IT'S BACK!!! Choose Your Own Nightmare II: Scenes From A Memory *UPDATED 8/8/11*

Started by Genowyn, February 01, 2010, 06:34:23 PM

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Genowyn

EDIT:  It took me long enough, BUT WE'RE BAAAAAAAACCCCCCCCCCCCCKKKKKKKKKKK!!!!!!!!!!!!!!  I got bosk1 to edit out most of the posts that are not story narrative, but I kept in some of the posts that show people how to play the game and how people solved some of the puzzles.  But the thread is now more streamlined, so it will be easier to go back and read the story and figure out where we are.  

For those who are new, just jump right in now and go back and figure out the story later.  If you wait and try to read it all before playing, you may never start.  JUST READ THE FIRST FEW POSTS, THE LAST FEW, AND THEN JUMP IN AND PLAY!!!

The rules are simple:  You are in a world that is growing, changing, and being created before your very eyes.  I give you the options, you choose which one you want to see unfold.  As you do, this place becomes a product of my mind and yours (and, of course, DT has some influence as well).  

Now, choose your own nightmare...





====================================================

You are sitting at a table in the outdoor lunch area at school having lunch with some of your friends listening to your MP3 player.  It's Friday, just another day, and you can't wait for school to be over because you are talking about your plans for the weekend.  As you are talking, you notice a strange movement like a dark figure moving in the bushes out of the corner of your eye.  Every time you turn your head to look directly at it and get a better view, it disappears.  You also get the feeling you are being watched.  This happens several times, but you see nothing to be alarmed about, even if you do find it a bit odd.

After a few minutes, your friends leave as you stay behind and finish the last bit of your lunch.  You feel a tap on your shoulder, interrupting your train of thought.  You turn around quickly, smiling, expecting to see your friend Derek, who was the last of your friends to leave the table before you.  As you do, the song that was playing on your MP3 player, A Nightmare To Remember, suddenly crescendos in volume, and then abruptly cuts off leaving only static.  You see a robed figure dressed all in black standing before you with its arm outstretched.  You try to look at its face, but it is wearing a hood that covers its face in shadow.  Its "hand" actually resembles a bear claw more than an actual human hand.  In its hand, it holds a envelope that appears to have a card or note inside.  You take a deep breath and let it out slowly.

You reach out to take the envelope.  As your hand touches it, it feels like ice, and a shooting cold stabs up your arm.  Although your mind tells your hand to let go of the card, you cannot.  You appear frozen in place, but the world around you, including the mysterious shadowy figure, turns to liquid, then begins to blur, and then to melt away.  The only thing you hear is the static, which grows louder and louder, and the sound of a scream inside your head that sounds like your own voice.  You black out.

***

You awaken lying on a table in an unfamiliar place.  As you scan the room, you realize that you are in what appears to be a recording studio.  A monstrous drum kit, and various amplifiers, guitars, basses, and keyboards are in the room.  You look down at your arm, which seems normal again, and notice you are holding the envelope.  On the east wall is a door, which you cannot see through.  On the south wall is a window with what appers to be a darkened control room.  On the west wall is a door.  On the north wall, you see five pictures hanging there.  The first is a picture of a camel.  The second is a man whose mouth appears to be bandaged up.  The third is a bear.  The fourth is the dark outline of a man with a conical shaped hat, possibly that of a sorceror.  The fifth, simply a hole in the ground with a shovel next to it.  Although the place looks normal enough, everything about this place just doesn't feel right.

Do you:
A) Open the envelope
B) Look around the room
C) Head east.
D) Head west  

HP:90

Injuries:

Inventory:
MP3 Player
Envelope

bosk1


Ultimetalhead

YES.

A

EDIT: Just reread the thing, looking for more references, and holy shit. This is going to go down in forum history.

Jamesman42

So, this works by choosing an option every time you want to move the story forward? I never was a part of the last thread and I want to make sure that that is the rule. :)

Also, A.
\o\ lol /o/

Perhaps not Genowyn

You turn the envelope over in your hands.  It looks and feels like a normal envelope, but when you try to open it, it begins to glow faintly and does not open.  As you continue to struggle with it, you think you hear a very soft sound, almost like giggling.  As you continue to wrestle with the envelope and it resists your efforts, you also grow more determined and tell yourself it is only a matter of time before you succeed.  As you do so, you fail to notice the envelope is growing hotter and hotter until you look at your hands and notice they are blistering.  You quickly drop the envelope on the floor.

