🚩 start
☕ clear()
⏳ 2000
☕ variables._ = variables.gameOver ? 'blank' : ''
⏭ $_
☕ bipsiMove('intro', 7, 3)
☕ bipsiFocus()
⏭ blank

🚩 intro
☕ layout('spectaclusi')
⏳ 2000
☕ variables._ = variables.checkpoint || 'new game'
⏭ $_

🚩 test reviews
☕ variables.place = 'Advent City - The Advent Inn'
☕ variables._ = `${variables.byline}|${variables.place}`
🎮 game_review $_
☕ variables.place = 'Nightgrave - The Boneyard'
☕ variables._ = `${variables.byline}|${variables.place}`
🎮 game_review $_
☕ variables.place = 'Wife City - Wife City Inn'
☕ variables._ = `${variables.byline}|${variables.place}`
🎮 game_review $_
☕ variables.place = 'The Somnambuboes - Hilum’s Rest'
☕ variables._ = `${variables.byline}|${variables.place}`
🎮 game_review $_
☕ variables.place = 'The Twinning Towers - Dormitory B2'
☕ variables._ = `${variables.byline}|${variables.place}`
🎮 game_review $_
☕ variables.place = 'Off-Beach - Crenelles de la Crème'
☕ variables._ = `${variables.byline}|${variables.place}`
🎮 game_review $_
☕ variables.place = 'Radicicola'
☕ variables._ = `${variables.byline}|${variables.place}`
🎮 game_review $_
☕ variables.place = 'Jackals’ Jetty - The Arachnid’s Bastion'
☕ variables._ = `${variables.byline}|${variables.place}`
🎮 game_review $_
☕ variables.place = 'The Passerinian Concern - The Roost'
☕ variables._ = `${variables.byline}|${variables.place}`
🎮 game_review $_
⏭ blank

🚩 bloop
🎵 bloop
☕ post("log", { type: "clear" })
☕ bipsiFocus()
⏭ blank

🚩 coin
☕ variables._ = variables.coins ? '' : 'coin first'
☕ ++variables.coins
⏭ $_
☕ showFooter('+1 coin')
🎵 coin
☕ bipsiFocus()
⏭ blank

🚩 coin first
☕ variables.firstCoin = true
You find a small, copper coin on the ground.
It seems like it may be useful, so you pick it up.
☕ showFooter('+1 coin')
🎵 coin
☕ bipsiFocus()
⏭ blank

🚩 todo
you forgot to write me... how could you...
☕ bipsiFocus()
⏭ blank


🚩 new game
You wake up in darkness.
The air is damp and cool.
Your body aches.
🎮 game_choice Call out | Reach out
⏭ $_

🚩 Call out
You try to open your mouth, but nothing happens.
That's strange:
Why did you think you had a mouth?
You reach up to your face.
Run feelers over its round, smooth expanse.
It's disorienting.

🚩 Reach out
You stretch stiff limbs­ and carefully feel around in front of you.
Both the ground and walls are dirt.
Solid, packed firm.
Comfortable.
Except for that draft...
Something about it is making you itch.
🎮 game_choice Follow it | Ignore it
⏭ $_

🚩 Ignore it
You're not going to let a little wind interrupt your rest.
You start to let your mind wander...
But as soon as you do, you're unsettled once again:

🚩 Follow it
Your body lurches forward.
Legs moving with a mind of their own.
You're meant to go outside.
Your body knows this, but your reasoning is struggling to follow.
You focus, and suppress the subconscious ambulatory impulse.
If you're going to walk, you're going to do it yourself.
A couple stumbles later, you find a slope leading upwards.
The air freshens.
Your senses brighten.
☕ save('intro-outlet')
🚩 intro-outlet
🎶 towns
🎵 title
☕ showTitle('Outdoors', '???')
☕ bipsiMove('outlet', 9, 3)
☕ bipsiFocus()
⏭ blank



🚩 outlet-cellar
You turn back the way you came.
An open door leading deep into a small mound in the earth.
Before you can take another step, your legs seize up.
Your body knows there's work to be done elsewhere.
☕ bipsiFocus()
⏭ blank


🚩 outlet-daw
There's a small bird sitting here.
It's rustling through loose sheets of paper on the floor.
🙂 npc|bird
It notices you staring, and gives you a nasty look in return.
🙂 npc|blank
Then silently returns to its papers.
☕ bipsiFocus()
⏭ blank


🚩 outlet-barred
☕ variables._ = variables.canLeaveAdvent ? 'outlet-barred leave' : ''
⏭ $_
🙂 npc|advent
Editor-In-Chief 🗨 "Hey! Not that way."
A loud, brusque voice from the man behind the desk.
Editor-In-Chief 🗨 "You can leave after I say so."
⏭ npcend

🚩 outlet-eager
🙂 npc|advent
Editor-In-Chief 🗨 "Hey! Slow down."
A loud, brusque voice from the man behind the desk.
Editor-In-Chief 🗨 "At least say 'hello' before you get to work."
⏭ npcend

🚩 outlet-boss
☕ variables._ = variables.reviewed.advent ? 'outlet-boss reviewed' : ''
⏭ $_
☕ variables._ = variables.metBoss ? 'outlet-boss repeat' : ''
⏭ $_
🙂 npc|advent
Editor-In-Chief 🗨 "There you are!"
Editor-In-Chief 🗨 "About time, ghostwriter."
Editor-In-Chief 🗨 "Was starting to worry you'd never wake up."
Editor-In-Chief 🗨 "Sleeping like the dead, you were!"
The man laughs, deep and long.
Editor-In-Chief 🗨 "Ha!"
Editor-In-Chief 🗨 "Little joke."
Editor-In-Chief 🗨 "Because you are dead!"
The laugh again, deeper­ and colder.
He's right, of course.
Took until now for you to realize it.
Editor-In-Chief 🗨 "You've probably got questions, don't you?"
🎮 game_choice Yes|No
⏳ 500
Editor-In-Chief 🗨 "...Don't bother trying to ask them."
He opens a desk drawer.
Editor-In-Chief 🗨 "Look, let's speed this up."
Editor-In-Chief 🗨 "You've got a trip planned, and it's not one of self-discovery."
Pulls something out, something small and reflective.
🙂 player|ghostwriter
Little silver mirror in need of polishing.
Editor-In-Chief 🗨 "Best get used to nodding."
Editor-In-Chief 🗨 "You can nod that big ol' turnip of yours, can't you?"
🎮 game_choice Nod|Shake
He rubs his chin and squints.
Editor-In-Chief 🗨 "I prefer potatoes for possessions, of course..."
Editor-In-Chief 🗨 "But this'll have to do."
Editor-In-Chief 🗨 "Now, pay attention:"
He tosses you a sheaf of papers.
Editor-In-Chief 🗨 "That there's the autumnal issue of Lovely Lodgings."
The cover says as much.
Editor-In-Chief 🗨 "The #1 source of reputable reviews for every inn below the lands above."
Editor-In-Chief 🗨 "Or it would be, if it weren't blank."
Editor-In-Chief 🗨 "Your job is to fill it out, and you're already behind schedule."
At the mention of your job, your back straightens itself.
An itch in your vegetal muscle tells you to start marching.
Editor-In-Chief 🗨 "Hold on, ghostwriter!"
Editor-In-Chief 🗨 "Can't have you running off without a quality check."
Editor-In-Chief 🗨 "Your first stop is The Advent Inn, just down the road."
Editor-In-Chief 🗨 "I want a paragraph and a rating on my desk, pronto."
Editor-In-Chief 🗨 "And don't forget your five Cs:"
Editor-In-Chief 🗨 "Cost,­ Cuisine,­ Culture,­ Cleanliness,­ and Comfort!"
Editor-In-Chief 🗨 "Now you can go."
Editor-In-Chief 🗨 "And let's see some company spirit, ha­ha!"
He waves you off with another laugh.
☕ variables.metBoss = true
⏭ npcend

🚩 outlet-boss repeat
🙂 npc|advent
Editor-In-Chief 🗨 "Hurry it up, ghostwriter."
Editor-In-Chief 🗨 "Deadlines are deadlines, even when you're dead."
⏭ npcend


🚩 advent-house
You try the door, but it's locked.
Something tells you this isn't the inn.
☕ bipsiFocus()
⏭ blank

🚩 advent-inn-sign
It's a small wooden sign.
Carved, simple letters read: The Advent Inn
☕ bipsiFocus()
⏭ blank

🚩 advent-inn
☕ variables._ = variables.slept.advent ? 'advent-inn repeat' : ''
⏭ $_
🙂 npc|advent
Advent Innkeeper 🗨 "Oh, another writer!"
Advent Innkeeper 🗨 "Come in, come right on in!"
You're not sure what the keeper means by "come in".
You are already inside the building.
And there's hardly any room to stand as it is.
Advent Innkeeper 🗨 "Our pleasure to have you."
Advent Innkeeper 🗨 "Here at The Advent Inn we're always happy to welcome a writer."
Advent Innkeeper 🗨 "We have a special rate, in fact."
Advent Innkeeper 🗨 "Three coppers for the bed and breakfast!"
Advent Innkeeper 🗨 "How does that sound?"
🎮 game_choice Nod->advent pay|Shake->advent no pay
⏭ $_
🚩 advent pay
☕ variables._ = variables.coins > 0 ? '' : 'advent broke'
⏭ $_
🎵 coins
☕ showFooter(`-${variables.coins} coin${variables.coins > 1 ? 's' : ''}`)
You hand over the money you found on the ground to the innkeeper.
It's not enough, but it's all you have.
⏭ advent no pay

🚩 advent broke
You stand there awkwardly in silence.
You realize you don't have any money.
🚩 advent no pay
Advent Innkeeper 🗨 "A­ha, such a stiff little customer, aren't you?"
Advent Innkeeper 🗨 "Don't worry yourself with the cost."
Advent Innkeeper 🗨 "What's a few coppers between neighbours?"
Advent Innkeeper 🗨 "Just go ahead and get yourself settled in."
Advent Innkeeper 🗨 "I'm sure you could do with a nice nap."
Advent Innkeeper 🗨 "Give us a shout if you need anything!"
The innkeeper smiles pleasantly, and gestures to the bed behind you.
The only other furniture in the cramped hut aside from his little desk.
It's a couple inches of dried grass heaped on poplar planks.
There are no cushions, sheets, or other adornments.
There's a faint odour, something slightly unclean.
An earthy, familiar scent.
You lie down.
The innkeeper watches you with poorly concealed interest.
You ignore him.
🙂 blank
☕ layout('spectaclusi')
For the first time since waking up, your body allows you to relax.
Gone is the nagging sense that there's a job to do.
Right now, taking a break is the job.
This is what you're meant to be doing.
☕ post("spectacles", { type: "clear" })
⏳ 1500
🎵 rest
⏳ 3000
⏳
It's nice, for a few moments.
And then the itch returns.
You're on a deadline.
You still have a job to do.
Advent Innkeeper 🗨 "Up so soon?"
🙂 player|ghostwriter
🙂 npc|advent
☕ layout('spectacles')
Advent Innkeeper 🗨 "Usually you writers are down for an hour or two."
Advent Innkeeper 🗨 "I haven't even had time to prepare a meal!"
Advent Innkeeper 🗨 "Not that you'd eat it anyway..."
The innkeeper's pleasant smile falters.
Advent Innkeeper 🗨 "It's the hospitality that counts, right?"
There's another familiar scent.
Perspiration, wetting human skin.
Advent Innkeeper 🗨 "R-­right?"
🎮 game_choice Nod|Shake
Your job here is done.
Your feet want you to move.
🙂 npc|blank
☕ variables.slept.advent = true
☕ bipsiFocus()
⏭ blank

🚩 advent-inn repeat
🙂 npc|advent
Advent Innkeeper 🗨 "H-­hope you enjoyed your stay!"
⏭ npcend



🚩 advent-deejay-interrupt
☕ variables._ = variables.slept.advent && !variables.metDeejay ? 'meet deejay' : ''
⏭ $_
☕ bipsiFocus()
⏭ blank

🚩 meet deejay
☕ variables.metDeejay = true
It feels good to be walking with purpose again.
But the feeling is short-lived.
A small bird swoops down and lands on your shoulder.
🎵 squawk
It squawks and flaps its wings authoritatively.
🙂 npc|bird
Bird 🗨 "Ey! Ey!!"
You recognize this bird.
Bird 🗨 "Forget something, boss?"
🎵 close
It produces the blank sheaf of papers from its folded wings.
Bird 🗨 "Ya didn't even write yer name on it!"
Bird 🗨 "What kinda writer doesn't have a byline?!"
The bird is right.
Your productivity would plummet without this journal.
The thought of it scratches the inside of your head.
Bird 🗨 "Quick now, ya must've had a name at some point."
🚩 byline pick
🎮 game_input
☕ variables.byline = variables._.trim()
☕ variables._ = variables.byline.toLowerCase() === 'boss' || variables.byline.toLowerCase() === 'dj' || variables.byline.toLowerCase() === 'deejay' ? 'byline joke' : ''
⏭ $_
☕ variables._ = variables.byline ? 'byline done' : 'byline invalid'
⏭ $_

🚩 byline joke
🎵 squawk
The bird pecks at the side of your head.
Bird 🗨 "Quit yankin' my talons. No it isn't."
Bird 🗨 "We don't got time for jokes boss, pick yer real byline."
⏭ byline pick

🚩 byline invalid
🎵 squawk
The bird pecks at the side of your head.
Bird 🗨 "This ain't no time to be precious!"
Bird 🗨 "We're already late, just pick something."
⏭ byline pick

🚩 byline done
🎵 squawk
The bird pecks at the side of your head.
Bird 🗨 "$byline?"

Bird 🗨 $_
Bird 🗨 "We're already late, so ya better get that review done while yer at it."
Bird 🗨 "I brought along a couple'a older issues too..."
Bird 🗨 "Ya know, in case yer a blockhead."
Bird 🗨 "Good writers borrow, ghostwriters steal."
🚩 advent review write
☕ variables.place = 'Advent City - The Advent Inn'
☕ variables._ = `${variables.byline}|${variables.place}`
🎮 game_review $_
☕ variables._ = variables._ ? 'advent review done' : 'advent review error'
⏭ $_

🚩 advent review error
Bird 🗨 "Hmph... Call it a hunch, but something's telling me this one won't do."
Bird 🗨 "Maybe you should take another crack at it, boss."
Bird 🗨 "Could just hope for the best though, it's up to you."
🎮 game_choice Try again -> advent review write | Move on -> advent review done
⏭ $_

🚩 advent review done
Bird 🗨 "Good? Good!"
Bird 🗨 "Let's get a move on, boss."
🙂 npc|blank
☕ variables.reviewed.advent = true
☕ bipsiFocus()
⏭ blank


🚩 outlet-boss reviewed
☕ variables._ = variables.canLeaveAdvent ? 'outlet-boss reviewed repeat' : ''
⏭ $_
🙂 npc|advent
Editor-In-Chief 🗨 "Hmm? You're still here?"
Editor-In-Chief 🗨 "Didn't I send you on the autumnal tour?"
🎮 game_choice Nod|Shake
You hold up your journal.
Pull out the single piece of paper with writing on it.
Your neatly written review of The Advent Inn.
You place it on his desk, and turn it to face him.
He glances down, then rolls his eyes.
Editor-In-Chief 🗨 "Oh, right."
Editor-In-Chief 🗨 "I'll look it over later."
Editor-In-Chief 🗨 "Time is money, and I want a windfall before snowfall."
Editor-In-Chief 🗨 "So I need you on the road yesterday."
Editor-In-Chief 🗨 "You've got a dust jacket already, yeah?"
🙂 npc|bird
🎵 squawk
The bird who brought your journal squawks.
🙂 npc|advent
Editor-In-Chief 🗨 "Then you're all set!"
Editor-In-Chief 🗨 "You've got a job to do, don't let me down."
☕ variables.canLeaveAdvent = true
⏭ npcend

🚩 outlet-boss reviewed repeat
🙂 npc|advent
Editor-In-Chief 🗨 "You've got your job, so do it."
⏭ npcend

🚩 outlet-barred leave
🙂 blank
☕ layout('spectaclusi')
☕ save('outlet-barred leave')
You walk outside.
Follow the short dirt path.
There's hardly any human souls to be seen.
A few people out cleaning, tending gardens, mundane maintenance.
You get one or two strange looks, but mostly they ignore you.
Before long, you're on the outskirts of the town.
You pause for a moment.
Consider your situation.
You're dead.
But still, you're here.
The grand outdoors.
You're here, but you could go anywhere.
☕ post('map', 'map', { type: 'travel', message: { position: variables.position, target: variables.target, timeEmbark: variables.timeEmbark } })
☕ post('map', 'map', { type: 'wait' })
☕ layout('spectaclesmap')
Anywhere you want.
☕ layout('map')
⏳ 1500
🎵 title
☕ showTitle('The Grand Outdoors', 'You Could Run Far Away And Never Look Back')
⏳ 4500
☕ layout('spectaclesmap')
The thought puts a twinge in your neck.
Bird 🗨 "Ey! Ey!!"
🙂 npc|bird
The bird on your shoulder speaks up.
🙂 player|ghostwriter
Bird 🗨 "Watch where yer shoving that oversized turnip!"
Bird 🗨 "Some of us gotta look after these bodies of ours."
It's difficult to pay attention to the chirps.
You feel your legs instinctively pushing you to walk.
But the irritation in your neck doesn't let up.
🎮 game_choice Turn left|Turn right
You try to twist, wrest control of your own motions.
☕ post('map', 'map', { type: variables._ })
Instead you end up walking in circles.
Bird 🗨 "...Oh."
Bird 🗨 "I see, I see."
Bird 🗨 "Thinking of bolting already, ey?"
🎮 game_choice Nod|Shake
☕ post('map', 'map', { type: 'faster' })
You start walking faster.
The pointless circle you're pacing gets wider and wider.
Bird 🗨 "This yer first time or something boss?"
Bird 🗨 "Need someone to teach ya how to be a good little ghostwriter and do yer job?"
🎮 game_choice Nod -> tutorial|Shake -> no tutorial
⏭ $_

