Little Red Riding Hood(text-colour:red)[''Little Red''
]
by Aeneas Sagar Hemphill
<img src="https://cache.getarchive.net/Prod/thumb/cdn2/L3Bob3RvLzE5MDkvMTIvMzEvYXJ0aHVyLXJhY2toYW0tbGl0dGxlLXJlZC1yaWRpbmctaG9vZC1iZTYyNGUtMTAyNC5qcGc%3D/320/473/jpg" style="width:400px">
[[Start->Grandma Letter]]
11.01.2023(set: $wolfsbane to 0)
(set: $plums to 0)
(set: $fur to 0)
(text-colour:cyan)[//My Darling Little Red,
It's been too long since I've seen your hood bobbing over my bramble.
While I know you're helping your mother prepare for the winter (the owls tell me it'll be a cold one!), I must borrow you for one very urgent matter.
The wolves get desperate in the cold, but my spell has always been enough to keep them away. However, on a recent walk, I found one of my traps disturbed, and its contents eaten.
I'm concerned by this bold incursion, but until we learn more, I must restore the seal. //]
[[There's more on the back.->Grandma Letter pt2]]
(set: $unripe to 0)
(set: $ripe to 0)
(set: $rotten to 0)
(if: $wolfsbane is 0 and $plums is 0 and $fur is 0)[You gather your things: your ''bow and arrows'', your ''dagger'', your ''signature red cloak'' — and your ''axe''.]
You set out into the woods.
Which way?
(if: $wolfsbane is 0)[[[Gather wolfsbane ->wolfsbane]]]
(if: $plums is 0)[[[Gather chrysantheplums ->plums]]]
(if: $fur is 0)[[[Collect a tuft of White Fox fur. ->White Fox fur]]]
(if: $wolfsbane is 1 and $plums is 1 and $fur is 1)[[[To Grandma's house. ->A Wolf appears]]]
You place the final item in your satchel. You hear a sound. Rustling.
A (text-colour:grey)[WOLF] appears.
(text-colour:grey)["You should be careful in these woods, little girl."]
You stand your ground.
(text-colour:red)["I’m not scared of you!"]
The wolf leans back.
(text-colour:grey)["I’m not the one you should fear." ]
It sniffs the air.
(text-colour:grey)["That smell!"]
A low, rumbling growl.
[[Draw your weapon ->Draw your weapon]]
You set the letter aside and head back to your room — back to bed.
Your (text-colour:orange)[MOTHER] blocks the doorway.
(text-colour:orange)["I don't think so, Red. Either you help your Grandma or you help me." ]
[[Accept Grandma's request. ->Grandma's quest]]
[[Offer to help your mother. ->Offer to help Mother]] Your Mother smiles.
(text-colour:orange)["You can help me by helping your Grandma." ]
You groan.
[[Accept Grandma's request. ->Grandma's quest]] (text-colour:grey)["The smell of the human curse that struck my daughter."]
You look at your satchel.
(text-colour:red)["They’re just ingredients for my grandmother’s chrysantheplum pie."]
(text-colour:grey)["Your grandmother?"]
The wolf betrays its fear.
(text-colour:grey)["Please, little girl, tell her to help my daughter." ]
(text-colour:red)["The seal keeps her safe. I know how wolves can trick." ]
(text-colour:grey)["Is that how you see us? If you won’t do it, then I will."]
The wolf takes off into the woods.
[[Go to Grandma's house]]The path to Grandma's house is a blur. You burst through the door.
The wolf stands in the living room.
You draw your weapon.
(text-colour:red)["What did you do to her?!" ]
The wolf freezes.
(text-colour:grey)["I-I came to speak to her and she wasn't home."]
(text-colour:red)["You're lying!" ]
(text-colour:grey)["Please, help me find your grandmother. We need an antidote." ]
The wolf looks to the stairs.
Red moves to block the path.
[[Trust the wolf. ->Trust the wolf]]
[[Kill the wolf. ->Kill the wolf]]
You lower your weapon.
The wolf is grateful.
(text-colour:grey)["Thank you, kind girl." ]
You hear an animal crying from upstairs, then footsteps.
(text-colour:cyan)[GRANDMA] comes down the stairs.
(text-colour:cyan)["I need you! Follow me!" ]
[[Go upstairs -> Help Grandma]]
You lunge at the wolf.
(text-colour:grey)["No, please!" ]
It doesn't strike back at you. Rather, it begs you to stop. It must be a trick. It must be.
Finally, you hear an old woman's cry:
(text-colour:cyan)["Stop!" ]
You turn to find (text-colour:cyan)[GRANDMA].
(text-colour:cyan)["I'm too late..."]
(text-colour:red)["Grandma?"]
(text-colour:cyan)["Oh, my dear...meet me upstairs."]
