<h1>Dragons Ninjas & Lettuce</h1>
<h3>Chapter One</h3>
You wake up on the stone floor of a dim room. Your head aches and you suspect it may be from dehydration. Your burning throat and parched tongue confirms the same. Your memory is a little hazy and it feels as if somebody has clobbered you over the head.
Looking around, you quickly recognise that you are in the jail cell of the city guard. You let out an audible groan as you move yourself into a sitting position. As you begin recalling the events of the night before, you are interrupted by footsteps entering the chamber.
Before you stands a slender man of your height. Sewn onto the left breast of his leather vest is a pigeon, the sigil of the city guard. He shoots you a look of contempt as he reaches for his keys. You wait awkwardly as he tries to find the keys to your cell.
“If it were up to me, I’d punish misdemeanours a little harsher, but as it is, there are enough hooligans within the city walls, and more beyond. You’re free to go, but you better not:
[[“Get in a pub brawl again while on my watch”->Wake Up - Pub]]
[[“Start a duel with Lord Snufflepuss while he’s under the King’s protection”->Wake Up - Duel]]
[[“Let me catch you stealing lettuce again”->Wake Up - Lettuce]]
You stand up but collapse against the bars of the cell. Apparently you’re still drunk.
“Hey, I’m not here to baby sit, get outta here!”
The guard swings the cell door open and jerks his hand towards the door.
Holding the bars for support, you steady yourself and take a deep breath. You regain some composure. Compensating for the sway of the room, you walk towards exit of the chamber.
You try your best to disguise your stagger as a swagger, but you fail miserably.
You enter the main room of the precinct house where dozens of city guards are busy at work. You look behind you and expect your emancipator to be following you but he had left to attend to other work. You must be free to go.
As you leave the precinct house, a guard calls to you from behind a desk.
“Hey you! Yes you. Do you want your stuff or what?”
You vaguely remember that your personal belongings were confiscated at the time that you were arrested. You walk over to the table and the guard hands you your:
[[Knights of the mewling caterpillar sigil->Leaving Jail - Sigil]]
[[Pitchfork.->Leaving Jail - Pitchfork]]
[[Head of Lettuce.->Leaving Jail - Lettuce]]
“What, give you back the head of lettuce that you stole? Consider this lettuce confiscated! Now BUGGER OFF!”
With that you leave the precinct. It’s the afternoon and precinct exit faces west. As you look outwards into the city, the afternoon sun places a shiny splinter of sunlight directly into your retina.
You take a moment to get accustomed to the brightness and move on. It’s time to move away from this stinking cop shop, but where to?
The heat of the afternoon sun reminds you of the thirst that you had woken up with. You decide that it is high time you get yourself a drink. You decide to go:`
[[back to your home.->Get a Drink - Home]]
[[to the markets.->Get a Drink - Market]]
[[venture bravely into the mountains.->Get a Drink - Mountains]]
You get onto your feet and brush the night’s dirt off your coat.
Lord Snufflepuss had called your mother a slimeless slug, you had to defend her honour. So you did what any respectable peasant would do, pull out your pitchfork and challenge him to a duel. You begin to try to explain that to him but you stop yourself. This is neither the time nor the place.
The city guard glare at you and motions you towards the chamber’s exit.
You enter the main room of the precinct house where dozens of city guards are busy at work. You look behind you and expect your emancipator to be following you but he had left to attend to other work. You must be free to go.
As you leave the precinct house, a guard calls to you from behind a desk.
“Hey you! Yes you. Do you want your stuff or what?”
You vaguely remember that your personal belongings were confiscated at the time that you were arrested. You walk over to the table and the guard hands you your:
[[Knights of the mewling caterpillar sigil.->Leaving Jail - Sigil]]
[[Pitchfork.->Leaving Jail - Pitchfork]]
[[Head of Lettuce.->Leaving Jail - Lettuce]]
Hey, there was an unguarded head of lettuce. What were you supposed to do? Not steal it?
You enter the main room of the precinct house where dozens of city guards are busy at work. You look behind you and expect your emancipator to be following you but he has left to attend to other work. You must be free to go.
As you leave the precinct house, a guard calls to you from behind a desk.
“Hey you! Yes you. Do you want your stuff or what?”
You vaguely remember that your personal belongings were confiscated at the time that you were arrested. You walk over to the table and the guard hands you your:
[[Knights of the mewling caterpillar sigil.->Leaving Jail - Sigil]]
[[Pitchfork.->Leaving Jail - Pitchfork]]
[[Head of Lettuce.->Leaving Jail - Theif]]
You decide to go home, you’ve been away for long enough. Could probably use a rest too.
As you walk through the city, you overhear talk of the dragon. There’s been much talk of the dragon of late, in fact, besides lettuce, it seems to be the only thing people talk about. A news hawker boy no older than 10 makes eye contact with you and begins shouting in your direction while holding up today’s paper.
“Brave Sir Robin! Almost slain by the dragon! Read all about it! Good sir! Have you heard the latest?”
You rummage through your pockets but find only a few copper pieces. There’s enough for a paper, but not enough for a paper and your next meal. It was probably for the best that you can’t afford, you would be encouraging what is essentially child labour.
You walk down the familiar dirt road which leads to your house. The sun is beginning to set and in this lighting, your house looks even more dilapidated. The weeds sprouting from the cracks of your walls are an ugly nuisance, but the weeds in your front yard are the real menace. It’s killed off every lettuce that you’ve tried to grow on that sad patch of dirt you call a garden. Not that you can really grow lettuce in this neighbourhood, it’d be stolen in an instant.
You notice a piece of paper plastered on your front gate. You don’t recall it being there yesterday.
//Has your child turned 12?
Are they ready for their horse riding license?
Come to Horses for Courses for safe and easy horse riding lessons!
Our instructors will teach your child to:
- get on a horse,
- get off a horse,
- get down from a horse.
In 10 easy lessons!//
That’s ridiculous! You think to yourself, you don’t get down from a horse, you get down from a duck. Which reminds you, the annual duck throwing competition is on in two weeks!
This year, you’re going to win. You just know it. You head in the house, pick up your nearest duck and you start throwing. A couple of hours go by and you’ve got your swing just right.
''You feel your athleticism increase substantially!''
Happy with your accomplishment, you remember that pang of thirst again. You drink some old water you drew from the well a couple of days ago and hope that the duck hasn’t been swimming in it. You head to bed, tired but content.
[[Proceed to next chapter ->Chapter 2]]
All you have at home is old water that you drew from the well. Your duck’s probably been swimming in it. After all, you’ve just served a one night sentence, time to celebrate your freedom! You head towards the market.
As you walk through the city, you overhear talk of the dragon. There’s been much talk of the dragon of late, in fact, besides lettuce, it seems to be the only thing people talk about. A news hawker boy no older than 10 makes eye contact with you and begins shouting in your direction while holding up today’s paper.
