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--> 3 bandages

--> Yellow toy truck

--> 2 cans of beans

--> Sturdy stick

--> Blanket

--> Piece of leather

--> Knapsack

--> Canteen

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The boy is shivering, a small, cold thing in the dull dawn of a brightening sky. The man is gone. The rising sun marks three days, now.

The boy watches his breath dissipate in the frigid air. The man said he was going somewhere dangerous, that he would come back soon.

I'm sorry, he'd said. If I'm not here you can still talk to me. And you'll hear me. I'll just be a little ways. If you get scared you call me and I'll come right away.

Papa?

No response.

The boy stands. He walks on, alone.

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A burning man sitting in the road. His skin is blackened with ash, and soot is on his ragged clothes.

Help him

Avoid him (The man suggests this. There's nothing to be done.)

Plunder

+50 EXP

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There is a big tree with a trunk curved into a face. The boy can see its wooden mouth move. Its voice is a croak.

"Come closer, boy. I have stories to share."

Ask about:

Resources and Surroundings

Food

Enemies (The man suggests this. You should always be on the lookout.)

+50 EXP

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The mountains howl. The ash in the wind seemed to form questions in the debris.

The boy reads.

Do you know the threats that lurk in these heights?

Do you feel the harsh conditions upon your frail back?

Do you wonder how this world came to be?

+50 EXP

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+5 Constitution, +5 Health, +5 Energy

The Burning Man was right, water in a lake. It looks muddy, but the boy is thirsty. He filters it through a dirty cloth and drinks his fill.

Store and return to The Burning Man

Store and move on (The Man suggests this. We're losing the day.)

+50 EXP

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Suffocating Winds --> Asthma Status Effect

-5 Constitution, -5 Strength, -10 Energy

The wind is poisonous to your kind.

To remove: move to caves and other barriers to block the polluted currents

Extreme Cold --> Hypothermia Status Effect

-10 Constitution, -10 Energy

The snow will burrow into your clothes.

To remove: requires fire or steam vents in a safe clearing

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A desolate cabin stands alone in the mountains. The boy approaches, wary.

He explores:

The Kitchen

The Cellar (The man suggests this Take a risk. You need to find something to eat.)

+50 EXP

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+5 dried apples, +10 Energy

Rotten remains sag on the branches. The boy doesn't recognize it. What had the man called it? An apple orchard

He steps on something. Hard, brown, shriveled. It's delicious, stem and core and all.

You did good.

+50 EXP

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An ashy and black ocean awaits. I'm sorry it's not blue.

The vertebrae of small marine animals litter the shores, and pieces of trash resurface.

Gray sludge, slick and shiny, reflective like clean gasoline in a jug. The boy doesn't know how it was in the man's time. Its roiling waves are mesmerizing.

Swim I think you should do it.

Rest It's colder than you think.

+50 EXP

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-1 bandage, +1 Special Event

The man gives a raspy thanks, says there's water north. Could the boy bring him some?

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+10 int.

The man's breathing slows. It's difficult to see if his chest still rises from behind the trees. The boy walks on, alone.

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+1 jacket, -10 Health, +5 str.

The man groans. Grabs the boy's wrist with surprising strength and doesn't let go until the boy pulls, hard, and scrambles away

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The boy follows the road. He walks on, alone.

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-15 Energy, +1 Jacket

The journey back is arduous. The Burning Man is already dead. The Man says It's okay for you to take it. He would want you to.

The boy says a prayer, and moves on.

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+1 Map, +Scouting Skill

"The path of broken sticks is dangerous. The scent of blood follows."

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+Morel Mushrooms, +Foraging Skill

"The fungi shaped like the wrinkles on an old man's hand are best to eat by day."

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+10 int., +Evasion Skill

"Listen closely, little one. There are many dangers to expect."

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Enemies approach unexpectedly. The boy learns to keep an ear out with every random encounter

Truckers: -5 Energy, -1 Blanket

They haunt the roads beside the forest, a mindless thing caged in metal monsters. Walk in the shadows, and keep things close

Missing Children: -10 Health, -5 wis.

More beast than human, scavenging in caves and water. Scour the surroundings before settling in for the night.

Falling Branches: -5 Health, -5 con.

They crack suddenly, a beacon of sound. The wood is brittle but sharp. Anticipate the sounds, and move quickly

Bears: -20 Health

They lurk in caves and deep, dense forests, hungry beyond their mind. Watch every step and move in silence.

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+10 int

A long time ago, the world was rife with words unnatural to you.

Wildlife: crows, cows, trout.

Man's creations: dams, billboards, sextants.

Colors: ocean blue, brick red, leaf green

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I don't know the threats lurking in these heights.