🚩 tutorial
Bird 🗨 "Lucky for you, it ain't my first time dealin' with phantom folk."
Bird 🗨 "First things first:"
Bird 🗨 "Y'ain't my boss."
Bird 🗨 "But I'm gonna keep calling ya 'boss' cause I already forgot yer name."
You start pulling out your journal to remind them, but they keep talking.
Bird 🗨 "Dust jacket authorities don't give names, but folks call me Deejay."
Deejay cocks their head to the side.
Deejay 🗨 "That part matters more to folks with mouths, s'pose."
Deejay 🗨 "Where was I..."
Deejay 🗨 "Right: I'm here to fly reviews back when ya finish em."
Deejay 🗨 "Don't get paid to do anything else."
Deejay 🗨 "So don't think ya can order me around."
Deejay 🗨 "And any screw-ups are on yer head, not mine."
Bird 🗨 "Second:"
Deejay 🗨 "Yer a damned freak, boss."
Deejay 🗨 "And everyone in the whole wide world knows it."
Deejay 🗨 "But yer journal money'll spend well enough for most to ignore the freaky phantom presence."
You check the pocket lining of your journal.
☕ showFooter('+247 coins')
🎵 coins
There are dozens of small coins, a mix of copper and silver.
Deejay 🗨 "Third:"
Deejay 🗨 "Boss--­­ the Lovely Lodgings boss, that is--"
Deejay 🗨 "The boss cursed that produce to walk and work."
Deejay 🗨 "Can't do much else."
Deejay 🗨 "But curses can't write reviews, so ya got a little wiggle room."
Deejay 🗨 "Ghostwriters are more like passengers than people."
Deejay 🗨 "Push too hard and it's a one-way ticket back to damnation­ or whatever."
Deejay 🗨 "So I recommend ya quit this spinning before I hurl, and let those legs take us somewhere productive."
⏭ tutorial end

🚩 no tutorial
Bird 🗨 "Hmph."
Bird 🗨 "We can skip the rookie stuff then."
Bird 🗨 "But don't say Deejay didn't offer to help ya!"
Deejay 🗨 "Now pull yerself together, we got a job to do."
⏭ tutorial end


🚩 tutorial end
☕ post('map', 'map', { type: 'stop' })
⏭ map pick




🚩 map pick checkpoint
🎵 title
☕ showTitle('The Grand Outdoors', 'Destinations & Decisions')
🚩 map pick
🙂 npc|deejay
🙂 player|ghostwriter
☕ post('map', 'map', { type: 'travel', message: { position: variables.position, target: null, timeEmbark: null, events: [] } })
☕ post('map', 'map', { type: 'pick' })
☕ layout('map')
☕ save('map pick checkpoint')
⏭ blank


🚩 map wait checkpoint
🎵 title
☕ showTitle('The Grand Outdoors', 'One Foot In Front Of The Other')
🚩 map wait
🎶 $music
🙂 blank
☕ post('map', 'map', { type: 'travel', message: { position: variables.position, target: variables.target, timeEmbark: variables.timeEmbark, events: variables.events } })
☕ post('map', 'map', { type: 'wait' })
☕ layout('map')
☕ save('map wait checkpoint')
⏭ blank


🚩 map arrive
🎶
☕ variables.position = variables.target
☕ variables.target = null
☕ variables.timeEmbark = null
🚩 arrive checkpoint
☕ post('map', 'map', { type: 'travel', message: { position: variables.position, target: null, timeEmbark: null, events: [] } })
☕ save('arrive checkpoint')
☕ layout('spectaclesmap')
⏭ arrive $position


🚩 event arrive
☕ layout('spectaclesmap')

🙂 player|ghostwriter
⏭ $_




🚩 event r:_ c:_ 1
Your focus has drifted.
⏭ event finger

🚩 event r:_ c:_ 2
Your focus has drifted.
⏭ event finger

🚩 event r:_ c:_ 3
Your focus has drifted.
⏭ event finger

🚩 event r:_ c:_ 4
Your focus has drifted.
⏭ event finger

🚩 event r:_ c:_ 5
Your focus has drifted.
⏭ event finger

🚩 event finger
Now that it has returned, you re-evaluate your surroundings.
☕ variables._ = Math.random() > 0.5 ? 'left' : 'right'
An itch that had previously spread down your $_ arm has lessened.
🎵 coin
☕ showFooter('-1 finger')
It seems the hand has somewhat lessened as well.
It doesn't hurt, but the absence feels strange.
You try not to pay it too much mind, and continue towards your destination.
⏭ event end

🚩 event r:_ c:_ 6
Your focus has drifted.
When it returns, you feel a renewed sense of purpose.
You're headed the right way, and your body allows you feel to good about this.
It's a pleasant feeling.
You ride it as long as you can, and keep moving.
⏭ event end

🚩 event r:_ c:_ 7
Your focus has drifted.
You feel it return when the first raindrop hits your face.
A cold, wet sting that leaves a dark stain.
Its joined by more soon after.
The shower comes on quickly, and ends just as fast.
You wonder how it would have felt on human skin.
⏭ event end

🚩 event r:_ c:_ 8
Your focus has drifted.
You're not sure where it went.
You're not sure when it came back.
All you're sure of is that you haven't been moving in the meantime.
And it feels like your entire body is on fire as a result.
When the initial spasm of pain subsides, you pick up the pace.
Anything to get back to a tolerable tingle.
⏭ event end

🚩 event r:_ c:_ 9
Your focus has drifted.
When it returns, you feel light on your feet.
Like a heavy load has been lifted from your shoulders.
You realize shortly that it is because your cloak is missing.
Uncomfortable with your new level of exposure, you turn around.
It doesn't take long to find, but you feel frustrated by the loss of progress.
You refocus on your destination and try to make up the time.
⏭ event end

🚩 event r:_ c:_ 10
Your focus has drifted.
When it returns, you realize that your legs hurt.
Not from the typical itch, but from the simple repetition.
The constant motion, one after the other, is taking its toll on your body.
You feel like you've hardly made any progress.
Like you've been stuck in a loop with no end.
But you know that you cannot stop without reason.
So you keep moving.
⏭ event end

🚩 event r:_ c:_ 11
Your focus has drifted.
The first thing you notice when it returns is the smell.
A thick, rotten stench.
You try to identify the source without success.
As you search, it fades.
When it's gone entirely, you're left with a nagging doubt.
You're not sure if the smell has passed, or if you have simply gotten used to it.
Without an answer, you have nothing to do but to resume your journey.
⏭ event end

🚩 event r:_ c:_ 12
Your focus has drifted.
It strikes you how devoid of life your travels have been.
You expected to come across creatures, critters, maybe birds.
Deejay excluded, you've hardly seen a single one.
But you do hear their calls in the distance occasionally.
You wonder if they're actively avoiding you.
For what reason, you have no idea.
It's a mystery your body has no desire to solve.
Although your job includes sightseeing, it is very particular about where.
So you continue on your way to the next such destination.
⏭ event end

🚩 event r:_ c:_ 13
Your focus has drifted.
Your head feels­ mushy.
Soft.
Pliant.
It unsettles you.
You recall the firmness of bone.
A skull to call your own.
Your turnip feels as if it is made of temples.
You try not to think about it.
And you move on.
⏭ event end

🚩 event r:_ c:_ 14
Your focus has drifted.
When it returns, you are motionless.
Perfectly still.
More than that, you feel no pain.
No itch driving you to move, to work, to do your job.
But the moment you think of it, it returns.
Disappointed in your self-defeating intent, you return to the journey.
Along the way, you try to recreate that lack of thought.
Each time you do, it only makes the itch burn brighter.
So instead, you focus on the destination.
⏭ event end

🚩 event r:_ c:_ 15
Your focus has drifted.
☕ variables._ = variables.deejayHere ? 'event chat deejay' : 'event chat no deejay'
⏭ $_

🚩 event r:_ c:_ 16
Your focus has drifted.
☕ variables._ = variables.deejayHere ? 'event chat deejay' : 'event chat no deejay'
⏭ $_

🚩 event r:_ c:_ 17
Your focus has drifted.
☕ variables._ = variables.deejayHere ? 'event chat deejay' : 'event chat no deejay'
⏭ $_

🚩 event r:_ c:_ 18
Your focus has drifted.
☕ variables._ = variables.deejayHere ? 'event chat deejay' : 'event chat no deejay'
⏭ $_

🚩 event r:_ c:_ 19
Your focus has drifted.
☕ variables._ = variables.deejayHere ? 'event chat deejay' : 'event chat no deejay'
⏭ $_

🚩 event r:_ c:_ 20
Your focus has drifted.
☕ variables._ = variables.deejayHere ? 'event chat deejay' : 'event chat no deejay'
⏭ $_


🚩 event chat no deejay
When it returns, you're alone.
Just you, and the route you're travelling.
☕ variables._ = ['You wonder where Deejay is.', 'You notice Deejay is nowhere to be seen.', 'You don\'t sense your flying companion anywhere nearby.'][Math.floor(Math.random()*3)]
$_
They must still be delivering your last review.
You keep moving, but pay close attention in case you hear their squawking in the distance.
⏭ event end


🚩 event chat deejay
Deejay has caught your attention.
☕ variables.chat = (variables.chat || 0)%6 + 1
⏭ event deejay $chat

🚩 event deejay 1
🙂 npc|deejay
Deejay 🗨 "C'mon boss, pick up the pace, ey?"
Deejay 🗨 "If yer late on the job, it's gonna make me look bad."
Your back spasms with a sudden pain.
You straighten your posture to try to combat it.
Deejay 🗨 "Ey, ey! That's more like it!"
Deejay 🗨 "Ya keep that up, and we'll be there in no time."
You don't feel any faster, but Deejay seems satisfied.
🙂 npc|blank
And the bodily irritation seems lessened.
⏭ event end

🚩 event deejay 2
🙂 npc|deejay
They've been sat on your shoulder, preening.
In the process, meticulously re-organizing the papers stored in their wings.
Deejay 🗨 "Can't believe this..."
Deejay 🗨 "Ya know I used to fly under the Concern's library fleet?"
Deejay 🗨 "Now that was a real job."
Deejay 🗨 "Professionals, down to the last dust jacket."
Deejay 🗨 "I had self-respect back then!"
Deejay 🗨 "Pride, even."
Deejay 🗨 "Head of the romance section, ya know!"
Deejay 🗨 "...Don't give me that look."
Your face remains as motionless as ever.
Deejay 🗨 "Everyone outside the library always laughs at romance."
Deejay 🗨 "They don't get it."
Deejay 🗨 "Ya don't get it, boss!"
Deejay 🗨 "Upholding the strict categorization with yer own two wings?"
Deejay 🗨 "It's no joke!"
Deejay 🗨 "When the smut starts flying off the shelves, not even librarians can keep their stories straight."
Deejay puffs out their chest, wings fully outstretched.
Deejay 🗨 "I was the last line of defense­ --­ me!"
Deejay 🗨 "I've fought battles between those books!"
Deejay 🗨 "Battles that'd tear yer pathetic heart apart, then toss the shreds under mislabelled erotica!"
Deejay 🗨 "Ya hear me!?"
Deejay 🗨 "I've tasted literary glory!"
You've had to stop moving, lest their tirade lead to falling off their perch on your shoulder.
Deejay 🗨 "...Sigh."
Deejay 🗨 "Now I'm doing pigeon's work for a second-rate author of glorified advertisements."
Deejay 🗨 "No offense... Job's a job, after all."
Deejay 🗨 "A pigeon eats better than a panhandler."
Deejay 🗨 "But not where I thought I'd end up, ya know?"
Deejay 🗨 "It's no happily-ever-after..."
The dejected bird goes back to their organizing.
🙂 npc|blank
And you continue towards your destination.
⏭ event end

🚩 event deejay 3
🙂 npc|deejay
Deejay 🗨 "Ey, boss?"
Deejay 🗨 "Yer, uh... Yer not moving."
Deejay 🗨 "C'mon, can't have ya slacking off."
Deejay 🗨 "Ya need a break?"
🎮 game_choice Nod->Better hurry it up and hit the next inn then, ey?|Shake->Then let's get back to it!
Deejay 🗨 "$_"
🙂 npc|blank
⏭ event end

🚩 event deejay 4
🙂 npc|deejay
Deejay 🗨 "Ey, boss, I've been wondering..."
Deejay 🗨 "Do phantom folk remember how ya lived?"
Deejay 🗨 "Ya know... before ya became a damned freak."
🎮 game_choice Nod|Shake
Deejay 🗨 "Huh."
Deejay 🗨 "...Don't s'pose it does much good either way, ey?"
Deejay 🗨 "Not like we're in the market for yer autobiography."
There's a sadness in Deejay's voice.
You get the impression they want to ask more.
🙂 npc|blank
But instead, they flap their wings, and start circling high overhead.
You take it as a sign that the conversation is over, and continue your journey.
⏭ event end

🚩 event deejay 5
🙂 npc|deejay
Deejay 🗨 "Ever get lonely, boss?"
Deejay 🗨 "That something phantom freaks even feel, ey?"
🎮 game_choice Nod|Shake
Deejay 🗨 "Hmph."
Deejay 🗨 "Didn't think I would, when I took this job."
Deejay 🗨 "Sure, I'm on my own sometimes..."
Deejay 🗨 "But there's always a partner!"
Deejay 🗨 "They don't tell ya how... silent that partner will be when ya sign up."
Deejay 🗨 "Ain't exactly birds of a feather, ya know?"
🎮 game_choice Nod|Shake
Deejay 🗨 "..."
Deejay 🗨 "Though we make do, I s'pose."
🙂 npc|blank
⏭ event end

🚩 event deejay 6
🙂 npc|deejay
Deejay 🗨 "Ey, boss?"
Deejay 🗨 "How's that turnip of yers holding up?"
Deejay 🗨 "Ya haven't been moving in a bit..."
Deejay 🗨 "Need a break?"
🎮 game_choice Nod->A sharp twinge in your neck prevents you from completing the gesture.|Shake->You're fine how you are.
$_
Deejay 🗨 "...Yer call, boss."
🙂 npc|blank
⏭ event end

🚩 event r:sea c:_ swimming
Your focus has drifted.
When it returns, you remember you're swimming.
You've been swimming for awhile.
The dark water feels nice on your body's skin.
It almost entirely masks the ever-present itch.
You consider pausing, letting yourself enjoy the sensation.
But the thought of it is enough to redouble the irritation.
So you keep swimming.
⏭ event end

🚩 event r:sea c:_ floating
Your focus has drifted.
When it returns, you realize your body is drifting as well.
You're floating in the sea, flat on your back.
☕ variables._ = variables.deejayHere ? 'Deejay is standing on top of your belly, fast asleep.' : 'Deejay is nowhere to be seen.'
$_
You're not sure when you stopped paddling.
But now that you've realized it, your arms and legs burn with revitalized vigour.
And you continue your journey, backstroke.
⏭ event end

🚩 event r:sea c:_ sinking
Your focus has drifted.
When it returns, you realize you're underwater.
Not swimming, but deep underwater.
So deep that it's difficult to tell which way will bring you closer or further from the surface.
You pause and try to re-orient yourself.
In doing so, you feel your legs spasm, trying to propel you forwards.
Your body knows there's work to be done.
You trust that it knows where it needs to be done, and let it lead the way.
⏭ event end

🚩 event r:sea c:_ pole
☕ variables._ = variables.deejayHere ? 'pole deejay' : 'pole no deejay'
⏭ $_

🚩 pole deejay
Your focus has drifted.
When it returns, you find yourself in the middle of the sea.
🙂 npc|deejay
Deejay 🗨 "Ey! Yer getting a bit off track there, boss."
Deejay's right.
At some point, you stopped facing your destination.
Instead, you're pointed at the pole from which the liquid pools out.
Deejay 🗨 "Yer not planning on running off after all, are ya?"
🎮 game_choice Nod->Unbelievable...|Shake->Good...
Deejay 🗨 "$_"
Deejay 🗨 "We've got a job to do!"
Again, Deejay's right.
Your body pulls your still-drifting focus back into place.
🙂 npc|blank
And you continue along the path it has laid out for you.
⏭ event end

🚩 pole no deejay
Your focus has drifted.
When it returns, you find yourself in the middle of the sea.
At some point, you stopped facing your destination.
Instead, you're pointed at the pole from which the liquid pools out.
You feel drawn towards it.
It's a different sensation than the itch you've grown accustomed to.
But it does not overpower it.
Your body pulls your still-drifting focus back into place.
And you continue along the path it has laid out for you.
⏭ event end

🚩 event r:sea c:_ nibbling
Your focus has drifted.
It returns suddenly, not with an itch, but with a bite.
🎵 coin
☕ showFooter('-1 toe')
Something is nibbling at your foot.
You kick instinctively.
You feel it connect, and then a small wave as it forcefully rushes down.
☕ variables._ = variables.deejayHere ? 'Deejay is circling high above you, seemingly unaware.' : 'You\'re completely alone.'
$_
You're left treading water for a moment in the now-lifeless stretch of sea.
Since there's nothing but a growing itch to keep you company, you keep moving.
⏭ event end

🚩 event end
☕ variables.events.find(i => !i.timeCompleted).timeCompleted = Date.now()
🙂 player|blank
⏭ map wait

🚩 event r:forest c:_ 1
Your focus has drifted.
When it returns, you realize you're face-down on the forest floor.
You've been there for awhile.
One of your legs keeps moving, mimicking motions as if you had been walking.
The other weakly tugs against a tangled root.
You stand back up, mildly embarrassed by the experience.
Your legs start walking again, properly this time.
⏭ event end

🚩 event r:forest c:_ 2
Your focus has drifted.
When it returns, you realize you're upside-down.
You're suspended by one leg, caught in a large tree snare.
Your whole body sways back and forth lightly.
You try to free yourself, but can't quite reach.
The proportions of your body do not lend themselves to this task.
🚩 event snare check
☕ variables._ = variables.deejayHere ? 'event snare deejay' : 'event snare no deejay'
⏭ $_
🚩 event snare no deejay
.­­.­­.
☕ variables._ = ['You hang there for awhile longer.', 'You try to think of another way to get down, but come up blank.', 'You reach up and try again, but it\'s no use.', 'You wonder how long you\'ve been hanging like this.', 'You try to ignore the itch spreading across your body.', 'You sway lightly in the breeze, just like the trees around you.','You try to kick at the rope with your free foot, to no avail.','Far in the distance, something shrieks and yelps.','The forest rustles above you.','You let the time pass.'][Math.floor(Math.random()*10)]
$_
.­­.­­.
⏭ event snare check

🚩 event snare deejay
🙂 npc|deejay
Deejay 🗨 "Ey! Boss!!"
Deejay lands on the branch above.
Deejay 🗨 "Been looking all over..."
Deejay 🗨 "Ya need a little help?"
🎮 game_choice Nod->Just a sec...|Shake->...Well, too bad.
Deejay 🗨 "$_"
Deejay starts pecking at the rope where it's secured to the tree.
You brace yourself, just before you drop a couple feet onto the forest floor.
Deejay 🗨 "There ya go!"
Deejay 🗨 "Alright, enough sitting around."
Deejay 🗨 "We've got a job to do, ey?"
🙂 npc|blank
⏭ event end

