Visual Novel / What a Legend!

Following

Although it's definitely an adult title and has plenty of Explicit Content, this content comes with a lot of story, character development, and adventuring — if you were to simply skip the sex scenes, you'd still have a substantial game. Tonally, it leans towards the light and comedic end of the spectrum, although it's not without dramatic, darker elements.

The story takes place in a Fantasy world, and begins with the player character leaving home to find his own way in life (and meet girls), only to get recruited as a messenger by a elf princess trying to depose her usurper uncle and claim her throne. Along the way, you run into pixies, demonic contracts, ghosts of kings, fugitive orc warriors, imprisoned nobles, skeletal tyrants, enraged dragons, treacherous allies, resurrection quests, meddling matchmakers, a big bad wolf, and others.

The game is available via MagicNuts's Patreon site and via itch.io (with an early-access Platform/Steam release planned).

This work contains examples of:

• Arc Villain: Although King Vil is looking like the overall Big Bad, individual characters' stories often have their own villains, often unconnected to him. For Myrtle, it's the Wish Tree whom she thought would resurrect her husband; for Rose it's Abu Gadu the demon, with whom she signed a contract.
• Apologetic Attacker: Occurs after Rose signs Abu Gadu's Magically Binding Contract which, among other things, contains an obligation to kill you.
• Arranged Marriage: Celestina, the village matchmaker, is trying to make Holly the shepherdess get married, and cites a book of rules which gives her the right to banish Holly from the village in the event of disobedience. Holly's grandfather, Abe, is smitten with Celestina and initially sides with her, but changes his mind when the proposed groom turns out to be Waldo. His solution is to "volunteer" you as a challenger, although in the end Celestina gets rid of Waldo herself when you accept a deal she offers as an alternative.
• Art Shift:
  • When you give Myrtle some of Junior's herbs to help her sleep, it turns out that they have other effects as well, and she hallucinates an anime-style sequence before they fully take effect.
  • When you're reading a romance story with Simmone, the story is presented in an appropriately storybook style of illustration.
• Attractive Bent Species: When you disguise yourself as a sheep to try to sneak past the gate guards, your first attempt is foiled by Philip the Ram, whose amorous intentions prompt you to retreat. You add some horns to the costume on your second attempt, although this makes Philip try to fight you instead.
• Bad with the Bone: Mei gives you a dagger made from a human bone which she says was dropped by the mysterious stranger to whom she sold Gomira's axe. It comes from an island of undead, so that's where you end up going. The dagger itself is noted to only be a viable weapon on the island, which has magic that strengthens bones.
• Bag of Holding: You get one from Princess Serena at the start of the game. In addition to holding just about anything you want to put in it (including bags several times its size), it also disappears into Hammerspace itself when you're not using it, which means you can't lose it even when you're supposed to be a prisoner. Your character seems unfazed by it, but other characters who witness it react with surprise.
• Beer Goggles: A magical variant; Abe's glasses are enchanted to make Celestina, a crabby old woman, look like a flirty young woman, and he behaves accordingly.
• Big Ball of Violence: When Celestina announces an immediate surprise wedding with Holly as the unwilling bride, the ensuing fight between them is depicted this way.
• Birdcaged: This happens to you and Gomira when you're prisoners of King Kull. Finding a way to hit the release levers on the bottom of the cages is what lets you free Gomira, who can deal with Kull a lot better than you can.
• Bothering by the Book: When Waldo refuses to let you through his gate even though you've (finally) got a valid passage permit, his long-suffering subordinate Kevin is all to happy to point out the legalities of the matter, insist on the need to follow proper procedures, and accept your permit against Waldo's indignant protests.
• Braving the Blizzard: During Myrtle's storyline, you both get caught in a blizzard, but are able to make it to a convenient cave. At the time, Myrtle is conflicted about your relationship with her (since the whole point of the trip is to resurrect her dead husband, which would cut off anything she might have with you). Nevertheless, you end up taking the relationship further while sheltering.
• Breath Weapon:
  • The dragon can breathe fire, as expected.
  • Less expected is that one of Holly's ill lambs can also breathe fire ("dragonitis") — you end up singed, which is perhaps karma for having stolen some wool.
