Chapter Text
The Narrator
You’re on a path in the woods. And at the end of that path is a cabin. 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.
(Explore) The end of the world? What are you talking about?
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.
[Silently continue to the cabin]
The Narrator
A warning before you go any further
The Narrator
She will lie, she will cheat, she will do everything in her power to keep you from slaying her. Don’t believe a word she says.
Voice of the Traveller
…Huh?
The Narrator
Were you not listening to me? I just said-
Voice of the Traveller
I heard what you said. I’m just… really confused right now.
Voice of the Traveller
I- I don’t think I should be here.
(Explore) Why would you think that?
The Narrator
Just ignore him and stay focused.
[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.
[Enter the basement]
Voice of the Traveller
Hey wait, shouldn’t you bring that dagger with you? I mean, from what I heard earlier, this person you’re supposed to be killing-
The Narrator
Slaying . You’re slaying her.
The Narrator
Also, it’s a pristine blade . Not a dagger. There’s a difference.
Voice of the Traveller
Whatever. She sounds dangerous. Are you sure you want to go in unarmed?
I’m going to talk to her first. If she really is dangerous, I can come back for it later.
Voice of the Traveller
If you say so…
The Narrator
The door to the basement creaks open, revealing a staircase faintly illuminated by an unseen light in the room below. This is an oppressive place. The air feels heavy and damp, a hint of rot filtering from the ancient wood. If the Princess really lives here, slaying her is probably doing her a favor.
The Narrator
Her voice softly carries up the stairs.
H-Hello? Is someone there?
Voice of the Traveller
She sounds so much like someone I know.
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.
Continue down the stairs
The Narrator
Good. You’re still listening to reason. It would be much better if you had a weapon, but you may still be able to do what needs to be done
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.
Hi. Do you think you could get me out of these chains?
“Hold on. Let’s talk a bit first.”
O…kay.
(Explore) “What’s your name?”
Oh…
The Narrator
She pauses, carefully formulating her words before she responds.
You can address me as Your Royal Highness. Or you can just call me Princess if Your Royal Highness is too formal.
(Explore) “So is Princess your name?”
…
Like I said, you can call me Princess if you’d like!
…
I’m sorry, I must’ve been down here so long I’ve just forgotten. I must have a name though. Everyone has a name!
Voice of the Traveller
She doesn’t remember her name either. And she has darkless hair. Is she also from the island?
(Explore) The what?
Voice of the Traveller
It’s the country I came from. People from there usually had darkless hair. It was wiped from everyone’s minds though, so nobody can really remember it.
Voice of the Traveller
And those of us who were somewhere else when the memory wipe took place… can’t remember anything from there. Including our names.
The Narrator
You… came from another country? That’s strange.
(Explore) Do you remember where you came from?
I… don’t think so. I guess I’ve forgotten that too.
The Narrator
She does remember. She’s just pretending that she doesn’t to manipulate you.
Voice of the Traveller
I don’t think she’s lying about that, but if she's really as evil as this guy says...
(Explore) “I was told that you’re going to end the world.”
(Explore) “I’m still not sure if that’s entirely true.”
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. Like I said, I’ve been down here for a long time.
Did they tell you how I’m supposed to end the world?
Voice of the Traveller
How is she supposed to end the world?
The Narrator
She just can. Believe me, I’d love to tell you more, but it would make your task much harder if I did.
Voice of the Traveller
How would that make it harder to kill-
The Narrator
Slay.
Voice of the Traveller
They literally mean the same thing.
The Narrator
To answer your question, telling you how she can end the world would overcomplicate things. I know it sounds like I’m hiding something, but you just need to trust my word for it.
(Explore) “No. They refused to tell me.”
The Narrator
It’s for the best that I don’t tell you.
If they refused to tell you, how can you know for sure that I’m the bad guy here?
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.
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…
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?
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.
Voice of the Traveller
She has a point, but… I’m not sure if we can trust her either.
(Explore) What makes you say that?
Voice of the Traveller
I don’t know. It’s just- The last time someone made a speech like that, they… did something terrible.
(Explore) What did they do?