[[Go upstairs. ->Help Grandma (Bad)]]
<img src="https://media.istockphoto.com/id/1253254641/vector/grandmother-prepares-jam-sketch-scribble-for-labels-books-black-and-white-graphics-vector.jpg?s=612x612&w=0&k=20&c=trEQv13beVvMnB1LNXnmCLgZOhIrSOovLIfQh9vg50M=" style="width:500px">
A pot boils. A wolf cub tosses and turns in a crib.
The wolf runs to the cub's side. It cries in sympathy.
Grandma touches your arm.
(text-colour:cyan)["You found everything?"]
You hand Grandma the satchel.
(text-colour:cyan)["The poison and its antidote share almost every ingredient, except for one." ]
Grandma gently touches the wolf and holds a saucer underneath its eye. A tear rolls down the wolf's face and into the saucer. Grandma adds it to the pot.
(text-colour:cyan)["There." ]
[[Help the wolf cub ->Help the cub]]Before you go up the steps, you turn to look at Grandma.
She collects the wolf's final tear in a saucer, strokes its fur, and follows you.
(text-colour:cyan)["The poison and the antidote share every ingredient - except one." ]
[[Go upstairs. -> Help the cub (Bad)]]Grandma delivers the medicine to the cub.
(text-colour:cyan)["She'll need plenty of rest." ]
(text-colour:grey)["Thank you. We warned her, but a child's curiosity..." ]
(text-colour:cyan)["Don't I know it. I could tell you some stories about her and her mother."]
(text-colour:grey)["You've taught your brood well. She, and you, are always welcome in our den. You must meet my daughter under better circumstances." ]
(text-colour:red)["I will."]
Grandma smiles at you. The wolf too.
(text-colour:grey)["We're off. Thank you again." ]
The wolf and her cub leave.
(text-colour:cyan)["You did well, Red." ]
A pot boils. A wolf cub tosses and turns in a crib.
Grandma adds the wolf's tear to the pot. She gives the medicine to the cub.
(text-colour:red)["So it was telling the truth..." ]
Grandma looks at you.
(text-colour:red)["I'm sorry, Grandma."]
(text-colour:cyan)["You were trying to protect me." ]
(text-colour:red)["But I..." ]
Grandma touches your arm.
(text-colour:cyan)["These are lessons we learn. They can be hard. All we can do is live with them, learn from them, and move forward."]
(text-colour:red)["Yes, Grandma."]
(text-colour:cyan)["We'll have to bring her back to her den. And we'll see what they say."]
You remember picking buttercups with Grandma. A tall, purple flower stood out from the rest.
You reach for it.
Something wraps around your wrist. Grandma's hand, gripping tight. Tighter than you've ever felt. It hurts.
(text-colour:cyan)["The purple cup is poison." ]
Back in the present, you've found the purple cup once again.
You feel a pain in your wrist.
[[Do what Grandma taught you. ->gather wolfsbane]]
You find a grove of chrysantheplum trees. Blossoming flowers compete with succulent fruit for space on the many twisted branches.
(if: $unripe is 0)[[[Pick an unripened fruit -> Unripe fruit]]]
(if: $ripe is 0)[[[Pick a perfectly ripe fruit -> ripe fruit]]]
(if: $rotten is 0)[[[Pick a wrinkly, oozing, overripe, possibly even rotting one -> rotten fruit]]]As you tread down the path, you hear Grandma's words:
(text-colour:cyan)["A White Fox on the prowl is always alert. The moment it's surprised is its very last." ]
A harsh whisper cuts through your memory.
(text-colour:green)["Pssst!"]
You follow the sound to some (text-colour:green)[SHRUBBERY], quivering just slightly in time with a human's breath.
[[Inspect the shrubbery. -> Inspect shrubbery]]
[[Ignore it and press on. ->Ignore shrubbery]] The shrubbery beckons.
You peek behind the bush to find (text-colour:lime)[THE WOODSMAN]. A towering figure, even as he tries to make himself as small as possible.
(text-colour:lime)["Shhhhh!" ]
You join him behind the bush.
(text-colour:lime)["Another step and you woulda scared off the—" ]
You hear rustling.
By the time you see the White Fox, it's already too late. It vanishes into the trees.
(text-colour:lime)["Not again..." ]
He scratches his thick beard.
(text-colour:lime)["Hey, wait. What are you doing out here? Shouldn't you be helping your mother? Oh. Grandma sent you, didn't she?"]
He sighs.
(text-colour:lime)["She doesn't believe in me." ]
[[Say you believe in him ->believe in woodsman]]
[[Say nothing. ->say nothing]]
The shrubbery hisses:
(text-colour:green)["Wait!"]
But you've decided it's none of your business.
*CRACK*
Your foot snaps a branch in half. Then you hear rustling.
By the time you see the White Fox, it's already too late. It vanishes into the trees.
The shrubbery is displeased.
