Red, Gray, White

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It is a bright morning in <span class="slant">Donovaly</span>. Outside, the children run with their dogs, tumbling and wrestling and gathering fistfuls of grass. You watch them and wonder if you have ever been so carefree. On the porch, a still-steaming meat pie waits for you. Dinner from Natalya. She is a kind woman, and she means well for you, even if she cannot come inside your home. Natalya does not know it, but this will be the last of her gifts, one way or another. <div style="float: right"><span class="big">[[↦|page 2]]</span></div> <img src="images/home.png" height=200px /> <<set $hasloom to false>> <<set $hasstick to false>> <<set $note to false>> <<audio amb play>>

Your grandmother had neighbors much the same as Natalya. Iskra was not your grandmother by blood, but she had chosen you, and that made your bond even more special. She had often entertained you in front of the fire with wild, wonderful stories. Some terrible stories. Horror stories, too awful to be fiction. <div style="float: right"><span class="big">[[↦|page 3]]</span></div> <img src="images/home.png" height=200px />

Iskra had passed of the white death. You had put coins and dolls and blankets on her body. You had sprinkled her casket with poppyseeds. You had put it in the tomb head-first. You drew the line only at a stone in her mouth, unable to take such measures against her. But she had feared coming back. She had feared coming back for <span class="slant">you</span>. <div style="float: right"><span class="big">[[↦|page 4]]</span></div> <img src="images/home.png" height=200px />

Now the coins and dolls and blankets and seeds are waiting patiently in your coffin. You are young, never married. But time has run out, hasn't it? Outside, <span class="slant">Nizke Tatry</span> stands tall and proud. The mountain is painted white and gray with snow and stone. The sun has only just risen, and still, time is short. <div style="float: right"><span class="big">[[↦|page 5]]</span></div> <img src="images/home.png" height=200px /> <div style="float: right"><img src="images/M.png" /></div>

You put on your coat and look around your home for what may be the last time. Determination swells within you to return to this well-loved place by the next sunrise. You see your little table, with a glass housing white flowers in it. You look at your bed, carefully made, the quilt Iskra made you laying on top. At the foot of the bed is your loom, straps already crafted and tied about it. Next to it, your walking stick; a tall, sturdy thing, strong as forged metal and twice as lucky. [[Pick up the walking stick]] [[Pick up the loom]] <div style="float: right"><span class="big">[[Leave]]</span></div>

You pick up the walking stick, holding it firmly in your pale hand. It's comforting to know it will make the journey to the top of the mountain with you. <span class="big">[[↤|page 5]]</span> <img src="images/stick.png"/> <<set $hasstick to true>>

The loom sits outside of its frame. You carefully put the contraption in its frame and, with some effort, you pull the straps of the loom over your shoulders, securing it tightly against your back. It digs into your shoulders, even with the padding of your coat. You only hope it will not make breathing even more difficult than usual. <span class="big">[[↤|page 5]]</span> <img src="images/loom.png"/> <<set $hasloom to true>>

<<if $hasstick is true and $hasloom is true>> With the stick to help you hike and the loom as your only bargaining tool, you step out of the house and into the meager dawn. You are ready to begin your journey to the very peak of <span class="slant">Nizke Tatry</span>. You must get there by <span class="navy">nightfall.</span> <div style="float: right"><span class="big">[[↦|page 6]]</span></div> <<else>> You feel you may be forgetting something. [[You head back inside to check.|page 5]] <</if>> <img src="images/home.png" height=200px /><div style="float: right"><img src="images/M.png" /></div>[img[$avatar]]

You stand below <span class="slant">Nizke Tatry</span> and take a moment to mentally prepare yourself for your journey. You check your coat pockets, finding your carefully wrapped lunch inside, and think back on anything else you should have done. Perhaps you should [[leave a note]]. But then, with any luck, you'll be back before anyone notices you're gone, anyway. <div style="float: right"><span class="big">[[↦|page 7]]</span></div> <img src="images/home.png" height=200px />[img[$avatar]]

You already have means to leave notes for Natalya by the door, usually to thank her for meals and gifts. This time, though, you leave a different note. You decide on something small, something simple. Whoever finds it will understand. You only need a sentence. <span class="slant">Type your note in the box below.</span> <<textbox "$note" "">> <div style="float: right"><span class="big">[[↦|page 7]]</span></div> <<set $hasnote to true>>

The mountain is overwhelming. The journey ahead may be your last. You feel your heart beat feebly in your chest, as though begging to return to the safety of your home. There are wolves out there, there are pitfalls and cliffs and ice, there's wind and snow, and worst of all, the one you seek. You push fear aside. It's time to go. <div style="float: right"><span class="big">[[↦|page 8]]</span></div> [img[$avatar]]

To the right, the way up starts green and quickly turns white with snow. You know from experience that the snow can get to be knee-deep. It's free of trees, but some boulders could prove difficult to navigate around. To the left, there's a small game trail that cuts through the snow. It weaves in and out of the trees, shadowed and quiet. You followed such a trail in search of berries when you weren't ill, and you found it to be frequented by animals. [[Go left]]<div style="float: right">[[Go right]]</div> <img src="images/m.png" height=200px class="center" />

You tell yourself not to rush. You'll only aggravate your condition. Keeping steady is the key–just keep walking and eventually you'll reach the top. The grass is slippery with melted snow beneath your feet, the sun is warm against your face. You plant your walking stick firmly to the ground with each step, unwilling to ruin your journey early with a careless slip. You're awed by each drop of dew sparkling in dawn's light, each clinging to a blade of grass like jewelry. <span class="slant">It's a beautiful day to die,</span> you think. <div style="float: right"><span class="big">[[↦|R1]]</span></div> <img src="images/m.png" height=200px />[img[$avatar]] <<audio wind play>>

You tell yourself not to rush. You'll only aggravate your condition. Keeping steady is the key–just keep walking and eventually you'll reach the top. In the shade, you find the day to be considerably cooler. You pull your hood up over your ears, alpaca wool tickling your cheeks. It's been a long time since you went for a walk, and you find yourself captivated by birdsong and the noises of small animals in the underbrush. <span class="slant">It's a beautiful day to die,</span> you think. <div style="float: right"><span class="big">[[↦|L1]]</span></div> <img src="images/m.png" height=200px />[img[$avatar]] <<audio birds play>>

The walk isn't easy, but you make good time. To pass the time, you: [[Hum a tune]] [[Reflect]] [[Count the birds]]

As you hike, the sun gently warms your face. It's slow-going with the snow already creeping up on you, but you find that the clear day puts you in a relatively good mood. You know that as you climb and grow more tired, breathing will become difficult, so you take the ease of the moment for what it is. To pass the time, you: [[Hum to yourself]] [[Think about the upir]] [[Cloudgaze]]

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<span class="red">Red,</span><span class="gray">Gray,</span><span class="white">White</span> K. Anderson Please enable audio. Type your character name in the box below, then click on the arrow to continue. <<textbox "$name" "Dascha">> <div style="float: right"><span class="big">[[↦|G1]]</span></div>