Do you:
A) Continue trying to open the envelope
B) Look around the room
C) Head east.
D) Head west 

HP:90

Injuries:

Inventory:
MP3 Player
Envelope

Perhaps not Genowyn

You gingerly pick up the envelope and notice it has cooled down and the glowing has faded.  You begin searching the room.  On one of the amps, you find several guitar picks.  No big surprise here.  Three of them have pictures of a salmon engraved on them.  The other appears to be a "Mike Stone" autographed pick.  You extend your nonblistered hand and pick them up.  You move on and notice a white board with what appears to be various numbers and song titles written on it.  You don't pay too much attention and move on.  Under a small table, you find some strips of cloth and take them.  What now?

Do you:
A) Continue trying to open the envelope
B) Look around the room more
C) Head east.
D) Head west 

HP:89

Injuries:  heat blisters on left hand

Inventory:
MP3 Player
Envelope
Cloth strips
Guitar picks

Perhaps not Genowyn

As you approach the east door, you notice there is the typical "EXIT" sign on the wall above it.  But then something changes.  Right before your eyes, the letters in the word "EXIT" begin to run together.  New letters form, spelling, "You shall not pass."  The door begins to shake violently as you approach it.  You also hear a voice whisper "don't do it!  Please, don't do it!"  You look around, expecting to see someone, but then realize the voice is coming from inside your own mind.  Then you hear another.  "Go ahead.  See what happens.  Remember what happened to the cat?  Go on and try it."  With each step, another voice is added, then another, until the voices are a veritable war inside your head.  The door looks as if it is about to burst under the stress of all the shaking.  You stop just short.  Something tells you this might not be a good idea.

Do you:
A) Try the east door anyway.
B) Head west  

HP:89

Injuries:  heat blisters on left hand

Inventory:
MP3 Player
Envelope
Cloth strips
Guitar picks

Perhaps not Genowyn

You head out the west doorway and find yourself in a hallway that extends to the south with a series of labeled doors.  As you do, you think you faintly hear whistering in your head saying, "yeah, that's what I thought."  The door you just came through is labeled "Studio X."  The next door is labeled, "Studio X Control Room."  The third "lunch room."  The fourth, "game room."  The fifth has a window and appears to lead outside.  There are several music-related posters on the wall, including a Spiro Gyra poster and a golden poster that simply says "Score XX" on it.

Do you:
A) Go back through door #1
B) Try door #2
C) Try door #3
D) Try door #4
E) Try door #5

HP:89

Injuries:  painful heat blisters on left hand

Inventory:
MP3 Player
Envelope
Cloth strips
Guitar picks

Perhaps not Genowyn

You try the door to the game room.  It is locked.  You backtrack and try the door to the lunch room.  It opens.  Inside, you see a refrigerator, a countertop with a sink and a microwave, and two small table and chair sets.  There is a poster of Gene Simmons on the far wall.  You have a subconscious strange sensation that it is watching you, but you see nothing unusual about it.  On the far table, you see a glass of water, a note, and a small metal case.  You look at the note first.  It says, "There is no need for instructions.  You already know what you must do.  Choose."

Do you:
A) Open the case
B) Leave and go somewhere else (say where)
C) Look around the lunch room some more.

HP:89

Injuries:  painful heat blisters on left hand

Inventory:
MP3 Player
Envelope
Cloth strips
Guitar picks

Perhaps not Genowyn

You begin looking around the lunch room.  You open the fridge and see a pizza box, two tupperware containers, each with something unidentifiable with fuzz growing on it inside, and a half-empty bottle of ranch dressing.  You close the fridge.  You approach the poster.  As you do, your MP3 player begins playing "Doctor Love."  Otherwise, there is nothing unusual about the poster.  You spend a few minutes looking at it and trying to figure out the connection with your MP3 player, but you eventually grow bored and determine that these are just moments wasted.  When you turn back to the table, the note appears to have been slightly moved.  You come closer and look at the note, and notice that it has changed, and now says, "There is nothing else here that can help you get home.  The answer lies within the case.  Now choose."

Do you:
A) Open the case
B) Leave and go somewhere else (say where)
C) Look around the lunch room some more.

HP:89

Injuries:  painful heat blisters on left hand

Inventory:
MP3 Player
Envelope
Cloth strips
Guitar picks

Perhaps not Genowyn

You open the case and see a blue pill and a red pill inside.  You glance back down at the note and see that it has once again been changed:  "You're not Neo.  But if you think you have what it takes, you know what to do.  Choose."  The water glass begins to jiggle slightly, making you uptight.

