You wake up, but everything is wrong. There is too much light for this to be your room, and your bed feels softer than the thatch you're used to sleeping on.
[[Open your eyes.]]You rub the sleep out of your eyes. The spongy material under you is a pad of soft, yellow strands almost like hair, and the green light illuminating the space seems to come from everywhere. As you look closer, you can see hundreds of floating spores in the air around you. Each one glows slightly, and together they shed a strange light on the space. Nothing appears to have shadows, and it's incredibly difficult to tell what materials the space is made out of. Hanging close around your head are thin pink sheets of something. They must be some fabric, but as you reach out they shy away from your touch as if they're alive.
[[Get up.]]You stand up, and the pink veils shift away from your head to give you more standing space. You lift your arms to push them out of the way, and they start to fold down around you.
At first, it looks like a dark expanse outside of the place you woke up. But as you stand, your eyes straining to adjust to the light, the spores start to fall downwards and start a chain reaction. They seem to spread everywhere like a flowing liquid, and more and more becomes illuminated in the same strange light.
You seem to be in the center of an expansive clearing, with the ground fifty feet below by your estimate. Glowing spores slit between massive blades of grass and giant mushrooms. You see giant flowers towering above the ground, their pink petals curled inwards. You must be in one of them.
Somewhere deep in your mind a memory sparks. It's just like the stories your grandmother told when you were younger. Stories where brave adventurers would delve into the feywild , seeking magical treasure and rescuing kidnapped children. But why would the fairies take you? You're not a child anymore. You try to conjure the memory of why babies were taken in the first place, but nothing's coming to mind.
[[Get out of here!]]
[[Stay where you are.]]You look around, evaluating your options to get down. The ground is a long way away, but maybe something down there could catch your fall. There are also flowers and leaves further down the stem of this giant plant you're on, and they might be able to serve as a sort of series of steps if you hop from one to the other.
[[Jump down onto a mushroom.]]
[[Climb down the stem.]]
[[Nevermind, stay put.|Stay where you are.]]You decide it's best to stay put and not risk whatever happens trying to get down. So, you settle back into the soft pollen of the flower and lie down again.
Before too long, you hear a buzzing noise. It's distant at first, but it grows louder and louder and you think you can hear voices just outside the petals of your flower room.
You know you should do something, run away somehow. But you just feel too sleepy, too comfy where you are lying.
[[Sleep.|Wake up in fairy court]]You brace yourself and jump, aiming for a mushroom way below. As you plummet towards it, you realize that it's a lot bigger and the ground is a lot farther away than you estimated.
When you make impact, there's a crunch.
[[Everything goes black.|Wake up in fairy court]]You jump down about 10 feet onto the next petal, and it bends under your weight. Large drops of morning dew roll off the edge and plummet to the ground, and you thank yourself for not attempting to jump down the whole way. It's slippery, but definitely safer than the alternative.
Slowly and carefully you make your way down what must be almost 100 feet, ending up in grass. The same greenish spores float and illuminate, but down here there are fewer of them. It's very hard to see, but you start to make your way through the grass to what seemed like the closest edge of the clearing.
Progress is slow, and before you're able to get there you start to hear a buzzing sound far above you. It stays far away for a long time, but eventually it suddenly rushes towards the stem. You catch a glimpse of a giant winged grasshopper leaping over your head. On its back, you can barely see a person. You cower, hoping they didn't see you, but only a second later you are struck from behind.
[[Everything goes black.|Wake up in fairy court]]You start awake, once again in a completely new place. Your mind is still bleary, but you can see that you're hanging in a cage made of vines. When you push against them, they only wrap tighter around each other. All around, you can hear the gentle noises of many people talking to each other.
A hush falls over the space, and you feel the attention of the crowd focusing to one point. At the end of a long table, you see a man sitting in a high-backed chair. His face looks young, but his white hair and robes flow down onto the ground. He speaks, a clear tone that cuts through the distance between you and seems to come from all directions.
"Attention, all members of the court. As you all know, we've been searching for a human who can serve the purposes we need.
We have found one with promise, and you have been gathered here to prepare and finalize the decision."
[[Wait!]]You cry out, interrupting the figure at the front of the court. He smiles, and beckons you towards him.
The vines of the cage obey him, stretching and swinging across the room and placing you at the foot of his throne. Up close, you can see his complexion looks wrong--too pale, not even a hint of blush. He has small curls of vines growing from his forehead and from his wrist. When he opens his mouth to speak, you see that the inside has a slight green hue.
"I shouldn't be surprised that a human would speak out of turn. You wonder why you are here, do you not?"
Before you can respond, he continues.
[[Listen.|exposition lmao]]"Good decision. Now, come with us."
He waves his hand, and guards holding spears emerge from shadows beside him. They begin to march, and you follow them.
[[Travel.]]<<set $askedQuestion to false>>\
\
"Very well, then."