• Broken Bridge: You can't get into the Old Capital immediately because the new regime has instituted restrictions. Getting around this is the first focus of the main plot (although there are side-plots which don't have anything to do with the city in the meantime). You sneak into the city at one point, but soon get caught and thrown out (and you give your word to the friendly guard who gets you out of prison that you won't sneak in again). You don't get full access to the city until Simmone steals some mostly-authentic gate passes for you.
• Captured on Purpose: Lana's plan to rescue Madeline involves deliberately provoking the guards to get thrown in the dungeon. The "captured" part works, but the guards aren't bringing new prisoners to the dungeon precisely because Madeline is being held there, and Lana gets put in the public pillory instead.
• Catch-22 Dilemma: The notice announcing that you need a permit to enter the Old Capital directs all inquiries to the permit office... which is in the Old Capital.
• Challenging the Chief: When King Kull is attacked by Gomira, he orders his subjects to shoot her, but Rib convinces them not to intervene on the grounds that a leader whose claim to rule is based on strength should have to demonstrate that strength against challengers. (Also, most of them don't like him anyway.)
• Compete for the Maiden's Hand: Abe doesn't want his granddaughter Holly to have to marry Waldo, and calls for a challenger. Regardless of whether or not you decide to step up, Abe makes it look like you did. After persuading Holly that you'll only have a Fake Relationship if you win, she helps you train for the challenge. Waldo has to withdraw his suit anyway when his current wife finds out.
• Creepy Crows: Abu Gadu uses ravens to collect his payment. They're smarter than they seem, and don't actually like working for him — threatening to let them have their revenge helps convince him to surrender.
• Crystal Ball: Serena gives you one which can be used to get hints and to replay past events. When you accidentally drop it, it gets chipped — fortunately, both the crystal ball and the shard which broke off still function, allowing you to carry the shard around as a portable hint system.
• Diagonal Cut: Initially, it appears that Myrtle's axe only hurt the Wish Tree — he can still talk and grant wishes. But once you and Myrtle have teleported back home, the Wish Tree's face and branches slide off and over the edge of the cliff.
• Dragon Hoard: There's one of these in Warm Town, a formerly-habitable settlement in the frozen north, although in fact the dragon never really cared about the treasure — it just became a dragon hoard by default when the dragon drove everyone else out of town. The previous king hired Gomira's mercenary company to distract the dragon while his troops extracted the gold, but once the mercenaries had done their job, the troops turned on them so as to keep all the treasure. Gomira survived and killed them all, but was then betrayed by a fellow survivor, Mei, who wanted to opt out of Gomira's dreams of revenge against the king. This left the treasure unclaimed until the present, when Gomira and Mei both want it (although for Gomira, revenge against Mei is a higher priority).
• Droit du Seigneur: The Book of Stone originally said that the village matchmaker gets to sleep with the groom before the bride does, but this provision is crossed out because people consider it obsolete. As the current matchmaker, Celestina says that she'll only let Holly marry you instead of Waldo if this custom is followed. Since the new engagement is intended to be a sham, Celestina's "Matchmaker's Right" initially looks like it will never actually be collected upon, but Celestina has anticipated that and takes steps to force the wedding. In the end, it's up to you how far you take things with Celestina.
• Dude, Where's My Reward?: Your reward for completing Princess Serena's first job is a magically-animated piece of paper showing a picture of Serena, some fireworks, and the word "Thanks!", which falls short of what your character had convinced himself that Serena had implied. She upgrades her reward when you complain, though.
• Dying Reconciliation: Although they'd stopped actively trying to capture/kill each other already, Mei doesn't apologise for betraying Gomira (and Gomira doesn't excuse Mei) until they're both about to be eaten by a dragon (although in fact they survive).
• Eldritch Location: Besides the fact that any corpses in the water around it have a chance of coming back as animated skeletons, Boner Isle is dark, has a giant skull-shaped bit at the top, and is constantly struck by lightning. Rib mentions three theories as to its origin (eternal prison for pirates; magical attempt at utopia; corpse of a sea giant), but it isn't conclusively stated what the true story is.
• Even Evil Has Standards: Despite having twice been instrumental in Gomira being imprisoned (with you as Collateral Damage on the second occasion), Mei insists that Gomira must not actually be killed — just confined her for the rest of her life. You point this out to Gomira later when arguing that Mei should be given a chance to surrender.
