Gates of pearl open as you approach.\n\nShe’s been waiting for you.\n\nThe whole court has been [[waiting for you.|court]]
You can feel the music seep into your bones already, your foot tapping to the beat.\n\nYou take her hand as she leads you into the circle and you begin to [[dance.|dance1]]
<<if visited("watch") >= 1>>You’ve wasted enough time.<<endif>>\n\nBrushing the leaves from your front, you stand and the sprites scatter like ripples in a pond.\n\nYou feel energized as you continue your walk and the colors seem to wave goodbye behind you.\n\nYou keep walking, as [[the trees begin to thin.|field]]
\n\n\n\n<div style="text-align:center">You fall asleep, even as the laughter [[overwhelms you.|wake]]</div>
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The path winds and twists and the spire never seems to get any closer. As you crest yet another hill, you begin to hear music floating towards you.\n\n[[Maybe they’ll know something about the spire?|dancing]]
You shake your hand away from her, and for a moment her teeth seem sharper, sharklike and feral. The music turns dissonant for a second. But the flaws pass and sun breaks through the clouds and the girl is as beautiful as ever. \n\nShe laughs as she waves you away, thin, and high and dangerous. \n\n[[You do not turn back.|bridge]]
The tension pops, so suddenly that you feel your ears adjust to a change in atmosphere.\n\nHer smile is beautiful as she repeats.\n\n[[“Yes, I will grant you this boon.”|boon]]
And she gives you more. She gives you all their rot and refuse. You feast on the crunch of bone and the slither of maggots. You hunch over your hoard, shoveling it into your mouth.\n\nYou’re always hungry.\n\nSo you eat the faerie food. \n\nAll you ever do again is eat.\n<<remember $ffoodend to 1>>\n<div style="text-align:center">[[You have reached your end.|danceend]]</div>
Checks bounce. Debtors call.\n\nYou reach for your bag of gold and open it, to find it filled with ash and leaves.\n\nYou think you can hear the queen laughing, though you haven’t dreamt nor thought about the fae for years.\n\nFool’s gold for a true fool.\n<<remember $goldend to 1>>\n<div style="text-align:center">[[You have reached your end.|danceend]]</div>
The door is wooden. Plain. Boring. So unlike anything else you’ve seen here.\n\nBut the longer you look at it the more you realize, it isn’t just boring.\n\nIt’s home.\n\nThe bag of gold is heavy at your hip [[as you walk back through.|gwood]]\n
The forest thins, but not how you expect it to. The trees actually shrink as you emerge, each one a tiny fully formed tree, until you step over oaks that barely come up to your ankle.\n\nThey give way to a field of grass, glittering with dew drops or gemstones, it is impossible to tell the difference.\n\nYou see the tip of a golden spire beyond the hills. [[Is that where you must go?|go]]\n
Beware the Faerie Food You Eat
You take a step back, as it flies too close, too soon and you think you see teeth that are much too sharp.\n\nBut your foot catches, and you stumble and [[fall.|fall]]\n
You run.\n\nThe attendant guides you to a wooden door. Plain. Boring. So unlike anything else you’ve seen here.\n\nBut the longer you look at it the more you realize, it isn’t just boring.\n\nIt’s home.\n\nOr even better, [[it’s away from here.|fwood]]
“They're just human.”\n\nThey say, and no one stirs. They all knew. They all knew but you.\n\nYou force down your disappointment as you thank the queen, and [[let them lead you to a door.|cdoor]]
And you march for what feels like hours. Your shoes, sturdy as they are, are waterlogged and breathing seems almost impossible. \n\nYou’re hungry too, a gaping pit growing in your stomach.\n\n¤ [[Eat some food from your pack.|eat]]\n¤ [[Keep walking.|light]]
The first song to jump in your head is your favorite, and you sing it all the way through. He smiles and steps aside.\n\nAs you walk past, you can’t remember what you sang, nor how it goes.\n\nAnd when you turn back, the bridge is gone, and so is he.\n\nBut now you know where to go, [[on to the castle, and on to the queen.|goblin]]
They order themselves in the colors of the rainbow, including some colors whose names you don’t know, but they seem to fit nonetheless.\n\n¤ [[Keep watching.|watch2]]\n¤ [[Stand up.|move]]
\n<div style="text-align:center">Are you seeking them for [[gold|golden]],\nTo find the truth of [[loved ones gone|loved ones]],\nAre you merely brash and [[bold|adventures]],\nor do you feel you don’t [[belong]]?\n<<if $visited is 1>>\nOr maybe this was just some fling,\nand you [[turn away from the faerie ring|turn away]].<<endif>></div>
