Wolf at the Door (Prototype 4.1)

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(set: $footer to false)  =><= (display: "coin icon") ''<u>Wolf at the Door</u> A game by Deck of Bards'' [[Start Game|Introduction]] [[Restore Previous Session|Load Game]]  (if: $sound is false)[(link: "Turn on sound")[(set: $sound to true)(print: $tracks's overture)(set: $nowplaying to "overture")(goto: "Title Screen")]](else:)[(link: "Turn off sound")[(set: $sound to false)[<script>Sound.stop();</script>](goto:"Title Screen")]] [[Credits]]

Where would you like to go? [[farm]] [[fence]] [[town]] [[woods]] [[river]] [[standing stones]] Alternatively, you could simply [[rest until tomorrow|rest]].

=><= (display: "field icon") <= {  }(if: $season is "spring")[You look over the freshly tilled fields, lifting a hand to shield your eyes from the sun. You remember standing here with your grandfather, gazing out at tall corn golden in the sunlight, waving slightly in the wind. It will be good to see these fields full again. You can plant seeds if you have them.(if: $seeds > 0)[ [[plant seeds]] ($seeds)] ]{ }(elseif: $season is "summer")[(if: $crops > 0)[Your corn is coming in nicely, at exactly the right height for this time of year. You breathe in the smell of earth and growing things.(if: $playerTools contains "pail")[(if: $daysUnwatered > 0)[ [[tend crops]] ($crops) ](else:)[You have already watered your crops today.]](else:)[ If you had a pail, you could water your crops.]]{ }(else:)[The empty fields stretch all the way to the edge of the forest. Nature has begun to retake the unused dirt, weeds and grasses springing up every few feet. It’s much too late in the year to begin planting now. You stand and watch the birds circle through the sky for a few minutes.] ]{ }(elseif: $season is "autumn")[(if: $crops > 0)[There’s a bite of cold in the autumn air. You look out over the golden-brown tassels and know that behind those green leaves are plump ears of corn, ready to harvested. Somewhere in the distance, you think you hear a howl. But perhaps that’s just your imagination. [[harvest crops]] ($crops) ](else:)[There’s a bite of cold in the autumn air, as the wind blows unrestrained through the overgrown fields. ]](else:)[The field stretches out before you, lifeless and frosted. ][[Go home.|home]]

=><= (display: "town icon") <= {  }(if: 1st of $week is "Sunday")[The shop is closed on Sundays. [[Go home.|home]]](else:)[(goto: "shop")]

=><= (display: "forest icon") <= { (if: $season is "spring")[Beyond the edge of your property lies the velvet darkness of the woods, a sea of foliage that stretches for miles. As you step beneath the first line of trees, the sounds of birdsong and rustling leaves fill the air. Two squirrels run past your feet, chasing each other up a tall oak tree. Ahead of you stretches the ever-thickening forest--dangerous, you know, but somehow enticing too.] (elseif: $season is "summer")[The first line of trees offers a shady refuge from the summer heat. The sunlight turns to gold as it filters past the leaves, leaving a rippled pattern on the forest floor. You feel the tickle of an insect landing on your neck and quickly slap it away. A crow is watching you from a nearby bough, head cocked curiously, black bead eyes following your movements.] (elseif: $season is "autumn")[Autumn has set the trees on fire, a blaze of red and orange above your head. The leaves crunch beneath your feet as you walk the familiar path. The encroaching chill of winter can’t be avoided in the shadows of the woods, and you feel yourself shivering slightly.] (else:)[The air is cold. The trees are bare.] } [[collect sticks]] (if: $playerTools contains "axe")[ [[chop trees]] ](else:)[If you had an axe, you could chop a few of these trees, maybe build something new. ][[Go home.|home]]

=><= (display: "river icon") <= You find yourself at the edge of a flowing river. The forest is thinner out here, as if to give the water room to breathe. Stones of all shapes and sizes riddle the riverbank. If you collect enough, they could be used to sturdy up your wall. The stones become larger and more dense downstream from you, culminating into a vicious patch of rapids. You hear the distant hum of water crashing into stone. A small island sits at the river's centre. You could [[collect stones]] here. { (if: $playerTools contains "rod")[This is the perfect place to [[try and catch some fish|fishing]].] (else:)[This would be a great place to catch some fish if you had a rod.] } [[Go home.|home]]

=><= (display: "circle icon") <= {  }(if: $season is "spring")[They have always stood there, just at the edge of your property, five curved pillars of stone, thrusting out of the ground like a giant, petrified hand reaching towards the sun. You remember visiting them with your grandmother, who would always say a quiet prayer, or lay down an offering. “Even if we don’t remember who the Old Gods are,” she would say as she poured out a pot of clarified butter, or burned a cake of crushed, dried flowers, “it still pays to remember that they are.” (either: "Today, birds perch on the blue-green stone. Their song seems to hang in the crisp air.", "Today, rabbits frolic in the shadows of the Standing Stones, as though gambolling in the palm of a protective giant.", "Today, bright red butterflies flitter among the ocean-coloured stones, like lights at sea. Or at least, like you imagine lights at sea.")]{ }(elseif: $season is "summer")[The air shimmers with heat, yet the Standing Stones, blue-green trunks of stone sprouting from the earth, remain as cool to the touch as ever. Your father used to avoid them in summer, calling their uncharacteristic coldness “unnatural”. But then, your father was hard to please and would call a great many things unnatural. (either: "A tuft of wildflowers, blazing yellow like the hum of the sun, bursts out of the ground. They smell of cooking butter. Somehow, it seems wrong to pick them.", "Bird droppings sprinkle the ground outside the ring of Standing Stones, but never within it, or on the stones themselves.", "The shade the stones cast is pleasant. It makes you want to hum a song your grandmother used to sing.")]{ }(elseif: $season is "autumn")[Like cold, uncaring sentinels, the Standing Stones loom out of the fog that shrouds this area at all hours of the day. Their unmoving mass is alien, grafted into the hardening ground by long-abandoned gods who fled to the stars. These are not the stories you grew up with. You do not know what brings these images to your mind. Perhaps it’s the lengthening night, snaking into your thoughts. Perhaps it’s the Wolf King, sending dreams into the daylight hours as well. (either: "The thin breeze dangles ragged leaves within the fog, wringing their colours out of them, stretching them flat and lifeless.", "The air smells sweet and smoky. Someone has come by here, perhaps, and smoked a pipe.", "Your boots sink into the muddy ground with soft sucking noises. You will have to clean them later.")]{ }(else:)[“Ghosts like the winter,” your grandmother would say, “it reminds them of the world of the dead, all white and cold.” Standing here in the fading light, it’s hard not to think of those stories. You shiver- the world seems to shiver- yet the Standing Stones stay still and unchanging in the snow, like frozen, blue ghosts hovering in a field of shattered glass. (either: "There is blood on the snow near the stones. Did an animal die here recently? Was it an offering?", "Your breath is white fog, and it curls into strange shapes.", "The wind hums weirdly between the stones.") You have the unshakeable feeling of being watched.] [[Return home.|home]]

{ (set: $footer to false)  (set: _distanceTravelled to (random: $minDistance, $maxDistance))  (if: _distanceTravelled > $distance)[(set: _distanceTravelled to $distance)]  (set: $distance to it - _distanceTravelled)  (set: _eventTrigger to (random: 1, $eventRarity)) }(if: _eventTrigger is $eventRarity and $distance > 0)[(display: "night event") The Wolf King](else:)[Your dreams reveal the Wolf King, drawing ever closer. He] travels _distanceTravelled miles. He is now $distance miles away. { (if: $distance < 1)[(goto: "end of game")]  (else:)[[[A new day is dawning.|wake]]]  }

