Split (1)

train · 2.54k rows

text stringlengths 95 186k
This late at night, there are no guards milling around outside the city. Your band of would-be freedom fighters ascend the stone steps up to the city gates, completely unnoticed. When you reach the gates, you see two guards ahead; one is watching a firefly intently as it floats around his face, while the other has fall...
It pains you to watch these people carry on like this. Just wandering, barely any food, scarce shelter, and no chance of ever entering the city they're so desperate to live in. This Count of Sodran guy. You've never heard of him, considering the last time you were here the title was still "mayor". It doesn't matter who...
You pass the inn by, instead opting to continue on into the night on the road. Carrying onward for miles, you eventually lay down on the side of the road to sleep for the night. A few hours later you awaken to the morning light, and continue onwards, north to Sodran. You've been there before, almost a lifetime ago. B...
You fight your way through the manor to the great hall, where you expect the Count will be. When you reach it, however, you find it empty. The Count must be elsewhere. So, you continue to hack and slash your way through, checking every room in an attempt to find the bastard. It's only after a dozen men have died and y...
You look longingly at the portal for a moment. It's tempting, oh so tempting, but you know that whatever lies beyond it is a farce. The Count is trying to trick you, offering you something he knows you would want, but you won't take the bait. You give your companions a stony face. "You're not real." Then, you turn to ...
You nod to the guard, gritting your teeth slightly. "Good thing I have enough gold then." He lets out another bark of laughter, then waves you on, not bothering to reply. Likewise, you continue on without another word, closer to the stone steps of the city. Approaching the stone steps, you can finally make out the sta...
You take a moment to think about what you want to say. After a moment, you begin to speak, "Look, kid. Adventuring isn't all that fun. It can be brutal. I had to cut down my fair share of men when I was younger, and while I can live with it, not everyone can. Just keep the store running, like your father would've wante...
You decide not to interfere with the Count, instead opting to explore Sodran. It's been a while since you've been here. Briefly, you wonder how much has changed; obviously it's grown a lot, but are any of the old stores still open? You recall a store run by an older man, which sold the best wine you ever tasted. Is he ...
After a moment of thinking the kid's words over, you look him dead in the eye. "If you're serious about your wish, then you should chase it. But be careful, because the world is brutal out there. I'd suggest grouping up with people you can trust, rather than striking out on your own or, Gods forbid, hiring mercs to pro...
For a moment, rage shakes within you. He thinks he can simply call upon you and you'll trot over to his castle? What sort of man does he take you for? The bubble of rage bursts, and you find yourself tearing the letter in two, before crumpling it and throwing it on the floor. Bertrand gulps slightly as he watches. "L...
And just like that you're back to the cellar. You're on your hands and knees, taking in sharp breaths, before you look back up at Lillith's ghostly figure. "W-what... What was that?" "Have you ever considered that it could have been any one of us to see the quest through to the end? Do you think it wouldn't weigh on ...
With a groan, you slip out of your velvet sheets and head to the door. For a moment, you reconsider your choice, but turn the knob and step into the dark hallway. The only light comes from the moon leaking in through closed windows, and you look around, listening for the voice. "Kit..." You catch a glimpse of a whi...
This is getting irritating. You told Bertrand to turn anyone away, and the fact that he's ignoring your orders is starting to piss you off a bit. "Go on, Bertrand. Send them away, and don't come back until tomorrow. I don't wish to hear about fools coming to my door." Bertrand releases a sigh, but nods. "Very well si...
You shake your head. You must be going mad to be hearing voices. It would be best not to look into it, for your own sanity if nothing else. You clench your eyes shut and throw a pillow over your head to block the voices out. Within minutes, you manage to doze off, falling into a fitful sleep full of nightmares. In the...
You shout, "Leave me alone!" The voices continue despite your protests, and you find yourself unsure if you truly can continue like this... The dagger is awfully tempting... No. You won't bow to their whims. Gritting your teeth, you hop out of bed and begin to yell as loud as you can, "LEAVE ME! I WON'T GIVE INTO THE ...
Stubborn, aren't you? Took you long enough to make the right choice. Oh well, it doesn't matter. The point is you're here now, and I'm about to round out this ludicrous fourth wall break path. Hey Kit. You look around. This voice is... Different. It doesn't sound like anyone you know. "W-who are you?" I'm the man wh...