You open the silver dome and reveal the most disgusting apple you’ve ever seen in your life.\n\nWhatever skin isn’t covered in fuzzy mold is withered and brown. It seems hollow in places, with holes in its side where the maggots have burrowed through. It is rot, it is filth.\n\nAnd [[your mouth waters for it.|fhunger]]
You speak vaguely, of a boon you seek from the fair folk and he laughs. \n\n<span class="fae">“You’ll need to see the Queen for that, whoever she may be today. But to access the golden court, you’ll have to cross and you’ll have to pay.”</span>\n\n¤ [[Offer him a song|song]]\n¤ [[Offer him an energy bar|energy][$trapped -=1]]\n¤ [[Offer him money|cash]]
Bracing yourself did nothing, because you never hit the ground. \n\nYou are supported by dozens of tiny hands and buzzing wings as they lower you onto the ground, gentler than if you’d leaned back yourself.\n\nAnd once you’re safe, the buzzing rings out and they begin to fly above you in a kaleidoscope of colors. \n\n¤ [[It’s so beautiful. Stay to watch.|watch][$trapped +=1]]\n¤ [[You have to keep moving.|move]]
You feel misery as she calls her attendant forth.\n\n“Go,” she says. “And never return.”\n\n[[You are led to a door.|rdoor]]
It has the eyes you remember, but nothing else. A twisted husk of a creature, spine poking through pale skin.\n\nYou can almost count every rib, yet its stomach sits low to the ground, as it gorges itself on mold and rotten food.\n\nOn faerie food.\n\nThere is no recognition in those eyes. [[Only hunger.|frun]]
You tell him your name, and he smiles, too wide for human lips.\n\nHe asks about your reasons to be crossing this bridge. His teeth are sharp and glinting under a too-bright sun.\n\n¤ [[Tell him of your quest.|quest]]\n¤ [[Ask for his name in return first.|robinname]]
<<nobr>><<if $goal is "gold">>\nyour gold.<<endif>>\n<<if $goal is "family">>\nyour loved one.<<endif>>\n<<if $goal is "changeling">>\na new home.<<endif>>\n<<if $goal is "adventure">>\nthe end of this adventure.\n<<endif>>\n<<endnobr>>
The door is wooden. Plain. Boring. So unlike anything else you’ve seen here. \n\nBut the longer you look at it the more you realize, it isn’t just boring.\n\nIt’s home.\n\nThe flower is precious and you cup it close to you as [[you walk back through.|awood]]
The cold hilt of an iron knife against your palm is your final feeling. For as soon as you drew your weapon, the guard drew theirs, and songs have always been sung of elven archers.\n\nYou take a final, gurgling breathe around the arrow in your throat and fall at the foot of the queen.\n\nYou hope your knife burns whoever tears it from your corpse.\n<<remember $knifeend to 1>>\n<div style="text-align:center">[[You have reached your end.|danceend]]</div>
You wilt as you miss their too harsh sun, their apple scented air. \n\nThe world is grey, and the only colors are in your precious flower.\n\nYou search for other gates, other fairy rings. Anything to take you back.\n\nNone of them ever work for you again.\n\nThe flower never wilts, and you die instead of it.\n<<remember $adventureend to 1>>\n<div style="text-align:center">[[You have reached your end.|danceend]]</div>
You curse your own foolishness. To think the lights were anything else but will o’ wisps sent to deceive you.\n\nYou are tired, but what can you do but [[keep going.|trip]]
You tell no one. They know you were searching, but you lie and lie until your tongue feels heavy from it.\n\nYou suffer alone with your truth. \n\nEvery memory of them seems replaced by that creature. Every photograph makes your stomach roll with bile. Their very name is tainted.\n<<remember $familyend to 1>>\nYou wanted to know, and now you know too much.\n\n<div style="text-align:center">[[You have reached your end.|danceend]]</div>
You toss him a bar from your pack and he rips into it with glee. <span class="fae">“Milk, and honey, just for me. A wise traveler you seem to be.”</span>\n\nHe lets you go, but when you turn back, the bridge is gone, and so is he.\n\nBut now you know where to go, [[on to the castle, and on to the queen.|goblin]]
You quit your job. You buy a new house. You buy a new car.\n\nThe bag of gold never seems to end.\n\n[[You buy a new life.|gbad]]
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You feel giddy as her attendant walks up to you. They peer at you through multifaceted eyes, then lean back, with their hands in their waistcoat pockets.\n\n[[You’ll finally learn the truth about yourself.|ctruth]]
You hear its flight, the tinkling vibrations of glass, and it begins to get louder and louder.\n\nSprites of all colors begin to peek from the trees, with the electric blue leader circling around your head.\n\n[[You flinch back.|flinch]]\n
The road home is long and tiring, but you make it back. You survived, at least.\n\nBut your lights are already on. Your door is already open.\n\n[[You look in through one of the windows|cyou]], to be safe.
