Donathin Frye - Portfolio Sample

''SCENE CONTEXT:'' Beyond harrowing, beast-haunted woods, you find the city’s great stone wall guarded by many ancient statues. Each statue resembles a tall, proud man wearing a fiery crown. Yet the city’s iron gates never open for strangers come nightfall, leading you to search for shelter nearby or another means inside the sanctuary. You circle the city walls to a large sewage pipe blocked by a rusty metal grate. Another crumbling statue stands watch nearby the pipe, its legs sinking into the muck. You notice a small, eerie light hovering near the grate, flickering rhythmically. [[//Approach the light.//|START]]

NARRATOR: As you approach the strange light hovering near the sewer grate, a gong resounds from within the city. You can just make out the distant echoes of feverishly chanting voices. //CINEMATIC CONTEXT: The ghostly light takes shape, appearing to be an older female child wearing a tattered worship dress embroidered with burning sun symbology. Her long hair hides her face entirely. LILY reaches a spectral hand toward the sewer grate but cannot touch it. She clenches her fist tightly, pulls her hand back, and wraps her arms around her shivering body. Slowly, she turns toward the PLAYER CHARACTER, her face still hidden by her hair. Only her very unsettling, pale blue eyes are visible beneath wisping strands.// NARRATOR: You observe a small spirit take shape before you. She shivers in the cold, choking on quiet sobs. The spirit emanates a thrumming glow that is almost hypnotizing. //[[Introduce yourself to the spirit and ask why she’s crying.]]// //[[Watch the spirit warily but say nothing.]]// [["Excuse me, but I am far from home. Do you know this land well?"]] [["Hello, there! You shouldn't be out here alone – the woods are dangerous."]]

LILY: Father must be worried rotten about me. Wondering where I’ve gone. Please, could you help me find my way back to him? //CINEMATIC CONTEXT: LILY pulls her hair away from her face, revealing a ghastly visage. Besides her hair and ears, her features are monstrous, barely recognizable as human. Most unsettling is her mouth – her teeth are subtly sharpened and frozen in a twisted grimace. She has no lips at all and no means to hide her teeth.// NARRATOR: You get a better look at the spirit. She appears to be an adolescent girl, perhaps, but her mouth is twisted in a horrifying, lipless grimace. //[[Reach for your weapon.]]// //[[Pray for your god to cast the spirit back into the shadows.]]// [["I hate to tell you this, but you are dead. A ghost."]] [["I’ll try to help you if I can. How might we find your father?"]] [["If I help you, what’s in it for me?"]]

LILY: My name’s… Lily. It’s so very cold tonight, and I'm afraid of the dark. LILY: You should be careful out here. Bad, very bad things lurk beyond the walls. (display:"LilyScene01ChoiceA")

NARRATOR: The spirit’s sobs grow quiet. You realize that her pale blue eyes are locked on you. Watching curiously. Almost desperately. LILY: Good eve, stranger. I’ve been praying so very hard that someone would come. And here you are. (display:"LilyScene01ChoiceA")

LILY: You… you are lost. Lost, just like me. Yes, of course, I know this land. It is Avonleigh – my home. LILY: But you should know, my home does not welcome strangers. The monsters tend to get them. [["Is there anywhere safe nearby for a tired traveler to rest?"]] [["What sort of monsters?"]] [["If this is your home, how can you be lost?"]] [["I saw you reaching for that grate, there. Is it a way into the city?"]]

NARRATOR: Despite your disciplined resolve, your divine will quivers in the spirit’s presence. NARRATOR: The girl, or whatever she might be, possesses true power. You can feel it bristling. Power… and hunger, too. LILY: Please don’t fear. I won’t hurt you. I’m just lost, is all. (link: "//Attack.//")[(goto: "Reach for your weapon.")] (link: "//Turn your back on the spirit and walk away.//")[(goto: "Refuse and walk away.")] (link: "<q>What do you want from me, spirit?</q>")[(goto: "LilyScene01ChoiceB")] (link: "<q>Don't lie to me. You're far more than what you seem.</q>")[(goto: "You're hiding something. If you want my help, tell me the truth.")]

