Land of Dreams

You wake up in your dingy apartment with a sore back and a broken heart. You rouse yourself briefly from your funk to eat some slices of individually-wrapped cheese from your otherwise barren refrigerator. The sun in just starting to set on a depressingly cold late-spring day. What do you do next? [[Get up and go out]] [[Go to sleep]]

You throw the empty cheese wrappers in the general direction of your overflowing trash can, content to have whittled the edge off your hunger. Flopping down on your worn-out mattress, you toss and turn in a struggle to catch the specter of sleep. As your surroundings fade, you have a vivid dream of being chased through the ether by a slavering, shadowy monster. What do you do? [[Fight it]] [[Focus your dreams elsewhere]]

You steel yourself as you decide to stand and fight, lashing out with your fist but gasping as a horrific burning sensation travels up your arm. Cold talons tear at you from the enveloping darkness as you struggle against your assailant, unable even to see what's terrorizing you. Strength starts to leave you and you realize that you're on the verge of blacking out. What do you do? [[Run away]] [[Summon the power of lightning]]

In your panic, you run away from the monster as fast as your legs can take you, feeling the rush of stale air as you run through the all-engulfing darkness. Something tears at you, a harrying presence like talons or thorny branches, and you stumble several times as if the void itself is trying to trip you. In the distance, you see a strange contraption, a zepplin with a cabin constructed of brass and gears. What do you do? [[Steal the airship]] [[Use the power of Farsight]]

You steal the airship and fly away into the sky, leaving the creature behind. As you soar higher into the clouds, BAM! You awaken. THE END

You dig the least-musty clothes out of the pile of laundry that's overtaken your cluttered bedroom, struggle with the zipper of your faded blue coat, and descend the peeling staircase to the world below. The evening air is bitter and you have the streets all to yourself at the moment. The skeletal trees sway, blown by an insistent wind that works tirelessly to pull the warmth out of you. Where do you go next? [[Do some traveling]] [[Get drunk]]

You realize that, if you're dreaming, you can take control of your dreams and escape from this harrowing chase. You focus your thoughts up and up, allowing yourself to feel lighter than air as the fear washes away from you, bathed in a gentle sunlight. You find yourself surrounded by clouds and beautiful shades of blue and notice that you are in vast crystal city. The inhabitants seem to lack a solid shape as they swim in and out of your mind in an approximation of perceptions. [[Talk with the strange inhabitants]] [[Relax on the Precipice of Paradise]]

You concentrate and focus all of your rage, all of your hatred, until it courses through your entire being. You open your hands, point them at the formless creature of darkness, and unleash a massive stream of lightning. The creature's terrible cry pierces the void, the smell of burnt rottenness and ozone permeate the air. You are triumphant! [[Take the creature's gems]] [[Take the magic compass]]

You use the power of Farsight and discern some horrible cosmic truth. You are trapped in the Dream World forever! THE END

You wander through the streets of your town, with no particular destination, trying to outrun the black cloud that hangs about you. It seems like a short time ago when the now-empty shops stood occupied, and people, couples, and families filled the streets with joyful chatter. These memories server only to make you feel your loneliness all the more. You round a corner and find yourself staring at the entrance of a vast labyrinth, formed of meticulously-trimmed hedges, a place that should only appear in your dreams. Everything about this feels wrong. [[See the doctor]] [[Visit the Lost Labyrinth]]

You select a dive bar not far from your apartment, one of the few that hasn't yet closed its doors forever. There are only a few people inside and they all keep to themselves, which suits your disposition just fine. You select the menu item with the highest alcohol-to-money ratio, continually have your glass refilled by the surly bartender, and wake up in your apartment the next morning full of pain and regret. [[Hair of the dog]] [[Stumble around outside]]

You recognize this as a symptom of the mental issues that have been affecting you for most of your life. With shaking hands, you call your doctor, just as he said to if this happens again. You arrive at the old but tidy office, have a chat, and he gives you a choice of treatments--a series of pills that are taken daily, or a fast-acting injection. Which one do you take? [[Medicinal cleanse]] [[Lyncanthropy injection]]

You steel yourself and walk into the gaping maw of greenery, determined to find your way through the Lost Labyrinth. You wander through twisting hallways of soothing greenery, and your head starts to fog as one direction folds into another until space loses all meaning. You round a corner and see a short, wrinkled man wrapped in rags, who introduces himself as a merchant. What do you do? [[Go shopping]] [[Climb up to a high place]]

