroom")]<proglink|]
(elseif: $time is not "night")[|proglink>[(link-goto: "Adjust your skirts, now fully equipped", "The Armory")]](elseif: $time is "night" and $day is 5)[You've missed dinner, but you know what? Today feels auspicious. You're wearing the finest powered armor available and there are many weapons close to hand. Why not|proglink>[ [[use them]]]?]You look at the biggest, nastiest, and most damaging options. Perhaps the |selection>[|cyclink>[(cycling-link: bind $weapon, "gravity wave cannon", "electron pulse machine gun", "gravitonic warhammer", "EM-propulsion automatic rifle", "plasma halberd")]]?
(link-goto: "|proglink>[''//Why not all of them!//'']", "Devastation")(set: $time to "eternity")A pulse of gravity implodes the armory. Electromagnetic surges rip through the walls around the courtyard. You swing your hammer and carve a path through the castle directly to its lord.
He doesn't even have time to think before your halberd falls on his neck. As this form dies and its falsity collapses, you ride the waves of reconstructing spacetime right to your own draconic head, where the Lord of Distances in his glory looks upon you with rage.
With both your bodies as one for the first time, you rip him apart. Seeing through two pairs of eyes, you flee, fly as far as you can. You'll be a fugitive for this, of course, but you're a giant space dragon and a knight in powered armor. They can do their worst.
''The End''
(link: "Play again?")[(restart:)](if: visits is 1)[He smiles when you approach. "Good $time, friend. I came to a decision, last night. Would you be willing to help me with something?"
He leads you to a concealed spot in the back of the stall to speak further. "There are things I want from this castle that I think we might have mutual use for. If you can procure them for me, we can both benefit."
(link: "|displink>[Ask what that benefit might be]")[You ask what that benefit might be.
"Nobles have certain ways of meddling with physics and reality, yeah? And if you don't mind me mentioning it, I can imagine you'd like a way to fix some of the meddling that's been done to you. I think we're similar, that way."
(link: "|displink>[Ask him what he needs you to get]")[You ask him what he needs you to get.(show: ?procure)]]
|procure)["There's a reliquary in the chapel. Little golden box. I just need whatever's inside of it. I need it today, though. I won't be able to use it in time otherwise."
|navlink>[(link-goto: "Step back out", "Merchant day 3")]]](elseif: (visited: "Relic Handoff") is not true)[\
"G'$time, friend. Bring it yet?"
|navlink>[(link-goto: "Shake your head, step back out", "Merchant day 3")]
(if: $hasrelic is true)[(link-goto: "Give it to him", "Relic Handoff")]<proglink|](else:)[\
"Thanks for getting it for me, friend. See you tomorrow."
|navlink>[(link-goto: "Step back out", "Merchant day 3")]]It's right there. Your eyes have glossed over it often enough before. How in all the cosmos are you going to get the chaplain out of the way so you can get to it?
|1>[\
|proglink>[\
(link: "Ask him if he'll grab you a book")[(replace: ?1)[You ask him if you can borrow a book he suggested you read, several weeks ago. You can see the smug delight on his face as he goes to get it for you. And with that, the chapel is empty. You can easily|proglink>[ [[grab|Grab Book]]] the reliquary.]]
(if: $time is "morning")[(link: "Wait for him to leave for the Ablution ritual")[(replace: ?1)[It's morning. The Ablution of the Rising Sun should be happening shortly.
Of course, he comes up to you first. "Would you join me in the Ablution today, child?"
You tell him no, not today, you're just here to contemplate. He nods, beatifically, and steps out, giving you ample time to|proglink>[ [[grab|Grab Ritual]]] the reliquary.]]]
(if: $dresstyle is "flowing")[(link: "Trail your flowing gown over it to hide what you're doing")[(replace: ?1)[You maneuver over to the altar and just happen to let the flowing folds of your gown fall over it as you kneel in mock prayer. The chaplain looks delighted by this. He doesn't notice, as your hands and your prize are concealed beneath fabric, when you|proglink>[ [[grab|Grab Gown]]] the reliquary.]]]]\
](if: $time is "morning")[(set: $time to "afternoon")](elseif: $time is "afternoon")[(set: $time to "evening")](elseif: $time is "evening")[(set: $time to "night")]\
You hand it to him. He grins. "That's it. That's the other half."
