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Summary:

DRAMA [Legendary: Success] - He believes this to be true, from the deepest part of his heart. It *is* truth, spoken into being by sufficient conviction.

THE NARRATOR - I don't "believe it to be true", it's simply the logistical fact of the matter - the world will end if you don't slay her.

CONCEPTUALIZATION [Medium: Success] - A pressure wave of *nothing*, emanating from a single point, with the whole of existence caught up in its wake.

INTERFACING [Easy: Success] - The end-of-playback. Static over tinny speakers and snow on a dim screen.

INLAND EMPIRE [Formidable: Success] - The crust of the earth peeled away, houses and streets and flickering lights floating up and up and up -- into a pale eternity.

HALF LIGHT [Easy: Success] - All becomes vapor.

Notes:

Chapters won't normally come out anywhere near this fast, but the spectre of Harry Du Bois himself possessed me to finish this one. I'm also not 100% sure if I should split them up or not - this one is *very* long, and I'm unsure whether future chapters will also be this long or not, given the exposition at the start of this one. Guess we'll see.

There's also a few minor edits going up to last chapter at the same time. Nothing plot relevant, mostly just word choice, check thresholds, and the like.

For anyone disappointed at the lack of monarchist debate - soon, trust.

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THE NARRATOR - You're on a path in the woods.

THE NARRATOR - And at the end of that path is a cabin.

THE NARRATOR - And in the basement of that cabin is a princess.

THE NARRATOR - You're here to slay her. If you don't, it will be the end of the world.

REACTION SPEED - These are the first words that enter your mind as you stir to consciousness.

RHETORIC [Easy: Success] - But "stir to consciousness" doesn't adequately describe what happened.

ENDURANCE - You weren't asleep. Your body is alert, if a little disoriented. There was no transitionary period, and no drowsiness to be found.

INTERFACING [Trivial: Success] - It's as if someone's flipped a switch inside you. You were off, and now you're on.

SAVOIR FAIRE [Easy: Success] - You've sprung into being mid-stride. You manage to stick the landing despite being in the middle of a minor existential crisis.

PAIN THRESHOLD - You feel an uncomfortable pressure in the meat of your thigh as your foot meets the ground, but it dissipates before it becomes unbearable. You're still recovering from the gunshot wound inflicted upon you mere weeks ago -- the fact you are up and ambulatory at all is nothing short of a miracle.

ELECTROCHEMISTRY [Easy: Success] - The miracle of *prescription painkillers*.

PHYSICAL INSTRUMENT [Challenging: Success] - Oh, it's no miracle. A measly hole in the leg's not gonna stop *you* from getting in your morning jog.

PERCEPTION (SIGHT) [Trivial: Success] - It is nighttime.

PHYSICAL INSTRUMENT - Doesn't matter. Any jog is a morning jog if you haven't yet jogged today. Stop standing around and *GO*!

1. On it, Coach! [Start jogging down the path.]
2. What was that about a princess? I feel like that's more pertinent right now.

YOU - What was that about a princess? I feel like that's more pertinent right now.

THE NARRATOR - Yes, it is more pertinent, how observant of you. You're here to slay her, and slay her you will - the fate of the entire world hangs in the balance.

THE NARRATOR - If you want to jog the rest of the way to the cabin that's perfectly fine, as long as you keep this very important task in mind once you reach your destination.

AUTHORITY [Challenging: Success] - Put aside His insistence -- He holds no power over you. You have *questions* that need answering, and you will not be cooperating with any hitherto-unknown disembodied voices until you have *answers*.

1. Where am I?
2. How did I get here?
3. Who are you?
4. The end of the world?
5. Actually, I don't have any questions about this. I'm willing to accept this situation at face value and just do as I'm told. (Opt in.)
6. I don't think I need any more voices in my head telling me to perform acts of violence against total strangers. I have enough of those already. (Opt out.)

YOU - Who are you?

THE NARRATOR - Think of me as your guide. I'm here to make sure you stay on track, and that you don't lose sight of what's important for both yourself and everyone else in the world.

THE NARRATOR - Namely, slaying the Princess, not idling in the woods wasting time asking questions.

RHETORIC [Easy: Success] - Questions are not a waste of time. Questions are how you *operate*. You can't make a decision until you've asked all of your *questions*. That's how this works.

1. Where am I?
2. How did I get here?
3. Who are you?
4. The end of the world?
5. Nope, no more questions. Let's do this. (Opt in.)
6. Something about this doesn't sit right with me. I'm going to wait until I see this princess for myself before making a decision.
7. This feels wrong. I think I'm going to turn around and leave now. (Opt out.)

YOU - Where am I?

THE NARRATOR - You're on a path in the woods, just a short ways away from the cabin containing the Princess.

PERCEPTION (SIGHT) [Medium: Success] - Dense foliage grows on both sides of the path, and there is a well-worn dirt trail beneath your feet. It curves away from you both ahead and behind, sloping upward in each direction. In the distance, there is a faint light.

LOGIC [Trivial: Success] - That must be the cabin He mentioned. The lights are on, so it's probably occupied.

SHIVERS [Easy: Success] - A brisk breeze catches the small of your back, travelling along the path. You feel the chill even through the thick fabric of your blazer.

ESPRIT DE CORPS [Medium: Success] - At the near end of the Pox, where the old park meets asphalt, two newly-minted junior patrol officers shuffle through bramble and overgrown shrubbery, having been volunteered for the informal survey of the deeper parts of the woods performed by Precinct 41 twice a year.

ESPRIT DE CORPS - They spend the next 3 days hiking through burnt-out shantytowns and dense copses of evergreen trees. Their assignment comes to an early close after they are forced to fend off a rabid dog with a standard-issue ledger and a dinner knife.

INLAND EMPIRE [Formidable: Success] - Not long from now, when the world grows cold, they will recall this anecdote with a strange fondness.

PERCEPTION (SIGHT) [Challenging: Success] - It is unlikely this path runs through the Pox -- on closer inspection, the trees here are far too healthy looking.

1. Where am I?
2. How did I get here?
3. Who are you?
4. The end of the world?
5. Nope, no more questions. Let's do this. (Opt in.)
6. Something about this doesn't sit right with me. I'm going to wait until I see this princess for myself before making a decision.
7. This feels wrong. I think I'm going to turn around and leave now. (Opt out.)

YOU - How did I get here?

THE NARRATOR - You walked, I presume. You've probably come a very long way and endured quite a number of trials to get here, but given the magnitude of the task still left before you, it won't do to get cold feet now.

THE NARRATOR - You can take a well-deserved rest after you slay her.

ENDURANCE [Easy: Success] - You *aren't* tired. Not even a little. You could run a couple miles right now without breaking a sweat.

PAIN THRESHOLD [Medium: Success] - Even at a jog, the worst you should feel through the thin haze of painkillers is a dull ache. It's probably not a good idea to start running on a bum leg, but when has that ever stopped you before?

PHYSICAL INSTRUMENT - There's still time. The sun hasn't risen yet, which means you can get in back-to-back morning jogs if you start *NOW*.

1. Where am I?
2. How did I get here?
3. Who are you?
4. The end of the world?
5. Nope, no more questions. Let's do this. (Opt in.)
6. Something about this doesn't sit right with me. I'm going to wait until I see this princess for myself before making a decision.
7. This feels wrong. I think I'm going to turn around and leave now. (Opt out.)

YOU - The end of the world?

THE NARRATOR - I'm talking about the end of everything as we know it. No more birds, no more trees, and, perhaps most problematically of all, no more people. You have to put an end to her.

DRAMA [Legendary: Success] - He believes this to be true, from the deepest part of his heart. It *is* truth, spoken into being by sufficient conviction.

THE NARRATOR - I don't 'believe it to be true', it's simply the logistical fact of the matter - the world will end if you don't slay her.

CONCEPTUALIZATION [Medium: Success] - A pressure wave of *nothing*, emanating from a single point, with the whole of existence caught up in its wake.

INTERFACING [Easy: Success] - The end-of-playback. Static over tinny speakers and snow on a dim screen.

INLAND EMPIRE [Formidable: Success] - The crust of the earth peeled away, houses and streets and flickering lights floating up and up and up -- into a pale eternity.

HALF LIGHT [Easy: Success] - All becomes vapor.

THE NARRATOR - I think that's quite enough daydreaming about apocalyptic scenarios for now, don't you agree? There are far more important things to be concerned with than hypotheticals that won't come to pass, as long as you do your job and slay her.

RHETORIC [Challenging: Success] - This guy is *very* insistent with how He says this, isn't He? "Slay", "slay the Princess", "slay her", "slay" -- there was a "put an end to her" in there, but that seems to be a statistical anomaly compared to how much slaying is going around.

