Vampire Coast

Cold. So cold. The blackness moves around you, crushing and absolute. You try to breathe but you can’t, lungs spasming and muscles screaming in panic. [[A LIGHT]] (set: $hasBlood to false) (set: $hasAlbatrossWoodcut to false) (set: $hasSuspiciousGrog to false) (set: $hasBook to false) (set: $hasPoster to false) (set: $hasMusicBox to false)

You paddle the short distance to the chain and grab on, using it to agonisingly haul yourself up the dockside. You’re exhausted by the time you reach the top, dragging yourself onto the uneven stone and collapsing for a moment to regain your strength. [[LOOK UP]]

You turn and strike out towards the rowing boat – you could use it to escape. Your aching body is just about cooperating, and soon you’re only a few strokes from reaching your goal. [[KEEP GOING]]

With a strangled, spluttering gasp you break the rippling surface above you – water? The sea. Or a sea, anyway. You tread the impenetrably dark salt water as you try and get your bearings. Above you is the source of the light you followed – a bone-white crescent moon wreathed in ominous stars. It illuminates a steep stone dock, a sea-slick chain trailing down to the water from an unused mooring post. Behind you, a solitary rowing boat floats unattended further out in the water. [[SWIM TO THE BOAT]] or [[CLIMB THE CHAIN]]

You see a small, hazy glimmer of light what you assume is above you. Forcing your leaden limbs to cooperate, you drag yourself through the thick and icy dark towards it. [[SURFACE]]

It all happens so fast. Something slides around your ankle and tightens, and before you know it you’re underwater again. Thrashing helplessly as you’re pulled deeper and deeper into the dark, you force your eyes open and look down. Far below, a giant eye looks back up at you. It’s the last thing you see as another inky tendril wraps around your torso and tears you in half. [[THE BEGINNING]]

Craning your neck from your uncomfortable resting place, you see a city looming ahead of you at the end of the dock. Made up of a mass of uneven buildings with flickering windows and moored boats that gently rise and fall with the sea, it’s almost as if it’s alive. You manage to find your feet, lurching unsteadily upright and setting off towards the city. It’s probably all the salt water you swallowed, but you’re suddenly aware of just how thirsty you are. [[ONWARDS]]

You stumble down the dock towards the city in your sodden clothes – one of these blasted buildings has to be a tavern. For a city so large the streets seem strangely quiet, the occasional heated conversation or snatch of guttural laughter floating out of open windows as you pass but nothing more. Against you better judgement you turn into a dark alley, convinced you can smell food of some kind and hoping drink will follow. Then you realise you’re not alone. Wheeling round, you’re met by a scruffy, bearded man holding a well-used – but still extremely sharp – dagger. He bares what teeth he has left in an unpleasant smile. [[RUN]] or [[SWING]]

You turn to flee only for your assailant to grab you by the hair and haul you back. “Don’t you want to die fightin’, coward?” he sneers, releasing you with a shove and readying his blade. [[SWING]]

You clench your hands into fists and do your best to assume some kind of stance despite your growing lightheadedness – your mouth is so dry your tongue feels like a piece of leather, and stabbing pains are starting to needle your insides. Your opponent idly tosses his dagger from one hand to the other as you sway slightly, clearly not seeing you as much of a threat. “Come on then, you drowned rat!” [[ATTACK]] or [[DEFEND]]

You lunge forward, swinging at the man with your fists. One of your frenzied hits connects with his jaw, but he slashes the dagger across your chest in retaliation, narrowly missing your throat. You stumble back, instinctively pressing a hand against the streaming wound and as the mounting adrenaline drowns out the pain [[DEFEND]]

You hang back, well aware that your opponent has a weapon and you have none. By keeping your distance you manage to dodge out of the way of several of the man’s strikes, and as you do so you realise he doesn’t seem too steady on his feet himself. “Fight me, blast you!” he roars in frustration, his foul breath hitting you full in the face – it reeks of rum. Perhaps you can use his inebriation against him… [[SHOVE]]

You wait for the man to swing at you again then ram straight into him as he starts to pitch backwards. He’s completely thrown off balance and starts to topple over, his arms flailing before his head hits the ground with a sickening crack. As you watch his blood start to seep into the cobblestones, your thirst surges anew. [[THIRSTY...]]