“Brave Sir Robin! Almost slain by the dragon! Read all about it! Good sir! Have you heard the latest?”
You rummage through your pockets but find only a few copper pieces. There’s enough for a paper, but not enough for a paper and your next meal. It was probably for the best that you cannot afford it, you would be encouraging what is essentially child labour.
The atmosphere slowly changes to that of a bustling market. Scores of makeshift stalls lay about. The traffic grows heavier as you move closer to the grid. As you walk between the stalls, you survey your options.
To your left, you see a man being pressured by the merchant to haggle over a gourd. The same merchant is curiously also selling beards, you decide to walk away from this silliness.
As you turn away, you bump into an old lady. If not for the steady stream of pedestrians, she would have surely been knocked to the ground.
You flinch as you look upon her warped and wrinkled visage. Her fissured lips curl inwards into her toothless mouth. Her jaws are oddly misshapen and hang loose to one side as if detached.
You notice her eyes are white and glossy and her movements unsure. She’s blind. You feel so much worse about bumping into her, but at least you won’t have to feel bad about your decidedly rude reaction. You apologize profusely and try to steady her. You ask her if she needs help.
“Dearie me. It’s quite alright child. I am looking for the lettuce monger, do you know where I can find one?”
You explain to her that there are many lettuce mongers around and that you will help her to one.
“What a kind young kid you are. I’m no good at this anymore. I used to have children like you… must be turning 65 this year. What lovely children they were. They used to take me lettuce shopping all the time. Nowadays I can’t tell a lettuce from a cabbage!”
You face-palm and let out a stifled groan. You become a slave to what little conscience you have. You tell her that you’ll help her choose a lettuce too.
[[Proceed->Get a Drink - Market 2]]
This is an adventure! You’re an adventurer! Life’s too short to be boring!
You leave the city gates and out into the mountains. The sun begins to set over the horizon, with the promise of glory and treasure. You walk fearlessly into the dying light and welcome what this autumn evening brings.
The light all but fades from the path you walk. The dirt road, now barely distinguishable from its surroundings begins to meld into grass and shrubbery. Every step becomes laborious and measured as you test for boulders and ditches with your toes. You begin to rethink this whole plan. You hear howling in the distance.
Whose stupid idea was this? Walking into the wilderness in the middle of the night. Ridiculous idea. You punish yourself for being such an idiot.
As the chilly autumn winds blow against you, you turn back and head towards the city whose candle lights are dim in the distance. You become increasingly desperate to get to warmth and safety. In your haste, you stub your toe against a rock. Ouch.
You arrive back to your house in the dark of the night. Stumbling around you find some water. You drink some but it tastes awful. Something must have crawled in, but it’s too late to investigate. You decide it’s safer to drink more in the morrow.
You lay down to rest. What a day.
[[Proceed to next chapter ->Chapter 2]]
You take her to the nearest lettuce store and you are greeted by a plump man dressed in an ostentatious purple vest. His broad grin bares all his front teeth in an unsettling way.
“Welcome to Flavio’s Lettuce Emporium for your lettuce and lettuce goods! We have the best lettuce in town! You! Taking your grannie to buy some lettuce eh? You’ve come to the right place, what are you after?”
“Lettuce” you answer.
“Ah, but of course! Lettuce! That is a fine choice if I may say so myself! 500 gold pieces.”
“What?” you exclaim, simultaneously confused and outraged.
“500 gold pieces! Best price around!”
“Don’t be ridiculous! I can get a cartful, 100 cartfuls for that kind of gold! I don’t have that kind of gold!”
“Alright good bumpkin, you drive a hard bargain, 495 gold pieces and that’s as low as I can go. Oh my poor ailing mother, her complexion grows paler by the day.”
“You can’t be serious. There are plenty of lettuce mongers around here. I don’t need this.”
“Good serf! I see we’re at an impasse! I tell you what, if you tell me a lettuce joke, I will give you a head of lettuce.”
You look towards the old lady who appears to be oblivious to this insanity.
“Let us leave.” You say to her as you gently tug at her arm.
The purple merchant bursts into a cackling laugh as he hunches over his stool.
“Brilliant!” he says in between gasps of air. “That deserves two!”
In between fits of laughter, the lettuce monger hands you two heads of lettuce. You inspect them, they are indeed fine heads of lettuce.
You take the lettuces and leave before the lettuce monger recovers from his hysteria. You hand one to the lady and keep the other one. You take leave of her as quickly as you can before you oblige yourself to more charity.
The sun has set and you navigate through the alleyways in the dark. You’re certain that you’ve stepped in quite a few patches of night soil that could’ve been avoided in the day.
You arrive at your home exhausted. You did not manage to get a drink after all this absurdity. You enter your house and find that there are slugs crawling all over your water bowl. The only place that’s worse to have slugs is on your lettuce. It’s too dark to draw water from the well and you’re too exhausted to go to the river.
You go to sleep without a drink.
[[Proceed to next chapter ->Chapter 2]]
(set: $inv to (a:))
(set: $lettuce to 0)
**<u><h1>Chapter 1 - Just Another Day</h1></u>**
[[START->Wake Up]]
(set: $inv to $inv - (a:"duck"))
<h1>Chapter 2</h1>
<h3>The Festival</h3>
You slowly come into the world as your senses begin to liven. Your unconscious meandering materialise into your surroundings. You open your eyes and stare at your poorly thatched ceiling. The sounds of a new day come into focus and immediately audible to you are the crunch of cartwheels against the rubble strewn dirt road. “One day, I’m going to be so rich, I’m going to thatch my roof with lettuce” you think to yourself.
You are excited about today, so much so you’ve almost forgotten your troubles from the day before. Today is the first day of the Festival of the Lettuce, a festival which lasts two weeks. The festival great and all, but it is the duck throwing competition which you are looking forward to. This year, you’re going to win. You may be a penniless peasant but you can throw ducks with the best of them.
Today’s only the first day of the two week festival. There won’t be too much going on around town. You peer out the window and realise that the sun is a quarter way in the sky, you’ve slept in quite a bit. The festival stalls will probably be up and running by now. You decide to go and check it out.
[[Proceed->2000 Wake Up]]
(set: $inv to (a:))
The town is slightly busier than usual. You can see the preparations for the festival is on their way. The decorations which laid limp and lifeless the night before have now been erected. It’s the busiest time of the year for artisans and merchants. Familiar faces give you the slightest acknowledgement before returning to their tasks. It looks like nobody has time for you today. You decide to head straight to the town centre, you know that’s where the action will be.
You arrive at the town centre. It has changed so dramatically you barely recognise it. Stalls line the perimeter of the town square serving all manner of foods and festival games. The one that immediately catches your eye is a duck throwing game stall.
