The Stoneville Tavern
Pick Your Peril: The Hero of Mudtown
(This is part of a series of choose-your-own-adventure articles. If you want to start from the beginning, click here.)
The Stoneville Tavern is a lively and familiar sight.
Patrons crowd the tables, the smell of roasting food fills the air, and a pair of musicians provide some ambiance with a flute and drum. You look at the multitude of faces around you and wonder who might be willing to help you in your search for your family.
The innkeeper stands behind the bar, taking orders and handing out drinks. He might be a good source of information, or maybe he could offer you a way to make some money. You might ask him if he’s seen or or heard anything about the missing villagers.
At the very least, he can point you to someone that can help.
A tall, broad-shouldered mercenary loudly recounts his last adventure to a crowd of mostly women. You don’t have any money, but maybe he could be persuaded to help out for free. You could appeal to his sense of sympathy and try to see how far it gets you.
At a table for two, a blacksmith covered with soot enjoys his meal in serene solitude. Someone who works with swords and armor might know a way onto the royal grounds. He might even sell you a weapon, if you had anything to buy it with.
You see a young woman serving drinks, deftly weaving through tables and dodging stumbling drunks. A group of men playing cards seems to take most of her attention. You notice that every time she delivers drinks to the drunks with the cards, she artfully slips a coin off the top of the nearest player’s stack after she sets the drinks down.
She seems like she’s up for some mischief. Maybe she knows some less-than-legal way of getting you inside the castle.
In the darkest corner of the tavern, a stranger drinks alone. You see the glint of his eyes as he watches the crowd. Something draws your attention to this dark stranger, but it’s hard to tell if it’s an aura of mystery or a sense of danger.
There are many potential allies and enemies among the patrons of the inn.
Who will you talk to?