Choose your character, then click start <span class="big">[[↤|M5]]</span><span class="big">[[↦|M1]]</span> <img src="FC/G1.png" height=500px class="center" /> <div style="float: right"><span class="big">[[Start]]</span></div> <<set $avatar to "FC/G1.png">> <<set $mid to "FC/g1mid.png">> <<set $top to "FC/g1top.png">> <<set $a to "images/ga.png">> <<set $s to "images/1s.png">> <<set $b to "images/1b.png">>

Choose your character, then click start <span class="big">[[↤|G1]]</span><span class="big">[[↦|G2]]</span> <img src="MC/M1.png" height=500px class="center" /> <div style="float: right"><span class="big">[[Start]]</span></div> <<set $avatar to "MC/M1.png">> <<set $mid to "MC/1mid.png">> <<set $top to "MC/1top.png">> <<set $a to "images/ma.png">> <<set $s to "images/2s.png">> <<set $b to "images/2b.png">>

Choose your character, then click start <span class="big">[[↤|M1]]</span> <span class="big">[[↦|M2]]</span> <img src="FC/G2.png" height=500px class="center" /><div style="float: right"><span class="big">[[Start]]</span></div> <<set $avatar to "FC/G2.png">> <<set $mid to "FC/g2mid.png">> <<set $top to "FC/g2top.png">> <<set $a to "images/ga.png">> <<set $s to "images/2s.png">> <<set $b to "images/2b.png">>

Choose your character, then click start <span class="big">[[↤|G2]]</span> <span class="big">[[↦|G3]]</span> <img src="MC/M2.png" height=500px class="center" /><div style="float: right"><span class="big">[[Start]]</span></div> <<set $avatar to "MC/M2.png">> <<set $mid to "MC/2mid.png">> <<set $top to "MC/2top.png">> <<set $a to "images/ma.png">> <<set $s to "images/3s.png">> <<set $b to "images/3b.png">>

Choose your character, then click start <span class="big">[[↤|M2]]</span><span class="big">[[↦|M3]]</span> <img src="FC/G3.png" height=500px class="center" /> <div style="float: right"><span class="big">[[Start]]</span></div> <<set $avatar to "FC/G3.png">> <<set $mid to "FC/g3mid.png">> <<set $top to "FC/g3top.png">> <<set $a to "images/ga.png">> <<set $s to "images/3s.png">> <<set $b to "images/3b.png">>

Choose your character, then click start <span class="big">[[↤|G3]]</span><span class="big">[[↦|G4]]</span> <img src="MC/M3.png" height=500px class="center" /> <div style="float: right"><span class="big">[[Start]]</span></div> <<set $avatar to "MC/M3.png">> <<set $mid to "MC/3mid.png">> <<set $top to "MC/3top.png">> <<set $a to "images/ma.png">> <<set $s to "images/4s.png">> <<set $b to "images/4b.png">>

Choose your character, then click start <span class="big">[[↤|M3]]</span><span class="big">[[↦|M4]]</span> <img src="FC/G4.png" height=500px class="center" /> <div style="float: right"><span class="big">[[Start]]</span></div> <<set $avatar to "FC/G4.png">> <<set $mid to "FC/g4mid.png">> <<set $top to "FC/g4top.png">> <<set $a to "images/ga.png">> <<set $s to "images/4s.png">> <<set $b to "images/4b.png">>

Choose your character, then click start <span class="big">[[↤|G4]]</span><span class="big">[[↦|G5]]</span> <img src="MC/M4.png" height=500px class="center" /> <div style="float: right"><span class="big">[[Start]]</span></div> <<set $avatar to "MC/M4.png">> <<set $mid to "MC/4mid.png">> <<set $top to "MC/4top.png">> <<set $a to "images/ma.png">> <<set $s to "images/1s.png">> <<set $b to "images/1b.png">>

Choose your character, then click start <span class="big">[[↤|M4]]</span><span class="big">[[↦|M5]]</span> <img src="FC/G5.png" height=500px class="center" /> <div style="float: right"><span class="big">[[Start]]</span></div> <<set $avatar to "FC/G5.png">> <<set $mid to "FC/g5mid.png">> <<set $top to "FC/g5top.png">> <<set $a to "images/ga.png">> <<set $s to "images/5s.png">> <<set $b to "images/5b.png">>

Choose your character, then click start <span class="big">[[↤|G5]]</span><div style="float: right"> <span class="big">[[↦|G1]]</span> <img src="MC/M5.png" height=500px class="center"/> <span class="big">[[Start]]</span></div> <<set $avatar to "MC/M5.png">> <<set $mid to "MC/5mid.png">> <<set $top to "MC/5top.png">> <<set $a to "images/ma.png">> <<set $s to "images/5s.png">> <<set $b to "images/5b.png">>

You hum to yourself. It helps; when you look behind you, you've come much further than you would have thought. But the noise comes at a cost, one you had not anticipated until it is already upon you. You look back toward the path only to catch a flash of movement from the corner of your eye. Something shines out at you from the brush. <div style="float: right"><span class="big">[[↦|hum2]]</span></div> <<audio hum play>> <<set $hum to true>>

You think about how you ended up in this position. When you had first started to show symptoms of the white death, you had thought perhaps it was a cold. Something minor that would pass with time. As the days dragged into weeks, weeks into months, you'd known. You'd washed Iskra go through the same process. She had been convinced that it had been the work of the upir. You hadn't known what to think. Surely she would get better, after all. Surely it wasn't forever. But then she'd begun spitting up blood. She'd gotten paler with each day. And then she'd died. <div style="float: right"><span class="big">[[↦|reflect2]]</span></div>

You count the birds as you walk, trying to ignore the cold that seems to permeate your very being. You pull your coat tighter around your body. At the very least, bird watching is keeping you alert. You notice right away when you hear it. Howling, not far away. The wolves are close. <<audio howl play>> <div style="float: right"><span class="big">[[↦|birds2]]</span></div>

Iskra hadn't the time to go after the upir. You, however, are better prepared. You are younger, stronger. You do not flatter yourself into thinking you could win in a fight against such a creature, and so you had forgone the usual; spikes, precious metals, fire. You are certain it would only infuriate the upir. You know well enough that what vampires desire is creation. So you will create for it, and in return, perhaps you might keep your life yet. <div style="float: right"><span class="big">[[↦|L2]]</span></div>

So absorbed as you were in thinking, you don't notice the distant howl until it's practically upon you. But you're prepared to face something much worse. You're not going to die to a wolf of all things. Quickly now. [[Fight|fight]], or [[flight|run]]. <<audio howl play>> <<set $mind to true>>

You do not have much time. You can [[run]], or [[hide]], or [[fight]]. You have only moments to prepare yourself. Quickly, now, $name. <<set $mind to true>>