• Evil Debt Collector: Lord Hammerdick shows up at Myrtle's house to demand back taxes (despite the previous ruler having waived them due to the disappearance of Myrtle's husband). Even though you have a bag of infinite money, Myrtle wants to stand on her own feet and refuses direct assistance — the next part of her storyline involves helping her think of ideas to establish her financial security.
• Exact Words: The deal between Rose and the demon Abu Gadu became a problem when the latter insisted that "half of everything you earn" included the heart of Rose's betrothed. She asked him to take half her life instead, resulting in her becoming a demon half the time (and her betrothed dumping her). And despite that apparent resolution, nothing was actually said about the original deal coming to an end, so when Abu Gadu's ravens hear you pledging your own heart to her, he invokes the same interpretation and pulls you down to his lair.
• The Exile: If Holly disobeys Celestina, the village matchmaker, she's at risk of being forced out of the village. Celestina indicates that this would actually be her preferred outcome, given Holly's open disrespect for her.
• Expressive Ears: The elvish characters have these, as goes Gomira the orc.
• Eyebrow Waggle: Your character tries it on Lana.
  You: That's not what I meant. If I was going to flirt, I'd do this:
  You: [cheesy grin, waggles eyebrows]
  Lana: God, I need strong booze.
• Fake Danger Gambit: Junior's plan for helping Myrtle get over her fear of the wolf is to set this up for her, without her knowledge — Junior will pretend to be the wolf, then allow Myrtle to drive him off. It works a bit too well, with Junior geting scalded and Myrtle becoming a bit overconfident.
• Fancy Camping: The tent that Serena magically conjures up for you at the start of the game isn't that fancy, but it looks more comfortable than a lot of the other sleeping spots you can unlock throughout the game — going back to your tent often looks like the luxury option.
• Fantastic Drug: Rose the fortune-teller sometimes uses something called psycense, a kind of incense which assists her readings (although she can still do readings without it). Breathing too much will leave you unconscious; it can also drive you mad. Jebediah is accidentally exposed to too much, and comes back with a Higher Understanding Through Drugs.
• Finish Him!: King Kull makes a show of consulting the crowd before going ahead with an execution, but is annoyed when the crowd's shouts are all for mercy. Kull responds by "agreeing" and trying to impose a Fate Worse than Death instead.
• Foregone Conclusion: We know from the narration that despite being given only a year to live at one point, the player character makes it out alive and keeps in touch with at least some of the characters. Also, Rose tells you as much after reading your fortune (while refusing to spoil the details).
• Glad You Thought of It: This helps convince King Kull to cancel an execution. Fem and Ur failed at capturing you, but when you pretend that you only came to the island afterwards because they tricked you, Kull retroactively incorporates that into the "great plan" he supposedly sent Fem and Ur to accomplish — and since his great plan so obviously worked, they can't have bungled it after all, and they're off the hook.
• Goggles Do Something Unusual: Abe's glasses were originally owned by Celestina's husband, and have the sole purpose of making Celestina look a lot younger, prettier, and agreeable than she really is (which explains why Abe is so smitten with her). The glasses only work for whoever they deem to be their owner, which is what you eventually become — although how much use you get out of them is up to you.
• Good-Guy Bar: To the extent that the city guards are the good guys (they work for the bad guys, but aren't so bad themselves), Mei's inn seems to be this. Mei later mentions that she started gaving them free drinks specifically to cultivate this, because having lots of city guards around might discourage Gomira from dropping by for revenge.
• The Guards Must Be Crazy: Some of the city watch are too nice and lacking in suspicion for their jobs. When you get caught trying to climb over the city wall, the guard seems genuinely touched at your thoughtfulness when you claim that you just climbed up briefly to wish him a good night. (They are later shown to be diligent in responding to more serious threats like a fire, however.)
• Haunted House: The "Cursed Mansion" in the village. It looks quite pleasant from the outside, albeit quite overgrown. Nobody can actually see what it's like inside, because of the magic forcefield which zaps anyone who touches it. When you get inside anyway, it is haunted, but the ghost is friendly and was in fact waiting specifically for you, knowing that nobody else would be able to get in.
• Hoarding the Profits: The previous king hired a group of mercenaries as part of an attempt to find a treasure hoard, with the treasure to be split. The king's troops then killed most of the mercenaries to avoid paying them their share, with Gomira and Mei being the only survivors. Gomira then killed the troops before they could claim the treasure, and in the present, Mei and Gomira both have hopes of finding it themselves — but they aren't working together anymore, and Gomira sees the treasure as secondary to killing Mei.