Do you:
A) Take the red pill
B) Take the blue pill

HP:89

Injuries:  painful heat blisters on left hand

Inventory:
MP3 Player
Envelope
Cloth strips
Guitar picks

Perhaps not Genowyn

You take the red pill and wash it down with a swig from the glass.  You pause for a moment, waiting to see whether anything unusual happens.  Nothing does.  You leave the lunch room and go back out into the hallway.  As you walk by the control room, you notice the door is wide open.  You enter the control room, and the door slams closed behind you.  The room is dark, but you can see well enough because of the light shining through the large glass window from the studio.  There are two large soundboards with a chair in front of each, a computer terminal with what looks like a captain's chair in front of it and a large cracked mirror next to it, and a small stool with wheels.  There are various drawers.  Next to the computer terminal is a Starbucks cup.  To your surprise, you notice steam coming from it.  Your body starts to feel cold.

Do you:
A) Try to get out.
B) Sit down in the captain's chair
C) Sit down in front of one of the soundboards 

HP:89

Injuries:  heat blisters on left hand

Inventory:
MP3 Player
Envelope
Cloth strips
Guitar picks

Perhaps not Genowyn

You take a seat in the captain's chair and begin looking at the mirror, expecting something to happen.  The computer in front of you makes a soft "pop," and then you hear the whirring of a computer fan and the hum of the computer starting up.  You turn to look at the screen, which is completely dark, with the exception of a green cursor blinking in the corner.  You turn back to the mirror and continue to stare at it, studying how your appearance is reflected in each of the cracked segments.  You see movement out of the corner of your eye and whip your head back around at the words that are now on the computer screen.

>Will you please stop doing that?  I need your help, and I can't very well tell you what to do if you are staring at the mirror instead of the screen.  What exactly are you expecting the mirror to do for you?

You are surprised and quickly look around the room.  More words form onscreen.

>Over HERE.  I'm getting a bit impatient with you.

You hesitate, and then begin to type:  >Oh...sorry...It's just...Well, if I took the blue pill, I'd end up home, not remembering anything.  I took the red one, so I'm ready to get out of here and see what things are really like.  <ENTER>

The cursor flickers for a few seconds and nothing happens.  The words "Hahahahahaha..." begin to appear and rapidly fill the entire screen.  After a few seconds, the screen blanks again, and the following appears:

>Wait, you aren't serious, are you?  This isn't a movie.  That was just a test.  If you took the blue pill, you would be dead right now.  The only way to get out of here is to do what I tell you, understand?  I just used the red pill/blue pill thing because I knew it would be something you are familiar with.  Look, I didn't want to call you here, but I didn't really have a choice.  You know how these things work.  I can't let you leave until you--wait.  You look different.  Please tell me they didn't mess this up.  Please, please tell me it's you.  Please.  I hesitate to ask this, but...tell me once again.  What is your name?

Do you:
A) Try to get out.
B) Type your name (say what it is)

HP: 88

Injuries:  painful heat blisters on left hand

Inventory:
MP3 Player
Envelope
Cloth strips
Guitar picks

Sigz


Perhaps not Genowyn

The Kev's have it. 

You hesitate, and then type in your name:  >Kevin Moore

There is a long pause, about 30 seconds or so, before more words begin appearing onscreen.

>Why am I not surprised?  Why, oh why, oh why, OH WHY?!  I was very clear.  I told them to bring me Nicolas!  I should have known.  Okay, look, Kevin, you seem like a nice enough person.  At least as far as people go.  Here's the deal.  I brought you here.  This is MY house.  And in my house are rules.  Some can be bent.  None can be broken.  You cannot leave until I say you can leave.  If you try, you die.  The enemies are not here, but there are certainly things to be afraid of, not the least of which is me.  There really is no way out of this place, other than the gates.  This place is not the destination.  It is merely the way place--the place where all five gates meet.  I can only unlock the gates for you if you bring me certain things.  The first gate is easy.  The others, not so much.  And I can only talk to you while you're here at the way place unless you find something that allows you to speak to me in those other places.  Otherwise, once I send you through a gate, you're on your own unless you live long enough to find your way back here.  I cannot stress how important this is.  If you do not follow my instructions carefully, you will die.  Do you have the coffee?

Do you:
A) Try to get out.
B) Type something (say what it is)

HP: 87

Injuries:  painful heat blisters on left hand

Inventory:
MP3 Player
Envelope
Cloth strips
Guitar picks

Sigz


Perhaps not Genowyn

You type in:  >What coffee?  Before you hit the enter key, you think better of your decision and type:  >yes.  It is here.