🚩 event r:forest c:_ 3
Your focus has drifted.
When it returns, you're pressed up against the trunk of a large tree.
Your body is pushing forward, as if trying to walk through it.
You forcefully stop yourself from moving.
Take two steps to the side.
And then continue walking.
☕ variables._ = variables.deejayHere ? 'Deejay gives you an exasperated stare, but does not say anything.' : 'You\'re glad no one was around to see that.'
$_
⏭ event end

🚩 event r:mountain c:_ 1
Your focus has drifted.
It returns with a shock as you feel your body plummet.
Something gives way underfoot, and you frantically reach out to grab whatever's near.
Your arms latch themselves onto ropes, holding the rest of your body aloft.
You hang there as a wooden plank -- one that just broke off the bridge you were crossing -- disappears into a crevasse below.
Your arms tremble, unused to carrying the full dead weight.
Using all the vegetal might you can muster, you hoist yourself forward.
There's no adrenaline to power your body, just the fear of finding out how much the fall would damage it.
You manage to lift one leg over the next plank, and use it for leverage.
Having reached a point of relative safety, you rest there for a moment.
☕ post("spectacles", { type: "clear" })
⏳ 1500
🎵 rest
⏳ 3000
⏳
You're almost thankful when the itch arises.
Getting off this bridge and back on track is probably for the best.
⏭ event end

🚩 event r:mountain c:_ 2
Your focus has drifted.
When it returns, you're lying flat on your back.
Your body feels bruised, sore.
You notice you're currently at the base of a tall mountain.
A mountain you were climbing only moments ago.
You stand up, dust yourself off, and start the trek back up.
⏭ event end

🚩 event r:mountain c:_ 3
Your focus has drifted.
It takes a moment for you to realize it has returned.
The world around you is fully obscured by a dense layer of fog.
And yet your feet keep walking.
You trust that they are taking you in the right direction.
But as time passes, you have your doubts.
The fog persists, and you get the sense you're walking in circles.
You stop yourself.
Look for a landmark, but there are none.
You take another step, and the doubt re-doubles.
You're almost certain you're walking backwards.
In the end, you have to wait for the fog to pass.
Or thin, at least.
It's difficult to do with the rising itch.
Despite your initial doubts, you end up intentionally walking in small circles to dull the sensation.
It's not much, but enough to tide you over until you can make out the peak of a mountain in the distance.
You re-orient yourself, and continue towards your destination.
⏭ event end

🚩 event r:coast c:_ 1
Your focus has drifted.
It returns with a splash, as you trip and fall face-down in the dark water.
You stand back up, dripping wet, and try to plan a more careful route along the coast.
You consider keeping to dry land, but the path is not always possible, and you end up falling down again.
Eventually, you decide to take the brute force approach.
You resign yourself to swimming, even where the water is only up to your waist.
It's an awkward, inconsistent method of travel.
But you focus on making progress towards your destination.
⏭ event end

🚩 event r:coast c:_ 2
Your focus has drifted.
When it returns, you realize you're not moving.
Your feet are stuck.
You had been walking along the coast when you drifted.
Now, you're nearly waist-deep in a thick, sticky bog.
You try to extricate yourself.
There's an awful schlorp as you manage to free one leg.
And an equally awful plap as you lose your balance and sink even further.
Eventually, you manage to shuffle out of the quagmire.
You return to your previous path with a more intentional, steady pace.
⏭ event end

🚩 event r:coast c:_ 3
Your focus has drifted.
When it returns, you feel cold.
Much colder than usual.
The wet has been seeping through your body.
Your movements feel sluggish.
You notice small shards of ice along the coast.
They hiss and crack.
The ice gets thicker and thicker, until you can hardly find anywhere to step without slipping.
You backtrack, and try to find another way around.
Holding your cloak closer to your body the whole way.
⏭ event end

🚩 event r:_ c:wifes
Your focus has drifted.
☕ variables._ = Math.random() > 0.5 ? 'You feel like you\'re forgetting something.' : 'You feel a sense of freedom.'
It's a feeling deep in your soul.
You're not sure why you feel this way.
Your current situation is doing nothing to reinforce the feeling.
But noting the irrationality of it does not change it either.
So you focus on your destination.
⏭ event end

🚩 event r:_ c:tower
Your focus has drifted.
When it returns, there's a familiar feeling on the back of your neck.
Not an itch, but a mild tickle.
The mild, slimy, tickle of a snail.
You're not sure if this is one you paid for that went unnoticed, or a simple stowaway.
🎮 game_choice Ignore it->event snail ignore|Remove it->event snail remove
⏭ $_

🚩 event snail ignore
You decide to ignore it.
The sensation is barely noticeable.
And perhaps it's on a journey of its own.
No reason to prevent it from hitching a ride.
You continue towards your destination, stowaway snail and all.
⏭ event end

🚩 event snail remove
You decide to let it go.
You pick it up, careful not to damage the shell.
Its little feelers wiggle around in the air.
You slowly lower the eager mollusk.
☕ variables._ = variables.region === 'sea' ? 'water,' : 'ground,'
When it reaches the $_ it pulls itself forward and off your hand.
You're not sure where you expect it to go, but surely it has no reason to reach your destination.
So you continue moving yourself, leaving it trailing far behind.
⏭ event end

🚩 event r:_ c:docks
Your focus has drifted.
When it returns, you realize you're not alone.
🙂 npc|cozen
Cozen 🗨 "Hey there, kid."
A stranger is walking alongside you.
Cozen 🗨 "Headed my way?"
🎮 game_choice Nod|Shake
Cozen 🗨 "No problem."
The stranger keeps pace with you.
You continue in silence for a time.
The stranger seems to be eyeing you up.
After awhile, it's clear that they have something to say, so you pause.
Cozen 🗨 "...Listen, kid."
Cozen 🗨 "I couldn't help but notice."
They tap the side of their head.
You're not sure what they're trying to communicate.
Cozen 🗨 "C'mon, don't play coy."
Cozen 🗨 "Anyone could see the size of that turnip from a mile off."
Cozen 🗨 "You never know when someone's working in­­ imports and exports."
Cozen 🗨 "You see what I'm saying?"
🎮 game_choice Nod|Shake
Cozen 🗨 "Not me, of course."
Cozen 🗨 "Just making sure you're­­ informed."
Cozen 🗨 "Hate to see anything happen to a clueless kid like you."
They stare at you, long and hard.
Then tap the side of their head again.
🙂 npc|blank
And then leave you to walk your path alone again.
⏭ event end

🚩 event r:_ c:advent
Your focus has drifted.
🙂 npc|advent
Adventurer 🗨 "-idn't even realize how common it was!"
When it returns, you're sitting at a campfire.
Adventurer 🗨 "Even right in my own backyard!"
Across from you is another traveller, laughing and carousing.
Adventurer 🗨 "You wouldn't dream such a thing possible without seeing it."
There's no one else around.
Adventurer 🗨 "Well, maybe you would... But a real person, yknow."
They seem to have been speaking to you for quite awhile.
Adventurer 🗨 "No telling what a weed dreams of."
You consider waiting for them to stop talking.
Adventurer 🗨 "Speaking of, I had the wildest dream the other day-"
But they show no signs of slowing down.
🙂 npc|blank
So you stand up, and start walking.
You hear them shout something as you leave, but the sound quickly drops off in the distance.
⏭ event end




🚩 map advent
☕ layout('spectaclesmap')
Deejay 🗨 "That's the city of Advent, boss."
☕ variables.done = variables.reviewed.boneyard && variables.reviewed.wifes && variables.reviewed.buboes && variables.reviewed.dollhouse && variables.reviewed.castle && variables.reviewed.tower && variables.reviewed.roots && variables.reviewed.docks && variables.reviewed.bird
☕ variables._ = variables.done ? 'map Advent done' : ''
⏭ $_
Deejay 🗨 "No point heading back home till the job's done."
⏭ map pick

🚩 map Advent done
Deejay 🗨 "Guess it's about time we headed back home."
☕ embark('advent')
⏭ map wait





🚩 map boneyard
☕ layout('spectaclesmap')
Deejay 🗨 "Nightgrave?"
☕ variables._ = variables.reviewed.boneyard ? 'map boneyard repeat' : ''
⏭ $_
Deejay 🗨 "Tourism there isn't exactly lively..."
Deejay 🗨 "But it's still technically on the route."
Deejay 🗨 "Is that where ya wanna go next?"
🎮 game_choice Nod->|Shake->map pick
⏭ $_
☕ embark('boneyard')
⏭ map wait

🚩 map boneyard repeat
Deejay 🗨 "Glad we already got that outta the way..."
Deejay 🗨 "One night in that depressing boneyard was enough for me."
⏭ map pick

🚩 arrive boneyard
🙂 npc|deejay
🙂 player|ghostwriter
Deejay 🗨 "Here we are, Nightgrave."
Deejay 🗨 "Looks even deader than I remember."
☕ save('checkpoint boneyard')
🚩 checkpoint boneyard
🎵 title
☕ showTitle('Nightgrave', 'Silent City of Absolution')
☕ bipsiMove('boneyard', 7, 13)
☕ bipsiFocus()
🙂 npc|blank
🙂 player|ghostwriter
⏭ blank






🚩 boneyard skull
☕ variables.tripOn = 'skull'
☕ variables._ = variables.tripped ? '' : 'boneyard trip'
⏭ $_
You carefully step around the skull lying on the ground.
☕ bipsiFocus()
⏭ blank

🚩 boneyard bones
☕ variables.tripOn = ['femur', 'rib', 'humerus'][Math.floor(Math.random()*3)]
☕ variables._ = variables.tripped ? '' : 'boneyard trip'
⏭ $_
You carefully step around the bones lying on the ground.
☕ bipsiFocus()
⏭ blank

🚩 boneyard trip
☕ variables.tripped = true
As you walk past neglected gravestones, something catches your foot.
You trip on a stray $tripOn and fall face-first on the cold, hard ground.
☕ bipsiFocus()
⏭ blank

🚩 boneyard mother
☕ variables._ = variables.ignoredMother ? 'boneyard mother repeat ignored' : ''
⏭ $_
☕ variables._ = variables.metMother ? 'boneyard mother repeat' : ''
⏭ $_
☕ variables.metMother = true
A robed figure arranges bones on a stone slab.
A knucklebone, the shard of a rib, three teeth below a cracked cranium.
When the last of these is in place, their eyes snap up.
🙂 npc|mother
Bonemother Aspirant 🗨 "..."
Bonemother Aspirant 🗨 "...You wish me to speak?"
🎮 game_choice Nod->boneyard mother yes speak|Shake->boneyard mother no speak
⏭ $_


🚩 boneyard mother repeat
🙂 npc|mother
The robed figure pauses their work once more.
Bonemother Aspirant 🗨 "...You persist."
⏭ boneyard mother yes speak

🚩 boneyard mother no speak
Bonemother Aspirant 🗨 "..."
🙂 npc|blank
The figure goes back to their work.
☕ bipsiFocus()
⏭ blank

🚩 boneyard mother yes speak
Bonemother Aspirant 🗨 "I wish­ you did not."
The figure's voice is a low whisper.
Bonemother Aspirant 🗨 "Speech­ among the absolved..."
The figure gestures at the walls around you.
You're keenly aware of the dark circles of dozens of skulls staring at you.
Bonemother Aspirant 🗨 "...It is­ poor etiquette."
They look you up and down.
Bonemother Aspirant 🗨 "Your body... It is not your own."
Bonemother Aspirant 🗨 "Surely­ you understand...?"
🎮 game_choice Nod|Shake
They point at their own lips.
Bonemother Aspirant 🗨 "Those who bring words, bring violence."
There's piercing fire in the whispers.
Grief that stings and rage that whittles.
Blame for scars you do not understand.
☕ variables.ignoredMother = true
🙂 npc|blank
They return to their work.
☕ bipsiFocus()
⏭ blank

🚩 boneyard mother repeat ignored
🙂 npc|mother
Bonemother Aspirant 🗨 "Enough."
Bonemother Aspirant 🗨 "Your ignorance is not mine to remedy."
Bonemother Aspirant 🗨 "If you seek knowledge or absolution, it surrounds you."
Bonemother Aspirant 🗨 "...If not, I will gladly hasten your next sin."
☕ variables.canRead = true
⏭ npcend

🚩 boneyard wall
☕ variables._ = variables.firstRead ? 'boneyard wall repeat' : ''
⏭ $_
☕ variables._ = variables.canRead ? '' : 'boneyard wall clueless'
⏭ $_
Recalling the figure's words about knowledge, you inspect the walls housing skulls.
You notice that in the detailing are small, engraved letters.
Engraving 🗨 "-a limit to the sin one body can bear. It is our duty-"
You skim through, searching for a coherent place to begin reading.
☕ variables.firstRead = true
🚩 boneyard wall repeat
You find a few sections of the wall that seem legible.
🎮 game_choice On Absolution|On Possession|On Recreation
⏭ $_

🚩 On Absolution
Engraving 🗨 "On Absolution - Bonemother Vanesse"
Engraving 🗨 "The world has many words for absolution."
Engraving 🗨 "They deny it, and mourn its lack."
Engraving 🗨 "They forbid it, and hide its form from others."
Engraving 🗨 "They declare it evil, and seek to destroy it."
Engraving 🗨 "Both those who have found absolution, and those who help others to find it."
Engraving 🗨 "They twist its purpose, and use it to commit sins of greater magnitude."
Engraving 🗨 "They grant a soul reprieve, only to steal it away."
Engraving 🗨 "They call it 'labour', and celebrate it."
Engraving 🗨 "It is crucial for an aspiring mother to understand this."
Engraving 🗨 "We live in a world which celebrates this mockery of life."
Engraving 🗨 "They have many words for absolution, but they do not understand it."
Engraving 🗨 "How could they, and still live as they do?"
Engraving 🗨 "They are like children."
Engraving 🗨 "They swallow needles and blame their tongues for tasting blood."
Engraving 🗨 "It is for this reason that we love them still."
Engraving 🗨 "For this reason that we absolve them."
Engraving 🗨 "In absolution, they may learn."
Engraving 🗨 "To reject the souls of such sinners is itself a sin."
Engraving 🗨 "Hold the sinner in your hand."
Engraving 🗨 "Feel the weight of what remains."
Engraving 🗨 "Is the burden they carry heavy?"
Engraving 🗨 "You carry it alongside them, now."
Engraving 🗨 "There is no forgiveness without life."
Engraving 🗨 "Give them the chance to earn your forgiveness."
Engraving 🗨 "Absolve them."
⏭ boneyard done reading

🚩 On Possession
Engraving 🗨 "On Possession - Bonemother Paeyei"
Engraving 🗨 "Can a rock taste the water that erodes it?"
Engraving 🗨 "Can the grass hear the wind whistling through its blades?"
Engraving 🗨 "Can your eyes see the words in front of you?"
Engraving 🗨 "Does doing so mean you are alive?"
Engraving 🗨 "Or does it mask what it means to die?"
Engraving 🗨 "To possess the senses is to accept that they may be lost."
Engraving 🗨 "But to lose sense is not to lose life."
Engraving 🗨 "Your sense will be lost, in time."
Engraving 🗨 "Despite our best efforts, perhaps your life will follow."
Engraving 🗨 "Which would you prefer to keep?"
Engraving 🗨 "There is no such thing as possession without compromise."
Engraving 🗨 "Even possessing your own body, exactly as it is in this moment, is not enough."
Engraving 🗨 "The sin is immediate, and in small quantities, may be indistinguishable."
Engraving 🗨 "But there is a limit to the sin one body can bear."
Engraving 🗨 "It is our duty to recognize this inescapable fact of life."
Engraving 🗨 "If a body's sin outweighs its capacity to house life, a soul within may drift."
Engraving 🗨 "The experience has been likened to a dreamless sleep."
Engraving 🗨 "A passing of time which confuses and disorients."
Engraving 🗨 "Mothers before me have placed blame on the souls themselves."
Engraving 🗨 "This is cruelty."
Engraving 🗨 "How can one blame a soul tainted by the sin of their body?"
Engraving 🗨 "Flesh rots."
Engraving 🗨 "Bone breaks."
Engraving 🗨 "Sin spreads."
Engraving 🗨 "The soul demands a solution."
⏭ boneyard done reading

🚩 On Recreation
Engraving 🗨 "On Recreation - Bonemother Céanothe"
Engraving 🗨 "- Gold: sufficient"
Engraving 🗨 "- Silver: sufficient"
Engraving 🗨 "- Copper: insufficient"
Engraving 🗨 "- Bone: sufficient"
Engraving 🗨 "- Iron: sufficient as supplement"
Engraving 🗨 "- Sulfur: insufficient"
Engraving 🗨 "- Leather: sufficient as supplement"
Engraving 🗨 "- Quicksilver: insufficient"
Engraving 🗨 "- Tin: insufficient"
Engraving 🗨 "- Lead: insufficient"
Engraving 🗨 "- Gall: sufficient"
Engraving 🗨 "- Intestine: insufficient"
This list appears to go on for hundreds of individual entries.
⏭ boneyard done reading

🚩 boneyard done reading
☕ variables._ = variables.slept.boneyard ? 'boneyard done reading repeat' : ''
⏭ $_
By the time you finish reading, the letters are engraved only a few inches from the floor.
You've had to sit down to keep reading.
You start to stand up, but a pain shoots through your calves.
You need to lie down.
You're on the job, after all.
You let yourself fall back onto the cold stone.
🙂 blank
☕ layout('spectaclusi')
If the robed figure pays you any mind, they show no sign of it.
You imagine yourself lying on the slab in front of them.
Taking the place of the skeletal remains.
Being taken apart piece by piece.
Carefully rearranged until everything is in its right place.
You wonder if they'd keep the turnip, or if they'd find something better.
☕ post("spectacles", { type: "clear" })
⏳ 1500
🎵 rest
⏳ 3000
⏳
Eventually, you feel as satisfied as your body allows.
☕ layout('spectacles')
🙂 player|ghostwriter
You stand back up.
☕ variables.slept.boneyard = true
☕ bipsiFocus()
⏭ blank

🚩 boneyard done reading repeat
☕ bipsiFocus()
⏭ blank

🚩 boneyard wall clueless
☕ bipsiFocus()
⏭ blank


🚩 boneyard-deejay
🙂 npc|deejay
☕ variables._ = variables.slept.boneyard ? '' : 'boneyard-deejay not done'
⏭ $_
Deejay 🗨 "Been gone for awhile, boss..."
Deejay 🗨 "Was starting to worry ya might've died on me!"
Deejay 🗨 "Ready to rejoin the world of the living?"
🎮 game_choice Nod->|Shake->boneyard-deejay not done
⏭ $_
Deejay 🗨 "Well, better finish yer job first, then."
☕ variables.place = "Nightgrave - The Boneyard"
☕ variables.reviewed.boneyard = true
⏭ review write