You drop to your knees beside your fallen assailant, transfixed as you watch the life slowly ebb out of him. The smell of his blood fills your senses, cloying and metallic, and somewhere beneath the overwhelming desire to drink it you’re horrified (although such thoughts are hard to hear over the bloodlust). You pull the dagger from his stiffening fingers and look down at his exposed throat… [[DRINK]] or [[RESIST]]

Your head spins as you hurry through the alleyway – could you really be…? There must be answers somewhere in this city. [[SHADOWY STREET]]

You just can’t do it. Although your body cries out blood, you’re terrified of what you’ve become – your revulsion at such a heinous act for now outweighs the urge to slake your thirst. You force yourself to stand with gritted teeth and back away. [[GET GOING]]

With barely a moment’s hesitation you open the unfortunate man’s throat with the dagger and fall on him. The whole world fades away into a warm, red haze until you realise there’s nothing left and you’re moments away from licking the remnants from the blood-stained cobblestones. Your terrible thirst is sated (for now). [[GET GOING]] (set: $hasBlood to true)

(if: $hasBook is true)[You stand in a narrow, shadowy street near the edge of the city, the waves still faintly audible as they lap against the docks from whence you came. Buildings crowd in around you, a ramshackle mixture of shops, houses, and storage. At the end of the street is a derelict building that looks like it was gutted by fire some years ago. Opposite you is a busy-looking tavern, the sounds of its patrons’ raucous revelry floating out into the street from within. You can also head down the street, deeper into the city itself. [[DERELICT BUILDING]] or [[DOWN THE STREET]]] (else:)[You stand in a narrow, shadowy street near the edge of the city, the waves still faintly audible as they lap against the docks from whence you came. Buildings crowd in around you, a ramshackle mixture of shops, houses, and storage. At the end of the street is a derelict building that looks like it was gutted by fire some years ago. Opposite you is a busy-looking tavern, the sounds of its patrons’ raucous revelry floating out into the street from within. You can also head down the street, deeper into the city itself. [[DERELICT BUILDING]], [[THE TAVERN]], or [[DOWN THE STREET]]]

(if: $hasAlbatrossWoodcut is true)[You stand among the skeletal remains of a building that has been ravaged by fire. The ash and embers are long since gone, but hints of those that lived here remain. The building also seems to have seen some inhabitants since the fire – makeshift bedding, half-drunk bottles of rum, and trinkets of questionable valued are piled haphazardly into one of the main room’s more intact corners. [[LEAVE]]] (else:)[You stand among the skeletal remains of a building that has been ravaged by fire. The ash and embers are long since gone, but hints of those that lived here remain. The building also seems to have seen some inhabitants since the fire – makeshift bedding, half-drunk bottles of rum, and trinkets of questionable valued are piled haphazardly into one of the main room’s more intact corners. [[SEARCH BELONGINGS]] or [[LEAVE]]]

There are less people in here than you would have expected judging from all the noise. Although not the biggest establishment, the tavern has managed to pack in a good dozen tables, about half of which are occupied. A small but dubiously well-stocked bar is situated a few steps from the entrance, and a ruddy fire crackles fitfully in the hearth. [[THE BAR]], [[THE TABLES]] or [[BACK TO THE STREET]]

You press on down the street – it looks better illuminated this way, at least. [[WOODEN DOCK]]

With little concern for their owner, you set about rifling through the pile of paraphernalia in the corner of the room. Wrapped in a filthy blanket you find a small wooden box tied shut with coarse string. [[OPEN THE BOX]] or [[PUT IT BACK]]

You head back out into the street, ducking under the jagged remains of a fallen beam as you go. [[SHADOWY STREET]]

Using the dagger from your unfortunate friend you cut the string securing the box and flip it open. Inside is a woodcut depicting the broken body of large bird falling into the sea. You fish out a crumpled piece of paper from the bottom of the box – it has the word “ALBATROSS” scrawled across it in a frantic hand, and it’s been underlined several times. [[DERELICT BUILDING]] (set: $hasAlbatrossWoodcut to true)