\nWriting and Development by <a href="http://astriddalmady.com/" target="_blank">Astrid Dalmady</a>\n\nScripts from <a href="http://www.glorioustrainwrecks.com/" target="_blank">Glorious Trainwrecks</a>\n\nAnd a huge thank you to Sandra, Alex, Sam, Emily, Colatechi and Mina for playtesting this game.\n\n[[Back|previous()]]
All the stories say that nothing good comes from the faerie, that the price is always too high.\n\nAnd today, you take their advice.\n\nYou walk away, burdening yourself with a heavy ‘what-if' for the rest of your life.\n\nIt's hard, you struggle. You find yourself here again and again.\n\nBut you know better than to tangle with the faerie. You know better now.\n<<remember $goodend to 1>>\n<div style="text-align:center">[[You have reached your end.|danceend]]</div>
\nIn a lonely glade in a darkened wood, there is a ring of mushrooms on the ground.\n\nMany have walked by it. But you know it for what it <em>truly</em> is.\n\nA faerie ring, a [[portal to another world.|portal]]
The path almost disappears into the mist.\n\nBut you’ll be fine.\n\nYou have the lights, glittering blue flames that appear just in [[a steady trail forwards.|lightforward]]
You walk forward, choosing the middle path and feel around the edges of the sign for the exit.\n\nIt flips easily to reveal a door handle made of vine reaching out from the bushes themselves.\n\nYou [[open the door|outmaze]] and step through.
It ends at the base of a hill, which you climb, up and up. And at the top you see it. Glorious and shining, a palace carved of spun sugar and gold.\n\nThe court of the faerie queen is closer, but in the valley below, a hedge maze awaits.\n\n[[You can handle a little maze. You’ve come this far.|mazeenter]]
You feel giddy as she calls her attendant forth. They hand you a velvet pouch, its inside glittering with gold coins.\n\n“Go,” she says. “And enjoy your reward.” \n\n[[You are led to a door.|golddoor]]
The door is wooden. Plain. Boring. So unlike anything else you’ve seen here.\n\nBut the longer you look at it the more you realize, it isn’t just boring.\n\n[[It’s failure.|rwood]]
You drop to one knee. The ground, while obviously stone, sinks like grass under your weight.\n\nYou wait, and then [[she speaks.|speaks]]
The spire gets closer, and your eyes scan frantically for any escape, but you see none.\n\n[[Keep walking.|maze3]]
How far ahead is this exit? Surely, you should have found it by now.\n\n[[Keep walking.|fork2]]
<h2 style="margin:0; padding:0;">Thank you for playing</h2>\n\n<h1 style="margin-top:-.2em; padding-top:-.2em;">Beware The Faerie Food You Eat</h1>\n\nLet me know what you thought on <a href="https://twitter.com/dastridly" target="_blank">twitter</a> or <a href="http://dastridly.tumblr.com/" target="_blank">tumblr</a>, and sign up to the <a href="http://eepurl.com/bjxE5b" target="_blank">Dastridly Deeds email list</a> for updates on any new projects. <br />You can also check out <a href="http://astriddalmady.com/" target="_blank">my website</a> for more games, podcasts and stories.\n\n<u>You've reached the following endings:</u>\n\n<div class="endings"><<if $goodend is 1>>1. You Know Better Now<<else>>1. ????<<endif>>\n<<if $danceend is 1>>2. Death by Dancing <<else>>2. ????<<endif>>\n<<if $drownend is 1>>3. Death by Drowning<<else>>3. ????<<endif>>\n<<if $knifeend is 1>>4. Death by Knife<<else>>4. ????<<endif>>\n<<if $ffoodend is 1>>5. The Faerie Food You Ate<<else>>5. ????<<endif>>\n<<if $ripvend is 1>>6. The Rip Van Ending<<else>>6. ????<<endif>>\n<<if $goldend is 1>>7. All that Glitters<<else>>7. ????<<endif>>\n<<if $familyend is 1>>8. The Truth Hurts<<else>>8. ????<<endif>>\n<<if $adventureend is 1>>9. The Cost of Adventure<<else>>9. ????<<endif>>\n<<if $changeend is 1>>10. Who are you Really?<<else>>10. ????<<endif>></div>\n\n[[Begin Again|Start]]\n[[Credits]]
You walk longer this time, but there’s that yellow flower again. It taunts you.\n\n[[Keep walking.|maze5]]
The spire is bigger? Are you closer?\n\n[[It’s impossible to tell.|fork3]]
In a lonely glade in a darkened wood, there is a ring of mushrooms on the ground.\n\nYou step back over into the real world and sigh. [[This wasn’t what you’d hoped it’d be.|chome]]
You smile and pass her by, taking slow sips of water as you go. It barely quenches your thirst, but it does enough.\n\nYou struggle through the crowd and make it [[out of the market.|hill]]