There is music being played at the centre of the square and dancers performing to the music. Live music and performing arts is a rare treat for a peasant, especially the peasant children some of whom are confused and enchanted while others giggle and flail to the beat of the music while trying to imitate the dancers. You are quite entranced by it yourself.
Festival rides are periodically spaced out in between the stalls. Most of them are still setting up but you can see a couple that are up and running. No festival is complete without festival rides and now is the best time to go, when the lines are not too long.
Over in the further side of the square are… NINJAS! The ninjas are rarely seen but every once in a while they will make an appearance to enter a student of theirs into the duck throwing competition. The ninjas are doing acrobatics and generally showing off, they easily draw the biggest crowd. However in this case, the crowd is way too large for you to see anything interesting.
You decide to:
[[Win something at the duck throwing stall->Festival Duck Stall]]
[[Enjoy the music->Listen to Music]]
[[Go on a festival ride->Go on a Ride]]
(Set: $inv to $inv+(a:"duck"))
It’s an easy choice, you’re hungry, you’re thirsty, you’re a duck throwing genius, and there’s a duck throwing stall with prizes for the taking. The grand prize is a head of lettuce, that’s food and drink in one green, crisp, refreshing package. You stride over to the stall attracting as much attention as you can along the way. A performance like this should have an audience.
“How much for a game?” you ask with gusto.
“Three coppers my boy! For a strapping young lad like you, I should charge more!” comes the reply from the lank and loosely built stall keeper.
“How much to win that Lettuce?”
“Three coppers for 1 shot. You can buy as many shots as you like but you have to knock over 2 cups to win that lettuce” the stall keeper said while pointing to several rows of cups resting on a bench. “So you’ll need at least six coppers if you want the lettuce. Otherwise you can take your pick of the other prizes, one cup for the carrot or the cabbage.”
You examine the stall. The cups are placed rim down on wooden planks. There are about three planks each of them one duck-length apart and the cups are small, only the size of your fist. The cups themselves are broader at the rim and tapered at the base. Each cup is about a third of a meter from their neighbour so that if you miss one narrowly, you’re not likely to hit the next one. The cups are about five meters from you. Not an easy throw, but nothing you can’t handle.
You divide up the coppers you have left in your pocket and give the stall keeper six coppers. “Two throws” you announce. You grab the sturdiest duck you can see in the barrel and take your aim. You decide to aim for the middle cup in the middle row.
[[Aim to graze the top of the cup->Festival Duck Stall Graze]]
[[Aim to strike the cup dead center->Festival Duck Stall Strike]]
[[Lob the duck in an arc->Festival Duck Stall Lob]]
The trusty underarm, the most skilled and reliable shot. You pick up the sturdiest duck. You swing it back and forth like a pendulum as you simultaneously take measure of its weight and balance and prepare for the throw. Lobbing shots are difficult because, unlike overarm throws, you have to factor in distance as well as height into your shot. You take your time to take aim.
You execute your best underarm and launch the duck in an upwards trajectory. It was a perfect shot and the duck slams down onto the cup with a thud. The entire plank shudders momentarily but alas the cup has barely moved.
“Oh…. So close, better luck next time buddy!” the stall keeper says.
You’re in disbelief. It was a perfect throw. No cup is that heavy.
“This game is rigged! Those cups are weighted! Give me my money back!” You protest.
However your complaints are interrupted by a thundering roar.
[[Proceed->Dragon]]
Game stalls are always rigged and rides are for kids. These aren’t travelling buskers trying to make a few coppers from their whistling flutes, these are musicians of the highest calibre small city duck throwing festival entertainment that you can find in these parts. You’re not going to let these fine tunes be diluted by the cacophony of drunken festivities, no, you’re going to appreciate fine art the way that only a peasant can.
You sit as the band plays song after song. The dancers retire for a rest every now and then, sometimes taking turns. You’re watching one in particular who captures your fancy.
Your keen appreciation has not gone unnoticed. Every few songs one of them looks up to give you a glare. Some of the dancers look your way and whisper to the others. You seem to be drawing some attention from them, but not the type you had hoped for.
After a while they ignore you. They would smile and nod to onlookers. They would even give a little sycophantic bow to those who drop some coppers into their slitted box, but they are determined not to acknowledge you. Coppers in slitted boxes? Are these buskers? You thought they were paid by the Lord of this city. You look around your pocket for some coppers but only manage to find 7. You decide that they are better served with you.
What do they expect? Do I look like the Earl of these parts? You’re getting bored of this noise anyways, it’s been half a day. You decide to leave. Just as you get up, you are interrupted by a thundering roar.
[[Proceed->Dragon]]
If you don’t try the rides now, you’ll regret it in a few days when the lines are hours long and the prices are higher. Of the seven rides that you see, four of them are still being assembled. Of the remaining 3, only one of them was being attended. Well, beggars can’t be choosers you think to yourself, and you’re more penniless than some beggars you know.
The placard at the front of the ride says:
**MULE-GO-ROUND**
//10 Coppers per 10minute ride!
Must be at least 4 lettuces tall to ride.//
You look at the ride. There are 18 mules chained up into two concentric circles, 10 on the outside and 8 on the inside. They are walking on a platform in the shape of a wave with smooth peaks and troughs. All the mules are currently stationary.
It’s the first time you’ve seen this ride and there doesn’t seem to be a line. You check your pockets and you feel only 7 coppers in there. You can’t afford it. Four lettuces tall to ride, it must be for kids anyway. You decide to walk away when the ride attendant motions you forward.
“Hey buddy come try out ride.”
“Sorry, can’t really afford it… plus it looks like a kid’s ride.” You reply.
“Look, I’ll tell you what, we haven’t had a customer since we set this up. I’ll give you a good deal. Ten coppers and I’ll give you 30 minutes.”
“That sounds great, but I still can’t afford it.”
“How much you got?”
“Only got 5 on me” you lie.
“Ok, deal. Maybe if someone sees you riding, they might want to try it out too. Get on a mule and I’ll strap you in.”
[[Proceed->Go on a Ride 2]]
Hitting the top of the cup is probably your best bet, if you can hit the top of the cup, then you’ll be able to topple it over. You take a good measure of the weight of the duck. You notice that it is slightly bottom heavy, you factor this in when you make you overarm swing.
Your duck flies exactly as you plan, the belly of the duck, where the weight of your throw is the strongest, crashes into the top of the cup. The cup lifts momentarily but snaps back down, the force of the duck was not strong enough to topple it over completely. Perhaps you need to throw harder or try something else.