The computer answers.

>Good.  He will be pleased, although he will not say so.  Then again, he doesn't say much anymore.  Then I can send you though.  Are you ready?

Kevin:  >Wait.  What if I don't want to do this?  What if I just get up and walk out the front door?

Computer:  >That way is blocked.  And you will die.  We've been over this.  This is not the place you once knew.  Things work very differently here.  Humans cannot live here.  You are alive only because I am keeping you alive.

Kevin:  >And if I help you, I will live?

Computer:  >Most likely, yes.  At least, *I* won't kill you.  If you help me, I won't.  I swear I won't.

Kevin:  >How do I know I can trust you?

Computer:  >You don't.  But you don't really have a choice.  Go to the first soundboard and turn it on, then turn the bass up all the way.  Don't stop at 10 or you might not make it through the gate.  These go to 11.

Do you:
A) Try to get out.
B) Follow the instructions.

HP: 85

Injuries:  painful heat blisters on left hand

Inventory:
MP3 Player
Envelope
Cloth strips
Guitar picks

Perhaps not Genowyn

Quote from: Tuneman on February 04, 2010, 04:01:45 PM
how come we keep losing HP :(

Because you are damaged.

You go to the soundboard, find the bass controls, and turn them up to eleven.  "What now?"

You realize you probably need to type in your response, so you sit back down in the captain's chair.  To your surprise, your question is already typed in.  The computer responds.

>Good.  Each of the gates will bring you to a place where there are lots of enemies who will try to stop you.  You have to find the keepers of the keys of each domain and bring them back here to me.  But make no mistake, it will not be easy.  They will try to stop us at all costs.  Remember that you are of little use to me dead.  This little game of ours is a dangerous one, and the tests are difficult.  Others before you have tried.  The tests have stumped them all.  I can't say too much more because we're running out of time.  Before you go, look in the top desk drawer to your left.

You open the drawer.  You see a tube of healing salve.  You take it.

>Drink the coffee.  The Silent Man will not accept you otherwise, even if you do make it through the gate.  But don't fall for his tricks. 

Kevin:  >But where is the gate, and how do I get through it?

Computer:  >You will find the gate in the same place you used to get in here.  Lie down and close your eyes, and you will be transported through the gate.

Kevin:  >Wait.  What does that mean?

You notice the computer screen is now dark.  You are unable to type anything else in.  You think briefly about leaving.  But you drink the coffee first.  Starbucks.  Wow, even in this forsaken dimension, they have Starbucks.  You make a mental note to buy stock when you get home.  You then leave the control room and go out into the hall.

Do you:
A) Go back in the control room
B) Go back in the studio
C) Go back into the lunch room
D) Try to leave

HP: 84

Injuries:  painful heat blisters on left hand

Inventory:
MP3 Player:  static OFF
Envelope
Cloth strips
Guitar picks
Healing salve

Fiery Winds


Perhaps not Genowyn

#19
I will slow down a bit after this (but not too much; as I said, people want it to move faster).  I basically had the "way point" scenario all worked out, and you guys kept posting, so I kept moving the game forward.  I still have to work on the next world a bit, so I'll pause the game before we move on to the next part.


You apply some of the healing salve to your hand.  You notice a cooling sensation, and the redness goes away immediately.  However, your left hand is now covered with vaseline-like healing salve.  Yuck.

You go back into the studio.  The table in the middle of the studio is glowing red.  You approach the table and look around.  "Is this what I'm supposed to do?"  No answer.  You lay down on the table.  As your head rests against the table, you hear a low bass note begin to resonate through you.  You close your eyes and begin to relax.  As the sound becomes more soothing and begins to resonate through your body, you take a deep breath and let it out slowly...

Suddenly, you hear a hissing sound above you.  You open your eyes and see that the light fixture above your head has broken loose from the ceiling and is swinging wildly by a thin wire, sending sparks flying around the room.  As the bass note grows louder around you, the light fixture breaks loose and falls toward your head.  You don't even have time to get out of the way.  It is about to hit you when suddenly everything becomes pitch dark and deathly quiet.  Although you cannot see or hear anything, you sense that you are somewhere else.  In your mind, you hear a sound like a metal gate being slammed shut.