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I don't know the threats lurking in these heights.

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+Evasion Skill (or Level Up)

Then I shall write of its secrets.

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I feel the harsh conditions upon my back.

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I feel the harsh conditions upon my back.

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+10 wis.

And now, you will know its effects.

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+4 tools -10 Health

The cabinets hold useful items and utensils. Within their depths, a rotting rat jumps from the darkness and scurries away, but not without a lasting injury.

The boy walks on, alone.

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The food has run out.
Every house, lined up in neat rows, has already been ransacked.
There’s only one left, solitary, in a field.

He explores. There's something in the dead grass. Shovel at it. The boy is scared.

Go

Explore (This is what the good guys do. They keep trying. They dont give up.)

+50 EXP

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+1 metal spade, +1 Special Event, +5 str.

The cellar is hard to open. The boy finds a toolshed and uses its contents to pry the door. Inside is dark, and has a rancid smell that the boy can't quite place. He wonders what it is.

He descends further, and doesn't wonder anymore.

Beseeching eyes and a quivering voice stretch across the dim cellar. Help us. Please

Untie Them

Run Away (The man suggets this Hurry. For God's sake hurry.)

+50 EXP

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-30 Health, +5 wis. +10 cha.

The humans are frail but thankful. The ones with legs stumble towards the sky.

Shots ring out. 4 men and 2 women. Armed.

He escapes, but barely. No one else does. The boy walks on, alone.

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-5 Health

The sight haunts the boy for a very long time. He can barely bring himself to eat. The man says You couldn't help them because then they'd eat you too.

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Dark Ambience - Horror Background Music 10 Hours

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The year was 2015. Humanity had reached the golden age of technology. Advancements being made left and right were furthering the development of civilization. A gaze out reveals whole cities being powered by clean energy, leaders working together to unite, space vessels flying constantly to the outer stars, and climate change almost completely reversed. Suddenly, scientists on earth started receiving unfamiliar readings in earths convection core. Readings that revealed violent fluctuations in magnetic fields and seismic activity that was never before seen. At first, scientists believed it was just an abnormally large solar flare. They were wrong. March 28th, 2019. HSFP (Hyper Solar Flare Pulse) was the most powerful and violent solar energy flare in recorded history. The flare was so powerful that it completely melted the thermosphere and mesosphere and allowed for gamma radiation to leak through onto earth. Within minutes of the HSFP, satellites were fried and global power grids were instantly broken. Panic ensues as the heat and gamma radiation instantly slices through the thin lower layers of our atmosphere. The impact was lethal. Nuclear warheads underground were ignited and the DNA of every living thing was rewritten causing the instant melting of civilians and animals and the survivors were left with gorey mutations. Governments instantly collapsed and nations split into barbaric cannibalistic tribes. Five year pass and the Earth has now become a barren husk of a planet. The only traces of civilizations are the fossilized remains of once great mega cities. Survivors plunder to continue with some joining the cultist cannibal clans that rule the wasteland while others hold seek to reclaim and repair the cities.

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Beautiful Boy (Darling Boy) - 2010 Remastered

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Beautiful Boy (Darling Boy) - 2010 Remastered

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+3 Cans of Food, Full Health, Full Energy, +1 Burner
Hard, grueling work. Takes the day. The man's voice lets him sit on the porch and rest a while. Then, he goes down.

Inside: shelves, a bed, a full pantry — untouched. The boy eats pears from a can.

5 days of heaven.

The man walks him through the valve and tank and burner.

Then, he sets off. Because it's dangerous.

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-20 Energy, -20 Health

He was put on this Earth for this boy. He failed his job. How will their story end? The boy's stomach moans with hunger. He has to carry the fire. Something beautiful.

The boy walks on, alone.

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Mountain Lions: -20 Health

Snarling beasts, camouflaged in the blank white.

Avoid snow-topped rocks upon the crest of the ridge

Hikers: -10 Health

They have a black abyss where fire should burn.

Camp far from roads, and cover every track

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-10 Health, -10 Energy, +5 con.

Has your luck run out yet, little boy? Or will you continue living in a world not made for breath?

Wild memories, echoes of the past, dense in the water.

He is shivering when he steps out, and crying. He won't give voice to the reason.

The boy walks on, alone.

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+10 Health, +10 Energy, +10 int.

The waters are dangerous. He eats a light meal and tries to recall stories of helping people.

The boy walks on, alone.

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You can't take any chances. No chances.

Someone was coming down the road. He waited, anyways.

He can't see the fire like the man can. There's nothing to do but decide.

Go with them

+50 EXP

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Choice is illusory. Haven't you noticed? All lines converge.

Your fate is in their hands, now.

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The boy walks on.