{ (set: $day to it + 1)   (if: $day < 5)[(set: $season to "spring")] (elseif: $day < 10)[(set: $season to "summer")] (elseif: $day < 15)[(set: $season to "autumn")] (else:)[(set: $season to "winter")] (set: $week to (rotated: 1, ...$week)) (set: $time to 0)  (if: 1st of $week is "Sunday")[(display: "shop randomiser")] (if: $season is "summer" and $crops > 0)[(set: $crops to it - (pow: $daysUnwatered, 2)) (if: $crops < 0)[(set: $crops to 0)]]  (if: $season is "summer")[(set: $daysUnwatered to it + 1)] (set: _eventTrigger to (random: 1, $eventRarity)) }(if: _eventTrigger is $eventRarity)[(display: "morning event") ](display: "start of day")

=><= (display: "fence icon") <= {   } (if: $fenceCondition < 5)[The fence around your land is in a sorry state. A number of flimsy posts roughly mark the boundary. { (either: "If you had enough wood, you could fix it up.", "The fence isn't even fit to prevent livestock from wandering onto your fields.", "The fence makes the land look shabby and uncared for.")}]{ }(elseif: $fenceCondition < 10)[The fence around your land is now repaired. The posts stand up straight and the log rails clearly demarcate the boundary. { (either: "With some more wood you could make the fence into a wall.", "It won't be enough to keep anything out that really wants to come in.", "The fence is still low enough to give you an expansive view of the surrounding countryside.")}]{ }(elseif: $fenceCondition < 15)[The wall around your land is long and tall and bristles with sharpened logs. It stretches around the full length of your property. { (either: "With some stone, it could be properly reinforced.", "If a foe were truly determined, they could tear their way through.", "The wall casts a cooling shadow around it, but the south-facing wall still catches the sun.")}]{ }(else:)[The wall around your land is reinforced with great piles of stone along its length. Spikes of wood line the top of the wall. It towers high, blocking out the rest of the countryside from your view.] {  }(if: $fenceCondition < 10 and $wood > 0)[ [[upgrade fence]] ](elseif: $fenceCondition >= 10 and $fenceCondition <15 and $stone > 0)[ [[upgrade fence]] ]{  }(if: $ditch >= 10)[Along the length of the fence you have dug a formidable ditch.](elseif: $playerTools contains "spade" and $ditch < 10)[You could also [[dig a ditch]].](else:)[With the right tools, you could always put in a ditch.] [[Go home.|home]]

"You must have got a good price for the house on the hill," says the coachman. "It has lain empty many years." You explain that you paid nothing: it was inherited. There, not halfway along the road from Oakbridge, he stops the coach. "This is as far as I can go," he says. "My horse is tired." You entreat him to continue - it has been a long time since you travelled this road to your grandfather's house - but he will not. "I must be back by nightfall," he explains. "My horse must rest." Seeing that he cannot be persuaded, you walk the rest of the way. The journey is a minor inconvenience, but your mind is troubled: this seems an inauspicious start. (link: "Time to spend the night in your new home.")[ <script>Sound.pause();</script> (goto: "first night dream start") ]

(load-game:"Slot A") [[Back.|Title Screen]]

{  } =><= ''<u>Creative Director</u>'' <a href="https://damonwakes.wordpress.com"; target="_blank">Damon L. Wakes</a> ''<u>Writers</u>'' <a href="https://sharangbiswas.myportfolio.com/"; target="_blank">Sharang Biswas</a> <a href="https://www.twitter.com/friedegger"; target="_blank">Joey Jones</a> <a href="https://mcleanhannahl.wixsite.com/website"; target="_blank">Hannah McLean</a> <a href="https://www.michaelsmilovitch.com"; target="_blank">Michael Smilovitch</a> ''<u>Audio</u>'' <a href="mailto:craigbeard.bass@gmail.com"; target="_blank">Craig Beard</a> <a href="https://mightyowlbear.itch.io/"; target="_blank">K.G. Orphanides</a> ''<u>Artists</u>'' <a href="https://www.twitter.com/pyrotyger"; target="_blank">Phil McArthur</a> <a href="https://linktr.ee/captain_ogilvy"; target="_blank">Chess Pearson</a> <a href="https://dominique-riley.wixsite.com/portfolio"; target="_blank">Dominique Riley</a> <a href="http://www.boatofbees.com"; target="_blank">Joseph M Wright</a> ''<u>Testers</u>'' <a href="https://chiltonm.persona.co/"; target="_blank">Maddi Chilton</a> <a href="https://gdeyke.wordpress.com/"; target="_blank">G. Deyke</a> [[Back|Title Screen]] <=

{  (if: $day < 5)[(set: $season to "spring")] (elseif: $day < 10)[(set: $season to "summer")] (elseif: $day < 15)[(set: $season to "autumn")] (else:)[(set: $season to "winter")] }

(display: "housekeeping")(if: $footer is true)[ --- Day: $day ((print: 1st of $week)) Season: (upperfirst: $season) Time: {  (if: $time <= ($dayLength / 4))[morning] (elseif: $time <= ($dayLength / 2))[noon] (elseif: $time < $dayLength)[afternoon] (else:)[evening] } Florins: $florins (link: "Inventory")[<u>Inventory:</u> (display: "inventory")] ]

{  (set: $footer to true)  (set: $distance to 200)  (set: $minDistance to 8)  (set: $maxDistance to 15)   (set: $day to 0)  (set: $week to (a: "Sunday", "Saturday", "Friday", "Thursday", "Wednesday", "Tuesday", "Monday")) (set: $week to (rotated: (random: 1, 6), ...$week)) (set: $season to "spring")  (set: $time to 0)  (set: $dayLength to 5)   (set: $eventRarity to 4) (set: $nightEvents to (a: "night storm", "wolf dream", "grandmother dream", "wall dream", "reflection", "blood bath", "disappointed father", "dessert making", "wolf party", "afloat", "cannibal bread", "rotten luck", "wake up sheeple", "trippy dream", "wolfpack dream", "meat dream", "werewolf dream", "sleepless night")) (set: $nightEvent to "none") (set: $morningEvents to (a: "if a tree falls in the forest", "the wolf king sends his regards", "the dolly problem", "spider webs", "cider", "crazy bird", "mundane morning", "small plant", "lost cat")) (set: $morningEvent to "none")  (set: $playerTools to (a:))   (set: $fenceType to "decrepit")  (set: $fenceCondition to 0)  (set: $ditch to 0)  (set: $daysUnwatered to 0)   (set: $florins to 0)  (set: $talismans to 0)  (set: $wire to 0)  (set: $sticks to 0)  (set: $wood to 0)  (set: $stone to 0)  (set: $fish to 0)  (set: $meat to 0)  (set: $seeds to 5)  (set: $crops to 0)  (set: $produce to 0)    (set: $talismanPrice to 100) (set: $wirePrice to 6) (set: $stickPrice to 2) (set: $woodPrice to 8) (set: $stonePrice to 4) (set: $fishPrice to 10) (set: $meatPrice to 20) (set: $seedPrice to 2) (set: $producePrice to 50)  (set: $spadePrice to 15) (set: $axePrice to 15) (set: $rodPrice to 15) (set: $pailPrice to 15)  (display: "shop randomiser")  (set: $sound to false)  (set: $nowplaying to "nothing")   (set: $tracks to (datamap: "birdsong", "<script>Sound.play('HQ_birdsong.mp3');</script>", "overture", "<script>Sound.play('Caerus_overture_1.mp3');</script>", "background1", "<script>Sound.play('Caerus_background_1.mp3');</script>", "birds_and_insects", "<script>Sound.play('birds_and_insects.mp3');</script>", "river", "<script>Sound.play('river.mp3');</script>", "market", "<script>Sound.play('market.mp3');</script>", "dreams", "<script>Sound.play('dreams.mp3');</script>", "background2", "<script>Sound.play('Caerus_Background_2_final.mp3');</script>", "eventchime", "<audio autoplay><source src=\"event_chime.mp3\" type=\"audio/mp3\"></audio>", "nothing", "<script>Sound.pause();</script>", )) }

(set: $footer to false)The Wolf King has arrived: he brings with him the end of the demo. In the finished game, however, your final challenge would just be beginning. ''You succeeded in gathering $produce produce. You (if: $fenceCondition < 1)[did not repair your fence](elseif: $fenceCondition < 5)[barely repaired your fence](elseif: $fenceCondition < 10)[made modest repairs to your fence](elseif: $fenceCondition <= 15)[built a (if: $fenceCondition < 15)[formidable](else:)[nigh-impenetrable] wall].'' Thank you for playing.