He gestures at you, and you see several figures step forward who were previously in shadow. They each hold spears.
"If you will not help us, it's time for you to leave. Guards, escort this one out. And do not let them return. We will have to look for another, and hope it works."
[[Leave.]]Taking advantage of a pause in concentration, you suddenly punch the man in the face. He reels back, and glares up at you with green blood flowing from his nose.
"Fool! You should know better than to attack me in my own court."
He screws his eyes closed, and you notice the vines that make up your cage and the ceiling of the room starting to change. They begin to grow spikes, the purplish tones shifting to a deep red as tendrils flail around angrily.
[[Time slows down.]]You try to duck down, but the vines creep onwards and wrap around you.
<<timed 1s>><<type 80ms>>\
Closer,
closer,
closer.
<</type>>\
<<timed 3.5s>>\
Until everything is dark and you can barely breathe.
Eventually, something changes.
[[Wake up.|wake back up, but something is wrong]]
<</timed>><</timed>>You wake up back in your own bed, and it seems like everything is okay.
<<if $soldPearl>>\
You sell the pearl, and buy food for your family. Times are good.
<<else>>\
You go back to work in the fields, and bring home just about enough food for your family. Times aren't good, but you can help them.
<</if>>\
It's business as usual.
[[Business as usual.|notice the cracks]] Then, you start to notice the cracks.
At first it's small things. People act a little off, you lose small objects. Easy to dismiss.
It grows. Before long, cows start going missing. There is a vacant area next to your house, and you only have a murky memory that something used to be there. What would it have been?
[[Nothing is wrong.]]
[[Admit it.]]You can admit your failure, but it's too late to change anything.
You want to die, to escape, but you do not.
You are left alive, watching the world twist into a terrible imitation of itself.
<<if $knowsDestroyWorld>>They told you this would happen.<</if>>
''REGRET.''You start at the outside, following the boundaries of the massive stones as they curl inwards. As you walk further inwards, you notice the clouds above you growing darker.
A storm is brewing. Ignoring it, you keep taking steps forward. Even as the stones seem to stretch upwards endlessly into the sky, you keep putting one foot in front of the other.
As you round the final curve, you see a pedestal with a glint of color on top. An opalescent pearl, about the size of your thumb nail.
Glancing around, you confirm that you're far enough not to be visible from the outside. This artifact would be worth a lot, if you sold it you might make enough to keep your family fed for the rest of your life. The best you could ask for.
But you've told the fairies you'll destroy it, under threat of the collapse of the world.
[[Pocket it.]]
[[Smash it.]]He slams his hands into the ground, and the vines start to collapse towards the ground. They are getting closer, and you have just enough time to...
[[Dodge to the side!]]
[[Duck down!|duck]]
[[Punch them!|punch vines]]Still in the cage, you push into the wall as much as you can. It gives a tiny bit, and you shove yourself into the cavity.
The vines grow down, creaking and stretching.
They catch on you, making small rips in your clothes and cuts in your skin. But you manage to stay standing.
After a minute, you feel the vines around you relaxing. Chunks thump to the ground, decaying as they fall through the air.
Looking around, you see the robed man collapse to the ground unconscious.
[[Run away.]]"This is the feywild, and we have brought you here because we need your help. You are the only one who can fix this, so we need to ask for your cooperation. It's not just for our safety, but for yours as well.
I recognize that you do not want to be here, and you must be confused. So I am prepared to offer a deal."
You think of all the people back at home who need you, the way everything will be upset if you don't come back.
You spot a green glint in his eye.
"The deal is simple: you help us, and we will help you.
You need our help. We will make sure you survive here, and without us you're doomed.
For your end of the bargain, you must come with us and you must destroy an artifact. It will be simple."
The glint is gone.
"So, do we have a deal? Ask a question if you must, but I won't entertain more than one."
[[Why am I the only one who can help?]]
[[What do you mean, for my safety?]]
[[If I help, do I get to go home?]]
[[Don't ask a question, punch him!|attack him]]<<set $knowsIsChangeling to true>>\
\
He sighs.
"Something told me you would ask that. It's not an easy answer, but I'll do my best to explain.
You are special, not like other humans. You were once...one of us. A changeling, is your word for it.
Most changelings know what they are, and report back to me. But you were an illicit one, and you could not be told of your parentage. That means you are not subject to the laws of this place, and you can break them to break the artifact that will destroy us all.
Now, are you ready to help?"
[[Yes.|do help]]
[[No.|don't help]]
[[Punch him!|attack him]]You...reach up and punch the vines?
Needless to say, it doesn't go well. The thorns along the vine shred into your skin, and you feel a sudden sleepiness come over you as you collapse to the ground.
Just before you lose consciousness, you hear movement around you. Something picks you up off the ground.
[[Wake up.|wake back up, but something is wrong]]<<set $knowsDestroyWorld to true>>\
\
He pauses for a moment, seemingly calculating what to say.