It’s not really yours to take, is it? You put the box back and cover it with the blanket once more. [[DERELICT BUILDING]]

(if: $hasSuspiciousGrog is true)[You stand at the strangely sticky bar, the wall behind it lined with a selection of irregularly sized brown bottles. The bartender, who is polishing glasses that don’t seem to be getting any cleaner despite this, eyes you warily. [[LEAVE THE BAR]]] (else:)[You stand at the strangely sticky bar, the wall behind it lined with a selection of irregularly sized brown bottles. The bartender, who is polishing glasses that don’t seem to be getting any cleaner despite this, eyes you warily. [[TALK TO BARTENDER]] or [[LEAVE THE BAR]]]

You survey the tables towards the back of the tavern. About half of them are taken up by small groups of people engaged in lively conversation – the drink is definitely flowing freely. At the table nearest the fireplace sits a man in a long, ornate coat and wide-brimmed hat who seems to be poring over a small book. [[TALK TO THE MAN]] or [[LEAVE THE TABLES]]

You head out of the tavern and back into the poorly lit street outside. [[SHADOWY STREET]]

You open your mouth to talk to the bartender, who immediately deposits a chipped glass on the bar top front of you and fills it with a strangely thick brown liquid in response. They don’t seem to be one for small talk. [[THE BAR]] (set: $hasSuspiciousGrog to true)

You step away from the bar and back into the main part of the tavern. [[THE TAVERN]]

(if: $hasSuspiciousGrog is true) [The man sees the full glass in your hand and helps himself, downing it in one. He then looks at your properly for the first time, the intense scrutiny of his gaze making you distinctly uncomfortable. “Your eyes…” he hisses, pocketing the book and half rising from his chair. [[FIGHT]] or [[FLIGHT]]] (else:) [You walk purposefully towards the man sitting by the fireplace… only for him to wave you away. “Bring me a drink,” he snaps, not even bothering to look up. [[THE TABLES]]]

You head away from the tables and back into the main part of the tavern. [[THE TAVERN]]

From the way he’s looking at you and reaching for something under his coat, you’re reasonably sure you don’t want to go toe to toe with this man. You back away rapidly, the other tavern patrons seeming strangely unperturbed by the commotion, and charge back out into the street. [[CATCH YOUR BREATH]]

(if: $hasBlood is true) [You know better than to turn your back on a man like this. You dive across the table, intent on stopping him from getting whatever he seems to be reaching for beneath the folds of his coat. You grab his arm and feel it start to twist in your grip – so you pull it sharply in the opposite direction. The man cries out in shock and pain as the bone snaps in your grasp. [[THE DAGGER]]] (else:) [You know better than to turn your back on a man like this. You dive across the table, intent on stopping him from getting whatever he seems to be reaching for beneath the folds of his coat. You grab his arm, only for him to backhand you with the other. The force of the blow puts you on the floor, and soon he has you by the throat. He starts dragging you backwards, and you realise with dawning horror that he’s pulling you towards the fire. You try and tear yourself free from his grip but you’re too weak, floundering in his grasp as the heat behind you intensifies. With a final lurch the man heaves you into the flames, your skin and hair igniting as easily as kindling. He kicks the grate across the fireplace, trapping you inside and watching dispassionately as the flames consume you. [[THE BEGINNING]]]

You suddenly remember the dagger, but as you reach for it the man charges at you with a furious roar. He collides with you with surprising force, causing you stagger back into the street in order to maintain your balance. He lurches out after you, his ruined limb hanging limply by his side as struggles to pull something out of his coat – you think you see the butt of a pistol glimmer in the street’s sickly light. [[PRESS THE ADVANTAGE]] or [[REASON WITH HIM]]

Well, you would catch your breath if you were still breathing. Moments later, the man in the coat comes striding out into the street, a pair of battered flintlock pistols levelled at straight you. He fires, a bullet burying itself deep in your abdomen. You cry out instinctively, then realise you don’t actually seem to be bleeding and it’s not even that painful. Until it is. Your insides start to burn, putrid smoke pouring from the inexplicably widening wound. As you fall to the ground clawing at your stomach, the man sidles over and points the other pistol at your head. “Disgusting,” he mutters. The click of the trigger is the last thing you hear. [[THE BEGINNING]]

