Story Arc #1

The Warrior and Her Sister

A chapter of a ‘choose your own’ story.

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You pause just outside the roundhouse. The woman with the spear glances back at you as you follow after her, a serious look on her face. “I hope you can climb, stranger, for the ruins are higher up than the village.”

“To an extent,” you reply.

The woman now leans the weapon against the wall, and raises the dark object that she was carrying, which you now see is a set of jet-black armor. She begins to strap over her shoulders and chest. You glance back as she buckles it; the door to the roundhouse has been closed behind you, leaving the other villagers out of sight.

“Just in case that devil-cat is still around,” she murmurs, patting the armor and then grabbing her spear again.

“Wait — I thought…” you begin, glancing around in a panic. The snow has stopped falling and the sky is clearing to reveal afternoon sunshine; currently there is no sign of the animal, but your heart is thumping all the same.

But then the woman laughs. “I’m messing with you,” she says, beginning to walk away across the farmland. “As I said, my sister Gazeema is never wrong.”

“Hmm,” you respond, not too sure whether to trust the instincts of a child that looked no more than ten years old.

The woman slows slightly as you come to walk alongside her. She is heading away from the mountain path, and towards one of the great mountain peaks off to your left, but the going is easy despite the snow, as you cross flat farmland.

“Your sister, you say…” you add. It has occurred to you that perhaps you could get more information about the suspicious villagers, and dig into what they might know.

She nods. “Gazeema is the youngest of us three. I am Zyra, in the middle. Our treacherous elder sister Jade left our clan years ago, and turned her back on our people. Gazeema is the future now.”

You frown, an uneasy sense passing through you. But ‘Jade’ is a common enough name… right?

“This Jade,” you say slowly. “I’m just wondering… the thing is, I know someone of that name. An archaeologist and explorer. We travelled together a lot on adventures.”

Now Zyra pauses, pushing her hair back from her face and tying it into a topknot as she stares at you. Her eyes are dark, her features fierce. “You know my sister?” she asks.

“Well, I mean… maybe not. It’s probably just a coincidence, right?” you reply.

But Zyra shakes her head, and then begins walking again. “No coincidences. We keep a close lookout in our lands, and Jade has been seen in these parts very recently. She has been up here three or four times in the past week with her foul servants.”

You frown. “I don’t think that can be the same person. I spoke to Jade last night at the nearest town, and she refused to come with me and look for… uh, the ruins.”

Zyra fixes you with another glare that makes it feel as if she is reading your mind.

Then she shrugs. “Well then, Jade tricked you, as she has tricked so many people before. She is in league with bandits in these mountains, and worse. Goblins, foul creatures.

“What!?” you gasp. “Surely that’s impossible!”

Zyra nods again. “That’s the way it is. She has an ancient connection with the magic and creatures of this place, as all of my clan do. But she wants to steal our ancient artefacts, not protect them. And we are determined to stop her.” She looks at you fiercely again. “You definitely just want to study what you find, yes?”

“I, uh… for the most part, yeah,” you say. “Though it’s hard to give specifics until I know what exactly I am going to find.”

She grunts softly. “And you’re definitely not working for Jade?”

“No! I mean, I thought we were companions of a sort. Friends, even. But if she’s been lying to me… well, perhaps she wants to take the credit for my research.”

It is now rapidly occurring to you that for all the information you have given Jade over the years, she has never really given any to you.

Zyra seems satisfied with your answers. “That is likely. And I can tell you’re an honest person. But if you want my opinion, you’re a foolish one.”

You don’t respond to that.

The two of you walk on in silence for a while. The day is getting later, but the weather remains fine, though cold. As you start to leave the farmlands, the expanse of mountainside on the far side of the pass much closer now, you see that the area ahead is a chaotic mess of boulders, with no obvious place to search.

“That looks pretty steep.”

“I said that you would need to climb” says Zyra.

“But what about the ruins?”

She points up the rocky slope. “Follow. My sister is obsessed with Dún Scáith — the Castle of Shadows.”

“I’ve heard of it,” you say. “The legendary fortress where the Sword of Light was forged. But it is long lost, if it ever existed.”

She gives a half smile. “Oh — it existed.”

You look again up the slope, and then back towards the snow-covered farmlands. There’s no obvious path. This is starting to feel like a fool’s errand — and it’s getting late.

What do you want to do?

• Carry on up the rocky slope (click here).
• Make your excuses, and go back to search for Jade (click here).

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