Ice gift hunt 2

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Welcome to ''"Ice gift hunt"'', a game based on the sci-fi webcomic (link:"GIFTS OF WANDERING ICE")[(goto-url:"http://giftscomic.com")].</a> Don't worry, you can play it even if you haven't read the comic, but it'd be more interesting if you had. "Ice gift hunt" is a so-called choose-your-own-adventure game". Remember: your choices matter! Also: each little story in this game is a piece of a puzzle. Playing them all is worth it ;) =><= ''Good hunting!'' [[BEGIN THE GAME -> Spring]] <== <img src="http://giftscomic.com/images/extras/games/icegifthunt/logo.jpg" =><= ''Like the game?''

Good! Hunters inhabit the biggest island and get most of the ice gifts. --- ''How old are you, hunter?'' --- [[child -> hchild]] [[teenager -> hteen]] [[adult -> hadult]]

Good! Cave dwellers inhabit a rocky island which have ice caves, most of them still unexplored. --- ''How old are you, cave dweller?'' --- [[child -> cdchild]] [[teenager -> cdteen]] [[adult -> cdadult]]

You are a child and you know your survival rhymes well, especially the one about ice gifts: //"Five little hunters came to the shore. One found the ice gift, and then there were four. That's what we hunters now teach our kids: You want to live? Don't touch the ice gifts!"// But you are curious about the ice gifts anyway! And some other kids even have their own, and are so proud of them. You want one too! --- ''So, what's the plan?'' --- [[Pretend you are going to look for seashells on the nearest beach. Take a basket with you. Go to the western beach instead. ->mutegirl]] [[Pretend you are going solo hunting. Take a knife and ropes with you. Go to the winged mountain instead. ->stash]] [[There is a boy who is said to have a few ice gifts in his posession. Pay him a visit. Maybe he will trade them for something? ->trade]]

You are a teenager. Sure, you remember your survival rhymes and is not permitted to go looking for ice gifts, but, really, who can stop you? --- ''So, where will you go?'' --- [[To the beach near one of Mutes' camps. Sea washes lots of ice shards ashore there. ->mutebeach]] [[To the swamp island, the most dangerous place you know. ->swamp]] [[To your mother's tent. Try to persuade your mother take you to the ice gift hunt with her. ->mother]]

You've had a lot of forbidden ice gift hunts when you were a kid. Right now you are not so free and reckless as you used to be. Though you still have to deal with ice gifts and problems they create from time to time. --- ''What's your profession?'' --- [[Hunter. ->ahunter]] [[Shaman. ->ashaman]] Cook (coming soon)

This is your first ice gift hunt. Your mother worries about you. After all, some ice gifts can be dangerous, especially for a child. You are allowed to go for a short walk only, and, of course, unexplored ice caves are are not even an option: only adults go there, and only in groups! --- ''Where will you go?'' --- [[To the nearest beach with the other kids -> beach]] [[To the beach on the other side of your island, alone ->farbeach]] [[To the nearest ice cave, disobeying your mother -> childcave]]

You are a teenager. Your mother worries about you, but she can not do much to stop you from going looking for adventures, so you are free to go to your ice gift hunt if you wish. The only forbidden location for you is the unexplored area in the ice caves. Only adults normally go there, and only in groups. --- ''Where will you go?'' --- [[To the beach, early in the morning. ->tbeach]] [[To the uninhabited island not far away from yours. ->island]] [[To the ice caves, disobeying your mother! ->icecave]]

You are an adult. Ice gift hunts are no longer adventures to you but a sourse of problems, mostly. Still, you have to deal with them from time to time. --- ''What's your profession, cave dweller?'' --- [[Healer. ->cdhealer]] [[Gardener. ->cgardener]] [[Househusband. ->cdhousehusband]]

What a good and obedient child you are! You are going to the beach with other kids just like you were told. Of course, you understand you don't have much chance to find anything really good. Adults and teens must've already picked up all the interesting ice gifts themselves. Little kids are allowed to play on this beach only because it is totally safe now (and totally boring!). --- ''What will you do?'' --- [[Look for the ice gifts in the sand. ->rubberduck]] [[Leave picking trash to your friends and go the the other beach, alone. ->farbeach]]

You sneak past the doorkeeper and enter the ice caves. The museum area is familiar to you: you've been here often with other children. There are lots of animals and plants frozen in the ice. Ancient behemoths with sharp teeth and long tusks. Strange trees. The famous raptor defetead by Rita... You pass them all, little lantern flickering in your hands, and approach the door you've been forbidden to open. It leads to the unexplored area. And it's unlocked! As if someone has been waiting for you to enter... You open the door a crack. It's pitch black inside the tunnel. There may be monsters waiting for you there. Maybe disobeying your mother wasn't a good idea after all? <img src="http://giftscomic.com/images/extras/games/icegifthunt/loc_museum.jpg" --- ''What will you do?'' --- [[I'll just look inside real quick! -> childcavemin]] [[I'll go in for a couple of hours and be right back! -> childcavehour]] [[I'll go as deep as I can, I'll be there for a whole day! -> childcaveday]]

You take a few minutes to explore the tunnel. You left the door open, just in case. Light coming from the museum and your lantern makes the icy walls glow and sparkle. That way they are not scary at all! You don't venture far, but also don't find anything. You are about to go back when you notice something shiny in the darkness farther in the tunnel. --- ''Will you risk going there to find out what it is?'' --- [[Yes! I can't go home without an ice gift! -> badge]] [[No! I'm afraid. I'd rather go home right now. -> cdnogift]]

You enter the tunnel closing the door behind you and begin your journey. You have several candles in your pocket, each lasts for an hour, that's how you will measure time. You're not going to be here longer than two hours, so nothing can go wrong, right? The tunnel turns left, then right, then left again, and you enter a wide cave with several passages leading out of it. --- ''Which one will you choose?'' --- [[Left]] [[Central]] [[Right]] [[No thanks! I'll just explore the cave and go home. -> frozenhuman]]

You are a very brave (or maybe even reckless) child. You've been dreaming of joining an expedition to the unknown since you were a toddler and can not wait any longer. You packed everything you needed for your jorney in advance: a bedroll, lots of candles, food, hot tea in thermos bottle, and even a weapon: a sharpened pen-knife. How cool would it be if you found a relic (an ancient battery)! You'd be your tribe's new hero then! You close the museum door and venture into the darkness of the unexplored ice cave. It's a bit scary there, you must admit, but you're not going back now. --- [[Onward! -> onward]]

Congratulations! You've found an ancient badge with some strange symbol on it. Too bad you can not show it to anyone lest they know you've been in the ice caves. You'd be punished if someone knew. Anyway, trophy is a trophy. Maybe next time you'll find something even better. <img src="http://giftscomic.com/images/extras/games/icegifthunt/badge2.jpg" (display: "ending")

You return home empty handed. Well, at least you haven't got into any trouble. Better luck next time! (display: "ending")

You chose to follow the left passage, the one with the highest ceiling. It goes straight for a while, then turns left, then right, then branches in three. --- ''What passage will you chose?'' --- [[Left. -> purplemoss]] [[Central. -> lost]] [[Right. -> lrcave]]

The central tunnel goes straight for a long time. It's full of little curiosities, possibly, ancient trash. You watch the little ice gifts sparkle under your feet as you go, but they are too deep under the ice, it's no use trying to reach them with your little pen-knife. The tunnel turns left, then right, then branches in three. --- ''Where will you go now?'' --- [[To the left. -> lrcave]] [[Straight agead. -> purplemoss]] [[To the right. -> lost]]

The tunnel goes straight for a long time, then branches in two. --- ''Where will you go?'' --- [[Left. -> lost]] [[Right. ->door]]

You carefully explore the cave holding your little lantern high above your head. It's dark and cold, and quiet. So quiet that your imagination runs wild inventing one horror scenario after another. You've replaced the first candle in your lantern. Will you stay here longer or it's time to go home before something horrible happens? --- [[Yes, let's go home! -> cdnogift]] [[No, I'm not going home without a trophy! -> frozenhuman2]] --- Or maybe you want to try one of the tunnels you've seen? --- [[Left]] [[Central]] [[Right]]

It is spring, the time when huge icebergs come to the shores of your island and melt under the sun. They always bring strange things with them, things of the past, artefacts of civilizations long dead and forgotten. The ice gifts. You want to try your luck and go looking for some. But before you go, tell us a bit about yourself. --- ''Which tribe are you from?'' --- [[Hunters]] [[Cave dwellers]] --- ''Cave dwellers'' are tech savvy people who are curious about ice gifts and anything new in general. They prefer vegetarian food and are more interested in science than art (most of them still draw like kids). The most common pet for a cave dweller kid is an owl. Also, cave dwellers are okay with cold climate they have in the mountains. ''Hunters'' are artistic people who rely on realistic images and songs instead of symbols in a book if they want to tell a story. They eat lots of meat, often fight for fun, and adore cats. Their wedding ceremonies are quiet and poetic, without oaths and guests. Hunter families usually have three or more kids.

Weak, trembling light of your lantern does little to chase the darkness. It thickens around you, menacing, almost palpable. You are cold and scared. --- ''Will you go on with your search?'' --- [[Yes! -> frozenhuman3]] [[No! I'm going home before it's too late. -> cdnogift]]

You've finally found your ice gift but you regret it with all your heart. A dead man stares at you through the ice, his eyes wide open, his skin torn, scarlet clouds of blood frozen beside his face. You run away screaming. For many years you will see this dead man in your nightmares, sometimes staying still and watching you with unblinking eyes, sometimes trying to grab and eat you, sometimes succeeding at it. You should've listened to your mother, after all. Unexplored ice caves are not a joke. <img src="http://giftscomic.com/images/extras/games/icegifthunt/frozen.jpg" (display: "ending")

The passage you chose goes down and down, gradually becoming more and more steep. Finally, you slip and slide down the icy slope so fast you can not stop. The worst thing: you drop your lantern on the way. Now you sit on the cold floor in complete darkness, scared and sobbing, and have to decide what to do next. --- ''You haven't gone very far. Maybe someone will rescue you? But, on the other hand, you came here in secret. How much time will pass before anyone realizes you need help at all?'' --- [[Wait for the rescue team. -> wait]] [[Try to fing a way out on your own. -> go]]

The passage makes a few turns then goes straight for a while and opens into a big cave... Wait a minute... you've already been here! --- ''Where to now?'' --- [[To the left ->Left]] [[Straight ahead ->Central]] [[To the right ->Right]] [[No thanks! I'll just explore the cave and go home. -> frozenhuman]]

Lucky choice! You stumble upon the ice gift. And what a cool one! You're not sure what it exactly is but it looks like the cutest purple plant you've ever seen. And it's warm to the touch! You take it home and plant it secretly behind your cave. Years will pass, though, before you learn of its origin and importance. <img src="http://giftscomic.com/images/extras/games/icegifthunt/purplemoss500.jpg" (display: "ending")

It's getting colder. The darkness is so thick there is no difference whether your eyes are open or not. You don't know how long you've been here. You don't feel your toes and nose. Will you die here, frozen to death?.. --- ''What now?'' --- [[Wait some more. -> wait2]] [[Try to fing a way out on your own. -> go]]

You wander the ice caves in the dark. You are scared and cold and have no idea where you are. After a while you begin to hear things. There are strange sounds agead of you. Voices. But who is waiting for you in the dark: people or monsters? --- ''Will you try to find the source of the strange sounds?'' --- [[Yes! It's my only hope. ->voice2]] [[No, it's a monster! It will eat me! ->cdead]]

It hurts at first, but then the pain fades away, replaced by illusional warmth in your little body and drowsiness in your head. You are so sleepy... --- ''But will you sleep here?'' --- [[Sleep. ->sleep]] [[Stay awake. ->awake]]

You fell asleep in the cold, dark ice cave. Your rescuers came by some time after, they called your name, but you didn't answer them. They found you eventually, but it was too late. Rest in peace, little cave dweller. You should've listened to your mother. (display: "ending")

You struggle to stay awake. It gets harder and harder as time passes. You begin to hear things, or do you really hear things? Someone is calling your name. But who? Is it a monster or a rescuer? In this state, you are not sure anymore. --- ''What will you do?'' --- [[Answer the call. ->rescue]] [[Do not answer. ->sleep]]

The rescue team reaches you just in time. The only ice gifts you recieved today are frostbites, but at least you are alive. Choose a safer place for your ice gift hunt next time! (display: "ending")

You don't bother exploring the territory near the museum carefully. Everything valuable must've been already picked up there. You venture deeper into the labiryth of passages counting and remembering turns as you go. You are a smart kid. Everything seems to go according to the plan. You are immensely proud of yourself. --- ''However, you are beginning to feel hungry and cold. Will you stop for a snack and a cup of hot tea from thermos?'' --- [[Yes. ->snack]] [[No. I'd rather press forward. ->nosnack]]

You stop for a snack. You've got a loaf of bread with you and an apple. The tea is hot and good. You feel warmth spreading through your body. But what is this? While are were packing your thermos back, you heard voices, or at least something like voices! Warmth, and joy, and pride are gone in an instant. For the first time, it strucks you that you are just a little kid armed with a pen-knife, alone in the darkness deep below the ground. And there is someone, or something walking, or crawling, or creeping toward you. --- ''What will you do?'' --- [[Run away quickly! ->panic]] [[Dim the lantern and investigate the sourse of the voices ->voice]]

There is no time for snacks! Adventure awaits! You continue without lunch. Your brain doesn't respond kindly to such negligience: after a couple of hours you become absent-minded because of hunger and cold and forget to count a turn. Oh no! Now the map you've been making in your head since the beginning is useless. You don't know where you are. --- ''What will you do?'' --- [[Camp right here and wait for the rescue team. ->camp]] [[Try to find your way back on your own. ->door]]

You run away in panic and do not stop until the voices you heard fade to silence again. You light a new candle and stop to rest a little bit. After some time you realize: you haven't been counting turns as you ran! The map you've been keeping in your head since the beginning is useless now. You don't know where you are. --- ''What will you do?'' --- [[Camp right here and wait for the rescue team. ->camp]] [[Try to find your way back on your own. ->door]]

You cover your lantern with a scarf to dim the light and start carefully toward the voices. As you approach, it becomes clear that they definitely do not belong to monsters; your spirits rise again. However, your recklessness and cave echo play a trick with you and as you turn left you meet the owners of the voices face to face, no time to think or run away. They are teenagers (ah-ha! now you know who opened the museum door!) and are as scared to see you as much as you are scared to see them: they shouldn't be here either. --- ''What will you do?'' --- [[Offer them all your valuables (pen-knife, food, and tea) so they wouldn't tell on you. ->bribe]] [[Threaten you'd tell on them instead. ->threat]] [[Cry like a helpless baby and beg them to take you home. ->cry]]

You crawl into your bedroll and wait for the rescue team. You've been waiting for about five hours (five candles have burnt in your lantern, an hour each), you ate all your snacks, drank all your tea, and finally fell asleep in your bedroll. That's how the rescue team found you: cosily curled up and snoring. Everything ended well for you that day. You haven't found any ice gifts, and your mother grounded you for a month, but at least you weren't hurt in any way and had an exsciting adventure. (display: "ending")

You've been wandering in the ice caves for four hours (four candles have burnt in your lantern, one hour each) and still haven't found the way back. The farther you go the stranger everything looks. Metal walls and floors emerge from the ice in some places. You've found an ancient building, or maybe even a city! Soon, an ancient door stands before you. It has no handle, but there must be a way to open it. You wonder what's behind it: relics, traps, monsters?.. --- ''What will you do?'' --- [[Touch the door. ->open]] [[Camp right here so that when the rescue party finds you they would see what you have found. ->campdoor]] <img src="http://giftscomic.com/images/extras/games/icegifthunt/icegift_door.jpg"

The teens laugh at you good-naturedly and accept your food and tea, leaving you the pen-knife, and promise not to tell on you if you don't tell on them. It appears they had had a good ice gift hunt. They found some ancient weapons: guns. They show their finds to you, clearly proud of themselves, and then take you with them. You spend the rest of your day in their company. That's the first time you hang out with big girls. They praise your bravery, tell you funny stories, and are generally nice to you. It almost seems they treat you as an equal. Well, isn't that cool! You return home empty-handed, but at least you haven't got into any trouble, had an exciting day, and made a few friends. (display: "ending")

You threaten to tell on them if they don't give you something from the ice gifts they found. Begrudgingly, the teens agree. It appears they had a very lucky ice gift hunt: they found a stash of ancient weapons: guns. You are also given one, for your silence. Wow! Your own gun! In doesn't work (most ice gifts don't), but it's still cool. Also, the teens walk you back home, so you woundn't get lost. They don't like you and call you uppish little brat, but they are responsible girls and can not leave a child in danger. You return home in one piece, and with a cool ice gift! Too bad you can not show it to anyone lest they know you've been in the ice caves. You'd be punished if someone knew. You put the gun in a secret box under your bed and check on it from time to time, fascinated by the ancient thing. <img src="http://giftscomic.com/images/extras/games/icegifthunt/gun.jpg" One day, you will go ice hunting again! (display: "ending")

You burst in tears, terrified of what will happen if they tell on you, and beg them not to. The girls laugh at you good-naturedly and offer you some dried fruit and hot tea to cheer you up. They also show you the cool things they found: ancient weapons, guns! The sight of them dries the last tears in your eyes. You wish you had had one too! The girls walk you home and even keep silent about where you've been. You return from the ice gift hunt empty-handed, but at least you haven't got into any trouble and had an exciting day. Better luck next time! (display: "ending")

You press your palm against the door. It hums quietly, as if thinking whether you are worthy, then it speaks, in a human voice, but in a language so distorted and strange that you barely understand the words. "Wrong psi-profile. Access denied". Then it falls silent again. --- [[Camp before the door and wait for the rescue party. ->campdoor2]]

You camped before the door and waited for the rescue party. It was a long wait. You ran out of candles, food, and tea and was miserably shivering in you bedroll in utter darkness when they found you. They weren't happy to see the door at all, as if they knew about it already but they didn't tell you anything. Disappointed, cold, and hungry, you were returned home. Your mother was terrified at learning where you've been, and forbade going to ice gift hunts for years after this. You still wonder what was behind that door. (display: "ending")

You camp before the door and wait for the rescue party. It was a long wait. You ran out of candles, food, and tea and was miserably shivering in you bedroll in utter darkness when they found you. They weren't happy to see the door at all, as if they knew about it already but they didn't tell you anything. Disappointed, cold, and hungry, you were returned home. Your mother was terrified at learning where you've been, and forbade going to ice gift hunts for years after this. You still wonder what was behind that door and why didn't it think you worthy of entering the secret place. (display: "ending")

You haven't found anything interesting. You've picked a few colorful shells and rocks, though. Your friends are bored with the search and want to play instead. --- ''Will you go play with them?'' --- [[Yes, let's play! -> cdnogift]] [[Let them go and continue looking for the ice gifts alone. ->rubberduck2]]

You go to the far beach alone. It's a bit rebellious for a kid your age, but not really dangerous. At least, you think so. You take a look around. The beach is mostly made of hexagonal basalt with occasional piles of sand here and there. Icebergs do not come here, ever. But sometimes little ice gifts can be washed ashore. And since few people come here, you have a chance to find something interesting. Only you're not alone. You see a little figure overlooking the beach from the nearby cliff. Another kid. The cliff is easy to climb onto, so you can talk to the little stranger if you wish. --- ''Will you?'' --- [[Yes. I'd like to meet a new friend. ->talk]] [[No. I'd rather look for the ice gifts in the sand. ->naushell]]

You notice a strange yellow object moving across the beach. It turns out to be a hermit crab with a house on its back which is in fact an ancient toy that looks like an ugly duckling. But you like it anyway. You don't want to leave the poor creature homeless and find a good big shell for it. The hermit crab willingly swaps the toy duck for a new, bigger home, and you keep the ice gift. Well, not the biggest trophy, but at least you are not going home empty-handed! Next time you'll find something really good! <img src="http://giftscomic.com/images/extras/games/icegifthunt/duck.jpg" (display: "ending")

You climb onto the cliff and take a closer look at the stranger. It's a hunter boy several years older than you. His hair is unkempt and ruffled, his clothes are worn-out leather shirt and pants. Also, it seems something is wrong with his left leg: it is bandaged and there is a cane lying next to the kid. He looks lonely, you approach him and start a conversation. You learn that his name is Nikt, he is indeed a hunter, and is limping on his left leg after some incident. He also calls himself "an exile". You don't understand what it means, but it doesn't sound good. After a while, your new friend says: "Come with me, I'll show you something cool!" --- ''Will you follow the strange boy?'' --- [[Yes! I'm curious of what he wants to show me! ->dinoscull]] [[No! I don't trust him. I'd rather go home -> cdnogift]]

(if: $trash is "naushell")[The beach is mostly hexagon shaped rocks crawling with crabs. Trying to avoid their pincers, you carefully search the occasional piles of sand and debris for the ice gifts.](else:)[You feel the stranger's gaze on you as you start searching, but the kid doesn't approach and you stop noticing her (or him?) after a while.] You've found a beautiful ammonite shell. Elders say these are much older than any human made ice gift. <img src="http://giftscomic.com/images/extras/games/icegifthunt/ammonite.jpg" Cool! Happy with your find, you are going home. (display: "ending")

You follow the boy down the cliff and into one of the caves. He picks up his bag and lantern at the entrance, lights a candle in the lantern and gives it to you. You enter the cave together. You light the way, Nikt shows where to go. You've never seen caves like this one. Basalt columns here are funny: they have curved, sometimes wavy shapes and are striped with blue, orange, green, yellow, and red in different combinations. You marvel at them with your mouth open. The cave has a single tunnel with just a few turns and no branches, no labirynth here. It comes to a dead end soon and you find youself standing under the sky again: you see it through the huge hole in the cave's ceiling. Nikt points at something several steps away from him with his cane. --- [[Come closer and take a look. ->dinoscull2]]

You come closer and see a petrified skull of a sharp-toothed ancient monster. It's half-buried into the ground and looks really scary, in a cool way. You jump around it in delight, you count its teeth, you ask Nikt lots of questions which he answers with a lazy smile. You wish you could take the skull with you, but it's impossible, because you can not remove it from the rock it became one with. But Nikt says you can come here whenever you wish to look at it. And you will! <img src="http://giftscomic.com/images/extras/games/icegifthunt/icegift_dino.jpg" (display: "ending")

The beach is usually a kids' hunting ground, but it's worth the search early in the morning after the grown-ups have finished inspecting it. They take the coolest stuff with them, of course, but sometimes they overlook things or sea washes ashore something new after they leave. You wake up early, go to the beach and hide there until grown ups leave. Then it's all yours. Take your chance before other teens arrive! --- [[Search for the ice gifts in the sand. ->tsand]] [[Take a look around. ->look]]

The uninhabited island is a bare rock made of hexagonal basalt. No grass, no animals, no metals, nothing. No wonder it's uninhabited. But it stands in the way of the icebergs and sometimes also gets "gifts". Worth a try. A single cable way leads there. You take it --- [[Explore the island. ->explore]]

You sneak past the doorkeeper and enter the ice caves. The museum area is familiar to you: you've been here often with other students. There are lots of animals and plants frozen in the ice. Ancient behemoths with sharp teeth and long tusks. Strange trees. The famous raptor defetead by Rita... You pass them all, little lantern flickering in your hands, and approach the door you've been forbidden to open. It leads to the unexplored area. And it's closed! What were you hoping for? Disappointed, you turn back. But the day is far from over. You still have time to pay the uninhabited island a visit, of you can join your friends on the beach. <img src="http://giftscomic.com/images/extras/games/icegifthunt/icecave.jpg" --- ''What will you do?'' --- [[I'll join my friends. ->tsand2]] [[I'll go to the uninhabited island, alone. ->island]]

You look for the ice gifts in the sand, but all you find is trash and a hermit crab with an ugly ancient toy for a house. You don't want any of this. Half an hour later a party of other teens arrives with the same intentions as yours. You still have time to pay the ininhabited island a visit if you wish. Or you can join you peers in their ice gift hunt on the beach. You may don't find anything, but at least you'll have a good time. --- ''What will you do?'' --- [[Go to the uninhabited island. ->island]] [[Join your friends on the beach. ->tsand2]]

You decide that there can not be anything interesting in the sand and look at the sea instead. There are several ice shards floating not far from the shore. One of them catches your attention: there seems to be something inside. It can be another piece of trash or it can be an ice gift. Anyway, you have to take a closer look, and that means swimming there and taking the shard to the shore with you. Remember, the water is icy cold! You'll have to get back home after swimming in it and it will be the end of your ice gift hunt today. --- ''Will you swim to the strange ice shard?'' --- [[Yes. Getting a little cold and wet is no big deal. ->frozenfruit]] [[No. I'd rather go to the uninhabited island instead. ->island]] [[No. I'd rather try to sneak into the unexplored ice cave. ->icecave]]

You join your friends, Lena and Sasha, on the beach. The area has already been picked clean by the adults and you don't find anything worthy of your attention. You wander the beach for an hour or so until you notice the first children arriving for their own ice gift hunt. There is no point of staying here anymore. Suddenly, Lena has in idea. "Only adults go to the unexplored ice caves, and only in groups," she says. "Well, we are a group, and we are almost adults. How about an expedition? My grandma works at the museum, I can "borrow" her key to the forbidden area for a while. And I've been there with my mom and aunt, twice! I can be your guide. And you two will be my healer and engineer. Now about this?" --- ''Sounds cool! And dangerous! Are you in?'' --- [[Sure! Can't miss this opportunity! ->icecave2]] [[No, it's dangerous! I'd rather go home. -> cdnogift]]

You stand near the door to the unexplored ice cave Lena told you about, waiting for her to "borrow" the key from her grandma. You have backpacks with food, candles, ropes, and bedrolls with you. You are ready. You are almost adults. You are the expedition. Fear changes to happiness and back many times during your wait. You are about to have a real adventure, after all! Here she comes. She has the key. The door opens without a sound. The tunnel behind is pitch black. --- [[Go inside. ->icecave3]]

You retrieve the suspicious ice shard from the sea and carefully remove the ice with your pen-knife. You are cold and wet now, but you're holding a wonderful ice gift in your hands: a frozen ancient fruit! You've never seen its like before. You hurry to the gardens, excited, and show this fruit to the Elder there. The old woman's face lighens with a happy smile. She can not tell you anything about the fruit yet, can not say whether it's tasty, or have medicinal use, but she is delighted at your discovery. You come home happy and proud and hope your fruit's seeds will germinate returning another extinct plant species to life. <img src="http://giftscomic.com/images/extras/games/icegifthunt/frozenfruit.jpg" (display: "ending")

You start carefully toward the voices. As you approach, it becomes clear that they definitely do not belong to monsters; your spirits rise again. Soon, you meet the owners of the voices face to face. They are teenagers (ah-ha! now you know who opened the museum door!), much stronger and older than you, but they are not allowed to be down there as well as you are. And now you know their secret. --- ''What will you do?'' --- [[Threaten you'd tell on them. ->threat]] [[Cry like a helpless baby and beg them to take you home. ->cry]]

You walk away until the voices fade to silence. You will never know whom they belonged to: monsters or humans. You will die here, in the darkness, alone. The rescue team will reach you eventially but it will be too late. Rest in peace, little cave dweller. You should've listened to your mother. (display: "ending")

Ancient ice blinks and changes colors as you walk through the tunnel with your lanterns lit. After a few turns, the tunnel widens up and you find yourself in a big cave. Your guide winks at you: "Wanna see something scary? I'll show you if you want, it's right here." --- ''What will your answer be?'' --- [[Go on! Show me your scary thing. ->frozenman]] [[We've got no time for this. Let's go get our ice gifts. ->continue]]

Lena lifts up her lantern and you see she wasn't joking... A dead man stares at you through the ice, his eyes wide open, his skin torn, scarlet clouds of blood frozen beside his face. You quickly look away, but you cannot stop thinking of what you've just seen. You have a feeling it will be your nightmare fuel for years to come. Your other friend is terrified, too. Silent, heads bowed, you follow your guide out of the dead man's cave. --- [[Keep walking. ->keep]] <img src="http://giftscomic.com/images/extras/games/icegifthunt/frozen.jpg"