<<if $mind is true>> You think quickly, glad not to be caught too off your guard. The wolves are faster than you. You can't outrun them forever; even now they're closing in on you. [[keep running]] or [[make a plan]] <<else>> You run blindly, completely caught off guard. Back the way you came, down the shaded path. Shadows seem to dart out at you. More wolves? No, you have to stay calm. But your breath is already rough, heart already beating as fast as it can. You feel a cough building up in your throat. [[keep running]] <</if>> <<audio pant play>>

You turn and run as fast as you can, eyes searching the woods for any hiding place you might be able to take refuge in. You know a wolf can smell and hear far better than you, and you cannot hope to climb away from it fast enough in your cumbersome winter attire. You throw yourself behind a tree and go utterly still, hand over your mouth to muffle your breathing. You can hear the wolf as it runs passed, but you don't for a moment dare to hope that you've truly lost it. <div style="float: right"><span class="big">[[↦|hide2]]</span></div>

<<if $hid is true>> You hear the wolf come back around. Its growl beings again, deep in its chest. It's found you. You step out from behind the tree. <<else>> <<if>>You hold your walking stick out in front of you as though you're a knight of valor. You feel anything but, faced with this creature. Spittle hangs from its maw as it growls deep in its chest. It lunges. <div style="float: right"><span class="big">[[↦|fight2]]</span></div>

You turn the bend just as the wolf leaps out at you. A scream catches in your throat as you feel sharp claws sink into your arm. The walking stick flies from your grasp as you land harshly on your front. The wolf clamps its jaws shut, shaking its head side-to-side. <span class="slant">This is how I die,</span> you think. <<if $hasnote is true>> Your mind flashes through your last moments frantically. You're glad you had the foresight to leave that note. <span class="slant">$note</span> isn't too bad, in terms of last recorded words. <<else>> You wish you would have left a note. They're never going to find you out here. You would have liked to have left behind something to be remembered by. <</if>> <div style="float: right"><span class="big">[[↦|lastleft]]</span></div> <<set $wolfbite to true>>

As you run, your mind runs frantically through the possibilities. If you die out here, no one will find you. <<if $hasnote is true>> At least you left a note. <span class="slant">$note</span> isn't too bad, in terms of last recorded words. <<else>> You wish you would have left a note. <</if>> But there's also the chance you'll survive. You don't want to die. You don't want to die! <div style="float: right"><span class="big">[[↦|plan2]]</span></div>

<<if $wolfbite is true>> You take a moment to remove the loom from your back. You inspect the wound on your arm with a hiss. You pull at the tear in your coat sleave until you have a long, red strip of fabric in hand. You use it to bind the wound and hope that you have enough strength to continue onwards. [img[$b]] <<else>> <</if>> <<if $jumped is true>> You look up and see that the wolf has not followed. You try to rise but cry out in pain. You look down to find you've badly twisted your ankle. With a grimace, you pull it from your boot to investigate. There's not much to be done for it, so you remove one of your long, layered socks to make a wrapping of sorts. After loosening your laces, you put your foot back into the boot and limp to your feet. You hope you have enough strength to continue onwards. [img[$a]] <<else>> <</if>> <<if $fight is true>> You take a moment to tie your ripped coat back into place. You're already shivering with the effect of the cold on your exposed flesh. Your head swims and your lungs burn. You cough again, wetly, and when you wipe at your mouth your hand comes away spotted with blood. You hope you have enough strength to continue onwards. [img[$s]] <<else>> <</if>> <div style="float: right"><span class="big">[[↦|continueL]]</span></div>

You see a ledge just to your left. It's a long shot, but you think that if you were to jump, the wolf wouldn't follow. And if you hit the ground too hard, well, it's better than being torn to shreds, now, isn't it? Isn't it? [[jump]] [[keep running]]

You throw yourself over the ledge just in time. The wolf's jaw snap shut just inches from your arm. The air rushes around you, for one glorious moment you're flying, weightless. Then you look down. The ground is rushing toward you. <div style="float: right"><span class="big">[[↦|lastleft]]</span></div> <<set $jumped to true>>

You bring the walking stick down over its head. It makes contact with a solid crack. The wolf jumps back, shaking its head in agitation, before its eyes re-center on you. The rest is a blur. It attacks, you defend. In the end, you fend it off, but your hand-woven coat has been torn in multiple places, and you're scratched and bleeding. Your cough has worsened. But you're alive. <div style="float: right"><span class="big">[[↦|lastleft]]</span></div> <<set $fight to true>>

Your throat is on fire. You need to cough, but you hold it in, body lurching awkwardly as you attempt to suppress the urge. You had thought that your illness would kill you, but not like this. <<if $hasnote is true>> At least you left a note. <span class="slant">$note</span> isn't too bad, in terms of last recorded words. <<else>> You wish you would have left a note. <</if>> [[make a new plan|plan2]] [[keep running]] [[fight]] <<set $hid to true>>

You shake yourself off. Coughing and panting, you attempt to gather yourself again. You can't turn back. Not now. Your fever is making your face warm, even as the rest of your body shakes with nerves and cold. You have to continue up the mountain. The upir can fix this. Surely the upir can fix this. The sun will set soon, and you cannot be out when that happens. There are ledges and crevasses in these mountains, cold winds and ghosts, and you even if you were not ill, this is no place for the living. <div style="float: right"><span class="big">[[↦|continueR]]</span></div>

You hum as you hike. Your walking stick sinks rhythmically into the earth each step. In the distance, you hear birdsong. You didn't expect it, but you feel oddly at peace. It takes your mind off the time. When you glance back, you're amazed by just how far you've come already. There's a small ledge up ahead. You flatten yourself to the wall of the mountain to make your pass, continuing to hum. <div style="float: right"><span class="big">[[↦|H1]]</span></div> <<audio hum play>> <<set $hum to true>>

You think about how you ended up in this position. When you had first started to show symptoms of the white death, you had thought perhaps it was a cold. Something minor that would pass with time. As the days dragged into weeks, weeks into months, you'd known. You'd watched Iskra go through the same process. She had been convinced that it had been the work of the upir. You hadn't known what to think. Surely she would get better, after all. Surely it wasn't forever. But then she'd begun spitting up blood. She'd gotten paler with each day. And then she'd died. <div style="float: right"><span class="big">[[↦|r2]]</span></div>

You watch the clouds as you watch. They make shapes for you; birds and animals, houses and people. Soon, they will bear snow, but for the moment, they are white and quick-moving. That cloud sort of looks like a sheep. That cloud is a dragon billowing fire, and now it's changing into a dog, and next it's only a string of cotton in the breeze. <div style="float: right"><span class="big">[[↦|Cloud2]]</span></div>

The ledge is smaller than you thought beneath the snow. You move carefully, using your walking stick to test the ground in front of you before each step. The ground is solid, but as you take your next step, your foot meets solid ice. Your eyes go wide as you slip. You grab frantically at the wall, but you only succeed in tearing your gloves before you're falling. <div style="float: right"><span class="big">[[↦|h2]]</span></div>

