hello friend
Arcane
Yes
-
Welcome to rpgcodex.net, a site dedicated to discussing computer based role-playing games in a free and open fashion. We're less strict than other forums, but please refer to the rules.
"This message is awaiting moderator approval": All new users must pass through our moderation queue before they will be able to post normally. Until your account has "passed" your posts will only be visible to yourself (and moderators) until they are approved. Give us a week to get around to approving / deleting / ignoring your mundane opinion on crap before hassling us about it. Once you have passed the moderation period (think of it as a test), you will be able to post normally, just like all the other retards.
Completed CYOA - Mysterious Caves
- Thread starter HeroMarine
- Start date
-
- Tags
- cyoa fantasy play-by-post
HeroMarine
Irenaeus
You decide you want trade half of your treasure for the gnome's magical help. You take out half your treasure bag and start counting out the coins in your pouch and tell him exactly how much you have, and how you would like to divide it. The gnome then takes the coins and pours it into his small purse, the coins seem to disappear within. He begins chanting for a while and you wait. He is silent for a moment, and then the orb flickers and seems to glow more. The gnome seems pleased and says, "Now you will have the power of the orb. But first..."
He picks from inside his shirt a small necklace made of twined cord with a strange circular brownish red circle made of wood for a pendant, the size of a large coin. In the center of the circular pendant there's an unknown symbol. "The gnomish nature magical help will be worth your while." He places the magic amulet on your hand and tells you how to activate it. "Just place it around your neck and touch it while thinking of the mightiest tree you ever seen, the amulet will make its magic and protect you." It glows faintly on your hand, and the gnome tells you that when you use it in combat against monsters, it will make you much stronger and sturdier. You think that if what the gnome is saying is true, if you had the amulet before, you could have easily defeated your enemies at the cave entrance on the first try, thus saving yourself much time.
He turns to the glowing crystal orb on the pedestal. "There, o curious adventurer, I think you can now use it," he says. "Thank you, o wise gnome," you say. The gnome is satisfied and tells you to stand in front of the crystal orb and focus your mind. He says it is possible to see through the fog within and reach the lower levels of the caves, that you can also use it to travel elsewhere in the caves and fetch the treasures hidden there. It takes some effort and concentration, but finally the orb's misty clouds disappear and inner image illuminates and you see a vast area filled with treasure. You don't stop focusing. You see plenty of tunnels and nearby rooms. This will be useful for exploring the area.
A green light comes from the orb, and the gnome says, "There, that's one of the exits. Now you know the way out of these caves. Go ahead and leave, but remember to return. You can use the magical amulet to convince others that I am a wizard, and that you have my guidance." You see the path ahead of you, which you believe you could take back to the surface. The gnome points to the exit to the surface. "I think this is the right path to the surface, o brave adventurer," he says. "You will need to activate the orb again for each of the routes you choose", he explains.
Then he turns and walks back into the shadows, and disappears before your own eyes. This feels very natural to you, while of course you can tell it's supernatural. You put on the magic amulet and let it adjust to your body heat. The orb is glowing very faintly now, was it all your imagination? The path you saw is across this large chamber and into another tunnel climbing up, you walk in that direction and your torch illuminates the way. There's indeed such a tunnel. As you climb up it you see more skeletal remains, from their small sizes they look like children, but the skulls look deformed, with wrong proportions, inhuman. What is your surprise when one of the bones of the skeletons start floating on their own and rearranging within the air in front of you. "What macabre sorcery is this?", you think. In fact, there's at least three separate units of these mounted bones forming in front of you, quite silently but decidedly. When they finish, they seem to be slowly meandering in your direction. This can't be good, you think. You hold the magic amulet with your other hand.
As you try really hard to not think of this narrow tunnel and grotesque skeletons in front of you, you imagine the oak you used to climb in your childhood, how big it seemed, with an immense thick trunk and unreachable leaves. Immediately you fell your skin tickling and becoming harder, almost instantly it's transformed into some kind of bark with countless layers, you look at your hand and arm and they are much thicker. You also feel stronger, despite the clear increase in weight. This is amulet is clearly magical and the gnome wasn't telling a long tale. Without much deliberation, your fighting instincts take over and you decide to jump on the skeletons in your new form, all else be damned.