"As you wish!" Lena shrugs. "Let's go then". You follow her out of the cave leaving the unknown horror behind you. --- [[Keep walking. ->keep]]

You've been walking through the ice labiryth for two hours (two candles burned down in each of your lanterns) making sure to stay close to your guide who had a sketchy map with her and seemed to know where she was going. Suddenly, your guide stops. "All right, here we are," she says, turning to you. "My map ends here. Welcome to the unexplored area, dear colleagues! From now on we have to choose our path carefully. Or if you feel you've had enough of this cave we can go home. Your choice." You look at Sasha inquiringly. She decides to abstain in the vote. So it's up to you. --- ''Go forth or go home?'' --- [[Go home. ->kid]] [[Go forth. ->keep2]]

You hesitate. Sasha offers to stop here for a cup of hot tea from thermos. You all agree to this. So you stand for a while at the edge of uncharted darkness, staring into the unknown. But the hot tea helps, it raises your spirits, warms you up, and scares the fear away. --- [[Go on. ->keep3]]

You decide you've had enough of this ice labiryth. Besides, you fear that by then Lena's grandmother could've noticed the absence of her key and her granddaughter and done her math. You are not going home empty handed, though. On your way back you met a kid who was doing the same thing you did: exploring the damn forbidden caves! And it was you who left the door open!.. Realization of what could've happened to the kid strikes you hard. In an instant you realize how stupid you were and how lucky! The kid could get lost and die there. And it would've been your fault! You walk the kid back home, and all four of you swear to keep the secret to themselves. Maybe you will return to exploring the ice caves one day. But only when all of you are adults, real ones, with proper skills and psi-profiles. Until then, you'll go only on regular ice gift hunts as people your age are supposed to. (display: "ending")

Three more hours pass in wandering. No ice gifts in sight. Your spirits are waning. You stop for a short snack, then go forth again. Lena's sketchbook is covered with notes and scribbles. A constantly updating map. You used to vote and argue every time before choosing which way to go next. Right now you just take turns choosing. Now it's yours. The choice is usually between left or right, sometimes forward. Now, it's up or down. --- ''Which way?'' --- [[Up! ->up]] [[Down! ->down]]

Up and up you go, tired and sad. Suddenly, you feel that something has changed. You can not put a finger on it until a fresh breeze touches your face. You continue on your way, wondering, what it was, and soon see a faint light at the end of the tunnel. It opens to the outside! And the sea is whispering behind the opening! Hundreds of springs had passed over this montain, melting its ice little by little, living, breathing world knocking at the door of a tomb. This spring, the icy door has finallyl opened letting the fresh air and sound of the waves in. You run out of the cave shouting happily like little kids, glad to see the sun and feel the wind again. Then you stop, abruptly, staring at the sand beach with the only ice gift on it: a derelict metal thing that might've been an ancient flying device. Time wasn't kind to it, but maybe you'll still be able to find something. --- [[Explore the wreckage. ->flyer]]

You go down and down. Something is changing around you. You can not put your finger on it. Must be some strange faint smell. Soon you realize the floor under your feet is now more stone and peebles than ice. The tunnel takes three turns and opens into a large cavern, noisy with sounds of trickling water echoing around the place. The cavern is beautiful. Long, spiky crystals are growing from its walls. They sparkle in the light of your lanterns like precious stones. Sasha says it'd be nice to take them home. Lena agrees and tries to break off a piece with a her knife. It's not as easy as it seemed: these crystals are tough. If you want to take a trophy with you you'll have to stay in this cavern for a while. Maybe a long while. --- ''Will you?'' --- [[Of course! I'm not going home without a crystal! ->gas]] [[I don't like this place. Something is not right here. Let's get out. ->backup]] <img src="http://giftscomic.com/images/extras/games/icegifthunt/icegift_crystals.jpg"

What used to be a flying machine before is now an empty hull. The initial damage had apparently been done by fire. Water, wind, and sand did the rest over the centuries. You take what you can. There are four ancient guns in a locker under what once was a seat, all in a very bad shape. Nevertheless, it'd be cool to have your own gun, even if you won't be able to show it to anyone lest they guess where you got it. Sasha quickly sketches the wreck before you go. You luckily avoid a rescue group of angry adults on your way back. Lena leaves the key in the museum door. You share the loot and go home, your heads full of questions you'll never get the answers for. <img src="http://giftscomic.com/images/extras/games/icegifthunt/guns.jpg" (display: "ending")

You put your backpacks down and get to work. For a while you try to smash the crystals with your knives and boots. They do not yeld. You give one the last angry punch which finally produces a small shard and turn around to face your friends, holding your trophy triumphantly. Only they're not here. You are alone. --- [[Search for your friends. ->gas2]]

You explain your friends about the smell you didn't like and they begrudgingly agree to turn back leaving the unexplored cavern behind. You can still try the upper passage if you like or go back home. --- ''Your choice?'' --- [[Try the upper passage. ->up]] [[Go home. ->kid]]

Pen-knife in one hand, lantern in the other, you search for your friends in the cavern. They went deeper than you did, searching for the most beautiful crystals. Fear clutches you by the throat. What monster took them? Is it hunting you now? What will you do if you find it or it finds you? You feel sick. Maybe because of fear... or... The strange smell you barely sensed on your way down is getting stronger as you approach a cluster of scarlet crystals, the ones Sasha was after. Soon, you find her there, spread on the ground, unconscious. --- ''What will you do?'' --- [[Leave her where she is. Look for Lena. ->alldie]] [[Get her out of the cavern, quickly. ->lenadie]]

You leave unconscious Sasha where she is and go deeper into the cavern, looking for Lena. You feel worse with every passing second, your head spinning, your throat dry, your feet unsteady. Finally, you find Lena, curled before a huge purple crystal. She is not breathing, you can not help her. And you are too weak to go back now. You try to, of course, but collapse a just a few steps away from your expedition leader. Later, the rescue team will find three dead bodies in the cavern. Some expeditions, even with skillful adults in them, end like this as well. And you were just unprepared teens. Rest in peace, young cave dwellers. You were brave, though reckless. Your tribe will miss you greatly. (display: "ending")

You carry your unconscious friend ouf of the cavern, to the fresh air. Sasha wakes up along the way. You feel much better, too. "It must be some gas," Sasha says in a weak whisper. "Heavier than air so it tends gather in low places like this cavern. And it's poisonous..." You nod and take a deep breath. You have to go back for Lena. Sasha is too weak to help you yet, so you will have to do this alone. --- [[Find Lena. ->lenadie2]]

You return into the cavern, looking for Lena. You feel worse with every passing second, your head spinning, your throat dry, your feet unsteady. Finally, you find your expedition leader, curled before a huge purple crystal. She is not breathing. --- ''What will you do?'' --- [[Leave her there. She is beyond help. ->lenadie3]] [[Carry her out of the cavern anyway. ->sashahelp]]

You leave Lena's body in the cavern and go back to Sasha with her backpack. Speechless from grief, you head back home retracing your steps with Lena's sketchy map. You feel like you aged twenty years today. After your return, everything is a blur in your memory. There was a rescue party that retrieved Lena's body. There was Lena's grandmother, crying, blaming herself for everything; she died of a heart stroke a day after the funeral. There were punishments for you and Sasha you don't even remember because they seemed so small compaired to your sorrow and pain. A year after the event you stumbled on your old backpack, the one you took to the unhappy journey. The crystal shard you have forgotten about was still there. You have it on your desk to this day. It sparkles joyously in the light and still has this faint cavern smell on it. And, for some reason, you can not make yourself throw it away. (display: "ending")

You make a brave effort to carry your friend's body out of the cavern, but collapse half the way to the exit. You fight to the end: not being to walk, you keep crawling until your consciousness leaves you. Darkness swallows your mind. Surge of pain wakes you up. The headache is horrible, but at least it means you are alive. You haul yourself to a sitting position and look around. You see Sasha. She gives you a hug. "I thought you were dead, like Lena!" she whispers and starts crying. You learn that she returned for you and carried you back. It almost cost her a life, but she saved you. It was too late for Lena, though. Sasha took the map Lena made. The whole backpack was too much for her to carry. It's time to go home. --- [[Go home. ->lenadie4]]

Speechless from grief, you head back home retracing your steps with Lena's sketchy map. You feel like you aged twenty years today. After your return everything is a blur in your memory. There was a rescue party that retrieved Lena's body. There was Lena's grandmother, crying, blaming herself for everything; she died of a heart stroke a day after the funeral. There were punishments for you and Sasha you don't even remember because they seemed so small compaired to your sorrow and pain. A year after the event you stumbled on your old backpack, the one you took to the unhappy journey. The crystal shard you have forgotten about was still there. You have it on your desk to this day. It sparkles joyously in the light and still has this faint cavern smell on it. And, for some reason, you can not make yourself throw it away. (display: "ending")

You spend half of the day exploring the island. The weather is beautiful and you've got plenty of food and honey water with you. So far you haven't found anything, but you don't regret it much. You quite enjoy being alone. Caves seem too crowded to you sometimes. You can go home and call it a day, or you can wait here until dark. There are lots of ice shards bobbing on the waves. Maybe the sea will wash ashore something interesting by night. There are spare lanterns and a couple of blankets in the cable way station, so you have nothing to worry about. --- ''So?'' --- [[Stay on the island until dark. ->dark]] [[Go home. -> cdnogift]]

The sky goes dark. There, far away from your town's lanterns it's amazingly beautiful. For a while, you stare at the glorious Milky Way above your head, thinking of all those distant stars and their planets. Your imagination goes wild. You lower your eyes just in time to see a miracle: thousands and thousands of little "stars" lighting up by the shore of your island, glowing and twinking with gengle blue light. --- [[Come closer. ->glow]]

You go to the island's shore and take a closer look at the glowing little things. They seem alive, at least by the way they react to water movement flashing from pale white to bright blue and back. You splash water around you enjoying the light show and gather it in your cupped hands. Handful of brilliant blue stars you're holding make you look mysterious and powerful in your imagination, like a mage. <img src="http://giftscomic.com/images/extras/games/icegifthunt/seasparkle.jpg" --- [[Take some of the "magic" water home with you. ->glow2]]

You go back to the cable way station and take a spare flask from there, the biggest one you could find. You carefully fill it with water and after one more hour of enjoying the view, you return home with your gift. Next day, you ask the Elders about it. Their answer is rather prosaic and has nothing to do with magic and power, but is interesting nontheless. Glowing things you found are called Sea Sparkle (Noctiluca scintillans). They are bioluminescent little creatures, pinkish clouds floating by the shore by day, blilliant glowing stars by night. You were lucky to witness them in action. And now they live in your own cave, the most exotic pets around. You may not be a real mage, but your little sister and her friends definitely think you are one. (display: "ending")

You take a basket with you and proceed with you plan. No one should suspect you, so while you do look for the ice gifts, you spend half of the day actually picking shells to fill your basket. They are scarce on the western shore, so it took you a lot of time to gather enough of them. Finally, you decide to stop for a while and eat something. You have fish pie and fruit cookies your grandpa made for you as well as some honey water in a flask. Lunch is going rather well until you notice you're not alone at the beach. You see a girl wandering by the water obviously looking for something there. She must've sensed your gaze and turned to you. Now she is waving at you! Will you answer the gesture? On one hand, you may have to share your tasty cookies with her if she comes up to you, and you'd rather have them all to yourself. On the other hand, it's getting lonely here, maybe a company would be worth the cookies. --- ''So? Cookies or a new friend?'' --- [[Wave back, let her come here. ->friend]] [[Go away and find a place to eat your lunch in peace. ->lunch]]

You know your island gets most of the ice gifts, but children like you rarely ever see them because they are usually promptly picked up by adults and taken away. You heard big kids talk about some place by the winged mountain where all the stuff is taken to. Worth having a look, isn't it? And nobody will suspect you. You can easily pretend just going to a solo hunt. You put your knife and ropes (little hunters mostly catch small game, with traps) in the bag and go. Strictly speaking, it's not a "solo" hunt: your family cat is going with you. That old, black, amber-eyed fellow has a habit of keeping an eye on you when you go somewhere with your hunting gear because you always share with him whatever you catch. It's okay. You don't mind his company. --- [[To the winged mountain! ->wm]]

You find the boy in the healers' tent. He is not feeling well and has to stay in bed while everyone else is playing outside. He seems glad to see you. You ask him about the ice gifts you heard he had. He nods. You ask whether he would trade them for something. He yawns. "Barter is boring. Besides, a small kid like you doesn't have anything I want. But let's play a game," he says. "I'll ask you three questions. Answer just one correctly - and I will give you a small ice gift. Answer two - and it will be a better thing. Answer all three - and get the big prize. But there's a catch! Give a wrong answer - and you will lose the game. Of course, you can always get you prize and go home instead of risking another round". Sounds fun! --- [[Let's play! ->game]]

You wave back at the girl and she comes up to you. She must be from another camp, you haven't seen her before. Still, she is about your age and has a kind smile. You try to speak with her, but she shrugs and makes a swift gesture across her lips. She is a mute! From the Mute tribe! Oh... and you hoped to have a nice chat... You try to recall what you know about the Mutes. They are not deaf and can hear as well as any of you native islanders. They can sing, wordlessly, though, and name their kids with this wordless singing, too. Those who have friends beyond their own tribe, also have second names, the once islanders can pronounce. They draw really well, better than any hunter. And they do those cool string figures with little ropes they wear on their wrists! --- ''What will you do?'' --- [[Offer the girl to sing together. ->sing]] [[Draw something in the sand for her. ->draw]] [[Point at the girl's wrist to ask her to show you some string figures. ->string]] (set: $sing to false)\ (set: $draw to false)\ (set: $string to false)

You do not wave back and walk away to eat your lunch alone. You are bored with picking shells and a bit angry because you haven't found any ice gifts. There wasn't a big chance to find them at this beach because it rarely see any icebergs, but you hoped anyway. As you are chewing your last cookie an unpleasant thought occurs you that other kids will laugh at you when they see your stupid shell basket and find out that you haven't found a single ice gift as you boasted you would! --- ''What will you do?'' --- [[Make up a story about some amazing thing you saw but couldn't take with you! ->story]] [[Make up a story about some small ice gift you found and unfortunately lost on your way home. ->storylost]] [[Just go home. ->loser]]

You are a bright kid with good imagination. On your way home you think of all kinds of things your peers consider cool and of the stories you heard from adults. Storymaking is like cooking: you take the ingredients, mix them together in due proportions, spice and salt them, and then "bake". It's a term you are rather proud of. It means changing the resulting mix a bit so in would become much more than simply several ingredients put together. "Baking" makes your story completed and unique. By the end of the day, your story turns out to be rather good. Your friends love it and don't even care if it is true. Grandpa, too. You haven't found any ice gifts today, but it was an important day nontheless. You are now a famous storyteller among your peers and everyone wants to be your friend. Still, maybe you'll try your luck in ice gift hunt again someday! (display: "ending")

You try to think of some excuse for coming home empty-handed. You think of all the little ice gifts the other kids keep secretly, and of the ice gifts you just heard of from grown ups, and of the survival rhyme. You aren't a good liar, though. Few if any of your peers believe your tale. That's disappointing. You go back to your grandpa's tent. Grandpa pats you on the back and gives you a cookie. "Do you want to hear a story?" he asks. You nod and he tells you a tale of a chief's daughter that got lost in the ice cave, and then a story of a little caveman eaten by a monster... You fall asleep where you sit, with half-eaten cookie in your hand, thinking that it wasn't a bad day after all. Still, maybe you should try your luck again next time and go to the ice gift hunt again. (display: "ending")

You go home empty-handed. The other kids laugh at you, but it isn't as bad as you imagined. They get bored of teasing you soon and offer you to play instead. The day ends well, even though nothing really important has happened. (if: $cold is true)[Your little walk in the cave without warm clothes had consequences, though. You fall ill next day, with nasty fever and cough, and have to spend days and days in bed while your peers are enjoying the spring and their secret ice gift hunts.] Maybe you'll be more lucky next time. (display: "ending")

You offer to sing. The girl nods in approval. As you begin your first song, you realize what a good idea it was. Her wordless singing is like music that sounds with your words perfectly. And she knows the tune well. You sang at least a dozen of songs. It was fun! --- ''What next?'' --- (if: $draw is false)[[[Draw something ->draw]]] (if: $string is false)[[[Ask her to show you some string figures. ->string]]]\ (set: $sing to true)\ (if: $draw and $string and $sing)[ [[It's getting late. Time to go home.->mutegift]]]

You draw a picture in the sand: a girl fighting a monster. Your new friend's eyes brighten up with excitement. She adds a tent and two little scared kids to your picture. Just like it should be in Rita's story! Then she draws an ice giant. You quickly add the Moon he lives on to the picture. You drew all the stories you knew eventually and even made up several of your own! You don't remember being so excited in a long time! --- ''What now?'' --- (if: $sing is false)[[[Offer the girl to sing together. ->sing]]]\ (if: $string is false)[[[Ask your friend to show you some string figures. ->string]]]\ (set: $draw to true)\ (if: $draw and $string and $sing)[ [[It's getting late. Time to go home.->mutegift]]]

The girl smiles, takes the string off her wrist, and tells you a story... with string figures! You've never seen anyone so skilled with the string. Her figures change from one to another beautifully, move and dance. Most of them you haven't known until today, so complex they are. And the best thing is: you recognize the story! It's a tale of three ancient birds, one of your favourites. Only you heard it in speech and saw in pictures before. Your friend tells you nine stories with string figures. She seems tired and happy after that, and her little fingers could use a bit of rest now. --- ''What next?'' --- (if: $sing is false)[[[Offer her to sing together. ->sing]]]\ (if: $draw is false)[[[Draw something in the sand for her. ->draw]]]\ (set: $string to true)\ (if: $draw and $string and $sing)[ [[It's getting late. Time to go home.->mutegift]]]

It's time to go home. You like your new friend very much and is afraid to lose her. You promise to return here tomorrow, ask her to come too. She nods. She puts her cupped hands to her heart: promise. But you are worried nontheless. She sees that. She understands. For a moment, she is considering something, then she opens her bag, takes a strange thing out of it and hands it to you. A gift. An ice gift! It must be an ancient toy, a human-like figure, though a bit square on the sides. It's made of metal, badly battered, but not at all rusty. You thank your friend and give her a hug. It was a good day! You made a new friend and came home with an ice gift! Tomorrow you are going back to the lonely beach to play with the mute girl. You will make stories, sing songs, and make string figures. Nothing but good is in the future! <img src="http://giftscomic.com/images/extras/games/icegifthunt/brokentoy.jpg" (display: "ending")

Winged mountain is a curious rock formation that indeed looks like gigantic spread wings. There is a cave at its foot. A narrow, well trodden path leads to it. --- [[Enter the cave. ->station]]

What a disappointment! The big kids have lied to you. It's not a stash of ice gifts, it's just a regular cable way station. You don't know where it leads, though. It might be interesting to find out. There are two lines on this station. One leads to the highest point of a nearby rocky island. The other disappears in a huge cave in the middle of it. --- ''You can choose one of them or go hunting instead.'' --- [[Go to the peak. ->peak]] [[Go to the cave. ->cave]] [[Go hunting. ->hunt]] <img src="http://mildegard.ru/DL/icegifthunt/loc_station.jpg"

This peak looks like a safe place. You won't need any special gear from the cable way station to go there. --- ''You may take your cat with you for a company if you want.'' --- (link: "Take your cat with you.")[(set: $bag to "cat")(goto: "peak2")] [[Leave the cat here. ->peak2]]

All right, you want to have an adventure. But it'd be wise to prepare for it, isn't it? There are various things you can take with you from the station. They belong here so you will have to return them on your way back. Take what you want, just remember that your bag is small and you can not take everything. (set: $bag to "empty") --- ''Choose wisely!'' --- (link: "Lantern, candles, and tinderbox.")[(set: $bag to "lantern")(goto: "cave2") ]\ (link: "Your cat!")[(set: $bag to "cat")(goto: "cave2")]\ (link: "Blanket.")[(set: $bag to "blanket")(goto: "cave2")]\ (link: "Medkit.")[(set: $bag to "medkit")(goto: "cave2")]\ [[Don't take anything, your ropes and knife are heavy enough. ->cave2]]

You go back, your cat following you, and place some traps in the woods and in the shallow lake. By the end of the day you have a squirrel, a tree lizard (this one goes to your cat), and two crayfish. You return home very proud of yourself. Your mother says you're a real hunter as she eats the crayfish you caught and your grandpa cooked. It wasn't a bad day, after all, though you'd prefer to find an ice gift or two. Maybe you will, next time. (display: "ending")

You enter the cave's mouth. It's a beautiful place! The floor is paved with natural hexagonal basalt, the walls are lined with perfectly straight basal columns. A little spring flows ouf of the cave. The water is ice-cold. It gives you an idea. The cold spring may be the result of some ancient ice melting inside the cave. And - who knows! - there may as well be some ice gifts in it! --- [[Follow the spring to its source. ->cave3]]

(if: $bag is "cat")[You put your cat in your bag (he doesn't seem very happy about it, but complies) and take a cable way to the peak.](else:)[You decide to leave your cat on the station. He is meowing miserably seeing you go, but you are adamant on your decision for some reason.] The island you are going to is a bare rock, no fertile soil or game, so nobody lives on it. But it seems to be important anyway since people definitely come here often: there are graffiti on the walls, little forgotten things, footprints, etc. You follow a well trodden path to the big brightly lit cave made of hexagonal basalt columns. It leads to a huge hall which is empty for the moment. --- ''What now?'' --- [[Search the hall. ->ancientbook]] [[Go through the hall. ->balconynobook]]

You follow the spring deep into the cave. (if: $bag is "cat")[Your cat faithfully runs after you, meowing pleadingly from time to time. He doesn't like it here.] It's getting colder and colder as you go. If you were a cave dweller you'd barely notice it, but you are a hunter and aren't used to cold climate. You shiver. (set: $cold to true) --- (if: $bag is "blanket")[(link: "It's good that you took that blanket with you! Wrap yourself in it to warm up.")[(set: $cold to false)(goto: "cave4")]] (else:)[(if: $bag is "cat")[(link: "Take your cat in your arms. He will calm down a bit and you will feel less cold.")[(set: $cold to false)(goto: "cave4")]](else:)[Unfortunately, you don't have anything with you to warm up. You can continue going like this or go back home. ''What will you do?'' --- [[Go on. ->cave4]] [[Go home. ->loser]]]]

It's getting dark. So far, holes in the ceiling have been letting in enough light for you to see where you were going. Now, you barely see your own feet. (set: $light to false)(if: $bag is "lantern")[(link: "Now the lantern you have in your pocket will come in handy. Let's make some light!")[(set: $light to true)(goto: "cave5")]] (else:)[You still can hear the spring perfectly, though. Maybe if you follow it a bit more there will be light again? --- ''What will you do?'' --- [[Go home. ->loser]] [[Follow the spring in the dark. ->cavedark]]]

You continue your journey in the dark. (if: $bag is "cat")[Your cat seems scared. He clungs to you, his claws in your shirt, restlessly growling from time to time. You have a bad feeling about this.] You are beginning to regret your decision. There is no light ahead of you and your imagination is working hard to fill the void of darkness with monsters and horrors. (if: $bag is "blanket")[ You wrap your blanket tighter about you and cover your head with it. It had always worked when you were afraid in the dark back home, but for some reason it's not working now. ] There is another problem: you're lost. You hear trickling water from all sides now, from dozens of little springs, and there is no way to tell which is the one that has lead you here. --- ''What will you do now?'' --- [[Draw your knife and go forth, armed. ->cavedark2]] (if: $bag is "cat")[[[Cats return home from wherever you take them. Try to use your cat to go back. ->catwalk]]]

You light a candle in the lantern and see the darkness fall back and cave walls begin to sparke around you. Beautiful! After a moment of amusement you realize why the walls sparkle: they are covered with thin ice. You're on the right track! [[Follow the spring. -> cave6]]

You see something shiny in the water where it is about knee deep. You can try to gather it if you wish. But have in mind that since you're already very cold, going into the water will make it even worse. You'll have to run back right away. --- ''Will you step into the cold water?'' --- [[Yes! I want this ice gift! ->badge2]] [[No! I'd rather find the source of the spring. ->purplemoss2]]

Congratulations! You've found an ancient badge with a strange symbol on it. Too bad you can not show it to grownups lest they know you've been on the ice gift hunt. You'd be punished if they knew. Anyway, trophy is a trophy. Maybe next time you'll find something even better. <img src="http://giftscomic.com/images/extras/games/icegifthunt/badge1.jpg" (display: "ending")

You risked freezing to death but after an hour or so you found the spring's sourse: a cavern filled with slowly melting ice. The funny thing is that the ice was purple (and water wasn't). You understood why it was puple and why it was melting when you came closer... That's how you stumbled upon the ice gift. And what a cool one! You're not sure what it exactly is but it looks like the cutest purple plant you've ever seen. And it's warm to the touch! You take it with you and plant it secretly behind the winged mountain. Years will pass, though, before you learn of its origin and importance. <img src="http://giftscomic.com/images/extras/games/icegifthunt/purplemoss500.jpg" (display: "ending")

You draw your knife and keep walking in the direction that seems to you a way out. (if: $bag is "cat")[ You realize you're in a real trouble when your cat goes mad with fear. He wriggles out of your arms scratching you badly in process and runs away. You are alone in the cave. You are scared and cold. ] You feel being watched, hunted. No human felt anything like this for hundreds of years (there are no big predators on your islands!), yet you somehow deeply, instinctively remember what it is like. Whatever is after you, it must like the dark. --- ''Wandering blindly when this thing is around will get you killed. You should do something!'' --- [[Run! ->run]] [[Wait for the beast, your back pressed against the wall, you knife ready. ->fight]]

You still have the rope in your bag. You quickly make a leash out of it so you wouldn't lose your cat in the dark. The moment you put the cat on the ground, he sprints away, practically dragging you after him. All the way back to the cave entrance the feeling of being hunted doesn't leave you. And once you're out, you're genuinly happy just to be alive. You go back home empty handed, but unhurt and with a cool story to tell which makes even some big kids believe and envy you. And - hey! - there are lots of spring days ahead. Maybe you will go to another ice gift hunt yet! <img src="http://giftscomic.com/images/extras/games/icegifthunt/catleash.jpg" (display: "ending")

You panic and run away screaming. You run in utter darknes, no wonder you eventually fall into some pit or crevice. You hit your head as you land and pass out. --- [[Wake up. ->hospital]]

You stand by the wall so you wouldn't have to worry about the beast jumping on your back, and you have your knife ready. Your heart is pounding, your breath speeds up at every little noise you hear. Your hands are trembling... The attack comes sooner than you expected. Something jumps at you aiming for your neck. Your reflexes save you: you shield your neck with your arm just in time. Sharp teeth and claws pierce your skin. With a shriek of terror you thrust your knife into the creature. It goes limp and falls to the ground, dead. For a while you just stand in the dark, breathing heavily. But finally, the fear passes and you can think clearly again. You are bleeding. And it's not just a scratch. --- ''What now?'' --- (if: $bag is "medkit")[[[You still have the medkit from the station. There must be bandages for your wounds. ->beast]]](if: $bag is "blanket")[[[You still have the blanket with you. Cut it with your knife to make bandages for your wounds.->beast]]] [[Go. Just go somewhere away from here. ->chdead]]

You wake up in a brightly lit room that looks like something right out of a legend. Everything here is clean, polished, shiny, and absolutely ancient in design. Your head is bandaged and your arm is in plaster. A handsome guy with a ponytail approaches you, says his name is Tim and asks yours. You have a little chat. Tim asks you a few questions: how you feel, where you came from, who your mother is. He is friendly and nice, unlike most grown-ups, and you like him. You ask him what happened. He says a fisherwoman found you on the shore by the cave(if: $bag is "blanket")[, wrapped in a dirty blanket, ] with broken arm and mad eyes. You don't remember a thing. Tim says you must've been in a shock. That's how your adventure ends. You will spend some time in the cave dweller hospital, make a few cave dweller friends, and even secretly learn how to read and white. Then you'll go home with a cool horror story to tell your friends and be their hero. Would some ice gift be better than that? Who knows... Maybe you will go looking for them again someday. (display: "ending")

