Below, a woman stood on the street, her shadow stretching tall and spiderlike away from the sun. Odd. She hadn’t been there a moment ago. But even this anomalous figure couldn't distract from the growing turmoil inside of Eleanor. The hollow, aching feeling that had followed her from the kitchen that day now crested into something anxious and sharp – a twisting knife, impossible to ignore. Something about the realization that five years had gone by and she had nothing to show for it struck a new kind of fear into her heart. It fused alchemically with the frustration that she was sitting here, allowing one event to dictate her entire life, but how could one break a loop one had grown so deeply into? She had no choice. Her mother wanted her here. Nothing would hurt her here.

 Nothing save for the Turning.

 Yet, the Turning was the one thing Eleanor was not afraid of. She had always been skeptical of the narrative around this completely nonsensical event. Those who shared their stories on the news were convinced their loved ones had just vanished into oblivion as the new year turned (hence the name), preferring not to know their fate than to dig deeper. They’d been outside at twelve o’clock on January 1st. Now they were gone. No further investigation needed. The other skeptics she spoke with on Reddit boards were perhaps the only thing keeping Eleanor from feeling completely insane. But even they couldn’t offer much insight beyond theories, without any evidence to back them up. Everyone was scared, even if they didn’t believe. What if they went outside and they turned out to be wrong? What if they did vanish forever as the clock struck twelve?

 If she went outside for any reason, perhaps it would be an act of defiance against this so easily-convinced city – throwing her arms up to the sky and showing them that they had no boogeyman to be afraid of. The internet was a permanent record of words and actions. If she logged everything she saw before the moment hit, perhaps she would unearth something no one had unearthed before. Something that couldn’t be seen by wearing a clear suit.

 And even if it “took” her, so what? Now that she thought about it, Eleanor hadn't felt alive since she went to church on Sunday five years ago and woke up in the hospital. Since then, she'd become a corpse, shrouded and choked by fear. Perhaps she hadn't realized it until the kitchen incident because she had finally chosen to do something about it… and come out unharmed.

 Perhaps, tonight, she could do something about it again. Prove them wrong, do something, anything to sate the war drums pounding in the back of her head.

 "So? What's stopping you?" Parker's voice on the radio took the place of her mother’s warnings.

 “Exactly. I just took that jump, and then I was on the other side, you know?” Aaliyah’s voice took the place of an endless stream of paralyzing what-ifs.

 Then, before she knew it, Eleanor was plummeting into the grass outside of her house, the window flung wide open behind her.

 –––––––––––––

 “Well, that was an excellent segment, don’t you think?”

 “I’d say it achieved what we wanted it to.” The radio hosts’ voices played, barely audible, from the headphones dangling around Fern’s neck as she stopped her sprint on an unfamiliar street.

 “Hey!” Her voice echoed down the row of suburban houses with no response. Alright. One of these nuclear families had to have seen the doppelganger. Seven PM. December 31st. Four hours left before she had to find shelter, or… well. It didn’t need to be said.

 Any time Fern approached a house, someone drew the blinds tight over the windows, or turned off the lights before she could make eye contact. It irked her that people were so illogical. She couldn’t, if she were a creature of some sort, harm them behind the glass. Well, she could throw a rock through and damn them all to oblivion, but why the hell would she do that?

  A rustling sound swelled hope back into her chest. Someone was hiding behind a patch of shrubbery planted alongside one of the houses lining the street. They were evidently bad at hiding, as the bushes were rustling about as noisily as they could be. If only Bones were here. He was an excellent herding dog. Fern had left him back at her apartment, for his own safety – though dogs were not affected by the Turning, there was no telling what harm a doppelganger could do to her best friend. She circled around the bushes. The perpetrator sidled around to the opposite end. Think you can play me? Nice try. A kick of the leaves on one side of the bush, a quick dodge to the other side, and she had her hand wrung in the collar of the doppelganger’s shirt, pulling it closer so that it could not escape again. Got you.

 –––––––––––––

 “Wait!” Eleanor cried, shrinking back as a hand grabbed at the collar of her shirt. “Wa - wait, wait –” An angular face surrounded by shiny black ringlets stared back at her. The woman from the street was pulling Eleanor up from her hiding place, eyes alight with fiendish vigor.

 “Oh. Jesus.” Regret bloomed across the woman’s face, hand dropping close to her side. “Christ, I’m so sorry. You were hiding in the bushes! I’ve been chasing –”

 “N – no – no, it’s –” Eleanor stumbled back, cutting off the other voice as her collar was freed. That was a close one. She didn’t want her first human interaction in five years to go sour before it could even start. On closer inspection, the stranger was quite beautiful. She was tall, willowy, her dark brown skin glimmering under the sunset, curly hair windswept and wild. She kept some sort of long, bulky skateboard tucked under her arm, holding the thing with surprising ease given how heavy it looked.

 “It’s alright,” Eleanor said, a bit lamely.

 A pause. The stranger was giving her a funny look. It was hard to describe, almost like she was trying to place Eleanor in her mind. Had they met? That was an amusing thought. There would be no way. With no friends growing up and everyone else dead save for her mother, Eleanor was alone. Then again, she was albino. Perhaps the woman knew someone else with the trait. Goodness above, this was very quickly turning out to be a terrible idea. Two seconds out the window and she was already entangled in a sideways social interaction, longing for the comfort of her bed and her laptop. Then –

 “Do you want to help me out with something?” The voice cut through Eleanor’s growing apprehension. Her words were fast, clipped, like her mother’s when she had to be somewhere soon and didn’t have time for Eleanor’s crying, or questions, or company. Help her? With what? The fiery excitement driving her to leave the house had not quite died down. Though it was close to drowning, there were a few smoldering embers of bravery left in her yet. Eleanor looked up at the woman and gave her a mute nod.