In the concealed area in the back of the stall, he shows you the other half of the mirror. They fit together perfectly. "I acquired this half from an antiques collector back in the cosmopole. It took some research to figure out what it was."
He doesn't mention exactly what that is, but he does tell you what he needs next. "I've heard there's a secret project going on in the forge, and I've been able to poke my head in and see it. I need you to steal a piece from it." He gives you a paper bearing an image of the piece. "Tomorrow. Get it and bring it to me tomorrow."
He lets you out to go about your day.
(if: $time is "night")[As the bell sounds the onset of night, you realize that you've missed dinner. His Lordship won't be happy.(set: $disapproval to it + 2)
[(link-goto: "Night falls. Return to your room.", "Bedroom")]<proglink|](else:)[\
You emerge to the tolling of $time.|proglink>[ [[Your day lies ahead of you|Courtyard]]].](if: $time is not "evening")[(if: $time is "morning")[(set: $time to "afternoon")](elseif: $time is "afternoon")[(set: $time to "evening")]You tell the chaplain about the merchant's plan. He nods, gravely. "Thank you for informing me, child. Would you kindly|proglink>[ [[return to your room|Bedroom]]? I fear there may be trouble relating to this."
You will not see the merchant again. By the time you leave your room, the bells are tolling $time and the merchant is gone. (set: $acqmerchant to 0)](else:)[The chaplain won't let you bother him with business. "You should go to dinner, child. Our Lord has requested your presence more directly than usual."
[(link-goto: "\"Never mind, father.\"", "Chapel")]<navlink|]You have but moments. You pop it open and pull out the only thing inside: one half of a broken, silver hand mirror.
You stuff it into your dress and replace the box as he returns. "I've got it right here. Dialogues on Darkness, by Saint Archibald. Keep it as long as you need to! I think it would do you good."
You smile and accept it, then|proglink>[ [[leave the chapel|Courtyard]]] as quickly as you can. (if: $freeroam < 3)[He doesn't even notice that you're going to the courtyard when you should be barred from it.](set: $hasrelic to true)You pop the reliquary open. The only thing inside is half of a broken, silver hand mirror.
You conceal it in your dress, put the reliquary back, and |proglink>[ [[leave the chapel|Courtyard]]]. (if: $freeroam < 3)[Lucky for you, there's no one else here to bar you from the courtyard.](set: $hasrelic to true)It's nerve-wracking, but you're able to carefully sneak whatever's in there out of the box and close it again without notice. It feels flat, cold, and jagged on one edge.
After you|proglink>[ [[leave|Courtyard]]](if: $freeroam < 3)[, not having mentioned to the chaplain that you're barred from the courtyard,] you're able to take a peek at it: one half of a broken, silver hand mirror.(if: (visited: "Component Handoff") is not true)["G'$time, friend. Got that piece of machinery we need?"
|navlink>[(link-goto: "Shake your head, step back out", "Merchant day 4")]
(if: $hascomponent is true)[(link-goto: "Give it to him", "Component Handoff")]<proglink|](else:)[\
"I'll be tinkering until tomorrow. Meet me then and we'll see if we can solve our troubles together."
|navlink>[(link-goto: "Step back out", "Merchant day 4")]]He accepts the mysterious box with a smile. "Thank you. I'll put everything together tonight. Meet me here tomorrow? We'll be out of here together."
(if: $time is "night")[(link-goto: "Return to your room to sleep", "Bedroom")]<proglink|(else:)[\
It's $time.|proglink>[ [[Your day lies ahead of you|Courtyard]]].](set: $hascomponent to true)It's a metal box, about four inches long, three inches wide, and an inch thick. A circuit board protrudes out of one side, presumably to connect other components to it. It's much, much heavier than it should be. You grab it, conceal it, and|proglink>[ [[hurry back to the merchant|Merchant Chat 3]]].(forget-undos: -1)You grab a large, heavy hammer, raise it over your head, and smash the machine.