ENCYCLOPEDIA [Easy: Success] - "Slay" as a verb is a rather archaic form of saying "kill". Something you would read from a fantasy novel, or maybe an old manuscript.

THE NARRATOR - Oh I'm sorry, does this little voice have a problem with how I go about describing things?

RHETORIC - I am not a "little" voice. What the fuck is He talking about?

SUGGESTION [Easy: Success] - It's not that He's trying to convince you, per se -- it's more like He's trying to make it seem as if this is the only option available. You wouldn't need convincing if it's the only thing you can do at all.

THE NARRATOR - This is the only option available - your alternative is dying, along with the rest of everything, and I'm fairly certain you wouldn't pick that deliberately, now would you?

VOLITION [Easy: Success] - Once, you might have -- but not now. You can't die now, Harry, not after coming this far. There is still hope.

RHETORIC - Pay attention to how He goes about describing you killing this princess going forward. It feels important, that He keeps using this word.

Thought gained: Overinsistent Vocabulary

OVERINSISTENT VOCABULARY

So, this new guy comes onto the scene, out of nowhere, talking about how you have to slay this princess, apparently. "Slay her, slay her, you have to slay her" He keeps saying over and over. Why "slay"? Why this word and not something more common like "kill" or "murder"? Also, you seem to be involuntarily capitalizing His pronouns, which probably isn't a good sign. You should spend some time thinking about this one word, and maybe some other related words, until you get to the bottom of it.

Temporary research bonus:
-1 Conceptualization: Uninspired

Research time: ???

1. Where am I?
2. How did I get here?
3. Who are you?
4. The end of the world?
5. Nope, no more questions. Let's do this. (Opt in.)
6. Something about this doesn't sit right with me. I'm going to wait until I see this princess for myself before making a decision.
7. This feels wrong. I think I'm going to turn around and leave now. (Opt out.)

YOU - Something about this doesn't sit right with me. I'm going to wait until I see this princess for myself before making a decision.

THE NARRATOR - Then I guess we'll just have to see what happens. But a word of warning - if you go in prepared to hear her out, she could easily trap you in her web of lies. And the more you listen to her honeyed words, the harder it'll be to pull yourself out.

INLAND EMPIRE [Challenging: Success] - Sinking into the bog, becoming one with the soil. Someplace dark, someplace cold.

INLAND EMPIRE - Oil and tar, settling in your lungs. Suffocating you.

DAMAGED HEALTH -1

SUGGESTION [Easy: Success] - As if His words are any less honeyed.

DRAMA [Medium: Success] - My liege, He underestimates your phenomenal lie-detecting abilities. You will easily untangle any trap before it has a chance to close around your neck.

EMPATHY [Trivial: Success] - You should at least hear her out, first. Killing someone without even knowing her side of the story would be cruel, too cruel for you.

HALF LIGHT [Medium: Success] - No, you can *handle* cruel. If that's what you need to do and need to be. Be prepared -- violence is always on the table.

PHYSICAL INSTRUMENT [Challenging: Success] - And you *will* be ready, when the time comes.

AUTHORITY [Medium: Success] - You will take control of the situation, as you always do, and your decision will be made law. No one else can do this for you.

ESPRIT DE CORPS [Easy: Success] - You've handled interrogations before.

RHETORIC [Challenging: Success] - But don't call it an interrogation. That comes off as confrontational, even if it is accurate. Maybe just a 'questioning'. You *like* questions.

New task: Question the Princess

THE NARRATOR - No, no, that's not right. There's only one good outcome here for all of us, you know - listen to the violent one, if that's what it takes.

New task: Slay the Princess

LOGIC - While we're at it, you might as well start on figuring out the answers to those other inquiries He brushed aside. You know, things like how you got here, and where "here" is.

New task: Find out where you are

New task: Figure out how you got here

1. [Walk to the cabin.]
2. [Jog to the cabin.]

YOU - [Jog to the cabin.]

PHYSICAL INSTRUMENT - FINALLY, it took you long enough. Better late than never, though I don't want to hear as much *whinging* next time -- you don't need to keep talking about all this bino crap when there's a perfectly good running track right *here*.

SAVOIR FAIRE [Medium: Success] - It's dark, and the ground is uneven in places, but you do not trip or fall -- your feet mold to the contours of the earth, pushing you forward one long stride at a time. You look *suave* right now, that's for damn sure.

ENDURANCE - There it is -- the familiar burn in your legs. Scarcely present, you've barely even gotten started yet, but a reminder that you're alive, and made of *flesh*.

PAIN THRESHOLD [Easy: Success] - There is a twinge of pressure overtop, radiating from your thigh, but it never coalesces into anything truly upsetting -- you are at the cabin in no time.

Secret task complete: Get your morning jog in

THE NARRATOR - You make your way up the short path to the cabin. You'll find the Princess within.

VISUAL CALCULUS [Easy: Success] - That didn't take as much time as you expected, based on the strength of the glow you saw in the distance before.

PERCEPTION (SIGHT) - The wooden cabin is perched atop a grassy hill in a small clearing, with the path you're on snaking all the way to a modest porch. It is small, a single story, and all windows are illuminated.

VISUAL CALCULUS - He said there was a basement. There's definitely enough room for one inside the hill.

Voice of the Hero

We're not going to go through with this, right? She's a princess. We're supposed to save princesses, not slay them.

REACTION SPEED [Medium: Success] - Wait, hold on, what the *hell* --

1. What? What's going on?
2. Who the hell is this?!
3. Oh, sweet, another one. Welcome aboard!

YOU - Who the hell is this?!

INLAND EMPIRE [Challenging: Success] - An emissary of the moon, come down from on high to aid you on your quest.

AUTHORITY - An *INTRUDER*! Something foreign violating the sanctity of your own mind.

AUTHORITY - The first one was bad enough, but He at least was being piped in from the outside. This is an *intolerable* offense.

CONCEPTUALIZATION - Whatever he is, his presence is... wrong. Your brain was not meant to hold thoughts in this shape.

DAMAGED MORALE -1

RHETORIC - Explain yourself, *now*!

Voice of the Hero

Woah, hold on a minute. I'm not an 'intruder' - or at least, I don't think I'm an intruder. I'm just... a voice?

Voice of the Hero

We were just walking up the path to the cabin, right after you got done grilling Him for answers - the lack of anything concrete is bugging me too, by the way - and I thought I'd, you know, pipe up. It's a bit crowded in here, have to admit.

1. Can you not... speak like that? It hurts a little.
2. I don't buy it. Begone, foul demonic entity!
3. Fair enough. Welcome aboard!

YOU - Can you not... speak like that? It hurts a little.

Voice of the Hero

Speak like what?

DAMAGED MORALE -1

VOLITION - Ouch.

Voice of the Hero

Oh, that probably hurt didn't it. Sorry, I didn't mean to hurt you, this is just how I talk, I guess - I can't remember being any other way. I'll shut up for a minute or two, let me know if you work something out.

EMPATHY [Easy: Success] - Surprisingly understanding, for a supposed intruder. He really doesn't want to hurt you, intentionally or otherwise.

SHIVERS [Formidable: Success] - You can trust him.

1. Can you not... speak like that? It hurts a little.
2. [Interfacing - Medium 10] Bend these thoughts into a more comfortable shape.
3. I don't buy it. Begone, foul demonic entity!
4. Fair enough. Welcome aboard!

YOU - Bend these thoughts into a more comfortable shape.

+1 Oil and tar

+1 Emissary of the moon

CHECK SUCCESS

INTERFACING [Medium: Success] - Alright, yeah, this should work. Just have to change the alignment, decrease the buffer by a millimetre or two...

VOICE OF THE HERO - Oh, okay, this feels different. Not too different, but just a little.

HALF LIGHT - I still don't fucking trust it, man. We can't *fit* any more trains of thought in here.

COMPOSURE - You can *feel* him settling into place somewhere beneath your skin, underneath your skull. Like a parasite.

VOICE OF THE HERO - Now that's just rude.

1. I *still* don't buy it. Begone, foul demonic entity!
2. Well, glad that's settled then. Welcome aboard!

YOU - Well, glad that's settled then. Welcome aboard!

VOICE OF THE HERO - Thanks. I'll see if I can avoid knocking into anything too fragile, alright?

DRAMA [Formidable: Success] - We have a Hero, and we're about to meet a Princess. It's like something out of a fairy tale. What does that make our benefactor, then?

1. A King, maybe?
2. Perhaps a Dragon?
3. Some sort of Sorcerer, possibly.
4. I think He's just the Narrator, to be honest.
5. I don't want to think about children's stories right now -- kind of in the middle of something here. (Discard thought.)

YOU - I think He's just the Narrator, to be honest.

