Excerpts from dialogue written for Hildi de Chérin, a playable character for a stealth / RPG set in French Medieval Times. Hildi is a girl born in nobility who left it all to search for her vanished father. Along the way, she teams up with Jan, a modest-born young man who becomes a friend of sorts, and faces men sworn to her number one suspect in her father’s disappearance, the Count of Burgundy. Her character sheet can be accessed here.
An argument between the two main characters
Context: Fleeing from the soldiers of the Count of Burgundy after a near confrontation, Jan and Hildi finally reached an abandoned solicitor’s study. Hildi wants to search for clues concerning her father’s disappearance, whereas Jan wants to move on. This dialogue takes place while Hildi is searching the office, ignoring Jan’s wish. As the dialogue (and the search of the office) unfolds, noises suggesting that their pursuers haven’t given up start to be heard. The noises and the dialogue accelerate the pacing of the room search, enhancing tension and encouraging the player to accelerate their actions.
| Speaker | Line | Tone/Intention |
| Jan | Come on, we need to be on our merry way. | |
| Hildi | A moment, please. This could be important. | |
| Jan | It could, but is it? | |
| Jan | Personally, I prefer my throat uncut to old papers. | |
| Hildi | They’re actually not this old… This is dated from last week. | |
| Hildi | Apparently, this… Étienne… demanded an account of all my family’s properties… | |
| Jan | Must’ve taken a while. Now can we go? | In a sigh, annoyed |
| Hildi | Do you have better things to do? Robbing a merchant perhaps? | Claps the book she’s reading closed, snaps at Jan |
| Jan | Actually, no. And you know why? Because there are no convoys to be robbed anymore, because everyone is fucking dead from the Plague. Or from your little friends out there. | |
| Hildi | They’re not my friends! | |
| Jan | No? You sure talk a lot about them. | |
| Hildi | Don’t you see what this means? | Re-opens the book |
| Jan | Seeing is one thing, reading is another, not everyone has “education”. | |
| Hildi | They lost him! My father must’ve escaped somehow, and… | |
| Jan | And I really couldn’t care less right now. | Focused on the noises outside. |
| Hildi | That changes a lot of things. Oh, I might need to sit. | Scoffs |
| Jan | What’s that supposed to mean? | |
| Hildi | Remind me, who alerted the guards in the first place? You did. And for what? For some gold! So, coins are worth risking our lives but my father isn’t? | Disdainful |
| Jan | Gold, I’ll have you know, can be very useful for staying alive. But I don’t expect m’lady to understand that, given she probably doesn’t know the price of a loaf of bread. | Ironic |
| Hildi | You may go if you’re so afraid. I never asked for your company. | |
| Jan | Great! You and your pigeon can get lost. I’m out of here. | |
| Hildi | Esme’s a falcon, you wally! | |
| Jan | I hope she shits on your sheets! | Opens the door, catching a glimpse of soldiers down the hill |
Following this sequence, Jan escapes in extremis but Hildi is captured. He considers going on on his own but changes his mind and goes back to try and help Hildi. They meet again later, after Hildi (the player) has almost freed herself from the Burgundy soldiers.
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