While he’s fumbling for his weapon, you dart forward with the dagger and plunge it deep into his chest. He reflexively grabs your arm, his eyes impossibly wide as he stares at you with an expression somewhere between disbelief and pure, unfettered hatred. The man enthusiastically curses your existence even as the blood begins to bubble up in his throat, slowly sliding to the ground before shuddering and growing still. [[DRINK HIM]] or [[REFRAIN]]

You raise your hands disarmingly, insisting there’s been some kind of mistake and that you can both just go your separate ways. That was all the time he needed, the man having managed to pull out a battered flintlock which he’s now aiming straight at you. He fires, a bullet burying itself deep in your abdomen. You cry out instinctively, then realise you don’t actually seem to be bleeding and it’s not even that painful. Until it is. Your insides start to burn, putrid smoke pouring from the inexplicably widening wound. As you fall to the ground clawing at your stomach, the man sidles over and points the other pistol at your head. “Disgusting,” he mutters. The click of the trigger is the last thing you hear. [[THE BEGINNING]]

You don’t hesitate this time, ripping out the dagger and drinking straight from the seeping wound. You’re a few mouthfuls in before your tongue starts to burn. Then your throat. Then your stomach. Soon, searing arcs of pain are wracking your entire body. As you convulse on the cobblestones, you dimly wonder what antithetic vileness could have been in the man’s blood before the pain overwhelms you and you slip into an all-encompassing darkness from which you never awaken. [[THE BEGINNING]]

Blood wells forth anew as you remove the dagger from his chest but you stop yourself – something isn’t quite right with this man, and despite the ever-present thirst burning at the back of your mind you feel like it might be best not to imbibe. Looking down, you notice the book he had been so engrossed in at the tavern has fallen out of his pocket and onto the ground. [[TAKE A LOOK]]

You pick up the book and spend a few moments leafing through it. It’s filled from cover to cover with frenzied writings in a variety of similar but different hands, and while it’s hard to discern a common theme you do note that none of the authors seem to be particularly fond of lizards. You pocket the book and hurry down the street away from the rapidly exsanguinating body. [[SHADOWY STREET]] (set: $hasBook to true)

Although you thought you were heading away from the docks, you now find yourself standing at another – this is certainly a city of seafarers. Unlike the stone one you crawled onto earlier, this is a series of precarious wooden structures that don’t look like they would stand up against a group of rowdy pedestrians let alone a storm. Nestled implausibly beneath it is a small, dingy shop with barred windows, a lopsided sign identifying its alleged occupation as a junk shop. Moored at the dock itself is a huge ship, its cavernous hull and tattered sails looming far above the rickety structure alongside it. [[THE SHIP]], [[JUNK SHOP]], or [[UP THE STREET]]

You approach the ship, it towering over you as you stand on the tiny dock alongside it. A steep gangplank leads up to the deck, the moonlight filtering through the ripped sailcloth above. [[CLIMB ABOARD]]

(if: $hasPoster is true)[The junk shop’s door and ceilings are uncomfortably low, forcing you to stoop as you try and make your way around. Dingy is an understatement. Not only is it night outside, but inside the shop there are only a handful of dim light sources – squat stumps of candles that are all too close to burning out completely. As for the shop’s wares: “junk” certainly appears to be an accurate description. Piles upon piles of useless trinkets are spread across every available surface, mixed in with heaps of battered books, stuffed animals, and – oddly – seashells. The proprietor is also nowhere to be seen. [[BROWSE]] or [[BACK TO THE DOCK]]] (else:)[The junk shop’s door and ceilings are uncomfortably low, forcing you to stoop as you try and make your way around. Dingy is an understatement. Not only is it night outside, but inside the shop there are only a handful of dim light sources – squat stumps of candles that are all too close to burning out completely. As for the shop’s wares: “junk” certainly appears to be an accurate description. Piles upon piles of useless trinkets are spread across every available surface, mixed in with heaps of battered books, stuffed animals, and – oddly – seashells. The proprietor is also nowhere to be seen. [[BROWSE]], [[LOOK THROUGH THE WINDOW]], or [[BACK TO THE DOCK]]]