Are you gonna make the right choice? > You but this did happen. You want Kit to know. I see you made the right choice after only one attempt. Oh well, it doesn't matter. The point is you're here now, and I'm about to round out this ludicrous fourth wall break path. Hey Kit. You look around. This voice is... Different...
You snap yourself back to reality, before you can lose yourself to the madness. Truly, you must be losing your mind. No sane man would break into a fit of laughter like you did, let alone hear voices calling to him in the dead of night. Your mind reaches for answers as to what the hell is going on, but it is met by sil...
You scoff at the idea of leaving your home. The king says he'll send men your way if you don't respond? Oh, please. You can fend off any pansies he sends your way. Though you're getting up there in years, you can still fight with the strength of a hundred soldiers. With that, you resolve to continue on as you've been ...
Miller scowls at your calm request for him to leave. "I'm afraid I can't, Sir Kit. Please, come with us. I won't ask again." You can feel your anger flaring up, and for a moment you wish you had brought your sword to cut this bastard down. "You listen to me, Miller," you growl, hissing his name out like it's an insult...
No. You can't let them take you like this. Standing there with bloody sword raised, you speak slowly, "I don't want to have to kill you both. Leave now and never return." There's a tense moment for a while as you stare at the two of them and they stare back. They're too scared to make the first move, and you don't want...
"Fine," you grunt. "I'll do it myself." Of course Bertrand can't get them out of here. They're the king's men with an order to get you, not some con man looking to sell you cheap wares at an inflated price. He's never had to do this to someone who has good reason to come in, and it scares him. You understand, somewhat....
Miller nods, then takes the lead. He begins heading southeast instead of the east you were expecting. "If keep heading this way, then go around the forest and keep heading east, we'll get to Ornislov faster. I know a way in." You quirk an eyebrow. "You know a way in?" Miller nods solemnly. "I was sent there on a cove...
Once you get above ground, you pause to examine the warehouse. It's bland and non-descript, made of wood and flanked on both sides by identical warehouses. Miller points out the one you're staring at. "This is it. There's guards inside. Come on, I know a way inside." You and Iris follow him to the side of the warehouse...
You spend the rest of the day in the castle, resting up and mentally preparing yourself for your mission. The King's servants bring you whatever you wish, and in this case, it's more alcohol so you can psych yourself up. Liquid courage and all that. By nightfall, you're as drunk as can be, staring silently at a wall as...
Miller nods. "Alright. We don't know of any outposts in those woods, so we should be able to get through undetected." With those words, the three of you continue on to the woods. You walk through the fields without incidence, and get to the edge of the forest in record time. The three of you march through it, keeping ...
Your latest quest begins not with the destruction of your manor or the death of someone close to you, but rather with a letter. Bertrand, your loyal servant, comes to your room in the early morning hours to drop off today's dosage of bread and wine. But on the platter, tucked in between two loaves of bread, is a lett...
When you wake up, it's in a bed. You're covered in bandages, and though your body aches it seems your wounds are gone. There must be a healer here. In the bed to your right, a person stirs, and you shift to get a good look at them. There lays Bertrand, flipping through a leather bound book. "I see you still live, sir,"...
The next day of your trip goes by quietly. There's nothing but the open road ahead of you. Any travelers pass you by without a second thought, and aside from Bertrand and Caroline you haven't interacted with anyone since the highwaymen. It's peaceful, almost too peaceful; usually it means something will happen, and it ...
This is too much, even for you. Hell, for all you know, the archers down the bridge have already taken out Bertrand and you're just defending a corpse. The only way you're going to survive this is if you give into your fight or flight instincts; right now, your entire body is screaming flight. Taking in a deep breath a...
Damn these sick bastards. Robbing and killing the innocent. You jump out of the carriage and begin to chase after them. Faintly, you hear Bertrand yelling at you, but the pounding of your head as a cold rage runs through you blocks out any sounds but the woman's screams. You chase the highwaymen down; it doesn't take l...
You shake your head slightly, before shrugging. There's not much you do in your day to day life, and at the very least, this is something. "Bertrand," you say. "Get to packing my things. I'm going to Castle Oren at dawn." Your servant seems very surprised by this, but immediately leaves the room to get a knapsack for y...