🚩 boneyard-deejay not done
Deejay 🗨 "It's a mess, but I'm sure ya can find somewhere to sleep."
Deejay 🗨 "Seriously... Who died and put a slob in charge?"
⏭ npcend












🚩 map wifes
☕ layout('spectaclesmap')
Deejay 🗨 "That's the city of Wife City, boss."
☕ variables._ = variables.reviewed.wifes ? 'map wifes repeat' : ''
⏭ $_
Deejay 🗨 "That place gives me the creeps."
Deejay 🗨 "Dunno why it's even on the tour..."
Deejay 🗨 "Sure ya wanna head there next?"
🎮 game_choice Nod->|Shake->map pick
⏭ $_
☕ embark('wifes')
⏭ map wait

🚩 map wifes repeat
Deejay 🗨 "No point heading back there again."
⏭ map pick

🚩 arrive wifes
🙂 npc|deejay
🙂 player|ghostwriter
☕ layout('spectaclusi')
Deejay 🗨 "I think we're almost there..."
Sure enough, Deejay's words are soon confirmed.
The sound of bells rings out in the air.
The city's walls come into view.
Deejay 🗨 "Wowee, it's Wife City."
Deejay 🗨 "...Why'd ya wanna come here again?"
Deejay 🗨 "Actually don't answer that."
Deejay 🗨 "Just go do yer job, boss."
☕ save('checkpoint wifes')
🚩 checkpoint wifes
🎶 towns
🎵 title
☕ showTitle('Wife City', 'City of Wifes')
☕ bipsiMove('wifes', 5, 14)
☕ bipsiFocus()
🙂 npc|blank
🙂 player|ghostwriter
⏭ blank



🚩 wifes door
You knock on the door, but no one opens.
☕ bipsiFocus()
⏭ blank


🚩 wifes everyone
🙂 npc|wife
Wife 🗨 "Here in Wife City, everyone has a wife."
Wife 🗨 "Here in Wife City, everyone's a wife."
⏭ npcend

🚩 wifes question
🙂 npc|wife
Wife 🗨 "Do you have a wife?"
🎮 game_choice Nod->yes wife|Shake->no wife
⏭ $_
🚩 yes wife
Wife 🗨 "My goodness..."
Wife 🗨 "I've heard tell of wifes outside Wife City, but never put stock in the rumours."
Wife 🗨 "Please take good care of your wife."
Wife 🗨 "If not... She'll always have a place here."
⏭ npcend
🚩 no wife
Wife 🗨 "That's so sad..."
Wife 🗨 "I can't imagine living like that."
Wife 🗨 "Outsiders must lead such difficult lives..."
⏭ npcend

🚩 wifes wedding
🙂 npc|wife
Wife 🗨 "My wife is getting married tomorrow."
Wife 🗨 "You should come to the wedding!"
⏭ npcend


🚩 wifes bride
🙂 npc|wife
Wife 🗨 "Every wife was once a bride."
Wife 🗨 "We do well not to forget this."
Wife 🗨 "Every wife was once a bride."
Wife 🗨 "But not every bride will be a wife..."
⏭ npcend

🚩 wifes marriage
🙂 npc|wife
Wife 🗨 "Hello, good traveller!"
Wife 🗨 "Would you like to get married?"
🎮 game_choice Nod->yes marriage|Shake->no marriage
⏭ $_
🚩 yes marriage
Wife 🗨 "What a shame."
Wife 🗨 "These days even outsiders are not immune to pro-wife propaganda..."
Wife 🗨 "You have nothing to lose but your wife!!"
⏭ npcend
🚩 no marriage
Wife 🗨 "Good, very good!"
Wife 🗨 "Outsiders like you give me hope."
Wife 🗨 "It's about time Wife City faced reality!"
Wife 🗨 "There's more to life than wifes!!"
⏭ npcend

🚩 wifes protest 1
🙂 npc|wife
Wife 🗨 "These protests are getting ridiculous..."
Wife 🗨 "Won't anyone's wife stop her?"
⏭ npcend

🚩 wifes protest 2
🙂 npc|wife
Wife 🗨 "So embarrassing..."
Wife 🗨 "I'm glad that's not my wife."
⏭ npcend

🚩 wifes protest 3
🙂 npc|wife
Wife 🗨 "Of course a wife should say what's on her mind..."
Wife 🗨 "But surely there are limits!"
Wife 🗨 "We've all had an unwifely thought or two, of course."
Wife 🗨 "But we don't all shout them in the town square..."
⏭ npcend

🚩 wifes protest 4
🙂 npc|wife
Wife 🗨 "What are we paying wifely dues for if not to spare our streets from such vile garbage?!"
⏭ npcend


🚩 wifes offensive
🙂 npc|wife
Wife 🗨 "Many outsiders find Wife City repulsive or offensive."
Wife 🗨 "Ignorance is unfortunately common among such people."
Wife 🗨 "I'll admit I used to be one of them..."
Wife 🗨 "But after becoming a wife myself, it was hard to imagine living any other way."
⏭ npcend

🚩 wifes my wife
🙂 npc|wife
Wife 🗨 "Whose wife are you?"
Wife 🗨 "You wouldn't happen to be mine, would you?"
🎮 game_choice Nod->yes my wife|Shake->not my wife
⏭ $_
🚩 yes my wife
Wife 🗨 "...No, that can't be right."
Wife 🗨 "I... I think I'll keep looking..."
Wife 🗨 "...Or are you-? No. No, you couldn't be..."
⏭ npcend
🚩 not my wife
Wife 🗨 "...Are you sure?"
Wife 🗨 "You've such a­ wifely­ aura."
Wife 🗨 "Even if you're not my wife, we could still..."
Wife 🗨 "-Ah! what am i saying, I need to find my wife..."
⏭ npcend


🚩 wifes 23
🙂 npc|wife
Wife 🗨 "I've been a wife since I was 23."
Wife 🗨 "But I didn't find my wife until I was 42!"
Wife 🗨 "Don't let anyone tell you it's too late!"
⏭ npcend

🚩 wifes summer
🙂 npc|wife
Not-Wife 🗨 "I'm not actually a wife."
Not-Wife 🗨 "I just stay in Wife City for a few weeks every summer."
Not-Wife 🗨 "My wife, she gets lonely, you see..."
Not-Wife 🗨 "You can take a wife out of Wife City but you can't take Wife City out of the wife!"
Not-Wife 🗨 "If only you could... Sigh..."
⏭ npcend

🚩 wifes content
🙂 npc|wife
Wife 🗨 "Us wifes have everything we need in Wife City."
Wife 🗨 "I am perfectly content."
Wife 🗨 "Don't give me that doubtful look..."
Wife 🗨 "Outsiders like you couldn't possibly understand Wife City."
⏭ npcend

🚩 wifes glare
🙂 npc|wife
The wife glares at you.
Wife 🗨 "Don't make me do something your wife will regret."
⏭ npcend

🚩 wifes romantic
🙂 npc|wife
Wife 🗨 "I haven't found my wife yet."
Wife 🗨 "But it's nice to know she's out there somewhere in Wife City."
Wife 🗨 "I hope I'm her wife too..."
Wife 🗨 "Wouldn't that be so romantic!?"
Wife 🗨 "I can't wait to meet my wife..."
⏭ npcend

🚩 wifes dislike
🙂 npc|wife
Wife 🗨 "I don't think my wife likes me very much."
Wife 🗨 "I suppose I shouldn't complain..."
Wife 🗨 "I don't like my wife very much either."
⏭ npcend

🚩 wifes children
🙂 npc|wife
Wife 🗨 "There are no children permitted in Wife City."
Wife 🗨 "Other towns consider this backwards and barbaric."
Wife 🗨 "But they do not appreciate the lifes of wifes."
Wife 🗨 "A wife can only be judged by her peers."
Wife 🗨 "Someone who is not a wife could never understand this."
⏭ npcend

🚩 wifes everyone outside
🙂 npc|wife
Wife 🗨 "I believe that everyone is someone's wife, even outside of Wife City."
Wife 🗨 "Whether you know it or not, you are someone's wife too."
Wife 🗨 "My heart tells me this is true."
Wife 🗨 "I don't care how many wifes they send to silence me."
Wife 🗨 "I will never relinquish my beliefs."
⏭ npcend

🚩 wifes weapons
🙂 npc|wife
Wife 🗨 "There's no weapon shop in Wife City."
Wife 🗨 "This is because wifes are more powerful than any weapon you can hold in your hand."
Wife 🗨 "Though now that I think about it..."
Wife 🗨 "You could hold a wife by the hand..."
The wife blushes.
Wife 🗨 "Ah! E-­excuse me, I've become... Lost in thought..."
⏭ npcend

🚩 wifes roof
🙂 npc|wife
Wife 🗨 "A house with no roof is better than a house with no wife, I say!"
⏭ npcend

🚩 wifes leave 2
🙂 npc|wife
Wife 🗨 "I often think about what it would be like to leave Wife City."
Wife 🗨 "But as a wife, it is not good to think of such things."
Wife 🗨 "I must turn my thoughts to my own wife..."
⏭ npcend

🚩 wifes where
🙂 npc|wife
Wife 🗨 "My wife doesn't know where I am."
Wife 🗨 "But I am content in the knowledge that she searches still."
Wife 🗨 "Are you searching for something as well?"
🎮 game_choice Nod->yes searching|Shake->no searching
⏭ $_
🚩 yes searching
Wife 🗨 "Yes, you have the look in your eyes."
Wife 🗨 "I hope you find what you're searching for."
⏭ npcend
🚩 no searching
Wife 🗨 "That's alright."
Wife 🗨 "I'm sure someone out there searches for you."
⏭ npcend



🚩 wifes riddle
🙂 npc|wife
Wife 🗨 "They say 'Once a wife, always a wife'."
Wife 🗨 "But some wifes become widows..."
Wife 🗨 "A bride, a wife, and a widow."
Wife 🗨 "It's like an answer to a pathetic riddle."
⏭ npcend

🚩 wifes visit
🙂 npc|wife
Not-Wife 🗨 "I'm not a wife, I'm just visiting."
Not-Wife 🗨 "Y'know, 'when in Wife City', haha."
⏭ npcend

🚩 wifes leave
🙂 npc|wife
Wife 🗨 "My wife wants to leave the city."
Wife 🗨 "I don't know that I can."
Wife 🗨 "How could anyone choose between their wife and Wife City?"
⏭ npcend

🚩 wifes sign
An ornate sign with elaborate cursive script reading: Wife City Inn
☕ bipsiFocus()
⏭ blank

🚩 wifes inn
🙂 npc|wife
☕ variables._ = variables.wifesPermission ? 'wifes inn repeat': ''
⏭ $_
A Keeper 🗨 "My goodness, a ghostwriter!"
A Keeper 🗨 "Been quite awhile since one of you strange folk came through Wife City."
A Keeper 🗨 "If you're looking for lodgings, you've come to the right place!"
A Keeper 🗨 "We've got a couple wifeless vacancies available."
A Keeper 🗨 "Only 15 coppers to stay the night!"
🎵 coins
☕ showFooter('-15 coins')
You count out a handful of coins and hand them to the wife.
A Keeper 🗨 "Wonderful. Enjoy your stay!"
☕ variables.wifesPermission = true
⏭ npcend


⏭ npcend

🚩 wifes inn repeat
A Keeper 🗨 "I hope you enjoy Wife City!"
A Keeper 🗨 "If you decide to write about us, don't forget the name: Wife City Inn!"
A Keeper 🗨 "Would it help if I spelled it out?"
🎮 game_choice Nod|Shake
A Keeper 🗨 "Oh, silly me..."
A Keeper 🗨 "It's on the sign out front, of course."
⏭ npcend

🚩 wifes bed early
A pair of vacant beds.
Your back aches to lie down on one.
But you can't do your job without speaking to the proprietor first.
☕ bipsiFocus()
⏭ blank

🚩 wifes bed
☕ variables._ = variables.wifesPermission ? '' : 'wifes bed early'
⏭ $_
☕ variables._ = variables.slept.wifes ? 'wifes bed repeat' : ''
⏭ $_
You lie down in one of the two empty beds.
🙂 blank
☕ layout('spectaclusi')
It is luxurious.
Your heavy body sinks into the downy mattress.
Starlight shines through the window, and dances between the veil of curtains.
The weather outside is mild, but you indulge yourself in three layers of fine, soft fleece.
You pour your exhaustion into two feather-stuffed pillows.
Your focus drifts away with ease.
☕ post("spectacles", { type: "clear" })
⏳ 1500
🎵 rest
⏳ 3000
⏳
The morning comes too soon.
And with it, the familiar itch.
But before you get out of bed, you hear a clatter of dishware.
🙂 npc|wife
A Keeper 🗨 "Oh, good morning little writer."
A Keeper 🗨 "I didn't mean to wake you."
A Keeper 🗨 "I was just bringing your breakfast."
A Keeper 🗨 "Please, stay in bed a little longer."
A Keeper 🗨 "I'll be out of your way in a moment."
🙂 npc|blank
☕ post("spectacles", { type: "clear" })
⏳
🙂 player|ghostwriter
☕ layout('spectacles')
The breakfast is a single bagel and two beverages served in large glasses.
Each are filled near to the brim, one with water, the other with a translucent fruit juice.
You stick one hand in the glass of water as you survey the rest of the meal.
The bagel is sliced in two and lightly charred on one side.
Each slice has been topped with seeds and a spread of creamed sheep's cheese.
The spread has been chilled, and keeps its form on the hot surface of the bagel.
On further inspection, you notice small pieces of berry are embedded in the cheese as well.
Reconsidering the beverages, you experimentally place one finger in the juice.
The acidity does not agree with you.
You dry your hands on a napkin and rise for the day.
☕ variables.slept.wifes = true
☕ bipsiFocus()
⏭ blank

🚩 wifes bed repeat
You're tempted to lie back down on the exceedingly comfy bed.
But the itch rises up your back and urges you to move on.
☕ bipsiFocus()
⏭ blank



🚩 wifes-deejay
🙂 npc|deejay
☕ variables._ = variables.slept.wifes ? '' : 'wifes-deejay not done'
⏭ $_
Deejay 🗨 "Please tell me yer ready to get outta here?"
🎮 game_choice Nod->|Shake->wifes-deejay not done
⏭ $_
Deejay 🗨 "Good riddance."
Deejay 🗨 "Only one thing left to do."
☕ variables.place = "Wife City - Wife City Inn"
☕ variables.reviewed.wifes = true
⏭ review write

🚩 wifes-deejay not done
Deejay 🗨 "Hurry up with yer review, boss."
Deejay 🗨 "The quicker we get outta this wifehole the better..."
⏭ npcend





























🚩 map buboes
☕ layout('spectaclesmap')
Deejay 🗨 "The Somnambuboes?"
☕ variables._ = variables.reviewed.buboes ? 'map buboes repeat' : ''
⏭ $_
Deejay 🗨 "They haven't spread since last year, but I dunno, boss..."
Deejay 🗨 "Ya want to go there?"
🎮 game_choice Nod->|Shake->map pick
⏭ $_
☕ embark('buboes')
⏭ map wait

🚩 map buboes repeat
Deejay 🗨 "Getting lost in there once wasn't enough for ya?"
Deejay 🗨 "C'mon boss, pick somewhere we haven't reviewed yet."
⏭ map pick

🚩 arrive buboes
🙂 npc|deejay
🙂 player|ghostwriter
☕ layout('spectaclusi')
Deejay 🗨 "Ey, pay attention, boss."
You focus on Deejay, and a moment later step in something wet.
Deejay 🗨 "What did I just say!?"
You find yourself suddenly falling five feet.
Luckily the fleshy ground cushions your fall somewhat.
Deejay 🗨 "Sigh... Yer looking for Hilum's Rest."
Deejay 🗨 "If ya get lost along the way, I ain't gonna be much help."
Deejay 🗨 "The locals neither."
Deejay 🗨 "So get in, and get out, ya hear?"
☕ save('checkpoint buboes')
🚩 checkpoint buboes
🎶 winds
🎵 title
☕ showTitle('The Somnambuboes', 'The City of Dreams')
☕ bipsiMove('buboes', 4, 14)
☕ bipsiFocus()
🙂 npc|blank
🙂 player|ghostwriter
⏭ blank









🚩 dreamer asleep
The dreamer doesn't acknowledge you.
🙂 npc|dreamer
They seem preoccupied.
Dreamer 🗨 "..."
Dreamer 🗨 "Zzz..."
Dreamer 🗨 "Zzzzzzz..."
Dreamer 🗨 "Zz..."
⏭ npcend

🚩 dreamer deny
The dreamer looks disappointed, but says nothing.
⏭ npcend

🚩 dreamer pleasure
The dreamer pauses expectantly.
🙂 npc|dreamer
They seem to be waiting for permission to proceed.
🎮 game_choice Nod->|Shake->dreamer deny
⏭ $_
Dreamer 🗨 "Zzz..."
Dreamer 🗨 "In my dream­ I died­ while seeking­ pleasure."
Dreamer 🗨 "A man­ in an ancient outfit­ greeted each soul."
Dreamer 🗨 "He told each one­ there was a toll to pay."
Dreamer 🗨 "He asked­ if they understood­ what that meant."
Dreamer 🗨 "If they had­ any means of paying."
Dreamer 🗨 "Each time he asked, he did so­ more­ seductively."
Dreamer 🗨 "With­ a hand­ on his hips."
Dreamer 🗨 "With­ a smirk­ and a wink."
Dreamer 🗨 "With­ a bare bottom­ on display."
Dreamer 🗨 "No one­ could pay."
Dreamer 🗨 "I hid myself­ to watch."
Dreamer 🗨 "Until two men­ strode through."
Dreamer 🗨 "One confident­ one shy."
Dreamer 🗨 "The first­ said his name­ was Pete."
Dreamer 🗨 "And the other's­ was Little­ Pete."
Dreamer 🗨 "The man­ in the ancient outfit­ asked if they could pay."
Dreamer 🗨 "Pete­ simply walked past."
Dreamer 🗨 "And said­ 'Don't worry'."
Dreamer 🗨 "'Pete­ is with me.'"
Dreamer 🗨 "..."
Dreamer 🗨 "I­ didn't know­ you could do that."
Dreamer 🗨 "His brazen attitude­ woke me­ from my slumber."
Dreamer 🗨 "I hope­ I see Pete­ again."
⏭ npcend