DRAMA - Hmm, yes, I suppose you're right, even if that's the *boring* answer.

VOICE OF THE HERO - Yeah, I think that fits well. It's accurate to what He's been doing so far, at least.

VOICE OF THE HERO - Well, that and trying to goad you into slaying a princess. I still don't think we should, it would be rather unbecoming of us.

THE NARRATOR - What I am isn't important. What is important is that you ignore him - he doesn't know what he's talking about. You have to slay the Princess, for all of our sakes.

AUTHORITY [Medium: Success] - That judgement is *yours* to make, not His.

AUTHORITY - And besides -- this new recruit is one of us now, and He is *not*.

CONCEPTUALIZATION [Easy: Success] - A councilor, as opposed to a dictator.

AUTHORITY - You have accepted him, for better or worse, and so the recruit now falls under your jurisdiction.

VOICE OF THE HERO - It's true. You're the one making the decisions, in the end.

1. [Proceed into the cabin.]

YOU - [Proceed into the cabin.]

THE NARRATOR - The interior of the cabin is almost entirely bare. The air is stale and musty and the floor and walls are painted in a fine layer of dust. The only furniture of note is a plain wooden table. Perched on that table is a pristine blade.

THE NARRATOR - The blade is your implement. You'll need it if you want to do this right.

PHYSICAL INSTRUMENT [Formidable: Success] - But you *don't* need it, strictly speaking. You can feel the subtle twitching of the sinew beneath the skin of your biceps. You are *strong*, and while a knife would help focus that strength, you could tear a princess apart with your bare hands if you had to.

VOICE OF THE HERO - That's a bit gruesome, isn't it?

LOGIC - And unnecessary. If you're being offered a weapon, why *not* take it?

EMPATHY [Easy: Success] - Having a weapon on you would be *intimidating*. The princess stuck in this basement likely wouldn't appreciate it -- whether that would manifest as fear or belligerence is unclear.

HAND/EYE COORDINATION [Heroic: Failure] - Wait, don't you already have a --

ESPRIT DE CORPS [Medium: Success] - Officers have been reprimanded for taking weapons into interrogation rooms before. Best to leave it.

SAVOIR FAIRE [Easy: Success] - You could always tuck it into the inside of your jacket. She wouldn't even notice.

INTERFACING [Trivial: Success] - There's a *lot* of pockets in here. Lots of places to tuck things. All of them are empty right now, though.

ELECTROCHEMISTRY [Easy: Success] - This baby's seen its fair share of drug stashes over the years.

ENCYCLOPEDIA [Medium: Success] - It didn't have that many pockets when you first bought it, or even last month -- You've had more added as time went on.

ENCYCLOPEDIA - Kim helped with the latest addition, a large brownish pocket halfway down the left side, during a long night when the withdrawals were hitting *pretty* bad.

VOICE OF THE HERO - Aw, that's awfully nice of him.

COMPOSURE - You would've done it yourself, but your hands wouldn't stop shaking.

VOLITION [Medium: Success] - Let it be a reminder you can still change for the better, like the blazer has. You have a place to get back to, this much you know, and you have to get through whatever *this* whole mess is first before you can do that. Stay strong.

HEALED MORALE +1

1. [Examine the floor.]
2. [Take the blade.]
3. [Continue through the door in front of you.]

YOU - [Examine the floor.]

THE NARRATOR - You look down at the wood-paneled floor. It's a floor. I don't really know what it is you're looking for here, but there's definitely something a lot more important you should be doing right now instead.

VOICE OF THE HERO - Looking around is a good idea, true, but I don't think there's anything else in here. It's just the table, the knife, and the door - oh, and the windows, too.

PERCEPTION (SIGHT) [Challenging: Success] - Just as He said, there is indeed a fine layer of dust coating the floor. You notice no disturbances that would indicate previous movement -- no footprints, and no chips or marks from moved furniture.

VOICE OF THE HERO - This cabin doesn't seem like it's properly furnished for someone to be living here, right? Maybe there's some proper living arrangements down in the basement.

LOGIC [Medium: Success] - If there's a princess in the basement, she hasn't left for some time -- and no one else has come through, either.

1. [Examine the floor.]
2. [Take the blade.]
3. [Continue through the door in front of you.]

YOU - [Continue through the door in front of you.]

THE NARRATOR - The door to the basement creaks open, revealing a staircase faintly illuminated by an unseen light in the room below.

VISUAL CALCULUS [Medium: Success] - The floorplan of this cabin doesn't make sense. With the only interior space you've seen being the room you just left, this staircase, and a basement on a lower level, the interior dimensions don't match the exterior ones -- and you definitely saw more than one window on the near wall as you approached the cabin earlier.

LOGIC [Impossible: Failure] - Maybe there's extra rooms accessible from a different outside door, or another staircase down below? That doesn't really seem practical, though.

THE NARRATOR - This is an oppressive place. The air feels heavy and damp, a hint of rot filtering from the ancient wood. If the princess lives here, slaying her is probably doing her a favor.

VOLITION [Trivial: Success] - You've lived in worse.

THE NARRATOR - Her voice softly carries up the stairs.

H-hello? Is someone there?

CONCEPTUALIZATION [Godly: Failure] - This voice, too, is wrong, but in a way that you cannot put into words. It doesn't hurt, at least, given that it is coming from *outside* of your skull this time. But it's as if it isn't being spoken at all, somehow.

INLAND EMPIRE [Legendary: Failure] - You can't imagine who it belongs to. No image forms when you try.

VOICE OF THE HERO - It's hypnotizing. It's the kind of voice you only have to hear once to remember for the rest of your life.

VOLITION - Oh for the love of -- you better not be compromised. You *just* got here!

VOICE OF THE HERO - I don't think I'm compromised? It's just a lovely voice, is all.

PERCEPTION (HEARING) - It *is* nice. It's easy on the ears.

EMPATHY [Easy: Success] - She's nervous. Uneasy. She can't see you, and she doesn't know why you're here.

THE NARRATOR - Don't let it fool you. It's all part of the manipulation. You're playing a dangerous game by coming here unarmed.

1. "Hi!"
2. "Just checking in on you."
3. "Hey, I'm just here to ask you a few questions if that's alright."
4. [Interfacing - Impossible 20] Can we bend this voice into a better shape too?
5. [Suggestion - Medium 10] Calm her down.
6. [Continue down the stairs.]

YOU - Can we bend this voice into a better shape too?

+1 Done it before

-1 Compromised?

-3 Can't imagine them

CHECK FAILURE

INTERFACING [Impossible: Failure] - No. It is too far embedded into the fabric of reality for you to even try.

1. "Hi!"
2. "Just checking in on you."
3. "Hey, I'm just here to ask you a few questions if that's alright."
4. [Suggestion - Medium 10] Calm her down.
5. [Continue down the stairs.]

YOU - Calm her down.

+1 Wants to know why you're here

-1 Tear her apart

-1 Compromised?

CHECK FAILURE

SUGGESTION [Medium: Failure] - Alright, so here's what you're gonna do: You're going to tell her exactly why you're here. Honesty is the *best* policy, I've always said.

1. I don't think you've ever said that, actually.
2. "Hey, I think I'm here to slay you?"
3. But I'm *not* here to slay her! I wanted to ask her some questions first!

YOU - I don't think you've ever said that, actually.

SUGGESTION - Yes, I have. I'm being honest about it *right now*, see?

1. I don't think you've ever said that, actually.
2. "Hey, I think I'm here to slay you?"
3. But I'm *not* here to slay her! I wanted to ask her some questions first!

YOU - But I'm *not* here to slay her! I wanted to ask her some questions first!

THE NARRATOR - What are you talking about, you are here to slay her - that's exactly what you have to do! You don't have to tell her that, though.

SUGGESTION - Alright, alright, I see you want to be *extra* honest here. Try this last one out instead.

1. I don't think you've ever said that, actually.
2. "Hey, I think I'm here to slay you?"
3. "Hey, there's a disembodied voice telling me to slay you right now but I'm going to ask you some questions first before making a decision about it. Hope you don't mind!"

YOU - "Hey, I think I'm here to slay you?"

VOICE OF THE HERO - This seems like the least bad option. Why did we have to say this at all, though?

VOLITION - You'll get used to it, trust me.

Y-you must have the wrong address.

EMPATHY [Trivial: Success] - That didn't help.

ENCYCLOPEDIA - Did anyone catch the address when we walked in?

DRAMA [Easy: Success] - A lie. An *obvious* lie. If this is the best she can do, you won't have to worry about a 'web of lies' at all.

THE NARRATOR - Great job, you've given away the element of surprise. Good luck, hero.

1. [Continue down the stairs.]

YOU - [Continue down the stairs.]