You are tired. You must [[rest]].

=><= (display: "field icon") <= { (set: $seeds to it - 1)  (set: $crops to it + 1)  (set: $time to it + 1)  }You plant some seeds. You have planted $crops crops in total. {  }(if: $time < $dayLength)[(if: $seeds > 0)[ [[plant more|plant seeds]] ($seeds) ][[Go home.|home]]](else:)[(display: "end of day")]

=><= (display: "field icon") <= { (set: $time to it + 1)  (set: $daysUnwatered to 0)  }You currently have $crops crops. You use your pail to water them. {  }(if: $time < $dayLength)[[[Go home.|home]]](else:)[(display: "end of day")]

=><= (display: "field icon") <= { (set: $crops to it - 1)  (set: $produce to it + 1)  (set: $time to it + 1)  }You harvest some crops. $crops crops remain, and you have harvested $produce produce in total. {  }(if: $time < $dayLength)[(if: $crops > 0)[ [[harvest more|harvest crops]] ($crops) ][[Go home.|home]]](else:)[(display: "end of day")]

=><= (display: "fence icon") <= { (if: $fenceCondition < 10)[(set: $wood to it - 1)](else:)[(set: $stone to it - 1)]  (set: $fenceCondition to it + 1)  (set: $time to it + 1)  }You improve the fence around your property. {  }(if: $time < $dayLength)[(if: $fenceCondition < 10 and $wood > 0)[ {}[[Improve it further.|upgrade fence]]](elseif: $fenceCondition >= 10 and $fenceCondition <15 and $stone > 0)[{}[[Improve it further.|upgrade fence]] ][[Go home.|home]]](else:)[(display: "end of day")]

=><= (display: "fence icon") <= { (set: $ditch to it + 1)  (set: $time to it + 1)  }You extend the ditch around your property. {  }(if: $time < $dayLength)[(if: $ditch < 10)[ [[improve it further|dig a ditch]] ][[Go home.|home]]](else:)[(display: "end of day")]

=><= (display: "forest icon") <= { (set: $sticks to it + 1)  (set: $time to it + 1)  }You find a stick. {  }(if: $time < $dayLength)[ [[collect more|collect sticks]] [[Go home.|home]]](else:)[(display: "end of day")]

=><= (display: "forest icon") <= { (set: $wood to it + 1)  (set: $time to it + 1)  }You chop down a tree and obtain some wood. {  }(if: $time < $dayLength)[ [[chop another|chop trees]] [[Go home.|home]]](else:)[(display: "end of day")]

''Currently:'' * The wall can only be upgraded. It cannot be knocked down or converted into a more pleasant garden wall. * The text for the wall's final level of upgrades implies stone is needed, but the process demands wood as usual. * "Daily" tips are entirely random: a different one may display each time the relevant passage is visited. * No matter what you do, the ending is a standard "The End." It doesn't take into account any actions during the game. * Each season is 5 days and each day is 5 units of time (hours?). Seasons in the final game should be longer, days might be okay as-is. ''Changes:'' ''Prototype 5.0:'' * Credits have been added. * The buy and sell item lists in the shop have been consolidated into a single table. * The shop's inventory will now deplete as items are bought. It restocks once a week, though some items will be in short supply or even out of stock entirely. * Items now have unique prices which will fluctuate weekly. * Icons now appear at the top of the screen while performing actions, as well as simply visiting the location. ''Audio:'' ''Prototype 5.1:'' * As the game loads silent, the title page sound state checker doesn't fire until after sound has been turned on for the first time.

{   (if: $sound is true)[ (if: (passage:)'s tags contains "woods" or "home")[(if: $nowplaying is not "birdsong")[(print: $tracks's birdsong)[(set: $nowplaying to "birdsong")]]] (else-if: (passage:)'s tags contains "standing-stones" or "title" or "credits" or "intro")[(if: $nowplaying is not "overture")[(print: $tracks's overture)[(set: $nowplaying to "overture")]]] (else-if: (passage:)'s tags contains "farm" or "fence")[(if: $nowplaying is not "birds_and_insects")[(print: $tracks's birds_and_insects)[(set: $nowplaying to "birds_and_insects")]]] (else-if: (passage:)'s tags contains "town")[(if: $nowplaying is not "market")[(print: $tracks's market)[(set: $nowplaying to "market")]]] (else-if: (passage:)'s tags contains "river")[(if: $nowplaying is not "river")[(print: $tracks's river)[(set: $nowplaying to "river")]]] (else-if: (passage:)'s tags contains "rest")[(if: $nowplaying is not "nothing")[(print: $tracks's nothing)[(set: $nowplaying to "nothing")]]] (else-if: (passage:)'s tags contains "wake")[(if: $nowplaying is not "birdsong")[(print: $tracks's birdsong)[(set: $nowplaying to "birdsong")]]] (else:)[(print: $tracks's nothing)(set: $nowplaying to "nothing")] ] }

=><= (display: "river icon") <= { (set: $time to it + 1)  (set: _coin to (either: "heads", "tails"))  }You sit back against a rock and cast your line into the river. { (if: _coin is "heads")[(set: $fish to it + 1)Soon enough, you feel something tugging at the line. You grip the rod tightly, and after a short battle, you manage to reel in a (either: "tench", "trout", "pike", "roach").](else:)[After what feels like an eternity without a bite, you decide you need to get up and stretch.] } {  }(if: $time < $dayLength)[ [[Try again.|fishing]] [[Go home.|home]]](else:)[(display: "end of day")]

=><= (display: "river icon") <= { (set: $stone to it + 1)  (set: $time to it + 1)  }You go about collecting stones from the shallow edges of the river. {  }(if: $time < $dayLength)[ [[collect more|collect stones]] [[Go home.|home]]](else:)[(display: "end of day")]

{ (set: _prevNightEvent to $nightEvent) (set: $nightEvent to (either: ...$nightEvents)) (if: $nightEvent is _prevNightEvent)[(display: "night event")] (else:)[ [(if: $sound is true)[(print: $tracks's eventchime)]] (display: $nightEvent)] }

You’re woken in the middle of the night by a clap of thunder that shakes your entire house. You can hear the rain pounding on the roof and the wind screaming past your home, banging all the shutters like a child throwing a tantrum. There’s nothing to be done but bury your head under the blankets and wait for the storm to pass.(if: $crops > 0)[(set: $crops to it - (random: 1, 3))(if: $crops < 0)[(set: $crops to 0)] You hate to think what this is doing to your crops.]

Your bed is warm. Unreasonably warm. You’re lying in a sheath of your own sweat. You attempt to shrug off your blanket but it’s heavier than you remember. You struggle and get tangled in it. You feel fur. Then a muzzle. Then a row of sharp teeth. You’ve been lying under a wolf pelt this whole time. And...did it just start growling? You wake up. You really are drenched in sweat.