• Higher Understanding Through Drugs: After Jebediah is accidentally exposed to too much psycense while you're trying to quieten him down, he goes on a mystical trip and comes back knowing all sorts of things he otherwise couldn't. Helpfully, he's now convinced that Rose isn't evil, whereas previously he was leading Torches and Pitchforks.
• Incredible Shrinking Man: This happens to you when you eat the mushroom Maple gives you as a thank-you present. It would be permanent (at least until death by sex, that is) if not for your magical curse-breaking gift, which you may not even have known about at the time.
• In-Universe Game Clock: The day is divided into five perioids (morning, afternoon, evening, night, and late night), with major actions advancing the clock to the next period. In addition to aesthetic changes, the time of day also affects where you find characters, and advancing certain stories requires you to show up at the correct time of day (although it usually doesn't matter which day).
• Invisible Writing: When you ask Serena to loan you a book from the royal library, she tells you that it's blank, and that there seems to be a whole section of books like it. In fact, your Ghost Eye gift can read it.
• Invisibility: It turns out that the injury suffered by Jebediah, leader of the Torches and Pitchforks gang troubling Rose, is actually a localized form of this — the flesh which he alleges to have been removed from his arm by Rose's potion was actually just turned into some entirely transparent substance — and the process can be reversed.
• I See Dead People: The Ghost Eye gift allows anyone who has it to see ghosts. Lana has it, but it hasn't worked since her evil brother tried to steal it from her. It's not actually gone, as proven by the fact that you can learn it from her using your own magical gift — later, you can fix her eye.
• I Want My Beloved to Be Happy: You, if you help Myrtle's quest to resurrect her husband even though that would end your relationship with her.
• I Warned You: Mei says that you'll only put yourself in danger by trying to be friends with the fugitive Gomira. She reminds you of this warning later, but it wasn't exactly the full story — the danger wasn't from Gomira but from being collateral damage in Mei's own scheme against Gomira.
• The Joy of First Flight: When you persuade Rose that she can (and should) embrace her demi-demon side safely, trying out flying is the best way you can think of to do it. Although initially reluctant, she turns out to love it — and carries you with her.
• Kill It with Fire: The wolf menacing Myrtle (which may be supernatural, judging by its glowing blue eyes) is finally driven away when it gets set on fire.
• Leaving a Trail: While camping on a beach, you notice that the coconuts you find seem to lead you in a line. It does indeed turn out to be an ambush.
• The Legend of Chekhov: Lana mentions that the Cursed Mansion is supposedly old as the Old King, and explains the relevant legend when you don't get the reference. When you explore the mansion, you find it inhabited by the Old King's ghost, who plays a central role in the plot by telling you about your magical gifts.
• Light-Hearted Rematch: Although Gomira beats up Karl the city guard while escaping from custody, and later kidnaps him to try to find her axe, Karl (and the other guards) are later convinced of Gomira's innocence. When they meet again, he says that his defeat served as a wake-up call and he hopes to have a friendly rematch sometime (which Gomira accepts).
• Loose Lips: Mei's bard lover (and Percy's father, whom he is named after) meant well in turning her story about the king's betrayal of a mercenary company into a song, but it inevitably gave away the fact that there were survivors — which got the survivors on the wanted list, and the bard killed.
• Lured into a Trap: When you're trying to find Gomira's axe, the clues point towards Boner Isle — but that's because Mei arranged the clues, intending for you and Gomira to get captured by her allies there. She even makes a point of showing you her boat so that you'll "borrow" it — complete with explosive cargo — instead of making alternative arrangements.
• Make an Example of Them: When you point out that if Abu Gadu punishes Rose, he'll never make any more money from her, he responds that teaching servants obedience gives more gold in the long run. (He would actually rather use the threat of punishment to obtain an even more advantageous contract, though).
• Magically Binding Contract: Abu Gadu's demonic pacts take this form. He has one with Rose, and unintentionally gains one with you, thanks to having left an earlier offer to Rose lying on the floor instead of disposing of it. Freedom can be obtained by destroying the physical contract, but that's harder than it sounds. Fortunately for you and Rose, Abu Gadu conjures up one of the few things that can destroy a demonic contract while trying to impose another, worse deal — this ends up costing him not only Rose's contract but his whole collection.
