Story Arc #1: The Castle of Shadows
Cat and Mouse
A chapter of a ‘choose your own’ story.
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You decide to play along.
Clearly, Daniela — if that is really the alien girl’s name — is trying to trick you. All the same, you might as well find out as much as you can.
And after all, if you offend her, she might refuse to change you back!
“I’m sorry, dear Daniela,” you begin, rising and pulling a sheet up to cover your nudity. “My memory is full of holes, but my heart tells me that I should trust you.”
“Of course you should!” She smiles impishly, reclining naked on the bed and raising one eyebrow. You are deeply tempted to get back onto the bed with her — she does look really hot, despite being a green alien — but you remind yourself that this is surely all a trick.
“Dear, what happened to my clothes?” you ask.
“Fiona, I don’t need to remind you about our night of passion?” she replies with another smile.
“Well… if you could just hand me something…” you say, glancing around.
Daniela pouts, then leaps out of the bed and hands you some underwear along with a set of dark-colored robes, picking up similar garments for herself.
You quickly put the clothing on, and find it to be a good fit for your changed physique. “I suppose we need to get out of here, then, and away from the humans?”
“Tut tut, Fiona — of course not! We are here to recover our rightful property, stolen by humans generations ago. I’m surprised that you don’t even remember that. But I’m charmed that you remember me.” She makes a heart shape with her fingers.
You nod, frowning slightly. “Thing is, Daniela, the last I remember is going on an adventure with a human woman called Jade. We had some kind of disagreement. Can you fill me in?
“That’s not surprising,” Daniela replies, her smile fading. “Jade is one of the most dangerous of the humans. She knows far too much. She wants to find the Sword of Light, and harness its power for evil.”
Again you frown. “Uh, no… I am pretty sure Jade was a friend. She was very interested in my research.”
Daniela gives out a peal of laughter that has an echoing quality to it. “Oh, Fiona — you’re so sweet. Apparently in your human guise you were easily played. But the main thing is that you got the information we needed, we know our enemy, and we know where to look for the sword, more or less. Now, let’s go.”
You look around. There is no obvious doorway, and you can’t even see how to get back to the hallway with the candles. “Where’s the hatch gone?”
Daniela snaps her fingers, and you suddenly find yourself in a long stony corridor with flaming torches lighting the way in both directions. “Just one of my little enchantments,” Daniela replies, then begins to walk.
You follow.
“Thanks to you, we now know that Jade has been gathering information on the Sword of Light,” Daniela says as she walks along.
“No,” you say. “Actually, she doesn’t even believe it exists.”
Daniela shrugged. “Right, which was presumably a way to get you to tell her everything you knew about it. I expect that she has now joined up with our most deadly enemies to find the sword’s resting place in the Castle of Shadows.”
“Wait — did you say enemies?” you ask.
“Sure. We already know that she has allied with goblins.”
“Goblins?” You are still confused about what is going on, but you look down at your own blue skin and hands, and then at Daniela’s green coloration. “Are we goblins, dear?” you ask.
Daniela laughs again. “Your memory really is scrambled, isn’t it? Don’t worry — it’s all down to the enchantment I had to put on you. It will all come back to you.”
“Okay…” you say as you continue to walk along the corridor. Somehow, the more Daniela talks, the more you feel you can trust her. “But we’re not, uh…human, right?”
“Fiona!” Daniela titters, and you realize how crazy you must have sounded. “Of course not — we are of the Eadrom people. The creators and rightful owners of the Sword of Light, the Druid Stones, and other ancient artefacts used by humans and goblins alike. And it’s time to get them all back.”
You take a deep breath as you follow along.
Goblins? Enemies? Druid stones?
This is all sounding increasingly hard to swallow. You grunt, and Daniela continues:
“It’s been a game of cat and mouse for years, really. But thanks to your bravery, we finally have the upper hand. We know where Jade is, and have a good idea of what she plans to do.”
You are approaching a set of stairs, and as you continue in silence, it leads you up and out of the tunnel. You find yourself in a rocky area of mountainside, blinking against the bright sunshine.
“We can’t be seen like this,” you say to Daniela, “Turn me back.”
“Back? I can’t!” she replies.
Do you:
- Insist that she turns you back, and threaten her if she does not? (click here).
- Roll with it, and continue your adventure as a blue alien of the Eadrom people? (click here).
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