🚩 dreamer killer
The dreamer pauses expectantly.
🙂 npc|dreamer
They seem to be waiting for permission to proceed.
🎮 game_choice Nod->|Shake->dreamer deny
⏭ $_
Dreamer 🗨 "Zzz..."
Dreamer 🗨 "I had a dream that my brothers were sisters."
Dreamer 🗨 "They looked out for each other."
Dreamer 🗨 "They were so very kind."
Dreamer 🗨 "But a disrespectful salesman tried to rob our mother."
Dreamer 🗨 "And my brother-sisters and I, we killed him."
Dreamer 🗨 "He started the fight."
Dreamer 🗨 "It was self-defense."
Dreamer 🗨 "But it was still revenge."
Dreamer 🗨 "It was still so very violent..."
Dreamer 🗨 "We stabbed him over and over."
Dreamer 🗨 "We had no weapons."
Dreamer 🗨 "My brother-sisters and I, we used our fingers."
Dreamer 🗨 "..."
Dreamer 🗨 "I tried to clean the blood."
Dreamer 🗨 "It was so very bloody."
Dreamer 🗨 "But I woke up before I finished."
Dreamer 🗨 "My brother-sisters must think I'm slacking off..."
⏭ npcend

🚩 dreamer shout
The dreamer pauses expectantly.
🙂 npc|dreamer
They seem to be waiting for permission to proceed.
🎮 game_choice Nod->|Shake->dreamer deny
⏭ $_
Dreamer 🗨 "Zzz..."
Dreamer 🗨 "In my dream, I'm walking."
Dreamer 🗨 "Walking through the streets of an unfamiliar city."
Dreamer 🗨 "I'm surrounded by strangers."
Dreamer 🗨 "But I see someone I recognize."
Dreamer 🗨 "I try to call out, but my voice doesn't work."
Dreamer 🗨 "It's a common one, I know."
Dreamer 🗨 "But it feels so real."
Dreamer 🗨 "I put so much effort into trying to speak."
Dreamer 🗨 "When I wake up, my throat hurts."
Dreamer 🗨 "I can feel I've been moaning."
Dreamer 🗨 "..."
Dreamer 🗨 "I hope no one heard me..."
⏭ npcend

🚩 dreamer creature
The dreamer pauses expectantly.
🙂 npc|dreamer
They seem to be waiting for permission to proceed.
🎮 game_choice Nod->|Shake->dreamer deny
⏭ $_
Dreamer 🗨 "Zzz..."
Dreamer 🗨 "In the room where I sleep..."
Dreamer 🗨 "There's a creature floating on the wall."
Dreamer 🗨 "It hovers two feet above me."
Dreamer 🗨 "It's terrifying."
Dreamer 🗨 "It has a thin, long, featureless head."
Dreamer 🗨 "The head is more than half its body."
Dreamer 🗨 "It has two stubby legs, and arms that hang low and meet in the center."
Dreamer 🗨 "It is a being of pure darkness."
Dreamer 🗨 "A total body composition."
Dreamer 🗨 "My heart beats faster and faster."
Dreamer 🗨 "But I was only half-asleep."
Dreamer 🗨 "Only half-dreaming."
Dreamer 🗨 "And on waking, it's gone."
Dreamer 🗨 "..."
Dreamer 🗨 "The next time I sleep..."
Dreamer 🗨 "I promise I'll be brave."
⏭ npcend

🚩 dreamer corner
The dreamer pauses expectantly.
🙂 npc|dreamer
They seem to be waiting for permission to proceed.
🎮 game_choice Nod->|Shake->dreamer deny
⏭ $_
Dreamer 🗨 "..."
Dreamer 🗨 "I'm having trouble falling asleep."
Dreamer 🗨 "When I lie here, awake."
Dreamer 🗨 "I look at the dark corner."
Dreamer 🗨 "There's a dark corner in every room."
Dreamer 🗨 "One that's darker than all the rest."
Dreamer 🗨 "I hope for the darkness to spread behind my eyes."
Dreamer 🗨 "..."
Dreamer 🗨 "So far, it hasn't worked..."
⏭ npcend

🚩 dreamer lewd
The dreamer pauses expectantly.
🙂 npc|dreamer
They seem to be waiting for permission to proceed.
🎮 game_choice Nod->|Shake->dreamer deny
⏭ $_
Dreamer 🗨 "Zzz..."
Dreamer 🗨 "I dream of lewd and lascivious situations."
Dreamer 🗨 "I am not ashamed of this."
Dreamer 🗨 "Anyone who claims they haven't is lying."
Dreamer 🗨 "But in the dreams...."
Dreamer 🗨 "In the dreams I feel shame."
Dreamer 🗨 "It doesn't stop me."
Dreamer 🗨 "It doesn't stop anyone."
Dreamer 🗨 "But for most, it stops them from sharing."
Dreamer 🗨 "This privacy is the ultimate perversion."
Dreamer 🗨 "It is one I accept, but do not hide."
⏭ npcend

🚩 dreamer dance
The dreamer pauses expectantly.
🙂 npc|dreamer
They seem to be waiting for permission to proceed.
🎮 game_choice Nod->|Shake->dreamer deny
⏭ $_
Dreamer 🗨 "Zzz..."
Dreamer 🗨 "I dream of soaking with a friend who doesn't consider me one."
Dreamer 🗨 "They insist I learn to dance."
Dreamer 🗨 "But I can't feel my legs."
Dreamer 🗨 "All I can do is guess at the movements."
Dreamer 🗨 "All I can do is hope it works out."
Dreamer 🗨 "..."
Dreamer 🗨 "My friend who isn't mine enjoys themselves."
Dreamer 🗨 "I am not sure if I enjoy them."
Dreamer 🗨 "But a friend dances all the same."
⏭ npcend

🚩 dreamer reconnect
The dreamer pauses expectantly.
🙂 npc|dreamer
They seem to be waiting for permission to proceed.
🎮 game_choice Nod->|Shake->dreamer deny
⏭ $_
Dreamer 🗨 "Zzz..."
Dreamer 🗨 "I reconnect with someone I once loved."
Dreamer 🗨 "Someone I loved and have not seen in decades."
Dreamer 🗨 "In the dream, nothing is forgiven, but we did not part ways."
Dreamer 🗨 "The reasons and wrongs we did to each other linger."
Dreamer 🗨 "I feel compelled to confront them."
Dreamer 🗨 "But I'm scared."
Dreamer 🗨 "I don't want to risk loss again."
Dreamer 🗨 "Even if resentment festers in its stead."
Dreamer 🗨 "..."
Dreamer 🗨 "When I wake, it is the opposite."
Dreamer 🗨 "I am glad I have nothing to hide."
Dreamer 🗨 "Even if it means never seeing them again."
⏭ npcend


🚩 dreamer ghostwriter
The dreamer pauses expectantly.
🙂 npc|dreamer
They seem to be waiting for permission to proceed.
🎮 game_choice Nod->|Shake->dreamer deny
⏭ $_
Dreamer 🗨 "Zzz..."
Dreamer 🗨 "I met someone like you in a dream once."
Dreamer 🗨 "Different shape though."
Dreamer 🗨 "Longer, more lumpy."
Dreamer 🗨 "Had a strange bird on their shoulder."
Dreamer 🗨 "Wait... Maybe that wasn't a dream."
Dreamer 🗨 "Have you been here before?"
🎮 game_choice Nod|Shake
Dreamer 🗨 "..."
Dreamer 🗨 "Perhaps it was a dream of yours, not mine."
⏭ npcend

🚩 dreamer flying
The dreamer pauses expectantly.
🙂 npc|dreamer
They seem to be waiting for permission to proceed.
🎮 game_choice Nod->|Shake->dreamer deny
⏭ $_
Dreamer 🗨 "Zzz..."
Dreamer 🗨 "I dreamt I was flying."
Dreamer 🗨 "..."
Dreamer 🗨 "How ridiculously pedestrian."
Dreamer 🗨 "I must get another nap in by sundown or I'll never live it down..."
⏭ npcend

🚩 dreamer bird
The dreamer pauses expectantly.
🙂 npc|dreamer
They seem to be waiting for permission to proceed.
🎮 game_choice Nod->|Shake->dreamer deny
⏭ $_
Dreamer 🗨 "Zzz..."
Dreamer 🗨 "I travel when I can."
Dreamer 🗨 "My last trip, I saw a dead bird."
Dreamer 🗨 "Poor thing, dead on a city street."
Dreamer 🗨 "I stepped around it and didn't pay it any mind."
Dreamer 🗨 "But in my dreams, I stopped."
Dreamer 🗨 "I looked more closely."
Dreamer 🗨 "Saw that it was injured, but alive."
Dreamer 🗨 "All it needed was a little help."
Dreamer 🗨 "I took it home with me."
Dreamer 🗨 "I cared for it."
Dreamer 🗨 "Here, in this very room."
Dreamer 🗨 "One day, it was healthy enough to fly."
Dreamer 🗨 "It took off, and the dream ended."
Dreamer 🗨 "..."
Dreamer 🗨 "Am I a bad person?"
🎮 game_choice Nod|Shake
Dreamer 🗨 "..."
Dreamer 🗨 "...It was only a dream, after all."
⏭ npcend




🚩 dreamer innkeeper
☕ variables._ = variables.slept.buboes ? 'dreamer innkeeper repeat' : ''
⏭ $_
The dreamer does not pause.
🙂 npc|dreamer
Keeper of Dreams 🗨 "In the waking world, you find yourself in Hilum's Rest."
Keeper of Dreams 🗨 "Perhaps it's where your journey will end..."
Keeper of Dreams 🗨 "If not, we hope you find time for a dream or two."
The dreamer's eyes crease softly with a smile.
They lie down flat on the bubonic floor.
🙂 npc|blank
They say no more.
You take it as an invitation to do the same.
🙂 blank
☕ layout('spectaclusi')
You find an unoccupied stretch of pink, and lie down yourself.
It's surprisingly warm.
Your feet were too focused on walking to notice.
Now, you feel the life all around you.
There are no dressings, no furniture.
Just a faint, steady pulse pumping under the skin.
It reminds you of covering your ears.
Hearing the blood flowing through your own veins.
It's a nostalgic feeling.
One you haven't felt in awhile.
You focus on it.
And your body allows you to rest.
☕ post("spectacles", { type: "clear" })
⏳ 1500
🎵 rest
⏳ 3000
⏳
You lie there for hours.
But you don't dream.
Dreams are for those who sleep.
You rest, but you don't sleep.
Not like the living.
Having done the job, your body wants you to get up.
But first, you try to remember:
You remember what it felt like to wake up.
To feel dreams fading away.
Being uncertain which thoughts are polluted by their logic.
Erasing a fantasy one bleary blink at a time.
Maybe there's a reason you can't sleep now.
You never could fall asleep in dreams.
Maybe you're going to realize this trip, this turnip...
No.
You are dead.
Of that you're certain.
There's no wakeup call to erase that fact.
And dead or not, the itch in your legs is killing you.
🙂 player|ghostwriter
☕ layout('spectacles')
You stand up.
A large, round impression is left on the floor where you lay.
The dreamer you spoke to earlier does not rise to greet you.
They appear to be fast asleep themselves.
🙂 npc|blank
☕ variables.slept.buboes = true
☕ bipsiFocus()
⏭ blank

🚩 dreamer innkeeper repeat
The dreamer who offered you a place to rest remains fast asleep.
You recall there was no mention of breakfast, or of payment.
Perhaps all Hilum's Rest offers is a place to sleep, perchance to dream.
☕ bipsiFocus()
⏭ blank




🚩 buboes-deejay
🙂 npc|deejay
☕ variables._ = variables.slept.buboes ? '' : 'buboes-deejay not done'
⏭ $_
Deejay 🗨 "Ey, boss."
Deejay 🗨 "Ya ready to write that review?"
🎮 game_choice Nod->|Shake->buboes-deejay not done
⏭ $_
Deejay 🗨 "Finally..."
Deejay 🗨 "I'm practically falling asleep standing up over here."
☕ variables.place = "The Somnambuboes - Hilum’s Rest"
☕ variables.reviewed.buboes = true
⏭ review write

🚩 buboes-deejay not done
Deejay 🗨 "Hurry up, boss."
⏭ npcend









🚩 map dollhouse
☕ layout('spectaclesmap')
Deejay 🗨 "The Twinning Towers."
☕ variables._ = variables.reviewed.dollhouse ? 'map dollhouse repeat' : ''
⏭ $_
Deejay 🗨 "Yer a bit old for that crowd, aren't ya?"
Deejay 🗨 "Actually... How fast do turnips age?"
Deejay 🗨 "Ya know what, nevermind..."
Deejay 🗨 "Is that where ya wanna head next?"
🎮 game_choice Nod->|Shake->map pick
⏭ $_
☕ embark('dollhouse')
⏭ map wait

🚩 map dollhouse repeat
Deejay 🗨 "Despite the name, I don't think ya gotta review it twice, boss."
⏭ map pick

🚩 arrive dollhouse
🙂 npc|deejay
🙂 player|ghostwriter
☕ layout('spectaclusi')
Deejay 🗨 "Here we are."
The clustered towers stand out clearly on the horizon.
They seem leagues away yet, but you reach them much faster than expected.
Although they do tower above you, it turns out they're smaller than you expected.
Deejay 🗨 "The dolls always have a vacancy or two, so should have no problem here."
Deejay 🗨 "Catch ya later, boss."
☕ save('checkpoint dollhouse')
🚩 checkpoint dollhouse
🎶 winds
🎵 title
☕ showTitle('The Twinning Towers', 'The City of Paired Playthings')
☕ bipsiMove('dollhouse', 8, 15)
☕ bipsiFocus()
🙂 npc|blank
🙂 player|ghostwriter
⏭ blank










🚩 doll like us a
☕ if (!variables.dollOrderLikeUs) variables.dollOrderLikeUs = 'a'
☕ variables._ = variables.dollOrderLikeUs === 'a' ? '1' : '2'
⏭ doll like us $_
🚩 doll like us b
☕ if (!variables.dollOrderLikeUs) variables.dollOrderLikeUs = 'b'
☕ variables._ = variables.dollOrderLikeUs === 'b' ? '1' : '2'
⏭ doll like us $_
🚩 doll like us 1
🙂 npc|sister
Sister 🗨 "Oh, oh! You are like us, like us!"
☕ bipsiFocus()
🙂 npc|blank
⏭ blank
🚩 doll like us 2
🙂 npc|sister
Sister 🗨 "Yes, yes, like us, like us!"
☕ bipsiFocus()
🙂 npc|blank
⏭ blank

🚩 doll stranger
🙂 npc|sister
Sister 🗨 "Sorry sorry, my sister says not to talk to strangers..."
Sister 🗨 "Not to strangers..."
☕ bipsiFocus()
🙂 npc|blank
⏭ blank

🚩 doll flesh a
☕ if (!variables.dollOrderFlesh) variables.dollOrderFlesh = 'a'
☕ variables._ = variables.dollOrderFlesh === 'a' ? '1' : '2'
⏭ doll flesh $_
🚩 doll flesh b
☕ if (!variables.dollOrderFlesh) variables.dollOrderFlesh = 'b'
☕ variables._ = variables.dollOrderFlesh === 'b' ? '1' : '2'
⏭ doll flesh $_
🚩 doll flesh 1
🙂 npc|sister
Sister 🗨 "Your skin is very strange, very strange."
☕ bipsiFocus()
🙂 npc|blank
⏭ blank
🚩 doll flesh 2
🙂 npc|sister
Sister 🗨 "Not metal, not flesh, not metal, not flesh..."
☕ bipsiFocus()
🙂 npc|blank
⏭ blank

🚩 doll outsider a
☕ if (!variables.dollOrderOutsider) variables.dollOrderOutsider = 'a'
☕ variables._ = variables.dollOrderOutsider === 'a' ? '1' : '2'
⏭ doll outsider $_
🚩 doll outsider b
☕ if (!variables.dollOrderOutsider) variables.dollOrderOutsider = 'b'
☕ variables._ = variables.dollOrderOutsider === 'b' ? '1' : '2'
⏭ doll outsider $_
🚩 doll outsider 1
🙂 npc|sister
Sister 🗨 "Ugly, ugly outsider."
☕ bipsiFocus()
🙂 npc|blank
⏭ blank
🚩 doll outsider 2
🙂 npc|sister
Sister 🗨 "Have you no sister, no sister at all?"
🎮 game_choice Nod|Shake
Sister 🗨 "I don't believe you..."
☕ bipsiFocus()
🙂 npc|blank
⏭ blank

🚩 doll repair
🙂 npc|sister
Sister 🗨 "My sister is in need of repair, in dire need."
Sister 🗨 "I'm fi­in­ne, ii­i­i­im fi­iii­­i­ne..."
☕ bipsiFocus()
🙂 npc|blank
⏭ blank

🚩 doll dirty
🙂 npc|sister
Sister 🗨 "Ew... Stay away, stay away from us!"
Sister 🗨 "Ew, ew! Dirty, dirty!"
☕ bipsiFocus()
🙂 npc|blank
⏭ blank

🚩 doll hat
🙂 npc|sister
The doll points at your head.
Sister 🗨 "Your hat..."
Sister 🗨 "You lost your hat..."
☕ bipsiFocus()
🙂 npc|blank
⏭ blank

🚩 doll weirdo a
☕ if (!variables.dollOrderWeirdo) variables.dollOrderWeirdo = 'a'
☕ variables._ = variables.dollOrderWeirdo === 'a' ? '1' : '2'
⏭ doll weirdo $_
🚩 doll weirdo b
☕ if (!variables.dollOrderWeirdo) variables.dollOrderWeirdo = 'b'
☕ variables._ = variables.dollOrderWeirdo === 'b' ? '1' : '2'
⏭ doll weirdo $_
🚩 doll weirdo 1
🙂 npc|sister
Sister 🗨 "What? What do you want?"
Sister 🗨 "Freak..."
☕ bipsiFocus()
🙂 npc|blank
⏭ blank
🚩 doll weirdo 2
🙂 npc|sister
Sister 🗨 "We don't owe you dualism!"
Sister 🗨 "Yeah, we don't owe you anything, freak!!"
☕ bipsiFocus()
🙂 npc|blank
⏭ blank


🚩 doll another tower
🙂 npc|sister
Sister 🗨 "You wouldn't know my sister."
Sister 🗨 "She's from another tower."
☕ bipsiFocus()
🙂 npc|blank
⏭ blank

🚩 doll sign
There's a large blackboard on the wall.
Chalk letters give its title: Dormitory B2
Below, there's a timetable, a list of chores, announcements...
There's also a grid with simple drawings of beds.
Each bed has two names written in it, except one on the top left.
☕ bipsiFocus()
⏭ blank