PERCEPTION (HEARING) - The third stair from the bottom squeaks underfoot as you descend.

SAVOIR FAIRE - You'll want to remember that for the future, in case stealth is of the essence.

VOLITION - There won't *be* a future where you'd need to know that, because you're going to figure out how to get back to where you're supposed to be as soon as you're through here.

THE NARRATOR - You walk down the stairs and lock eyes with the Princess. There's a heavy chain around her wrist, binding her to the far wall of the basement.

COMPOSURE [Easy: Success] - She was hunched over when you first came down, but looked up to meet your gaze. She is tense.

PERCEPTION (SIGHT) - She has pale skin, long hair, and a slender build. A regal dress bunches up on the floor around her where she sits.

ELECTROCHEMISTRY [Medium: Success] - Sleeveless shoulders and a pretty face.

HALF LIGHT [Medium: Success] - Large, large eyes -- too large. Unnatural.

INLAND EMPIRE [Impossible: Failure] - What color are those eyes?

AUTHORITY [Medium: Success] - A tiara sits on her head, a symbol of her royal dominion.

VOICE OF THE HERO - She's beautiful. How could someone like this be a threat to anyone?

PAIN THRESHOLD [Challenging: Success] - Beauty means nothing. The capacity to inflict pain is wholly divorced from one's body -- it is a part of the soul.

THE NARRATOR - I am begging you to stay focused. There's a lot riding on you here.

H-hi. You were joking about coming here to kill me, right? D-do you think you could get me out of these chains?

RHETORIC [Easy: Success] - She's offering you an out.

SUGGESTION [Easy: Success] - You can easily pass off your earlier statement as a joke -- she *wants* to believe you weren't being serious.

1. "Yes of course, ha ha! *I* thought it was pretty funny."
2. "Yeah, but on reflection it was kind of insensitive. Sorry."
3. "No, that wasn't a joke. I'm actually here to kill you."

YOU - "Yes of course, ha ha! *I* thought it was pretty funny."

THE NARRATOR - The Princess shifts uncomfortably for a moment, clearly not believing you. Can you stop trying to reassure her and focus on the task at hand, please?

1. "If it's alright with you, I'd like to ask a few questions."
2. "...Anyway, I'll see what I can do about these chains." [Examine the chains.]
3. [Look around.]
4. [Approach her.]

YOU - [Look around.]

PERCEPTION (SIGHT) - This basement appears to be unfinished. The floor is a smattering of uneven cobblestones, the walls on either side unworked stone, and the one behind her smoothed to an even finish. A single barred window lets in starlight, perched above her head.

PERCEPTION (SIGHT) - The manacle around her right wrist is connected to the wall behind her by a comically thick iron chain. There is a second chain, broken halfway down, on her other side, but you can't see another manacle anywhere.

1. "If it's alright with you, I'd like to ask a few questions."
2. "...Anyway, I'll see what I can do about these chains." [Examine the chains.]
3. [Look around.]
4. [Approach her.]

YOU - "If it's alright with you, I'd like to ask a few questions."

O...kay?

EMPATHY [Medium: Success] - Confusion. She doesn't understand what you two could have to talk about.

1. "If it's alright with you, I'd like to ask a few questions."
2. "...Anyway, I'll see what I can do about these chains." [Examine the chains.]
3. [Look around.]
4. [Approach her.]

YOU - [Approach her.]

HALF LIGHT [Medium: Success] - As you get closer, a tension builds just behind your ribs. Something is *wrong*, SHE is *WRONG*, you *NEED* TO KILL HER, *NOW*.

INLAND EMPIRE [Formidable: Success] - This will be the only chance you'll ever get, if that's truly what you want to do.

VOICE OF THE HERO - Hey, slow down a bit there for a second. We're going to talk to her first, ask some questions, remember? We can decide what to do after we get a feel for the situation.

EMPATHY [Challenging: Success] - She smiles at you as you sit down next to her. Despite her misgivings, she is grateful to finally have someone else to talk to.

1. "What's your name?"
2. "Do you know why you're locked up here?"
3. "Do you know who locked you up here?"
4. "I actually lied earlier, I wasn't joking. I was sent here to kill you because, apparently, you'll end the world."
5. "Have you been getting food and water? I noticed no one seems to have been here in a long time, judging by the dust upstairs."
6. [Perception (Sight) - Impossible 20] What color are her eyes?
7. [Physical Instrument - Heroic 15] [Slay the Princess.]

YOU - What color are her eyes?

+1 She's right there

-3 Can't imagine them

CHECK FAILURE

PERCEPTION (SIGHT) [Impossible: Failure] - You can't tell.

1. "What's your name?"
2. "Do you know why you're locked up here?"
3. "Do you know who locked you up here?"
4. "I actually lied earlier, I wasn't joking. I was sent here to kill you because, apparently, you'll end the world."
5. "Have you been getting food and water? I noticed no one seems to have been here in a long time, judging by the dust upstairs."
6. [Locked] What color are her eyes?
7. [Physical Instrument - Heroic 15] [Slay the Princess.]

YOU - "What's your name?"

REACTION SPEED [Easy: Success] - Usually, when you're having this kind of exchange, you want to give them *your* name first. It's polite.

ESPRIT DE CORPS [Easy: Success] - Don't flash the full name and rank -- no one talks like that in normal conversation, and it will put your suspect at unease.

AUTHORITY [Challenging: Success] - Unless that's *exactly* what you're going for. You are the one that will be controlling this conversation -- assert yourself!

1. "--, mine's Harry."
2. "-- You can refer to me as Lieutenant double-yefreitor Harrier Du Bois, or Harry for short."
3. "-- You can refer to me as Lieutenant double-yefreitor Harrier Du Bois. I am the law."
4. "-- I think my name is Harry, but honestly I've been shopping around for another one."
5. [Say nothing, let her reply.]

YOU - "--, mine's Harry."

Oh...

THE NARRATOR - She pauses, carefully formulating her words before she responds.

LOGIC [Trivial: Success] - It shouldn't normally require *any* amount of thought to recite one's own name.

CONCEPTUALIZATION - But you know someone that would think about it, don't you?

You can address me as 'Your Royal Highness'. Or you can just call me 'Princess' if 'You Royal Highness' is too formal.

RHETORIC [Easy: Success] - A deflection.

AUTHORITY [Easy: Success] - She's trying to pull rank on you. This can't stand.

VOICE OF THE HERO - Is 'Princess' her name or her title? What if it's both? Can you imagine being named Princess Princess?

INLAND EMPIRE [Easy: Success] - Yes, you can imagine it. Princess Princess, princess of princesses. An exponential royalty, presiding over the heavens and the earth. An infinite fractal tangle of frilly dresses and shiny jewelry.

1. "So is Princess your name?"
2. [Let it go.]

YOU - "So is Princess your name?"

...

Like I said, you can call me Princess if you'd like!

...

PERCEPTION (SIGHT) - Her smile falters.

I'm sorry. I've been down here so long I guess I've just forgotten. I must have a name, though! Everyone has a name.

ENDURANCE [Trivial: Success] - She would have died of starvation long before forgetting her own name.

VOICE OF THE HERO - Okay, that's weird.

THE NARRATOR - She hadn't even thought to pick a name for herself. Hopefully you're starting to see that she can't be trusted. Go back upstairs, get the blade, and slay her before it's too late.

VOLITION - You remember what it's like to not have a name.

ENCYCLOPEDIA - Missing the most important piece of the puzzle.

HALF LIGHT [Easy: Success] - Subhuman. No better than an animal of the wild.

CONCEPTUALIZATION [Medium: Success] - Adrift in a sea of reality, without a label to tether yourself to.

1. [Conceptualization - Formidable 13] Come up with a name for her.
2. [Let it go.]

YOU - Come up with a name for her.

+3 Remember what it's like

-2 What color are her eyes?

-2 Princess Princess

CHECK FAILURE

CONCEPTUALIZATION [Formidable: Failure] - Guinevere Rözovy Baudelaire.

1. That's perfect! It's so *her*.
2. Very cool, very cool, but maybe a touch too pompous?
3. "You should go by Guinevere Rözovy Baudelaire. Now *that's* a name with pizzazz."
4. Man, we gotta have a talk about this.

YOU - Man, we gotta have a talk about this.

CONCEPTUALIZATION - What? What is there to *talk* about? Is this not the perfect name for a member of royalty such as herself?

VOICE OF THE HERO - It's certainly a pretty name, but it's a bit of a mouthful, isn't it?

1. C'mon, we've been through this before. Is this *really* the best I can come up with? Really?
2. Actually you're right, it *is* perfect. I don't know what I was going to complain about.

YOU - C'mon, we've been through this before. Is this *really* the best I can come up with? Really?