Your grandmother is rolling spindly wooden twigs in a sticky pulp of resin and flower petals. Her clothes are spotless so you know this is a dream. Yet, you can smell the heady, concentrated scent of the flowers. You didn’t think you could smell in dreams. Your grandmother smiles up at you. The smells change, and are now sharper, stronger. Dangerous. “He’s coming,” your grandmother says, placing a fresh incense stick aside. “Be careful, love!”

You’re standing in your yard, in front of a wall of stone and wood which towers over you, up and up and up, disappearing into the roiling clouds. Something huge and heavy slams into the other side of the wall, and you grip your pitchfork even tighter, but the banging stops and a frustrated howl echoes. You smile. Then there’s another massive crash, and splinters of stone fall from the sky like hail, and the wall is cracking, and breaking, and something is coming through-- You gasp awake, sitting bolt upright, alone with your panicked breaths in the silent room.

{ (set: _prevMorningEvent to $morningEvent) (set: $morningEvent to (either: ...$morningEvents)) (if: $morningEvent is _prevMorningEvent)[(display: "morning event")] (else:)[ [(if: $sound is true)[(print: $tracks's eventchime)]] (display: $morningEvent)] }

The morning sun brings along with it an unfortunate realization. An old tree has fallen over in the night(if: $fenceCondition > 0)[(set: $fenceCondition to it - (random: 1, 3))(if: $fenceCondition < 0)[(set: $fenceCondition to 0)] and crushed a significant portion of your fence]. Further inspection reveals that the tree had been rotting from the inside out for years now, without the faintest outside clue.

(unless: (passage:)'s name is "the wolf king sends his regards")[(goto: "the wolf king sends his regards")]As you step outside to begin your day, you stumble (literally) upon a makeshift-looking package at your doorstep. It's crudely wrapped in parchment paper, with a dark-red substance leaking through. You cannot tell what's inside. You could [[open it]], or you could simply [[throw the thing away]]. (if: $sound is true)[(print: $tracks's eventchime)]

{ (unless: (passage:)'s name is "the dolly problem")[(goto: "the dolly problem")]  (set: $morningEvents to it - (a: "the dolly problem")) }You are startled by a light knocking at your door. It's a peasant child from the village, a girl no more than eight years old. Behind her is a crude wooden wheelbarrow with several mangled dolls; button eyes hanging by threads, missing arms, torn-off legs, and cotton bursting from within worn stitching. In her arms, she holds another doll - this one seemingly brand new and perfectly intact. Before you can fully process what's going on, the girl speaks: "Hi there, I've got a bit of a moral dilemma on my hands. I've got all these injured dollies, you see, and mother says she can't afford the materials to fix them. But I've got this one dolly here named Sally. She's my favorite. Mother says if we kill Sally, we can use her parts to fix the other five dollies. Surely five dollies are better than one! On the other hand, I don't know if I have the heart to kill Sally. Please do advise." [[“It's immoral to kill Sally, even to save the other dolls.”]] [[“Kill Sally for the greater good, the lives of five dolls outweigh the one.”]] (if: $sound is true)[(print: $tracks's eventchime)]

{   (if: $florins < 0)[(set: $florins to 0)] (if: $talismans < 0)[(set: $talismans to 0)] (if: $wire < 0)[(set: $wire to 0)] (if: $sticks < 0)[(set: $sticks to 0)] (if: $wood < 0)[(set: $wood to 0)] (if: $stone < 0)[(set: $stone to 0)] (if: $fish < 0)[(set: $fish to 0)] (if: $meat < 0)[(set: $meat to 0)] (if: $seeds < 0)[(set: $seeds to 0)] (if: $crops < 0)[(set: $crops to 0)] (if: $produce < 0)[(set: $produce to 0)]  (if: $minDistance < 1)[(set: $minDistance to 1)] (if: $maxDistance < $minDistance)[(set: $maxDistance to $minDistance)] }

{  }You carefully peel open the parchment to find a somewhat intact raspberry pie. A small and sticky note lies atop the pie. "For your troubles," it says. Signed "W.K." Strange. You bring it inside, but do not intend to eat it. (display: "start of day")

{  }Nice try, you think, picking the package up with a stick and marching off to the edge of the forest. You wind up and chuck the strange offering as far into the forest as you can. Better safe than sorry these days. (display: "start of day")

{ (save-game:"Slot A")  (set: $footer to true)  }(if: $crops > 0 and $daysUnwatered > 1)[Your crops appear to be (if: $daysUnwatered > 4)[dying](elseif: $daysUnwatered > 3)[suffering tremendously](else:)[suffering significantly] from lack of water. ][[Time to get some work done!|home]]

{ (set: $morningEvents to it + (a: "supplies for the apprentice doctor")) }"It's immoral to kill Sally, even to save the other dolls." you say, still half asleep. "Hmm...okay!" the girl exclaims. She turns on one foot and skips away, clutching Sally close to her chest. The wheelbarrow full of dismembered dollies remains on your doorstep. (display: "start of day")

"Kill Sally for the greater good, the lives of five dolls outweigh the one." you say, still half asleep. "Hmm...okay!" the girl exclaims. She rummages through the wheelbarrow and produces a small rusted blade, which she promptly plunges into Sally's torso. "Thanks, neighbour!" she shouts, and wanders off, wheelbarrow in tow, occasionally stopping to give Sally a few more stabs for good measure. This is shaping up to be an interesting day. (display: "start of day")

Talismans: $talismans Wire: $wire Sticks: $sticks Wood: $wood Stone: $stone Fish: $fish Meat: $meat Seeds: $seeds Produce: $produce

{  (set: $shopTalismans to (either: 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 1)) (set: $shopWire to (random: 0, 5)) (set: $shopSticks to (random: 0, 15)) (set: $shopWood to (random: 0, 15)) (set: $shopStone to (random: 0, 15)) (set: $shopFish to (random: 0, 10)) (set: $shopMeat to (random: 0, 10)) (set: $shopSeeds to (random: 10, 20)) (set: $shopProduce to (random: 0, 5))  (set: $talismanPrice to (either: 50, 90, 100, 110, 150, 500)) (set: $wirePrice to (either: 4, 6, 6, 8)) (set: $stickPrice to (either: 2, 2, 4)) (set: $woodPrice to (either: 6, 8, 10)) (set: $stonePrice to (either: 2, 4, 4, 6)) (set: $fishPrice to (either: 6, 8, 10, 12, 14)) (set: $meatPrice to (either: 16, 18, 20, 22, 24)) (set: $seedPrice to (either: 2, 2, 4)) (set: $producePrice to (either: 44, 46, 48, 50, 52, 54, 56))  (set: $spadePrice to (random: 10, 20)) (set: $axePrice to (random: 10, 20)) (set: $rodPrice to (random: 10, 20)) (set: $pailPrice to (random: 10, 20)) }

