main:
  set_screen sky_inn 0

  talk r idle "Oh, you're here. Questing knights travel alone, don't they?"
  talk i idle "Peace, Rahel. You're not being recruited. Although -"
  talk r idle "Nope. No more hunts for me, I think. Don't tell anyone yet."
  "Idyll smirks. In the shadowed eaves, her face shines."
  
  talk i idle "I'll get to my point. A shapeshifter made off with your apprentice."
  talk r idle "Oh. Which one?"
  talk i idle "Strider. Did you know?"
  talk r idle "No. But this is - a crowd. Maybe you'd rather sit down? Let's get drinks."
  "The junior paladins trail after Idyll, forming an escort. Idyll wears dark robes under leather armor, but Rahel is just in her flannel shirt."

  set_screen fortress_office 0

  talk i idle "Would you wait for us out here?"
  "Rahel glowers at the paladins and their metal masks, but walks past them."
  talk r idle "I'm sorry. You must have expected some misdirection, but..."
  talk i idle "You've chosen to be brazen. Please, don't tell me anything."
  "Strider peers curiously at Idyll from up in a rafter. Idyll averts her gaze into her hand."

  choice:
    talk r idle "Well. I know you care for Strider, too."
    "It's fine.":
      talk i idle "I'm glad they're okay. Hide them better, please."
      jump main_fight
    "This is a disaster.":
      talk i idle "You know I have to bring them back? Stop asking me to lie for you."
      jump main_fight
    "Seriously, what is your angle?":
      talk i idle "It's not that I don't appreciate your trust. But what do you want?"
      jump main_fight

main_fight:
  talk r idle "I -"
  "Raised voices interrupt Rahel. One of the paladins has got the lizard-headed bartender at swordpoint, and accuses them of cult activity."
  "Something falls down behind behind the bar. Is it Strider? Of course it's Strider."
  "They've gone to the bartender. The first paladin doesn't know what they're seeing. Another one shouts, 'They've got the chosen one! Kill the heretics!'"

  talk r idle "Fuck."
  talk i idle "Wait! Damn zealots -"
  "Idyll finds herself pinned by what seems to be the weight of a large constrictor snake."
  "Something has sliced into Rahel's arm lengthwise. Rushing out of the wound come a half dozen serpents. Idyll hears a terrible sibilant noise."

  "The light is all gone into oversaturated oranges and pinks. It bounces off of golden bracers and golden scales and everything is moving entirely too fast."
  "At the end of it Idyll is left with three crumpled paladins - still breathing, though, - in a empty fucking bar."
  
  "Someone's blood is on her knife."
  jump office

office:
  set_screen fortress_office 0

  "Idyll drops her head into her hands. Nobody likes this one. None of her allies - well."
  "Getting Strider home, that was supposed to solve things. Someone else was supposed to save them this time."
  "The door lurches open."

  talk pal idle "The council has decided. You have been sentenced to death for witchcraft."
  talk pal idle "Come now, the novices must clear your chambers."
  talk i idle "What kind of death?"

  choice:
    talk pal idle "I'm sure you know."
    "I want to hear you say it.":
      talk i idle "Go on. You cannot walk this back."
      "The abbess nods solemnly."
      jump office_respond

    "I am compelled to accept punishment.":
      talk i idle "But you've never pursued this crime, before. Why now?"
      "The abbess closes her eyes."
      jump office_respond
    
office_respond:
  talk pal idle "It is possible your infernal master will preserve you from the flame. In that case -"
  talk i idle "I promise you, I did not walk through the actual fires of Hell."

  choice:
    talk pal idle "Even so. We'll have the headsman, as well."
    "Grieve.":
      talk i idle "It will be awful. But satisfying, in its way."
      "Her brow creases slightly."
      jump office_reflect
    "Needle her.":
      talk i idle "How thoughtful. Thank you for telling me."
      "She tilts her chin a little higher."
      jump office_reflect
    "Don't give her the pleasure.":
      jump office_reflect

office_reflect:
  "The abbess leaves. The footfalls of guards, filing in behind her."
  "The room shudders, flipping into its infernal mirror. The guards never make it."
  "An old woman returns."