[[Try the same throw harder->Festival Duck Stall Graze - Harder]]
[[Aim to strike the cup dead centre->Festival Duck Stall Graze - Strike]]
[[Lob the duck in an arc->Festival Duck Stall Graze - Lob]]
You notice that the cup is broader at the rim than it is at the base. It’s set down so that the broad rim is at the bottom. You figure that means it balances quite well and is not easily toppled, however it can be pushed off. A direct strike is the best shot.
You take a good measure of the weight of the duck. You notice that it is bottom heavy, and badly balanced, that’s the calibre of duck you’d expect at a festival stall. It’s what you’ll have to work with. You take your aim and launch the duck straight at the middle cup of the middle row. You impart a little spin to make sure it flies straight.
You duck flies true! It collides into the cup dead centre. Alas, as the duck falls from view, it reveals a cup, still sitting on the plank, albeit pushed slightly back. You judge that it has only moved less than half of the way towards the back of the plank. Perhaps you need to throw harder or try something else.
[[Try the same throw harder->Festival Duck Stall Strike - Harder]]
[[Aim to graze the top of the cup->Festival Duck Stall Strike - Graze]]
[[Lob the duck in an arc->Festival Duck Stall Graze - Lob]]
The cup had lifted, so you must be hitting the right spot, but unfortunately it didn’t topple over completely. You probably just need to make the same throw but harder. Unfortunately for you, you only have the one shot left which means the best you can get now is the carrot or cabbage.
You take the next sturdiest duck. This one also seems to be bottom heavy, which works for your present purposes. You measure its weight on your hand again and take aim. You take a small run up and perform a flawless overarm swing. The duck meets the cup in mere split seconds and strikes it in the exact place you want to.
The cup rocks backwards and its rim lifts up revealing its underside. It seems to suspend there for the moment while it takes balance. Alas it falls back forward in a rolling motion and comes to a complete stop. You almost had it!
“Oh…. So close, better luck next time buddy!” the stall keeper says.
You’re in disbelief. It was a perfect throw. No cup is that heavy.
“This game is rigged! Those cups are weighted! Give me my money back!” You protest.
However your complaints are interrupted by a thundering roar.
[[Proceed->Dragon]]
You moved the cup, but not by much. That was probably the wrong strategy. Now perhaps if you hit the cup square in the centre, it might be pushed off the plank all together! Unfortunately for you, you only have the one shot left which means the best you can get now is the carrot or cabbage.
You take the next sturdiest duck. This one also seems to be bottom heavy. You measure its weight on your hand again and take aim. You crank your shoulders back and perform a flawless throw. The duck meets the cup in mere split seconds and strikes it in the exact place you want to.
You hear a jutting creak as clay cup scratches against the timber plank. The duck tumbles over the bench but alas the cup still remains albeit moved back slightly.
“Oh…. So close, better luck next time buddy!” the stall keeper says.
You’re in disbelief. It was a perfect throw. No cup is that heavy.
“This game is rigged! Those cups are weighted! Give me my money back!” You protest.
However your complaints are interrupted by a thundering roar.
[[Proceed->Dragon]]
The cup had moved, but not by much. That was probably the wrong strategy. Although now that you think about it, if the last throw didn’t work, lobbing it probably wouldn’t either. Well, might as well try something new. Unfortunately for you, you only have the one shot left which means the best you can get now is the carrot or cabbage.
You take the next sturdiest duck. You swing it back and forth like a pendulum as you simultaneously take measure of its weight and balance and prepare for the throw. You execute your best underarm and launch the duck in an upwards trajectory. It was a perfect shot and the duck slams down onto the cup with a thud. The entire plank shudders momentarily but alas the cup has barely moved.
“Oh…. So close, better luck next time buddy!” the stall keeper says.
You’re in disbelief. It was a perfect throw. No cup is that heavy.
“This game is rigged! Those cups are weighted! Give me my money back!” You protest.
However your complaints are interrupted by a thundering roar.
[[Proceed->Dragon]]
The whole festival seems to stop. The crowd freezes, as if gripped by paralysis. The face of every man woman and child turns to look towards the sky.
There it was, in the distance, its massive wings taking slow heavy strokes as it soars towards the city. Its speed is tremendous, it seemed to have traversed to the city walls from the edge of the forest in what appears to be only a few beats of its wings.
The silence of the crowd is suddenly broken by simultaneous screams, as if the entire crowd collectively coming to the same realisation. You yourself are only just coming to terms with what is happening. There is a mother picking up her child and trying to navigate her way out of the town square. What shall you do? The band of musicians decide to pack up their instruments and leave as a group. What can you possibly do? The stall keepers empty their till and leave their stalls. Where can you possibly go?
You house is made of wood and thatched with straw. It’s not much of a hiding place against a dragon. In fact, most buildings in the city are wooden. You can go to the city hall, built of stone and very sturdy, but it can’t fit an entire city. If anything, hiding in the city hall seems to be an easy way to help the dragon find half the city at once. You could try to find a nook and cranny somewhere along the city wall and hide until this is over. Or you can try to flee the city, surely the dragon can’t chase after everyone at once. You hear another roar, much louder, it’s close.
Whatever it is, you must do something. You pick yourself off the ground. You notice that the ninjas are scattering. But they do not seem to be moving in the same direction. Lord Snufflepuss stands in the middle of the square, watching the dragon intently. What’s going on? As you try to find answers, a giant shadow passes over the town square. The dragon looms overhead. You see its thick dark scales in greater detail than you can imagine.
It lands in the centre of the square, thankfully with its back towards you.
[[Proceed->Dragon 2]]
The strike worked, it just didn’t push the cup all the way. Better the devil you know than the one you don’t. You decide to try the same throw again, but harder. Unfortunately for you, you only have the one shot left which means the best you can get now is the carrot or cabbage.
You take the next sturdiest duck. This one also seems to be bottom heavy. You measure its weight on your hand again and take aim. You crank your shoulders back and leverage your whole body into it. You perform a flawless throw.
The duck meets the cup in mere split seconds and strikes it in the exact place you want to. Alas, the cup remains on the bench. A third of the cup has move off the plank, but there is still enough cup there to stay on.
“Oh…. So close, better luck next time buddy!” the stall keeper says.
You’re in disbelief. It was a perfect throw. No cup is that heavy.
“This game is rigged! Those cups are weighted! Give me my money back!” You protest.
However your complaints are interrupted by a thundering roar.
[[Proceed->Dragon]]
Hitting the top of the cup is probably your best bet, if you can hit the top of the cup, then you’ll be able to topple it over. You take a good measure of the weight of the duck. You notice that it is slightly bottom heavy, you factor this in when you make you overarm swing.
Your duck flies exactly as you plan, the belly of the duck, where the weight of your throw is the strongest, crashes into the top of the cup. The cup lifts momentarily but snaps back down, the force of the duck was not strong enough to topple it over completely.
“Oh…. So close, better luck next time buddy!” the stall keeper says.
