Adventure begins at the library! Read the chapter and vote by 2pm each Saturday to influence which way the story should go. A new part of the story will be posted every Monday throughout the summer.
~ CHAPTER 1 ~
You are a professional adventurer—a monster-hunter, a people-helper. This week, you are acting as an armed escort for a rich merchant as she travels a dangerous road between cities. You’ve just left a small village behind, the last protection between you and the dangerous creatures of the wilderness.
You’re quite nervous—this stretch of forest is known for being infested with all sorts of monsters, goblins especially. You scan the area, as Arya the Halfling merchant carefully guides her horses around the biggest holes in the road. Every sound, to your ears, could be the noise of an approaching goblin pack. You sheath your shortsword, and draw your longbow instead. If there do turn out to be some goblins, you want to be able to take them down from a distance.
Nothing happens, however, and you begin to relax. The dappled sunset light slanting through the leaves begins to look less sinister, and you pass off the rustling sounds as birds, squirrels, or stray gremlins.
Suddenly, the first goblin explodes from the trees, shrilling a war cry. You snatch an arrow from your quiver, aim, and fire. The goblin falls transfixed, a second before it would have landed in the cart. More goblins pour from the trees, rusty swords and knives in their hands. They swarm towards you like rats, and you draw your sword. Against a few goblins, your bow would have been enough, but there are too many.
Three leap into the cart and pin down the merchant, while another four attack you. All your skill is focused in fighting them off, but you are unable to prevent them from looting Arya’s cart. They carry off all the chests and sacks into the trees, hooting and screeching like monkeys. As soon as the goblins you are fighting see that their companions have finished with the cart, they disengage and leap off into the trees, cackling manically.
They didn’t hurt the merchant, you are relieved to see, but they looted everything from the cart—the bolts of cloth, bottles of dye, expensive rugs, and most importantly, the chest. The very reason why you, an adventurer instead of a town guard, are protecting the merchant. Contained in the chest were not only valuables such as gold and pearls, but also a very important magic item. What is the item? Ayra won’t say, but she acts as if her whole career depends on it. She promises to pay you a handsome reward if you retrieve the chest from the goblins, but also warns you it won’t be easy to recover—you may have to recruit a whole party of adventurers to get it back. Sheathing your sword, you:
1: Attempt to recover the chest without the help of other adventurers.
2: Enlist the help of others to recover the chest.
3: Refuse, and go your own way after leading Arya safely to her destination.