=><= (display: "town icon") <= {  <div style="text-align:center;"> <table style="margin: 0 auto;"> <tr> <th><u>HELD</u></th> <th><u>SELL</u></th> <th><u>VALUE</u></th> <th><u>ITEM</u></th> <th><u>COST</u></th> <th><u>BUY</u></th> <th><u>STOCK</u></th> </tr> <tr> <td>$talismans</td> <td>(if: $talismans > 0)[(link: "SELL")[(set: $talismans to it - 1)(set: $shopTalismans to it + 1)(set: $florins to it + ($talismanPrice / 2))(goto:"shop")]](else:)[<s>SELL</s>]</td> <td>(print: $talismanPrice / 2)</td> <th>Talismans</th> <td>$talismanPrice</td> <td>(if: $florins >= $talismanPrice and $shopTalismans > 0)[(link: "BUY")[(set: $talismans to it + 1)(set: $shopTalismans to it - 1)(set: $florins to it - $talismanPrice)(goto:"shop")]](else:)[<s>BUY</s>]</td> <td>$shopTalismans</td> </tr> <tr> <td>$wire</td> <td>(if: $wire > 0)[(link: "SELL")[(set: $wire to it - 1)(set: $shopWire to it + 1)(set: $florins to it + ($wirePrice / 2))(goto:"shop")]](else:)[<s>SELL</s>]</td> <td>(print: $wirePrice / 2)</td> <th>Wire</th> <td>$wirePrice</td> <td>(if: $florins >= $wirePrice and $shopWire > 0)[(link: "BUY")[(set: $wire to it + 1)(set: $shopWire to it - 1)(set: $florins to it - $wirePrice)(goto:"shop")]](else:)[<s>BUY</s>]</td> <td>$shopWire</td> </tr> <tr> <td>$sticks</td> <td>(if: $sticks > 0)[(link: "SELL")[(set: $sticks to it - 1)(set: $shopSticks to it + 1)(set: $florins to it + ($stickPrice / 2))(goto:"shop")]](else:)[<s>SELL</s>]</td> <td>(print: $stickPrice / 2)</td> <th>Sticks</th> <td>$stickPrice</td> <td>(if: $florins >= $stickPrice and $shopSticks > 0)[(link: "BUY")[(set: $sticks to it + 1)(set: $shopSticks to it - 1)(set: $florins to it - $stickPrice)(goto:"shop")]](else:)[<s>BUY</s>]</td> <td>$shopSticks</td> </tr> <tr> <td>$wood</td> <td>(if: $wood > 0)[(link: "SELL")[(set: $wood to it - 1)(set: $shopWood to it + 1)(set: $florins to it + ($woodPrice / 2))(goto:"shop")]](else:)[<s>SELL</s>]</td> <td>(print: $woodPrice / 2)</td> <th>Wood</th> <td>$woodPrice</td> <td>(if: $florins >= $woodPrice and $shopWood > 0)[(link: "BUY")[(set: $wood to it + 1)(set: $shopWood to it - 1)(set: $florins to it - $woodPrice)(goto:"shop")]](else:)[<s>BUY</s>]</td> <td>$shopWood</td> </tr> <tr> <td>$stone</td> <td>(if: $stone > 0)[(link: "SELL")[(set: $stone to it - 1)(set: $shopStone to it + 1)(set: $florins to it + ($stonePrice / 2))(goto:"shop")]](else:)[<s>SELL</s>]</td> <td>(print: $stonePrice / 2)</td> <th>Stone</th> <td>$stonePrice</td> <td>(if: $florins >= $stonePrice and $shopStone > 0)[(link: "BUY")[(set: $stone to it + 1)(set: $shopStone to it - 1)(set: $florins to it - $stonePrice)(goto:"shop")]](else:)[<s>BUY</s>]</td> <td>$shopStone</td> </tr> <tr> <td>$fish</td> <td>(if: $fish > 0)[(link: "SELL")[(set: $fish to it - 1)(set: $shopFish to it + 1)(set: $florins to it + ($fishPrice / 2))(goto:"shop")]](else:)[<s>SELL</s>]</td> <td>(print: $fishPrice / 2)</td> <th>Fish</th> <td>$fishPrice</td> <td>(if: $florins >= $fishPrice and $shopFish > 0)[(link: "BUY")[(set: $fish to it + 1)(set: $shopFish to it - 1)(set: $florins to it - $fishPrice)(goto:"shop")]](else:)[<s>BUY</s>]</td> <td>$shopFish</td> </tr> <tr> <td>$meat</td> <td>(if: $meat > 0)[(link: "SELL")[(set: $meat to it - 1)(set: $shopMeat to it + 1)(set: $florins to it + ($meatPrice / 2))(goto:"shop")]](else:)[<s>SELL</s>]</td> <td>(print: $meatPrice / 2)</td> <th>Meat</th> <td>$meatPrice</td> <td>(if: $florins >= $meatPrice and $shopMeat > 0)[(link: "BUY")[(set: $meat to it + 1)(set: $shopMeat to it - 1)(set: $florins to it - $meatPrice)(goto:"shop")]](else:)[<s>BUY</s>]</td> <td>$shopMeat</td> </tr> <tr> <td>$seeds</td> <td>(if: $seeds > 0)[(link: "SELL")[(set: $seeds to it - 1)(set: $shopSeeds to it + 1)(set: $florins to it + ($seedPrice / 2))(goto:"shop")]](else:)[<s>SELL</s>]</td> <td>(print: $seedPrice / 2)</td> <th>Seeds</th> <td>$seedPrice</td> <td>(if: $florins >= $seedPrice and $shopSeeds > 0)[(link: "BUY")[(set: $seeds to it + 1)(set: $shopSeeds to it - 1)(set: $florins to it - $seedPrice)(goto:"shop")]](else:)[<s>BUY</s>]</td> <td>$shopSeeds</td> </tr> <tr> <td>$produce</td> <td>(if: $produce > 0)[(link: "SELL")[(set: $produce to it - 1)(set: $shopProduce to it + 1)(set: $florins to it + ($producePrice / 2))(goto:"shop")]](else:)[<s>SELL</s>]</td> <td>(print: $producePrice / 2)</td> <th>Produce</th> <td>$producePrice</td> <td>(if: $florins >= $producePrice and $shopProduce > 0)[(link: "BUY")[(set: $produce to it + 1)(set: $shopProduce to it - 1)(set: $florins to it - $producePrice)(goto:"shop")]](else:)[<s>BUY</s>]</td> <td>$shopProduce</td> </tr> </table> </div> } {  <div style="text-align:center;"> <table style="margin: 0 auto;"> <tr> <th><u>TOOL</u></th> <th><u>COST</u></th> <th><u>BUY</u></th> </tr> <tr> <th>Spade</th> <td>$spadePrice</td> <td> (if:$playerTools contains "spade")[OWNED] (else:)[(if: $florins >= $spadePrice)[(link:"BUY")[(set: $playerTools to it + (a: "spade"))(set: $florins to it - $spadePrice)(goto:"shop")]] (else:)[<s>BUY</s>]]</td> </tr> <tr> <th>Axe</th> <td>$axePrice</td> <td> (if:$playerTools contains "axe")[OWNED] (else:)[(if: $florins >= $axePrice)[(link:"BUY")[(set: $playerTools to it + (a: "axe"))(set: $florins to it - $axePrice)(goto:"shop")]] (else:)[<s>BUY</s>]]</td> </tr> <tr> <th>Fishing Rod</th> <td>$rodPrice</td> <td> (if:$playerTools contains "rod")[OWNED] (else:)[(if: $florins >= $rodPrice)[(link:"BUY")[(set: $playerTools to it + (a: "rod"))(set: $florins to it - $rodPrice)(goto:"shop")]] (else:)[<s>BUY</s>]]</td> </tr> <tr> <th>Pail</th> <td>$pailPrice</td> <td> (if:$playerTools contains "pail")[OWNED] (else:)[(if: $florins >= $pailPrice)[(link:"BUY")[(set: $playerTools to it + (a: "pail"))(set: $florins to it - $pailPrice)(goto:"shop")]] (else:)[<s>BUY</s>]]</td> </tr> </table> </div> } [[Go home.|home]]

{ (set: $florins to 110)  (set: $talismans to 110)  (set: $wire to 110)  (set: $sticks to 110)  (set: $wood to 110)  (set: $stone to 110)  (set: $fish to 110)  (set: $meat to 110)  (set: $seeds to 115)  (set: $crops to 110)  (set: $produce to 110)  }