 “My name’s Fern, by the way.” Fern held out a calloused hand. “I need to find my doppelganger.”

 Parker’s voice echoed in Eleanor’s mind. How far are you willing to go?

 The words felt alien, exiting Eleanor’s throat like someone had hijacked her vocal chords. “Yes. I’d love to help.”

The time of day is 3:00 AM.

After deciding the scope of the player when the location is the Unknown Bed:

place the lamp in scope;
place the carpet in scope;
place the clock in scope.

A thing can be explored or unexplored. A thing is usually unexplored.

Rule for printing the description of a dark room:
say "It's pitch black, but there must be a light nearby."

Unknown Bed is a dark room. The player is here. The lamp is a switched off device in the Unknown Bed. The lamp is scenery.
The description of the Unknown Bed is "A large bed adorned in dark reds and blues, with a three-drawer nightstand beside it. Generic framed paintings have been arranged in a pleasing way on the wall, and an intricate tasselled rug only partially covers the hardwood floor. Other areas of the room lie to the north, east, and west."

The paintings are scenery in the Unknown Bed. The paintings are fixed in place. The description is "You and Trevor have been on this road trip for almost a week now, and you're pretty sure that you've seen every single one of these generic paintings in that time. Crystalline fucking cityscape, flower field, forest path. [line break][line break]So, what, this is a hotel? Did you and Trevor stop for the night without you remembering? Did he drag you here, drunk out of your mind? If so... where is he?"

After examining the paintings for the first time:
now the paintings are explored.

Understand "light" as the lamp.

Instead of going north from the Unknown Bed:

if the lamp is switched off,
say "You should probably find a light first, lest you bump your head.";
else
move the player to the Hotel Room.

Instead of going east from the Unknown Bed:

if the lamp is switched off,
say "You should probably find a light first, lest you bump your head.";
else
move the player to the Hotel Room East.

Instead of going west from the Unknown Bed:

if the lamp is switched off,
say "You should probably find a light first, lest you bump your head.";
else
move the player to the Hotel Room West.

Instead of going south from the Unknown Bed:

say "That's a wall, Havari."

Carry out switching on the lamp: now the Unknown Bed is lighted.
Rule for printing a refusal to act in the dark:

if we are examining something, say "You can't will yourself into developing night vision, Havari." instead.

A clock is a switched on device in the Unknown Bed. The description of the clock is "Just about the only thing you could see in the dark, the bright red numbers look much less imposing now. The clock displays the time: [time of day]."

ACQUISITION SIDEQUEST: The Girl who Fell from the Sky

Elizabeth can be found in the Hinterlands (Redcliffe area), arguing with a group of templars. Three of them surround her in battle stance, and her hands are flung up in protest. The Herald can choose to avoid interfering, talk them out of capturing her (this results in the templars getting angry and attacking), or immediately kill them. Whichever option is chosen, a cutscene will appear post-fight.

 Inquisitor does not interfere:

Elizabeth breaks free and opens a tear, revealing a screaming monstrosity that causes them to flee in fear. After this, she approaches the Herald.

   Elizabeth: “You wouldn’t happen to know of any other armored men coming this way, would you?”

   Inquisitor: (1) “I don’t think so.”
        (2) “Not after that display.”
        (3) “What are you!?”

   (1) Elizabeth: “Alright. I-If you do hear of them coming after someone of my description, let me know. And I’ll… I don’t know, do something.”

   Inquisitor: (1) “What was it you did back there?”
        (2) “Might not want to continue opening the air.”
        (3) “Maybe you should be turned in for that.”

   Elizabeth: (regardless of choice) “It’s a tear. It’s not ‘magic,’ not the same kind you all can perform. It’s like… a doorway to another world. You have them, don’t you? The green ones in the sky.”

   Inquisitor: (1) “A talent like that could be useful.” (Elizabeth will join the Inquisition.)
        (2) “Get away from me. You’re dangerous.” (Elizabeth will not join the Inquisition. She will leave forever.)

   (1) Elizabeth: “The… Inquisition? You’ll take me with you? Well, I’ve nowhere else to go, so thank you!”
   (2) Elizabeth: “ … oh. Have it your way, then.” (She leaves.)

   (2) (A repeat of option 1.)

   (3) Elizabeth: “D-Don’t be afraid! I’m just a human. I’m not a mage, I promise.” (The rest is a repeat of option 1.)

Inquisitor interferes:

Elizabeth opens a tear and tosses a healing potion toward them during the fight. Afterwards, she approaches the Herald:

   Elizabeth: “Thank you very much for the help. Are you alright? Did they hurt you?”

   Inquisitor: (1) “I’m fine.”
        (2) “Believe me, I’ve faced worse than that.”
        (3) “No, but you could.”
(The rest is a repeat of the previous choice. )

Dialogue upon selecting:

  Default: “Herald/Inquisitor, how can I help?”

  Making camp: “What do you think? Should we make camp?”

APPROVAL:
Side with mages: Approves
Ally with mages: Approves
Conscript mages: Slightly Disapproves

Side with templars: Disapproves
Either ally with or conscript templars: Disapproves

Keep Celene as empress: Greatly Approves
Allow Celene to be assassinated: Greatly Disapproves
Reunite Celene and Briala: Approves

Recruit Wardens: Approves
Exile Wardens: Greatly Disapproves

Inquisitor drinks from the well: Slightly Approves
Morrigan drinks from the well: Slightly Approves