The tension drains from the room like a cold sluice of water down your back. You must have done something wrong in your journey.\n\nShe has not stopped smiling.\n\n¤ [[You clench your fists, and accept it.|ripend]]\n¤ [[You reach for your knife. You will not be denied.|knife]]
<<nobr>><<if $goal is "gold">>\nGold as is told in the stories.<<endif>>\n<<if $goal is "family">>\nSome word about your loved one, stolen years ago.<<endif>>\n<<if $goal is "changeling">>\nThe truth about yourself.<<endif>>\n<<if $goal is "adventure">>\nA token, to remember your journey.\n<<endif>>\n<<endnobr>>
You step forward, but no more lights appear.\n\nYou look back and there is only mist and shadow.\n\nYou hear laughter.\n\n[[You have been betrayed.|tired]]
In a lonely glade in a darkened wood, there is a ring of mushrooms on the ground.\n\nYou step back over into the real world and smile, as [[gold clinks at your hip.|ggood]]
Today she is the <<queen1>>\n\n¤ [[Kneel before the Queen.|kneel]]\n¤ [[Present your case to the Queen.|present][$trapped +=1]]
In a lonely glade in a darkened wood, there is a ring of mushrooms on the ground.\n\nYou step back over into the real world and smile, watching [[the flower glow in the dim forest.|awilt]]
\nThey said it couldn’t be done, so you will do it, and afterward the world will marvel at the tale of your adventures.\n\n¤ [[Step into the ring.|ring][$goal = "adventure"]]\n¤ [[No, this isn't why you go.|previous()]]
It <<timedinsert 3s>><em>almost</em><<endtimedinsert>> looks like where you were before: a circle of red and white mushrooms in a glade in the woods.\n\nBut when you left, it had been fall. The trees were decked in orange and red, and the ground was littered with crackling brown.\n\nHere [[everything is green.|green]]
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You tell her you are here to ask a boon. <<goalend>>\n\nYou tell her how you have come with this simple request, and a simple question.\n\n[[Will you grant me this wish?|wish]]
It isn’t quite the alien landscape you imagined, but at the same time it isn’t normal either. The leaves are tinged too green, the sun is a smidgen too bright. \n\nEverything is just different <em>enough</em>, dipping into an uncanny valley of sights and sounds. \n\nEven the path in front of you seems odd. It isn’t paved, nor stone nor the dead grass of a forest trail, but your mind still recognizes it as [[a way forward.|forward]]\n
\nYour pack is heavy with [[supplies|pack]]. It feels heavier now that you’re close.\n\nYour mind is heavy with [[lore|stories]]. Warnings that those who tangle with the fae never emerge unscathed.\n\nYou take a breath, [[and remind yourself of why you're here.|choice]]
You trudge through the castle garden, exhausted, filthy and dripping.\n\nBut you feel [[triumphant.|gates]]
You end up at a fork, with a sign in between the paths. No, the same sign in between the paths.\n\n<div class="sign">To leave the maze just solve this riddle,\nFind [[a hidden exit|exit]] down the middle.</div>\n\n…What is this?\n\n¤ [[Walk left.|maze4]]\n¤ [[Walk right.|maze4]]
In a lonely glade in a darkened wood, there is a ring of mushrooms on the ground.\n\nYou wake up and groan. Your bones ache, your joints are stiff.\n\nYou try to stand, and realize [[something is wrong.|rold]]
\nStraw spun into gold, forests with emeralds for leaves. The tales of the Fae are paved in mention of wealth and treasure, and you refuse to leave their world without it.\n\n¤ [[Step into the ring.|ring][$goal = "gold"]]\n¤ [[No, this isn't why you go.|previous()]]
Once you’re close, you can see the hedges tower over you, greater than anything a human gardener could build. But, nonetheless, the spires of the castle peek over the walls.\n \n[[This will be easy.|enter]]
But soon, you hear a sound. A buzz of wings and, before you can react, it is in front of you.\n\nA bright blue pixie flies up to you and smiles. It's electric blue with eyes too large for its head and wings like rice paper. Even if you covered those, it still looks odd, and could never be mistaken for human.\n\nIt flies off down the path. You see no other way, so [[you follow.|follow]]
<h1>Beware the Faerie Food You Eat</h1>\n\n<h2>A Twine game by <a href="http://astriddalmady.com" target="_blank">Astrid Dalmady</a></h2>\n<h3>This game has not been optimized for mobile browsers.</h3>\n\n<div class="playbutton">[[Enter|opening]]</div>\n\n<div style="text-align:center">[[Credits]]</div><<nobr>><<v>><<endnobr>>\n