You have just run your sword through the last of the 6 bandits when you hear a cry for help. You jog over to a large chest. Upon opening it, you find a beautiful girl locked in with a rather large amount of gold. "You must be Amelia" you say, as you boldly lift her from the chest. "I am!" she replies breathlessly, ...
After a few weeks of hard labor your not sure whether your regret your choice or not but your certainly keeping very strong and fit from wielding a pick and shovel all day. The mine has been progressing well, the main shaft has been tunneled deep into the hills bedrock and side tunnels are being opened to chase the sma...
Your group makes it back to the city in what must be only a little short of record time and say your farewells at the gates, most of them running off to see wives or families. You take stock of the area then get yourself through the now alien feeling streets to your old area of the city and are relived to find it almos...
You awake in the morning unsure what to do. Your plans had been of an easy year living off your money and you could still do it, prices would probably go up for a time but you'd still comfortably now that your settled. But you are now sure you'd lost any place that you had called home and your closest friend in the fir...
The men think for a bit before replying, the one who had been silent up till now looks at his companion and says "On your head be it." then gets up and leaves. "Sorry about him." the man says "He is just a little bit on edge about this whole situation." "And just what is this whole situation?" "Ha! fair enough. W...
The two men seem to sense your hesitation so think for a while before one answers. "I would say... that I'm not sure he believed it any more than you or I did." It's exactly the feeling that you had gotten but you also wonder why they are bringing this up now. > You say "We'll were just soldiers, and new ones a...
The morning horn is pretty normal, as is the packing up of the camp and forming up although you are all the shiniest you have looked since first got your armor since you were all told to look good for your final arrival. The only trouble starts right before you are all due to set off and stems from the fact that 4 me...
Once you reach the 3rd Companies HQ tent you are all looked over by an older officer who is introduced as the 3rd's commander, and one of the highest ranked officers on the front lines. He gives a welcoming speech and tells a few of his old military stories to try and make you feel at home but ends with telling you all...
The two men seem to think about what you said for an age before finally replying. "Well you might be right, have a good night since I'm not entirely convinced Arbor there is going to easy on the marching tomorrow!" He gives you a smile and a bit of a funny wave as he stands up from the fire and you return the gesture...
The Sarge is a little off in his estimate of your departure time. It actually takes a month and a half to get your squad in shape. Its been a long wait but you are finally all ready to head out to the front to help in the war effort! Your squad is woken by an early bell ringing somewhere in the barracks tower and you...
You get your things in order and even if you didn't make as much as you'd hoped for, you still added a few good weeks living expenses to your purse. There have been rumors lately of bandit activity on the road south so you talk to the other workers there to see what their plans are. One group is planning to leave on ...
You think to yourself that with the rumors of a new mine opening that it might be best to catch this group up and see if they know anything about it. You set off at a fast pace to catch them up. By mid morning you see a dust cloud ahead of you on the road so you keep your fast pace up till you get close enough to mak...
You think to yourself "Screw this, I worked too hard to give up all that money so easily!" You head north after the robbers, keeping just off the road in the trees in case they are waiting for you. You follow their trail north for nearly the whole day until you find them leading off towards where the couple had fi...
You wake beside the cold ashes of the small fire only wearing your shirt, trousers and boots. Everything else, including all your coin, has been taken. You curse yourself for trusting the couple from the night before simply because one was a woman and try to take stock. You can't head North again, as in your current ...
You talk to the guard Standing outside the barracks, the home of the city guards and he directs you round to the recruiters. The Captain there looks you over once and asks your story. You explain in light detail that you had been working the mines for years but after being robbed had nothing left so you thought the gua...
You know that there is the option to join the guards as they are hiring at the moment, you'll get a basic wage but you have a bunk in the barracks and 3 good meals a day. Or you can approach the guild or large mining companies with your experience and hope for a starter job with one of them. > You head for the guil...
You wake beside the cold ashes of the small fire only wearing your shirt, trousers and boots. Everything else, including all your coin, has been taken. You curse yourself for trusting the couple from the night before simply because one was a woman and try to take stock. You can't head North again, as in your current ...
You thought you had heard some noises during the night but there are no signs of other people in the cave. Sadly, your snares are empty too so it'll be another day of dried meat unless you find a traveller on the road today. You cover the embers of the fire and walk back to the road. Once you reach it, you see a lot ...