You walk through woods that are silent and infinite. The great trees stretch up and up above you, so you cannot even see where they end. You have been walking for days, for years. You have been walking your entire life. You step over a fallen log and out of the woods, and now you are standing at the edge of an enormous field, obscured by inky mist. The tall grass waves slightly, though there is no wind. In the mist, something is moving. You can’t see it, but you can feel its vastness in your core. [[Call out to it.|call out to it]] [[Remain silent.|remain silent]]

“Hello?” you shout into the darkness. (display: "first night dream end")

You stand in the darkness, barely breathing. (display: "first night dream end")

Something is glowing in the mist above you. For a second, you think it’s the moon, and then it’s joined by a twin, and you realize you’re looking into two massive, glowing eyes. You’re frozen in place as the eyes draw closer, emerging from the mist, and you see fur, a snout, teeth the length of your entire body-- The enormous wolf smiles, a grin that is entirely too human, yellow eyes focused on your paralyzed form. “Hello,” it says, in a deep and silken voice. You try to move, to run, even to speak, but you’re still locked in place, staring into the face of a wolf the size of a god. “$distance miles,” says the wolf. “I am coming, and I am hungry.” [[You wake.|wake]]

Your mirror is dirty. You slide your hand against the film of dust, revealing someone else’s in the reflection. No, not someone else. It’s you, but the greying hair, the faint lines along the eyes and forehead, and the bloodshot eyes suggest a different you, an older you. A haunted you. Your reflection tries to speak, but no voice emerges. You need no sound, however, to tell what words the lips are trying to form: “He’s coming!” The mirror shatters, as does your sleep.

The bath is warm and soothing, perfect after a hard day’s work. Your muscles almost cry out in joy. You dip your head under for a moment, and then let the thick, red liquid drip down your face, filling your nostrils with its delightful, metallic smell. Wonderful, you think. You wake up screaming.

Your father found the love-note under your bed. You want to ask him what he was doing under your bed, but his downcast eyes and shaking head shrivel up the words in your throat. “Unnatural,” he mutters, and tears up the letter. “I forbid you to see this 'friend' again.” The fragments of your young love flap and swarm. They rush through the air, straight at you, stinging, buzzing, biting, like angry insects, like unkind words. Their echoes linger even when you wake.

Your grandmother squeezes the ball of curds within a fine mesh cloth. Pale liquid streams out into a copper bowl. She always saved copper cookware for her special dishes. Soon, from her copper jars, she will add cardamom, saffron, molasses, and other good things. You salivate. Your teeth lick over sharp canines. Deep within your belly, a howl begins to form, but before you can let loose, your grandmother has smacked you on the snout with long wooden spoon. “Now, now, love!” she chides. “These are for the King!”

The standing stones throb with an internal light, pumping out a deep, bass rhythm. Various townspeople cavort around them, sporting their best clothes. Here, the shopkeeper dancing a jig, with a large peacock feather in his cap. There, the tailor draped in a rainbow of fabrics. A young girl somersaults over you, screaming in unabashed joy. “The Wolf King is coming!” they begin to shout! “He is coming he is coming he is coming he is coming he is coming he is coming he is coming he is coming he is coming he is coming…” Only when then the voices have stopped do you realise that you’ve clamped your pillow around your ears.

You are weightless, upon your back, afloat in an endless pool of black. Your fingers rest gently upon the water, appreciating the soft resistance offered by the surface. It is warm and comfortable and perfectly empty. Your head will not turn. Eyes dart about. The surface begins to harden. It's too soon, you think. Not yet. Attempts to plunge beneath the surface are fruitless. The surface becomes more resistant with each passing second. A shining breach erupts within the void, and sunlight pours in. You groan. It's time to face to the day.

A fresh loaf of bread stands upright, trembling, upon legs of crust. Steam emits from slits in its back. Dark seeds contort to form a crooked smile, along with beady eyes that dart about nervously. You sit frozen in your kitchen chair as the living bread paces upon your table. You shudder as the loaf bends forward, grabbing a lone slice of bread off your plate. It waves a crusty finger at you as its seed-mouth stretches apart, eager to take a cannibalistic bite of the slice. You awaken in your bed. It'll be eggs for breakfast this morning.

(unless: (passage:)'s name is "rotten luck")[(goto: "rotten luck")]You are seated at the head of an extravagant table. People laugh and drink beneath several shimmering candelabra. You think for a second about how candelabra is actually the plural of candelabrum, and shudder at the thought of someone saying “candelabras”. You direct your attention back to the feast. The table is host to an array of delightful-looking foods, placed upon expensive-looking silverware. To your left is a steaming plate of roasted chicken. To the right, a heaping bowl of roasted vegetables. [[Eat some chicken.]] [[Eat some vegetables.]] (if: $sound is true)[(print: $tracks's eventchime)]

You reach out for a chicken leg. As you lick your lips the sun sets. The moon rises. It is night. Then day. Then night again. Days pass in moments and you stare helplessly as the chicken spoils and is devoured by maggots, leaving polished bones behind. You wake up shivering and hungry. (display: "end of night")

You help yourself to some of the vegetables. As you lick your lips the sun sets. The moon rises. It is night. Then day. Then night again. Days pass in moments and you stare helplessly as the vegetables rot and are eaten up by flies, then shrivel up into dirt. You wake up shivering and hungry. (display: "end of night")

The Wolf King is now $distance miles away. { (if: $distance < 1)[(goto: "end of game")]  (else:)[[[A new day is dawning.|wake]]]  }

(unless: (passage:)'s name is "wake up sheeple")[(goto: "wake up sheeple")]You are lower to the ground than usual, but don’t think much of it, nor do you notice the thick white wool over your eyes. All you’re thinking about is running. It’s getting closer. One leg after another. One two three four, one two three four. Since when do you have four legs? No matter. A fork in the road presents itself up ahead. [[Go left.|wake up sheeple continued]] [[Go right.|wake up sheeple continued]] (if: $sound is true)[(print: $tracks's eventchime)]

You twist your head to the side and it swivels all the way around, as if detached. All you see is the glint of a tooth in the darkness before you are consumed. You wake up scratching at your arms. (display: "end of night")

[[Look behind you.]]

You are walking down an upside-down staircase. There are fish swimming around the air. One slaps you across the face with its tail before exploding into shower of raspberries. The raspberry shockwave throws you off-balance, and you slip off the upside-down staircase and fall into what seems to be an endless dark void beneath. Soon the darkness is overtaken with the bright colours of various fruits, a pulsing kaleidoscope of endless descent. The flying fish are back. They stare at you blankly with raspberry eyes, mouths opening and closing like a door on a well-oiled hinge. You feel a jolt in your stomach and wake up, feeling as though you have just fallen into bed from some great mysterious height.

You’re in the woods, and you’re running. The air is sharp and cold, and all around you, howls echo. Trees streak past, and your hair - no, your fur - is blowing in the wind, and your feet - no, your paws - thud against the sticks and leaves. You leap over a fallen tree, your muscles strong beneath your pelt. The other wolves come beside you, barking greetings which you echo back to them. Together, you run, until you burst from the trees onto a tall plateau. Below you, the world, the forests and rivers and fields. Above you, the stars and the full moon. The rest of your pack howls, coats shining silver beneath the moonlight. You join them, throwing back your head and howling in reckless abandon. You awake in your own bed, feeling the howl die in the back of your throat. You glance around the dark room, a little embarrassed, but a little wistful, too.

You’re returning home from a long day in the fields, pitchfork over your shoulder, whistling a cheery little tune to yourself. As you approach your house, a rotting stench hits your nose. You slow, and set your hand on the doorknob with some trepidation, then fling the door open to see a wall of meat, pink and squishy, filling your home. The formless flesh sloughs out the open doorway, squelching at your feet, buzzing with flies. “//Hungry//,” growls the Wolf King’s voice behind you. When you wake up, the first rays of light are poking through the window, and you are //starving//.