You head back the way you came towards the shadows of the street before. [[SHADOWY STREET]]

You root through the shop’s wares with great determination, but it’s just as you expect – junk. At one point you manage to put your hand on a particularly strange trinket – square and made of some kind of questionable metal with a large glass jewel set in its centre. Is it… glowing? No, it’s just a trick of this awful light. [[JUNK SHOP]]

You peer through the grimy barred window and out into the night – then realise there’s something obscuring your view. Stuck to the filthy pane is a yellowing poster, upon which you can just about make out the outline of majestic figure wearing an elaborate headdress and arms spread wide. The headline is too sun-bleached to read, but you think you can just about make out the Bretonnian coat of arms in one of the corners. [[JUNK SHOP]] (set: $hasPoster to true)

You duck out of the junk shop and carefully head back up onto the dock. [[WOODEN DOCK]]

(if: $hasAlbatrossWoodcut is true and $hasBook is true and $hasPoster is true)[You now stand on the ship’s main deck. The mast stands vertiginously tall above you, ragged sails flickering in the sea breeze. Above you hangs the same sickle moon that greeted you when this cursed night began. The uncomfortably quiet deck stretches before you, a large hatch – curiously open – set in its centre. [[EXPLORE]], [[BELOW DECK]], or [[DISEMBARK]]] (else:)[You start heading up the gangplank only to find a strange woman at the other end, blocking you from boarding the ship. She is deathly pale and her eyes impossibly dark and fixed on yours. “Leave,” she says evenly, although there’s the ghost of a smile on her lips. [[DO AS YOU'RE TOLD]] or [[PUSH PAST]]]

You decide against challenging her, and clamber back down the gangplank and onto the dock. [[WOODEN DOCK]]

You go to push past her – you’ll not let this wench impede you. The woman’s smile widens – unnaturally so. In fact, the entire lower half of her face seems to split open into a mouthful of spiny teeth as she leers at you unpleasantly. She grabs you by the throat, lifting you clean off the gangplank as effortlessly as if you were a ragdoll. “Manners may not be part of the Code but I will not stand for such rudeness,” she chastises, her grip tightening as she hurls you head-first into the lethally rocky shoreline below. [[THE BEGINNING]]

You pace the deck, trying to get a better idea of the nature of the strangely silent ship you’ve just boarded. Aside from the lack of a crew, it seems otherwise unremarkable and perfectly shipshape. [[CLIMB ABOARD]]

You approach the conspicuously open hatch in the centre of the deck and peer in – it’s dark down there. Unperturbed, you carefully make your way down the wooden stairs… only for the hatch to slam shut about you. [[LANTERN]]

You head back down the gangplank to the rickety wooden dock below. [[WOODEN DOCK]]

With the hatch above you now shut, it’s almost pitch black in here. Luckily you spy a lantern hanging from a hook on a nearby wall, which you take in order to light you way. [[INTO THE BELLY OF THE BEAST]]

You press onwards into the darkness, running you hand along the walls as you go to try and get a better sense of the ship’s layout. The darkness seems almost preternatural, with the light from your lantern barely appearing to illuminate more than a few feet in front of you. Eventually you reach the end of whatever corridor you were travelling down – another branches left, the other right. [[LEFT]] or [[RIGHT]]

This room is more a storage cupboard than anything, and is packed with provisions for a long voyage. [[INVESTIGATE]]

(if:$hasMusicBox is true)[Although you can’t tell for sure due to the encroaching blackness, the way the air feels in this room makes you think it’s quite large. As you carefully feel your way round, you find a large table in its centre, a chest to one side, and a strange statue in a corner. [[THE TABLE]], [[THE STATUE]], or [[GO BACK]]] (else:)[Although you can’t tell for sure due to the encroaching blackness, the way the air feels in this room makes you think it’s quite large. As you carefully feel your way round, you find a large table in its centre, a chest to one side, and a strange statue in a corner. [[THE TABLE]], [[THE CHEST]], [[THE STATUE]], or [[GO BACK]]]