  talk a idle "Oh, it's an unfortunate business."
  talk a idle "You should remember more of these events over time."
  choice:
    talk a idle "Please remember that you are safe here. Let me know if they try to overwhelm you."
    "You're hiding something.":
      talk i idle "You must be hiding something from me, devil."
      talk a idle "It was not my doing. I ask for your patience."
      jump office_end

    "Right. Of course.":
      talk i idle "I'm ready to continue."
      talk a idle "Good. You've been put in a difficult situation."
      jump office_end

office_end:
  talk a idle "My daughter has been confused. She calls me a heretic. She thinks she can protect Strider from the zealots."
  talk a idle "Is this true? Has she kept good care of what she took from me?"
  talk i idle "What?"

  talk i idle "I cannot believe this version of the past, I think. Not if it is your telling."
  talk a idle "I see. Very good. Trust that your reaction is your own."
  talk a idle "And then, listen."
  jump bazaar

bazaar:
  clear_dialog
  set_screen sky_inn

  talk y idle "Do I possess a soul?"
  talk r idle "Well, you shouldn't believe anyone who says otherwise."

  talk y idle "I think you mean to disagree without really disagreeing. It is alright!"
  talk y idle "If souls are not real, then I should not pretend to have one."
  "Strider smiles, like they've answered the question."
  talk r intent "Tell me, you've got a sense of what's fair and what's not?"

  talk y excited "Yeah!"
  talk r intent "Have you got a sense of justice? And these are real?"
  talk y excited "Yes! No. Wait, it describes the world."
  talk y excited "But it is not in the world."

  talk y excited "So it's a lie?"
  talk r intent "It's no lie at all, only a kind of simplifying belief."
  talk r idle "What if you didn't think of an apple as an apple? Then it would be nothing more than a bundle of... sensations. Sticky. Red. And these kinds of essential features."
  talk y excited "Eew! You made that sound worse than you had to!"
  "Rahel ruffles their hair playfully."
  
  talk y idle "That is why we can't... have justice, in front of us."
  talk r intent "That's right. And when we try to isolate it - poof, goes away. It's the charged gap between two things."
  talk y idle "And my soul is - fleeting, the same way."
  talk r idle "Yes."
  jump dungeon

dungeon:
  clear_dialog
  set_screen  fortress_dungeon

  "Is there no one else left in the convent at all? As many of them as Idyll knew, only the abbess persists with visiting her in purgatory."
  talk pal idle "Hey."
  talk i idle "Hey, you."
  talk pal idle "You were telling me a story. About the time you went to Hell. What's there in Hell?"
  talk i idle "I suppose there's the court of the devil. Did you know there's more than one?"
  talk i idle "Calls herself the Lord of Sacrifice. Maybe she was called something else, before."

  talk pal idle "Did you go there to see her daughter?"
  talk i idle "I didn't even know Rahel would be there. For the debut, I guess."
  talk i idle "Did you know, she wore a dress? She can really wear a dress."
  talk pal idle "You said something about a debut."
  talk i idle "Sure. I went there to find Strider. Turns out the devil threw a party. She was introducing them to the court."

  talk pal idle "How did you get away?"
  talk i idle "First we had Rahel run interference. So she split off, got her mother in a different room."
  talk i idle "Then I grabbed Strider and ran."
  talk pal idle "Why not give Strider to your friend right then?"
  talk i idle "No, that's not - she didn't tell me about her plan. She acted without my knowledge."
  talk pal idle "Do you know why she sent you in the first place?"
  talk i idle "It was a scheme. She was playing both sides, I guess."

  choice:
    talk pal idle "When did you know she was a double agent?"
    "She doesn't tell me anything.":
      talk i idle "I didn't, and you're mistaken."
      jump dungeon_end
    "What? She hates her mother.":
      talk i idle "You're terribly mistaken. She works against the devil."
      jump dungeon_end
    "There's no right answer.":
      talk i idle "No. That's enough, I think."
      jump dungeon_end

dungeon_end:
  talk pal idle "Whatever is really the case, you must agree that Strider is in danger."
  talk pal idle "You came back empty-handed, and your excuse is your traitor girlfriend!"
  choice:
    "The Lord of Sacrifice murmurs something vaguely sympathetic."
    "They hated her.":
      think i idle "It had nothing to do with me. They must have felt embarassed."
      talk a idle "Oh, the high and mighty."
      jump dungeon_wrap
    "I feel I was caught in a trap.":
      think i idle "What the fuck was that?"
      talk a idle "I believe they hoped you'd implicate someone else."
      jump dungeon_wrap
    "Why can't I control the memory?":
      think i idle "I don't want to do this anymore."
      talk a idle "Your mind hasn't yet caught up with your body."
      jump dungeon_wrap