You clench your eyes tight and throw your arms up over your face. It's not a long fall, but it's no short jump, either. You hit the ground hard, snow exploding around your body. For a moment you lay there, dazed. You think you've broken every bone in your body, and you think you haven't been hurt at all. The shock wears off after a moment, and groaning, you sit up. <div style="float: right"><span class="big">[[↦|h3]]</span></div> <<set $ankle to true>>

You break from your thoughts as you come to a ledge. You could walk carefully across, but thoughts of danger have taken up residence in your mind. You wish you had rope to secure yourself with an anchor, though the fall isn't too far. If you'd been smart, you would have brought gear for true climbing. It's too late for that, though. You have to press forward if you wish to make it to the peak by night. The day, after all, is already halfway through. [[Inspect the ledge]] [[Look for a way down]] [[Attempt to climb up the ledge wall]] [img[$mid]]

You shake yourself off. Coughing and panting, you attempt to gather yourself again. Your fever is making your face warm, even as the rest of your body shakes with nerves and cold. You have to continue up the mountain. Worse for wear, but no less determined, you limp onwards. The sun will set soon, and you cannot be out when that happens. There are wolves in these mountains, cold winds and ghosts, and even if you were not ill, this is no place for the living. <div style="float: right"><span class="big">[[↦|continueR]]</span></div>

You take inventory. You're scraped and bruised, out of breath, and your heart is pounding. Worst of all, your ankle is badly twisted. You use one of your layered socks to bind it, wincing all the while, and then put the foot back into its boot, laces loosened significantly. Shakily, you haul yourself to your feet, leaning heavily on your walking stick. You have little choice but to keep going, so that's just what you do. [img[$s]] [img[$a]]<div style="float: right"><span class="big">[[↦|lastright]]</span></div> <<set $jumped to true>>

You inspect the ledge. It seems solid enough, though smaller than you first thought. You would have to press tightly to the wall to make it safely across. [[continue|I1]] [[go back|r3]]

You edge towards the drop-off, neck craned to attempt to see down to the bottom of the ledge. It's not overly far, maybe six or seven feet, but certainly no easy drop. You lean further, noting that there doesn't seem to be an easy way down. That is when the dirt beneath your feet crumbles. <div style="float: right"><span class="big">[[↦|d1]]</span></div>

You tell yourself it's a bad idea even as you start, but the ledge doesn't fill you with any bit of confidence. You get a good grip with your hands and then haul yourself up, booted feet poking about for a hold. Instantly, your arms burn with the strain. It has been a long time since you climbed, and your health has taken away what strength you once had. You make it about a foot up before you slip. <div style="float: right"><span class="big">[[↦|c1]]</span></div> <<set $c to true>>

You move carefully, using your walking stick to test the ground in front of you before each step. The ground is solid, but as you take your next step, your foot meets solid ice. Your eyes go wide as you slip. You grab frantically at the wall, but you only succeed in tearing your gloves before you're falling. <div style="float: right"><span class="big">[[↦|h2]]</span></div>

You turn with a shout, grabbing for the ground. You hit painfully, teeth clicking harshly, but you're still going over the side. You sink your fingers into the cold, frozen ground, but only succeed in ripping your gloves and pulling up handfuls of snow. You feel sick as for one terrible moment you're completely weightless. You clench your eyes tight as you hit snow and ice. You hear a loud crack and your back flares with pain. For a moment, you lie there, stunned. Slowly, though, you open your eyes. You're alive, at least. <div style="float: right"><span class="big">[[↦|d2]]</span></div>

You slowly sit up, heart breaking when you hear wood shifting as you do. You turn around to find splinters littering the ground behind you. In a panic, you pull the loom from your back. The frame is badly broken. Tears of frustration well in your eyes. The wind was knocked from your chest on impact, and the pain makes you wheeze as you try to hold back an angry cry. How are you supposed to deal with the upir if you have no loom? <div style="float: right"><span class="big">[[↦|d3]]</span></div>

It could have been worse, you tell yourself. You're scraped and bruised, but you didn't significantly injure yourself. And yet, you feel as though you've just sealed your fate. You pick up what scraps of wood you can. Maybe you can fix the loom once you find the upir. Maybe you can make some other sort of deal. Something, anything. But you can't turn back now. You can never turn back. <div style="float: right"><span class="big">[[↦|lastright]]</span></div> <<set $brokeloom to true>>

<<if $c is true>>You gasp as the full reality hits you; you're falling. You hit the ledge hard, and then you fall past it. <<else>> <</if>> The ground rushed up to meet you as you throw your arms around your head. Snow explodes about you as you crash into the ground. You hear a snap and then pain lights up your blood like a fire. Achingly, carefully, you open your eyes. You look down at your leg. It's laying at an awkward angle. You know even before you test it that it's broken. Despair rolls through you. <div style="float: right"><span class="big">[[↦|c2]]</span></div>

It's either sit here and wait to die, or somehow bind the leg and continue onwards. For a brief moment, the former seems appealing. <<if $hasnote is true>> You remember the note you left. $note. It's not bad for last recorded words. But you don't want that scrap of paper to be the last thing you ever created. <<else>> You remember that you didn't even leave a note. You're not going to give up and lay in the snow to die. You were confident you'd come back when you left, and you're not going to give in. <</if>> Painstakingly, you shuffle on the ground until you find a stick. You use it to set the leg and then tie it with a ripped portion of your coat. It's not much, but it will have to do. <img src="images/bubble.png" />[img[$a]] <div style="float: right"><span class="big">[[↦|lastright]]</span></div> <<set $leg to true>>

Before you, there is no longer and discernable path. You must simply climb through snow and tree and boulder and ice, and hope, somehow, that you make it. <<timed 3s>> You climb. <</timed>> <<timed 5s>> And climb. <</timed>> <<timed 6s>> And climb... <div style="float: right"><span class="big">[[↦|climb3]]</span></div> <</timed>> [img[$mid]] <<audio amb stop>> <<audio climb play>>

Breathing hurts. Your head pounds with fever. Every time you cough, you have to stop and catch your breath. You shake with weakness. The peak is far, far away, and the air grows colder as the sun begins its trek to the west. <<if $jumped is true>> Your ankle throbs in protest with every step. You feel dizzy with the pain. <div style="float: right"><span class="big">[[↦|ankle]]</span></div> <<else>> <</if>> <<if $wolfbite is true>> Despite your bandaging, you're still losing blood. A trail of it follows you through the snow. You feel light-headed and sick to your stomach. <div style="float: right"><span class="big">[[↦|bite]]</span></div> <<else>> <</if>> <<if $leg is true>> You're barely making progress. The pain is making you sick to your stomach and light-headed. Each time you so much as bump the limb, dark spots dance in your vision. <div style="float: right"><span class="big">[[↦|leg]]</span></div> <<else>> <</if>> <<if $fight is true>> <div style="float: right"><span class="big">[[↦|C4]]</span></div> <<else>> <</if>> <<audio amb2 play>>