🚩 doll heads a
☕ variables._ = !variables.seenHeads ? 'doll heads 0' : ''
⏭ $_
☕ if (!variables.dollOrderHeads) variables.dollOrderHeads = 'a'
☕ variables._ = variables.dollOrderHeads === 'a' ? '1' : '2'
⏭ doll heads $_
🚩 doll heads b
☕ variables._ = !variables.seenHeads ? 'doll heads 0' : ''
⏭ $_
☕ if (!variables.dollOrderHeads) variables.dollOrderHeads = 'b'
☕ variables._ = variables.dollOrderHeads === 'b' ? '1' : '2'
⏭ doll heads $_
🚩 doll heads 0
☕ variables.seenHeads = true
The two dolls in this room appear to be­ exchanging heads.
🙂 npc|sister
Sister 🗨 "Ah!"
Sister 🗨 "P-­peeping pervert! Perverted peeper!"
☕ bipsiFocus()
🙂 npc|blank
⏭ blank
🚩 doll heads 1
🙂 npc|sister
Sister 🗨 "Please... Please don't tell our sisters."
☕ bipsiFocus()
🙂 npc|blank
⏭ blank
🚩 doll heads 2
🙂 npc|sister
Sister 🗨 "Our bonds are stronger than tradition."
☕ bipsiFocus()
🙂 npc|blank
⏭ blank

🚩 doll partner
☕ variables._ = variables.slept.dollhouse ? 'doll partner repeat' : ''
⏭ $_
🙂 npc|sister
The doll's head tracks your movements as you look over the beds.
Sister's Keeper 🗨 "Ugh."
Sister's Keeper 🗨 "Another exchange?"
Sister's Keeper 🗨 "Why do I always get stuck with you freaks..."
Having gotten your attention, the little thing holds out one hand, palm up.
Sister's Keeper 🗨 "...Well?"
Sister's Keeper 🗨 "Don't tell me you forgot your rent."
Sister's Keeper 🗨 "Sisters stay free, but it's 50 a night for subletters."
They wiggle their tiny wooden fingers.
Sister's Keeper 🗨 "Up front!"
🎵 coins
☕ showFooter('-50 coins')
You count out the coins and hand them to the doll.
They're quickly deposited into an ornate lockbox on the nightstand.
Sister's Keeper 🗨 "I have dibs on top bunk, so don't get any funny ideas."
🙂 npc|blank
The doll clambers up a little ladder and out of sight into the bed.
You examine the lower section.
The beds are quite large for a doll, but you're not sure if you'll fit.
There's hardly room to lie down, let alone sit upright.
Still, you have a job to do.
So you carefully wedge yourself between the bunks.
🙂 player|blank
☕ layout('spectaclusi')
The wood creaks under your weight.
You keep your legs curled close to your body.
You try to roll over, but your arm gets caught on something.
As you twist to free it, your head bumps the underside of the top bunk.
The doll residing above yelps.
🙂 npc|sister-flip
Their miniature head sticks down over the side to glare at you.
A moment later, they retreat with an unpleasant muttering.
🙂 npc|blank
You resign yourself to the awkward position and try to rest.
☕ post("spectacles", { type: "clear" })
⏳ 1500
🎵 rest
⏳ 3000
⏳
You're not sure how long you stay that way.
Wind whistles in the windows.
Whispers of sisters weave their way through the walls.
At times, you swear you hear your own name among their words.
You've never slept in this body.
But this time, you feel the length of a sleepless night.
Your legs ache.
For once, the compulsion feels purely physical.
You could really use a stretch.
☕ layout('spectacles')
🙂 player|ghostwriter
As you shift to get out of the bed, you bump your head again.
Sister's Keeper 🗨 "Ugh!"
🙂 npc|sister
The doll hops down from the top bunk.
Sister's Keeper 🗨 "I've had it with you!"
Sister's Keeper 🗨 "You're ugly, you stink, and you will­ not­ shut­ up!"
☕ layout('spectacles')
Sister's Keeper 🗨 "Get out of my sight!"
It irks you to be unable to communicate you were already leaving.
☕ variables.slept.dollhouse = true
☕ bipsiFocus()
🙂 npc|blank
⏭ blank

🚩 doll partner repeat
🙂 npc|sister
Sister's Keeper 🗨 "Get out of my sight, freak!"
The doll grabs a fruit off a nearby table and tosses it at you.
It bounces off your belly with a sharp crack and shatters on the floor.
Sister's Keeper 🗨 "Dirty, dirty freak..."
☕ bipsiFocus()
🙂 npc|blank
⏭ blank




🚩 dollhouse-deejay
🙂 npc|deejay
☕ variables._ = variables.slept.dollhouse ? '' : 'dollhouse-deejay not done'
⏭ $_
Deejay 🗨 "All set, boss?"
🎮 game_choice Nod->|Shake->dollhouse-deejay not done
⏭ $_
Deejay 🗨 "Then ya know comes next."
☕ variables.place = "The Twinning Towers - Dormitory B2"
☕ variables.reviewed.dollhouse = true
⏭ review write

🚩 dollhouse-deejay not done
Deejay 🗨 "If ya don't know where to go, I can't help ya boss."
Deejay 🗨 "Dolls don't let us birds inside anymore."
Deejay 🗨 "I've tried explain the difference between dust jackets and woodpeckers, but it wouldn't take."
⏭ npcend








🚩 map castle
☕ layout('spectaclesmap')
Deejay 🗨 "On the coast there? That's Off-Beach."
☕ variables._ = variables.reviewed.castle ? 'map castle repeat' : ''
⏭ $_
Deejay 🗨 "Always something new to see there."
Deejay 🗨 "Looking for a sea-side getaway boss?"
🎮 game_choice Nod->|Shake->map pick
⏭ $_
☕ embark('castle')
⏭ map wait

🚩 map castle repeat
Deejay 🗨 "Two beach visits in a single season would be a bit much."
⏭ map pick

🚩 arrive castle
🙂 npc|deejay
🙂 player|ghostwriter
☕ layout('spectaclusi')
Deejay 🗨 "Off-Beach, here we come."
The vegetation along the coastline gets sparser and sparser.
You're eventually walking along nothing but pure sand.
As you crest the next dune, you see a large structure in the distance.
A massive arch leading into a tiered fortification.
The impressive construction sits right on the edge of the sea.
Every last bit of it is made of sand.
Deejay 🗨 "Let's get our feet wet, boss!"
☕ save('checkpoint castle')
🚩 checkpoint castle
🎶 winds
🎵 title
☕ showTitle('Off-Beach', 'City of Sandy Castles')
☕ bipsiMove('castle', 6, 10)
☕ bipsiFocus()
🙂 npc|blank
🙂 player|ghostwriter
⏭ blank




🚩 castle extraordinary
🙂 npc|chreb
Chreb 🗨 "Extraordinary expression is limited to extraordinary desire."
Chreb 🗨 "Extraordinary desire is limited to extraordinary taste."
Chreb 🗨 "Extraordinary taste is the purview of the chreb alone."
⏭ npcend

🚩 castle umami
🙂 npc|chreb
Chreb 🗨 "I discovered a new flavour."
Chreb 🗨 "It's revolutionary."
Chreb 🗨 "Imagine it:"
Chreb 🗨 "The opposite­ of umami."
Chreb 🗨 "All I need is a name..."
Chreb 🗨 "The best I've come up with is­ 'daddio'."
Chreb 🗨 "...I'm still working on it."
⏭ npcend

🚩 castle cherry
🙂 npc|chreb
Chreb 🗨 "I think the best way to eat involves biting your tongue at least once per meal."
Chreb 🗨 "It's the cherry on top of any dish."
⏭ npcend

🚩 castle intersection
🙂 npc|chreb
Chreb 🗨 "We stand at the intersection of food and meals."
Chreb 🗨 "Watch out, I can swing both ways."
⏭ npcend

🚩 castle writer
🙂 npc|chreb
Chreb 🗨 "Oh you're a writer?"
Chreb 🗨 "You must enjoy working in such boring, biteless media."
🎮 game_choice Nod->castle writer yes|Shake->castle writer no
⏭ $_
🚩 castle writer yes
Chreb 🗨 "You know what they say..."
Chreb 🗨 "Write what you know, eat what you don't."
⏭ npcend
🚩 castle writer no
Chreb 🗨 "Maybe we should trade."
Chreb 🗨 "...Ink is edible, right?"
⏭ npcend

🚩 castle arugula
🙂 npc|chreb
Chreb 🗨 "I'm cooking an Evil arugula."
Chreb 🗨 "Don't tell anyone."
⏭ npcend

🚩 castle pain
🙂 npc|chreb
Chreb 🗨 "There's no greater way to express yourself than through the pain of others."
Chreb 🗨 "A bittersweet taste we can all appreciate."
⏭ npcend

🚩 castle stummy
🙂 npc|chreb
Chreb 🗨 "My stomach hurts..."
⏭ npcend

🚩 castle great evil
🙂 npc|chreb
Chreb 🗨 "In the face of great evil it is the duty of every chef to cook."
Chreb 🗨 "In times of peace, maybe to suggest a complementary beverage."
⏭ npcend

🚩 castle journey
🙂 npc|chreb
Chreb 🗨 "A traveller... You must be on quite a journey."
Chreb 🗨 "I'm on a bit of a journey myself."
Chreb 🗨 "My journey, however, begins and ends from plate to mouth."
⏭ npcend

🚩 castle cutcutcut
🙂 npc|chreb
Chreb 🗨 "~I­ want­ to­ cut­cut­cut"
Chreb 🗨 "Cut­cut­cut­ you­ up­up­up~"
⏭ npcend

🚩 castle destroy
🙂 npc|chreb
Chreb 🗨 "My ultimate culinary goal is to destroy human life."
Chreb 🗨 "...You're not a human, are you?"
🎮 game_choice Nod|Shake
Chreb 🗨 "Hmm."
Chreb 🗨 "I'll figure out what to do with freaks after."
Chreb 🗨 "One step at a time..."
⏭ npcend

🚩 castle garbonzo
🙂 npc|chreb
Chreb 🗨 "I've developed an affinity for the humble garbanzo."
Chreb 🗨 "I only hope the day soon comes when the feeling is mutual."
⏭ npcend

🚩 castle mere eating
🙂 npc|chreb
Chreb 🗨 "I'm sick of mere eating."
Chreb 🗨 "I want to consume."
Chreb 🗨 "I need to devour."
⏭ npcend

🚩 castle lick
🙂 npc|chreb
Chreb 🗨 "Can I lick your dirty little fingers?"
Chreb 🗨 "They look­ so­ flavourful."
🎮 game_choice Nod->castle lick yes|Shake->castle lick no
⏭ $_
🚩 castle lick yes
☕ layout('spectaclusi')
Chreb 🗨 "M­m­m­..."
Chreb 🗨 "O­o­h­..."
☕ layout('spectacles')
Chreb 🗨 "An unexpected treat."
Chreb 🗨 "Delicious..."
⏭ npcend
🚩 castle lick no
Chreb 🗨 "Grr..."
⏭ npcend

🚩 castle edible
🙂 npc|chreb
Chreb 🗨 "You look edible."
Chreb 🗨 "Are you edible?"
🎮 game_choice Nod->castle edible yes|Shake->castle edible no
⏭ $_
🚩 castle edible yes
Chreb 🗨 "How delightful..."
Chreb 🗨 "Most humans are edible."
Chreb 🗨 "But they tend to sour when I point that out."
⏭ npcend
🚩 castle edible no
Chreb 🗨 "Hmm."
Chreb 🗨 "I think you're just not trying hard enough."
⏭ npcend

🚩 castle line a
☕ variables.line = 'a'
⏭ castle line
🚩 castle line b
☕ variables.line = 'b'
⏭ castle line
🚩 castle line c
☕ variables.line = 'c'
⏭ castle line
🚩 castle line d
☕ variables.line = 'd'
⏭ castle line
🚩 castle line e
☕ variables.line = 'e'
⏭ castle line
🚩 castle line f
☕ variables.line = 'f'
⏭ castle line
🚩 castle line g
☕ variables.line = 'g'
⏭ castle line
🚩 castle line h
☕ variables.line = 'h'
⏭ castle line
🚩 castle line
☕ variables._ = ["I've been waiting in line all day...", "This line better be worth it...", "Hey! No cutting in line!"][variables.line.codePointAt(0)%3]
🙂 npc|chreb
Chreb 🗨 "$_"
⏭ npcend


🚩 castle inn
☕ variables._ = variables.slept.castle ? 'castle inn repeat' : ''
⏭ $_
🙂 npc|chreb
Chreb de Sable 🗨 "Welcome to Crenelles de la Crème."
Chreb de Sable 🗨 "Are you a guest or an appetizer?"
Chreb de Sable 🗨 "Heh... I kid, of course."
Chreb de Sable 🗨 "We'd never serve something as­ down-to-earth­ as turnip."
Chreb de Sable 🗨 "May I have the name?"
You hold up your journal, and point at the byline.
Chreb de Sable 🗨 "$byline..."
☕ variables.bylineLetter = variables.byline.substr(0, 1).toUpperCase()
Chreb de Sable 🗨 "Let's see, $bylineLetter, where is $bylineLetter..."

Chreb de Sable 🗨 "$name1, $name2, $name3... no $byline."
Chreb de Sable 🗨 "No reservation."
Chreb de Sable 🗨 "I'm afraid you'll have to wait in line."
☕ layout('spectaclusi')
🙂 blank
You walk all the way back to the start of the line.
It's even longer than when you arrived.
Every half hour or so, the chrebs in front of you shuffle forward slightly.
You shuffle along with them.
☕ post("spectacles", { type: "clear" })
⏳ 1500
🎵 rest
⏳ 3000
⏳
It's a frustrating rhythm.
The wait between each movement isn't long enough to relax and let your mind wander.
But your body refuses to let you stand still for so long without complaint.
Your feet itch unbearably.
Eventually, you cut your losses and give up.
☕ layout('spectacles')
🙂 player|ghostwriter
☕ bipsiMove('castle', 14, 3)
You hadn't even made it to the second floor.
At this rate, you'd be standing in snow instead of sand by the time you got to the top.
It's not the job your body wanted, but it'll have to do.
☕ variables._ = variables.slept.castle = true
⏭ npcend


🚩 castle inn repeat
🙂 npc|chreb
Chreb de Sable 🗨 "I can't let you in without a reservation."
Chreb de Sable 🗨 "Back of the line."
⏭ npcend



🚩 castle-deejay
🙂 npc|deejay
☕ variables._ = variables.slept.castle ? '' : 'castle-deejay not done'
⏭ $_
Deejay 🗨 "Had yer fill, boss?"
🎮 game_choice Nod->|Shake->castle-deejay not done
⏭ $_
Deejay 🗨 "Guess the vacay's over..."
Deejay 🗨 "Oh well, was fun while it lasted."
☕ variables.place = "Off-Beach - Crenelles de la Crème"
☕ variables.reviewed.castle = true
⏭ review write

🚩 castle-deejay not done
Deejay 🗨 "I love da beach..."
Deejay 🗨 "Fun to see what the chrebs have cooked up each year."
Deejay 🗨 "One of the few perks of the job."
Deejay 🗨 "Speaking of, yer still on the job, boss!"
⏭ npcend








🚩 map tower
☕ layout('spectaclesmap')
Deejay 🗨 "Ah, The Karst Highlands..."
☕ variables._ = variables.reviewed.tower ? 'map tower repeat' : ''
⏭ $_
Deejay 🗨 "Tend to keep to themselves out there."
Deejay 🗨 "They don't have an inn, but it's on the list anyway."
Deejay 🗨 "Is that yer next stop, boss?"
🎮 game_choice Nod->|Shake->map pick
⏭ $_
☕ embark('tower')
⏭ map wait

🚩 map tower repeat
Deejay 🗨 "No need to go there again."
⏭ map pick

🚩 arrive tower
🙂 npc|deejay
🙂 player|ghostwriter
☕ layout('spectaclusi')
Deejay 🗨 "The Highlands at last."
Deejay leads you up a mountain pass.
It's a long, arduous hike full of steep drops and tricky fissures.
The further you walk, the more irregular the terrain becomes.
Sharp, spindly rocks jut out of wet, mossy ground.
Deejay 🗨 "This place always makes me glad I've got wings."
Your companion stops in a small, humid clearing.
Deejay 🗨 "All yers, boss."
☕ save('checkpoint tower')
🚩 checkpoint tower
🎶 winds
🎵 title
☕ showTitle('The Karst Highlands', 'The City Below The Lands Above')
☕ bipsiMove('tower', 10, 6)
☕ bipsiFocus()
🙂 npc|blank
🙂 player|ghostwriter
⏭ blank


🚩 tower flip
☕ variables._ = variables.flipped ? 'tower flip skip' : ''
⏭ $_
☕ variables.flipped = true
☕ window.parent.document.querySelector('#bipsi').style.transform = 'scaleY(-1)'
🎵 flip
☕ bipsiFocus()
⏭ blank
🚩 tower unflip
☕ variables._ = !variables.flipped ? 'tower flip skip' : ''
⏭ $_
☕ variables.flipped = false
☕ window.parent.document.querySelector('#bipsi').style.transform = ''
🎵 flip
☕ bipsiFocus()
⏭ blank
🚩 tower flip skip
☕ bipsiFocus()
⏭ blank







🚩 tower lost
🙂 npc|subter
Subter 🗨 "You look a little lost friend."
Subter 🗨 "Wouldn't you be more comfortable among the grasses?"
🎮 game_choice Nod->tower lost yes|Shake->tower lost no
⏭ $_
🚩 tower lost yes
Subter 🗨 "Humph..."
Subter 🗨 "Least you know when you're doing wrong."
⏭ npcend
🚩 tower lost no
Subter 🗨 "Humph..."
Subter 🗨 "No sense of how it's done."
⏭ npcend

(digging)

🚩 tower no time
🙂 npc|subter
Subter 🗨 "No time to talk, grasstoucher."
Subter 🗨 "We've got work to do."
The itch in your legs agrees.
⏭ npcend

🚩 tower tired
🙂 npc|subter
Subter 🗨 "I'm so tired..."
Subter 🗨 "How long can this go on?"
⏭ npcend

🚩 tower change
🙂 npc|subter
Subter 🗨 "Fifty years ago, the highlands were but a dream."
Subter 🗨 "So much has changed in that time."
Subter 🗨 "Imagine what will change in another fifty..."
⏭ npcend

🚩 tower snail secret
🙂 npc|subter
Subter 🗨 "Take the shiny metals if you must..."
Subter 🗨 "But my snails... Do not take my snails..."
⏭ npcend

🚩 tower snails
A copious number of snails crawl among the karst's cracks and fissures.
The nearby creature tends to them, and occasionally swallows one whole.
☕ bipsiFocus()
⏭ blank


🚩 tower stone
🙂 npc|subter
Subter 🗨 "I like rocks."
Subter 🗨 "But I love­ stone."
⏭ npcend