The first skeletal bunch of bones you come into contact with, you use your shoulder as a ram and indeed your new weight crushes the landing spot where the chest of the skeleton was and sends all other rib-cage bones flying away. Without a support, the skull and the arms of the small animated skeleton fall to the ground. As you recompose yourself and look at it, only the legs and hip are standing but come crashing down to the floor. You move to the other skeletons taking advantage of this newfound magical strength and durability, and you also crush them both with your body without feeling a hint of pain. You feel your head a bit dizzy from the impacts though. The floor is covered in these crushed or isolated bones and the sorcery that was animating them seems to have vanished. That was scary at first but you are now overcome with a feeling of invincibility. You realize that you might be able to use this amulet to protect yourself and others in future expeditions. You are certain that you will return to explore these caves.
You quickly move to the exit of the tunnel and and see the surface, happy to be breathing that cold, windy air again coming in. Once outside, with your eyes still adjusting to the bright from the snow even in a cloudy afternoon, you look inside the dark cave entrance. It's not the same entrance from where you came in, but you don't care. You are full of confidence. You want to fetch as many companions to help carry the treasures you saw on the orb as possible. Now, how to return to the inn. You are still in your barkskin shape and this now feels a bit awkward, how do you return to your normal shape? You look down from the rolling hill and the ones by the side... What's the path to inn where you are staying? How did you get here from there? You guide, Cael, is dead. How are you going to go back?
He picks from inside his shirt a small necklace made of twined cord with a strange circular brownish red circle made of wood for a pendant, the size of a large coin. In the center of the circular pendant there's an unknown symbol. "The gnomish nature magical help will be worth your while." He places the magic amulet on your hand and tells you how to activate it. "Just place it around your neck and touch it while thinking of the mightiest tree you ever seen, the amulet will make its magic and protect you." It glows faintly on your hand, and the gnome tells you that when you use it in combat against monsters, it will make you much stronger and sturdier. You think that if what the gnome is saying is true, if you had the amulet before, you could have easily defeated your enemies at the cave entrance on the first try, thus saving yourself much time.
He turns to the glowing crystal orb on the pedestal. "There, o curious adventurer, I think you can now use it," he says. "Thank you, o wise gnome," you say. The gnome is satisfied and tells you to stand in front of the crystal orb and focus your mind. He says it is possible to see through the fog within and reach the lower levels of the caves, that you can also use it to travel elsewhere in the caves and fetch the treasures hidden there. It takes some effort and concentration, but finally the orb's misty clouds disappear and inner image illuminates and you see a vast area filled with treasure. You don't stop focusing. You see plenty of tunnels and nearby rooms. This will be useful for exploring the area.
A green light comes from the orb, and the gnome says, "There, that's one of the exits. Now you know the way out of these caves. Go ahead and leave, but remember to return. You can use the magical amulet to convince others that I am a wizard, and that you have my guidance." You see the path ahead of you, which you believe you could take back to the surface. The gnome points to the exit to the surface. "I think this is the right path to the surface, o brave adventurer," he says. "You will need to activate the orb again for each of the routes you choose", he explains.
Then he turns and walks back into the shadows, and disappears before your own eyes. This feels very natural to you, while of course you can tell it's supernatural. You put on the magic amulet and let it adjust to your body heat. The orb is glowing very faintly now, was it all your imagination? The path you saw is across this large chamber and into another tunnel climbing up, you walk in that direction and your torch illuminates the way. There's indeed such a tunnel. As you climb up it you see more skeletal remains, from their small sizes they look like children, but the skulls look deformed, with wrong proportions, inhuman. What is your surprise when one of the bones of the skeletons start floating on their own and rearranging within the air in front of you. "What macabre sorcery is this?", you think. In fact, there's at least three separate units of these mounted bones forming in front of you, quite silently but decidedly. When they finish, they seem to be slowly meandering in your direction. This can't be good, you think. You hold the magic amulet with your other hand.