• Magic Dance: You claim that your ability to break curses involves a magic dance when pretending to teach it to Abu Gadu. By getting his hands in the right place, you can put Supernormal Bindings on him — although it doesn't matter, because he just breaks the bindings and tries to kill you.
• Magic Fire: One of the few things that can destroy a demonic contract. Abu Gadu conjures some up when bargaining to destroy one contract in exchange for something else — this costs him, because you end up setting all his contracts on fire, destroying his power.
• Magic Mirror: Princess Serena gives you one after teleporting you away on her mission. It's used mainly for communication, being linked to one in Serena's room. (This can result in you seeing more of Serena's night-time activities than she might have intended.)
• The Maze: There's a magical maze in the Old Capital — it seems to be intelligent, and can provide oracular insight, but only members of the telepathic Goldenbush family (who governed the city until being replaced by the new regime) can properly communicate with it. Lana is doubtful about its usefulness, saying that it has become "too old and twisted" — but the villains seem to disagree, and are trying to use it for their own ends.
• "Mission: Impossible" Cable Drop: One of these is involved when trying to get the runestone which opens Madeline's cell. Lord Hammerdick, the runestone's owner, is sitting at his desk as you try to grab it; you end up knocking over a pile of money, but fortunately, Lord Hammerdick is more interested in collecting up the money again than in figuring out what caused it.
• Mobile Shrubbery: Your first attempt to sneak through the city gate. Kevin the guard notices that something's not right, but his boss Waldo just calls him a moron and says that the bush has always been there. The plan still fails when Kevin decides to take a leak in the bush.
• Money for Nothing: Deliberate and lampshaded. Princess Serena gives you a magic bag containing literally infinite money, but it's a running gag that it's never actually useful. Everyone has some specific thing that they want instead.
• Moving the Goalposts: After Waldo has rudely and repeatedly told you that you can't enter the city without a passage permit, you can finally give him one — but he just declares that he'll never let you enter the city no matter what the law says. He backs down when Lana surreptitiously threatens him, and his much-abused subordinate Kevin is only too happy to accept your permit in his stead.
• Nasty Party: A drinking party was used by the king's troops to murder most of Gomira's mercenaries, so as to avoid paying them their share of what had been found. The only survivors were Gomira, who didn't attend the party because she doesn't like elves and doesn't drink; and Mei, who ducked out early and was busy with her lover.
• Non-Human Lover Reveal: The reason that Rose, a demi-demon, agreed to be transformed was to save the life of a lover from the unintended consequences of a Deal with the Devil which Rose had made. The lover promptly rejected her upon seeing the transformation.
• Off-Limits Room: Mei's inn has a room which is never rented out — Percy says that it's haunted by the ghost of a woman who was murdered there. (It hasn't actually appeared in the game yet, so we don't know if that's the real story.)
• Off the Table: After the failure of various attempts to save Rose from Abu Gadu, she finally agrees to a further Leonine Contract — only to be told that, as punishment for trying to get out of it, the contract will be made even worse.
  Abu Gadu: My old offer has expired. You will have to agree to new terms, terms you will not like.
• Old Beggar Test: Princess Serena does this at the start to see if you're noble enough to be sent on her mission. Subverted, because she doesn't actually pay enough attention to anything you say and ends up sending you on the mission no matter what. Fortunately for her, you turn out to be the right choice anyway.
• Out with a Bang:
  • This is supposedly what happens to everyone who sleeps with pixies, due to sheer exhaustion. Maple considers it unfair that men blame pixies for their own inability to keep up. You escape this fate because your magic can reverse the shrinking effect that lets her sleep with you in the first place.
  • It's possible to die in one of Gomira's sex scenes if you overestimate your powers of endurance, although the player character promptly qualifies that it was just hypothetical (you get to keep the achievement, though).
• Palate Propping: This becomes necessary when the dragon turns out to be not as dead as first thought. It only works for a while, but the people who get eaten survive anyway when you cause the dragon to shift shape.
• Pent-Up Power Peril: The Master Gift, which allows you to obtain any other Gift, is elvish magic — which makes it a problem that it has now popped up in you, a human whose body can't properly contain it. Sev estimates that you've got a year to live. What will be done about it is yet to be determined, although the narration indicates that something will.
