The Dragon Golem

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The Dragon Golem

This is a sketch of a visual novel, an early outline. Expect lazy writing in this test! You are Reeve, a manager of the Spice Villages that produce incense and spices in hot weather. One day a mage comes to town from the Enchanters' Guild of nearby Port Argent, looking for somebody compatible with a mystical orb he has "for a project". You turn out to be the one most suited! "Come with me; we'll put you up in the city to try our project." [[No, I'm not going with you.]] (if: $start_ask is 0)[ [[Ask some questions]] ] [[Let's go.]]

And so, you don't get involved in the adventure. You hear rumors of a dragon fighting in the king's wars, but that doesn't concern you... until the war is lost, badly, and the enemy comes for the Spice Villages. (Ending 1)

(set: $start_ask to 1)\ You ask some pointed questions of the Guildsman, feeling him out. He's not very sympathetic to the king, but he does seem like a decent guy. He questions your goals and motives; you get some chance here to express your interests and set some hidden variables. [[Start]]

You head along a rutted, mostly desert road to the cool city of Port Argent. Literally cool; the Guild has magic shade over the place. The mages are more interested in business than in building statues of their grandeur; their market of enchanted trinkets is monument enough. (An alternative if time permits: instead of going right to the city, have this trip become an expedition into a reputed dragon lair that leads to the following scene.) In the Guild's test bunker you see a dragon skeleton! Guildsmen here include Shadesko (who brought you here), Arafelix (Guildmaster), and a young eager technician. Arafelix tells you to pilot the dragon! There's a cabinet in the rib cage you can climb into, and supposedly you can steer the thing by thought. (Here you get a chance to ask a few questions.) [[Pilot the dragon, Reeve!]]

The dragon is barely functional, with dim vision and sluggish movement, but the Guild men seem excited anyway. "There's a lot to learn about what this thing can do!" they say. "You look like our best candidate by far. Name your price." You negotiate for money, lodging, and... [[More money!]] [[Learning some magic]] [[A cooling device for the Spice Villages]]

Reluctantly the Guildsmen agree to pay you especially well. (This makes you rich, which can affect certain stuff you do in town.) [[Testing Day 2]]

The Guild offers to make you an apprentice and start teaching you some secrets. [[Testing Day 2]]

The Guild can't put a giant shade over your entire home area; it'd be super expensive and would harm the crops. But they can offer some magical aid on a smaller scale to make life better for the people there. [[Testing Day 2]]

You test the dragon-golem some more. Moving around in the Guild's test bunker. You get the sense that the dragon is vaguely awake, sharing your thoughts... [[Ignore it|Day2, Ignore]] [[Commune with it|Day2, Commune]]

You focus on making yourself useful during the tests, dismissing the odd thoughts as just your imagination. (This does '''not''' raise a hidden "relationship with the dragon" variable.) (You might also get some extra chance to talk more with / improve a relationship with a Guild character, or an extra chance to do stuff in the city.) [[Day 2, Moving On]]

You focus on the odd sense of a presence in your thoughts. You might be imagining it, but the dragon is starting to trust you. (This raises a hidden "relationship with the dragon" variable.)(set: $dragon to $dragon + 1) (You might also get some extra chance to talk more with / improve a relationship with a Guild character, or an extra chance to do stuff in the city.) [[Day 2, Moving On]]

The testing goes well. That night, you... [[Head back to the dragon's room]] [[Go carousing with Guild people]] [[Explore the city]] [[Read up on magic]]

In the dragon's room you find yourself talking with the golem. It doesn't speak outright, but you can sort of imagine its answers. It is grateful to you, for letting it move again. (You can converse a bit here.)(set: $dragon to $dragon + 1) [[Day 3]]

You improve your relationship with Guild people, and can focus on one in particular. [[Day 3]]

You explore the city on your own. You get mugged, but fight the guy off! You might meet a priest who tends your wounds and discusses magic and spirits. You might meet a royal soldier who asks suspicious questions. If you are rich, you can buy an interesting magic item, fine clothes, or gifts for the Guildsmen. [[Day 3]]

You hole up in your room, reading magic. You are now more well-versed in magic. [[Day 3]]

You're called in for more practical testing in the bunker. This time the mages want you to try fighting! The enemy is a terrified-looking apprentice in padded armor. [[Kick his ass|Day3, Win]] [[Fight but be careful|Day3, Tie]] [[Throw the fight|Day3, Lose]]

You hit him pretty hard! The mages sound nervous about the dragon's combat potential. Oh no... you showed off a little too much, and seriously hurt the guy! [[Day3, Followup]]