You’re in disbelief. It was a perfect throw. No cup is that heavy.
“This game is rigged! Those cups are weighted! Give me my money back!” You protest.
However your complaints are interrupted by a thundering roar.
[[Proceed->Dragon]]
Half the price for three times as long? WOW! It’d be a rip off not to get on this ride. You get on a mule and the attendant straps you in. He whips the mule and the ride starts with a sudden jerk.
“see you in half an hour” the attendant says as he turns and leaves “I’m going to grab some food”.
The ride was less than unimpressive. The mules were slow and you are bored within the first 30 seconds. The ride does not seem to get any faster. After a short while, you try to free yourself and get off this ride. However you cannot reach the clip of the strap which is on the underside of the mule.
An excruciatingly long time passes, you know it has been about half an hour as you have been counting the songs that the musicians have been playing in the distance. However the attendant does not show up. You look around and wait a little longer.
You wait what seems to be an eternity but the attendant is still nowhere to be seen. You decide to take matters into your own hands. You slap your mule’s ass as hard as you can. It lets out a loud honking and speeds up by a step. That was not the result you had expected. You figure that you can’t make this ride go faster so long as your mule is chained to the other mules.
Bored out of your mind, you decide to try again. This time you hit harder, much harder. The mule jerks forward suddenly and maintains a slow trot momentarily before returning to its usual pace. You notice that your mule’s honking seems to alarm the other mules, perhaps if you alarm them all enough, they all decide to move faster!
You start slapping your mule’s ass with both your hands as hard and fast as possible. Your mule starts honking and moves to a slow trot. You continue slapping, ignoring the burning pain that is now building up in the palm of your hands. You begin to hear honking from the other mules and a general sense of agitation. It’s working. You start screaming loudly and erratically. This appears to be working too. The mules’ trot begins to speed up.
[[Proceed->Go on a Ride 3]]
Soon the whole ride is filled with the honking of mules, the loud slapping of asses, and your ghastly primal vocals. Just as the your mad chorus of human-mule mayhem reaches a crescendo, you hear another human voice shouting from some direction.
“What in the hell are you doing!” The attendant shouts.
He catches you by surprise. You freeze and swing your body around to the attendant. However you notice that it wasn’t just the attendant, a crowd has gathered around the ride and have been spectating your demonic mule circle chanting.
“Get the hell off my ride!” The attendant booms.
“I can’t.” You reply. “I can’t reach the buckle”.
“It unbuckles at your waist you idiot!”
You look down and indeed there is a buckle there. You don’t know how you didn’t realise this before. You unbuckle yourself. You’re so used to the motion of the ride that you forget that you’re still moving. You fall off the mule and land on your face.
The attendant strides over looking as if he is going to kick your butt for slapping his ass’ butt. Fortunately he was interrupted by a thunderous roar.
[[Proceed->Dragon]]
The dragon folds its enormous wings as it lands. You are awestruck. To think, a peasant like you would ever be so close to a dragon. It’s the stuff of faerie tales, for knights and heroes. Your thoughts are suspended for the moment, strung up in a tangle of fear and wonder. You are in awe. It takes you a moment to notice the intense heat emanating from the dragon. A haze of heat shimmer shrouds the dragon’s immaculate black scales. The heat from his presence alone is oppressive.
Much like you, the stragglers who have not yet left the square have frozen. The looks on their faces betray a similar sentiment to yours, that of simultaneous terror and admiration. As you look around, you can see that the few who have regained command of their senses begin to flee. Others, like you, remain gripped by an unrelenting panic.
As the dragon folds its wings, you notice dark figures darting about. The ninjas begin scaling the sides of the square, making their way up the sides of buildings and behind the cover of stalls and walls. Far from fleeing, they appear to be getting into position for an attack.
The dragon stirs.
The dragon bellows out a deep and sonorous laugh. Its laughter seem to permeate your body, trembling your very being with every vibration.
[[Proceed->Dragon 3]]
“Ninjas.” It chuckles with disdain. “You dare to oppose me?”
The ninjas maintain their silence, they remain motionless as they perch on their vantage points.
The dragon releases another growling chuckle. “I had expected you to really make a show of this encounter, but perhaps you think it theatrical to silently brood while I make my entrance.”
“To silently brood? Surely you mean to brood silently” says a ninja crouching on a stone plinth.
“What?” replied the dragon, the composure in his voice falters momentarily, but the disdain remains.
“You’re splitting the infinitive,” the plinth ninja answered, “explain it to him Greg.”
“Yeah, Bob’s right.” Says Greg, a ninja clinging skilfully to the side of a partially assembled ride. “You see, the phrase ‘to brood’, if you add the adverb ‘silently’ in between the prefix of the infinitive mode and the verb, then you split the infinitive.”
“So?” the dragon replied, his tone suggests outrage but its inflection suggests uncertainty.
“Well,” says Greg, “you’re not supposed to split the infinitive, it’s just bad grammar.”
“That’s not true” the dragon replies defensively. “The prescriptive rule against it is hotly debated and in many grammarian circles it is no longer considered a solecism. Take the phrase ‘To boldly go where no man has gone before’, a wonderful sentence, splits the infinitive.”
“It is a solecism, it trespasses the rules of grammar.” The plinth ninja named Bob retorts.
“It’s elitism is what it is” said the dragon, its disdain returning.
You feel like this is getting ridiculous, you must do something.
(if: $inv contains "duck")[[[Throw a duck at the dragon->Dragon - Duck]] / //Attack the dragon//]
(else:)[[[Attack the dragon->Dragon - Attack]] / //Throw a duck at the dragon//]
[[Chime in on the debate->Dragon - Debate]]
[[Stay silent->Dragon - Silent]]
(Set: $inv to $inv+(a:"sigil"))
You grab your belonging and head out the precinct. It’s the afternoon and precinct exist faces west. As you look outwards into the city, the afternoon sun places a shiny splinter of sunlight directly into your retina. You take a moment to get accustomed to the brightness and move on. It’s time to move away from this stinking cop shop, but where to?
The heat of the afternoon sun reminds you of the thirst that you had woken up with. You decide that it is high time you get yourself a drink. You decide to go:
[[back to your home.->Get a Drink - Home]]
[[to the markets.->Get a Drink - Market]]
[[venture bravely into the mountains.->Get a Drink - Mountains]]
(set: $inv to $inv+(a:"pitchfork"))
You grab your belonging and head out the precinct. It’s the afternoon and precinct exist faces west. As you look outwards into the city, the afternoon sun places a shiny splinter of sunlight directly into your retina. You take a moment to get accustomed to the brightness and move on. It’s time to move away from this stinking cop shop, but where to?