• Playing Possum: When you're trying to exorcise the demon sharing a body with Rose, the demon pretends to have been driven away as soon as you start; in fact, it's still there, and just wants you to drop your guard.
• The Precarious Ledge: The Wish Tree is found at the end of one of these; moreover, there's a Treacherous Spirit Chase to pull you down if you look. The Wish Tree likes it that way, and tries to push you over himself, but ends up being the one to fall.
• Repeated Cue, Tardy Response: When Celestina tries to invoke a surprise Shotgun Wedding between you and Holly, she has to say "Now!" twice before the people throwing flower-petals get the hint and the music starts up.
• Sacred Scripture: Celestina, the village matchmaker, cites the Book of Stone as authority for her pronouncements — her copy has supposedly been passed down for thirteen generations, although exactly where it came from to start with isn't specified. Holly, who is being forced into marriage, isn't as reverent, and wants to burn it, thinking that the shame of losing it would destroy Celestina's authority.
• Savage Wolves: Myrtle is being troubled by a wolf, which seems to be after her in particular and tries to get into her house at night. Getting rid of it is the first part of her storyline, but as yet, it hasn't been explained exactly what was making it so aggressive towards her. (The suggestion that it might be her missing husband come back is shot down by her saying that the wolf predates his disappearance.)
• Secret Test of Character: Princess Serena recruits you into the main story after one of these, having disguised herself as a poor old woman seeking shelter. She doesn't actually do a very good job of reading your character's motivations at the time (which can be summed up as "get laid"), but fortunately, you're basically an All-Loving Hero, and it's implied that she might have been subconsciously sensing your special heritage too.
• Schizo Tech: The game's setting is almost entirely fantasy, but there are touches of modernity (or at least magic passing for modernity) here and there. Probably the most obvious is the fact that cameras and photographs exist, but there are other things too — for example, the little lights on Rose's wagon have filaments inside when you see them up close.
• Shotgun Wedding: Celestina tries to make you and Holly get married in a surprise ceremony. Both parties had agreed to get married (it being part of the plan to get Holly out of having to marry Waldo), so the "shotgun" aspect is an attempt to make sure they actually go through with it. Celestina has an ulterior motive for that — she wants to exercise her "Matchmaker's Right" and sleep with you before the bride does, but that can only happen if there actually is a bride. The wedding is cancelled when the bride finally loses her temper and physically attacks Celestina.
• Shout-Out:
  • Two of the city guards in the Old Capital are named Wedge and Biggs.
  • The unmet members of Gomira's old mercenary company (Bell, Ari, Yas, Bri, Ti) are based on Disney princesses.
• Shrouded in Myth: Gomira says this about dragons.
  Gomira: There are creatures about whom we have reliable information, and then there are those who cannot be separated from songs. The dragons belong to the latter group, and almost everything we know about them is mixed with bardish bullcrap.
  You: But still, there must be some truth to those songs, no?
  Gomira: Can you distinguish the fact from the fib? No. And that fib will influence your judgment when you face off against her. That's why I forbade my girls from listening to worthless stories about the dragon, and that's how we fought against it and survived.
• Slain in Their Sleep: Despite your reservations, Gomira is determined to kill Mei as soon as she finds her, even if it means doing this. It's a good thing that Gomira pulls the blanket back before striking, because it's actually Mei's blameless son Percy who's sleeping in her usual spot that night.
• Sleep Deprivation Punishment: Hammerdick has guards ring rows of bells outside Madeline's cell to encourage her to talk — unsuccessfully.
• Some Kind of Force Field: The Cursed Mansion is surrounded by one which zaps you if you try to touch anything (including the door). Doing so hurts, and is potentially fatal, so non-locals who don't know about it can get into trouble. When you accidentally fall through the roof while climbing a nearby tree, Lana initially assumes that the forcefield has killed you — the reason why it actually hasn't is a mystery only cleared up when you meet the mansion's resident ghost, who explains your magical curse-breaking ability.
• Spooky Séance: To finally figure out whether her husband is still alive, Myrtle gets Rose to try to reach him in a séance. It works, with Rose being temporarily possessed. Jack's spirit senses that Myrtle is happy and loved, and is at peace knowing that. Despite his advice, however, Myrtle resolves to complete the quest that got him killed, since that will grant a wish which could be used to bring him back.