You shamble around, having some trouble and trying not to seriously hurt the poor guy. "Whew!" he says afterward. "I can at least say I fought a dragon and lived!" "No you can't," says the Guildmaster. "We're keeping this under wraps until we go public, apprentice." "Yes, Guildmaster." [[Day3, Followup]]

You try not to hurt the poor apprentice, but more than that, you try to make it plain that you're not a suitable fighter while piloting this thing. The Guildsmen seem somewhat reassured by your incompetence in this area. Though one guy takes you aside to ask if you did that on purpose. [[Day3, Followup]]

The dragon's presence in your mind is excited and worried! (You can try to tap into one of the dragon's memories. This might affect one of a set of stats but could also just be for flavor. Any choice raises your dragon relationship.) [[Day 3, Night]]

Everyone is a little rattled by the day's sparring. (If you have a relationship with the dragon, you can [[commune|Day3, Commune]].) [[Day 3, Night]]

That night as you're resting, you feel a desire to go visit the dragon again... [[Day3, Night Visit|Do that]] [[Day3, City|Explore the city instead]]

You visit the dragon in its bunker. On touching the bones you begin to hear its presence in your mind. There's a sort of question... (The clarity of this depends on your current dragon stat.) [[Day3, Night, Enter|Enter the dragon]] [[Day3, Night, KeepOut|Just spend time with the dragon]]

You explore the city that night. You might look up a Guild friend, or just wander and run into something interesting. [[Day 4]]

(set: $tail to 1)\ You climb into the dragon and move around a bit. It's fun. When you exit though, you discover you've got a scaly tail! (You can talk with a Guild member about this or keep it secret until tomorrow. Contacting them tonight raises your friendship with that person.) [[Day 4]]

You hang out with the bones, touching them and idly talking. You're not sure if it understands you. [[Day 4]]

(if: $tail is 1)[\ The Guild people are shocked by your transformation! They argue about what it means and whether the experiment should continue. You can weigh in here about your feelings on it. ]\ Today's testing is about finding peaceful applications for your dragon. The Guild is under pressure from the King to deliver war machines for him, and they're worried he already knows about the dragon. You practice using your claws to cut stone and metal. Cool! Not only is it fun, but also you get the idea of using your powers to build a good road between the city and the Spice Villages. (If you have magical knowledge, you can also suggest ways to adapt the golem's magitech to create some kind of weapon to satisfy the king without taking the golem away.) [[Day5]]

As you work with the dragon you get mentally contacted again. If you didn't establish a relationship with the dragon, it's just eerie but you remain firmly in command. Go to [[Day5, Night]]. If you did: this is a chance to access a memory from its old life. You think about... [[Day5, Treasure|A lost treasure]] [[Day5, Eggs|Dragon eggs]] [[Day5, Magic|Something magical]]

That night you can do stuff in town. [[Day 5, Followup]]

You remember... Though dragons didn't have legendary hoards of gold coins, they did collect shiny things. You remember where you left some pretty stones... er, where the dragon did. (set: $know_hoard to 1) [[Day 5, Followup]]

You remember... A clutch of beautiful dragon eggs, which you laid after some ferociously good mating. Whoa, wait a minute. This dragon was female? The dragon's presence seems amused by your confusion. (if: $tail is 1)[You could try to better understand this memory... [[Yep It's a TGTF]]](else:)[Guess what could happen here if you were already partly transformed? =)] [[Day 5, Followup]]

You remember... Killing prey with blasts of lightning from your muzzle! Whoa, you can do that?! Er, the dragon used to be able to do that? (This will be helpful to know later.)(set: $know_breath to 1) [[Day 5, Followup]]

That was a strange day. Testing has been suspended for a bit; you have a day off. (if: $know_hoard is 1)[You know about the lost hoard... [[Tell the Guild]] [[Go dig up the hoard yourself]] ]\ (if: $tgtf is 1)[Now that you're a female part-dragon, one or more of your contacts would like a word with you about that.]\ You can encounter a royal agent or other contacts. You might also get a chance to visit the dragon once more, increasing your transformation. [[Day 6]]

When the memory passes and you climb out of the dragon, you find you've just turned female! This is going to make certain Guild members' heads explode. (set: $tgtf to 1) For now they send you off to your room and hold some kind of worried meeting. [[Day 5, Followup]]

The Guild is excited, and helps you dig it up. Raw gemstones and shiny gold nuggets! [[Day 6]]

You sneakily dig up a hoard of raw gemstones and shiny gold nuggets! You're rich! [[Day 6]]