HP: 84

Status:  vaseline-hand

Inventory:
MP3 Player:  static OFF
Envelope
Cloth strips
Guitar picks
Healing salve (half tube)

<pause--GAME CONTINUED IN POST BELOW>

And you'll likely need this when we get back to the studio.  This is where you've been so far:


Perhaps not Genowyn

The deathly quiet and total darkness seem overwhelming to you.  You try feeling around in the dark.  Apparently, you are lying in some sort of dry, coarse dirt.  Without warning, a tiny, pale sun quickly rises in the sky.  Wherever you are, it is not your solar system.  This "sun" is far too pale, does not give enough light, and moves too quickly.  If only you knew where "here" is.

You are facing east, and appear to be near the edge of a cliff.  The rock and the dirt around you are all midnight black.  You approach the edge and realize that there is nothing beyond.  As you scan the horizon, you see several black asteroid-like islands of rock, hovering in space.  They each appear to have a city in the center.  They are roughly disk-shaped.  Strange.  You examine the closest one to you.  Although it seems like it is a few miles away, you are eventually able to discern the figure of a person at its edge, staring back at you.  You try to yell out to it, but strangely, no sound comes out of your mouth.  In fact, you have not heard a single sound since you got here.  Not the sound of other things moving or communicating in the distance.  Not the sound of your shoes moving in the dirt.  Not the sound of your own breathing.  Nothing.  This place is dead silent.  You stand up as tall as you can and try waiving at the figure on the other asteroid.  It does the same.  Startled, you stop.  It stops.  You squint your eyes, trying to get a better view.  As you do, you realize the face staring back at you from across the void is your own.  You look around more carefully at the other asteroids and realize each is merely the mirror image of the one you are on.

You think through the events of the last few hours, just going over it all in your mind and trying to figure it out.  You start to feel immensely hopeless as you realize you are stuck on some rock, floating in another dimension or something, where you can't even speak, and you definitely can't get home.  Not without doing what some computer wants you to do.  Problem is, you don't even know what that is.  You feel your eyes begin to water, and you try to fight back what you know is coming, but give in as you feel sobs well up inside you.  "I'm just a kid," you tell yourself.  "I don't get this.  This is just...unnatural.  Why am I here?  Yeah, I lagged a bit after lunch and was probably going to be late to sixth period, but...you don't usually get shipped off to some crazy, acid trip just for being tardy to music class.  What is going on?  I just don't understand.  This is like a...like a...like I'm living in a video game or something.  It isn't possible."

"Yes it is.  Now stop being a coward and go do what you have to do."

You have no idea where this other voice came from, or how it got inside your head.  Startled, you look around.  You see no one.  The fact that it called you a coward sends you into a rage.  Your father used to call you that when he hit your mother and dared you to stop him.  And deep down, you felt that it was true, because you dared not lift a finger to stop him.  They've always called you a coward, and you've hated them for it.  More than that, you've hated yourself for it. 

You wipe your face dry with your sleeve and scan the scene in front of you.  From where you stand, there is a road of sorts set with pale, gold-colored stones, leading from the place you stand to the city.  It looks like a long walk, but you can make it.  There are several buildings, all black.  In fact, everything in this place but the road appears to be black.  In the center of the city is a tower taller than the rest.  You see a light on all the way at the top.  It reminds you of a lighthouse.  "Follow the yellow-brick road," you say to yourself.  The reference almost makes you smile as you walk toward the city. 

As you grow closer, the dirt becomes more fine, almost like ash.  The buildings have a charred appearance.  You try the first couple of doors, but they are locked.  You keep walking toward the center of the city, staying on the road.  Alleyways branch off to your left and right, and appear to arc in the same direction.  You quickly realize that the city is most likely layed out in a cirle, with the tall tower in the center.  The road you are on is a radius moving from east to west.  The alleys you pass are part of a network of concentric circles.  Before long, you come to a pile of debris in the center of the road.  It completely blocks your progress, and you can't see what is on the other side, other than something that smells really, really bad.

Do you:

A)  Try to climb over it.
B)  Take the alleyway to the north
C)  Take the alleyway to the south

HP: 84

Status:  vaseline-hand

Inventory:
MP3 Player:  static OFF
Envelope
Cloth strips
Guitar picks
Healing salve (half tube)
Studio map (partial)

Perhaps not Genowyn

By the way, guys, as the game goes on, feel free to speculate about what certain references and clues might mean.  See where your minds go from the clues I drop is not only fun for me, but helps me develop the story as we go along.