Your ankle throbs in time with your pulse. Each breath is a struggle. But the peak is close. You wish you were not alone. But then, you wouldn't want anyone to suffer this, either. You lean heavily on your walking stick. You climb. <div style="float: right"><span class="big">[[↦|a1]]</span></div>

You paint the snow red as you walk. You imagine you can hear the dripping of blood even above the wind. This is no way to die, you think. <div style="float: right"><span class="big">[[↦|b2]]</span></div>

You climb, and climb, and climb. The wind whips at your face, the cold blows through you and makes you ache. Each breath feels as though it may be your last. You cough and wipe at your mouth. More blood. It won't be long, now. But the peak is just within sight. You urge yourself forward. <div style="float: right"><span class="big">[[↦|c5]]</span></div>

Step. Drag. Step. Drag. <div style="float: right"><span class="big">[[↦|leg2]]</span></div>

The sun is just beginning to creep below the horizon. You let out a hysterical laugh as you make the last few steps to the peak. You've done it. You've done it. You climbed Nizke Tatry. But as you make your final step, you look up. The mountain continues to loom before you. Your heart drops. <div style="float: right"><span class="big">[[↦|c6]]</span></div> [img[$top]]

You've only made it to the top of the nearest slope. The mountain itself is still leagues away. You drop to your knees. There's just no way. You can't make it. [[Keep going]] [[Accept your fate]] [[Call for the upir]] [img[$mid]]

You stand to press onwards, but a furious cough wracks your body. You're pressed for breath, hacking and gasping until you find yourself on your knees again. Tears stream down your face, freezing in the cold air. <span class="slant">Come on,</span> you think. <span class="slant">Come on!</span> But you're dizzy. The mountain wobbles before you, doubles and triples, and begins to go black around the edges.<span class="slant">Come on!</span> You pull yourself forward, fighting for breath. The ground rushes up to meet you. <div style="float: right"><span class="big">[[↦|leg7]]</span></div>

You did your very best. In the end, you suppose that's what mattered. It's dark now, though, and each breath is a struggle. Soon, the cold will steal away what warmth you have left, and you will lie still in the snow. Perhaps Iskra will be waiting for you. You curl up on the ground and wait. <div style="float: right"><span class="big">[[↦|leg7]]</span></div> <<audio amb2 stop>>

"Upir!" The wind snatches the word from your mouth. You cough on the freezing air. "Upir!" The wind howls desolately. "Upir!" A coughing fit puts you on your hands, the world swaying in and out of focus. Red flecks the ground. "Upir..." it's barely a whisper. The ground rushes up to meet you. <div style="float: right"><span class="big">[[↦|leg7]]</span></div> <<set $called to true>>

Hello. <<timed 3s>> You tried very hard. <</timed>> <<timed 5s>> You must be tired, my dear. <</timed>> <<timed 6s>> <div style="float: right"><span class="big">[[↠|u3]]</span></div> <</timed>> <<audio hello play>>

Pain eats at you. <<timed 3s>> Step, drag, step, drag. <</timed>> <<timed 5s>> The path you leave in the snow is uneven and shaky. You lean heavily on your walking stick. <</timed>> <<timed 7s>> Step, drag, step, drag. <</timed>> <<timed 8s>> <div style="float: right"><span class="big">[[↦|leg4]]</span></div> <</timed>>

Step, drag, step, drag. <<timed 2s>> The world is spinning. <</timed>> <<timed 4s>> Step, drag, step, drag. <</timed>> <<timed 6s>> You feel like you're floating and falling both at once. <</timed>> <<timed 8s>> Step... drag... step... drag... <</timed>> <<timed 10s>> <div style="float: right"><span class="big">[[↦|leg5]]</span></div> <</timed>>

<span class="slant">Just a little further,</span> you think. <span class="slant">Just a little further.</span> The ground ripples and stretches. It rises up to meet you before you realize you're falling. <<timed 6s>> You pull yourself forward on your hands and knees, trying to breathe. Your lungs refuse to work. [[Keep going|l1]] [[Accept your fate|l2]] [[Call for the upir|l3]] <</timed>>

You drag yourself a few feet more. The top of the will is so, so far away. <span class="slant">I don't want to die.</span> It feels as though your body has betrayed you. One last tragedy against you in a life of them. There were things you wanted to do, you think. You can't recall them now. But you know you must have had dreams at some point. <div style="float: right"><span class="big">[[↦|leg7]]</span></div>

You roll on to your back and stare up at the night sky. There are stars peering down at you from behind the clouds. Already, it is beginning to snow lightly. Your body will be covered in a blanket, saved for summer, when the snow will melt and leave you waiting to be found. There are worse ways to die. Another cough shakes your body. It forces tears from your eyes. <<timed 4s>> Spots begin to dance in your vision, blotting out the stars and sky. You feel cold. You've always felt cold. <div style="float: right"><span class="big">[[↦|leg7]]</span></div> <</timed>>

"Upir," you rasp. It's difficult to make any words between your attempts to breath. The name comes out in a broken wheeze. "Upir," you call weakly. The snow around you eats the sound, the wind scatters it before it can truly form. One more. You can force out one more. "Upir!" Black spots eat at your vision. Panic rises within you. <<timed 4s>> <span class="slant">I don't want to die.</span> <div style="float: right"><span class="big">[[↦|leg7]]</span></div> <</timed>> <<set $called to true>>

Everything goes dark. <div style="float: right"><span class="big">[[↦|dark]]</span></div> <<audio amb2 stop>>

Once, when you were a child, you twisted your ankle tending to the sheep. You had limped all the way home, and when you stepped inside, Iskra had cooed over you as she helped remove your shoes. She had inspected your swollen foot with care and tenderness before she had wrapped it for you. She had let you lounge in bed while she read you a story. You cannot recall the tale now, but you like to think maybe it was about the upir. There had always been one you had liked better than the rest. <div style="float: right"><span class="big">[[↦|a2]]</span></div>

Once upon a time, there was a little upir. She had no family, but she had many friends. She was friends with Žaba when she turned into a frog. She was friends with Hmla when she was fog. She was friends with Donchuan as a wolf, and friends with Netopier when she was a bat. But most of all, she wished to be friends with $name. But unlike the other creatures she so loved, she could not turn into a human. The little upir had an idea. If she could not become human, $name would become upir. And so she created the white death. <div style="float: right"><span class="big">[[↦|a3]]</span></div>

You think that Iskra had made this story up for you so that you would not hate the force that had taken your birth parents from you. Surely they had not been hated, surely they had only gone to be friends with a lonely girl. Or maybe Iskra had known this would happen to you, somehow. Maybe she had wanted to comfort you in your final hours. The thought is sweet. But you are not comforted, drowning in your own blood. <div style="float: right"><span class="big">[[↦|a4]]</span></div>