As you try really hard to not think of this narrow tunnel and grotesque skeletons in front of you, you imagine the oak you used to climb in your childhood, how big it seemed, with an immense thick trunk and unreachable leaves. Immediately you fell your skin tickling and becoming harder, almost instantly it's transformed into some kind of bark with countless layers, you look at your hand and arm and they are much thicker. You also feel stronger, despite the clear increase in weight. This is amulet is clearly magical and the gnome wasn't telling a long tale. Without much deliberation, your fighting instincts take over and you decide to jump on the skeletons in your new form, all else be damned.
The first skeletal bunch of bones you come into contact with, you use your shoulder as a ram and indeed your new weight crushes the landing spot where the chest of the skeleton was and sends all other rib-cage bones flying away. Without a support, the skull and the arms of the small animated skeleton fall to the ground. As you recompose yourself and look at it, only the legs and hip are standing but come crashing down to the floor. You move to the other skeletons taking advantage of this newfound magical strength and durability, and you also crush them both with your body without feeling a hint of pain. You feel your head a bit dizzy from the impacts though. The floor is covered in these crushed or isolated bones and the sorcery that was animating them seems to have vanished. That was scary at first but you are now overcome with a feeling of invincibility. You realize that you might be able to use this amulet to protect yourself and others in future expeditions. You are certain that you will return to explore these caves.
You quickly move to the exit of the tunnel and and see the surface, happy to be breathing that cold, windy air again coming in. Once outside, with your eyes still adjusting to the bright from the snow even in a cloudy afternoon, you look inside the dark cave entrance. It's not the same entrance from where you came in, but you don't care. You are full of confidence. You want to fetch as many companions to help carry the treasures you saw on the orb as possible. Now, how to return to the inn. You are still in your barkskin shape and this now feels a bit awkward, how do you return to your normal shape? You look down from the rolling hill and the ones by the side... What's the path to inn where you are staying? How did you get here from there? You guide, Cael, is dead. How are you going to go back?
hello friend
Arcane
What does the landscape look like around us? Any landmarks visible from far away? Do we have anything in the vicinity or on us that could be used to mark this location for the future? I think our best bet is to head back into the cave and use the orb to exit out the original entrance, from which we kind of sort of know the way. We've got an amulet of power now so we'll be better equipped to fight our way through if we have to. Next time we come back to the cave we can keep an eye out for any sign of our marker and get a better idea of what's what and where's where.
HeroMarine
Irenaeus
You stand up from your position by the side of the hill slope and begin to walk back toward the cave entrance. Before you head inside again, you decide to take one last look around. Considering the sloping hill and the snow white field that stretches to the horizon until the mountains on the other side of the valley, you estimate that you're about two hundred meters high from the ground, and about halfway up the hill to the tippity top.
This cave exit leads to the middle of a mildly forested area, there isn't a real path for you to follow, you don't think. Nothing but trees, rocks and large boulders, and the ground covered in snow or frozen mud. You turn your head left and right looking for something, anything, that can serve as a landmark. Nothing is immediately visible from far away, except from boulders. But, as you keep looking along to the direction of the sunset you notice a large clearing to that side of the hill. You walk a dozen paces in that direction and you see several large round boulders following together in a row. That might serve as a marker.
The sun is setting in a couple of hours by your estimation, it won't take long after until it will be completely dark out. "I should make for the inn soon and prepare to continue exploring these caves later," you say to yourself. You walk closer to the large boulder formation. You take out your torch and light it on fire, using the flame to inspect the area. The rock formations look very old with mold and other small plants frozen and dead by the cold. You wonder if the stones have been here since before humans walked the earth and before the first elves were created, set in this particular disposition by the titans of ancient ages. This place has seen it all and it's probably wise to leave it alone for now and wait for another day.
You look into your bag and all your possessions are still there, and the bag is intact with your recently acquired treasure. "This must be a sign," you think to yourself. "I'm meant to go deeper into the caves. My gnome might help me again." You set the torch to burn again and put your bag back again. "The light will last longer than I will," you think in jest. You remember you're still in barkskin form, and you decide to take off the amulet from your neck to test if it will return you to normal. As soon as the necklace is not touching you, you start feeling the cold wind and it's as if a heavy weight is been lifted from your shoulders, but you also feel weaker at the same time somehow. Magically, you're back to normal human skin, no trace that you were ever transformed into a different state. "What a wonderful item!", you think. Then you head back to cave entrance to go back to the gnome chamber and the orb, hoping to find your original entrance and find a path to the inn from there. It surely will be easily than wandering randomly in the wilderness.