(if: $bag is "blanket")[You use your knife to cut the blanket into long strips of cloth and bandage your wounds with them. You managed to stop the bleeding, but the blanket was rather dirty, the wound might have got infected. You feel weak.]\ (if: $bag is "medkit")[You open the medkit, desinfect your wounds, bandage them, and drink some honey-flavoured herbal drink that was also there. You feel much better now!]\ (if: $bag is "medkit")[If you're still feeling curious, you can examine the beast that attacked you.] (if: $bag is "medkit")[Examine the beast.(click-replace: "Examine the beast.")[You examine the beast. You have no light and can not see it, so you just touch it, carefully. It is small, not much bigger than your cat, furry, with short tail, and curved cat-like claws. Unfortunately, it is too heavy to carry it with you.]] [[Try to find a way out. ->wayout]]

You walk away holding onto your wounded arm. Blood loss(if: $bag is not "blanket")[ and cold] weaken you over time. After a while you collapse on the floor and black out. (if: $bag is "cat")[You wake up in the healers' tent back on your island. Mute Ren, the shaman, smiles at you welcoming you back to the world of the living. Later, your mother tells you what happened. It turns out your cat saved you in the end. He found you in the cave, he lay beside you keeping you warm, he began meowing loudly when he heard other people nearby. They found you and saved your life. There really was a stash of ice gifts in the cave and you were lucky enough to have a couple of grown-ups come to place a bag of newly gathered gifts there. As of the beast that had attacked you, you never learned what it was. Alarmed by your story, a group of hunters searched the cave but didn't find anything. Of course! They had lanterns with them, and this thing, as you well remember, hunts in the dark. Anyway, everything ended well for you. You've got a cool story to tell now, and several cool scars to prove it to be true. Not bad for a little kid! Maybe you'll try your luck in the ice gift hunt again someday.](else:)[You will die there alone and no one will ever find your body: cave beasts like the one that attacked you will take care of it. Rest in peace, little hunter. Your tribe will miss you.] (display: "ending")

You wander the tunnels for a while. No longer blindly: there are tiny luminiscent snails on the walls, hundreds of them. They don't give a lot of light, but at least they show where walls and floor are so you no longer risk bumping or falling into anything. Your spirits rise. An idea comes to you: what if you gathered a bunch of those snails? They would make a lantern! (set: $light to "none") --- ''But where can you put them?'' --- [[Hmm... but what if they're poisonous or something? Don't touch them! ->wayout2]] (link: "Just gather some in your hands.")[(set: $light to "dim")(goto: "wayout2") ] (if: $bag is "medkit")[(link: "There is an empty bottle in your medkit (a herbal drink was in it), that will do.")[(set: $light to "bright")(goto: "wayout2")]]

(if: $light is "none")[Afraid of getting poisoned, you decide agains touching these strange creatures. Soon, their habitat ends and you enter the darkness again. And then... the feeling of being hunted returns. This time, the creatures will attack you in pack, and you won't stand a chance. You will die here, alone and no one will ever find your body: cave beasts will take care of it. Rest in peace, little hunter. Your tribe will miss you.] (if: $light is "bright")[You gather some luminiscent snails into an empty bottle which still has the sweet smell of honey about it. The snails seem to like honey as much as you do because as soon as they are in the bottle, they begin glowing much brighter than before. In a few minutes you have a good lantern in your posession. And in an hour you stumble upon the ice gift: the cutest purple plant you've ever seen in your life! It's warm to the touch and seem to be responsible for melting of the ice it grows onto. You take it with you and follow the spring again, the direction if flows to. An hour more - and you are back on the familiar track and on your way home. You return home with an ice gift, a cool story to tell, and a number of wounds (future cool scars!) to prove it true. What can be better than this? Still, you may yet go to another ice gift hunt one day!] (if: $light is "dim")[You gather a handful of snails. It's not much of a lantern, but it's better than nothing.] (if: $bag is "blanket" and $light is "dim")[You wrap the remains of a blanket tighter around you and prepare for a long way home. Several hours pass in wandering, until you notice something like a door in the waning light of your luminiscent pets. A simple wooden door, just like the one back at the cable way station. You open it... and meet the eyes of a couple of surprised grown-ups... It turns out there indeed was the ice gift stash in the cave and you were lucky enough to have a couple of hunters come to place a bag of newly gathered gifts there. They took you home, straight to the healers' tent where the healers tried to help you the best they could. Unfortunately, your wounds got badly infected and they couldn't save your arm. Ice gift hunting is a dangerous thing. Will you ever dare to go to another such hunt?] (if: $bag is "medkit" and $light is "dim")[You wander in the tunnels for a long time, the dim light of your luminiscent pets not helping with the cold at all. Eventually, your strength leave you and you collapse to the ground and lose consciousness. You will die of hypothermia soon and no one will ever find your body: cave beasts like the one that attacked you will take care of it. Rest in peace, little hunter. Your tribe will miss you.] (display: "ending")

You've found a book someone forgot in the hall. Hunters have books too, but there are only images inside them, most of them very realistic. This book is definitely cave dwellers'. It has no pictures in it, only rows and rows of little squiggly symbols. <img src="http://giftscomic.com/images/extras/games/icegifthunt/book.jpg" --- ''What will you do with the book?'' --- (if: $bag is "cat")[And, no, you cannot keep it. You need your bag to take your cat back home.](else:)[[[Keep it. ->ancientbook2]]] [[Leave it here. ->leavebook]] [[Return it. ->returnbook]]

You explore the place looking for other people, but it seems there is no one here at this hour. There is a natural basalt balcony at the end of the hall. You stand on it for a while admiring the view: deep blue sea dotted with little basalt islands connected with cable ways. "Nice view, isn't it?" somebody says behind your back. You turn around, startled, and see a tall cave dweller girl. She is young, no more than twenty years old, but for you, she is a grown up, and grown ups shouldn't see you there. "I'm Tanya," the girl says, smiling. "I see you've got my book! I was looking for it everywhere! Where have it been?" "In the hall," you say and tell Tanya your name after returning the book to her. (if: $bag is "cat")[Suddenly, your cat meows loudly in the bag. The girl looks at you, surprised. You open the bag and let the cat out. "He is my old pal," you explain to her. "I take him with me everywhere I go". "Cutie!" Tanya pets the cat.]\ "We have storytelling classes on this island. Hunters, especially kids, are rare guests here. Are you on an ice gift hunt?" --- ''What will you tell her?'' --- [[Yes. I'm looking for ice gifts. ->balconyyes]] [[No. I was curious about stories you tell here. ->balconyno]] (if: $bag is "cat")[[[No. I just wanted to play here with my cat. ->balconycat]]] <img src="http://giftscomic.com/images/extras/games/icegifthunt/loc_balcony.jpg"

You put the book in your bag and swiftly return to your island before someone comes to the hall looking for it. Then you hide your find in your hiding glace by the cold waterfall. Now you have a book you can not read, and there is a person somewhere who misses it. Keeping the book wasn't the smartest thing to do, don't you think? (display: "ending")

You decide to leave the book where it is. --- ''What will you do now?'' --- [[Go through the hall. ->balconynobook]] [[Go back to your island and hunt while it's not too late. ->hunt]]

Somebody must be looking for that book! Maybe even crying over losing it! You decide to return it to the owner, but not sure how... --- ''Any ideas?'' --- [[Find a cable way station that leads to cave dwellers' island from this rock and leave the book there. The owner will find it eventually on their next visit. ->cableway]] [[Look for people on this island. Someone might know the owner. ->balcony]]

It takes you quite a while to find the cable way station with a line to cave dwellers' island. You leave the book on the table there. You spend the rest of the day playing on the island(if: $bag is "cat")[ with your cat] and making up stories where you are the hero. You return home empty handed, some kids try to tease you about this, but you don't care much. You visit the peak again the next day to find out the book's fate and see that it is not at the cable way station anymore. Whoever took it was very grateful and left you a small bag of sweets in return. Not an ice gift, but a gift nontheless! (display: "ending")

"Hmm... The peak is not a good place for ice gift hunting," Tanya says. "But I can show you a way down to the beach if you like(if: $bag is "cat")[. Your cat will like it here, too. There is plenty of fish in shallow water]". You agree and follow Tanya to the beach. She thanks you again for returning the book and leave you to your hunt. (set: $trash to (either:"duck","naushell")) (link: "Explore the beach.")[(if: $trash is "duck")[(goto:"rubberduck2")](else:)[(goto:"naushell")]]

"Oh! That's wonderful!" Tanya's eyes shine with excitement. "We're done for today, but you can come tomorrow! Will you?" You agree and return to the peak the next day. The hall where you found the book is full of people now, mostly kids like you. They welcome you and your cat to their company and tell you lots of stories one better than other. Then comes you time to shine as you begin telling them hunter stories, most of which cave dwellers have never heard before. By the end of the day you sit in the centre of the crowd, all cave dwellers, kids, teens, and grown ups, listening to you alone and making notes in their books! This is better than any little ice gift you could've found, right? Anyway, nothing can stop you from going after ice gifts again the other day. (display: "ending")

"Well, it's a safe place to play, I guess," Tanya shrugs. "Have fun! And thanks for finding my book!" She gives you a couple of sweets she had with her and bids you good bye. You spend the rest of the day playing on the island with your cat and making up stories where you are the hero. You return home empty-handed, some kids try to tease you about this, but you don't care much. You've got plenty of spring days ahead of you and may go hunting for ice gifts again whenever you wish! (display: "ending")

There is a natural basalt balcony at the end of the hall. You stand on it for a while admiring the view: deep blue sea dotted with little basalt islands connected with cable ways. A grown up, or even a teen would've stayed here for sure to sketch the view. You, a child, just get bored pretty soon. --- ''What now?'' --- [[Go home and hunt. ->hunt]] [[This island seems like a nice place to play. Stay here for a while. -> play]] [[Go back and explore the hall. ->ancientbook]]

You spend the rest of the day playing on the island(if: $bag is "cat")[ with your cat] and making up stories where you are the hero. You return home empty-handed, some kids try to tease you about this, but you don't care much. Care for another ice gift hunt tomorrow? (display: "ending")

''Question 1:'' (set: $random to (either:"cats","nocats"))(if: $random is "cats")[(set: $right to 0)(set: $wrong to false) I caught 56 fish to feed my cats and kittens. I gave six fish to each cat, and five to each kitten. Tell me, how many kittens do I have? (link: "One kitten")[(set: $wrong to true)(goto:"lostgame")] (link: "Two kittens")[(set: $wrong to true)(goto:"lostgame")] (link: "Three kittens")[(set: $wrong to true)(goto:"lostgame")] (link: "Four kittens")[(set: $right to $right+1)(goto:"prize1")] (link: "Five kittens")[(set: $wrong to true)(goto:"lostgame")] (link: "Six kittens")[(set: $wrong to true)(goto:"lostgame")] (link: "Seven kittens")[(set: $wrong to true)(goto:"lostgame")] (link: "Eight kittens")[(set: $wrong to true)(goto:"lostgame")] (link: "Nine kittens")[(set: $wrong to true)(goto:"lostgame")]](else:)[I have some sheashells in my bag. All but two of them are rainbow conches. All but two of them are white cockleshells. And all but two of them are ancient ammonites. How many shells do I have? (link: "Two shells")[(set: $wrong to true)(goto:"lostgame")] (link: "Three shells")[(set: $right to $right+1 to true)(goto:"prize1")] (link: "Four shells")[(set: $wrong to true)(goto:"lostgame")] (link: "Five shells")[(set: $wrong to true)(goto:"lostgame")] (link: "Six shells")[(set: $wrong to true)(goto:"lostgame")] (link: "Seven shells")[(set: $wrong to true)(goto:"lostgame")] ]

You lose the game and go home without a prize. Maybe you're be more lucky with the riddles next time or will choose go to the actual gift hunt. (display: "ending")

Correct! The first prize is a handful of colorful marbles. You're not sure it's even an ice gift: cave dwellers make those as well. But you don't argue. --- ''Will you risk another question?'' --- [[Yes! Let's get a real prize! ->game2]] [[No. I'll just take the marbles and go home. ->win]] <img src="http://giftscomic.com/images/extras/games/icegifthunt/marbles.jpg"

''Question 2'' (set: $random to (either: "brothers","nobrothers")) (if: $random is "brothers")[There are seven sisters in the family. Each of them has one brother. How many children are there in the family? (link: "Ten children")[(set: $wrong to true)(goto:"lostgame")] (link: "Eight children")[(set: $right to $right+1)(goto:"prize2")] (link: "Nine children")[(set: $wrong to true)(goto:"lostgame")] (link: "Eleven children")[(set: $wrong to true)(goto:"lostgame")] (link: "Fourteen children")[(set: $wrong to true)(goto:"lostgame")] (link: "Fifteen children")[(set: $wrong to true)(goto:"lostgame")]](else:)[I have a cup of water and a cup of ink. I take a spoon of ink from the second cup, put it into the first cup and stir. Then I take a spoon of the mixture and put in into the cup with ink. Now, tell me, is there more ink in the water now or water in the ink? (link: "There is more water in the ink.")[(set: $wrong to true)(goto:"lostgame")] (link: "There is more ink in the water")[(set: $wrong to true)(goto:"lostgame")] (link: "They are the same.")[(set: $right to $right+1)(goto:"prize2")]]

You take your prize (if: $right is 1)[marbles](else:)[marbles and a badge ] and go home. You've never been good at riddles anyway and would've just lost everything if you tried one more question. Or... you don't want to think about it. You're not proud of backing away at all. Anyway, there is a long spring ahead of you. Maybe you'll find your own ice gifts yet. (display: "ending")

Correct! The second prize is a badge. Well, it's not much, but at least does look ancient unlike the first prize. The boy promises that the third prize will be really cool. --- ''Will you risk another quiestion?'' --- [[Yes! I want a real ice gift! ->game3]] [[No. I'd rather take these two and go home. ->win]] <img src="http://giftscomic.com/images/extras/games/icegifthunt/badge3.jpg"

''Final question!'' Somebody ate your cookies while you weren't looking. You suspect five kids and confront them. ''Martha'' says: //It was Lola!// ''Chris'' says: //It's not me!// ''Lola'' says: //It wasn't Luke!// ''Dyn'' says: //Martha lies!// ''Luke'' says: //Chris is not lying!// Two of them are liars. So, who ate your cookies? (link: "Martha")[(set: $wrong to true)(goto:"lostgame")] (link: "Chris")[(set: $wrong to true)(goto:"lostgame")] (link: "Lola")[(set: $wrong to true)(goto:"lostgame")] (link: "Dyn")[(set: $wrong to true)(goto:"lostgame")] (link: "Luke")[(set: $right to $right+1)(goto:"winner")]

''Congratulations! You won the game!'' The boy pats you on the back and smiles. His smile is weak and sad as if he is smiling through the pain. "Listen... I'm very ill. I'm dying. I have a cool thing I found in the ice but I won't need it where we all go after we die, so I wanted to give it to someone. Someone young enough to be truly happy about it and smart enough to use it well. So, here you go". The thing he produces from under his pillow takes your breath away: it's an ancient knife! You've never seen anything more beautiful. And it's sharp! And shiny! After all the years in the ice... You give the boy a hug and begin to cry. You're so very sorry that he is dying and so very happy about the gift, the feeling tears you apart. The knife will serve you well, and the memory of this day will be with you forever. <img src="http://giftscomic.com/images/extras/games/icegifthunt/knife.jpg" (display: "ending")

You decide that you're in no mood to look for trouble today, so you go to the beach near one of the Mute tribe's camps. Mute people are unlike you hunters. They are mostly fisherwomen and fishermen, raising fish and oysters for food in their little sea farms by the shore. Very quiet folk, though they love to wordlessly sing. You meet a few on your way to their shore and exchange a couple of greeting gestures with them. Nobody minds you being here and looking for ice gifts. The mutes do not fear them unlike the hunters, maybe because the ancestors of the mute people were the ice gifts themselves, or so the legend of the black iceberg says. [[Explore the beach. ->messagebottle]]

You are feeling rebellious today and decide to have an adventure. There is a little swamp island next to yours. A single cable way leads there. And you heard that nobody ever takes it but the chief and her husband, and even they go there only once or twice a year. The swamp island is a prison, a land of exiles, people disowned by their tribes and families for being cruel. There is only one man living there currently, Jan, and he is a murderer. Going to the swamp island is a dangerous idea. The very thought of it makes your heart race. (set: $alone to false) --- ''Will you go alone or with a friend?'' --- (link: "Alone.")[(set: $alone to true)(goto: "swisland")] (link:"With a friend.")[(set: $alone to false)(goto:"swfriend")]

You stand by the entrance to your mother's tent. You used to ask her, even beg her, to take you to the ice gift hunt many times, but she always refused to do this. --- ''Are you feeling lucky today?'' --- [[No. I'd rather go somewhere else. ->where]] (link: "Yes! I'll ask her again!")[(set: $luck to (either: true, false))(if: $luck is true)[(goto: "lucky")](else:)[(goto: "unlucky")]]

Everything you find today is mostly ancient trash. You leave it for kids, they like such things (you did too when you were little). The only thing worthy of your attention is this plastic bottle. It's a bit crumbled and dirty but can be straitened out and cleaned. Ancient plastic is a great material: as transparent as glass but not fragile, as light as a feather, waterproof, and can hold water when sealed with a cup (and the one you found has a cap!) There is also a bonus in it. Looks like a piece of paper. A message? [[Look at the message. ->message]] <img src="http://giftscomic.com/images/extras/games/icegifthunt/bottle.jpg"

You carefully open the bottle and take the little scroll out. You can not read ancient squiggles, you're not some cave dweller, and the message is unfortunately not a picture. Disappointed, you put it back into the bottle. You're curious about it, though... --- ''There must be a way to learn what it means...'' --- [[Show the message to the Mutes in the camp. ->mutemessage]] [[Go back home and show the message to your mother. ->mothermessage]]

You go to the Mutes' camp and ask to see one of their Elders. All of them seem busy, so you spend most of the day hanging around with your mute peers. You are about to go home when an old woman hails you and beckons you to approach her. You show her the message. For a while the elder just stares at it, puzzled, then walks away, your little scroll still in her hands. [[Follow her. ->mutemessage2]]

You decide to take the bottle to your mother. You find her on the south side of the island supervising a group of hunters who search for ice gifts in the sand. She doesn't seem happy to see you: she thinks you're going to beg to be allowed to join her team (again!). You do beg for this from time to time. But not today! [[Show her the message. ->mothermessage2]]

For a couple of hours you were standing by her tent, puzzled, listening to the wordless singing of several people inside. Nobody explained you anything. Well, at least the old men from the kitchen fed you while you were waiting. Soon, a halfblood girl from another camp arrived. She could speak your language and you learned that she was summoned specifically to explain things to you and thank you on behalf of all the tribe. The message you found was that important! Here it goes, translated from ancient language: //"Black iceberg, year 7. We stopped the motors. Chief Rita guides us. We are looking for a way to come back to you. We love you. Your sisters and brothers."// Black iceberg! A scary floating mountain from the legend that went to the sea with a hunter chief, two cave dwellers, and most of the mutes on it. Nobody made it to the shore. And now, two hundred something years later you learn of their fate. Your find is huge! The mutes' chief invites you to a feast tonight. You sit there, a teenager among the Elders, half proud, half scared, and totally feeling unworthy of such a high praise. You start toward home next day, your bag laden with gifts from the mute tribe. When you tell your mother about the message and she tells the chief... you are praised again, now at your own home. It was a lucky find. And you will definitely go for another ice gift hunt this summer! (display: "ending")

You show the message to your mother. She frowns as she reads it, then nods and gives you the plastic bottle back. "Keep it," she says sternly. "You've earned it. And you can join my search team today if you wish." Well, that's unexpected! Not that you mind, but... "Mother, what does the message say?" "It's from the people on the black iceberg. They live. And they are looking for a way to return to us. And now excuse me. I have to speak to the chief". She leaves you with the search team and walks away. For the rest of the day you collect ice gifts with the other hunters. You are not allowed to keep any, though. Everything you find is packed in bags and crates and sent to the hidden stash. In the evening, chief Lara thanks you herself and gives you one of her own knives as a reward for your find. It's cave dweller made and is based on ancient design. A gorgeous gift, though not an icy one! Also, you are officially the youngest member of the search team now and can, even must, go ice hunting every day. It's not as fun as doing this vithout permission, though. You'll see. (display: "ending")

You decide not to risk annoying your mother again. Wise choice. --- ''Where to now?'' --- [[To the beach near the mutes' camp. ->mutebeach]] [[To the swamp island. ->swamp]]

Luck is definitely with you today! You find your mother in good mood, which is a rare thing, and she agrees to take you with her today. Huzza! [[Follow your mother to the search site. ->search]]

Sadly, you're out of luck today. You find your mother in a bad mood. It's about something one of your siblings did. She refuses to take you with the search team today. Well, better luck next time. --- ''Where to now?'' --- [[To the beach near the mutes' camp. ->mutebeach]] [[To the swamp island. ->swamp]]

You begin clearing the shore with the other hunters under your mother's supervision. It turned out to be not as exciting as you imagined. The work is tedious. Most of the ice gifts are just ancient trash. Little kids would be interested in it, sure, but you are too old for this. You feel like you'll need all your luck if you want to find anything interesting today. You can try again tomorrow, of course, if your mother agrees to take you with her once more. --- ''Let's see how lucky you are today.'' --- (link: "Search for something interesting in the ancient trash.")\ [(set: $trash to (random: 1,8))\ (if: $trash is 1 or 2)[(goto: "nothing")]\ (if: $trash is 3)[(goto: "nau")]\ (if: $trash is 4)[(goto: "jewel")]\ (if: $trash is 5)[(goto:"humanscull")]\ (if: $trash is 6)[(goto:"helmet")]\ (if: $trash is 7 or 8)[(goto: "nothing")]]

You find a beautiful nautilus shell. It will make a great Nau (wish amulet). Not the biggest ice gift, but a nice one. Unfortunately, you don't find anything else today. Try again tomorrow! <img src="http://giftscomic.com/images/extras/games/icegifthunt/icegift_ammonite2.jpg" (display: "ending")

Something shines in the sand. You come closer and pick up a beautiful little thing of ancient design. It must be an amulet of some kind, or just a pretty bauble. You mother even lets you keep it. You don't find anything else today, but that's fine. This little ancient charm is a nice trophy. <img src="http://giftscomic.com/images/extras/games/icegifthunt/luckbrooch.jpg" (display: "ending")

You wish you haven't found this creepy thing: an ancient scull, obviously human. You wrap it in a piece of cloth and give it a proper burial, with a young shaman, a member of your team, who speaks the words of farewell to the unknown stranger. You return to your work in a somber mood and don't find anything else today. <img src="http://giftscomic.com/images/extras/games/icegifthunt/scull.jpg" (display: "ending")

When you haul this thing out of a sand pile, the team gathers around it making guesses at what it might be. Your mother thinks it's a piece of old armour, of a heavy kind. Ancients made lots of types of armour for many purposes. Some Elders say they even used it to fight each other. This thing is not dangerous and though you're not allowed to keep it, your mother lets you sketch it before it goes to the stash. Nice trophy! Good job! <img src="http://giftscomic.com/images/extras/games/icegifthunt/helmet.jpg" (display: "ending")

Alas, you find nothing of interest today. Better luck next time. (display: "ending")

You take a cable way to the swamp island and land in a thick pine forest full of strange stone structures and wooden totems. All the totems have faces carved in them. Laughing, grinning, scowling, and menacing, they look at you with many unblinking eyes painted red. What a creepy place... A single path paved with wooden planks leads into the forest. --- ''What will you do?'' --- [[Follow the path. ->trap]] [[Don't go into the forest. Try to find a way to the beach. ->evacsphere]]

Going alone to such a place would be madness. You decide to take a friend with you. Her name is Zala and she is as reckless and rebellious as you are. She thinks that ice gift hunting on the swamp island is a great idea and agrees to follow you there. [[Go to the swamp island. ->swisland]]

You are a hunter and a mother of two kids. Recently one of them got in trouble: she tried to get to the ice gift stash in the Springs Cave and was attacked by a strange creature there. You've been in the Springs Cave and the stash many times and haven't encountered any predators bigger than bats there. Since other hunters haven't found anything, you decide to investigate the matter yourself. (set: $d to false)(set: $l to false)(set: $sm to false)(set: $size to false)(set: $waterfall to false) --- ''What will you do?'' --- [[Go to the cave. ->adcave]] [[Talk to your daughter first. ->daughter]]

You are a young shaman in one of the camps of the hunter tribe. Your job is tending to your people's health, both physical and mental. So occasionally you have to sew a wound, deliver a baby, talk to a teen depressed over their first love, or console a dying old person.(set: $dream to 0) --- [[See what you have to do today. ->dreamcatcher]]

Double-click this passage to edit it.

