The Cursed Magician

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<<if $health <= 0>> <<goto "GameOver">> <</if>> <<showHUD>> <div class="center"> <h1>Shackles of Power (working title)</h1> <p>Chapter 1 <small>By aggressiveviking</small></p> </div> <div class="justify">It was dark, and Voyan didn’t know where he was. His mind was muddled, but clarity was creeping back in—enough for him to take stock of his surroundings, of his body. The first thing he noticed was the darkness. Not complete darkness—there was a thin slit of light cutting through the wall in front of him. With it came the sound of wheels rattling over stone or dirt. Was he in a carriage? He tried to remember, to force his aching mind to piece together how he had ended up here. The last thing he recalled was his laboratory. He’d been working on his research, then—gods, his head throbbed at the thought—then came the explosion. The north wall had collapsed in rubble. After that, his memories unraveled into fragments. His shielding artifacts had kept him alive, but everything after was broken images: a ceiling of unfamiliar stone above him, strangers speaking words he couldn’t hold on to. He blinked, and the scene shifted. Naked, surrounded by fewer figures this time. Hands on him. A sharp stab of something into his skin, though the pain barely registered. Someone noticed he was awake. Darkness swallowed him again. None of it made sense, but now his thoughts were clearer, the fragments beginning to connect. The first conclusion was simple: he had been captured. Had it been the lord? That pompous buffoon hardly seemed capable of orchestrating something so complex. No—he couldn’t draw conclusions yet. The second realization hit harder: he wasn’t a passenger in a carriage. He was cargo. Stuffed into a box. His first instinct was to cast a spell, to free himself.</div> <div class="justify"> <span class="button"><b>[[Listen.|Ch1_Listen1]]</b></span> <span class="button"><b>[[Use magic.|Ch1_Magic1]]</b></span> <span class="button"><b>[[Use physical force.|Ch1_BruteForce]]</b></span> </div>

<<if $health <= 0>> <<goto "GameOver">> <</if>> <<showHUD>> <div class="justify">Voyan forced himself to be still. Panic wanted him thrashing, screaming, tearing at the wood until his skin split—but that would only waste what little strength he had left. So he swallowed the fear and listened. The wagon rattled, the boards creaking with every turn of the wheels. Hooves clopped in steady rhythm, and beyond them, muffled voices drifted through the cracks. At first they were indistinct, only a murmur against the grind of wheels. But as he focused, straining for every word, sentences began to take shape. <i>“...Could ride this road half asleep.”</i> <i>“Don’t tempt it,”</i> another replied with a laugh. <i>“Last run you near toppled off your saddle snorin’. Had to poke you awake.”</i> <i>“Bah. Still kept pace. Can’t say the same for your nag—thing looks half dead.”</i> A scoff, then a spit. <i>“He’ll live. Just needs a rest once we reach Gideon’s Crown. Same as me.”</i> The name hit Voyan like a stone dropped in water. Gideon’s Crown. Days—maybe weeks—away from his laboratory. The conversation carried on, oblivious. <i>“What d’you reckon the load is this time? Heard talk of silks. Perfume. Maybe silver.”</i> <i>“Collector’s haul, most likely. Rich bastard buying up luxuries. Doesn’t matter to me long as the coin’s good.”</i> <i>“Coin, aye.”</i> A chuckle. <i>“Soon as we’re paid, I’m findin’ the first tavern and drinkin’ till I can’t stand. Gods know I’ve earned it.”</i> <i>“Drinking? That’s all you think on?”</i> <i>“What else is there?”</i> <i>“Women, you dolt. Gideon’s Crown’s full of ‘em. Finest coin can buy. Better ways to spend your pay than pissing it into a gutter.”</i> A chorus of laughter followed, boots scuffing against the wagon as the guards shifted. Voyan's stomach turned. They weren’t talking about him. They didn’t even know he was here. To them, this wagon carried only cargo—trinkets, luxuries, goods for sale. The realization settled like ice in his gut. Whoever had chained him, whoever had stuffed him in this box—they hadn’t trusted the guards with the truth. He was hidden even from the men meant to transport him.</div> <div class="justify"> <span class="button"><b>[[Make some noice. Make his presence known.|Ch1_Listen1_Noice]]</b></span> <span class="button"><b>[[Use physical force.|Ch1_BruteForce]]</b></span> <span class="button"><b>[[Keep listening.|Ch1_Listen1_Listen]]</b></span> </div>