Everything stops.
You feel yourself falling through (link: "|proglink>[time]")[(set: $day to (random: 1, $day))(set: $time to (either: "morning", "afternoon", "evening", "night"))(goto: "Bedroom")].He takes you to his ship in the starport, and, on the bridge, shows you where he's wired the pieces together. The mirror, halves reconnected with only a jagged seam to show for it, is connected to the strange box by a variety of wires and circuit boards, with more connecting the box to the ship's control console.
He smiles. "Take a look in the mirror."
|proglink>[(link-goto: "Look")]You look in the mirror and see a woman with |cyclink->[(cycling-link: bind $eyecolor, "blue", "brown", "grey", "green")] eyes, |cyclink->[(cycling-link: bind $hairlength, "long", "short", "very short", "very long")], |cyclink>[(cycling-link: bind $haircolor, "brown", "black", "blonde", "red")] hair, a |cyclink>[(cycling-link: bind $bodytype, "plump", "thin", "muscular", "fat")] body. No monstrous features to be seen.
You look back at him. He smiles. "Pick a face you like, friend. When you're ready, push that button."
|proglink>[(link-goto: "Push it")]You push it and feel fate realign. This is the face you've always had. You've been like this your whole life.
But you can also feel the wyrm inside you. It feels different. You're no longer in two places at once. The monster you are is dormant. Waiting for you to let it out.
The merchant has his hands on the controls, readying the ship for takeoff. "Ready?"
|proglink>[(link-goto: "You've been ready your whole life")](set: $time to "eternity")The merchant's vessel soars out of the starport and you refuse to look back.
When you're far enough away from it, you test that feeling waiting inside you. The wyrm inside you stirs.
And suddenly you're not on the ship, but following behind it, vast and swift and free, finally, chain no longer around your neck, and you can feel the girl waiting inside you, and you test that feeling and
you're back on the bridge of the ship, giddy with delight. Beside you, the merchant is working the machine himself. He grins, pushes the button too. And then there she is.
Two pairs of dual fates spin through space as the two of you celebrate. You dance on the bridge of the ship, whirl as great stellar serpents, switch back and forth until you land somewhere far away.
''The End''
(link: "Play again?")[(restart:)](set: $time to "forever")You spend your night with him, and when you fall asleep and dream of your greater self, you spend that time with him too. He shows you off to the other nobles that stride along your back, tell them how good you are, how obedient, how pretty and useful and easy you are.
Nothing will ever change.
''But it doesn't have to end this way.''
(link: "Play again?")[(restart:)](set: $time to "forever")And that's it. Your window of opportunity fades. You will sleep tonight and dream of your vast self, still set to your wretched tasks, and wake to the walls of the castle once more.
''But it doesn't have to end this way.''
(link: "Play again?")[(restart:)](set: $time to "eternity")He doesn't have time to react before the needle pierces his thigh. You push him away as he begins to gasp for air, pull your dress back on, (if: $freeform < 3)[thank him for his last gift, putting you back to a face you prefer, ]enjoy the sight of him flickering between this dying mortal form and his rapidly flickering out form of power. His death is explosive, ripples shivering in the air as his works of spacetime manipulation begin to break down. You run, dash down to the kitchen, grab the chef's hand. The garbage barge awaits; you both climb aboard. The chef gives the driver, who has evidently already heard the plan, a kiss on the cheek, and then you're away.
You still awaken each night as your vast and monstrous self, but the chains are gone. Your dreams are no longer owned.
''The End''
(link: "Play again?")[(restart:)]There's a feeling of anticipation vibrating in the stars, but your lord is before you and you receive your reckoning of the day's affairs as normal, though.