You are a young healer with an ordinary servant psi-profile (an ancient library of medical memories imprinted into your brain) and a huge desire to help people. Your day begins early and is beautiful: sunny, cheerful, filled with the smell of flowers and distant echoes of the sea. You run up the stairs, as nimble and full of energy as a healthy child, and enter your office. Your little apprentice, Alina, a girl of eleven years old, greets you and says there are patients waiting for you in the examination room, a young married couple. It seems they want your advice on something. (set: $alina to 0) --- [[Go to them right away. ->patients]] [[Chat with Alina a bit. ->alina]]

You are a young househusband, tall and slender, with long red hair you wear in a braid. Your wife, Maya, is a healer, and while she's with her patients at the hospital you are looking after your three-year-old daughter. You have a quiet life, and you like it that way. This is a nice warm day. You've just finished your morning chores and decided to take your daughter to the beach so she could play in the sand. She loves it so much! You are not afraid of the ice gifts: you know that everything has already been cleared away today by the search teams and unauthorised scavengers of all ages. --- [[Take your daughter to the beach. ->hhbeach]]

You follow the path into the forest leaving the sunny beach behind. Soon, the gloom of the swamp island closes above you. And then this feeling comes: the chill runs over you, and every sudden sound, be it a broken branch or a startled bird, makes your skin crawl. There could be no mistake: you feel watched. And hunted. (set: $sphere to false) --- ''What will you do?'' --- [[Keep going. ->trap1]] (link: "Go back quickly!")[(if: $alone is true)[(goto:"htnogift")](else:)[(goto:"trap2")])

You leave the dark forest behind you and find a way to the beach. It's a sunny, cheerful place free of gloom of the totem path. It returns a smile to your face. (if: $alone is false)[Zala even begins singing.] [[Look for the ice gifts in the sand. -> evacsphere2]]

You start looking for the ice gifts but don't find anything at all, not even trash. It looks like someone is coming here often and keeps the beach clean. Thinking about the exiled murderer who may be watching you now gives you creeps. Still, everything is quiet(if: $alone is false)[ and you are not alone], so there is nothing to really worry about yet. (if: $alone is false)[Suddenly, Zala stops ahead of you with a gasp. [[Go take a look at what she's found. ->evacsphere3]]](else:)[You can continue looking for ice gifts if you wish or go back home before you got in trouble. --- ''What will you do?'' --- [[Explore the far side of the beach. ->evacsphere3]] [[Go home. ->htnogift]]]

There is a big metallic sphere at the far side of the beach. It's painted red, though the paint is scratched and discoloured in many places. It's an ice gift! A huge one! You can't wait to take a closer look at it. But you realize that wandering this far from the cable way can be dangerous. --- ''Will you approach the sphere?'' --- [[Of course! ->evacsphere4]] [[No, it's too risky. We're going home. ->htnogift]] <img src="http://giftscomic.com/images/extras/games/icegifthunt/icegift_sphere.jpg"

You(if: $alone is false)[and Zala] return home empty handed, but you don't care. You feel a great relief as you step on your camp's ground and hear human speech around you again. Back there on the swamp island you felt watched, //hunted//. There are no big predators on the islands. For hundreds and hundreds of years no human being felt the way you did, yet you recognized the feeling instantly. There is a good reason Jan the exile lives on the swamp island alone, away from the other people: he is a monster, a predator from old horror stories. And you just paid him a visit willingly! You need no gifts, no trophes, you are just happy to be alive and well. (display: "ending")

You approach the strange object. It is a red sphere indeed, and it has a door in it. It's open. And, judging by the line of fresh footprints in the sand, someone has been here recently. Whether it was the exile or another adventurer like you, they must've taken all the interesting stuff from this thing with them. The trail leads to the forest. (set: $sphere to true) --- ''What next?'' --- [[Look inside the sphere. ->evacsphere5]] [[Follow the trail. ->trail]] [[Go home before you got into trouble. ->htnogift]]

You open the round metal door and look into the sphere. A smell of stagnant water and death meets you. You have no doubts: this thing is a tomb. Even if there were shiny ice gifts inside you wouldn't dare take them. Yet somebody else did. And the trail looks like they were carrying something heavy. --- ''Will you follow the trail to the forest or go home?'' --- [[Follow the trail. ->trail]] [[Go home. ->htnogift]]

(if: $alone is false)[Zala disapproves of your decision, but she is your real friend and won't abandon you in danger. ]You follow the trail into the forest leaving the sunny beach behind. Soon, the gloom of the swamp island closes above you. And then this feeling comes: the chill runs over you, and every sudden sound, be it a broken branch or a startled bird, makes your skin crawl. There could be no mistake: you feel watched. And hunted. --- ''What will you do?'' --- [[Keep going. ->trap1]] (link: "Go back quickly!")[(if: $alone is true)[(goto:"htnogift")](else:)[(goto:"trap2")])]

You clench your teeth and keep going, doing your best to ingore the obvious warning your body is giving you. A sudden loud CLICK! nearly makes you jump. (if: $alone is false)[ "What was that?!" Zala asks. You don't know.]It was such an artificial sound, nearly metallic. A broken branch or anything else in the forest couldn't have made it. For a moment, nothing happens, and then the trap springs and gets you. (set: $fall to false) --- You are hanging high above the ground, tethered in ropes, helpless and scared.(if: $alone is false)[ Below, Zala is franticallly looking for a way to help you, but can not find any.] Hidden bells jingle melodically in the tree crown letting the exile know there is prey in the trap. (set: $cry to false) --- ''You have to do something, quickly!'' --- (if: $alone is false)[[[From above you see where the trap is. Tell Zala to cut the rope there to free you. ->fall]] [[Tell Zala to run away and save herself. ->zalarun]]](else:)[ (link: "Cry for help.")[(set: $cry to true)(goto: "janalone")] (link: "Wait for the exile in silence")[(set: $zala to "here")(goto:"janalone")]]

A sudden loud CLICK! nearly makes you jump. It was such an artificial sound, nearly metallic. A broken branch or anything else in the forest couldn've made it. For a moment, nothing happens, and then the trap springs and gets Zala. --- She is hanging high above the ground tethered in ropes, helpless and scared. Hidden bells jingle melodically in the tree crown letting the exile know there is prey in the trap. --- ''You don't see any way to free Zala. You have to decide whether you will stay with her or run away to get help.'' --- [[Stay with her. ->stay]] [[Run for help. ->gethelp]]

You tell Zala where the trap is and brace yourself for impact as she prepares to cut the rope. You fall... (set: $fall to true) --- The pain is horrible. But the worst is that your leg is badly hurt and you cannot even walk. --- ''You still can save Zala.'' --- (link: "Tell Zala to run away.")[(set: $zala to "away")(goto:"zalarun")] (link: "Wait for the exile together.")[(set: $zala to "here")(goto:"jan")]

You tell Zala to save herself. She is hesitant at first, but you manage to convince her to go. She says she'll bring help and runs away. (set: $zala to "away") [[Wait for the exile to come.->jan]]

(if: $cry is true)[You cry for help on top of your lungs. You know it's useless, but still... ]After a while, you see the exile on the path. He comes at a lazy pace, a slender guy with blond hair tied into a braid, his face heavily tattoed, its features, originally handsome, distorted by an uncanny grin. "Unexpected(if: $zala is "here")[ visitors](else:)[ visitor]!" he says. "Interesting!" (if: $fall is true and $zala is "here")[Zala jumps on her feet, knife in her hand, and stands in his way, ready to protect you. Jan gives her a wry smile. "C'mon, girl, I'm unarmed, see? Put your knife away. Let's have a chat." --- ''Your turn to say something.'' --- [[Stay silent. ->zalakilled]] [[Tell Zala to do what he says. ->jantalks]] [[Tell Zala not to listen to him.->zalakilled]]]\ (if: $fall is true and $zala is "away")[You haul youself into a sitting position, facing Jan. You have a knife but are in no shape to fight. You'll have to talk you way out somehow. --- ''What strategy will you choose?'' --- [[Try to keep him interested. ->janinterest1]] [[Threaten him. Tell him your friend ran back to the camp to get help. ->janthreat]] [[Beg him to spare you. ->janbeg]] ]\ (if: $fall is false and $zala is "here")[You helplessly watch from above as Zala, knife in her hand, confronts the exile. Neither of them pays attention to your cries, you can only watch. [[See what happens next.->zalakilled]]]\ (if: $fall is false and $zala is "away")[You are hanging upside down high above the ground. You can not do much and have to wait for the exile to make his move. Jan walks to the trap and disarms it, carefully lowering you to the ground in process. You are unharmed and still have your knife on you, but can not move, so fighting is out of option. You'll have to talk your way out somehow. --- ''What strategy will you choose?'' --- [[Try to keep him interested. ->janinterest1]] [[Threaten him. Tell him your friend ran back to the camp to get help. ->janthreat]] [[Beg him to spare you. ->janbeg]] ]

Zala attacks the exile. She has a knife, he is unarmed. It seems that she has an advantage here, you hope she has... but you face the reality quickly: Jan disarms your friend without effort, in one swift movement, almost catlike. He used to be the chief's elder son before he got exiled. That means he studied ancient martial arts. No simple hunter, especially a kid, is a match for him. A moment later Jan guts your friend with her own knife. You won't live much longer too. But your death will be much slower and a lot more painful than hers... --- Rest in peace, young hunter. Your tribe will miss you greatly. (display: "ending")

Neither of you is a match for Jan. He is older, stronger, and more experienced than both of you are, and he will show you no mercy, so fighting is out of option. You'll have to talk your way out somehow. --- ''What strategy will you choose?'' --- [[Try to keep him interested. ->zinterest]] [[Tell him there are others with you. ->zothers]] [[Beg him to let you go. ->zbeg]]

(if: $cry is true)[You cry for help on top of your lungs. You know it's useless, but still... ]After a while, you see the exile on the path. He comes as a lazy pace, a slender guy with blond hair tied into a braid, his face heavily tattoed, his face, originally handsome, distorted by an uncanny grin. "Unexpected visitor!" he says. "Interesting!" You are hanging upside down far above the ground. You can not do much and have to wait for the exile to make his move. Jan walks to the trap and disarms it, carefully lowering you to the ground in process. You are unharmed and still have your knife on you, but can not move, so fighting is out of option. You'll have to talk your way out somehow. (set: $alone to true); --- ''What strategy will you choose?'' --- [[Try to keep him interested. ->janinterest1]] [[Threaten him. Tell him your friend ran back to the camp to get help. ->janthreat1]] [[Beg him to spare you. ->janbeg1]]

You threaten the exile by telling him about Zala who is on her way to get help. Jan nods. He saw you two coming through the forest. He may be a murderer and a madman, but he is not stupid. He can not torture and kill you and get away with it in this situation. Disappointed and irritated, Jan goes away leaving you alone. (if: $fall is true)[You spend an hour waiting for the rescue party, your broken leg hurting as hell. This story has a happy ending, though a rather disappointing one. It will take a long time for your leg to heal and for you mother to trust you again after what you've done. You won't see a decent ice gift hunts for years. Still, you are alive. And even have a scary story to tell.](else:)[You spend an hour waiting for the rescue party, still tethered, just the way Jan has left you. This story has a happy ending, though a rather disappointing one. It will take a long time for you mother to trust you again after what you've done. You won't see a decent ice gift hunts for years. Still, you are alive. And even have a scary story to tell.] (display: "ending")

You beg Jan to spare your life. He laughs at you, of course. "Beg harder," he says. And you beg harder. And kiss his boots. And eat dirt. And cry. And do any humiliating thing he tells you to. This is madness... However, there comes a moment when your tormentor just leaves. Then you understand how stupid you were! Jan wasn't going to kill you or harm you in any way because he saw that you came here with a friend and knew that she ran away to get help. He wouldn't have laid a finger on you... And yet you let him have his "fun". --- You return home a miserable, broken person. You will barely leave your tent for the rest of the spring. And you will remember you cowardice and humiliation forever. (display: "ending")

(if: $shpere is true and $alone is false) [You ask Jan about the red sphere and the ice gifts he found there. He seems willing to discuss it. Life on the swamp island must be boring enough for the man to be interested in talking with a stupid kid about ancient trash. "Bones," Jan says simply. "There were dead bodies inside. Adult man and a teen girl". You cringe at the thought that Jan knows human anatomy too well for someone who isn't a healer and try not to think why. "I took the bones home," he continues. "Skulls will make a nice lamp, and I can use the other bones for carving. They also had a few ancient baubles with them. Want one?". Reluctantly, you agree, afraid of angering the exile. (if: $fall is true)[Jan hands you a tiny brooch of ancient design.](else:)[Jan shows you a tiny brooch of ancient design and puts it in your pocket. You shudder at the touch.] "Well, thanks for paying the old monster a visit," he says, yawning. "See ya!" He leaves you to wait for the rescue team, and you lie here, scared half to death, with a precious ice gift in you pocket. This story has a happy ending. You had a friend with you and Jan didn't want to put himself in danger by toying with you when there's a witness on the loose. Of course, you adventure won't help your relationship with your mother(if: $fall is true)[ and your broken leg will take a long time to heal], but you came back alive, with an ice gift and a scary story to tell your friends by the fire. Isn't that cool? <img src="http://giftscomic.com/images/extras/games/icegifthunt/icegift_brooch.jpg" ]\ (if: $sphere is true and $alone is true)[You ask Jan about the red sphere and the ice gifts he found there. He seems willing to discuss it. Life on the swamp island must be boring enough for a man to be interested in talking with a kid about ancient trash. "Bones," Jan says simply. "There were dead bodies inside. Adult man and a teen girl". You cringe at the thought that Jan knows human anatomy too well for someone who isn't a healer and try not to think why. "I took the bones home," he continues. "Sculls will make a nice lamp, and I can use the other bones for carving. Speaking of lamps and carving... I'd love get my hands on another skeleton. Yours would do. And now, when we've done with questions, let's have some fun..." Jan is aware of your situation: you are alone here and nobody knows where you've gone today. That means you're a perfect toy for this monster. Your death will be slow and painful, and nobody will ever learn of your fate. --- Rest in peace, young hunter. Your tribe will miss you greatly.]\ (if: $shpere is false and $alone is true)[You try to keep the exile interested, but you can not say much besides that you came here for ice gifts, and that is not enough. Jan is a good listener. He quickly learns from your talk that you are alone here. His grin widens, his eyes twinkle. This can not be good. Right. You are alone here and nobody knows where you've gone today. That means you're a perfect toy for this monster. Your death will be slow and painful, and nobody will ever learn of your fate. --- Rest in peace, young hunter. Your tribe will miss you greatly.]\ (if: $shpere is false and $alone is false)[You try to keep the exile interested, but you can not say much besides that you came here for ice gifts, and that is not enough. Jan is a good listener. He quickly assumes from your talk that you are alone here. His grin widens, his eyes twinkle. This can not be good. Right. He thinks you are alone here and nobody knows where you've gone today. Your death will be slow and painful, and nobody will ever learn of your fate. Zala will come back for you, with help, but it will be too late... --- Rest in peace, young hunter. Your tribe will miss you greatly.] (display: "ending")

You lie to Jan that you came here with a friend and she is now going to get help. That has an effect, though, not the one you wanted. He leaves you alone for a while and goes back the way you came from, looking for a second line of steps that would prove your statement. Of course he founds none. "Little liar," Jan tells you with a smile as he comes back. "You are alone here. There is no friend. And there would be no help. Now, let's have some fun..." You are alone here and nobody knows where you've gone today. That means you're a perfect toy for this monster. Your death will be slow and painful, and nobody will ever learn of your fate. --- Rest in peace, young hunter. Your tribe will miss you greatly. (display: "ending")

You beg Jan to let you go. Of course, he laughs in your face. You are alone here and nobody knows where you've gone today. That means you're a perfect toy for this monster. Your death will be slow and painful, and nobody will ever learn of your fate. --- Rest in peace, young hunter. Your tribe will miss you greatly. (display: "ending")

Zala begs you to run away, but you refuse to do this. You won't leave your friend to the monster. You wait for Jan together. He comes at a lazy pace, a slender guy with blond hair tied into a braid, his face heavily tattoed, its features, originally handsome, distorted by an uncanny grin. "Unexpected visitors!" he says. "Interesting!" --- ''What will you do?'' --- [[Attack the exile. ->staydead]] [[Threaten him, tell him there are others with you. ->zothers]] [[Beg him to let you go. ->staybeg]]

Jan is an adult man who used to be the chief's elder son before he got exiled. He studied ancient martial arts, as any chief's child should, and he will show you no mercy. You always wanted to be a hero, but now, when the danger is real, you see how foolish these dreams were. You run away to get help hoping that Jan knows you did. Hoping he won't harm your friend knowing he'd not get away with it when there was a witness - you. You were right. You return with a rescue party and find Zala on the ground. She is crying and nearly hysterical from the experience but unharmed, physically. She doesn't say a word to you on the way back and refuses to talk about this day ever since. Not the happiest ending of the story, but at least your teenage foolishness didn't kill you. There will be other springs and other ice gift hunts yet. (display: "ending")

(if: $shpere is true) [You ask Jan about the red sphere and the ice gifts he found there. He seems willing to discuss it. Life on the swamp island must be boring enough for the man to be interested in talking with a kid about ancient trash. "Bones," Jan says simply. "There were dead bodies inside. Adult man and a teen girl". You cringe at the thought that Jan knows human anatomy too well for someone who isn't a healer and try not to think why. "I took the bones home," he continues. "Sculls will make a nice lamp, and I can use the other bones for carving." Zala plays along: "What do you think this red shpere is? Why were those bodies inside?" "Good question!" says the exile, in the exact tone and phrase that you heard the chief use. He is truly her son. "I don't know for sure. Looks like they were hiding there from something. Judging by the fact that the sphere can float, it could've been flood. Or something even more catastrophic. Lots of broken bones. I'd say they died of an impact, almost instantly." You swallow the facts, generally interested, even though you are in danger right now. "How old is this thing?" you ask, carefully. "I'd give it at least a thousand years old, give or take," Jan shrugs and looks at you, squinting. "So you kids followed a convicted murderer into his lair to learn about this red thing? Not very clever of you." You both gasp. Your very lives depend on this moster's whim now. He knows it, and he enjoys the moment, clearly gloating over your terror. "It's been fun chatting with you two," he says, finally. "And you know what? I'll let you go. Be good kids and bring me something sweet and fruity to eat from the mainland next time. Leave it at the cable way station. I'll even put something for you there to make it worth your time." Having said this, he leaves you. Just like that. You can hardly believe your eyes. You return home safely, and nobody even learns of where you've been. The question is: will you do what Jan asked you to? --- ''Will you bring him fruit and sweets as he wanted?'' --- [[Yes. ->brooch]] [[No. ->htend]] ](else:)[You try to keep the exile interested, but you can not say much besides that you are came here for ice gifts, and that is not enough. Jan is a good listener. He quickly learns from your talk that you are alone here. His grin widens, his eyes twinkle. This cannot be good. Right. You are alone here and nobody knows where you've gone today. That means you're a perfect toy for this monster. Zala will die quickly, from her own knife masterfully taken from her by Jan. Your death, on the other hand, will be slow and painful, and nobody will ever learn of your fate. --- Rest in peace, young hunter. Your tribe will miss you greatly. (display: "ending") ]

Jan laughs at your feeble attempt to threaten him. He knows you lie. You are alone here and nobody knows where you've gone today. That means you are perfect toys for this monster. Zala will die quickly, from her own knife masterfully taken from her by Jan. Your death, on the other hand, will be slow and painful, and nobody will ever learn of your fate. --- Rest in peace, young hunter. Your tribe will miss you greatly. (display: "ending")

You start begging Jan to let you go, pitifully and miserably. That gets the exile's attention. An uncanny fire appears in his eyes. "All right, little kids," he says, grinning, "let's play a game. You win - you go free". He contemplates for a while. "You," he points in your direction, "will answer my questions. And you," he points at Zala, "will suffer the consequences. There will be three questions in total. If you are alive by the end of the game, I'm letting you both go". --- ''You have no choice but to play the game. But how will you play it?'' --- [[Play by the rules hoping Jan will keep his word. ->rules]] [[Try to trick him. ->trick]]

You decide you won't get into trouble if you don't go further than the cableway station. You go there one day and leave a bag of fruit and sweets for Jan there. He didn't lie to you: there is a gift waiting on the table. A couple of bone charms (Jan sure learned a lot from his shaman father). And these aren't even human bones. You take the charms and leave the swamp island forever. You have no desire to test your luck with Jan anymore. Sure, he was unexpectedly nice to you once, but next time he might be in killing mood. (display: "ending")

You are afraid to test you luck again by going back to the swamp island. Next time Jan might be in killing mood. So you stay where you are. You've done with adventures and ice gift hunting this spring. (display: "ending")

You arrive at the beach before other dads and have no one to chat with for the moment. Your daughter is playing in the sand. --- ''What will you do?'' --- [[Build a sand castle for your daughter. ->castle]] [[Gather some seashells for your wife. ->seashells]]

You build a sand castle for you daughter. She loves your castles. Sometimes she wrecks them, sometimes she decorates them with seashells, sometimes she puts her little toys inside and make up some story about them, with adventures and monsters, of course. You love her. She is clever and strong like your wife, and she has you red hair and blue eyes. She misses her mom who's been working several days in a row and looks forward for her finally coming home this evening. You are looking forward for this too. (set: $shells to false) --- It seems you have company. Another stay-at-home dad has come to the shore with his children. [[Say hello to him. ->greet]]

It is a bit childish: gathering seashells for your beloved, but you always do this when you can. Your wife is older than you. Next to her you are almost a kid. You've seen her work at the hospital; she is so serious, even stern when she is there, yet for you she always has a smile and a gentle word. And she admires your childish gifts, your naive poems, and everything you do. You think of her as you pick the most beautiful shells. You miss her. She's been working a lot lately, sometimes even staying at the hospital for several days in a row. She's coming home this evening. You'll have a delicious dinner ready for her, and these little gifts that always make her smile. (set: $shells to true) --- It seems you have company. Another stay-at-home dad came to the shore with his children. [[Say hello to him. ->greet]] <img src="http://giftscomic.com/images/extras/games/icegifthunt/shellsforwife.jpg"

You greet your friend, Leo, as he joins you at the beach. He is a big burly man, a father of twin boys about the same age as your daughter. While your children are happily playing together you have a chat. Leo's wife is the chief gardener of the apothecary well, and he is unhappy about her working too much lately. You tell him it's the same with your wife. "Icebergs must've brought something nasty with them this year," Leo says. "My Darya says her plants are dying. Leaves turning black, fruit rotting from the inside... She and others are looking for the cure. You know, it made me thinking... and so I came here to ask you: what's happened at the hospital? Why does you wife works so much?" "You mean... Icebergs may have brought another disease? One that affects people?" You look at your daughter playing with Leo's boys. You shiver at the thought of some unknown illness threatening her. "They haven't yet," Leo frowns, "but something is definitely about to happen. I think the healers are trying to prepare for it, whatever it is. Be a good boy, ask your wife what's up and then let me know too". --- After a while, you leave the beach and take your daughter home. Your thoughts are dark. You can't wait for Maya to come home. You must know the truth. [[Wait for your wife to return. ->wife]]

You go on with your chores as usual, trying to concentrate on simple tasks to calm down. You feed and bathe your child and read to her. You tidy up. You cook dinner. You put flowers(if: $seashells is true)[ and seashells] at the shelves. You lit the candles. Time goes slowly. It's almost night. The dinner gets cold, the candles burn out, and your wife doesn't come. Of course, it has happened before, lonely evenings are a part of being a healer's husband, but today it's different. Leo's words sowed fear in your heart. --- ''What will you do?'' --- [[Go as usual: put the food in the freezer, put your daughter to bed, read her a story, try to get some sleep. ->usual]] [[Go to Leo, ask him to look after your little girl while you go to the hospital to talk to your wife. ->sadtruth]]

You steel yourself and go on as usual. An hour after your daughter falls asleep you are still wide awake and worried. It won't go away by itself. You find a sleeping draught in the medkit and drink it. [[Sleep. ->usual2]]

You take your daughter to Darya's house and ask Leo to look after her. He agrees. After all, you always look after his kids when he asks you to and good neighbors help each other. This done, you take a cable way to the hospital where your wife works. It's getting dark. You still hope they will let you in. [[Enter the hospital. ->ill]]

You are a middle-aged woman of a very respectable profession: you are a gardener and work in the apothecary well which is one of the wonders of your civilization. The well consists of twenty circular terraced depressions, the deepest one of which goes down 30m. It has a clever irrigation system and provides unique condidions for growing medicinal herbs. The terraces' depth, design, and orientation with respect to wind and sun creates a temperature difference of as much as 15 °C between the top and the bottom. There are different types of soil in each ring, the air temperature varies with the height of a terrace, and there are shaded and sunlit areas as well as dry and damp ones. Medicinal herbs are usually very picky about the conditions they grow in. So, apothecary well allows people to grow all the plants they need on a small area and close at hand. --- [[Go to the apothecary well. ->awell]] <img src="http://giftscomic.com/images/extras/games/icegifthunt/well.png"

You wake up with a start: someone is banging on your door. Open the door.(click-replace: "Open the door.")[A pair of elder healers is standing on your doorstep. They have their masks on and eye you suspiciously. [[Ask them what happened. ->usual3]]]

They reply sternly: "Your wife died tonight of an unknown disease. You and your daughter must be quarantined. You have five minutes to pack". Hot tears come to your eyes as you hear this. The rest of the day is a blur. You are half mad with sorrow and regret. She died alone, and in great pain. You wish you had come to her, you wish you had seen her one last time, but you didn't. Your heart knew what was going on, but you didn't listen, you just drank a sleeping draught to shut it up.. You've been quarantined for three days and released on the fourth. You weren't infected. You couldn't be. After all, you haven't seen your wife in days. You take your little girl and go home. It feels so empty now, and everything here reminds you of Maya. Sometimes, icebergs brings dangerous gifts... (display: "ending")

Unlike everything else in your city, the hospital is not a cave, it's an ancient building with sharp, narrow, almost menacing features. You've been inside several times as a patient and a visitor. --- ''What will you tell the receptionist now so she would let you in in such a late hour?'' --- [[Tell her you're not feeling well. ->unwell]] [[Tell her you've come to visit someone. ->visit]]

The receptionist is an old woman that looks a lot like your grandma. She leans forward to you, obviously concerned. "What's wrong with you, sweetie?" (set: $symp to "none") --- ''Choose your answer wisely. She's a healer.'' --- [[Tell her you have a bad migraine. ->migraine]] [[Tell her you have a bad toothache and need to see a dentist right now. ->toothache]] [[She may be a healer, but you are a healer's husband and learned a thing or two from your wife. Invent a few sympthoms of an unknown disease. ->randomsympthoms]]

She shakes her head. "It's far past visiting hours, sweetie. Please, come back in the morning". --- ''What now?'' --- [[Leave the main hall. Try to enter the hospital through the back door. ->backdoor]] [[Beg her to let you see Maya. ->begluck]]

"Poor boy!" exclaims the receptionist. "Here, take this medicine for your pain. Drink it with tea and go to bed. Come back tomorrow if you won't feel better!" You nod, take the little vial she gave you and leave the hospital. Alas, plan A didn't work. You can still try the back door. [[Try the back door. ->backdoor]]

Leo told you healers might be preparing for something. If that's true, news of some unknown disease can get their attention. Let's invent one! (set: $conv to 0)\ (set: $fake to false) --- ''Choose a few symptoms and give it a try.'' (pick one or more and press READY!) --- Fever(click:"Fever")[(set: $fake to true)(click-replace:" ")[Fever]] Nausea(click:"Nausea")[(set: $conv to $conv + 1)(click-replace:" ")[Nausea]] Headache(click:"Headache")[(set: $conv to $conv + 1)(click-replace:" ")[Headache]] Stomachache(click:"Stomachache")[(set: $conv to $conv - 1)(click-replace:" ")[Stomachache]] Cough(click:"Cough")[(set: $conv to $conv + 1)(click-replace:" ")[Cough]] Insomnia(click:"Insomnia")[(set: $conv to $conv - 1)(click-replace:" ")[Insomnia]] Hallucinations(click:"Hallucinations")[(set: $fake to true)(click-replace:" ")[Hallucinations]] Weakness(click:"Weakness")[(set: $conv to $conv + 1)(click-replace:" ")[Weakness]] Sore throat(click:"Sore throat")[(set: $conv to $conv + 1)(click-replace:" ")[Sore throat]] --- (link:"READY!")[(if: $fake is true)[(goto:"notconvinced")](if: $conv is 3 or 4)[(goto:"convinced")](if:$conv < 3)[(goto:"notconvinced")]]

Well, there's the backdoor. If the luck is still with you it will be open. (set: $luck to (random: 3,6)) --- (link: "Try the door.")[(if: $luck is 6)[(goto:"backdoor2")](else:)[(goto:"fail")]]

Desperate, you start begging the old woman to let her in. You are a handsome young man with beautiful eyes. You hope your charisma will serve you well this time. (if: $shells is true)[You think of Maya as you speak. Of how much you miss her. Of how much you are worried for her. You revive every thought you had this morning when you were gathering seashells on the beach... And it works! You finally see pity and compassion in the receptionist's eyes. "You are such a sweet boy!"she says."You remind me of my husband when he was young. He, too, invented ridicuous reasons to see me when I was working several days in a row... You know, I'll let you in. Here, take this smock, put it on. Maya is in the lab at the seventh floor. Just don't be long". [[Put on the smock and go.->7thfloor]]](else:)[Alas, it doesn't work. [[Try the back door. ->backdoor]]]

(if: $fake is true)[Your story clearly sounds fake.](else:)[It seems your story doesn't sound very convincing.] The old woman shakes her head disapprovingly. "Sweetie, don't lie to me. I can see you are making things up. You are a grown man, a father at that, so, please, behave accordingly. Now go home. We have important work to do here". --- ''What will you do?'' --- [[Leave the main hall. Try to enter the hospital through the back door. ->backdoor]] [[Beg her to let you see Maya. ->begluck]]

"Poor child!" exclaims the old woman. "Come with me". You follow her to the dentist's office unsure whether you did the right thing. "Here, this is a medicine for your pain," she gives you a small vial. "Drink it and wait a little bit. I'll send for a dentist. She lives ten minutes away from the hospital". The woman leaves you and you immediately feel sorry for a poor healer who will be waken up and dragged back to work because of you. But what's done is done. You have ten minutes to find your wife, talk to her, and come back. You'd better hurry. (set: $try to 0) --- ''You wonder where she can be...'' --- Try her office.(click:"Try her office.")[(set: $try to $try + 3)(if: $try > 10)[(goto:"timeisup")](else:)[(replace:"Try her office.")[Maya's office is locked. There is nobody there.](print: " You have ")(print: 10 - $try)(print: " minutes left.")]] Try the recreation room.(click:"Try the recreation room.")[(set: $try to $try + 4)(if: $try > 10)[(goto:"timeisup")](else:)[(replace:"Try the recreation room.")[The recreation room is empty.](print: " You have ")(print: 10 - $try)(print: " minutes left.")]] Try the library.(click:"Try the library.")[(set: $try to $try + 4)(if: $try > 10)[(goto:"timeisup")](else:)[(replace:"Try the library.")[There is no one in there but a lonely library owl.](print: " You have ")(print: 10 - $try)(print: " minutes left.")]] Try the locker room.(click:"Try the locker room.")[(set: $try to $try + 2)(if: $try > 10)[(goto:"timeisup")](else:)[(replace:"Try the locker room.")[Empty.](print: " You have ")(print: 10 - $try)(print: " minutes left.")]] [[Try the lab. ->7thfloor]] Try the dining room.(click:"Try the dining room.")[(set: $try to $try + 3)(if: $try > 10)[(goto:"timeisup")](else:)[(replace:"Try the dining room.")[The dining room is already closed for the night.](print: " You have ")(print: 10 - $try)(print: " minutes left.")]] Try the basement.(click:"Try the basement.")[(set: $try to $try + 5)(if: $try > 10)[(goto:"timeisup")](else:)[(replace:"Try the basement.")[What on the earth made you think Maya would go to this creepy place? It's full of wild owls, no people here.](print: " You have ")(print: 10 - $try)(print: " minutes left.")]] Try the apothecary.(click:"Try the apothecary.")[(set: $try to $try + 4)(if: $try > 10)[(goto:"timeisup")](else:)[(replace:"Try the apothecary.")[There are a couple of young healers here. You quickly sneak past them.](print: " You have ")(print: 10 - $try)(print: " minutes left.")]]