Perhaps not Genowyn

#22
You climb the wall of debris.  As you near the top, the sun has already begun to set and the twilight casts strange shadows that make it difficult to see, but you think you see what looks like the half buried body of a child at the bottom.  The stench grows stronger and stronger as you descend, like the smell of stale sweat and **** steaming through the night.  You are horrified at the thought that this could be a dead child, and begin hurrying down, stumbling and sliding as you go.  You reach the bottom and see that the dead..."thing" is not a child at all.  It is about 2 1/2 feet tall and wearing a black robe.  Half its face has been gnawed off by something, and the body is just beginning to show signs of decomposition.  It has thin, matted hair and an open mouth of razor sharp teeth.  You shudder and draw back, and again almost begin sobbing.  "I want to go home," you say to yourself.  You think you catch a glimpse of a sudden movement in the alleyway to the north, but when you look, you don't see anything.  You take a deep breath and tell yourself you have to go on.

Do you:

A)  Search the body
B)  Continue west toward the tower
C)  Go back east
D)  Go north
E)  Go south

HP: 84

Status:  vaseline-hand, which now, annoyingly, has dirt and funk stuck to it because you neither wrapped it nor cleaned off the ointment  >:(

Inventory:
MP3 Player:  static OFF
Envelope
Cloth strips
Guitar picks
Healing salve (half tube)
Studio map (partial)

Perhaps not Genowyn

#23
You clean and wrap the hand and then begin searching the body.  Its right hand is clutching a small, rusty, but sharp knife.  You momentarily raise the knife to get a better look and then take it.  You find nothing else useful.  

Do you:

A)  Continue west toward the tower
B)  Go back east
C)  Go north
D)  Go south

HP: 84

Status:   :tup

Inventory:
MP3 Player:  static OFF
Envelope
Cloth strips
Guitar picks
Healing salve (half tube)
Studio map (partial)
Knife

Perhaps not Genowyn

Quote from: dreamtheatervt on February 05, 2010, 08:52:40 PM
Can we see anything in any particular direction that might be worth checking out?  Picking randomly just isn't my thing.

To the west, far down the street, you see the tower.  Alleyways extend to the north and to the south, arcing around to the west so that you can not see far down either one.  Back to the east, you cannot see anything because of the rubble heap.  Blackened buildings of various heights line the narrow streets.  The sun is going down, and it will be dark very soon.

Perhaps not Genowyn

You continue east.  The sun is setting rapidly, and it is getting dark quickly.  You hurry.  As it turns from light to dark, you think you see shadows darting in your peripheral vision in the alleys you pass on either side.  It is almost pitch black, and you begin to run.  The only thing you see is the faint light at the top of the tower, which guides you like a lighthouse.  About two blocks short of the tower, you catch movement out of the corner of your eye.  it is too late to react.  Something smacks into your right shoulder and knocks you to the ground.  Quickly, it pounces and is standing on your chest.  It looks like the dead thing you found earlier.  In its left hand is some sort of glowing orb that gives off a pale light.  It screams, although you can hear no sound, showing you rows of razor sharp teeth.  Reflexively, you swat at it and knock if off of you.  It turns and prepares to pounce.  

Do you:

A)  Fight (specify how)
B)  Run toward the tower
C)  Run east
D)  Run north
E)  Run south

HP: 84

Status:   :tup

Inventory:
MP3 Player:  static OFF
Envelope
Cloth strips
Guitar picks
Healing salve (half tube)
Studio map (partial)
Knife

Ultimetalhead


Perhaps not Genowyn

You get into your best knife fighter position, which feels very awkward since you've never been in a knife fight in your life.  "Uh...okay...bring it on," you say, momentarily forgetting that you are unable to speak in this world.  Although you do not hear a sound, as you utter the words, the dwarf creature narrows its eyes menacingly as if it understands.  It springs at you, and reflexively, you dodge and swing the knife wildly.  The knife misses, but before you can turn and prepare, you feel a sharp pain in your right leg as the dwarf creature sinks its teeth in.  You scream without a sound and drop the knife.  You also start flailing your arms about wildly and manage to connect with the side of the dwarf creature's head.  It lets go and jumps back, dropping its light orb.  It lunges for the orb, but then draws back as you pick up your knife and turn to face it once again.  Keeping your eyes on the creature, you bend down for the orb, reach for the profit of your prize, and scoop it up.  The creature pauses, then lets out another silent scream, and scurries off.  The orb flickers and goes out.  You aren't sure how to make it come back on again.  Your leg stings a little, but the bite doesn't appear serious.