Holding up the lantern, you poke around in the piles of stored food to see if there’s anything of note. At first there doesn’t seem to be, until your hand brushes against something that gives unexpectedly. [[PUSH]] or [[LEAVE IT ALONE]]

You push against whatever it was that started to give way, lifting the lantern towards it to try and get a better look. You arm appears to be half way through a damp piece of timber, the impenetrable darkness of the ship filling the hole beyond. Until a small, glittering eye opens. Then another. Then another. With a flurry of excited chittering something sharp suddenly hooks through the flesh of your forearm, and whatever it is at the other end of it attempts to forcibly pull you through the insufficiently large gap. You’re vaguely aware of the surrounding timber crushing you as you’re dragged to your death. [[THE BEGINNING]]

You decide you’ve spent enough time rummaging through this storage cupboard and retreat back into the main corridor. [[INTO THE BELLY OF THE BEAST]]

Your lift your lantern over the large wooden table and study its surface. A highly detailed map depicting the Lustrian coast is carved therein, although its intricacy is marred by a number of ugly crosses that somebody seems to have stabbed into it with a far cruder tool. [[RIGHT]]

Examining the chest up close reveals it to be strangely ornate, studded with seashells and… bones? What looks like ribs spike up from either side of the lid, while on top sits a strange horned skull, its empty eye sockets staring up at you. [[LOOK INSIDE]] or [[LEAVE THE CHEST]]

(if: $hasAlbatrossWoodcut is true and $hasBook is true and $hasPoster is true and $hasMusicBox is true)[You approach the statue in the corner and let the light from your lantern spill over it. It looks mostly human (mostly), and stands almost a foot taller than you. Despite the fact that this room seems to be completely dry, the statue appears to be covered in all the sorts of things you would expect to find on the bottom of a ship: barnacles, seaweed, and even the odd shell, all of which seem to shimmer damply in the light. Suddenly you head a handful of discordant chimes – the music box you retrieved from the chest seems to have started playing of its own accord. [[TAKE OUT THE MUSIC BOX]]] (else:)[You approach the statue in the corner and let the light from your lantern spill over it. It looks mostly human (mostly), and stands almost a foot taller than you. Despite the fact that this room seems to be completely dry, the statue appears to be covered in all the sorts of things you would expect to find on the bottom of a ship: barnacles, seaweed, and even the odd shell, all of which seem to shimmer damply in the light. [[RIGHT]]]

You carefully make your way back to the main corridor in the darkness. [[INTO THE BELLY OF THE BEAST]]

You carefully lift the lid of the chest and, against your better judgement, reach inside. Despite its size, there’s only one thing in here: a small music box made from what appears to be driftwood. You crack it open and a few bars of an old sea shanty that sounds strangely familiar echo in the dark. [[RIGHT]] (set: $hasMusicBox to true)

You decide you don’t really want to look inside this grotesquely decorated chest, backing away from it just in case. [[RIGHT]]

You take out the music box, open it, and hold it up in front of the statue. The familiar strains of a pirate shanty ring out, filling the oppressive darkness of the room as a tiny fanged skull turns in its centre (how gauche). With a terrible grinding sound, the statue starts to move, somehow descending into the deck. Moments later a horrific stench assaults your senses, and everything in the room starts to slide to one side. [[HANG ON]]

You try to grab onto a piece of furniture but it starts to move. You reach for another but that’s already moving too. Before you know it, the whole room has pitched vertical and you’re falling towards what was once a wall. You start to hear terrible groaning sounds. [[MOVING]]

The darkness around you now seems to be seething and twisting, and before long a gaggle of broken undead bodies are climbing down the ceilings and walls towards you. In fact, the whole ship seems to be moving around you in slow, methodical jolts. You look down through what was once the door but there are even more of those wailing creatures crawling up to meet you. [[THE END?]]

Strange laughter rattles out from somewhere above you, the creatures around you suddenly stopping their advance. As look you look up, you see two red points of light glinting at you from whatever part of the “ship” now serves as a roof. “Looking for a crew, are you?” a deep disembodied voice asks. [[YES]] [[YES?]] [[YES...]]

THE END

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