CONCEPTUALIZATION - Oh, are my artistique wordsmithing feats too much for your decidedly low-concept little monkey brain? You know what, fuck you too buddy. I'm packing up, calling it quits. You'll have to go by sheer pattern recognition and kindergarten-tier simile, now. *Clearly* my talents are wasted here.

THE NARRATOR - The Princess, meanwhile, oblivious to the inner argument going on between your ears right now, shifts uncomfortably again.

THE NARRATOR - She's running out of patience. You better make sure your head is screwed on straight and slay her soon.

REACTION SPEED [Challenging: Failure] - You have been sitting here zoned out for just a few seconds too long. Say *something*.

1. "How about Shifty? That's a pretty good name."
2. "You can go by Harry too, if you feel like it. A name this disco deserves to be shared."
3. "You could take Princess as your name -- Princess Princess just rolls off the tongue, doesn't it?"

YOU - "You could take Princess as your name -- Princess Princess just rolls off the tongue, doesn't it?"

...H-heh, yeah, that would be pretty funny, I-i guess.

RHETORIC - But that wasn't a joke.

VOICE OF THE HERO - Those were some pretty terrible names, Harry. I mean, except yours, of course, but you can't just give your name away to someone else! I don't think that's how it works?

ENCYCLOPEDIA [Easy: Success] - Parents naming their children after themselves with a "Junior" appended to the end is still an everyday occurrence in Revachol, even though it has fallen out of fashion in the last two decades.

VOICE OF THE HERO - Yeah, but you're not exactly her dad, are you?

VOICE OF THE HERO - Anyway, I think she looks like more of a... I don't know, Nichole? Maybe?

CONCEPTUALIZATION - *Nichole*?

VOICE OF THE HERO - Hey, you said you were packing up and leaving. You don't get to criticize my name choice after calling it quits.

VOLITION [Medium: Success] - We'll be at it all day at this rate. Just get back on track, ask something else.

1. "What's your name?"
2. "Do you know why you're locked up here?"
3. "Do you know who locked you up here?"
4. "I actually lied earlier, I wasn't joking. I was sent here to kill you because, apparently, you'll end the world."
5. "Have you been getting food and water? I noticed no one seems to have been here in a long time, judging by the dust upstairs."
6. [Locked] What color are her eyes?
7. [Physical Instrument - Heroic 15] [Slay the Princess.]
8. Alright, I think I have enough information to make a decision now. [Proceed.]

YOU - "Have you been getting food and water? I noticed no one seems to have been here in a long time, judging by the dust upstairs."

I don't see what that has to do with anything.

COMPOSURE [Easy: Success] - She got oddly defensive, there. A deviation from her nervous demeanor so far.

THE NARRATOR - This is the only time this is ever going to happen, but I agree with the Princess. That's hardly relevant.

VOICE OF THE HERO - Okay but actually, what has she been eating? She needs to eat, right?

ENDURANCE [Easy: Success] - She doesn't look malnourished.

INLAND EMPIRE [Challenging: Success] - She may have mastered the art of Synergistic Energy Consumption. An ancient technique, allowing oneself to subsist only on the flaps of butterfly wings and the dew of a single blade of grass.

LOGIC [Easy: Success] - It's possible she's forgotten the last time she received food. Her memory appears to be spotty, if the conversation about her name was any indication.

ESPRIT DE CORPS [Challenging: Success] - You've dealt with this once or twice before on wellness checks -- usually the elderly, those with neurodegenerative diseases, or the like. Your hand instinctively reaches to the breast pocket of your blazer.

HAND/EYE COORDINATION [Trivial: Success] - Fingers close around what feels like a flask.

Item gained: Flask of Bittersweet Memories

REACTION SPEED [Godly: Failure] - Wait, what --

ELECTROCHEMISTRY [Easy: Success] - *YES*, SCORE! I *knew* we still had something on us. Quick, bust it open and pour out some sweet ambrosia!

VOLITION - Go ahead and twist it open. Trust me, it's fine.

ELECTROCHEMISTRY - ...Wow, *and* Crownhead's given up? Can this day get any better?

1. [Twist it open.]
2. [Let it go.]

YOU - [Twist it open.]

PERCEPTION (SMELL) [Easy: Success] - As you open the flask, an almost sickeningly sweet smell meets your nostrils. It reeks of artificial strawberry flavoring and pure sugar.

LOGIC [Medium: Success] - This is not alcohol.

ELECTROCHEMISTRY - Damn.

ENCYCLOPEDIA [Medium: Success] - This is a storebrand fruit punch, Supra-Strawberry flavor, sold in bulk at Fritttes across the known world.

ESPRIT DE CORPS [Easy: Success] - You first remember drinking this at a precinct office party, the first one to occur since your medical leave. It was the first party at Precinct 41 to not have spiked punch in 14 years.

VOLITION [Heroic: Failure] - The flask was a gift, from when you were first promoted to Lieutenant. You couldn't bear to throw it away.

INTERFACING [Trivial: Success] - You like to fiddle with the cap, when you don't have anything in your hands.

PERCEPTION (TASTE) - It's of passable flavor, and surprisingly hydrating. But most importantly -- it's something you could actually *taste*, as you started your newest attempt at sobriety. Your Commodore-soaked taste buds could detect little else, and truthfully still can't taste much.

ENDURANCE [Easy: Success] - It has *electrolytes*. That means it's *good for you*.

VOICE OF THE HERO - ...That sure is a lot of history, tucked into one little bottle.

VOICE OF THE HERO - You should offer her some, if she really hasn't been eating or drinking for who knows how long.

1. [Offer her the flask.]
2. [Take a swig from the flask, first.]
3. [Put the flask back.]

YOU - [Offer her the flask.]

THE NARRATOR - As you offer the Princess the flask, her gaze quickly darts between your outstretched hand and your eyes, as if unsure what to do.

LOGIC [Challenging: Success] - Maybe she thinks it's poisoned?

THE NARRATOR - Oh, if only it was.

VOICE OF THE HERO - Has she never drank from a flask before? It seems like a pretty easy thing to do, but you know - no judgement here.

THE NARRATOR - But, after a moment's hesitation, likely weighing your previous erratic behavior against her own mounting thirst, the Princess takes the flask from your grip and takes a sip.

Item lost: Flask of Bittersweet Memories

PERCEPTION (SIGHT) - That was more than a *sip*.

VISUAL CALCULUS [Trivial: Success] - At least half the liquid inside must be gone by now.

ENDURANCE - Let her have it. You aren't yet thirsty.

THE NARRATOR - After greedily draining every last drop of fluid from the flask, she gingerly wipes at her mouth and hands the now-empty container back to you.

Item gained: Flask of Bittersweet Memories (Empty)

...Sorry. I guess I really haven't had anything to drink for a while.

Thank you.

VOICE OF THE HERO - That felt like the right thing to do. This is good.

1. "What's your name?"
2. "Do you know why you're locked up here?"
3. "Do you know who locked you up here?"
4. "I actually lied earlier, I wasn't joking. I was sent here to kill you because, apparently, you'll end the world."
5. "Have you been getting food and water? I noticed no one seems to have been here in a long time, judging by the dust upstairs."
6. [Locked] What color are her eyes?
7. [Physical Instrument - Heroic 15] [Slay the Princess.]
8. Alright, I think I have enough information to make a decision now. [Proceed.]

YOU - "Do you know why you're locked up here?"

Of course I'm locked up down here for a reason!

I don't actually know what that reason is, but you don't just stuff a princess in a basement and throw away the key without there being some sort of an explanation, right?

COMPOSURE [Easy: Success] - She looks surprisingly pensive, now. A little more tense, a little less nervous.

ENDURANCE [Medium: Success] - It could be her blood sugar levels are finally normalizing.

RHETORIC [Medium: Success] - She has enough presence of mind to realize that she must be locked up alone in the middle of the woods for a *reason*, but she still doesn't know what that reason *is*. Is it the memory loss, or something else?

THE NARRATOR - You have all the explanation you need. And you should know better than to trust whatever she comes up with.

1. "What's your name?"
2. "Do you know why you're locked up here?"
3. "Do you know who locked you up here?"
4. "I actually lied earlier, I wasn't joking. I was sent here to kill you because, apparently, you'll end the world."
5. "Have you been getting food and water? I noticed no one seems to have been here in a long time, judging by the dust upstairs."
6. [Locked] What color are her eyes?
7. [Physical Instrument - Heroic 15] [Slay the Princess.]
8. Alright, I think I have enough information to make a decision now. [Proceed.]

YOU - "I actually lied earlier, I wasn't joking. I was sent here to kill you because, apparently, you'll end the world."

I-is that why they threw me down here? But I don't want to hurt anyone. I like the world! I think.