Someone is knocking on your door. You stumble to your feet, bleary eyed, and open it. A woman who you recognize as the wife of the village shopkeeper is standing on your doorstep. “Do you know what tonight is?” she says in a hushed, urgent voice. She points a trembling finger up at the night sky. You follow her gaze to see the moon shining fat and full in the middle of the field of stars. A cracking sound makes you look back down at the woman, whose face is now contorting, twisting. Her nose elongates into a snout. Fur bursts from her skin, and her eyes become yellow slits. She bares her long, sharp teeth at you, and leaps for your throat. You wake with a start, the light of the full moon pouring through your bedroom window.

(unless: (passage:)'s name is "sleepless night")[(goto: "sleepless night")]The bed has never seemed so lumpy. Under the blankets is too hot, but sleeping on top of them feels too unprotected. The frogs outside are chirping much too loud. There are so many things to be done before the Wolf King arrives. You’ve been tossing and turning for hours and still you can’t sleep. [[Keep trying to sleep.]] [[Go for a walk.]] (if: $sound is true)[(print: $tracks's eventchime)]

You know you need to sleep, so you stay put, staring up at the ceiling. Eventually, sleep takes you, but it’s restless and uncomfortable. The morning can’t come soon enough. (display: "end of night")

Sleep is a lost cause. You pull on your boots and step outside, wandering the silent night, just you and the chirping frogs. You think about your grandparents, and all the years they spent on this land. You think about the people you’ve met in the village. You think about the life you left behind, and everything you’ve accomplished since being here. Eventually, you find yourself sitting at the edge of your property, watching as the sky makes that almost imperceptible from black to very, very dark blue. That morning’s sunrise is beautiful. (display: "end of night")

(unless: (passage:)'s name is "spider webs")[(goto: "spider webs")]Silken strands of webbing catch the morning dew in your kitchen window. You must have left it open last night, inviting this new housemate. [[Brush the web away. You want a clean house.]] [[Leave the web alone. It's good luck.]] (if: $sound is true)[(print: $tracks's eventchime)]

You gently clear away the webbing. Your father always prided himself in keeping a pristine house. “Leave the dirt in the fields,” he would say, between vigourous scrubs of his boots. “A clean house shows a clean mind.” Your father had been very particular about what constituted a “clean mind”. (display: "start of day")

Well, perhaps it’s more about keeping other insects away than about luck. You grandmother always said a house-spider and a house cat was worth three maids “and a peacock feather duster”. Then again, your grandmother once told the Schoolmaster that your lice was a sign of ‘a mind full of life.” (display: "start of day")

Early in the morning, a neighbour to whom you rarely speak arrives with a bottle wrapped in brown paper. “My cider has matured!” she announces, presenting it to you with a friendly grin. It’s not bad. Strong. It would be nice to share it with someone.

Just before getting out of bed, you take a moment to look out of the window. Sometimes, with the upkeep of the farm and all the chores you have, it’s easy to forget to take a moment to just breathe, and gaze out of windows. Besides, the early hours of the day are nice. Peaceful. A bird alights on the windowsill. It’s small, no bigger than your fist. Most of it is a dull, mud-brown, except for the tips of its wings, which are a brilliant cerulean. Perhaps, when the bird flies against the open summer skies, its wings appear to dissolve into the heavens, or that the very sky comprises its wings, vast, blue wings extending from its tiny, tiny body... You’re imagining such things when the bird hurls itself at your window. There’s a weird crunchy thump, and then it does so again. And again and again. Only when its head is a bloody pulp, feathers scattered all over your windowsill, does it begin to slow, and finally, slump down, dead. You stare at the corpse for a while before getting up to clean it.

For once, the most exciting things to happen to you that morning are exceptionally mundane. Your bladder feels extra full when you wake. You realise it might be time to wash your curtains. Your toasts emerge a perfect golden brown, with just the right amount of crunch. You overwater one of your plants while daydreaming. The spilled water reminds you of a goat. Perfectly ordinary. A blessing.

{ (unless: (passage:)'s name is "supplies for the apprentice doctor")[(goto: "supplies for the apprentice doctor")]  (set: $morningEvents to it - (a: "supplies for the apprentice doctor")) }You almost don’t hear the furtive knock at the door, so wrapped up are you in clearing away your breakfast. It’s almost as though whoever it is didn’t want you to answer. The doctor’s apprentice stares down at his feet as he talks. You notice that he has shaved an extra inch of hair off his scalp, and that henna drawings have sprouted on his forehead. His studies must be going well. He refuses to enter the house. But he has been made aware that you have come into the possession of a load of broken dolls. But he would very much like to buy them off of you. He runs his knuckles together. If it pleases you, of course. [[Ask him why he needs the dolls.]] [[Hand over your broken dolls. You have no need of them.]] [[Hold onto your broken dolls. There must be something more to them. Or maybe you just don’t want to handle the dolls again.]] (if: $sound is true)[(print: $tracks's eventchime)]

He continues to stare at his feet, fidgeting nervously. He says that he likes dolls. That he’s always wanted to make his own. That if his family hadn’t apprenticed him to the Doctor, he would have wanted to become a toymaker. He smiles nervously at the ground. Will you help him? [[Hand over your broken dolls. You have no need of them.]] [[Hold onto your broken dolls. There must be something more to them. Or maybe you just don’t want to handle the dolls again.]]

{  (set: _florins to (random: 15, 25)) (set: $florins to it + _florins) }You stashed the dolls in a cupboard somewhere, out of sight and out of mind. Handling them makes you unseasy. You don’t really know why. The Doctor’s Apprentice actually looks you in the eye and smiles earnestly. He looks genuinely happy. His joy is infectious, and it mixes strangely with the uncomfortable feeling in your stomach from dealing with the dolls. He hands you _florins florins and skips away. (display: "start of day")

He looks crestfallen. He nods, and without a word, walks away. Perhaps this will be the most peculiar thing to happen to you today? (display: "start of day")

{ (unless: (passage:)'s name is "small plant")[(goto: "small plant")]  (set: $morningEvents to it - (a: "small plant")) }Somebody seems to have left a gift on your doorstep. It’s a small potted plant. Gnarled vines twist outwards and wrap firmly around the base of the pot with an almost disturbing symmetry. In the middle is what appears to be a miniature ear of corn. You have never seen anything like it before in your life. There is a small note attached to one of the leaves, but the writing is illegible. It almost looks like it was written in some ancient tongue. [[Dispose of the strange plant.]] [[Plant it in your garden.]] (if: $sound is true)[(print: $tracks's eventchime)]

This plant is obviously up to no good. You march deep into the forest and throw the plant as far as you can, watching intently as it is consumed by the distant thicket. (display: "start of day")

{ (set: $morningEvents to it + (a: "not so small plant")) }You carefully transfer the mysterious corn plant from its home in the pot to an empty plot in your garden. It seems pleased in this new space, and almost seems to stretch its vines out and yawn. It doesn’t, of course. Right? (display: "start of day")

{ (unless: (passage:)'s name is "not so small plant")[(goto: "not so small plant")]  (set: $morningEvents to it - (a: "not so small plant")) }You wake up feeling refreshed. It is strangely shady this morning. You walk outside to find an enormous ear of corn has sprouted in your garden out of nowhere. It’s taller than any building you’ve ever seen, and is in the exact spot where you planted that strange miniature corn you found on your doorstep. [[Climb it.]] [[Ignore it.]] (if: $sound is true)[(print: $tracks's eventchime)]