The heat of the afternoon sun reminds you of the thirst that you had woken up with. You decide that it is high time you get yourself a drink. You decide to go:
[[back to your home.->Get a Drink - Home]]
[[to the markets.->Get a Drink - Market]]
[[venture bravely into the mountains.->Get a Drink - Mountains]]
(set: $lettuce to $lettuce + 1)
You grab your belonging and head out the precinct. It’s the afternoon and precinct exist faces west. As you look outwards into the city, the afternoon sun places a shiny splinter of sunlight directly into your retina. You take a moment to get accustomed to the brightness and move on. It’s time to move away from this stinking cop shop, but where to?
The heat of the afternoon sun reminds you of the thirst that you had woken up with. You decide that it is high time you get yourself a drink. You decide to go:
[[back to your home.->Get a Drink - Home]]
[[to the markets.->Get a Drink - Market]]
[[venture bravely into the mountains.->Get a Drink - Mountains]]
You feel a strong urge to do something about this situation. You’re unsure if it’s brought on by your mounting frustration at this tedious dialogue or if it is a stirring moment of courage. In all fairness it is more likely the mounting frustration. Whatever the source of the motivation, you feel compelled to act.
Attacking the dragon may seem like suicide, but there will be no better time to do so than now, when the dragon is distracted. You’re glad that you are at the duck throwing stall. You grab the nearest duck, and without hesitation you launch it directly at the dragon’s head. It was no easy feat as the dragon was quite far from you and its head stood five meters above the ground.
Your projectile flies true and strikes the dragon just above the base of its skull.
“Who threw that!” the dragon spins around violently, its tail dismantles several stalls as it swings. A new found fury has found its way into the dragon’s voice.
“Who threw that duck!” it demanded, its composure cracking.
It’s eyes turn towards your direction and scans the area. Its thin scaly lips curl backwards exposing a narrow band of giant interlacing teeth. Its expression seems to grow progressively dangerous.
You look around and see several people in the vicinity of yourself. For now it seems like the dragon does not know that it is you.
[[“It’s me!”->Dragon - Duck me]]
[[Stay silent->Dragon - Duck silent]]
[[Blame someone else->Dragon - Duck blame]]
You feel a strong urge to do something about this situation. You’re unsure if it’s brought on by your mounting frustration at this tedious dialogue or if it is heroism, although it’s probably the mounting frustration. Whatever the source of the motivation, you feel compelled to act.
Attacking the dragon may seem like suicide, but there will be no better time to do so than now, when the dragon is distracted. You grab a fist sized stone off the ground and hurl it at the dragon’s skull. The dragon is a fair distance from you and its head stands five metres off the ground. Your rock falls very short. It lands on the tail of the dragon with a light audible chip. The dragon does not seem to take any notice.
If only it was a duck, maybe you could’ve done some real damage.
The dragon and ninjas continue their debate for about several more hours. You give up trying to follow the conversation. You do not keep track of the conversation and begin day dreaming about the duck nursery you want to start… If only you had the capital.
At some point however the ninjas simultaneously swing into action. The ones on the ground are reveal grappling hooks, while the ones perched on higher ground unsheathe their slender swords. You snap out of your thoughts and watch the scene unfold.
[[Proceed->Dragon - Attack 2]]
This is some real nerd stuff here. You decide to chime in.
[["You shouldn't split infinitives"->Dragon - Debate don't split]]
[[“It’s fine to split infinitives”->Dragon - Debate split]]
[[“What’s an infinitive?”->Dragon - Debate what]]
Not wanting to draw attention to yourself, you stay silent.
The dragon and the ninja continue their verbal jousting on the topic of split infinitives for another several hours before moving on to the topic of whether or not nothing exists.
“There’s no such thing as nothing!” says Bob who has grown ostensibly more frustrated with each sentence. “Nothing is the absence of anything, it cannot exist! By definition it doesn’t exist.”
“But you just referred to ‘nothing’, it must exist if you can refer to it and talk about it and declare that it can’t exist.” The dragon retorts, equally frustrated.
“Yes, but I can say that unicorns don’t exist. Is the fact that I can say the word ‘unicorn’ evidence of its existence?”
“Point to nothing dragon. Show me nothing. You cannot, dragon, you cannot show me nothing because it can’t exist, it’s the absence of existence.” Greg interjects.
“Well, we know something exists, correct? How can we refer to something existing without referring to nothing existing? How can we say that something exists without having a concept of nothing? Does this lute exist?” asks the dragon while motioning towards a broken lute. “We say that it does, because it’s not nothing, and if not being nothing is the only way that we can say that something is something, then nothing must be exist.”
And so the ontological debate continues for several more hours before it moves to epistemology, jurisprudence, and determinism, which, naturally leads to talk of lettuce for several more hours.
An entire day has come and gone. Both the dragon and the ninjas appear to be physically and mentally drained.
“ENOUGH!” Bellows the dragon. “I’ve not come for this, to childishly debate with you over such matters.
“Surely you mean ‘to debate childishly’.”
With that the dragon spread its wings and poised for attack. The ninjas also sprang into action.
[[Proceed->Dragon - Attack 2]]
The grappling hooks fly through the air towards the dragon with remarkable co-ordination. The grapples each grapple onto particularly large scales. Pulling on the scales, the hooks revealing small parts of unprotected flesh as the ninjas on high ground leap from their vantage and drive their sword into the small openings.
As each of the sword wielding ninja deliver their blow, they leap off nimbly. The dragon appears to have curl into itself for protection.
However as the second wave of ninjas have almost finished delivering their blows, the dragon suddenly unravels. Its wings unfurl with explosive force. Grappling lines either snap or are flung off violently. Any ninja who were on the dragon are propelled haphazardly outwards. The expansion of its wings sends a powerful gust which sends you tumbling backwards.
“I’m going to utterly destroy you ninjas!” the dragon declares with unfettered rage. The dragon lifts off the ground with a single might stroke of its wings. Its long scaly neck, trimmed with sharp spines, glows momentarily as the dragon opens its mighty jaws.
“There, you did it again. What you should say is ‘I’m going to destroy you ninjas utterly’” says Bob.
A thick column of fire streams from its mouth as it twists its neck in a circular motion. In mere seconds, flames engulf half of the square. Bob was the first to be consumed by the fire. Several of the quicker ninjas appear to have escaped the path of the dragon fire but those who were knocked onto the ground fared poorly against the inferno.
The dragon tries to catch some of the remaining ninjas but was unsuccessful. The ninjas each seem to disappear behind one wall or another and soon enough there were no ninjas left in the square. The dragon flies higher into the air, perhaps to continue its search for ninjas. It hovers momentarily before flying back towards the direction that it came from. As it flies, it releases a stream of fire onto the city.
[[Proceed->Burning City]]
You’ve stayed in the square for long enough. Thick plumes of smoke rises from the path of the dragon as the city is set ablaze. Panic engulfs the entire city. However, just before you leave, you see Lord Snufflepuss in the centre of the town square, unburnt but quite motionless.