You turn Northward up the road thinking that the rumors of a new mine are too good an opportunity to pass up, and hey, even if it's false you don't mind spending an extra week or two on the road. You pull out some of your dried meat and start eating as you walk, thinking you should probably set some traps and snares ...
The day the mining company men had arrived you had been called into the owners tent, the owner, Overseer and leading men of the main work group were there and you appeared to be the topic of discussion. They were objecting to you being hired since according to their contract they should be filling all the skilled labor...
Having agreed to travel back to the city with the Owner you have to get your affairs in order, you assign supervisors to your work groups and try to do a quick final check over some wood, but you've got your men working well enough to finish the job without you now. The Overseer will be taking over from you to make sur...
As night falls over the fort you have visited and gotten your faces and papers known by many of the guards under the pretense of exploring. You all finish a late dinner in the mess hall then head back to your bunks where you have prepared your gear and hidden the documents. You quickly prepare, check Amelia's gift is i...
Once at the south gate you disembark and are given a last few words of encouragement by the owner before he is driven away, leaving you and your new horse alone at the gate. You are quickly joined by a group of three men similarly dressed to yourself and you all begin the ride out of the city on the road that will turn...
You all make sure your uniforms are clean and papers in order before you approach the fort, You expect to find some paroles but are amazed at the sheer amount of them and all the activity that is taking place. You have your papers checked five times before you even reach the gate where You finally get to ask what is go...
You decide that security is too tight to make a go of it now so you all settle in to pretending to be good members of the Third Company. The others help out in small manual jobs that don't require skill and you offer services in some of the more complicated work. After three days of the light volunteer work you seem to...
Having gotten yourself to what you believe is a presentable state you knock on the owners door. He emerges and gives you a once over. "Well its not bad at all for a first try!" he smiles at you before fixing various parts of the suits that are hanging wrong and showing you how to put on cufflinks. "Well you wont ever...
You rise at first light again, and quickly cover your fire with dirt. You head onto the road and search carefully for any sign of other men passing but find none. You must still be ahead of them, but you don't know by how much. You set off North again keeping your eye on the hills and woods to your left looking for any...
You decide that the trial is too small and too close to your previous mine to be the new mine turn off so you continue North at a reasonable pace. Through the day you pass a couple of even smaller trails but you decide they could be nothing but animal trails as they often pass under bushes and shrubs so you continue ...
You decide a night under the trees and a good chance of catching food are too good an opportunity to pass up so you head east into the trees till you're well away from the road. You set up a small camp and fire and set up snares out in the trees. Not long after darkness closed in you hear some noise in the direction ...
You turn Northward up the road thinking that the rumors of a new mine are too good an opportunity to pass up, and hey, even if it's false you don't mind spending an extra week or two on the road. You pull out some of your dried meat and start eating as you walk, thinking you should probably set some traps and snares ...
You have just run your sword through the last of the 6 bandits when you hear a cry for help. You jog over to a large chest. Upon opening it, you find a beautiful girl locked in with a rather large amount of gold. "You must be Amelia" you say, as you boldly lift her from the chest. "I am!" she replies breathlessly, ...
You survey the battlefield that you've created. All sides have been at war for a long time, and also evenly matched. Who will win? It will all be decided on tonight. "Hey! Its time to go to bed!" you Mom says coming into your room. Or at least it would be, if you didn't have to go to bed! "Aw Mom! I was just about t...
You're in no position to fight a bunch of flying Shadows, you're not armed with anything, and nowhere near being a warrior. You take you horse in the direction that Lakri headed, leaving Salzat behind to fight the Shadows, though you aren't safe yet as a few of them are still in pursuit of you. "That's the one the Mas...
You pulls away from the Shadow and hold on as tight as you can, hoping that somehow the horse can outrun these creatures, or at least hoping that someone can help you. No sooner have you thought this, when suddenly you hear a sizzling sound followed by an ear piecing screech from above. The Shadow trying to rip you fr...
Something instinctively tells you that "It's not going to be that easy." You remember back when the Shadows first tried to take you, you wished you were back home and it didn't happen, you ended up in the middle of nowhere. There's no telling where you might end up if you tried it again. So far "little wishes" have wor...
The sooner you're out of this place the better, so you request to be escorted back to the Empire where their wizards can send you back home. "Very well, I'll send Paladins Salzat and Lakri with you, along with an official letter explaining your situation. Good luck and may you return home without any ill-fated encount...