You find Maya in the lab on the seventh floor. She is surprised to see you. "I miss you too, my love, but you shouldn't be there," she says as she gives you a hug. "Is everything all right? How's Alice?" You two chat for a while. You tell Maya of your day at the beach, of Alice's new pet owl, and thousand little things.(if: $shells is true)[You even give her these stupid little shells you gathered for her in the morning.] You feel so happy and yet so sad for some reason. Finally, you tell Maya: "I was worried for you. I heard icebergs brought a disease that hurts plants in the apothecary well, and that healers are afraid they could've brought some human diseases too. I just wanted to see you and make sure you're all right". "I feel a little dizzy, that's all," Maya says. "I really should take a break from my work. Come back home. Spend some days with you two..." She gives you a kiss. "Go back home, dear". [[Something is not right...->7thfloor2]]

Your story seems to sound at least a bit convincing. "Come with me, young man," says the receptionist. You follow her to the a little room with a table and a couch in it. "Wait here. I'll tell Maya to take a look at you." [[Wait. ->room]]

And there you wait... and wait... and wait... Finally the door opens. And it isn't Maya. A pair of elder healers is facing you. They have their masks on and eye you suspiciously. Soon, you learn from them what happened. --- The receptionist found your wife unconscious on the floor in the lab. Maya is now in the emergency room. The other healers are trying to save her life. It seems there was an accident in the lab and she had been exposed to some virus from the icebergs. And since you reported feeling ill too, you have to be quarantined, along with your daughter and a family she is now staying with. --- ''You don't have much choice here...'' --- [[Follow them to the quarantine chamber. ->quarantine]] [[Ask them to see Maya. ->mayasee]]

You follow the healers to the quatantine chamber. It will be your home for several days during which you won't get to see your daughter and your wife. You are not infected, of course, you just faked the disease, but healers take no chances. Even Leo and his boys are going to spend their time in quarantine because of you. Three days later you are allowed to see you wife before you leave the hospital. [[Go to Maya. ->q2]]

You are allowed to see your wife, but only several days later (after you've been let out of the quarantine chamber) and only though the thick glass. Maya looks bad, a mere shadow of her former self. She is on life support now, but there is still hope. You will return home. You will care of your daughter. You will keep her safe. Healers speak of an imminent epidemic of the disease of which your dear wife was the first victim. They call it ancient influenza. They fear it will kill thousands if it spreads. Sometimes icebergs bring dangerous gifts... (display: "ending")

You are allowed to see your wife, but only though the thick glass of her quarantine room. Maya looks bad, a mere shadow of her former self. She is on life support now, but there is still hope. You will return home. You will care of your daughter. You will keep her safe. Healers speak of an imminent epidemic of the disease of which your dear wife was the first victim. They call it ancient influenza. They fear it will kill thousands if it spreads. Sometimes icebergs bring dangerous gifts... (display: "ending")

Your time is up. You return to the dentist's. Soon, a weary middle-aged woman enters the room. She takes a look at you teeth and say that they are all in perfect state and that your pain (the one you faked so well) must be some inner ussue or just nerves. She prescribes you some meds and walks you out of the hospital. Back door is your only hope now. [[Try the back door. ->backdoor]]

Her lips are hot and her hands are trembling. "Maya, you..." She collapses to the floor, you barely have time to catch her so she wouldn't hit her head. Ah, you wish you were as strong as Leo and could carry her! But you've always been a tender weakling. [[Run to get help. ->mayaill]]

You alert the whole staff and Maya got carried into the emergency room. Time is precious. Her collegues say she has good chances to survive. Meanwhile, you have to go to the quarantine chamber, as well as your daughter and even Leo and his boys. --- You spend a week in a quarantine chamber. You were lucky. Loads of meds the healers pumped into you have prevented the infection. Your daughter, Leo and the twins came out four days sooner. Finally, you are allowed to visit Maya. You see her through a thick glass of her room in the quaratine chamber. She looks pale and thin, but she is conscious, and she smiles at you. Healers say she got lucky to get help so soon, thanks to you. [[Return home. ->maya4]]

You return home. You care of your daughter. You do everythging to keep her safe. Healers speak of an imminent epidemic of the disease of which your dear wife was the first victim. They call it ancient influenza. They fear it will kill thousands if it spreads. Sometimes icebergs bring dangerous gifts... (display: "ending")

It's open! Now go find Maya! [[Find Maya. ->7thfloor]]

You're out of luck today. The door is closed. There is nothing left for you to do but to return home. [[Go home.->fail2]]

You return home and go to bed, thinking of Maya. You wake up with a start: someone is banging on your door. Open the door.(click-replace: "Open the door.")[A pair of elder healers is standing on your doorstep. They have their masks on and eye you suspiciously. [[Ask them what happened. ->fail4]]]

They reply sternly: "Your wife has died tonight of an unknown disease. You and your daughter must be quarantined. You have five minutes to pack". Hot tears come to your eyes as you hear this. The rest of the day is a blur. You are half mad with sorrow and regret. She died alone, and in great pain. You wish you had come to her, you wish you had saved her or at least seen her one last time, but you didn't. Your heart knew what was going on, you should've listened to it, you should've gotten into the hospital somehow even if you had had to climb the walls... --- You've been quarantined for three days and released on the fourth. You weren't infected. You couldn't be. After all, you haven't seen your wife in days. You take your little girl and go home. It feels so empty now, and everything here reminds you of Maya. Sometimes icebergs brings dangerous gifts... (display: "ending")

"Top of the morning to you, master!" Nelly, one of your students, a girl of seventeen, greets you as you enter the well territory. You greet her and ask whether everything is all right. She takes a deep breath, hesitating, and then asks: "Something is wrong with the herbs on level four. Nothing disastrous, but I couldn't identify the disease. Can you take a look? Please". (set: $nelly to false)(set: $chelp to false)(set: $ehelp to false)(set: $coll to false)(set: $elders to false) (set: $abs to 0)(set: $quarantine to false)(set: $res to 0)(set: $rot to 0)\ (set: $early to false)(set: $chem to false)(set: $watersource to false)(set: $dandelions to false)(set: $invest to false)(set: $collnews to false)(set: $eldnews to false)(set: $wat to false)(set: $dand to false)(set: $inv to false)(set: $nel to 0)(set: $nonelly to false)(set: $sh to false)(set: $ill to false)(set: $recovery to false) --- ''Normally, you wouldn't waste your time on such a trivial task, but the girl looks really worried. Maybe the matter is worth investigating. What will you do?'' --- [[Go to level four and take a look at the plants yourself.->level4]] [[Tell the girl to ask one of your best apprentices to do this.->appr]]

You decide to play by the rules. Even men like Jan must have some sense of honour. At least you believe so. "All right, kiddos, first question! A simple one." (set: $win to false) --- ''"Imagine you see a lonely hunter by the fire who is roasting meat. He invites you to share a meal with him. You don't recognize the animal he is roasting, though, you just see it's big and has 12 ribs on each side. The question: is this guy a usual hunter or a cannibal?"'' --- (link:"He is a cannibal. And this is a human body he's cooking.")[(set: $win to true)(goto: "rules3")] [[He is a usual hunter, and the animal must be a pig. ->rules2]]

You don't believe you can win here and decide to risk tricking the man. You ask Jan to reverse your roles and let Zala answer the questions and you suffer the consequences. The exile gives you a sly look and agrees. Now you have to wait for Zala to give a wrong answer. Jan asks Zala the first question. --- (link:"Wait for her to answer.")[(goto: (either:"zalaright","zalawrong"))]

"Wrong!" announces Jan simply as if it wasn't a life and death question and you were just having a friendly chat. You can't help to think how much he reminds you now of his sister, Rita. She, too, likes to scare people from time to time to put them in line or just for fun. Then she just gives the "victim" a smile or even does something nice. But this is Jan, not Rita. The moment you both dare to sigh with relief he hits Zala in the face. It's a brutal, professional blow that leaves your friend sprawled unconscious on the ground. You gasp. "Well, it's not like she is dead," Jan shrugs, "but she is definitely in no condition to continue the game. So, I announce you a loser, kid. And now let's have some real fun..." You are alone here and nobody knows where you've gone today. That means you are the perfect toys for this monster. Your death will be slow and painful, and nobody will ever learn of your fate. --- Rest in peace, young hunters. Your tribe will miss you greatly. (display: "ending")

"Correct!" announces Jan. "Ah, it's so nice to meet a person who knows a thing or two about human anatomy. Next question, kids..." --- ''"I wonder if you know what I was exiled for."'' --- [[Murder. ->lastq]] [[Theft. ->rules2]] [[Rape. ->rules2]] [[Assault. ->rules2]] [[Being a psycho. ->rules2]]

"Yep. Murder it is," Jan nods with a smile. "I killed a guy named Lir". --- ''"So, why did I kill him? What was the reason?"'' --- [[Jealousy. ->rules2]] [[Hatred. ->rules2]] [[You wanted something he had. ->rules2]] [[It was an accident. ->rules2]] [[No reason. You're a psycho and you killed the guy just for fun. ->janwin]]

"Well, nice to know I'm still that famous among the youngsters," Jan chuckles. "All right, I'm done with the questions. And, you know, it's surprisingly fun to chat with someone besides myself once in a while". He scratches his chin, thinking. You hold your breath waiting for his decision. "I'm letting you go, kids. Unharmed and with a prize. I've got a bunch of little ice gifts in my bag. They're yours". He drops his bag on the ground and walks away. "See ya!" For a while you just sit there, paralyzed with terror. This man is a monster. Everything - his manners, his words, even the ways he moves - betrays a predator in him. Yet he lets you both go... You can't believe your luck. --- [[Look what's in the bag. -> janprize]]

You open the bag. Jan has obviously been ice hunting on his beach today. There are lots of little things: baubles, toys, a plastic bottle, a tiny knife, a strange shiny disc... All of the things are of ancient design. You share the ice gifts among yourselves and leave the swamp island forever. (display: "ending")

Zala gives the right answer. The next question follows. --- (link:"Wait for Zala's answer.")[(goto: (either: "zalaright2","zalawrong"))]

Zala answers the next question right. The third question follows. --- (link: "Wait for her to answer.")[(goto:(either: "janwin2","zalawrong"))]

As Zala answers right the third time Jan turns to you. "Well, well, nice move kid! It seems your friend is much smarter than you are," Jan chuckles. "All right, I'm done with the questions. And, you know, it's surprisingly fun to chat with someone besides myself once in a while". He scratches his chin, thinking. You hold your breath waiting for his decision. "I'm letting you go, kids. Unharmed and with a prize. I've got a bunch of little ice gifts in my bag. They're yours". He drops his bag on the ground and walks away. "See ya!" For a while you just sit there, paralyzed with terror. This man is a monster. Everything - his manners, his words, even the ways he moves - betrays a predator in him. Yet he lets you both go... You can't believe your luck. --- [[Look what's in the bag. -> janprize]]

You regain consciousness in the healers' tent with Zala at your side. You learn that you managed to hold Jan just enough to give her time to run away and get help. The exile didn't dare to kill you when there was a witness on the loose. So there you are, alive and almost well. Your mother has a bone to pick with you, though, for going to the swamp island. It seems there will be no more ice gift hunts for you this year. (display: "ending")

Young hunter, you always wanted to be a hero. But, you know, there is an old saying: "Heroes are the guys who get other people killed". That's true. They also die themselves quite often. You have a knife, Jan is unarmed. It seems that you have an advantage here, you hope you do... but you face the reality quickly: Jan disarms you without effort, in one swift movement, almost catlike. He used to be the chief's elder son before he got exiled. That means he studied ancient martial arts. No simple hunter, especially a kid, is a match for him. The next moment he guts you with your own knife. You will die quickly. Your friend won't be so lucky. And nobody will ever learn of your fate. --- Rest in peace, young hunters. (display: "ending")

You start begging Jan to let you go, pitifully and miserably. That gets the exile's attention. An uncanny fire appears in his eyes. "All right, little kids," he says, grinning, "let's play a game. You win - you go free". He contemplates for a while. "You," he points in your direction, "will answer my questions. And you," he points at Zala, "will suffer the consequences. There will be three questions in total. If you are alive by the end of the game, I'm letting you both go". --- ''You have no choice but to play the game by his rules.'' --- [[Play by the rules hoping Jan will keep his word. ->rules]]

You really do like the girl. She is one of your brightest students. She'd never ask your help if she didn't think it was serious. You decide to look at the plants and descend to level four with her. There Nelly shows you several mint plants that look ill and says they turned black overnight. You cannot recognize the disease from sight. You have to make a few tests first. (set: $rot to 1)(set: $check to false)(set: $early to true)(set: $chemyes to false)(set: $eldhelp to false)(set: $chelp to false) You take several leaves to take a closer look at them at the lab. (set: $day to 1) --- ''What needs to be done today'' (pick one or more and press "DONE") --- (link-replace:"Destroy infected plants.")[(set: $rot to $rot - 2)&#9745 You order the destruction of all infected plants. The mint bed is no more] (link-replace:"Spray healthy plants near the infected patch with protective chemicals to prevent the infection.")[(set: $chem to true)(set: $rot to $rot + 1)&#9745 You give order to spray the healthy plants with protective cheimcals on levels 4 and 5 to prevent the infection.] (link-replace: "Make Nelly your personal helper.")[(set: $nelly to true)&#9745 You make Nelly your personal helper and order her to report anything unusual she sees in the well. The girl blushes. In her eyes, it's a great honor.] (link-replace:"Tell your colleagues about the infection.")[(set:$res to $res - 1)(set: $collnews to false)&#9746 You gather your collegues and try to convince them that the new disease may be a serious problem, but you don't have any proof besides a few infected mint plants. They just laugh at you. You've lost precious time you could've spend working on the problem.] (link-replace:"Stay in the lab tonight and work instead of going home.")[(set: $abs to $abs+1)(set: $res to $res + 1)&#9745 You decide to stay in the lab and send a message home telling your family you are not coming. Working overnight is no news for you, just be careful, do not overstrain yourself.] [[DONE ->days]]

(set: $rot to 1)\ You don't have time for this! You've got more important things to do today. So you send Nelly to seek help of one of your apprentices. By the end of the day you forget about her and a few sick plants altogether. You finish your work early and return home to your family. (link:"Next day.")[(set:$res to $res - 1)(goto:"days")] (set: $day to 1)

(if: $nel > 3)[ ''You've found Nelly unconscious on the floor. She's exhausted since you made her work without proper rest and sleep. She will spend this day in a hospital, recovering.''(set: $nel to 0)](else:)[(if: $nonelly is false)[ ''What should Nelly do today?'' (set: $nellyaway to false) (if: $chem is true and $watersource is false)[(link-replace: " Send Nelly to find out where the water for dissolving the chemicals came from. Younger students who work in lower labs must know. And they may tell your young assistant what they would never tell you. ")[(set: $watersource to true)(set: $nellyaway to true)(set: $nel to $nel + 1) &#9745 You send Nelly on her own secret mission. Let's hope she'll learn something.]]\ (if: $chem is false and $dand is false)[(link-replace: "Send her to talk to the younger students. They spend most of their day in the field and might've noticed something important about the disease.")[(set: $nellyaway to true)(set: $nel to $nel + 1)&#9745 You send Nelly to gather information from the younger students. ]]\ (if: $dandelions is true and $coll is true)[(link-replace:"One of your collegues suggested that one of the water sources in the well could be contaminated. Send Nelly to ask around about anything unusual concerning water used in your garden.")[(set: $res to $res + 2)(set: $nellyaway to true)(set: $watersource to true)(set: $nel to $nel + 1)&#9745 You send Nelly to gather information about water.]]\ (if: $nel > 2)[(link-replace:"Nelly asks your permission to take a day off tomorrow. She says she's exhausted. Will you let her rest?")[(set: $nel to 0)(set: $nonelly to true)(set: $res to $res - 0.3)&#9745 You allow the girl to rest next day. She deserves it.]] If you don't have any other assignments for her she will stay with you to help you with tests and paperwork. ](else:)[(set: $nonelly to false) ''With your permission, Nelly took a day off today. She will return to you tomorrow, well rested.'' ]]

You've lost control over the infection as well as all hope of saving the garden and focused on stopping the virus from spreading beyond it. Desperate, you order to purify the apothecary well by the fire. You watch it burn. Every tree, every herb you ever cared for turned into smoke, embers, and ash. The unknown disease must've come with the melting icebergs, straight from the anciend days. (if: $leo is true)[Heartbroken, you return home only to find your husband and kids have been quarantined. The healers suspect them to be infected with another ice gift disease, the one that targets humans. The dark days are close, when monsters and diseases of old will rise from their graves. The dark days, where you'll have to fight unknown diseases without fresh medicinal herbs...](else:)[The healers have encountered their own ice gift disease, the one that affects humans. The dark days are close, when monsters and diseases of old will rise from their graves. The dark days, where you'll have to fight unknown diseases without fresh medicinal herbs...] (display: "ending")

''You've found a cure fore the disease!'' Troubling news reach you this very day, though. Another "ice gift" disease has shown itself, and this one affects people. Healers speak of a possible epidemic that will kill thousands if it spreads. (if: $leo is true)[Your own family, a husband and twin boys, has been quatantined already.] (if: $rot < 6)[You acted quickly and managed to save most of the plants in the apothecary well! If the epidemic ever happens, healers won't have to fight it without fresh medicinal herbs.]\ (if: $rot > 3 and $rot < 7)[You saved most of the medicinal herbs, but it might not be enough if healers are right about the incoming epidemic.]\ (if: $rot > 7 and $rot < 9)[The apothecary well is done for. It may prove disastrous if the epidemic strikes. Healers will have to fight it without fresh medicinal herbs. Well, at least you prevented the disease from spreading beyond your own garden and food crops are safe from it.]\ (if: $rot > 9)[You found the cure too late: the disease has spread beyond your garden. Now, if the epidemic strikes, healers will have to fight it without fresh medicinal herbs, and food supplies will be limited. Hard times are upon your tribe.] Sometimes icebergs bring dangerous gifts. You, humans, have just won a battle, but not the war. (display: "ending")

(if: $home is true)[(set: $abs to 0)]\ (if: $day is 1 and $early is false)[(set: $abs to 0)]\ (if: $abs is 1)[(set: $res to $res - 0.3)]\ (if: $abs is 2)[(set: $res to $res - 0.4)]\ (if: $abs is 3)[(set: $res to $res - 0.7)]\ (if: $abs is 4)[(set: $res to $res - 1.3)]\ (if: $day is 1 and $early is false)[(set: $chemyes to false)(set: $eldnews to false)(set: $chelp to false)(set: $eldhelp to false)(set: $collnews to false)]\ (if: $early is false and $day is 1)[(set: $res to 0)](else:)[(set: $res to $res + 0.5)]\ (set: $r to (random: 1,4))(if: $r is 3)[(set $rot to $rot - 1] (set: $day to $day +1)(set: $rot to $rot + 2)(if: $res < 0)[(set: $res to 0)] ''DAY (print: $day)''(if: $rot > 9.6)[(goto: "burnfire")](if: $res > 9.9)[(goto:"cured")] --- &#9749 Days without sleep: (print: $abs) \ &#9879 Research progress: (print: $res)/10 \ &#9899 Infected circles: (print: $rot)/10 \ (display: "nosleep") --- ''Events:'' (display: "news") --- (display: "research") --- ''What needs to be done today?'' (pick one or more and press "DONE") --- (display: "orders") (if: $nelly is true)[(display: "nelly") ] [[DONE ->days]]

(if: $abs is 1)[(set: $res to $res +1) You haven't slept that night. You feel a bit tired now but are still full of energy. Besides, coffee helps.](if: $abs is 2)[(set: $res to $res +1)You haven't slept two nights in a row and drank a lot of coffee to stay awake. You are beginning to feel bad. Working overnight doesn't boost your research as much as it used to in the beginning. (if: $nellyaway is false and $nelly is true)[It's a good thing you have Nelly to help you.]](if: $abs is 0)[You had a proper rest this night and woke up refreshed.](if: $abs is 3)[(set: $res to $res +0.5)You've been working three nights in a row without rest. Right now you are almost in a zombie state. Your reactions are slow, your eyes are mad, you can barely stay awake. You've done some work tonight, but it wasn't much. Rest would've done you more good.]\ (if: $abs is 4)[(set: $res to $res - 0.8)You couldn't work this night. Exhausted, you collapsed on the floor of your lab and fell asleep there. (if: $nelly is true and $nellyaway is false)[(set: $res to $res + 0.6)(set: $abs to 0)Nelly decided not to wake you up and had covered you with a blanket to keep you warm. She did a part of your job, too.]]

(set: $random to (random: 1,6))\ (if: $random is 6 and $day > 1)[ &#9748 It rained heavily all night! With so much water flowing from circle to circle the disease spreads even faster. (set: $rot to $rot + 2)]\ (if: $random is 1 and $day > 1)[ &#9728 The weather is unbearably hot today. It makes everything harder - from simply walking around to thinking - and slows down your research progress.(set: $res to $res - 0.2) ]\ (if: $random is 3)[ &#9925 The weather is cloudy today. You fear it might rain soon. ] (set: $random2 to (random: 1,10))\ (if: $random2 is 10 and $day > 2 and $sh is false)[(set: $sh to true) &#9993 You recieved a letter from Dune, a shaman of the Mute tribe. She says she heard of your problem and can help. Dune offers you to pay her a visit on the hunters' island. It will take time from your research, but it may be worth your while: the Mute tribe is said to keep many ancient secrets. Will you go? (link-replace: "NO")[(set: $no to true)You don't have time for shamans and magic, you're doing science here!] (link-replace: "YES")[(set: $res to $res + 2)(set: $yes to true)(if: $no is true)[You didn't like the offer at first, but you have reconcidered. ]You pay Dune a visit. The silent woman "talks" to you by writing and signing. It takes a while, but you learn of an ancient disease engineered specifically for destroying enemy gardens. Many cities fell to famine because of it. Reconstructing the cure will take a while, but it will be easier now, when you know tha name of the disease and can look it up in the ancient books. You thank the shaman and return to the well. ]]\ (if: $random2 is 1 and $ill is false)[(set: $ill to true) &#9993 One of your kids has fallen ill. He has fever and cough. Your husband will take care of him, of course, buy you wish you could help too or at least be there for your son... News of your kid's illness lower your spirits and affect your research negatively. (set: $res to $res - 0.7)]\ (if: $random2 is 2 and $ill is true and $recovery is false)[ (set: $recovery to true)&#9993 You've just received a letter from home! You son is feeling much better! The news raise your spirits and affect your research positively! (set: $res to $res + 1)]\ (if: $random2 is 5 and $coll is true)[ &#9993 One of your colleagues has fallen ill! She used to help you so much! Your research progress will slow down without her. (set: $res to $res - 1)]\ (if: $random3 is 7 and $abs > 0 and $day > 1)[ &#9732 You've seen a falling star while working late into the night. It was beautiful! You have smiled for the first time in many days. ]\ (if: $chem is true and $chemyes is false)[(set: $chemyes to true) What you see in the well today is disastrous! All the plants that had been sprayed with protective chemicals got infected! The disease is spreading rapidly. You must act quickly! ](else:)[ The infection has spread since yesterday. More and more plants are showing the signs of disease. Something must be done. ]\ (if: $rot > 8)[ The disease is out of control. (if: $coll is true)[Your collegues are afraid it may spread to their gardens as well.](else:)[There is a chance it may spread to other gardens.] You must do something, and quickly! Purifying the garden by fire looks like a good option now. You will lose everything, but at least it will stop the disease. ]\ (if: $coll is true and $collnews is false)[ Your collegues, the heads of other gardens, are now working with you on the research. It's good to know you're not alone anymore. (set: $collnews to true)]\ (if: $coll is false)[ You can not win against this alone. It would hurt your pride and reputation, but maybe it's time to ask your collegues, the heads of other gardens, for help. ]\ (if: $elders is true and $eldnews is false)[(set: $eldnews to true) &#9752 The ancient books the elders gave you didn't help you to identify the disease, but they gave you a few important clues about what to look for and how to treat the infected plants. It's a big help. ]\ (if: $nellyaway is true and $watersource is false and $dand is false)[(set: $res to $res + 1)(set: $dandelions to true)(set: $dand to true) &#9752 Nelly has talked to the younger students as you requested. They say some plants are still growing on the infected patches, unaffected by the disease. Dandelions, mostly. Studying them might prove useful. ]\ (if: $nellyaway is true and $watersource is true and $wat is false)[(set: $wat to true)(set: $res to $res + 3) &#9752 Nelly returns with the good news! She's found the source of the water used to dissolve the chemicals. Some fool decided melting ice was a good idea. You're almost sure now that the mysterious disease is an ice gift from ancient times. ]\ (if: $invest is true and $inv is false)[(set: $inv to true) &#9752 You spent half of the previous day talking to the younger members of your staff. They are a bit afraid of you, every one of them. It took a lot of effort to make them talk. Your hypothesis is promoted to theory now. Water one of the younglings used to dissolve the chemicals was from the melted ice. There is a good chance the disease is actually an ice gift from ancient time.(set: $res to $res + 3) ]

(set: $home to true)\ (if: $rot > 7)[(link: " BURN every thing in the apothecary well to prevent the disease spreading to other gardens. It may be not too late yet. ")[(goto:"burnfire")]]\ (link-replace:" Destroy infected plants. ")[(set: $rot to $rot - 1) &#9745 You order the destruction of all infected plants. (if: $day is 1)[The mint bed is no more.] ]\ (if: $chelp is false)[(link-replace:" Tell your colleagues about the infection. ")[(if: $rot > 1.9)[(set: $res to $res + 1)(set: $coll to true)(set: $chelp to true) &#9745 Right now it's obvious that the situation is dangerous and the disease threatens all gardens on the islands, not the apothecary well only. Your collegues are ready to help you. It will boost your research a lot. ](else:)[(set: $res to $res - 0.5) &#9746 You gather your collegues and try to convince them that the new disease may be a serious problem, but you don't have any proof besides a few infected mint plants. They are not ready to leave their gardens to help save yours yet. You've lost precious time you could've spend working on the problem. ]]]\ (link-replace:" Stay in the lab tonight and work instead of going home. ")[(set: $abs to $abs+1)(set: $res to $res + 1)(set: $home to false) &#9745 You decide to stay in the lab and send a message home telling your family you are not coming. Working overnight is no news for you, just be careful, do not overstrain yourself. ]\ (if: $eldhelp is false)[(link-replace:" Alert the elders. Getting their cooperation would help you tremendously. But if you don't give them enough proof they will punish you for the false alarm. ")[(if: $res > 2)[(set: $elders to true)(set: $eldhelp to true)(set: $res to $res + 1) &#9745 You have proof that the disease is new and that gets their attention, though many of them still think you're overreacting. You are granted the access to ancient books. It will boost your research. ](else:)[ &#9746 The elders didn't listen to you. You've lost precious time persuading them and even made a few enemies among their kind. (set: $res to $res - 1)]]]\ (if: $chem is false)[(link-replace:" Spray healthy plants near the infected patches with common protective chemicals to prevent the infection. ")[(set: $chem to true)(set: $rot to $rot + 2) &#9745 You give order to spray the healthy plants with protective cheimcals on levels 4 and 5 to prevent their infection. ]]\ (if: $nelly is false and $chem is true)[(link-replace:" Try to find out where the water for dissolving chemicals came from. It will take time from your research but it may be worth the delay.")[ &#9745 You have a hypothesis that the water used for dissolving the protective chemicals was infected. You are going to test it. Whether it proves true or not the investigation will delay your research(set: $res to $res - 1)(set: $invest to true)]] (if: $nelly is true and $nonelly is true and $chem is true)[(link-replace:" Try to find out where the water for dissolving chemicals came from. It will take time from your research but it may be worth the delay.")[ &#9745 You have a hypothesis that the water used for dissolving the protective chemicals was infected. You are going to test it. Whether it proves true or not the investigation will delay your research(set: $res to $res - 1)(set: $invest to true)] ]