LILY: Nowhere is safe but the city. Not for miles and miles. We shouldn’t stay here. (display:"LilyScene01ChoiceA")

LILY: //So// many monsters. Monsters on the outside and monsters on the inside, too. We’re not safe here. (display:"LilyScene01ChoiceA")

LILY: I got into a //terrible// fight with father. I was so mad at him, and I just had to get away. LILY: Then, I ended up on the outside, you see, and now I’m stuck here. (display:"LilyScene01ChoiceA")

LILY: The old sewer tunnel leads to the market, I think. I heard that smugglers used it in the sinful old days. LILY: I was trying to go home – but I can't. Not on my own. (display:"LilyScene01ChoiceA")

LILY: Thank you, stranger. You're very right. The monsters are always watching, even if you can't see them. LILY: But I'm not alone anymore – not now that //you're// here. (display:"LilyScene01ChoiceA")

LILY: I… I know. I’ve been alone for so long now. But my father is the High Cleric, you see. He can bring me back just like he did Nathaniel! (display:"LilyScene01ChoiceB")

LILY: We live near the big temple. Father is the High Cleric of the Dawnlight! He… I thought he'd always keep the monsters away. (display:"LilyScene01ChoiceB")

LILY: I – I don’t have anything to offer. But father is the High Cleric. He would give anything to see me again, I just know it! (display:"LilyScene01ChoiceB")

//CINEMATIC CONTEXT: The lighting dims eerily around the PLAYER CHARACTER, and vaguely humanoid shadows appear around them. LILY’s ghost light brightens. She stretches her arms toward the PLAYER CHARACTER, and her mouth widens into a terrifying snarl.// NARRATOR: As you prepare to strike, grasping shadows swirl around you. Your limbs begin to freeze, and you struggle to breathe. LILY: Don’t hurt me, please! I just want to go home. (CONVINCE - SUCCESS) [["You’re… the one… hurting me. Let me go!"|PersuadeSuccess]] (CONVINCE - FAILURE) [["You’re… the one… hurting me. Let me go!"|PersuadeFailure]] (ENDURE - SUCCESS) //[[Try to push through the shadows and attack.|PushSuccess]]// (ENDURE - FAILURE) //[[Try to push through the shadows and attack.|PushFailure]]//

LILY: At night, the only way into Avonleigh is through that tunnel. But I can’t! The statue there – its blessing holds me back. The clerics don't allow //dead// things like me inside. LILY: But maybe if you broke the statue, just a little, mind you, I could go back. Home to //father//. (link:"//Observe the statue more closely.//")[(set: $ObservedStatue to 1)(goto: "Observe the statue more closely.")] (PERCEIVE - SUCCESS) (link:"//Consider the spirit’s behavior carefully.//")[(set: $ConsideredLily to 1)(goto: "ConsideredSuccess")] (PERCEIVE - FAILURE) (link:"//Consider the spirit’s behavior carefully.//")[(set: $ConsideredLily to 1)(goto: "ConsideredFailure")] [["What happened to you?"]] [["Tell me more about your father."]] [["Smashing strange statues can be very dangerous. Who is it, exactly?"]] (link: "<q>No. Absolutely not.</q>")[(goto: "LilyScene01ChoiceC")]

NARRATOR: You overcome the paralyzing shadows and push forward. The girl’s scream splits the air, her pale eyes wide with rage. LILY: You’re just like //him//! A monster wearing a person’s face! ''COMBAT:'' Enemies include LILY (a powerful ghost) and several lesser SHADOWS. After you are victorious… (display:"LilyVictory")

NARRATOR: You struggle against the gasping shadows, but your limbs go numb and lock up tight. You fall helplessly to the ground. NARRATOR: The girl’s spirit hovers closer, fury and hunger in her icy eyes. LILY: You’re just like //him//! A monster wearing a person’s face! ''COMBAT:'' Enemies include LILY (a powerful ghost) and several lesser SHADOWS. You begin the encounter hindered. After you are victorious… (display:"LilyVictory")

NARRATOR: You feel the shadows loosen their bone-cold grip. As they pull away, you find yourself able to breathe again. LILY: I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to hurt you. I just… I don’t want to fade away. (display:"LilyScene01ChoiceB")

NARRATOR: Your words catch in your throat, and you begin to choke on rotting air. As the spirit hovers closer, you collapse to the ground. LILY: No! No, no. I will not fade away. I will not go into father’s accursed //light//! ''COMBAT:'' Enemies include LILY (a powerful ghost) and several lesser SHADOWS. You begin the encountered hindered. After you are victorious… (display:"LilyVictory")

