Story arc #1: The Castle of Shadows

The Mountain Path

A chapter of a ‘choose your own’ story

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You step out into a rocky mountainside area that you barely remember, having only previously seen it in the dark.

A dusty path leads downhill to your left, back towards the village. To the right, it winds upwards, heading towards the peaks. Immediately on either side of the path are lush, green mountain flowers and thorn bushes, with boulders and cliffs further back.

Turning right for a moment, you raise your hand to shade your eyes from the morning sun. The familiar outlines of a pair of twin mountains dominate the skyline. You are convinced that the Sword of Light lies hidden in the area, perhaps in the mountain pass and small settlements between the two peaks.

But that is for another day… or at least, another hour.

Now, you have one idea in mind — to go back and find your research partner Jade, and apologise for yesterday’s rudeness. Yesterday’s argument was the alcohol talking. Now that you’ve sobered up, you know the truth — you need her help.

You and Jade have worked together for years on all kind of archeological projects, and been on many adventures together. She is, in your view, a genius scientist as well as an ambitious explorer.

And you could certainly do with picking up some food and supplies, too!

With the sun at your back, you begin to make your way down the path. You groan as your walk; your muscles are still aching from spending the night on the floor of a cave. Well, let’s be honest — it’s not the craziest thing you’ve done in your life.

As you circle past an especially large boulder and continue downhill, you begin to mull over what Jade said to you the previous night. “That sword is a myth,” she told you with a shake of her head. “If it ever existed, it has surely long since rusted away to nothing.”

But you can’t quite bring yourself to believe that. The last surviving accounts of the great weapon from Celtic myth put the sword in this very area — near these twin mountains — during the Dark Ages. There are no records of it leaving the area or being seen elsewhere after that.

You are still musing when you notice a figure approaching up the same path that you are descending. You pause, narrowing your eyes. You have heard tales of travelers going missing hereabouts. Could this be some kind of bandit?

But surely not — the approaching figure is wearing a baseball cap, and carrying a heavy-looking backpack. It’s a woman, quite tall, lithe and muscular, medium-dark skin…

“Jade!” you shout.

You hurry further down the path, and soon you are able to speak to your fellow adventurer. You are surprised to see that far from being angry, she is grinning broadly.

“I can hardly believe you came up here!” she said. “You got pretty far, too! I expected to find you asleep in a ditch somewhere outside the village.”

You shrug. “Right. Well, I think my anger motivated me to get moving.”

She grins. “I really wound you up, didn’t I? Sorry about that. Listen — if you really think the Sword of Light could still be in these mountains, then by all means let’s go and look for it. We’ll help each other.”

“You mean it?”

She points her thumb to the side of her backpack. “Food, camping stove, blankets — you name it.”

You glance back up the slope, and then smile at your partner. “Thanks, Jade! I really owe you one.”

With a grunt, Jade heaves the backpack off her shoulder. “No worries. But I tell you, it’s your turn to carry this damn thing.”

You walk on together, the sun in your eyes now, chatting about this and that. It doesn’t seem like the moment to resume your discussion of the sword — but your feeling delighted that Jade is at least willing to humor you as you begin the search.

Soon, you have walked right past the huge cave, and the sky is beginning to cloud over as your rise further into the mountains. The path narrows, and before long you find yourself walking through a narrow gulch in between two cliffs.

There are smaller caves on both sides now, each no larger than the entrance to a dog kennel. Could there be anything lurking within? Feeling tense, you hurry on.

After a few more minute, you stop briefly for something to eat, still eying the surroundings warily. Jade reaches into the backpack which is now on your back, then hands you a nutritious cereal bar and a banana to eat, as well as pulling out a pair of water bottles.

She really did think of everything. And after your brief break, she takes a turn carrying the backpack once again.

“I admit — what you said got me thinking,” says Jade as you start walking again. “Maybe it’s not so crazy to think that the Sword of Light is lost somewhere in these mountains.”

“How so?” you ask.

“Well… there’s a story of an ancient castle. A place called Dún Scáith – the Castle of Shadows. Nobody knows where it was, but, well…”

“You think it could have been up here?”

She nods. “The legend is that a warrior queen named Scáthach forged weapons there. Of course…”

“That could just be a legend,” you reply, finishing the thought. “Right. But all the same — the mountain pass between these two peaks contains some settlements that have been there for centuries, and ruins, too. It’s a great place to begin searching for the sword.”

As the path narrows further, you walk ahead of Jade, gazing at the darkening sky and the mountain peaks ahead. The pair of you fall silent. In your mind, the task begins to feel easier. If the Sword of Light is in the mountain pass up ahead, how hard can it be to find?

Especially for someone as smart as you?

The slope of the path flattens off and begins to descend, and at last you see one of the mountain settlements. A cluster of rustic homes are up ahead in a rough circle, with some pasture land all around. Two farmers stand in the nearest field, watching over their sheep. Strangely, each of them is holding a long spear.

Just then, you hear a scream from behind, and the sounds of a struggle.

You spin around, looking back down the path. Jade is now some thirty yards back, and has been grabbed by four figures. She is struggling frantically as they begin to pull her off the path to one side.

And you can hardly believe your eyes — the attackers aren’t human.

If anything, they look more like goblins you have seen in fantasy movies. Each is no more than four feet tall, and they have bony gray-green faces and strong bare arms.

Jade grunts and yells as two of the goblins grab her arms and manage to force her to begin walking back the way you have come.

You glance quickly behind you. The mountain farmers with their spears don’t seem to have noticed the struggle, and have in fact turned away, herding their sheep as they go.

You begin to hurry back down the path towards Jade. She is now quite far back down the way you came, now, and you break into a run to try to close the gap.

A moment later, Jade yelps loudly as the goblins draw her off the path and closer to a cluster of small caves in the side of the nearby cliff. The other two help by pulling at the straps of the backpack. Jade is trying to stop herself, but is unable to resist, and is pulled out of sight behind a large boulder.

What will you do next? Do you:

• Hurry after the goblins and try to help Jade? (Click here)
• Go back towards the farmers and the village to get help? (Click here)

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