(text-colour:green)["I tried to warn you." ]
Now you recognize the voice. (text-colour:green)[THE WOODSMAN] appears from behind the shrub. A towering figure wrapped in denim, flannel, and a thick mane of hair, he rests the hilt of his axe on the ground next to his dirt-covered boots.
He scratches his beard.
(text-colour:lime)["Hey, wait. What are you doing out here? Shouldn't you be helping your mother? Oh. Grandma sent you, didn't she?"]
He sighs.
(text-colour:lime)["She doesn't believe in me." ]
[[Say you believe in him ->believe in woodsman]]
[[Say nothing. ->say nothing]]
(set: $wolfsbane to $wolfsbane + 1)
Avoiding the nectar, you cut sprigs of the wolfsbane, wrap them in a rag, and place them in your satchel.
[[Keep moving ->Grandma's quest]]
(set: $ripe to $ripe +1)
This one looks tasty.
You hear Grandma's voice.
(text-colour:cyan)["Now this is perfect — for a delicious pie. Not much in there for a spell, though." ]
[[Pick another one ->plums]]
[[Take a bite. ->Bite]]
(set: $plums to $plums +1)
You knew this was the right choice all along, but you just didn't want to accept it. The smell is putrid. Gagging, you reach for it. The stem seems to melt away.
You hear Grandma's voice.
(text-colour:cyan)["It's no fun, but fermentation is the best way to get to the magical properties." ]
You seal the aged crysantheplum into a small jar and bury it in your satchel. Now you can breathe again.
[[Keep moving ->Grandma's quest]] (set: $unripe to $unripe +1)
You hear your Grandma's voice.
(text-colour:cyan)["If you're looking to knock somebody out, that'll do. Nothing much in flavor or potency, though." ]
[[Pick another one. ->plums]] It //is// perfect. Juice erupts with every bite, and you drain every last morsel.
But now your hands are sticky.
[[Pick another one. ->plums]] He smiles, genuinely touched.
(text-colour:lime)["Thank you, Red." ]
But the problem remains.
(text-colour:lime)["I'm just too large. I take up too much space and I make too much noise and I'm just big, everything about me is big!"]
[[Give him a pep talk ->pep talk]]
[[Give him tough love ->tough love]](text-colour:lime)["I think I just need a nap." ]
The Woodsman slowly rises to his feet and sulks away.
[[Go hunt the white fox ->hunt white fox]] (text-colour:red)["There's nothing wrong with being big! The woods need creatures of all shapes and sizes. You protect us, and you teach us, and you build for us. We wouldn't have our home here without you. So don't be down on yourself. We'll figure this out together!" ]
The Woodsman wipes a tear from his eye, then wraps you into an embrace. His beard scratches you, his musk is overpowering. But you feel safe. You hold on tighter.
(text-colour:lime)["I've been trying to do everything on my own. Shoulda known that wouldn't work. There's plenty more I need to take care of. Can I leave this to you?"]
[[Hunt the white fox.->hunt white fox]]
(text-colour:red)["You're gonna just give up? Just let Grandma get gobbled up by hungry wolves because it's hard? I thought you were a hero, but I guess I was wrong." ]
The Woodsman is silent for a while.
(text-colour:lime)["I think I just need a nap." ]
The Woodsman slowly rises to his feet and sulks away.
[[Go hunt the white fox ->hunt white fox]]
You can't make too much noise.
[[Climb a tree ->climb tree]]
[[Sneak on foot ->sneak]]
You spot the white fox.
You draw your bow. Arrow ready.
[[Shoot. ->shoot fox]]You track the fox's scent, creeping through the grass.
You've come face-to-face with the white fox's tail.
[[Cut a piece of fur. ->cut fox]]The arrow whizzes by the white fox. As soon as the point hits the ground, it skitters away.
(text-colour:red)["Shoot." ]
[[Recover the arrow ->recover arrow]](set: $fur to $fur +1)
You chop a small tuft of hair from the white fox tail.
It scitters away.
[[Keep moving. ->Grandma's quest]] (set: $fur to $fur+1)
You pluck the arrow from the ground. Attached to it are some strands of white fox fur.
[[Keep moving. ->Grandma's quest]] (text-colour:cyan)[// I require ''wolfsbane'', a ''tuft of white fox fur'', and the ''skin of a chrysantheplum''.
I'm afraid I'm unable to gather them myself. I'd ask the Woodsman, but he's still sleeping off his night, God help him.
I need you, Red. You're young, well-trained (if I do say so myself!). This will be a great way to test out some of what I've taught you.
How about I sweeten the deal? Do me this favor and I'll teach you a ''new trick'' that should make ''chopping wood'' a whole lot easier.
I will await your visit.
Don't forget your axe!
Love,
Grandma //
]
[[Accept Grandma's request. ->Grandma's quest]]
[[Ignore Grandma. -> Ignore Grandma]]