I don't remember much about it, to be honest. I've been down here for so long.

EMPATHY [Formidable: Success] - To be wiped from the slate of the living world, and to forget all that was once you. You know this pain in your very soul.

PAIN THRESHOLD - You have recovered, and it does not sting as badly as it once did, but it still hasn't left you entirely.

ENCYCLOPEDIA - Every time you encounter something you once knew, but now know not -- it reignites, for just a second.

DAMAGED MORALE -1

VOICE OF THE HERO - That's... how long has she been locked away?!

LOGIC [Impossible: Failure] - Your datasets *conflict*. She has forgotten everything, and yet she has not died from lack of nutrition, and yet the cabin upstairs is dusty and undisturbed. You must be missing something.

Did they tell you how I'm supposed to end the world?

SUGGESTION [Easy: Success] - She sounds more curious than accusatory. She genuinely wants to know.

1. "I've been told enough."
2. "I was hoping you'd tell me, actually."
3. "No, but I'm sure there's a good reason I haven't been told."
4. "No, which is why I don't think you're actually dangerous."
5. [Say nothing.]

YOU - "I was hoping you'd tell me, actually."

I don't know how to destroy the world, if that's what you're getting at.

VOICE OF THE HERO - I believe her.

DRAMA [Challenging: Success] - She seems truthful, sire, if a bit *defensive*.

THE NARRATOR - She doesn't have to know how to destroy the world to be capable of doing it.

CONCEPTUALIZATION [Medium: Success] - A metaphysical annihilation. Matter and antimatter coming into contact, a total erasure of mass.

VOICE OF THE HERO - Oh look, he's back.

At the end of the day, whatever the two of us have going on down here is about trust.

Whoever sent you to 'slay' me claimed I was a threat to the world, but they didn't tell you why.

I don't trust that, and I don't think you do, either, or you wouldn't have come down here to talk.

RHETORIC [Medium: Success] - *Surprisingly* coherent and well-reasoned.

ENDURANCE - I'm telling you, it's the electrolytes. That shit does *wonders* for the forebrain.

RHETORIC - Everything she's said is strictly correct -- you did not trust Him, and He did not tell you the reason she was a threat. He merely kept insisting she *was*, repeatedly, with no justification.

VOICE OF THE HERO - She has a point. We're talking like this for a reason.

So this shouldn't be about what I'd do if I got out of here, or me saying the right thing to convince you to save me...

COMPOSURE [Easy: Success] - Her eyebrows knit together, and she becomes just a little more animated while she says this next part.

This is about how messed up this whole situation is! This is my life we're talking about!

Do you really think I can even end the world? Why would I even want to?

CONCEPTUALIZATION - She *doesn't* have to know if she could, or how she could, remember?

INLAND EMPIRE [Medium: Success] - Wants are *irrelevant*, in the face of the roiling chaos.

AUTHORITY [Easy: Success] - There is a power imbalance here. She is a prisoner, and you her warden. Anything she could say to you is tainted by this dynamic.

EMPATHY [Challenging: Success] - She still has a little bit of fear, in there, that you may kill her -- or worse, leave her to rot.

HALF LIGHT [Trivial: Success] - She wants to live.

We both know that if there's people we can't trust in this situation, it's whoever locked me down here, and it's whoever sent you here. And those two groups are probably one and the same.

LOGIC - A reasonable conclusion. But then, why are *you* doing this, and not Him?

RHETORIC [Challenging: Success] - She is implying that you two *already* trust each other. That you should work together against this third party (i.e., Him). *But*, she doesn't know about Him directly -- she is merely hypothesizing His presence, in the abstract.

THE NARRATOR - Don't let her turn the tables here. This isn't about trust. This is about risk. We stand to lose everything, all for the sake of one person. And a subjugating monarch, no less.

ESPRIT DE CORPS [Trivial: Success] - Innocent, until proven guilty.

ESPRIT DE CORPS - There are many of your half-brothers who do not care for this sentiment. But *you* do, as do those you respect.

RHETORIC [Medium: Success] - Now, for the record, on the books, I *still* think that all members of royalty should be ground into a thin paste and fed to hogs -- but He's *definitely* trying to deflect away from the real issue, here, by poking holes in her character.

COMPOSURE [Challenging: Success] - Over the course of the questioning, she has grown more energetic, but also a touch angrier and more frantic. Now would be a good time to wrap it up -- any further questions may garner hostility.

1. "What's your name?"
2. "Do you know why you're locked up here?"
3. "Do you know who locked you up here?"
4. "I actually lied earlier, I wasn't joking. I was sent here to kill you because, apparently, you'll end the world."
5. "Have you been getting food and water? I noticed no one seems to have been here in a long time, judging by the dust upstairs."
6. [Locked] What color are her eyes?
7. [Physical Instrument - Heroic 15] [Slay the Princess.]
8. Alright, I think I have enough information to make a decision now. [Proceed.]

YOU - Alright, I think I have enough information to make a decision now. [Proceed.]

VOICE OF THE HERO - I still think we should save her. It seems like she's not much of a threat at all - just confused, and lonely.

AUTHORITY [Challenging: Success] - You will continue to be pestered by Him, if you don't immediately strike her down. But you don't have to listen to the needling -- He is beneath you.

CONCEPTUALIZATION [Medium: Success] - She may be a blank slate, but her existence itself could be the real threat to the world. If so, there would be no way to know if it was a mistake to free her or not until it was too late -- the cat cannot go back into the bag.

HALF LIGHT [Medium: Success] - All of your instincts still tell you that you should kill her, *right now*.

PHYSICAL INSTRUMENT [Challenging: Success] - You could. If it came down to it.

REACTION SPEED [Medium: Success] - But you've been sitting here a while, and you gave her a pick-me-up. It would be a lot harder to get the drop on her now.

LOGIC [Easy: Success] - You could just go back upstairs, get the knife, and return -- you would be at a significant advantage then.

LOGIC - Or you could just leave. That's an option too.

EMPATHY [Medium: Success] - She *does* trust you, and she doesn't seem to want to end the world. For whatever that's worth.

RHETORIC [Medium: Success] - The only pieces of evidence you have that she could end the world are His insistence and a general feeling of unease. Are you really going to kill someone over a grudge and a hunch?

THE NARRATOR - I wish it was just a grudge, argumentative one, but unfortunately for all of us it's very much a reality.

DRAMA [Medium: Success] - Still, he whole-heartedly believes this is the truth.

VOLITION [Easy: Success] - Whatever you choose to do, it's your choice alone. Don't let anyone make it for you -- not her, not Him, and not even the new guy.

VOICE OF THE HERO - Hey, I was just giving my opinion, like the rest of you.

1. "Slaying you is too risky, but I'm still uneasy about letting you go. I'm just going to keep you locked up for a little while longer until I can get to the bottom of this." [Keep her locked away.]
2. [Physical Instrument - Heroic 15] [Slay the Princess.]
3. "I'm sorry, but I don't trust you. The information doesn't add up. It isn't worth it to trust you when the fate of the world is at stake." [Retrieve the blade.]
4. Do that last one, but without telling her I'm going to kill her. [Retrieve the blade.]
5. "I can't believe you've been kept locked up down here like this -- it's downright inhumane. I'm getting you out of here." [Examine the chains.]
6. "Okay, I'm getting you outta here. Don't make me regret this." [Examine the chains.]

YOU - "I can't believe you've been kept locked up down here like this -- it's downright inhumane. I'm getting you out of here." [Examine the chains.]

Task complete: Question the Princess

New task: Save the Princess

COMPOSURE [Easy: Success] - A genuine smile breaks across her face. Her previous unease abates, for just a second.

THE NARRATOR - You're only making this more difficult...

Thank you, thank you!

THE NARRATOR - You're making a huge mistake.

VOICE OF THE HERO - No, you're doing the right thing.

INLAND EMPIRE [Easy: Success] - You're doing the only thing you can.

THE NARRATOR - You walk up to the chains binding the princess to the wall and give them a tug.

THE NARRATOR - They're large and heavy, far too solid for you to even imagine breaking them apart.

PHYSICAL INSTRUMENT [Challenging: Success] - Says *you*. That was barely a tug -- if you put some real *force* into it, you could break this chain no problem.

INTERFACING [Medium: Success] - You don't see any imperfections, but there may be a weak point where the chain meets the wall, or where it meets the cuff on her wrist.

VISUAL CALCULUS [Easy: Success] - Breaking the chain in this way may injure her.

I'm guessing you don't have the key.

VOICE OF THE HERO - Maybe it's somewhere upstairs?

VOICE OF THE HERO - ...No, you already looked around up there and it was empty. Where could it be?

ENCYCLOPEDIA [Easy: Success] - It could be under a loose floorboard. You've found things in such spaces many times.