dungeon_wrap:
  talk a idle "You recall what happened. But not how it fits together, yet."
  jump concourse

concourse:
  clear_dialog
  set_screen sky_font 0

  talk y thinking "All the other sorcerers are boys."
  talk r amused "Hm, and I'm not?"
  talk y excited "Wait, are you? Then you must not be a girl?"

  talk r amused "What makes you think that?"
  talk y idle "I mean... you are a sorceress. Which is the same kind of thing as a sorcerer."
  "Rahel laughs sharply."
  talk r grief "That's exactly right, isn't it?"

  choice:
    talk y idle "Which thing were you, then? When you were with the Order."
    "A knight. Someone who protected the faith.":
      talk r idle "A knight, like they claim to be. And I found you to protect."
      talk r idle "They just thought a knight should be less curious."
      jump concourse_continue
    "A sorcerer. Someone who understood the faith.":
      talk r idle "A sorceror, to understand the faith and its secrets. That's how I found you."
      talk r idle "I suppose they didn't think I'd really care."
      jump concourse_continue
    "A supplicant, looking for other monsters.":
      talk r idle "A supplicant, looking for another... person like myself."
      talk r idle "I was lucky to find Idyll. I really was."
      jump concourse_continue

concourse_continue:
  talk y idle "This does not seem like a problem. You have used magic to change your body."
  talk r idle "To change what I am? Sure. But what I mean is - someone else's expectation."
  jump concourse_end

concourse_end:
  talk y idle "I am sure that some of the teachers in the Order were more like you?"
  talk r idle "Oh, yes. I was always compared to my mother."
  talk y idle "Why?"
  talk r smile "Strider, have I never told you? The Lord of Sacrifice was a paladin in service of the Wyrm. Long before you or I."
  choice:
    think i idle "Now - that raises questions for you, my friend."
    "She isn't one now. Why?":
      think a anger "I fell from grace the moment I gave the order, and I knew in the moment I felt my soldiers die. Though it took me years and years, to really understand."
      think a anger "And I turned to Hell, because the Wyrm was more thoughtless."
      jump arena
    "She hates him now. Why?":
      think a anger "I want the Wyrm to comprehend its error. To grant mortals such power is to see them destroyed, you understand. One way or the other."
      think a anger "Because we fail, and we err, and we hurt each other irreparably."
      jump arena

arena:
  clear_dialog
  set_screen fortress_arena 0

  "Eventually, they trot Idyll out to murder her."
  think a idle "You're standing so far away from yourself."
  think a idle "I wonder if this one..."
  choice:
    "Stop this."
    "I don't want to see.":
      think a idle "I know. You cling tightly to this weight."
      jump arena_one
    "I don't want you to see.":
      think a idle "Why not? I will help you wake up."
      jump arena_one
    "I don't have to be present.":
      think a idle "I suppose not."
      jump arena_one
    
arena_one:
  "The abbess offers to take Idyll's last words."
  choice:
    "Obviously, she will choose how she likes to report them."
    "Deliver an indictment. Why not?":
      talk i idle "Your justice is a sham."
      talk pal idle "I did all that I could for you."
      jump arena_two
    "Refuse. Silence is the only defense.":
      talk pal idle "Your guilt will bear you down."
      jump arena_two

arena_two:
  "Two knights walk Idyll over the mound and up to the stake, hands bound with thick rope. They're so devastatingly proud to be entrusted with an important duty."
  "It would be worse if they knew her. If they looked back at her."

  "They burn her. It takes a long time. She stumbles free when the ropes burn through."
  "She pushes herself up, sharp talons digging the ground. Grains of sand get stuck in the grooves between scales. There's lots of heterogenous shapes in the pattern, the better to follow her hand's contours - smooth bands here, pebbles there."
  