//CINEMATIC CONTEXT: When LILY is defeated, any remaining shadows vanish in puffs of dark smoke, and she transforms into a ball of light. She cries out in pain and the ball of light streaks into the sewage near the grate.// NARRATOR: You witness the girl’s spirit be flung violently back into the muck near the sewer grate. NARRATOR: You see there, beneath the fetid grime, a small skeleton wearing a rotted dress. The girl’s spirit lingers, glowing faintly within its ribcage. (MEDICINE - SUCCESS) //[[Investigate the skeleton.|MedicineSuccess]]// (MEDICINE - FAILURE) //[[Investigate the skeleton.|MedicineFailure]]// //[[Destroy the skeleton.]]// //[[Leave the skeleton be and move on.]]//

NARRATOR: The statue appears ancient, depicting a proud-looking man wearing a crown wreathed in flames. Its once finely sculpted features are cracked, eroded, and covered in filth. NARRATOR: Still, there is a certain warmth to it. Whatever blessing it holds remains present. (if:$ConsideredLily is 0)[(PERCEIVE - SUCCESS) (link:"//Consider the spirit’s behavior carefully.//")[(set: $ConsideredLily to 1)(goto: "ConsideredSuccess")]] (if:$ConsideredLily is 0)[(PERCEIVE - FAILURE) (link:"//Consider the spirit’s behavior carefully.//")[(set: $ConsideredLily to 1)(goto: "ConsideredFailure")]]\ (if:$InsightedLily is 1)[(link:"<q>You're hiding something. If you want my help, tell me the truth.</q>")[(goto: "You're hiding something. If you want my help, tell me the truth.")]] (link: "<q>What happened to you?</q>")[(goto: '"What happened to you?"')] (link: "<q>Tell me more about your father.</q>")[(goto: '"Tell me more about your father."')] (link: "<q>Smashing strange statues can be very dangerous. Who is it, exactly?</q>")[(goto: '"Smashing strange statues can be very dangerous. Who is it, exactly?"')] (link: "<q>No. Absolutely not.</q>")[(goto: "LilyScene01ChoiceC")]

NARRATOR: The girl shivers, and her ghost light flickers wildly as though it could sputter out at any moment. {(if:$ObservedStatue is 0)[(link:"//Observe the statue more closely.//")[(set: $ObservedStatue to 1)(goto: "Observe the statue more closely.")]]} (link: "<q>What happened to you?</q>")[(goto: '"What happened to you?"')] (link: "<q>Tell me more about your father.</q>")[(goto: '"Tell me more about your father."')] (link: "<q>Smashing strange statues can be very dangerous. Who is it, exactly?</q>")[(goto: '"Smashing strange statues can be very dangerous. Who is it, exactly?"')] (link: "<q>No. Absolutely not.</q>")[(goto: "LilyScene01ChoiceC")]

LILY: It was... wet and it smelled awful. I remember choking and something sharp, //pinching// my neck. LILY: I don’t like talking about this! (display:"LilyScene01ChoiceC")

LILY: You mean you’ve never seen the Brightlord before? Watcher of the Dawnlight? Don’t worry, Avonleigh won’t miss one old statue. They have so many more. (display:"LilyScene01ChoiceC")

NARRATOR: The light emanating from the spirit begins to dim until you can barely see her face in the shadow of the city’s high walls. LILY: Please… I don’t have much time! I’m fading again. Soon, the monsters will steal me away. LILY: They whisper the most terrible things to me. //[[Break the statue.]]// //[[Refuse and walk away.]]// //[[Attack the spirit without warning.]]// [["What do the monsters tell you?"]]

(set: $InsightedLily to 1) NARRATOR: When the spirit spoke of her father, you noticed her eyes widen in subtle anger – and her ghost light flare brightly. NARRATOR: She’s harboring a secret. One that she doesn’t much care to share with you. {(if:$ObservedStatue is 0)[(link:"//Observe the statue more closely.//")[(set: $ObservedStatue to 1)(goto: "Observe the statue more closely.")]]} [(link:"<q>You're hiding something. If you want my help, tell me the truth.</q>")[(goto: "You're hiding something. If you want my help, tell me the truth.")]] (link: "<q>What happened to you?</q>")[(goto: '"What happened to you?"')] (link: "<q>Tell me more about your father.</q>")[(goto: '"Tell me more about your father."')] (link: "<q>Smashing strange statues can be very dangerous. Who is it, exactly?</q>")[(goto: '"Smashing strange statues can be very dangerous. Who is it, exactly?"')] (link: "<q>No. Absolutely not.</q>")[(goto: "LilyScene01ChoiceC")]

LILY: Everyone in Avonleigh loves father. They gather around the temple square every night, just to see him call down the Brightlord's fire. (display:"LilyScene01ChoiceC")