If there is a little upir on the top of the mountain, you hate her. You hate her with everything in you for taking so many away. How selfish of her, to take what was yours; your parents, your Iskra, your life. You want to live. You want desperately to live. <div style="float: right"><span class="big">[[↦|c5]]</span></div>

Everything is fuzzy. Far away. You imagine several times you see a figure in the distance, but you blink and its gone. <span class="slant">Po každej búrke príde slnko.</span> <span class="slant">Please, please let me live.</span> <div style="float: right"><span class="big">[[↦|b3]]</span></div>

You make it a few more steps before the world begins to bend. You stumble forward, cltuching desperately at your walking stick, but it's no use. The ground rushes up to meet you. <<timed 5s>> Eveything goes dark. <div style="float: right"><span class="big">[[↦|dark]]</span></div> <</timed>> <<audio amb2 stop>>

<<if $hum is true>> I heard your sweet song on the mountain. Do you make music often? <<else>> <</if>> <<if $fight is true>> I heard you fighting the Donchuan. You were very brave. Are you a warrior? <<else>> <</if>> <<if $wolfbite is true>> I smelled your blood even from the mountain top. You spilled so much of it. You must have been in pain. <<else>> <</if>> Why are you here? [[I'm looking for the upir.]] [[Where is here?]] [[Who are you?]] <<set $favor = 5>> <<audio amb3 play>>

The time passes quickly. Before you know it, you're miles ahead. You smile to yourself and continue to walk, head craned back to enjoy the sky. Of course, this also means you're not looking where you're going. That turns out to be a mistake. <div style="float: right"><span class="big">[[↦|cloud3]]</span></div>

You do not even notice the ledge before you take a step right off. You gasp as your foot meets nothing, scrambling backwards. You're not fast enough; you hit your back on the ground right before slipping forward. You don't even have time to scream. <div style="float: right"><span class="big">[[↦|c1]]</span></div>

Oh. I see. Such a terrible thing to look for. Why do you seek it? [[...]] [[I need its help.]] [[It made me very ill.]] [[I don't know if I should tell you. I don't know you.]]

Where do you think? [[Am I dead?]] [[Nizke Tatry?]] [[I don't know.]]

It's very rude to ask that of someone before you introduce yourself. [[Tell her your name]] [[Lie about your name.]] [[Say nothing]]

No answer, hm? Well, that's alright. I suppose you have every right to keep your voice to yourself. <<timed 4s>> But you can't stay silent forever. Don't you want to wake up? [[Yes]] [[No]] <</timed>>

Help? From an upir? Have you not heard you would have better luck asking a wolf for kindness? <<timed 4s>> I'm sorry. I didn't mean to belittle you. It is only that I was surprised. But it matters little at this moment. I suppose you are ready. Do you wish to awaken? [[Yes]] [[No]] <</timed>>

Did it? I suppose it could have. Are you very ill, then? <<timed 3s>> Oh, but you are. There's blood in your lungs. This fever will kill you, you know. <</timed>> <<timed 5s>> But I suppose we are putting off the inevtiable. Should I wake you? [[Yes]] [[No]] <</timed>>

Well, that's true enough. But who else would you tell? <<timed 3s>> There is no one else for miles. And I do not think you will have the chance to speak to another. But then, I suppose you must wake in order forus to find out. Don't you want to wake up? [[Yes]] [[No]] <</timed>>

Not yet. But you're very weak. <<timed 3s>> It may not be for long, but would you like to awaken? I can rouse you. [[Yes]] [[No]] <</timed>>

Your body certainly is. I'm sorry. That's deliberatly vague, isn't it? <<timed 3s>> You're not any "where" right now, not really. But that can be changed. Would you like to wake up? [[Yes]] [[No]] <</timed>>

That's not very imaginative. <<timed 2s>> I like to imagine we're in some place between life and death. A place of two hearts, two souls. Oh, but you're mortal. You wouldn't understand. I suppose you want to wake up? [[Yes]] [[No]] <</timed>>

$name. I like that. Well, I suppose it would be rude to refuse you mine now. I am Prija. <<timed 3s>> We should meet face-to-face now, shouldn't we? I could wake you. [[Yes]] [[No]] <</timed>> <<set $favor to + 1>> <<set $toldname to true>>

I think you're lying to me. <<timed 3s>> No matter. Don't you want to wake up? [[Yes]] [[No]] <</timed>> <<set $favor to - 1>>

Nothing to say, hmm? Well. I cannot say I blame you. <<timed 3s>> But you'll have to speak eventually. Don't you want to wake up? [[Yes]] [[No]] <</timed>>

Are you certain? Living has been such pain for you. You could sleep forever. [[Let me rest.]] [[I don't want to die.]] <<set $favor to + 1>>

It would be a shame to let you pass so. But if you no longer want for this world... You could sleep forever. [[Let me rest.]] [[I don't want to die.]] <<set $favor to - 1>>

Alright, young one. Alright. <div style="float: right"><span class="big">[[↦|end1]]</span></div>

It would have been a kindness to let you sleep. But I'm glad you have fight in you. I've been so alone, after all. Alright, then. Wake up. <div style="float: right"><span class="big">[[↦|Vampire]]</span></div> [img[$top]]

It grows quiet. You have regrets. But there is peace, here, in the dark. You imagine your body on the mountain, perhaps to be found by a curious hiker, or maybe to feed an animal or the earth. You lived as well as you knew to. Goodnight, $name. Sleep well. <div style="float: right"><span class="big">[[↦|END]]</span></div>

You open your eyes. The woman standing before you is pale, strange. "Hello," she says gently. "I'm Prija." <<if $toldname is true>> She smiles. "But you already knew that, didn't you?" <<else>> <</if>> <div style="float: right"><span class="big">[[↦|V2]]</span></div> <img src="images/vamp.png" height=300px /> <<audio fire play>>

The end. [[Play again?|Intro]] <span class="slant">Pamätajte, že aj vy musíte zomrieť.</span> <img src="images/vamp.png">[img[$avatar]]

You sit up. You are in a small cabin of some sort, in a heavily covered bed. Most of the blankets are worn, the furs patchy. But you are warm. In the hearth, a fire crackles. You can feel its heat even from across the room. The room has one chair, but other than that, the bed, and the fireplace, the cabin is bare. The woman, Prija, though... there is something about her. <div style="float: right"><span class="big">[[↦|V3]]</span></div> [img[$avatar]]<img src="images/fire.png"/>

She is unnaturally pale, her eyes red. There is a faint blue tint to her cheeks, and despite her youthful appearance, her hair is an odd gray color. But what finally clues you in is the fangs poking ever-so-slightly from her upper lip. You think that perhaps the upir has found you. [[Thank her for saving you]] or [[ask why she cursed you]] <img src="images/face.png" height=300px />

"You are very welcome," she says. She moves to sit near the bed. <<if $called is true>>"How could I not?" she asks. "I heard you calling for me." [[Then you are the upir.]] [[You?]] <<else>> [[Are you the upir?]] <</if>> <<set $favor to + 2>>

She blinks in surprise. "Curse you?" [["Don't pretend you don't know."]] [["Who else would have made me ill?"]] [["Forgive me, but if not you, who?"]]