(if: $approval > $disapproval + 2)["Well done today. Privilege increases noted."(set: $freeroam to (min: $freeroam + 1, 10), $freeform to (min: $freeform + 1, 10))]\
(else-if: $approval > $disapproval)["Well done today. "Privilege increases noted."(set: $freeroam to (min: $freeroam + 1, 10))]\
(else-if: $approval is $disapproval)["Do better tomorrow."(set: $approval to 0, $disapproval to 0)]\
(else-if: $disapproval + 2 > $approval)["Poorly done. Punishments noted."(set: $freeroam to (max: $freeroam - 1, 0), $freeform to (max: $freeform - 1, 0))]\
(else-if: $disapproval > $approval)["Poorly done. Punishments noted."(set: $freeroam to (max: $freeroam - 1, 0))]\
(set: $approval to 0, $disapproval to 0)
He says nothing else on the subject, seeming preoccupied with your task for the night. "His Majesty, the king, has placed several newly conquered planets under my domain. I need rapid travel between them, and so I need your coils placed with //exceptional// specificity. I will be keeping a close eye. Don't disappoint."
[(link-goto: "Hear his specifications", "New Worlds")]<proglink|(if: (visited: "Revel Request") is not true)[The head of the laundry is a burly individual in a white apron. They grin as you approach. "Hello there! I see you've gotten yourself confined to your room?"
(link: "[You suppose so, although you're here, aren't you?]<displink|")[You nod in confusion. "I suppose so. But I'm here, aren't I?"
They laugh and hold out a hand to shake. "And that would be my doing. Welcome to the underbelly of the castle, darling! When I realized the castle was confining you so, I decided I would trick it into letting you here, if you couldn't go anywhere else."
[(link-goto: "Ask them what they want from you", "Revel Request")]<navlink|]](elseif: $day < 5)[They smile as you approach. "Looking to pass the time until the reckoning, darling?"](elseif: $day is 5)[They smile as you approach. "Ready for the reckoning, darling?"]
(if: $day < 5)[[(link-goto: "Ask them if you can work here.", "Laundry Shift")]<proglink| ''//It's not the most interesting work, but it will pass the time.//'']
[(link-goto: "Step away", "The Laundry")]<navlink|
(if: $day is 5 and (visited: "Revel Reply") is true)[(link-goto: "You're ready for the reckoning", "Revel Reckoning")]<proglink|"Well, seeing as you haven't particularly been obeying your measuremental master, I thought you might enjoy what I do down here, darling. Which is to say, the business of overthrowing tyrants, gods, and masters."
(link: "|displink>[\"And what do I have to do with that?\"]")["And what do I have to do with that?"
"Well, simple. You're a prisoner here, and we want to break the prison. Furthermore, you're the prison this whole place is built around. If we can get your chains off, you can bring the whole prison down."
(link: "|displink>[\"I see. And what do I have to do?\"]")["I see. And what do I have to do?"
"Not much! (if: $day < 5)[Just stay in the bad graces of our dear friend upstairs so that your way down here doesn't close off, and swing by in (str: 5 - $day) days."](else:)["Just tell me you want out of here. It is the day of reckoning, after all."]
(link: "|displink>[\"And what happens then?\"]")["And what happens then?"
They grin. "I'm from the Revel Star. Union organizer. We've got technology there that can match the nobles, at least on small scales. That's what we're doing here. We've been working on something secretly here. It won't be able to turn this castle inside out on its own for months yet, but if you join us. Well. We'll let you loose on them, darling." (if: (visited: "The Revel Star") is not true)[You know of the Revel Star. It's one of few places not under noble rule. You didn't know they did active campaigns like this.]
They wait for you to respond.
(link-goto: "|navlink>[You're in.]", "Revel Reply")
(link-goto: "|navlink>[You're out. Sorry.]", "Revel Removal")
]]](if: $time is "morning")[(set: $time to "afternoon")](elseif: $time is "afternoon")[(set: $time to "evening")](elseif: $time is "evening")[(set: $time to "night")]\
It certainly passes the time. You wash clothes. The head of the laundry commends you on your hard work. Payday is in a week, although, they say, hopefully it'll come sooner. And then they wink. The clock on the wall indicates that it's now $time.
(if: $time is "night")[
As the bell sounds the onset of night, you realize that you've missed dinner. His Lordship won't be happy.(set: $disapproval to it + 2)
[(link-goto: "Night falls. Return to your room.", "Bedroom")]<proglink|](else:)[
(link-goto: "|navlink>[Your shift ends]", "The Laundry")]Their grin keeps getting wider. "Excellent. We'll see you for the reckoning."