Do you:

A)  Throw the orb away
B)  Continue toward the tower
C)  Go east
D)  Go north
E)  Go south

HP: 80

Status:   gash on your leg, bleeding slightly

Inventory:
MP3 Player:  static OFF
Envelope
Cloth strips
Guitar picks
Healing salve (half tube)
Studio map (partial)
Knife
Light orb (off)

Perhaps not Genowyn

You quickly wrap your leg and hurry off toward the tower, hoping you don't run into any more of those things.  About a block before you reach the tower, dawn begins to break once again, and you see a large piece of parchment nailed to a huge, rough stake driven into the ground.  The parchment reads:

NOTICE, EFFECTIVE IMMEDIATELY
Due to the imminent invasion, proper curfew hours will be observed by all.  Anyone caught outside after dark will be severely punished.  Your individual devices must be properly secured at all times so they do not fall into the hands of the Enemy. 

Strange.  You wonder who exactly this notice is directed at, since you have not seen a single soul since you got here, other than the thing that attacked you.  Otherwise, as far as you know, you've been walking through empty streets alone.  But in case there are more of those things, you quickly decide you can't take time to sit here and think about it out in the open.  You approach the tower and find that the door on the east side where you are standing appears to be locked.  Next to the door is a red button with a skull and crossbones on it.


Do you:

A)  Push the button
B)  Go back (west)
C)  Go around the tower to the north
D)  Go around the tower to the south

HP: 80

Status:   gash on your leg, bleeding slightly (wrapped)

Inventory:
MP3 Player:  static OFF
Envelope
Cloth strips
Guitar picks
Healing salve (half tube)
Studio map (partial)
Knife
Light orb

Perhaps not Genowyn

You begin circling the tower to the north (counterclockwise).  Its surface is like black obsidian, but it otherwise looks like a typical skyscraper, save that it has no windows on this floor that you can see.  When you get to the north side, you see a street like the one you entered, extending off toward the north.  You continue to the rear of the tower.  There is another, similar street extending west.  Again, no windows in the tower.  However, on this west side, you notice what appears to be a rope hanging down from some point up near the top, which you estimate is a good 20 floors up.  You come closer and inspect the rope and discover that it appears to be made of black human hair.  You laugh and shake your head, thinking to yourself, "this can't actually be real."  You think briefly about whether to climb the rope.  You recall that you are basically afraid of heights and that when you had to climb the rope in gym class, despite your gym teacher screaming at you and all the jocks in class laughing at you, you only made it about halfway up before the burning in your arms made you let go.  The rope burns and your pride healed at roughly the same rate.  Still, other than the door with the skull and crossbones button, you haven't seen anything else that remotely looks like an entrance.  As you are deciding, you think you see a small shadow out of your peripheral vision quickly dart across the street to the west.  Quickly it is gone.  Clearly, you cannot take the time to think about this forever.

Do you:

A)  Climb
B)  Go back to the door and push the button
C)  Go down the street to the west.
D)  Go back and take the street to the north
E)  Go back and take the street you came in on back east
F)  Keep Circling the building to the south

HP: 80

Status:   gash on your leg, bleeding slightly (wrapped)

Inventory:
MP3 Player:  static OFF
Envelope
Cloth strips
Guitar picks
Healing salve (half tube)
Studio map (partial)
Knife
Light orb

Perhaps not Genowyn

You continue circling the tower to the south (counterclockwise).  When you get to the south side, you see yet another street like the one you entered, extending off toward the south.  There is no entrance you can see.  You continue back to the front of the tower.  You cannot escape the feeling you are being watched by many eyes, and this uneasy feeling haunts the eavesdropping silence.  

Do you:

A)  Return to the rope and climb
B)  Push the button next to the door
C)  Go down the street to the west.
D)  Take the street to the north
E)  Take the street to the east
F)  Take the street to the south

HP: 80

Status:   gash on your leg, bleeding slightly (wrapped)

Inventory:
MP3 Player:  static OFF
Envelope
Cloth strips
Guitar picks
Healing salve (half tube)
Studio map (partial)
Knife
Light orb

Perhaps not Genowyn

You take a moment to look around, and then sit down on the yellow road leading up to the door, put your head in your hands and begin to cry.  "This is stupid," you tell yourself.  "I didn't do anything!  I don't belong here!  This can't be happening!  I don't even want to go into this stupid building.  I just want to go home."  You decide you've had enough of all this, and you're getting out of here.  Maybe if you can get back to the edge of the city where you first came in, you can just leave.  You stare east, back down the yellow road, your eyes on horizon in a steady-set gaze.  You quickly begin to walk east, but before you take more than a few steps, you catch a quick movement out of the corner of your left eye.  You turn, and see a small pack of the dwarf creatures running toward you from around the corner of the building.  You look back east and see another small pack emerge from the closest alleyway onto the main street and begin to run toward you.  The look in their eyes tells you they believe they have you trapped.  You panic and turn and run, in sheer terror.  Forgetting the building was only a few feet behind you, you smack right into it and momentarily lose your balance.  