“Go,” she says. “And enjoy your reward.”\n\nHer attendant leads you through the halls as you feel anticipation build.\n\nYou’re finally going to see them again.\n\nThey open the door, and [[your eyes land on the figure inside.|ftruth]]
<<remember $visited to 1>>\nYou step over the mushrooms and feel the change immediately. The air reeks of ozone and petrichor, even though it hasn’t rained in days.\n\nTinkling laughter echoes behind you. There is nothing there.\n\n[[Your eyelids are getting heavy.|laughter]]
Mist is thick and cloying, and in the end you have to swim through it. Physically using your arms to propel yourself through the air.\n\nBreathing feels like drowning, even though air enters your lungs.\n\nBut the mist will thin.\n\n[[It must thin.|endswamp]]
Rows and rows of vendors line the streets as imps and brownies, goblins and gremlins of all sizes shout from behind piles of fragrant spices and foreign fruits. \n\nYou have to be careful, lest you step on any of the smaller patrons, but otherwise they let you through without much notice.\n\n¤ [[Examine stalls. You’re sure to never see anything like this again.|stalls]]\n¤ [[Keep pushing through the crowd.|market2]]
As you grow closer, the figure takes shape. It is safe to say he is the most human-like of the beings you’ve met so far, but to call him human would be a mistake.\n\n<<robindesc>>\n\n<span class="fae">“And who might you be, traveler?”</span> His voice is low, brushing against your skin.\n\n¤ [[The Fae hate being lied to. Tell him your name.|name][$trapped +=1]]\n¤ [[Names have power. Do not give him any over you.|noname]]
You gag, and take another bite. Bile rises from your stomach, and you eat again.\n\nThe court is laughing. In the back of your throat, you think you taste a cool wisp of apples, a memory of a drink in a crowded market.\n\nYou finish it, and still you starve.\n\nYou look up at the queen, rot running from your lips and plead, [[“More.”|fend]]
She waves her attendant forward, and he emerges holding a covered platter.\n\n<span class="fae">“Open it,”</span> she says. <span class="fae">[[“And get your reward.”|freward]]</span>
\nA lonely sprite lands on the tip of your nose and giggles, before joining their brethren in the show. That one seems to glow brighter now.\n\n[[Stand up.|move]]
\nYou blink during the show, but the lights remain burned behind your eyes, bright and vibrant.\n\n¤ [[Keep watching.|watch3]]\n¤ [[Stand up.|move]]
Back in your world, a forest like this would ring with bird song and life. But here there is a silence, as if each sound is smothered by the next.\n\nThe snap of twigs under your feet ends quicker than it should, and you swear you hear a river, though the direction it comes from changes.\n\nThe woods are bright, and filled with summer, and you [[continue to walk.|walk]]
A yellow flower blooms in a corner of the maze and you smile. It seems a good omen.\n\n[[Keep walking.|maze2]]
<<nobr>><<if $robin is "fawn">>\nHis curved horns shine in the light as he tracks your journey up to him. His cloven feet tap out a beat upon the stones, but his focus is all on you.<<endif>>\n<<if $robin is "imp">>\nToying with straw in fingers much too long, he tracks your journey up to him with wide eyes. He balances easily on the railing, but his focus is all on you.<<endif>>\n<<if $robin is "fox">>\nWith russet red hair, and yellow eyes, he tracks your journey up to him. His tail flicks lazily over the rushing water, but his focus is all on you.<<endif>>\n<<endnobr>>
A fork in the road sits in front of you, like so many others. But this one is different. A large sign, of lightly colors wood is hung upon the wall between two branching paths. It reads:\n\n<div class="sign">To leave the maze just solve this riddle,\nFind [[a hidden exit|exit]] down the middle.</div>\n\nYou can almost taste the freedom from these walls.\n\n¤ [[Walk left.|maze]]\n¤ [[Walk right.|maze]]\n
You tell him a false name, and he smiles, too wide for human lips.\n\nHe asks about your reasons to be crossing this bridge. His teeth are sharp and glinting under a too-bright sun.\n\n¤ [[Tell him of your quest.|quest]]\n¤ [[Ask for his name in return first.|robinname]]
You carry the flower everywhere. You show it as you tell your story, and drown in the memories of iridescent dew and the Queen’s eyes.\n\nThe flower never wilts.\n\n[[But you do.|aend]]
They cheer as you enter the circle, as you smile, as she teaches you the steps. A twist, a hop, a turn. Each jump is like flying. Each note is breath in your lungs.\n\n[[You dance.|dance2]]