As you step in to the caverns, again you feel as if someone watches you. As if you're being observed by some unseen watcher from somewhere deep within the shadows. Could it be the gnome? There's no one else around. Your torch barely illuminates the tunnel sloping down and the only thing you can see clearly are the walls and ceiling, with an occasional stalactite hanging from them. The floor is covered in crushed bones from the fight before and other isolated mounts of bones and skulls, those creepy miniature deformed humanoids remains. As you walk by a broken rib cage, you hear a buzzing sound from it. It's vibrating and suddenly cracks even more, spreading bone shards on the ground. That's the evidence of some dark, death magic to the place. Finally you cross the tunnel back to the large chamber with the orb in the middle of it, it's shimmering with a faint blue light. No sign of the gnome, though. "Did he vanish into the shadows? Where is he hidden, then?", you say out loud, perhaps as a subconsciously way of triggering the gnome into showing himself, if he's around.
It's almost too easy to get lost in the chamber, which is so dark despite the crystal orb shinning. Even with a torch lit, you feel as if you're walking into a pitch-black room. With your magic amulet, you feel as if you can sense a few magical items, but it's not strong enough to give you a good idea of where you need to go. Without another recourse, you walk towards the orb that the gnome had called "of distant light visage".
You reach the orb and touch the smooth glass surface. "How am I supposed to use this?" You ask yourself aloud. You look at the orb and start thinking about how to use it by yourself. "Maybe I just need to concentrate on the destination," you think. "If I focus on the cave entrance and imagine myself there, I should be able to find the path there." You close your eyes and envision the cave entrance in the distance. "Now, let's see..." You open your eyes again and look at the orb. "There! I'm seeing it!" You shout in excitement. "Well, that was easy," you think. "I'll be there soon."
You leave the otherwise empty large chamber, without wanting to deal with the mysterious orb anymore. You take the same tunnel that you arrived on it for the first time, it it's downwards spiral this time, as narrow as you remember it. Your steps echo hollowly off the stone tunnels and you can hear the wind blowing from your back. Suddenly you stop and listen carefully. There's a squeaking noise coming from the darkness below. You lower your torch and shine it down the tunnel. A single, tiny figure is moving ahead of you. It's a little creature of some kind, a rodent maybe. It scurries away from your light and disappears in the gloom of the tunnels.
"A rat," you say under your breath. "That's not good news." Rats are known to be scavengers and thieves, but they are also cunning and stealthy. They're also attracted to dead meat. They can sneak up on you when you least expect it. "Let's see how fast I can catch up with him," you it. You raise your torch again and continue down the tunnel. You can see the mouse or whatever it is running in front of you, but you don't bother to chase after it. Instead, you walk faster and see the mouse disappear behind a bend in the tunnel. You slow your pace and keep watch for any signs of movement. After a minute, the mouse comes out from the side of the tunnel again, and again you see it heading straight for you. It stops a few paces from where you stand and looks at you with wide eyes. You quickly step aside and the mouse runs past. "Not so clever after all," you think.
You finally reach the bottom of the tunnel, and reach the area where you sat and ate before going up this tunnel to meet the gnome. The rock that served as makeshift chair is still there and the wide tunnels goes on both directions: the one you came from is now to your right and has an upwards slope from where you're standing. You glance at the map in your mind – the one that shows the layout and locations of the many chambers and tunnels in the cave system – and try to figure out which way would lead you back to the exit you want. You know it will become a narrow passage after a while, then it will open up again to become a wide tunnel once more, you'll pass by a bifurcation where you took the path to the right that was wider and then you'll reach the stone stairway and finally the place where you fought the three enemies before and sacked their loot.