You wonder why he was there in the first place, why he didn’t seek shelter, and why he had faced the dragon alone as it arrived. You have no great love for your wealthy overlord, he has not made your peasant life easy. However you feel that you cannot leave him like this. Besides, rescuing him would probably result in a nice fat reward. At the very least you would get some answers from him.
You run over to him and see that he is conscious but wounded.
“My Lord!” you exclaim. “Are you alright my Lord?”
“Good peasant, I’m wounded, help me up.”
You help the rotund Snufflepuss to his feet and notice that a large splinter, the size of a maiden’s forearm, has lodged itself into the side of his leg. You are surprised that he stands at all.
“My Lord, you are badly injured.” You say to him.
“I know, I just said, I’m wounded.”
“Right” you say.
An awkward silence ensues.
[[Proceed->Burning City 2]]
“You shouldn’t split your infinitives.” You interject.
“Who said that?” the dragon wheels around to make its enquiry.
“You shouldn’t split infinitives,” you repeat. “It’s bad grammar and sometimes it leads to the ambiguation of your sentences.”
“Stupid peasant! What would you know?” The dragon seems enraged by your comment.
“Look, it’s nothing personal, I’m just saying you have to really watch out for splitting infinitives.” You reply with a hint of superiority.
“That’s splitting an infinitive,” says Bob.
“What is?” You reply.
“You said ‘to really watch’. The phrase ‘to watch’ is an infinitive, you’ve split it with the word ‘really’.”
“You stupid peasant!” the dragon grumbles.
“But the peasant had a point though” Greg chimes in, “about creating ambiguities in sentences I mean. Take his sentence for instance, saying ‘to really watch’ could mean that you are actually watching, as an emphasis of the fact, or it could mean that you are watching attentively. Whereas, if you say ‘you really have to watch’, there are no ambiguities.”
The debate seem to go on for several more hours. Each of the dragon and the ninjas make excellent points. You however have already embarrassed yourself beyond redemption so you keep quiet.
At some point however the ninjas unexpectedly swing into action. As if they were all waiting for this moment, they begin moving simultaneously. The ones on the ground are reveal grappling hooks, while the ones perched on higher ground unsheathe their slender swords.
[[Proceed->Dragon - Attack 2]]
“It’s fine to split your infinitives.” You interject.
“Who said that?” the dragon wheels around to make its enquiry.
“It’s fine to split your infinitives,” you repeat. “There is no logical reason not to. Sure it violates a rule of grammar but it’s a perfectly harmless violation and everyone knows what is being meant by it.”
“Listen to this filthy peasant” The dragon seems to approve of your comments.
“In fact,” you continue “there is no real rule against splitting the infinitive, it just wasn’t done, until someone did it and some grammar elitists didn’t like it. It’s actually quite widely used amongst authors.”
Several other ninjas begin to chime in on this debate. For several hours, it’s you and the dragon against the ragtag band of ninjas, all of whom appear to be well versed in the topic.
At some point however the ninjas unexpectedly swing into action. As if they were all waiting for this moment, they begin moving simultaneously. The ones on the ground are reveal grappling hooks, while the ones perched on higher ground unsheathe their slender swords.
[[Proceed->Dragon - Attack 2]]
“If you split an infinitive, do you get two infinitives?” you ask.
The dragon and the ninjas turn to face you, apparently puzzled by your question.
“No, you get one infinitive, but split.” Bob says.
“Hold on,” Greg interjects. “You don’t get any infinitives, the infinitive is a two word verb, if you split it, you lose the infinitive, it becomes nonsensical, that’s why you shouldn’t split it.”
“Wait, how can splitting an infinitive make less than an infinitive? Don’t infinitives go on for ever?” You ask.
“You’re thinking of infinity,” Bob replies, “totally different topic.”
“BE QUIET! You stupid peasant! All of you! BE QUIET!” the dragon bellows, apparently frustrated by this line of conversation.
The dragon releases a deafening roar as his tail whips around towards you with remarkable speed.
You instinctively duck. Luckily for you the dragon’s tail swung a little over a meter above ground, trimming the top half of anything in its path and you have shruken into the bottom half.
The dragon lets out another deafening roar, however this time it possessed a different quality, as if the dragon was in pain. You peek out from your stall and see that the ninjas have moved into action. The ones on the ground are armed with grappling hooks, while the ones perched on higher ground wield slender swords.
[[Proceed->Dragon - Attack 2]]
“It’s me!” you exclaim.
“Surely you mean ‘it’s I’, you are the subject in that sentence, so the pronoun should be in its subject case, which is ‘I’, not ‘me’,” shouts Greg from a distance.
However, before you are able to commit this grammatical rule to memory, you see the jaws of the dragon close around you.
The line between bravery and stupidity is so thin that you don't know you've crossed it until you're dead. On the bright side, you now know where that line is.
[[Proceed->Death by dragon]]
Your compulsion to do things suddenly disappear as you stare into the harbinger of your death. You seem to shrink into the stall as you slowly retreat from view.
The dragon releases a deafening roar as his tail whips around towards you with remarkable speed. It has already figured out that its someone in your general direction and it does not care which one of you it is. You instinctively duck. The ducks on the other hand, frightened by the roar, leapt into the air. Luckily for you the dragon’s tail swung a little over a meter above ground, trimming the top half of anything in its path. Unluckily for the ducks, they were trimmed.
The dragon lets out another deafening roar, however this time it possessed a different quality, as if the dragon was in pain. You peek out from your stall and see that the ninjas have moved into action. The ones on the ground are armed with grappling hooks, while the ones perched on higher ground wield slender swords.
By the time you peer out, several grappling hooks have already been thrown. With remarkable co-ordination the grapples each grapple onto particularly large scales. They pull on the scales, revealing small parts of unprotected flesh as the ninjas on high ground leap from their vantage and drive their sword into the small openings created by the grappling hooks.
As each of the sword wielding ninja deliver their blow, they leap off nimbly. The dragon appears to have curl into itself for protection. However as the second wave of ninjas have almost finished delivering their blows, the dragon suddenly unravels. Its wings unfurl with explosive force. Grappling lines either snap or are flung off violently. Any ninja who were on the dragon are propelled haphazardly outwards. The expansion of its wings sends a powerful gust which sends you tumbling backwards.
“I’m going to utterly destroy you ninjas!” the dragon declares with unfettered rage. The dragon lifts off the ground with a single might stroke of its wings. Its long scaly neck, trimmed with sharp spines, glows momentarily as the dragon opens its mighty jaws.
“There, you did it again. What you should say is ‘I’m going to destroy you ninjas utterly’” says Bob.