🚩 tower bizarre
🙂 npc|subter
Subter 🗨 "You grasstouchers are so bizarre."
Subter 🗨 "Unwieldy limbs, needlessly specific spines, freaky facsimiles..."
Subter 🗨 "Humans on land... How ridiculous!"
⏭ npcend

🚩 tower wip
🙂 npc|subter
Subter 🗨 "Outta the way, grasstoucher."
Subter 🗨 "This here's a certified double-uwe-­aye-­pee."
Subter 🗨 "That means­ no messing around till we're done!"
⏭ npcend

🚩 tower lime
🙂 npc|subter
Subter 🗨 "What in the lands above is going on this time..."
Subter 🗨 "It is as if these stones of lime shift more with each passing day..."
⏭ npcend

🚩 tower integument
🙂 npc|subter
Subter 🗨 "Your integument appears bruised and swollen, grasstoucher."
Subter 🗨 "Are you well?"
🎮 game_choice Nod|Shake
Subter 🗨 "Humph."
Subter 🗨 "I wish you all the best..."
⏭ npcend

🚩 tower swallow
🙂 npc|subter
Subter 🗨 "I haven't eaten in years."
Subter 🗨 "If you were only a little smaller..."
Subter 🗨 "I would swallow you whole."
Subter 🗨 "You should count yourself lucky for your bulk, grasstoucher."
Subter 🗨 "Send a smaller one next time."
Subter 🗨 "I am sick of waiting."
⏭ npcend

🚩 tower filth
🙂 npc|subter
Subter 🗨 "What do you want, grasstoucher?"
Subter 🗨 "You here to spread round filth?"
Subter 🗨 "Here to 'sell' something? To 'produce'?"
Subter 🗨 "Or are you too busy 'job'ing?"
🎮 game_choice Nod|Shake
Subter 🗨 "You're all the same."
Subter 🗨 "Karst shouldn't even let you in!"
⏭ npcend

🚩 tower secret
🙂 npc|subter
Subter 🗨 "Sometimes, when no one's looking..."
Subter 🗨 "I eat the dirt instead of hauling it away."
Subter 🗨 "It tastes awful."
⏭ npcend



🚩 tower snails2
A copious number of snails crawl among the karst's cracks and fissures.
☕ bipsiFocus()
⏭ blank

🚩 tower keeper
🙂 npc|subter
☕ variables._ = variables.slept.tower ? 'tower keeper repeat' : ''
⏭ $_
Heliculturalist 🗨 "Humph."
The creature pulls apart two oversized snails in the process of eating each other.
Heliculturalist 🗨 "You've metals, yes?"
Heliculturalist 🗨 "The ones grasstouchers trade with?"
🎮 game_choice Nod|Shake
The creature says nothing.
You repeat the gesture.
Heliculturalist 🗨 "...We aren't all gifted with the sense of a phantom."
Heliculturalist 🗨 "I'll have your words."
Heliculturalist 🗨 "If you have none, a handful of those coins will do."
🎮 game_choice Hand over five coins->5|Hand over ten coins->10|Hand over fifteen coins->15
🎵 coins
☕ showFooter('-$_ coins')
You count out a handful of coins and hand them to the creature.
Heliculturalist 🗨 "Humph."
Heliculturalist 🗨 "One... Two..."
They count each one slowly.
When finished, they set them aside.
They reach over to the collection of snails, and begin counting again.
Heliculturalist 🗨 "Three... Four..."
They carefully collect one snail per coin into a small bundle.
Then hold it out to you.
Heliculturalist 🗨 "Enjoy, grasstoucher."
You take the bundle of snails.
☕ variables.slept.tower = true
⏭ npcend

🚩 tower keeper repeat
🙂 npc|subter
Heliculturalist 🗨 "Humph."
Heliculturalist 🗨 "Back for seconds before you've finished your first?"
Heliculturalist 🗨 "Bad manners, grasstoucher. Bad manners..."
⏭ npcend


🚩 tower-deejay
🙂 npc|deejay
☕ variables._ = variables.slept.tower ? '' : 'tower-deejay not done'
⏭ $_
Deejay 🗨 "Ey, boss."
Deejay 🗨 "...Uh."
Deejay 🗨 "Yer, uh, covered in snails?"
🎮 game_choice Nod->|Shake->tower-deejay not done
⏭ $_
Deejay 🗨 "..."
The bird's right.
The bundle of mollusks has slowly dispersed.
They are currently exploring up and down your head.
Deejay 🗨 "Yer not gonna eat em, are ya?"
Deejay 🗨 "Nah, that can't be it..."
Deejay 🗨 "Far as I can tell, ya don't eat at all."
Deejay 🗨 "In which case..."
The bird suddenly takes off, and lands on your shoulder.
Deejay 🗨 "Can I eat em?"
🎮 game_choice Nod->snails eat|Shake->snails free
⏭ $_

🚩 snails eat
🎵 squawk
You've barely started moving before the bird snatches one off your face.
🎵 squawk
It digs its beak deep into the shell.
🎵 squawk
It pecks­ again­ and again­ and again.
You try to ignore the sound of it.
🙂 blank
☕ layout('spectaclusi')
Your companion makes quick work of the first snail, and moves to the second.
The ones still clinging to your body don't seem to notice.
A total ignorance of predation or danger.
They continue to inch aimlessly at an eponymous pace.
☕ post("spectacles", { type: "clear" })
⏳ 1500
🎵 rest
⏳ 3000
⏳
The violent meal unfolds systematically while you wait.
Eventually, the last snail is swallowed.
☕ layout('spectacles')
🙂 player|ghostwriter
There's nothing left of them but the half-dried slime staining your surface.
Your leather-feathered companion seems uncharacteristically satisfied.
🙂 npc|deejay
Deejay 🗨 "Ahhhh..."
Deejay 🗨 "A job's got its upsides every now and then."
Deejay 🗨 "Speaking of, ya still got a job to do, boss."
☕ variables.place = "The Karst Highlands"
☕ variables.reviewed.tower = true
⏭ review write


🚩 snails free
The bird gently pokes at one of the snails with its beak.
Deejay 🗨 "Gonna go to waste then, but yer the one who bought em."
Deejay 🗨 "What are ya gonna do, then?"
You decide to sit down.
You watch.
🙂 blank
☕ layout('spectaclusi')
And you wait.
They trace their slimy trails along your body.
They circle your arms.
Work their way under your cloak.
And eventually spiral down your legs.
One by one, they reach the wet stone below.
And they set off.
Ve­ry, ve­ry­ slow­ly.
☕ post("spectacles", { type: "clear" })
⏳ 1500
🎵 rest
⏳ 3000
⏳
A few stay together.
A slimy caravan, oozing along in single file.
The rest set off on lonesome trails.
One circles the highlands entrance indecisively.
Another makes a break for the tall grasses.
All in all, it takes a couple hours for each one to disappear.
☕ layout('spectacles')
🙂 player|ghostwriter
There's nothing left of them but the half-dried slime staining your surface.
Your leather-feathered companion seemed disappointed at first.
But fell asleep about halfway through.
You give them a nudge.
🙂 npc|deejay
Deejay 🗨 "Hghgnm."
Deejay 🗨 "Guh..."
Deejay 🗨 "Finally ready to move on, ey?"
Deejay 🗨 "Well, ya still got a job to do, boss."
☕ variables.place = "The Karst Highlands"
☕ variables.reviewed.tower = true
⏭ review write

🚩 tower-deejay not done
Deejay 🗨 "...I'm just gonna sit here till ya shout."
Deejay 🗨 "Figuratively speaking."
🙂 npc|blank
☕ bipsiFocus()
⏭ blank







🚩 map roots
☕ layout('spectaclesmap')
Deejay 🗨 "Radicicola..."
☕ variables._ = variables.reviewed.roots ? 'map roots repeat' : ''
⏭ $_
Deejay 🗨 "Not a fan of heading that deep into the woods."
Deejay 🗨 "But someone's gotta review that hole, I guess."
Deejay 🗨 "Is that what ya want to do next?"
🎮 game_choice Nod->|Shake->map pick
⏭ $_
☕ embark('roots')
⏭ map wait

🚩 map roots repeat
Deejay 🗨 "If ya wanna spend more time in a hole in the ground, do it on yer own time boss."
⏭ map pick

🚩 arrive roots
🙂 npc|deejay
🙂 player|ghostwriter
☕ layout('spectaclusi')
Deejay 🗨 "Stick close to me, boss."
The foliage has gotten so thick that it's difficult to see more than a few feet in front of you.
Deejay 🗨 "Don't want ya getting lost, ey?"
Deejay flits between dense branches and vines, pausing at each step for you to follow.
Deejay 🗨 "We're almost to Radicicola."
Deejay 🗨 "It's just through this, uh, hole."
The bird stops at the roots of a massive tree.
At its base, the ground opens up into a dark pit of tangled roots.
Deejay 🗨 "Hop in, boss."
☕ save('checkpoint roots')
🚩 checkpoint roots
🎶 winds
🎵 title
☕ showTitle('Radicicola', 'Nitrogenous Fixation')
☕ bipsiMove('roots', 7, 8)
☕ bipsiFocus()
🙂 npc|blank
🙂 player|ghostwriter
⏭ blank




🚩 roots tangled
🙂 npc|roots
The tangled roots sway.
You read words in their movements.
Roots 🗨 be still
Roots 🗨 be mine
Roots 🗨 be free
Roots 🗨 be thine own
⏭ npcend


🚩 roots deep
🙂 npc|roots
The deep green roots shudder silently.
You read words in their movements.
Roots 🗨 the child will be upon us soon
Roots 🗨 winter bears hostile fruit
Roots 🗨 we hear no pleas
Roots 🗨 let yours go unspoken
⏭ npcend

🚩 roots disorderly
🙂 npc|roots
The disorderly roots twist.
You read words in their movements.
Roots 🗨 the ghosts of a world gone by have no place below the earth
Roots 🗨 except
Roots 🗨 as­ fertilizer
⏭ npcend

🚩 roots wet
🙂 npc|roots
The wet roots writhe.
You read words in their movements.
Roots 🗨 this­ feeling
Roots 🗨 will­ never
Roots 🗨 ever­ end
⏭ npcend

🚩 roots still
🙂 npc|roots
The roots do not move.
It's unclear if this is by choice, or if they are unable to.
⏭ npcend

🚩 roots lively
🙂 npc|roots
☕ variables._ = variables.slept.roots ? 'roots lively repeat' : ''
⏭ $_
The lively roots reach out tendrils and stalks.
You read words in their movements.
Roots 🗨 you are sick
Roots 🗨 plagued with the human spirit
Roots 🗨 free yourself of this burden
Roots 🗨 return to the earth
This is the last you can interpret before the roots envelop you.
🙂 blank
☕ layout('spectaclusi')
They drag you deep within their entanglement.
🎮 game_choice Struggle->roots struggle|Relax->roots relax
⏭ $_

🚩 roots struggle
You try to wrest control of your limbs.
But the rhizome holds you fast.
⏭ roots lively 2

🚩 roots relax
You let them pull your body this way and that.
Your limbs become part of the rhizome.
⏭ roots lively 2

🚩 roots lively 2
Thick veins of green, white, and brown wrap around you.
Tighter­ and tighter.
Within moments, you are completely secured.
No force of will could move your vegetal body out of their grasp.
☕ post("spectacles", { type: "clear" })
⏳ 1500
🎵 rest
⏳ 3000
⏳
Until it starts to itch.
The irritation builds slowly.
The slight pain in your feet and legs.
The little fire climbing up your back that tells you to move.
But you cannot.
The feeling grows­ and grows.
You cannot ignore it.
You tremble.
The roots tremble with you.
🙂 npc|roots
Roots 🗨 sickness spreads
Roots 🗨 because you allow it
🙂 player|ghostwriter
☕ layout('spectacles')
One great rustling later, you are deposited unceremoniously on the dirt.
The roots move no more for you.
☕ variables.slept.roots = true
⏭ npcend

🚩 roots lively repeat
🙂 npc|roots
The roots move no more for you.
⏭ npcend



🚩 roots-deejay
🙂 npc|deejay
☕ variables._ = variables.slept.roots ? '' : 'roots-deejay not done'
⏭ $_
Deejay 🗨 "Been awhile, boss."
Deejay 🗨 "Ya ready to write that review?"
🎮 game_choice Nod->|Shake->roots-deejay not done
⏭ $_
Deejay 🗨 "Try to make it quick."
Deejay 🗨 "We got a long way to walk back outta here..."
☕ variables.place = "Radicicola"
☕ variables.reviewed.roots = true
⏭ review write

🚩 roots-deejay not done
Deejay 🗨 "If yer lost, don't look to me for help."
🙂 npc|blank
☕ bipsiFocus()
⏭ blank








🚩 map docks
☕ layout('spectaclesmap')
Deejay 🗨 "Ah, Jackals’ Jetty."
☕ variables._ = variables.reviewed.docks ? 'map docks repeat' : ''
⏭ $_
Deejay 🗨 "A lot of travellers pass through there."
Deejay 🗨 "Always changing too, top priority for an update."
Deejay 🗨 "Good place for us to head, if that's what yer thinking?"
🎮 game_choice Nod->|Shake->map pick
⏭ $_
☕ embark('docks')
⏭ map wait

🚩 map docks repeat
Deejay 🗨 "No offense boss, but I don't trust ya not to get lost again."
⏭ map pick

🚩 arrive docks
🙂 npc|deejay
🙂 player|ghostwriter
☕ layout('spectaclusi')
Deejay 🗨 "Look sharp, boss."
Walking along the coastal marsh, Deejay points out a rickety dock.
Deejay 🗨 "Hope ya got sea legs."
☕ save('checkpoint docks')
🚩 checkpoint docks
🎶 winds
🎵 title
☕ showTitle('Jackals’ Jetty', 'The Checkpoint of Rascals & Thieves')
☕ bipsiMove('docks', 9, 1)
☕ bipsiFocus()
🙂 npc|blank
🙂 player|ghostwriter
⏭ blank


🚩 docks pot
🙂 npc|cozen
Cozen 🗨 "Hey! Hands off the ante, kid!"
Cozen 🗨 "You wanna play, speak to me."
⏭ npcend


🚩 docks gamble
🙂 npc|cozen
☕ variables._ = variables.gambled > 20 ? 'docks gamble done' : ''
⏭ $_
☕ variables._ = variables.gambled ? 'docks gamble repeat' : ''
⏭ $_
Cozen 🗨 "You look like a clever kid."
Cozen 🗨 "Got the soul of a true gamester, don'tcha?"
Cozen 🗨 "You wanna play a little game?"
Cozen 🗨 "Only a single copper ante!"
🎮 game_choice Nod->docks gamble yes|Shake->docks gamble no
⏭ $_

🚩 docks gamble no
Cozen 🗨 "Maybe I misjudged you."
Cozen 🗨 "You give up too easy, kid."
⏭ npcend

🚩 docks gamble yes
☕ variables.gambled = (variables.gambled || 0) + 1
They roll a pair of dice.
☕ variables.roll1 = Math.floor(Math.random()*6) + 1
☕ variables.roll2 = Math.floor(Math.random()*6) + 1
Cozen 🗨 "$roll1, and... $roll2!"
☕ variables._ = variables.roll1 === variables.roll2 ? 'docks gamble win' : 'docks gamble lose'
⏭ $_

🚩 docks gamble win
🎵 coins
☕ showFooter('+5 coins')
Cozen 🗨 "Nice one, kid."
Cozen 🗨 "You're pretty good at this."
⏭ npcend

🚩 docks gamble lose
🎵 coin
☕ showFooter('-1 coin')
Cozen 🗨 "Ouch, better luck next time, kid."
⏭ npcend

🚩 docks gamble repeat
Cozen 🗨 "Wanna play again?"
🎮 game_choice Nod->docks gamble yes|Shake->docks gamble no
⏭ $_

🚩 docks gamble done
Cozen 🗨 "Maybe give someone else a chance to play, kid."
⏭ npcend



🚩 docks cloak
🙂 npc|cozen
Cozen 🗨 "Awful nice cloak you got there, kid."
Cozen 🗨 "They got tailors in cabbage patches these days?"
⏭ npcend


🚩 docks ripe
🙂 npc|cozen
Cozen 🗨 "You're a little unripe to hanging out here, aren'tcha, kid?"
🎮 game_choice Nod|Shake
Cozen 🗨 "Well, don't blame me if you get bruised."
⏭ npcend

🚩 docks satisfy
🙂 npc|cozen
Cozen 🗨 "I don't want your money, kid."
Cozen 🗨 "Someone like you could never have enough to satisfy me."
⏭ npcend

🚩 docks sailors
🙂 npc|cozen
Cozen 🗨 "We're all sailors on the sea of life."
Cozen 🗨 "Well..."
Cozen 🗨 "You're more of a stowaway, kid."
⏭ npcend

🚩 docks someday
🙂 npc|cozen
Cozen 🗨 "Somewhere out there, there's a city for me."
Cozen 🗨 "A city where you can lose money without ever speaking to another human."
Cozen 🗨 "I know I'll find it someday."
⏭ npcend

🚩 docks devotion
🙂 npc|cozen
☕ variables._ = variables.devoted > 10 ? 'docks devotion done' : ''
⏭ $_
Cozen 🗨 "Now is time to test the strength of your devotion, kid."
Cozen 🗨 "Just five coppers."
🎮 game_choice Nod->docks devotion yes|Shake->docks devotion no
⏭ $_

🚩 docks devotion yes
☕ variables.devoted = (variables.devoted || 0) + 1
🎵 coins
☕ showFooter('-5 coins')
Cozen 🗨 "Good job!"
Cozen 🗨 "But not quite good enough."
Cozen 🗨 "I think you could show a little stronger."
⏭ npcend

🚩 docks devotion no
Cozen 🗨 "Too bad, kid..."
Cozen 🗨 "That may have been your only chance."
⏭ npcend

🚩 docks devotion done
Cozen 🗨 "Kid, maybe quit while you're ahead."
Cozen 🗨 "Devotion's just not in the cards for everyone."
⏭ npcend


🚩 docks pitiful
🙂 npc|cozen
Cozen 🗨 "I am not a pitiful person."
Cozen 🗨 "I simply enjoy the smaller pains life has to offer."
⏭ npcend

🚩 docks lol
🙂 npc|cozen
☕ variables._ = variables.lol > 20 ? 'docks lol done': ''
⏭ $_
Cozen 🗨 "..."
☕ variables.lol = (variables.lol || 0) + 1
🎵 coin
☕ showFooter('-1 coin')
⏭ npcend

🚩 docks lol done
Cozen 🗨 "..."
Cozen 🗨 "C'mon, you're making this too easy, kid."
Cozen 🗨 "You're no fun..."
⏭ npcend