You walk slowly and cautiously along the narrow passage, watching for any movement in the shadows. As you near the end, you notice sounds coming from the other side. Voices. You can't make out what they're saying but it seems like two men having a talking, their voices echoing from the wide tunnel. You decide to crouch and put out your torch, slowly reaching the end of the passage. You can see two figures and they're illuminated by a single torch, so you can't make out the details, but one is taller and has grey hair and appears to be wearing a hooded robe; the shorter is wider on the shoulders and has an iron armor that seems to be reflecting the flickering red fire light, with a longsword in his hand. They seem to be having a conversation, you will try to listen as you can get good information and make your mind if they're friend or foe. They're facing each other and arguing about something. "What could the two of them be arguing about?" You think. You better keep your guard up just in case!
The first figure speaks. "I don't trust him, he might be a sorcerer," he says. "He's hiding his true nature." "That's ridiculous," says the other person. "He's a man with a sword, that's all," says the one in armor. Are they talking about you? "Well, he's also a murderer and a thief," says the hooded older man. "He's no more than a common brigand," says the younger. "He's a dangerous criminal and a murderer," says the first. "It's true he has killed before, but unless he's been taken by the spells of that fucking gnome, he's not a sorcerer!", says the second.
"So you admit he's into sorcery then!?", screams the first man. "No! Not at all! He could have gained some knowledge of sorcery from the gnome, but nothing like that. He could have like one of the gnome's amulets and use illusion magic for some things, but that's not sorcery. Sorcery is an old art that he even the gnome doesn't know very well.", the second man calmly explains.
"Illusion magic? Is he really using illusion magic on us!? He looks exactly like my old friend, Frederick, and he was the one who attacked us", the first figure says. "Your friend has been dead for years and he was never a friend of mine. Let's go!" After that last sentence, the two men stop talking and move towards the narrower path that you didn't take when you reached the bifurcation.
You decide to stay silent and wait until they've passed by. As soon as the two men are gone from sight, you walk into the next tunnel and take a look around. It's as dark as before, and the same voices echo faintly from the path off the tunnel the figures took. You walk forward until you're approaching the bifurcation that you saw earlier, and decide it's better not to venture in that direction if at least one of them is clearly hostile. You'd rather get back to the inn before sunset.
You keep going in the direction of the cave exit and you pass by the stone stairway you climbed earlier today. The cold blowing wind in your face informs you that you're reaching the cave exit you want. Much to your surprise you notice that bodies of the three people you fought, along with Cael's body, are missing! "Who could have moved them, and why?" you think. "Could it have been related to those two men who were arguing inside the cave earlier?" Too many questions and not enough answers for now but you don't want to waste more today in these mysterious caves today. You're heading back to the inn as quickly as possible. Finally reaching the cave exit, you notice that the sun will set in an hour or so and the level of sunlight outside is dwindling. That doesn't bother you, you vaguely remember that the path back to the inn is not as unclear as you thought, it's kinda straightforward. Oh boy, do you have a story to tell the folks there.
The adventurer heads back to the Inn on the Royal Road, where he finds many people waiting for him.
This cave exit leads to the middle of a mildly forested area, there isn't a real path for you to follow, you don't think. Nothing but trees, rocks and large boulders, and the ground covered in snow or frozen mud. You turn your head left and right looking for something, anything, that can serve as a landmark. Nothing is immediately visible from far away, except from boulders. But, as you keep looking along to the direction of the sunset you notice a large clearing to that side of the hill. You walk a dozen paces in that direction and you see several large round boulders following together in a row. That might serve as a marker.
The sun is setting in a couple of hours by your estimation, it won't take long after until it will be completely dark out. "I should make for the inn soon and prepare to continue exploring these caves later," you say to yourself. You walk closer to the large boulder formation. You take out your torch and light it on fire, using the flame to inspect the area. The rock formations look very old with mold and other small plants frozen and dead by the cold. You wonder if the stones have been here since before humans walked the earth and before the first elves were created, set in this particular disposition by the titans of ancient ages. This place has seen it all and it's probably wise to leave it alone for now and wait for another day.