A thick column of fire streams from its mouth as it twists its neck in a circular motion. In mere seconds, flames engulf half of the square. Bob was the first to be consumed by the fire. Several of the quicker ninjas appear to have escaped the path of the dragon fire but those were knocked onto the ground fared poorly against the inferno.
The dragon tries to catch some of the remaining ninjas but was unsuccessful. The ninjas each seem to disappear behind one wall or another and soon enough there were no ninjas left in the square. The dragon flies higher into the air, perhaps to continue its search for ninjas. It hovers momentarily before flying back towards the direction that it came from. As it flies, it releases a stream of fire onto the city.
[[Proceed->Burning City]]
You look around and point to the nearest person. It looked like one of the musicians cowering behind a crate. Sorry musician, you think to yourself, better you than me.
It was that moment that you realise several other people are already pointing at you. The dragon releases a deafening roar as his tail whips around towards you with remarkable speed. It appears that the dragon has decided to wipe out all of you tattletales in one fell sweep of its tail.
Fortunately for you, the end of the dragon’s tail swung a little over a meter off the ground. It does not catch you, but it catches the stall next to you. The entire stall is flung free from the ground and you are struck with flying remnants of the demolished stall.
You lose consciousness momentarily. As you regain consciousness, you see that the ninjas have moved into action. The ones on the ground are armed with grappling hooks, while the ones perched on higher ground wield slender swords.
Several grappling hooks have already been thrown. With remarkable co-ordination the grapples each grapple onto particularly large scales. They pull on the scales, revealing small parts of unprotected flesh as the ninjas on high ground leap from their vantage and drive their sword into the small openings created by the grappling hooks.
As each of the sword wielding ninja deliver their blow, they leap off nimbly. The dragon appears to have curl into itself for protection. However as the second wave of ninjas have almost finished delivering their blows, the dragon suddenly unravels. Its wings unfurl with explosive force. Grappling lines either snap or are flung off violently. Any ninja who were on the dragon are propelled haphazardly outwards. The expansion of its wings sends a powerful gust which sends you tumbling backwards.
“I’m going to utterly destroy you ninjas!” the dragon declares with unfettered rage. The dragon lifts off the ground with a single might stroke of its wings. Its long scaly neck, trimmed with sharp spines, glows momentarily as the dragon opens its mighty jaws.
“There, you did it again. What you should say is ‘I’m going to destroy you ninjas utterly’” says Bob.
A thick column of fire streams from its mouth as it twists its neck in a circular motion. In mere seconds, flames engulf half of the square. Bob was the first to be consumed by the fire. Several of the quicker ninjas appear to have escaped the path of the dragon fire but those were knocked onto the ground fared poorly against the inferno.
As the blaze rages around you, you begin to lose consciousness again. The last thing you see is the dragon flying higher into the sky.
You wake up some time later, you are not aware of how long you’ve been unconscious but the pandemonium of a burning city is now your reality.
[[Proceed->Burning City]]
<h3>DEATH BY DRAGON</h3>
<h2>Game Over!</h2>
Ye dunce!
[[Restart Chapter->Chapter 2]]
“Nasty dragon huh?” you say, grasping for conversation.
“Yes… he knows of our festival. The Ninjas had sensed it and it was our plan to try to destroy him here.”
You look at Lord Snufflepuss incredulously “’Our plan’ milord? You mean to say you and the ninjas decided to kill the dragon? In the middle of the city?”
“We had no choice, he was coming here anyway. It was either kill him here and risk the city, or do nothing and lose the city anyways.” The lord releases a deep sigh. “He is bound to be back, this festival must be cancelled, we must evacuate the city, at least for the time being.”
“That’s terrible milord!” You exclaim.
“Yes… it is sad. I do love this city.”
“No, milord! What I meant was you can’t cancel the festival! What of the duck throwing competition?” You implore.
“Alas, I’m afraid we cannot hold the competition while the dragon lives.”
“Milord. How can I destroy the dragon?” You enquire firmly, with a new found determination.
“Only the ninjas can help, but I’m afraid they have scattered to their secret hideout.”
“Where is the hideout?” You say, grabbing than man’s shoulder firmly to prevent him from collapsing onto his maimed leg.
“You must seek the hermit who lives in the mountains. He is familiar with the ninja clans.”
“Then I must seek the hermit.” You declare.
With that, you drop Lord Snufflepuss where you stand and stride out of the square with purpose and resolve in your step. You head straight for your house.
[[Proceed->Preparation]]
The city is in ruins. Not only from the blaze ignited by the dragon, but the panic which has spread faster than any dragon fire.
Children are carried, led, and tugged in every which direction. Instructions are being shouted from every which way. Cried of grief is intermingled with cries of desperation from those who have lost and those about to lose. There is nothing you can do but to trudge through the chaos.
You arrive at your hovel. Fortunately for you, your hovel was not in the dragon’s flight path, though you can see the thick plumes of smoke and the red flickering tip of the inferno not too far away. The fire will undoubtedly make its way to your hovel and you should make haste.
A cart lies sideways against your make-shift fence, one of its wheels lay several feet away. Your neighbours have already left their houses and the only other pedestrians are those fleeing from the inner city. Rich merchant types, whose carts are filled with more goods than they are with people.
You enter your hovel and are instantly reminded of how empty and unfurnished it is. You question why you returned in the first place, you have little possessions to rescue, or supplies to carry. Taking a quick look around you see your duck, a small hand knife, and two heads of lettuce. Alas your coarse peasant clothing have no pockets and you have only two hands. You can only carry two things with you.
[[Knife and lettuce->Preparation knife and lettuce]]
[[Duck and knife->Preparation duck and knife]]
[[Lettuce and duck->Preparation lettuce and duck]]
[[Two heads of lettuce->Preparation 2 lettuce]]
(set: $inv to $inv+(a:"knife"))
(set: $lettuce to $lettuce + 1)
You pick up your chosen supplies and venture out of the city, not knowing what the future may bring.
[[Proceed to next chapter->Fleeing]]
(set: $inv to $inv+(a:"knife"))
(set: $lettuce to $lettuce + 1)
You pick up your chosen supplies and venture out of the city, not knowing what the future may bring.
[[Proceed to next chapter->Fleeing]]
(set: $inv to $inv+(a:"duck"))
(set: $lettuce to $lettuce + 1)
You pick up your chosen supplies and venture out of the city, not knowing what the future may bring.
[[Proceed to next chapter->Fleeing]]
(set: $lettuce to $lettuce + 2)
You pick up your chosen supplies and venture out of the city, not knowing what the future may bring.
[[Proceed to next chapter->Fleeing]]
Congratulations! You have finished Chapter 2.
So far, you have a (print: $inv.join(", ")) and (print: $lettuce) lettuce.
Please wait for the full release of the game.