"I am sorry," she says. "But it's no deception. To what curse do you refer?" [[The white death]] [[So you have many curses then]] <<set $favor to - 2>>

"Ah," she says. Understanding settles in her features. "The white death. My dear, if it was an upir who created such an illness, it was not I." [["Then you cannot cure me?"]] [["You're lying!"]]

"I am," she says. [[Bargain with her]] or [[ask why she cursed you]]

"Me," she said. "Surely you have realized by now." You had known. But you hadn't wanted it to be true. She seems so kind. So why... [["Why did you curse me?"|ask why she cursed you]]

"Please," you tell her. You sit up with some difficulty. "My loom, where is it?" "Is that what that is?" She looks to the end of the bed, where the loom sits. "I will make you something," you tell her. "Anything. I am a skilled weaver, and I know you desire creation above all else. You only need heal me when I have finished." Sadness fills her eyes. "Oh, little mortal," she says. <<if $loombroke is true>>You struggle to sit up further, reaching for the loom, before you remember. The loom lies there in splinters, and you know now that you haven't the time to repair it. [[I wanted to make you something, but...]] [[You have to heal me.]] <<else>> <</if>> <<if $wolfbite is true>>You struggle to get up, but as you do, pain flairs through your body. You remember, then, your arm. You realize there is no way you can make her anything, not in your condition. [[I wanted to make you something, but...]] [[You have to heal me.]] <<else>> <</if>> <<if $ankle is true>>[[Please.]] <<else>> <</if>> <<if $leg is true>>[[Please.]] <<else>> <</if>>

"The white death," she says. "Mortal, if it was an upir who created such an illness, it was not I." [[Threaten her]] [[Bargain with her]]

Her eyes harden. "Tread with care, mortal," she says. "I do not harm without reason. I suggust you do not give me reason." [["You're lying!"]] [["Then you cannot cure me?"]] <<set $ favor to - 1>>

"No," she says gently. "I am afraid I cannot." [[Threaten her]] [[Bargain with her]]

"I am not," she says calmly. [[Threaten her]] [[Bargain with her]] <<set $favor to - 2>>

"I know your weaknesses," you tell her, even though you know it to be futile. Her eyes harden. "You are at death's door. Do not think that you could so much as spit at me and succeed in your condition." <<if $called is true>> "Is this why you called me?" she continues. "To threaten me? Do you really think you could win?" [[Why else would I call for you?]] [[No. But what else am I to do?]] <<else>> "I saved you," she continues. "Do not make me regret my mercy." [[Bargain with her]] [[Get it over with]] <</if>> <<set $favor to - 2>>

"Ah," she says. Understanding settles in her features. "The white death. My dear, sweet mortal. If it was an upir who created such an illness, it was not I." [[Threaten her]] [[Bargain with her]] <<set $favor to + 1>>

"I cannot heal you," she says slowly. "Even with a trade. I am very sorry." "There must be something you can do," you tell her. "Anything. Please. I don't want to die like this. Surely... surely..." "Dear mortal." Her eyes seem soft in the firelight. "There is not much I can do, but for one thing." <div style="float: right"><span class="big">[[↦|choice]]</span></div> <<set $favor to + 1>>

"Do not order me," she says tiredly. "Even if I were so inclined to obey, I am unable to. I cannot heal you." "There must be something you can do," you tell her. "Anything. Please. I don't want to die like this. Surely... surely..." "Young mortal." Her eyes seem soft in the firelight. "There is not much I can do, but for one thing." <div style="float: right"><span class="big">[[↦|choice]]</span></div> <<set $favor to - 1>>

"You are dying," she says quietly. "I would not fill your final moments with flase hope. Dear mortal, I cannot heal you, nor anyone else. I cannot curse. There is little I can do about health, one way or the other." "There must be something you can do," you tell her. "Anything. Please. I don't want to die like this. Surely... surely..." "Beautiful mortal." Her eyes glisten with unshed tears in the firelight. "I would heal you, I would. But I cannot. So I offer you this." <div style="float: right"><span class="big">[[↦|choice]]</span></div> <<set $favor to + 2>>

"I see," she says. She stands. Panic fills you. "Wait, where are you going?" "Animals die alone," she says. "So too shall you." [[Wait!]] [[Good.]] <<set $favor to - 1>>

She stands without further communication to you and starts for the door. [[Wait!]] [[You've made your peace with this.|Good.]]

She pauses. "Wait," you repeat. "Please. I... I know I've insulted you. But please. Please do not leave me to die. Not alone. I... I do not want to be alone." <<if $favor lte 0>> "You should have stayed in your village, then." She leaves. Maybe you call for her, maybe you don't. You might curse, you might weep. It is hard to tell as the fever takes hold. <div style="float: right"><span class="big">[[↦|BadEnd1]]</span></div> <<else>> <</if>> <<if $favor gte 0>> "Alright," she says. "I will stay." <div style="float: right"><span class="big">[[↦|NEnd1]]</span></div> <<else>> <</if>> <<if $favor gte 5>> She sighs. "Of course," she says. "I will stay. I cannot turn my back to you, even now." <div style="float: right"><span class="big">[[↦|NEnd2]]</span></div> <<else>> <</if>>

She leaves. Maybe you call for her, maybe you don't. You might curse, you might weep. It is hard to tell as the fever takes hold. It does not matter, though. You slip into darkness. <div style="float: right"><span class="big">[[↦|BadEnd1]]</span></div>

"I am," she says gently. "Does that frighten you?" [[No.]] [[Yes.]] <<set $favor to + 1>>

"Even if you are lying," Prija smiles, "it is good to hear, if even only once." [[Bargain with her]] <<set $favor to + 2>>

She nods. "Wise," she says. "If not hurtful." [[Bargain with her]] [[Threaten her]]

You wish your last day could have been spent better. You wish that you could have been with someone you loved. You wish that you would have ended it with anyone but the upir. But that is all passed, now. You supposed, in the end, death is just a struggle that all are failed to lose. You are no different. All are the same; the human who falls ill, the dear who is mauled, the grasshoper who starves in the winter. There is some comfort in that. You are not alone. Not really. Goodnight, $name. Sleep well. <div style="float: right"><span class="big">[[↦|END]]</span></div>

You are surprised when she takes your hand. It has been so long since anyone touched you. You did not blame them; they could have fallen ill themselves. But it feels nice, even if her hand does feel like ice in yours. You could almost thank her. Your eyes leak hot tears onto your palid face. You have contemplated death many times over, and you have thought about how you might see Iskra, your parents, those who the village has lost. It would be good to see them again. Perhaps there is nothing after this. You think that would be alright. You're tired, after all. "Sleep, $name," she tells you. "I should not have woken you." You want to tell her its alright, but the words seem so far away. <span class="slant">Sleep.</span> <div style="float: right"><span class="big">[[↦|END]]</span></div>