You look into your bag and all your possessions are still there, and the bag is intact with your recently acquired treasure. "This must be a sign," you think to yourself. "I'm meant to go deeper into the caves. My gnome might help me again." You set the torch to burn again and put your bag back again. "The light will last longer than I will," you think in jest. You remember you're still in barkskin form, and you decide to take off the amulet from your neck to test if it will return you to normal. As soon as the necklace is not touching you, you start feeling the cold wind and it's as if a heavy weight is been lifted from your shoulders, but you also feel weaker at the same time somehow. Magically, you're back to normal human skin, no trace that you were ever transformed into a different state. "What a wonderful item!", you think. Then you head back to cave entrance to go back to the gnome chamber and the orb, hoping to find your original entrance and find a path to the inn from there. It surely will be easily than wandering randomly in the wilderness.
As you step in to the caverns, again you feel as if someone watches you. As if you're being observed by some unseen watcher from somewhere deep within the shadows. Could it be the gnome? There's no one else around. Your torch barely illuminates the tunnel sloping down and the only thing you can see clearly are the walls and ceiling, with an occasional stalactite hanging from them. The floor is covered in crushed bones from the fight before and other isolated mounts of bones and skulls, those creepy miniature deformed humanoids remains. As you walk by a broken rib cage, you hear a buzzing sound from it. It's vibrating and suddenly cracks even more, spreading bone shards on the ground. That's the evidence of some dark, death magic to the place. Finally you cross the tunnel back to the large chamber with the orb in the middle of it, it's shimmering with a faint blue light. No sign of the gnome, though. "Did he vanish into the shadows? Where is he hidden, then?", you say out loud, perhaps as a subconsciously way of triggering the gnome into showing himself, if he's around.
It's almost too easy to get lost in the chamber, which is so dark despite the crystal orb shinning. Even with a torch lit, you feel as if you're walking into a pitch-black room. With your magic amulet, you feel as if you can sense a few magical items, but it's not strong enough to give you a good idea of where you need to go. Without another recourse, you walk towards the orb that the gnome had called "of distant light visage".
You reach the orb and touch the smooth glass surface. "How am I supposed to use this?" You ask yourself aloud. You look at the orb and start thinking about how to use it by yourself. "Maybe I just need to concentrate on the destination," you think. "If I focus on the cave entrance and imagine myself there, I should be able to find the path there." You close your eyes and envision the cave entrance in the distance. "Now, let's see..." You open your eyes again and look at the orb. "There! I'm seeing it!" You shout in excitement. "Well, that was easy," you think. "I'll be there soon."
You leave the otherwise empty large chamber, without wanting to deal with the mysterious orb anymore. You take the same tunnel that you arrived on it for the first time, it it's downwards spiral this time, as narrow as you remember it. Your steps echo hollowly off the stone tunnels and you can hear the wind blowing from your back. Suddenly you stop and listen carefully. There's a squeaking noise coming from the darkness below. You lower your torch and shine it down the tunnel. A single, tiny figure is moving ahead of you. It's a little creature of some kind, a rodent maybe. It scurries away from your light and disappears in the gloom of the tunnels.
"A rat," you say under your breath. "That's not good news." Rats are known to be scavengers and thieves, but they are also cunning and stealthy. They're also attracted to dead meat. They can sneak up on you when you least expect it. "Let's see how fast I can catch up with him," you it. You raise your torch again and continue down the tunnel. You can see the mouse or whatever it is running in front of you, but you don't bother to chase after it. Instead, you walk faster and see the mouse disappear behind a bend in the tunnel. You slow your pace and keep watch for any signs of movement. After a minute, the mouse comes out from the side of the tunnel again, and again you see it heading straight for you. It stops a few paces from where you stand and looks at you with wide eyes. You quickly step aside and the mouse runs past. "Not so clever after all," you think.
You finally reach the bottom of the tunnel, and reach the area where you sat and ate before going up this tunnel to meet the gnome. The rock that served as makeshift chair is still there and the wide tunnels goes on both directions: the one you came from is now to your right and has an upwards slope from where you're standing. You glance at the map in your mind – the one that shows the layout and locations of the many chambers and tunnels in the cave system – and try to figure out which way would lead you back to the exit you want. You know it will become a narrow passage after a while, then it will open up again to become a wide tunnel once more, you'll pass by a bifurcation where you took the path to the right that was wider and then you'll reach the stone stairway and finally the place where you fought the three enemies before and sacked their loot.