<<set $health -= 5>> <<if $health <= 0>> <<goto "GameOver">> <</if>> <<showHUD>> <div class="redText"><b>[-5 health]</b></div> <div class="justify">Voyan closed his eyes, steadied his breath, and reached for the familiar flow of arcane energy. He expected the hum in his chest, the flicker of power in his fingertips... But nothing came. The well was dry. His chest tightened. He tried again, straining harder, reaching deeper. Empty. Panic surged up his throat. This had never happened before. His magic had always answered him. Always. He pressed harder, desperate now, reaching for even the smallest spark—a cantrip, a light, anything. Still nothing. The darkness seemed to press closer. His breath came in shallow gasps, his mind a blur of dread. <i>Why?</i> His body trembled, chained and helpless, sweat stinging his eyes. He forced one more attempt, teeth gritted, nails digging into his palms. This time, something stirred. Not power—something else. A faint burn under his skin. The sensation left behind was wrong, like a hand pressing down on him, holding him in place. Voyan sagged against the boards, the panic that followed was worse than the fear he felt finding himself in this box prison.</div> <div class="justify"> <span class="button"><b>[[Try magic again.|Ch1_Magic1_Magic]]</b></span> <span class="button"><b>[[Abandon magic, use brute force.|Ch1_BruteForce]]</b></span> <span class="button"><b>[[Stop, try to calm himself and think.|Ch1_Listen1]]</b></span> </div>

<<set $health -= 10>> <<if $health <= 0>> <<goto "GameOver">> <</if>> <<showHUD>> <div class="redText"><b>[-10 health]</b></div> <div class="justify"> The panic clawed at him, but Voyan shoved it down. He pressed his back against the wall of the crate, shoved with both bound feet. The wood groaned but held firm. His wrists scraped raw against the manacles as he twisted, trying to find leverage, trying to do something. The effort tore at him. Every kick rattled his bones, every thrust of his shoulders sent the shackles biting deeper. Sweat stung his eyes, and each ragged breath rasped in his throat. But he didn’t stop. Couldn’t stop. The boards gave nothing. Only splinters and bruises rewarded him. His wrists ached, skin torn where the iron dug too deep. His chest heaved, the sound of his chains loud in the cramped dark. He pushed harder, until his muscles screamed and his body trembled. Finally, strength abandoned him. He slumped sideways, skin slick with sweat, his arms shaking uncontrollably. His wrists were bleeding now, his ankles burning from the strain. The box had not yielded. All he had won was pain. And the knowledge—cold and merciless—that he was weaker than he had ever been.</div> <div class="redText"><b>[The magician’s body gives out, falling unconscious.]</b></div> <div class="justify"> <span class="button"><b>[[Continue.|Ch1_Continue1]]</b></span> </div>

<<set $health -= 5>> <<if $health <= 0>> <<goto "GameOver">> <</if>> <<showHUD>> <div class="redText"><b>[-5 health]</b></div> <div class="justify"> Voyan clenched his jaw and tried again. He refused to accept this—refused to accept weakness. His power had been with him since childhood, the one constant in a life of study and sacrifice. It had never failed him. He would not let it fail now. He pulled, deeper and deeper, until his whole body shook with the effort. His lungs burned, his heart thudded painfully in his chest. And then the tattoos flared. Lines of fire seared across his skin, the ink glowing faintly in the darkness, constricting like hot iron. The harder he reached, the tighter they pulled. The glow burned against his ribs, his arms, his throat. A strangled cry broke from him as the pressure mounted. He tried to stop, but by then the pain had its claws in him. Every heartbeat drove it deeper, crushing him from the inside. His thoughts unraveled. His vision blurred. The crate around him swam in and out of focus, swallowed by purple sparks and the copper taste of blood in his mouth. His chains rattled as he writhed, but they were nothing compared to the invisible cage closing around his spirit. The last thing he felt was his own body betraying him—collapsing against the boards, breath shallow, consciousness slipping. Then there was only black.</div> <div class="redText"><b>[The magician’s body gives out, falling unconscious.]</b></div> <div class="justify"> <span class="button"><b>[[Continue.|Ch1_Continue1]]</b></span> </div>

To be continued...

<<set $health -= 5>> <<if $health <= 0>> <<goto "GameOver">> <</if>> <<showHUD>> <div class="redText"><b>[-5 health]</b></div> <div class="justify"> The chatter outside scraped at Voyan’s nerves. Their laughter, their talk of drink and women—it made his blood boil. They didn’t know that he was chained like an animal not three feet from them, and to them he didn’t even exist. The thought twisted into desperation. Maybe if he made noice—they’d hear him. They’d open the box. See him. Free him. He drew in a shaky breath and slammed his shackles against the wood. The iron rang out, dull and heavy. He kicked, once, twice, until his heels throbbed. Finally he rasped a cry, raw and hoarse, tearing at his dry throat. Silence. The wagon rattled on. Outside, the mercenaries kept laughing, voices unchanged. Not a pause, not a question. Nothing. Voyan chest was tight as he tried to draw panic breaths. He had made enough noise to rattle the whole damn wagon—yet not a single ear had heard him. The realization hit him then: the box wasn’t just wood and nails. There was magic here, woven into its boards, swallowing his voice, smothering his chains’ clatter before it ever reached the air. No one would hear him.</div> <div class="justify"> <span class="button"><b>[[Continue.|Ch1_Continue1]]</b></span> </div>

