Story Arc #1: The Castle of Shadows
Beyond the Doors
A chapter of a ‘choose your own’ story.
This is a collaborative web-novel. You might want to start the story at the beginning, here.
Want to go back one chapter? Click here for the ‘Jade’s Hidden Depths’ story, or here for ‘Down, Down into the Dark’.
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You push open the double doors and step through, with Balorg at your heels.
The area beyond is a long corridor which curves gradually to the left. It also seems to be ascending higher, which surprises you — you must be rising up inside the mountain itself. There is a flaming torch attached to the left wall every twenty yards or so, but nobody else in sight.
As you begin walking, Balorg keeps pace, and you look around at him. “So… uh… you’re a goblin, then?” you say in a low voice.
He grunts. “Goblin, boggle, bogeyman… Humans have lots of names for my kind!” You notice that he’s limping slightly as he walks alongside you. He is so short that the top of his head is level with your elbow.
“Boggles, yes — of course,” you reply, recalling a word that is sometimes used in ancient Celtic folk tales.
He grins suddenly. “You didn’t think my people were real, did you?”
“Well, I like to think of myself as open-minded…” you stammer. It feels rude to admit it, but Balorg is entirely right. Now you know differently. And if boggles are real, what other aspects of mythology could turn out to be true?
After walking on for around five minutes, the corridor comes to an end at a set of stone steps lined with ornate pillars.
You rise up the steps and come to a wide, semi-circular area at the top. A single very large door is directly ahead of you. It’s closed, but you don’t see a lock. To the left of the area is a table with some food and drinks upon it. And to the right, a similar table, this one covered in swords, bows and arrows, and loads of other medieval-style weapons and pieces of armor.
Balorg points towards the weapons. “If we are going to face Jade and her servants, we need to equip ourselves.”
“But I don’t know how to use swords and things,” you say, before following him over to the table to take a closer look. You pick up an arrow, and turn it over in your hand.
“Then take a mace,” Balorg replies, pointing at a club-like weapon.
You pick it up, and swish it through the air. “I guess,” you say, nodding. “Still, it seems odd to approach with weapons, even after everything I’ve learned about Jade.”
“Like I said to you — she’s dangerous,” Balorg replies gruffly.
You nod. “Well, just for self-defence, then.” You secure the mace in your belt.
Balorg now straps a short sword to his waist, and pulls a short chainmail shirt over his shoulders. He adds a bow and a quiver of arrows to the outfit, and finally a bandolier of daggers across his chest.
As he is arming himself, your eyes have flicked over to the table with the food and drink. You’ve realized that you are now feeling very hungry. But is there time to stop and eat? And would the food down here even be safe?
Then you look back at the door ahead. “You really think Jade and her followers are through there?” you ask Balorg.
He nods grimly. “For certain.”
You have a choice. You can…
- Hurry straight through the door to face Jade (click here).
- Grab something to eat and drink (click here).
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