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diff --git a/game/README.md b/game/README.md
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+# VNGame — Iron Hollow PoC
+
+## Run
+Open in Ren'Py launcher → Run.
+
+## What to test
+1. Play straight through (no checkpoint) — see all 3 base branches.
+2. Create a checkpoint → pick "To find something worth doing" → **Rewind**.
+   Watch the teal wash and Luno's linger beat afterward.
+3. Explore 3+ branches, then the 4th unlocked option appears.
+
+## Missing assets (Ren'Py will warn but not crash)
+- `game/images/bg training_yard.png`
+- `game/images/sara neutral.png`, `sara pained.png`
+- `game/images/luno curious.png`, `luno amused.png`, `luno neutral.png`,
+  `luno soft.png`, `luno tilted.png`, `luno still.png`, `luno laugh.png`,
+  `luno sharp.png`, `luno linger.png`
+
+Any placeholder PNG renamed to match works fine for testing.
+
+## Internal flags
+| Variable | Meaning |
+|---|---|
+| `checkpoint_set` | Player placed a checkpoint this scene |
+| `rewind_used` | Player rewound at least once |
+| `branches_explored` | Choice screen visit count (unlocks 4th option at 3) |
+| `luno_suspicion` | 0–4 internal tracker, ready to wire into future scenes |
\ No newline at end of file
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diff --git a/game/script.rpy b/game/script.rpy
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--- a/game/script.rpy
+++ b/game/script.rpy
@@ -1,33 +1,228 @@
-# The script of the game goes in this file.
+# The Iron Hollow — Chapter 1 PoC
+# Scene 2: Sara Arrives
 
-# Declare characters used by this game. The color argument colorizes the
-# name of the character.
+define sara = Character("Sara", color="#c8a882")
+define luno = Character("Luno", color="#82b4c8")
+define narrator = Character(None, kind=nvl)
 
-define s = Character("Sara")
-
-
-# The game starts here.
+# ── Persistent flags ──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
+default checkpoint_set    = False
+default rewind_used       = False
+default branches_explored = 0
+default luno_suspicion    = 0
 
+# ── Entry point ───────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
 label start:
+    scene bg training_yard
+    with fade
 
-    # Show a background. This uses a placeholder by default, but you can
-    # add a file (named either "bg room.png" or "bg room.jpg") to the
-    # images directory to show it.
+    "The Iron Hollow training yard sits inside a converted warehouse district. Stone walls, packed dirt, the smell of old metal and new sweat."
+    "Sara takes it all in before she steps through the gate."
 
-    scene bg room
+    show sara neutral at left
+    with easeinright
 
-    # This shows a character sprite. A placeholder is used, but you can
-    # replace it by adding a file named "eileen happy.png" to the images
-    # directory.
+    "Two people are already here. A boy against the far wall, watching nothing. And a girl near the gate — moving like she already belongs."
 
-    show eileen happy
+    show luno curious at right
+    with easeinright
 
-    # These display lines of dialogue.
+    "The girl notices Sara first."
+    jump luno_greeting
 
-    s "You've created a new Ren'Py game."
+label luno_greeting:
+    luno "You're here for the recruitment?"
+    sara "Yes. Where do I register?"
+    luno "The man over at that table takes your name. Then we wait."
+    luno "I'm Luno. Been here a few days already — helping with the wounded from last month's job. I know how things run here if you need anything."
+    "She doesn't say it like an offer. She says it like she's already taking notes."
+    luno "So. Money, glory, or are you just bored?"
+    jump choice_screen
 
-    s "Once you add a story, pictures, and music, you can release it to the world!"
+label choice_screen:
+    $ branches_explored += 1
+    #show screen timer_bar(20)
 
-    # This ends the game.
+    menu:
+        "Why are you here?"
+        "\[ Create Checkpoint \]" if not checkpoint_set:
+            $ checkpoint_set = True
+            hide screen timer_bar
+            scene black
+            with dissolve
+            "A flash. Sara's hand, signing something. A contract. The ink is red."
+            "It could mean anything."
+            scene bg training_yard
+            with dissolve
+            show sara neutral at left
+            show luno curious at right
+            jump choice_screen
 