• Stealing the Credit: Celestina's liquor is really Rose's liquor, misrepresented as her own product and sold at a higher price. Rose lets Celestina get away with it, since the situation motivates Celestina to use her influence in the village to stamp on any Torches and Pitchforks inclinations which might drive Rose away, and that's more useful to Rose than anything she'd gain by revealing the truth.
• Stepping-Stone Sword: When the ledge you jump to crumbles on you, Gomira uses a throwing axe to give you a foothold.
• Supernormal Bindings: Rose uses some enchanted chains on herself, to bind the demon that controls her body during daytime. You get tricked into releasing the demon twice — the first time because you don't know about it; the second time because you think it's gone when it isn't. Later, she starts using the chains on herself again when she fears that the demon is coming back — this time, it turns out that it isn't necessary and is harming her own magic. Later still, you and Rose try to use the same chains on Abu Gadu, but he's too powerful and simply breaks them.
• Surprise Party: The ladies of the brothel in which you were raised were planning one of these for your 18th birthday, but they find you already gone. Ironically, the appearance that they hadn't remembered your birthday is one of the things that convinced you to go out into the world.
• Swiss-Army Tears: This is Junior's suggestion for what might heal pixie wings. It turns out he's wrong, although the basic idea that emotion is required turns out to be right.
• Take Me Instead: Or rather, take half of me instead. Rose made a pact to give Abu Gadu half of what she earned, and when Abu Gadu came back to demand half her betrothed's heart, she persuaded him to take half her own life instead. This claim ended up being enforced by making her share her body with a demon's consciousness.
• Take My Hand!: When Gomira's jump is messed up by the dragon, you're able to grab her hand before she falls into an abyss — but since she's bigger than you, this just threatens to pull you over too. Fortunately, Mei grabs you before that happens.
• Teeth-Clenched Teamwork: The need to work together to find the Warm Town treasure isn't enough to get Gomira to stop trying to kill Mei, since Gomira puts a higher priority on revenge than treasure. However, they do reluctantly agree to work together to survive the dragon. In the course of doing so, Gomira learns about Mei's child, and doesn't resume the fight once the danger is past.
• Teleport Interdiction: Serena's attempt to teleport you straight to the Old Capital instead leaves you outside the gate. She concludes that her evil uncle must have already replaced the city's ruler. Gameplay-wise, getting into the city becomes a Broken Bridge you have to tackle.
• Time for Plan B: Many of the tasks you have to complete have multiple stages, with the latter stages being necessary because the first attempt failed. For example, when trying to fix Maple's wings, one stage involves getting advice from a local hunter ("Junior's the Man"); the next stage involves not doing that this time ("Let's Ask Someone Smarter"). Lampshaded at one point:
  You: Thank goodness I'm at my third try. I usually get it right by the third try!
• Torches and Pitchforks: Some of the villagers come to suspect that Rose is an evil creature of some sort (mainly thanks to Jebediah, whose problems are actually his own fault for not following the instructions for the potion he used). They disagree as to whether she's a demon, a witch, or a vampire. The theory about her being demonic is actually correct (on two levels, even), but Rose is trying to keep her inner demon under control (...these days). In the end, she publicly acknowledges being a demi-demon, but with some help from a cured Jebediah, the villagers are convinced to stop trying to attack her.
• Transformation Potion: One of these is used in an attempt to convince Jebediah (leader of a Torches and Pitchforks gang) that he was wrong about Rose. You disguise yourself as her so that Jebediah can see "Rose" walking around in the daytime looking perfectly human, which he (correctly) thinks to be impossible. It works until the potion starts to wear off early.
• Treacherous Quest Giver: In Gomira's backstory, the king who hired a mercenary band to distract a dragon while his troops retrieved some treasure was always intending to turn on the mercenaries and keep everything for himself.
• Treacherous Spirit Chase: There's one of these on The Precarious Ledge which leads to the Wish Tree (and it turns out the Wish Tree arranged for it to be there, since the Wish Tree doesn't actually want to give any wishes.) It pulls you off a ledge if you look at it, and tries to tempt you into doing so by sounding like your one true love. Myrtle is looking for the Wish Tree specifically to resurrect her dead husband, but has been having second thoughts — and instead of tempting her with her husband's voice, the spirit tempts her with yours.
• Treasure Map: There's one hidden in the handle of Gomira's axe, which is the real reason she's so keen to get it back. Mei becomes suspicious, finds the map (but not they key which Gomira also hid), and rushes to claim the treasure. Gomira follows with the key, although she actually cares less about the treasure than killing Mei.