THE NARRATOR - Doubtful. Whoever locked the Princess away down here intended for her to never see the light of day. They wouldn't have just left the key to her chains somewhere in the cabin.

1. [Physical Instrument - Godly 16] Tug on the chain until it breaks.
2. "Do you have any ideas if I don't find the key?"
3. "I'm going to head back upstairs and look around more thoroughly for a key, or at least something to break you out with. I'll be right back."

YOU - "Do you have any ideas if I don't find the key?"

Maybe there's some way to break the chains?

PHYSICAL INSTRUMENT - Yes, through *sheer force*!

INTERFACING [Medium: Success] - There might be a way to pry part of the locking mechanism open with the knife.

...

Or if that doesn't work I guess we could always cut me out of them.

REACTION SPEED [Challenging: Failure] - Wait, what?

THE NARRATOR - She offers the suggestion with almost complete nonchalance.

VOICE OF THE HERO - If we were stuck down here for long enough, I'm sure we'd be nonchalant about cutting our way out if it meant we could finally be free.

HALF LIGHT [Easy: Success] - Survival above all else. This is *correct*.

1. [Physical Instrument - Godly 16] Tug on the chain until it breaks.
2. "Do you have any ideas if I don't find the key?"
3. "I'm going to head back upstairs and look around more thoroughly for a key, or at least something to break you out with. I'll be right back."

YOU - "I'm going to head back upstairs and look around more thoroughly for a key, or at least something to break you out with. I'll be right back."

...Well, I'll be here.

COMPOSURE [Easy: Success] - She says this with a small smile, but it's strained.

RHETORIC [Trivial: Success] - A joke. An attempt to "lighten the mood".

SAVOIR FAIRE [Trivial: Success] - You walk back up the stairs, deliberately avoiding that squeaky step.

THE NARRATOR - You attempt to make your way out of the basement, but the door at the top of the stairs slams shut. You hear the click of a lock sliding into place.

INTERFACING [Challenging: Failure] - Did that door have a lock, before?

HALF LIGHT [Formidable: Failure] - We're fucking trapped! SHIT!

LOGIC - But who's on the other side?

VOICE OF THE HERO - Is someone else here?

1. "Hey, let me out!"
2. [Bang on the door repeatedly with your fist.]
3. [Try the doorknob.]
4. [Physical Instrument - Formidable 13] [Break down the door.]
5. [Return to the bottom of the stairs.]

YOU - [Try the doorknob.]

THE NARRATOR - You try the door, but it's locked from the outside.

LOGIC - That much was already clear.

1. "Hey, let me out!"
2. [Bang on the door repeatedly with your fist.]
3. [Try the doorknob.]
4. [Physical Instrument - Formidable 13] [Break down the door.]
5. [Return to the bottom of the stairs.]

YOU - "Hey, let me out!"

THE NARRATOR - Your shouts and pleas are met with silence.

THE NARRATOR - You're here to slay the Princess, and you won't leave until the task is done.

RHETORIC [Easy: Success] - *He* is doing this, somehow. The threat He's making is obvious.

1. "Hey, let me out!"
2. [Bang on the door repeatedly with your fist.]
3. [Try the doorknob.]
4. [Physical Instrument - Formidable 13] [Break down the door.]
5. [Return to the bottom of the stairs.]

YOU - [Break down the door.]

+1 Sheer force

-1 Trapped

-2 Uneven footing

CRITICAL FAILURE

PHYSICAL INSTRUMENT [Formidable: Failure] - You lean back, winding up for the mother of all shoulder checks on this door.

SAVOIR FAIRE - But you lean *too far*. Before you can right yourself, you come crashing down the stairs.

DAMAGED HEALTH -1

Are you alright?!

PAIN THRESHOLD [Challenging: Success] - On reflection, you probably shouldn't have tried that by balancing on your bad leg. Still, you weren't *too* badly injured, it was mostly a hit to the pride.

THE NARRATOR - This would have been so much easier if you'd just taken the blade like you were supposed to.

VOICE OF THE HERO - Easier for whom?

RHETORIC - Now *that's* the right question to be asking. Good job, kid.

THE NARRATOR - Easier for everyone. Look at the mess you're in.

I heard the door slam, and then you came tumbling down the stairs... They locked you down here too, didn't they?

THE NARRATOR - There's a slight panic rising in the Princess' voice.

If I could just get out of these chains I know we could force our way out of here together.

SAVOIR FAIRE [Medium: Success] - She's right. She could brace your lower back while you plant a boot into the door, near the knob.

PHYSICAL INSTRUMENT - Aw yeah, Doorkickers Anonymous strikes again.

THE NARRATOR - She barely hesitates before raising her arm to her mouth, her teeth tearing through her limb with the determination of a trapped wolf.

VOLITION - Holy *shit*!

HALF LIGHT - No, no, this is *right*. The determination to live trumps all else, even the loss of limb. She *understands*.

PERCEPTION (SIGHT) [Easy: Success] - You can already see bone poking through the wound.

ENDURANCE [Easy: Success] - You would expect a *lot* more blood to be pouring out of there right now.

THE NARRATOR - As she rips her flesh from her bone, a sound comes from behind you. The clang of bouncing metal.

THE NARRATOR - It's the blade from upstairs. You're not sure how it made its way down here, but if there's a time to strike, it's now.

PERCEPTION (HEARING) [Medium: Success] - You did not hear the door opening or closing.

LOGIC [Impossible: Failure] - Then how did the knife get here? It came from behind you, so it couldn't have been pushed through the barred window.

REACTION SPEED [Easy: Success] - She's distracted, and wounded. If you took the knife and struck now, you'd catch her by surprise, and odds would definitely be in your favor.

VOICE OF THE HERO - Or we could use the knife to free her.

RHETORIC [Trivial: Success] - She did give you consent to "cut her out of there".

THE NARRATOR - You won't like what happens if you do that.

1. [Save the Princess.]
2. [Reaction Speed - Medium 11] [Slay the Princess.]

YOU - [Save the Princess.]

Item gained: Pristine Blade

THE NARRATOR - Ugh. Fine.

THE NARRATOR - Against your better judgement, you place the blade against the ragged, self-inflicted would on the Princess' arm, just above the unyielding chain binding her to this place.

THE NARRATOR - You cut into her flesh.

PERCEPTION (SIGHT) - Impossibly large eyes stare up at you as you work. There is a dribble of red, around her mouth.

INLAND EMPIRE [Easy: Success] - The only color in the world.

PERCEPTION (SMELL) [Trivial: Success] - You could pretend it was just the punch from earlier, if it weren't for the smell.

HAND/EYE COORDINATION [Easy: Success] - This knife is *extremely* sharp. The only thing that's going to put up any resistance is the bone, which you should be able to break with a few well-executed blows.

THE NARRATOR - Indeed, it takes little effort to crack through the bone of her arm.

PERCEPTION (SIGHT) - She *pulls* the remains of her hand, manacle and all, free from the gore that her right arm now terminates in. The last bits of skin and connective tissue pull taut and then *snap*.

ENDURANCE [Trivial: Success] - Bodies aren't supposed to be stretched in this way.

ESPRIT DE CORPS [Trivial: Success] - But you've seen worse.

THE NARRATOR - Her limb falls to the ground, and the heavy chain follows suit.

VOICE OF THE HERO - She didn't so much as utter a sound through the whole ordeal.

THE NARRATOR - No. She didn't.

PAIN THRESHOLD [Challenging: Success] - That *should* have hurt. No amount of adrenaline would be able to fully dampen the pain of sawing off a limb with no anesthetic. You noticed no involuntary tells that the pain even registered.

THE NARRATOR - She smiles softly as her gaze meets yours, blood from her wounded arm dripping rhythmically to the ground.

ENDURANCE - Blood, but not *enough*. Could shock have set in that fast?

VOICE OF THE HERO - How is she still smiling after everything? It's like she isn't even bothered by what just happened.

Thank you. Now let's get out of here.

EMPATHY [Easy: Success] - She sounds cheerful, almost.

SAVOIR FAIRE - It's gonna be a lot harder for her to hold you up on the stairs with only one hand. Maybe you should trade places, let her do the kicking?

PHYSICAL INSTRUMENT - I doubt her force multiplier is anywhere *near* ours.

1. "Are we just not going to mention the fact you're completely okay with losing a hand?"
2. Fuck it, I'm already in too deep. Let's just roll with it. [Don't question it.]

YOU - Fuck it, I'm already in too deep. Let's just roll with it. [Don't question it.]

COMPOSURE [Challenging: Success] - Keep it *cool*, keep it together. There will be time for panicking and asking more questions later, once you're both out.