''What you already know about the disease:'' (if: $res is 0)[ You still don't know anything about the disease. You must start working on the problem immediately! ]\ (if: $res > 0.9)[ This disease must be new. You haven't found anything like it in the books. ]\ (if: $res > 2)[ You performed several tests on the infected leaves and learned that it's neither fungus nor bacteria that causes rotting in the plants. It can be either a virus or some toxic substance. You need more tests. ]\ (if: $res > 3)[ You've proven that the infecting agent is a virus. ]\ (if: $res > 5)[ You've found a few chemicals that can delay the spreading of the disease. That shoud buy you some time. (set: $rot to $rot - 1)]\ (if: $res > 6)[ You tried different chemicals on the plants. Some help to slow the infection down, but the virus adjusts quickly. You should find a permanent solution to the problem, and soon. ]\ (if: $wat is true or $inv is true)[ The disease is an ancient "ice gift".]\ (if: $dand is true)[ Some plants are resistant to the disease.]\ (if: $res > 7)[\ (if: $dandelions is true)[ You've managed to extract the protective substance from dandelions. The next step would be creating a cure based on it! ]\ (if: $watersource is true)[ You've mangaed to isolate the protective substance from ancient plants frozen in ice and are just one step away from synthesizing the cure! ]\ (if: $invest is true)[ &#9752 You've mangaed to isolate the virus from ancient plants frozen in ice and are just one step away from synthesizing the cure! ]\ (if: (round: $res) > 8)[(if: $dandelions is false and $watersource is false and $invest is false and $elders is true and $books is false)[(set: $books to true) &#9752 You've found a disease very much like the one plaguing your well mentioned in one of the ancient books given you by the Elders. You are one step closer to making a cure! ]]\ (if: $res > 9 and $dandelions is false and $watersource is false and $invest is false and $elders is false and $coll is false)[ &#9752 You decide to brute force the problem by testing various chemicals on the infected plants. It might work. Or not... ]]\ (if: $sh is true and $yes is true)[You know the ancient name of the disease very much like the one you're fighting and the purpose it had been engineered for.]\ \ (if: $res > 9.9)[(goto: "cured")]

(if: $d is true)[You have talked to your daughter and learned a few things about the beast: - It is small (about the size of a cat), furry, and warm-blooded. - It is likely afraid of light. - It stays away from big humans and hunts little ones. - It attacked your daughter somewhere near a waterfall. ](else:)[You decided not to waste time talking to a child. She had no lantern with her, so what could she have seen anyway? ''What you already know:'' - Your daughter tried to reach the ice gift stash in the cave where ancient things are stored. - She got lost in the tunnels. - The unknown beast attacked her. - She killed the beast with her knife. - She had a medkit in her bag and had bandaged her wounds to stop the bleeding. - She reached the stash eventually and had been rescued by a couple of hunters that had happened to be there.] (set: $electric to false)(set: $trap to false)(set: $clothes to false) --- ''Time to prepare for the hunt.'' --- (if: $l is true or $sm is true or $size is true)[You can take a standard pack with you ((lantern, medkit, knife, rope, flask, warm clothes), or make a few changes based on what your daughter told you about the beast. Make your choices before going to the Springs Cave: [[Take a standard pack, change nothing. ->adcave2]] (if: $l is true)[(link-replace: "Take an electric lantern instead of the ordinary one that uses candles. You will be able to switch it on and off in a moment. It will cost you, though, because you'll have to trade something really good for it. ")[(set: $electric to true) You go to cave dwellers' island and trade a bunch of good furs for an electric lantern. Let's hope it will be worth it. ]]\ (if: $sm is true)[(link-replace: " Pack some of your daughter's old clothes that have her smell on them (since the beast prefers kids to adult humans and may have poor vision due to living in a cave). ")[(set: $clothes to true) You take some of your daughter's clothes with you. ]\ (if: $size is true)[(link-replace: " Add a trap for small game to your pack (sinse you know the beast was small) and meat to use as bait. ")[(set: $trap to true) You pack a trap and a piece of raw meat with you.] [[Take a cable way to the Springs Cave. ->adcave2]]]]]\ (else:)[You take a standard pack with you: lantern, candles, medkit, knife, rope, flask with water, warm clothes. [[Take a cable way to the Springs Cave. ->adcave2]]]

You enter your kids' tent. Your daughter, Alice, is here, playing checkshells with her sister, Lisa. Alice's right arm is bandaged (the beast had torn it badly with its claws). Otherwise, she looks fine, if a bit pale from the experience. ''What you already know:'' - Your daughter tried to reach the ice gift stash in the cave where ancient things are stored. - She got lost in the tunnels. - The unknown beast attacked her. - She killed the beast with her knife. - She had a medkit in her bag and bandaged her wounds to stop the bleeding. - She reached the stash eventually and had been rescued by a couple of hunters that happened to be there at the time. --- ''Ask her some questions.'' (press "DONE" when you're ready to go) --- (link-replace: "What did the beast look like?")[(set: $d to true)(set: $size to true)What really surprises you (and makes you proud) is that your daughter did examine the beast after she had bandaged her wounds. She had no lantern with her so she can not tell you what the beast looked like. All she learned is that it seemed furry and warm to the touch and was about the size of a cat.] (link-replace: "Where were you attacked?")[(set: $d to true)(set: $waterfall to true)Unfortunately, Alice can not tell you the exact location where the beast attacked her: she had lost her way in the tunnels by this moment. All you learn is that there was a sound of falling water nearby. The cave is full of springs, and that must've been a little waterfall.] (link-replace: "What was unusual about that beast?")[(set: $d to true)(set: $l to true)(set: $sm to true)A predator that hunts humans (even if they are kids) is unusual enough already, but you still ask for more details. Alice recalls that she got the feeling of being hunted only after entering a very dark tunnel where outside light couldn't reach and following it for some time. The creatures must be afraid of light. Also, the hunters that rescued Alice were very surprised at what she'd told them because they've never seen any predators in the cave (save the bats). You suspect the beast didn't attack them because they seemed too big for it. Alice, on the other hand, was just the right size to be considered prey.] [[DONE. ->adcave]]

(if: $electric is false)[(set: $l to false)]\ (if: $trap is false)[(set: $size to false)]\ (if: $clothes is false)[(set: $sm to false)]\ You take a cable way to the Springs Cave. The evening is warm and gentle, filled with the smell of young flowers and gilded by the light of the setting sun. The way to the stash is so familiar to you that you could've followed it with your eyes closed, easily. Yet you light your (if: $l is true)[electric ]lantern and stray from the well trodden path [(if: $waterfall is true)[trying to find the waterfall your daughter told you about.]](else:)[following one of the springs like your daughter did.] [[Go on. -> adcave3]]

Caves are not just empty tunnels and dripping water, they hold as much live as forests do but this life looks almost alien to a surface dweller. Most of the cave creatures are blind, eyeless even. Some can see, like bats, but rely mostly on hearing and can hear high-pitched sounds the surfacers are deaf to. The other feature that is usual to the cave creatures is the lack of colour. Blind world doesn't need it. Some animals are just white or grey, some are translucent. There are eyeless fish in the springs that looks like little glass figurines. You can see their little hearts beat, muscles work, and food move in their stomachs, so transparent they are. Another type of creatures dwelling there make their own light. They are bioluminescent, like fireflies and seasparkle well known to surfacers, and glow in green, blue, and white. You keep looking for something that may give you a clue about the creature you're hunting. You know it's a small carnivore, so you look for bones, footprints, fur, etc. You've had no luck so far. (if: $d is true)[ Your daughter mentioned passing through a tunnel with glowing snails. That was after the creature attacked her. You know where the tunnel is. Maybe you should begin your search from there.] --- ''What now?'' --- [[Keep searching. ->adcave4]] (if: $d is true)[[[Go to the tunnel with glowing snails. ->snails]]]

You keep following the spring as your daughter did and eventually find its source. The cave you've entered is huge, and filled with strangely colored ice. No sign of little predators, though. You can examine the strange ice before leaving, if you want. --- ''Will you?'' --- [[Examine the ice. ->purple]] [[Don't waste your time. Keep exploring. ->adcave5]]

You find the tunnel your daughter told you about. It's as you remember it: beautiful, filled with soft green glow of its inhabitants. This place has a special air to it. One always feels safe within its walls. It must be something instinctive, something from dark, ancient ages when humans were being hunted by big predators in the dark and light meant fire and safety. Your daughter mentioned feeling safe too. She also gathered a dozen of these snails to make a living lantern. That helped her get to the stash where she was rescued. And it kept the little predators away. They must really hate light of any kind. (if: $l is true)[It's a good thing you have an electric lantern with you. You traded a bunch of good furs for one, but it might be worth it in the end. You can switch this lantern off and back at any moment unlike the usual one that uses candles.](else:)[That means your lantern is going to be a problem.] [[Enter the dark tunnel behind this one. ->darktunnel]]

You leave the glowing snails tunnel and enter the dark labiryth beyond it. You think of your daughter, a little child, frightened, wounded, and lost, wandering there for hours, and your heart sinks. But anger replaces the pity soon. You will find the monsters and kill them all so they would never hurt anyone again. [[Keep searching. ->darktunnel2]]

You're not sure what it exactly is but it looks like the cutest purple plant you've ever seen. And it's warm to the touch! Your tribe's shaman might find it interesting. --- ''Will you take a sample with you?'' --- (link: "Yes.")[(set: $moss to true)(goto: "adcave5")] [[No. ->adcave5]] <img src="http://giftscomic.com/images/extras/games/icegifthunt/purplemoss500.jpg"

(set: $random to (random: 1,6))\ (if: $moss is true)[You take a handful of purple moss with you and continue your search. ]\ (if: $random is 6)[(goto:"adcaveluck")](else:)[Unfortunately, you're out of luck today. You find nothing. (if: $moss is true)[You have this strange ice gift with you, though. Maybe the shaman will find some use for it. ] You must return home now, empty handed. You can try again tomorrow, though. Maybe if you had prepared better and talked to your daughter you'd be successful. [[Go home. ->adcavehome]]]

Next day you return to check on the trap. The trap has actually worked, but you find it broken, empty, and covered with a heap of bloody feathers. Apparently, those little creatures have torn apart and cannibalized the one that got into your trap. Crazy bastards. At least now you have proof that they are real and can get the chief's attention with it. The chief is very serious about the living ice gifts (and there's a good chance your creature is one of them) since her own daughter had nearly got killed by one. She will act accordingly. The glory of capturing and destroying the little monsters will be someone else's, not yours, but you are glad you did your little part. (display: "ending")

Soon, you hear faint squaking and scratching sounds somewhere in the dark. The creatures want to come closer, but something about you scares them. It must be the light(if: $sm is false)[ and the smell]. --- ''What will you do?'' --- [[Go away. Check on the trap tomorrow. ->trapnextday]] (if: $l is true)[(link: "Turn off your electric lantern. You can turn it back on any moment, so it shouldn't be too dangerous.")[(goto: "lightoff")]](else:)[(link: "Kill the light in your lantern. You'll have to use your tinderbox to light the candle again, so it won't be fast. Since you don't know what the creatures will do to you in the darkness it can be dangerous.")[(goto:"lightoff")]]

You return home. You hunt was unlucky this time. That happens. You just have to prepare better and try again. (if: $moss is true)[ You show the strange purple moss you found to Ren the shaman and the old Mute gets super excited over it! Apparently that's something very ancient and important. You can't know for sure. Mutes don't speak the way native islanders do. They are, well... mute. The news get to the chief soon, and she becomes as excited as Ren. The expedition is going to be sent to the ice cave where you've found the moss, wish you as a guide. But this is a different story.] (display: "ending")

After several long hours of searching luck finally smiles to you, though in a very strange way. You find a frozen ancient creature. A dog, likely. It has partially thawed and what parts had come out of the ice had been definitely gnawed upon. What you find on the ground beneath the frozen dog looks like... feathers. Pale and half-translucent, unlike any you've seen on the surface. If those creatures are not entirely stupid they will return there to check out if more meat has thawed out. It is a good place for a trap. --- ''What will you do?'' --- (if: $size is true)[[[Set a trap and leave. Check on it the next day. ->trapnextday]]] (if: $size is true)[[[Set a trap, hide, and wait for the creatures to come. ->traphide]]] (if: $size is false)[Too bad you don't have a trap with you. (if: $sm is true) You have your daughter's clothes in your backpack. That should make yourself smell like a child giving you a chance to fool the (possibly blind) creatures. You can try to hide nearby and wait for them to come. (if: $l is true)[[[Turn off your electric lantern. Hide and wait.->adcave6]]] (if: $l is false)[[[Kill the light in your candle lantern (you won't be able to light it back quickly!) Hide and wait.->adcave6]]] (if: $sm is false)[There is not much you can do. At least you know the place now and can return here tomorrow, better prepared.]] [[Go home. ->adcavehome]]

(set: $random to (random: 1,7))\ (if: $random is 7)[(goto: "adcave7")]\ You wait patiently in the dark. Nothing happens. You wish you had a trap or a bait with you. --- ''What now?'' --- [[Wait more. ->adcave6]] [[Go home. ->adcavehome]]

(if: $l is true)[You turn your electric lantern off and wait. The squaking sounds come closer. There must be dozens of these creatures there. The thought of being attacked by the horde of little monsters makes you uncomfortable.](else:)[You blow out a candle in your lantern and wait. The squaking sounds come closer. There must be dozens of these creatures there. The thought of being attacked by the horde of little monsters makes you uncomfortable.] --- ''What will you do?'' --- (if: $l is true)[[[Turn the light on. ->lighton]]](else:)[[[Light the candle again. ->lighton]]] [[Wait. ->lightoff2]]

(if: $l is true)[You press the button on your electric lantern and the light turns on. It frightens the creatures and they run away screaming. You didn't have time to take a good look at them. You've only glimpsed several greyish shapes hopping away on two legs. The trap is still in place. Maybe they will return when you are away.](if: $l is false)[It takes you some time to light the candle again. The sounds you make with your tinderbox frightens the creatures and they run away before you have a chance to see them. You still don't know what they are like. The trap is still in place, though. Maybe they will return when you are away.] [[Go home. Check on the trap tomorrow. ->trapnextday]]

You wait patiently, as a hunter should. After a while you hear the trap spring. A shrilling cry follows that sound and it's not due to your trap having hurt the creature. It seems its fellows is attacking it. They must be cannibals, those little monsters. --- ''What will you do?'' --- (if: $l is true)[[[Turn on the light. ->traplighton]]](else:)[[[Light the candle in your lantern. ->traplighton]]] [[Wait. ->lightoff3]]

(if: $l is true)[(set: $creature to "live")You press the button on your electric lantern and the light turns on. It frightens the creatures and they run away screaming leaving the one in your trap behind. It's alive, but injured. You come closer to take a good look at it. [[Examine the creature. ->examinecreature]]](else:)[(set: $creature to "dead")It takes you a while to light the candle again. By the time you have light the creature in your trap stops screaming. The others run away so quickly you don't have a chance to take a good look at them. All you see are greyish two-legged shapes hopping away. Your trap is now a mess of torn ropes, bloody meat, broken bones, and feathers. You salvage what you can hoping it would be enough for the chief to take the case seriously. [[Go home. ->hometrophy]]]

You wait until the creature in your trap stops screaming, eaten alive by its own kind. Soon, you hear the squaking sounds again. And they come closer. The little monsters are coming for you. --- ''Do something, quick!'' --- (if: $l is true)[[[Turn on the electric lantern. ->lighton]]](else:)[[[Light the candle. ->candleon]]] [[Prepare to fight. ->eatenalive]]

(if: $l is false)[You return home with a sharp toothed jaw and a heap of bloody feathers instead of a proper trophy. At least now you have proof the cave mosters are real and can get the chief's attention with it. The chief is very serious about the living ice gifts (and there's a good chance your creature is one of them) since her own daughter had nearly got killed by one. She will act accordingly. The glory of capturing and destroying the little monsters will be someone else's, not yours, but you are glad you did your little part.](if: $l is true and $creature is "live")[You return home with a living cave creature as a trophy and show it to Lara the chief. The chief's face grows red with anger and terror as she sees the creature. This little monster looks so much like the big one that had attacked her own daughter, Rita, many years ago. Immediately, Lara gathers her best hunters, you included, to purify the cave. You will lead this expedition and be remembered as a hero of your tribe. Well done!](if: $l is true and $creature is "dead")[You return home with a corpse of the cave creature as a trophy and show it to Lara the chief. The chief's face grows red with anger and terror as she sees the creature. This little monster looks so much like the big one that had attacked her own daughter, Rita, many years ago. Immediately, Lara gathers her best hunters to purify the cave. You want to go too, but your injuries are too serious. You have to stay at healers' tent while others earn their glory. Still, you did your part and can be proud of it.] (display: "ending")

The creature looks like a weird mix between a bird and a lizard. It has feathers all over its body. They are very small and soft and look like fur from the distance. It has a long, leathery snout curved like a carnivorous bird's beak and set with two rows of white teeth. Its tail is long, lizard-like, but with feathers. Its hind legs are very muscular and armed with sharp claws which must be the creature's main weapon. You feel sick looking at this thing. It reminds you of a certain living "ice gift" too much... Twelve years have passed, and still you can not forget it. But this creature is different. Life in the cave must've changed it the way it changes every species that comes to live underground. It's colourless, small, and almost blind. Its semitransparent eyelids are fused together. It can not properly see anymore, but it definitely knows what light is and is afraid of it. It flinches and shrieks as you move your lantern above its head. Time to take this little monster to the chief. It shouldn't be too hard since the trap in undamaged and can be carried in one hand. [[Take the creature and leave the cave. ->hometrophy]]

(set: $random to (random: 1,3))\ (if: $random is 3)[You were quick enough and lit the candle before the monsters attacked you. The light frightens the creatures and they run away before you have a chance to see them. You still don't know what they are like.](else:)[You weren't quick enough with your tinderbox. The creatures attack you. [[Fight. ->eatenalive]]]

(set: $random to (random: 1,4))\ (if: $random is 4 or 1)[(set: $creature to "dead")Luck is obviously with you today and you are a good fighter. You get badly injured but you kill a dozen of little monsters and scare the rest of them away. You light the candle, your hands shaky and bloody, and bandage your wounds. The cave floor around you is a slippery, bloody mess, dead creatures are everywhere. They look like an ugly mix between a bird and a lizard. Feathery, sharp-toothed, and blind. You don't have time for closer examination: you are too weak from pain and blood loss. So you just grab one of the monsters by the tail and leave. [[Get out of here. ->hometrophy]]](else:)[Luck is not with you today. There are too many monsters, too many... You fight bravely but get owerwhelmed soon. Rest in peace, forgotten hero. Your tribe will miss you greatly. (display: "ending") ]

Something changes. You have a strange feeling. Feeling of being watched. Hunted. Yet everything is quiet. Too quiet. A minute more - and a sence of discomfort turns into a silent alarm ringing though your body. It tells you to run before it's too late. You have a feeling someone is about to attack you! --- ''What will you do?'' --- (if: $l is true)[[[Turn on the light. ->adcave7lighton]]](else:)[[[Light the candle in your lantern. ->adcave7lighton]]] [[Prepare to fight. ->eatenalive]]

(if: $l is true)[You press the button on your electric lantern and the light turns on. The next moment you understand how timely your action was! You were surrounded by dozens of little silent monsters ready to jump at you any moment! The light frightens the creatures and they run away screaming. You didn't have time to take a good look at them. You've only glimpsed several greyish shapes hopping away on two legs. There is nothing else you can do. [[Go home. ->adcavehome2]]](else:)[ (set: $random to (random: 1,4))\ (if: $random is 4)[It takes you some time to light the candle again but you were lucky nobody had attacked you while you were at it. The next moment you understand how timely your action was! You were surrounded by dozens of little silent monsters ready to jump at you any moment! The light frightens the creatures and they run away before you have a chance to see them. You still don't know what they are like. There is nothing else you can do. [[Go home. ->adcavehome2]]](else:)[Luck is not with you today. There are too many monsters, too many... You fight bravely but get owerwhelmed soon. Rest in peace, forgotten hero. Your tribe will miss you greatly. (display: "ending") ]]

You return to the camp and go to the chief at once. You have nothing but your word to prove the existence of the cave monsters, but the chief believes you and sends a team of her best hunters to investigate the matter. The glory of capturing and destroying the little monsters will be someone else's, not yours, but you are glad you did your little part. (display: "ending")

(if: $waterfall is false)[(goto: "adcaveluck")]\ You hear faint sounds of falling water. That must be the waterfall your daughter had told you about. You follow the sound. And waterfall it is indeed. A thin curtain of water is falling from above. The sound it makes is gentle and melodical. But is there something special about it besides it being a landmark? --- ''What will you do now?'' --- [[Explore the waterfall closer. ->waterfall]] [[Leave the waterfall behind. Explore the tunnels nearby instead. ->adcaveluck]]

You approach the waterfall and notice a passage behind the silvery curtain of water. It's cold there, the walls are covered with ice, and the floor is littered with ancient garbage. [[Explore the passage. ->wexplore]]

You get away just in time. The creatures follow you all the way back to the glowing snails' tunnel but don't dare to attack. You return to the camp and tell the chief everything about the cave monsters and the egg chamber. You haven't brought any trophies with you but the chief believes you anyway. Immediately, she gathers her best hunters and orders them to purify the cave. You are to lead this expedition as a guide. The creatures are to be destroyed, but the eggs... Chief's orders on their part surprise you: the eggs are to be salvaged and sent to cave dweller labs for studying. Who knows, maybe those creatures are worth something after all. Anyway, you did your part and got your glory. That's the best a simple hunter can hope for. Or not?.. (display: "ending")

You carefully break the ice with your knife, take an egg out of the ice, and put it in your bag. It takes time, though. And, judjing by the loud sounds outside, the little monsters used that time to gather around the waterfall, waiting for you. With so many of them outside it may take more than light to keep them away. --- ''Prepare yourself.'' --- [[Use bandages and oil from your medkit and a metal rod from garbage on the floor to make a torch. -> wtorch]] [[Take your knife out and be ready to fight your way through the hungry horde. -> wknife]]

You quickly make a torch and light it up. Most of the animals are afraid of fire. You hope these ones are no different. They are waiting for you outside, hissing and scratching in the darkness where the light of your torch doesn't reach. They loathe and hate the fire, but something makes them bolder and angrier than usual. Maybe it's the fact that you took the egg. You have to get out of here before your torch burns out. --- [[RUN! ->wrun]]

They are waiting for you outside, hissing and scratching in the darkness where the light of your lantern doesn't reach. They loathe and hate the light, but something makes them bolder and angrier than usual. Maybe it's the fact that you took the egg. The moment you leave the ice chamber they attack. [[Fight! ->wknife2]]

(set: $random to (random: 1,5))\ (if: $random is 4 or 1)[(set: $creature to "dead")Luck is obviously with you today and you are a good fighter. You get badly injured but you kill a dozen of little monsters and scare the rest of them away. You carefully put the lantern on the ground, your hands shaky and bloody, and bandage your wounds. The cave floor around you is a slippery, bloody mess, dead creatures are everywhere. They look like an ugly mix between a bird and a lizard. Feathery, sharp toothed, and blind. You don't have time for closer examination: you are too weak from pain and blood loss. So you just grab one of the monsters by the tail and leave. [[Get out of here. ->hometrophyeggs]]](else:)[Luck is not with you today. There are too many monsters, too many... You fight bravely but get owerwhelmed soon. Rest in peace, forgotten hero. Your tribe will miss you greatly. (display: "ending") ]

You return home with a corpse of the cave creature as a trophy and show it to Lara the chief. The chief's face grows red with anger and terror as she sees the creature. This little monster looks so much like the big one that had attacked her own daughter, Rita, many years ago. Immediately, Lara gathers her best hunters to purify the cave. You want to go too, but your injuries are too serious. You have to stay at the healers' tent while others earn their glory. Still, you did your part and can be proud of it. --- You've always been a curious person. You decide to hatch the egg you took from the cave. You weren't disappointed. The creature the hatched from the leathery egg and grew up under the sun doesn't resemble its relatives that lived underground at all. First of all, it isn't blind. Also, its feathers are far from colourless: they are bright mix of blue, green, yellow, and red. Lara the chief once said it reminded her of an ancient creature called "parrot". She has memories about them in her psi-profile. It behaves a lot like that "parrot", too. It is friendly and smart (for an animal) and it can mimic voices! You find that ability uncanny, but your kids love it! It is hard not to love that lizardbird. The creature is adorable and is a wonderful pet. You've been wary of it at first (after all, its relatives left you some nasty scars!) but learned to like it eventually. Sometimes, ice gifts are neither good nor evil by themselves, you just have to raise them properly. (display: "ending")

The creatures follow you all the way back to the glowing snails tunnes but don't dare to attack. You return to the camp and tell the chief everything about the cave monsters and the egg chamber. You haven't brought any trophies with you but the chief believes you anyway. Immediately, she gathers her best hunters and orders them to purify the cave. You are to lead this expedition as a guide. The creatures are to be destroyed, but the eggs... Chief's orders on their part surprise you: the eggs are to be salvaged and sent to cave dweller labs for studying. --- You've always been a curious person. You decide to hatch the egg you took from the cave. You weren't disappointed. The creature that hatched from the leathery egg and grew up under the sun doesn't resemble its underground relatives that lived at all. First of all, it isn't blind. Also, its feathers are far from colourless: they are bright mix of blue, green, yellow, and red. Lara the chief once said it reminded her of an ancient creature called "parrot". She has memories about them in her psi-profile. It behaves a lot like that "parrot", too. It is friendly and smart (for an animal) and it can mimic voices! You find that ability uncanny, but your kids love it! It is hard not to love that lizardbird. The creature is adorable and is a wonderful pet. You've been wary of it at first but learned to like it eventually. Sometimes, ice gifts are neither good nor evil by themselves, you just have to raise them properly. (display: "ending")

The passage opens into a small chamber half-filled with slowly melting ice. And this ice is full of "gifts": round objects that turn out to be... eggs! You've never seen anything like them before. They are at least ten times bigger than chicken eggs and have leathery shells. There are dozens of empty shells on the floor. That gives you a hint about how many creatures are lurking in the darkness now. Carnivorous, sharp-toothed, hungry... The thought makes you uncomfortable. Even worse: you hear strange noises outside the ice chamber. You have to get out of here before it's too late. --- ''What will you do?'' --- [[Get out of here now! ->waway]] [[Take one of the eggs with you. ->wegg]]

=><= (link:"-> LET'S PLAY AGAIN! <-")[(goto-url:"http://giftscomic.com/icegifthunt.php")] Note: Each little story in this game is just a piece of a puzzle. Playing them all reveals the whole picture. ''Like the game?''