Your feet blister. Your lips are chapped and thirsty. The imp spins around you and laughs. You lift her and slide into the next step.\n\nYour legs are aching. [[You dance.|dance4]]
The notes grow faster, and you keep up easily. The song should be ending soon, and then you’ll be on your way.\n\nBut they don’t stop, so you don’t stop. \n\nYour feet are tired. [[You dance.|dance3]]\n
\nThe laughter doesn’t fade until you begin to wake, slowly, reluctantly. \n\nYou rub your eyes, crusted with sleep, and see where [[the faerie ring has taken you.|glade]]
You can’t reach into your pack. You can’t do anything but dance. \nYour heels shatter in time with the music. Your arms flail. You hunger. You thirst.\n\nThey laugh and sing and dance and skip, and you follow, trapped. \n\nWhen you fall, you dance on your knees, until they’re bloodied and torn and the caps of bone shine pure white in puddles of red.\n\nThe darkness is a blessing, but even after your vision goes black the music takes so much longer to stop.\n<<remember $danceend to 1>>\n<div style="text-align:center">[[You have reached your end.|danceend]]</div>
Now that the fae have shown themselves, it seems that they have ceased to be shy.\n\nOnly a short way ahead, you hear the clamor of voices, and the scent of spices and apples wafts up from multicolored stands.\n\nThey’ve set up a goblin market ahead, and [[the path goes right through it.|market]]
Hunger gnaws at your stomach. You know you won’t make it much further if you don’t have something to eat, so you dig into your pack and pull out one of your energy bars.\n\nIt tastes off, muted, stale. It used to be your favorite, but you don’t think you’ll buy this brand again. \n\nYou tuck the wrapper into your pocket and [[keep walking.|light]]
You stand, tall and proud.\n\nYou have conquered this path and now you will ask for your boon.\n\nYou open your mouth to begin, but before you can start, [[she speaks.|speaks]]
<<nobr>><<if $goal is "gold">>\nthe metallic tang of gold.<<endif>>\n<<if $goal is "family">>\nyour loved one’s perfume.<<endif>>\n<<if $goal is "changeling">>\nhearth and home and welcome.<<endif>>\n<<if $goal is "adventure">>\nadrenaline. You didn’t know it had a smell.\n<<endif>>\n<<endnobr>>
She smiles, and a shiver runs down your back. The lights flicker and you feel your hand go towards the iron knife.\n\nShe savors her response, the tension in the air before she says, <span class="fae"><<answer>></span>
A toll is paid in cash of course. He tosses the bills away, letting them float down the river.\n\nThe coins he nibbles on and reluctantly lets you pass.\n\nWhen you turn back, the bridge is gone, and so is he.\n\nBut now you know where to go, [[on to the castle, and on to the queen.|goblin]]
First one, then another, with a dancing blue glow that reflects off the thick mist. \n\nThere’s a fork in the road. One path descends into the fog, thicker than ever, while the other is lit by tinkling blue lights.\n\n¤ [[Follow the lights.|lights]]\n¤ [[Go into the mist.|mist]]
There seem to be as many tales of the fae as there are names for what they are: The Elves, The Fae, the Kindly Folk.\n\nEach tale weaves a different picture but a common theme easily appears: dealing with the fae rarely ends well for the unwitting people they find.\n\nAnd for those foolish enough to seek them, one rhyme stuck out.\n\n<em>Do not trust what your eyes perceive,\nnor heed the fair folk that you meet.\nAnd if you ever wish to leave,\nBeware the faerie food you eat.</em>\n\n[[You’ll try to remember it.|portal]]
<<nobr>><<set $robin to either("imp", "fawn", "fox")>>\n<<set $queen to either("cats", "serpents", "crows", "thorns")>>\n<<set $trapped to 0>>\n<<set $food to 0>>\n<<forget $goal>>\n<<endnobr>>
\nThe laughter grows louder, as you get more and more tired.\n\nJust a moment, that’s all you need.\n\n[[Just a moment to rest your eyes.|sleep]]
The sun (if it is the sun) is hot against your back, and the crowd makes it even warmer. You’ve been walking for hours and you’ve already drained one of your water bottles.\n\nThrough the heat and the crowd, a woman with pearlescent wings offers you a flagon. A free sample of her wares. \n\n¤ [[Drink her offering and stave of the heat.|drink][$food = 1]]\n¤ [[Finish what little water you have left.|water]]
\nYou aren’t bringing much with you, but what you have is carefully chosen.\n\nSome energy bars for food, and bottles of water: you don’t know how long this will take.\n\nYou also have an iron knife, sharp in its sheath.\n\n[[You hope you won’t have to use it.|portal]]