You walk slowly and cautiously along the narrow passage, watching for any movement in the shadows. As you near the end, you notice sounds coming from the other side. Voices. You can't make out what they're saying but it seems like two men having a talking, their voices echoing from the wide tunnel. You decide to crouch and put out your torch, slowly reaching the end of the passage. You can see two figures and they're illuminated by a single torch, so you can't make out the details, but one is taller and has grey hair and appears to be wearing a hooded robe; the shorter is wider on the shoulders and has an iron armor that seems to be reflecting the flickering red fire light, with a longsword in his hand. They seem to be having a conversation, you will try to listen as you can get good information and make your mind if they're friend or foe. They're facing each other and arguing about something. "What could the two of them be arguing about?" You think. You better keep your guard up just in case!
The first figure speaks. "I don't trust him, he might be a sorcerer," he says. "He's hiding his true nature." "That's ridiculous," says the other person. "He's a man with a sword, that's all," says the one in armor. Are they talking about you? "Well, he's also a murderer and a thief," says the hooded older man. "He's no more than a common brigand," says the younger. "He's a dangerous criminal and a murderer," says the first. "It's true he has killed before, but unless he's been taken by the spells of that fucking gnome, he's not a sorcerer!", says the second.
"So you admit he's into sorcery then!?", screams the first man. "No! Not at all! He could have gained some knowledge of sorcery from the gnome, but nothing like that. He could have like one of the gnome's amulets and use illusion magic for some things, but that's not sorcery. Sorcery is an old art that he even the gnome doesn't know very well.", the second man calmly explains.
"Illusion magic? Is he really using illusion magic on us!? He looks exactly like my old friend, Frederick, and he was the one who attacked us", the first figure says. "Your friend has been dead for years and he was never a friend of mine. Let's go!" After that last sentence, the two men stop talking and move towards the narrower path that you didn't take when you reached the bifurcation.
You decide to stay silent and wait until they've passed by. As soon as the two men are gone from sight, you walk into the next tunnel and take a look around. It's as dark as before, and the same voices echo faintly from the path off the tunnel the figures took. You walk forward until you're approaching the bifurcation that you saw earlier, and decide it's better not to venture in that direction if at least one of them is clearly hostile. You'd rather get back to the inn before sunset.
You keep going in the direction of the cave exit and you pass by the stone stairway you climbed earlier today. The cold blowing wind in your face informs you that you're reaching the cave exit you want. Much to your surprise you notice that bodies of the three people you fought, along with Cael's body, are missing! "Who could have moved them, and why?" you think. "Could it have been related to those two men who were arguing inside the cave earlier?" Too many questions and not enough answers for now but you don't want to waste more today in these mysterious caves today. You're heading back to the inn as quickly as possible. Finally reaching the cave exit, you notice that the sun will set in an hour or so and the level of sunlight outside is dwindling. That doesn't bother you, you vaguely remember that the path back to the inn is not as unclear as you thought, it's kinda straightforward. Oh boy, do you have a story to tell the folks there.
The adventurer heads back to the Inn on the Royal Road, where he finds many people waiting for him.
Last edited:
HeroMarine
Irenaeus
That ends the first CYOA. I'd like to thank hello friend for playing the adventurer with the help of other codexers Alphard ERYFKRAD Gandalf
I'm planning a second CYOA to start soon, building upon this one, and I encourage as many codexers as possible to at least take a look and hopefully participate. I'll make the rules clearer for the next thread. Again, thank you for reading and RPGCodex.net for hosting it.
I'm planning a second CYOA to start soon, building upon this one, and I encourage as many codexers as possible to at least take a look and hopefully participate. I'll make the rules clearer for the next thread. Again, thank you for reading and RPGCodex.net for hosting it.
Alphard
Guest
thank you HeroMarine . i'm sorry if i quit but got caught in real life issues. wish you the best
hello friend
Arcane
So the gnome was a snake after all? Perfidious midget.
As an Amazon Associate, rpgcodex.net earns from qualifying purchases.