The Guild is worried at this point about royal agents knowing too much and wanting to confiscate the dragon. (If you reported honestly to a royal agent, or demonstrated a lot of combat potential, or got drunk in town and let slip what you're working on, a royal agent shows up now. This shouldn't be an automatic game over, since it could come well after the event that triggered it, but it should be a tense encounter. If so...) [[Tense Encounter: Now you're under pressure to deliver something]] Otherwise... [[Continued Civilian-Use Testing]]

Oh gods, the king has spoken. The Guild is now under scrutiny and is ordered to produce a product of military value, ASAP. [[Agree to join the military, dragon in tow]] If you have magical knowledge OR you worked with the Guild to dig up a hoard: [[Help invent a golem-related piece of magitech]] [[Stall for time]]

Today you do a public test. (Either because the royal agents openly know about the dragon and are breathing down your neck, or because they've hinted that they do. Different in tone more than content but you may've avoided the "pressure to deliver" branch.) You start building a road between the city and the Spice Villages. You're able to work much faster than a human! The onlookers are impressed. Still you get frustrated by a stubborn hilly bit of dune terrain. You sigh in frustration at it... (if: $know_breath is 1)[Because you already know you can breathe lightning, you manage to avoid actually doing that right now! Whew. That could have hurt somebody or gotten the king's men very interested. [[Wrap up testing]] ] (else:)[You find yourself blasting the sand with your lightning breath! Yeah, the breath weapon you didn't know you have. A bystander gets struck and... Hurt if you have a good dragon relationship, killed if you didn't. The king's observer is very interested, and makes you demonstrate it again. (if: $scrutiny is 1)[You were already under intense royal scrutiny. Now it's time for a [[Confrontation]].] (else:)[For the moment the royal observer gives no further orders, but it's clear that a confrontation is coming. [[Wrap up testing]].]\ ]

You join the military as a combat dragon! This is an ending. (Ending 2)

You help invent a partial golem thing, which looks promising and reliable as a way to help soldiers fight better. It also has the advantage of being something the Guild can make more than one of! The royal agent is pleased. For now you can continue your work, without being under intense scrutiny to perform. (set: $delivered_tech to 1) [[Continued Civilian-Use Testing]]

For now, you and the Guild people beg for more Research & Dragon time. You're still under scrutiny, though... (set: $scrutiny to 1) [[Continued Civilian-Use Testing]]

The king's men come to claim the dragon, like it or not! You try to stall, but there's no time. A fight is coming unless you find some way to avoid it. [[Agree to join the military, dragon in tow]] [[Screw this; we'll refuse to obey the king's orders!]]

The Guild people are pretty worried about royal intrusion. It looks like they're going to come and confiscate the dragon for official military use under their control, not the Guild's. What should you do about it? [[Agree to join the military, dragon in tow]] [[Continue stalling for more research time]] [[Use your dragon relationship to help remember something useful]] [[Use your magical knowledge, wealth and town contacts to invent something useful]] [[Screw this; we'll refuse to obey the king's orders!]]

You try, but that doesn't work. Time for a [[Confrontation]] .

Diving into the dragon's memories, you think you can recall something, but you'll have to accept that it'll change you just by learning it! Will you? [[Accept the transformation]] [[Wrap up testing|It's not worth that]]

(set: $delivered_tech to 1)\ You cobble together a sort of partial golem robot armor for soldiers to use. It's cool enough that the royal agents seem pleased. [[Confrontation]]

(Here, we check on how strong your support is with the Guild and with people in the city. If it's too low, this happens:) You get laughed off when you suggest rebelling. Go back and find another option. [[Wrap up testing]] (Or, if your Guild relations are good enough:) [[Talk the Guild into letting you "escape" with the dragon]] (If your relations are high enough, you get another option:) [[Talk the Guild into flat-out refusing]]

You become a humanoid dragon yourself! Or at least much more so than before. The good news (if the above didn't already count) is that you also intuitively sense how to build a limited flying machine. Ie. you have just invented hang gliders. The king will be interested. (set: $delivered_tech to 1)\ [[Confrontation]]

Fair enough, but what will you do instead? [[Wrap up testing]]

When the king's men come to collect the dragon, you hop into the golem and flee with it, into the desert! The Guild pretends to be outraged but secretly helps you escape. You become a fugitive, but you're also the owner of a cool dragon golem. If your relationship with the dragon is high and you're partly transformed already, [[You change into a full dragon]] by merging with the golem permanently. Otherwise you're a fugitive dragon pilot. (Ending 3.)

You just set off a rebellion against the king! This might be a good thing considering that he isn't well liked. (Ending 6)

You're a fugitive dragon! You have to evade the king's justice but still become a wandering hero. (Ending 4.) (if: $tgtf is 1)[Also, you soon discover, you have enough magic that you're producing some entirely viable dragon eggs. Um, maybe good? (Ending 5)]