  "She sees through a hundred eyes the reaction of the crowd - there is, of course, a crowd, - which falls to silence as the knights come and take away a charred mass. The abbess' attention does not fall away from Idyll, not like the rest."
  "Idyll snaps her wings against the air."
  "The old woman startles."
  jump arena_three
        
arena_three:
  "Idyll fucks off."
  "The abbess' eyes follow her into the sky."
  jump cryptid

cryptid:
  clear_dialog
  set_screen sky_tree 0

  talk y idle "Why are people cruel?"
  talk r idle "You'll have to be more specific, I think."

  talk y idle "I don't understand why those knights came, and said they wanted to get me back. Since you would only be cruel to someone whom you did not want to be around any longer."
  choice:
    talk r idle "Yes, that must be right."
    "Someone told them you were a threat.":
      talk r idle "It's why I couldn't let them take you from me."
      jump cryptid_continue
    "They didn't know they had that choice.":
      talk r idle "It's why I couldn't let them take you from me."
      jump cryptid_continue

cryptid_continue:
  talk y idle "I saw that."
  talk r flinch "Hold on. We're being watched."
  jump alley

alley:
  clear_dialog
  "It reminds Rahel of a nun in her habit. Waiting patiently, only to deliver the news of a tragedy at the end of the night."
  talk r idle "That fucking owl again."

  talk y idle "You keep using the bad words in front of me!"
  "Rahel raises her voice, ignoring the complaint."
  talk r idle "Speak, messenger."

  "The raptor falls. Her wings flash out and are limned with utter sunlight."
  "Her shape resolves to that of an equal and incompatible truth: a woman clad in black, her coutenance without color."
  "Her painted eyes flicker open - a third eyelid beneath, faintly cyanotic and half-translucent."
  choice:
    "Rahel reaches up to comfort Idyll, reflexively."
    "Refuse.":
      talk i idle "We'll talk."
      jump alley_begin
    "Refuse, saying nothing.":
      jump alley_begin
    "Accept.":
      "Rahel touches Idyll's cheek, in the space in front of the ear. Her hand is stained with ink. It's warm."
      jump alley_begin

alley_begin:
  "Idyll brushes her talons against Rahel's hand lightly. It drops to Rahel's side, clenched tightly against her own weakness."
  talk y idle "She is not coming with us?"

  "Strider runs up to Rahel's side and bumps their head into her hand. Her digits tangle in their hair absent-mindedly."
  choice:
    talk r idle "She's just making sure we're okay. Right?"
    "You're welcome back home.":
      talk i idle "And reminding you that you are still welcome back home. Your mother misses you."
      jump alley_agenda
    "I want answers of my own.":
      talk i idle "You know your mother spies on you, right? But I want answers, too."
      jump alley_conspire

alley_conspire:
  talk r idle "Do make sure she doesn't miss anything very important."
  "Rahel is asking Idyll to do the opposite precisely."
  talk r idle "I didn't think I'd see you again."
  jump alley_retort

alley_agenda:
  talk r idle "She can tell me as much herself. Instead, she's put you up to it."    
  choice:
    talk r idle "She likes to break the Wyrm's toys. To make the world resemble herself."
    "I'm not here for you.":
      talk i idle "Then you know our fight is with the Wyrm. Not with you."
      talk r idle "She's always twisted it around. But He never asked her to do those things."
      talk i idle "I see. And it's the Wyrm who called you?"
      talk r facepalm "Yes! Fuck -"
      jump alley_retort

    "I'm not here for her.":
      talk i idle "This isn't for her. The Wyrm's servants killed me for your betrayal."
      talk r idle "They follow a law removed from his wishes. I'm truly sorry."
      talk i idle "Tell me what you believe. Should I have stayed dead?"
      talk r flinch "Yes! Fuck -"
      jump alley_retort

    "I'm not here for the damn Wyrm.":
      talk i idle "That doesn't mean anything to me. I'm here for Strider's sake."
      talk r idle "Then tell me why you'd see them under the devil's thumb. Without their teacher."
      talk i idle "Ah. Is that what you are?"
      talk r inspired "Yes! Fuck -"
      jump alley_retort

alley_retort:
  talk r idle "I rescued Strider. The paladins came after me. You weren't supposed to - well."
  jump alley_reason

alley_reason:
  choice:
    talk r idle "You shouldn't have gone with them."
    "They were in danger from you.":
      talk i idle "You were going to kill everyone who came after you. Because you wanted to."
      talk r idle "And you would have been... blameless."
      jump alley_reason_killing

