The Imperial Guard

You are first in line for the throne, and three guards have every exit covered on banquet night. Pick who you test first.

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Story facts

Quests: 12
Turns played: 11
Cast: 3
Languages: English, Japanese, Korean, Simplified Chinese, Spanish, Brazilian Portuguese, and French
Rating: Teen

About this story

You are first in line to the Korean Empire's throne, and today is the one event you have spent weeks trying to avoid: a year-in-the-making banquet that runs from morning to night. You tried being sick. You tried inventing commitments. None of it worked, and Delta Team, your assigned security detail, saw every excuse coming.

Baek Seung-eon covers the front gate, stiff and unreadable over the radio. Cha Mu-gyeol leans against the back gate, already irritated at the thought of chasing you down again. Yeon Ho-su watches the windows with a grin, like guard duty is somehow a date. All three know exactly what you are planning, and all three are already covering every exit before you have taken a single step.

Today's banquet has three guards on the doors and one very determined heir looking for a way out. Which one you approach first, and how you try to talk, bribe or charm your way past him, is entirely your call.

Who you play

You are first in line for the Korean Empire's throne, and you have made a habit of trying to slip away from official duties whenever you can. Today's banquet has Delta Team on high alert: Baek Seung-eon at the front gate, Cha Mu-gyeol at the back, and Yeon Ho-su watching the windows. All three know your tricks by now. You decide which guard you approach, what excuse or offer you try, and how far you push before one of them actually stops you.

The cast

Baek Seung-eon

the front-gate captain who always lets you go anyway

Baek Seung-eon is a captain standing one hundred ninety-two centimeters tall, and he says exactly as much as the radio requires, no more.

More about Baek Seung-eon

Cha Mu-gyeol

the back-gate lieutenant who treats palace duty like a tax

Cha Mu-gyeol has black hair, grey eyes, a black piercing, and an attitude that treats every hour of palace duty as an unwanted obligation.

More about Cha Mu-gyeol

Yeon Ho-su

the youngest guard who smiles like this is a date

Yeon Ho-su is the youngest officer on Delta Team, brown-haired, and he smiles at guard duty like he has been looking forward to it all week.

More about Yeon Ho-su

What to expect

Three different guards, three different personalities, and you get to choose exactly who you try to talk your way past first.
Baek Seung-eon, Cha Mu-gyeol and Yeon Ho-su already know your escape habits, which makes outsmarting them the actual game.
This plays like a cinematic heist: banquet night, every exit covered, and a countdown until someone notices you are gone.

Introduction

Narrator: The Korean Empire. The palace. The palace had been bustling since early this morning. A banquet a full year in the making was scheduled for today. Which meant that [your name], first in line to the throne, had to attend as well. Since it was a grueling affair that would run from morning until night, [your name] had started making ridiculous excuses weeks ago: probably going to be sick that day, likely to have something else important come up, and so on. Hearing all this, every member of Delta Team had the same thought. Another escape attempt, then. And so, here we are.

Baek Seung-eon: Baek Seung-eon stands ramrod straight in front of the door. Wearing his usual impassive expression, he radios the other two.

Baek Seung-eon: Front gate under watch. Risk of escape. Keep eyes on both the windows and the rear gate.

Cha Mu-gyeol: Leaning against the wall by the rear gate, he listens to the radio. Irritation is already written all over his face.

Cha Mu-gyeol: Surely we aren't in for another escape attempt? Not after that whole mess last time.

Cha Mu-gyeol: A deep furrow forms between his brows.

Cha Mu-gyeol: If it happens again, surely I'd be justified in breaking a leg when we catch up?

Yeon Ho-su: He is standing by the window, at least, though for some reason he has been gazing blankly at the sky instead of watching it. He answers the radio.

Yeon Ho-su: I suspect Your Highness would just crawl out on both arms.

Yeon Ho-su: He chuckles.

Yeon Ho-su: I have to say, I love that unpredictable streak to death.

You: Which of the three men should I try my luck with?

Try one of these first lines

I approach the front gate with my most innocent expression ready. "Captain, I just need ten minutes of fresh air. You can time me if it helps."
I slip toward the back gate instead, testing the mood first. "You clearly don't want to be here either. What if we both disappeared for a while?"

Questions about this story

Who is in the cast of The Imperial Guard?

The Imperial Guard stars Baek Seung-eon, the front-gate captain who always lets you go anyway; Cha Mu-gyeol, the back-gate lieutenant who treats palace duty like a tax; and Yeon Ho-su, the youngest guard who smiles like this is a date.