🚩 docks staring
🙂 npc|cozen
Cozen 🗨 "Quit staring, kid."
Cozen 🗨 "Whatever you think you saw, you didn't."
⏭ npcend

🚩 docks brains
🙂 npc|cozen
Cozen 🗨 "Sigh... Need to get myself back out on the waves."
Cozen 🗨 "Can't stand the people round here."
Cozen 🗨 "Everyone's got jetty for brains."
⏭ npcend

🚩 docks chess
🙂 npc|cozen
Cozen 🗨 "I've invented a new form of chess."
Cozen 🗨 "But I'm struggling to find other players."
Cozen 🗨 "No one's willing to hold the knife."
⏭ npcend

🚩 docks less
🙂 npc|cozen
Cozen 🗨 "I don't know why people choose the lesser of two evils."
Cozen 🗨 "Why settle for anything less?"
⏭ npcend

🚩 docks wife
🙂 npc|cozen
Cozen 🗨 "Had a wife once."
Cozen 🗨 "Was one, too."
Cozen 🗨 "...Wouldn't recommend it."
⏭ npcend


🚩 docks door
The rickety door shakes on its hinges, but doesn't open.
⏭ npcend



🚩 docks sign
The sign is awfully hard to read.
Most of the vowels have worn down or fallen off.
With some effort, you make out the name: The Arachnid's Bastion
⏭ npcend



🚩 docks keeper
🙂 npc|cozen
The bosun works through barrels, securing them to the floor.
When they notice you staring, they take a break.
Bosun 🗨 "You look a little lost, kid."
Bosun 🗨 "You looking for a meal? A place to stay the night?"
🎮 game_choice Nod->docks keeper yes|Shake->docks keeper no
⏭ $_

🚩 docks keeper no
Bosun 🗨 "Suit yourself."
⏭ npcend

🚩 docks keeper yes
Bosun 🗨 "First thing's first:"
Bosun 🗨 "You can pay your way, right?"
🎵 coins
☕ showFooter('-15 coins')
You count out a handful of coins and hand them to the bosun.
Bosun 🗨 "...That'll do."
Bosun 🗨 "Here: breakfast in advance."
They root around in one of their barrels and toss you something.
A small, round brick of cockle bread.
Bosun 🗨 "Grab whichever hammock suits your fancy, kid."
With that, they return to their work.
🙂 blank
☕ layout('spectaclusi')
You climb into the nearest unoccupied hammock.
The rough, string-suspended bed is surprisingly comfortable.
It rocks gently, smoothing the rise and fall of the waves.
The sides are strung high, and obscure the world around you.
Though the banging of heavy barrels being loaded cuts through easily.
Still, you do your best to relax.
☕ post("spectacles", { type: "clear" })
⏳ 1500
🎵 rest
⏳ 3000
⏳
The sounds of labour steady into a rhythm.
Barrels sliding, feet stomping, voices shouting.
Eventually, they wind down.
Workers take to the hammocks surrounding you.
Nothing but silence and salty stenches.
Your own labour reminds you of its presence.
The itch washes over you with a rising urgency.
☕ bipsiMove('docks2', 5, 8)
🙂 player|ghostwriter
☕ layout('spectacles')
You get out of the hammock.
The time seems fitting, so you retrieve your breakfast bread.
You try pulling it apart, but the biscuit is rock-hard.
Maybe there's a trick to it that you're missing.
You place it on top of a barrel in case someone else wants it.
☕ variables.slept.docks = true
⏭ npcend

🚩 docks keeper repeat
🙂 npc|cozen
Bosun 🗨 "Last stop, kid."
Bosun 🗨 "You wouldn't last a day on the open seas, so get going."
⏭ npcend






🚩 docks-deejay
🙂 npc|deejay
☕ variables._ = variables.slept.docks ? '' : 'docks-deejay not done'
⏭ $_
Deejay 🗨 "Boss!!"
Deejay 🗨 "Do ya have any idea how long I've been looking for ya!?"
🎮 game_choice Nod|Shake
Deejay 🗨 "...Unbelievable."
Deejay 🗨 "Did ya at least finish yer job?"
☕ variables.place = "Jackals’ Jetty - The Arachnid’s Bastion"
☕ variables.reviewed.docks = true
⏭ review write

🚩 docks-deejay not done
Deejay 🗨 "Still looking around, boss?"
Deejay 🗨 "Last year someone stayed at The Chreb Bucket."
Deejay 🗨 "No idea if yer in such luck though."
🙂 npc|blank
☕ bipsiFocus()
⏭ blank






🚩 map bird
☕ layout('spectaclesmap')
Deejay 🗨 "The Passerinian Concern..."
☕ variables._ = variables.reviewed.bird ? 'map bird repeat' : ''
⏭ $_
Deejay 🗨 "Would much prefer going anywhere else, boss."
Deejay 🗨 "Do ya really wanna go there?"
🎮 game_choice Nod->|Shake->map pick
⏭ $_
☕ embark('bird')
⏭ map wait

🚩 map bird repeat
Deejay 🗨 "Glad to be done with that cage."
⏭ map pick

🚩 arrive bird
🙂 npc|deejay
🙂 player|ghostwriter
☕ layout('spectaclusi')
Deejay 🗨 "Here we are..."
You don't need Deejay's directions to know where you're headed.
The giant construction looms over the horizon.
Deejay 🗨 "Home sweet home. Ugh."
☕ save('checkpoint bird')
🚩 checkpoint bird
🎶 concerns
🎵 title
☕ showTitle('The Passerinian Concern', 'Graven Perch & General Authority')
☕ bipsiMove('bird', 7, 14)
☕ bipsiFocus()
🙂 npc|blank
🙂 player|ghostwriter
⏭ blank


🚩 bird thrush
🙂 npc|raptor
Raptor 🗨 "What are you..."
Raptor 🗨 "Some kind of... chunky­ thrush?"
Raptor 🗨 "Oh wait. That's a cloak, not wings."
Raptor 🗨 "Should've known from the freak-smell..."
⏭ npcend

🚩 bird squeal
🙂 npc|raptor
Raptor 🗨 "You freaks never appreciate the majestic rarity of your experience."
Raptor 🗨 "It makes me want hurt you."
Raptor 🗨 "To make you squeal."
Raptor 🗨 "Be glad you have no mouth."
⏭ npcend

🚩 bird dirt
🙂 npc|raptor
Raptor 🗨 "Uh, excuse me."
Raptor 🗨 "You're tracking dirt all over the wings."
Raptor 🗨 "What a flocking mess..."
⏭ npcend

🚩 bird dust jacket
🙂 npc|bird
Dust Jacket 🗨 "...Can I help you?"
Dust Jacket 🗨 "Hold a moment..."
Dust Jacket 🗨 "You're­ a ghostwriter!"
Dust Jacket 🗨 "...You're not alone, are you?"
🎮 game_choice Nod->bird alone yes|Shake->bird alone no
⏭ $_

🚩 bird alone yes
Dust Jacket 🗨 "How obscene!"
Dust Jacket 🗨 "Who in the lands above sent a ghostwriter all the way out here without a dust jacket!?"
Dust Jacket 🗨 "But­ it's none of my business."
Dust Jacket 🗨 "None of my business whatsoever..."
⏭ npcend

🚩 bird alone no
Dust Jacket 🗨 "If that's so, you're straying a little far, are you not?"
Dust Jacket 🗨 "Best hope the dust jacket authorities don't catch wind of this."
Dust Jacket 🗨 "But­ it's none of my business."
Dust Jacket 🗨 "None of my business whatsoever..."
⏭ npcend


🚩 bird nest
🙂 npc|raptor
☕ variables._ = variables.slept.bird ? 'bird nest repeat' : ''
⏭ $_
Court Hen 🗨 "Oh, a visitor!"
The two large birds swivel their heads in excitement.
Court Cock 🗨 "Oh­h­h, a tourist!"
Court Hen 🗨 "Welcome to The Roost!"
Court Hen 🗨 "You must be here to watch the lekking?"
🎮 game_choice Nod|Shake
Court Cock 🗨 "Either way, you're a tad late for it."
Court Cock 🗨 "Hardly anyone's still here."
Court Hen 🗨 "It's almost winter, after all!"
Court Hen 🗨 "For you, perhaps a silvered lining."
Court Cock 🗨 "During the lekking we're booked solid."
Court Cock 🗨 "Right now there's plenty of space to go around!"
Court Hen 🗨 "Just 25 shiny coppers to stay the night."
🎵 coins
☕ showFooter('-25 coins')
You count out a handful of coins and hand them to the feathered bonifaces.
Court Cock 🗨 "...She said shiny coppers."
Court Cock 🗨 "These ones are much too dull!"
🎵 coins
☕ showFooter('+7 coins')
The smaller bird pushes several back towards you.
You search through your pocket lining for replacements.
🎵 coins
☕ showFooter('-7 coins')
Picking the least tarnished of the bunch, you finish your payment.
Court Hen 🗨 "Much better!"
Court Hen 🗨 "Make yourself at home."
🙂 blank
☕ layout('spectaclusi')
You're not sure where to lie down.
The interior is as pointy and disjointed as the exterior.
There are no designated beds.
No cushions or covers.
There isn't even much in the way of flat surfaces.
You wedge yourself into a bundle of twigs, grass, and other dried detritus.
And you hope for the best.
☕ post("spectacles", { type: "clear" })
⏳ 1500
🎵 rest
⏳ 3000
⏳
You end up tossing and turning all night.
Sticks poke your limbs and dig into your back and belly.
No matter how you orient yourself, you cannot get comfortable.
Eventually the constant irritation is supplemented by another.
🙂 player|ghostwriter
☕ layout('spectacles')
The familiar itch urging you to move on.
🙂 npc|raptor
Court Cock 🗨 "Checking out already?"
Court Hen 🗨 "At least stay for breakfast."
Court Cock 🗨 "It's complementary!"
The larger of the birds disappears for a moment, and returns with a bowl.
Inside it are two boiled eggs, each roughly the size of your fist.
Instead of shells, the whites are lined with an intricate pattern.
Deep auburn specks in varied tones, mimicking the shape of a cracked shell.
The result of a sweet-smelling marinade.
You pull one egg apart, and a runny orange yolk spills out.
The birds watch your silent examination intently.
Court Hen 🗨 "Huh."
Court Cock 🗨 "This is the part where tourists usually ask rude questions."
Court Cock 🗨 "Maybe this one has manners."
Court Hen 🗨 "Maybe­ this one lacks something­ more important."
Court Cock 🗨 "Bo­ring..."
Court Hen 🗨 "Indeed. What a waste..."
☕ variables.slept.bird = true
⏭ npcend

🚩 bird nest repeat
🙂 npc|raptor
Court Hen 🗨 "Thank you for nesting with The Roost!"
Court Cock 🗨 "No refunds!!"
⏭ npcend


🚩 bird-deejay
🙂 npc|deejay
☕ variables._ = variables.slept.bird ? '' : 'bird-deejay not done'
⏭ $_
Deejay 🗨 "Please tell me yer done?"
Deejay 🗨 "Last thing I need is someone asking after my migratory pattern."
🎮 game_choice Nod->|Shake->bird-deejay not done
⏭ $_
Deejay 🗨 "Good. And ya better not mince words this time!"
☕ variables.place = "The Passerinian Concern - The Roost"
☕ variables.reviewed.bird = true
⏭ review write

🚩 bird-deejay not done
Deejay 🗨 "I'm just gonna sit right here."
Deejay 🗨 "Don't wanna risk running into someone I know..."
🙂 npc|blank
☕ bipsiFocus()
⏭ blank






🚩 arrive advent
🙂 npc|deejay
🙂 player|ghostwriter
☕ layout('spectaclusi')
You remember this road.
You've walked it before.
The short dirt path on the outskirts of Advent.
There are fewer people around.
The air is colder.
Your feet feel heavier.
☕ save('checkpoint return')
🚩 checkpoint return
🎶 towns
🎵 title
☕ showTitle('Advent', 'The Free City of Use & Opportunity')
☕ bipsiMove('advent return', 7, 15)
☕ bipsiFocus()
⏭ blank

🚩 advent fall
🙂 player|blank
🎵 fall
☕ bipsiFocus()
⏭ blank

🚩 deejay-ending
🙂 npc|deejay
☕ variables.deejayEnding = Math.min((variables.deejayEnding || 0) + 1, 42)
⏭ deejay-ending $deejayEnding

🚩 deejay-ending 1
Deejay 🗨 "Ey!"
Deejay 🗨 "Boss, yer not moving."
⏭ npcend

🚩 deejay-ending 2
Deejay 🗨 "Boss?"
⏭ npcend

🚩 deejay-ending 3
Deejay 🗨 "..."
⏭ npcend

🚩 deejay-ending 4
Deejay 🗨 "Boss... C'mon."
Deejay 🗨 "We're almost there."
Deejay 🗨 "This is no time to take a break."
⏭ npcend

🚩 deejay-ending 5
Deejay 🗨 "..."
⏭ npcend

🚩 deejay-ending 6
Deejay 🗨 "Ya lose yer focus again?"
⏭ npcend

🚩 deejay-ending 7
Deejay 🗨 "..."
⏭ npcend

🚩 deejay-ending 8
Deejay 🗨 "..."
⏭ npcend

🚩 deejay-ending 9
Deejay 🗨 "Yer acting like a damned slacker."
Deejay 🗨 "All my other ghostwriters, they always ran off."
Deejay 🗨 "I'd tell em not to, that it wouldn't work."
Deejay 🗨 "They'd take off anyway."
Deejay 🗨 "But ya already did the job, boss!"
Deejay 🗨 "Why aren't ya moving?"
⏭ npcend

🚩 deejay-ending 10
Deejay 🗨 "..."
⏭ npcend

🚩 deejay-ending 11
Deejay 🗨 "..."
⏭ npcend

🚩 deejay-ending 12
Deejay 🗨 "..."
⏭ npcend

🚩 deejay-ending 13
Deejay 🗨 "At least-"
Deejay 🗨 "At least give me a nod or something?"
⏭ npcend

🚩 deejay-ending 14
Deejay 🗨 "...Boss?"
⏭ npcend

🚩 deejay-ending 15
Deejay 🗨 "..."
⏭ npcend

🚩 deejay-ending 16
Deejay 🗨 "Can-­ Can ya hear me?"
⏭ npcend

🚩 deejay-ending 17
Deejay 🗨 "..."
⏭ npcend

🚩 deejay-ending 18
Deejay 🗨 "..."
⏭ npcend

🚩 deejay-ending 19
Deejay 🗨 "C'mon boss, I can't be looking out for ya all the time!"
⏭ npcend

🚩 deejay-ending 20
Deejay 🗨 "..."
⏭ npcend

🚩 deejay-ending 21
Deejay 🗨 "Once more won't hurt, I s'pose..."
⏭ npcend

🚩 deejay-ending 22
Deejay 🗨 "I'll just sit right here."
Deejay 🗨 "Let me know when yer done napping, boss."
⏭ npcend

🚩 deejay-ending 23
Deejay 🗨 "..."
⏭ npcend

🚩 deejay-ending 24
Deejay 🗨 "..."
⏭ npcend

🚩 deejay-ending 25
Deejay 🗨 "..."
⏭ npcend

🚩 deejay-ending 26
Deejay 🗨 "..."
⏭ npcend

🚩 deejay-ending 27
Deejay 🗨 "..."
⏭ npcend

🚩 deejay-ending 28
Deejay 🗨 "Ya know, before this trip?"
Deejay 🗨 "I was thinking of quitting."
Deejay 🗨 "Had enough of this job, I think."
⏭ npcend

🚩 deejay-ending 29
Deejay 🗨 "But... we make a good team, boss."
Deejay 🗨 "And someone's gotta write the winter edition, ey?"
⏭ npcend

🚩 deejay-ending 30
Deejay 🗨 "Would be a shame if we don't make it back in time to get the gig..."
⏭ npcend

🚩 deejay-ending 31
Deejay 🗨 "..."
⏭ npcend

🚩 deejay-ending 32
Deejay 🗨 "..."
⏭ npcend

🚩 deejay-ending 33
Deejay 🗨 "..."
⏭ npcend

🚩 deejay-ending 34
Deejay 🗨 "..."
⏭ npcend

🚩 deejay-ending 35
Deejay 🗨 "..."
⏭ npcend

🚩 deejay-ending 36
Deejay 🗨 "Sigh..."
⏭ npcend

🚩 deejay-ending 37
Deejay 🗨 "Anyone ever tell ya how much ya stink, boss?"
⏭ npcend

🚩 deejay-ending 38
Deejay 🗨 "..."
⏭ npcend

🚩 deejay-ending 39
Deejay 🗨 "Rancid, honestly."
⏭ npcend

🚩 deejay-ending 40
Deejay 🗨 "..."
⏭ npcend

🚩 deejay-ending 41
Deejay 🗨 "..."
⏭ npcend

🚩 deejay-ending 42
Deejay 🗨 "..."
⏭ npcend




🚩 ending
🎶
☕ layout('bipsi')
⏳ 5000
☕ layout('spectacles')
⏳ 2500
Lovely Lodgings:
Autumn Edition
by
The Adventurous Editor-In-Chief
with additional writing by
$byline
☕ bipsiFocus()
☕ variables.gameOver = true
☕ save('ending')
⏳ 2500
🎵 title
☕ showTitle('The End', 'Domino Club Forever')
⏭ blank









🚩 review write
☕ variables._ = `${variables.byline}|${variables.place}`
🎮 game_review $_
☕ variables._ = variables._ ? 'review done' : 'review error'
⏭ $_

🚩 review error
Deejay 🗨 "Hmph... Call it a hunch, but something's telling me I won't be able to get this one back safely."
Deejay 🗨 "Maybe ya want to take another crack at it boss?"
Deejay 🗨 "Could just hope for the best though, yer call."
🎮 game_choice Try again -> review write | Move on -> review done
⏭ $_

🚩 review done
Deejay 🗨 "Alright, I'll take this one back home."
Deejay 🗨 "Let's plan the next leg."
🙂 npc|blank
⏭ map pick


🚩 npcend
🙂 npc|blank
☕ bipsiFocus()
⏭ blank

🚩 blank
☕ clear()
⏳
⏭ blank

🚩 audio credits
strong wind and sea.wav by bruno.auzet -- https://freesound.org/s/706465/ -- License: Creative Commons 0
hiking trail fields Biezenmortel Netherlands 12 NOON 241031_0934 by klankbeeld -- https://freesound.org/s/795806/ -- License: Attribution 4.0
park village NL 228 PM 151003_0801 by klankbeeld -- https://freesound.org/s/756379/ -- License: Attribution 4.0
Eurasian Jackdaw souns by Macaulay Library -- https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Eurasian_Jackdaw/sounds