Story Arc #1: The Castle of Shadows
Diving Into Unknown Waters
A chapter of a choose your own adventure story
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You stare intently at the hatch in the water.
Every instinct tells you this is a bad idea, but nothing ventured, nothing gained, right? You would never get anywhere if you always succumb to your nerves.
So you hold your breath and plunge into the pool.
To your surprise, though the water tastes like copper, it also feels pleasant to the touch–cool, refreshing, even soothing, like a supernatural embrace.
All your fight-or-flight instincts die down, because there’s no need to struggle here. Everything is well and peaceful.
The pool is also shallower than you expected. When you first step in, the water is only knee-deep. It gets deeper as you walk further, but it doesn’t get much higher than your waist.
You wonder if any illusions are at play, since you swear that the pool was significantly deeper when you first looked at it.
Or maybe the appearance of depth was made to scare off anyone without enough courage.
Nevertheless, you’re nervous when you peer at the hatch just inches away from you.
What’s on the other side? Is it too late to turn back?
You chide yourself for these cowardly thoughts. You will not let either Jade or your doubts deter you.
With caution but also some excitement, you reach out for the handle…
But it lies just out of reach.
Huh? You shuffle forward and stretch out your hand again. You touch the cold metal handle and let out a sigh of relief.
You must have been exhausted from your hangover and lack of sleep that you were imagining things. No door handle would withdraw itself like that, right?
You are even more relieved to see that the hatch is unlocked. You grimace at all the water filling the hole when you open the lid. After the water clears away, you peek at what’s inside.
To your startled sight, the interior looks — perfect. A polished marble hallway greets your eyes, and you wonder where it leads.
You think about how much you could brag to Jade about it later. You explore a new, beautiful area, while she fumes that you left her out again.
You never left her out of anything. It was she who whimsically refused even the most interesting missions you proposed.
Well, she wasn’t always like this, but this past month or so, she had been cranky and quick to anger.
So you make up your mind to explore this embellished hallway.
Just as the water above was pleasing on your skin, this hallway is charming to your eyes. It feels like walking through a lattice of jeweled candies.
You get the feeling that you’re not alone, but also that you don’t need to be afraid.
The marble hallway soon leads to a wide open chamber, with a massive, canopied bed at the center.
Wow…a luxury bed at a time when your muscles are aching and you’re lacking sleep? Why not?
Maybe it’s dumb to let your guard down so much, but who gives a shit? Nap first, think later.
The luscious warmth promised by the bed is more than you can resist. Every rule in an adventure warns you against such a move, but you don’t care anymore. If there was anything strange about a perfect bedchamber appearing under a hatch in the pool of an unknown cave, you can figure it out later…
And for some reason, the water in your clothes has dried already.
You snuggle under the blankets and rest your head on the soft pillow. Dare you close your eyes?
You now decide to…
- Allow sleep to take over (click here).
- Drag yourself up, and try to find out more about this location (click here).
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