Story Arc #1: The Castle of Shadows
Onwards and Upwards
A chapter of a ‘choose your own’ story.
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Human? Blue alien? What difference does it really make?
It’s not as if you liked your appearance anyway.
“Fine,” you say to Daniela after a pause. “I’ll carry on as I am. But if anyone sees me, they’ll freak out.”
“I wouldn’t be so sure,” she replies, as she begins to lead the way up a rocky slope to your left. “The villagers who live up here are very open minded. They are familiar with the Eadrom people, with goblins, and much more.”
You glance around. There is a small village down below you, in a roughly circular area of pasture. “Surely not too many people live here anyway,” you comment. “Just a few farmers, I suppose.”
Daniela pauses, glancing down in the same direction, and then raises one eyebrow. “Appearances can be deceptive. That village is where Jade grew up. They are skilled and deadly warriors.”
“So they are our enemies, too?” you ask.
She shakes her head. “They are mostly harmless. I’ve spoken to her sister, a woman called Zyra. She’s a formidable woman in her own way, and something of a hottie, but unlike Jade, she doesn’t crave power.”
You pause. “Maybe this Zyra would join us, then?”
But Daniela keeps walking on, upwards into the mountains. “No. Her people want the artefacts to remain here. But if things get spicy, at least Zyra’s not on Jade’s side.”
“Good to know.”
You walk on in silence. There is no trail, but the rocky mountainside is passable with effort, though misty, with patches of snow starting to appear as you rise higher.
It doesn’t seem long before it is starting to get dark, and you wonder how long you spent with Daniela in the illusory bedchamber. Somehow, both time and reality seemed to have warped.
“Don’t you think we should stop, Daniela, or perhaps… go back?” you say, pausing to catch your breath.
Daniela is a few paces ahead, and she stops too, turning and looking at you with eyes wide. “Go back? Fiona, this is our life’s mission! It’s our chance to get back the magical objects that belong to our people, centuries after they were stolen by goblins and humans. We are so close now!”
You look around the increasingly rocky and desolate surroundings as the sun goes down, and gulp. “Okay… then I guess we press on.”
“You press on, dear,” she says. “I have another vital errand to run, and will leave you here. But I believe you are close to the entrance to the Castle of Shadows now.”
You look around again. All you can see are rocks and pine trees. “Really?”
She points towards some especially large boulders off to one side, and you see some even-looking stones at ground level. They look as if they may once have formed part of a wall. “It is long hidden by the ages, of course,” says Daniela. “But I can see a gap down there. Perhaps you can climb inside? I know that you are very flexible when you put your mind to it.”
You walk over towards the stones to take a closer look, peering at them. Sure enough, there is the remnants of a centuries-old wall.
You move along, tracking its edge, and then kneel down. There is a small gap where some of the ancient bricks are missing. Someone — or some thing — has made a hole, and found a way in.
“You think we should climb in here?” you call out. But as you glance behind you, Daniela has gone!
“Daniela! Where are you?” You stand up and shout, but there is no sign of the green woman.
“Darn it!”
You briefly weigh up your options. It feels like madness to wait here for dawn — you certainly need more daylight to see by, but you’d freeze to death if you slept out in the elements.
The village you passed earlier is now far out of sight. If what Daniela said is true, they wouldn’t react negatively to someone with your changed appearance. Perhaps you could find Jade’s sister Zyra and ask for shelter — but you’re not sure you could make it there safely in the gathering darkness.
Alternatively, you could clamber into the hole, hope to find somewhere safe and sheltered inside, and perhaps a way to the Castle of Shadows by morning…
You decide to:
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