[(link-goto: "Go wait for the reckoning, I suppose", "The Laundry")]<navlink|They frown. "Hm. Shame." They snap their fingers, a laundry worker does //something// to you, and-
You're in your room. What just happened?(set: $freeroam to 3)
[(link-goto: "Odd.", "Bedroom")]<navlink|Whatever engine the laundryworkers have built fires up, and your mortal body melts away.
You are your vast and terrible self, and the chain around your neck has just snapped.
[(link-goto: "Let Loose")]<proglink|(set: $time to "now")The castle doesn't stand a chance. The laundry staff clamber onto your back as you tear through the rest of the castle, devouring knights and soldiers. The head of the laundry recommends you let people evacuate; you hold back long enough to get those who aren't targets of your ire out, and then you bite down, throw back your massive head, and swallow. The Lord of Distances goes down with his castle.
When you arrive at the Revel Star, they festoon you with ribbons and let you drape yourself across the orbits of planets.
''The End''
(link: "Play again?")[(restart:)]//Long ago, when man still traveled in ships powered by liquid oxygen and nuclear plasma, there were dragons at the edges of the empire.
The dragons were vast and terrifying, each one covered in impenetrable |cyclink->[(cycling-link: bind $flesh, "scales", "feathers", "chitin", "stoneflesh", "fur")]. They coiled around stars, choking their light, and kept mankind from traveling further.
The king asked his (link: "|displink>[bravest knights]")[bravest knights(show: ?firstknight)] to find a way to slay them.
|firstknight)[The first knight equipped his ship with a thermonuclear lance, and fired twenty shots from it into the side of the largest starwyrm. And it ate him and his ship.
(link: "|displink>[The second knight...]")[(show: ?secondknight)]]\
|secondknight)[The second knight sailed a ship full of poison up to the beast, and hid in an escape pod, ready for it to devour him. But he did not account for the gravity of the wyrm's maw, and ejected right into its throat, and he and the poison were swallowed and digested without harming the monster at all.
(link: "|displink>[The third knight...]")[(show: ?thirdknight)]]\
|thirdknight)[The third knight saw the failures of his brothers, and devised a plan. He traveled silently on an ion-thruster ship, and mapped out the full length of the beast, and found the contradictions between its vastness and the laws of nature.
When he returned, he spent a month, a week, and a day in the king's library, and when he emerged, he carried a theodolite and a (link: "|displink>[length of chain]")[length of chain(show: ?chains)].
|chains)[The knight flew to the beast's throat and wrapped the chain around it, and though the beast was as vast as stars, the chain was as long as it needed to be. And in an instant, the wyrm was tamed, and the power of the nobles over space and time was set forever.
When he returned, he gave the reins of the beast to the king, and showed him what he had discovered. And the king named him First Lord of Distances, and from then on, his house would bear the surveyor's chain as its arms and be forever known for the taming of |proglink>[(link-goto: "starwyrms")].]]//(if: visits is 1)[You are in a room you do not recognize, full of passed-out nobles.
The Lord of Distances' hand is up your skirt. He's unconscious.
You can feel reality gently shivering under the force of power present here.
When the nobility have parties here, they warp the fabric of the castle to make places to have their fun in. It seems that fun has ended.
(link: "|navlink>[Go to the door]")[You gently shift the hand from your thigh and creep to the door. You touch the handle, and reality shudders.
(display: "Doors")]](else:)[You return to the room you woke up in. The nobles remain unconscious.
(display: "Doors")] (if: $rifle is true)[
You could give the Lord of Distances a nasty headache with your rifle right now.
|proglink>[(link-goto: "Shoot")]](if: visits > 2)[
You're tired. Perhaps you should |proglink>[(link-goto: "sleep", "Sleep")] off the indignities of the night.]