You begin the treatment and things start feeling right and falling into place. You find yourself having more and more recollection of your dreams and are able to keep them more under control. Eventually, you banish the darkness from your life and realize that you need to move on. You leave the town, happy for the first time in a long time. THE END

You feel the needle pierce your arm, and a wave of nausea suddenly sweeps over you as the room spins. All the latent darkness inside your dream-self bubbles to the surface. The doctor looks on, horrified, as you start to transform into something horrible before you rip him apart. You spend the reset of eternity roaming the Dream Realm at will. THE END

The merchant shows you his collection, which is much more extensive than it appears, as if wandering past shelves gives way to other shelves that you hadn't seen before. You finally make your selection--a small statue that gives you a peaceful feeling. You place it near your bed, and, over time, your life improves little by little until the sadness is gone. THE END

You climb up to a high place and see the vast labyrinth stretch out below you, a massive maze that sweeps over the horizon. You perch for what seems like an eternity, working out the different combinations in your head, beginning to grow frustrated at your failures. Eventually, you find the path and trace the steps on foot, and you find your way out. THE END

You take the creatures gems. They seep into you, corrupting you, until you're one of them. THE END

You take the magic compass and use it to find the source of the creatures' power. You destroy it, freeing them. THE END

You reach into the drawer next to your bed and have another bracing shot of alcohol. The burning liquid goes down, but after the taste goes away and embarrassment gives way to a mild, ambient shame, you start to feel a bit better. You find yourself in much the same position you were in yesterday and can't recall how many times you've gone through this routine. What do you do? [[Sleep the day away]] [[Look out the window]]

Once again, you descend the lonely, dilapidated staircase, overcome by the sad familiarity of having done this countless times before. You stumble around outside, nauseous and alone, without any particular destination or pressing need to hurry. You swear to yourself that you will avoid alcohol today; surely there must be something else to do. Where do you go? [[The old church]] [[The hardware store]]

The inhabitants of this place tell you sad stories of their oppression by the creatures of shadow. Their words conjure up images of terror, and even these fleeting sensations paralyze you with fear as you remember your narrow escape from just one such monster. Would you be able to help against a whole army of them? [[Become a hero to the people]] [[Continue your travels]]

You wander to the outskirts of this city in the clouds, to a massive mountain that stands defiantly between here and even higher realms. You relax on a patch of green grass beneath the massive marble cliffs, feeling a peace that you haven't experienced in a long while. Where does this spire end, you wonder? [[Live out the rest of eternity here]] [[Ascend to a higher plane]]

Overcome by exhaustion and ennui, you curl up on your filthy mattress and fall asleep. Your sleep is plagued by strange dreams of places that seem both foreign and familiar. You wake up more alone than ever, distant memories showing you shadows of what might have been. THE END

You look out the window and, instead of the lonely streets, are greeted by a mass of undulating colors, a nebulous force that has enveloped your house! You can't tell if you're awake or dreaming, or if you've ever not been dreaming. Nothing seems to make sense anymore, and you lose yourself to an eternity of madness. THE END

You go to the old church, once a source of strength for you, lately another cold, lonely building that you visit sometimes. You isolate yourself in a pew, as far as possible from the other scattered visitors that look as hopeless as you feel. You call out for companionship, for guidance, but are greeted only by silence in return. THE END

For some reason you can't discern, you go to the hardware store, one of the few shops in your neighborhood that's still open for business. As you wander the dusty aisles, you start to find little things here and there that might make your place a little better. After you pay for your purchases, you feel the small satisfaction of doing something small for yourself for a change. Maybe it will be enough. THE END

You have finally found something to give your life meaning--becoming a hero to these people. As you spend the rest of your time driving away the creatures, you become stronger in the ways of dream powers. Eventually, you ascend into eternity as the savior of the sky people. THE END

Sadly, you decide that the life of a hero is not for you. You continue travelling the Dream Realm, seeing all sorts of strange things and having an infinite number of experiences. However, at one point, you are snapped back to the waking world, and everything seems so distant. Forlornly, you life out the rest of your days in regret. THE END

You live out the rest of your time here, interacting with the sky people in peace. You feel a kinship to these people, something you can't quite put your finger on. Unfortunately, when the creatures of darkness come, you perish along with the others. THE END

You suddenly have full comprehension of some profound cosmic understanding. Shedding your mortal form, which has held you back for so many years, you ascend to a higher plane, beyond human understanding. What happens afterwards is an incomprehensible mystery. THE END