/></a>

You have only one patient today: an old woman named Nona. You did your best to treat her after she had a heart stroke but you're not sure she's going to make it; she is so old and fragile. Sometimes, all you can do is making the patient's last days better by caring for them, talking to them, and making some placebo "magic" happen. Speaking of magic... Yesterday, your apprentice told you Nona wanted a dreamcatcher, a very special one, made by a real shaman. --- [[Talk to Nona. ->nona]]

Nona’s voice is calm and quiet, but her eyes betray her real feelings: that dreamcatcher she wants, a childish thing, is very important to her and she desperately wants to have it before she dies. --- ''What will you do?'' [[Agree to make her a dreamcatcher then leave to begin constructing one immediately. ->construct]] [[Ask Nona about her dreams. ->dreams]]

(set: $step to 1)\ (if: $dream is 0)[For some reason, you were in no mood to talk to Nona about her dreams. Making dreamcatchers is child’s play and you don’t mind making one if it will make a dying woman happy. You tie a couple of bent twigs together to make a loop, use a string to make a web inside it, add a bunch of feathers and colorful beads. [[Take the dreamcatcher to Nona. ->nona3]] ](else:)[You return to your tent and rummage through your belongings. You make dreamcatchers from time to time - kids love them after all - so you always have at least some materials at hand. You gather everything you’ve managed to find and get to work. (set: $bad to 0)(set: $good to 0) First, you have to choose a material to make the main frame - loop - with. It can be anything from twigs to metal wire. What will you choose? ''(link: "Recall Nona's dream")[(goto: "recall")] if you have doubts.'' Make your choice: (link: "Twigs")[(if: $dream is 1)[(set: $bad to $bad+0)(set: $good to $good+0)]\ (if: $dream is 2)[(set: $bad to $bad+0)(set: $good to $good+0)]\ (if: $dream is 3)[(set: $bad to $bad+0)(set: $good to $good+0)]\ (if: $dream is 4)[(set: $bad to $bad+0)(set: $good to $good+0)]\ (set: $material to "twigs") (goto: "dreamcatcher2")] (link: "Bones")[(if: $dream is 1)[(set: $bad to $bad+1)(set: $good to $good+0)]\ (if: $dream is 2)[(set: $bad to $bad+0)(set: $good to $good+0)]\ (if: $dream is 3)[(set: $bad to $bad+1)(set: $good to $good+0)]\ (if: $dream is 4)[(set: $bad to $bad+0)(set: $good to $good+0)]\ (set: $material to "bones") (goto: "dreamcatcher2")] (link: "Metal wire")[(if: $dream is 1)[(set: $bad to $bad+1)(set: $good to $good+0)]\ (if: $dream is 2)[(set: $bad to $bad+0)(set: $good to $good+0)]\ (if: $dream is 3)[(set: $bad to $bad+0)(set: $good to $good+0)]\ (if: $dream is 4)[(set: $bad to $bad+0)(set: $good to $good+0)]\ (set: $material to "metal wire") (goto: "dreamcatcher2")] (link: "Ancient plastic")[(if: $dream is 1)[(set: $bad to $bad+0)(set: $good to $good+0)]\ (if: $dream is 2)[(set: $bad to $bad+0)(set: $good to $good+0)]\ (if: $dream is 3)[(set: $bad to $bad+0)(set: $good to $good+0)]\ (if: $dream is 4)[(set: $bad to $bad+0)(set: $good to $good+0)]\ (set: $material to "ancient plastic") (goto: "dreamcatcher2")] (link: "A young green branch")[(if: $dream is 1)[(set: $bad to $bad+0)(set: $good to $good+0)]\ (if: $dream is 2)[(set: $bad to $bad+0)(set: $good to $good+0)]\ (if: $dream is 3)[(set: $bad to $bad+0)(set: $good to $good+0)]\ (if: $dream is 4)[(set: $bad to $bad+0)(set: $good to $good+0)]\ (set: $material to "young green branch") (goto: "dreamcatcher2")] ]

“There is only one left,” says Nona. “It repeats every night. (set: $dream to (random: 1,4)) (if: $dream is 1)["I walk alone in a dark place full of creaking metal things, glass shards, and old bones. I raise my eyes to the sky, want to see the stars to know where I need to go to return home. But there are no stars above, and no moon. I am lost and forgotten. "Something is hunting me and I have no weapon to protect myself, no fire to scare it away. "So far I’ve managed to wake up just before this thing catched me, but every night it comes closer and closer. I'm so scared! Help me, young shaman!" ]\ (if: $dream is 2)["In this dream I’m a bird soaring high above the sea. Time flies fast in this world, as I grow older, my wings get weaker, I lose feathers. There is an island far away where I know my eternal home is but no matter how hard I try I can not reach it, I always fall into the sea, icy cold and full of hungry fish. The fish tear me apart, I scream as I die and then wake up. Every time waking up gets harder and harder. I know I just won’t return one day. "It’s okay, everyone must die. But I wish I could reach the island first. There I would pass away in peace instead of agony... bathed in the sun, surrounded by friends…" ]\ (if: $dream is 3)[“I see my only child, a little boy who died when he was four. There is nothing wrong with the dream at first. I see my boy play with sand and seashells on the beach. The sea is calm, the sun is gentle, and I feel so happy!” Nona smiles but her smile fades soon. “Then he starts looking for his toys but can't find any and I don’t have them either. He goes further and further away from me and I can't move, can't even scream. Not until he is out of my sight. Then my paralysis ends, I run after him, calling his name, crying the same bitter tears as I did the day he died. "The sky darkens, cold wind rises, icebergs crowd the horizon. I run and run, crazy with fear and sorrow… "And then I find my boy. What’s left of him… white bones and tattered clothes. I go mad with grief in the end. I haunt the empty beach like a ghost looking for my son’s toys and can"t find a single one. This wandering lasts what seems an eternity and waking up is getting harder and harder every time. "If only I could have his toys with me at the beginning of the dream! Then we would never leave me!" ]\ (if: $dream is 4)["In this dream I’m a man and I have no heart, just an hole in my breast where a heart should be. I live in a lake where young couples go on their wedding night and watch them hungrily as they make love under the stars. "Years pass. My teeth and claws grow sharper, my vision keener, my hunger greater. With every passing day I become less a human and more a monster. I try to fight it but always fail in the end. Then I begin hunting people. I hurt them, kill them, eat their flesh. "My world turns black and grey, and every living thing becomes a red pulsing shape in it. They all have a heart. I see it beating and pushing blood through their bodies. I wish I had my own so I wouldn’t be a monster. I wish I could see the world’s true colors again. And I hate everyone, myself included. Every day it’s getting harder and harder to remember I’m human and to wake up."] --- You listen to Nona's dream and promise her to make her a dreamcatcher. [[Go to your workshop. ->construct]]

You make the main frame from the (print: $material). (set: $step to 2) There’s a bag of assorted beads, seashells, pebbles, and other little shinies in your tent. These little things are used to decorate the web. Choose some. Choose wisely, though! Every little symbol can mean something. ''(link: "Recall Nona's dream")[(goto: "recall")] if you have doubts.'' You may choose as many decorations as you want. Click "DONE" below the list when you're ready. (link-replace: "Star-shaped beads")[(if: $dream is 1)[(set: $bad to $bad+0)(set: $good to $good+1)]\ (if: $dream is 2)[(set: $bad to $bad+0)(set: $good to $good+0)]\ (if: $dream is 3)[(set: $bad to $bad+0)(set: $good to $good+0)]\ (if: $dream is 4)[(set: $bad to $bad+1)(set: $good to $good+0)]\ V - Star-shaped beads] (link-replace: "Sun-shaped beads")[(if: $dream is 1)[(set: $bad to $bad+0)(set: $good to $good+0)]\ (if: $dream is 2)[(set: $bad to $bad+0)(set: $good to $good+1)]\ (if: $dream is 3)[(set: $bad to $bad+0)(set: $good to $good+0)]\ (if: $dream is 4)[(set: $bad to $bad+0)(set: $good to $good+1)]\ V - Sun-shaped beads] (link-replace: "Heart-shaped beads")[(if: $dream is 1)[(set: $bad to $bad+0)(set: $good to $good+0)]\ (if: $dream is 2)[(set: $bad to $bad+0)(set: $good to $good+0)]\ (if: $dream is 3)[(set: $bad to $bad+0)(set: $good to $good+0)]\ (if: $dream is 4)[(set: $bad to $bad+0)(set: $good to $good+2)]\ V - Heart-shaped beads] (link-replace: "Smiley faces beads")[(if: $dream is 1)[(set: $bad to $bad+0)(set: $good to $good+0)]\ (if: $dream is 2)[(set: $bad to $bad+0)(set: $good to $good+0)]\ (if: $dream is 3)[(set: $bad to $bad+0)(set: $good to $good+0)]\ (if: $dream is 4)[(set: $bad to $bad+0)(set: $good to $good+0)]\ V - Smiley faces beads] (link-replace: "Colourful round beads")[(if: $dream is 1)[(set: $bad to $bad+0)(set: $good to $good+0)]\ (if: $dream is 2)[(set: $bad to $bad+0)(set: $good to $good+0)]\ (if: $dream is 3)[(set: $bad to $bad+0)(set: $good to $good+0)]\ (if: $dream is 4)[(set: $bad to $bad+0)(set: $good to $good+0)]\ V - Colourful round beads] (link-replace: "Black obsidian beads")[(if: $dream is 1)[(set: $bad to $bad+1)(set: $good to $good+0)]\ (if: $dream is 2)[(set: $bad to $bad+0)(set: $good to $good+0)]\ (if: $dream is 3)[(set: $bad to $bad+1)(set: $good to $good+0)]\ (if: $dream is 4)[(set: $bad to $bad+1)(set: $good to $good+0)]\ V - Black obsidian beads] (link-replace: "Colourful pebbles")[(if: $dream is 1)[(set: $bad to $bad+0)(set: $good to $good+0)]\ (if: $dream is 2)[(set: $bad to $bad+0)(set: $good to $good+0)]\ (if: $dream is 3)[(set: $bad to $bad+0)(set: $good to $good+0)]\ (if: $dream is 4)[(set: $bad to $bad+0)(set: $good to $good+0)]\ V - Colourful pebbles] (link-replace: "Wooden toy weapons")[(if: $dream is 1)[(set: $bad to $bad+0)(set: $good to $good+1)]\ (if: $dream is 2)[(set: $bad to $bad+0)(set: $good to $good+0)]\ (if: $dream is 3)[(set: $bad to $bad+0)(set: $good to $good+2)]\ (if: $dream is 4)[(set: $bad to $bad+0)(set: $good to $good+0)]\ V - Wooden toy weapons] (link-replace: "Animal teeth")[(if: $dream is 1)[(set: $bad to $bad+1)(set: $good to $good+0)]\ (if: $dream is 2)[(set: $bad to $bad+0)(set: $good to $good+0)]\ (if: $dream is 3)[(set: $bad to $bad+1)(set: $good to $good+0)]\ (if: $dream is 4)[(set: $bad to $bad+1)(set: $good to $good+0)]\ V - Animal teeth] (link-replace: "Fish figurines")[(if: $dream is 1)[(set: $bad to $bad+0)(set: $good to $good+0)]\ (if: $dream is 2)[(set: $bad to $bad+2)(set: $good to $good+0)]\ (if: $dream is 3)[(set: $bad to $bad+0)(set: $good to $good+1)]\ (if: $dream is 4)[(set: $bad to $bad+0)(set: $good to $good+0)]\ V - Fish figurines] (link-replace: "Animal figurines")[(if: $dream is 1)[(set: $bad to $bad+1)(set: $good to $good+0)]\ (if: $dream is 2)[(set: $bad to $bad+0)(set: $good to $good+0)]\ (if: $dream is 3)[(set: $bad to $bad+0)(set: $good to $good+1)]\ (if: $dream is 4)[(set: $bad to $bad+0)(set: $good to $good+0)]\ V - Animal figurines] (link-replace: "Bird figurines")[(if: $dream is 1)[(set: $bad to $bad+0)(set: $good to $good+0)]\ (if: $dream is 2)[(set: $bad to $bad+0)(set: $good to $good+1)]\ (if: $dream is 3)[(set: $bad to $bad+0)(set: $good to $good+1)]\ (if: $dream is 4)[(set: $bad to $bad+0)(set: $good to $good+0)]\ V - Bird figurines] (link-replace: "Star-shaped beads")[(if: $dream is 1)[(set: $bad to $bad+0)(set: $good to $good+0)]\ (if: $dream is 2)[(set: $bad to $bad+0)(set: $good to $good+0)]\ (if: $dream is 3)[(set: $bad to $bad+0)(set: $good to $good+1)]\ (if: $dream is 4)[(set: $bad to $bad+0)(set: $good to $good+0)]\ V - Star-shaped beads] (link-replace: "Ancient metal junk (nuts, bolts, etc.)")[(if: $dream is 1)[(set: $bad to $bad+1)(set: $good to $good+0)]\ (if: $dream is 2)[(set: $bad to $bad+0)(set: $good to $good+0)]\ (if: $dream is 3)[(set: $bad to $bad+0)(set: $good to $good+0)]\ (if: $dream is 4)[(set: $bad to $bad+0)(set: $good to $good+0)]\ (link-replace:"V - Ancient metal junk (nuts, bolts, etc.)")] (link-replace: "Shiny glass shards")[(if: $dream is 1)[(set: $bad to $bad+0)(set: $good to $good+0)]\ (if: $dream is 2)[(set: $bad to $bad+1)(set: $good to $good+0)]\ (if: $dream is 3)[(set: $bad to $bad+0)(set: $good to $good+0)]\ (if: $dream is 4)[(set: $bad to $bad+0)(set: $good to $good+0)]\ V - Shiny glass shards] (link-replace: "Seashells")[(if: $dream is 1)[(set: $bad to $bad+0)(set: $good to $good+0)]\ (if: $dream is 2)[(set: $bad to $bad+1)(set: $good to $good+0)]\ (if: $dream is 3)[(set: $bad to $bad+1)(set: $good to $good+0)]\ (if: $dream is 4)[(set: $bad to $bad+1)(set: $good to $good+0)]\ V - Seashells] [[DONE ->dreamcatcher3]]

You recall the dream Nona told you. '' (if: $dream is 1)["I walk alone in a dark place full of creaking metal things, glass shards, and old bones. I raise my eyes to the sky, want to see the stars to know where I need to go to return home. But there are no stars above, and no moon. I am lost and forgotten. "Something is hunting me and I have no weapon to protect myself, no fire to scare it away. "So far I’ve managed to wake up just before this thing catched me, but every night it comes closer and closer. I'm so scared! Help me, young shaman!" ]\ (if: $dream is 2)["In this dream I’m a bird soaring high above the sea. Time flies fast in this world, as I grow older, my wings get weaker, I lose feathers. There is an island far away where I know my eternal home is but no matter how hard I try I can not reach it, I always fall into the sea, icy cold and full of hungry fish. The fish tear me apart, I scream as I die and then wake up. Every time waking up gets harder and harder. I know I just won’t return one day. "It’s okay, everyone must die. But I wish I could reach the island first. There I would pass away in peace instead of agony... bathed in the sun, surrounded by friends…" ]\ (if: $dream is 3)[“I see my only child, a little boy who died when he was four. There is nothing wrong with the dream at first. I see my boy play with sand and seashells on the beach. The sea is calm, the sun is gentle, and I feel so happy!” Nona smiles. “Then he starts looking for his toys but can't find any and I don’t have them either. He goes further and further away from me and I can't move, can't even scream. Not until he is out of my sight. Then my paralysis ends, I run after him, calling his name, crying the same bitter tears as I did the day he died. "The sky darkens, cold wind rises, icebergs crowd the horizon. I run and run, crazy with fear and sorrow… "And then I find my boy. What’s left of him… white bones and tattered clothes. I go mad with grief in the end. I haunt the empty beach like a ghost looking for my son’s toys and can"t find a single one. This wandering lasts what seems an eternity and waking up is getting harder and harder every time. "If only I could have his toys with me at the beginning of the dream! Then we would never leave me!" ]\ (if: $dream is 4)["In this dream I’m a man and I have no heart, just an hole in my breast where a heart should be. I live in a lake where young couples go on their wedding night and watch them hungrily as they make love under the stars. "Years pass. My teeth and claws grow sharper, my vision keener, my hunger greater. With every passing day I become less a human and more a monster. I try to fight it but always fail in the end. Then I begin hunting people. I hurt them, kill them, eat their flesh. "My world turns black and grey, and every living thing becomes a red pulsing shape in it. They all have a heart. I see it beating and pushing blood through their bodies. I wish I had my own so I wouldn’t be a monster. I wish I could see the world’s true colors again. And I hate everyone, myself included. Every day it’s getting harder and harder to remember I’m human and to wake up."]'' --- (link: "Get back to making the dreamcatcher.")[(if: $step is 1)[(goto: "construct")](if: $step is 2)[(goto: "dreamcatcher2")](if: $step is 3)[(goto: "dreamcatcher3")]]

You add the decorations to the web and strings you tied to the main frame. This construction is supposed to catch dreams and sort them, sending nightmares to the hole in the web’s centre and good dreams down the feathers to those who sleep below. So it’s time to choose which feathers to use. There’s no limit, you can choose as many types as you wish. Choose wisely, though. They can mean something. ''(link: "Recall Nona's dream")[(goto: "recall")] if you have doubts.'' Choose your feathers. Click ''DONE'' below when you're ready. (link-replace: "Owl feathers")[(if: $dream is 1)[(set: $bad to $bad+0)(set: $good to $good+0)]\ (if: $dream is 2)[(set: $bad to $bad+0)(set: $good to $good+0.2)]\ (if: $dream is 3)[(set: $bad to $bad+0)(set: $good to $good+0)]\ (if: $dream is 4)[(set: $bad to $bad+0)(set: $good to $good+0)]\ V - Owl feathers] (link-replace: "Eagle feathers")[(if: $dream is 1)[(set: $bad to $bad+0)(set: $good to $good+0)]\ (if: $dream is 2)[(set: $bad to $bad+0)(set: $good to $good+0.2)]\ (if: $dream is 3)[(set: $bad to $bad+0)(set: $good to $good+0)]\ (if: $dream is 4)[(set: $bad to $bad+0)(set: $good to $good+0)]\ V - Eagle feathers] (link-replace: "Seagull feathers")[(if: $dream is 1)[(set: $bad to $bad+0)(set: $good to $good+0)]\ (if: $dream is 2)[(set: $bad to $bad+0)(set: $good to $good+0.2)]\ (if: $dream is 3)[(set: $bad to $bad+0)(set: $good to $good+0)]\ (if: $dream is 4)[(set: $bad to $bad+0)(set: $good to $good+0)]\ V - Seagull feathers] (link-replace: "Pigeon feathers")[(if: $dream is 1)[(set: $bad to $bad+0)(set: $good to $good+0)]\ (if: $dream is 2)[(set: $bad to $bad+0)(set: $good to $good+0.2)]\ (if: $dream is 3)[(set: $bad to $bad+0)(set: $good to $good+0)]\ (if: $dream is 4)[(set: $bad to $bad+0)(set: $good to $good+0)]\ V - Pigeon feathers] (link-replace: "Chicken feathers")[(if: $dream is 1)[(set: $bad to $bad+0)(set: $good to $good+0)]\ (if: $dream is 2)[(set: $bad to $bad+0)(set: $good to $good+0.2)]\ (if: $dream is 3)[(set: $bad to $bad+0)(set: $good to $good+0)]\ (if: $dream is 4)[(set: $bad to $bad+0)(set: $good to $good+0)]\ V - Chicken feathers] (link-replace: "Duck feathers")[(if: $dream is 1)[(set: $bad to $bad+0)(set: $good to $good+0)]\ (if: $dream is 2)[(set: $bad to $bad+0)(set: $good to $good+0.2)]\ (if: $dream is 3)[(set: $bad to $bad+0)(set: $good to $good+0)]\ (if: $dream is 4)[(set: $bad to $bad+0)(set: $good to $good+0)]\ "V - Duck feathers] (link-replace: "Raven feathers")[(if: $dream is 1)[(set: $bad to $bad+1)(set: $good to $good+0)]\ (if: $dream is 2)[(set: $bad to $bad+0)(set: $good to $good+0.2)]\ (if: $dream is 3)[(set: $bad to $bad+0)(set: $good to $good+0)]\ (if: $dream is 4)[(set: $bad to $bad+0)(set: $good to $good+0)]\ V - Raven feathers] [[DONE ->nona2]]

That’s it. Your dreamcatcher is ready. [[Take it to Nona. ->nona3]]

(if: $dream is 0)[Nona accepts your gift and rewards you with a smile. The smile never touches her eyes, though. The next day you find her dead in the healers’ tent. You’ll never learn whether her last dream had been a happy one, but you hope it was. You keep thinking whether you could have done better... (display: "ending")]\ (if: $dream > 0)[ (if: $bad is 0 and $good is 1)[Nona accepts your gift and rewards you with a smile. The smile never touches her eyes, though. The next day you find her dead in the healers’ tent. You’ll never learn whether her last dream had been a happy one, but you hope it was. You keep thinking whether you could have done better... (display: "ending")] (if: $bad > 0 and $good < 2.2)[Nona accepts your gift with a smile but the smile fades when she takes a closer look at the dreamcatcher. You see a glimpse of fear in her eyes as if she’s recalling a bad dream. The next day you find her dead in the healers’ tent, hear face a mask of terror. You can’t stop thinking that somehow your dreamcatcher - a harmless thing, a child’s toy! - had made everything worse for the poor woman. But what’s done is done and you’ll have to live with it now. (display: "ending")]\ (else:)[Nona accepts your gift with a smile, her face shining with true happiness as she takes a closer look at the dreamcatcher. “There’s everything I need to end the nightmare!” she says, beaming. “Thank you, child! Thank you so much!” The next day you find her dead in the healers’ tent, her face calm and peaceful. Looks like her last dream had been a happy one. You can not help but smile through your tears. Then you notice a piece of paper in Nona’s hands. [[Take a closer look at it. ->nonamap]]]\ ]

It’s a map! Very detailed one. You recognize a familiar cliff there. And looks like there’s a cave labyrinth under it! You wonder what Nona wanted to show you there. [[Follow the directions on the map. ->nonamap2]]

After a three hours journey through the caves you arrive at the door. It has no lock, so you just push it open. A wave of cold washes over you. You raise your lantern above your head and enter. The icy chamber sparkles beautifully in the candlelight. You look around in awe: there are ice gifts everywhere! Thousands of ancient things, big and small, Nona collected during the long years of her wandering. A whole museum which is now yours. Somebody had said once that advanced technology was indistinguishable from magic. That’s true. You, a shaman, have never felt more magical, more powerful, more blessed than you do now. It’s like your very soul is bathing in pure white light and you barely weigh anything and can fly. There’s a history behind each of this gift, there’s a shining glory of the past, and bright hope for the future. What did you do to deserve this? You just made a dreamcatcher! (display: "ending")

You leave the office and go to the examination room. (if: $alina is 0)[You stop for a minute to check out the form your patients have filled. It doesn’t say much. Your patients’ names are Juna and Alex, they are both 19 years old, married, childless, healthy, and have come to ask your advice.]\ You enter and see the girl curled on the sofa and the guy nervously pacing the room like a caged cat. Alex greets you, so very politely, as if you were his elder (you are not) and Juna makes a strange melodical sound. Her wordless singing puzzles you for a moment and then it hits you: she’s a Mute, from the Mute tribe! You quickly remember what you know about the Mutes. It’s not much. After all, they are rare and don’t visit cave dweller islands often. The Mutes are the “ice gift people” and belong to different human species related to ancient Neanderthals. They can not pronounce articulate words and use wordless singing, sign language, and hyperrealistic drawings to communicate. They have perfect memory, grow and learn faster than islanders, plus, their immune system is very strong. Which is the problem if they want to have kids with islander humans. Union of an islander woman and a mute man results in live babies, some of them mute, some not. But (due to immune system overreaction) union of a mute woman and an islander man results in stillbirths, miscarriages, and infants’ deaths, sometimes mothers die as well. You begin to realize what kind of advice Juna and Alex two want… But it’s unprofessional to jump into conclusions like that. --- [[Ask them about their problem. ->patients2]]

What will you ask? (link-replace:"1- Ask about the patients waiting for you.")[(set: $alina to 1) [You ask, "Who are the patients?" Alina shrugs. “A girl and a guy. Both 19 years old. The girl’s name is Juna, the guy’s is Alex. They are very quiet and don’t talk much. The girl looks very sad. The guy is worried about something and is pacing the room. Oh! And they specifically asked for a young healer to see them for some reason”. A young healer… Why? That’s odd.]] (link-replace:"2- Ask whether something unusual has happened recently.")[ You ask, "Anything interesting?" Alina’s eyes flash with excitement. “Something strange happened last night! One of the elder healers - Maya - was found unconscious in the old hospital building. Her husband found her. Now they are both quarantined. I heard they have some contagious disease. Scary!” Disturbing news... You make a note to yourself to learn about this later.] (link-replace:"3- Ask Alina about her studies.")[ You ask, "Well, my dear apprentice, how are your studies going?" The girl looks at you proudly. “I’m ready for your exam! I’ve been studying late into the night all week! Just tell me when”. You nod. Alina is not the smartest apprentice, but she does work hard. You believe she will become a decent healer one day.] [[End the conversation and go see the patients. ->patients]]

You don’t understand Juna’s sign language and wordless singing, so it’s her husband who answers your questions. (set: $genes to (random:1,3)) (if: $genes is 1)[It turns out that Juno is a pureblood Mute and Alex has only a quarter of Mute blood (his grandfather is a Mute).]\ (if: $genes is 2)[It turns out that Juno is a halfblood Mute and Alex is and islander.]\ (if: $genes is 3)[It turns out that Juna is a pureblood Mute, Alex is a halfblood Mute]. They married against their families’ wishes and now live as outcasts on the far shore of the hunters’ island. And yes, you’ve guessed right: they want to know whether they can have a live child. If they were a textbook example (Mute woman and islander man) them having a child would have been out of question but with them having mixed blood the situation becomes very complicated. You look at them. They obviously love each other very much. And they are so very sad. Birth of a living baby would make them both happy. Proving their families being wrong would end their exile. But what if things go south... ''A lot depends on your advice.'' --- [[Better safe than sorry. Tell them they shouldn’t have kids. ->nokids]] [[Maybe there’s a way? Tell them to wait until tomorrow evening and do some research meanwhile. ->think]]

Who are you to go against a taboo two hundred of years old? You’re almost a kid yourself. Sure, you feel for the couple, but the risk is too high. You tell them they should never have kids. Their reaction is heartbreaking. They don’t cry, they don’t scream in anger, no. They quietly whisper their thanks and leave, hand in hand, heads bowed. Looks like you were the poor family's last hope. And you didn’t even try… Your day goes on as usual. No one will blame you, no one will praise you, no one will even know what you did. But your decision, or, rather, the lack of effort, weighs heavy upon your heart. You will never learn what happened to Juna and Alex. You will never see them again. You will never know whether were been right. (display: "ending")

“I can't give you the answer right away,” you tell them. “Please, let me do some research first. Come back tomorrow”. Juna smiles at you, a sudden hope in her eyes. Alex thanks you heartily. “You are our last hope,” he says. They leave, hand in hand, smiling, almost happy. Cold, clingy dread grows under your heart as you watch them go. Too much depends on your decision. [[Calm down and return to your office. ->think2]]

Your office is rather noisy: you’ve caught Alina and other young apprentices playing jumping shells there, a silly game you used to play yourself just a few years ago. Well, kids are kids. You’re even grateful for the distraction. The kids fall silent as you enter and hurry to run away before you get angry. Only Alina remains. “I’m sorry…” she says guiltily. “Bah! Not a big deal. Just don’t let the elder healers hear you,” you say and add: [[Alina, I have a mission for you. A really important one! ->think3]]

The girl is all ears. You do know how to make an event out of an ordinary thing and make kids feel important. “You go to the library now, okay? And ask the librarian to find me everything about the Mutes. All the study of their genetics, medical reports on them. Oh, and about the halfbloods (Mute dad, Islander mom) as well”. “Is it for Juna and Alex?” Alina whispers, excited. “Yes. I want to help them. Now go”. The girl runs away leaving you to your usual work. You’ve got several sick children to visit in their homes and an appointment for the evening: an old lady recovering after surgery. You go on with your tasks, trying to act no different than before despite the dreadful feeling in your chest. You can only hope you’ll do the right thing tomorrow. [[Study the books and reports Alina brought you. ->think4]]

You find three thick books and a pile of medical reports on your table when you return. Luckily, you are a very fast reader. Your psi-profile, when properly triggered, offers you additional information on some topics, making your research even faster. So you leaf through the books in less than three hours. The Mutes are marvelous people. Their existence seems even more fascinating when you learn they were probably bioengineered by the ancients. You wonder what was the purpose of their creation. Yes, they seem smarter in many ways than ordinary humans, but they have that distant, almost autistic air about them, and they lack articulate speech. Why would someone sacrifice social flexibility and speech, for what? You can not help but wonder and fantasize about this. Anyway, it’s time to get to the matter at hand if you want to help Juna and Alex. [[Study the medical reports. ->reports]]