+        "For the money, like anyone.":
+            hide screen timer_bar
+            jump branch_money
+
+        "To find something worth doing.":
+            hide screen timer_bar
+            jump branch_purpose
+
+        "I'd rather not say.":
+            hide screen timer_bar
+            jump branch_silence
+
+        "[ You asked the others the same thing, didn't you. ]" if checkpoint_set and branches_explored >= 3:
+            hide screen timer_bar
+            jump branch_sharp
+
+label branch_money:
+    $ luno_suspicion += 1
+    sara "Same reason as everyone else, I'd assume."
+    luno "Honest. I can work with that."
+    show luno amused at right
+    luno "Though if money's the goal, you don't look like you need it."
+    sara "Looks can be misleading."
+    show luno neutral at right
+    luno "Sure."
+    "A pause. Just a half-beat too long."
+    luno "They can be."
+    "She doesn't push. But her eyes stay on Sara a moment after the conversation moves on."
+    jump scene_continues
+
+label branch_purpose:
+    sara "I'm not looking for money exactly. More... something to point myself at."
+    "A beat. Something opens in Luno's expression — not warm, but something."
+    show luno curious at right
+    luno "Huh. That's not what I expected."
+    sara "What did you expect?"
+    luno "Something about honour. Or family legacy."
+    show luno tilted at right
+    luno "The clothes suggest a script."
+    show sara pained at left
+    sara "The script didn't survive."
+    "She doesn't mean to say it. Too true. Too fast. Too much."
+    "She can feel it land — can feel Luno actually {i}looking{/i} at her now, not just watching."
+    show luno soft at right
+    luno "...Yeah. I know that feeling."
+    "A real moment. Brief. Neither of them knows what to do with it."
+
+    if checkpoint_set:
+        show screen rewind_prompt
+        "The rewind option surfaces at the edge of the screen, glowing faintly."
+        "Sara can step back. Give the safer answer. Luno will never know what she almost said."
+        menu:
+            "[ ↺ Rewind ] (14 seconds remaining)":
+                hide screen rewind_prompt
+                $ rewind_used = True
+                $ luno_suspicion += 1
+                scene black
+                with dissolve
+                show screen teal_wash
+                "The world pulls back."
+                "Colour drains to teal. Sound slows to nothing."
+                hide screen teal_wash
+                scene bg training_yard
+                with dissolve
+                show sara neutral at left
+                show luno curious at right
+                "Sara is standing at the choice again. Luno's question still in the air."
+                jump choice_after_rewind
+            "[ Continue ]":
+                hide screen rewind_prompt
+
+    jump scene_continues
+
+label choice_after_rewind:
+    menu (caption="— Why are you here? —"):
+        "For the money, like anyone.":
+            jump branch_money_post_rewind
+        "I'd rather not say.":
+            jump branch_silence_post_rewind
+
+label branch_money_post_rewind:
+    sara "Same reason as everyone else."
+    luno "Sure."
+    "Unremarkable. Fine."
+    "But when Sara finishes speaking, Luno's eyes linger — just a half-second longer than they should."
+    show luno linger at right
+    "Not suspicion. Not quite. More like the feeling of reaching for something that moved."
+    show luno neutral at right
+    "She shakes it off. Probably nothing."
+    "Sara knows it wasn't nothing."
+    $ luno_suspicion += 1
+    jump scene_continues
+
+label branch_silence_post_rewind:
+    sara "I'd rather not say."
+    luno "Fair enough."
+    "But when Sara finishes speaking, Luno's eyes linger — just a half-second longer than they should."
+    show luno linger at right
+    "Not suspicion. Not quite. More like the feeling of reaching for something that moved."
+    show luno neutral at right
+    "She shakes it off. Probably nothing."
+    "Sara knows it wasn't nothing."
+    $ luno_suspicion += 1
+    jump scene_continues
+
+label branch_silence:
+    sara "That's a fairly personal question for someone I've known thirty seconds."
+    luno "Fair. I ask everyone. You don't have to answer."
+    sara "...Then I won't."
+    luno "That's an answer too."
+    "She's not unfriendly. But Sara just became a question mark in Luno's mental ledger."
+    $ luno_suspicion += 1
+    jump scene_continues
+
+label branch_sharp:
+    sara "You asked him the same thing."
+    "She nods toward Eron."
+    sara "Before I arrived."
+    "Luno goes still. Not alarmed — but recalibrating."
+    show luno still at right
+    luno "...You were watching from outside the gate?"
+    sara "The wall has gaps."
+    luno "Most people don't bother to look."
+    sara "I bother."
+    "A pause. Luno is weighing something."
+    luno "That's either very smart or very paranoid."
+    sara "Both, usually."
+    "Luno laughs — a real one, short and surprised."
+    show luno laugh at right
+    "But her eyes are sharper now, not warmer."
+    show luno sharp at right
+    "This is not a win. It's a different kind of exposure."
+    $ luno_suspicion += 2
+    jump scene_continues
+
+label scene_continues:
+    "Before the silence can settle, footsteps at the gate."
+    "Two more arrivals. The scene continues..."
     return
+
+# ── Screens ───────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
+
+screen timer_bar(duration):
+    zorder 10
+    timer duration action Hide("timer_bar")
+    vbox:
+        xalign 0.5
+        yalign 0.02
+        bar:
+            value AnimatedValue(duration, duration)
+            xsize 400
+            ysize 14
+        text "Respond within [duration]s":
+            xalign 0.5
+            color "#c8c8c8"
+            size 18
+
+screen rewind_prompt():
+    zorder 10
+    text "[ ↺ Rewind available ]":
+        xalign 0.05
+        yalign 0.95
+        color "#4ab8b8"
+        size 22
+
+screen teal_wash():
+    zorder 20
+    add Solid("#1a4a4a") alpha 0.7
\ No newline at end of file