You climb up the giant corn, clutching at kernels as you make your ascent. At its peak, you discover a strange looking rune. You decide to keep it. Maybe it’ll come in handy later. As soon as you touch the rune the corn begins to shake. You quickly clamber down, rune in hand, and jump off the corn just as it is sucked back into the soil. Leaving no trace. (set: $talismans to it + 1)Upon closer inspection - now that you have a moment to take a proper look - the strange rune appears to be some sort of talisman. (display: "start of day")

There is simply no way you are going to climb the strange giant ear of corn. You walk past it defiantly, and hear a loud grating noise, followed by a pop. Upon turning around, the corn is nowhere to be seen, and the plot where it was planted is bare. (display: "start of day")

{ (unless: (passage:)'s name is "lost cat")[(goto: "lost cat")]  (set: $morningEvents to it - (a: "lost cat")) (set: $morningEvents to it + (a: "the cat returns")) }When you walk into the kitchen to make breakfast, there’s a small ginger cat sitting in the middle of your table, licking his paw. You blink. You don’t have a cat. You’ve never seen this animal in your life. The cat blinks back at you, and lets out a surprisingly loud meow for such a small creature. [[Set out a saucer of milk.]] [[Shoo away.]] (if: $sound is true)[(print: $tracks's eventchime)]

The cat laps greedily at the milk, his whiskers becoming flecked with white. “What am I going to do with you?” you muse aloud. The cat does not reply. [[Shoo away.]] [[Go about your day.]]

“Go on, get out of here,” you say to the cat, making a shooing motion with your hands. “There’s nothing for you here.” The cat looks at you with what can only be described as disappointment. It leaps off the table and through your open window, disappearing back wherever it came from. (display: "start of day")

{ (set: $fish to it + 1) }You shrug, give the cat a quick pet on the head, and start making your own breakfast. After finishing the milk, the cat lets out another loud meow and jumps off the table and through your open window. You keep making breakfast. As you’re pulling on your boots to head out for the day, the cat returns, leaping back through the window with something silver in his mouth. He drops the freshly-caught fish at your feet and meows proudly. (display: "start of day")

The little ginger cat is back this morning, sitting expectantly in the middle of your kitchen table. He meows in greeting as you come through the door. [[Meow back.]] [[Set out a saucer of milk.|milk saucer (cat returns)]] [[Shoo away.|shoo away (cat returns)]] (if: $sound is true)[(print: $tracks's eventchime)]

You meow back at the cat. He seems pleased by this. [[Set out a saucer of milk.|milk saucer (cat returns)]] [[Shoo away.|shoo away (cat returns)]]

{ (set: $fish to it + 1) }You fill a dish with milk and set it in front of the cat, fixing your own breakfast and sitting down beside him at the table. The cat finishes the milk, licks his lips, and then disappears out the window. Scarcely two minutes later he returns, fish in tow. You pet him, and he purrs. (display: "start of day")

“Nothing for you today, cat,” you say, making a shooing motion with your hands. “Get out of here.” The cat looks at you with what can only be described as disappointment. It leaps off the table and through your open window, disappearing back wherever it came from. (display: "start of day")

{ (set: $footer to false)  }[[The Wolf King has arrived.|fence test]]

The Wolf King is...not what you expected. And yet, as he stands before you at the boundary of your land, there can be no doubt it is him. Six grey wolves wait at his side. He appears as a young man, but you sense that he is older even than the stones that stand at the edge of your property. He is not tall, yet his presence is mountainous, as though he occupies a space greater than himself. (if: $fence > 8)["When I bade you prepare for my arrival," he says, regarding the wall that you have raised around your land, "this was not what I had in mind." [[Welcome him in.|wall welcome]] [[Challenge him.|wall challenge]]](else:)["I trust you have prepared for my arrival," (if: $fence > 1)[he says, casually pushing open the gate in front of him. If he notices the bolt splinter through the post at his touch, he gives no indication.](else:)[he says as he approaches.] [[Welcome him.]] [[Challenge him.|player defeat]]]

You welcome in the Wolf King, and he looks around your land approvingly. "It is good to be here at long last. I hope you have prepared the feast!" [[Offer food.|feast]]

(unless: (history:) contains "wall challenge")[You forcefully object to the Wolf King barging onto your land. It is, after all, //frightfully// rude. "Is it your land?" he enquires. "I don't recall you setting out the stones that mark the place." ](else:)["How dare you try to stop me coming here. Who are you to scorn my royal visit?" ]What he says catches you by surprise. He is imposing, yes - intimidating, powerful, clearly paranormal - but also petty. You wonder if a little flattery might not have saved you a lot of trouble here. "Since you did not wish for me to come, I do not wish for you to stay. Begone now." He gives you a dismissive wave. "Good day." With much snarling, his six wolves drive you to the boundary of your land. Then, less unkindly, they carry each of your possessions - in their mouths, one by one - to where you stand and place them on the grass. You wonder if the coachman might be convinced to come this far to collect them, but you suspect not. ''THE END''

You open the gate and give the Wolf King a warm welcome. He gives you a faint smile in return. "When I saw the wall you'd built, I was concerned my visit might have been unwanted!" You assure him that the wall has nothing at all to do with his visit(if: $fence >= 12)[, though you're not sure he believes you]. "Very well," says the Wolf King. "Let us begin the feast!" [[Begin the feast, apparently.|feast]]

You have spent months fortifying your land, and you make this known to the Wolf King. He kicks at your gate with a polished boot.(unless: $fence >= 15)[ It splinters easily. [[He steps inside.|player defeat]]](else:)[The wood absorbs the impact with a dull thud. "Very well," says the Wolf King. "It seems that you can keep me out. But what of my retinue?" He waves his wolves forward. [[They charge towards your wall.|ditch test]]]

{  }The 6 wolves leap for the top of your wall. (unless: $ditch >= 10)[(if: $ditch <= 4)[All of them](else:)[(print: (10 - $ditch) - 4)] manage to vault it(if: $ditch <= 4)[, though they are hampered by the ditch and must make an ungainly scrabble to clear the top]. Your gate is swiftly opened from within. [[The Wolf King steps inside.|player defeat]]](else:)[However, your ditch is broad and deep enough that they cannot scale it. [[The Wolf King is most displeased.|player victory]]]

"Very well," says the Wolf King. "Since you scorn my blessings I shall take my leave of this place forever!" You watch as he and his retinue of wolves make their way back towards the woods. Or at least until your view is blocked by one of the great spars jutting from your wall. Your fortifications might be sturdy, but they do nothing for the view. If this is victory, it does not feel like it. ''THE END''

(if: $produce >=3 and $fish >= 3 and $meat >= 3)[(display: "feast success")](else:)[(display: "feast failure")]

The Wolf King stares at the $produce vegetables, $fish fish and $meat cuts of meat before him. "Marvellous!" he cries. "Truly this is a feast befitting a king - and his servants." He tips the meat and fish on the floor for his lupine retinue before tucking into the vegetables for himself. It's...not what you thought would happen, you have to admit, but you get the impression that things certainly could have gone worse. ''THE END''

{ "What kind of feast is this?" demands the Wolf King. "(if: $meat is 0)[No meat? ] (if: $fish is 0)[No fish? ] (if: $produce is 0)[No vegetables? ] (unless: $meat is 0)[$meat pieces of meat? ] (unless: $fish is 0)[$fish fish? ] (unless: $produce is 0)[$produce vegetables? ] I should say this is a very sorry offering indeed." }With much snarling, his six wolves drive you to the boundary of your land. Then, less unkindly, they carry each of your possessions - in their mouths, one by one - to where you stand and place them on the grass. You wonder if the coachman might be convinced to come this far to collect them, but you suspect not. ''THE END''