You are glad you are not alone. You talk to her, you think. Maybe she listens, maybe she doesn't. Does it really matter? She's there, and it's enough, even if she is the upir of all things. You almost pity her. You can hardly handle one heart beating feebly in your breast. What a curse, to feel the pain of two. You talk about Iskra. Your parents. The village and the weather, animals you'd liked, foods you had tried. You tell her everything and nothing, and you think as you drift that she may even envy you for having lived at all. That is what matters, is it not? You lived, $name. You lived. <div style="float: right"><span class="big">[[↦|END]]</span></div>

She seems to understand. "Oh, young mortal. [[Bargain with her]] [[Get it over with]] <<set $favor to + 1>>

<<if $favor gte 10>>"Please," she says quietly. "Let me make you my companion. Let me make you upir. It is awful to be alone. Awful to die. I would give you two hearts, two souls. I know it is difficult to lose your humanity. But stay. Stay with me." [[You don't know]] [[You want to stay]] [[You don't want to become upir]] <<else>> <</if>> <<if $favor lt 10 and gt 6>>"You could become upir," she says. "Or I could lay you to rest. I am sorry. There is nothing more I can do." [[Become upir]] [[Stay human]] <<else>> <</if>> <<if $favor lte 6>>"I can only offer you a gentle end," she tells you quietly. "I am sorry, truly, I am." [[Do it.]] [[Let the fever run its course.]] <<else>> <</if>>

"I would treausre you," she promises. "You could be anything; mist and wolf and bat and dawn. You would know pleasure no human ever has." "And suffering," you say. "Like no other." "Yes," she said. "We do suffer greatly. Oh, but to be together, we would make that suffering less. Do not go now, $name. Be with me always, I ask you." [[Become upir]] [[Stay human]]

"Yes," she says, and the word sounds like relief, like love, like everything in between. "Thank you. Oh, dearest $name, thank you." <<if $wolfbite is true>> She tries to change you. The pain is like nothing you have ever felt, but the wolf bite has sapped your strength even further than the white death ever has. You can hear her calling for you. It's no use. <div style="float: right"><span class="big">[[↦|GEnd2]]</span></div> <<else>> Time passes strangly after that. You feel pain like you have never felt. It is hard to explain, exactly, but you know this for what it is; death. Should death be so terrible, so awful? But at the end of it all, she is there, waiting. <div style="float: right"><span class="big">[[↦|GEnd]]</span></div> <</if>>

"I'm sorry," you tell her gently. "I wouldn't want you to be alone forever, but I can't. I can't." She nods. The tears do fall, then. "No," she tells you. "I understand. It was selfish of me to offer. But thank you for letting me hope, if even only for a moment." <div style="float: right"><span class="big">[[↦|Gend1]]</span></div>

<<if $wolfbite is true>> She tries to change you. The pain is like nothing you have ever felt, but the wolf bite has sapped your strength even further than the white death ever has. You can hear her calling for you. It's no use. <div style="float: right"><span class="big">[[↦|GEnd2]]</span></div> <<else>> Time passes strangly after that. You feel pain like you have never felt. It is hard to explain, exactly, but you know this for what it is; death. Should death be so terrible, so awful? But at the end of it all, she is there, waiting. <div style="float: right"><span class="big">[[↦|GEnd]]</span></div> <</if>>

She nods. "That is wise," she tells you. "Though I think I could miss you, $name. I hope only that you find comfort in a lack of suffering." You do not know how she does it. One moment, you are awake, heart slowing in your chest as each breath become more difficult than the last. But suddenly, the weight is gone from your chest, and you feel her hand atop yours; cold as ice, but soft as snow. It is not a bad way to die. You could have struggled until your last breath. Life does not have to be an unending fight, though. It does not have to be so horrible. You think that perhaps the villagers will know you went well. You think perhaps Prija will perpare your funeral with care to see you do not come back changed. You think, perhaps... Perhaps you are at peace, one last time. <div style="float: right"><span class="big">[[↦|END]]</span></div>

She nods. "You are very brave," she tells you. "I am sorry I woke you." You are not. You are glad you got to feel this world one last time. The heat of the fire, the sound of her voice, the sight of her face. You are glad. It is hard. The cough wracks your body, the fever burns you from the inside. You choke on blood, you shake and cry, you fight, and fight, for hours. But it is how you wanted to go. You will not slip quietly to sleep. You will cling to that last touch of light so long as it exists, and when it is extuinguished, you will be able to say you lived as you knew how to. For a beautiful, perfect moment, you are alive, and nothing hurts anymore. When the darkness comes, you great it as a battlefeild companion. It has won, but you fought your best. You take its hand, and finally, you go. <div style="float: right"><span class="big">[[↦|END]]</span></div>

"I'm sorry," you hear her weep. "I am so sorry." Your last chance, snatched away by a wound. You could laugh at it all. Even the might of the upir does not stand against nature. You hold tightly to her hand as the rest of your stength fades. Maybe Prija will not put coins around your body. Maybe she will not cover you in cloth. Maybe she will put you into the tomb feet-first, maybe she will visit your corpse night after night, until you come back for her, one way or another. Or maybe this is it. Things begin to feel blurry. You're glad you made the trip. You're glad you met Prija. You're glad you lived. Yes. After it all. You're glad you lived. <div style="float: right"><span class="big">[[↦|END]]</span></div>

When you open your eyes, you feel strange. Prija is waiting for you on the end of the bed. You know without knowing how that it has been many days. Your hearts beat painfully in your chest, and you feel strangely hollow. She smiles at you, but it doesn't reach her eyes. "It is a difficult existence," she tells you. "But we are not alone." And that is true. It has been so long since you weren't alone. Maybe this is no better than death. There are those who say it is worse. But Prija is here, and you are here, and you have a cozy tiny cabin no the peak of the mountain. Life is over, and yet it isn't. "I love you," she tells you, and even though she cannot love, not the way humans do, you still feel it is true. <div style="float: right"><span class="big">[[↦|END]]</span></div>

It has been so long since anyone touched you. You did not blame them; they could have fallen ill themselves. But when she takes your hand, you feel that last touch of love, and think that perhaps this is how you wanted to die, even if you did not know it when you started you journey. Your eyes leak hot tears onto your palid face. You have contemplated death many times over, and you have thought about how you might see Iskra, your parents, those who the village has lost. It would be good to see them again. Perhaps there is nothing after this. You think that would be alright. You're tired, after all. "Sleep, dear $name," she tells you. "I will ensure you do not come back from the grave." One last comfort. You could have loved her, in another life. <span class="slant">Sleep.</span> <div style="float: right"><span class="big">[[↦|END]]</span></div>