<<if $health <= 0>> <<goto "GameOver">> <</if>> <<showHUD>> <div class="justify"><i>“Careful your wife don’t hear you say that.”</i> <i>“Ha! She’s three villages away. Won’t hear a thing if I keep my mouth shut. Besides, she knows what a soldier does on the road. Better not to ask, better not to tell.”</i> Another man’s voice, quieter, more serious: <i>“Don’t go spendin’ it all in one night. King’s taxes’ll gut the rest soon as you set foot back home.”</i> <i>“Then better I waste it on ale than hand it to that greedy bastard. Let him choke on his own gold.”</i> More laughter. The wheels rattled on, the wagon rocking steady. Voyan’s fingernails dug into the wood. To them, it was just another haul. Just another job. They thought they were guarding crates of silks, or trinkets, or perfumes for some nameless collector.</div> <div class="justify"> <span class="button"><b>[[Continue.|Ch1_Continue1]]</b></span> </div>

<<set $health to 20>> <<set $mana to 0>> <<set $gold to 0>> <<set $yesornoquestion to false>> << set $eyecolor to "null">>

<b>Health:</b> $health/100 <b>Mana: </b> $mana <b>Gold: </b> $gold

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Like the //UIBar// functionality, the <a href="http://www.motoslave.net/sugarcube/2/docs/api-ui.html">//UI//</a> API acts to show different things like the built-in alert or the "Saves", "Settings", "Share", and "Jump-to" dialog windows. <<button "Open an alert!">> <<script>> UI.alert("An alert"); <</script>> <</button>> <<button "Open the 'Saves' dialog">> <<script>> UI.saves(); <</script>> <</button>> <<button "Open the 'Settings' dialog">> <<script>> UI.settings(); <</script>> <</button>> <<button "Open the 'Share' dialog">> <<script>> UI.share(); <</script>> <</button>> <<button "Open the 'Jump-to' dialog">> <<script>> UI.jumpto(); <</script>> <</button>>

<div class="center"> <h1>WELCOME TO "The Cursed Magician"</h1> <div class="redText"><p> <b>Note:</b> This is a <u>demo version</u> of the game. Some features, chapters, and story branches are incomplete or subject to change. </p></div> <h3>Here’s how to play:</h3> </div> <h2>Sidebar:</h2> <p><i>On the left of every page, you’ll see the Menu:</i></p> <ul> <li><b>Back and Forward button</b> - go back a step/redo a choice. Your stats will revert as well, to what they were at the given part of the story.</li> <li><b>Name of the Story</b></li> <li><b>Stats</b></li> <li>Choose a <b>Chapter</b> (jump to a specific point in the story) - your stats will <b>not reset</b> if you use this button to go back in the story.</li> <li><b>Save</b> your progress (stat points and location in the story). Clicking Save creates a slot in your browser’s storage.</li> <li><b>Restart</b> (go back to this starting screen) - your stats will <b> reset</b> if you use this button to go back in the story.</li> </ul> <h2>HUD:</h2> <p><i>At the top of every page, you’ll see your stats. This updates automatically as the game progresses.</i></p> <h2>Buttons:</h2> <p><i>Choices appear as buttons. Click one to decide your action. Your choices may affect your Stats or the story outcome.</i></p> <hr> <div class="center"> <span class="button" style="font-size:35px;"><b>[[START THE GAME|Chapter 1]]</b></span> </div> <hr> <h3>Disclaimer</h3> <p>This interactive story was created using <b>Twine</b> and the <b>SugarCube</b> story format. </p>

<h1>Game Over</h1> <p>Voyan has no health left. His adventure ends here.</p> <p>Restart to reset your STATS.</p> <<button "Restart">> <<set $health = 20>> <<set $mana = 0>> <<set $gold = 0>> <<goto "The Cursed Magician">> <</button>>

<<set $health -= 100>> <<if $health <= 0>> <<goto "GameOver">> <</if>>

<<showHUD>> <<if $gold < 10>> <p style="color:red;">Not enough gold!</p> <<return>> <</if>>

<<set $gold += 100>> <<showHUD>> <p style="color:green;">You found 100 gold!</p> <<if $gold >= 10>> <span class="button"><b>[[Bribe your way out of there.|BRIBE]]</b></span> <</if>>

<<set $gold -= 10>> <<showHUD>> You're free

<<if $gold >= 10>> <<set $gold -= 10>> You made the bribe! You're free! <<goto "BRIBE">> <<else>> <p style="color:red;">You do not have enough gold to do that!</p> <<return>> <</if>>