ENCYCLOPEDIA [Trivial: Success] - You only have a hazy recollection of the first aid courses you were subjected to years and years ago, but even you know she *definitely* needs medical attention, and soon.

ENDURANCE [Easy: Success] - She seems fine for now -- *somehow*. At that rate of blood loss, she has a couple hours before things get really bad.

1. [Approach the locked door.]

YOU - [Approach the locked door.]

THE NARRATOR - No. We won't have any of that. The stakes are too high. You can't just let her escape into the world.

THE NARRATOR - ...no. I can't just let her escape out into the world.

RHETORIC [Trivial: Success] - Finally taking responsibility, is He?

REACTION SPEED - Wait, but how --?

THE NARRATOR - As the Princess approaches the bottom stair, your body steps forward and raises the blade.

PHYSICAL INSTRUMENT [Impossible: Failure] - Your muscles are moving without your input. Something's goddamn hijacked you!

LOGIC [Impossible: Failure] - It must be *Him*. But how?

VOICE OF THE HERO - Wait... this isn't fair. You can't just do that!

THE NARRATOR - Watch me.

PERCEPTION (SIGHT) - She notices your footsteps begin to lag behind and turns to face you.

Wh-what are you doing?

EMPATHY [Easy: Success] - Confusion.

HALF LIGHT [Easy: Success] - Fear.

DRAMA [Challenging: Success] - A most interesting development. If you don't intervene, could the blame for slaying her really be said to fall on you? Your body is being puppeteered against its will, this is the truth -- You wouldn't even be lying when you say you didn't kill her.

VOLITION [Easy: Success] - But *you* would know. Could you live with yourself, if you allowed this to happen?

1. [Slay the Princess.]
2. [Slay the Princess.]
3. [Slay the Princess.]
4. [Authority - Medium 11] [Warn her.]
5. [Slay the Princess.]
6. [Slay the Princess.]

YOU - [Warn her.]

+1 She trusts you.

CHECK SUCCESS

AUTHORITY [Medium: Success] - "GET BACK!" you force out through clenched teeth, your will warring with the muscles in your arms and legs to stop their traitorous advance.

PHYSICAL INSTRUMENT [Legendary: Failure] - This flesh is *OURS*, not *YOURS* -- GIVE. IT. BACK.

THE NARRATOR - Stop that, stop it now!

PERCEPTION (SIGHT) - She takes one step backward, then another.

Something's come over you, hasn't it? Y-you know you don't have to do this, right?

INLAND EMPIRE [Challenging: Success] - But you do. The path has been drawn, you now only need to walk it -- spiraling up into the beyond.

THE NARRATOR - Your body lunges forward, the blade held low, ready to sink it into her heart.

VOLITION - *NO!*

THE NARRATOR - But the Princess dodges, stumbling back against the wall before the blade has a chance to connect.

ENDURANCE - Your vital organs are being *squeezed* inside of your torso. Every muscle fiber in your body is pulling in a different direction right now.

INTERFACING - I keep pushing buttons but nothing is happening -- something's jamming the signal!

ELECTROCHEMISTRY - It's time to make a goddamn *mess* of your adrenal system. I've been waiting for this day to come.

SAVOIR FAIRE - I'm pulling out all the stops here to fuck up your balance -- make it count.

THE NARRATOR - Stop it! Stop trying to resist me! I'm trying to get you out of here alive!

RHETORIC [Easy: Success] - You were handling getting out alive just fine by yourself, so why doesn't He just mind His own goddamn business and get His grubby hands *out* of us already!

1. [Slay the Princess.]
2. [Slay the Princess.]
3. [Slay the Princess.]
4. [Composure - Heroic 15] [Resist.]
5. [Slay the Princess.]
6. [Slay the Princess.]

YOU - [Resist.]

+5 Can't allow this to happen

CHECK SUCCESS

COMPOSURE [Heroic: Success] - Your entire body locks up, instantaneously. You cannot move, even if you wanted to. Breathing grows difficult, and your heart slows in your chest. You won't be able to hold like this forever, but it's working for now.

THE NARRATOR - The blade! Move. The. Blade!

HAND/EYE COORDINATION [Impossible: Failure] - You would drop it right now, if you could, but your grip is made of the same stone composing the rest of you.

PHYSICAL INSTRUMENT - YEAH, NICE TRY. BARELY EVEN BROKE A SWEAT!

VOLITION - *Please* don't tempt fate.

THE NARRATOR - As your body remains frozen in stubborn resistance, the Princess takes a cautious step forward.

We both know this isn't you...

INLAND EMPIRE [Trivial: Success] - She's more right than she could know.

THE NARRATOR - She nervously reaches toward you and takes the blade from your infuriatingly rigid hands... What are you doing?

Item lost: Pristine Blade

1. Actually, he's right. What *am* I doing? Am I really just gonna let her stab me?
2. Maybe she's just grabbing the knife so she can toss it away? Possibly?
3. Dying, I think.

YOU - Actually, he's right. What *am* I doing? Am I really just gonna let her stab me?

RHETORIC - You don't *know* that she's going to stab you --

I'm sorry... I'll try to be quick.

RHETORIC [Medium: Success] - -- No, yeah, she's definitely gonna stab you.

EMPATHY [Legendary: Failure] - But why? She trusted you, you trusted her...

HALF LIGHT [Medium: Success] - This is what happens when you don't *kill* her right out of the goddamn gate. She smelled weakness, and now she will snuff you out. I warned you, and now we're fucking *dead*!

COMPOSURE [Impossible: Failure] - Still can't move, by the way. Not even a millimetre.

THE NARRATOR - She plunges it into your chest, tearing through flesh and sinew. It is agony. But you aren't dead yet.

DAMAGED HEALTH -1

PAIN THRESHOLD [Formidable: Failure] - For a moment it only feels as though you've been punched, a dull impact against your chest -- then, the pain. A sliver of burning white cut into your being, lifeblood and vital oxygen seeping from the wound.

Oh no, I'm so sorry!

RHETORIC - Sorry for what, *stabbing* you?

VOICE OF THE HERO - Stay strong. We can tough it out until it's done. For her sake.

VOLITION [Trivial: Success] - WHAT DO YOU MEAN *FOR HER SAKE*? WE ARE *DYING*.

AUTHORITY - You should have *never* accepted this outsider. But now it's too late.

VOICE OF THE HERO - It's not like there's much else we can do at this point, is there? We might as well spend our last moments reassuring her.

THE NARRATOR - Don't you start pretending that dying a painful death is some sort of heroic gesture. All of you put together have doomed literally everyone.

CONCEPTUALIZATION [Easy: Success] - There were much easier and less painful ways to martyr yourself, back home.

ELECTROCHEMISTRY - No beautiful woman is worth this torture. Shit, man, I would have preferred an overdose to multiple-stab-wounds as an okay way to die.

THE NARRATOR - Whatever. She sinks the blade into your chest again, and again, and again... and you feel every inch of burning pain that slices its way into your body.

I'm sorry I'm sorry I'm sorry!

DAMAGED HEALTH -1

DAMAGED HEALTH -1

DAMAGED HEALTH -1

HEALTH CRITICAL!

VOICE OF THE HERO - She doesn't know how to use a knife, does she?

HAND/EYE COORDINATION [Medium: Success] - Her technique is *terrible*.

THE NARRATOR - Apparently not, though it doesn't matter how sloppy her knife work is, does it? A stab wound is still a stab wound, and it won't be long before you bleed out.

ENDURANCE - You already are bleeding out. You have a couple seconds left, max.

PAIN THRESHOLD [Impossible: Failure] - You feel one more slice of pain join all the others, before sensation begins to dim entirely.

I'm so sorry!

DRAMA [Easy: Success] - ...The truth.

THE NARRATOR - With one last thrust of the knife, your legs give out beneath you. You collapse to the floor, your blood pooling around you, your limbs unresponsive. The Princess stares down at your ruined chest as tears carve rivulets of pink down her blood-spattered cheeks.

SHIVERS [Legendary: Success] - Your last breath is exhaled through dozens of tiny perforations in your lungs, seeping into your blood and out of your skin. It envelops you, for just a moment.

SHIVERS - It whispers, I'm sorry.

VOICE OF THE HERO - It can't just end like this, right?

ENDURANCE - People have died from far less.

THE NARRATOR - Oh, that's rich coming from you. As much as I'd prefer for things to have gone differently, I can't deny the reality of what's happened. You've made your choice. It's over.

PERCEPTION (SIGHT) - The last thing you see, as your vision fades, is the Princess, crying over your mangled body.

EMPATHY [Formidable: Success] - She still trusts you.

THE NARRATOR - Everything goes dark, and you die.

---

Notes:

For anyone disappointed at the lack of monarchist debate - soon, trust.