Someone didn't measure correctly when aligning this hallway. Gravity slants down it, potted plants long fallen off drunkenly-leaning side tables heaped against the door at the end.
|navlink>[(link-goto: "First door on the left", "Left 1")
(link-goto: "First door on the right", "Right 1")
(link-goto: "Second door on the left", "Left 2")
(link-goto: "Second door on the right", "Right 2")
(link-goto: "The door at the end of the hallway", "Another Room")
(link-goto: "Back to the other room", "A Room Outside of Space")]Time is entirely stopped in this room. (if: $paintinggone is not true)[Someone's assembled a beautiful landscape painting by suspending particles of paint in the air. If time starts again, it will disappear.
(link: "|displink>[Wave your hand through it]")[You wave your hand through it and reduce it to swirls of frozen, meaningless color.
Honestly, fuck that painting.(set: $paintinggone to true)]](else:)[That painting you wrecked is still here, suspended mid-destruction. Someone was probably trying to make a statement about the transience of art. You're pretty sure you've out-transienced them.]
|navlink>[(link-goto: "Back to the other room", "A Room Outside of Space")]This door leads into a forest. The woods are silent. Someone held a foxhunt here, and now the fox is dead, and the only life left are the trees and the hounds and horses slumbering by the door. It's night here.
|navlink>[(link-goto: "Walk through the forest", "Trees")]
|navlink>[(link-goto: "Back to the other room", "A Room Outside of Space")]There are three doors sharing the same space here, vibrating in harmonic.
|navlink>[(link-goto: "The door vibrating at 105hz", "105hz")
(link-goto: "The door vibrating at 735hz", "735hz")
(link-goto: "The door vibrating at 5145hz", "5145hz")](if: visits is 1)[A room full of identical, life-sized porcelain dolls. Each one has been dismembered and had its head shattered, except for one, legless but still moving, smoking a cigarette, right side of her face cracked open, sparks guttering behind that eye.
"Evening." She gives a vague wave. You think you recognize her from one of the entourages.
There's a hammer leaned against the wall, covered in ceramic dust.
(link: "|displink>[\"Are you ok?\"]")[You ask if she's ok. She laughs, something breaking in her chest as she does. "Just another day's work. You?"
(link: "|displink>[\"Not really\"]")["Not really."
"Yeah. I feel you. Want a smoke?"
(link: "|displink>[\"Sure\"]")[You take the cigarette. You both spend a while in silence.
After a bit, she sighs. "Don't think they're gonna be conscious anytime soon?"
You shake your head.
"Damn. Well, I'm not waiting the night out like this. Mind finishing me off?" She points to the hammer.
|proglink>[(link-goto: "Knock her out")
(link-goto: "You can't. You can give her the hammer, though.", "You can't")]
]]]](else:)[A room full of identical, life-sized porcelain dolls. Each one has been dismembered and had its head shattered. A hammer and two cigarette butts have been discarded on the floor.
|navlink>[(link-goto: "Leave", "105hz")]]Nobody actually made this room. The threshold lurches into unformed space. They haven't put dimensions in for anything to go into, but neither did they put a wall over it. Soil vaguely floats in the boundary between space and un-space.
|navlink>[(link-goto: "Leave", "105hz")]The floor in here is covered in discarded chess pieces, cards, and billiard balls. Someone threw up on the pool table.
|navlink>[(link-goto: "Leave", "105hz")]A room littered with bottles. Seems the drinking continued here.
|navlink>[(link-goto: "Leave", "105hz")]Looks like someone was murdered in here. Viscera coats the walls, but there's no corpse remaining.
The scraps of clothing indicate this was someone's servant. Not a uniform you recognize.
The smell makes you a little hungry.
|navlink>[(link-goto: "Leave", "105hz")]You heft the hammer and, at her thumbs up, give it a swing.
She blows a little kiss as the light fades from her eyes.
You're in a room full of identical, life-sized, dismembered, decapitated porcelain dolls.
|navlink>[(link-goto: "Leave", "105hz")]You hand her the hammer. She nods. "You can leave before I do it."
You |navlink>[(link-goto: "step back out", "105hz")] and let her do it.The forest is perfect and idyllic, constructed from memories of country estates managed to perfection. Nothing moves here, the only life placed in this domain the thing they wanted to hunt.