NARRATOR: The girl's precious facade vanishes. Her phantom teeth gnash at the air, and she eyes you with an otherworldly hunger. LILY: You're quite clever, aren't you? Very well, stranger. My father did this to me, many years ago. Said I was impure. A //stain//, he called me. LILY: He chased me into the sewer, his holy dagger in hand. I kicked and I screamed and I prayed for help. But the Brightlord never answers the prayers of //willful// little girls. LILY: Shatter the statue so I can punish father and finally rest. He's a very wealthy man, and you can take what you want when I've cleaned his bones. (link: "//Break the statue.//")[(goto: "Break the statue.")] (link: "//Refuse and walk away.//")[(goto: "Refuse and walk away.")] (link: "//Attack the spirit without warning.//")[(goto: "Attack the spirit without warning.")]

LILY: All kinds of secrets. Awful words that aren’t meant for the living. I won’t repeat them. NARRATOR: The girl’s pale light winks out for a moment, then flickers back to unlife… if just barely. (link: "//Break the statue.//")[(goto: "Break the statue.")] (link: "//Refuse and walk away.//")[(goto: "Refuse and walk away.")] (link: "//Attack the spirit without warning.//")[(goto: "Attack the spirit without warning.")]

//CINEMATIC CONTEXT: The PLAYER CHARACTER shatters the statue, leaving only its head whole, sinking slowly into the sewage.// NARRATOR: With shockingly little effort, the statue crumbles to dust before you, as though it were hardly holding itself together in the first place. LILY: Yes, yes-yes! You’ve done it, oh, you’ve done it! Finally. LILY: I’m coming home… //father//. //CINEMATIC CONTEXT: Vaguely humanoid shadows rise up around the PLAYER CHARACTER, while LILY’S grimace widens nearly ear-to-ear in a wicked grin. Her ghost light grows very bright as she stretches her arms up toward the night sky.// NARRATOR: A dozen howling voices cry out from the darkness around you, their words as indecipherable as the wind. NARRATOR: Then, in the blink of an eye, the girl’s spirit vanishes, leaving you alone outside the city walls. (link:"PLAY AGAIN")[(goto: "START")]

//CINEMATIC CONTEXT: The PLAYER CHARACTER turns away so they do not see what happens to LILY.// NARRATOR: When you walk away from the girl, a terrified shriek pierces the night. You instantly feel the blood begin to freeze in your veins. LILY: No, no, not again! Don’t let them take me. Please, they whisper such awful things to me… LILY: Such horrible things… in the //dark//. //CINEMATIC CONTEXT: When the PLAYER CHARACTER turns around again, LILY is gone. Only her skeletal corpse remains, half-buried in the sewage near the grate.// NARRATOR: You turn to look back, but the spirit is gone. The encounter leaves you with only a cold, unnatural weariness. (link:"PLAY AGAIN")[(goto: "START")]

NARRATOR: You catch the desperate spirit by surprise. With a shriek, her ghostly light flares, revealing hungry shadows reaching for you from the dark. ''COMBAT:'' Enemies include LILY (a powerful ghost) and several lesser SHADOWS. LILY and the SHADOWS begin the encounter surprised. After you are victorious… (display:"LilyVictory")

NARRATOR: Despite the skeleton’s decomposition, you notice the tell-tale signs of an edged weapon wound carved across her collarbone. (link: "//Destroy the skeleton.//")[(goto: "Destroy the skeleton.")] (link: "//Leave the skeleton be and move on.//")[(goto: "Leave the skeleton be and move on.")]

NARRATOR: The corpse has decomposed too much for you to determine more about how it came to be here. (link: "//Destroy the skeleton.//")[(goto: "Destroy the skeleton.")] (link: "//Leave the skeleton be and move on.//")[(goto: "Leave the skeleton be and move on.")]

//CINEMATIC CONTEXT: The PLAYER CHARACTER kneels to destroy the skeleton. LILY’s ghost light flares, then fades away once the deed is done.// NARRATOR: You destroy the corpse and scatter the girl's bones. At last, with a quiet sigh, the spirit fades into the ether. NARRATOR: Among her remains, you discover a small brass amulet shaped like a burning sun. It is stained with sewage and old, dried blood. (link:"PLAY AGAIN")[(goto: "START")]

//CINEMATIC CONTEXT: The PLAYER CHARACTER walks away from the corpse's remains and the ghost's light dims.// NARRATOR: For a few moments, the girl's emotions linger, pressing upon you. A deep sadness, dwarved by eternal malice. NARRATOR: Then, at last, the unnatural cold retreats, and the spirit speaks no more. (link:"PLAY AGAIN")[(goto: "START")]