In a lonely glade in a darkened wood, there is a ring of mushrooms on the ground.\n\nYou step back over into the real world and [[cry and mourn.|fmemory]]
You walk until you reach a river, wide and raging. You could try to go around, but you can’t see where the river would end.\n\nBut there is a bridge with a lonely figure standing halfway. It is [[the only way forward.|bridgerobin]]
<<nobr>>\n<<if visited("robinname") >=1>>\nRobin\n<<else>>\nThe bridge keeper\n<<endif>>\n<<endnobr>>
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A knife carved from moonlight. A fruit that smells like <<goalstall>> \n\nThis place is a wonder, and it is hard to [[tear your eyes away.|market2]]
Water, tasting of rot and filth, fills your nose, your mouth, your lungs.\n\nAbove you, blue lights dance around the pit as you slowly sink.\n\nThey taunt you, and you sink, too tired to fight anymore.\n<<remember $drownend to 1>>\n<div style="text-align:center">[[You have reached your end.|danceend]]</div>
You trudge along and stumble, muck coming up to your ankles, then your knees.\n\nSoon enough, your foot reaches for land, and finds nothing but water.\n\n[[You fall.|pit]]
You never see a light up close though. They wink out as soon as you’re close and the next one appears.\n\nUntil, of course, [[it doesn’t.|alone]]
\nYou know they took a loved one, stole them from you like thieves in the night. You will get them back.\n\n¤ [[Step into the ring.|ring][$goal = "family"]]\n¤ [[No, this isn't why you go.|previous()]]
The sprites, the imps, the wisps are all there. <<rname>>’s eyes gleam from out the crowd. He bares his teeth at you from a distance, or maybe it was a smile.\n\nBut you turn your eyes forward. [[The end, the throne, is finally in sight.|throne]]
Lift one foot, feel the mud drip from the sole as you step. Lift the other, repeat. It is a slow march through soaking ground and humid water.\n\nYou look up and keep the golden spires in sight, even as the dark and the mist begin [[to hide it.|march]]
\nAll your life you’ve felt you’ve never really fit in. Maybe now you’ll finally find your way back home.\n\n¤ [[Step into the ring.|ring][$goal = "changeling"]]\n¤ [[No, this isn't why you go.|previous()]]
You’re inside.\n\nWell not you, but someone who looks and sounds and laughs just like you.\n\nThe copy is sitting with your family. They all look so happy.\n\nYou’d always felt like you didn’t really belong there.\n<<remember $changeend to 1>>\nAnd now, you don’t.\n\n<div style="text-align:center">[[You have reached your end.|danceend]]</div>
And it does. And you come out the other side. In front of you, you see the castle.\n\nIt rises up like something out of a dream. Ivory and gold glinting in the pale light of a non-quite moon.\n\nYou can see clearly that only the gardens stand between you and the palace. Between you and <<goalswamp>>\n\n[[This is the final stretch.|castle]]
<<nobr>><<if $queen is "cats">>\nThe Queen of Cats. Her sable fur stands out before the bleached white of the millions of mice bones that make up her throne. Her yellow eyes pin you as you make it to her throne..<<endif>>\n<<if $queen is "serpents">>\nThe Queen of Serpents. Her scales shimmer in the flickering light as her throne writhes and twists with her kin. She tastes the air as you approach. Do you taste of prey?<<endif>>\n<<if $queen is "crows">>\nThe Queen of Crows. A cloak of wings drapes over her and a throne of straw and bones. The rafters are filled with her kin, her parliament. They all look at you before she does.<<endif>>\n<<if $queen is "thorns">>\nThe Queen of Thorns. Her petals flare like gills from her neck, and the thorns of her throne are as long as your arm. She turns to you, like a flower searching for the sun (or a predator searching for prey).<<endif>>\n<<endnobr>>
<span class="fae">“Your folk have named me Robin, so Robin I shall be. Now will you deign to share the nature of your quest with me?”</span>\n\n[[Tell him. It obviously isn’t a suggestion.|quest]]
But walking fast is hard. The ground begins to give way. Grass turning to moss and lichen as the ground flattens out.\n\nEven on the path, your feet sink into the ground with each step.\n\nThe sky grows darker, and [[mists begin to gather in the valley.|mud]]
This isn’t the stiffness of a bad night's sleep. You try to push yourself up but your hands are covered in liver spots. Your face is covered in wrinkles. \n\nYou look around the wood. It’s grown, and changed and warped.\n\nIt seems you slept for a very, very long time.\n<<remember $ripvend to 1>>\n<div style="text-align:center">[[You have reached your end.|danceend]]</div>