Alina sorted the reports by date leaving the oldest ones on top of the pile. These are the copies of ancient records, some are nearly two hundred years old when the Mutes had first arrived at the archipelago. There were 18 mute kids: 9 girls, 9 boys. You leaf through the reports mentioning their accelerated development, inability to speak, and unusually fast recovery rate in which they almost match supersoldiers, the descendants of hunter chiefs. Then come the reports about Mute women being unable to have live kids with the islander men (most babies were stillborn, those born alive died a few days after birth), and several genetic studies that lead to the discovery of Mutes being a different human species. After Chief Dana allowed the Mutes to form their own tribe with their own chief the reports became scarce. Apparently, the Mutes preferred to live by themselves, apart from the islanders’ world. It wasn’t a full isolation, though. Mute men were allowed to participate in hunter Fire Festivals - annual holidays where young people of different tribes meet to show off, have some fun, and try their luck in finding a partner. So, halfblood kids were born, some mute, some not. The genetic of muteness appeared to be very complex. It wasn’t just a single gene that determined that but rather a combination of them. Halfbloods generally had no problem making babies with pureblood islanders, other halfbloods, and even pureblood mutes. Though, in the latter case the pregnancies were difficult and miscarriages and stillbirths used to happen more often. Now comes the most time consuming part: statistics. You need solid evidence to build your decision upon. Human lives - Juna’s and her child’s - depend on it. [[Count statistics. ->stats]]

Four hours and two cups of mint tea after you come up with this: ''Type of union - Miscarriages - Stillborn'' (control) islander-islander - 10% - 1% (control) mute-mute - 8% - 1% (F)pureblood mute - (M)islander - 80% - 99% (1% of babies born alive but die soon, no survivors. 1 of 5 mothers die as well, because of immune system overreaction) (F)pureblood mute - (M)halfblood mute - 60% - 30% (and mothers’ death rate is twice lower here than in the previous case) (F)pureblood mute - (M)quarter blood mute - 35% - 10% (in this and other cases mothers’ death rate is as low as in control groups) (F)halfblood mute - (F)halfblood mute - 25% - 5% (F)halfblood mute - (M)quarter blood mute - 12% - 3% (F)halfblood mute - (M)islander - 19% - 7% (F)quarter blood mute - (M)halfblood mute - 9% - 1% (F)quarter blood mute - (M)quarter blood mute - 12% - 1% (F)islander - (M)pureblood mute, halfblood mute, or quarter blood mute - same as in the islander-islander control group Now you know everything there is to know without additional research in human genetics, which is currently not possible: the ancient machines have been out of power for several years and without them the scientists can not do much. ''And now back to your patients:'' (if: $genes is 1)[Juna is a pureblood Mute, Alex is a quarter blood Mute Juna is up to a difficult pregnancy with a high chance of stillbirth, and her own life is at risk as well. What Juna and Alex want is not impossible but is indeed very dangerous.]\ (if: $genes is 2)[Juna is a halfblood Mute, Alex is an islander The risks here are a bit higher than the ones within control groups, but they are not that great. And the mother’s life here won’t be more at risk than in a pureblood union.]\ (if: $genes is 3)[Juna is a pureblood Mute, Alex is a halfblood Mute The risk is great here for mother and child both. It’s quite understandable now why Juna’s and Alex’s families were against their marriage. Their fears were well grounded indeed.]\ Tomorrow you’ll have all day to think everything through and decide on what you’re going to tell the young couple. [[Take a nap before work. ->decide]]

You fall asleep on your couch. Alina wakes you up several hours later. She’s brought you tea and breakfast from the hospital kitchen. “You’re going to speak to them now?” she asks. “You’ll help them, right?” “Of course I will,” you say. But help comes in different forms. Will you persuade the young couple to stay childless for their own safety? Or will you let them try get what they want while giving them all the medical help you can? Either way, you are responsible for what happens to them next. It’s time to decide. [[Wait for Juna and Alex to come. ->decide2]]

They’ve come to you first thing in the morning. You doubt they’ve even had breakfast. Both are very excited and look at you with desperate, wide eyes as you prepare a sheet of paper and a pencil to explain the statistics to them. Juna is humming quietly. Mutes are not capable of articulate speech but they do wordlessly sing a lot. Alex seems to understand her language pretty well. You see him whispering answers to her, but can not distinguish the words. You can not delay this forever. Time to give them your answer. --- ''What will you tell them?'' (if: $genes is 1)[(link:"Tell them they shouldn’t have kids, explain why it it so dangerous, and do your best to talk them out of it.")[(set: $answer to "a1")(goto:"outcomes")] (link:"Tell them their situation is dangerous, explain why, but leave the decision to them.")[(set: $answer to "a2")(goto:"outcomes")] (link:"Explain the risks to them and offer your help as a healer in case they wouldn’t change their mind.")[(set: $answer to "a3")(goto:"outcomes")] ]\ (if: $genes is 3)[(link:"Tell them they shouldn’t have kids, explain why it it so dangerous, and do your best to talk them out of it.")[(set: $answer to "c1")(goto:"outcomes")] (link:"Tell them their situation is dangerous, explain why, but leave the decision to them.")[(set: $answer to "c2")(goto:"outcomes")] (link:"Explain the risks to them and offer your help as a healer in case they wouldn’t change their mind.")[(set: $answer to "c3")(goto:"outcomes")] ]\ (if: $genes is 2)[(link:"Tell them there is risk, it’s not as great as their families think but it would be better for everyone if they didn't have kids.")[(set: $answer to "b1")(goto:"outcomes")] (link:"Tell them there is risk, but it’s not as great as their families think. Leave the final decision to them.")[(set: $answer to "b2")(goto:"outcomes")] (link:"Explain them that the risk is not as great as their families think, encourage them to try, and offer your help as a healer.")[(set: $answer to "b3")(goto:"outcomes")] ]

(set: $dice1 to (random:1,100))\ (if: $answer is "a1")[You do your best to talk the young people out of their idea and offer them the alternative: instead of becoming parents of their own child they can become mentors to other children. This is a noble and very important job and it will fill the void in their life. They both look sad and heartbroken after your speech but promise you to think about it. With this they leave. Later you send your faithful Alina to learn something about their fate and she returns with the news. (display: "a1") ]\ (if: $answer is "a2")[You do your best explain the young people their situation but leave the decicion to them. Not the bravest move but you decide to play it safe... for yourself. They both look sad and heartbroken after your speech but promise you to think about it. With this they leave. Later you send your faithful Alina to learn something about their fate and she returns with the news. (display: "a2") ]\ (if: $answer is "c1")[You do your best to talk the young people out of their idea and offer them the alternative: instead of becoming parents of their own child they can become mentors for other children. This is a noble and very important task and it will fill the void in their life. They both look sad and heartbroken after your speech but promise you to think about it. With this they leave. Later you send your faithful Alina to learn something about their fate and she returns with the news. (display: "c1") ]\ (if: $answer is "b1")[You explain the risks to Juno and Alex and mention the alternative: instead of becoming parents of their own child they can become mentors for other children. This is a noble and very important task and it will fill the void in their life. Juno and Alex thank you, each in their own manner, and leave. Your words might be not an encouragement they looked forward to but they didn’t break the young couple’s hearts either. And now they have all the information they need to make the right decision. Later you send your faithful Alina to learn something about their fate and she returns with the news. (display: "b1") ]\ (if: $answer is "b2")[You do your best explain the young people their situation but leave the decicion to them. Not the bravest move but you decide to play it safe... for yourself. They both look sad and heartbroken after your speech but promise you to think about it. With this they leave. Later you send your faithful Alina to learn something about their fate and she returns with the news. (display: "b2") ]\ (if: $answer is "c2")[You do your best explain the young people their situation but leave the decicion to them. Not the bravest move but you decide to play it safe... for yourself. They both look sad and heartbroken after your speech but promise you to think about it. With this they leave. Later you send your faithful Alina to learn something about their fate and she returns with the news. (display: "c2") ]\ (if: $answer is "a3" or "c3")[You really want to help them even though you know the risk is great. You offer the young couple your help as a healer in case they still want to take that risk and leave them alone for a while so they could discuss the matter in private. [[Wait. ->ac3timeout]] ]\ (if: $answer is "b3")[You really want to help them even though you know the situation is risky. But you didn't do all that calculations for nothing: the risks are not great in your patients' case and are quite managable if Juno stays in the hospital under your care. You offer the young couple your help as a healer in case they still want to take the risk and leave them alone for a while so they could discuss the matter in private. [[Wait. ->b3timeout]] ]

(set: $dice1 to (random:0,100))\ (if: $dice1 < 15)[It turns out Juna and Alex didn’t listen to you.(set: $dice to (random:1,100)) (if: $dice < 9)[But it seems the Lady Fortune (something fairytailish hunters and mutes believe in) was unexpectedly good to them and Juna gave birth to a healthy baby. The risk was immense, as well as the damage to Juna’s health. It took her a year to recover from the childbirth and left her barren. Anyway, the couple got what they wanted, against all the odds. You’ve never thought to see such a miracle with your own eyes.]\ (if: $dice > 9.9 and < 15.1)[The baby survived but Juno died in the childbirth leaving Alex to raise the kid alone. It’s so sad. Why, why didn’t they listen? You did your best to explain them everything but they still had their way and paid the price... Did you do something wrong? Could you have done better? Alas, you'll never know...]\ (if: $dice > 15.5 and < 30)[Both Juno and the baby died in the childbirth, leaving poor Alex alone, a heartbroken hermit living on the edge of a cliff all by himself. It’s so sad. Why, why didn’t they listen? You did your best to explain them everything but they still had their way and paid the price... Did you do something wrong? Could you have done better? Alas, you'll never know...]\ (if: $dice > 30.1 and < 75)[They tried to have a baby several times but all the pregnancies ended in stillbirths. Juno and Alex are still together but, both heartbroken, they live as hermits and avoid other people. It's so sad. Their life could have been so much more... Did you do something wrong? Could you have done better? Alas, you'll never know...]\ (if: $dice > 75.1 and <100.1)[Juno survived the childbirth but the child died. It’s so sad. Why, why didn’t they listen? You did your best to explain them everything but they still had their way and paid the price...Did you do something wrong? Could you have done better? Alas, you'll never know...]\ ] (else:)[It turns out Juna and Alex did listen to you and abandoned their idea about having a baby. (set: $dice to (random:1,100))\ (if: $dice < 90)[They’ve also followed your advice about becoming mentors to other kids and now have two - a girl and a boy - six year olds in their care. It’s almost like having your own family. Alina says they all looked happy when she saw them last time. It’s a big relief to know everything turned out all right.](else:)[Unfortunately, they haven’t followed your advice about becoming mentors. Alina says they are still together and still live as hermits, unaccepted by their families. That’s a sad ending to the story, but at least they’re both alive and still love each other. Sometimes you can’t have all you want, true.]\ ]\ (display: "ending")

(set: $dice1 to (random:0,100))\ (if: $dice1 < 80)[It turns out they decided to take the risk after all.(set: $dice to (random:1,100)) (if: $dice < 9)[But it seems the Lady Fortune (something fairytailish hunters and mutes believe in) was unexpectedly good to them and Juna gave birth to a healthy baby. The risk was immense, as well as the damage to Juna’s health. It took her a year to recover from the childbirth and left her barren. Anyway, the couple got what they wanted, against all the odds. You’ve never thought to see such a miracle with your own eyes.]\ (if: $dice > 9.9 and < 15.1)[The baby survived but Juno died in the childbirth leaving Alex to raise the kid alone. It’s so sad. Why, why didn’t they listen? You feel so guilty for not even trying to talk them out of their suicidal idea it affects your whole life as a healer and as a person.]\ (if: $dice > 15.5 and < 30)[Both Juno and the baby died in the childbirth, leaving poor Alex alone, a heartbroken hermit living on the edge of a cliff all by himself. It’s so sad. Why, why didn’t they listen? You feel so guilty for not even trying to talk them out of their suicidal idea it affects your whole life as a healer and as a person.]\ (if: $dice > 30.1 and < 75)[They tried to have a baby several times but all the pregnancies ended in stillbirths. Juno and Alex are still together but, both heartbroken, they live as hermits and avoid other people. It's so sad. Their life could have been so much more...]\ (if: $dice > 75.1 and <100.1)[Juno survived the childbirth but the child died. It’s so sad. Why, why didn’t they listen? You feel so guilty for not even trying to talk them out of their suicidal idea it affects your whole life as a healer and as a person.]\ ] (else:)[It turns out Juna and Alex did listen to you and abandoned their idea about having a baby. (set: $dice to (random:1,100))\ (if: $dice < 10)[Fortunately, they decided to become mentors to other kids and now have two - a girl and a boy - six year olds in their care. It’s almost like having your own family. Alina says they all looked happy when she saw them last time. It’s a big relief to know everything turned out all right.](else:)[Unfortunately, they never were able to overcome their grief. Alina says they are still together and still live as hermits, unaccepted by their families. That’s a sad ending to the story, but at least they’re both alive and still love each other. Sometimes you can’t have all you want, true.]\ ]\ (display: "ending")

(set: $dice1 to (random:0,100))\ (if: $dice1 < 15)[It turns out Juna and Alex didn’t listen to you.(set: $dice to (random:1,100)) (if: $dice < 9)[But it seems the Lady Fortune (something fairytailish hunters and mutes believe in) was unexpectedly good to them and Juna gave birth to a healthy baby. The risk was immense, as well as the damage to Juna’s health. It took her a year to recover from the childbirth and left her barren. Anyway, the couple got what they wanted, against all the odds. You’ve never thought to see such a miracle with your own eyes.]\ (if: $dice > 9.9 and < 15.1)[The baby survived but Juno died in the childbirth leaving Alex to raise the kid alone. It’s so sad. Why, why didn’t they listen? You did your best to explain them everything but they still had their way and paid the price... Did you do something wrong? Could you have done better? Alas, you'll never know...]\ (if: $dice > 15.5 and < 30)[Both Juno and the baby died in the childbirth, leaving poor Alex alone, a heartbroken hermit living on the edge of a cliff all by himself. It’s so sad. Why, why didn’t they listen? You did your best to explain them everything but they still had their way and paid the price... Did you do something wrong? Could you have done better? Alas, you'll never know...]\ (if: $dice > 30.1 and < 75)[They tried to have a baby several times but all the pregnancies ended in stillbirths. Juno and Alex are still together but, both heartbroken, they live as hermits and avoid other people. It's so sad. Their life could have been so much more... Did you do something wrong? Could you have done better? Alas, you'll never know...]\ (if: $dice > 75.1 and <100.1)[Juno survived the childbirth but the child died. It’s so sad. Why, why didn’t they listen? You did your best to explain them everything but they still had their way and paid the price... Did you do something wrong? Could you have done better? Alas, you'll never know...]\ ] (else:)[It turns out Juna and Alex did listen to you and abandoned their idea about having a baby. (set: $dice to (random:1,100))\ (if: $dice < 90)[They’ve also followed your advice about becoming mentors to other kids and now have two - a girl and a boy - six year olds in their care. It’s almost like having your own family. Alina says they all looked happy when she saw them last time. It’s a big relief to know everything turned out all right.](else:)[Unfortunately, they haven’t followed your advice about becoming mentors. Alina says they are still together and still live as hermits, unaccepted by their families. That’s a sad ending to the story, but at least they’re both alive and still love each other. Sometimes you can’t have all you want, true.]\ ]\ (display: "ending")

(set: $dice1 to (random:0,100))\ (if: $dice1 < 30)[It turns out Juna and Alex didn’t listen to you.(set: $dice to (random:1,100)) (if: $dice < 55)[But it seems the Lady Fortune (something fairytailish hunters and mutes believe in) was unexpectedly good to them and Juna gave birth to a healthy baby. The risk was immense, as well as the damage to Juna’s health. It took her a year to recover from the childbirth and left her barren. Anyway, the couple got what they wanted, against all the odds. You’ve never thought to see such a miracle with your own eyes.]\ (if: $dice > 9.9 and < 15)[The baby survived but Juno died in the childbirth leaving Alex to raise the kid alone. It’s so sad. Why, why didn’t they listen? You did your best to explain them everything but they still had their way and paid the price... Did you do something wrong? Could you have done better? Alas, you'll never know...]\ (if: $dice > 15.1 and < 55)[They tried to have a baby several times but all the pregnancies ended in stillbirths. Juno and Alex are still together but, both heartbroken, they live as hermits and avoid other people. It's so sad. Their life could have been so much more... Did you do something wrong? Could you have done better? Alas, you'll never know...]\ (if: $dice > 55.1 and < 85)[Juno survived the childbirth but the child died. It’s so sad. Why, why didn’t they listen? Did you do something wrong? Could you have done better? Alas, you'll never know...]\ (if: $dice > 85.1 and <95)[The baby survived but Juno died in the childbirth leaving Alex to raise the kid alone. It’s so sad. Why, why didn’t they listen? Did you do something wrong? Could you have done better? Alas, you'll never know... ]\ (if: $dice > 95.1 and <100.1)[Both Juno and the baby died in the childbirth, leaving poor Alex alone, a heartbroken hermit living on the edge of a cliff all by himself. It’s so sad. Why, why didn’t they listen? Did you do something wrong? Could you have done better? Alas, you'll never know...]\ ] (else:)[It turns out Juna and Alex did listen to you and abandoned their idea about having a baby. (set: $dice to (random:1,100))\ (if: $dice < 90)[They’ve also followed your advice about becoming mentors to other kids and now have two - a girl and a boy - six year olds in their care. It’s almost like having your own family. Alina says they all looked happy when she saw them last time. It’s a big relief to know everything turned out all right.](else:)[Unfortunately, they haven’t followed your advice about becoming mentors. Alina says they are still together and still live as hermits, unaccepted by their families. That’s a sad ending to the story, but at least they’re both alive and still love each other. Sometimes you can’t have all you want, true.]\ ]\ (display: "ending")

(set: $dice1 to (random:0,100))\ (if: $dice1 < 80)[It turns out they decided to take the risk after all.(set: $dice to (random:1,100)) (if: $dice < 55)[But it seems the Lady Fortune (something fairytailish hunters and mutes believe in) was unexpectedly good to them and Juna gave birth to a healthy baby. The risk was immense, as well as the damage to Juna’s health. It took her a year to recover from the childbirth and left her barren. Anyway, the couple got what they wanted, against all the odds. You’ve never thought to see such a miracle with your own eyes.]\ (if: $dice > 9.9 and < 15)[The baby survived but Juno died in the childbirth leaving Alex to raise the kid alone. It’s so sad. Why, why didn’t they listen? You did your best to explain them everything but they still had their way and paid the price...]\ (if: $dice > 15.1 and < 55)[They tried to have a baby several times but all the pregnancies ended in stillbirths. Juno and Alex are still together but, both heartbroken, they live as hermits and avoid other people. It's so sad. Their life could have been so much more... Did you do something wrong? Could you have done better? Alas, you'll never know...]\ (if: $dice > 55.1 and < 85)[Juno survived the childbirth but the child died. It’s so sad. Why, why didn’t they listen? Did you do something wrong? Could you have done better? Alas, you'll never know...]\ (if: $dice > 85.1 and <95)[The baby survived but Juno died in the childbirth leaving Alex to raise the kid alone. It’s so sad. Why, why didn’t they listen? Did you do something wrong? Could you have done better? Alas, you'll never know... ]\ (if: $dice > 95.1 and <100.1)[Both Juno and the baby died in the childbirth, leaving poor Alex alone, a heartbroken hermit living on the edge of a cliff all by himself. It’s so sad. Why, why didn’t they listen? Did you do something wrong? Could you have done better? Alas, you'll never know...]\ ] (else:)[It turns out Juna and Alex did listen to you and abandoned their idea about having a baby. (set: $dice to (random:1,100))\ (if: $dice < 90)[They’ve also followed your advice about becoming mentors to other kids and now have two - a girl and a boy - six year olds in their care. It’s almost like having your own family. Alina says they all looked happy when she saw them last time. It’s a big relief to know everything turned out all right.](else:)[Unfortunately, they haven’t followed your advice about becoming mentors. Alina says they are still together and still live as hermits, unaccepted by their families. That’s a sad ending to the story, but at least they’re both alive and still love each other. Sometimes you can’t have all you want, true.]\ ]\ (display: "ending")

(set: $dice1 to (random:0,100))\ (if: $dice1 < 15)[It turns out they decided to take the risk after all.(set: $dice to (random:1,100)) (if: $dice < 80)[But the Lady Fortune (something fairytailish hunters and mutes believe in) was good to them and Juna gave birth to a healthy baby. The risk was not as great as the young people's families thought, after all. Juno and Alex are happy parents now and no longer live as hermits.]\ (if: $dice > 80.1 and < 85)[The baby survived but Juno died in the childbirth leaving Alex to raise the kid alone. It’s so sad. The chance of that happening was so small. And how different things could be if only Juno had a healer at her side to help her...]\ (if: $dice > 85.1 and < 90)[Both Juno and the baby died in the childbirth, leaving poor Alex alone, a heartbroken hermit living on the edge of a cliff all by himself. It’s so sad. And how different things could be if only Juno had a healer at her side to help her...]\ (if: $dice > 90.1 and < 95)[They tried to have a baby several times but all the pregnancies ended in stillbirths. Juno and Alex are still together but, both heartbroken, they live as hermits and avoid other people. It's so sad. Their life could have been so much more...]\ (if: $dice > 95.1 and <100.1)[Juno survived the childbirth but the child died. It’s so sad. Why, why didn’t they listen? You did your best to explain them everything but they still had their way and paid the price...]\ ] (else:)[It turns out Juna and Alex did listen to you and abandoned their idea about having a baby. Alina says they are still together and still live as hermits, unaccepted by their families. That’s a sad ending to the story, but at least they’re both alive and still love each other. Sometimes you can’t have all you want, true. ]\ (display: "ending")

You find Juno and Alex seated on your couch, holding hands and looking brave and determined. They understand the risks and are willing to take it. You wish you could be as brave as they are. You're shaking inside and just hope it doesn't show. (link: "See the outcomes of your decision.")[(if: $answer is "a3")[(goto: "a3")](if: $answer is "c3")[(goto: "c3")](if: $answer is "c3")[(goto: "c3")]]

You leave Juno and Alex alone so they can discuss their decision in private and head to the kitchen to have lunch. You feel a bit nervous. The risk is not great in your patients' case but it's the first risky decision in your career. No wonder you all you can do now is nibbling on a cookie and making a single sip from your tea cup. Your head is spinning, your heart is pounding. The half and hour you promised Juno and Alex seems an eternity. When it ends, you feel both relieved and terrified. [[Go to your office. ->abc3office]]

You leave Juno and Alex alone so they can discuss their decision in private and head to the kitchen to have lunch. Only you fail at that. Knowing how great the risk is makes you so nervous you can't eat or drink anything and look so pale your colleagues keep asking you whether you are unwell. You've never thought so many imaginable horrors could fit in just half an hour of waiting. Finally, the time is up. [[Go back to your office. ->abc3office]]

It's a pity that ancient machines no longer work. With them, your task would have been almost easy, without them, attemtpting something like this is borderline madness. But you still have the ancient medical psi-profile at your disposal, in addition to your own knowledge and experience. --- You did your best to help Juna through the pregnancy, despite of being constantly berated, yelled at, and even threatened by your elder colleagues for letting the young mother have her wish. You should've told the mute girl to stay chidless or find herself a husband in her own tribe, they said. You're mad, they said. Your decision will kill her, they said... (set: $dice to (random: 0,100)) (if: $dice is <5)[And you know what... they were right. Both Juno and her child died in your care despite all your efforts to help them. You failed them as a healer. Alex doesn't blame you, he blames himself. He leaves the world of people to live in the mountains alone as a hermit. You never hear of him again.]\ (if: $dice is > 5.1 and < 45)[And you know what: to hell with them! Juna had a miscarriage and only your experience saved her life! Without you at her side, she would have just died. And there's a good chance she would have attempted to have a child even if you tried to talk her out of it, so you glad you could be there where she needed a healer. This story doesn't have a happy ending but it doesn't end in grief either. The young couple understood how dangerous their idea was in the first place. They decided to stay childless and to find another purpose in life. The last time you heard of them, they were mentors to a group of kids and seemed happy with what they were doing. Not being able to have kids of your own is not the end of the world. You're glad they saw that.]\ (if: $dice is > 45.1 and < 100.1)[And you know what: to hell with them! Juna had a difficult pregnancy but with your help both she and her child lived. The young family is as happy as it could be, all thanks to you. Seeing how dangerous and difficult it was, they promised you not to have any more kids, so they're safe now. Safe and happy. Good job, healer!] (display: "ending")

It's a pity that ancient machines no longer work. With them, your task would have been almost easy, without them, attemtpting something like this is borderline madness. But you still have the ancient medical psi-profile at your disposal, in addition to your own knowledge and experience. --- You did your best to help Juna through the pregnancy, despite of being constantly berated, yelled at, and even threatened by your elder colleagues for letting the young mother have her wish. You should've told the mute girl to stay chidless or find herself a husband in her own tribe, they said. You're mad, they said. Your decision will kill her, they said... (set: $dice to (random: 0,100)) (if: $dice is <5)[And you know what... they were right. Both Juno and her child died in your care despite all your efforts to help them. You failed them as a healer. Alex doesn't blame you, he blames himself. He leaves the world of people to live in the mountains alone as a hermit. You never hear of him again.]\ (if: $dice is >5.1 and <25)[And you know what: to hell with them! Juna had a miscarriage and only your experience saved her life! Without you at her side, she would have just died. And there's a good chance she would have attempted to have a child even if you tried to talk her out of it, so you glad you could be there where she needed a healer. This story doesn't have a happy ending but it doesn't end in grief either. The young couple understood how dangerous their idea was in the first place. They decided to stay childless and to find another purpose in life. The last time you heard of them, they were mentors to a group of kids and seemed happy with what they were doing. Not being able to have kids of your own is not the end of the world. You're glad they saw that.]\ (if: $dice is >25.1 and <100.1)[And you know what: to hell with them! Juna had a difficult pregnancy but with your help both she and her child lived. The young family is as happy as it could be, all thanks to you. Seeing how dangerous and difficult it was, they promised you not to have any more kids, so they're safe now. Safe and happy. Good job, healer!] (display: "ending")

It's a pity that ancient machines no longer work. With them, your task would have been almost easy, without them, attemtpting something like this is borderline madness. But you still have the ancient medical psi-profile at your disposal, in addition to your own knowledge and experience. --- You did your best to help Juna through the pregnancy, despite of being constantly berated, yelled at, and even threatened by your elder colleagues for letting the young mother have her wish. You should've told the mute girl to stay chidless or find herself a husband in her own tribe, they said. You're mad, they said. Your decision will kill her, they said... (set: $dice to (random: 0,100)) (if: $dice is <5)[And you know what... they were right. Both Juno and her child died in your care despite all your efforts to help them. You failed them as a healer. Alex doesn't blame you, he blames himself. He leaves the world of people to live in the mountains alone as a hermit. You never hear of him again.]\ (if: $dice is >5.1 and <15)[And you know what: to hell with them! Juna had a miscarriage and only your experience saved her life! Without you at her side, she would have just died. And there's a good chance she would have attempted to have a child even if you tried to talk her out of it, so you glad you could be there where she needed a healer. This story doesn't have a happy ending but it doesn't end in grief either. The young couple understood how dangerous their idea was in the first place. They decided to stay childless and to find another purpose in life. The last time you heard of them, they were mentors to a group of kids and seemed happy with what they were doing. Not being able to have kids of your own is not the end of the world. You're glad they saw that.]\ (if: $dice is >15.1 and <100.1)[And you know what: to hell with them! Juna had a difficult pregnancy but with your help both she and her child lived. The young family is as happy as it could be, all thanks to you. Seeing how dangerous and difficult it was, they promised you not to have any more kids, so they're safe now. Safe and happy. Good job, healer!] (display: "ending")