(if: $rifle is not true)[Someone forgot their |navlink>[(link-goto: "rifle")] here.](else:)[You could leave the |navlink>[(link-goto: "rifle")] here.]
|navlink>[(link-goto: "Go back", "5145hz")]You pick up the rifle. It's cold. There's a shot loaded.
You couldn't harm a noble, not truly, with this weapon. But it's definitely itching in your mind to try.
(if: (visited: "Knock her out") is true or (visited: "You can't") is true)[Although, maybe the doll had the right idea. She'll probably wake up in a new, identical body in the morning. You won't get the same treatment, but it will get you out of this night.
|proglink>[(link-goto: "Finish yourself off")]
''//This will end the game prematurely. You can't undo this.//'']
|proglink>[(link: "Bring the rifle with you")[(set: $rifle to true)(goto: "Trees")]
(link: "Leave the rifle here")[(set: $rifle to false)(goto: "Trees")]](forget-undos: -1)Your body will probably just vanish when they unmake this forest and everything in it. Perhaps the dogs, woken by the sound, will find it. You won't know, and won't care.
(link: "Restart?")[(restart:)]He wakes from the sound of the gunshot but is too sluggish to stop the bullet.
His head splatters across other, groggily awakening nobles.
Someone enacts an edict, and you are removed from space. You'll be dealt with later.
For now, |proglink>[(link-goto: "wait")].(set: $prayed to false, $confessed to false, $clean to false, $dressed to false, $cooked to false, $time to "morning", $day to 4, $approval to 0, $disapproval to 5, $freeroam to 0, $freeform to 0, $choked to true)Your privileges are revoked, for that little display. The Lord of Distances looks just fine as he inflicts whatever punishments he feels merited upon you.
|proglink>[(link-goto: "Eventually, he throws you aside to go about his day. You crawl back to your room.", "Bedroom")]You fall into a dreamless slumber, a rarity in your condition. When you |proglink>[(link-goto: "wake", "Wake"), you're back in your bedroom.(if: $approval > $disapproval + 2)[(set: $freeroam to (min: $freeroam + 1, 10), $freeform to (min: $freeform + 1, 10))]\
(else-if: $approval > $disapproval)[(set: $freeroam to (min: $freeroam + 1, 10))]\
(else-if: $approval is $disapproval)[(set: $approval to 0, $disapproval to 0)]\
(else-if: $disapproval + 2 > $approval)[(set: $freeroam to (max: $freeroam - 1, 0), $freeform to (max: $freeform - 1, 0))]\
(else-if: $disapproval > $approval)[(set: $freeroam to (max: $freeroam - 1, 0))]\
(set: $approval to 0, $disapproval to 0, $freeroam to (min: $freeroam + 1, 10), $freeform to (min: $freeform + 1, 10))Awakening as your vast wyrm-self takes longer, this time. The Lord of Distances, it seems, needed some time to recomport himself.
(if: (visited: "High Table 3") is true)[(set: $freeroam to (min: $freeroam + 1, 10), $freeform to (min: $freeform + 1, 10))"I'm glad you came to my little party." He smiles in a way that makes you sick. "You were //delightful//."](else:)[(set: $disapproval to it + 2)(set: $freeroam to (max: $freeroam - 1, 0), $freeform to (max: $freeform - 1, 0), $choked to true)"I missed you at my little party. You really should have come." He gives the chain around your throat a sharp yank, just to punctuate it.]
(if: $approval > $disapproval + 2)[Your other activities, it seems, have been approved of, and privileges gained as a result.(set: $freeroam to (min: $freeroam + 1, 10), $freeform to (min: $freeform + 1, 10))]\
(else-if: $approval > $disapproval)[Your other activities, it seems, have been approved of, and privileges gained as a result.(set: $freeroam to (min: $freeroam + 1, 10))]\
(else-if: $approval is $disapproval)[Your other activities, it seems, have been perfectly neutral.(set: $approval to 0, $disapproval to 0)]\
(else-if: $disapproval + 2 > $approval)[Your other activities, it seems, have been frowned on, and privileges restricted as a result.(set: $freeroam to (max: $freeroam - 1, 0), $freeform to (max: $freeform - 1, 0))]\
(else-if: $disapproval > $approval)[Your other activities, it seems, have been frowned on, and privileges restricted as a result.(set: $freeroam to (max: $freeroam - 1, 0))]\
(set: $approval to 0, $disapproval to 0)
"Now, as for |proglink>[(link-goto: "tonight's business")]..."