Voice of the Traveller
…I don’t want to talk about it.
The Narrator
I’m not sure what he’s so worked up about, but he is right about one thing. You can’t trust her. It’s too risky. We stand to lose everything, all for the sake of one person. And a subjugating monarch , no less.
Voice of the Traveller
…
“…I won’t kill you, but I can’t just set you free. It’s too risky. What if I stayed for a while and just kept you company? Maybe then everyone could be happy.”
Voice of the Traveller
I don’t think everyone would be happy with that.
I don’t think I could bear being down here that much longer.
The Narrator
Leaving her alive is too risky. If you don’t deal with her soon, she will find a way out.
One way or another, I’m going to find a way out of here. It would make it easier for both of us if you’d help.
But if you don’t, I can promise that you’ll regret that decision.
The Narrator
You have to make a choice. Let’s hope for all our sakes it’s the right one.
[Lock her in the basement]
The Narrator
I know you think this is some sort of fair compromise, but it isn’t. No one wins here.
Voice of the Traveller
Do we even have to stay here? We could just leave the cabin. If she hasn’t been able to get out yet, I doubt she’d be able to get out now, right?
Where are you going?! You can’t just leave me here!
The Narrator
You turn your back to the Princess and make your way back to the stairs.
Fine! Turn your back on me. But it won’t be long before I slip these chains. And once I’m out of here, there will be hell to pay for leaving me behind.
Voice of the Traveller
‘Slip these chains’? She can’t get out, right?
The Narrator
Not at the moment, but eventually she will find a way out. Which is why you should get the pristine blade and slay her while you still can.
No. We’re sticking to the plan and locking her away
The Narrator
You’ll be the death of all of us, but fine. We’ll do it your way.
The Narrator
You close the basement door, locking it behind you and quickly barricading it with the heavy wooden table that once held the blade
Voice of the Traveller
…Where did it go?
The Narrator
You settle in against the far wall to watch the basement door.
The Narrator
It isn’t long before you start to drift off, your eyelids heavy with fatigue. But sleep doesn’t come. Instead your rest is broken by a piercing, wailing voice calling out to you from the other side of the door.
I know you’re still there. Why don’t you make things easier on yourself and let me out?
It’s not like this little door’ll hold on for very long anyways… and it’s probably a good idea to try and get back on my good side.
Voice of the Traveller
…So she really was manipulating us then, huh.
The Narrator
As she violently rattles the door, you do your best to shut her out of your mind.
When I get out of here, I’m going to pick you apart piece by piece. I won’t forget what you did, and I’ll never forgive it.
You don’t know the kind of enemy you’ve made tonight.
Voice of the Traveller
We should really get out of here before she escapes that basement.
No. We need to make sure that she doesn’t leave the cabin.
Voice of the Traveller
How?! That dagger is gone and uh, no offense, but I'm not sure how good you are in a fight.
We’ll manage.
The Narrator
You put the Princess’ threats out of your mind as best as you can and huddle up against the wall.
The Narrator
You jolt awake in the middle of the night to silence in the cabin. The ruckus has stopped, and the door to the basement is ajar, its lock broken and the table shoved out of the way.
Voice of the Traveller
Where is she?
Thanks for helping me get out of that awful basement.
Voice of the Traveller
Stars.
The Narrator
You try and stumble to your feet, but as the Princess draws near, it’s as though your body simply stops working.
The Narrator
It isn’t all at once. The paralysis comes in waves. First your toes go numb, and then your feet, and then your legs. You lie prone on the floor of the cabin, unable to do anything but witness her approach.
So helpless. I can take my time with you, can’t I?
The Narrator
She steps closer, one silent footfal at a time, cocking her head in curiosity as you feel your organs shutting down one by one.
Or maybe I can’t take my time with you. You don’t look well. A little green around the gills…
What a shame. If you’d only helped me get out of here. We could have done such wonderful things together.
The Narrator
Your lungs stop drawing in breath, and your heart freezes in your chest. You have seconds left.
I’d say better luck next time, but we both know that this is the end, don’t we?
Voice of the Traveller
No…
The Narrator
Everything goes dark, and you die.