You try to scare the little purple people much like you've ran after pigeons in the park, however the purple folks won't be chased away so easily, this is their home after all, they just nimbly get out of your way and continue to pelt you with stones, which are really starting to hurt at this point, and a particularly ...
You have to admit, even though you want to go back home, part of you really likes it here. Null sounds interesting and anyplace where the Shadows can't get you sounds even better. The Adventurer seems trustworthy enough, but you still hope you're making the right decision. "Okay, I'll go with you." you say a bit hesit...
From your world or not, something definitely isn't right here. In fact you begin pulling at the Adventurer wishing to leave. He concurs, but attempts to warn this person to stop following. "Alright, Mr. Doe, now that we've exchanged pleasantries you need to just stop following us, before you get yourself in a whole me...
You don't know anything about this place and you're in great danger, so you decide it would be best if you had as many people defending you as possible. You'd rather stay with the Captain. "Very well, you may stay with us, just don't make a nuisance of yourself. We'll also be on the move a lot, so don't expect a high ...
While this man seems to mean well, you're still hesitant to just go wandering off with a stranger. Not that you aren't with some already, but you know the Captain and Lyssia a lot better than this Adventurer. Also you still feel safer with more people defending you, so you decline. "Very well, I hope you manage to mak...
You wish for something that could help Lyssia and Black Fang, and at first nothing seems to happen, but Jarek then notices something when he tries to grab you and you dodge out of the way. "WHAT? I should've caught you! No human can move that quickly, especially not a boy!" "Jarek, I feel like something just sapped my...
You would think Lyssia would have extra weapons in here tent, but if she does she's currently using them all, because you can't find anything! Meanwhile Black Fang is being overwhelmed by Shadows and some of them are successfully ripping open the tent. You wish you just had a weapon of some sort to fight them with… S...
Upon entering you see many of the villagers just sitting outside their houses doing nothing, though a couple of them are lazily plucking some sort of stringed instruments. They barely pay any attention to you at all. You know you're not supposed to talk to strangers, but in this situation you don't really feel like yo...
You run up the stairs of the house, with Chargrum in pursuit. "Don't just stand there picking your nose Stinky, help me catch the little runt!" Chargrum shouts. You reach the second floor and run into one of the rooms locking it behind you. You turn around to see that you're in a bedroom. Probably Melcar's no doubt. ...
You have to fight back, as escape is not an option. You don't even concentrate; you just wish you had something to defeat this creature! Suddenly a glowing sword appears in your hand. You also feel somewhat different, as if you have been trained to use one before. The Shadow steps back a bit, but then attack anyway. Y...
You aren't going to mess about with a bunch of angry little purple people; you don't know how dangerous they might be. You head back to the front of the house and knock on the door to get Melcar's help. You don't get an answer, but a short man with a long pink beard comes walking up the steps, he's your height, but is...
"Look at the birds, Mommy!" a child's voice exclaims. You snap awake, checking for your weapons automatically before you remember you're on a civilian transport. "Bout time, Zee. We left underspace half an hour ago," Hinsman says from beside you. "Smooth as butter. They have stabilizers set up here now, I didn't know...
Matti is asleep. Hinsman is seated at a table near the bed, freshly showered and changed into a grey jumpsuit identical to yours and looking exhausted. Karoff is nowhere to be seen. "He's back on the ship seeing how much power we can spare," Hinsman tells you, before you can ask. "This medical station's about the only...
Matti is asleep. Hinsman is seated at a table near the bed, freshly showered and changed into a grey jumpsuit identical to yours and looking exhausted. Karoff is nowhere to be seen. "He's back on the ship seeing how much power we can spare," Hinsman tells you, before you can ask. "This medical station's about the only...
It seems Oswen had been trying to unjam a door that leads to one of the station's storage arms, in much the same way Hinsman had gotten you all into the central complex earlier. It was her misfortune that upon receiving a jolt from a maintenance tool the door had snapped shut, meaning it had been open to begin with. T...
You ease the shuttle closer, and closer still. The viewscreen isn't needed to get a visual on the probe now; you can just look out the window. It's small, but the slender segmented form puts you in mind of a wasp, with a pair of satellites making up the 'wings'. The design is sleek and something about it worries you. T...