<<nobr>>\n<<if $food is 1>>\n<<goto "foodend">><<endif>>\n<<if ($goal is "gold") and ($food is 0)>>\n<<goto "goldend">><<endif>>\n<<if ($goal is "family") and ($food is 0)>>\n<<goto "familyend">><<endif>>\n<<if ($goal is "changeling") and ($food is 0)>>\n<<goto "changelingend">><<endif>>\n<<if ($goal is "adventure") and ($food is 0)>>\n<<goto "adventureend">>\n<<endif>>\n<<endnobr>>
<<nobr>>\n<<if ($trapped < 2)>>\n[[“Yes.”|yes]]\n<<else>>\n[[“No.”|no]]\n<<endif>>\n<<endnobr>>
Her voice comes from the throne, the air, the walls. It rings in your ears and in your mind and brands itself within you.\n\n<span class="fae">“You have braved a labyrinth and proven yourself wise, survived a swamp and proven yourself enduring.\n\nYou have walked among my people and wandered my land. Why?”</span>\n\n[[Tell her of your quest.|tellher]]
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\n\nAnd right when you’re at your peak, [[you fall.|gfinal]]
You drink and it slips down your through like honey. Your fingers tingle and you smell and taste and feel the presence of apples.\n\nYou’re filled with energy, and practically [[skip out of the market.|hill]]
You’re on the top of the hill, now on the other side. Below the maze is only two turns, something childish and simple.\n\nIt took you hours to complete.\n\nYou force yourself not to [[give in to despair.|swamp]]
\n<div style="text-align:center; font-size:2em;line-height:120%;">Do not trust what your eyes perceive,\nnor heed the fair folk that you meet.\nAnd if you ever wish to leave,\n[[Beware the faerie food you eat.|END]]\n</div>\n
Astrid Dalmady
You end up at a fork with the sign between two paths. What on earth is going on?\n\n<div class="sign">To leave the maze just solve this riddle,\nFind [[a hidden exit|exit]] down the middle.</div>\n\n¤ [[Walk left.|maze4]]\n¤ [[Walk right.|maze4]]\n\n<<if visited() >=3>><div class="hint">Hint: Do not trust what your eyes perceive, for more than red can help you leave.</div><<endif>>
You feel giddy as she calls her attendant forth. They hands you a single flower. One you’ve never seen before on earth. It’s petals gleam like opals, like butterfly wings.\n\n“Go,” she says. “And enjoy your reward.”\n\n[[You are led to a door.|adoor]]
Soon it is dark. The world is light enough to barely see, but the mist is a curtain draped upon the swamp.\n\nBut ahead, [[you see a light.|wisp]]
At first you think they’re children, but soon the group of dancing imps resolves into what they truly are. They spin, and hop and laugh as pan flutes and silver bells keep time.\n \nOnce you grow near, a small imp approaches you. She has wide eyes, a wider smile, and curls like golden straw. She reaches for your hand, and chirps in a language you don’t know, before tugging to ask you to dance.\n\n¤ [[The music is good, and perhaps they could answer your questions. Dance for a while.|dance]]\n¤ [[She doesn’t seem to be able to speak to you. Don’t waste your time.|nodance]]
The door is wooden. Plain. Boring. So unlike anything else you’ve seen here.\n\nBut the longer you look at it the more you realize, it isn’t just boring.\n\nIt’s home.\n\nUnfortunately.\n\nYou walk through, and [[force yourself not to look back.|cwood]]
With the maze at your back, you stumble down the hill, as the sky begins to darken.\n\nYou do not want to know what creatures roam the lands at night, so [[you speed up.|moist]]
You lie upon a blanket of soft grass, and yellow and green light filters through the canopy above. The wind carries the soft scent of apples, and you lie there for a moment just taking it all in.\n\nBut you didn’t come here to relax. You force yourself to [[stand and look around.|stand]]
You enter and begin. \n\nLeft right, then left again. \n\nThe greenery seems to ripple around you, as if it were moving, but you only move closer to the spires. They were fools if they thought this could stop you, even as you backtrack from dead ends.\n\n[[Right, left, and straight ahead.|fork]]
The queen begins to laugh, but you can’t tear your eyes from the fruit. There is a pit in your stomach, gaping and bottomless and it needs to be filled.\n\nYour hand moves, as if on it’s own accord, and picks it up.\n\nIt squishes through your fingers, but that doesn’t stop you from bringing it to your lips, and [[taking a bite.|ffood]]