"If you don't help us, it will destroy the feywild. But that will not be the end of it. Our world and yours are intertwined, and if this place collapses you will not be safe.
You won't notice anything right away, but it will certainly be a turn for the worst.
Now, are you ready to choose?"
[[Yes, I'll help.|do help]]
[[No, I won't.|don't help]]
[[Punch him!|attack him]]The guards lead you to a circle of mushrooms, and shove you facefirst into it. You black out.
[[Wake up.|wake back up, but something is wrong]]Right, nothing is wrong.
Nothing is wrong.
<<linkappend "Nothing.">>
<<if $knowsDestroyWorld>>\
They told you this would happen.
<<else>>\
Everything is fine.
<</if>>\
<<timed 1s>>\
''IGNORANCE IS BLISS.''
<</timed>>\
<</linkappend>>\You walk through many alien spaces. Towering cliffs covered in tiny houses, caves constantly dripping water down into rivulets that combined and snaked down into the earth, forests where the trees seem to shift when you look away from them.
Eventually, the guards at the front of the group stop. You have arrived at a circle of stone slabs, spiraling inwards towards a center point. You are shoved forward to the front of the group. Now, it's time for you to uphold your end of the bargain.
[[Walk towards the center.]]You grab the pearl and slip it into your pocket. The skies above you clear.
You walk out of the spiral, and when the fairies gathered at the entrance ask you if the job is done you sprint away. They give chase, but you manage to stay ahead.
Until you trip over a gnarled tree root, and fall facefirst into a circle of mushrooms.
[[Splat.|wake back up, but something is wrong][$soldPearl to true]]Ignoring what you want, you shove the pearl onto the ground and stomp on it.
It shatters.
Fragments scatter outwards.
You hear a clap of thunder.
Suddenly, everything feels brighter.
[[Leave the spiral.]]<<set $knowsCantEscape to true>>\
\
He sighs.
"Something told me you would ask that. It's not an easy answer, but I'll do my best to explain.
No, you will not be able to go back. Not easily. That artifact is what connects us to your world, and without it your chances of getting back will be...slim. You might be able to leave if you explore to the edges of the kingdom, but it has been many years since any of our kind have been out that far.
So. What is your decision?"
[[Yes.|do help]]
[[No.|don't help]]
[[Punch him!|attack him]]<<if $knowsCantEscape>>\
You slowly walk to the edge of the spiral, but you know nothing good is waiting for you on the other side. You can't leave the feywild again.
<<else>>\
You walk to the outside of the spiral, but when you get there you're greeted by solemn fairies.
They've been holding information from you, and now that you've destroyed the pearl you can no longer leave the feywild.
<</if>>\
Is it going to be okay?
[[Yes.|it will be okay]]
[[No.|it will not be okay]]Yes, it will. You may have to spend the rest of your life here, but you convince yourself that you did the right thing.
<<if $knowsIsChangeling>>\
As a changeling, you feel slightly at home here. Over time the old memories fade, and you find yourself starting to embrace your new life.
After a couple centuries in the feywild, it's your time. You pass away with only fragments of memories of the life you led before. In your last moments, you hope that your family is okay.
<<else>>\
For a reason you can't really explain, you feel slightly at home here. Over time the old memories fade, and you find yourself starting to embrace your new life.
After a few decades in the feywild, it's your time. You pass away with only fragments of memories of the life you led before. In your last moments, you hope that your family is okay.
<</if>>\
''TRAPPED SAVIOR.''No, it will not. You have to spend the rest of your life here, and you can't get out to support your family.
But you have no choice. You run far away from the fairies and their court; you try to survive out in the feywild. They warned you against this, but you want nothing to do with the people who put you in this situation.
Over time, the dangerous and magical creatures in the wilderness wear you down. You pass away
''GOING OUT ON YOUR OWN TERMS.''Taking advantage of the confusion and chaos rising and people around the court realize what is happening, you sprint out of the place.
Leaving it all behind.
Wandering into the wilderness, you eventually notice a ring of red mushrooms on the ground. It must be a fairy circle.
[[Jump in.|escape back after killing]]<<set $goodEnding to true>>\
\
You wake up back in your own bed, and it seems like everything is okay.
You go back to work in the fields, and bring home just about enough food for your family. Times aren't good, but you can help them.
<<if $knowsDestroyWorld>>\
You know that your world is also doomed, but you value this time with your family more than that.
Eventually, things start to fall apart like you knew they would. But maybe it's best if you just
[[Embrace it.]]
<<else>>\
You value this time with your family more than anything.
Eventually, things start to change. Vines grow where they shouldn't, people start to go missing. You figure that the feywild falling apart is having repercussions.
Maybe it's best if you just
[[Embrace it.]]
<</if>>\The world is crumbling, but at least you are here to stay with your family and protect them.
''BLOOD RUNS THICKER THAN WATER.''
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