On your knees, the red button is right at your eye level.  Everything about this place just doesn't feel right.  But then you think the red button may simply be a bluff since the stereotypically cautionary color coupled with the cliché skull and crossbones seems a little over-the-top as if calling you out to not have the balls to go through with it.  Maybe whoever put it there is right.  Maybe you don't have the balls to go through with it.  

You quickly glance over your shoulder and see that the dwarf creatures are about to pounce.  You silently scream and smack the button.  The door opens and you tumble inside, just as it closes.  You hear several thuds and the faint sound of snarling through the door.  As you back up and rise to your feet, you survey the premises.  You are in the lobby of the building.  The door you came through is now at your back.  Directly in front of you is a security desk with a sign that says, "TRESPASSERS WILL BE PROMPTLY TORTURED AND LOCKED UP UNTIL EXECUTED.  On break, back in 5 min."  Beyond the security desk is an elevator bank with several elevators.  To the right of the elevators is a short hallway with three doors.  To the left is what appears to be a directory, which you cannot read from here.  The lighting flickers.  You think you possibly hear water trickling somewhere far away.

Do you:

A)  Go to the elevator bank and push the call button
B)  Go to the hallway
C)  Go to the directory
D)  Search the security desk

HP: 80

Status:   gash on your leg, bleeding slightly (wrapped)

Inventory:
MP3 Player:  static OFF
Envelope
Cloth strips
Guitar picks
Healing salve (half tube)
Studio map (partial)
Knife
Light orb

bosk1

^Awfully long post just to push the button.  Methinks we just got a bucketload of clues for something.  :justjen

Perhaps not Genowyn

You step behind the secirity desk and begin searching.  There are several tv monitors showing various parts of the building you do not recognize.  You open a few drawers.  You see a half-eaten sandwich, which you leave alone.  You open a large drawer labeled "Trespasser Files."  There are various hanging folders.  You leave through a few and see some reports and some pictures of grusomely-mutilated corpses.  You quickly close the drawer.

You open another drawer and see a strange-looking piece of paper.  The surface of it is constantly moving and it looks almost alive.  The appearance looks somewhat like tv static, but is constantly swirling and shifting.  Across the top it says:  "MAP," and then under that, "Instructions:  please speak your location."  There doesn't seem to be anything else of interest.  As you start to leave the desk, you see an envelope on top of the desk that you would swear wasn't there a moment ago.  It says "open me, Kevin" on the front.  You open the envelope and pull out a note that says, "find all you need in your mind" messily scrawled on it.  You puzzle over the message for a moment, and then the note and envelope burst into flame and are incinerated.

What now?  Do you:

A)  Go to the elevator bank and push the call button
B)  Go to the hallway
C)  Go to the directory

HP: 80

Status:   gash on your leg, bleeding slightly (wrapped)

Inventory:
MP3 Player:  static OFF
Envelope
Cloth strips
Guitar picks
Healing salve (half tube)
Studio map (partial)
Knife
Light orb
Silent Tower map

Genowyn

You approach the directory.  It lists floors 7-22.  Most of the numbers have nothing written next to them--at least, nothing you can read.  Instead, you see deep gashes etched in the directory, as if someone carved out whatever was written with a very large knife.  The walls appear to be bleeding from these gashes.  The few entries that are left are:

17 - Diepen, Heven, & Associates, M.D.'s - Extreme Makeovers
18 - Wasteland - cell block A
22 - Ray Ning, CEO

As you ponder these entries, you hear the sound of a toilet flushing from down the hallway.

What now?  Do you:

A)  Go to the elevator bank and push the call button
B)  Go to the hallway
C)  Stay where you are

HP: 80

Status:   gash on your leg, bleeding slightly (wrapped)

Inventory:
MP3 Player:  static OFF
Envelope
Cloth strips
Guitar picks
Healing salve (half tube)
Studio map (partial)
Knife
Light orb
Silent Tower map