• Tyrant Takes the Helm: Most of the city guards in the Old Capital seem like nice enough people, and don't go out of their way to be malicious — as such, many of them resent having to take orders from Lord Hammerdick, newly appointed to rule the city by The Usurper. They frequently mention that things weren't this bad when Madeline was in charge.
• Weapon Chooses the Wielder: A non-weapon variant— the magic glasses which originally belonged to Celestina's husband Calisto apparently bind themselves to anyone who "saves" them, and won't work for anyone else. They're implied to be of demonic origin, and you hear whispering and laughter when you pick them up. Their sole function is to make Celestina look like an attractive young woman — Abe says Calisto died of a broken heart soon after losing them, being unable to stand his real wife.
• Weapon of X-Slaying: In Warm Town, you find some spears which are the only way to make the resident dragon assume her human form, which would leave her vulnerable. The person who left the spears behind actually wants them used to incapacitate rather than kill, and says that once transformed, the dragon will end her Unstoppable Rage and regain her mind, making it unnecessary to do anything further.
• Weather Manipulation: Warm Town is so-called because it stays warm despite being in the frozen north. It owes its comparatively pleasant climate to dragon magic — although since there's only one dragon left and she has been in an Unstoppable Rage for centuries, the town is now deserted even so.
• Well Entry: After Holly mentions climbing down the village well as a girl, you end up falling down it. There's a carving there which reminds Holly of how long her grandfather has lived in the village, making her feel bad that he might have to leave it because of her own refusal to get married. However, the well also turns out to being a good place to learn that the matchmaker is being secretly bribed by Holly's unwanted suitor, which angers Holly enough that she resolves to stay in the village and defy them.
• We Need a Distraction:
  • One of the plans to get past the gate guards is to get them drunk — this fails for lack of alcohol (and Kevin is too conscientious anyway). Another plan involves hiding in a herd of sheep being driven through the gate by Holly (which has the additional benefit that Waldo is so focused on hitting on Holly that he doesn't pay any attention to the sheep).
  • Later, you set fire to the Permit Office to create a distraction while you rescue Madeline. Sev makes you promise that you won't let it get out of control (and it doesn't).
• We Used to Be Friends: Gomira and Mei used to comrades. After most of their group was killed, Gomira swore revenge against the king — but Mei considered this suicidal and wanted to retire into a quiet life somewhere (especially since she'd just gotten pregnant). To get rid of her wanted status and achieve safety for her child, Mei betrayed Gomira to the king — meaning that Gomira is now out for revenge against Mei too. After learning Mei's full rationale, Gomira says that she'd have willingly surrendered to the king to give Mei her way out if only Mei had mentioned her child. In the end, they achieve some degree of reconciliation.
• What Did I Do Last Night?: After drinking too much with Lana, you try a Five-Finger Fillet and hurt your hand, but don't remember it. If you ask Lana, and she takes the opportunity to mess with you.
  Lana: All you did was take your clothes off, run around the village, knock at random doors, and ask the women to tickle your balls.
  You: Really? Fuck. I don't think they liked it because I woke up with my hand covered in bandages.
• Wizard Workshop: There's one hidden in the Cursed Mansion, belonging to Sev, the legendary Benevolent Mage Ruler who founded the current royal dynasty. A prophetic foretelling led him to die there so that he would one day be able to meet you as a ghost and serve as a Spirit Advisor.
• Wounded Gazelle Gambit: Maple probably isn't really in trouble when you free her from the spiderweb, and is just looking for an excuse to "reward" whoever helps. She expresses surprise that someone was actually willing to help a pixie this time — in fact, she wasn't prepared for that outcome, and has to ask her rescuer to come back later.
• You Have Outlived Your Usefulness: In Gomira and Mei's backstory, the king hired mercenaries to help him retrieve a Dragon Hoard, but his troops attacked the mercenaries as soon as they thought they'd secured the treasure, so as to avoid having to split it. In fact, this was premature, because they'd actually only found a key and a map, not the treasure itself — and because Gomira is a One Woman Army and survived the betrayal, the troops all died before they could find and remove it.
• You Just Told Me: Rose quite easily confirms who sent you buy demon wine when, even though you hadn't mentioned Lana yet, you answer a question about how many bottles Lana asked for.