    "They were right about you.":
      talk i idle "You're the devil's daughter. You're a monster, just like her."
      talk r idle "Well. You're right."
      jump alley_reason_monster

// Because you wanted to.
alley_reason_killing:
  choice:
    "She was about to say, Idyll would have still been alive."
    "Disagree.":
      talk i idle "No. I think that, perhaps, nothing about the Order is blameless."
      talk r idle "Yeah, well."
      jump alley_reason_killed

    "Agree.":
      talk i idle "Yes. I suppose we'd still be hunting you."
      talk r smile "Now that's romantic."
      jump alley_reason_killed

    "Insist.":
      talk i idle "You knew that I would die for you. It would be a spectacle."
      talk r idle "I didn't know. I left because I couldn't - no, never mind."
      jump alley_reason_killed

alley_reason_killed:
  choice:
    talk r idle "I didn't know how."
    "Fuck you.":
      talk i idle "You're actually jealous. A martyr, like your mother."
      talk r blank "You're not wrong."
      jump alley_reason_monster

    "So what?":
      talk i idle "Yes, you do. What do you really mean?"
      talk r idle "I mean, you shouldn't - look. You died, your body is gone. So who am I seeing?"
      jump alley_reason_soul

// You're a monster, just like her.
alley_reason_monster:
  choice:
    "..."
    "Aren't you flattered?":
      talk i idle "Don't you feel flattered? Stop torturing yourself."
      talk r idle "That's not you. That's her words."
      jump alley_continue_fake

    "But she saved me.":
      talk i idle "And yet, she saved me. Even though I was her enemy."
      talk r idle "That's not true. You don't owe her anything."
      talk i idle "What? She brought me back."
      talk r idle "That can't be true. She doesn't know shit about you. Your body's gone, and yet - you remain."
      jump alley_reason_soul

alley_reason_soul:
  choice:
    "It's... Idyll's soul?"
    "But I have my memories from after I died.":
      talk i idle "When I died, I came back in Hell, but otherwise - there's no difference between before and after."
      talk r idle "Look, is there a... site you remember?"
      jump alley_reason_identity

    "Why the fuck did you not tell me?":
      talk i idle "Pray, would you have mentioned your epistemological doubt to my face?"
      talk r idle "No, you're - conceptually congruous, still. You refused to be what isn't you."
      talk r idle "I don't understand. Because you are exactly who I remember."
      jump alley_reason_soul
        
    "[NEXT] What is Strider, really?":
      talk i idle "You told Strider that souls aren't real. Important, but not real."
      talk i idle "But here I am. Is this their doing?"
      talk r idle "Oh. Huh."
      talk y idle "Wait, is it? I can do that?"
      talk r idle "..."
      jump alley_continue

// I'm bound to hell.
alley_reason_identity:
  choice:
    talk r idle "A place of significance?"
    "You go first.":
      talk i idle "I'd like to know yours, I think."
      talk r idle "From the shattered fortress, there is a tower where you can see the Great Wyrm coiling in the sky. Just on the horizon, where the sun would be."
      jump alley_reason_soul
    "The devil's court.":
      talk i idle "You know it already. The shattered fortress."
      talk r idle "It was my home. But no longer."
      jump alley_reason_soul
    "The river, and the journey.":
      talk i idle "I took your bike from the shattered fortress. I rode with Strider, all the way back up the river."
      talk r curious "I'm glad for that."
      jump alley_reason_soul

alley_continue_fake:
  talk y eager "Can I hug your ex?"
  talk r blank "She's not -"

  choice:
    talk r blank "I don't think that would be wise."
    "[END] Promise to see them again.":
      talk i smirk "You'll come around. In the end, we all do."
      jump alley_end

    "Call Strider over.":
      talk i idle "You needn't be selfish. Come here, child."
      "Strider slips away from Rahel and climbs into Idyll's arms."
      jump alley_strider

    "Protest.":
      talk i idle "All I have to go on is insinuation! If the devil is so bad, then tell me what she really wants."
      "Rahel pushes a hand through her hair, pressed for an argument she's litigated with herself over and over."
      jump alley_pry

alley_continue:
  talk y eager "Can I hug your ex?"
  talk r blank "Uh."