(if: $fateofrevolt is "devoured")["Amusing, that you couldn't keep yourself from biting down. It would, likely, have been inevitable, though, so I must thank you for saving me from having to make tedious 'negotiations' tonight. All you have to do tonight is|proglink>[ [[move some coils]]] for travel purposes."](elseif: $fateofrevolt is "threatened" or it is "pitied")["We have|proglink>[ [[negotiations]]] to begin, after last night. Just sit still while I meet with this planet's 'ambassador'."](elseif: $fateofrevolt is "ignored")["Your little vacation last night may have lost us that world. You will not be eating tonight. Your orders are to|proglink>[ [[move some coils]]] for travel purposes. I'll be watching to make sure you don't mess this up."]Nobles stream along your back. You're nothing more than a useful road. Nothing ever changes.
[(link-goto: "Wake")]<proglink|Long talks of demands and threats. (if: $fateofrevolt is "pitied")[It seems the revolutionary leaders were unimpressed by the show of force. They call the Lord of Distances' bluff.
[(link-goto: "Do as ordered and bite down")]<proglink|
[(link-goto: "Let the planet slip away")]<proglink|](if: $fateofrevolt is "threatened")[Your presence has brought them to submission. You are made to withdraw your jaws, revolt disbanded, leaders given up as traitors to the crown.
You are fed a star with no inhabited worlds around it, as a treat for work well done.
[(link-goto: "Wake")]<proglink|]It goes down your throat smoothly. The ambassador watches in horror. (set: $fateofrevolt to "devoured")
[(link-goto: "Wake")]<proglink|You hesitate just a little, turn your head just slightly, so the planet's orbit carries it out of reach of your jaws. The ambassador smiles, strides to her shuttle, leaves. The Lord of Distances rages impotently, but the moment has passed. To put your jaws around it again would take time, your vastness slow to move itself. The planet in revolt lives a little longer.(set: $fateofrevolt to "victorious")
(set: $disapproval to it + 2)[(link-goto: "Wake")]<proglink|Placements specified to the 5-mile error tolerance. Narrow, for a creature of your scale.
[(link: "Place cautiously and precisely")[(set: $freeroam to (min: $freeroam + 1, 10), $freeform to (min: $freeform + 1, 10)) (goto: "Precision")]
(link: "Be a little incautious and try to get a good look")[(set: $freeroam to (max: $freeroam - 1, 0), $freeform to (max: $freeform - 1, 0)) (goto: "Observation")]]<proglink|Unfortunately, there's no room in this arrangement to see what's going on. But your lord is satisfied, at least.
[(link-goto: "Wake")]<proglink|As your lord descends to the first planet in question, you shift a little to get a good view.
It's a constellation of six stars, each with a small handful of habitable planets. Recent conquests by the Royal Navy, whose starships still orbit them.
They're pretty. One world has mountain ranges of almost pure silica, quartz peaks shining in the sun. Another is almost entirely ocean, chains of islands connected by long bridges. Some look like they were damaged in conquering them. One world is almost all cityscape, multicolored lights tracing geometric patterns on its surface. Another planet is barren, but orbited by three populous moons; one lush and forested from pole to pole, one red and iron-rich, one entirely patchworked with farmland.
These worlds grew like this beyond the reach of empire. The scars of bringing them in are visible from space. Swathes of forest clear-cut and burned to ash, impact craters of weapons of mass destruction dropped from orbit, the looming presence of warships.
The Lord of Distances berates you for elongating his commute times. But you've had a little glimpse you wouldn't have had otherwise.
[(link-goto: "Wake")]<proglink|