With no time to delay or hesitate, you're moving toward the docking bay within moments of making your decision while Karoff hurries along behind you and hits you with a barrage of rapid-fire instructions and advice for piloting one of the ship's shuttles. "Whatever you do, don't get it blown up!" "I'll try my best." ...
If Karoff can't track the ships there could be one lining up a shot even now. You'd installed a few shortcuts on your console and wristcomm last night, preparing for the possibility you'd be working alone, and now tap a key. The lights in the command center dim briefly as outside the station the massive shield generato...
"Clean. Both of you." You snap the computer shut and the tension in the room evaporates amid sighs of relief. Karoff lets out a whoop. "Oh thank God. I was too pretty to die!" He stands and makes for the door. "Now if you'll excuse me, I'm getting the hell out of this plague room." Hinsman lingers a moment, pausing a...
Yanking on the handle of the airlock door, you hear the locking mechanism disengage with a satisfying clank. Once inside, you seal it behind you again before proceeding. This last segment of the medical arm lost gravity and life support with the others, but was never exposed directly to space. It seems likely the actua...
Well, no sense in putting it off. You remind yourself that if her story is to be believed, poor, stupid, terrified Matti made this jump not once, but twice, and carrying Markov's bloody body behind her the second time. Aiming yourself carefully in the direction you want to go, an airlock that leads to the last section ...
Hinsman nods in agreement. "Probably for the best now that we've got a target painted on us. I'll explain things to her this evening and get her in the pod first thing in the morning." You both drag piles of equipment about while Karoff diverts more power from the ship, as much as can be spared, and even sacrifices ...
Hinsman and Karoff are already ripping out most of the EPNs that were so recently installed by the time you finish suiting up. Your sleek one piece outfit is in the Order colors of dark blue and grey, and more than just a uniform. With the addition of your helmet with its built in breathing mask it serves as well in co...
Most of the text Karoff scrolls past is gibberish, but a few of the messages are partially deciphered. Even these prove frustrating however as even the ones where you can make out sentences are delicately phrased with deliberate obliqueness. But as the messages near the end, they suddenly start dropping the pretense. ...
"Miss Oswen gave me enough details on the cause of the damage to start writing a report, at least, but some things still don't sit right with me. Even if Inea's death made him suicidal I still don't understand Markov's motivation for trying to take out the entire station, for one..." "He had the space crazies!" "...I...
"Miss Oswen gave me enough details on the cause of the damage to start writing a report, at least, but some things still don't sit right with me. Even if Inea's death made him suicidal I still don't understand Markov's motivation for trying to take out the entire station, for one..." "He had the space crazies!" "...I...
You want to verify there's a threat before you call anyone else in. Even though you're not suited up at the moment you feel pretty confident in your ability to handle a few trespassers anyhow so there's no point in risking the others if they prove hostile. You ghost down the dark hall opening doors one by one and shin...
Matti is asleep. Hinsman is seated at a table near the bed, freshly showered and changed into a grey jumpsuit identical to yours and looking exhausted. Karoff is nowhere to be seen. "He's back on the ship seeing how much power we can spare," Hinsman tells you, before you can ask. "This medical station's about the only...
You indicate to the others that you'll stay for now and Karoff directs the ship on a route toward the station. It makes sense to at least do a cursory inspection of the damage and make sure that at least life support will hold up. And of course there's the other issue of the alleged sabotage and personnel having been l...
The door here opens to one of the storage arms of the station. It seems as likely a place as any to find cleaning supplies and so you slip through the door, carefully stepping over the severed limb and making your way down the dimly lit hall. It becomes obvious this is more of an area for discarded equipment waiting fo...
You can't remember when the world first started shaking, this little fragile patch of reality with so many cracks and such little support to keep it from breaking apart, but something was always going to give. It was just a matter of time. Nobody knew what really triggered the fall. Was it the breaking of the chains wh...
The captain of the airship waits patiently at her desk, awaiting your next question. > You ask her about the Gahl'vuhr Sehn "I should have anticipated such a question from you, Unworthy," the captain says, scowling. "The Gahl'vuhr Sehn is a governing body which oversees all operations and protocol undertaken by us Auva...

Subsets and Splits

No community queries yet

The top public SQL queries from the community will appear here once available.