  choice:
    talk r pensive "I need her to promise you'll be alright."
    "Express concern.":
      talk i idle "I don't think you understand the real danger you're in."
      jump alley_pry

    "Express support.":
      talk i smile "Of course. You're actually doing well."
      talk r calm "It sounds true when you say it like that."
      jump alley_hug

    "Needle her.":
      talk i idle "Oh, no. Stealing the child? I wouldn't do that to you."
      talk r flinch "That's fair."
      jump alley_hug

alley_pry:
  talk r idle "Don't fall for Mother's tricks. She'll make Strider into a weapon."
  jump alley_pry_threat

alley_pry_threat:
  choice:
    talk r idle "Strider must go with me. We shall not return to the Order."
    "It's too dangerous to be alone.":
      talk i idle "The paladins are relentless. Bring Strider with you. Come home."
      talk r idle "I know that, and I can't. You don't know what it's like. Not yet."
      jump alley_pry_threat

    "You trust too much in the Wyrm.":
      talk i idle "The Wyrm's claws are in you. How can we trust your care?"
      talk r grief "There was a time that you believed. Even though it wasn't enough."
      jump alley_pry_threat

    "[NEXT] How long can you do this for?":
      talk i idle "How long do you plan to travel, house to house? A year? A decade?"
      talk r calm "Only until Strider knows who they are, and who they intend to be."
      jump alley_hug

alley_hug:
  "Rahel lets Strider cross the short distance. Strider climbs into Idyll's arms and hugs her."
  jump alley_strider

alley_strider:
  choice:
    "Idyll addresses the child."
    "[END] Say goodbye for now.":
      talk i neutral "I'm glad I got to say hi to you again. But I have to go home soon."
      talk y eager "Okay. I miss you."
      "Strider runs back to Rahel. White fire springs forth at the soles of Idyll's boots."
      "Idyll closes her eyes. When they open, the Lord of Sacrifice is waiting."
      talk a idle "You did well."
      jump alley_end

    "[END] Say goodbye for real.":
      talk i neutral "You're going to be okay. But I have to leave now."
      talk y eager "Okay. I miss you."
      "Strider runs back to Rahel. White fire springs forth at the soles of Idyll's boots."
      "Rahel closes her eyes. When they open, Idyll is gone."
      talk r idle "Goodbye."
      jump alley_end

    "Persuade Strider to seek out Hell.":
      talk i neutral "Are you ready to come home?"
      talk y idle "You don't mean the Order. You mean with...?"
      jump alley_betray

alley_betray:
  choice:
    talk r blank "Stop this, Idyll. It's what Mother wants."
    "[END] Promise to destroy her, together.":
      talk i neutral "You're a smart one. Good. You'll be ready when you're older."
      talk r grief "...I'm sorry."
      jump alley_end
        
    "Promise Strider will be fine.":
      talk i curious "Hm. That's okay. The court will fight over you, sure. They'll try to use you. But their master won't let them."
      talk y excited "She really likes me?"
      jump alley_betray_continue

alley_end:
  set_screen default 0
  jump alley_loop

//  their master won't let them.
alley_betray_continue:
  choice:
    talk r horrified "No. Stop."
    "[END] She misses you, Strider.":
      talk i idle "She misses you, child."
      jump alley_betray_end
    "[END] She wants you, Rahel.":
      talk i smirk "She wants you, dear."
      jump alley_betray_end
    "[END] I want you, Rahel.":
      talk i smirk "Come here."
      jump alley_betray_end

alley_betray_end:
  "White fire licks at the soles of Idyll's boots. Strider has been scooped in one arm."
  "Idyll offers Rahel one pale hand. Her talons reach out invitingly."
  talk r blank "..."
  "Rahel turns her snarl into something not unlike a smile."
  talk r amused "Well played."
  "Light catches the tips of her fangs. Idyll pulls her closer."

  "Strider clings to Idyll's shoulder, peering curiously at their teacher. Rahel relaxes, purposeful."
  talk r idle "You'll always be safe with me."
  "She lies to the child, desperate to make it true."
  talk r idle "I'm sorry for what comes next."
  jump alley_betray_wrap

alley_betray_wrap:
  set_screen default 0
  jump alley_loop

alley_loop:
  choice:
    "..."
    "[RELOAD] Again, from the top.":
      jump cryptid